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aangarchy · 2 months

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Netflix atla live action review ep 4-6

So, they completely ruined Bumi. Spoiler warning.

The more episodes pass by the more confused i get with the choices that were made. I wrote down commentary for the episodes and the thing that i wrote down the most was "why does this happen?". The writing is incredibly confusing and messy, feels too rushed in some spaces and too slow in others. There's just... so much going on and so little at the same time. They brought in elements that in the OG don't get introduced until later in s1, s2, the comics, or even the legend of Korra. The reason these things get introduced so early here is not clear at all, because they don't serve any purpose other than to be an obstacle to Aang, Sokka and Katara on their way to the North.

Mai and Ty Lee are.. there. They get introduced earlier but they don't serve any purpose at the moment other than stand around, watch Azula train, ask questions so that Azula can give us the answers the viewer needs. My guess is they only got introduced for the audience who watched the OG to go "oh we know them!". We get the secret tunnel story earlier too, but it has absolutely nothing to do with love. Somehow "love is brightest in the dark" now correlates to the badgermoles being able to sense a human's emotion. It's a waste of a storyline, doesn't teach us anything about love, gives us Omashu lore which is useless bc neither Sokka nor Katara actually use love to escape the tunnels. Also Oma and Shu are lesbians now, but you only know that bc they changed Shu's pronouns. Wow, so progressive! We have lesbians in the story now! Boy do i feel represented as a sapphic!

We get Koh early on as well, but his entire gig got changed. Now suddenly he doesn't steal faces but he "feeds", and hunts using the fog of lost souls (which is tlok lore mind you) as a tool to trap humans. We introduce the mother of faces (comic book lore!), or rather pendant of her that Koh owns. There's no reason for her to exist in this story though other than to be an easter egg to everyone who read the search (Not even the majority of the fandom!) and to offer a solution to this problem we've created, which is Koh capturing our friends in order to eat them and us not being able to convince him into letting them go. There's no feeling of dread in the Koh scenes at all because the whole problem of not showing emotion is just not a thing now. No suspense, no fear, just a weird cgi clown face worm. The worm doesn't even menacingly circle around Aang to invoke a feeling of being surrounded, it just sits there. I also just don't understand why Koh is here already bc now who is going to give us information about Tui and La?

This decision also creates a problem that Hei Bai's story just isn't about Hei Bai anymore. We get fed a few lines from a talking fox about how the forest spirit got hurt, but there's really no solution? Aang buries a pinecone in front of the statue and tells him not to give up hope but he didn't even really need to do that, because Hei Bai wasn't the one kidnapping villagers! It was Koh. Why did we appease Hei Bai if Koh was the real villain? Hei Bai/Koh's story leads us to Roku, but Roku is completely useless. All he does is undermine Kyoshi's advice to Aang, tell Aang about the mother of faces pendant so he can appease Koh, and then we leave. I knew in advance Roku wasn't going to warn Aang about the comet here bc Albert Kim already told us working with a deadline like that with child actors is just impossible. But with Roku suddenly not being Aang's main Avatar guide he just gets nothing to do. There's no suspense in this part of the story either, bc the time limit of the winter solstice isn't a thing here at all. Aang also ends up flying over Fire Nation borders without issue, and gets led right into the sanctuary without the puzzle of figuring out how to open the door, and without the problem of Zhao's soldiers waiting for him when he comes out. It creates this issue of there not being any excitement, at least for me. I genuinely am getting a bit bored with the show, which was never an issue with the OG for me. There's a reason all of this extra material didn't get introduced until later on. There's too many characters and they all get too little time to really do anything useful, they're not fleshed out, the stories aren't thought through and it ends up getting very confusing and boring. I'm genuinely curious for the perspective of people who have never watched the OG cartoon, bc i wonder if they're even able to follow along without prior knowledge of this universe.

Bumi is just... not Bumi. They completely changed his character to be this bitter old senile man that resents Aang for abandoning the world. This doesn't make any sense because in this version of the story Bumi shouldn't know that Aang is the Avatar at all, because Aang was told right before he disappeared! So why does Bumi immediately know that Aang is the Avatar, and why does Aang immediately recognize him? Also the original point of Bumi's tests is to get Aang to approach fights and puzzles from a different angle, so he can learn versatility as the Avatar. But here the tests are just happening because Bumi is mad at Aang for leaving and wants to get back at him for being gone so long. He says some lines about Aang having to learn to make hard choices and you can't rely on your friends, but Aang ends up proving him wrong in the end! What is even the point of Bumi's part in the story now, except for him just being another obstacle on the way to the North Pole?

There's a lot of instances where I feel like the bond between characters gets completely lost. We barely spend any time with the side characters like the mechanist, Teo, Jet and the freedom fighters, and the people in the spirit village. It makes some scenes feel very out of place. These storylines all happen at once, and they don't get their individual moments to shine. We have no room to feel betrayed by Jet or Sai, because we barely got to know them to begin with. Jet and Sai only spend time with One member of the gaang each, but when their betrayals come to light the rest of the group acts devastated, as if it was their dear friend. Sokka also gets really mad about the Jet thing, but he only met Jet once when he smuggled them into Omashu, and Jet didn't even tell Sokka his name. He said it afterwards when Katara met him again. It makes absolutely no sense why Sokka is yelling at Katara for trusting Jet only bc she finds him attractive, when Sokka wasn't even there during all of that!

The sense of family between the gaang that we get from the original also just doesn't happen here. Especially because these characters so far have spent more time apart than together. Aang constantly gets separated from Sokka and Katara, leaving no room for them to bond. We get Katara and Sokka bonding, but they shouldn't need those types of scenes because they're already siblings (which isn't very clear in the show either btw!). I ended up forgetting that Sokka and Katara were trapped by Koh, bc we spend so much time away from them (a whole episode, which is now an hour!).

I have little to no criticism for the Blue Spirit story. Want to guess why that is? Bc they left it pretty much untouched. We even get a little bit of an extra scene, with Zuko and Aang talking while Zuko recovers after getting hurt during the escape. I liked this choice, especially bc it highlights how conflicted Zuko is.

This is where we get Zuko's backstory. I have one question here: why did they make Ozai more sensible and less ruthless? Was that a Daniel Dae Kim decision? Bc it feels like a Daniel Dae Kim thing to do. They're very on the nose with the way Ozai is abusing Zuko and Azula, but then they turn around and make this man visit Zuko after he burned him and praise Zuko about finding the Avatar. I understand that they did this to show how Ozai uses Zuko's accomplishments in order to push Azula, but even if it were to do that: the original Ozai would NEVER. The problem here as well is that they don't let the viewers draw any conclusions themselves anymore. They're holding the viewer's hand through the whole thing, leaving no room for nuance or doubt.

I just finished episode 7 and 8 and I have Things To Say. None of which are good. Writing it down is challenging so it might take a day or two.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar #netflix atla #atla netflix #natla #netflix #atla live action #atla live action spoilers

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butterflydm · 1 month

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more WoT s3 spec - what we know vs what we're guessing at

I've been poking at what we know about s3 vs what we can reasonably guess, so I wanted to break that down a bit.

So there are a few things we know just about the structure of how the show has worked so far: we know they shoot in blocks of two episodes each and that each of those blocks is going to have the same director for both episodes. Because of this info, we can make some guesses at where specific episodes may land. We also have some casting info (wotseries.com being a great resource here).

They tend to have a major reveal in the fourth episode - Nynaeve being incredibly powerful in the One Power in 1x04; Selene being Lanfear in 2x04.

What we know for certain:

Rhuidean & the Waste will appear (Rand & Egwene's storyline).

Tanchico will appear (Nynaeve & Elayne's storyline).

The Two Rivers will appear (Perrin's storyline).

Rand and Perrin will each get focus episodes akin to Nynaeve having "What Might Be" and Egwene having "Eyes Without Pity" in s2.

We have four episode titles: "To Race The Shadow"; "A Glimpse of Crimson"; "Goldeneyes"; and "He Who Comes With The Dawn".

Sea Folk are confirmed for S3.

Potential leaks include:

Mat, Min, and Thom all being part of Nynaeve & Elayne's storyline in Tanchico. Big change for Mat & Min, but matches canon for Thom. And since show-onlys have only seen Thom with Mat and Rand, it would make sense to use Mat to re-introduce us to him.

Reports of the actresses reported to be playing Morgase and Elaida seen at a castle which is almost certainly in Caemlyn (Andoran banners spotted), most likely for the first or second episode due to the timing.

An actress playing Maigran (one of the Aiel from the Rhuidean glass columns sequence) is listed under the director who is being used for eps 3 and 4.

An actress has been cast to play an older version of Latra and I really like @wheeloftimeofficial's idea that we'll see her as the ancient Aes Sedai who establishes Rhuidean in the glass column memories, especially since the younger actress also has s3 listed on her CV.

