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perfervvidus · 1 year

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* 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐄𝐍 ━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄.

last update : 09/11.

nb : things here are up to changing once i plot more.

𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

for most of the evening, aerea spent in apparent undisturbed bliss. she danced, she drinked, she laughed — as one of the few truly content for the wedding, she tried not to let anything be soured.

aerea was with aster by the time the chaos began; they parted with a kiss, and mutual compromise to go towards their family, with aster’s promise to go to their nephew and niece on the nursery.

she first found rhaegar, and while they were both inclined to go to the dragonpit, they were told the king and their sibling, vasila, was already on it. believing the king would have sent the queen to safety, aerea convinced rhaegar of that, and the duo went to search for daemon.

before going to dragonstone, she met up with aegon, who told her of aster and vasila’s injury. despite begging her brother to stay with the rest of the family in dragonstone, aegon had his own family to think of, and they both parted with teary eyes. aerea, then, holds a resentment she promised to last, as she had wished for the family to stay united in their grief, and there was never any thought of going anywhere but dragonstone for her.

aerea, rhaegar and daemon stayed at dragonstone with the rogare family, and were most likely together when the news of the queen’s death was announced. the night was extremely traumatic to aerea, who had lost her home and her mother, and she most likely spent the week running on fury and sorrow.

by choosing dragonstone, aerea does not pick between brothers — but sees it as the most obvious, closest safe haven while their true home is gone, however that does not diminish the fact that she has picked a side, and will most likely not stray from it.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘𝐍

for the week the royal family remained around the crownlands, aerea tried to distract herself. without two of her ladies, she felt even more despondent; of cerenna’s injuries she would hear a day or two at most after the wedding, but emmelyne was too entranced by her husband - to - be, enough so to forget of her, so it was only by the storm’s end’s maester’s quill that the princess would hear of her cousin’s sign of life, which did little to restrain her anger and sadness.

so she focused on her remaining company ( the rogare, her brothers, her cousin aelinor ) and she wrote letters to her friends to check on them ( not emmelyne, whom she decided to ignore ), and was mostly kept out of the meetings and decision that lead to the attack to the vale. she did believe their wrath was righteous, that the arryn deserved what was coming for them, but she was not allowed to partake in the takeover, instead staying in dragonstone with shaera and the rogare until they were summoned to the vale for the funeral.

the arrival to the vale was more traumatic than cathartic, but she had no time nor thought to mourn for treacherous strangers when she was instead more worried about her siblings. she listened to rhaegar’s tale of the story, made sure daemon didn’t skip his meals, tried to hug dad once or twice, helped nursing vasila and talked things over with aegon. the horrors were too much for the family to stay distant, so they made up then, though aerea did tell him she’d still stay with daemon on dragonstone.

during the funeral, she helped holding vasila up, and during the week they stayed on the not destroyed parts of the old arryn stronghold, she paid extra attention to her sibling, apologizing for elaena. once the king dismissed them, she returned to dragonstone with rhaegar and daemon, giving teary goodbyes to the kin who would return to summerhall.

𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏 𝐎𝐍𝐄

aerea has no sentiment towards the ironborn, nor the kraken disaster. may have giggled about it with larra rogare, actually.

if anything, she’s too busy with her own issues, focusing on the crownlands. she sends weekly ravens to father ( who goes unanswered, but that’s nothing uncommon ), keeps rhae in arm’s length, and advises pesters daemon to focus on the rebuilding of the crownlands, to be a frequent presence, viewed as someone doing good rather than a destructor.

while elaena has free rein around dragonstone, aerea warns the she - dragon not to stray any further, and if the princess is to go anywhere else, her dragon — who has teasingly been dubbed the pink dread, a nickname that may have spread across the small folk in a not so friendly tone — is to remain in sight ( aerea does not tell anyone that she’s scared the anti targaryen sentiment will end up hurting elaena, who is not so innocent, but is still one of her dearest companions ).

𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏 𝐓𝐖𝐎

emmelyne and aerea meet in dragonstone when emmelyne comes to claim her dowry rights. it does not go well, and aerea, despite finding the taxing a bit severe, sides with her father, notoriously saying that if the baratheon boy loved emmelyne so, then he would have her even a pauper.

𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐏 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

aerea continues writing to her friend across westeros, finding that, despite her own distaste for it, she has developed a habit of writing her own letters, as they do bring her joy during such bleak moments. she gets information from the westerlands mostly from cerenna lannister, whom does not return to her service due to her own rest and the unrest around the westerlands.

besides improving her penship, aerea continues focusing on her siblings. previously the one with the most penchant for ignoring and jumping out of responsibilities, she has been working hard on standing by the crownlands and overseeing the rebuild of the red keep, checking on rhaegar ( even calling his paramour, addisyn to dragonstone as if they came for her ) and hoping her sister in law, shaera, can soon grace the gloomy keep ( despite aerea and the rogare’s best efforts to brighten it up ) with children running around — aerea may be opposite for having one of her own, but she believes an heir could give them all more stability.

around two months ago, aerea and rhaegar traveled to storm’s end for emmelyne celtigar and stefan baratheon’s wedding. despite still being upset about her cousin abandoning her ( in aerea’s acerbic words ), she could not miss the ceremony ( and her gift to the bride and groom would be an expensive one too ), though she does not remain for much longer on the stormlands, and instead makes her way to summerhall. there, she finally meets a very pregnant alerie, and reunites with her siblings, some of whom she had not seen in a few moons. by the end of the moon, she also reencounters aster tyrell, for the first time since the night of the red keep destruction. aerea finds herself smiling way easier around her tyrells, despite the faint awkwardness of being apart for so long, when they have all considerably changed.

𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐈𝐈

aerea is not truly happy to be in the vale — new valyria, she speaks between her teeth, with a practiced smile — for her memories of it are bad ones, and she hates the cold, and none of the compliments she spews about the renovations seem sincere, even when she tries to make them convincing. she is beyond uncomfortable, and while she was content and careless in hosting visitors before, when she believed them unable to do anything to harm their own, now she is more guarded, anxious, and her tongue most likely sharper.

she thinks lucerys should focus on their actual home, the red keep, and finds herself more grumbly and displeased about her father than she has ever been — even more so than when she was sent like a commodity to the haen in lys. still, she loves lucerys, and wants so badly to be loved back, to have him recognize her efforts in improving their true home and the reputation of their house; it is her name day soon enough, and she wants little else but to be able to return to normalcy, even if she has to swallow the poison in her mouth and smile until it hurts, a ghost of what she used to be before first encountering misery.

#murder tw #death tw #funeral tw #familial death tw #fire tw #⧼ update ⧽ — 𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐄𝐍.#this took...forever :catlying:

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pitchsidestories · 2 months

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Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself II Laia Codina x Reader

masterlist I word count: 2161

A/N: based of this request. Let us know what you think.

Like every week, Jonas Eidevall announced his starting line up for the upcoming game a few days before the weekend. And like most weeks, Laia Codina was not in it. Usually she would accept this with a brave face but this time, she left the room right after the announcement. Shocked, you watched your girlfriend go; “Laia…“

You were about to get up as well but Jen Beattie held you back from following her; “Let her.“ “It’s really not easy for her, Jen.“, you explained helplessly. The rest of the Arsenal players had already fallen back into their usual routine of small talk. The Scot nodded empathetically; “It’s never easy to sit on the bench.“ “Very true.“, Lia Wälti agreed.

“Leave her alone for a moment.“, Jen instructed you gently. “Right… I don’t want to annoy her.“, you nodded slowly. “She always puts on a brave face and supports the other players. I know she expected something else when she moved her.“, the Scot continued.

“Especially coming from the World Cup as a Champions… it’s tough.“, you added. You and Laia had talked about it a lot recently. “We all understand that, trust me.“, Jen smiled softly.

Victoria Pelova chimed in; “Yes, we get that.“ “Thanks girls.“, you forced yourself to smile at your team mates. Kim Little who sat next to Jen got up; “I’ll go look after her.“ You thanked your captain with a grateful nod.

Laia sat on the steps outside. She looked up in surprise as Kim approached her; “Kim hi.“ “Are you okay?“, the captain asked, sitting down beside her. “Yes, I’m good.“, the Spanish defender replied, no very convincingly.

But she could not fool her captain. “It’s tough, right?“ “A bit.“, Laia finally admitted, her gaze directed down at her toes. With confidence, Kim replied; “You’ll get your time. Trust me.“ “Are you sure about this?“ Laias voice was filled with insecurity. The captain nodded; “I am. I see how hard you work.“ “That’s what she says too…“, the defender said.

When she looked up, she caught Kim smiling briefly; “Maybe she’s got a point.“ “Yes, but you know as my girlfriend she needs to say stuff like this.“, Laia returned the smile. Kim raised her eyebrows at her team mate; “Yes, but as your captain I’m saying that stuff because it’s true.“

“Appreciate it.“, Laia laughed lightly. Kim bumped her elbow against Laias; “Are you ready to go back inside?“ “I am.“, she confirmed while getting up and pulling the Scot up with her. “Let’s go then. We still need you for the game.“

Meanwhile Steph Catly was putting an arm around your shoulder:” And you stop feeling bad because you’re in the starting line and she isn’t.” “I don’t.”, you muttered. Slowly Beth Mead shook her head:” Yeah, you’re.”

