#I’m literally going to graduate by the time season 3 ends
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POORLY DRAWN GROGU EVERYDAY UNTIL 2022 ENDS: DAY 270
It’s the 3 year anniversary of the mandalorian beginning! Can’t believe it’s been 3 years since this series got me in a choke hold!
#like shit#3 years already.#I’m literally going to graduate by the time season 3 ends#wild how time flies#the mandalorian#howdy draws#grogu#daily poorly drawn grogu#baby yoda#din djarin#pedro pascal#fennec shand#star wars#tbobf
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𝟎𝟏. 🥛 ✶𓏲ּ “ i want to sew all my love into you ” — [ 정국이 ]
he was comfort, security, and need, all in one. it had a name; home <3
pairing ◞⁺⊹ husband!jk x wife!reader genre ◞⁺⊹ married/domestic au, pwp, slight age difference (jk is older by 5 years)
warnings ◞⁺⊹ insane tooth-rotting fluff bc i’m in need of high dopamine levels, cute n soft smut, you’re a clingy wifey, minor mentions of anxious/sad thoughts, o/c is kinda whiny and hella attention/touch-starved, o/c just misses her bby fr, daddy kink, major impreg kink, foreplay, they get all sentimental n mushy gushy at the end agghhh, aftercare bc koo is the literal definition of the perfect husband ^_^ wc ◞⁺⊹ 4.6k
音楽 — eyes locked, hands locked by rv
i’m vv excited to be back and writing again, i missed it sm ;(( i did this poll i few days ago and this idea won but i’ve decided to write them all so this is the first of three !! (〃ﾉωﾉ)ﾟ+°
summer days grew humid, each was hotter than the last. though it isn’t your least favorite season, you prefer to spend most of your time indoors as the heat often makes you feel faint and the air can be suffocating. usually these lazy, torrid afternoons were shared with your lovely husband, either you two would be laid up on the sofa or in bed watching your favorite shows/movies but today went a little off schedule.
you were all alone in your bedroom, feeling a bit sulky as your husband wasn’t around to tend to your needs or give you any affection. it’s not jungkook’s fault though; he’s been toiled away since this morning, offering to help your parents move and rearrange some of the new furniture that arrived today. you decided to stay at your family beach house this summer for a change of scenery, you hadn’t been here since you were seventeen, let alone seen your parents in person since last year. spending some quality time together has been long overdue and you couldn’t be any happier about it.
both your parents absolutely adore jungkook, they thought he was the sweetest, kindest, most generous person they’ve ever met— which says a lot considering they’ve never been a fan of anyone you dated previously. when you introduced him to them a few years ago, they had slightly pre-judged him based off his outward appearance, assuming that he wouldn’t be the type to take relationships seriously or even want to settle down and get married someday. but not even hours later their perceptions of him changed drastically, your parents could tell that he was a genuine soul who loved you unconditionally and would do absolutely anything for you.
that very same day, your mom spoke with you privately to express her virtuous first impressions, saying how much she loves him already and this is who you should’ve been dating from the start. your parents had extremely high standards for your future partner, especially your mom— but jungkook exceeded every single one of their expectations, checking all the boxes off their list. “i can tell just by the glint in his eyes whenever he looks at you… he’s more than in love, he’s infatuated. the way he talks about you as if you’re the most wonderful thing to have ever came into his life— he’s definitely going to be the one you’ll marry.” your mom gets all teary eyed as she spoke those last few words, picturing her one and only daughter all grown up, in a beautiful wedding dress, finally getting to see you live your happily ever after.
not even a couple months after graduating from uni you got engaged to the love of your life, proudly getting your degree you worked your ass off for and becoming a soon to be wife. you had to move across the country for a job offer of a lifetime but it was worth it, jungkook was beyond supportive in any decision you made and was there with you every step of the way, holding your hand through it all.
shortly after moving, you two got married and the rest was history, it was stressful dealing with so many life changing events all within a span of such a short time but you somehow managed. had it not been for jungkook’s constant encouragement and willingness to work/talk things out, you would’ve been a complete trainwreck. he was the balance you needed to keep yourself afloat, you felt so lucky, more than blessed to have a caring, understanding man like him.
the more you daydream about him, the more you wished he was holding you right now. you’re feeling lonely, so empty, and a little sad, his absence fills your mind with restless thoughts, hoping that he’ll come to your rescue soon enough. before jungkook, you were highly independent, never needed anyone to take care of you because you did everything for yourself; he never gave up on gaining your trust and has shown time and time again how dependable he is. you’ll forever admire how much effort he’s put into getting to know you over the years, that no one’s ever came close to making you feel the way he does— so high as if you’re soaring through the sky, living in heaven on earth.
he was the main provider of the household, you didn’t have to worry about anything nor lift a finger, all you did was focus on your career. you had a worry free lifestyle, the perfect job, perfect husband, what was there to possibly complain about? most aren’t so fortunate to be in your position so you never took any of it for granted. you love him more than anything in this world, you couldn’t stand to be away from him for another minute, you miss your hubby so much :( you craved his presence near you, needing him around you physically, wanting his soothing touch to ease your mind.
you wanna feel his sunkissed skin against yours, his warmth, the way his scent clouds your senses as he trails kisses down the curve of your neck, tangling your fingers in his dark, wispy hair. you want to lay your head on his broadened chest while snuggling up into him, hearing the gentle sounds of his heartbeat, intertwining your small hands with his large ones. you desire for him to kiss you everywhere, leaving no surface of you going untouched, pinning your body down between him and the mattress, like a flower pressed into the pages of a book and all that’s written is his name over and over. so many different scenarios play in your head as a means to pass the time, but they can only keep you sane for so long.
you’ve grown desperate for him at this point, finally coming out of your room to see what he might be up to now, searching the entirety of the house. you ended up finding him downstairs in the living room with your mom right beside as verbal assistance, not only did he lift and move most of the furniture but now he’s helping to mount up the new TV without even breaking a sweat in the process. was there anything he couldn’t do? probably not, he was a man of endless talents. your dad was sent out to go grocery shopping so your husband was pretty much doing everything on his own while your mom simply watches in amusement.
she was yet again impressed by your husband’s handy work, “wow jungkook, you’re really strong!” he was indeed. now you’re getting flashbacks to when he’d manhandle you and lift your body with ease in one swift motion to switch positions. his hands needed to be all over you right this second or else you’ll simply die of attention starvation. “mom, are you gonna keep him busy all day? ‘m getting really boreddd.” you childishly whine as if you weren’t a fully grown, married adult. to be fair though, it’s been hours since you’ve seen him and as much as you wanted to give him some space to help out around the house, you still had your needs to. the need in question being him in your bed, immediately.
“why don’t you go sit by the pool or something? you’ve been cooped up in that room since this morning, get some fresh air!” your mom suggests an alternative to wait but you shook your head in an instant, “nuh uh, too hot, i’ll melt like an ice cream cone!” you’d rather stay locked inside your air conditioned room than having to deal with the searing hot sun baking you well done at 450 degrees. “i’m almost done sweetheart, promise.” jungkook quickly reassures before hammering one of the nails into the wall, the way his veins would protrude through his arms as he repeats the action made you mindlessly clench your thighs together. he could make anything look insanely hot, it was almost unfair.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
after another twenty minutes or so he was finally done and now free to go, thrilled to have him all to yourself once again. you practically yanked his arm off as you led him up the staircase but your mom had one more thing to say, “will you be helping us tonight with dinner? i’m making your favorite!” he turns for a second to answer, “uh- yes of course !” that enthusiastic, bunny-like smile of his that you’ve grown to love for so long never fails to make you melt, just so effortlessly pretty without even trying.
but now you realize that you only have a limited amount of time with him, great… you’ll have to wait even longer to have him exactly as you’ve imagined. there’s only so much pent up sexual frustration you can take, you’ve been patient for almost eight hours. that’s probably the longest you two might’ve gone without having sex— okay maybe that’s an exaggeration but you do have a very active sex life with your husband, you try to do it at least twice a day and if you’re both feeling a little friskier it can sometimes go up to 4-5 times~.
your sex drive used to be quite low, never really seeing it as a huge necessity for you— until you met jungkook, of course. there was an immediate sexual attraction that you felt towards him, you’ve never felt so drawn to anyone before, he was irresistible. you’ve had some internal issues with your performance in the bedroom, it took a lot for you to reach your peak but could never get yourself to finish (unless you did it yourself) but with jungkook? that’s a whole different ballgame. you could simply cream in your panties just from kissing those luscious lips of his, he ignites a fire in you that’ll never wither into ashes.
once the door to your room was closed, both his hands found purchase around your waist, caging you into him and pulling you in for a deep kiss, melting right into his hold. your bodies flowing with pure lust and greed for him, not even thinking twice as your hand travels down lower to palm him through his sweats. he let out a breathy chuckle from your sudden actions once he pulled away, “someone’s feelin’ kinda slutty tonight.” he teased, which you took no offense since that’s just your collective humor.
“mhmm, ‘m only the biggest slut for you. now stop neglecting your wifey and gimme all your love.” since he hasn’t been giving you much attention all day you were acting a bit whiny about it, jungkook didn’t like that word though, neglect? that just wasn’t something in his vocabulary when it came to you. “huh? don’t ever say that again, you know i’d never purposefully neglect you, ever.” he made sure to emphasize that, he knows you weren’t being serious but it does hurt a little to know you may secretly feel this way. he loves you and you can feel it without him even needing to say it, that’s how intense it is.
“it was just a joke koo… didn’t mean it like that.” you jut your lip into a tiny pout, leaning in to kiss him again but he turns away, denying you the void of what you wanted most. “a joke is supposed to be funny last time i checked.” he retorts before sneaking off to make a beeline towards the bed, confused when you don’t follow suit after him. “what’re you standing there for? get your little butt over here.” he impatiently demands, patting his lap for you to sit on top. you listen and make your way over to him, straddling his lap with both legs on either side of him as he brings you in closer. he wraps his arms around your waist again, tightly holding you in his grasp, your frame sinks right into his chest.
he locks his lips with yours, kissing you slowly, taking his sweet, sweet time; what’s the rush? you had the rest of the night at your disposal. needy hips languidly rock back and forth against his semi hard-on, the fabric of the pajamas shorts you wore were so thin you could feel his cock throbbing underneath. you audibly gasped when he brushes up against your weak spot, it feels amazing, your panties turned into a sticky puddle from the pleasure; moaning into the kiss as he inhales your sighs. you were more than hungry for him, you were ravenous— only the taste of him could quench your avid thirst. you’re already as close as you can be but you wish to be even closer, if it was impossible you’d crawl into his skin and fuse your bones together to become one, you’re so in love it sickens you.
“need you to touch me,” you whimper for more when his lips drew from yours momentarily, “please.”
jungkook loves seeing you like this, his pretty wife acting all hot and bothered just for him, but he’d lying if he said it wasn’t the same way for you too. “where baby ?” his warm breath against you leaves a shiver to your spine, his voice low and raspy. “everywhere.” you beg in desperation, “just wanna to feel you, need you so bad…” you continued to grind your core onto his clothed erection, becoming even whinier as time passes.
he smirks at that answer, knowing that he’s the only one that can have you in this way. “need you too baby,” his tone is nothing short of a whisper, lazily rutting his hips up to match the pace of your movement, “been thinkin’ about you all day, can’t wait to fuck this little pussy.” his middle and index finds your clit to rub through your pajamas, making you bite your lip so hard it’ll leave a bruise. you’re both so horny and desperate for each other like some hormonal teens, you’re about to explode from how sensitive you are, your whole body feels tingly.
“jungkook!” a familiar voice shouts from a distance, it was muffled but you know that was definitely your mom who just called for him. “come back downstairs, i think something’s wrong with the remote, it’s not working— help !” she sounded a bit overdramatic which is how she usually is most of the time. you groan in annoyance, getting even more frustrated that you had to stop, all you want is some private alone time with your husband but no, the universe said not today! you really wanna curse your mom for being a total cock block right now .. -_-
๑ ๑ ๑
“i’m gonna put a baby in you someday.” your husband casually says while rubbing your stomach, his inked skin splayed across your bare form. “in this cute little tummy right here.” he points near your belly button, planting a small kiss to it. you two were finally alone once again and this time it was for good. after jungkook helped your mom figure out what was wrong with the remote (it wasn’t broken, she just forgot to put a new set of batteries in) and ate dinner with you and your parents, the night was bound to end like this.
this isn’t the first time he’s said something like this and it surely won’t be the last, but you burst into a giggle, “quit kidding around kook.” he’s always playing around but you can count on one hand how many times he’s actually finished inside you, since you’re not on birth control for health reasons you have to be extra careful to not end up getting pregnant. there’s been a handful of times where he’s had to run to the store and get you a morning after pill which you’d just hope for the best and leave it up to the universe. you have noticed that jungkook has been more vocal about wanting children lately, so maybe he’s hinting at finally taking the next step.
“and if i told you i wasn’t?” he shifts slightly, eyes flickering up to stare into your gaze. “would you let me paint your walls ? give you a baby so i can see my stunning wife bear our children?” the thought of you carrying his child pops into his head a lot, probably on an hourly basis— he’s more than ready to start a family, but he’s still not sure where you stand 100% on the idea. there was no pressure on his side, but it’s important to make sure you’re both on the same page.
your hands snake up to his chin, cupping it firmly, ready to make the final say once and for all. “yes koo, i’ll let you do anything to me. i trust you, i trust us.” that’s all you need to withstand through any obstacle(s), trust and trust alone. if that doesn’t exist, the foundation will be sure to crumble— disintegrating into nothing. you’ve never trusted someone as much as you do jungkook, he’s the reason you even get out of bed at times, makes you want to push yourself to become a better person. real love is the refusal to never give up on one another, even through the toughest, most ugliest moments.
what you’ve come to realize is that you have all of him and everything he’s promised to provide is all yours; his heart, his last name, his vow to stay by your side forever— through sickness and health. he’s given every single aspect of himself he has to offer, the only thing left that’s missing is a tiny addition that carries both you and jungkook’s DNA. you’re more than curious to see what the outcome will be, harboring no regrets inside. jungkook’s smile grew wider, feeling faint tears rim his eyes at the thought of you putting all your trust in him. you have no idea just how much that means to him.
his head lowers back to your torso, imprinting a trail of kisses, slowly making his way down further and further. your skin feels as if it’s on fire, boiling hot like the scorching summer heat. he took an ample amount of time to worship your body, leaving wet kisses to your inner thighs, “i’ve wanted this for so long…” he hums against your flesh, insides buzzing with raw passion and desire. “want to finally do this together.” he gently nibbles, a faint bite mark appears to which he repeats on the other side. “your tits are gonna get even bigger, more plump and so full of milk,” he continues, elated with so much enthusiasm, “that pregnancy glow will make you even more gorgeous.” he wasn’t saying all of this for nothing, he truly cannot wait to experience it all, how your belly will grow each month, all the random/weird food cravings you’ll get, and gracefully handle any sudden mood swings.
you were aching for him, you couldn’t even answer back, your heads reeling with too many thoughts— the thought of him stuffing you to the brim with his cock. you were topless but wanted him to take off the rest, wanted him to fuck you until your body physically shakes and you can’t think of anything but him being buried balls deep into your sousing cunt. you had to savour every last bit of this though, etch every little detail in your brain to replay as a supercut one day; remembering the time you two made love to conceive your first child.
jungkook’s slender digits move skillfully to hook around the waistband of your shorts, tugging them down along with your drenched panties. “it’s crazy to me how this is all mine,” he pauses to admire your glistening arousal, scooping it up with his one of his fingers to have a quick taste. saccharine. “i have the prettiest, sexiest, hottest wife in the whole fucking world.” he’ll never not compliment you, even when you’re old and gray he will always remain the same. “stopp~” you toy with your bottom lip, cheeks turning rosy at his constant sweet talk. then you become a pile of mush, simply too absorbed with pleasure as he sunk one of his digits into you, thrusting in and out slowly. “fuck.. feels s’good- please don’t stop.” you beg for this to never end, bidding all concept of time to vanish in hopes of it lasting infinitely.
“we’re going to create the most beautiful family,” he coos, licking a stripe to your clit, swiping up and down as he continued pumping his fingers in your wetness, “just you and me.” he only came up for air to say those last few lines, diving right back in to drink up your deliciousness. his tongue adds light pressure to your overly sensitive bud, making you twitch and subconsciously jolt up— his free hand forcibly brings your hips back down, locking you in place so you have nowhere to go— forced to take all that he gives you. paradise. that’s what this is. you’re already close to the edge, the broken moans that escaped your lips are like a soft ballad to his ears, cursing under your breath, panting, crying out his name repeatedly.
