#me and jessie had different understandings of bedtime

[quillsand]

sorry for the lies and deception. it will happen again

#me and jessie had different understandings of bedtime #but what can you do #we are too busy being silly and goofy to go to bed anyways!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jflemings]

might need some mother jessie headcanons at some point cause that photo had RUINED me……

—mum!jessie headcanons

warnings: none

a/n: ask and you shall receive…

- girl mum. i will not be elaborating.

- so excited when you tell her you’re pregnant, at first she doesn’t even believe it until you show her the positive test

- hot dad walk™️ out of the hospital

- hot dad walk™️ EVERYWHERE she doesn’t even mean to do it, it just comes naturally

- makes you want like 4 more

- makes the introduction to the chelsea girls a few weeks after she’s born, from that moment on the baby is absolutely adored by everyone at the club

- sinc tears up when she first gets to meet the baby & her and jessie have a really nice moment

- loooooves to show her teammates pictures she’s taken of the baby

“ash look at this photo of y/n and the baby!!!!”

- everytime she gets a new kit she gets a matching jersey for you and the baby

- walks into target to buy like, shampoo, and walks out with three different outfits, a doll and a book for the kid

“jess she doesn’t need it!!!”

“yes she does”

- such a proud mum, will praise the kid for legit anything and everything

- tries her hardest to be at every event. games, recitals, award shows, you name it and shes there

- if she can’t make it she asks you to send her so many videos and photos so she still knows what’s going on

- caves SOOO easily whenever her kid wants smth like

“mum can we have ice cream and pancakes for breakfast”

“go ask mama”

“she said no”

“then no”

“pleeeeeeeeaaaaaasE”

“…okay but don’t tell her”

- reads a new bedtime story every night, even if she’s not at home. she’ll facetime you at bedtime just to read a book

- jess is the type of mum that will sit with her kid after they wake up from a nightmare, she’s either reading to them or watching tv to distract them until they fall asleep

- goes all out for big birthdays (1st, 10th, 16th, 18th ect)

- definitely the quiet, attractive parent that all the queer mums fawn over at school drop off/pick up

- gets embarrassed when your kid boasts about having a famous parent

- gets even MORE embarrassed when a teacher comes up to her to congratulate her on a big win because she’s literally just there for her kid

- loves the fact that your kid admires her so much, feels super lucky to have that impact on her child

- buys sooooo many books on all different types of topics, fiction and non-fiction alike

- really encourages her kid to be creative

- won’t push them to play football but definitely signs them up just to see if they like it

- if they don’t then she finds smth else for them to do

- pretty laid back in terms of being a mum to a teenager because she understands that kids have to make mistakes to learn. all she asks for is honesty and respect in return

- she has the patience of a saint unless you get disrespected

- that’s the only time when shit hits the fan

- does the classic midnight pickup from a party just so you don’t have to get up

- she’s not naturally intimidating but when your daughter brings home her first boyfriend/girlfriend she definitely scares them a lil bit just because she’s quiet

- feels bad afterwards tho

“i wasn’t even trying to be intimidating!!! ☹️”

“i know jess”

- can’t do the sex talk tho

- she tries but feels awkward once she realises who she’s having the sex talk with. you take over from there

- doesn’t pull strings if your kid wants to have a career in football but she will give all the advice and support that she can

- she wants them to earn their spot because of their talent, not their last name

- almost cries when they have their debut for their national team

- just so incredibly supportive of whatever her child wants to do as long as they’re safe and healthy. the kid never goes a day in their life wondering if they’re loved by the two of you

- gains a lot of confidence after she becomes a mother. still very introverted but she now carrie’s herself with the same confidence she has on the pitch off the pitch because she just fits into a parental role so easily. it really is second nature to her once she gets settled

#pegs writes #pegs woso #jessie fleming #jessie fleming headcanons #jessie fleming blurb #jessie fleming fic #woso #woso fic #woso blurb

[justjessame]

The Deal Chapter 24

I know that Dad and some of the others aren’t as trusting of our new home as I’m pretending to be. I hear them whispering. I see their side eyes. I’m still doing my job. I’m taking care of Judith. And I’m sure Daryl is around, somewhere, and he’ll find me eventually.

