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yelena-bellova · 2 years

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Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Road Trip

Plot: Joel, Y/n and Ellie continue to make their way cross country, and Joel and Y/n’s truce is heavily tested.

Warnings: tlou ep.4 spoilers, language, insinuation of killing, mention of a p*rn magazine, guns, (16+)

Word Count: 7.1k

A/N: This chapter feels like filler, but there’s still lil’ nuggets that will come into play later. Thanks to HBO for throwing that curveball of a Friday episode, now I gotta hustle to get the next chapter out within two days 😂

As always, this series is 16+ and I will not be tagging anyone who does not have their age in their bio. Gotta look out for younger eyes 👀

I hope you all enjoy this one and prepare for the next one because….anyway, enjoy!

———————

June 2nd, 2002. Austin, Texas.

——————

Joel and Y/n had gone out for three weeks, equaling a total five dates. Between their respective work schedules and Joel being a parent, they had to get creative if they wanted to see each other. They’d meet on their lunch breaks or, if they were too busy, Joel would stop by the hardware store in dire need of help finding something and only Y/n could possibly help him. It gave them a good twenty minutes or so to wander the aisles together.

On a particularly slow Tuesday afternoon, Y/n was doing inventory. Joel and her had made plans to grab coffee on his way home and she was counting down the hours till he came through the door.

A small voice broke her out of her daydreams, “Excuse me?”

Y/n turned and met the face of a girl, no older than maybe thirteen. She had dark skin and a head full of curls pulled back with a scrunchie. She looked slightly out of breath, but determined.

“How can I help you?” Y/n asked curiously.

“Are you Y/n?”

She confusedly furrowed her brows, “Yeah…”

The girl huffed with a grin, “Okay, good. I asked, like, three other people where you were and they had no idea.”

Y/n awkwardly smiled along with her, “C-can I ask how you know my name?”

“Oh,” the girl snapped back to the current conversation, “I’m Sarah.”

“Sarah…” Y/n repeated, wracking her mental index of high school friend’s kids, before it hit her. Her eyes widened, “Wait…Sarah…Miller?”

She nodded, “Yeah.”

Y/n’s body locked up, to say she was surprised was an understatement. Joel had told her that he wanted to wait a while before introducing her to Sarah. He hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since Sarah’s mom and was trying to figure out the best way for them to meet. Y/n hadn’t taken any offense, she’d supported it, actually. She’d never dated anyone with a kid and she wanted to do everything as close to perfect as she could.

“D-does your-“ Y/n braced herself against her inventory cart, “Does your dad know you’re here?”

Sarah’s mouth twisted, “Not exactly.”

“Uh-huh,” Y/n replied, suspicious, “And not exactly means…?”

“Not at all,” Sarah nervously smiled.

Y/n gathered the little oxygen left in her body and laughed. “How did you get down here if you’re by yourself?”

Sarah shrugged, “I took the bus.”

“Ah,” Y/n nodded, “And you ride the bus alone without your dad’s permission a lot?”

The girl gave a guilty smile and balanced on the heels of her Converse. It was all the answer Y/n needed.

“So, why are you here?” Y/n asked, feeling like she was doing something wrong.

Sarah sighed, “I got tired of waiting for my dad to introduce me to you. I’ve asked him, like, ten times and he keeps saying no. I knew you worked here so…I figured this was the only way I could meet you.”

Y/n couldn’t help but be a little touched, and also terrified. She was more nervous about impressing Sarah than she had been Joel.

“I mean,” Y/n rubbed her forehead, “Yeah, I knew your dad was waiting to introduce us but…I didn’t realize his daughter was a secret mastermind.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Sarah smiled, resting a hand on Y/n’s cart, “So…you’re dating my dad.”

Y/n nodded, “Seems that way, yeah.”

“Well, he really likes you,” Sarah replied, “Like, really likes you. He’s in a way better mood than usual.”

“Is he now?” Y/n inquired.

“He’s smiling all the time, he’s cooking,” Sarah’s face turned serious, “Which never happens ‘cause he kinda sucks at it. He’s even singing.”