“ah! s’close… don’t stop, don’t stop..” you plea so pathetically, voice getting shakier as you reach your climax, his face was soaked, fucking drenched. he’ll willingly drown, submerge himself into the flood of you, no other place he’d rather be than between these perfect, plush thighs. he drives you into further insanity when his pace drew more rapid, finding the ultimate sweet spot. the lethal combination of his fingers and his tongue working to give you a mind blowing orgasm, all you could do was utter feeble, plaintive cries, latching onto his fluffy hair as you ride out your sudden high that’s stampeding into you full force. your body goes inert, limbs pliant beneath his embrace. “you did so good for me angel, m’so proud of you.” jungkook briefly pecks both your thighs, giving it a little smack once he comes back up to face you again.
he quickly discards the rest of his clothes, but everything’s moving in slow motion. his movements are frantic yet it still wasn’t quick enough, he needs to feel you so badly. his manhood throbs against your folds, sliding his shaft between the puffy, saturated lips, making such delightful sounds. “quit teasin’,” you whine, not in the mood for prolonging this anymore. he doesn’t say anything, just twisting a smile in response, but he’ll give you exactly what you want. who is he to deny his wife’s orders? so he finally enters you, filling you up little by little, inch by inch; and when he’s fully settled in, your walls clench around his length immediately. “never fails to amaze me how i fuck this little pussy on the daily but you’re still so fuckin’ tight… always squeezin’ me babe.” his breath hitched towards the end, already sounding so pussydrunk from the way you suck in the entirety of him.
your legs hook around each side of his waist, keening at the way his cock drives into you, slow but sensual, moving your hips to match his rhythm. “be good for daddy and wait for me. wanna cum together.” he husks, to which you obediently nod at his request. your jaw slacks open wide from his cock hitting your walls beautifully, each stroke he gave sent you to a further state of delirium. he picks up his speed a little more, his brain empty with no thoughts but this warm, dewy pussy swallowing him up, groaning as you leave scratches along his back. jungkook’s sweet compliments never stop, they only intensify. ‘you’re all mine, and i’m all yours baby’ ‘your face looks so pretty when it’s all fucked out’ ‘love fucking this perfect little cunt’ and ‘i love you so much, my angel baby.’ it brings you to the verge, strings of shattered moans evade your senses.
your hands greedily come up the sides of his face, pulling him in for a frenzied, yet passionate kiss caging him in just in case he has second thoughts, trapping him with no choice but to cum inside. “shit— keep going like that and you’re def getting pregnant tonight.” he groans against your lips, this only made you clench around him tighter, “please daddy- wan’ your cum, put your babies in me..” you want him to paint your walls white, milk him for all he’s worth and some. his strokes get sloppier as his high approaches, squeezing your thighs as he plunges deeper. it doesn’t take much longer for him to shoot a hefty in load inside, planting every bit of his seed as the waves of your second orgasm ripples through you. you’re both heavily panting and gasping for air, when he pulls out you’re left empty again, but at least you were stuffed with his hot cum. he looks down at the mess he’s made, sodden and creamy, picking up some that’s spilled out of your cunt to push back in. “we can’t let any go to waste, right ?” “mm… yea.” you bit your lip, still shaking, electricity flowing through your veins.
he topples over in exhaustion, way too tired to move. well, at least for now— he’ll be able to go again in another hour or so. “you’re going to be such an amazing mom,” he says while snuggling up in the crook of your neck, “remember the day i asked you out? i thought you were gonna say no.” that was random… but also jungkook is known for saying the most unexpected shit at the oddest times. “what ?” you were so confused, firstly this came out of nowhere but also why would he ever think that? it was basically love at first sight with each other. “wasn’t nearly as confident back then, i used to practice in the mirror how i’d do it.” he chuckles at those old memories, in hindsight none of it was necessary because he didn’t say any of the lines he rehearsed. defeated the whole purpose.
“since the day we first met i knew you were the girl i’d spend the rest of eternity with.” his fingers trace down your spine as he spoke, you’re so overfilled with joy that you could cry. you regret absolutely nothing, the only thing you do is all the other men who came before jungkook, all those losers who were wastes of time, but that journey has led you here and this is where you’ll stay for the rest of your life. it still feels like the honeymoon stage with him, a never ending blissful rollercoaster. “i want to sew all my love into you,” his hands danced around your skin, inhaling your natural scent, you feel so soft and smooth. “thread by thread, seam by seam, i’ll tether our intricate souls together.” you hummed to his words, he’s a romantic at heart just like you, he still writes occasional love letters to you and is always doing something to bring a smile to your face— whether it be coming home with your favorite candy, buying you flowers, or taking you out on cute, fun dates. every day is like a new surprise, never knowing what you’re gonna get when it comes to your husband’s spontaneity.
you’re both a little sticky, sweaty, and smell of nothing but pure sex. jungkook ends up carrying you all the way to the bathroom, deciding to run a nice, relaxing bath for the two of you. he adds your favorite lavender bubble bath, making the water extra bubbly and soapy for you which he knows you love. when you're both in the bathtub, your backs facing him as he uses a pink loofah to clean you up, embedding gentle kisses to the nape of your neck and shoulders as he does it. he held you for what seemed like forever, just admiring each other’s company while under the water, almost falling asleep right in his arms.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
let’s make the circle
that’s inside of us.
every day it rotates like that,
color me ☆ 彡
am trying to write longer stufff, i enjoyed writing this story a lot, lmk what you think . ! ! !
to see more chaos click here (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ ♡♡♡ (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
#jungkook smut#jungkook fluff#jungkook x reader#jungkook imagines#jeon jungkook x reader#bts smut#jungkook fanfic#bts fanfic#jjk smut#jungkook scenarios#jungkook fic
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how the cookie crumbles
summary: when you come back home to austin to help your sister with her bakery, you end up in an arrangement with your high school crush that ends up being far more than you bargained for.
word count: 11.5k
warnings: FAKE DATING, au: no outbreak, pining. so much pining and a touch of yearning, idiots to lovers, high school crushes to lovers, very hallmark-romcom esque, fluff, a touch of angst, more fluff, the reader has a sister but the sister doesn’t have a name, joel’s ex is kinda rude, alcohol consumption, cuddling, miscommunication kinda, unrequited love that’s actually requited love, no use of y/n, not beta read.
author’s note: this is my first fic back after taking my several month long break!! i want to give a big shoutout to my texas consultant and biggest cheerleader @cowgurrrl, who encouraged me to write, gave me helpful ideas, and let me dump my brain and my silly little ideas on her whenever <3
For as long as you could remember, you and your sister had been total opposites. As girls, your sister spent her time playing with dolls, experimenting with whatever new hairstyle on your scalp, and eagerly shadowing your mother in the kitchen, while you preferred to spend your time exploring the city on your bike, reading books in your hammock, and doodling whatever had caught your interest in your hourly. As you entered young adulthood, you were unsurprised as your sister married her high school sweetheart just months after graduating college before setting off to start her own business in Austin, while you moved as far as you could out of Texas and began a prosperous career in New York City.
Regardless of the different paths your lives had taken, the minute your sister had even suggested that she might’ve needed help at her bakery, you were booking a flight back home. The holidays were a notoriously busy time for her business, with people wanting cakes and pies to display as their own labors of love at their family gatherings, or to have their children wake up to a dozen expertly decorated cookies under the guise that that was what their Elf on the Shelf had been up to that night.
Given that you had no holiday plans other than drinking Bailey’s-spiked hot chocolate and watching reruns of your favorite season of The Bachelor, it seemed like a no-brainer to come back to Austin. Part of you was excited for your homecoming, to return to the vibrant personality of the city that was a far cry from the east coast city you’d grown to know and love over the years. The other part of you dreaded your return, not feeling particularly excited to have to run into peers from your adolescence while you were trying to peruse the shelves of your local Costco.
You were welcomed with warm arms the moment that you walked through the door of your sister’s home—metaphorically and literally. She practically hugged you the entire way as you dropped your items off in her guest bedroom, then even more so as she directed you to her car, giving you all sorts of updates about your parents and her husband, but not allowing you to forget the whole reason that you’d come home in the first place.
“You’re not hungry or anything, right?” she asked as she hopped into the driver's seat next to you.
“I think I’m good. I ate at the airport,” you replied, slightly amused by your sister’s eagerness to get you to work immediately. Then again, you couldn’t exactly blame her when you thought about how busy she must’ve been.
“Good! I’m gonna put you right to work then. How does frosting cupcakes sound?”
It sounded fine, and it was fine for the first few hours, until the angle of the piping bag started to make the newfound cramping in your hands unbearable, and your sister had to give you an impromptu tutorial on how not to make your rosettes look so… depressing.
“Look, the Girl Scouts need this order in like, an hour, and my cashier is going home in a bit. Give yourself a little break to shake your hand out, or pee, or do whatever it is you have to do, then you can ring customers up. How does that sound?” she finally huffed, clearly just as frustrated with you for your inability to do a task that was practically second nature to her.
“Anything’s better than frosting these damn cupcakes,” you commented as you tossed your gloves into the trash. “If I never have to frost a cupcake again, it’ll be too soon.”
“I love you, which is why I have to tell you that you will be frosting so many more cupcakes in the next few days,” she laughed aloud, looking down at the army of baked goods in front of her that she was still working on meticulously frosting. “But you’ll get used to it. I’ll have Ben give you better instructions. He’s really good at this, for some reason. I’m convinced it’s because he went to art school.”
You groaned dramatically as you exited the kitchen, only to bother your sister if nothing else. After all, wasn’t it your job as a younger sibling to annoy your older sibling?
As much as you enjoyed doing random tasks that your sister needed done in the back, working in the front was definitely one of the better aspects of working at the bakery. There was far less technique involved in doing anything, and when there was downtime in the storefront, you got to passively scroll on social media, turning your brightness down so you could secretly cyberstalk people from your high school in peace.
Being that you were distracted by the phone in your hand, you paid no mind to the shrill sound of the door’s bell as it opened. As you finished up looking at someone’s engagement pictures, you glanced up once before doing a complete double take.
“Hey, I’m just here to pick up the Girl Scout order-”
There was no way.
You hadn’t seen that face in years. Hell, you hadn’t thought about that face in years, despite your mild obsession with him as a teenager.
Joel had been the definition of so close, yet so far. You seemed to always be in his orbit, butterflies in your stomach every time he leaned over his desk to ask you a question about the material or to poke fun at one of the weirder quirks your teacher had. Yet, just as you’d finally worked up the nerve to confess your feelings to him, word got around the school that he was becoming a father. After many pints of ice cream and late nights of your older sister comforting an inconsolable teenage you, you’d finally gotten over the man, letting his memory become a funny anecdote you shared to friends to display your terrible luck in love.
As much as you hated to admit it, he looked good. Obviously, he was much older now, but much to your dismay, he’d aged more like wine than like milk. Donning a new beard that somehow managed to make him even more handsome and biceps that strained against the sleeves of his shirt, he looked far more attractive than you could ever even remember him, his mature look a good one. You were sure his wife loved looking at that striking face in the morning, before she set off to take care of their adorable young daughter. Their perfect little family, still holding up despite the test of time.
You had gotten so caught up in your thoughts, you’d barely registered the fact that Joel had said your name in a tone that held a mixture of excitement and disbelief.
“I haven’t seen you in years! Since high school?” he asked, despite already knowing the answer. The surprise of seeing him, let alone seeing him looking so good led you to smile dumbly and shrug. “Wow!” he remarked.
“It has been a really long time,” you grinned involuntarily, practically feeling yourself revert back to your younger, immature self simply at the sight of the man standing across from you. “How are you? How’s the family?”
“We’re good. Sarah’s turning 13 soon, which is really exciting,” Joel explained, setting a hand on his hip as he did so. You swore you could see the fondness for his daughter as he spoke. “It feels like just yesterday I was feeding her bottles and carrying her around in a sling.”
“I know, they just grow up so fast,” you agreed, as if you’d had any sort of experience in the field. The fact that Joel still had this effect on you, one that made you want to follow him around like a lost puppy and agree with every word that came out of his mouth was mildly concerning to you—particularly because he clearly had a wife and a child.
“They really do. You have any of your own?” Joel asked, looking deep into your eyes and making you want to melt into a puddle on the floor.
“Me? No,” you dismissed before following it up with,. “I’ve been pretty focused on my career, so it’s not exactly the best time for a family. To be quite honest, I think my cats do the trick plenty well.”
“You’re still so responsible,” Joel complimented, stirring something up deep inside of you that you promptly wanted to push right back down. “Clearly, I didn’t do any family planning. I’d say it worked out pretty well, if you don’t count having to get divorced just a few years after getting married.”
This piqued your interest. You could almost feel the teenage version of yourself cheering internally at the news that Joel and the mother of his child had split. She’d always been a bit of a bitch to you, so to hear that the two of them had split had sounded like music to your ears.
“Man, that’s too bad. I always thought you two would be the one couple from our school to make it,” you lied through your teeth, hoping that your entertainment wasn’t too obvious.
Joel chuckled and shook his head, smile lines appearing seemingly out of thin air, and unfortunately making you melt on the inside, just the slightest bit.
“That’s really too bad. I mean, what happened with you guys? If you don’t mind me asking,” you were definitely taking a risk with this question, but you were hoping that the reward of the answer would be worth every bit of boldness you put together to ask.
“We just had… different ideas for our futures,” Joel explained what you could only assume was a very condensed version of what had actually occurred. “You know, she’s actually in town right now.”
“I hadn’t realized she’d left town. Should we keep our voices down then?” you asked jokingly, although it would be quite awkward if his ex wife walked in while the two of you were talking about her.
“No, we’re good,” Joel chuckled. “Sarah really wanted to see her for the holidays, and it wasn’t like I could say no to that request. Although, getting Naomi to actually come was a bit like pulling teeth. I’m sorry, this is way too much information. What about you? Any special people in your life?”
“No, Joel, you’re all good. You know how much of a gossip I was,” you offered him a genuine smile. “Unfortunately, no. Funnily enough, the thing I was dreading most about coming home is having my mom constantly on my ass about bringing home a good man.”
“I get it. It’s exhausting seeing all the PDA whenever Naomi and Henry come back. It’s like they’re rubbing in that we’re so happy together and you’re still all alone.”
“Assholes,” you remarked, rolling your eyes to show Joel just how on his side you were. “I’m sure you’ll find someone someday. I mean, both of us will. Then maybe my mom will stop bothering me and your ex will finally stop acting all high and mighty for being in a relationship.”
“I can only hope,” Joel sighed. “Well, I apologize for dumping all of my holiday woes on you when I really should just be picking up some cupcakes.”
“Oh no, I apologize for holding you up. I’ll go grab that order for you,” you said before walking off to the back, where your sister had just finished putting the final touches on the order.
“Perfect timing,” she remarked, stepping back and running her arm against her slightly damp forehead. “Who were you talking to back there?”
“Oh, no one,” you dismissed, not ready to hear her reaction. “Just giving good customer service.”
The look she gave you told you loud and clear that she didn’t believe you, but it would be a conversation for another time. Since she didn’t seem interested in pressing, you took it as your opportunity to grab the large, pink box, and bring it out to Joel.
“Here’s that order for you,” you said politely. “It was good seeing you today.”
“Yeah, you too,” he said, happily taking the slightly heavy box when you offered it to him. “How long will you be in town?”
“Into the New Year, I think? Maybe earlier, maybe later,” you shrugged.
“We should get together sometime. Maybe get a coffee or something and properly catch up? I would love for you to meet Sarah, too.”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” you grinned, begging yourself not to revert back to your younger, naive self, but not exactly being able to fight it at the same time. “Well, if you ever need me, I’ll probably be here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as he headed to the door. “See ya!”
As soon as the door jingled, announcing Joel’s departure, you let out a deep breath that you hadn’t even realized you’d been holding.
Fuck. You could not be feeling this way about a man you had a crush on in high school.
-
Your sister always seemed to have a sixth sense for when you were getting antsy, so one evening as the two of you worked on closing the storefront, she pulled you from the monotony of sweeping the floors while listening to the sound of her new favorite pop artist to send you to the grocery store and retrieve a few items that she needed more of.
With her company card safely secured in your wallet, a short list scribbled out on a pink post-it note, and your hands closely grasping the handlebars of the cart, you amaturely navigated the grocery store, unfamiliar with the locations of the items that lined the shelves after years of not visiting Austin.
The evening in the grocery store brought you a sense of serenity, with the rush of urgent people looking to pick up the one ingredient they forgot for dinner mostly gone. After packing your cart full of sticks of butter and bags of sugar, you headed off to the get your final item, relieved to have had a mostly successful trip without running into anyone you knew in your youth.
But just as you had this thought, you caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of your eye. Dark hair and beard imprinted in your mind after your brief interaction with him just one day ago. You did your absolute best to pretend you didn’t see him as you inspected a bag of flour, keeping your head lowered, and gaze averted. Yet, your efforts were futile, as just moments later, you heard your name called aloud as the man approached you.
“Hey!” he said cheerily, blissfully unaware that you were attempting to use the ‘if I can’t see you, you can’t see me’ method on him just moments ago. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah, it’s been like forever,” you added on, looking into his eyes and almost immediately regretting your decision as your gut was immediately consumed with a swarm of rabid butterflies. “What’re you doing here?”
“Grabbing some groceries,” he answered sweetly, despite that being the obvious answer to your not-so-great question.
Duh. What else did people come to the grocery store for? What a stupid question. See? Joel just made you so… stupid! Even after all of the years you’d spent apart.
“Sarah wanted to try making some Christmas cookies to bring to her mom, so…” he trailed off, gesturing down at the flour that was now in his hand. “Got any tips on the best flour to get?”
“That’s definitely more of my sister’s wheelhouse. I just do whatever she needs me to do, like go and get,” you glanced down at your list before continuing for comedic effect, “White miso paste.”
Joel smiled fondly at your joke, only making your insides melt further.
“Remind me to stop by and try whatever has that white miso paste in it. Sounds interesting,” Joel grabbed a package of all-purpose flour and tossed it into his cart, before leaning on his cart.
Fuck. Why did he have to be so endearing, with his smile lines and his kind eyes, and his insistence on treating you like you were the only other woman in the world, despite the other woman customer just standing feet away from you two.
“I definitely will. Has your number changed in the past thirteen years?” you asked, not sure what had gotten into you with the slightly flirty move.
He shook his head, his eye briefly catching on something and causing him to pause in his movements before he returned to the conversation, now looking slightly off in a way that he hadn’t looked just a moment ago. You were so stupid. Of course you trying to flirt back would’ve backfired. You needed to excuse yourself before you managed to embarrass yourself any more than you already had.
“It has not,” he confirmed, smiling at you once more, but not looking like his heart was completely into it. “Any chance you’re checking out?”
“I am!” you said a little too enthusiastically, which Joel responded to by somewhat urgently beginning to walk to the check-out lane. Given that he hadn’t told you goodbye, you followed him like the lost puppy that you were around him.
Just as the two of you stopped in line and had mostly finished checking out, Joel finally seemed to unclench from whatever he’d seen (or whatever you’d said) that had bothered him before. Yet, as soon as it was over, you noticed that same tension washed over him once more.
“Oh, Naomi. Henry,” Joel said, his tone taking a complete 180 from what he had just had with you moments ago, and his change in demeanor suddenly made sense to you. “Didn’t realize you two were in town yet.”
You glanced over to the woman who had seemingly appeared out of thin air to ruin your moment with Joel, just like she had done in high school a million times over. Who you hadn’t recognized was the man next to her, looking a little too put together for someone who had likely just gotten off a flight and was headed to the grocery store.
“Joel,” she said artificially sweetly, the one singular word drenched in annoyance. “We just got in. We’re grabbing groceries for the hotel.”
“I didn’t realize chocolate chips were groceries,” Joel muttered to himself as he evaluated their basket. You were slightly surprised by the sass he had seemed to equip out of nowhere, a far cry from the southern charm he had displayed with you in your past interactions. You desperately wanted to leave the situation, which was clearly none of your business.