Dad and the others want to walk around the community and check it out, but I beg off. I can feel their eyes on me, but I can’t care. Not really. The shower helped me feel something, but not enough, not really. And I don’t want to keep my mask in place. At least give me a break, I think, a minute where I can stare at the wall and just not.

Carl takes Judith and I lay back on the bed in my new room. Alone, I think, but then my door opens and Daryl steps inside. He’s still wearing the clothes we arrived in. He’s still sweaty and dirty. And there’s a part of me, deep inside, that sounds suspiciously like the old me. The one from before, that wanted to shoo him out. Tell him to take a shower and change his clothes before he ruined my new bedding. She’s inside of me, though, and doesn’t break through.

I think I must smile when he sits beside me. I must have, because he pulls me into his side and kisses my forehead and for a moment I remember how I feel for him. That I love him. That this type of casual touching and intimacy is normal for us. I know it’s there, and I can almost grab hold of it, but it flits away and I still feel empty.

Everyone has a job away from or for the community. Everyone except me. Deanna tells me simply that my job remains what it always was, caregiver for Judith. And I accept it. The role I’d taken on when Lori died. One that I don’t have to even think about doing. I just do. And I think that even Judith is fooled. That she doesn’t see that the games and stories are just an act. That I love her, and that I know, but I’m not here. Not really.

Dad’s the new peace officer. Michonne is his second. Daryl is resistant. Glenn, Tara, and Noah are supply runners. Carol is the community cook. And I’m me. Or I look like me, I must because no one pays attention or mentions any differences. So I slip back into my own little part of nowhere, and I go about the motions of life.

Deanna visits to lay out more information about the new roles and jobs everyone has been given. Dad’s role as security. Maggie’s position as Deanna’s assistant. A new government, here in this tiny unprepared community. And that there’s a welcome party tonight to welcome us all.

I don’t want to. I don’t want to mingle. I don’t want to pretend. I want to simply be. And I can see that Dad’s going to insist. And I’m going to agree.

It’s a party. And it’s just as I feared. My mask is firmly in place. Judith is in my arms, and I have to go through the motions of being grateful and hospitable. I have to smile and play the perfect older daughter to the new head of security. I have to stay aware, say the right things, play the role that I’ve been given. Seeing the smiling faces, the nods, I know I’ve succeeded.

Later, as I put Judith to bed in her crib and then tuck myself in my own bed, I wonder if Daryl was there. Was he at the party? Had he mingled too? Had he worn his own mask? And would he come to bed and sleep beside me tonight? He hadn’t the night before. He said he wanted to keep watch. He said he was too tense. He said so many things. What didn’t he say?

A run for parts to keep the lights on. And another loss. One for us, and one for them. That’s how to tally it now. The losses. Us vs Them.

Noah, the one who’d been with us the shortest time. The boy that replaced Beth, in a way. Gone.

It’s clear, as I rock Judith in the living room as Glenn recounts how Noah died, that these people are not prepared for the reality of this new world. Dad seethes. Not simply at the loss, but at the entitlement of thinking they know best, when clearly they don’t. Glenn wants to teach them. I’m not sure we’ll be allowed.

The next time I’m around for a confrontation, I witness Dad brawling with the community doctor. It reminds me of a school yard brawl, the crowd, the noise and then the good doctor strikes and hits his wife. What’s her name? Jessie. God, I had to think about it, and it’s my fucking name. I shake myself free of the stupor I prefer. In time to see Dad show the crazy side of him that he’d buried. And then Michonne, thankfully, knocks him out before we all get thrown back to the wolves.

Dad’s got some explaining to do. Or actually, a trial of sorts. Deanna is planning on passing judgement. On him and his actions alone. I’m sitting at his bedside, listening as Carol advises him of what to do, how to answer, and I find myself smiling sincerely. She’s done what I did. Say what they want to hear. Give them a bedtime story fit for Judith, and then put on your mask.