Y/n raised an eyebrow, “Singing?”

Sarah nodded, “Uh-huh. Just under his breath, but still…”

Y/n was trying hard to restrain her grin, but Sarah was making it difficult. It was nice to know Joel was as uplifted by their short time together as she was. She’d practically been floating down the aisles.

“He’s just never this happy and…” Sarah shrugged one arm, “I really wanted to meet whoever was responsible.”

“Well,” Y/n smiled, “Your dad’s pretty great. And he loves you, never stops talking about how well you’re doing in school and in soccer…”

Sarah’s posture visibly improved upon hearing the compliments.

“Look, my dad’s never going to work up the nerve to let us all hang out together,” Sarah began to explain, “But the county fair’s on Friday night, me, him and Uncle Tommy are gonna go and it would be really fun if you came.”

Y/n inhaled deeply, a family outing. Was she ready for that? Were her and Joel at that point?

“I don’t know, Sarah,” she hesitate, “I should really talk to your dad first.”

“No,” Sarah urged, taking hold of one of Y/n’s hands, “He’ll just get all squirmy and frown and say that it’s not time yet.”

Y/n thought for a second, “He does frown a lot.”

“A lot,” Sarah chortled, Y/n joining in soon after, “Just think about it. Please?”

Y/n was between a rock and a hard place, or rather, the guy she was dating and his crafty daughter. She wanted Sarah to like her and they were already a step in the right direction. She didn’t want to blow it.

“Okay,” she relented, “I’ll think about it.”

“Yes,” Sarah cheered under her breath, still holding onto Y/n’s hand. “I gotta go, the bus is gonna be back any minute.”

As she moved to go, Y/n took a step forward. “I-I really don’t like the thought of you on the bus by yourself,” she objected, “Why don’t I drive you?”

“But you’re working,” Sarah replied.

Y/n gestured to the empty space around them. “I think they’ll survive without me for twenty minutes.”

Sarah gave a small smile, she was getting to spend more time with the woman she had a million questions about. Sneaking around had paid off substantially.

“Come on,” Y/n removed her apron, draped it across her cart and pulled her keys from her pocket, “You can tell me what your dad’s been singing on the way.”

The two girls headed out of the store, giggling to themselves as Sarah did an impression of her father humming old country tunes to himself while washing dishes.

—————————

Later that afternoon, Joel arrived to pick Y/n up for their quick coffee. When he arrived, she was nowhere to be found. After asking around, and finding out she had stepped out momentarily, he decided to wait at the empty checkout line for her.

Y/n walked back into the store with a new spring in her step. Sarah had not only spilled a lot of dirt on Joel, but she had talked about herself a lot. Y/n felt like she’d already been able to make a connection.

Joel spotted her before she did him, waving a little to catch her eye.

“Hey,” Y/n greeted, apprehension taking over.

“Hey,” Joel replied, his smiling fading the closer he got, “What’s that look?”

“What look?” Y/n asked, unaware of how nervous she appeared.

“You look like a kid with their hand caught in the cookie jar,” Joel smirked, taking her hand lightly into his, “What’s going on?”

Y/n sighed, she’d been trying to figure out how to broach the subject of Sarah all the way back to the store. Joel’s gentle touch was only heightening her nerves. “Why don’t I drive us to coffee?”

Joel squinted in confusion, “Okay…”

The two of them drove off in Y/n’s old Toyota, but she waited until they had their drinks in hand and were walking down the main street to start talking.

“So Sarah came by today,” she blurted out.

Joel nearly choked on the sip he’d been taking, “My Sarah?”

“Uh-huh,” Y/n nodded, anxiously holding the cup close to her chest.

“H-how’d she get down the-“ Joel began to ask before pressing his lips together and shutting his eyes, “She took the bus, didn’t she?”

“Yep,” Y/n answered.

Joel sighed, he was already starting to find grey hairs across his head. Sarah was going to turn the whole thing silver before she was 16.

“She said she was tired of waiting for you to introduce us so she was going to do it herself,” Y/n retold the story.

