My view on football since the WC and the internets reaction
I have never been a football fan, like ever. I was always a book kinda girly, a music kinda girly, ygm? I was never into sports like in general besides for a short period when I was really into basketball but I was like 8 and I cannot tell you a single rule in the sport.
So the world cup comes around while I have my opinions on certain player and teams, i was just trying to catch the world cup vibe, because if I didnt I would get massive FOMO.
So I watched a couple games, learned a couple rules and rooted for Sweden, Egypt, and England, those were my faves. And later i obviously joined the hate train on the Argentina team simply because I watched the egypt game and thought it was massively unfair (before that game never watched an argentina game, and the ones after I have no complaints besides the fact that clearly some players got into the wrong sport, and no I dont hate messi)
Okay the world cup has ended, and now my fyp is now showing me a lot of football content, and now I know shi i didnt want to know.
Looking at certain comment sections, i think back at Leao's comment, and while i was rightfully upset when it first posted, now i kinda see his point. Certain women have now kpopified these ballers/ being extremely parasocial abt them.
Because why is every girlfriend getting hate? Like boho bitch you never had a chance move and stop hating on them? Also yall are so upset that micheal olise, a grown 24 yo man with money to spend, is spending his money on a yacht and pretty women. Like yall are dead ass more upset he isnt what you imagined him to be than the alledged baby mama drama.
And thinking abt the way some women are moving, if football was my life and soul, and i know that certain women are into the sport right now simply for parasocial behaviour, i would probably also tell you bitches to fuck right off! You are genuinely ruining my fun, and i am a casual watcher who hasnt even decided on fav teams, imagine what these genuine football fans (that happen to be men) are experiencing (no, i am not babifying these men either, honestly fuck them too because why we generalising, your sport isnt niche)
And before you lot start coming for me, no i dont agree with the fuckers post, women can enjoy football, it isnt rocket science, team A wants goal in Team Bs goal, its not hard to understand, and we can assume what yellow and red cards mean if we cant be bothered to google what it means. Offside is literally just a guy in team A cannot be closer to team Bs goal than the second to last Team B defender. Like its not hard to understand or enjoy, but the women that engage in this parasocial shi are ruining the social aspects of football on social media. Yeah write ur fanfics, but dont send hate to their girls and cry when they live their life when they owe nothing to you silly bitches.
Im more upset that Olise cant catch nyash, like take a class or smt you got the money.
Summary: after you catch your boyfriend cheating, his worst enemy finds you crying in an empty classroom.
Warnings/be aware: fem!reader, reader being cheated on (not by Blaise), very light enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, soft!Blaise, cuddling
The day had started out so well.
You’d woken up before your alarm had even gone off, feeling refreshed and up early enough to watch the sun rise over the Black Lake. Then you’d had your favorite, French toast, for breakfast and walked to Charms with your boyfriend, Ernie. Not only were you called on in both Charms and Herbology, but you answered every question right, earning twenty points for Ravenclaw in total. Next, you had Divination, where Professor Trelawney let you sit next to your best friend, Padma Patil. Finally, you finished out your perfect day with Potions, another class with Ernie. It was like a dream.
That was where it all started to fall apart.
Ernie had been his usual cheerful, friendly self earlier in the day, but during Potions he seemed distracted, nodding disjointedly when you spoke to him and scribbling in the margins of his parchment instead of actually taking notes. You didn’t think anything of it, figuring he was just tired. He was a school Prefect in the running for Head Boy next year, and involved with just about every club from Dueling to Choir to Charms. Certainly, it wasn’t the first time he’d grown worn out by the end of the day.
Once Potions ended, though, he’d acted stranger still. Instead of walking you back to Ravenclaw tower like he usually did, he’d disappeared the moment you turned your back to pack your school bag. After a moment of searching for him in the herd of students wandering out of the classroom, you’d shrugged it off. Perhaps he’d suddenly remembered some responsibility he needed to complete or a club meeting for which he was running late.
However, as the main corridor in the dungeons cleared, with students hurrying back to their common rooms, you heard something strange – a voice echoing through the hall, hushed but amplified by the hollow, stone-carved space.
“Han!” There was a chuckle, low and distinctly male, emanating from behind one of the pillars at the end of the corridor. “Han, my love, we really shouldn’t.” It was bright and amused despite its protests. “Come, now, what if someone sees?”
The voice was so familiar, your feet froze to the spot immediately. It was Ernie’s voice.
Almost involuntarily, you turned in the direction of the thick stone pillar, whispering a spell to suppress the noise of your heels clicking against the floor of the corridor. In the silence you could hear the continued whispers echoing through the hall.
“Everyone’s already left.” You’d heard Hannah Abbot’s voice many times before, but never like this – she sounded like a vixen caricature and you wanted to hex her immediately. “It’s alright, Ern, no one will see.”
“Han, you know –”
The boy you’d known that morning as your loving, sweethearted, devoted boyfriend suddenly froze as you stood in front of him, his Prefect partner’s arms twined around his shoulders like a second skin.
