origin stories by acchikocchi (G)

[shana0809.livejournal.com]

Fandom: FOOTBALL RPF
Pairing: None; Zaida Villa
Length: 5476
Author on LJ:acchikocchi
Author Website: acchikocchi
Why this must be read: This rec is different from all the others I've done this month. First of all, it's future fic, and secondly it's about women's football. It really does an excellent job to highlight the differences between men's and women's football in perception, funding, and how the game is treated. Zaida is alive, and she's so much like her father is on the pitch now, that it's something that it's almost as if the future is unfolding before your eyes. The style is beautiful. It's not exactly lyrical, but it's still beautiful, and it does a masterful job of dragging you into the piece. Thanks to slyreflection for introducing me to this!

She holds her breath, waiting.

"We should talk about this later," he says. "Not after a defeat."

Suddenly she's so furious she can barely see straight.

"Sorry we're not the men's team," she bites out, voice nearly shaking. "Sorry we don't win everything."

Her father looks at her blankly, like he has no idea what she's talking about, which only makes her angrier. His brows go down. "You should never make big decisions after a loss," he says. "Listen, I know what--"

She cuts in. "Since when?"

She sees him start to answer and then clamp down on his own reply. "We'll talk about this later," he repeats. "If this is really what you need to -- we'll talk about it."

She can't even explain why she's so angry, so frustrated, only that it's stinging, choking her throat, bringing tears to her eyes. She can't hit anything, she can't yell, she can't speak. "Stop -- stop -- " He reaches out, and she jerks away. "Stop coddling me!"

"No one's coddling you," her father says harshly, his voice rising at last. "Like it or not, you're my daughter and there is no f -- no way I'm -- "

She hears her own voice snap, "I never asked to be!"

Her father recoils and for a desperate second she thinks no, no, I take it back. Then his face hardens and so does her resentment.

"You can't always get what you want," he says. "Better get used to it."

origin stories