“Surely, you remember your ex-wife having a sweet tooth,” the man on her side replied defensively, wrapping an arm around her protectively.
“Something like that,” he replied, glancing over at you with an expression that you couldn’t quite read.
With tensions boiling over with just a few words stated, you finally decided to step in, impulse and instinct guiding you.
“Hey honey, I think we need to get going,” you said, internally cringing as the words left your mouth. Joel’s now wide eyes made contact with your unsure ones and your furrowed brows as you attempted to tell him to just go with it without a single word.
The good thing for you was that Joel was a quick learner, and his hand quickly found the small of your back. Something in Naomi’s expression changed, just for a moment, before she went back to her stone cold facade. You hoped that Joel caught it, the same way that you did.
“Yeah, we don’t want to keep you too long, since we’ll be seeing you plenty this holiday season,” Naomi replied, flashing you a fake smile. “I didn’t realize you two were together. I’ve never heard Joel say anything about you.”
You were sure the sentiment was supposed to hurt your feelings, but you were more unsurprised by the sentiment than anything else.
“Some of us like to leave our personal lives personal,” he shot back, glancing at you before bringing his glare back to his ex-wife.
“Well, that’s cute. I remember, you had the biggest crush on Joel back in the day. Glad you two ended up together,” she laughed and your stomach dropped. Were you that obvious in the past? “Anyway, we’re gonna go to a less busy lane. See you at dinner, Joel. And maybe you, too?” She looked you up and down, and for a second you felt like you were in the hallways of your high school once again, trying your best to avoid the passive aggression of a particularly mean girl.
“Right. Bye,” he said simply, watching the pair walk away as if he were scared that they would turn back around at some point and bother Joel some more.
“Fuck,” he muttered aloud as soon as they were out of earshot, his hand falling away from your back and back to his side.
You immediately launched yourself into a rambling apology, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep or anything, they just looked like they wanted to eat you alive and-“
“No, no, don’t apologize. I appreciate what you did back here. I mean, you saw the look on her face when she thought we were together?”
“Oh yeah,” you laughed out, which also acted as a cover for the deep sigh of relief you needed to let out. “Is she always so shocked when she thinks you’re dating someone new?”
“Well, I haven’t dated much since the divorce,” he explained as the two of you began exiting the building. “So I guess I didn’t really know what to expect. But it totally delivered.”
You couldn’t help but smile as the two of you walked out to your cars together and Joel confessed that not only was he single, but that he hadn’t really seen anyone. Not that it really mattered to you, considering that the two of you had absolutely no shot together.
You weren’t exactly sure where Joel had parked, but he’d offered to help unload your groceries into your car, and you weren’t exactly going to decline that offer.
“Thank you, again for helping me out tonight,” Joel said as he helped place bags in the trunk of the car. “Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
“Actually, there is one thing.”
—
Every year, you absolutely dreaded your family’s holiday celebrations. Specifically, the celebrations where you showed up without a date, and had to spend the night downing eggnog to drown out the sound of your family asking you when you were going to settle down and bring a grandchild, or niece, or nephew into the family.
But this year, you didn’t have to worry about that issue. After running into Joel at the grocery store and briefly pretending to be his partner, he’d agreed to do the same for you at a family holiday party, and to be completely honest, you couldn’t be more excited.
“Again, thank you,” you said to Joel as he opened the passenger door to his truck for you, politely standing at the side of it as you got in.
“It was really the least I could do after you saved my ass back there in the store,” he dismissed, closing the door behind you before getting back into the car.
“I mean, I couldn’t just stand there and let you suffer,” you explained, glancing over at the man as he settled into the seat and started the car. He’d certainly dressed up more than usual for the event, a nice red sweater nicely complimenting your green sweater, and his hair styled nicely. For a second, you thought about your younger self, and how she probably would’ve given anything for a night like this—to just play pretend with Joel just for a moment, since he clearly didn’t see you the way you saw him.
“Well, I appreciate it,” he dismissed, sending you a quick, charming smile before beginning to pull out of the driveway. “Anything I need to know about your family?”
“Oh my god,” you laughed. “Where do I start?”
You more or less talked Joel’s ear off on the drive over, filling him in on family members to avoid; overbearing aunts who would attempt to examine him like a lab specimen, uncles who would try to quiz him on his knowledge of local sports teams, and the occasional family friend, who seemed to be just as crazy as your actual kin. Joel listened politely, taking in all of the information, and throwing in some commentary every now and then, but surely making mental notes on who to try to avoid.
Once you finally arrived at the car-lined street, Joel once again opened the door for you like the gentleman he was, before allowing you to lead the way to the christmas-light adorned house that was clearly bustling on the inside. As the two of you walked up to the porch, Joel looked at you rather earnestly.
“Did I scare you in the car? I promise they’re not all that bad,” you began to attempt to explain, nerves bubbling in your stomach as you thought about how Joel surely wanted to go home.
“No, no, you didn’t scare me,” he assured you, reaching over to brush a stray hair out of your face. “I just… I never got the chance to tell you how good you look. I wanted to say something when you first got in my car, but I guess I got scared. You always look good, but you kinda took my breath away.”
Fuck, you internally groaned. Why did he have to tell you that? Was he just trying to get into character or something? You couldn’t even gather the words for how it made you feel before the front door was swinging open with one of your favorite aunts at the door greeting you.
“Hello, my love!” she practically squealed as she pulled you into a hug. “And who is this?”
“This is my boyfriend, Joel,” you introduced, only slightly alarmed at how easily the word rolled off your tongue.
“Hello, ma’am,” Joel said warmly, setting out a hand for her to shake, which was rejected in favor of a hug. He was clearly a bit caught off guard by it, but also clearly a little into it.
“Sorry,” you whispered to him once she let go and the two of you were ushered inside. “We’re a hug family. I probably should’ve warned you about that on the ride over.”
“I don’t mind, I promise,” he assured you, gently grabbing your hand and looking to you for some sort of assurance. You smiled at him then subtly nodded, lacing your fingers in between his in an act that you hoped would be as practical as it was performative.
As the two of you navigated through the house, you made pleasant small talk with all who you encountered, with you proudly introducing Joel as your boyfriend, and him taking the lead in introducing himself from time to time. After an exhausting hello tour, you had finally made it to the kitchen for drinks, something you’d surely need if you were going to keep up at this rate of socialization.
As you grabbed Joel the beer he’d requested and began to spoon out ladles of the bowl that was tape-labeled ‘ADULT Punch’ into your own cup, you were slightly surprised that you’d finally ran into your mother.
“Hi honey,” she squealed, pulling you into a hug. “How long have you been here? You avoiding me?”
While past experiences of being single during the holiday season and having to interact with your mother often ended up with you suffering for the entirety of the night–or an entire week, like the time she tried to set you up with a coworker’s son–you felt a newfound confidence with the knowledge that Joel was just a few feet away from you, diligently playing the perfect boyfriend.
“We just got here,” you giggled at her typical overbearing self. For once, your guard was down, knowing that she would not be attempting to set you up with anyone, or hounding you about coming home and settling down with a nice local.
“We?” she asked dramatically, brows raised in surprise. “Is your sister somewhere around here, or something?”
“Don’t act so surprised,” you feigned offense as she stepped back to look at the two drinks in your hands. “I brought my boyfriend,” you glanced back at Joel, who was right where you left him, making enthusiastic smalltalk with one of your cousins about the Cowboys game. Like a good little fake boyfriend, upon catching your eye he excused himself from his conversation and walked over to you and your mother.
“Mom, this is Joel, my partner,” you explained, as your gentlemanly fake boyfriend grabbed your mother’s hand and gave it a polite kiss. You certainly hadn’t forgotten about his charm back in the day, but to watch it up close and personal after so much time had passed was undoubtedly having a bit of an effect on you.
“I’ve heard all about you. Pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” he gushed. You had to give credit where credit was due, Joel was a great actor. You’d given him a bit of backstory on your mom on the ride over to the house, and you’d certainly discussed her while the two of you were students, but definitely not to the extent that he was playing up.
“So nice to meet you,” she replied, her cheeks warming at her interactions with the man. Joel was laying it on thick, but it seemed to be working for her. “Miller, right?”
“Indeed,” he confirmed, flashing a pearly white smile at your mother. As you watched the interaction, you were doing your best to keep it together, partially wanting to laugh out loud at Joel’s overdramatic chivalrous act, and partially wanting to melt into a puddle over just how alluring he was.
“Then I’ve also heard a lot about you. My daughter had the biggest crush on you in high school! It’s so funny that you’ve ended up together now. I suppose God’s timing is always right?”
Your eyes grew wide and your mouth gaped open for a second as your mother reinforced your little secret that Joel had heard from someone else just a few days ago. Suddenly, you were feeling a lot less like a liquidy puddle, and more like the bark of a firm tree–if that tree could experience mortification. If you didn’t need it before, now you really needed that drink. He glanced at you and smiled cheekily before looking back at your mother.
“So I’ve heard,” he said with a smirk, clearly biting back a laugh. You were going to kill your mother. And maybe Naomi too, while you were at it. In fact, you might just add yourself into the mix. It certainly couldn’t hurt. Or at least, it would hurt less than the discomfiture of your fake boyfriend hearing from everyone about the huge crush you had on him.
“Mom! I think your other daughter just got here. Why don’t you go say hi to her and Ben?” you suggested, knowing that the best way to prevent her from embarrassing you any further was to distract her with the idea of embarrassing her other child in front of her significant other.
You clearly knew your mother well, because the strategy worked well enough to get her off your tail. You passed Joel his beer as he watched you closely, the same mischievous smirk lingering on his face long after your mother had left.
“Crush, huh?” he teased you, causing you to shake your head as you took a healthy sip from a deceptively strong punch.
“Shut up,” you groaned. “Please.”
As the night went on, you realized that you couldn’t have picked a better candidate to pretend to be your boyfriend at a family gathering. Joel was quite sociable and polite, even more so with a beer in his system. He didn’t even mind entertaining your family members on his own as you went off and caught up with the few members of your family that you could tolerate for more than a few minutes at a time.
Following a rather chaotic series of discussions including when you and Joel were getting engaged (never, I mean, in the next few years. Probably.), the most romantic thing you’d done (backpacking through Europe, according to Joel), and what it was like reconnecting with your high school crush (fucking fantastic), you’d finally lost track of Joel. You did a quick lap around the house before bumping into your sister and cousin, the latter of which desperately described her need for air.
The three of you huddled together outside on the deck, the spot where you seemed to find yourselves at almost every family function regardless of how fun or stressful it ended up being. While you were enjoying the mayhem of the party and enjoying your time with Joel even more, it was nice to have a little break from it all.
“I can’t believe you’ve been home for just a few days and you’ve already gotten your childhood crush wrapped around your finger,” your sister laughed, comfortably leaning against the railing of the deck.
“That’s the power of working for a Fortune 500. All of the men in your hometown just want a sugar mommy for a little bit. Get some presents for the kids and wife for free,” you joked.
“You’re kidding?” your cousin asked, her brows furrowed in a mixture of confusion and intrigue.
“I’m kidding,” you confirmed. “You know, we aren’t even actually dating,” you confessed, lips and tongue loose from your second glass of punch.
“What?” your cousin and sister exclaimed at the same time, the two of them suddenly very alert.
Even in your not-completely-there state of mind, you could tell that you had made a mistake telling your secret. It was now very likely that the entire house would know the truth within the next hour, or that you would not be hearing the end of how terrible an idea the whole ordeal was for months on end.
“I figured you two just hit it off, or had some long distance thing going on?” your sister questioned, peering at you curiously as if your face would reveal some sort of information about your arrangement.
“Nope. It’s kinda a long story, but I guess the short of it all is that we’re pretending to be together for the holidays so certain people get off our asses,” you said casually, finishing off your drink and looking out into the backyard rather than making eye contact with either of your kin.
“Fair enough,” your cousin sighed, finally relaxing once more. “If I wasn’t already seeing Will, I’d probably do the same.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea? He really broke your heart,” your sister asked, grabbing your arm to attempt to force you to look at her, and staring at you with concern.
You were sure you could imagine what was going through her head in the moment, the vision of your heartbroken teenage self and the sound of your prolonged sobs as you questioned what your crush saw in her that he couldn’t see in you. You really couldn’t blame her for being worried. She was your older sister, after all, the task of protecting you instilled in her from the day you left the womb, and clearly not gone now. But things were different now. You were all adults, you had more life experience and perspective, and most importantly, whatever was going on between you and Joel wasn’t real, regardless of how much you might have wanted it to be.
“Yeah, when we were eighteen. I think it’ll be fine,” you dismissed, as if anything was ever that simple.
“And he seems like a sweetie now. I think my own parents were wishing I brought him home for the holidays,” your cousin, ever the peacekeeper, added as she attempted to diffuse the quickly escalating tension between you and your sibling.
“He was also a sweetie thirteen years ago when he led you on, then got someone pregnant,” your sister snapped back with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her back to you.
“Okay, that’s enough,” you declared, watching your breath float away in a cold puff of air. “Can we go inside now? I think my toes are gonna fall off.”
After a side eye from your sister and a nod of agreement from your cousin, the three of you headed back inside, where you made quick work of grabbing yet another drink and finding the fireplace.
A few couches were arranged by the fireplace, some filled from edge to edge with sleeping, snuggling children who were exhausted by the excitement of a holiday party, others with some of the older members of your family who simply needed a break from it all. Among them all, you were surprised to find Joel, enthusiastically talking to none other than your father.
Your father was probably one of the most difficult people in your life to impress. He’d maybe told you that he was proud of you a total of five times in your life. Yet, he looked content, hell, happy as he spoke to your fake boyfriend.
Part of you felt bad as you found your way to the empty spot on the couch next to Joel, but you were cold, and you weren’t going to pass up on the opportunity to warm up by the fire and the man that you had found was a bit of a human furnace.
When Joel caught sight of you, he smiled and beckoned you over, and you made quick work of maneuvering yourself past the coffee table between the couch. Once you sat down, Joel surprised you by greeting you with a gentle peck on the lips. The action temporarily shocked you, and you desperately hoped that the feeling was not reflected on your face. The naturalness of it all almost felt as if you’d done it a thousand times, and you tried your best to suppress the part of you that wanted to do it a thousand more.
“Hi honey,” Joel greeted you sweetly, his hand almost immediately finding yours. It all felt so right, and if you weren’t so endeared by him in the moment, you certainly would’ve been mildly panicking.
“It was nice meeting you, Joel, but I’m old and I’m tired, so I’m gonna head out,” your father explained, giving you a half nod as he began to stand up.
“Bye, dad. I’ll see you on Christmas?” you asked him, ignoring the panicked look that Joel was certainly sending your way.
“Sounds like a plan. Love you. Get home safe,” he bid the two of you farewell before leaving without much other fanfare.
“Why didn’t you tell me that was your dad?” Joel asked you, looking at you with wide eyes. You laughed a little bit at his panic, finding the dumbfounded look on his face more adorable than you’d like to admit.
“Thought it might’ve come up in conversation, or something,” you shrugged, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of the day, mixed with the criminally strong punch set in. “Why do you care so much? Trying to make a good impression, Miller?” you teased.
“You’re the worst,” he groaned, then laughed as you snuggled up to his side. You weren’t exactly sure whether the laugh was coming from discomfort or relief, but with the bone-deep cold you were feeling and alcohol in your system, you couldn’t exactly bring yourself to care. “You’re also really cold. Are you okay?”
“Mmm, you’re really warm,” you replied, settling against his warm body unconsciously.
“Someone’s feeling the punch,” he replied, wrapping an arm around you as you closed your eyes.
“It was way stronger than it needed to be,” you agreed in a murmur against his sweater. “Thank you for being such a good fake boyfriend tonight.”
“It was actually pretty fun. I like your family a lot,” he confessed, trying his best to maintain eye contact with you despite the fact that you were in the express lane to dreamland and your blinks were beginning to turn into miniature naps.
“Everyone liked you too. I owe you,” you yawned, dropping your head from the soft fabric of his sweater to the denim of his jeans.
“Mhm. Wanna head home?” he asked.
“How’d you know?” you responded as Joel chuckled above you.
The ride back home was a mostly quiet one, with Christmas music playing softly on the radio and you dozing off in the passenger seat. Every now and then Joel glanced over at you, and the few times that your eyes were actually open, you wondered what it was that he was thinking. Was he checking up on you to make sure you were still alive? Probably. But you just swore there was something else in his eyes, something you’d seen when Ben looked at your sister, or when your parents looked at each other.
But that was probably just the exhaustion speaking.
Once you arrived at your sister’s place, Joel made quick work of helping you get inside safely, even helping you get to bed at your own insistence. Even in your not sober and exhausted state, you knew that you didn’t want the night to end. Even in your less than ideal state of mind, you knew that the way you were feeling about Joel was unsustainable.
—
The soft, dim lighting of a restaurant that felt fancy even for you seemed to beam down on you, encouraging little beads of sweat to collect at your forehead and the creases of your arms. As much as you were desperately trying to maintain the appearance of being cool and collected, your staccato breaths, wobbly smile, and the rapidly appearing perspiration were quite clearly selling you out. You couldn’t help but to stare down at your menu like it was the most interesting thing in the world, the intimidation of sitting across from your fake partner’s ex-wife’s heated glare far more intense than what you’d expected. Far worse than sharing a brief, yet artificial moment of PDA in a grocery store, and far more than you expected to be able to handle. Yet, Joel had done the same for you, and really, it was only fair that you would do the same.
After the Christmas party, you hadn’t really expected to hear anything else from your date. As far as you knew, Joel had only agreed to play pretend with you for one night, and as fun as that night was, it was all fake.
As much as you hated to admit it, your sister was maybe, just a little bit right about the whole ordeal not being your best idea. You couldn’t help but think about the two of you at the party—how he’d held your hand like your hands were two pieces of a puzzle that were made for each other, how he cuddled with you on the couch and looked at you with such genuine concern when he thought you might not be well, but above all, you were stuck on his confession to you, about how beautiful you looked and how scared he was to tell you.
You couldn’t believe that you were still making these kinds of stupid decisions, the type of decisions that made you want to lay in bed all day with a pint of ice cream and a soap opera playing on the revision, and not do work—the very work that you came back to Austin to do.
But despite your urge to shut down, you tried your absolute best to do what you set out to do. You spent hours tossing ingredients in mixers, whipping egg whites into stiff peaks, and narrowly avoiding burning yourself as you took trays out of the oven. Only at the end of the day, as you wiped your forehead with a flour-covered arm and checked your phone did you realize that you’d missed a call from Joel.