“Am I interrupting something?”
You felt a strange spark of pride at the way your voice failed to waver even as your heart sunk into your boots and your stomach roiled at the sight before you. In your wildest nightmares, you couldn’t have created this – your boyfriend who you’d spent over two years devoted to, with his hands all over a girl who you’d thought of as a friend.
Ernie saw you first, his eyes widening in horror as he took in the way your arms crossed in front of your chest and your jaw tensed, clearly understanding exactly what you were interrupting. Hannah, whose back was towards you, whipped around the moment she heard your voice, her jaw dropping when she saw you. Finally, her stance wavered, her arms slowly retreating from your boyfriend’s shoulders and her feet stepping back.
“Baby, I –”
You cut off Ernie’s wavery protest with a watery, tense laugh. “Oh, please, carry on,” you snapped. “Don’t let me interfere.” The tears were already gathering in your waterline, but you refused to let them escape, firmly blinking them away.
“Please, baby, you don’t understand.” He finally stepped away from Hannah, causing her to stumble to the side as he came towards you. She looked astounded at his sudden disregard for her, and in another situation, you would have felt bad for her. “It was a mistake! It only happened a couple of times, I swear. It was so stupid, please, you have to believe me.”
He tried to reach for your hands to hold them in his, as he’d done a thousand times before. This time, though, you pulled away, a sudden wave of disgust crashing through you. Who was this bloke standing in front of you? In the two years of your relationship, you’d never seen anything close to this side of him. The Ernie you knew was intelligent, responsible, sweet, caring…nothing like the person you were witnessing now, begging you to just forget about the way you’d caught him with another girl.
Your eyebrows lifted, your lips pressing together as you continued to fight back tears. “Is this what you’ve been doing while you were ‘patrolling’ on your rounds? Taking advantage of the fact that I’m not there to see you with her?” Memories flashed in your mind of the way he used to complain that he missed you while he was patrolling the corridors at night. You wondered if he’d meant it at some point or if it was a lie from the beginning.
“I –” Ernie sputtered, but from the look in his eyes, you knew you’d hit the nail on the head. Nausea overtook you, sickness in your stomach and your throat as you wondered how long, exactly, this had been going on. He’d been a Prefect for almost the entire duration of your relationship – had he been fooling you this whole time?
The rest of the argument was a blur, fading into unreality as your mind struggled to process the fact that your whole world had just turned on its head. Finally, you turned on your heel, exhausted and convinced that there was no point in continuing this fight.
“Baby, please.” Ernie’s eyes were full of tears, an expression of despair carved so deeply on his face that in any other situation you would’ve run to him, wrapping him tightly in your arms and holding him closely until everything was better. But nothing could make this better, he’d brought this on himself. “We can work this out, there must be something I can do –”
You shook your head firmly, tears once again pricking at the corners of your own eyes, your vision blurring. Even this morning, you couldn’t have imagined a scenario where you would’ve ever ended things with Ernie. The two of you had talked about getting married after Hogwarts, moving into a flat together, how many children you would have… Just the previous week, he’d told you that he wanted to buy you a promise ring. Your lungs seized at the thought that you’d excitedly described your ideal ring while he was snogging Hannah Abbot on the side.
“No.” Finally, your voice trembled as you brought your gaze up to meet his eyes. “There’s nothing you can do, not anymore. We’re done, if that wasn’t clear.” Then, you glanced back at Hannah, who was still standing behind the two of you, chewing on her glossy lip. “You can have him.” With that, you stormed away.
When Ernie and Hannah finally disappeared behind you, the tears began to fall. Sobs seized your throat as your feet carried you further and further into the dungeons, getting you lost in the dark corridors beneath the school. You couldn’t believe this was happening. Thoughts raced faster than Firebolts in your head, time and space falling to the wayside as you wondered with horror how many of these hallways your newly ex-boyfriend had snogged Hannah in while the two of you were dating. You’d molded your entire life around him. His friends were your friends, his enemies were your enemies. Meanwhile, you weren’t even his only girlfriend.
You stumbled through the dungeons with shaking shoulders and weak knees until you finally found the door to an empty classroom. Stumbling through, you claimed your refuge amongst the silhouettes of abandoned chairs, some stacked atop dust-ridden desks. Rays of sunset streamed through the window, displaying the writings of some former professor on the blackboard, untouched through years of disuse. You stared blankly at the words, eyes unseeing as you slid down the stone wall, sinking to the floor and pulling your knees to your chest.
Time slipped by as you sobbed on the dusty floor, your forehead resting on your knees, the wool of your tights pricking your skin. It felt impossible to wrap your mind around the sudden implosion of your relationship that had felt so perfect in the morning. Why weren’t there any signs? How had you not noticed? He’d lied to you so smoothly, so successfully – if you hadn’t caught him and Hannah together, how much longer would you have stayed with him without realizing? A million questions tormented you in the midst of your seemingly unending flow of tears.