“Yeah, sounds like her…” Joel replied with a loud sigh, “Look, I know you wanted to meet her-“

“Yeah, but I was perfectly fine with waiting,” Y/n was quick to say, “You said you wanted to do this the right way.”

“Yeah, well, the right way was decided for us,” Joel sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “So what’d you two talk about?”

Y/n smirked over her coffee cup, details of the conversation still fresh in her mind. “Girl stuff,” she answered, quickly taking a drink.

“Why don’t I believe you?” Joel asked with an eyebrow cocked.

“She, uh, she invited me to the fair this weekend,” Y/n changed topics, “With you guys.”

“Ah,” Joel nodded, he didn’t know whether or not to thank Sarah for speeding his relationship up. Lord knows, he was too nervous to do it.

Y/n held a hand up to Joel, “But I didn’t give her an answer. I wanted to talk to you first.”

With the obstacle of Sarah’s approval out of the way, there was nothing to stop him from saying yes. And he didn’t want there to be, he was just used to using excessive caution around his family that anything else felt unnatural.

“You should come,” Joel answered, turning to Y/n with a shy smile.

Y/n inched back a little, placing her hand on Joel’s arm, “Are you sure? Joel, I don’t want to insert myself anywhere.”

“How can you insert yourself somewhere you were invited?” Joel replied, settling his hand over Y/n’s, “Come.”

Taking a deep breath, Y/n knew that this was a big step for them. Joel’s daughter was his world, and Y/n was being given the privilege of being a part of it.

She blew out her cheeks, “Okay.”

Joel’s smile was earnest, rubbing his thumb over the back of Y/n’s hand.

“If all goes well, I won’t have to hide you so much,” he said.

“Yeah, I don’t think you’re doing that great a job,” Y/n chuckled at Joel’s confusion, “Johnny Cash?”

Joel’s face turned sour, “Can’t believe she told you ‘bout that.”

“Hey, I thought it was a cute story,” Y/n held her hands up in surrender, “Your daughter thought it was a laugh riot.”

Joel lightly rolled his eyes, letting them rest afterwards on Y/n’s face. A stray bit of hair had fallen in her face, thanks to the breeze, and Joel brushed it away, cupping her cheek.

Joel and Y/n had made the decision that they wouldn’t take their relationship any further without having Sarah’s approval. They had yet to even kiss.

“If this works out,” Y/n started, “You’re not gonna be able to get rid of me.”

“Who says I want to?” Joel muttered, their close proximity allowed him to lower his voice.

They both knew if they stayed in the moment a second longer, their wills could cave. Y/n shoved her coffee cup between their mouths, allowing them both a breathy laugh.

“Come on,” Joel reached down and clasped Y/n’s hand, “I gotcha for a little while longer.”

The two of them walked off into the Austin evening, savoring every short second they got together.

—————

2023. Somewhere in rural America.

Joel, Ellie and Y/n had been driving for one day and no one had yet to end up in a body bag. A win if ever there were one.

That wasn’t to say they hadn’t come close. Joel and Y/n’s truce was an uneasy one and with the promise made to Ellie that they’d get along, their arguments had phased to thin lipped smiles barely concealing their disdain for one another. Still, their guns had stayed in the holsters. That was progress.

Joel pulled over at an abandoned gas station somewhere, needing to refuel. Ellie headed off to the bathrooms while Y/n and Joel went about setting up the siphon.

As Y/n handed Joel a rag, she noticed the state of his hand. It was still healing, and after using it so much in one day, it was beginning to shake.

48 hours ago, she would have let him suffer, but in the interest of a truce…

“Here,” she scooted closer, taking the siphon into her hand.

“I got it,” Joel protested.

“I know you do,” she placated him, gently prying his hand off the device, “Now move.”

She inched him out of the way and took over attaching the device. Joel crouched next to her in the dust, he felt useless if he wasn’t working.

Footsteps signaled that Ellie was coming back. She glanced over the abandoned car at Y/n and Joel.

“We have to do this every hour?”

“Gas breaks down over time,” Joel answered, “This stuff’s almost water. Back in the day, we’d drive 10, 12 hours on one tank. You could go anywhere.”

