#i'm good. i'm okay. this is fine. we're all fine.

[creatingblackcharacters]

"Let's Have a Talk, First"- Stereotypes, pt 1

Come sit down. You and I, before we get into any of the things I'm sure you're impatient to know: we need to have a come to Jesus talk, first.

There are some things that I've been asked and seen that strengthens my belief that we need to have a reframing of the conversation on stereotypes in media away from something as simple as "how do I find the checklist of stereotypes to avoid". Because race- and therefore racial stereotypes- is a complex construct! Stands to reason then, that seeing, understanding, and avoiding it won't be that simple! I'm going to give you a couple pointers to (hopefully) help you rethink your approach to this topic, and therefore how to apply it when you're writing Black characters- and even when thinking about Black people!

Point #1: DEVELOP THE CHARACTER!! WRITE!!

Excuse my crude language, but let me be blunt: Black people- and therefore Black characters- will get angry at things, and occasionally make bad choices in the heat of the moment. Some of us like to fuck real nasty, some might be dominant in the bedroom, they may even be incredibly experienced! Others of us succumb to circumstance and make poor decisions that lead to crime.

None of those things inherently makes any of us angry Black women and threatening Black men, Jezebels and BBC Mandingos, and gangsters and thugs!

Black people are PEOPLE! Write us as such!

If all Black characters ever did was go outside, say "hi neighbor!" and walk back in the house, we'd be as boring as racist fans often accuse.

I say this because I feel I've seen advice that I feel makes people think writing a Black character that… Emotes negatively, or gets hurt by life and circumstance, or really enjoys hard sex, or really any scenario where they might "look bad" is the issue. I can tell many people think "well if I write that, then it's a stereotype" and to avoid the difficulty, they'll probably end up writing a flat Black character or not writing them at all. Or- and I've seen this too- they'll overcompensate in the other direction, which reveals that they 'wrote a different sort of Black person!' and it comes off just as awkwardly because it means you think that the Black people that do these things are 'bad'. And I hate that, because we're capable of depth, nuance, good, evil, adventure, world domination, all of it!

My point is, if you write your character like the human being they are, while taking care to recognize that you as the writer are not buying into stereotypes with your OWN messaging, you're fine. We have emotions, we have motivations and goals, we make decisions, and we make mistakes, just like anybody else. Write that! Develop your character!

POINT #2: YOU CAN'T CONTROL THE READERS!!

Okay. You can write the GREATEST Black character ever, full of depth, love, nuance, emotional range, all those things…. And people are still going to be racist about them. Sorry. There is absolutely nothing you can do to control a reader coming from that place of bias you sought to avoid. If it's not there, TRUST AND BELIEVE, it'll be projected onto them.

That passionate young Black woman who told the MC to get her head out of her ass? Yeah she's an angry Black bitch now, and bully to the sweet white MC. Maybe a lesbian mommy figure if they like her enough to "redeem" her. That Black gay male lead that treats his partner like he worships the ground he walks on? Yeah he's an abusive thug that needs to die now because he disagreed One Time with his white partner. That Black trans woman who happened to be competing against the white MC, in a story where the white MC makes comparable choices? Ohhhh they're gonna be VILE about that poor woman.

It really hurts- most especially as a Black fan and writer- knowing that you have something amazing to offer (as a person and creative) and people are gonna spit on that and call it "preference". That they can project themselves onto white characters no matter what, but if you project your experiences onto black characters, it's "pandering", "self insert", "woke", "annoying", "boring", and other foul things we've all gotten comments of.

But expect that it's gonna happen when you write a Black character, again, especially if you're a Black writer. If you're not Black, it won't hurt as personally, but it will probably come as a shock when you put so much effort in to create a lovely character and people are just ass about them. Unfortunately, that is the climate of fandom we currently exist in.

My favorite example is of Louis De Pointe Du Lac from AMC's Interview With The Vampire. Louis is actually one of the best depictions of the existential horror that is being Black in a racist White world I have ever seen written by mostly nonblack people. It was timeless; I related to every single source of racist pain he experienced.

People were HORRIFIC about Louis.

It didn't matter that he was well written and what he symbolized; many white viewers did NOT LIKE this man. There's a level of empathy and understanding that Black characters in particular don't receive in comparison to white counterparts, and that's due to many of those stereotypes and systemic biases I'm going to talk about.

My point is, recognize that while yes, you as the author have a duty to write a character thoughtfully as you can, it's not going to stop the response of the ignorant. Writing seeking to get everyone to understand what you were trying to do… Sisyphean effort. It's better to focus on knowing that YOU wrote something good, that YOU did not write the stereotype that those people are determined to see.

POINT #3: WHY is something a stereotype?

While there are lists of stereotypes against Black people in media and life that can be found, I would appreciate if people stopped approaching it as just a list of things you can check off to avoid. You can know what the stereotypes are, sure, but if you don't understand WHY they're a problem and how they play into perception of us, you'll either end up writing a flat character trying to avoid that list, or you're going to write other things related to that stereotype because "oh its not item #1"... and it'll still be racist.

For example: if you wrote a "sassy Black woman" that does a z formation neck rotation just because a store manager asked her something… that's probably stereotype. If you thought of a character that needed to be "loudmouthed", "sassy", and "strong" and a dark-skinned black woman was automatically what fit the profile in your mind, ding ding ding! THAT'S where you need to catch your racist biases.

But a dark-skinned Black woman character cursing out a store manager because she's had a really bad, stressful day and their attitude towards her pushed her over the edge may be in the wrong, but she's not an "angry Black woman". She's a Black woman that's angry! And if you wrote the day she had to be as bad as would drive anyone to overstimulation and anxiety, the blow up will make sense! The development and writing behind her led to this logical point (which connects to point #1!)

I'm not going to provide a truly exhaustive list of Black stereotypes in media because that would ACTUALLY be worth a college credited class and I do this for free lmao. But I am going to provide some classic examples that can get y'all started on your own research.

POINT #4: WATCH BLACK NARRATIVES!

As always, I'm gonna push supporting Black creators, because that's the best way to see the range of what you'd like. You want to see Black villains? We got those! Black heroes? Black antiheroes? Assholes, lovers, comedians, depressed, criminals, kings, and more? They exist! You can get inspired by watching those movies and reading those books, see how WE depict us!

I've seen mixed reviews on it, BUT- I personally really enjoyed Swarm, because it was one of the first times I'd ever seen that "unhinged obsessed murderous Black fan girl" concept. Tumblr usually loves that shit lmao. Even the "bites you bites you bites you [thing I love]" thing was there. And she liked girls, too. Just saying. I thought it was a fun idea that I'd love to see more of. Y'all gotta give us a chance to be in these roles, to tell these tales. We can do it too, and you'd enjoy it if you tried to understand it!

POINT#5: You are NOT Black!

This is obvious lmao, but if you're not Black, there's no need to pretend. There's no need to think "oh well I have to get a 100% perfect depiction of the Black person's mind". That's… That's gonna look cringe, at its best. You don't have to do that in order to avoid stereotypes. You're not going to be able to catch every nuance because it's not your lived experience, nor is it the societally enforced culture. Just… Do what you can, and if you feel like it's coming off hokey… Maybe consider if you want to continue this way lol. If you know of any Black beta readers or sensitivity reviewers, that'd be a good time to check in!

For example, if your Black character is talking about "what's good my homie" and there's absolutely no reason for him to be speaking that way other than to indicate that he's Black… 😬 I can't stop you but… Are you sure?

An egregious example of a TERRIBLE way to write a Black character is the "What If: Miles Morales/Thor" comic. I want to emphasize the lack of good Black character design involved in some of these PROFESSIONAL art spaces, because that MARVEL comic PASSED QA!! That comic went past NUMEROUS sets of eyes and was APPROVED!! IT GOT RELEASED!! NO ONE STOPPED IT!!

I'm sorry, it was just so racist-ly bad that it was hilarious. Like you couldn't make that shit up.

Anyway, unfortunately that's how some of y'all sound trying to write AAVE. I promise that we speak the Queen's English too lmao. If you're worried you won't get it right, just use the standard form of English. It's fine! Personally, I'd much rather you do that than try to 'decode AAVE' if you don't know how to use it.

My point is, if you're actively "forcing" yourself to "think Black"… maybe you need to stand down and reconsider your approach lmao. This is why understanding the stereotypes and social environment behind them will help you write better, because you can incorporate that Blackness- without having to verbally "emphasize how Black this is"- into their character, motivations, and actions.

Conclusion

We need to reconsider how we approach the concepts of stereotypes when writing our Black characters. The goal is not to cross off a checklist of things to avoid per se, but to understand WHY we have to develop our Black characters well enough to avoid incorporating them into our writing. Give your Black characters substance- we're human beings! We have motivations and fears and desires! We're not perfect, but we're not inherently flawed because of our race. That's what makes the difference!

And as always, and really in particular for this topic, it's the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!

#creatingblackcharacters #character design #black characters #black character design #black culture

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

Third Time's the Charm?: Chaggie

Vaggie: (bringing Charlie on a romantic walk through the Morningstar gardens) Hey, Charlie, there's something I've been meaning to say....

Charlie: (phone rings) I'm so sorry, Vaggie. Hold that thought! Dad's calling. (picks up) What's wrong, Dad? ..... He what? ..... With WHO?!?!?! .... I'll be right here! (hangs up) We gotta get back to the hotel, ASAP!!! Tell me later?

Vaggie: Uh... Yeah.....

Charlie: Great! Let's go! (grabs Vaggie's hand and runs while dragging her)

Vaggie: this is fine.......

*********

Vaggie: (sets up a romantic meal at the hotel just for her and Charlie) Okay, we're at the hotel, so nothing should get in the way this time.

Charlie: Vaggie, this is so sweet! You got all my favorite foods here! What's the occasion?

Vaggie: (shrugs nonchalantly) Can't a girl spoil her beloved without a reason? (swallows) But... I do have a reason, I guess. You caught me. I wanted to say something.... kind of important.

Charlie: (raises an eyebrow and balks) Are you breaking up with me?!

Vaggie: What? NO!!! No! Nononononono... Exact opposite. I want to stay with you forever, babe.

Charlie: (sighs) Whew! Good, because I want to stay with you too~

Vaggie: (smiles and starts pulling the ring out of her pocket) Charlie, I-

Explosion erupts through the door leading to the kitchen as a gruel monster growls deep within.

Angel: HUSK!!! I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU COULD COOK!!!

Husk: I haven't cooked in decades! Why the fuck would you think I could cook!?!??!

Charlie: Holy shit! (runs over to the kitchen and grabs a fire extinguisher)

Vaggie: (listens to the screaming and sounds of the extinguisher blasting a gelatinous blob monster) ......this is fine.....

*******

Vaggie: (sitting on the balcony of her and Charlie's room and staring at a fireworks display she asked Lucifer to put together for her)

Charlie: (staring starstruck at the fireworks) Wow! This is beautiful, Vaggie!

Vaggie: (rests her chin in her hand as she stares at Charlie) Yeah... beautiful....

Charlie: (notices Vaggie staring and blushes) What? Is there something on my face?

Vaggie: Just your gorgeous blush, babe~

Charlie: (giggles all flustered) Vaggie, stop! What's got you lying on the charm so thick all of a sudden?

Vaggie: You deserved to be charmed every day of your life, babe. I love you, and I want to be able to do that for you. (grabs the ring in her pocket) So, Ms. Charlotte Morningstar. (sees Charlie wrinkle her brow and snickers) Charlie... will you-

Niffty: (out on the veranda, jumps onto one of the firework rockets and blasts into the air) AAAAHHHHHHHHHH-HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!

Lucifer: Oh, quackers!!! Let go of the rocket, kid! I'll catch you!

Angel: Nah, let her be! She likes the pain!

Charlie: OH, MY GOD!!! NIFFTY-

Vaggie: (finally snaps) No! No more interruptions! You! (points to Charlie)

Charlie: M-Me?

Vaggie: Wedding! You and me! Holy matrimony and all that shit! Marry me! (pauses as she groans and holds up the ring) Charlie, will you marry me?

Charlie: YES!!!

Hazbins: FUCKING FINALLY!!!

#chaggie #charlie #vaggie #proposal #hazbin hotel #incorrect quotes #lucifer #niffty #angel #husk #third times the charm

[lov1ngdrysdale]

Jamie discreetly teasing you in public (or trying to be discreet)

tease ✧.* jd9

pairings: jamie drysdale x fem!reader

summary: on a night out, jamie tries to distract you.

warnings: suggestive themes

a/n: thank u all for the requests! will be getting to more soon! 💌

most nights after a big win are spent at popular clubs in philly. the flyers had a table at each one. the circular lounge booth is filled with players and their partners sharing conversations and drinks to celebrate the flyers victory.

jamie's mind wandered elsewhere, it was unlike him. typically he's focused entirely on the discourse at hand, but something about how you looked tonight distracted him.

you're dressed in a tight black skirt, a form-fitting crop top, an oversized black blazer, a flyers hat with jamie's number, and your favorite gold necklace with his name in the center. it was a typical game-day outfit, but jamie thought you looked breathtaking.

as you're chatting with a few of the wives, jamie sneakily drags his hand over your exposed knee. the tips of his fingers dance across the skin, sending shivers up your spine. he continues dragging his pointer finger to the inside of your leg and up your thigh. jamie brings the finger up at an agonizingly slow pace, to drive you insane.

your engagement in the conversation has not faltered, trying to ignore jamie's distractions. he brings his finger to the hem of your skirt and slips under the fabric, exploring the hidden skin of your thighs. he grabs at your upper thigh tightly, causing you to shoot your eyes straight up at his. all jamie does is look at you innocently and smirk. what a dick.

you roll your eyes at him, returning your attention to the wives. he's persistent though. his fingers creep closer and closer to your heat. he traces the material of your panties softly. his touch makes you swallow nervously and awkwardly cough.

there's no way jamie wants to embarrass you both by making you moan. but maybe it is.

your thoughts travel elsewhere at the mesmerizing feeling of his fingers. how could your angelic, sweet, wholesome boyfriend touch you under a table...in public?

you find the lull in conversation a perfect time to whisper in jamie's ear, "babe, what the hell are you doing?"

demanding jamie answers, you slightly kick his shin.

"ow, jesus y/n! i'm not doing anything. just resting my hand on my pretty girl's leg."

scoffing at jamie's response, you return to the wives' conversation. his fingers, still haven't given up caressing your panties. trying to distract yourself from jamie's attention, you reach for your drink. the martini is on it's way to your lips as he slips a finger under your panties and to your clit, causing you to gasp and tip the glass.

"y/n! are you okay?" one of the wives asks.

"shit. sorry. i'm okay, thanks", you respond wiping the liquid off your legs with a napkin.

at this point, you've had enough of jamie's teasing. you push his hand away from your crotch and into your grasp. you keep a firm grip on it when you sweetly say to him, "jam, i'm not feeling so good. think we could go get some fresh air?"

he nods and winks at you, moving out of the booth and through the countless partiers. once the brisk philadelphia air hit your skin, you felt like you could have jamie then and there.