After a quick call-back and an explanation to your sister that you would no longer be third wheeling the night’s tree-lighting ceremony with her, you had somehow managed to renew your little agreement with Joel. Your task being a performance of being the perfect, dream girlfriend to Joel Miller, a task that you hoped you would be up for.
But as you sat at the table next to Joel, nearly sweating your mascara off, you began to question the extent of your capabilities within this particular role.
“I haven’t seen you in a while,” Naomi began, the sharp wing of her eyeliner and the depths of her eyes feeling like they were poking and prodding into you, searching for any weakness or insecurity to be exploited. “What are you up to these days?”
“Well, apart from making the most of my time with Joel,” you looked over at him with what you hoped appeared to be adoration, but probably came across more accurately as the fear you were experiencing, and grabbed his bicep–what you hoped to appear like a fond move, but was something more like you bracing onto him for dear life. “I’m a consultant in New York City. It definitely takes up a lot of my time, but it also feels like every second of free time I have, I’m spending it on the phone with this one.”
You and Joel chuckled, your choked out laugh feeling far more artificial than his. You hoped to whatever powers above that you would somehow manage to convince the couple across from you to believe a story that you could barely even believe yourself, although, with the way that Naomi was still glaring at you, you doubted that being the case.
“That sounds fun,” she replied, leaning forward slightly as if she was ready to sink her teeth into you two and absolutely tear you apart. “So how’d you two reconnect?”
Joel, clearly sensing your discomfort, came to your rescue with a quick, preplanned answer. “Remember when I took Sarah to Manhattan earlier this year?” Joel began, averting his gaze from you and onto his ex, who now shot Joel a pleasant, yet, rehearsed smile.
“Mhm,” she replied, seemingly already entertained by where the story might end up going.
“Well, we ran into each other at a coffee shop a few blocks away from her workplace and really just hit it off. The rest is history,” he said, turning his attention back towards you.
“You two were hitting it off in front of our daughter?” Naomi asked, the slight tilt to her head and hint of smirk on her face revealing that her question was less out of concern for their child, and more out of taking an opportunity to antagonize the two of you.
“It was more like reconnecting. I swear, Joel is the only person in the world to think that recommending my favorite bagel shop in the city is flirting,” you attempted to save, not wanting to be labeled as a threat to their child just a few minutes into dinner.
“To my credit, you were selling it pretty hard. You were practically saying, ‘come with me to get bagels tomorrow,’” Joel added on, seemingly lighting up as the two of you added more and more to your fake meet-cute.
“Next time you visit we’ll get all the bagels you want, my love. We can even split them Lady and The Tramp style,” you giggled, feeling your cheeks warm as you imagined you and Joel at the opposite ends of one cream cheese filled bagel.
“Okay, yeah, I get it. I was just joking, anyway,” she replied, clearly fed up with the two of you.
“Sorry,” you apologized, actually feeling a little bad about how long your little bit had gone on. “What about you two? How’d you and Henry meet?”
“It’s actually a pretty cute story,” Henry spoke up after being a passive spectator for an uncomfortable period of time. “Noms had just moved out west a little bit after the divorce, and the two of us met in a yoga class. I accidentally took her yoga mat, and it was… what did you say earlier? The rest was history?”
The two of them shared an intimate laugh, one that indicated that they were referencing some sort of inside joke, just as you and Joel had earlier after you’d shared what you’d been doing with your life since high school. You glanced over at Joel, his pressed smile and slightly furrowed brows a clear indicator that he was not impressed by the two of them. Thankfully, before the tension could go any further, a kind waitress interrupted the conversation with the simple question of whether or not your table was ready to order.
Shortly after ordering, the conversation picked up once again. While you occasionally were able to ask a question or two about the couple sitting across from you, it above all felt like you and Joel were being interrogated about the nature of your relationship. Lies easily flowed from both of your tongues, sandwiched between fond looks shared between the two of you as if there was no one else in the room, and stolen moments of physical affection that seemed to warm you from the inside-out.
As the two of you added more and more onto your story, the more you began to yearn for the more intricate details of it all to be true.
You wanted to receive a bouquet of flowers on your doorstep from someone almost two-thousand miles from you, just because he’d been thinking about you. You wanted to have a reason to come back and visit the city you grew up in, and to learn about every new hole-in-the-wall shop that had come to mean a lot to him. You wanted to take on his hobbies, and have him take on some of yours despite you both being terrible at them, solely because you knew that the other cared about it. The longer the night went on, the clearer everything became: you wanted all of this and more with Joel, but you’d clearly never be able to have him.
It was no longer a question to you of if your arrangement should end, and had clearly become a matter of when it was going to end. No matter how much fun you were having holding Joel’s hand under the table and feeding the man next to you bites of scallop, you knew it wasn’t sustainable to be feeling so strongly about a situation that had been doomed from the start.
You were undoubtedly treading a very thin line between getting your hopes up for what wasn’t, but could be, and savoring every last second you had with Joel, pretending to be something that the two of you were very obviously not. With the arrival and passing of dessert, and the final spoonfuls of a split chocolate cake, you’d realized that your time with Joel had ended; a conclusion as bitter as the dark chocolate garnish on your shared plate.
The two of you held hands once more as you walked out to his car, fingers lingering together even after the couple you’d been putting a show on were safely tucked away in their own vehicle. You didn’t talk much on your ride back home, the air thick with a tension that made you wonder if Joel had come to a similar conclusion of his own during dinner. The radio filled in the silence where words lacked, covers of Christmas songs filling in for the conversation that surely should’ve been occurring.
After a ride that felt like it had lasted forever and no time at all, you had finally arrived at your sister’s place, the final resting ground for whatever your relationship had been.
“Thanks,” you said as you unclipped your seatbelt, wanting to rip the bandaid off and leave as quickly as humanly possible, while also lingering in his car forever. “Have a good night.”
“Yeah,” he looked at you for a moment as if he had something more to say, but was holding his tongue. Taking one long look at your face, then offering you a weak half smile, he spoke once more. “You too.”
-
Though you were mildly disappointed when you didn’t hear back from Joel, you couldn’t say that you were particularly surprised. Everything about your final encounter in his truck indicated that the very brief chapter in both of your lives of pretending to be what you both were not was over. Still, you couldn’t deny the remnant ache in your chest when your father asked where your boyfriend was over Christmas dinner, or the pathetic way that you secretly hoped every ring of the bakery door would deliver you Joel Miller, much like your first day back in Austin did.
Once again, you attempted to drown yourself in your work, working from open to close at your sister’s bakery and ending the day with sore legs, flour in your hair, and an intense desire to never consume anything sweet ever again. You somehow even managed to convince your boss to let you clock a few virtual hours at your actual job, spending all of the time that you were not at the bakery in your temporary bedroom, doing whatever tasks would set you ahead by the time you returned to work.
You realized you weren’t being particularly subtle with the fact that you were trying to distract yourself from something, and while your sister did her best to be whatever it was that you needed during such a bizarre time, she didn’t exactly press, though you were sure she had a bit of an idea of what was making you feel so down.
“Hey, I have a catering job for us,” she informed you one morning as the two of you worked side-by-side.
“When? You remember I’m leaving tomorrow, right?” you sighed, hoping your sister recognized your mild annoyance as less with her, and more with your time in Austin as a whole. You desperately wanted to leave, but you’d promised to stay until the new year began, when orders typically began to slow down. (“Resolutions,” she told you over the phone as you prepared to come back home.)
“Of course I remember,” she shook her head playfully as she spoke to you. “It’s tonight. At the Spoke. They’re doing some New Year’s Eve thing, and I think it’ll be fun.”
“I think maybe we have two different definitions of fun,” you commented, continuing to roll out the piece of dough in front of you.
“Oh, come on. What were you going to be doing anyway?” she pressed you, her attempt to get you to get out of the house clear as day now. “Working in your bedroom during your break? Sulking for reasons you refuse to share with me? Watching episodes of The Bachelor that you’ve seen a hundred times already?”
“Ugh, okay, okay. I’ll do it. We’ll do it,” you finally conceded.
“Good! Now, do you want a coffee? We’re gonna have a lot of trays to finish today.”
You couldn’t deny that it made you feel a little bit better knowing that you had somewhere fun to go that night. Despite living in Texas for the first portion of your life, you’d never had the opportunity to go to any sort of dance hall, and though you’d probably be spending the majority of your time distributing cupcakes to people, you were excited to be doing something fun regardless.
After your longest and final shift at the bakery, your sister hugged you as tight as she could manage and thanked you for everything you’d helped her accomplish this holiday season, before sending you back home to get dressed up for the dance hall. After deciding to go full cowgirl with your attire, you peered in your sibling’s closet for any article of clothing that you could borrow for the night, and ultimately left her closet with a completely different wardrobe.
Even as you and your sister arrived at the dance hall early to set up, patrons were already beginning to flood into the venue. Their excited energy was contagious, and you couldn’t help but feel invigorated, your downtrodden feelings being replaced with much more positive ones.
As the night went on, you found yourself having more and more fun, whether it was from distributing pastries to rosy-cheeked dancers who paused to take a break from the floor, or flirty gentlemen who took the brief moment of your fingers touching over a distributed cupcake to ask to buy you a drink. While you were sure that you would’ve had a decent time doing nothing at home, then popping a bottle of champagne at midnight, the night was certainly shaping up to be a memorable one.
Time seemed to be flying by as you stood by the table, offering cupcakes to whoever passed you by. It wasn’t long before Ben arrived, and your sister was excusing herself from the table to share a dance with her partner. You watched the two of them with adoration, thinking of how you would love to have someone to come sweep you off your feet and offer to dance with you–well, someone other than a sweaty patron. As much as you’d tried to convince yourself over the years that you weren’t cut out for relationships, your trip and weird fake dating arrangement with Joel had made you realize something of the opposite. Maybe you’d be ringing in the New Year with a Hinge download.
After passing out the final cupcake you had, you began to break down boxes and put away some of the other items you’d brought to help the distribution process go more smoothly. With your back turned to the dance floor as you dropped leftover napkins into a plastic bag, you were surprised as you heard a familiar voice greet you from behind.
“Joel?” you said as you looked up at the patiently waiting person, surprised to see his face after such an abrupt ending and a period of radio silence between the two of you.
“Hi,” he said, almost shyly.
“Hi. Sorry, we just ran out of cupcakes” you stated, trying to pretend that things were business as usual between the two of you–whatever business as usual meant now.
“I don’t…” Joel trailed off before ditching the idea altogether, surely figuring that whatever he had to say was more important than an explanation of how he was uninterested in the treats you were serving. “Can we talk?”
“I mean,” you hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would be better to avoid everything altogether and simply move on with your life. You could simply tell him no, hop on a plane the following afternoon, then never think about Joel again. It would all be so simple and easy–the exact opposite of what your relationship had spiraled into during your time back in Austin. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s talk.”
The truth was, as easy as you would’ve liked it to be, you were intrigued by Joel’s nervous body language. As he shifted from foot to foot and subtly picked at his hand, you imagined him walking into the hall with his friends, or whoever it was that he came with, seeing you, and immediately going to leave the venue, only staying from the coercion and peer pressure of his peers. You imagined him spending the night working up the nerve to come say to you what was left unspoken the last time the two of you talked, hoping that the beers in his system and all of the dancing would finally get enough jitters out of him to finally address you.
“I’m all ears,” you shrugged, crossing your arms over your chest in a subconscious protective measure. Even though he could do no physical harm to you, your brain was all too aware of the damage he’d done to your heart in the past.
“I’m sorry. For everything. For not reaching out to you after our dinner, and for being an oblivious idiot in high school. And I guess, for being an oblivious idiot now,” he began to blather, glancing down nervously at his shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
You were surprised by his words and slightly unsure of what to say, or even think in response. Now that you had heard his apology, you were beginning to have an idea of the direction that this confession was likely going to take, and you couldn’t tell if you should be leaping for joy or finding the nearest exit. Maybe you could figure out a way to do both, jumping and skipping as you left through the fire exit.
Joel began to search for his next words and you tried to ignore the racing heartbeat in your chest as you attempted to search for your own. Just when you were thinking that it would be impossible for your situation to get any more uncomfortable, a man slightly shorter than Joel and who oddly resembled him sauntered up to the table where the two of you were attempting to speak.
“It’s gonna be twelve soon! Come dance!” the man shouted at Joel, his accent heavy and his words slurred as he grabbed onto Joel’s flannel sleeve. Joel shot him a dirty look, one that clearly communicated his annoyance, but didn’t exactly scream surprised.
“Not now, Tommy,” Joel reprimanded, his gritted teeth and tense demeanor making you want to laugh–if not for his reaction, then over the surrealistic nature of the scene. Mere moments into some sort of apology or confession, the two of you had been interrupted by his intoxicated acquaintance asking him to dance.
“Yes now, Joel. C’mon, lighten up!” the man practically whined, eliciting an exasperated eye roll from Joel. He looked back at you with tense shoulders and worry in his eyes, and you couldn’t exactly tell if he was looking for backup or sympathy. Instead of responding to him with either, you gave him a shy shrug of approval.
“We can talk while we dance?” you suggested, part of you hoping that maybe the distraction of doing something else while you spoke would make your conversation a little less difficult.
Taking Joel’s hand, you followed the men out to the dance floor, where Tommy had disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared to interrupt Joel’s confession. Part of you wondered if this had been premeditated, or if Joel’s drunk friend was simply not able to read the room.
“Before we start, I have a confession of my own,” you began, hoping that what you were about to say would at least lighten up the mood of your conversation. Clearly, the two of you struggled with communicating your feelings, and you hoped sharing what you were prepared to share would at least be helpful in opening up a line of communication.
“Yeah?” he said hopefully. You tried your best to fight the smile that was threatening to appear on your face at the sound of his tone, but ultimately failed.
“I don’t have a damn clue how to do this,” you confessed, glancing over at the pairings around you moving together as if they had done these steps a million times–and knowing your town, they probably had.
“It’s fine,” he said without an ounce of judgment in his voice. “I’ll teach you how.”
And he did, his mouth pressed closely to your ear as he counted off numbers in time with the live band just a few feet away from you, and directed your body left, right, back, and forward until you finally seemed to get the hang of the dance. Though there was still an elephant remaining in the room, dancing seemed to be successful in alleviating some of the tension that lingered.
“Is it okay if we continue our conversation?” Joel asked as the two of you took a synchronized step back. Your eyes were trained on your nearly matching boots, and the thought of having to face your feelings–or the lack thereof–made your stomach churn. Once again, you began to consider the most efficient exit routes.
“Of course,” you replied, doing your best to mask the nerves that had bubbled right back up as you finally met his eye.
“I was so excited to see you, when I found out you were back in town. I guess there was still part of me that wondered what things might have been like if things were different. Then I saw you in the store, and we started doing… whatever we were doing, and I just kept wanting more. It just felt so real, too real, and I started wanting more than what I could have. I mean, you live so far away, and even if you didn’t, I’m sure you have romantic prospects all over the place. Why would you settle for me?”
You almost couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Joel still thought about you? He had begun to want more in the same way that you did the more your fake relationship progressed? He thought he wasn’t good enough for you?
“Joel-” you began, his name slipping off your tongue involuntarily. You desperately wanted to dispute his claims, but he didn't let you finish.
“I guess I just wanted to apologize for how I acted. I didn’t want you to assume that things ended how they ended for any other reason other than me making terrible decisions as usual.” Once again, it was Joel’s turn to look uncomfortable, and you couldn’t exactly blame him after what he shared with you.
“I accept your apology, but it wasn’t all your fault. And you’re not an idiot,” you clarified in between a spin, finishing your sentence as Joel pulled you back to him. “I was disappointed, but I understood. Honestly, I was starting to feel the same way with you. Our fake dating was starting to feel a little too much like real dating, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up when you were clearly uninterested.”
“But I’m not uninterested,” Joel looked at you with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, which only seemed to be highlighted by the fact that his arm was draped across your torso, a welcome result of the spinning move. “I want to try, if you want to try. The distance is a hurdle, but we can give it a shot, at the very least. We can visit each other when we get the chance. We can watch the same episodes of The Bachelor, then discuss it afterward.”
“Oh my god, who told you about that?” you remarked, interrupting his big speech.
“Your sister. At the Christmas party,” Joel replied, his cheeks flush with the adrenaline of sharing his feelings with you and the excitement of dreaming of a future with you.
“She’s unbelievable,” you murmured, shaking your head the slightest bit before Joel continued.
“But that’s besides the point. We can send each other delivered gifts, and can talk to each other every day, like what you told Naomi.”
“What I told her when I was lying?” you asked with a laugh, reminiscing on your dinner.
“Well, yeah… But it doesn’t have to be a lie. I can come visit you, and you can come visit me. We can get bagels at your favorite shop when I come to the city. I can teach you how to dance when you come to Austin. Maybe it’s crazy, but I think we can try. Should try.”
“I would like nothing more than that,” you confessed, an honest truth that seemed to light you up from the inside. Hearing Joel’s almost crazed rant about how passionate he was about trying made you a little less afraid of your possible future together, and a whole lot more sure about your feelings for the man.
“Then let’s do it. Let’s do it right this time,” he said as the music finally came to a conclusion, being swapped out for none other than the chant of a countdown.
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
As cheers of ‘Happy New Years’ rang out, Joel gently directed your face towards his, your noses and foreheads pleasantly bumping into each other. As your lips finally touched, it felt as if two puzzle pieces designed for each other and meant to be together had finally fallen into place, the rumble of fireworks outside celebrating the long-awaited union between the two of your bodies.
In the past, the affection the two of you had shared had felt real, but deep down you were aware that it was nothing more than a farce. A façade to trick judgmental exes and prying family members. But this time, the affection was different.
The growing warm feeling in your chest, the electric sparks on your skin where Joel was touching you, and the look of admiration in his eyes once you’d finally pulled away told you everything you needed to know.
This was real.
#joel miller x reader#joel miller fluff#joel miller fanfiction#joel miller x f!reader#pedro pascal x reader#pedro pascal fanfiction#the last of us fanfiction#tlou fanfiction#tlou
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Neighborhood Academy AU Part 1
Part 2 Part 3 (Final)
It had been a very long time since you’ve been excited for the first day of school, but this time was extra special. You worked hard to beg your parents to let you transfer into Neighborhood Academy, purely because you loved the uniforms.