“So where’d you go?” Ellie asked.

Y/n continued working, bouncing the memories off that threatened to stick in her mind.

“Pretty much nowhere,” Joel answered, it was technically the truth, but so there was unclaimed life resting in his ‘pretty much.’

Y/n huffed a large breath into the siphon, the gasoline dripping into their canister.

“Nice,” Ellie complimented, “How does that work?”

“It’s a siphon,” Joel explained as Y/n monitored their levels, “It’s when liquid…travels against gravity because pressure-“

Ellie nodded smugly, “You don’t know.”

“I know it works,” Joel quickly replied.

Y/n smirked and looked over her shoulder, “Please teach us more about physics, professor.”

Joel frowned at his ex before turning his attention back to a walking Ellie, “No wandering.”

Ellie thought a moment, “Okay,” she went into her backpack, “This is your fault then.”

She whipped out a small paperback that made Y/n shut her eyes in exhaustion. “Oh, sweet Moses, not that book…” she muttered.

Joel started to speak, “Wha-“

“‘It doesn’t matter how much you push the envelope,’” Ellie recited, “‘It’ll still be stationary.’”

Joel blinked, Y/n let her forehead rest against the car.

“‘No Pun Intended: Volume Too’ by Will Livingston,” Ellie held up the book to Joel, “Volume Too. Look, you get it? Too? Like t-o-o?”

Joel mumbled something under his breath and got up.

“‘What did the mermaid wear to her math class?’” Ellie asked her captive audience, building tension in the silence, “‘An algae bra,” she laughed, “Like algae bra. ‘I stayed up all night-“

“No,” Joel shook his head, like that word carried an ounce of power with Ellie.

“‘Wondering where the sun went,” the girl continued, “‘And then it dawned on me.”

“Feel free to wait in the truck,” Joel suggested, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Well, Y/n thought it was funny,” Ellie retorted, she’d tested the jokes our on her watcher back in the QZ.

“I laughed at one out of, like, fifteen, Ellie,” Y/n grunted as she got to her feet, “That’s not the win you think it is.”

“Okay, but just know,” Ellie held up the book again, “You can’t escape Will Livingston. He’ll be back. There’s nothing you can do to stop him.”

Ellie took her backpack and her jokes and walked back to the Chevy, leaving Joel and Y/n by themselves.

“You get that book,” Joel started, trying to break the silence, “I’ll roll down the window.”

“Oh, that’s not even the worst of ‘em,” Y/n replied, wiggling the toe of her boot into the ground, “But they make her smile. Like I’m in any position to put a stop to that.”

Joel glanced over at Y/n, taking a temperature reading of her once again. It was hard to see so much of the person you’d once loved with your whole heart mixed with who they’d become. Every once in a while, he got flashes of his ex-girlfriend in the light she used to radiate. But something inevitably came through and blew out her flame. More than often, all it took was his mere presence.

“We should be good,” he said, changing his train of thought and kneeling down to pack up the siphon.

Y/n took the gas they’d collected and carried it back to the truck. Heavy as it was, she wasn’t about to ask Joel to help her. She’d lived through twenty years of their dystopian hell-space, a gas can wasn’t about to best her.

Once the truck was filled up, Joel and Y/n hopped in the front seats with Ellie sitting in the back.

“Must’ve been some truck,” Ellie commented, staring out the back window at the fleet deserted vehicles.

“Yeah, they used to stick big-ass plows on them and clear the roads for their tanks and such,” Joel said.

Ellie spun around in her seat, “I wanna see a tank!”

“You will,” Joel replied, “Tanks, choppers, all that stuff. But they’ll fight the wrong enemy. Just scattered around now.”

By now, Joel was background noise to Ellie as she dug around the back of Bill’s truck.

“I got somethin’,” she announced proudly, waving another cassette tape in between Y/n and Joel. “Here, does this make you all nostalgic?”

Joel took the tape from her, it was Hank Williams. Y/n and him shared a sideways glance, if Ellie had any musical knowledge, they’d have been insulted.