We have (unofficially) confirmed castings for Faile & Galad.

Hints we've gotten from interviews & bts info:

In an interview filmed before the actors' strike, Daniel mentions Lan having some really good relationship scenes with Nynaeve, so we know that there's interaction between those characters before their plotlines separate, implying that we will not begin with everyone already all off on their separate journeys, like they were in 2x01.

Also from Daniel, it's implied that there are training scenes between Lan and Rand (could happen at any point, since Lan is likely to be in Rand's storyline the entire season).

From what Josha has said, the show will be pivoting to a more familial relationship between Egwene and Rand next season (which matches the book timing).

Rafe made a point of mentioning that Elayne healing Rand was to flag to the audience that this was a relationship to pay attention to (which implies we'll get at least some movement on that relationship in s3).

Josha also says that there is "way more togetherness" for Two Rivers' characters in s3 than in s2.

In an unrelated interview on screenrant, Rima Te Waita (Sheriam) mentioned that she will not be in s3 but, if s4 is greenlit, she will be in s4.

Josha and Ayoola posted some cute instas of each other after finishing up the South Africa shooting stint near Cape Town, which might be a hint towards our potential AviRand interactions (could also just be the actors being cute!).

Guesses based on book & show knowledge:

It seems likely to me that Gawyn & Galad will be introduced in the same episode as Morgase and Elaida, which I am tentatively going to guess will be episode 2.

I think that Verin, Alanna & their Warders are going to be getting out of Cairhien as quickly as possible. And that they are pretty conveniently set up to head to their TSR storyline.

I am pretty torn about when the coup will happen! I feel like it happening this season feels pretty much a lock because there really isn't any more "White Tower storyline" until the coup happens, and they do already have the set made. But it could either happen pretty early on or fairly late in the season. Maybe episode five? That lets us meet Elaida in episode 2, gives her and possibly Gawyn & Galad time to get to the White Tower, maybe we get some scenes of her politicking in the WT in episode 4, with the trigger being pulled in episode 5 or 6. But another possibility is that the coup happens right away, while all those Sisters are still in Cairhien and we see Liandrin take the lead on something like stilling Siuan and Leane, which would put the White Tower in chaos before Elaida even arrives. There are at least two Black Ajah Sisters in Cairhien, after all, and Liandrin likes to act extra-judicially, and she might want to try to make sure that Siuan is taken care of before anyone has a chance to out her (Liandrin) as Black Ajah. But there is also a chance that it might happen in the finale, so that we can parallel Moiraine & Siuan's 'downfalls'. So really this one is a wildcard for me. It isn't really directly tied to any other specific events in TSR, so it can happen whenever.

We will get the glass columns in episode 3 or 4. In the books, it happened as soon as Rand landed in the Waste, basically, but the show could potentially do Cold Rocks Hold first, depending on how Rand is getting to the Waste. I used to lean towards it happening in ep3, but after learning the leak about Mat being in Tanchico, it made me wonder about ep4, maybe, as that could potentially lead to Mat going through the doorways (just speculation with zero leaks or spoilers to back it up but I like it a lot lol) from Tanchico to Rhuidean either at the end of ep4 or the start of ep5, leaving Nynaeve & Elayne's storyline and going to Rand & Egwene's.

I do keep thinking about Josha saying that the Two Rivers' kids would have "way more togetherness" than in s3, which seems difficult if they all separate by or after ep2 and then don't reunite the entire season. I guess technically it would be true because they don't reunite in s2 until the final moments of 2x08 but feels somewhat underwhelming to mention, lol.

I do still suspect that we're getting Lanfear & Moiraine with the doorway at the end of the season.

So, a tentative outline. Now we leave behind the more solid leaks and knowledge and enter into the wild speculations. Please check out @markantonys' recent post too, she's got some fun speculations!

3x01: To Race the Shadow

"Way more togetherness" between the Two Rivers group than in s2, so says Josha. This is also where we have to be getting the Lan & Nynaeve romantic scenes that Daniel keeps hyping up, lol.

Moiraine and Rand are going to be arguing about his next plans.

Something will happen that makes them realize that Something Is Up in Tanchico -- this might be a first Dream from Egwene that leads them in the direction of the museum? Which also leads to her talking to Amys, which is why she decides to go with Rand instead of going with Nynaeve & Elayne. The big question for me is if they are going to Tanchico because of Liandrin or if they go for other reasons and then run into Liandrin also being there to get the same thing that they're getting.

Now Mat may go into a doorway here as speculated by @markantonys (the room of curiosities) but for this specific outline, I'm going to say that he doesn't, and instead he chooses to go with Elayne & Nynaeve because he's running away from Rand (after the Stabbening). This pulls in something that Mat tries to do a lot in the books but gives him a new motivation that fits his show character.

I think Lanfear is going to warn Rand about the rest of the Forsaken being free but potentially also send Liandrin to Tanchico to try to get the, uh, plot token for her potential use in the future (a girl needs a back-up plan).

Lanfear talking to Rand might be another thing that Rand and Moiraine argue about.

Rand and Egwene are going to have their official 'break-up' and then we'll see their more platonic relationship develop over the course of the season. I also feel like we have to have at least a scene or two with Rand and Elayne to establish them feeling Some Kind of Way about each other, to build on that moment from 2x08.

3x02: A Glimpse of Crimson

Good episode title for a Red Ajah & Andor episode!

I'm going to guess that Rand & co are going to be stopping in Caemlyn (my feelings are similar to @markantonys about us potentially getting a garden introduction between Egwene & Gawyn here, and then having Rand & Egwene meet Elaida & Morgase (and Galad?). Elaida will have her Foretelling about Rand and freak herself out.

Our group hears the rumors about the Two Rivers, and Perrin decides to go investigate. The question is how is Rand going to get to the Waste from Caemlyn? I don't feel like they would introduce Portal Stones as a one-off if they haven't done it before, so I think there's a chance that Loial might go with Rand instead of Perrin, as Perrin doesn't need to go through the Ways to get to the Two Rivers (of course, then they would need to change how the battle resolves in 3x07).

(alternatively: there's always the Lanfear express, I guess, lol)

This could also be when Elayne, Nynaeve, & Mat arrive in Tanchico, and their introduction to the city is our B plot. I don't think they would throw all the plots at them at once and I feel like just introducing Thom first would be a good start for the first episodes in Tanchico.

3x03: Unknown

Rand & co arrive in the Waste, but I'm going to send them to Cold Rocks Hold for now, instead of straight to Rhuidean. This gives Rand and Aviendha time to bond, Rand and Moiraine time to fight, Rand and Lan time to train together, and gives the audience a chance to get to know the Aiel culture in a bit more of a relaxed setting. Then we get an attack by Shadowspawn and Rand gets the reminder that the other Forsaken have been let free and don't share Ishamael and Lanfear's feelings about him.

Another plot will be in Tanchico, involving Nynaeve, Elayne, and Mat investigating, running into Min and/or Egeanin or Tuon taking Egeanin's role. This may be where we get our early encounters with Moghedien (she Compels one or more of our characters to spill the beans to her about their plans) and potentially where she reveals herself to Liandrin & co as one of the Chosen and takes control of their group after playing servant for part of the episode.

We also have Perrin & co arriving in the Two Rivers and getting the lay of the land. This could be a fairly emotional episode for Perrin, due to memories of Laila's death. Maybe when Perrin says goodbye to Laila (putting his ring on her grave/memorial?) and potentially our first sighting of Faile.

3x04: Unknown

Rand goes to Rhuidean and into the glass columns. This is the main plot of the episode and Rand's focus episode of the season.

We get the history of the Aiel here, and learn about Rand's ancestors.

Subplot: Aviendha is told that she is destined to be a Wise One (maybe she accidentally channeled during the fight at Cold Rocks Hold?) and deals with idea that she has to leave behind being a Maiden.

Our Tanchico B-plot leads to Mat entering through the twisted doorway in the museum, For Reasons, and getting his prophecies. Maybe this same plotline leads to Elayne and Nynaeve finding dream ter'angreal, and to Tuon/Egeanin realizing that Elayne and Nynaeve are channelers, and potentially learns that all sul'dam are, and then leaves our main plotline at this time.

3x05: Unknown

When Rand leaves the glass columns, he finds Mat hanging on the tree outside, and saves his life (we've gotten a few different pieces of foreshadowing about Mat being hanged, so I feel like it will happen at some point). Mat says he was just in Tanchico.

We catch up with Perrin in the Two Rivers, with him learning to move past his grief as he gets to know Faile.

Because we've already done Cold Rocks Hold, this means that Rand & co can go straight to Alcair Dal at this point.

Aviendha and Rand bond over their lives being dictated by being able to use the One Power and not having any choices about their future.

