* / 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛

『 lana condor, twenty-three, cis woman, she/her. 』 can you believe it’s a new season of sweethearts? i’m rooting for daphne “duckie” pham. they’re the surfer from newcastle, nsw, australia. back home, they’re often described as +whimsical and +adventurous, which i guess i could get behind. their -impulsive and -irresponsible side makes great television, though. you know, they kind of remind me of twirling around with your arms in the air, always finding a silver lining, & the scent of saltwater & bonfires. i wonder who their match is. i guess i’ll have to tune in to mtv to find out.

if duckie thought the excitement elicited by just existing in the cabin was intense, she had another thing coming when she and deja were voted into the two of hearts booth. for all the courage and the adventurer’s heart that directed duckie’s decisions, her pulse was racing. the only thing that saved her poor heartbeat was knowing that she wasn’t in it alone. when the ceremony started and she and deja sat down in the booth, duckie could already feel the anticipation in the air, but focusing on deja made everything a little easier. 

“well, this is a little nerve-wracking, isn’t it?” she joked, looking around the ceremony room as she felt herself start to open up past the anxiety. her gaze dipped from deja’s eyes to her hand, and she outstretched her own to reach for it. “i’m just glad we’re doing this together,” she said, nothing but honesty. after all, it was no secret that she chose deja to put her faith in this week. before the impulse could be pushed down, she pressed a kiss to the back of deja’s hand. “you ready?”

▻  EVENT 001: THE PINK PARTY

Deja didn’t have a type. How could she when she barely had time for dates, and when she could figure one out, her secret was like a frog in her throat the entire time? She thought it was better this way, though, going into life and the show completely open to her options. Not that she only saw the fellow contestants as options.

However, to put it simply, Duckie was a great choice for the first week. Their personalities were compatible. It didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous too. “Disappointed? As if. I’d be excited. I feel like we’re on the same level, you know, we’re both really high energy, and you’re really, really pretty.” She looked back at Duckie with the same smile still on her face. “I always notice you when we’re in the same room, you know.”

♡

It was getting a little late, the evening was already getting on, but the lights along the path to the hot springs made the snow glisten as they walked. This place still felt like a wonderland, so completely different from where Duckie had grown up. This whole thing was a first; a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was the perfect background for such a daunting adventure.

Her eyebrow raised when her brain processed learning that Deja would be okay if they were one of the perfect matched, giving away how relieved she was to hear that. “Yeah? High energy, I’ll take that,” she teased, knowing she’d remember the whole compliment, especially the part that came next. It was one she hadn’t heard before and it seemed to come from a genuine place. “How’d you get so sweet, huh?” she asked, bumping her hip against Deja’s again. “I know people like it more when they do the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing, but I’m not stuck on that. I just like your energy. I kinda... hope we’re a perfect match.”

when yuna falls, it almost feels like slow-motion, especially when she watches as duckie’s expression changes from excitement to pure surprise as she hits the floor. despite the impact, she’s giggling, amused that she get an expression out of someone like that so soon. “so smooth!” she repeats in a half-wheeze as she grabs duckie’s hand and hoists herself on her feet, leaving her luggage on the floor in the meantime. “that definitely was not the entrance i was expecting, but maybe it was meant to be since i get to meet you.” yuna takes a moment to glance at duckie up and down, slightly flushing at how pretty she looked. “i don’t think i need a bandaid since cushioned my fall, but i could never say no to a drink and a hug!” yuna holds her hands out with a smile, inviting the other into her arms.

it would be a while before duckie got over ‘since i get to meet you’, the suaveness putting her heartbeat in triple time. yuna was already living up to duckie’s compliment, which made the aussie fan herself as soon as she let go of yuna from where they were connected after she’d helped yuna up. “give a girl a chance,” she teased, but she was in yuna’s arms in an instant, excitedly swaying from side to side. “i can already tell this is going to be a wild time, they won’t know what him ‘em!” and that was the truth. duckie had imagined being on the show to be like going to summer camp, forgetting that there would be cutthroat betrayals and drama. this felt a little more like what duckie had hoped for. “champagne? yes, no?” she asked when she pulled away.

up until this point, lucia was at her two-bedroom house on whittier boulevard, just waiting for the call that they were flying her out. five days after the game had already started, she finally got that faded call. for the next two days, she was on back-to-back flights, just waiting until she touched down in fairbanks. she heard that three or four contestants already left, so she wasn’t sure how friendly the rest of them would be to newcomers, but as she inched closer to the house, all she could do is hope for the best. maybe being herself was the best option. opening the door and loudly shutting it behind her, she decided to surprise the houseguests with her arrival. “ it’s luci !! i’m home !! “ she exclaimed in the lobby with a smile, waiting for the houseguests to react.

duckie was talking to one of the girls on a sofa in the lobby when she heard the door opening. the surprise of it made her stop right in the middle of a sentence and wave her hands in front of her, as if that explained why she’d just stopped. “mi amor!” she called out, immediately thinking back to the million and one episodes of i love lucy she’d watched with her mom growing up. she scrambled off of the couch and came up to greet the new person face to face, going in for a hug to welcome her into the group atmosphere – at least the atmosphere duckie had experienced. “oh my god, it’s so exciting when that door opens and another rad cutie comes through. i’m duckie!” she said as she pulled back, giving her a thousand watt smile like it was nothing. “now that’s a reason to celebrate!” she added, going for the bar to grab a bottle of something bubbly. “what’s your drink, luci?” she called over.