"i'm fine, but we're leaving. you asshole", you seductively smile at him and look up at the tall man through your lashes.

"whatever you want, doll", jamie grins at you and holds you tight to his side.

he knew he'd get what he wanted tonight.

#lov1ngdrysdale #hockey fanfiction #jamie drysdale #jamie drysdale x reader #jamie drysdale x you #jamie drysdale blurb #jamie drysdale imagine #jamie drysdale smut #luke hughes #nhl players #jack hughes #devils hockey #flyers hockey

[makeitmingi]

The Cat and Dog Game [Chapter 38]

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Comedy

Pairing: Yunho x Reader (y/n)

Characters: Chef!Reader, RestaurantOwner!Yunho, MaitreD!Hongjoong, Waiter!Yeosang, Waiter!San, Waiter!Mingi, SousChef!Seonghwa, SousChef!Wooyoung, PrepChef!Jongho

Summary: Yunho's dream was to open and run his own restaurant. But he doesn't know anything when it comes to cooking. Until you came along and accepted the job, bringing with you a small crew. How will the black cat tame the energetic golden retriever?

Word count: 3.3K

"We should take it to the vet tomorrow." You said as you and Yunho hovered over the kitten. You placed some wet cat food onto a paper plate and he was so quick to eat it up. Yes, you also learnt that the kitten is a boy.

"We should but the only free time we have is between morning and dinner service. Plus it's Friday so we're going to be busy." Yunho said.

"I'll do it after the morning shift then." You smiled.

"And by 'I', you mean 'we'." Yunho laughed and pressed his forehead against your temple. Instead of hovering, he sat on the floor and pulling you to sit on his lap.

"There, we can watch him like this." He said, resting his chin on your shoulder with his arms around your waist.

"It's late, you still have to drive back." You stood up. Yunho nodded in agreement.

"You can handle the little one?" Yunho chuckled. You hummed, smiling softly as you looked over at the kitten that was rolling all over your rug, happy to have a full belly of food.

Although Yunho wanted to ask to stay the night or thought that you would offer him that option, he didn't want to overstep so he willing got his coat to leave. Maybe you just wanted the house and your bed to yourself since you had all 8 of them over last night. He understood that you needed to recharge.

"Goodbye. I'll see you again tomorrow." Yunho said, gently stroking the kitten's head with the back of his finger.

"Thanks again for tonight." You said, looking up at him as he got ready to leave.

"No need to thank me. Have a good night, I'll see you tomorrow?" He tilted his head. You nodded and tip toed to give him a goodbye kiss before he headed out the door.

"Alright, let's set you up for the night." You said to the kitten. You cleared the used plates and brought the animal crate to your room.

"Here." You placed some blankets inside, making sure it was warm and comfortable before placing the kitten inside.

"There, all comfy for you." You chuckled. You didn't buy a cat bed because you didn't know if the kitten will be permenantly staying with you so you just grabbed a crate to ferry him around.

After making sure the kitten was settled, you went to remove all your makeup and take a shower. However, mid shower, you didn't expect a little black shadow to push open the bathroom door and enter. He let out a loud meow to establish his presence.

"Geez! You scared me!" You jumped slightly, placing a hand over your racing heart. But he just sat there, staring back at you with a tilt of his head.

"Don't be clingy like a golden retriever." You said, snickering. Once you stepped out, you changed into comfy home clothes.

"Hey, Hwa... I'm home." You said to Seonghwa with the phone on speaker as you did you skincare.

"Hey, sweetheart. I was about to call you. You don't have to come in for morning shift, you know? You can go home and rest after your morning session. We understand."

"I know but you guys can't keep giving me all these exceptions, it's not fair and unprofessional of me." You sighed.

"It's not exceptions. We're friends, practically family. We do it for anyone that needs it."

"I know that... And I'm really grateful for the 3 of you being so supportive. But it's fine, really. I'll be okay. Working would serve as a good distraction rather than just laying in bed." You said, finishing up your nightly routine of skincare. You took the phone with you as you did your laundry.

"But-"

*meow*

"D-Did you just meow at me?"

"What?! No, that's not me. I have a... house guest." You turned the call to a video call, turning the camera to show Seonghwa the kitten that was now curled by your feet.

"I thought you were only having dinner with Yunho's family! When did you get a cat?!"

"It's a long story. He's just staying with me until I can get him to a vet tomorrow and decide what to do with him." You informed.

"It's actually really funny, (y/n). You compare Yunho to a golden retriever every chance you get and now, it's like I'm seeing two of you. Can barely tell the difference."

"Very funny, Hwa. You'll be glad to know that Yunho's been making fun of me the whole night, comparing me to the kitten. That's utter nonsense, I am not a black cat or like one." You scoffed, stroking the kitten as it sat on your thigh.

"Sure~ Like how Yunho denies that he's an overly excited golden retriever puppy."

"You know what, see you tomorrow, Hwa." You scoffed and hung up while he was busy laughing at you. You picked the kitten up and placed him in his crate.

"Stay here. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight." You stroked its head and went to bed.

-

When Yunho arrived at the restaurant the next morning, he looked at his phone. He had sent you a morning text and asked about the kitten but you haven't opened the message.

"Maybe she's busy." He shrugged, it was a Friday morning after all. You probably didn't even have time to look at your phone like always. But when he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to see your crew already working without you there. Yunho went to the locker room but you weren't there either.

"She's coming in late. Had something to attend to." Seonghwa spoke as he mixed the cake batter.

"Oh... Okay, thanks." Yunho frowned slightly, scratching his head as he went to the front. You didn't mention this to him last night. Did something happen to the kitten during the night?

"Sorry, the number you have dialled is-"

Yunho chewed on his bottom lip, you were not answering your phone or your texts. He straightened up and went to call Seonghwa out.

"What's up?" Seonghwa asked with raised eyebrows as he leaned against the counter.

"Hyung, (y/n)'s okay, right? It's just, I was with her last night and she didn't mention that she had anything on this morning that would make her late... So I'm just worried..." Yunho rambled.

"She's fine, Yunho. There's not much I can tell you... But rest assure, she's okay. But she's not contactable." Seonghwa placed his hand on Yunho's shoulder to give it a light squeeze and gave the taller a small smile. Yunho nodded his head slowly.

"As long as she's okay. Let me know if you guys need any help in the kitchen." He forced a smile.

"We will. And yes, she's okay. If she wasn't, I would have told you. She should be coming in soon." Seonghwa nodded and headed back to the kitchen to continue baking.

"What's up?" Wooyoung tipped his head at Seonghwa when he saw the older come back in.

"Asked about (y/n). You know she's uncontactable and he's worried because she didn't tell him that she'll be late today." Seonghwa said.

"Oh... No wonder he's worried. Wait, she hasn't told him yet?" Jongho asked as he took the cookies out of the oven. Seonghwa shook his head with a soft sigh.

"It's her decision to tell him. We all know how private she is..." Wooyoung reminded.

Just then, you walked into the kitchen, yawning with two big cups of coffee in your hands. Not even saying hi to your team, you went to the locker room to put your things down first. You leaned against the shelves, taking long sips of your coffee. You needed coffee immediately so you bought two cups.

"Hey." Seonghwa popped in.

"Hey, Hwa, sorry. I'll be right out." You grabbed your apron and tied it around your waist. He hummed and went back to the kitchen to wait for you.

"(y/n), are you okay?" San tilted his ehad when he saw you come out, setting your cups of coffee aside.

"Morning, San. Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for stepping in to help." You chuckled and went to wash your hands. With you around, you were able to take over and San went back out to the front.

"They don't need you anymore?" Mingi asked as he filled the machine with more coffee beans.

"Nope. (y/n)'s here so I think they got it handled." San informed.

"(y/n)'s here? Like here in the kitchen?" Yunho blinked. San raised an eyebrow at his question but nodded his head slowly, with much uncertainty and confusion. Yunho put his things down and went to the kitchen.

"Jagiya~" Wooyoung was hugging you from the back, rocking you from side to side with a smug smile on his face. You were unbothered, cutting up something in front of you.

"Woo, this isn't very safe when I'm using my knife." You said but of course he ignores you.

"We should discuss the dinner menu for tonight so I can get started on prep." You told the rest of the team.

Throughout the time he has been with you, Yunho has been learning how to read you. You were functioning and speaking fine to your team but there was exhaustion on your face.

"Kicking it old school, tonight's pasta is bolognese." You smiled and the boys clapped.

"Traditional style, of course?" Jongho asked and you nodded.

"For fish, let's do a mi cuit salmon with microgreens, buerre blanc, potato puree and pickled beetroot." You said, waving your hand to get your thought processing out. (Mi cuit is French for half baked. Salmon is sous vide at a low temperature until firm but still has the texture, look and taste of raw salmon)

"I think we should do a wet brine for the salmon before putting it into the sous vide." Seonghwa suggested and you wrote it down.

"We should do pork chops with stewed apples and blue cheese sauce." Wooyoung raised his hand.

"Alright. We can throw the pork chops into the sous vide machines. If we have the sous vides going, let's do some chicken breast for classic caesar?" You tilted your head.

"We still have those smaller, thin cuts of beef... What can we do with them?" Jongho reminded.

"Let's leave it for tomorrow." You said.

Yunho quietly observed how you continued to lead the discussion on the food menu for dinner. Like the professional you always are, you didn't let whatever was bothering you affect your work.

"Dessert, let's do sticky toff. It's been a while!" Seonghwa was quick to throw his suggestion in.

"I question the personal motive behind that suggestion but I do agree that it's been a while. So we're doing individual sticky toffee puddings with caramel sauce and vanilla custard? Or should we do ice cream?" You chuckled.

"Ice cream is better since we already have caramel sauce." Wooyoung said. You wrote down everything and pinned it up.

"Alright, let's finish up here and start on some prep work. Then I'll continue after you guys leave." You said. They nodded and you got to work right away.

"We'll do the cleaning." Seonghwa and Wooyoung did it while Jongho assisted you with prepping.

"Hey." Yunho came in.

"Oh, hey." You smiled. But of course, Yunho wouldn't just greet you with a smile. He came over to hug you tightly, quickly planting a kiss to the top of your head.

"You want a coffee?" He offered. You shook your head, nodding over to the two cups of coffee you had brought in with you.

"Is it okay to be drinking so much coffee at once?" Yunho tilted his head.

"Nope!" Seonghwa answered for you, making you roll your eyes. You scoffed loudly to show Seonghwa you were ignoring him and patted Yunho on the hip before going back to help Jongho with the prep. Having already missed the morning stuff, you didn't want to lag behind, you wanted to make up for the work that you didn't do.

You noticed that Yunho was strangely quiet but you couldn't put your finger on it. Usually, he was loud and excited when he sees you but today, he greeted you and left obediently.

"Is Yunho okay? Did something happen when I wasn't around?" You asked Jongho.

"Nothing happened but Yunho hyung was worried when he didn't see you this morning. Didn't know where you were..." Jongho informed.

"Oh." You replied, continuing your prep work.

"Fridge?" Wooyoung came over, seeing the containers of prepped ingredients that you were done with. You nodded and he helped you bring them all to the walk in.

"You guys should head off soon, I"ve got it covered here." You said, checking your watch.

"Don't stay too long. We'll see you tonight, princess." The boys all left without argument. Wooyoung hugged you tightly and gave you a big kiss on your cheek, to which you scrunched your nose. Jongho gave you a brief hug.

"Don't overwork yourself, sweetheart, hmm?" Seonghwa stroked your head. You hummed and he hugged you before patting your head with a soft smile.

"The crew just left?" Yunho came in.

"Yeah, I'm finishing up on the prep. After that, we'll go back to mine to pick up the kitten for the vet?" You asked.

"Sure. Do you need help in here?" Yunho leaned against the metal counter.

"Help me fill the big bins with water? I'll need to clamp the sous vide machines and get it heated." You pointed. Yunho helped you do that while you cooked the caramel sauce for the dessert.

"What else is there to do...?" You thought out loud and went over your list of things that you could prep.

"(y/n), why don't I pick the kitten up from yours then we can bring it to the vet from here?" Yunho suggested.

"Oh, sure." You were surprised at his suggestion but you weren't against it. You gave Yunho the key to your place and he left to pick the kitten up. Now you were worried, Yunho and you were always together, given the opportunity. It was odd for him to suggest he go ahead and pick the kitten up first.

"I'm done with my duties." Hongjoong came in, finding you alone. Honestly, he thought he would find Yunho in here with you.

"Can you bring that tray of meats to me, please?" You requested. He brought over the vacuum pack sealed pork chops for you to dump into the heated sous vide water.

"Where's Yunho?" Hongjoong asked, continuing to help you were he could.

"Oh, he went to help me pick something up from my place. He'll be back soon." You informed.

"Are you alright, (y/n)? Is something bothering you?" Hongjoong noted how you were slightly distracted as you were doing whatever you were doing.

"I'm probably overthinking it but Yunho's just acting a little weird today so I'm wondering if everything's okay." You shrugged.

"Hmm, from what I know nothing happened today in the store and he's been fine... You know, the usual Yunho... I'm sure it's nothing, don't be too worried. We all have our off days, even energetic puppies." He gave a comforting smile.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Hongjoong." You laughed in agreement, it was funny to hear Yunho's friends refer to him as a puppy too. Subsequently, the other boys came in to offer help too.

"All these in the fridge?" Yeosang checked.

"Yeah. But keep the trays separate, they're portioned according to the different dishes." You said.

"Sure." He and Mingi brought it whatever you were done with. With their help, you were done relatively quickly. Just in time, Yunho pulled up to the restaurant.

"Bye, thanks guys. See you tonight." You waved to them before hopping into Yunho's passenger seat.

"Thanks for going to pick him up." You said.

"You're very welcome, love. Are you tired?" Yunho softened, reaching over to cup your cheek. You shook your head, leaning into his touch and closing your eyes. You let out a long exhale.

"Shall we talk after the vet?" He asked. You hesitated for a while before nodding, even if your heart was pounding nervously against your chest. With that, Yunho drove to the vet clinic where you had made an appointment for the kitten this morning. He helped you carry the crate with the kitten.

"Hi, I have an appointment?" You went to register at the receptionist counter. Yunho watched your back as you signed the kitten in.

"At least just now when I went to pick him up, he wasn't trying to maul me." Yunho said to you as you took the seat beside him to wait for your turn.

"Maul you? I highly doubt that tiny kitten can maul someone so much bigger like yourself." You laughed.

"He's opening up to me. See? I have that effect on black cats." He coughed, sending you a mischievous grin and side eye.

"I'm not a black cat." You scoffed, picking up the crate and looking at the kitten inside. It let out a small meow and pressed his nose against the gate to try and sniff you.