I see Dad’s focus shift to me and for the first time in a while, I feel like he actually sees me. When the others leave, he takes my hand to stop me from going. I sit back down and meet his eyes.

“You’re different.” He says. Not a question, but still a revelation.

I shrug, ready to make a joke about my new wardrobe, but I stop. He’s trying. “Aren’t we all?” I offer instead. The truth, but not too revealing. His blue eyes are squinting at me. “Not you, not-” He sighs, hand holds my hand. “Jessi? You’d tell me if you, if you needed help wouldn’t you?”

I nod. Sure. If it were killing a walker breathing down my back, I’d yell up a storm. “Sure.” I’m ready to try to leave again, but his grip on my hand tightens.

“I mean HELP, Jessi. Real help.” And I know that he’s seen more than I guessed. That the mask had slipped too far.

I sit back in my chair and smile. “What kind of help would I possibly need, Dad?”

And he stares at me. At the way I sit. At the way I’m dressed. And then, he refocuses on my face. My eyes. And I can see him taking stock. “Why didn’t I see it?” It isn’t a question for me. And I don’t answer it. “God, I failed you.”

That’s enough. “I don’t know what you mean, Dad. You’ve been the best dad a girl could ask for.” And I finally stand, pull my hand from his, and kiss him on the forehead. Enough show and tell, I think, and I give him one more glimpse, if only to keep him here with us in Alexandria. “Listen to what Carol said, Dad, give them the story that a child would like to hear. It works.” And waving a goodbye, I walked out.

Dad comes home later. I hear him greeting Carl downstairs, but I stay in my room, playing with Judith. Carol comes to my room, the day winding down, and tells me that I have to attend the meeting. I nod with a smile and she gives me a look that makes me wonder if I’d lost my mask totally.

I’m with Carol, Maggie, Abraham and Eugene at the place where the meeting is supposed to happen. Maggie’s asking for a delay until Glenn and Dad show up, but our new leader insists on going forward without them. The charges, the excuses, Michonne’s attempts to fix it. Carol takes a turn. Abraham gives his try to explain Dad and the world beyond the gate. Maggie’s turn comes, and hearing her talk about Hershel makes my heart clench. Everyone focuses on me, his daughter, when it finally happens.

Dad, coated in blood, carrying a walker corpse walks up and throws it down in front of them. And I hear his speech. I hear the conviction in his words as he explains the reality of our world. Of the danger. And of his absolute belief that he can teach them to survive. And I feel parts of me come back, not nearly all of them, not nearly enough, but some.

And then, the good doctor arrives drunk and kills Deanna’s husband with Michonne’s katana. As Reg, her husband bleeds out, she finally gets it. She understands, and with a nod, Dad finishes it. Pete’s dead. Reg’s dead.

And Daryl is back, although I’m not sure I knew he was gone. And another man has arrived. The elusive Morgan. The man who had saved Dad at the very end of before, and who had given up all of his weapons and ammo to us. And I can feel myself thawing a bit more.

#daryl dixon x ofc #eventual negan x ofc #The Walking Dead #rick grimes daughter #mental illness #angst #alternate universe

[longroadstonowhere]

mornin folks, got a new chapter of wild child for y’all

special thanks to stripe, who has actually worked as a tutor whereas i have not and fielded one question for me (also honorary shoutout to my sister who has also worked as a tutor, i did not ask her for any specific advice but i definitely thought of her as i was writing this)

(none of this means i actually wrote a realistic depiction of a tutor)

(1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ao3)

"Bye Jessie!" John yelled to the bus driver as he leaped down the steps and flew towards home. The end of the school year was getting closer and closer, and just thinking about summer vacation made him leap for joy.

He checked the mailbox on his way up the driveway, but it was empty. No mail today, I guess. He burst through the front door, excited to have a whole afternoon of nothing he needed to do.