On the way to Alcair Dal, we meet the traders, who are hiding Lanfear and Asmodean in their ranks, and Lanfear sees that Rand is getting closer to Aviendha and Does Not Approve.

Nynaeve and Elayne worry about where Mat has disappeared to and experiment with the dream ter'angreal that they recently discovered in the museum (might only be one: the twisted stone ring, so that channeling isn't needed for it), and run into Birgitte in the dream. She gives them a warning but they realize that this is the same place that Egwene was talking about in 3x01 and are excited that they might be able to communicate with her.

3x06: Unknown

Another journey into TAR for Nynaeve (maybe a successful contact with Egwene?), and she encounters Birgitte again, but Moghedien too, and this leads to Birgitte getting ripped out of TAR and bonded by Elayne to save her life.

Moiraine tells Rand that he needs to go to Tear, to fulfill more of the prophecies, but Rand is resistant.

The Two Rivers ramps up for the battle.

This would also be a good spot for the coup, imo.

3x07: Goldeneyes

The Battle of the Two Rivers. Potentially Perrin's focus episode as well, as he comes into his own as a leader. I think that it would be good to push any confirmed Perrin/Faile romance forward into the future, so they will still just have some vibes for now.

We get some pieces moving into place for the other storylines: Rand arrives at Alcair Dal; Nynaeve and Elayne make plans to return to the museum.

3x08: He Who Comes With The Dawn

Desperate to get through to Rand and worrying that he is focusing on the Aiel instead of being the Dragon Reborn, Moiraine went back to Rhuidean to try to use the doorway, as when Mat talked about his experiences there, she recognized what he was talking about and wants answers of her own.

Rand announces himself at Alcair Dal, drawing the attention of Lanfear, who makes her pitch to him that We Could Rule Together, worrying that she's losing her hold over him after seeing him getting closer to Aviendha. She tells him about Asmodean and about him potentially teaching Rand so that he can reach his potential.

Inside the doorway, Moiraine gets answers that she doesn't like about Rand and Lanfear (sort of merging her going into the doorway in Tear with her going into the silver rings).

On the Tanchico side of things, we have our big Tanchico encounter between Nynaeve and Moghedien, which results in Nynaeve breaking her block. Nynaeve and Elayne escape Tanchico on a Sea Folk ship, heading towards Tear, potentially bringing Min & Thom along with them.

After talking with Lanfear, Rand is let out of his 'bubble' at Alcair Dal as Couladin declares that HE is the Car'a'carn and he will prove it by leading the Aiel to conquer the wetlands (setting up s4 to be a combo of TFoH/LoC, with a hint of TDR with the destination being Tear instead of Cairhien). Rand realizes that the fake dragons on Couladin's arms were put there by Asmodean and goes after him -- Asmodean Skims back to Rhuidean and he and Rand battle, and Lanfear arrives, puts the block on Asmodean and offers him up as a teacher to Rand. Moiraine takes advantage of Lanfear's focus on Rand to yeet both of them into the doorway while channeling, based on the knowledge that she learned inside, melting the doorway. We see in the Tanchico storyline that the other doorway melts at the same time, leaving them no exit.

And I agree with @markantonys that possibly the most effective stinger would be the reveal that Tuon is the DotNM, but if there is no Tuon in this season, we could have it be a Forsaken (Sammael) setting up shop in Tear, to set the scene for the upcoming season.

It is a lot more cliffhanger-y than our previous season finales and I'm sure that my thoughts on it will change as we get closer and learn more spoilers, but that is my wild speculation for this specific week!

#wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot book spoilers #the fires of heaven #wot speculation #wot s3 speculation

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cinewhore · 10 months

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The Only Exception - extended cut

Pairing: Michael Berzatto x fem!reader - Carmen Berzatto & fem!reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: mentions of drinking, toxic family dynamics, smut 18+ (groping, male receiving oral, penetration, unprotected sex, facial cumshot), canon death, angst and fluff.

A/N: I wrote something a tad bit sadder and decided not to post it because the episode (s2 ep 6) was bad enough but why not? Dedicated to my lovely friend @spiderispunk. No beta cause I don’t wanna. Ignore all spelling errors. Hope y'all enjoy. Credits to the gif creator.

Nothing ever goes smoothly with the Berzatto’s.

Why you thought this holiday dinner was going to be any different was beyond any rational comprehension.

Trying not to be a complete klutz and ruin the side dish you’ve been working on the entire day, you delicately balance it in your left hand while adjusting your scarf tighter around your neck with your right. Putting a pep in your step, you round the corner from where you parked, spotting the stoop instantly.

It was a rare sighting to see all three of the Berzatto siblings together. With Carmy being away at culinary school, Mikey doing his own thing with the restaurant and Natalie living her life, one person always missed the other. It warmed your heart to see just how much they cared about each other, even if they didn’t show it in a normal or healthy way.

“Is that who I think it is?” Mikey’s voice booms over the light traffic passing by, handing Carmy the cigarette he was puffing on.

You crack a smile, despite it feeling like your lips were stuck together due to the cold weather. “Sorry, I’m a bit late. Fuckin’ cat had my keys.”

“How many times did I tell you to get rid of the cat?” Mikey leans down to kiss you but you turn your head, forcing him to peck you on the cheek instead.

“C’mon, baby.” he drawls, throwing you a bashful smile.

You huff out a sigh, lowering your voice. “You know I hate the smoking.”

Mikey nods, face fading into something serious before vanishing. “I know you do. You didn’t bring fish, did you?”

Side-stepping the tall Berzatto, you get pulled into a hug by Natalie, followed by Carmen.

“Hello, gorgeous! It’s so good to see you!” Natalie kisses you on both cheeks before making the move to grab the dish out of your hands. You pull back, shooting her a look.

“Nat, please. I got it.”

“Are you sure?” you watch as her bottom lip quivers a bit. You steal a glance at Carmy, who just shakes his head..

“Fuck. How bad is it?” you gaze at the disheveled trio, awaiting an answer.

Finally, Mikey breaks the silence.

“It’s at a five. Six, at best.”

You lick your lips, rocking back and forth on your heels. “That’s not too bad, right?”

“Right.” Carmy agrees, with Natalie humming in agreement.

“Just don’t fucking ask if she’s doing ok.” Mikey glimpses at his sister, placing hand on your lower back to guide you into the house.

You take a deep breath and exhale through your nose, plastering a smile on your face before entering the shit show.

You’d only been there an hour and you were called the wrong name three times, objectified, cursed at and now Fak was trying to get you to put up five hundred dollars for baseball cards.

Listening with great intent, nodding at all the right times, twirling the wine in glass in your hands desperately wanting to get another refill had your social energy spent.

“We could make you a lot of money, cousin.” Fak goes on, nudging his brother for support.

“Yeah-yeah! Think about what you could do with fifteen hundred bucks! Cold hard cash!” Theodore chimes in.

“Wow, no, yeah this-this sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime.” you murmur. Don’t take it the wrong way, you loved Fak. His personality was infectious, you’ve never seen him get overly angry despite the other guys giving him shit and he genuinely goes out of his way to help everyone. Back when you first started dating Mikey and moved apartments in the city, Fak volunteered to make sure your place was in tiptoe shape and refused payment.

Just then Steve, Michelle’s husband, passes by and you seize your opportunity.

“Steve! How are you?” you beckon him over, scooting over on the tiny couch so he could sit beside you.

“Ah, yes. Mikey’s girl who we aren’t sure how he managed to snag. Good to see you again.”

You brush off his comment with a tired smile, gesturing to Fak and his brother. “So, these guys have a proposition for you, right?”

You nod enthusiastically with them, giving Fak a secret wink.

“Oh, yes! Yes! Do you like baseball cards, Steve?”

“On that note,” you stand up and maneuver yourself out the nook. “I’m gonna go get a refill. Leave you gentlemen to handle business.”

Mocking a military salute, you dash towards the kitchen bypassing other members of the family.

Donna flurries around the kitchen, shouting instructions to no one in particular. You didn’t greet her as soon as you came in, knowing how she gets around this time of the year. To be honest, you were sure that she didn’t exactly like you.

“Donna, my goodness! You look wonderful.” you lay the complement on sweetly, smiling brightly. If you don’t wilt in her presence, she wouldn’t be able to smell the fear on you.

Donna swivels her head to look at you, cigarette dangling from her lipstick smeared lips. Eyes lined in thick mascara, her disapproving expression ripples through you. You smile wider.

“I brought over a little casserole. I figured it would compliment the fish nicely.”

Shifting to face you fully, Donna crosses her arms. “Casserole? What casserole?”

You point to the tin foiled dish. “That one. Mikey brought in, did he not tell you?”

She scoffs. “Yeah, just like he told me about him breaking things off with what’s her name.”