"Cutie. I hope you slept well." You giggled. He clawed at the gate to show his frustration of being locked up. So you caved and let him out of the crate. However, instead of putting him in your lap, you set him down in Yunho's.

"Since you claim he's comfortable with you now." You laughed, leaning against his arm.

"I said he didn't try to maul me, I didn't say he's comfortable with me." Yunho rolled his eyes but watched as the kitten tried to get comfortable, curling up in his lap.

When the nurse called you, you held the kitten in your arms while Yunho held the crate and entered the vet's office.

"Good afternoon. What can I do for you today?" The vet smiled. However, her smile seemed to grow bigger when she saw Yunho walk in.

"We found this kitten last night in the park, abandoned in the box. We're not sure how long he's been there. So we just want to make sure he's fine." You explained.

"Oh, sure. That's so nice of you to take him in, I'll just do a general check of him." She said, staring at Yunho as she spoke. You raised an eyebrow of amusement at her behaviour and her suddenly flirtatious smile, she was obviously very taken to Yunho's good looks. I mean, who isn't?

"Thank you, doctor." Innocent and ever-so kind Yunho smiled back with bowed his head. He came to stand by your side as the doctor examined the kitten.

"From what I see, judging by his posture, he's about 4 weeks old? But he's malnourished." She said.

"Good that you cleaned him and fed him." She smiled at Yunho.

You were not jealous and you knew how Yunho was. He wasn't deliberately flirting back with her, he was too kind and gracious to anyone he meets. He can't help his golden retriever tendencies.

"Actually, my girlfriend did it all, she's amazing. The kitten isn't too friendly with me yet." Yunho grinned.

"Oh..." The vet cleared her throat awkwardly at the mention of the word 'girlfriend'. You had to purse your lips to stop yourself from laughing at her expression.

"Let me just do some scans and bloodwork. You can wait outside, we'll call you again when we're done." The doctor said a little more uncomfortably now. You nodded and headed to the exit but Yunho quickly grabbed your hand, making you give him a look.

"She kept smiling at me, I felt oddly violated." Yunho whimpered softly to you.

~

Series masterlist

#kpop #kpop scenarios #kpop series #ateez #ateez scenarios #ateez series #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #ateez yunho #yunho ateez #yunho #yunho scenarios #yunho series #yunho x reader #yunho x you #yunho x y/n #jeong yunho #jeong yunho scenarios #jeong yunho series #jeong yunho x reader

[sturniolo-fall-enthusiast]

Wisdom Teeth

"All right, Y/N/N, how you feeling?" Chris asks, putting the camera in her face. The girl whines, stomping her foot on the floor like a toddler.

"I don't wanna go." She whines.

"You'll be fine." Matt chuckles, ruffling his little sister's hair. She only groans in response, hanging her head.

"You'll be okay. It's not that bad." Nick promises.

"Yes, it is." Y/N argues.

"You haven't even done it yet, doofus. You wouldn't know." Chris laughs.

"Yeah, but it's terrible. And I haven't eaten, I couldn't sleep. I don't want to go." She complains.

"You have to." Nick states. "You'll feel better after, I promise. Especially when we get you ice cream."

"Don't talk about food right now." Y/N says.

"Sorry." Nick laughs, sharing an amused look with his brothers.

"It's really not that bad. After that IV, you won't remember a thing." Matt promises.

"Except the IV." Y/N rolls her eyes.

"Come on, grumpy." Matt leads her towards the stairs.

---

The four are in the car, halfway to the appointment, Y/N doing everything she can to attempt to talk her brothers out of making her go. Chris films, moving the camera between each sibling.

"We can just reschedule it. Or I'll just live in pain. I'm okay with that." Y/N insists.

"No, you're not." Nick argues with a small laugh.

"If I can handle a period, I can handle wisdom teeth." Y/N states.

"Y/N, we're not going home." Matt says, rolling his eyes. Y/N huffs, slouching in her seat.

"What if I'm one of those people that doesn't actually go under? What if I'm awake the whole fucking time?" She questions.

"You won't be. You'll be fine." Chris assures, reaching back with his free hand to rub her knee.

---

Y/N lays on the chair in the office, nervously staring at all of the tools on the tray. Nick and Matt are on the right side of the bed while Chris is on the left side.

"How you feeling?" Nick asks, aiming the camera at this.

"I hate this. I hate all of you." Y/N says.

"What'd we do?" Matt frowns.

"You drove me here." She grumbles making the three giggle.

"You'll be okay." Matt promises, rubbing her shoulder, gently squeezing it in reassurance.

The doctor walks in, starting to explain the procedure, Y/N drowning him out as her anxiety starts to skyrocket. Her brothers pay attention to the doctor, Matt continuing to rub his sister's shoulder, noticing her hands shaking a little, feeling her anxiety radiate from her.

After putting the monitor on her right pointer finger and wrapping the blood pressure band around her upper right arm, the nurse extends Y/N's left arm, tapping it to find a vein. Y/N watches him grab the IV, her eyes widening at the needle.

"Don't look at that." Chris orders, moving closer to her. "Look at Nick and Matt."

"Yeah, look over here." Matt encourages.

Y/N whines, turning her head to the right, keeping her eyes on her brothers.

"This is the worst part." Nick states.

"Great." Y/N rolls her eyes making the three let out small laughs.

"You'll do great. Easy peasy. You got this." Chris encourages, gently ruffling her hair.

"You wanna hear a joke?" Matt asks, still rubbing her shoulder.

"No." She immediately answers.

Y/N grimaces when she feels the nurse clean the area the IV is going in and she fidgets, knowing it's about to happen.

"You're okay. You're fine." Nick promises, holding her hand in his free one, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

Matt continues to rub her shoulder while Chris holds a hand to the side of her face acting as a shield from the needle.

"Just think of all the ice cream you're gonna get out of this." Chris says.

"Yeah, you'll be on a constant sugar high." Matt adds.

Y/N grimaces as she feels the needle insert her arm, her hand squeezing Nick's. Matt gently squeezes her shoulder and Chris rubs her head after the IV's taped in.

"You made it!" Chris cheers, ruffling her hair, leaning over the chair so she sees his grin.

"It's over. Worst part is over. Good job." Nick gives her a comforting smile.

"We're proud of you." Matt gently shakes her shoulder, grinning, attempting to lighten her mood.

Y/N weakly smiles at the three, letting out a deep breath of relief.

After a few moments, the anesthesia has kicked in, Y/N starting to drift off.

"You tired?" Matt asks.

"No." She shakes her head, her hair falling into her face, Chris quickly fixing it.

"You're not tired?" Matt laughs, sharing amused looks with his brothers.

"Mm-mm. Wide awake." Y/N yawns, the triplets giggling.

"Y/N, we have a password to test your memory." The nurse informs. "It's gonna be strawberry. All right?"

"Strawberry." She mumbles, holding up a thumbs up, slowly blinking.

"You feel okay?" Nick asks, rubbing her shin.

"Dandy." She nods once, it being slow due to the drugs. The boys laugh at her chosen word.

"Y/N, what was the password?" Nick asks after a bit.

"The what?" Her face scrunches up in confusion, earning laughs from all four guys in the room.

"The password." Chris says. "Do you remember it?"

"I didn't get a password." She frowns.

"It's okay. It's okay, you're still doing good." Matt assures.

"You all look the same." Y/N frowns, glancing between her brothers as they laugh at her bewildered look. "That's freaky." She mumbles earning more giggles.

"One of you wanna give her the next password?" The nurse asks.

"Yeah. Hey, Y/N, you want a new password?" Chris asks.

"Mm." She hums.

"The new password is moon." Nick tells her, watching her close her eyes.

"What flavor ice cream you want later? You want a milkshake?" Chris asks, but doesn't get an answer as the girl's already asleep.

---

The triplets stand outside the room, recording.

"How do you guys feel?" Chris asks, pointing the camera to his slightly older brothers.

"I'm glad she's doing it. She put it off for weeks." Nick says. "She won't remember any of this and her least favorite part was the needle. I'm glad we can be there for her."

"Yeah, kid was terrified, honestly." Matt says. "She was really anxious, so I'm just happy she's getting it done."

"She gets a visit from the tooth fairy tonight." Nick grins.

Nick takes the camera, pointing it at Chris.

"How do you feel?" Nick asks, zooming in on Chris a bit.

"Good. I'm happy we can be here to help her. I know she dreaded it, but she'll feel better once she heals." Chris says.

---

Y/N squints at the bright light above her.

"Hey, kid." Matt softly greets, noticing her awake. Y/N lifts her head a little, looking around, glancing between her brothers.

"How you feeling?" Chris asks, rubbing her arm.

She lets out an unintelligent response, the boys quietly laughing.

"How long was I asleep?" She asks, her voice slurred due to the anesthesia and the gauze in her mouth affecting her speech a bit.

"About half an hour." Chris answers.

"Yeah, in and out." Nick says. "You feel any better?"

"Meh." She shrugs.

They all look at her as she gasps.

"I get ice cream." She remembers, her eyes lighting up.

"Yeah." Matt giggles at her sudden excitement. "Yeah, we can even stop for a milkshake if you want." He says, her eyes only widening in excitement making the three laugh.

"You gotta use a spoon, though. No straw." Chris states.

"Yay." She grins as the triplets fondly laugh at her, Chris ruffling her hair.

"Okay, we're gonna give you a password to test your memory." The nurse says, nodding to the triplets.

"Password is chocolate." Matt tells her.

"Chocolate." She repeats. "I love chocolate."

"I know." Matt nods, rubbing her shoulder.

"Is the IV out?" She asks.

"No. No, it has to get the rest of the medicine out then they'll take it out." Nick informs making his sister whine.

"It's okay. It's okay, just don't look at it." Chris says, resting his hand on her head to make sure she doesn't look over at it.

"Keep your eyes over here." Nick encourages. "You're doing great."

"Y/N/N, who's your favorite brother?" Chris asks.

"Trevor." She immediately answers.

"That's fair." Nick shrugs, sharing small laughs with his brothers.

"Oh, can-- can we listen to High School Musical? And more Disney Channel?" Y/N hopefully asks.

"We'll listen to whatever you want." Matt assures, nodding.

"You name it, you got it." Chris promises, playing with her hair.

"I don't dance." She starts to sing, jumbling the lyrics up, the triplets cracking up. "You know, you know... you know..." She stops to think of what she was about to say as the boys continue to laugh. "Chad say he doesn't dance, but he's got the moves." She states, nodding in support to her point. "He dances while singing about how he doesn't dance. Fucking idiot." The boys laugh as the girl rolls her eyes at the fictional character.

"Y/N, what was the password?" Nick asks, still giggling.

"The password? My Instagram password?" She frowns.

"No, no, no." Matt shakes his head. "We gave you a password to remember so we could leave. Do you remember it?" He asks.

"Your mom." Y/N replies as the three break into another fit of laughter.

---

After getting the go ahead, a nurse pushes Y/N in a wheelchair out to the car.

"Weee!" She holds her arms out as the nurse pushes her, stopping at the car. "Awww." She frowns once the motion stops.

"C'mon, kid." Matt chuckles, opening the backdoor for her.

He helps Y/N climb into the car and get in her seat. She shuffles around until finding a comfortable enough position. Matt grabs the seatbelt and reaches over her, buckling her in.

The triplets thank the nurse as she leaves, Chris and Nick getting in the car.

"I gotta pay for parking, I'll be right back." Matt says.

"Nooo." Y/N whines.

"I'll be right back." Matt promises. "Chris and Nick are staying. I'll be right back."

"I love you." Y/N says.

"I love you, too." Matt softly laughs, ruffling her hair before leaving.

"You sure you don't have favorites?" Nick asks.

"Positive." She nods. "I love you." She reaches over and pats Nick on the face making him laugh. "And I love you." She points to Chris.

"I love you, too, Y/N/N." Chris says.

"I love you." Nick tells her, gently pushing her hand off his face, holding it once she tries to pat it again.

"Matty will get me a milkshake, right?" She asks.

"You're getting your milkshake." Chris promises making the girl grin.

"Oh, look, Matt's coming back." Chris says as Matt walks up to Y/N's door.

"Hey." Matt greets, gently smiling at her.

"Matty!" She grins making him smile. "I want my milkshake."

"Okay, we'll go get your milkshake." Matt says, getting in the car.

"Wait." She frowns, feeling her face. "Is my tongue still there?" She starts to panic.

"No, no, hey, it's okay." Nick pulls her hand away from her mouth. "Your tongue's there. You're fine."

"Yeah, you're okay. You have everything but your wisdom teeth." Chris assures making the girl relax.

---

The four are at home, Y/N resting against Chris as the two sit on the couch. She's supposed to be keeping an ice pack to her cheek, but got tired of holding it, so Matt took up the responsibility, even as his arm tires out.

"You good, Y/N/N?" Nick asks, walking over and giving her the water she asked for. She holds up a thumbs up, mumbling a thank you as she takes the bottle.

"You get to do nothing but sleep and eat the next couple days. Think you can manage?" Chris asks. Y/N quickly nods, smiling.

They let her pick whatever movie she wants, the girl falling asleep within the first few minutes.

#sturniolo triplets #matt sturniolo x sister reader #chris sturniolo x sister reader #nick sturniolo x sister reader #matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo #nick sturniolo

[shepscapades]

okay i understand that we're going for comedy but i cant help myself here

so double life is the third life series, and in the canon of the life series, dl is the first time joel has gotten a partner and has not been alone (i could go on and on about how that affects his relationship with etho but we don't have the time for that)

but in dbhc, he gets what is essentially a robot as a partner, devoid of human affection and intimacies (at least for now), after 3rd life where he had no team, and last life, where his team was broken on the second episode

hes starting to wonder if he's not meant to have anyone after all

WELL!!!!! An in-depth analysis on Joel is really not what i was expecting here but you uh! you make an excellent point. that's um. yeah okay that's fine, i'm fine about that !!! <me when i lie

(rest assured, when joel finds out how jealous Bdubs is of him being partnered with etho, he goes from annoyed to delighted and finds many a way to have fun with Etho despite Etho not really being... himself. He at least has a good time because Etho is more or less there to agree with his plans and go along with whatever he wants to do DSFLKGJSDF)

#dbhc #dbhc ask #anon #dbhc etho #dbhc joel #dbhc bdubs #i gotta figure out what the 3rd life deal is too because the androids wouldn't have been made at that point #so i gotta like #idk come up with a new plot for 3rd life LKJGFDSLFIGJ with the people available #basically all of the village people are gone </3 #ANYWAY THATS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE #wonderful ask thank you #gonna be thinking about this

[brodieland]

Jason Grace as Percy when he forgot about everyone but Annabeth?