▻  task 001: first impressions

“is it going? right, right.” duckie has to laugh at herself and her obvious inexperience with television. if she thinks about it for more than a second, she’ll realize she did the same exact thing the last time she’d been interviewed after a big wave, and that had been live. “alright, then! hello! my name’s daphne pham, but i don’t think anybody’s really called me that since primary school. you can call me duckie! i’m twenty-three years old, born the eighth of august, 1998. that’s a fun little fact about me, i guess. wow, i’m a lot more nervous than i thought i’d be.

The only thing Deja knew going into the ceremony was that someone was going to pick her. Unfortunately, all the uncertainty surrounding everything else found a home in her stomach by wave of nerves. Luckily, the ceremony turned out much better than her anxieties, and her usual happy-go-lucky demeanor returned.

In all the excitement with the beams and the matches, she almost forgot to be excited about her match. Only almost, though. She and Duckie hadn’t talked much before, but she was super cute and had great energy around the cabin. Deja couldn’t help a grin when she found her side and invited her for a walk. “I thought you’d never ask,” Deja hummed happily, wrapping herself in her puffy coat before they left.

“So you really think we’re a perfect match?” she teased, nudging Duckie’s shoulder with her own.

♡

Actually choosing in the first week had been nerve-wracking for Duckie, but something about Deja pulled her toward the other woman, and there wasn’t a single shred of regret in all the five feet, three inches of her. The look of Deja in her coat only cemented that in Duckie’s brain. Her earlier insistence that seeing someone all bundled up for the cold was undeniably adorable came to mind, and Deja was no exception. In fact, her playful attitude only multiplied the feeling and Duckie found herself right at home next to her. 

“I wouldn’t put it past us,” she smiled, raising an eyebrow and cocking her head to one side for a moment. It was cold – well below freezing, even – and Duckie stayed close to Deja, their arms touching as they walked. “I think you’re easy to get along with, fun to be around... obviously beautiful,” she mused. “What about you? Would you be disappointed if it was us?”

liv’s spirits raised slightly with the mention of the hot springs - something she actually was looking forward to. “alright, point taken - i suppose that’s something you can’t get just anywhere. she offered a placid smile at the other’s knowledge of vermont - “vermont is a little dull, is all,” she explained. she’d much prefer to leave it once she was finished with school, but she’d have to see how that played out. “duckie,” liv repeated slowly, “how… whimsical. and what brought you to the states, exactly? our propensity for creating new reality tv shows?”

it should’ve been ridiculous to assume that duckie was internally pumping her fist back in celebration of making a good point to liv, who was exactly the kind of woman she found terrifying and enthralling, but it wouldn’t have been ridiculous in the slightest. she hoped she hid it well, but there was a twitch in her smile that she suspected gave it away. “duly noted. we’re skipping vermont on the cross-country roadtrip,” she joked. her raw excitement took a hit during the pause between how and whimsical, but it brought an entirely new look to her features; amusement. “i’ve been called worse,” she said, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. “i have to admit, the reality shows in the states are a whole lot most entertaining than in oz. but i came for the surfing, stayed for the parties. we just don’t get los angeles parties in newcastle.,” she admitted before a short pause. “what made you want to be on this one, then? reality show, i mean.”

charlotte had heard people on reality shows use the phrase i didn’t come here to make friends and she couldn’t disagree more. she never understood why anyone would want to join a competition like this just to win because to her, it was more about the experience and the love, than anything else. so when duckie hugged her back, she was excited. hopefully duckie was someone with the same mindset as her, looking friends and love and fun, and not just being cutthroat in the competition. “most people either call me charlie, char, or lottie, but i’ll take chuck!” she said with a laugh. she had never been called chuck before but once she heard duckie’s name, it kind of made sense. “oh my god, duckie is the cutest name on the face of the planet! we can be chuck and duck!” she clapped her hands together excitedly. “this place is so beautiful. a little too cold for a california gal like me though.”