“Anna.” you mutter, swallowing the lump that quietly made its way up your throat.

“Yeah, Anna.” Donna turns back to the task at hand, haphazardly swinging a knife about. “I liked her better.”

Forgoing your much desired glass of wine, you stalk out of the kitchen. On the outside looking in, the Berzatto’s appeared to be your average family. The warm glow of the lights shining out into the frost covered sidewalks invited you in all those years ago and once inside, you then realized why people were so hesitant to accept invites or why Mikey refused to bring up his past.

You didn’t have this growing up. Your family life was much quieter, mom and dad both kept to themselves. Distant cousins never visited for the holidays and you were an only child so there weren’t any siblings to fall back on.

It was boring.

Drove you crazy.

So when the Berzatto’s welcomed you in with open arms (well, some of them) you threw yourselves to the wolves willingly. It helped you grow a thick skin, talk over people and man handle the biggest guys in the room. For that, you were thankful.

A hand reaches out and grabs your wrist, dragging you away from everyone and up the stairs. Mikey is headstrong in his quest to get you alone, not caring to see if you were keeping up the pace. You both stagger inside his room, the door shut soundly behind you, followed by the lock turning.

Mikey doesn’t give you a second to react, mouth leaving open tongued kisses along your jaw and collarbone, hands working at tugging up your skirt.

“Mikey, baby, baby, wait-” you plead, backing up to create space between the two of you.

He flops onto the bed, hands on his knees, fingers raking through his hair again and again.

You’re careful as you sit next to him, scratching your own fingers along the center of his back. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” is all he utters.

“Bullshit. Talk to me.”

He doesn’t have to say anything else, you get it. The party continues below you both, profanities and insults flying like it's nobody's business. It was too much. For Mikey, Camry, anyone. The more time you spent with his family, the more you realized why Carmen never came back to visit.

Why Mikey feels trapped.

“I know.” you whisper against his shoulder, mouthing pressing in tiny kisses. You lift his head up with both of your hands, cradling his face gingerly. The tiredness exudes for nearly every crevice, eye bags worn and solidified. You use your thumb to smooth out his forehead, laughing softly when he wrinkles it more.

“You’ll always have me, Berzatto.”

“I don’t deserve you. Never did.”

You tut. “That’s not true. You’ve always had me. From the moment you sold me that greasy, sloppy sandwich down at The Beef. I was a goner.”

Mikey chuckles, leaning into your hands more. “I got you something.”

Your eyes go wide, brows forming a skeptical look. “Is that so?”

Mikey flickers his eyes down to his pants and you scoff.

“Wow, Michael. Are you gifting me your penis? Again? I must’ve been too nice this year.” you gently slap his face is mock anger.

“Haha,” he deadpans. “Try my pockets, detective wiseass.”

You let go of his face and rummage through his pants pocket, producing a ball of torn tissue paper, kept together by a single piece of tape. Confused but curious, you unwrap the gift, facing dropping as your eyes find his.

The tissue tumbles to the ground, revealing a necklace. At the bottom of it dangled a charm of…cheese?

“I remember the first day you came into the shop. Like a goddamn bat outta hell. Never seen anything like it. You ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and asked for, um, what was it?”

“Havarti-”

That’s right! Fuckin’ havarti cheese! What the hell even is that?”

“How do you own a sandwich shop and not provide a variety of cheeses, I don’t understand it.”

Mikey gawks at you. “Babe, we’re called The Beef. Not the cheese. But you wanna know what I did?”

You encourage him to finish, as if you didn’t know the rest of the story.

“I told you to wait and-and I was gonna go check in the back. I booked it out of the back door, all the way down to Malik’s corner store and bought the most expensive cheese he had. I rush back to the shop and guess what?”

“You made the sandwich.”

Mikey’s face cracks into the biggest grin you’d ever seen, eyes crinkled at the corners. “I made the goddamn sandwich. Brought it out to you myself. Told you that we didn’t serve grilled cheese but for you, I’d make an exception.”

Your eyes well over in tears and you blink rapidly to keep them from falling. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has done for me, ya know.”

“You’re telling me all I had to do was buy you some cheese to get in your pants? Hot damn.”

You playfully shove Mikey back against the bed, crawling over to straddle him. “Well, it worked after a while, didn’t it?”

Mikey thrusts upwards, growing erection sliding against your damp underwear.

“It sure did.”

He grabs the back of your neck, surging up to slot his mouth against yours. You aren’t delicate in the way you claw at him, nails digging into his tanned flesh. Pushing up your skirt, Mikey palms your ass, stroking it before landing a hard smack against it. You moan into his neck, biting down.

“Perkiest ass I’ve ever seen, baby, shit.” Mikey groans, voice an octave deeper.

“And it’s yours. All yours.”

Mikey secures the back of your head as he flips the two of you over, pushing you down on your stomach. You do the rest of the work for him, sticking your ass up, and curving your back into an arch.

Mikey readily pulls down the zipper of his pants, hands readjusting his briefs until he is able to free himself. Spitting obscenely in his palm, Mikeuy shoves your panties to the side and rubs his silvia across your slickness. You buck back into him, whimpering when he graces you with a lone finger to loosen you up. You whine, and wiggle your ass some more, ready to receive all that he was going to give you.

“Gonna give my baby what she wants, don’t you worry.” Mikey purrs, aligning himself to enter you. He slides in easily, the strained sigh as he fully situates him inside you never ceases to make you wetter.

You pull yourself up so that you were resting on your hands, peeking over your shoulder to catch a gaze at Mikey as you being to fuck him. He was enthralled at the sight of his cock pumping in and out of you, the way you were able to handle him without saying a single word.

He would love to take his time and thoroughly explore your cunt but time is of the essence. Wrapping his right hand around your neck once again, he yanks you up into a deeper arch, left hand on your hip in a deathgrip. He meets your thrusts with his own, dropping his left leg down on the floor to gain some balance.

Between the familial bickering creeping up the stairs, all that could be heard was the squelching of your pussy and the labored breathing of Mikey, muffled praises spurring you on further.

He slaps your ass again and you tighten around him, eyes rolling to the top of your head as you attempt to hold onto his arms for dear life.

“Mikey, oh fucking god, baby you’re gonna make me come so hard. Please, please, please!”

He answers you by sticking his fingers in your mouth and you automatically clamp down on them, sucking and gagging until spit dribbles down the side of your mouth.

Mikey picks up speed and the line breaks as you reach your peak, legs stiffening as you rear back against Mikey. He continues to fuck, albeit at a slower tempo, humming as you spasm against him.

“That’s my girl, my favorite fucking girl. Where do you want mine, huh? Tell me where you want it.”

He removes his fingers and lets them trail down to tease and pick at your hardened nipples that now poke through your shirt.

“I wanna taste. Want it in my mouth.”

“Fuck.” Mikey lets you go and you catch yourself before you fall completely face first into the bed.

“Get on your knees, now.”

You do as you're told, scurrying to position yourself on your knees in front of Mikey. Mouth open and head tilted back, you let a hand caress your breast as the other slithers up his thigh.

Mikey is affectionate as he goes to grab the back of your head, other hand tirelessly stroking his cock. A vein pops out of forehead as he grunts, a few milky droplets coating your face, before steady ropes accompany it. A few of them land in your mouth and you swallow them all eagerly.

Mikey tries to calm his breathing, watching you with hooded eyes as you lick at the tip of his cock, cleaning up the remnants of yourself off of him. You take him down all the way to the shaft for shits and giggles, pulling off of him with a low pop.

“Goddamn devil.”

You wink, swiping at the mess you could feel dripping on your face. Mikey helps to clean you up, both fixing each other’s clothes to appear less wrinkled. Seemingly ok with your appearance, you start to head downstairs but Mikey stops you.

He steps behind you, lifting up the necklace he got you. He fastens it, walking to your front to admire it.

You grab his hand and bring it to your mouth for a kiss.

“It’s you and me, Berzatto.”

“You and me.”

Inhaling heavily, you open the door to reenter the Berzatto family chaos, a new found confidence lighting your path.

That was roughly four years ago.

Or maybe five.

You stopped counting.

You had been going about your day as usual, still getting settled into your new apartment. Boston was a whole new monster to wrangle with but you managed to get by so far. It didn’t feel like home but you figured over time, it would. A lie that spun around and around in your head until it sounded like a foreign language.

The invitation throws you off guard as you thumb through your mail, ignoring the pile of bills for the yellow envelope sealed with a stamp of a bear.

Your hands twitch a little as you instantly drop everything else you were holding onto the overly crowded dining table. You don’t think twice as you rip the stamp off, clawing to get the card out.

Missing you. The Bear opens soon, I’d love to have you come out for a pre-opening. Hoping that you’re doing well in Boston, we have so much to catch up on. My number is still the same.