Jase only remembers reader, his best friend (who he is in love with but haven't confessed to each other yet) And everyone stays because they realize their connection And maybe at night they try to talk about it and he's being completely direct like "I think it's because I love you, like Percy doesn't love Annabeth" and reader is like ?????? "I love you too but that was abrupt" MVNZVKZJKSFKSA SORRY I LOVE HIM

.˚ 𓈒 ࣪.𝝑𝝔 Prophecy-Crossed Lovers!! ´ˎ˗

Jason Grace x Fem!Juno!Reader Synopsis: after Jasons disappearance, you just had to tell him how you felt the next time you saw him!! Tag(s): reader starts unclaimed, prophecy of EIGHT, cursing if it must be said I suppose Word Count: 3042 A/N: you absolutely ATE with this one holyyyy, also I really need to stop saying I suppose its actually a problem omg

"C'mon Jase, its okay not to be so humble all the time," you joked.

"What," he chuckled. "All I'm saying is that when you like your job it isn't hard."

"You risk your life every time you step out of camp Jupiter, you can brag you know."

"Fine, maybe I am humble."

You and Jason were out around 9PM, walking around New Rome together just talking and laughing like normal. He was your best and you were his. You both had a massive crush on one another, but with his job taking on all his time, you wouldn't assume he had the time for crushes, so you kept your mouth shut. Then again on his defense, he just didn't think you liked him back.

"C'mere," you grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward the nearest bakery. "Let's get some cupcakes!"

"You just love to run though my wallet don't you?"

"Well, I mean, if your offering," you both laughed. Jason paid for the both of your cupcakes, you got strawberry and he got vanilla.

"Here," the cashier handed you both the baked goods. "I added on the couples discount for the two of you."

The cashier winked and walked off, leaving you and Jason hot in the face. You both looked at each other, quickly looked away, and walked off and sat outside together at a table together.

"Cashier was funny," he mumbled into his vanilla treat.

"Yeah," you mumbled back.

"We're best friends right?"

"Yeah, I'm always here for you, you know," you slid you hands across the table, and he held them in his. You both were very close with one another, and the line between friendship and romance was so blurred neither of you dared to speak up on it. Why possibly ruin what you have?

"We should head back, its getting late," he smiled.

"Yeah of course," you both stood up, not letting go of one another hands as he walked you back to your cabin. It always a goodnight when Terminus doesn't start a riot. "Well, goodnight Jason, see ya tomorrow."

"Of course, goodnight Y/N," he waved as you shut the door behind you. Walking through the doors of the fifth cohort, you walked over toward your bed trying to sleep. You tossed and turned till finally falling asleep an hour later.

You woke up in your bed, except you didn't really wake up. The air around you felt like static, and when you stood up, it felt weird to move. You were in a dream, a demigod dream.

You don't remember the last time you had one, so you were nervous. When you looked at your feet, there was a faint golden trail leading you somewhere. You followed it, then you realize you're walking towards Jason's cabin. When you walked in, all the beds contained a sleeping camper except for one. Jason's bed.

You were weirded out, you walked toward and saw the bed was empty and made. You walked toward the bathroom, to see no one was in there. Looking at the clock, it was 6AM, not even Jason wakes up this early.

'He's gone.'

You looked around, not seeing anyone who could've whispered that in your ear.

'He might even die before he comes back.'

You start freaking out, even hyperventilating, dreams intensify emotions and this was absolutely terrible.

'Will the memory of you alone be enough to bring him home, back to you, alive?'

You shot up in your bed, absolutely coated in sweat. Fellow campers were starting to crowd around you, looking at you with concern.

"Hey.. Y/N are you okay," one girl asked.

"Yeah, you were, like, groaning and you sounded like you were having a nightmare," another boy said.

"What time is it," you spat out.

"Like 9:50AM," someone said. You eyes shot open as you threw your blanket off and ran toward Jasons cabin. You slammed through the doors, and only saw some stragglers hanging behind, they were normally early risers here.

"Have any of you seen Jason," you asked frantically. There were confused murmurs of nos and nopes running through the room. Reyna walked out the bathroom in her normal attire as you rushed toward her. "Did you send Jason out?"

"No, I woke up later than normal, I thought he'd be out with you or something," she responded.

"No, he's not," you nodded.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes."

She quickly led you toward her Preators office, beckoning you to sit in front of her. As you explain to her the dream, you can see in her eyes as her expression starts going sour.

The next few months were depressing to say the least. He was your best friend, and the guy you're in love with, so him being missing is like, well, you're missing. Right now you were sitting in your bed reading a book and a newcomer, Hazel Levesque, comes and sits by the end of your bed. You two became close, she knew what it was to lose someone close to you.

"Y/N," she said softly.

"What's up," you looked up at her.

"Can I asked you something," she asked, and you just nodded. "What was Jason like. He must've been pretty awesome, since you know, how longs its been, and... yeah."

She didn't want to cross the line and say more, but she didn't have to. Everyone knew of your feelings, except Jason. You started going on and on about Jason, all his amazing qualities. His loyalty and kindness that knew no bounds. You stopped before you started gushing about just how hot and good-looking he was, and then had just found yourself daydreaming about what he could be doing right now. Had he made new friends, found a girlfriend maybe?

﹒º. ౨ৎ

"Dude, I'm working as fast as I can," Leo complained.

"I know you are, sorry man," Jason apologized.

"Whats up with you bro?"

"We need to go back to my camp, what if she's still there? It sucks that she's all I can remember but can just barely remember what we were before leaving. It's just stressful."

"For a guy with amnesia, you use the word remember a lot," Leo joked and Jason just rolled his eyes. "But seriously dude. Spill. Whats she like, she's got to be amazing if you swerve all the, and may I add, really hot girls here for the literally memory of her."

He sighed and took a seat on a nearby work bench, while Leo continued working on the Argo II, "She was my best friend. Ever since I'd made it to camp Jupiter, she'd been by my side. She made me laugh, she helped me to get over my Preator troubles, she just was there for everything. And before you ask, she's beautiful."

Leo just listened to his whipped friend go on about about this mysterious girl. "You sound like Annabeth, but at least she's actually dating Percy."

"Are we talking about how whipped Jason is," Piper said as she announced her presence.

"You guys are so annoying sometimes," Jason laughed.

"Careful, if she's everything you hype her up to be, might just have to steal her away from you," Piper joked.

"You might have too, maybe then he'll finally get the, whats the word, ambition? To make a move," Leo added. Jason sighed, looking disappointed. Leo took the chance to walk up next to him and comfort his friend.

"I just wish I knew what she was to me, was she just a friend? Because I don't think people spend this much time thinking about someone whose just a friend."

Leo rubbed circles onto his friends back. "Must suck being anemic."

"Amnesiac."

"Whatever," Leo smiled, he leaned in pretending to plant a kiss on Jason's cheek, before he laughed and swatted him off. Leo went back to working on the Argo II, while Jason and Piper went off and did their own thing.

"Hey, you think you could send an Iris message to a Roman," Piper suggested.

"We'd never even heard of them over there, so probably not," he groaned. Piper felt bad, but thankfully by just about next week they would be flying out to camp Jupiter to pick up the rest of the eight.

﹒º. ౨ৎ

"He sounds amazing," Hazel smiled.

"Yeah, he is," you smiled back. Before could say anything else, another newcomer, Frank Zhang, came running in.

"Hey Hazel," he stumbled. He was adorable, and clearly had a thing for Hazel.

"Oh hey Frank," she waved. "Is it time for our guard duty?"

"Yeah."

"Bye Y/N," she waved. You waved back as you watched them walk off together. 'adorbs.'

You decided it was time to get out of bed and go for a jog. Something you did before with Jason before he left. After about half an hour, you were walking towards the mess hall for some food. Except you were quickly stopped when you saw a bunch of people running off somewhere together, so of course you followed.

They all ran toward the camp entrance, and what you saw was insane. He was making typhoons like it was nothing, was he a god? Frank and Hazel stood back in disbelief as they watched this rugged looking guy take down two gorgons like it was nothing. He was so powerful, and had been out in the world. Maybe he knew something about Jason?

After the whole incident unfolded, you noticed an old lady standing off to the side. She thanked - Percy, his name was Percy - for bringing her to safety, then she started... glowing?

Gasps were flying around as people started kneeling, but you couldn't tell why. "Why aren't you kneeling like everyone else?"

Instead of an old woman, she looked somewhat younger, taller, and more regal looking. "Who.. are you?"

People started murmuring around you, "My my, I'm Juno," you inhaled sharply. "Unclaimed I see. Don't worry my darling, soon enough you'll play your part."

Then, she disappeared. People were struggling to look between you and Percy, not knowing what was more shocking anymore. Reyna quickly whisked the both of you, with Hazel and Frank, to her office. She sat down, you zoned out as she asked your two cabin mates what happened, then interrogated Percy.

"Y/N, what Juno said.. have you had anymore of those dreams," you shook your head, disappointed you couldn't help more. She understood and let yourself be excused. (You pressed up against the door and listened to Reyna quickly offer Preatorship to Percy, and him claim to have a girlfriend and turn her down. Wow.)

Percy walked out the door and you quickly stopped him, wanting to have a word. "Percy?"

"Y/N?"

"I need to know, while you were out there what was happening, and did you ever meet a guy named Jason, or at least heard of him? Please, I really need to know."

"Sorry, no. All I remember is my Annabeth, and that I really need to make it back to her... Is Jason like, your boyfriend or something," he asked. You looked down at your feet, softly shaking your head again. Percy put his hand on our shoulder before speaking up again. "I'll help find him, alright?"

"Alright," you smiled.

Quicker than you thought, though you weren't surprise at this point, Mars made an appearance and for some reason Percy seemed to know him and wanted to rock his shit??? Whatever. Not the point. He got sent off on a quest with Hazel and Frank. Now you were alone again, but whatever. Not like they'd be gone long, you supposed.

As quick as they left, they were now back to camp. Safe and sound might be a strong way to put it, but they were back. You took the three of them to your favorite bakery in new Rome for some brownies. Coincidently, this was the last place you went with Jason, but that wasn't the point, or maybe it was, shut up.

You were looking down into your brownie with a neutral expression when Percy suddenly pulled you out your gaze. He was pointing into the sky, and there it was. Percy told you his Greek friends would be on their way, but you hadn't realized that they spared no expense it seemed. The four of you went running, and the closer you got, the more you noticed it. Or him.

There he was, standing in his Preator's uniform on the front of the ship, you almost broke down right there, but you stayed strong. There were four people on the ship and they all dropped down from a ladder, except one. You saw him from afar waving his friends off as he walked back inside.

You stood there starstruck, and when you turned to Percy, you both had the same look on your faces. It was like time froze, and you two went running. Percy landing into who you assumed was Annabeth, and you in Jason's arms. Jason hugged you tight enough to swing you around while you snuggled into his neck. "I missed you Jase," you whispered into his neck.

"I miss you too," he said as he pulled away. You both turned when you heard a thud, Percy was getting judo flipped. LOL! "Anddd she missed him, too."

You laughed and walked toward them. All the romans around were weary when Reyna left to speak with Annabeth while you and Jason left to speak alone. "So... where've you been?"

"It's a really, reallyyy long story. But first things first, we need the rest of the four."

"Percy, Hazel and Frank," you spat out with no hesitation.

"Your not gonna offer to come?"

"What help could I really offer? I'm not even claimed," you shrugged.

"Y/N..."

"What? I mean... it sucks but it's true," you sighed.

"I want you to come with us."

"You think I don't want to? That's all I want, I don't want to see you leave again without me. You don't understand what it was like staying here without you for all those months Jase," you didn't want to sound whiny, gods only know what he's been through, but still.

"You're coming with us because-" BOOM! Both of you whipped your heads around and saw the ship everyone flew here on was firing shots. Without a second thought you both went running and saw the Romans trying to fight off the Greeks. You tried helping Jason to stop the fight, when suddenly you saw something flying towards his head.

"JASON," you yelled as you ran your way towards him. You saw him on the floor passed out and ran by his side. You watched as a native girl helped to hold off the Romans while you sat by his side. You saw more people approaching from behind and grabbed the dagger you always keep by your side and started fending more people off.

One person, one person who completely ticks you off was making his way, and it was Octavian. "Why're you defending these traitors??"

"They're not traitors," you started. "They're gonna be the ones to save the world. And don't you ever talk on Jason that way again."

You slammed your dagger back into Octavians chest and slammed him into the ground, then you noticed a glow from above you. You looked in a haze and saw some rings and flowers above you. You'd never seen this before, nor did you know it was even possible.

You had just been claimed by Juno. And were now sure that Jason was right.

You turned and saw Jason starting to sit up, "Frank," you yelled. "Grab Jason and we have to go!"

You had recently learned about Frank's new ability and did it come in handy. The eight of you rushed onto the ship and said bon voyage as fast as possible!! The first moments of landing were rough, between Percy grilling some latino on what happened on the ship, and you helped Jason onto his feet while he directed you towards his room to lay down. "Some preator I am, huh?"

"Lookin very snazzy in your uniform Jase," you chuckled as you took a seat in front of him. "Did you see, I got claimed."

"I can't believe I missed it," he groaned. "By who?"

"Juno."

"Hm. Juno and Jupiter," he chuckled.

"What were you gonna say? Like earlier, before the explosion happened?"

Jason paused, all the confidence he had slowly draining away, but he pushed through anyways. "That I didn't want to be separated again. That I think I'm in love with you."

Your jaw slightly dropped and your eyes widened. "That was abrupt." Not at all what you meant to say.

"Abrupt? That's.. it?"

"Well I mean, I know I love you, so you thinking you love me too is nice to hear, but still, you really just spat that out didn't you," you laughed, causing him to laugh, too.

"But I really do, and I wanna say it before I accidentally go missing again," he joked.

"Hey, chill with that."

"Too soon?"

"Quite," you smiled. You looked into his icy blue eyes, then down to the scar on his lip and the way it moved when you smiled. Without thinking you just went for it and kissed him. You had the sides of his head in your hands as Jason pulled you closer by the waist. You took the chance to move your legs around his waist. His grip on your body tightened as you slid your tongue along his.

﹒º. ౨ৎ

"You think he finally said something," Leo said while he was chowing down on some ice cream.

"I hope so," Piper made eye contact with Leo. "Wanna find out?"

"100%," the two walked to Jason's room. Leo held onto the doorknob and silently counted to three before throwing the door open. "Hey guys!!"

Leo and Piper were starting to regret walking in without knocking. You both sat there embarrassed with your frizzled hair and no shirts, awkward!! Jason just groaned and threw a pillow at the duo standing at the door as they laughed and shut the door behind them. "This might be our sign to start knocking."

"Just might be.."