Like seriously, who could pass up getting to wear rainbow pants, shorts, skirts, or skorts with knee-high rainbow socks? And they had some variations that were supposed to be dependent on the season but they were all just so fashionable that the school relented in allowing the vibe of what the students felt best in so long as they wore their rainbows. Best Academy uniforms ever, even the shoes were neato, being old fashioned looking like from the 50s or so with the black and white pattern but having hearts on the bottom!
The only thing on the attire list that was absolutely mandatory was a little bolo-tie like charm to go around the red kerchief for the sailor suit part of the top. It was a little red house with cartoony eyes in its windows. Weird thing to make mandatory since it was literally a little plastic thing but whatever, RAINBOW SKORTS AND SUSPENDERS YO!
Which is what you decided to go with, not trusting the wind for anything, plus it was super cute and you were certain it looked good on you. You were careful to tie the knot of the kerchief nice and big so the little house could sit on it and not slip past it as you headed out the door to school.
Things started to get interesting the second you crossed the threshold of the Academy gates, you stopped to help a girl gather her script papers that was blowing in the wind, and made immediate friends with her as she handed an extra flier for school play auditions later after the last bell rang. Her name was Sally and you couldn’t help but happily agree to show up since her little ball of literal sunshine personality was just so infectious. You had to hurry though as you were gonna be late for Homeroom and first class.
You overheard a teacher gently scold a tall jokester looking student to hopefully make more of an effort this year and actually pass his classes. Then as you ran you found yourself neck and neck with a dude whose visage screamed that he was gonna be a mailman after he graduated as he football-carried his boyfriend to class. Well you assumed they were an item, they looked like complete opposites to the point of looking like there was no way they should even be friends. But opposites attract, you supposed.
"Well, we must not be too late if we're not the only ones running to Homeroom, Eddie." Grumbled the football-carried boyfriend.
Eddie, the potential mailman running next to you, finally took notice of you and brightened.
"Oh hey! You must be the new transfer student! Which Homeroom did you get?"
You say hello and introduce yourself in agreement to the assumption of the transfer student part. Then you go on to say, "I'm in Professor Pillar's Homeroom!"
"Hey, so are we! I'm Eddie, an' this is Frank!"
Frank uttered a grumpy, "Charmed I'm sure."
You followed Eddie when he turned a corner. Then he continued talking between the three of you.
"Hey, Frank, are Julie and the others still in our homeroom too?"
"Of course! They do it alphabetically by last name so Sally's the only one that ended up in Ms. Poppy Partridge's Homeroom again!” Frank replied. “Aside from Julie’s sisters anyway, they’re all in different Homerooms too for some reason.”
Suddenly you had to screech to a halt as a crowd of students blocked the way to your Homeroom. Mostly made up of girls but there was the occasional guy in the mix too.
“What’s this crowd for?” You couldn’t help but wonder aloud. It was rhetorical, and because of the squealing students, you didn’t expect to be heard and answered.
“Wally.” Frank and Eddie replied in unison in their own distinct tones. Eddie sighed defeatedly, and Frank had sighed disdainfully.
“How are we friends with him again?” Frank asked snarkily.
“Frank!” Eddie chided, “You know why, we’re in the same cul-de-sac as him. Nevermind that we’ve known him since Kindergarten.”
“You’re right!” Frank agreed defeatedly. “Figures puberty gave him its blessing to turn out more gorgeous than he already was!”
“He's really that handsome?" You couldn't help but ask curiously though cheekily. Another rhetorical question, if this crowd of fans were anything to go by.
The two boyfriends nodded anyway, Eddie finally putting Frank down since Homeroom was within reach.
And you were finally making out the squeals of the crowd calling Wally the prince of the school. Oh lovely, you're in an anime now. The transfer student thing should've tipped you off on that, but honestly this Academy was big enough that there's no way you're the only transfer. Right? Right.
Then Eddie finally saw an opening to allow you all to squeeze through, grabbing Frank’s hand, and in turn, Frank was nice enough to grab yours as they both dragged you through the sea of fangirling students and into the safety of your Homeroom proper.
Suddenly you accidentally bump into another student with your elbow, and quickly shout your apologies over the screaming fans, only for that student to silence everyone else single handedly by shouting back “OH HEY! YOU’RE THE NEW TRANSFER STUDENT!”
Every single eye in that crowd, especially the original center of attention, Wally’s were now on you. And it was dead quiet.
“Hi, how ya doin’! Get ta class we’re gonna be late otherwise ya dorks!” You greeted and kindly reminded back, you kept your eyes closed as you smiled at everyone so you didn’t see what Wally looked like.
Regardless, your friendly reminder was effective as everyone scattered, scuttling off to their respective Homerooms unless they were also trying to get to this one too.
Without opening your eyes, you about-faced and headed into the classroom.
“Well, so much for you keeping a low profile, sorry about that.” Frank apologized. Eddie also looked apologetic, rubbing the back of his head.
“No worries, I have to introduce myself at the start of Homeroom anyway, and if I’m the only transfer this year, folks are gonna know about me anyway when I audition for Sally’s play this evening.” You explain nonchalantly.
“Sally’s holding auditions already?! I thought for sure they’d be tomorrow!” Cried a new voice, feminine and bubbly.
“Hi, Julie. Hi, Wally.” Frank and Eddie greeted in unison over your shoulder.
You prepared a friendly smile as you turned to face them. Julie was as adorable as she sounded, and you nodded at her in acknowledgement. Wally on the other hand…holy shiitake mushrooms. Nobody had the right to be that pretty! He wore the blue cardigan that would definitely have been reserved for the fall and winter style of the uniforms, otherwise others just wear white button ups with large enough lapels for the kerchief. Speaking of which, Wally wore his as more of an ascot around his neck, but with the little house ornament on it, made it look like a choker almost. Your smile fell at the sight of him, just a little, if only because he had an intense gaze about him too.
You were about to introduce yourself properly, but Professor Howdy Pillar piped up to get everyone settled so you could introduce yourself to the whole class.
“All-righty, have a seat everyone, so our new transfer student can introduce themselves. Go ahead, kiddo.” Professor Pillar nodded to you to take the floor.
So you introduce yourself, adding a favorite hobby, which was in the arts of all kinds, and plugged in the small advertisement for Sally’s auditions this evening, and the hope to get along with everyone.
Polite claps sounded. Then Professor Pillar directed you to sit in the empty seat that was second to last and a window seat, but also happened to be next to Wally. Frank was in front of you though, so at least you had another familiar face, Eddie was next to him, and Julie was next to Wally on his other side. There was also that jokester student from your vague notice earlier, you later learned his name was Barnaby, he sat behind Wally.
You weren’t entirely sure what it was about Wally in particular that set you on edge. Everybody else seemed nice, even the rest of the classroom. However Wally stood out like a sore thumb, maybe it was his fabulous pompadour, not many folks could pull that style off let alone bother with the time and effort to set it up. No…it was definitely his gaze. His eyes were pretty…but also pretty unsettling.
You ran through the chain of events surrounding Wally in your head and came to an easy conclusion as to why he could be staring at you so intensely. You stole his thunder from him before he made it to the classroom. With fabulous hair like his, the nickname of being the prince of the school, there was no way he didn’t have an ego. He must be pretty peeved.
You shot him a quick apology for earlier as you sat down at your designated seat. Thankfully he seemed to accept your apology as you suddenly no longer felt the hairs on your neck stand on end from his line of sight. You chose to ignore him otherwise.
Professor Pillar went onto a few other announcements before heading right into his specialty, Marketing. Once his lecture was done, other teachers came, taught and went, you even got to see Professor Partridge, who preferred to be called Ms. Poppy instead, she taught Home Economics usually but the Kitchen lab was still being cleaned from the previous semester, as staff got around to it last or some other high up excuse, probably had something to do with the budget. For now at least she taught the Chemistry of Home Economics.
The next thing you knew the day was done, yet you craved more knowledge since all the teachers were so much fun. With a pout you packed up your things, before brightening up again at remembering that play auditions were happening.
Even better, Julie called out to you about it and was happy to show the way. By literally dragging you there, you felt the intensity of Wally’s gaze again, unsure what to make of it before falling out of his line of sight purely because of Julie’s speed down the hallways. Maybe he was jealous this time..or again? What was his deal exactly? Whatever it was, your brain came to the conclusion that he and Julie might be an item since they came into the classroom together, not that you were paying attention to that part, but she stole you away, and who knows? That might’ve been what set him off this time.
In any case, it wasn’t just you and Julie who went, Eddie, Frank, and Barnaby were there, Wally, naturally and from what little you could tell, literally the rest of the school just about. You could only assume that the entire fan crowd of Wally’s told all their friends in their respective classes and the word just spread like wildfire. It was to the point that both Professor Pillar and Ms. Poppy had shown up just to chaperone the whole ordeal.
The kicker was about 70 percent of the school were just there to spectate. After all, who wouldn’t want to see how the new transfer student was talent wise? And up against the prince of the school, ooh, spicy!
All in all a pretty good day, the play was…a musical, and it was The Phantom of the Opera. You auditioned for Meg since you didn’t have enough confidence in your voice to hit high E notes for Christine’s part, you were perfectly comfortable being a Mezzosoprano or an Alto thank you kindly. Which happened to be for the best, because you got the part just fine, but had you gotten Christine (which Julie did thank goodness), Wally would’ve played the direct important opposite of you as the titular Phantom. Raoul was played by Frank amazingly. Eddie didn’t actually audition, he had track meets to worry about later down the line, but he was there for support anyway. And finally there was Barnaby as one of the new Opera House owners, probably just so he could heckle.
“You could’ve gotten the part for Christine easily you know, so why didn’t you?” Wally asked you once after finally getting to know him through everyone else and eating lunch together in the cafeteria. This question was in private, he caught you by your locker, and none of the rest of either one of your collective friends had shown up yet.
“And have to hit high E notes for a month? No thanks, playing Meg is just fine, even if the poor thing gets written horribly in the sequel.” You answer honestly, even if you have no idea where he was going asking this though you had some suspicions.
Surprisingly your answer made him laugh, it was weirdly monotonous but charming, in a way that suited him.
“I suppose you’re right about that. But I guess I was really wondering if you also chose it to avoid me.”
His gaze was on you again, not as intense as the first few days of school, but for some reason, you could always feel it on you even if you weren’t looking at him and knew he was looking your way.
“At the time of the auditions perhaps, but even then I thought you would’ve refused to be the Phantom since you prefer to be so handsome all the time. But Raoul doesn’t sing much so I don’t blame you for preferring to show off either.” You reply earnestly, then added an afterthought. “Besides, I assumed you and Julie were an item, was I wrong?”
“Yes, actually. She and I are just friends, have been since Kindergarten along with Sally, Frank, Eddie, and Barnaby. Howdy and Poppy are our neighbors too so it's always weird having to refer to them formally in the school’s public.” Wally had chuckled monotonously again, quite mirthfully as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Did your simple answers really affect him that much?
“Fascinating to know, but it still sounds like you really want to ask me something deeper though, so what is it that you really want to ask?” You queried suspiciously.
“Why have you really been avoiding me since the first day of school?” He asked…darkly in his own suspicion. You could feel it in his gaze too, confirming your suspicions.
“Several reasons actually. First and foremost, I’m certain now that I ticked you off at least twice that very first day. Second, I didn't really want the drama of the ‘new transfer student’ and the ‘prince of the school’ and any rumors to follow, ‘cuz you know that’s gonna spread like wildfire. Thirdly, let’s face it Walls, you’re too pretty for me.” You closed your locker as you had retrieved all your stuff for the day. That last one was said in a slight agitation, as you had long since resigned to your fate of most likely being a single pringle since the idea of dating was just exhausting. Nevermind the slight insecurity you had about not seeing yourself as pretty either, a thought that still made tears well up enough to poke out the sides of your eyes.
A fact that Wally saw as you passed by him to get to Homeroom, no longer wanting anything more to do with this conversation and having no patience for the others at the moment. Apparently he wasn’t having it and kabedonned you, punching poor Joe Schmoe’s locker hard enough to leave a dent.
Of course you yelped, he punched a locker and stopped you in your tracks! You looked up at him in confusion all bleary eyed since the tears were a little more prominent now that you couldn’t help it.
Worse yet, fear kept you in place rather than shoving the open shoulder off and telling him that this wasn’t cool and you certainly weren’t in the mood for shenanigans. All you could do was wait for him to say something.
“You’re the one that’s too pretty for me, dear neighbor.” Wally replied calmly, the little pet name referencing the fact that you sat next to each other in class and your lockers were in the same area. You really wanted to laugh at his face for it, since he just punched a locker and pinned you to said lockers just to calmly voice an opinion that you couldn’t even take seriously because of how deeply rooted your insecurity about yourself was. But you gawked instead.
No, better, you came up with a witty comeback, self deprecating in nature, but at least it was something.
“If I had a nickel for every time someone told me that…I’d only be five cents richer but at least it's something, though it’s not enough to buy me anything these days.” You quipped rawly, making sure the frustration in your tone was obvious. Finally you broke away from him by going out the opening he left and around his backside to continue on your path to Homeroom.
He must’ve spaced out trying to process the meaning of what you just said as he suddenly looked around for you before finally spotting you on the stairs.
“(Y/N), Wait! I really do think you’re beautiful!” He called after you.
But you weren’t having it.
“Save it for your reflection, pretty boy!” You retorted over your shoulder with a quick, icy glare, hoping idly that it had the same effect as when you felt his intense gaze at least twice over.
It most likely worked…for a second anyway. The next thing you know he’s bringing you bouquets of flowers everyday, but when that got annoying enough that you had nowhere to put them and even the teachers told him to cut it out. So he settled for chocolates…which was better, since they were useful in snack sharing.
Then he got the Academy’s cheerleading squad to spell your name at certain intervals, but you turned that one right around on him with innuendos about how he got the cheerleading squad to do that for him at all.
Then he finally just settled for belting That’s All I Ask of You, under the very sneaky guise that it was for practice. You were never more eager for a musical to be done and over with.
Frank had asked first about Wally’s behavior that was clearly directed at you. And he understood the most when you told him the short and succinct gist of it. He took your side, but also encouraged Wally on this because, how far would he really take this? The entire friend group wanted to know too.
It came to the point that you brought a spritz bottle to school with you to threaten to droop his precious pompadour. He eased up on his antics, but still tried to prove his love in smaller ways. Such as passing you notes with a finger football flick, they had little drawings of the two of you together or really detailed and impressive drawings of your face, lots of love poems. The next play you auditioned for, he begged Sally to play opposite of you no matter what role you got.
Whether or not you relented is entirely up to you, it was entertaining either way, his antics raising in stakes in bursts, or him being an absolute smush of a lover boy should you finally take him on as a lover.
You did get even more frustrated with how gorgeous he looks even with his hair down when you did finally spritz him. It took months to forgive him for even looking that hot. Jeez!
#See on AO3 for other thoughts#Welcome Home ARG#Wally Darling#Wally Darling x reader#Frank Frankly#Eddie Dear#Barnaby B. Beagle#Julie Joyful#Sally Starlet#Howdy Pillar#Poppy Partridge#Reluctant!Reader#Phantom of the Opera#High School AU#GIMME FAN ART#I WROTE THIS FOR THE UNIFORMS
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okay, first of all, thank you for your service! your recs are amazing
i just wanted to ask if you could rec as many rewrite fics as possible? episode rewrites, season rewrites that kind of thing? and if people could keep adding on itd be great?
theyre my fav genre tbh but they can be so hard to find :(
thank you so much!!
Oh boy, I sure can Anon!
I'm going to assume you mean 9-1-1, if you meant another fandom, let me know and I'll search for those. Some of these are rewrites by proxy? As in all the events happen but some are text fics so you only hear about them. If anyone has some to add, please do!
Without further ado...
We All Fall Down by kristen999 (@thekristen999)
He’d done this before. Inside the well. Trapped forty feet underground instead of in a tin can, rising water the constant threat.
Eddie stared at the radio, knowing this time there’d be someone on the other end to hear him if he needed to say something. If his time his second chances had finally run out.
He wouldn’t die alone. Not really. His team would be there. Just inches away. He could tell them, tell Buck….
*
glue by ProsperDemeter
“It’s just…” Connor shrugged. “No offense, man, but… you’re twenty-five. Do you really want to be spending so much time falling for a guy with a kid?”
“I’m not falling for him.”
--
A month away from graduating the LAFD Academy, Evan Buckley gets introduced to new recruit Eddie Diaz and things certainly change for both of them after that.
This author is also writing a s2 rewrite!
*
Firefighter Buckley's Unauthorized Ride-Along by slipperywordcrimes
Buck spends most of his probationary year with a bun in the oven, and doesn't realize it.
*
One Wrong Number by calinaannehart (@calinaannehart)
When Evan Buckley meets a man in a bar and gets his number, he couldn't possibly imagine how one wrong digit could lead him to his fate. Because sometimes wrong numbers are the right numbers.
bro·ken by kristen999 (@thekristen999)
Forced to take shady side jobs to pay his bills, Evan Buckley doesn’t think he’s ever seen such rock bottom. Until he meets Eddie Diaz, a man even more desperate and alone. Season 3 AU.
*
if it weren’t for second chances by alasse (@alasse9)
When Buck doesn’t save Daniel, the Buckleys put him in foster care. Seventeen years later, Bobby meets a tall, lanky kid who can’t stop eating his pancakes at a church breakfast, and he gives him a phone number and an unconditional offer of help.
A story about how Buck finds a chosen family, and with a few twists and turns, eventually gets to the 118, meets Eddie Diaz, and maybe finds himself a second and a third (or, an Evan Nash story).
*
Our story's been heartache and wonder by Tails89 (@tails89)
Fuck.
Buck scrubs a hand down his face. He’s got no idea what he’s supposed to do here.
He knows what his parents are like. He has his own childhood to draw from, and Isaac doesn't deserve that. He deserves to grow up surrounded by love, and if nothing else, Buck can give him that.
But Buck is also a twenty-six year old probationary firefighter, living in his girlfriend’s apartment while she travels the world. He’s not exactly in a position to look after a kid.
“Okay.” It comes out in a rush of air. “I’m gonna come get you."
*
no one quite like you by hammersmiths (@henswilsons)
Hen has added +1 213 555 to Firehouse 118
Hen: This is Eddie!