See you soon - Sugar

P.s. - Fak says hi.

The bottom of the card details the information for the restaurant and the date of the opening. You bite at your lip, glancing around your apartment. It was a dream: your new job, the neighborhood, the coffee shop down the block with the best matcha latte. It was quiet, not complicated and yours. All yours.

Going home, back to the place you ran from seemed stupid. Everything would unravel and you’d fall to pieces again but this time no one would be there to put you back together.

Reaching across the mess, you fish out your laptop. This was a reunion worth unraveling for.

You’re late. So fucking late. It wasn’t your fault though! The plane got delayed and then there was the traffic and you smelled like an airport and desperation so you rushed to the hotel to change. One thing always leads to another but it didn’t matter anymore because you were stepping out of the taxi, smoothing down your coat and anxiously fixing your hair.

You take powerful strides as you approach the restaurant, mouth agape. You couldn’t believe it. What used to be The Beef, the place you spent the majority of your time after work fucking with Richie until Mikey got off, was gone. It was now replaced with a groomed, streamlined, chic replica that stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the rest of the block.

A car horn sounds and you’re brought back to reality, invitation gripped tightly in your hand. You mumble one last prep talk to yourself before pushing the door open.

A wave of amber and vanilla hit your nostrils first, eyes picking out the candles that were placed around the dining area. The place wasn’t packed but you knew this was because you were late and not because it wasn’t good. If you knew anything about Carmen and his career, it was that the fucker knew how to make good food. He just didn’t know that he did.

A woman clad in all black smiles as she walks up to you, a slight quizzical look on her face.

“Forgive me ma’am but I’m afraid that this is a private event. The restaurant will open to the public soon.”

You shake your head, waving the letter in front of her face. “Oh, I was, uh, invited. I’m so sorry I’m late, my plane-”

Richie strides out of the kitchen, stopping in his tracks once he sees you.

“Holy fucking shit.”

You couldn’t help the amused grin that crosses your face, taking in the new and improved Richie. You hate to admit it but he looks good. Tapered cut, fitted black suit, not too heavy on the cologne and simple accessories to match? What the hell did you miss?

“Holy fucking shit.” you whisper, voice morphing into a high pitched squeal as Richie hugs you, lifting you off the ground.

Upon putting you down, you stand back, motioning wildly at Richie’s figure.

“Oh my god! Are you in a cult? Did they brainwash you? Will the real Richie please stand up.” you clap in front of Richie’s face a few times, to which he swats away.

“A real fucking comedian, huh?” He pulls you into a hug again, inhaling your scent.

“How have you been, cousin?”

Richie pulls away, leading you to a fully set table. You thank him as he pulls out your seat, taking the one across from you. He shrugs at the question, gaze traveling around the restaurant.

“Been busy. Bustin’ my balls to keep this place in tiptop shape.”

You nod, momentarily distracted by a server filling up your wine glass. You pick it up and take a whiff, eyebrow raised. A classic white. Your favorite.

“This is really nice, like, I expected something but this,” you take a moment. “This is something else entirely.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Richie admires you as you sip your wine and continue to look around, getting washed over in nostalgia. He remembers the good days. The days were Mikey was happy, the two of you bantering while making dinner for him, Eva and Tiffany. You were making sure he stayed the course, keeping him sober. Then, for whatever reason he just couldn’t fucking understand, it collapsed. He lost everything he never really had in the first place.

Natalie barges from the back of the house a few seconds after, screaming at the top of her lungs the second she sees you. You both speak over each other, holding each other tightly and taking turns petting Natalie’s stomach.

“Oh my god, Nat! You’re going to be a mom!” you exclaim, hands pressed on the sides of your face.

Natalie sighs, tears falling. “I’m gonna be a mom!”

“I can’t fucking believe it.”

“Neither can I. It just sort of happened.”

You nod, plopping back down in your seat while Richie gets out of his, helping Natalie sit in it instead.

“Cousin, I’m gonna get your order sorted. I’ll be right back.” Richie announces, planting a kiss on Sugar’s head before disappearing to the kitchen.

“It’s been like four years?” you say, gauging Sugar’s expression. You didn’t mean for her to get caught up in your mess once you moved away but she was the only constant reminder of Chicago that you had and you were thankful. The eldest and only daughter syndrome really popped off with her.

It’s amazing how easy you’re able to flow back in conversation with her. You catch up with each other’s lives, tiny bits of gossip filling the cracks. You avoid bringing up Donna, not wanting to tamper Natalie’s mood as she happily chatters about the nursery. Dinner feels like old times and before you realize it, you were scraping your finger across the dessert plate to savor the sweet tanginess of the course.

“Where’s Carmy? I’d like to congratulate the man of the hour.” you wipe your hands with your napkin, polishing off your wine.

Sugar rocks her jaw, eyes cast downwards. You knew the two of them had a somewhat strained relationship but you figured since she decided to work with Carmy, things had settled between the two of them.

“He should be in the kitchen cleaning or probably out back smoking a cigarette. Filthy.”

You hum, sliding out from behind the table. You peck Sugar on the cheek and stroll through the kitchen, murmuring hello’s to those you haven’t seen in a while.

Sugar’s assumptions are true, Carmy perched on the concrete near the dumpster. He does a double take when he sees you but doesn’t get up from his spot.

You’re careful as you sit next to him and upon seeing that you’re wearing a dress underneath your coat he panics, trying to stop you before it’s too late.

“Hey, no, you don’t need to sit down here, we can go back inside-”

“Carmen, sit down. Please.”

Carmen nods and joins you. You dig around your coat pocket for your vape, taking a long drag before exhaling.

You two smoke in a comfortable silence for a while. Carmen was your favorite in this regard, knowing that around him you didn’t have to say anything. You could just shut the fuck up and enjoy each others presence.

Carmy nudges his knee alongside yours. “You think he would’ve liked this?”

You ponder on it a little, taking another hit from your pen. “You definitely would’ve fought over the menu. And where is the poster?”

“What poster?”

“The poster, Carmen.”

“What fucking poster? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“The goddamn baseball poster! You know the one. It was in the office before, I think.”

“Oh, that one. Yeah, Sydney fell through the wall, tore a hole in it.”

You scoff, taken aback by Carmy’s nonchalant response. “Fell through a wall?”

“Yes but don’t worry. Richie taped it back together.”

“Fuck the poster, Carmy, how is Sydney?”

Carmen shrugs. “She’s good. Makes a good partner.”

You nod, staring back at the restaurant. “She managed to pull this shit out of your ass, color me impressed.”

Another beat.

“Hey,” you move your legs so that you are leaning against Carmy, huddling against his shoulder. “I want to apologize.”

Carmy takes the bait. “For what?”

“For leaving. I just ran. Didn’t say goodbye, didn’t look back. You didn’t deserve that. None of you did. Mikey fucking ruined me. I felt selfish though, you know? Cause I was just someone he dated but you, Sugar, Richie..y’all were his blood.”

You feel Carmy take a deep breath, head drifting over to the side so that it rests on top of yours. “You don’t need to apologize for that. You were his fucking heart, he talked about you all the time it was annoying as shit. Plus, everybody runs.”

“You didn’t.”

Carmy glares at the restaurant. “Not sure I can agree with you on that.”

“After Mikey, I just felt like I failed, you know? I tried so hard. I did. I thought we made it over the rough parts but just like that, he slipped. I couldn’t pick him up anymore.” you pluck at your legs, getting stuck in your thoughts.

“You didn’t fail him.” Carmy mumbles.

“Neither did you.”

For once, Carmy lets the words settle in his chest, soothing the frightened side of him that constantly tells him he’s not good enough. It was temporary, he knew this, but it didn’t stop him from indulging in the sentiment.

“You could stay, you know. I could take care of you.”

Camry’s offer catches you off guard and you untangle yourself from him to look in his eyes. Behind them you could see the Carmy you once knew. It hurt, knowing that he was still torturing himself over the loss of Mikey, grappling with the opening of his restaurant. So much pressure on one person who swore that he couldn’t feel it and wouldn’t dare let anyone help him carry the load.

You smooth his hair back, giving him a sad smile.

“I think it’s time I took care of myself, Carmen. Boston is good. I’m gonna be ok. You need to take care of you, man. Someone’s gotta make sure Richie doesn’t strangle himself with his new ties.”

Carmen laughs and even flashes teeth.

“By the way, what is up with that? Fucker looks like he belongs with the secret service.”

“He was mad about the forks.”

You give a half shrug. “Forks. Yup, got it.”

You weren’t sure what was going to become of The Bear but you knew that if Carmy kept his head on straight, he’d get through all the shit life put him through.

He was a fucking Berzatto.

They never went down without a fight. And god help those who fucked with bears.