The sun had slipped behind the mountains and the sky turned from pink to navy by the time your breath steadied, but you still couldn’t fathom the thought of getting up and facing the world. Your hands were still shaking and you were certain your eyes were horrendously red and swollen. Just the thought of anyone seeing you in this state filled you with dread.
And then, as if your life were some cruel joke, the door to the empty classroom slowly began to swing open.
Your breath seized in your chest. “Occupied!” you called, but your voice was so weak and shaky you were certain that no one could hear you. Inhaling and exhaling, you tried to summon the strength for another protest.
It was too late. Inside the doorway stood a silhouette, some fellow student with a schoolbag in hand. He stepped into the empty classroom, flinging his bag down atop a desk without a chair resting on it.
“Please go away.”
The words spilled out of your mouth involuntarily, and the bloke jumped, searching for the source of the noise. Quickly, you swiped at your cheeks, trying to erase the remaining evidence of your tears as his eyes fell on you.
“What’re you doing in here?”
Every muscle in your body tensed at once. You hadn’t recognized the figure in the darkness, your vision blurred from crying, but you knew that voice.
“Zabini?”
Of course, as if your day couldn’t get any worse, it had to be Blaise Zabini who found you crying and covered in dust on the floor of an empty classroom.
Ernie hated Slytherins, and Zabini most of all. The feeling was most certainly mutual. Although it was typically Draco Malfoy who ran about the corridors sneering at students from other houses and throwing wayward jinxes at anyone who looked at him the wrong way, whenever you and Ernie were in sight, Zabini took on the role. He and Ernie were constantly exchanging insults and hexes. The other Slytherins would join in to fling ink in Ernie’s direction in class or make over-the-top gagging sounds whenever the two of you held hands. The obnoxious behavior had lessened once Ernie became a Prefect, as Zabini quickly learned how easy it was for him to take points from Slytherin, but his lip still curled at the sight of you. You were sure he’d get a great laugh out of seeing you like this.
Abandoning his school bag, he stepped closer, and your heart jumped into your throat. But his lips didn’t quirk upward into his usual smirk. Instead, a little furrow appeared between his eyebrows as he frowned, looking you up and down.
“You alright?”
“I’m fine,” you snapped. “Just…had a bit of a stomachache. I was hoping for a little privacy.”
Brows raising, he eyed you suspiciously. “The Hospital Wing is that way, you know.” He gestured out the door of the empty classroom.
“Well, it’s passed anyhow.” Standing, you dusted off your skirt, praying that your hands weren’t still shaking. “I’ll be going.”
“Right.” His skeptical voice flowed through the room as you turned away, stepping towards the door. “You sure you’re okay?”
Something about his insistence annoyed you, and you turned back around to face him. “What’s it to you?” you snapped. Immediately, you regretted opening your mouth, your shaky voice betraying you. “You hate me.”
Zabini let out a little scoff. “No, I don’t.” His eyes shifted for a moment as he paused. “MacMillan, maybe. But not you.”
Just the thought of Ernie made your face fall, and to your embarrassment, tears began to gather in your eyes again. Face hot with humiliation, you turned back towards the door, but your feet seemed to be glued to the spot.
“Hey.”
His voice was low and oddly calming, even as you struggled to hide your tears from his sight.
“What’s wrong?”
Finally, you turned back towards him. He was inches from you now, gazing down at you with a mix of confusion and sincerity that you’d never seen on his face before. It was such a far cry from the arrogant, sarcastic version of him that you’d always known, it made you wonder whether this was all a strange dream. First, the person you trusted most in the world betrayed you, and then someone you wouldn’t trust as far as you could throw him was standing in front of you with nothing but care in his eyes.
“I might hate him too.”
Something inside of you broke, as though admitting the truth out loud had eliminated your last hope that maybe none of it was real. Sobs wracked your body and tears flowed down your cheeks, but you were only left to shatter on your own for a moment. A pair of arms wrapped around you, and then Blaise Zabini, of all people, was holding you up as your knees trembled beneath you.
“Hey, hey,” he murmured softly, guiding you back towards the spot where you’d been sitting against the wall. For a moment, he released you, and you wondered if this was all some cruel joke leading up to him hexing you or throwing ink in your face. But then you saw that he was taking off his school robes, revealing the black button-up and trousers that he wore underneath. You opened your mouth to ask what he was doing, but before you could, he laid his robes down on the dusty floor.
“There you go.” He guided you down so you were sitting on his robes, settling himself down beside you.
You frowned, glancing over at him with watery eyes. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
His eyes lowered for a moment before he met your gaze. “Because whatever he did to you, you didn’t deserve it.”
You cried for a long time after that, one of his arms wrapped around your shoulders as you laid your head against him. It felt strange and wrong to be in the arms of someone that wasn’t Ernie, especially considering the bloke currently holding you was his worst enemy. But Blaise was there, and he cared, and strangely enough his touch felt like it was the one thing that could soothe the sickening sensation of loneliness and abandonment that was breaking you down. Though you knew your smeared makeup was probably getting all over his shirt and he was sitting on the dusty floor while you were resting on his discarded robes, he didn’t seem to mind, rubbing your back steadily as you released all of the grief that had accumulated inside you.