“stop it, stop it! i can’t take it!” duckie teased, holding out her hands in front of her and shaking her head, overwhelmed by chuck and duck. “from now on, we’re officially chuck and duck. that fulfills so many of my television dreams, i’m spinning right now. unusual nicknames are kinda my thing, but that’s absolute perfection, there,” she insisted. her eyes went wide and she reached out, taking charlotte’s hands in her own. “no way! i love california! i’m from australia... maybe a bit obvious... but i’ve been in los angeles for – god, what’s it been? four years, off and on? where in cali are you from?” unsurprisingly, duckie’s questions and comments were going a mile a minute, but it was a compliment if she ever gave one. she was extroverted and enthusiastic to almost everyone, sure, but it was still special when she met someone she was this comfortable around right away.

two perfect matches in the first week. even later on that night, it was still blowing duckie’s mind! perhaps the most surprising part was that she found herself excited for the other sweethearts, rather than just for herself. watching people find true love kept her starry-eyed and hopeful, which made her own search that much sweeter. thinking of it, maybe that wasn’t so surprising, considering how much she’d played matchmaker before getting to the cabin. that dreamy feeling brought her to deja that night after a few glances from across the room and poorly-hidden smiles. “now that’s a little more excitement than i was expecting tonight,” she admitted, not being so stingy with her smiles now. “i was thinking of walking out to the hot springs for a little change of pace, would you wanna come with?”

“okay, surely someone else feels like celebrating after that.” bronte announced, mostly to herself as she began to mix herself a far too alcoholic screwdriver. it was a rush, knowing that two of them out of all of them were perfect matches. she supposed she’d never given much weight to the idea before the concept was right in front of her, a potential soulmate according to the matchmaking experts possibly beside her. lifting her drink up to her lips, she took a sip and swiftly her expression shifted, her brows furrowing together. “god, that’s disgusting.” she then proceeded to take another sip, leaning towards the closest fellow contestant. “you want one?”

duckie’s heart was absolutely racing, bringing pink to her cheeks, but she nodded with a dreamy little look in her eyes. “one ceremony without a blackout, nine more to go!” she announced, holding out her cup to accept the drink. “disgusting or not, i can’t leave a girl hanging,” she insisted, looking very convincing before bursting out in a melody of laughter. she leaned against the nearby counter, taking a deep breath and letting it go in a sigh. “god, my nerves are still ringing. two matches. that’s a bit of pressure, isn’t it?”

yuna kicks open the door, her hands currently occupied by the mountain of luggage she’s carrying. she’s all bundled up and there’s a thin sprinkle of snow on top of her and her belongings, but the cold doesn’t seem to phase her. in fact, she looks excited as a kid on the first day of christmas the moment she steps into the cabin. “hello future besties and maybe even lovers, yuna is here— oh shit!” in a fleeting attempt to practically hurl all her luggage inside so she can talk to some pretty girls, she accidentally trips on one of them and tumbles to the ground, the weight of her duffle bag pulling her to the ground. “whoopsies!” she glances up at the person who she managed to completely eat shit in front of and giggles. “when they said i was gonna be falling head over heels on this show i didn’t know they meant it literally!”

duckie’s eyes shoot to the door the moment she hears another sweetheart enter the cabin. “yeah!” she cheers, her arms instantly flying up in excitement and clapping a few times before quickly moving to cover her mouth in surprise. that secondhand embarrassment disappears as quickly as it appeared, leaving no trace like it was never even there. she whistles lowly, putting a hand over her heart. “i don’t think i’ve ever met someone so smooth,” she insists, holding out her hand and pulling yuna up to her feet. “now that’s how you enter a room!” she adds, joining in on the laughter and smiling from ear to ear. there’s a little disbelief in her eyes, like some of the concerns and judgements people on the outside had when she told them she was going to be on the show were fading away. “do you need a drink? a bandaid? a hug?”

liv raised an eyebrow. that was certainly a more romantic way to think about it - cute, sugary, things liv wasn’t. “sort of hard to be sexy when any exposed inch of skin is destined for frostbite,” she complained, then shook her head of the thought, sipping on her champagne. she shook her head - she wished she was from somewhere as glamorous and exciting as new york. there was not a single riveting thing about vermont, which led to a lot of rich kids having to make their own fun. “unfortunately, vermont,” she answered, then extended a hand with perfectly manicured ( but short, for piano ) nails to shake the other’s hand. “olivia faulkner. liv. and you are - from australia, i’m guessing?” she put a great deal of effort into finding the perfect balance of mild disinterest for her voice and face; quite the performance. 

duckie knew it was a complaint and not a joke, but she couldn’t help the hint of a smile that slipped up. “worth the risk for a dip in those hot springs, though. have you seen them yet?” she asked, eyes going a little dreamy again. while champagne wasn’t usually duckie’s vibe, liv made the bubbly look so good that she grabbed a flute and poured her own glass. it definitely didn’t have anything to do with any inkling of intimidation she felt around olivia and the belief that a little fermented courage would help with it. “hey, bernie’s place! that’s not a bad thing,” she insisted, calling upon the incredibly limited knowledge of american politics she had. she switched the champagne to her other hand and took liv’s hand, squeezing it after she shook it. “daphne pham, you can call me duckie. born and bred in oz, what gave it away?” came her teasing, looking a little sheepish. “i’ve been living in the states for a few years, it’s good to hear i haven’t lost the dead giveaway.”