“This is actually before our time,” Joel handled the cassette.

“Great,” Ellie settled back in her seat, unamused.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not good,” Y/n stated, watching Joel pop the tape into the player and adjust the volume.

The speakers flooded with the warm sounds of the country legend. Something about it made both Joel and Y/n relax into their seats a little more.

“Oh, man,” Joel mumbled to himself, briefly closing his eyes and letting the music wash over him.

“Yeah,” Y/n absentmindedly replied, staring out her window.

“Got somethin’ else,” Ellie announced, the sounds of magazine pages flipping behind Joel and Y/n, “It’s, uh, light on the reading, but it has some interesting pictures.”

Y/n and Joel peered into the dashboard mirror, catching a graphic cover. Their protests overlapped.

“Oh, no, no, no, put that back.”

“Ellie, don’t read that.”

“That’s not for kids, Ellie.”

“There’s nothing you need to see-“

Ellie opened up the centerfold of the x-rated magazine, her jaw dropping at the sight, “How would he even walk around with that thing?”

“Ellie,” Y/n unbuckled her seat belt, flipping around in her chair and stretching into the backseat, “Put it back.”

The girl slid to Joel’s side of the truck, too far away for Y/n to reach. “Hold you horses,” she argued, “I wanna see what all the fuss is about.”

While Joel watched nervously through the mirror, Y/n was not so easily defeated. She kept clawing at the air, trying to rip the magazine out of Ellie’s hands. Ellie turned away just enough so Y/n’s fingertips barely touched the paper.

“Why are all the pages stuck together?” Ellie asked.

“Uh,” Joel elongated, unsure of what to do, “The-“

“I’m just fuckin’ with you,” Ellie burst into laughter, reaching past Y/n and slapping Joel’s shoulder with the magazine.

Y/n slid back into her seat, moving as far away as she could from Joel’s shoulder.

Ellie unrolled the back window, the whipping winds blowing through the truck. She tossed the magazine out with a grin, “Bye-bye, dude!”

Y/n sighed and put her hand to her temple, nearly laughing at the absurdity of the moment.

They drove for most of the day, answering Ellie’s occasional question, but mostly sitting in silence. Somberness would fall over the truck whenever they passed by some piece of the old world, ruined and rusted by time. They drove by an abandoned amusement park, a rickety coaster still standing. A sign for what used to be a Love’s truck stop. A bridge that had collapsed at some point in the last two decades. To Ellie, it was a lost future. To Joel and Y/n, it was the world they didn’t know if they’d ever see again.

When the skies grew began to grow dark, there wasn’t much driving left for them to do.

“All right,” Joel announced to the truck, “That’s enough for the day.”

One part of their agreement was that Y/n would trust Joel’s ability to get them to Wyoming. Her rebellion against his every word made her want to argue that they could go a little longer, but she was trying to keep up her end of the deal.

Joel pulled off the main road and drove them into the nearby forest. They set up camp deep enough that they were hidden, but close enough to the road to escape quickly, should the need arise. Joel and Y/n took care of preparing dinner, using a portable stove and cutlery they’d taken from Bill’s house.

Eventually, they all sat down to a lukewarm meal of ravioli. Ellie practically inhaled it while Joel and Y/n tried to make it last.

“Slow down,” Joel cautioned.

“This is slow,” Ellie replied with a full mouth, “What am I even eating?”

“That is 20-year-old Chef Boyardee ravioli,” Joel answered.

“That guy was good,” Ellie complimented, stuffing another piece in her mouth.

Joel stared down at his meal, “I actually agree.”

Y/n swirled a piece around her plate, “It’s technically food.”

“How long are we staying out here?” Ellie inquired.

“I figure I sleep tonight,” Joel answered, “And drive tomorrow, all day, all night, and get us to Wyoming by next mornin’.”

“You know I can take a shift, right?” Y/n asked, Joel’s stony silence served as his reply, “Ah, so you do know and you’re choosing to ignore it.”

“In the interest of gettin’ us there the quickest, it’s better I drive,” he stated.