Eddie: Hey everyone :)
Buck: Why would she add him to our private groupchat
Chimney: I’m literally sitting right next to you
or, Buck and Eddie’s progression through texts.
*
Tighten Up by ok_thanks
It’s probably considered getting off on the wrong foot when you have sex with your coworker before they start their new job, right?
Buck would think it’s probably not a good thing, and definitely something that shouldn’t be repeated. Especially when he becomes best friends with them. That’d be particularly stupid.
*
Close My Eyes and Stumble (Right Into Your Love) by HMSLusitania (@hmslusitania)
Eddie's PTSD is just that little bit worse and when he moves to Los Angeles, instead of joining the LAFD, he joins dispatch.
Which is all good and fine, except for this one firefighter he keeps ending up talking to.
*
we were born with nothing by chromatophorica (@chromatophorica)
Until the 118, Evan had never had a family.
---
Evan saves Daniel when he's a baby; he still manages to find his way to the 118, forging a family there despite being given up by his biological parents.
*
I Didn't Know I Was Lonely 'Til I Saw Your Face by HMSLusitania (@hmslusitania)
After the ladder truck and the blood clot and the tsunami, Bobby makes Buck go to therapy before he does something stupid(like sue the city). Buck's not totally comfortable being alone with a therapist, but fortunately he makes a friend and ally who's willing to help him out - Eddie Diaz from the 136 who's just been caught in an illegal fight club.
OR
Total strangers Buck and Eddie go to couple's therapy together to get out of the therapy requirements their captains have placed on them.
*
i want your midnights by allyasavedtheday (@littlespoonevan)
Eddie grins. “Yeah I get that. So can I ask why you applied for the room? No offence but you’re not exactly the kind of candidate I expected.”
Buck laughs, ducking his head. That’s probably true.
“I, uh, I’ve been staying at my girlfriend’s place while she’s travelling but um, my sister moved to LA recently and sort of made the point that I could be overstaying my welcome? Or, well- actually she tried to tell me my girlfriend’s cheating on me and I need to get over it and move out of her place.” Buck shakes his head, eyes widening at what he just implied. “She’s not! Cheating, I mean. She’s just- trying to find herself after losing her mom. She just needs a little space, y’know?”
At least, that’s the excuse Buck’s giving Abby for why she hasn’t called him in over two weeks.
Eddie nods with a vague sort of expression on his face like he hadn’t expected him to overshare that much. Which, oops.
In which Eddie decides to rent out his spare room to help with mortgage repayments right around the time Buck decides to move out of Abby's place after some not so gentle prodding from Maddie. It's a coincidence. Or serendipity. Or maybe just really good timing.
*and of course we can't forget:
Those Two Firefighters by DarkFairytale
#thosetwofirefighters starts to gather a following on social media, as everyone tries to figure out if those two cute firefighters from the 118 in LA are a thing or not.
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Why Jonathan is important in realizing byler endgame
Now, y’all know I’m a Jonathan girlie through and through. I love him. I love Jonathan Byers to my core. This post isn’t necessarily going over the importance of Jonathan’s character for the entire season and it’s not going over his arc in season four, but just know, I will defend him with my life. This post is specific to why Jonathan is actually a super important character to pay attention to in season four specifically when it comes to byler.
Before we get into season four, let’s just graze over some things.
Jonathan is Will’s older brother, meaning he’s known Mike just about as long as Will has known Mike. Give or take a few weeks probably. Jonathan has watched this friendship all these years. He knows Mike and he knows how he treats Will, how he acts around Will. Basically what I’m trying to get at is Jonathan knows Mike very well, better than a lot of characters do. He also knows how important Mike and Will’s friendship is.
Jonathan’s hobby/passion is photography. He talks about how pictures/moments say more than words ever could. His dream is to be photojournalist, you know, the people who take/publish those photos in articles that literally can bring tears to your eyes?
Season 4 is the first season where Jonathan is without a camera the entire time. He’s in a rut, he’s stressed about being in senior year, he’s going to be graduating high school in the next few months and suddenly college is right around the corner. He doesn’t want to leave his family and he doesn’t want to ruin Nancy’s dream. He’s depressed and his only coping method currently is getting high and venting to Argyle.
I think it’s very interesting how much focus is put onto Jonathan during moments with Will or Byler in general.
The first scene we get with this is the airport scene. It’s very obvious how even though he’s high, he clocks how awkward the situation is, he just doesn’t voice it like Argyle does. He notices the way Mike dodges the hug with Will. I definitely think this is why he stops Will as they drop him, Mike and El off at the roller rink, he can tell Will is upset and just wants him to have fun.
Now, we don’t really get another scene for awhile, the closest one I’d add is Jonathan suggesting they go Police Academy 3 (which is so funny because it’s notorious for its gay bar scene) and probably notices the way Will reacts whenever Mike leaves the table.
I think it’s so important to acknowledge that Jonathan witnessed the conversation between Mike and Will in his bedroom, maybe he didn’t hear it all, but he definitely heard some of it. They way to pan to Jonathan shows that he’d been standing there long enough to hear the end of their conversation which was a very personal and intimate conversation. The reason I think this is so important is because after this, Jonathan is shown to continuously notice, witness, interrupt these moments for the rest of season 4.
Jonathan then barges into the room after Mike and Will’s conversation in Will’s room, he, along with hearing the tires squealing, are used to interrupt this “intimate moment” as the script put it.
Now for probably the most IMPORTANT moment that Jonathan witnesses. The van scene. Now, this truly ties back to capturing moments says more than words. While this is probably what confirms what Jonathan has suspected (his brother is gay) it’s also so, so important that he’s not just paying attention to Will but to Mike as well. The rearview mirror shot in particular is such a great way to convey that Will is so unaware of what’s actually going on because he’s already so convinced that he’s just doomed to be alone forever. Cause that’s just how it is, the boy he loves has a girlfriend and it’s the 1980s (the aids crisis, the homophobia in general) not only does this shot show the way Mike is just watching, staring at Will but it’s showing that this is what Jonathan sees as well.
I already know the milkvans are gonna think it’s ridiculous, but I truly think Jonathan knows that there is something happening between Will and Mike. He never really says/interacts with Mike and El as a couple besides the very awkward “I love her” scene in s3. Which is an awkward scene for ... everyone. No one really acknowledges them. Except to complain tbh.
Back to the topic at hand though. I think it’s such a good thing they added the pseudo-coming out scene between Will and Jonathan because it needed to be there. Not only does it show us that Jonathan knows and it doesn’t matter to him because he loves his brother no matter what, but it means Jonathan HAS been picking up on the exact things we the audience have been this entire time. He’s noticed every detail, every moment, every look and conversation. The entire reason he even brings it up is because he notices the way Will is pining/jealous over Mike and El laughing because he thinks they’re flirting when we’re literally shown that they AREN’T flirting, like at all. Will is just so stuck inside his own head. He reassures that no matter what, he’s going to always love Will, hinting that he knows but he’ll wait for whenever Will is ready to say it.
The last one that super, duper important. The panning to Jonathan during Mike’s monologue. It’s so weird. The entire framing of the monologue in general is odd. Mike is cast in shadows and has Will over his shoulder the entire time, in frame, whether he’s blurred out or not. There’s no reason for Will to be in shot, it’s easy to crop him out. Now it’s weird Will is in the shot, it’s VERY weird they decided to cut to Jonathan as well??? For what? They don’t show Argyle?
It’s because Jonathan knows that Mike is lying.
We are all Jonathan watching Byler play out on our screens.
We see the way Mike interacts with Will, the way he reacts, the way he looks at Will. We are capturing these moments between them, because the moments themselves are more important than words.
“I didn’t say it,” “You didn’t have to.”
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Like A Moth To A Flame..
Rio x black reader
Finally added something to my Fall For You Challenge | Collection so boom! I did a big girl thing
Description: you and Rio have been dancing around each other for long enough. That ends tonight. 
Warning: none other than the obvious. Smut. My page comes with an 18+ warning automatically .Minors do not engage
Was literally listening to that’s the way love goes by Janet Jackson so I incorporated it into whatever this is lmao. Anywho felt rushed but i been sitting on this for like a month so. Here you go
Also! Like 3 lines are inspired by something I read and it stuck with me. I know I liked/reposted it and can’t find it for the life of me. Will know it when I see it! And I’m still looking! But if it sounds familiar ( really the author would know), please tell me so I can credit them! Please, please, pleaseeee
"I tell you how good you look in that dress today?“
There it was. The butterflies that you feel erupt every single time he compliment you. Which is often. Rio, as gangsta as he was, was an absolute sweetheart. Charismatic. And boy did he have a way with words.
It wasn’t that you weren’t used to compliments. They didn’t bother you, and though you could be awkward sometimes accepting them from people, you always appreciated them. However, when Rio complements you, it sends a shock straight to your vagina every single time.
It was something about the way he would look at you, the tone in his voice, how genuine he sounded. He had the kind of voice than made everything he sits sounds smoother than cream cheese on your bagel. The simplest sweetest thing could have you dripping almost instantly. He made you feel wanted.
“Yeah?”
Making your way over to elevator upon entering the Skyrise, you press the number to the 12th floor and before turning to him with a smile.
“Yeah,” he continued to take you in, finger tips grazing tip of the dress. “I especially love the way it looks against your brown skin. ”
You tried your best to keep the tremble out of the breath you released. Rio’s eyes locked on yours as he spoke.
“Definitely suits you. You look all ethereal and shit.”
“Thank you Rio,” you looked away shyly loving the way he made your heart do things.
You watched as his tongue came out to wet his lips, your eyes zoned in on the moistened flesh. You quickly turned to step into the elevator, Rio following suit.
When you got off work a mere half an hour ago, Rio surprised you and had waited for you to get off work and offered to drive you home. He knew sometimes you’d walked home from there salon and in true Rio fashion, wanted to make sure you got home safe. Of course the two of you ended up at a mom and Pop diner to pick up a to go order he apparently already called in. He would’ve taken you somewhere else, but he noticed you had heels on and had probably been standing all day so he wanted you to be able to be comfortable and relax in your own home. He also knew sometimes you weren’t able to eat when work got a little crazy. It was prom and graduation season after all which meant everybody and they mama needed their hair done. He couldn’t let you go hungry right?
The two of you held a pretty effortless conversation and made small talk on their journey to back to your place after picking up food. Reaching for the doorhandle once he pulled up and stopped the car, you stop remembering that if you open the door Rio would lose his shit. It wouldn’t be the first time he had first that you open over opening your own door. That was something you learned by the end of date two. While you guys had been officially dating for the past 5 months you have learned that Rio was determined to make sure you felt like a woman. That you never had to worry about any thing. From opening the door to bills which, he does sometimes go behind your back to cover. It’s not that you didn’t mind him paying but you had let him know real quick that you had your own. But mama didn’t raise no fool, and you be stupid not to take the cash when he gave it to you.
And you weren’t stupid, you knew exactly what he was into. While you mind your business, you knew enough.
“Thank you you for picking up and getting me something to eat.”
“It’s nothing mama. You know I got you.”
The ride up to your unit was silent for some reason the tension in the elevator begin to rise. Something was clearly on his mind and it was practically screaming at you. You unlock the door and welcome him in, not saying a word. Slipping off your shoes and putting your purse and keys on the counter you begin to do little things to make yourself more comfortable and at home. And he observed the way he normally did. Not saying much, just watching it. Finally you sat down munching on a few fries after you set your food and his on the coffee table. Without pause you placed your feet in his laps as you queued Alexa. Shortly after you sound in Jazmine Sullivan could be her through the speaker creating some background noise for the two of you. He often indulged in a lot of your shows but you didn’t really feel like watching anything right now. He just wanted to pick his brain a little bit.
“What’s on your mind?”Rio only raised an eyebrow feigning ignorance causing you to roll your eyes. “You had this funny look on your face for a minute now and as normal as you been trying to act since you picked me up, I could tell something was up.“
“You think you know me now?”
“Mmhmmm, I do. So what is it?” You tilted your head to the side taking a sip of your water.
For a moment he said nothing. All he did was smirk, loving your confidence and how well you knew him. That’s what he loved about you. The way you learned him, the way you genuinely cared about him. He’d be an idiot not to fall for you. And he had. Hard. Five months be damned.
But the problem here wasn’t Rio.
It was you.
And it wasn’t that he minded you getting yours. He wasn’t selfish by any means. Watching you get off, got him off. The way you came undone just from his touch. His finger curling into you, to you. The way you melted in his mouth.
He loved pleasing you.
The problem was you were holding back and he couldn’t fathom why. Rio knew women. He was extremely good at reading them. And Rio knew you. What made you laugh. Smile. That you loved fries with your ice cream. You were big on family. You hated the color yellow. He even knew you had a tell. Whenever you you told the smallest lie -all when it came to how you were feeling- you’d look to the left, even if only for a moment. He knew that Janet Jackson ‘That’s The Way Love Goes’ was your favorite song. Ironic because the two of you were drawn to each other like a moth to a flame.
So what was your issue?
"I been tryna call you all day," he finally spoke as he began to massage your feet a bit.
“Oh.”
“Oh? Why you playing with me?” Hey question while slightly moving to the back of your calf massager there as well.
Ain’t no body playin’ with you Rio. I was busy. As you have been the past 2 months.”
Shots fired.
You know he had ‘business’ quote to handle so the past few months the visits and dates, phone calls, and text messages were real scarce. Still, it wouldn’t have heard for him to reach out more. But you weren’t together so you didn’t wanna be that clingy ass girl.
“Oh so that’s what got your panties in a bunch.” You rolled your eyes at his smart remark while he grinned.
"You must have a problem cuz I don’t. If my panties were in a bunch, I wouldn’t have gotten in the car- Rio!” He had quickly taken that foot you nudged him with and pulled you closer,smoothly transitioning himself between your legs. He braced himself with one arm on the side of the couch the other placed on the side of your head.
“I missed you too, ma.” He inched his mouth closer to yours. You bit your lip when you felt his breath from his words, "and there ain’t no problem. I'm ready to finish working on us. I just need you to say it.”
With that his lips were softly placed on yours. Tongues were clashing with one another, missing the feel of his on yours. One of his hands began to travel lower, running from the top to bottom of your belly, caressing the soft skin.
"Dilo" He coaxed as his tongue made swirls along your neck while he ground his hips into you.
You could feel his hand under your skirt, slowly making its way between your thighs. Your heart started beating faster knowing what he was getting ready to do.
“Shit you drippin’. like this already? I’ve barely touched you yet.”
“Say it.” His index and ring finger ghosted over you clit through the thin lace panties you wore. Rio, being arrogant ass he was , knew you wanted. Still, he wanted to hear you say. He wouldn’t have it any other way. But it was driving him fucking crazy. He could practically smell your arousal.
“Rio,” you moaned out. “I can’t.”
“That don’t really sound like you can’t ma,” he breathed in your ear.
Having moved your pantie to the side fingers playing around in your juices, your hips unconsciously bucked desperate for friction.
“I can’t think when you do..”
“When I do what baby?“ he licked up the side of your neck before nipping on your ear.
“That.”
Suddenly he stopped. He withdrew from you slowly before standing up and holding his hand out to you. Confused, you took it and stood up and followed him to one side of the kitchen island. Releasing your hand, he walked to the opposite side.
“Clearly we need to have a conversation.”
Rio, normally very cool calm and collected how to remember the last time he felt this anxious. This overwhelmed.
“I need you to use your words mama. I’m not tryna pressure you. I only want to give you what you want. But in order for me to do that, I need you open that pretty little mouth of yours and speak.”
This was the moment you were afraid of. You begin to nibble on your thumb now as you attempted to find the right words to explain yourself. At that point you weren’t sure if you wanted to explain your feelings or talk yourself out of the situation. You knew how you were and by no means was Rio at fault. you love the way he made you feel unlike anybody else had. How he treated you, how he treated his son. How he looked out for his people. You love the thug in him too.
But that was the real problem.
Love.
It had a barely been five months and surely that wasn’t enough time to feel this strongly for somebody right?
But you know how you are. You know you have a tendency to fall fast and fucking hard and 9 times out of 10, those feelings end up being one sided leaving broken hearted. You didn’t want that with Rio. You didn’t want this feeling to fade. It had all been a part of the reason why you had been avoiding having sex with him. Now, he was the perfect gentleman. He may have been walking temptation but he never pressured you. Were you addicted to his kisses?
Absolutely.
Not to mention a few times you had been way past Gorky and let him touch you little bit and eat you out. But from the first time his lips right mouth wrapped around your clit you knew you would be a fucking goner if you were that man penetrate you. So not fucking him was allow you to maintain some sort of control over your heart in the states. Did it seem all that logical? Maybe not others if you said it out loud, but it was a security blanket for you and that’s all that matters.
“I’m really not tryna have you judge me.”
That was definitely a weak ass line but you couldn’t think of anything else to say when he put you on the spot like that.
“We grown mama. Judge you for what?” He shrugged off your lame excuse.
“Rio,” you signed and he waved you off.
“C’mon stop bullshittin’ and say what’s on your mind..”
“Rio.”
“And all I’m asking you to keep it 100 with me the same way I keep it 100 with you-“
“If I fuck you , I’ll fall in love with you.” You confessed.
Silence. Dead silence.
Truthfully you feel may already have but that was the last part thing you wanted to confess. Nevertheless it didn’t stop you from rambling.
“ And I really don’t feel like being the only one in love again.”
Still he remained silent. Rio who had been leaning on his forearms, hands clasped together on his chin continued to stare at you. His mouth parted just enough for him to lick his lips before speaking.
“I’m already in love with you, so I don’t see why that’s a problem.”
Your jaw dropped.
“Do you see a problem?” He questioned eyebrow raised.
You continue to start him completely lost for words. With a deep sigh he pushed off the counter and walking over to you. Steps are very slow almost calculated as if giving you a chance to ‘run’ away.
“You love me?”
“You heard exactly what i said.” Who was in front of you now his hands on the side of your waist.
He was slowly pushing you back against the counter. You were the first to lean in attaching a link to his. The kiss started off slow and sensual before quickly turning to one full of passion and hunger.Soon as your back touched it, his hands were falling to your thighs. He pushed your skirt up to your hips, grabbing your thighs, wrapping them around his waist, you ass firmly planted on the kitchen island, never once stopping the rhythm his tongue was doing with yours.
