i made a wlw version of The Selection
For all of you touch starved gays out there, I came prepared!! If you are in teh market for:
a) wlw romances
b) wlw romances
c) wlw slightly cottagecore romances involving princesses and mild references to the l word
boy do i have the story for you. I’ve put it under the break so you can read here if you want. but it’s also on AO3 https://archiveofourown.org/works/23904733
so knock yourself out. this is what an intp does with too much spare time. i’m literally rewriting the whole book. so. yeah
Jen Carpenter was building an overly elaborate birdhouse in her basement woodshop when the telephone rang. Its high-pitched wobble echoed across the scuffed linoleum and wooden paneled staircase until her mother answered the line.
“Carpenter and Son, how may I help you?” She said. Jen sang a showtune while she worked, cutting a hole into a thin plank of wood. She was in the middle of making a bright pink birdhouse for a Two’s spoiled daughter. Jen was instructed to bedazzle the front, but she figured she would take some creative liberty and make it look a little less disgusting, even though as a Five, she should have been answering to them. She was in the middle of nailing the cut and sanded pieces together when her mother came, practically rolling, down the stairs. “Jen, that was the royal court who just called…” Sandra said in an annoying voice. “They mentioned we have a daughter between the ages of seventeen and twenty in our household… you know what that means—” Jen cut her off quickly, knowing where the conversation was going.
“I’m not going to audition for The Selection, Mom. Get over it. I’m perfectly happy with my work here!” Jen loved her woodshop, but there were other reasons why she didn’t want to test her luck with the Princess. One of them being her true love waiting for her every night in the treehouse in the woods, where she met up with Vivienne most nights. Vivienne was another Five, born to a family of well-respected maids. Their families were close enough that they knew each other growing up, and fell in love almost instantly. Since they were both thirteen, they’ve been sneaking up to the treehouse (built with care by Jen one year) to exchange snacks and gifts and hopes for the future when they will finally leave their parents for something new. They had to keep their relationship a secret, or else their parents would forbid them from seeing each other. They fantasized about going to New Asia, where Vivienne could finally meet her colonial ancestors—but they wouldn’t be able to follow through with their future plans if Jen was married away to Princess Shane! Vivienne wasn’t able to audition—her parents didn’t have enough money to pay the audition fee—but Sandra was determined to get her daughter into the competition. Jen was a beautiful singer, but wasn’t quite ready to share her talent with the world.
“You know how much the money would help us, Jen. I can open the bakery I’ve always wanted, your father could expand the business with Joe, it could all be so amazing. Just audition for me. Please? You’re so talented…” Sandra cooed, already living vicariously through Jen even though she hadn’t even been Selected yet.
She would decide what to do about it all later. Princess Shane was gorgeous. She wouldn’t hate being with her… realistically, every citizen under the age of thirty probably had a crush on the princess. But, she had already met her true love, and was not ready to give that up. And, either way, she wouldn’t even be selected anyway. Being able to carry a tune didn’t make her the most attractive in all of District 4. Jen sighed and resumed construction on the birdhouse, lost in a daydream thinking about tomorrow’s possibilities. Before she could get into the groove of her work, though, her sister Chloe came bounding down the staircase with stomps belonging to an ogre. Bright orange pigtails (violently contrasting the basic dark-brown hair of the rest of her family…) trailed behind her as she very nearly fell onto the basement floor.
“Please audition, Jen! You and Shane would look so pretty together!” She practically screamed, looking at Sandra for approval. Jen couldn’t believe her mother had brought Chloe into this. Every ten-year-old in the People’s Republic was obsessed with Princess Shane, that was not fair. There were probably more Princess Shane figurines in circulation than dollar bills. Jen conceded, though, because she’d do anything to make her sister happy. Even if she happened to be the devil incarnate with that red hair.