“Yes, navigating a highway,” Y/n retorted, taking a sarcastic tone, “That’s men’s work.”

“What happened to getting along?” Ellie smirked as she watched the exchange.

Joel and Y/n glanced over at her and backed down. They had to watch themselves.

“So can we start a fire?” Ellie changed the subject, “I’m freezing.”

“Now, why am I gonna tell you no?” Joel replied shortly.

Ellie shrugged in defeat, “Because Infected will see the smoke.”

“No, fungus isn’t that smart,” Joel said, “This is too remote for Infected, anyway.”

“People?” Ellie came back with.

Joel nodded.

“So what are they gonna do? Rob us?”

“Oh, they’ll have way more in mind than that,” Joel answered, never once looking up from his plate.

Y/n had lived a vastly different life than Joel had, post apocalypse, but she knew the horrors people willingly committed against each other. Being cold for a night was the ideal.

Once the sun set, the three of them rolled out their sleeping bags, another courtesy of Bill and Frank, and set up for the night. Y/n laid her head next to Ellie’s, while Joel stayed on the complete opposite side of them.

Ellie took a whiff of the inside of her bag, “Actually smells kinda good.”

“Well, that would be Frank’s then,” Joel quipped.

“If mine smells like gunpowder,” Y/n held her sleeping bag up, “I’m gonna assume-“

“Bill,” Joel took no time in answering.

Y/n nodded, “Copy that.”

Before they could lay down for the night, Joel and Y/n made a point of each checking their shotguns and laying them at their sides.

Ellie and Y/n nestled into their accommodations beside one another, Ellie pulling something out of her backpack before switching the lantern off and turning on her flashlight. Y/n’s back was turned, or else she would have put a stop to what was about to happen

“Joel?” Ellie eventually called out, “Y/n? Joel?”

“What?” Joel jumped to attention, he still moved with the urgency of a father.

Y/n turned over, “What is it?”

“Can I ask you a serious question?”

“Yeah,” Joel said for both of them.

Ellie sighed deeply, “‘Why did the scarecrow get an award?’”

Y/n and Joel both looked over at the same time to shoot Ellie a glare. She kept a straight face as if she really needed the answer.

“Because he was outstanding in his field,” Joel answered.

Y/n groaned, “Oh, God, there’s two of you.”

“You dick,” Ellie laughed, “Did you read this?”

“No,” Joel turned over, smirking only to himself, “Now go to sleep.”

Ellie victoriously smiled, having successfully chipped away at a little bit of the ice man’s exterior.

“Admit it,” Ellie whispered to Y/n, “You like them.”

“I will smother you in your sleep,” Y/n mumbled into her pillow. She’d never admit to cracking a smile.

They had just settled back into the sleepy silence when Ellie spoke up again, this time truly serious.

“Those people you said…there’s no way anyone knows we’re here, right? No one’s gonna find us.”

Joel and Y/n both stiffened, they could only guarantee so much. Where they were was as close to safe as they could get. But that wasn’t something you told a scared kid who wouldn’t admit to being scared. You gave them hope, confidence.

“No one’s gonna find us,” Joel confirmed.

“Okay,” Ellie accepted the answer and flipped over.

Y/n lay on her back, staring up at the stars. Her paranoia had softened the longer she survived, but laying in the middle of the open woods with a big flashing red sign above that read ‘FREE KILL HERE’ was resuscitating it.

A few feet away, Joel was feeling the same thing. He couldn’t pretend like he was fearless leaving himself completely vulnerable. And now that he knew Ellie was nervous, it only woke him up further. He eyed the shotgun, calculating in his head how little sleep he could make the drive on. If he counted on Y/n to take one of the shifts, they could still make good time…

They both unzipped their sleeping bags at the same time, turning to one another in the dark. No matter how hard they tried, they were on the same wavelength.

Y/n sighed, “You take the first shift?”

Joel’s nod had a heaviness to it, “Yeah.”

Y/n settled back onto her side, this time facing where Joel was heading to take up his post. She fell into an uneasy sleep, only after keeping watch over Joel until her exhaustion forced her to stop.