He pulled back enough to remove your tank his lips then moving to your neck. Scraping bites and loving, sloven mouthing.
He slid off your already ruined underwear before standing between your thighs. A spread of damp half moons over the column of your throat, working his way down between your chest before you stopped him, using your hand to bring his face back up to yours. You kissed him hard.
“Eat my pussy later Rio, I want to feel you now.” You panted making quick work of unbuckling his pants. He smirked letting you finish, pushing his pants and boxers down with your feet, his member springing free.
Spreading your legs open a little wider for him you bit too lip, your pupils browns and eyes mirroring his clouded with lust, you ran your fingers along your phones.His thumb brushed over the extra sensitive bundle of nerves a could of times before he slid in.
Rio groaned with his lips slammed shut and moves in closer as you let out a whimper; first contact being a bit overwhelming. He bottomed out giving you only a moment to adjust before pulling out to the tip and thrusting into you slowly.
Reaching for his forearm you gripped hard trying to catch your breath.
"Rio..." you moaned out throwing your head back as your eyes were struggling to stay open.
His hips snap into yours harder than they had been and you yelp eyes opening wide.
“Eyes on me.”
You wrapped your legs around him tightly and rolled your hips on his dick.
"Damn girl." Shit was feeling good, he ain’t ever had a bitch throw it back like you was doing.
"Harder Rio.”
Fuck he mouthed loving how you knew what you wanted.
He held you hips with one hand, the other wrapped around your throat as he slammed himself vigorously into you over and over. Your moans became screams with each thrust.
You feel that build up coming and Rio could too. He quickened his pace as his lips made swirls on your neck.
"Rio.." You moaned out with him nailing your spot.
"Scream it baby..." He moaned into you ear and sending chills over every inch of your body.
So you did just that.
You screamed his name the whole time you were cumming.
And fuck did you cum hard.
You were still screaming that shit when he finally came.And he has wasn't done there.
He made sure to tear your shit up, til the sun came up.
#black!reader#black writer#black female reader#rio good girls#rio x reader#manny montana#rio imagine#rio x black!reader#rio x you#good girls imagine#fallforyou500
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What’s your favorite American Housewife episode? I can’t pick a favorite but I have a few fav episodes from every season.
I’ll do one a season because I love so many. And they might be less my favorite but more memorable to me (if you get what I’m saying)
⚠️SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVENT SEEN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE!!⚠️
Season 1, is Episode 12 “Surprise!” Because it was Oliver’s bday which is already special but it was also the first episode where we actually see and meet cooper for the first time. Baby Cooliver really makes my heart warm and seeing Oliver and his dad share a moment was super sweet.
Season 2, is between episodes 17 “All Coupled Up” and episode 19 “It’s Hard To Say Goodbye.” Ep 17 showed more cooliver but also showed Gina (Oliver’s gf at the time) and how Gina was making Oliver someone he isn’t. It gave us some lovely Cooper and Katie moments and it was when Anna-Kat made it “official” with Franklin. Plus we got some Trip and Taylor too so all together a jam packed episode. Ep 19 was when Spencer passed on and we got to see a more emotional Oliver and a more caring Katie. Katie and Oliver’s relationship is very complex as they have the most distant relationship out of all the Otto kids imo and this really showcased how much she truly cares about Oliver and his emotions.
Season 3, is also between 2 episodes. Ep 13 “Mo Money, Mo Problems” and Ep 23 “A Mom’s Parade.” Ep 13, was a fav for me since we saw Katie and Greg get some alone time but we also saw Cooliver and got some Taylor being a great big sis to Oliver so all in all a good episode. Ep 23 is good because I love music and musicals lol. I literally have all the songs on my Spotify playlist, “You Can Do You” is a certified bop. Katie’s voice was amazing and i honestly wished for a 2 hour musical special after that 😂
Season 4, is between 4 episodes (I literally can’t pick one 😭) Ep 6 “ Girls night out”, Ep 14 “A very English scandal”, Episode 19 “Vacation!”, and Episode 20 “Prom.” I liked ep 6 since we saw Cooper and Trip basically become permanent members of the family and the adorable scene of them recreating the picture will also be in the back of my mind. Ep 14 was when Oliver “came out” lol and we got see to see Oliver be who he truly wants to be (he just doesn’t realize it yet) and I loved how everyone thought it made sense and that Cooper was his boyfriend 😂. Plus the love story between Greg and Viv made my heart happy. Ep 19 was a breath of fresh air as it was actually shot outside and in LA which was nice. We got a Cooliver side storyline which ended in them agreeing that with Oliver’s family and Cooper’s money that they work perfectly together which made me so happy. Anna-Kat and Taylor had some bonding going on and I love to see it. Episode 20 was great, I’ll always love a prom/dance episode. I was sad that Oliver went to prom with the teen help line girl and not Cooper (especially since the teen help line girl ignores him next season 🙄.) but the little dance scene at the end was cut and that was the last episode with OG Anna-Kat 😭.
Season 5, is Ep 1 “Graduation”, Ep 3 “Coupling”, and Ep 4 “Homeschool Sweet Homeschool.” Ep 1 was great as we say Taylor graduated but we also saw that Cooper was moving away. Oliver was so sad and lost that entire episode at the thought of loosing his Cooper. But it made me so happy that Oliver had a heart to heart with Katie and in the end Cooper moved in with Oliver and the family. Ep 3, was so full of Cooper and Oliver acting like an old married couple and I loved it. Katie and Greg even joked about making them a sex basket like they gave Trip and Taylor. (Side note: I love how supportive Greg and Katie are of Oliver’s sexuality. LGBTQ+ or not, they love their son and just want him happy 🫶🏾.) Ep 4, once again full of Cooliver moving in together and having those married couple vibes.
Basically anything with Cooliver I loved which was a lot of episodes lol. Trip and Anna-Kat’s relationship was so precious to me as he was a second older brother to her and it warmed my heart. But anyway tysmmmm for asking me stuff and don’t be shy to ask more. 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾
#american housewife#cooliver#cooper x oliver#oliver otto#cooper bradford#katie otto#greg otto#taylor otto#anna kat otto
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do you have any thoughts on veiling? i’m catholic, so veils tend to be….. extremely linked to things i don’t want to associate with. but i am kind of passively interested in it as an outward sign of my purpose in certain moments of reverence
Oh boy do I ever! I totally know what you mean though; when I was first investigating veiling myself I mostly found resources from very conservative Roman Catholic sources that had me going "ahaha no <3" Once when I was attending an Anglo-Catholic parish in grad school a man I had never seen before in my life grabbed my hand on the way out of church and gestured to my veil and told me it was "good to see someone doing things the proper way." I did not tell him to fuck off because I was in the House of the Lord and all that, but he had no idea what he was talking about.
I became interested in veiling when I was in college for similar reasons that you mention--I like tangible things that help direct my focus or intention in moments of reverence or spiritual concentration (I'm also a big fan of prayer beads, icons, stained glass, etc for this reason). I decided to first try it on a school trip abroad, just in a kind of "wear a scarf everywhere and when you go into a church, pull it over your head" kind of way, and I really liked it, and ended up having some really lovely conversations with a Muslim classmate on that trip about the differences between hijab (which she wore) and veiling in church, but also the similarities in terms of outward signs of inward spiritual dispositions.
What also helped is that I attend an Episcopal church where some women cover their heads--not with chapel veils, but with dupattas or headwraps or hats or because they're habited nuns. So I felt like less of an outlier and more like someone who was participating in a tradition that was still happening around me, but wasn't a requirement. I just needed to find the form that was right for me.
My dad also reminded me that my grandmother and aunt used to wear chapel caps and kept one in every handbag in case they had to run by church for altar guild. I actually ended up inheriting my grandmother's chapel cap and that's the one I wore consistently when I first started veiling, until it disappeared when I was in graduate school. Since then I've inherited caps from older women at my church who were happy to pass them on to me, and I've also received many dupattas from my church aunties who are happy to see me use them as a veil. During the choir season I wear a brown lace veil that matches my hair.
While I tried to do a lot of research when I first started out, and read the passages from St. Paul that some folks like to cite when talking about veiling, I've ultimately made my own meaning (derived from tradition) about it. Veiling for me is tied to the presence of the Blessed Sacrament* (I believe wholeheartedly in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist) so it's partly a sign of reverence, but also partly a way to set aside time in church as different from other times. That's why I'm also going to start veiling when I say my prayers at home (a tradition supported by practice in various parts of the world), to help me concentrate and set that time apart from other times.
*Fun fact, for this reason I don't veil on Good Friday! By the time the service is over there is no Sacrament left in the building.
I find it to be a really joyful and fulfilling practice. Also, not gonna lie, scarves are pretty, and matching scarves to Sunday outfits is fun.
Thank you for asking this, I am literally always down to talk about it.
#veiling#christianity#the means of grace and the hope of glory#mg says stuff#asked and answered#viveperdiemnoctemque
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I guess you can call me the 3am Mike cutter anon and I’m aware of like his seasons so idm spoilers.
I was going to ramble in the tags of a gif set you did for innocence because I had some Thoughts about the episode but decided against it. My main problem with Emily was that how. How did she NOT tell Mike that he was missing some credits?? Like? That’s so,,,I mean it’s understandable that some credits will fall through because Mike transferred from 3 colleges and different colleges have different standards (I went through that when I transferred to my uni from community college. Good god my uni didn’t have the foreign language I took. Anyway) but like it should be on her to tell Mike. And to use it against him,,,tbf he did kinda bring it on himself for supeona’ing student records and sure use any means necessary but I felt like that was. Going a bit too far. Was he going after the intergreity of Emily’s clinic? Yeah but with good reason (pretty sure a student bribed that witness with money + booze can impair one’s judgement). Did Emily had to bring in Mike’s law license into this? No not rlly. Idk at least Mike kept his law license but 😬😬 god.
hey 3am mike cutter anon! sorry that it's taken me so long to respond but boy am i glad to see you back in my asks again! :)
spoilers for l&o S20E16 "innocence" under the cut:
i am 100% with you on this—i've said it before and i'll say it again, in that episode MIKE DID NOTHING WRONG. sure, like you said, he arguably gets too aggressive going after the clinic with the subpeona. BUT, let's remember the context—emily ryan was trying to overturn a legitimate trial verdict, all of the potentially exculpatory leads were investigated (by lupo and bernard—we see this in the first half of the episode after ryan's first challenge), and there's good reason to believe, as you mentioned, that the "exculpatory" witness was unreliable/bribed. Grade inflation is a potential motive for that behavior, so even though you could argue it's still a bad look for mike, it's not mike's job to play nice if it means putting a homophobic murderer out on the street.
even if you do think mike was going too far, it was absolutely unnecessary for emily ryan to try to tank his career over it. everyone keeps accusing mike of making it personal, when it's emily who made it personal to begin with. she's the first one to make a direct comment to him about "proving" that he still has his chops, to try to "beat" her. she essentially attempts to blackmail mike out of subpeonaing the records, and when he doesn't back down, she punishes him just to show that she can. on top of it all, in the scene at rikers at the end of the episode, she gaslights him by insisting that he was the one who started it. (oh really, emily? she literally says "now let's see if you really did learn something from me" when her first retrial request is granted!!!!!!!)
she's the one who treats it like a competition from the start, and does so until the very end, trying to negotiate a plea deal for a guy she clearly doesn't even believe is innocent (don't get me wrong—i know the whole job of a defense attorney is to be a tireless advocate for whomever they represent, even if they're guilty—but by the end of the episode, she's entirely forgotten the point of the innocence coalition, which is to challenge wrongful convictions, and i truly don't believe she thinks Stuber's conviction was wrongful by the end).
i know credit mishaps happen all the time (like what happened to you, and hell, my mom was missing half a credit when she was supposed to graduate from high school and her counselor just approved her anyway bc it was dumb to make her repeat a year over half a credit), but as his advisor, that was literally her responsibility to him, to make sure everything was in order, and if not, to give him time to fix it. then to hold onto that information to save it for a "rainy day", when she needed to stick it to him..... it's just evil. maybe she was envious of mike's talent in college, maybe she just genuinely fucked up and didn't want anyone to know that she had fucked up, and then saw an opportunity, i don't know. but i do think that in any case, she was mean and vindictive in a way that i don't think mike is (and i definitely think in a way that he evolved a bit away from by that point in the show).
on the bright side, ryan doing that did do two things: one, it meant that mike no longer had that secret hanging over his head anymore and no one else can use it against him (his convictions were upheld and he only got a reprimand from the bar), and two, it proved that he actually does believe in justice over winning or making himself look good. we see in the final scene that he's willing to give up everything—including his law license—to make sure this hate murderer goes to prison for what he did ("you can have my license! it'll free me up to testify about the hate speech your client just spewed in here."). that's something that i don't believe emily ryan ever had the guts to do.
ANYWAY, once again, mike cutter did nothing wrong, and i would like to fight emily ryan in a chili's parking lot.
thanks for dropping by again, 3am mike cutter anon! feel free to send me any more 3am mike cutter thoughts in the future! :)
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Hello, hello!! It's me, your favorite graduate, back with a burning question! ;)
I am in the middle of episode 11 of Why R U? (literally paused in the middle of it because I am WAY too invested in FighterTutor and am seriously dreading what is coming) - what a messy, cringey show. There are so many freaking characters, and my question is inspired by one that I have come to love, Kae. He is Tutor's boss at the bakery, and after he (bravely, in IRL standards) confronts Fighter's dad I realized just how much I appreciated his character and how annoyed I am that the show couldn't cut down its cabal of unnecessary characters to focus on more interesting ones. Not only is he an astonishingly great example (for a BL!!) of a queer "elder" in the community - he protects Tutor from creepy customers, gives him a job when he needs one and looks for help when he needs more work, is working-class himself, and tries to give advice to this lonely queer kid he's taken under his wing - he also seems to be a rare less-stereotypical portrayal of a Thai person with darker skin (if not the only, honestly, in my limited experience watching these shows).
So! My question is, are there any side characters or even guest characters (like Kae is billed as) who you wish had been given more latitude or importance in the plot/story of a BL?
OMG what a great question. YES SO MANY. Let me see if I can come up with a top 10. Does it have to be individuals? Can I pick a few couples (I won’t go too far because therein lies madness)?
Top 10 Side Characters I Wish We Got More Screen Time
In no particular order.
1. Touch & Daisy in Secret Crush On You
Is anyone surprised by this choice?
2. Choi Yu Na, JaeYeong’s bisexual bestie in Semantic Error
She was just... so effortlessly cool. Do I need to say more?
3. TulHin in Love By Chance 2
I LOVE THEM, OKAY. Classic whipping boy, my goddamn catnip. And these two actors had amazing chemistry. Ae’s whole arc and character should have been dropped from this script in favor of more time with these truly damaged goods. Yes, I said it. Sorry Perth.
AND ALSO
4. Keen in Love By Chance 2
Can’t believe I chose multiples from MAME trash but heh, whatever is necessary for the truth right? Basically this show needed a massive rewrite, but it could have been done.
That’s what’s so frustrating about MAME’s stuff, it’s so close to being amazing... It’s like this fantastic 5 course meal but you will be barfing at some point. Maybe the end? Maybe the middle? Maybe multiple times? It’s a regurgitation surprise!
5. Fong the Philosopher in Still 2gether
Khaotung is untaped genius at physical comedy. I love him in this role SO HARD. I think we got a lot from him in season one, but I wanted more in season 2.
6. PokeTongue in Gen Y 2 & What Zabb Man
Look we all know that during Gen Y 2 they were actually pretending to be in some other show. And frankly, we all would have rather been watching that show. Then they got given an actual other show and we STILL wanted more of them.
7. ChampDoc in TharnType 2
I take the 5th.
8. Beer in Oxygen
I just wanna look at James but he’s getting his own series (Bed Friends) so I’m okay now.
9. Sky & Pai in La Cuisine
Talk about crumbs. What? I mean WHAT WAS THAT? They had these two in their back pocket all along and DIDN’T use them? WHAT?
10. VegasPete in KinnPorsche
Oh I fucking said it. You were all thinking it from ep 10 on, weren’t you? Why the hell didn't this start in ep 5? Vegas was entirely unnecessary as a love interest for Porsche. It would have been fine, no BETTER, if Porsche & Vegas had developed as a friendship and Vegas had NOTICED Pete in a significant way much earlier.*
* Don’t comment on this. I’m not interested in this weird KP fandom imaginary-connection muck-wanking thing you’re all AO3ing all over Tumblr like a bad rash. And I could not care less about the original y-novel.
Honorable Mention
All the GLs that should have had more screen time like the cuties in Meow Ears Up, InkPa in Bad Buddy, and Friend Zone 2, and I could keep going.
The angry roommate ex lover in Love Class. I just really loved the actor and was very intrigued by the character. We could have spent much less time exploring the stalker story and more time with this boy and still kept the dumb sort KBL length. All in all, the weight of this narrative was all over the place but not using this character to the fullest was a problem.
The two besties of the seme in Mr Unlucky, SO CUTE.
The nerdy support boy who knows what it’s like to be gay and the artsy girl with serious self defense skills from Blueming.
The whole university friendship group that *almost* happened in Cherry Blossoms After Winter.
Tim in My Secret Love, preferably shirtless.
Nutch in Not Me.
Mew the ex boyfriend in Together With Me. I don’t know what they were doing with his character. And they didn’t either. But ho boy was he EASY on the eyes. So easy. I mean it takes work to pull attention away from MaxTul and he had ALL MY ATTENTION.
And (drum roll please) . . .
K.O. & HAO MEI (Love O2O)
I will die on this tiny hill of censored bromance. More of them would have substantially improved this show.
I'm not picking shows that couldn’t be saved.
So I love KhunKaow in Brothers and CopyNampu in Top Secret Together and SanAei in You’re My Sky, Saint in Our Days, Jun in Love Area 2, but I don't think more of them could have save their respective shows because then it would have been MORE terrible show to watch. I call these the "I'm your huckleberry" awards. I give one each year to the couple that was the only good thing in an otherwise irredeemable show. Like Val Kilmer in Tombstone (bite me).
Current as of Aug 2022, there are a bunch airing right now that could make this list.