As your tears began to dry up and your trembling finally paused, his low voice finally slipped through the air. “What happened?” His thumb traced your shoulder gently.
You swallowed hard, forcing your weak voice to speak. “He’s been snogging his Prefect partner for a while.”
Glancing up, you tried to read Blaise’s expression, still not fully trusting him not to laugh. But there was no trace of amusement on his face, only an anger that pooled into disgust.
“He’s even more of an idiot than I thought he was, then.”
You gave a weak laugh, your fingers fiddling with the edge of your skirt. “Thanks.”
“I’m serious.” He gave your shoulder a light squeeze. “You gave a tosser like that a chance and he wasted it? He’s got to be the dimmest bloke alive.”
Instinctively, a protest rose in your chest. That wasn’t the version of Ernie you’d known for two years. The Ernie that you fell in love with was funny, adorable, kind, intelligent… But it was all a lie, you remembered. It must’ve been. Somehow, you’d missed it.
“He was a good boyfriend,” you managed. “While we were together.” It still felt so strange to say. Imagining your life without Ernie seemed impossible.
Blaise let out a mirthless chuckle. “He’s a cheater and a prat.” His voice lilted with amusement. “You’re allowed to admit it.”
You frowned. “I know you hate him, but I dated him for a reason.” An annoyed little huff escaped your lips. “I’m not a total idiot.”
“I never said you were.” His words were light but insistent. “I always figured he must’ve been doing something to keep you around.”
Satisfied with that, you let silence fall around you. Your thoughts, though, continued to swirl like a tornado in your mind. Were you a total idiot? During your last fight, Ernie had tried to deceive, cheat, and manipulate you, and yet if someone had asked you the day before, you would’ve insisted that such a thing was impossible. How had you managed to ignore every flaw in his character for years?
“How –” You bit your lip, pausing as you wondered how to ask the question that was on your mind.
“Hmm?” Blaise glanced down at you attentively.
“Why don’t you like Ernie?” you finally asked, your voice soft and wavering. “How did you see…whatever it is about him that makes the two of you not get on? How did I miss it?”
A little sigh escaped from Blaise’s lips as your question hung in the air.
“Quit thinking like that,” he finally responded. “This wasn’t your fault.”
He’d read you like a crystal ball – the thoughts of self-doubt and anger at your own naivete had been spiraling in your mind since the moment you’d discovered Ernie’s cheating. But your expression was insistent as you finally lifted your head from his shoulder and held his gaze. “I still want to know.”
Blaise glanced downward, swallowing heavily. For a moment, you wondered whether he would answer. Then, he lifted his eyes back towards you.
“I can’t stand MacMillan because I can’t stand hypocrites,” he finally said. He paused, seemingly considering his words before continuing. “Have you ever noticed how he looks down his nose at everyone when a party gets busted, or when someone gets caught sneaking out, but when he wants to go get food from the kitchens it’s fine? Or how he’s always talking about how you have to earn high marks, how he’s put in the work for his grades, but in the next breath he’s asking you for your notes because he was ‘too tired’ to take them himself?” With a scoff, he shook his head. “He’s a swot who’s not even good at being a swot. That’s why I don’t like him.”
You frowned, glancing down at your lap as you considered Blaise’s words. Ernie had always justified those things to you when you’d first started dating. His dormitory was right next to the kitchens, it wasn’t as if he were sneaking across the castle when he went for a late snack. He was involved in so many activities, he was more tired than the other students and deserved help more than they did. Soon after, he’d stopped having to come up with the excuses. You’d made them for him.
Of course he was spending a great deal of time with Hannah, she was his fellow Prefect, and they had plenty of projects to work on for the betterment of the school. Of course he was taking longer on patrols than the other Prefects did, he was dedicated to searching every corner of the castle for students out of bed.
“Thank you,” you whispered, even though tears were beginning to trickle down your cheeks once again.
His fingers that had previously been resting against his thigh lifted, finding purchase beneath your chin and lifting your head so that your eyes connected with his. “Don’t you dare cry over him.” Thumb lightly swiping across your damp cheeks, he cleared the evidence of your sadness away. “No more tears, okay? He’s not worth it.”
Nodding, you gave a loud sniff, trying your best to curb the crying that had been plaguing you for hours. With a heavy inhale, you worked to steady your breathing. As you continued to think on Blaise’s words, another thought struck you.
“He always told me you hated us because we weren’t in Slytherin.”
You weren’t sure why you said it – maybe as a way of trying to explain to Blaise why you’d been so quick to take Ernie’s side in their unending feud. But at your words, his dark eyes narrowed and his jaw tensed before he looked squarely into your eyes.
“I never hated you,” he said firmly. “Never.”
A tension rose in the room, and you could feel your heart pounding in your chest. You were suddenly very aware of the places where Blaise’s fingers were touching your skin, in the little gap between the bottom of your sweater and the top of your skirt. Once again you found yourself wondering whether you should be sitting so close to him, and your lips parted as you fumbled for something to say.