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #percy jackson pjo #percy pjo #jason pjo #jason hoo #jason grace #jason grace pjo #Jason grace hoo #Jason grace x reader #jason grace x you #jason grace x y/n #heros of olympus

[mcflymemes]

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (2016) PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue, adjust as necessary

please don't say that. i don't want to be like my mother.

do you ever feel like your life has turned into something that you never intended?

that's a deal breaker for me.

we might be perfect for each other if we didn't live in the real world.

why do you always think the worst of me?

you're wrong. you and i are nothing alike.

i see we're settling for less now!

a package arrived for you. i found it in the mailbox this morning.

i'm sorry, but could you help me open this? i just cut my finger. paper cut.

in the end, you left me with the inspiration that i needed to write from the heart.

where were you last night?

by the time i left the office, i was late for my dinner.

it would have taken you fifteen minutes. fifteen minutes, and it would have meant a lot to me.

you didn't come to bed last night.

i didn't want to wake you up.

that doesn't sound like you.

are things a little better?

i'm surprised. i thought we were hiding it pretty well.

[name], i'm worried about you.

seriously, look at me. you scared me the last time that we talked.

i'm fine. i just can't believe i told you all of those things. i feel embarrassed about it.

what right do i have to not be happy? i have everything. i feel ungrateful not to be happy.

i think we just want different things. or maybe i want different things.

we get into things when we're young because we think they mean something.

do we really have to stop tonight? i'd rather just get there.

don't look at them. don't give them any reason.

sit still. they've probably got a gun.

don't get out of the car.

you're not supposed to leave the scene of an accident. it's a crime.

don't come any closer.

i'm a gemini, my favorite color is petal pink, and i like long walks and kittens.

you know what, we should call the police.

you got no fucking right to talk to me like that!

you'll get killed if you don't watch it.

may i use your phone?

could you see them in the dark?

i just wanted to hear your voice. i miss you.

you sound weird. are you okay?

you look beautiful as always.

would you like to have dinner?

you know, you were my first crush.

what a weird thing to say.

i'm sorry. i hope that doesn't offend you.

this is a ridiculous conversation. you're too young to get married.

oh my god, did you just say that? you really just said that? that came out of your mouth?

it's like the whole thing is a blur.

now listen. i've got to be honest with you. right now it's not looking good.

if i write it down, then it will last forever.

you know my name. i told you.

you didn't sleep again, did you?

who the hell are you? get off my property!

you'll take this the wrong way, but i think that you need to stop writing about yourself.

please don't start that again. it makes me feel like you don't believe in me.

you always get so fucking defensive about it.

i really wanted to be this person that you thought i was. i really did, but i'm just not that person.

you're wonderful and romantic, and sweet and sensitive, and all the things i'm not. life for you is kind of a dream.

weak. i'm weak. that's what you want to say. go ahead and say it. you've said it before. weak.

i'll live to regret this. i regret it now.

i got a certain pride in how people talk to me, and there are certain things i don't put up with.

nobody gets away with what you did.

may i get you a drink while you wait?

#mcflymemes #rp meme #rp memes #rp prompt #roleplay prompt #roleplay memes #rp starters #ask meme #ask memes #roleplay meme #roleplay inbox prompts #inbox prompt #rp inbox meme #inbox meme #sentence starter prompt #sentence starter #sentence starters #nocturnal animals

[miller-n-morgan]

And I Feel Fine (.ii)

Joel Miller x Jackson!Reader

18+, mdni

Summary: A new journey lies ahead, and on the very first night you become sure of something that will completely change the trajectory of your entire future.

Warnings: leaving most of the warnings the same because they apply. mentions of death, violence, gore, blood, mentions of sex abuse and trafficking. Mentions of teenage pregnancy. Mention of drugs and substances. Again, literally has ✨️the works.✨️

Word Count: 7k (i'm going absolutely wild)

Now we're cookin'.... enjoy this slice of my brain that I spent entirely too long on. And also know that the first part of the Arthur Morgan series will probably drop this week.

“I ain’t shittin’ you.” You were fine to leave it at that, but he sure as hell wasn’t. For a guy that hated long conversations, he seemed to like poking around in your business.  “And what makes you think that?”  You honestly didn’t want to tell him. He’s not Tommy, he might make fun of you, might store away the information later on and use it against you. You have no idea, actually. You don’t know him. 

Your contact had gotten you to an apartment. It was worn down, just as every other place in the QZ seemed to be, but it was better taken care of. The people living here must have been attentive about the appearance of their home. A good enough family to leave your baby with. 

She stopped you in the hallway, knocking three times on the old wood door, hearing a lively voice from the otherside before it opened. The woman standing there was lovely, about thirty or so, a half smile on her face when she saw you both had arrived. This plan had been in the works for some time now. 

“Hello, I’m Maxine Williams,” she greeted, reaching for your hand to shake. You did your best to match her kind and infectious energy, giving her a smile in return. She is after all going to be doing you the favor of a lifetime. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” you replied, keeping your head low between your shoulders, though you felt comfortable in her presence. 

She leaned into your contact, turning her head, but you heard the whisper “She’s so young…” 

“S’why she needs help.” 

You understood that this didn’t look right. You should not be pregnant at your tender age, should not have been put in this position. You’ve seen more horrific things than any person ever should, and it all started when you were eight… outbreak day. 

“Of course… come in, both of you.”

The pleasantries went on for a while, exchanging information of where you came from, why you were in this area, what you did before being in Boston. She mentioned her husband, her two sons and their love for older things, wishing for the world the way it was. It was all just small talk, leading up to the actual conversation topic: the baby she was about to take off your hands. 

“You’ll stay with us until the birth, if that’s okay,” she offered, but it sounded more like a demand. It wasn’t a harsh or cruel one. Even if you slept on the rickety couch you were lounging upon now, it would be better than camping in the woods, sleeping on the hard ground like you’d been doing only a month ago. 

“I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

Your contact was happy to see both ends so receptive. She’d never seen a deal containing human life go down this smoothly. Probably because this was a bit more sensitive of an exchange. 

“Good… that’s good. I’ve heard you’re interested in a closed adoption?” 

You glanced down at your stomach, feeling the weight of it, crushing inwards on the rest of your body. Having this baby and giving it away will relieve the weight both physically and metaphorically. They’ll be in good hands, better than your own could ever be. 

“I think it’s probably best. I used to have siblings, but I never really took care of them… I’m not sure I could do this,” You shook your head. You saw her younger son peeking his head out of the bedroom door in the corner, backing away as soon as you caught him. Even in an apocalypse, a child can be happy… just not with you. “I want to give them their best chance.”

“I understand…  and we’re going to do our best to make sure they have a normal childhood,” she responded, leaning forward and placing a comforting hand on your knee. 

“Thank you…”

You had sat down on one of the containment units, feeling as though the adrenaline rush from the ambush was beginning to wear off. Tommy found Maria not far away from where you were sitting, and began to ask his special favor. It was crazy, he knew it, you knew it… but it had to be done. This girl was somehow important, to the fireflies and to all of mankind, and you were starting to wonder why. Joel hadn’t said a word, sitting across from you and awaiting the news that would surely come from his brother’s discussion with his wife. 

“So, you’ve been traveling with Ellie?” 

He looked up at you from his boot laces, his eyes were heavy, and he didn’t seem in the mood to talk. He was grumpy in nature, but you could tell there was more underneath the tough exterior.

“I have.” And no further explanation was given. 

You didn’t think it was best to keep trying your luck, keep on asking him questions. He wasn’t the talking type and you figured you’d be wasting your time… but speak of the devil, Ellie came up to him just as the conversation between Tommy and Maria was getting heated. 

“What’s that all about?” She nodded in their direction. She looked scared, like a deer caught in headlights, just not as frozen. Wide eyed and unable to look away from the scene. “Does that have anything to do with me?” 

She was smart, she’d pick up on the words they were saying - more like yelling - to each other. The context clues were there, Joel would have to be an idiot to think she’d just let him off the hook. 

“We’ll talk about it later…” he grumbled, his annoyance already at a high from your unimportant questions and the fighting in the background. 

“Did he tell you where the lab is?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she got even closer to hear them. 

The lab? Is that where the fireflies would be? You vaguely remember the days you spent with the resistance group, but you don’t remember anything about a lab…

“We’ll talk about it later,” he repeated himself, almost as a warning. 

She turned to Tommy and Maria, then back to Joel, her face one of distrust and sadness. She knew, she could tell. Joel was trying to get rid of her. 

You wanted to say something, to jump in and tell her that she didn’t need to be scared, didn’t need to be worried about where she was going. That you would go with her and it would be okay… but that wouldn’t help a damn thing. Even if you turn out to be her biological mother, you are most definitely not her mom, and cannot console her as one.

“Later… right,” she trailed, backing away from Joel and off to another sectional of the checkpoint. 

Joel looked back to you, your eyes already on him. 

He sighed, at first not saying a word… but when he made a full rotation of his eyeline and you were still staring holes into him, he had to speak up. 

“If you’re lookin’ to judge me, then just-.” 

“I’m not.” 

Your interruption cut him off, and he didn’t really know what else to say. He nodded, not looking away from you, but rather trying to figure out what it is you needed from him. Your stare was not discomforting but it felt demanding. It wanted something.

“How long have you known her?” You finally spit out, tucking a leg under your elbow as you sat back. You knew you’d gotten his attention, now. 

“Few months, now. I’m supposed to take her to the fireflies as a favor to someone.” 

“What do the fireflies want with a fourteen year old kid?” 

He sighed, raising his shoulders in a shrug like he didn’t know. He must’ve been lying, right? You’d gotten pretty good at reading people, but for some reason you couldn’t tell with him. Maybe you just didn’t know him well enough… 

“M’not really sure. All I knew in the beginning was that I could get paid pretty well, so I took her.”

You nodded. He didn’t seem like the person that did things for the sake of them, Tommy had told you stories about him, the things he used to do. If it was for his survival, he’d do it… but just for the sake of getting paid? When barely anything left had real monetary value? It sounded like bullshit. 

“She seems to trust you an awful lot,” you gestured between him and the empty space she’d left. 

There was another beat of silence, to which he didn’t use for reply. Instead he sat, his back curled over and his shoulders sunken inwards. He was tired, he was worn. He needed to rest, but this life wouldn’t let him.

“She knows you’re handing her off…”

“I reckon she does, yeah.” 

And right over your shoulder you heard the climax of Tommy and Maria’s argument. She held a pointed finger in his face, before he finally insisted on Joel’s plan. She couldn’t move him. He was going to do this whether she liked it or not… which is something you haven’t seen out of Tommy for years. Joel must mean a hell of a lot to him, to up and leave Maria on a dangerous errand like this. 

You stay seated when Maria walks over to Joel, and then when Joel stands up to talk to Tommy. You stay seated and think… I can keep Tommy safe. I’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain from learning about this girl. I can bring him home to Maria, even if it means my life. 

But you immediately stand when you hear Tommy’s rapid speech. “That girl of yours. she took one of our horses and rode off,” and then he glanced at you with an eyeroll. “She took provoker…”

You huffed a sigh, following the men over to the front of the sectional, the open trail up ahead. Maria was mad at Tommy, so obviously she wouldn’t be accompanying them… and that left you. Casper didn’t like men. 

“Damnit, which way?” Joel asked, his steps were heavy on the muddy ground. 

“I just saw her riding out of here!” Terry yelled, loosening the reins on two more horses he’d brought over for assistance. 

“Alright, get back inside, help the others clean the place up,” Tommy told the man, nodding for you to mount the back of his horse after he’d climbed up himself. You chanced a look at Joel, riding across from you both. His face was mixed with anger and determination, and it reminded you of what Tommy looked like after hours of hunting. They were the epitome of brothers, though you’d never met the other half before. 

You all followed the tracks, leading every which way it seemed. Some of the tracks were fresh, and some were older, but it was hard to tell when the grounds here were moist all the time, never really drying up and creating lasting prints on the dirt. 

After a while of riding, and running into some raiders - who were easily fended off - you saw your horse standing in front of an old farmhouse, the reins tied to a pole holding up the roof of the porch. You jumped from Tommy’s mare and ran up to Casper, petting his mane and making sure he was alright. There didn’t seem to be a scratch on him. 

You watched Joel enter the house, waiting back with Tommy. Even though Joel was the one she ran away from, you couldn’t imagine she’d be thrilled to see you or Tommy instead. Joel had a good reason to do what he did. He didn’t feel strong enough or fast enough for this job anymore. He didn’t feel like he could keep her safe. You unfortunately understood that feeling a little too well, and if you were correct on your suspicions, it would have been with the exact same kid. 

Tommy unstrapped his gun from his back, holding it steady and watching the surroundings whilst he leaned against the porch beam you were standing by. He was trying to gage whether or not your horse was calm enough for him to approach you closer, knowing what would happen if he wasn’t. 

“I think you’re right, you know…” He trailed, his voice quiet on the off chance of an open window. 

“You do?” 

You turned to him, you didn’t exactly have to think twice about what he meant. 

“Yeah,” he nodded, a chuckle falling from his lips. “It makes sense… the timing n’ everything. She looks a hell of a lot like you… and she’s caused about as much trouble today as the first time I met you.”

“Causing trouble is genetic?” You laughed, your eyes watering a bit at the implications he made. She might be yours. Your daughter, who you didn’t think you’d see again. 

“Hell, it might be. Your kinda trouble, anyway… stealin’ horses and shit.”

The nod of your head was slow, the thought of this all sinking in. It made perfect sense and yet coming to terms with the facts of ‘it is’ instead of ‘it could be’ makes you feel light headed.

You didn’t know if he was being serious or if he was just trying to make you feel better, but the look on his face told you the former. He wouldn’t just lie to you, he knew you could read him. 

“I keep turning it over in my head, tryin’ to think of ways I could prove it to myself… I think just seein’ her was enough for me. I’m remembering things I thought I forgot about a long time ago.”

Now it was his turn to nod, but your moment was caught short when you heard a branch snap around the corner. You instinctively pulled your gun from your pants, holding it out in the direction the snap came from. Tommy raised his rifle, doing the same and gesturing for you to go inside. You both made it in the doorway before the threat made itself known. Two guys, coming around the corner. They hadn’t realized you were watching them yet, but they did a quick scan, making sure there wasn’t any immediate danger. 

“Get upstairs,” he said in a whisper, but you snapped your head to face him. 

“No way, the odds are even if I stay,” you argued, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood for a fight right now. It was too risky to have you both down here. 

“Go tell Joel to get his ass down here, you stay up with the kid.” 

“Like hell I’m going up there. Your brother scares me,” you say in a half joking mumble, keeping watch on the two strangers that were now surrounding your horse. They were about to get kicked in the ass if they didn’t step away. 

Tommy realizes that them being distracted gives a good amount of time to leave without cover. 

“Alright, but you first,” he shrugged a shoulder towards the staircase, and with one last glance to your horse, you left your corner by the window. 

You quickly ran up the stairs, ducking a head in a few rooms before finding the one Joel and Ellie were in. 

“Get it together, we’re not alone,” Tommy said as soon as you got inside the door.

“I got two walking in,” Joel leaned towards the sliding window to get some eyes on the situation. 