#Michael berzatto x reader #Michael berzatto x fem reader #the bear fanfiction #carmy berzatto & reader #carmen berzatto & fem reader #carmy berzatto & fem reader

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finnsbubblegum · 1 year

Text

Becoming Mrs. Miller {Part 1: Meeting Sarah} (Joel Miller x Reader)

Pairing: pre-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader

Warnings: mostly fluff, short smut, use of (y/n) (lmk if i missed any)

Summary: You and Joel have been keeping your relationship as a secret from Sarah. It’s been a few months and you want to meet Sarah but Joel doesn’t like the idea.

Words count: 1.5k

A/N: Hi! I’m not a native English speaker so I’m sorry if I have grammar mistakes or the sentences come up unnatural, and it’s also my first time writing fanfic, please be nice and I'm open for suggestions, I want to be better in writing. I’ve always loved writing but some people told me I'm bad at it, but I want to give it another try, I hope you enjoy it.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

The room was dark and it was full of you and Joel’s heavy breathing.

“Fuck Joel, that feels so good.”

You reached Joel’s hand on your hip while he was thrusting fast and deep inside you from behind. He hissed and you could feel his moves were getting messy. (Yes, I’m writing this imagining that scene from Narcos S2 ep 3 lol)

“Fuck baby, I’m gonna cum. Where do you want me to cum?”.

“Inside, please.” You were on birth control so you didn’t care.

He groaned as you felt a warm feeling from his cum painting your walls. He pulled you to his chest and kissed your neck. You shifted to face him, both of your hands cupped his cheeks and kissed him.

“So, when will you introduce me to Sarah?”

“Uhm..I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Joel held your wrists that were cupping his cheeks.

Your face showed disappointment and pulled away from him. You took your clothes that were laying on the floor, started dressing up and got ready to leave.

“Baby..” Joel frowned and called you.

Apparently, Joel has been proposing Sarah to have a sleepover at her friend’s every Friday night, telling her he’s working overtime so that you can have a private time with him. You understood his choice to keep your relationship secret but it has been 7 months and you started doubting him.

You let out a sigh and said, “Joel, we’ve been keeping our relationship as a secret. We only see each other when Sarah isn’t around. Mostly Friday nights in your bedroom. I feel like you’re only using me as a fuck buddy not your girlfriend. I want a serious relationship. I’m not a prostitute. I know you love Sarah so much and you don’t want to hurt her feelings. I understand, I do. But I love you, Joel. Do you?”

“I love you too, baby. But..”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7 months ago

It was late at night, you were on your way home from a girl’s night out and suddenly your car broke down.

“No, no, no , no!” You yelled and went out of your car to see what was happening to your car. Not knowing anything about cars, you tried to open the hood. You only stood there, stared at your car, and put your hands on your hip. You tried calling your dad.

“Of course, he’s probably asleep.” You scoffed.

Not long after that, there was a truck stopped behind your car. You were scared someone might kidnap you but you were also hoping that someone might come and help you.

A man getting off the truck and walking towards you. He was handsome, average height, muscly, brown hair and facial hair. He was masculine and you couldn’t deny that he was your type.

“Need help with that?” The man asked.

“Uhm.. yes. I don’t really know about cars so I have no idea what to do.” You scratched your head.

“Let me see..” The man held your car hood and looked at your car’s machine. You stood there beside him, watching whatever he did, and a few minutes later he fixed your car.

“Can you try startin’ your car for me?” He faced you and asked.

“Yeah, sure.” You went to the driver’s seat and started your car.

“It works!” You tapped the steering wheel and smiled happily. You walked out of your car and walked to the man.

“Thank you for helping me. I’m (y/n). I, uh, I haven’t got your name.” You reached out your hand to give him a handshake.

He shook your hand, “Joel.”

“Uhm..What can I do to repay your kindness?” You asked shyly.

“Uhm..Coffee?” He chuckled.

You laughed, “Coffee it is. But it’s late. I doubt there’s a coffee shop that still opens. Can I get your number and buy you a coffee when you’re free?”

“Sure.” He took out his phone and you exchanged numbers.

The two of you have been hanging out since and fell in love.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“But what? Are you embarrassed of me? If you don’t see our relationship further, then maybe this is it. I’m done. I can’t keep doing this when I know there isn’t a future for both of us.” You started tearing up and walked out the house.

As you were holding the handle of the front door, you heard Joel running down the stairs.

“Baby, wait.” Joel grabbed your wrist to stop you from leaving.

Tears streamed down your face as you faced him. You can see from his face that he was angry at himself for making you cry.

He cupped your cheeks and said, “I’m sorry. I was wrong. I’m just scared.”

“Scared of what?” You held his wrist and looked him through his eyes.

“I have never been in a relationship after Sarah’s mom left. I just don’t know how Sarah would think if I tell her I have a girlfriend. I’m scared she might hate you.”

“Joel, I’ll be fine. If she hates me then I’ll go. But we don’t know. There might be chances that she’ll like me. You don’t know that.”

“You’re right, baby. Well, do you want to meet her tomorrow? I’m picking her up at 10 so maybe we can have lunch together, here? I’ll cook.” Joel smiled.

“Sure, I’ll be here by 12.” You gave him a peck on the cheek and he pulled you closer and hugged you.

“I’m sorry and I love you, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The next morning, you woke up, took a shower, and put on some makeup. After a long time of dilemma choosing which sundress to wear, you decided to wear a white sundress with a yellow floral pattern so that you look nice and friendly. You grabbed your purse and were ready to meet Sarah.

You rang the Miller’s house doorbell. Joel opened the door.

“Hey, you look amazing.” He gave you a light kiss.

“Thank you.”

You walked in the house and you could smell the delicious meal that Joel had cooked for lunch.

“Sarah! I have someone I want you to meet.” Joel shouted.

“Coming!” Sarah ran down the stairs as her dad called her.

“Hi! (y/n), it’s great to finally meet you. My dad told me a lot about you.” Sarah greeted you with a smile.

“Hi Sarah! Nice to meet you too. Your dad bragged a lot about you. I heard you’re really smart.” You gave Joel a smirk and side eye.

“Oh, really dad? But yes, I am smart.” Sarah joked. You and Joel laughed.

“Okay, I’m starving. Let’s eat!” Joel invited you to the dining room.

The three of you ate, talked, joked, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company.

“I didn’t know you’re a great cook Miller.” You said as you shoved another bite to your mouth.

“Well, I got help from Sarah.” Joel looked and smiled at Sarah and she chuckled.

“So, has he proposed?” Sarah asked and looked at you.

You looked at Joel, confused, not expecting this question from Sarah.

“Uhmm..” Joel didn’t know what to say.

“I know you guys have been dating for some months now. I’m not that stupid, dad. I know you’ve been asking me to have a sleepover at Becca’s because you want to go on a date.”

“Oh!” You were amused and made eye contact with Joel.

“You knew about us the whole time?” Joel was shocked about Sarah knowing.

“Yeah, dad. I was waiting for you to introduce (y/n) to me. I’m glad I’m meeting her now. I think you’re cool, (y/n).”

“Wow, thank you, Sarah. I’ll take that as a compliment.” You smirked at Joel.

“So, are you going to be my mom soon?” Sarah asked.

You and Joel were speechless.

“Soon.” Joel held your hand and smiled shyly as he couldn’t hide his happiness.

You knew he was joking since you have been together for a short time but you couldn’t hide the feelings of butterflies in your stomach.

After lunch, Sarah went to her room. Joel washed the dishes and you hugged him from behind.

“See? She likes me. Mission success.” You whispered to Joel’s ear.

“I’m sorry I doubted you, baby.” Joel faced you as he turned off the faucet.

“Uh-huh, I’m gonna make her like me more than she likes you, Miller.” You teased Joel as you went closer to his face.

“I love you so much, Mrs. Miller.” Joel teased you back and boop your nose with his index finger.

“That’s wet.” You scrunched and wiped your nose. Joel threw his head back and laughed as he wiped his hands on his jeans.

“Do you like the name?” Joel asked and cupped your cheeks.

“Of course. It sounds cute. Mrs. Miller. I like that.” You looked through his puppy eyes and kissed him deeply.

To be continued...

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

#joel miller #pedro pascal #joel miller one shot #joel miller x reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller x you #the last of us imagine #the last of us x reader #the last of us x you #pedro pascal x reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel miller fluff #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal fanfiction

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nahoney22 · 1 year

Text

Racing Ahead

Tech X GN!Reader

word count: 1.5k

When Tech is more than willing to race to save you and Cid from the claws of Cid’s old acquaintance, how do you feel when he steals something for good luck.

warnings: scenes used from Ep 4 of TBB S2, mutual pining and tooth rotting fluff. Reader is gender neutral. Not proofread.