“Maybe a little bit.”, you admitted blushing. Laughing Katie McCabe padded your back and suggested:” Don’t. Don’t blame yourself, blame Jonas.” “Katie.”, Vivianne Miedema rolled her eyes at her friend. Cheekily the Irish player threw her hands up:” What? As long as it works, and she feels better.” “I can confirm it helps.”, you told her with a crooked smile on your lips.

Triumphantly Katie turned around to the Dutch forward:” See!” “Girls, do you want to grab a coffee and we get Myle?”, Vivianne changed the topic quickly to something more light-hearted.

With that said the owner of Win brought in the puppy she and her girlfriend got which made Beth squeal out loud in delight:”Myle!” “Hello little one.”, you whispered in awe, cuddling the little dog when he approached you and started licking your face. Happily, the blonde dog mum declared: “He says hi too.”

“Such a good boy. Laia, can we get one too?”, you asked your girlfriend as she was re-entering the room. Quickly Victoria responded, pouting:”No, I’ll get a dog before that.”

“I didn’t know we couldn’t get one if you get one.”, the Spanish defender answered entertained by her reaction. Trying to calm down your teammate you offered her:” Vicky, we could look together at dogs, what do you think about that.” “No, thanks.”, she waved it off.

Motivated Vivianne clapped into her hands:” Let’s go to the coffeeshop, shall we?” “Please, Myle needs a puppycino.”, her girlfriend nodded excited. “And I need a human cappuccino before we cook later with Aitana and Keira via facetime.”, you added grinning.

Innocently Alessia was looking at the brunette:” Sounds delicious, Laia are we invited too?” “For the cooking or the dinner?”, Laia wanted to know.

The face of the English player turned slightly pink:” Actually, more for the dinner.” “I knew you’d say that.”, your girlfriend replied smiling. Cheekily Victoria asked her:” Does this mean we can come later?” “Fine.”, Laia sighed in defeat. But you knew she loved having her new teammates over for dinner.

After you had your little coffee catch up with the Arsenal girls you two started cooking in your new appartement. Amused Aitana looked at you both through your phone screen:” So you want to get a puppy? I need to tell that Mapi, she will love it. Remember she always said you’re the epitome of puppy love when we were younger!”

“Oh, stop it. We’ll never hear the end of it.”, Laia begged the Spanish midfielder giggling.Laughing, you agreed; “Yeah, please. We want to visit Barcelona in peace.“

Keiras face lightened up in surprise and she shared a look with Aitana; “You’re going to visit?“ “Soon, yes.“, you replied. “Can’t wait.“, Aitana smiled happily into the phone camera. “We neither.“, Laia answered while watching Keira stirred their food with a wrinkled nose.

“We need to cook faster. I’m starving.“, she complained. With a gaze to your kitchen clock, you agreed; “Oh yeah, we should hurry up.

The Arsenal girls will be here soon.“ “You invited your team to our BFF night?“, Keira asked, more amused than offended. Laia shrugged in response; “You know how Alessia can do puppy eyes, right? We had no chance.“

“Rude.“, the English midfielder laughed lightly. Her midfield partner at Barcelona agreed; “Honestly, we’re your friends too!“ “We know that.“, Laia rolled her eyes with fondness. “That’s why we’ll see you again soon.“, you added.

“Maybe.“, Laia followed up. Keira repeated; “Maybe?“ “Yeah?“ Before they could start a discussion about your vacation to Barcelona, you changed the topic; “Aitana, how’s your dinner looking?“

“Delicious. Here, look.“ The phone was lifted and the camera flipped so you could see their delicious looking Spanish dish. “Looks amazing.“, you commented.

With a small smile, Keira challenged you; “Bet yours doesn’t look as good.“ You had to suppress a smile, thinking back about how shy and awkward Keira was when had first met her.

Laia in the meantime took her phone to show your friends the large simmering pot that sat on your stove: “Lies. Look at that beauty.“ “That’s a whole lot of food.“, Keira stated, seemingly impressed. “Well, a lot of girls want to join dinner and they’re footballers so that means they’ll be hungry.“, you explained, carefully tasting the hot food. “I see.“

As soon as you were done cooking, Keira and Aitana ended the video call to enjoy their dinner in Barcelona while you in London hosted your team mates. As always when you spent time with them, the evening was filled with laughter and good cheer. You didn’t even notice how quickly time had passed until all your guests had left.

It was around midnight when Laia and you started doing the dishes. “They couldn’t get enough of that dinner, Laia.“, you stated contently. Still elated from the dinner, your girlfriend smiled; “I’ll tell Aitana and Keira that they loved their recipe.“ “You should.“

“They’ll be happy.“, Laia concluded with a laugh. You both silently focused on cleaning for a moment but a thought still whirred in your brain; “Laia, are you happy here?“ The defender paused, wiping her hands on a tea towel before answering; “I am… Why?“

You shrugged; “I was just thinking about your reaction earlier when Jonas made it clear that you’re not in the starting line up… I was worried you might regret joining me at Arsenal.“ “I don’t regret it.“, Laia replied quickly. You could see that there was more going on so you prompted her to continue; “But?“

“I was expecting to get more game time after the World cup.”, the brunette explained, her voice couldn’t conceal her disappointment. Softly you promised her: “Trust me, your time to shine will come.” “Hopefully.”, she whispered, her shoulders shrinking.