“There’s more inside already…”

 You backed against the door, Tommy against the dresser on the opposite side. Joel stepped over in front of you, and Ellie behind Tommy. You didn’t realize until now, but taking a glance at Ellie, she looked even worse than when she left. Her face was sullen and her head was dropped. She didn’t seem to be snapping into reality, even with the weight of the situation. 

You stayed by her throughout the house, when Tommy and Joel started shooting, you stood in front of her, covering them from back behind. It was weird, these maternal feelings that had never sparked within you before, only now arising for this specific human that had no clue who you were. 

Once outside, it seemed strange. The dynamic between the four of you was so incredibly awkward. Everyone was thinking on a different topic, and the silence could echo on for miles. You nodded for Ellie to mount the back of your horse, since she didn’t seem comfortable to ride with Joel for the time being. She climbed up behind you and for a second you smiled, because this is your daughter, you know it… but soon after, your mind quickly succumbed to the general silence.

The nature and scenery surrounding you seemed to be duller than before, the pretty autumnal colors becoming ugly in the sense that you didn’t appreciate them right now. You loved the beginning of fall, but the feelings spread among you are tense and terrible, worse than raking up the fallen leaves before winter. 

The feeling never leaves, it stays until you all reach the edge of the town. 

-

“I’m not hungry,” you swore, shoving the extra plate of food away from your placemat.

Manxine’s husband was hungry, and you’d noticed him and his wife being decent enough to give you some of their food the past few days. It wasn’t necessary, because you weren’t working, and you weren’t barely helping them. They were helping you, and you couldn’t be more grateful. Taking extra food that wasn’t just lying around felt like stealing. You’d never been a stranger to it before, but these people were far too kind, too gentle. They made you feel like maybe the world wasn’t completely at its end. It still turned, and people were still good, despite everything. 

“Yes you are, and you should be,” Maxine pushed the plate back in front of you. Her goal had been to ‘put a little meat on your bones’ as long as you were under her roof. 

“I’m fine, I promise.”

“Promise or no promise, you need to eat more. You’re still too thin to try and survive childbirth, ya hear?” She put the old fork back into your open hand, and you sighed. It was sometimes hard to eat more than you normally did, on the account of your body not being used to it. If you ate more than usual would it make you sick? If you threw up the extra rations they were spotting you, you’d feel terrible, but she kept insisting. 

You opened your mouth to take a bite, swallowing it down and feeling the slight discomfort start to settle. Already you’d been eating a lot more than before the QZ, and you didn’t realize how slowly your appetite would have to grow. 

After a few more bites you had to drop the fork to your plate, feeling too full already to keep on. You felt terrible, refusing extra portions that were meant to keep you healthy. Whether or not it was caused by the pregnancy hormones, or just your own emotional breakdown, you weren’t sure… but you started tearing up while sitting at the table. 

“I’m sorry,” you shook your head, covering your mouth and sitting back while the tears rolled down. 

“Don’t you apologize, sweetheart,” Maxine uttered softly, her presence at your side immediately. 

To her, none of this effort was wasted, or overdone. She and her husband, though some of the better off people in the QZ by job merritt, couldn’t seem to have another baby. It wasn’t for the lack of trying, or stress that they couldn’t afford it. It was simply the fact that after six years from their last child, they couldn’t conceive another. This baby, your baby, was going to be a gift to them. They were happy to take any necessary steps into getting you to childbirth. 

“I just can’t eat anymore,” you tried to justify your emotions, but now it only looked like an overreaction. People are dying without food, and here you are, crying about there being too much. 

“It’s alright. Leftovers don’t go to waste in this house,” she spoke, a bit of a chuckle in her tone, which alleviated some of the pressure you felt. 

“Okay,” you nodded, letting her take your plate to the other room, likely where her husband had retired to. 

The campfire was crackling, the smoke filling the hazy navy color of the dark sky. Trees had covered it mostly, but there were a few stars peaking here and there. You’d just finished a can of chicken soup, tossing it on the pile that had been started by the others. It was crazy, how you suddenly remembered so much, just by eating food out of a can again. Days on the run, with the fireflies, being a raider even… it all came back. 

It had only been a few hours or so since leaving Jackson, but after the fiasco of today, the three of you had gotten extremely tired a lot earlier than you should have. 

The three of you meaning: Yourself, Joel and Ellie. 

After the silence of the horse ride back to the commune, something had changed. Joel realized not only what Ellie meant to him, but what he means to Ellie. He’d decided Tommy was no longer required, and that he could fare the journey on his own. Of course, you immediately volunteered an extra pair of hands and a quick gun as assistance. To your surprise, it was Ellie who was your greatest advocate. Her, and the fact that you remembered the lab’s location, could probably get her there on your own if you had to. 

The mirror building… you don’t remember it being a lab, but as soon as Tommy said the words it jogged your memory.

Now you were here, sitting with your back against a log, and staring holes into the shoulder of a fourteen year old girl. 

“Whatch’u lookin’ at?” Joel asked, his arms crossed over his chest as he lazily reclined against a tree. 

You only looked away for a second, too fixated on what was just barely peeking over the collar of Ellie’s shirt and jacket. It had fallen down a bit when she laid down to sleep.

“Nothin’,” you shrugged it off. He was a man of few words, surely he’d drop it on account of having to speak more if he didn’t… but God help him, he’s like a damn cat, his curiosity could kill him. 

“You’re very focused on nothin’,” he teased. There was something off about you with Ellie, he’d taken notice of it. He didn’t know what it was about but it didn’t seem like a danger.

You rolled your eyes over to him, but could tell by his glance back that he wouldn’t quit. He’d already volunteered to take the first watch, and he had nothing else better to do. 

“It’s a long story, you’d get bored.”

But again, he had nothing better to do. 

“Try me,” he raised his shoulders in a shrug of his own. He seemed much more docile of a creature in this setting. The early hours of night, so quiet, and dimly lit. His voice was gentle and his features were soft. He was relaxed.

You took a deep inhale, trying to brace yourself for whatever came of this. He was a fresh face, someone new to explain an old wound to. The scar had finally healed and you were about to dig a blade back through and rip it open… but you suppose you’d sharpened the knife by coming along in the first place. 

“I think Ellie’s my daughter,” you breathed out, not checking for a reaction until he’d been silent too long. His eyes were narrow, and he tilted his head, looking between you two. She was fast asleep by now, but he had a picture of her in his head, comparing it to you. 

“You’re shittin’ me, right?” 

You blew out another long breath, shaking your head and rolling your eyes. He doesn’t get it. He doesn’t know this feeling you have or the fact that you’ve never felt it before. He doesn’t understand that you’d come to peace with the fact that you’d never see her again, and then she appeared like a ghost from your past. You thought she was your past self at first, taunting you, making fun of who you were now. 

“I ain’t shittin’ you.”

You were fine to leave it at that, but he sure as hell wasn’t. For a guy that hated long conversations, he seemed to like poking around in your business. 

“And what makes you think that?” 

You honestly didn’t want to tell him. He’s not Tommy, he might make fun of you, might store away the information later on and use it against you. You have no idea, actually. You don’t know him. 

You let your eyes flick up to the stars, hoping by some miracle they will fall from the heavens in the form of angels to give you a message, that message being: shut the fuck up and don’t spill your guts to a man you met this morning. 

“When I was thirteen, I was by myself. I fell into a weird group of people that could probably be considered a cult. There was this one guy that treated me better than the others…” you trailed off, not sure if you’re ready to rehash all of this. But it’s been a long time since you talked about it. You need to get it off your chest if you’re to somehow make a relationship with the product of your past. “He was in his twenties, so a lot younger than most people in the group. Pretty sure I was the youngest. I didn’t realize he was using me.”

Joel was tense, but not because he was uncomfortable… he was genuinely invested. Wanted to know this story and how it connected with Ellie. His Ellie.

“We left the group, and I found out I was pregnant a few months later. I’d barely had my cycle a fucking year… wasn’t even sure what it meant when I didn’t get it. Anyways,” you had to stifle a laugh, because just looking back… what the actual hell? You kept blinking to make sure no tears escaped in front of this man. You weren’t there yet with him. “I think he just lost all interest in me after that. He didn’t really speak to me unless it was necessary, and wouldn't look at me. Stuff like that.”

But that wasn’t the worst part, and Joel knew you were working your way up to it. 

“Before I was pregnant I used to sneak into places most people couldn’t. I was real skinny like that. Was able to smuggle stuff in and out of different QZs across the country. We peddled rare narcotics for the most part… but I had to stop when I, you know…” you made a round hand motion around your stomach, hoping he got the jist. “I didn’t fit in the smaller spaces.”

“What kind of narcotics?” Joel finally asked a question, and it wasn’t really the one you were hoping for… but you understood he’d probably fallen into the same scheme over the years. 

“Vicodin, mostly. Up in Princeton there was this one apartment… we’d searched it top to bottom because of how many secret hiding places there were. Vicodin everywhere. Whoever lived there was either severely addicted or preparing for the worst.”

“Maybe both.”

Yeah, probably. Damn shame he never got to use them.

“We used it as a trading token most of the time. It was actually what got us into Boston,” you waved off your tangent eventually, getting back to the story and where Ellie came in. “Pretty much gave the rest of our stash to a contact we had there… she got us a family we could hand the baby off to.” 

And now he got it. You’d been knocked up by a predator, and said predator wanted you to give up the baby so he could go about using you some more. He’d seen and done some cruel things in a post apocalyptic world, but he would never stoop that low, and grimaced at anyone who possibly could.

“I had her when I was fourteen. Lookin’ at her today was like looking in a mirror,” you rambled on, still not quite to your point. “She’s the right age, from the right location… and that birthmark on her shoulder…”

He hadn’t even noticed it all this time. Months with the kid, and he thought nothing of it. But to you, it was clarification. It was the confirming piece of evidence that pulled it all together. You’d barely taken your eyes off of it since you saw it. You wanted to make sure you weren’t seeing things. Wanted to make sure it was the right shape and placement, just so you could be sure. 

He nodded, seemingly coming to this conclusion now, too. It didn’t take him any more convincing. It was clear by now that your hunch was not just a hunch. 

“Her dad, he still… around?” 

You shook your head with a light hearted laugh. 

“No,” and you could have left it with that simple answer… but that was never much your style. “I shot him in the head.”

His low whistle cut the air, and you almost felt proud. You’d killed the one thing in life that ever hurt you directly. 

“He deserved worse.” 

“Yeah, he did.”

And then it was quiet for a minute, all the words the two of you had spoken up until now were rotating over and around in your heads to make sense of them, until he spoke up again. 

“I’m sorry,” he nearly whispered. 

“S’okay. Not your fault…” you shook it off. It’s in the past, it’s done. 

“Not yours either,” he replied, raising a brow to you. “M’just, sorry you went through that.”

He was soft, he was gentle. You supposed he was like Tommy. He didn’t judge you or make you feel inferior because of your tragic mishappenings. He just listened, and felt sympathy.

“I don’t mind it so much now… I got her back.”

And both your gazes shifted to the sleeping teenager, her breaths steady with the humming of the night around you. She has no clue, and for now you’ll have to keep it that way. 

Yeah, you think… I got her back.

-

It only took two weeks. Riding, eating, sleeping, and talking, rinse and repeat. There was the odd occasion of dealing with infected, but they were never in large groups, and cleared out easily. 

You remembered exactly where to go when you entered the city limits, guiding them towards the college campus you once lived in as a firefly. It was almost ten years ago, but you remember it pretty well. It’s where you met Tommy. Not in the lab, obviously. You’d both been put on security detail one morning, having never met beforehand. He proceeded to ‘teach you’ how to shoot a rifle properly, only to find you could hit a perfect bullseye on your first shot. Probably because your dad was a man who loved his guns, and you’d been shooting one since you were a kid before the outbreak. He laughed about it, and you two were friends ever since. 

“Are you getting any of this?” Ellie asked you, pulling you from your thoughts as you rode alongside them. 

For the last hour, Joel was attempting - and failing - to explain the rules of football to the young Miss Ellie. And she didn’t understand one lick of it, not that you blame her. You’d been to actual football games in your youth, but you couldn’t get it even then. 

“Nope, I was always more of a baseball fan…” you trailed, and smiled at the thought. Baseball was fun, you remember it well. It was your biggest obsession right before ballet, and right after fingerpainting. 

“Oh really, now?” Joel cut in, his surprise evident in his raised eyebrow and tilted gaze in your direction. 

“Yep. You’re looking at the MVP of the Acorn’s jr. little league team.” 

Ellie laughed. She didn’t know a thing about baseball either. She’d seen some old collectors cards though here and there. Apparently they used to be valuable. They were only knick knacks to anyone who saw them now. 

“What position did you play?” 

“Shortstop… or second base, technically. No shortstop in jr. little league,” you admitted. Your dad always called you shortstop, so that’s what you tell people now. Anyone who asks, at least. You can count on one hand the number of people who have. 

“Seein’ you around infected… I bet you swung like hell,” he chuckled. Ellie was still confused about the rules of the last sport, much less how to play this one… but she listened intently because Joel was interested, so she was interested too.

“I always got on base, didn’t always stay there, but always got on. Plus, I was the only kid who never picked their nose at the plate, so… Obviously I earned my title.”

“That must’ve been an amazing accomplishment. How old were you?” 

From what he understood, you’d been eight on outbreak day. You couldn’t have been too much younger to have started a sport, right?

“Probably six or seven at the time. I did ballet after, had kind of a short attention span when it came to after school activities,” you explained, a smile on your cheeks when you spoke about the things you used to love doing. You probably would still like doing some of them, had they been an option in Jackson.

“I know about ballet!” Ellie jumped in, nearly scaring Joel off the horse. “That’s the dancers that used to wear those weird shoes and shit.”

“Pointe shoes?” You chuckled, more at Joel trying to compose himself than Ellie’s funny recollection of footwear. 

“Yeah, those. They looked like torture devices in some of the paintings I saw… did you ever wear any?” 

“No, I would have had to train for about five more years to have gotten to that point. That was the dream at the time, to be a pointe ballerina. Of course, the end of the world happened…”

Joel turned to you from his forwards facing stare, a sadness in his eyes before he looked back onto the road ahead of him. Was that… pity? You were slowly learning to read him, his little mannerisms and tells that made him like everyone else, yet just a tad different, in a way that only he could be. 

“Maybe after all this is over you can teach me some steps,” she suggested, but you scoffed. 

“Maybe,” you shook your head at how funny the thought sounded in your head. You’d only danced for what? Ten months at most? And as an eight year old? “I think you’ll probably be too busy with Joel’s guitar lessons.”

She laughed it off, shaking her head and leaning it back onto Joel’s shoulder in front of her. The three of you kept along until reaching the building you remembered, but instantly it was a disappointment. The fireflies weren’t here, and likely hadn’t been for over a year. 