All of Tech’s hard work shattered before his eyes and even though you personally found TAY-0 to be one of the most arrogant and irritating droids alive, it was harrowing seeing him get blasted by a racer. Just before the race to get Cid back was about to begin, too.

“Tough luck, looks like a forfeit.” Millegi snidely comments, a smirk on his face. You look up at the Dowutin, eyes glaring daggers which you now came to realise was a fateful decision as that smirk grows wider.

“You know, I like things to be even too. So double the money… and double the crew.” His hand reaches down, clasping over your shoulder and brings you harshly into his chest with your back.

“Let them go.” Tech speaks with sense of overpowering protectiveness, hand placed on his holster ready to shoot if need be.

“Uh, this wasn’t part of the deal!” You squirm in his grasp only to be pushed back towards the other of his little cronies where they kept you more securely from running off.

“That’s hustlin for you. Cid should have taught you all about that.” He guffaws but that’s when something in Tech had snapped.

“I’ll be the racer.”

Your eyes widened and your squirming quickly subsided as you shook your head at him. “Tech, no. It’s far too dangerous.” You couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“This is something I have to do. There is not a choice in this.” He didn’t even look at you as he spoke, eyes glaring at the men in front of him with venom in his eyes. Seeing you being manhandled like that shot a course of panic and determination through his veins and if he had to race one hundred times to get you back, he would.

Eyes widening in a mix of horror and shock, you keep protesting although there is not really any alternative option. But, Tech’s face showed the greatest determination he had ever displayed and it was all in favor of you. Well, and Cid.

Although you shouldn’t feel grateful, Millegi kindly told you that you could say your ‘goodbyes’ as he put it and allowed you to spend five minutes with Tech before the race was to begin.

When you could finally see him, he’s by the speeder he had fixed up, over analyzing every small detail. Even Omega and Wrecker had to sit back and watch, chewing their fingernails to subdue their hanging anxiety.

“Tech, what are you doing? This is madness! You don’t even know how to race.” You join his side, his eyes briefly meeting yours before looking back at the layout of the track on his datapad.

“I have surveyed the whole layout and I think the favors are in my court.” He says as a matter of fact but there’s still nerves in both of your stomachs.

“You could die.” You point out, replaying the scenes of the previous two races in your head after seeing what happened to those contestants.

Tech drops his datapad and switches for a spanner, making a small alteration on the speeder and practically ignores your statement.

He knew the risks to this sport but he could not sit back and do nothing. He had no time to fix TAY-0 so this was the only solution. He freezes however, feeling something place on his forearm and he looks to see your hand. “Tech.”

He sighs a little and looks over to you. “We should have never agreed to come do this mission for Cid. It had too many risks that I had not calculated before coming.”

“We didn’t know this would happen.”

“That may be so, but look at what predicament it has got you in.” His voice is stern but of course laced with concern.

“Millegi said he wasn’t going to kill me,” you recite back to a small conversation you had with your capturer before he allowed you to come see Tech, “Cid however…”

“To be fair, I care less about Cid in comparison to you. Too often she has left us in dangerous situations and it isn’t the first time we have had to rescue her.” Tech is pacing now, rambling and talking with his hands. “Death or not, I refuse to let you be taken.”

A tannoy announcement blares, indicating that there’s two minutes to go and that Racers should make their way to the starting line. The two of you look at one another, hearts racing.

You felt a strong connection to Tech, always have done since you first step foot in the Marauder. You were one of the few who would listen to his ramblings and never get bored and of course, he noticed this. At first he thought nothing of it but when you started to callback to previous things he had said, his heart began to swell in awe. His feelings began to fester until they finally bloomed and he was rather smitten with you. Which was why he did not hesitate to come to your aid.

If Tech was going to lose or possibly die in the next ten minutes, he knew he could not live these final moments in regret. Although he is confident and favors himself a 89.45% chance of winning if his plan goes correctly, there is something that could boost his confidence.

He throws his tools and datapad to the side on the workbench, grabs his helmet before he quickly crosses over to you like a man on a mission.

You stumble back a little, the very quick close proximity surprising you. “I am not a man who necessarily believes in luck. In fact, strategy and logistics is my forte but I can not risk this enough to not gain any more luck.”

Before you could even ask what it was he had in mind, his hand is on your waist and you’re flushed to his body whilst his lips ascend upon yours. Your eyes are wide in shock, hands coming up but unsure where to place them so they’re left dangling awkwardly in the air as his eyes knit tightly closed, savoring the feeling of your lips against his. You’re pushed into the workbench, all your senses overwhelmed that you can’t even process what is truly happening. When he pulled away, he let out a shaken exhale.

“That should have done the trick. I shall see you at the finish line.” He nods simply before he moves around you and gets ready to race.

You remain rooted to your spot, dazed but your skin burnt with a glorious glow of blush after Tech, the Tech, kissed you. Although he had gone and is out of ear shot, you whispered a small good luck before making your way back to the private lounge.

After countless tight calls, Tech renders victorious. You had to refrain from cheering in front of Millegi who had a face like a slapped Bantha’s backside. But, a deal was a deal and he sets you free with Cid too.

When you saw him on the big screen, watching the audience cheer for him you almost wept in great pride. Sometimes his work is not appreciated by his brothers but seeing him get the praise he deserved made your heart full.

Once back with them you’re hugging Wrecker and Omega closely and happy to be reunited but as you peer over Omega’s shoulder, Tech stands tall with a very shy expression. “I’ll uh- catch up with you guys in a minute.”

Tech steps towards you, relieved to see you unharmed and very much alive. As if there was any doubt. “I told you I would not allow them to take you.”

“I didn’t think you would.” You smile softly, a blush already creeping up your neck and ears just by being close with him again. You wanted to mention the surprising kiss but your heart would simply shatter if you found out it meant nothing. But, when Tech takes another daring move - clearly on a high after his win - he takes your hand in his and brings you close.

“I’ll take it you are wondering as to why I bestowed you with a kiss… and then abruptly left.”

You tilt your head to the side, grinning softly up at him with hopeful eyes. “You mean that ‘good luck’ kiss?”

He gulps but nods his head. “Y-yes. I am not into cliches but just last night I came across a holomovie where a kiss like this was given. Plus, I can not deny that I have been wanting to-.” He stops himself, suddenly becoming very nervous but you manage to coax him out of his nerves by cupping his cheek, thumb tracing over his finely stubbled jaw.

“Wanted to kiss me?” You push on, eyes gleaming with a longing that could be finalized right this very moment.

“Yes, cyare. To kiss you.” He breathes softly, a goofy grin displaying on his features.

“Well,” you step closer to him, voice hushed and he almost melts at the feeling of your warm breath against his face, “don’t let me stop you from doing it again.”

Without a second to even think, he captures your lips against his own and envelopes his arms around your frame. You sigh into his embrace, letting your lips move along his in a gentle dance that is sure to sweep you off your feet. It’s short and sweet but he whispered a promise against your lips that more on the ship will definitely be on the cards.

He won the race and more importantly, he won you. Could his day get any better?

Masterlist

More Tech Works

tags: @discofern @s1st3r @buddee @taskfork-archive @the-good-shittt @crystal076 @cosmic-persephone @imalovernotahater @swiftiexstarwarssimp @by-the-primes @torchbearerkyle @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @therealnekomari @a-c-lee @autumnleaves1991-blog @tech-depression-inventory @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @lucyysthings @tinyreadersmur @agenteliix @myinnerwonderlandmind @nunanuggets @andyoufollowyourheart @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @captxin-rex @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka @oohyesplease e @megafrost4 @theroguesully @equalityforcats @bomboclaat y @rexandechosandwich @mustluvecho @misogirl828 @ladykatakuri @jambolska-grozdova @chxpsi @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @rain-on-kamino @either-madness-or-brilliance @staycalmandhugaclone @ko-neko-san @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet

#the bad batch #bad batch tech #nahoney22 writes #bad batch tech x reader #tech x reader #tbb tech x reader #tech the bad batch #clone wars #tbb

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my-mt-heart · 1 month

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When I think of the Caryl spinoff we were promised, I think of all the space there'd be to explore a new, but hard-earned romance between the two underdogs turned most iconic duo of TWD.

I think of them getting back to their roots, helping each other heal from their trauma, and conquering their fears of not being worthy of each other's love.

I'm tired of sitting through explicit beats of shipbaiting for the sake of marketing Daryl as the most eligible bachelor and riling fans up while Caryl, the relationship that sold me on their chemistry and their one-of-a-kind bond is treated like a dirty secret.

I'm tired of Carol feeling, and being portrayed, as if she isn't good enough or young enough or blonde enough for Daryl and I'm tired of the ageism Melissa has to suffer in order for the show to please an unreliable market that's more likely to watch clips on TikTok then subscribe to the show anyway.

I’m tired of foils and subtext and symbolism being used to say something about Caryl's relationship in a round-about way without ever seeing the payoff.