“You did get ink on my favorite shoes, though,” you finally managed. A wry laugh escaped from your lips as you tried to diffuse the tension.
He raised his eyebrows. “Then let me take you to Madame Malkin’s, I’ll buy you a hundred more.” When you gave another soft laugh, he eyed you insistently. “I’m serious. I’m sorry.”
Shrugging, you gave him a little smile. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”
“Come here.” He lowered his touch to your knee and brought his palm across your legs, glancing at you for permission. You felt a moment of hesitation, but the comfort that Blaise brought you quickly won out over whatever little hangups you were still facing at the thought that you were in the arms of Ernie’s worst enemy. Caving to his touch, you relaxed into him, letting him bring your legs to rest over his thighs and pulling you in close to his chest. Your arms twined lightly around his torso in return. “I would take you to London and let you spend all my gold, just as long as you don’t cry over that rancid prat again, you hear me?”
“You say that now,” you replied, a lilt of playfulness audible in your still-tired voice, “but I really like bags.”
Blaise threw back his head and laughed at that, in his eyes a mixture of amusement and relief that you were joking instead of crying. “Buy whatever you want, I promise.”
You giggled softly despite yourself. “‘S okay. I’m not really in a spendy mood.” Resting your head against his chest, you closed your eyes and let yourself relax for the first time in hours. Although your heart still ached, the tension in your muscles finally released.
Seeming to sense your tiredness, he let the conversation fall to the wayside as a heavy exhale slipped past your lips. “There you go, angel.” His voice was a low murmur, reverberating against your body and soothing you further. “Did y’ eat dinner yet?”
You shook your head. “I can’t go up there.” Your weary whisper was barely audible. “Everyone’ll ask why we’re not sitting together.” There was a pain in your chest as you wondered whether your ex-boyfriend would be sitting with Hannah instead.
"I’ll go get you some food.” He gave your knee a little squeeze. “You just rest.”
Your heart nearly melted at that, but the thought of leaving the empty classroom still filled you with dread. “The common room will be just as bad.”
“Then we won’t go to your common room. We’ll go to mine.”
The Slytherins stared at you in confusion when you stepped through the door of their common room, but if Blaise’s arm wrapped protectively around you didn’t put a stop to that, the glare he shot at them, daring any of them to object, certainly did. Once his housemates had made the wise decision to turn back around in their seats and mind their own business, he guided you toward a beautiful, high-backed couch in front of the fireplace. After pulling a few throw pillows and a blanket from the neighboring chairs, he let you settle in, wrapping the blanket around your shoulders.
“Still doing alright?” He checked in on you as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and you nodded gratefully. “I’ll be right back,” he assured you, giving your shoulder a squeeze. “If you need anything, just let the girls know.” As he gestured toward a nearby set of armchairs, you saw two girls settled in them, one with a dark, chin-length bob and one with medium-length blonde hair. You knew them to be Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass, and although you’d never considered them particularly friendly before, they now looked back at you with genuine smiles as Pansy waved.
“Thanks.” You gave him a soft smile, glad to have a few more allies in unfamiliar territory. Never had you considered that you’d ever step foot in the Slytherin common room, and when Blaise left for the Great Hall, you took to studying your surroundings. You’d always known the room was located below the Black Lake, but truly seeing the bluish-green light seeping in through the windows as fish and mermaids swam by was a different experience entirely. The dark-coloured furniture and moody ambience, with torchlights flickering off the walls, made the place suitable to your current persuasion.
You were in your sixth year at Hogwarts, and you’d never even considered friendship with any Slytherin, mostly because Ernie had always told you that they hated anyone who wasn’t in their own house. It would have been so easy for you to carry on this way until the end of school. But the Slytherins you’d encountered that day were nothing like Ernie had described. For the first time, you were able to consider that maybe your breakup with him was a good thing. The idea of your future without him still felt hazy and made you a bit ill, but you wondered what else you might find behind the curtain of the lies he’d told you. What else could you experience and enjoy now that you weren’t tied to him?
Blaise’s return with two large plates of beans, potatoes, and ham pulled you from your thoughts a few minutes later, and you finally remembered how hungry you actually were. You hadn’t eaten since lunch, and the clock on the wall told you it was now nearly eight o’clock at night.
“You’re amazing.” Gratefully, you took one of the plates into your hands as he settled down on the couch next to you to eat.
It didn’t take long after you finished your meal and Vanished your dishes for your eyes to start fluttering closed. Your head relaxed against Blaise’s shoulder and you heard him let out a contented little sigh, reclining against the back of the couch so you could lay against his chest instead.
“All good?” His voice seemed to wrap around you just like the blanket he’d provided, keeping you warm and safe.
You nodded, a little smile on your lips. As you fell to sleep, you felt his fingers gently running through your hair, ensuring it was out of your face.
“Things will be better tomorrow, angel.”