——————

It was a few hours later, Joel eyelids were beginning to droop. His ears were beginning to ring. He needed sleep.

After doing one last scan of the area, he walked back to their campsite. He came over to Y/n’s sleeping bag, ready to wake her, but stopped.

He stared down at her, her lips slightly parted, her hair framing her face and her lashes fanned across her cheeks. The frown she carried throughout the day faded in sleep, softening to a content expression as if she was between the bliss of unconsciousness and the evil of the waking world. It was the most at peace Joel had seen her in the last few days.

He couldn’t bring himself to wake her up.

She’d be mad at him in the morning, he knew it. She’d berate him for thinking he didn’t need her and probably make a crack about him falling asleep at the wheel. That was fine, he thought as he went back to his post, he’d take it. Anger and nostalgia were waging a battle within him, and right now, he was allowing his wistful memories to win.

——————

Y/n woke up to the smell of coffee brewing and the rustling of something in their truck. Seeing that Joel wasn’t in his sleeping bag, she grabbed her shotgun and bolted upright. The barrel of the weapon found Joel, packing up the truck, cocking a brow at her.

Y/n exhaled and set down her gun, running a relieved hand over her face. “You didn’t wake me up,” she said when she came to fully.

“I had it covered,” Joel said softly, not wanting to wake Ellie yet.

“I didn’t ask that,” Y/n replied as she stretched, already annoyed with him. She rolled out of her sleeping bag and got to her feet. “Well, I’m driving this morning. I’m not ending up dead just because you’re stubborn.”

Joel didn’t look up as he tied his sleeping bag up. Right on cue.

“Coffee’s on,” he changed the subject.

Y/n felt like Joel knew that would distract her enough to move on. He wasn’t wrong. She reached over to grab her backpack, feeling around for her travel mug. Her hand graced the plastic butterfly she’d taken from Joel’s apartment, freezing as she did.

Grief, much like heartbreak, had to be danced around. If you got too close, self destruction would swallow you whole. Y/n collected her thoughts and led them back to where she was, quickly finding her mug and zipping the pack up again.

Ellie rolled over, awake finally, and sniffed the air. She scooted over to where Joel had the coffee boiling and carefully opened the lid.

“Ugh,” she gagged, “What the fuck is that?”

Joel turned to her, “You don’t like coffee?”

Ellie grimaced, watching the bubbling brew a second longer before throwing the lid back down and rolling back onto her pillow.

“Uh-uh,” Y/n shook her head, nudging Ellie with her boot, “Up and at ‘em, come on.”

Ellie stuck her middle finger out, “Fuck you, man.”

“Up,” Y/n repeated, tugging on the bottom of Ellie’s sleeping bag.

The girl moaned and sat up, glaring at Y/n, who went to pour her mug of coffee. Whether it was the first sip of caffeine shifting her mood or she simply was making an effort, she wasn’t sure, but when Joel walked over with his mug, Y/n poured it for him.

“Thanks,” Joel mumbled, “Why don’t I drive for three hours, you take over after?”

“Two,” Y/n countered, “Those bags under your eyes make you look like you’re in a fucking Tim Burton movie.”

Joel sighed, remembering the truce. “Fine.”

Y/n and Joel finished packing up their supplies and the three of them were back on the road in minutes.

“Is that what the Starbucks in the QZ used to sell?” Ellie asked, eyeing Joel’s mug.

“Well, there’s was a lot fresher than what Bill saved up, but yeah,” Joel answered, “This is what they sold.”

“The world used to run on this stuff,” Y/n added.

“Smells like burnt shit,” Ellie mused, smirking over at Joel.

Joel, straight faced as could be, raised his mug and took a big slurping sip. Y/n bit down on her lip to keep from rewarding him a laugh.

“Eyes on the map,” Joel ordered.

“76 west and then 70 west for, like, ever…” Ellie read, Y/n had taught her how to navigate directions and she was still getting the hang of it.

“Where in Wyoming did you say your brother was?” Ellie asked Joel.