(source)
#thai bl#chinese bl#side character#bl side dishes#bl sides#secondary couples#Love O2O#KinnPorsche#VegasPete#La Cuisine the series#oxygen the series#ChampDoc#TharnType 2#Gen Y 2#What Zabb Man!#Star Hunter Studio#PokeTongue#2gether#Love By Chance 2#TulHin#Choi Yu Na#Semantic Error#Secret Crush On You#scoy#TouchDaisy#Korean BL#KBL K-BL
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I’ve actually seen many people talk about this even before i joined the fandom and recently the creators have confirmed that Shego age was between late twenties to early thirties. Even the show points out to this being the case.
And we have the live action movie which casted an age appropriate Kim and Shego and without the stylistic animation, the age difference becomes very jarring to see.
Is just that if there’s such a big age gap between Kim and Shego and has always been, then why would the writers deliberately hype the ship and play up aspects of it? I don’t know about you, but that sounds super weird.
I remember there was someone who had worked in the show (they had a sample of the last episode graduation) an d they had went on record to say that as far as they were concerned there was no delivered intent to make Kigo a thing and that the writes were seemingly against it.
But again it kinda contradicts what we saw in episode like “stop team go”.
I’m not sure, but all of this is weird.
And yeah I don’t like using words as pedo, but it’s been confirmed that Shego is at least 10 years older than Kim, which makes everything about this and the ship itself super uncomfortable to me
I should redo this and make it more organized, but here's my analysis of a canon-realistic age for Shego. This is the logic my headcanon is based on: Essay: how old is Shego? And yes, I think she starts the series in her late twenties.
I LOVE that the live-action showed a realistic age difference! I think they nailed it, and your description of "jarring" is pretty accurate when one starts to think in shipping terms. But for those of us who have always seen them as the adult and child they are, it's not really any surprise. I wish the live-action had more traction JUST for that reason. (Not to mention...Drakgo were awesome in it!)
@a113cowgirl I'm fairly certain has scans of the original script to Graduation which includes unused material, which definitely pushed Drakgo more as a couple. Now what I've heard unfortunately is that the Drakgo ending was just fanservice and not the writers' intent. What we DO know about the writers' intent, is that Kim/Ron was always endgame. It's been documented many times, and it's extremely clearly built up to in season 3, with So the Drama the always planned ending. It's season 4 that was the weird wild card.
I'll be more clear... During season 4, I don't think the writers were attempting to push the Kigo ship. I think that it was probably just recognized that hot girl on hot girl stuff...sells. The fight at the spa in Mad Dogs and Aliens... Literal mud wrestling with Shego in a bathing suit... That was wholly unnecessary. It's not trying to push the ship, it's trying to use sexuality to sell. To attract viewers. I don't care for that course of action with these characters because it encourages a child/adult ship and that is Wrong.
I feel like Stop Team Go showed a highly exaggerated version of Shego... One that ultimately probably wouldn't last in terms of friendship with Kim, because it wasn't really her and it just...wasn't real. That episode was another...pandering to fandom. A "what if they were friends" thing, clearly. Almost like fanfic onscreen.
In the end, Kim and Ron were always endgame, season four never departed from that, but the writers/animators were happy to pander to fandom a bit since they'd had quite some time to see what was popular. And in the end it's all about drawing in viewers, and thus, money.
So no, still, there was no deliberate attempt by the writers during the series to push Kigo in any way. And label it or don't label it, but Kim being a minor and Shego being a much older adult makes it not okay. If it doesn't sit right with you, it's for a reason... The reason probably being, it's a minor and an adult.
Hope this answers your questions.
#kim possible#ron stoppable#drakken#shego#drakgo#kimxron#kimron#kim x ron#kim/ron#kigo#ask answer#drakken x shego#masterpost
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t’s only fitting Jen Lilley’s University of Virginia story includes the type of fairy tale elements that are now staples of her movies.
Lilley is an actress who you’ve likely seen this holiday season if you have access to the Hallmark, Lifetime or Great American Family channels. Her filmography comes with titles such as “The Spirit of Christmas,” “Mingle All the Way” and, her most recent work, “A Paris Christmas Waltz.”
These are the kinds of cozy, made-for-television flicks typically featuring a young woman in a snowy setting who finds love in a quirky way as part of an inevitable happy ending.
The gardens at UVA hold a special place in Lilley’s heart. It’s there where the 2007 graduate was proposed to by now-husband Jason Wayne. (Contributed photo)
Lilley, you could say, was destined to be a Wahoo. She’s the daughter of UVA alumni who said she dreamed of being admitted to the University since she was 3. Once that goal was achieved in the early 2000s, the Roanoke native then literally stumbled upon her future career during a routine walk around Grounds.
“I found acting by happenstance at UVA because there were posters all over for an open audition for an independent film called ‘The Loss of Life,’” Lilley said. “I ended up booking the female lead opposite Alexis Ohanian.”
While Ohanian went on to found Reddit and marry tennis superstar Serena Williams, Lilley, who came to UVA with the intention of studying Spanish, found fame by continuing on an acting path.
She graduated in 2007 with a drama degree (with a minor in environmental science). But before leaving for Hollywood, she was proposed to by her now-husband, Jason Wayne, in a UVA pavilion garden after a symbolic dinner at the now-defunct Ludwig’s Schnitzelhouse Restaurant on Fontaine Avenue.
“My parents had their first date at the Schnitzelhouse,” Lilley said. “So it was special.”
Whether in real life or on a set, Lilley has long had a knack for playing a main character in a charming narrative. It’s a movie plotline that pairs well with Christmas.
Lilley has starred in nine Christmas-themed TV films since 2015.
“It’s so funny because they’re not highbrow movies,” she said, “but you’d be surprised that our biggest fans are people like homicide detectives and Supreme Court justices. With everything going on in the world – the uncertainty, the pandemic, the war, all of that – we’re like the mac and cheese of TV. We try to make people feel good.”
“A Paris Christmas Waltz,” which premiered on Nov. 19, is Lilley’s latest Christmas movie. (Contributed photo)
Lilley calls this genre, which has proven to be highly popular with viewers this time of year, “fairy tales for adults.”
“People just want to sit down with a warm bowl of macaroni and cheese and know exactly where the movie is going,” she said. “They can do their laundry and not miss a beat.”
A series regular on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” from 2013 to 2016, Lilley took on consistent roles in Christmas films shortly thereafter. Her latest, “A Paris Christmas Waltz,” which premiered on GAC on Nov. 19, is a story set during Christmas week in France that follows the growing relationship of competitive dance partners.
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The holiday season not only annually features Lilley in a variety of movies, but, since 2020, it’s been a time for her philanthropic side to shine. She’s the founder of “Christmas Is Not Cancelled,” a nonprofit organization that has helped nearly 100,000 children receive holiday gifts.
“My holidays are crazy,” she said. “I’m always making five to seven gingerbreads and having ugly sweater competitions. We’re always doing crazy things that raise money for charity, and we always have a goal of giving 25,000 toys to children all over the U.S. We give bikes, Legos, really cool toys.
Aside from starring in movies during the holiday season, Lilley, through her nonprofit organization, raises money to provide gifts for children. (Contributed photo)
“So my holidays are much more than you can stuff in your stocking. It’s much more than you see in my movies.”
In her festive movie debut, Lifetime’s “The Spirit of Christmas,” Lilley played a lawyer who travels to Vermont to close the sale of a haunted inn and ends up falling for the ghost of the man who mysteriously died there nearly a century earlier.
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Lilley said if she were to write a UVA-themed Christmas film, she’d use a similar plot line that taps into the history of a location. She envisions a story around a female journalist tabbed to come to Charlottesville for a piece on Thomas Jefferson.
“It would be a little outside the box,” she said, “but you could be going back and forth from modern to old UVA. You wouldn’t have to change the setting. I think a time travel element around UVA would be really cool because the Grounds are just so beautiful.”
Asked for a hypothetical name for the film, Lilley naturally went with “A Cavalier Christmas.”
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2022 recap
Let’s see... 2022 was a pretty wild ride, not gonna lie
Shall we start from the beginning? Hmmmm the beginning of 2022..... SheEEEESH. It was my last semester of my final year for my bachelor’s degree in graphic design for marketing (wait, I have a bachelors? LMAOOOO I forget that I have one now holy cow wait a sec). I also remember being very very stressed out about my 3 week practicum I had to do in Feb. Alongside that were a ton of projects like portfolio making, final projects for said portfolio, the grad show etc etc. It was VERY busy and stressful. Luckily, the practicum went on without a hitch, and school projects were done with, and one of the bigger projects was well received so YAY!! And then of course, graduation rolled around in April, and I finally made it!! And then I got hired right after graduation which im still super thankful for cause I got hella lucky, really.
So work started in around late May/early June and it took a while to get used to things. I’ve never worked full time at an office before so there were many things I had to learn and stuff, but other than that I’m just glad I’m able to deliver the things I’m tasked to do, and they seem like they like me, so :’) Of course I still have my moments where I feel like I’m not cut out for the job or I think I’m doing horribly and for some reason think they’re going to fire me any time soon LOOL... but anywho... I started a deskmat project (which is still delayed unfortunately, i don’t want to talk about it...) but hoping that can get picked back up sometime soon... I was also rushing on new prints as well for con season so that was pretty wild.
Summer then came and WHEW. I got covid. Luckily it just felt like a regular cold, so I might have gotten a weaker strain of it. It was quite scary though since I live with family and I was afraid of spreading it to them (of course I ended up doing so cause we share the same bathroom, but they survived) Aside from that, I tabled for the first time in 3 years! AND I DID GREAT! I really missed tabling and honestly it might have been because of the turnout at the events but damn I did better than I’ve ever did, which is crazy. It really makes me want to get better and table more, but it do be pretty exhausting. Anyway, the summer was great imo, but jesus the fall took a nosedive.
September was alright, and for the second time, I didn’t have to worry about going back to school anymore which was kind of surreal again. I was finishing up the art commissions that I paused to work on the anime convention prints. I finished those up so I can focus on the Yuri Game Jam 2022 in Oct-Nov but little did I know.............. I would not be able to make it v n v. I underestimated the time management needed while working a 9-5 job and my lack of discipline... Also cause I didn’t have a clear vision of this year’s game which made me literally go in circles until I had no time left by the time I actually kind of had something down.... I became so stressed over the story that it branched out to other bad thoughts and I just spiraled really hard. Things that I said I would not let bother me had bothered me again and god I hated it so much. Why can’t I just... not think about those things. Hoping to stop those thoughts in 2023 though. So yeah I got really stressed so sadly I had to shelve the project and not release anything for this year’s game jam. I was very disappointed in myself, and it was a very tough decision to break my visual novel streak but I had to do what I had to do. After dropping the project I felt much much much much much better. Hoping to revisit the project again sometime though, now that I decided to release it whenever it’s ready (but will i have the proactiveness to go back to it? that is another story LOL)
So November was over with and December rolled around. December itself was stressful yet okay at the same time? Stressful in terms of spiraling at work again, but I also managed to just chill out and do whatever. And of course, the week-long break from work helped a ton (as I’m writing this thinking back I did absolutely nothing that week but that’s what I wanted most) Hopefully I’ll go back to work rejuvenated again cause I was clearly burnt out from work lmao. I should make use of my vacation days more man. Anyway since it was recent, I vividly remembering spiraling again over subject that shall not be mentioned, and I had no one to ground myself with so I had to try to ground myself somehow which I do try to do more so than rely on others. Luckily I recovered from the spiraling relatively quickly, so maybe it’s an improvement and if I ever encounter that subject again it’ll be an even faster recovery and soon it will be over? That’s what I’m hoping for 2023. Definitely a goal. Please let my 2023 self not let it bother me anymore please please please please (though i think i said that in 2022 no? hahaha) i jsut want to be loved v n v and not feel like my friends are leaving me one by one :’))))))))))))))))))))))))
ANYWAY Thank you for reading until the end. Ultimately, I want to worry less about subjects that make me go insane and just be happier. I’m a Bocchi that needs to find a close knit of supportive friends that can make me take another step in life :’)))))) LOOOOL And of course, I would like to draw more. Planning on opening art commissions in the new year some time soon so stay tuned. Hoping to table some more too! Though I don’t have much to sell hahahaha;;; Well then, until next year!
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Dead Poets Dance Au
Pt. 1; Todd Anderson.
so here it starts! i’m gonna do the characters as different parts so hopefully not everybody has to wait for this big, extravagant thing.
i probably will do a bigger group dynamic one in the future!
please enjoy part one!
His strengths seem to be anything to do with strict musicality. He can add dynamics that not even his lead choreographer would come up with.
He also improvises when the music is left on, giving more ideas for choreography whenever the teacher is stuck on what to do.
This makes him both great in tap and contemporary.
Being one of the senior students, he helps out with choreography for solos, duets, or younger classes.
Oh boy does his choreography do great at competitions.
He gets at least one choreography award at every competition every year.
He likes doing dynamic choreography because of the expression it entails. He loves the freedom and inspiration of finding just the right song for his vision.
He also takes time to know whoever he’s choreographing for well, so he can even adapt moves to match personalities.
Mainly talks with noises instead of counts, it just makes more sense in his brain that way when he vocalizes rhythm and movements rather than boring counts.
Another thing I think he’d be good at is acro.
A quiet man with the flexibility of a rubber action figure? What better combination?
He’s probably the most common one to get a new trick first. Tumbling, limbering, it was just his thing since day one.
Definitely the partner who gets lifted in partner work.
Probably yells aggressive positivity at Neil when he is so close to getting a trick.
“WHY DID YOU PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN?”
“IT’S SCARY!”
“NEIL, YOUR HEAD WAS LIKE— TWO FEET OFF THE FLOOR. YOU’RE FINE. Now go do it again.”
“aaaaaAAAUGH. fINE.”
He 100% has an advanced warmup routine for competitions. Mainly because his friends told him to show off to intimidate others (which originally wasn’t his goal at all).
Always the best with handling nervous littles too scared to go onstage <3
Literally gets so happy when his friends win first place in solos, duets, trios, anything he’s not in with them, he will be so happy. Even if they were against him.
Knows the most, but makes the funniest mistakes sometimes.
Never vocalizes about his distaste for songs or costumes, but, his face can’t hide everything he was thinking.
“Todd’s face says no, so I guess it’s no-“
“Wait what?? It’s fine!”
Always found lying on the cold floor in the corner after a long day. Probably interrupted by Charlie stepping on the small of his back which causes a huge groan to erupt from Todd.
“You good there, Todd?”
“Yup- ooOOHKAY— too far, Charlie!”
Sweet, sentimental pep talks.
Genuinely so upset when it comes to his final, graduating year.
His voice breaks during his speech, and he wraps his choreographer in the biggest hug as soon as he finishes.
If anybody were to lean against a mirror and accidentally break it, it would be Todd.
Always ends up with the coolest solo pictures of the season? His friends don’t understand how.
Probably almost dies when the season comes back after the summer. It takes him some time to regain the stamina he lost after two months off.
Dance would be something so genuine and fun to Todd. He wouldn’t trade it for the world. His friends make it even better.
#dead poets society#neil perry#todd anderson#charlie dalton#dps hcs#dps headcanons#dead poets headcanons#dps fandom#dps incorrect quotes#gerard pitts#richard cameron#incorrect quotes#knox overstreet#steven meeks#dps dance au#dead poets society au#dps au
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Happy STS!
Amazon or Netflix want to adapt Metalsea. Assuming you have complete creative control what would your requirements be in order to make it a product that is up to your ideal standards?
Aw, happy late STS, Nectar! ❤️ Thank you for your question!
I've never thought about this before, but it's so interesting I was sitting on it for a bit.
It definitely would be an animated series. I am someone who graduated from animation and later 3D modelling which naturally made me lean more into these stuff, so I can only picture Metalsea as animation rather than live action. Onidia is full of things that are not in our real world, which could be better executed and visualized in that kind of media. (The draar for example have literally a humanoid, half-dragon half-something other predator look) Especially because I would never settle with less than what's in the book, visual-wise. An Arcane kind of production would be amazing, but I'm a huge fan of a Castlevania and ATLA kind of 2D work too (or any traditional animation), so as long as it looks nice and the movements of the character’s flow I'm happy with it.
I wouldn’t want it to have a hundred seasons, so probably 2 or 3. More can be whacky, also take away the satisfaction from the ending if it’s too lenghty. I would only do more if the production and writing team is good and can handle it well. But we also should need more episodes then so all the arc can have enough time, so I think I would go with 2 or 3 seasons and 15-20 episodes in each maybe. I also wouldn’t want to have only one season planned beforehand, because that’s the thing a lot of shows fail at. At least one more season should be planned from the beginning because it’s gonna be rushed and a mess if we want to continue but have no actual clue how to.
I would debate whether it should be a straight adaptation of the book or not. There are certain changes that should be always done while adapting since visual media is different for a reason. But, I also consider that maybe another story in the same world would be better, that rather completes the full picture of the book or plays in the rest of the world and shows the full range of it. Explores different places, characters, cultures. Different media sometimes requires a different story. The Metalsea cast would be mentioned, present and/or in it just it just wouldn’t be their story, since that has been already told in the book. (this is something I considered after listening a Brando Sando podcast, it’s a very interesting but considerable thing I think)
My world is divers and I wouldn’t let it be presented otherwise. I wouldn’t want to change the appearance of my characters, neither their gender. In an animated series. However, if it would be a live action for some reason, I would be okay with gender-swapping and having even more POC character in it. As long as the actors grasp the characters’ personality it wouldn’t matter if they wouldn’t look the same as I originally wrote them in the book. New media, new look. Totally fine.
Guillermo Del Toro. I love that man and his work from the bottom of my heart. So, I would definitely attempt to ask him to direct and curate the whole project. He can make the best fantastical, yet haunting stuff.
Accents. I want a bunch of accents to be presented. Also speaking various languages, maybe my imaginery ones too haha.
I would also stay open for new ideas. Always. I’m a huge team player and we can’t make a good movie or series alone. Hell, I even can’t make a good story without others. I need people who question my ideas, tell me if it sounds wrong or illogical, or them to add more to it if some ideas gave them a good push for a concept. So, I would be totally open for any changes and brainstorming as long as they can still convey the visions, messages and vibes we intend to put in it.
A working and cooperating team would be the base requriment of course. This was very interesting to think about tho, so thank you again!❤️
#storyteller saturday#almost#writing community#i literally change a lot of things all the time so#i might be even too open#im not that confident in anything haha#also off topic#but trying to answer your ask about my old wips but those will took a little time#since fenglig I and II are literal chapters hehe#short ones but they need traslation
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