Credits: Images ltr: Pinterest by flyssera here, Pinterest here, Pinterest by dearerilea here | divider by @saradika-graphics here
Something I’ve noticed that I think is really weird, is that Blaise Zabini is canonically a chaser but everyone loves to pretend he’s a beater. Wonder why we keep giving the black guy a sporting position involving brute strength and knocking people over? Especially a character who’s meant to be stoic, strategic and precise. It can’t possibly be racism.
Synopsis: After training together in first year, they were close. But then 2nd year came around and Violet entered the picture, and she became invisible.
(I know nothing about training)
Pre-FW
No use of Y/N. AFAB
Word count: 1824
Warning: mention of blood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun had barely risen when she stood in front of the punching bag, hitting it like it had done her personal offence. She never wanted to be a rider, but Xaden had offered the compromise to keep all 107 of their lifes in exchange for lifelong service to the Navarrians.
While she didn't know Xaden before joining the riders quandrant, she and the others knew they owed their lives for him, and for that, they will forever be in debt to him.
So when Xaden came to her and told her very sternly that if she wanted to make it till graduation, she better start training a bit more, she followed the order.
So that's how she ended up there, in the training room, at least used by cadets, at 4 a.m., when most cadets were still asleep. To make it till graduation, to ensure her parents would be proud of her, to ensure that by the time her siblings join the riders quadrant, they will be able to be protected by her, just like how Xaden have protected all of them.
She was so deep into her own thoughts she didn't even notice her knuckles bleeding or the pain that should have been there. She wasn't aware that someone had joined her in the room. She wasn't aware that tears had started running down her face. All she knew and could focus on was to punch harder, faster.
A voice interepted her line of thinking.
"Uhm, cadet Lauren, are you okay?"
She jumped at the voice and turned around.
She saw cadet Aelos, or at least that was what she thought his name was. Not as tall as Xaden but fairly tall, tan skin, light brown curls, and a light beard, which he was clearly trying to grow with little success.
"Cadet Aelos, I didn’t notice you, my-"
She was cut off by an amused laugh.
"I'm sorry what did you call me?" He asked with a kind smile and half closed eyes by how much he was smiling.
"Cadet Aelos? Isn't that your name?" She replied, very confused.
The cadet who clearly wasn't named Aelos laughed again. He stopped himself and the laugh was replaced by a forced cough.
"No cadet Lauren, my name is not Cadet Aelos, my name is Dain Aetos, never heard that variation of my surname before, so i was caught a bit off guard"
She started to lightly laugh aswell, but more out of akwardness rather than amusement.
"My apologies cadet Aetos, we are neither in the same squad nor section, so my brain probably didn't register your name clearly the one time I heard it"
She didnt mean to sound snappy, however she was aware of how uncomfortable Aetos was around marked ones, and he probably wasn't aware she was marked aswell due to her natural tendency to hide her marks under long shirts and her marks was short, only reaching her mid biceps, so it never sticks out either.
She hates the fact she always hide her marks, always feeling like she is betraying her parents who sacrified their lives for the true cause of the rebellion, not the lies leadership have been spewing for 5 years. But she can not change her natural tendencies of liking being covered up, showing skin has always been uncomfortable for her ever since a child.
However right now in the riders quadrant, where cadets die at the hands of their fellow cadets for anything, her natural tendencies of hiding her marks under her black cotton shirt might just be a benefit, not giving people more reasons to hate her.
"-Well I guess you have point cadet Lauren, it was wrong of me to assume you even know who I am at all, and you were pretty close"
She realised she zoned out again and only caught half of what Aetos actually said. Giving a non committed noice of acknowledgement, she turned around again and continued punching the bag.
"Not to offend you, but what did the bag do to you?" Aetos said with a light laugh meant to defuse the akward situation. She simply looked back at him. "What are you doing awake so early, Aetos, breakfast isn't for another 2 hours?"
He looked at her and thought for a while before responding. "Well, I couldn't sleep very well knowing that the gauntlet is only 2 weeks away, so decided to train a bit to put my mind at ease"
She turned around and looked at Aetos like he had grown an extra head. "You shouldn’t be going around telling others that you're nervous or scared, they will see that as weakness, for all you know I could stab you right now deciding that you clearly are a weak link"
He simply responds, "I feel like I can trust you, you seem nice, and you can not stab me right now because you placed all your weapons on the bench at least 3 feet away from you"
She could feel a smile forming but stopped herself at the joke that was clearly at her expense.
"Cmon, that was clearly a good joke." he wines a little while leaning on the wall where he stands. It's only now she noticed how far away he actually was from her. She was standing near the middle where punching bags stood, and he was leaning against the wall near the door.
"That wasn't even a joke. That was a simple observation." She remarked
"Well, joke or not, you had to stop yourself from smiling, so how about i teach you how to punch the bag without injuring yourself further?"
For the second time in what could only be in a couple of minutes, she looks at him like he had grown a second head. The silence stretched, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
"Why would you do that? You have no loyalty towards me, i'm not even in your squad, so why would you wanna train me?" She asked, confused.