“This isn’t right. There should be a checkpoint set up and a security blockade surrounding the place,” you mentioned, getting off your horse and running up to the door in the front. You peeked inside, and there was no sign of life anywhere. 

“You’re kidding,” Ellie grumbled. 

Joel dismounted the horse and followed after you, looking around and trying to find any signs that they might have been here at all. 

“You sure this is the right place?” 

“Positive. I remember this building, I met Tommy right over there,” you pointed down the sidewalk, where a half torn down barricade of cement was still sitting, but just barely. You walked to the corner of the crumbling stairs and grabbed a piece of old broken up brick, chucking it through the front door in order to unlock it.

Joel chuckled for a moment at your frustration, watching the scene play out. 

“Baseball… right,” he teased, leading the way inside with you and Ellie in tow. 

-

Maxine’s boys were at Fedra school. Her husband was at work in a different sector. Maxine herself was trading ration cards for supplies. It was the first time she’d left the apartment since you’d been there, and of all days, of all mornings for it to happen… your water broke.

You were alone, and scared. You weren’t allowed to leave the apartment for fear of the neighbor’s suspicion. Maxine’s family would be torn apart by Fedra if anyone found out what was going on, so no matter how terrified you were, you couldn’t risk going outside for help.

“Not now,” you cried, the tension in the pit of your stomach slowly turning to pain when your first contraction started. “Please, kid, I’m begging.”

You suck down against the wall of the living room, trying to find a sitting position that doesn't kill you from the pain. You wished more than anything you had some of those pain pills left over from the exchange, but they would probably only hurt you right now. 

“Please, don’t,” you tried to even your breathing, the tears crawling down your cheeks at a fastening rate. “I can’t do this…” 

The walls were closing in, you weren’t prepared for this. It didn’t seem to be the right time, either… but it was happening, and there was absolutely nothing you could do to stop it. The baby was coming, and if you wanted to live to see another day, you were going to have to get your head straight, and push it out of you. 

You didn’t know how long you’d have, but from the time your water broke to the last contraction, things were moving relatively quickly. You were still on the ground against the wall, biting down on the sleeve of your shirt to try and not make noise. 

You hoped and prayed that you would not deliver this baby on your own, but it looked like that was your only option right now. They had all left around an hour ago, they would be gone all day. 

“I don’t know what to do, kid… help me out here,” you cried out again, but the baby didn’t exactly listen. You felt more weight bearing down on your lower half by the minute, and all you could do was panic.

It had happened so fast, the attack. Too fast, nothing you guys could have prepared for. It was all within minutes, and the ringing in your ears following your last gunshot seemed to put everything in slow motion. The way Ellie was yelling but you couldn’t hear it, the man that was coming up from behind you, and the one that was wrestling with Joel near the edge of the rail. 

Too fast, the man on your rear grabbed at you and pulled backwards, keeping you from being able to stop Joel’s attacker… You got trapped in a headlock, a gun to your temple, and another man was about to get Ellie. Joel and his attacker broke through the railing, tumbling over the edge and falling into God knows what. You sunk deadweight in the man’s arms, letting Ellie shoot him with her raised gun before you shot the man coming for her. 

She ran to the edge first, freezing as she looked down. You followed and peered over, unsure what you would see. 

“Shit,” you lowered yourself to a sitting position before scooting off the edge and dropping down to where he was. Your voice was in a panic “Joel?” 

He was alive, but fatally injured if you didn’t get him out of here right now. 

“I’m gonna need you to pull,” he managed to get out through gritted teeth. His face was scrunched in pain, and you knew better than anyone how hard it was to stay quiet when you’re hurting that bad. 

“You could bleed out,” you shook your head, kneeling down and flinging off your backpack. Digging through, you only have the most basic of supplies… nothing substantial enough to stop mass amounts of blood, or, worst case scenario, a deadly infection. 

“Just pull, damnit,” he grunted, offering his hand. 

By now Ellie had come down, watching in fear as the only figure of importance in her life was nearly on his deathbed. It couldn’t be exaggerated because it really was that bad. He could drop down at any moment and never get back up, but he kept pushing on. 

You did as he asked, hoisting him to a stand, letting him lean on you for support. Ellie went on ahead, leading the way as she cleared the place with her own gun. You had to assist here and there, unwilling to let Ellie get shot on account of holding Joel up on his feet. 

It was practically a miracle that any of you made it outside. Your horse had already taken care of a raider, it seemed, the man lying unconscious on the ground behind him. He likely got to close, touched him, even. Ellie shot the last obstacle standing between you and an escape, and once he was cleared, you mounted your horses, helping Joel onto his, first. 

You rode in front of them, looking for a place to take shelter. Looking for an empty house, or gas station even. Anything would work, as long as it was safer than here. You rode for miles down the road, unsure if there were people in the area. You’d finally reached a neighborhood of substantial size, with no signs of life or proof of human activity. 

But before you could even find a safe shelter…

“Joel? Joel!” 

And you quickly turned around. Joel fell off the horse, out like a light.

-

Tags: @orcasoul

#joel miller #reader insert #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x reader #joel tlou #the last of us #joel

[basicallyblank]

AWFC, what's going wrong; 23/24 season analysis.

The 23/24 season for Arsenal Women hasn't been impressive, with an opening day defeat to Liverpool, and then losing to West Ham and Tottenham for the first time ever in the league, you have to start asking how we've fallen so far from what we once were.

After going trophyless for 4 years, we finally won the League Cup last season, and managed to defeat Chelsea again in order to win it this season, but when you peel back the years, you realise that for a club like Arsenal, this does not cut it. We haven't won the league since 2019, and we haven't won the FA Cup, the trophy Arsenal have won more than any other club, since 2016.

With an injury crisis last season that left us paper thin, we were obviously going to need some quick signings to cover us just whilst our regular squad members recovered. Ilistedt, Codina, Lacasse, KCC and Alessia Russo where all summer signings.

Alessia Russo is our top scorer this season with 10 goals, and her off the ball work is superb, and I think that she'll only get better. I'm willing to give Codina some time, she's only young and she's having to adapt to another club and country's playing style, I think she has a winning mentality that could push us forward, and I think she's ben okay for us this season. I really don't think I've seen enough of KCC this seasonn, we payed 300K for her and we've barely played her. Jonas likes to play her as a defensive midfielder, where I do think she is more of an 8 (I did think she was Jordans replacement at the start of the season) So I would definitely like to see more, but I think she has a good passing ability, but I don't think she should start in big games just yet, I think she needs more time. I do not think Amanda and Cloe were good signings, yes they have done good and come through for us this season, are they Arsenal standard ? No.

We have to admit it now, we have players that are not good enough, because if we don't, we will stay the way we are. We also have to admit that even our players that are good enough, have been lacking this season when we needed them the most. I didn't rate LWM at all last season, whereas this season she's in contention for PLOTS, I think Beth has made a big impact G/A wise, she's our second top scorer, Caitlin is good for Australia, she lacks for Arsenal. Stina needs to learn the offside rule, she scores goals for us, even with limited game time this season, but I'm gonna need Arsenal to put in the money for a world class striker. Viv is complicated, I'm not speaking in terms of injury, it's difficult to really gage where she's at because she's been struggled coming back, but if she does stay, we can't keep playing her as a 10/midfielder whatever, if she wants to play there, fine, but she can do it somewhere else. We need her as the 9, we've seen what she can do when she's up front, and that's what we need from her.

We have the most big chances missed in the league (40) Our players have gone from free scoring, to not being able to even hit a barn door, we're always taking that extra touch too much, that extra second, when we never used to do that before. In the WSL this season, we've taken a total of 304 shots, we've scored 46 goals this season. Questions need to be asked of what Kelly Smith is telling the players in training, we are hesitent to shoot, our frontline still wouldn't be able to score if the opposition had no keeper in the net.

We also need to look at our corner convertion rate, we've generated 178, 1 7 8, corner kicks this season, we've scored ONE. We've scored once from a corner all season out of 178, when Amanda scored against chelsea. Goals make games, and we are struggling to get them from anywhere.

When we were knocked out of the Champions League on penalties in the qualifying stage, the fans were looking forward to all our focus being on winning the league. At the start of last season, we looked strong, we were on the longest WSL winstreak ever, this season started out unconvincing, obviously we still had injured players coming back, scheduling players didn't get a proper break, but an opening day defeat against Liverpool, winning at the last minute against Manchester United, Aston Villa and Bristol, both of who were battling for last spot for the first half of the season, isn't good enough.

Our biggest struggles come from teams who play a lowblock, Jonas does not know how to get around this, his solution is to play from the wings and ping crosses into the box, which didn't work against Liverpool, West Ham or Spurs, and these are the games that lost us contention for the league. When Joe Montemurro was the coach, we didn't win big games, we didn't win against chelsea once, now we do win the big games, but the league is decided by fine margins, if we don't win our smaller games, those big wins won't help us.

It's a struggle to look at our backline as a cohesive unit, as it's been so inconsistent, our CB pairings aren't the same 2 games in a row, like Leah and Rafa (come back please) were last season. Lotte has been fantastic, she's really stepped up, Katie had a good first half of the season, she's dropped off a bit now but is still solid, Steph has been good, Emily Fox has been great, one of our best signings this season. For the games she's had, Leah has been outstanding, the game against Man City comes to mind, Leah's passing is out of this world, getting a assist on her comeback just demonstrated how much we lose when we don't have her. I think next season when she plays more, we'll see more cohesiveness, but Lotte and Leah should NOT be our CB pair, their playing styles are almost identical, individually they're great but together they're not.

I think it's time to realise the fact that we need a rebuild. The club has no vision, no project, we haven't won anything of value for 5 years. We need to start scouting better players, when Jonas looks away from Scandanavian countries, he, 7/10, makes a decent signing. We have a solid core of players that we can build around, Leah, Veen, Katie, Wally, Kim, although I do think we may start seeing her playtime decrease soon, Pelova, Viv (if she stays) Alessia, as a 9 or 10, I don't mind where she plays. Add a few good signings, world class players, and we can catch Chelsea in their transitional period.

If Viv leaves, we're gonna need a new striker, I love Stina but she can't be our number 1. We have the chance to catch up to Chelsea, and I think Man City are only going to grow, especially if they win the WSL this season.

I don't think this season has been very successful, but I don't think we've been successful for a while, and we know that.

#women’s football #lionesses #arsenal women #arsenal #woso #leah williamson #katie mccabe #awfc #caitlin foord #alessia russo #steph catley #lia walti #lia wälti #lotte wubben moy #beth mead #vivianne miedema

[imminent-danger-came]

do you think MK is gonna have a circlet arc?? Going along with your eldritch mk theory jt could parallel his past life being contained and also more parallels to SWK and MK how fun

This ask has haunted my ask box for 3 days. Circlet arc??? CIRCLET ARC???? THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE AND SO SO SO GOOD.

I have no idea if it would actually happen in show, but I have a feeling MK is at the very least going to have an "anti-circlet" arc. Go with me for a moment:

So, we know MK's bandana parallels Wukong's phoenix feathers in design, right?

MK with the two ends of his bandana and Wukong with the two feathers coming out of his cap.

However, MK's bandana is ALSO a parallel to Wukong's circlet:

And MK was given this bandana by Pigsy (presumably):

This is basically a long winded way to say that MK has already been "crowned", in a sense. Unlike Wukong, MK never needed to be controlled in the same way his mentor did at the beginning of his journey. MK, instead, was given morals and love by our wonderful Dadsy from a young age, which effectively functioned as a "circlet", if that makes sense.

So, the bandana, a symbol of both who he is/was raised to be and the crown, is already his circlet. As MK is now, he doesn't need a circlet to exert control over him because of who he is—a good kid who is trying his best to make the right choices.

But, you know, there was that really scary scene that one time where MK didn't exactly feel like MK and he kind of went off the rails...and...WHAT IS THAT

HIS BANDANA WAS DAMAGED BY HIMSELF IN AN EPISODE TITLED "Rip and Tear" !!?!??!?!?

SO.

Say MK were to rip his own bandana off, symbolically showing his complete decent into his "harbinger of chaos" role...that would mean another crown would have to go on to replace it, right?

Whether MK get's crowned symbolically with another bandana or an ACTUAL circlet remains to be seen, but the potential is definitely there! And I'm normal about it

#how fun #anon did you know SWK and MK parallels are my lifeblood #anyways #I'm completely fine!!!! I think about the line ''they will destroy you harbinger of chaos'' a normal amount!!!!!! #I'm sorry guys MK evil arc might be very real. Like not YET. Using his monkey form in the special was kinda a #Samadhi fire Mei situation where you wish it didn't have to happen but are kinda glad it did. #But like. There is going to be a time where Monkey form is not the answer yet it's the one MK gives and the bandana goes and we're FUCKED #Or at least like. That's what I'm speculating #So I don't know if MK will for sure have a circlet arc. But maybe I pray to god everyday he will. Maybe I want it really bad. #Look all I'm saying is that MK destroying his own friendship armor with his own power is NOT a good sign. Okay. thanks ilu #lmk #lmk mk #lmk theory #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #asks #eamk theory

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.

#asks #twdg louis #twdg minerva #twdg clementine #twdg violet #twdg marlon #twdg tenn #honestly whenever i see someone say louis is the boring option i'm just like '.......that's your opinion but also how can you say that??' #then again i'm sure other people look at me saying violentine just isn't for me and they say the same thing so y'know... i can't talk haha #also time is such a weird thing because i look at the entire cell scene in louis' route and like... i'm not even mad about violet anymore #like yeah i still don't believe she was brainwashed like i'm sorry y'all only believe that because kent said something about it #not because there's all this evidence toward it in game like vi being pissed at clementine makes sense she doesn't need to be brainwashed #for it to work like her being vulnerable and easily manipulated into submission makes perfect sense especially with minerva there #it's like everyone was pissed that she attacked clementine and people needed a way to excuse it so it's not violet's fault when like... #that's literally what makes it interesting like calm down it's okay if violet is pissed and scared and behaves accordingly #also my controversial opinion of the day that i'll hide here in the tags so maybe people won't find it sksksk but #I personally find the concept of vinerva and the doomed tragedy of it more compelling than anything violentine did #like i'll defend violentine and i do believe it's an important and good ship it's just not my personal favorite #anyway but then the whole thing with lilly and minerva is so good and louis screaming FUCK YOU at minerva?? amazing love it so good #i love when the soft character who never chooses violence is so pissed off that all that anger they have boils to the surface and it's raw #like... he's SO mad he's SO furious he's SOOO UPSET like he wasn't even like this when marlon died or anything like he hit his limit #and then shooting dorian through the mouth while an accident is just well done i love it and i love his reaction of mortification #and apologizing and YET he still tries to go with clementine he's trembling and can barely string together a sentence but he wants to go #he wants to help her he wants to save aj THAT is the gut reaction he has after everything that just went down #'louis isn't loyal or good for clem because of the vote' babe tell me you don't understand any nuance of louis' character without telling m #it's fine IT'S FINE you don't have to agree and i just have to remind myself that it's fine not everyone likes louis we're okay #this drives me crazy in the best way like y'know what? i love the cells scene in louis' route all of it even the stuff i used to rant about #even the stuff that used to piss me off now i'm just like 'no wait past cj was dumb she wasn't looking at it this way aaaaaaaa' sksksks #that was my tag ted talk about the cell scene thank you

[randomthunk]

I have no words, I really fell backwards into the Kiraodo ship and I am sorry for the absurdity of my situation.