He stopped short at the sight of his dad and a black man he'd never met before sitting on the couch. He sheepishly shrugged off his backpack and closed the door a lot quieter than he'd opened it. "Oh, hi dad. Sorry about the uh, the door. Didn't think anyone would be home."

His dad chuckled and came over to give him a one-armed hug. "Welcome home, John. I'm glad to see you so excited." With his free arm, he gestured toward the stranger. "I'd like you to meet William Vileño. If the schedules work out, he'll be tutoring Jade this summer."

"Hello, John." Mr. Vileño stood and offered his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He had a very calm, tenor voice.

"Uh, hi! Hi." John reached out to take his hand, pulled back to wipe his hand on his pants, and reached out again. He tried to give a firm handshake like his dad taught him. Mr. Vileño smiled, and John smiled back, feeling like he'd passed. "So uh, what'll you be teaching Jade? She's already way far ahead on science stuff."

Mr. Vileño chuckled. "Yes, your father mentioned she's an avid scientist. I'm more versed in history and social studies, so I would be helping her catch up in those regards. High school is an important time for developing those skills, after all."

Dad nodded. "Yes, her teachers should be able to teach her well once she has a proper foundation. After all, she's very quick to learn when she has some guidance."

"I look forward to working with her, then." Mr. Vileño said with a hearty laugh. "It'll be much better than when I was trying to motivate my classmates in college. Willing minds are always more encouraging."

Dad chuckled and sat back on the couch again. "I know exactly what you mean. My coworkers are very capable, but whenever we try to change our system to better optimize our workday, I feel some of them refuse just out of sheer stubbornness, and no amount of discussion will change their minds."

The two men kept talking like that back and forth so long that John went up to his room without either of them really noticing. If they got along that well, though, he'd probably make a really great tutor for Jade. Anybody his dad liked had to be a good person, after all.

It was weird sitting at one of these tables, Jade decided. She'd seen plenty of people sitting at them on her previous trips to the library, but most of the time she was either wandering around the bookshelves or sitting in some corner, not out in the middle of everything like this. It was okay, but still weird. At least she had Bec at her side. That helped.

Sharing her table was Mr. Vileño, her tutor for the summer in the things she needed to learn before she went to school with John. "Mr. Vileño still sounds a little weird to me, but you should probably get in the habit of calling your teachers by their last names," he explained. "They're much more used to it, after all."

Jade tilted her head a little. "You're not used to it?"

"No," he chuckled, "I'm only a few years out of college myself, so while I've been tutoring for a while, it's still something I'm adjusting to. It takes time to get used to new circumstances, after all, whether that be as simple as a name change or as chaotic as a change in government. For example," here he sat up a little straighter, "the United States of America didn't start out so united. We were originally a set of colonies from another country, England..."

Jade listened to Mr. Vileño outline the early history of the country she now lived in. He wove things together like a story, with complex people making decisions for complicated reasons. It was much easier to follow than her haphazard attempts at studying history on the internet, as he focused less on dates and more on the motivations behind every decision he described. Jade found the corners of her mouth had drifted upwards without her even realizing it. She felt calm and happy, listening to him. She could almost imagine she was listening to Grandpa telling her a story before bedtime.

When she thought about her grandpa, Jade felt her chest squeeze in pain and the space behind her eyes started to tickle with a sudden promise of tears. She focused on breathing and holding the tears back. Bec sat up and placed his head in her lap, thankfully keeping quiet. If she could just pretend nothing was wrong, she could get herself under control.

"Jade?" Mr. Vileño had stopped talking. Jade focused on him, willing her eyes to stay dry. "Are you okay? If you need to stop, we can -"

"No," Jade choked out. Her throat felt like it was trying to close up. She took a deep breath and spoke again, with a steadier voice this time. "No, I want to keep learning."

He looked at her for a long moment, and Jade was afraid he was going to stop his lesson anyway because she was too weak to do this, too caught up in things that shouldn't matter anymore. At last, though, he nodded and picked up where he'd left off. Jade curled her hand in Bec's neck and focused on Mr. Vileño's words, determined not to lose control again.