"Well, because your knuckles look like it had been fighting with someone twice your size and age when in reality you been punching wrong at an inanimate object," He responded with another joke at her expense. He continues. "Furthermore, a win for one is a win for all surely, considering if we both make it out of here alive, we are coworkers if we end up at the same outpost."
"That's too many if's you are relaying on Aetos for me to actually buy into your logic," She replied, crossing her arms across her chest and wearing a deadpanned expression. But she let him show her how to train properly.
From that day onwards, they became friends. She helped him with physics, which he was surprisingly bad at, while he helped her with combat. Within 2 weeks, she would start considering him a friend, and he would admit he rather enjoy her company on that day while she's trying to help him understand the physics homework.
They crossed the gauntlet, and they were overjoyed. Then came presentation, and finally, threshing. They both bonded with dragons. Dain bonded to a Red Swordtail named Cath, while she bonded to a Blue Daggartail called Daliea.
At some point, she admitted to Dain that she was actually marked, and to her suprise, he actually hugged her, which was their first hug of many. He didn't seem mad or awkward.
"Wait, you're not angry?" She replied, confused. They were in her bedroom with books about physics open and spread out on the table. She was standing up by the table while Dain sat on the chair. She looked at him like he had grown a third head.
"Why do you always look at me like that? Of course, I'm not mad or whatever else you expected. " He laughed, twinkle in his eyes. Then he looked a bit more serious and looked her dead in the eyes "While I'm a bit hurt you didn’t tell me before hand, I completely understand, and it doesnt change who you are, you are still one of my closest friends I have here, marked or not"
By the end of his somewhat monologue, she knew she had made a dumb choice. She was falling for him, and he only viewed her as a friend. So she smiled at him, her smile reaching her eyes but wasn't genuine, she hugged him. He stood up to not strain her back with the akward height difference when he was sitting, and they stood there, just existing, hugging.
After a while her fellow squad mates started teasing her about her supposed boyfriend, even though she told them to stop multiple times, they continued and at some point she gave up correcting them, as they wouldn't listen anyways.
"Cmon, you can not tell me you guys are not at least sleeping together, i have seen him going into your room. How many times now?" Sawyer said jokingly. While he didn't get bonded this year, the squad still loved him and supported him. She shot Sawyer a look and continued eating breakfast. James spoke up "Stop being so stubborn, you can’t lie to us and tell us you don't have atleast feelings for the guy, honestly if I wasn’t straight I would also start catching feelings" She just rolled her eyes again but didn't stop eating her food.
She spoke up "No, we haven't slept together, we are simply close friends who help each other, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't cross the damn gauntlet and without me he would ve failing physics. No, James, I do not have feelings for Dain, so shoot your shoot with him. " Both boys started protesting, but she couldn’t care less, and she zoned out.
That's how the rest of the year went. Wake up, breakfast with her squad, formation, lessons, training with Dain, homework with Alice, another one of her squadmates, helping Dain with physics, sleep, repeat. She had found yer place at Basgaith, and as she was a first year she didnt get to close to the other marked ones, as she was the only one in her squad and she didn't go to the supply runs. The only other marked one she was close with was Bodhi, and honestly, she was the most vulnerable with him, as he could understand her the best.
Her dragon was also fun to be with, and while it was weird to have another voice in her head, she loved her dragon Daliea, she was like a fun older sister, one she never had.
So as second year started, she was happy. She was also made squad leader, which came with its own benefits. Everything was fine. Until she came into the picture.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you so much for reading part 1 of my Dain aetos X Reader fanfic. I'm planning only doing one more in this particular setting. Also, sawyer is in Readers squad because why the hell not. I hope you guys enjoyed my first fanfic ❤️
Wait, are periods a thing in the Empyrean series? Like I can barely do the dishes during my period and ur just telling me that these woman are fighting creatures from fucking hell during their periods?
I hate when I’m trying to sleep but then I start thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking
Guys, should I do a Dain Aetos x Marked!Reader fanfic. I'm like 1k words into one and I dont know if anyone would even want me to make one.
Title: You don't see me.
Dain Aetos x Marked!Reader
Synopsis: After training together in first year, they were close. But then 2nd year came around, and Violet entered the picture, and she became invisible.
So far, past tense, 3rd person, no use of YN, just a given surname.
My favorite thing that people routinely forget about Sawyer is how fucking SNARKY he is. Bro was scoring zingers on Luca and Tynan for the first third of FW. He argues with Sliseag and BARES HIS TEETH right back at his dragon when they disagree. The mouth on that man. I love him so much 😭
Before people get their spears and torches out and asking for my execution hear me out.
I dont hate Draco, Regulus, or Blaise. In fact, I wish blaise could be my husband (I love myself a spoiled broody man).
But for the love of god
Theodore isn't even in the movies and barely had a role in the books
And then dont get my started on Mattheo, Tom, and whoever the fuck Lorenzo is.
These men dont exist.
Where else in our fandom have we created completely non canon characters? In every other part of our fandom we obsess over characters that actually canonly exist.