Saddened by her body language you pulled her into a hug:” Laia, don’t be so hard on yourself.” “I’ll just try to become better.”, Laia told you with a weak smile on her lips. More hopeful the defender added:” I feel like I can do it.” “I know you can.”, you tried to cheer her up.

Gratefully she pressed a kiss on your forehead, mumbling against your skin:” Thanks love.” “You’re welcome.”, you replied sincerely. The Spanish woman decided after your embrace:” Let’s go to bed. Tomorrow is training.” You swiftly followed her to your bedroom; the promise of better days was in the air.

It seemed like the effort Laia put into her training paid off because Jonas put her up in the starting line against Reading at the end of January. On match day Vivianne hummed:” Look at you, you’re so proud of your girlfriend.”

“Oh, shut up, Viv.”, you playfully elbowed her. The Dutch forward kept teasing you: “What? It’s true.” “Yes, okay, you’re right, I’m really happy for her.”, you admitted proudly grinning into your girlfriend’s direction who was just getting ready for the match in your team’s locker room.

Amused Vivianne looked at you:” Told you.” “So cute.”, Beth tuned in with an equally wide smile. Your teammates making you groan out loud: “Not you too.” “What?”, the English blonde answered innocently.

Meanwhile Jonas announced cheerfully: “Girl’s time to go off on that pitch and play.” “Thank god.”, you muttered relieved before turning to Laia, whispering into her ear, good luck, love.” The defender kissed your cheek: “Thank you, mi amor.”

In the second half the Spanish player did score, Victoria exclaimed happily:” Nice goal, Laia!” “Thanks.”, Laia answered blushing. Beaming Jen Beattie padded her shoulders:” Welcome to the Arsenal.” “Thanks.”, she chuckled.

Eyerolling the Dutch midfielder turned to the Scottish player:” She’s been here for half a year, Jen!” “She didn’t score yet though.”, Jen defended herself. Curious Laia glanced at the older woman:” Is that the moment when you become a real gooner?” “Yes.”, the Scottish player nodded delighted.

For a moment you embraced her: “Congrats.” “Thank you.”, your girlfriend said, cheeks turning redder after your hug. Clearing her throat Beth reminded you all:” We got to go back to work, girls.” “Exactly.”, Kim agreed.

After the match you and Leah walked into the locker room together:” Lee, your assist was great.” “Thanks. Feels good to be back.”, the blonde confessed smiling.

Like every professional player you knew what a big moment it was so you added: “I can imagine.” “It was perfect.”, Beths eyes sparkled fondly while thinking of her goal. Teasing you glanced at her:” Yeah, pretty decent goal, Beffy.” “Decent?!”, the goal scorer repeated playfully hurt.

Jen interrupted you, a guitar in hand. “Guys, listen.“, she called, playing the first chords. Kim gave her an unimpressed look; “What are you doing?“ “It’s something we worked on, right Jen?“, Leah responded, sitting down next to Jen and started singing. Rolling her eyes, Kim shook her head about her team mates while Laia held her hand out towards you.

You took it and let her pull you in to slow dance to the song. Smiling, you looked at each other until Katie shouted; “Disgusting cute couple!“ “I agree.“, Kim mumbled. “Oh, you two let them breathe.“, Caitlin rolled her eyes. Jen nodded: “Yeah, let them have fun.“

Laughing, Caitlin slapped Katie on her upper arm; “Also you could just ask me to dance with you, Katie.“ The Irish player grimaced immediately; “Ew, no.“ “Ignore them, Laia.“, you smiled, your eyes locked with hers. “But…“, she started. “Hm?“ “Doesn’t matter.“ “Okay.“ “Let’s enjoy this.“, Laia stated, continuing to sway with her hands on your hips. “Alright.“, you nodded.

She let her forehead rest against yours; “That was a great game.“ “Agreed.“, you smiled, genuinely happy for your girlfriend. “It feels like the hard work finally paid off.“ Carefully, you caressed her cheek with one hand; “You definitely deserved it.“ “Thank you.“ Jens voice snapped you two out of your moment; “Girls? Everyone left already.“

You hadn’t even realized that the music had stopped playing. “We’re coming.“, you called as Jen left the dressing room as well. Laia took her football bag; “Yes, on our way.“ On your way out, you took your girlfriends hand and pressed a quick kiss to her lips; “Certainly a day to remember.“

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