#nobody tell my husband I ship this yet because we're only in early season 2 to him #star trek ds9 #star trek #ds9 #kiraodo #kira nerys #odo #odo ital #so we started watching DS9 because hey I still have trial time left on Paramount+ #(still mad I can't watch it on Hulu) #(P+ is a garbage app) #and it's like woah this is a good show! and I love this grumpy Mr. House jelly alien man! #then oops I read ONE THING on his Wiki page #and WOOPS I watched YouTube clips #and OH NO I accidentally watched all of His Way #and okay fine yeah Tumblr gifsets but THAT'S IT!!! #still have a LOT left to enjoy #I'm so flustered at myself okay #kat arts #fanart

[isfjmel-phleg]

🫥

*it cut off my last tags which were: I don't know what I can do about this but in the meantime it's a struggle

#random personal stuff #back on my soapbox feel free to ignore #okay so I have been struggling a bit in the Sunday school class that I am being taken to #which is not surprising because I have been struggling socially in this church for the past year #it's a women's class taught by the pastor's wife but not all the women in the church are in it #most of them are middle-aged/elderly #what we're learning is perfectly fine #I appreciate that they're going through an epistle and not lecturing us on How To Be Good Wives and Mothers #but the other women will chime in with their thoughts in between discussions of doctrine #and it will be things like empty little slogans #(such as 'Choose joy!' or 'GodisgoodallthetimeandallthetimeGodisgood') #(not that there isn't any truth in those but they're used tritely) #or What The Lord Did For Me (or: My Life Is Perfectly Peachy) #or things that suggest their faith is all about never being upset by anything ever because you Have Peace #and I kind of wonder if this is a generational thing #because sometimes I'll call my mom with something that's troubling me #and she'll tell me things to the effect of 'just don't feel that way' #or 'ask the Lord to take it away' #which is kindly meant but ultimately ineffective in my experience #but anyway I'm sure these women mean what they say yet at the same time it just...feels insincere to me #as if as Christians we're just supposed to paste smiles on our faces and never have negative feelings #I'm not saying we should all come to class and dispense our personal dramas #but it feels like we're showing up and performing Niceness #and not allowing room for anything that isn't Easy Answers Positivity #and I sit there feeling like there's a huge invisible brick wall around me #and I'm sure that's a me problem #but...I don't know what I'm trying to articulate here sorry #I guess I don't know how to interact with these people because nothing seems real #and we can progress no further than the smallest of small talk because heaven forbid we let our real honest selves slosh over in public #and it's draining!

[sturniolo-fall-enthusiast]

Covid

Y/N groans as she wakes up, grimacing at the immediate pounding in her head. She rubs her face, sighing. She lifts her head up enough, glancing back at the bed being empty. She frowns before grabbing her phone and seeing it's 1 P.M.

Y/N huffs, getting out of the bed, trudging out of the room. She shuffles to the bathroom, stopping when she finds Matt at the sink.

"Hey." She mumbles.

"Hey." He yawns. "I tested positive today. I can sleep on the couch or something." He offers.

"Too late." She sighs. "My head's killing me. I think I already have it."

"Fuck." Matt sighs. "Here." He grabs another test and gives it to her. He looks at her as she grimaces. "What?"

"I don't wanna do it." She whines.

"Y/N/N..."

"I hate it." She states. "I could stick up too far and it could get stuck."

"That won't happen." Matt argues.

"How do you know?" She retorts.

"Baby, I'm too tired to bicker right now. Do you want me to do it?" He asks. After a moment of consideration, she nods. "Okay." He mumbles, taking the test out. He grabs the swab and steps closer to her, the girl instinctively backing up to the counter. "Baby..."

"Can't we just agree I have it and not test me?" She pleads, giving him puppy dog eyes.

"No." Matt shakes his head. "It'll be fine. It's quick."

"That's what she said." Y/N says, weakly attempting to comfort herself with humor.

"Babe." Matt chuckles, rolling his eyes. "Be over before you know it." He promises, resting his hand on one side of her head. He moves the swab closer to her nose, about to go in, but she whines and leans back, holding her arms up as protection. "Sweetheart, come on. You can do it. You've done it before."

"I know, but I still hate it." She pouts.

"Just close your eyes and don't think about it." Matt says.

"What if you stick it up too far and it gets stuck?" She questions.

"I won't, I promise." Matt tells her. "Close your eyes. Breathe." He orders, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. He rubs the back of her scalp, fingers tangled in her hair. Y/N sighs, but closes her eyes, trying to focus on her breathing.

Y/N flinches when the swab goes up one nostril, whining.

"I know, I know." Matt mumbles. "Few more seconds." He takes the swab out and goes to the next nostril, repeating his actions. Y/N's whines grow a bit louder, resisting the urge to fidget.

"Almost. Almost." Matt promises, taking the swab out after a few moments. He puts the test back, setting his timer for 15 minutes.

"See? All done." He smooths some of her hair down. "You did great." He smiles, kissing her forehead. Y/N groans, leaning into Matt and he wraps her up in a warm hug.

They stay like that until the timer goes off, the two looking to see the positive test.

"I'll call Chris. Let him know we're infected." Matt says with a heavy sigh. "I hate being sick."

"Right there with you." Y/N mumbles, going to the kitchen to find something to eat, thankfully still having an appetite.

---

Y/N rubs her head as she wishes for the headache to go away. She stops when Matt walks in, rubbing his eyes.

"Need these?" Matt asks, resting his hand over the light switch. Y/N shakes her head and Matt turns the lights off, the TV still providing light so he can see his way to the bed.

He climbs in, getting under the covers.

"You feel okay?" Y/N asks.

"Bleh." Matt mutters. "You?"

"Bleh." She repeats.

Matt groans, rubbing his head.

"Want a head massage?" Y/N asks.

"No. No, you don't feel good either. It's fine." Matt says.

"I want to." Y/N says.

Matt looks her, his girlfriend giving him a look to let her take care of him.

"Okay." He mumbles. "You pick the movie."

Y/N quickly puts Shrek on, quietly humming along to "All Star."

Matt lays down, putting his head on her stomach, his arm wrapping around her waist. Y/N threads her fingers through his hair, combing through his curls for a few moments. She starts to massage his head, Matt letting out a hum of content.

---

The couple spent most of the day watching movies or sleeping. Matt played Fortnite sometimes while Y/N read or scrolled on TikTok.

Y/N is currently in bed, drifting in and out as Matt does whatever.

"Hey." He quietly calls, tucking some hair behind her ear. Y/N hums, opening her eyes just enough to see him. "Nick wants me to film while we're in here. You okay with that?"

"Mm-hmm." Y/N nods with whatever little strength she has.

"Okay. You need anything?" He asks, knowing her whole body has been aching since she woke up. She lightly shakes her head. "Okay. I'm gonna film something right now." He tells her and she gives him a thumbs up. Matt kisses her on the head before going to his desk.

Matt sighs as he starts recording.

"Movies, Fortnite, sleep. Movies, Fortnite, sleep. Movies, Fortnite, sleep." Y/N hears Matt talk to the camera. "I guess we're vlogging on our own. I was told to do this. I got a pounding headache, I don't know what to talk about I'm bored. Um..." He tries to think of what else to say.

As Matt starts to talk about the triplets' different room states, she finally drifts off into a deep sleep.

---

Y/N and Matt are eating, watching 10 Things I Hate About You.

"Does your head still hurt?" Y/N asks.

"A little. Medicine helped." Matt says. "You feel okay?"

"Barely." She mumbles, eating a fry. "Although, I do prefer this over a sore throat, so..." She shrugs.

After finishing, Matt goes to throw the trash out, returning after a few moments. He climbs back into bed, cuddling into Y/N, kissing her head.

"Are you gonna film anything else tonight?" She asks, looking up at him.

"No." He shakes his head. "Not much to vlog about." He chuckles making her weakly laugh. "This is much more relaxing. I'll worry about filming tomorrow."

"M'kay." She mumbles, cuddling more into his chest, his arms tightening around her.

---

Matt woke up feeling a little better, Y/N still feeling awful. She's watching TV while he walks around and films. He walks into the room, putting the camera on his desk.

"I'm gonna go clean the kitchen." Matt tells his girlfriend.

"I can help." She says, sitting up.

"Baby, you sound miserable." Matt frowns.

"I am, but I can still help." Y/N insists, getting out of bed.

"You don't have to." Matt says.

"I want to." She says, sniffing. "And then I wanna shower after. It might help me feel better."

"Okay." Matt nods. He kisses her on the cheek, holding her hand and leading her to the kitchen.

---

The two finish up in the kitchen and Y/N is wiping the fridge down, it being the last thing to be done. Matt comes up behind her and wraps his arms around her waist.

"Can I shower with you?" Matt asks, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Are you trying to start something? Cause I'm really not in the mood." Y/N says.

"No." Matt softly laughs. "I just need a shower, too. And if we shower together, we don't have to go without cuddles. Plus, I know you like when I wash your hair."

"Okay." Y/N nods. Matt lowers his head, pressing multiple kisses to her neck.

---

Y/N shuffles around as she starts to wake up. She sighs, quickly noticing how only a couple of muscles ache instead of all of them. She reaches around the bed, frowning when it's empty. She lifts her head to look around, watching Matt count and walk back and forth.

"Are you officially losing it?" She asks, giving him a slightly concerned look.

"No." Matt says. "My health app pointed out I had less than 100 steps yesterday."

"And that means..." Y/N trails off.

"That I need to walk today." Matt says. "But I can't go anywhere, so I'm just doing them right here."

"Okay." Y/N mumbles, checking the time.

"Do you feel better?" Matt asks, continuing to count in his head.

"Mm-hmm. Most of my body doesn't hurt anymore. Little congested still." She smiles.

"That's good." Matt says.

"How do feel?" She asks, yawning.

"Better. Kinda stuffy." He says and she nods.

---

Y/N walks into the room after getting a snack to see Matt opening the blinds behind the bed and he's holding the camera in his free hand.

"Oh, the sun is... setting." Matt says. "I got, like, 20 minutes probably." He stares out the window for a few seconds before closing the blinds.

"So you decide to stop at 8 seconds?" Y/N asks.

"Can't say I didn't try." Matt says making Y/N quietly laugh.

---

Y/N lays cuddled into Matt's side, her head resting on his chest as they put Saltburn on. Matt wraps his arm around her, playing with her hair.

"Are you okay with me filming?" Matt asks. "We can stop cuddling while the camera's on."

"No." Y/N shakes her head, wrapping her arm around him. "I don't care."

"You sure?" Matt asks and she nods. She leans her head back, kissing his jaw before focusing back on the movie.

"All right, y'all. Saltburn is being continued right now." Matt tells the camera.

"First note I wanna take, if I ever got called a..." Matt points to the screen as one of the characters talk. "A bootlicker." Matt says. He shakes his head. "It's going down. It's going down immediately."

"Bootlicker." Y/N smirks.

"Absolutely not." Matt says as Y/N giggles. "Nope." He unwraps his arm, pushing her to the other side of the bed.

"Matt." She laughs.

"It is going down." He states, putting the camera down and sitting on his knees.

"No, it's not." Y/N laughs, hitting him with the wood log pillow. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You're not a bootlicker." Y/N says, a few laughs still escaping her.

"That's strike one." Matt warns.

"Okay, honey." Y/N snickers.

---

The two are cuddled back up as they continue the movie. They get to the bathtub scene, Y/N's eyes widening as Barry Keoghan's character starts to slurp the liquid up.

"Ugh." She grimaces.

She glances up at Matt, seeing him stare in horror at the TV.

"I don't even really care about the semen part, I just care about whatever's in that fucking drain." Y/N mutters.

---

Y/N's jaw proceeds to slowly drop as the vampire scene continues. Her nose scrunches up when Oliver puts bloody fingers in his mouth. She grimaces when he smears it on her chest before smearing it on her lips.

Y/N looks away as the characters proceed to have sex, grimacing at the idea of any sort of blood being in her mouth or on her chest.

---

Y/N watches the funeral scene with a small frown on her face, cuddling into Matt more, fighting off her tiredness. She watches Oliver kneel on the grave, sobbing as he lies down.

They both grow a little confused when Oliver takes his shirt off and lays back down.

"Oh, my God." Y/N whispers as Oliver starts to unbuckle his pants and pulls them off. Her jaw drops as he thrusts into the ground, her eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. She glances over at Matt to find his similar look of horror.

"He pulled a Frank Gallagher." Y/N says, earning an erupt giggle from her boyfriend. "Imagine going to visit your dead grandma and you see that." She remarks making Matt laugh more.

---

"Good movie. Crazy concept. Good movie, crazy concept, very strange." Matt says. "Pretty good, though. Very strange. But pretty good."

"Think they got it." Y/N teases.

"Shut it." Matt says, putting his free hand over her mouth, muffling her giggles.

---

Y/N watches Matt do pushups, eating some macaroni and cheese she ordered.

"Can I sit on your back?" She asks as she takes a bite of her food.

"We can test it out." Matt says, lying on his stomach.

Y/N puts her food on the desk before going over to Matt. She carefully sits on his back, crossing her legs.

"This good?" She asks, wanting to make sure she's not hurting him.

"Yeah." He nods. "You ready?"

"Mm-hmm." She nods even though he can't see her.

Matt slowly and carefully pushes himself up, focusing on his breathing, and he lowers himself. He continues to do a few pushups with Y/N on his back before stopping.

"Okay." He mumbles. "I'm tired." He sighs. Y/N pats him on the head before climbing off him and retrieving her macaroni.

"You seem to feel good." Y/N comments.

"I feel great." Matt says making Y/N smile. "And you...?"

"I feel better." Y/N nods.

"It's because I made you walk back and forth." Matt says.

"Okay." Y/N rolls her eyes. She knows he's right, but won't admit it just to bug him. "It's also all the rest and medicine."

"Yeah, whatever." Matt kisses her forehead. "You know I'm right." He grins.

#matt sturniolo x reader #matthew sturniolo x reader #sturniolo triplets

[vurelly]

yall i am begging you if you are a minor please do not try to start personal conversations with me. i am in my early 20s and i am not comfortable forming close personal relationships with people under the age of 18 in nonpublic spaces.

#vu talks shit #like if we're both in a server and we're having conversations there that's fine! #i'm okay with it! #i am all good in public group settings #but i do not want a closed quarter conversations with minors because that personally does not feel okay to me