I don't want a retread of Caryl’s entire story that makes me think...

Canon is coming!

We're almost there!

Just a little bit further!

Maybe the next episode!

Maybe the season finale!

Maybe the series finale!

Absolutely not.

Because I know the difference between telling a longform narrative and stringing me along, manipulating me into thinking I'm getting exactly what I want ...

At least Daryl and plot device #100 didn't get together.

At least Carol doesn't die.

At least Daryl and Carol are finally alone.

At least there's "hope."

...when in reality I'd be getting nothing I want and not even for any creative reasons, but because it isn't good for an EPs brand or his ego or whatever it may be.

There's a lot of hype for Melissa's/Carol's return right now, amplified because of the year-long fear that her fans were never going to see her again, but what's the hook going to be for S3? If AMC wants a large fanbase they can rely on to keep tuning in and to keep growing, they should want all Carylers on board. And to get us all on board, including the ones who left a long time ago, explicit canon that honors both Carol's and Daryl's journeys is a must.

S2 is THE chance to show me—clear as day—how Daryl and Carol really feel about each other. That they are in love. That they are and always have been each other’s only choice and plot devices 1-100 never changed that. That's the Caryl spinoff I'll watch.

*This is my response to a few anons I received over the past week or so. I figured it would be better for my sanity to address them all in one go.

#caryl #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #daryl dixon #norman reedus #the book of carol #twd caryl

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slytherinshua · 9 months

Text

NOSEBLEEDS

genre. fluff. a little angst. could be read with the same counter!reader as miss me?warnings. blood and fighting mentioned. takes place directly in ep 3 of s2 so this is your spoiler warning. pairing. so mun x counter!reader. wc. 1.5k.

You wanted to lunge at the evil spirit as soon as he had the audacity to walk right into the noodle shop. But, instead, you kept to your seat next to a small kindergartener with pigtails tied with colourful hair ties. You pretended to listen intently to what she was telling you, but all you were really focusing on was your boyfriend who had sat down across from the evil spirit.

The air was tense, the pressure building up even physically as the building began to shake. Luckily, it didn’t seem like any of the kids were noticing what was going on. Ms. Chu had, though, and she gave you a serious look from across the room, clearly as concerned as you were about the situation.

There had never been anything like this before. You had never seen an evil spirit walk straight into the noodle shop. You could feel the energy in the air. Mun had summoned the territory and you could also sense him using his psychokinesis. The evil spirit could use it too, and that terrified you.

You couldn’t hear their conversation, so you focused on Mun’s face instead. You were usually pretty good at reading his facial expressions. You watched his eyebrows furrow and his eye twitch. He was using a lot of his power, and you could only guess that the evil spirit was matching it.

They were having a mind battle.

You had tried to learn psychokinesis from Mun’s group lessons. You weren’t as good as Hana, but you could lift most small objects with ease after a couple weeks of training. Your specialty was time manipulation. On a good day and with the help of Mun’s territory, you could freeze time for up to 5 minutes. It was strenuous, though. Intensely strenuous. When you had first begun you could barely manage 5 seconds, but with ample training you started to improve.

You thought about freezing time now, but you were hesitant. The evil spirit didn’t look like he came here to fight, and So Mun seemed to be managing in his current state.

You gulped as a crack in the window started to form, with each second it became bigger. Mun was straining himself, pushing his limits to fight off the opposing psychokinesis. His fist was clenched tightly, though he tried to keep his face calm. The evil spirit seemed more tense than he was, which gave you some small hope that Mun was still stronger.

It felt like the tense moment went on for hours, but it suddenly all came to an end when one of the kid’s glasses slipped off the table from the shaking and the evil spirit caught it smoothly. He gave a fake smile and a gentle, “Are you okay?” to the small child.

“You have so many things you need to protect.” The words sounded sadistic and devilish, and you forced yourself to not lunge at him. Mun was breathing unsteadily, anger flashing in his usual soft eyes. You scowled at the evil spirit. You hated leaving things unfinished. You didn’t like waiting to fight another day. You were always one to face things head-on. If it had been different circumstances, you would’ve frozen time and given this evil spirit a piece of yourself.

It absolutely enraged you how he had come here to scout things out, to test So Mun’s ability first hand without risk. And now that he had found out what he wanted, he walked out. But you were glad that he was leaving nonetheless. A fight in front of all the kids would’ve been a much worse outcome.

The door swung shut and you turned your focus back to Mun, who suddenly lurched forward and gasped, almost falling to the ground but he caught himself on the table.

“So Mun-” You were by his side immediately, hand on his shoulder and supporting him to make sure he didn’t fall. Your eyes widened as a drop of blood fell to the floor. All the other counters had gotten nosebleeds in psychokinesis training before, even Hana when she was just starting out. But you had never seen it from Mun. It sent a chill up your spine as you realized just how strong these new evil spirits could be.

You felt every inch of you ignite with rage. He just walked in and out like he owned the place? He pushed Mun to the edge of his abilities and strolled out like it was nothing? You started to move to run after him. You wanted a fight. You wanted payback. Evil spirits were bad in their nature, but this one was worse than any you had seen.

Your boyfriend stopped you before you could go, though. He was heaving still, his nose dripping blood and his forehead shiny with sweat. He gave you a small shake of his head. He knew what you were thinking in an instant, and he kept a firm hand on your arm to make sure you didn’t leave.

“Don’t.” He gasped, coughing a little. You sighed, fist clenching as you looked back at the door for another second before turning your full attention to Mun.

“Are you okay?” He nodded, finding his footing again to stand up but he stumbled a little, still exhausted from the encounter with the evil spirit. You caught him safely in your arms before he could fall.

“Sit down.” You guided him back to the chair and grabbed a tissue from the side table for his nose. Hana had gone back to the kids knowing you could handle the situation with your boyfriend, but Ms. Chu stayed by your side. She always felt like injuries, no matter how big or small, were her responsibility. You understood her completely. If the team were ever too late, you couldn’t help placing the blame all on yourself and millions of what-if’s and alternative scenarios would play in your mind. Mun had always been helpful for your overthinking, even before you two were dating. He always knew exactly what to say to get the thoughts out of your head.

“He’s stronger, isn’t he?” You were now sitting beside Mun, gently clasping his hand.

He nodded, “But we’re stronger too. At least, we will be. We have to be.” You gave his hand a squeeze. It was a scary thought, but you wondered if the team was cut out for defeating evil spirits of this level.

There was only one person that could possibly be knocking on your door at 1 am. You wondered whether it was something serious or if your boyfriend really despised sharing his new room with Jeokbong that much. Whatever the reason was, it didn’t really matter. Mun was always welcome wherever you were.

He opened the door, but didn’t come in, instead faltering in the doorway for a while. You opened your arms wide, waving for him to come over for a hug. It was enough to get him to take steps forward and close the door.

“Can’t sleep because of stress or because Jeokbong is really annoying?” You asked with a small laugh as Mun positioned himself to snuggle close to you, a position which allowed you to play with his curly hair— something you loved to do more than anything.

“Jeokbong isn’t so bad, you know. He’s part of the team now.” Your boyfriend mumbled.

“Yeah, well he isn’t much help yet, but he’s pretty cute at least.”

Mun gave a small discontented groan at your comment, “He is not cute.”

“Are you still stressed about it?” You asked, moving the topic of discussion to a more serious matter. Your boyfriend sighed and shuffled just a little closer to you.

“I can’t stop thinking about it. I should’ve done something. He was right there, but I let him go. Maybe if we had all worked as a team-”

“Baby, you did your best. It was better to not have a fight in front of all the kids.” You reassured him, truly meaning every word. The fact that he even got a nosebleed showed that he truly strained himself as far as he could.

“I know you’re right, but I still don’t feel like it.” He mumbled.

“And you can’t sleep because it’s still bothering you?” You guessed and he hummed affirmatively.

“I thought being next to you might help me sleep.” He admitted and it made you smile.

“I hope it does.” You pressed a kiss to his forehead before closing your eyes and preparing to sleep.

So Mun kept his eyes open for a while, mindlessly staring at your sleepy face. When he finally felt some tiredness wash over him, he pressed one last kiss to your lips and hugged you close, slipping away to his dreams.

↳ k-drama taglist: @yeonjuns-redhair,, @wolfmoonmusic,, @cha3w0n-hearts (abp & tuc only),, @tempobaekh (tuc only)

#﹒fics　𓈃　ⵌ #the uncanny counter #so mun #uncanny counter #the uncanny counter fic #the uncanny counter fluff #uncanny counter fic #uncanny counter fluff #so mun fic #so mun fluff #so mun x reader #kdrama fic #kdrama fluff #jo byeong gyu #jo byeong gyu fic #jo byeong gyu fluff

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