“Alright, I’ll think about it. Now move,” she guided them towards the staircase with her callused hands on their backs, “I won’t be able to finish this by Sunday with you hovering,” Jen said. Her mother and sister turned up the stairs, giddily discussing what dress to have Jen wear to the auditions. The People’s Republic had strict laws on what is wearable in public, so she didn’t have many options either way. Too much glitter is seen as a public nuisance, and short skirts are seen as too tempting for the guards that patrol the streets every day. If only they were still America, Jen thought to herself, recalling history lessons from her mother as a child. Two centuries before, after the Great Eurasian War, The United States was absorbed by China and turned into the People’s Republic. But, because there was a literal ocean between the two land masses, the United States had an easy time overthrowing Chairman Mao V6, Eurasian Emperor. Now, nearly 170 years later, Jen can now call herself a People’s Republican. All thanks to Marsia Washington, the woman who led the revolution against Eurasia. At least, that’s what she learned in history classes at school. Her dad didn’t seem to like the curriculum, but Jen assumed that was because he was taught differently fifty years before. Once Chloe and Sandra’s gossip faded away into distant squealing overhead, Jen was finally able to start lacquering the birdhouse, omitting those godawful rhinestones.
#
By nightfall, dinner was already on the table. Not much construction work was requested in the winter, so the meal was meager: stale turkey leftover from Thanksgiving with rice, and toaster strudels for dessert. Jen’s stomach groaned at the table, as forks and knifes clashed together. Through a full mouth, her little brother Max talked about his day at the junkyard with their father. Chloe and Jen’s mother discussed the latest plans for the business, and Jen stared out the window into the city lights visible just across the pier. She lost herself in the dazzling billboards and buildings, before the television set knocked her back into reality.
“Selection auditions are tomorrow! How exciting! Hello, girls!” The news was on, and the most obnoxious reporter was covering the night’s program from District 2. She dragged some unsuspecting teenagers from the streets into the limelight by the forearms, “Are any of you planning on trying your luck at Princess Shane’s hand?” Most girls out of the group said they would, gushing about how exciting it was to get a chance to be with the Princess. Sandra glanced towards Jen expectantly, gently nudging her with a pointy elbow. Promptly ignoring her mother, Jen turned back to face the table.
“We found a lovely dress for you. It’s pink tulle, and Vivienne’s mother said she’ll tailor it so it’s not dragging behind you. It was my dress back in the day,” Sandra said, staring wistfully into nothing, reliving her glory days. Jen nodded along passively, eyes focused on finishing the last few bites of toaster strudel on her plate.
“Don’t do too much, Mom. I don’t even know if I’ll get picked! Let alone if I’ll even audition…” Sandra and Chole both whined at the same time, Max chatting with their father, ignoring the Selection talk. Jen thought of Vivienne, seeing her mother work on the dress she would wear for Princess Shane. She couldn’t do that to Vivienne. “You know, I’m feeling really full,” Jen said, slyly brushing some turkey and rice from her plate into a bowl under the table. “May I excuse myself?”
“Alright, but get to sleep early. You want to be fresh-faced for your audition!” Jen nodded quickly, and headed to her room. Her family had lived here her whole life, so nothing changed except a new bed and desk over the years. There was a dirty mirror in the corner, a permanently unmade bed by the window, and a tragically stained once-white carpet covering the floor. Shutting the door, she uncovered the food she was able to sneak away from the table. It was not a full meal, but would be enough to keep Vivienne going for a while. She shoved the leftovers in a bag and then that bag into a backpack, slinging the familiar, worn fabric over her toned shoulders. Vivienne was always looking out for her siblings, even if it meant skipping meals so they could eat. Bringing her extras was the least Jen could do, considering all the kind things Vivienne has done for her.
She turned to the mirror, trying in vain to look semi-presentable. Her shoulder-length curly hair was limp and dry, and her face looked dull and sunken. She was wearing a dark grey tunic and maxi skirt—optimal for mobilization and constant airflow but reminiscent of a potato sack. After doing her best to smooth out the wrinkles with her hands, she hiked up her skirt and bounded out the window.