After history they moved on to a little essay writing, where Mr. Vileño explained the basic outline of an essay, and a little basic grammar so she could understand what her teachers were talking about if they mentioned things like gerunds. Seemed like a kind of useless word to her, but it did help her to keep her mind off what she couldn't think about. At the end of their session, Mr. Vileño smiled at Jade and told her "I look forward to our next lesson" with the same kind of feeling she got from John's dad whenever he told her something important. She thanked him and said she was too, and then she walked home from the library with Bec at her side.

"He really is nice, huh Bec?" Jade said quietly. Bec snuffed and softly headbutted her hand in agreement. "Really smart, too! He knew so much about the Revolutionary War and I barely aw him look at his notes." He'd promised to go over note-taking with her at some point - she'd collected notes on various scientific techniques and theories, but his looked a lot more organized than hers.

She kept talking to Bec as they walked home, telling him what Mr. Vileño had talked about so she could remember it better herself. She ignored the tickle behind her eyes that stubbornly wouldn't go away. It was useless to cry, after all.

She entered the Egbert house and went straight to her room. Mr. Egbert was moving some pots and pans around in the kitchen, but she couldn't see John. Still at school, maybe? She hadn't checked the clock in the library when she left.

In her room, she sat on her bed and gestured for Bec to join her. He jumped up and lay half on top of her, leaning into her hand as she ran it through his fur again and again. She focus on that movement for a few minutes, trying not to think about dangerous things. It almost worked.

Someone knocked on her door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me," Mr. Egbert said. "Is it okay if I come in?"

Jade bit her lip lightly and looked at Bec for his advice. He looked up and rolled backwards onto the bed, which wasn't very clear. She gave it another few seconds' thought before she said, "Okay."

Mr. Egbert opened the door and took a couple steps in. "How did you first lesson go? Did you learn a lot?"

"Yes!" Jade sat up a little straighter. "He started to teach me how essays work, and we went over the labels for different kinds of words, and he told me about - " Jade swallowed hard, the memory of Mr. Vileño's voice bringing back what she was determined to ignore. "- about, um, the Revolutionary War," she trailed off.

Mr. Egbert nodded a little, but he didn't move back to the kitchen. Instead he stepped forward once and said, "That sounds like an excellent first lesson indeed." He paused, then continued. "Is there something else you'd like to say, though?"

Jade held back, not wanting to acknowledge the pain still squeezing in her chest. Mr. Egbert just stood there, though, quiet and still, and she couldn't take it anymore. "I miss Grandpa," she whispered as quietly as she could.

Mr. Egbert's arms lifted towards her a little, and Jade pushed off her bed and rammed into him, holding him tight like the last time she'd hugged Grandpa years ago. "Oh Jade," she heard him say quietly, and his arms settled lightly onto her shoulders as she squeezed his back, those traitorous tears finally escaping down her cheeks. She thought back to the nights of dancing and stories, the days of hunting and learning, and with every memory she pulled herself closer to Mr. Egbert.

Eventually her memories started to repeat, and her tears stopped running, and she slowly loosened her grip. Mr. Egbert didn't move until she took a small step back. When she did, he pulled his arms away, leaving one hand on her shoulder. "Jade," he said quietly, "I am here for you always, whatever you need. All you have to do is ask, okay?" Jade nodded. "Do you want to talk about it now?" She shook her head. "Okay. I'm going to go work on dinner, then, but if you need anything I'll be right back." He left her room, closing the door behind him.

Jade fell back on the bed and curled up with Bec, who licked the tears off her face. It still hurt a little to think about Grandpa, but less like poking an open wound than it had. Lying there with Bec, Jade almost felt normal again.

#wild child jade #also my horrendous handwriting actually almost did me in this time #took me the longest time to figure out i had written 'dancing' #didn't help i'd apparently written it as 'danicng' #handwritten typos are a lot more offputting than typed typos