And dont confuse me with those people who hate if a story isn't cannon, like no, give me fanon plot line any day. In my mind, the war never happened, and all characters lives.
But it's the way these characters came out of nowhere, we gave them vauge backgrounds that doesnt even make sense (like sometimes all these characters live at the same time, but if tom and mattheo are the same age mattheo shouldn't even be alive because tom is his dad?)
Then it's the awful mischaractisation of the canon characters. Blaise isn't outspoken or flirty, infact he is so damn indifferent he didn't even pick a side during the damn war. Draco is a spoiled piece of shit, not a guy with mommy and daddy issues because his parents loved and adored him (bad people, amazing parents) Theodore was literally just a background character with no lines in the book and literally a background character played him in 1 or 2 movies who also said nothing but being dracos little minion. And then there's literally no mention of crabbe and goyle, like they just been replaced my theo and blaise. Like ik we dont partially care about them, but literally we are making new characters and killing off the old ones so we can live in this lala land where all the boys fall inlove with Y/N and they are all hot.
This is not meant to diss the slytherin boys fanclub because some of yall are honestly insane and I would rather not have my address and my perrsonnumner on the Internet. Honestly, im just ranting because that's what tumblr is for.
But there's something I can not forgive the slytherin boys creators for.
This is particular for tiktok, but for the love of god why do you include all these characters that was made up and not even part of the story but you can't include fucking blaise? I see you, I want you to be aware, I see you. Like the post is the most filthy thing on tiktok, but you couldn't even make up a scenario for blaise. And if blaise is included, it's not with his actor Louis Cordice, no no no, he has been replaced by something light-skinned pintrest picture. LIKE SAY YOU HATE DARKSKINNED MEN WITHOUT SAYING YOU DO. This is particular to the creators that do this. there is no hate to the creators that actually make scenarios for blaise with his actual actor.
Tldr: The slytherin boys are not characters from HP, they are OC's (quite literally for some of these characters, and draco, blaise, and regulus might aswell be OC's with the name of the characters plasted on them), No hate to these creators or people that enjoy this type of content, just a personal hatred for it. And before someone says, "Just dont consume this type of content." Thank you, I dont anyways, but I can't seem to avoid the shit.
Because I feel like this is a safe space, imma admit something.
I would pick Azriel over Rhysand.
I will not give further information.
Actually...
Yeah I just have a thing for quiet guys, slow burn, protective, and emotionally intelligent (rhysand isn't quiet, and he and Ferye would be mated within the first book if he had his way, so deffo not slow burn).
look i love Xaden and Violet, and they’re soulmates and i take no criticism on them
BUT ALSO
Dain wasn’t crazy for being concerned. he was a 21-year-old who saw his best friend stop talking to him and get in a relationship with an older guy who wanted her dead months ago, and was directly above her in a military chain of command
xaden and violet are perfect but he was honestly maybe the only sane one for being concerned
I will never understand the Dain hate. In fact, it is in my very sane and rational opinion that Dain is the only person who is actually sane in FW. Like how yall hating on him when he has very valid reasons for not wanting Vi to be in the riders quadrant and running to the scribes.
Like think about it.
Imagine you have been best friends with this 5'2, chronically ill, nerd girl you have a fat crush on, and all her damn life she wanted to be just like her dad.
Then after a year of not seeing or hearing from her, you see her in the riders quadrant, WHERE CADETS DIE LEFT RIGHT AND CENTRE, after thinking 'yeah, i will never have to worry about her safety, I will just go and see her after the exam because im a second year now and squad leader so who is going to say shit if I wanna go to the archives' just for her to be like 'HI DAIN IM HEREEE.'
Like his crash out was so damn valid, infact I would just pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, not hear her out, take her to the scribes, explain the situation to the nearest person with authority, and be like 'hi, clearly my dear friend here is confused, shes supposed to be here, dont listen to her just take here and leave her there.
Was he a tiny bit controlling? Yes. Was he a snitch and went running to daddy dearest? Also yes. Is he part of the reason my man Liam is died? Also yes.
But he is also basically her older brother and looked after her his entire life, he was 21 and trusted his dad and all he wanted was his dad's approval, love and respect (bro deffo had daddy issues, which i also would have if that piece of shit was my dad), and his signet is memory reading, not farsight, he had no clue Liam and that other girl would die so the fault isn't entirely on him.
Then my poor hubby was basically hated for the entirety of IF, even thought he tried to apologise. Then after running to aretia with the rest of the gang and returned he was fucking DISOWNED by his dad infront of the ENTIRE quadrant in a battle brief class where all 3 years where. Imagine getting disowned infront of the entire college, infront of friends and foes alike in OS. MY GUY COULDNT CATCH A DAMN MOMENT TO HIMSELF. Honestly that would have been my villain origin story.
Long story short, I would give this man the world and more if he asked. Free Dain from the narrative.
stormborns
prguitarman
areudirty
blakekathryn
vaporwave
gamechangershow