“Last contact came through a radio tower close to Cody,” Joel answered.

Ellie scanned the map, “Cody. Cody…Cody…ah, man. That is deep up in there.”

Y/n peekd over Ellie’s shoulder to take a look, “Do you know where he would have gone other than there?”

“Odds are he’ll be near a settlement,” Joel answered, “Probably close to another city out there. Ain’t too many of ‘em in Wyoming.”

The second part of his reply was meant more for Ellie. She was getting a crash course in geography.

“Chee-Yen,” she read off.

“Cheyenne,” Joel corrected, he’d studied that map so intensively that he could have found his way around the state blindfolded.

“Chey- really?” Ellie double checked before reading again, “Cheyenne…Laramie…Casper? What’s his name?”

“Whose name?” Joel asked, avoiding the question another five seconds.

“Your brother,” Ellie replied.

Joel paused, “Tommy.”

A wave of nostalgia crashed around Y/n, hearing his name made her think of cheap beer and belly laughter.

“Younger or older?” Ellie continued to question Joel.

“Younger.”

“Why isn’t he with you?”

Joel sighed, stretching his neck out slightly, “A long story.”

“Is it longer than 25 hours? ‘Cause I think that’s what we got,” Ellie asked, turning around to Y/n, “Do you know?”

“No, I don’t,” Y/n clocked Joel in the dashboard mirror, “And if I’m risking my life to find him, I think I deserve to know.”

Joel met her eyes in a fleeting glance, she was backing him up against a wall.

“Tommy’s what we used to call a “joiner,” he began to explain, “Dreams of becomin’ a hero. So he enlisted in the Army right outta high school. A few months later, they ship him off to Desert Storm,” he allowed for Ellie’s confused gaze, “That’s what they called that war, it doesn’t matter. Point is, bein’ in the Army didn’t make him feel much like a hero. Cut to twelve years late, outbreak happens. He convinces me to join a group makin’ their way up to Boston, which I did…mostly to keep an eye on him, keep him alive.”

Y/n’s stomach turned, she wasn’t just hearing about what had become of Tommy…she was hearing about what had happened to Joel after they broke up. Gaps she’d wanted filled for twenty years.

“It’s where we met Tess,” Joel continued, breaking for a sip of coffee, “And that whole crew, we, uh…well, for what it was, it worked. And then Tommy meets Marlene. She talks him into joinin’ the Fireflies. Same mistake he made when he was eighteen,” Joel’s tone turned bitter, his voice quivering an almost undetectable amount, “Wants to save the world. Pipe dream. Him. Fireflies, all of ‘em…” he didn’t dare meet Y/n’s eyes, “Delusional.”

Y/n lifted her feet up and hugged her knees, she knew the remark was meant for both her and Tommy. And while her anger with Joel hadn’t lost its momentum, she let him continue. He needed to get it all out.

“‘Course last I heard, he quit the Fireflies too,” Joel went on, “So now he’s on his own out there, and…I gotta go get him.”

The car was washed in a somber silence. Only one of them was brave enough to break it.

“If you don’t think there’s hope for the world,” Ellie said, “Why bother going on? I mean, you gotta try, right?”

“You haven’t seen the world,” Joel said, a little wistful, “So you don’t know. You keep goin’ for family. That’s about it.”

The five words pierced through Y/n’s heart, the wooden arrow splintering inside the chambers. Each syllable was like taking a knife to the carefully placed stitches around her soul.

“I’m not family,” Ellie said, blissfully unaware of the situation surrounding her.

“No,” Joel agreed, “You’re cargo. And I made a promise to Tess. And she was like family.”

Numbness set in and Y/n rested her head against the window, focusing on the rolling fields of rural America. If Ellie wasn’t in the car, she would have let herself go off on Joel, but it wasn’t the time.

“What if you don’t find him?” Ellie asked the man.

“I will,” Joel replied,

“How do you know?”

“I’m persistent,” Joel stated before switching gears, “You got up pretty early, if you wanna grab more sleep.”

Ellie scoffed, “I’m not even tired.”

Within a few minutes, Ellie was beginning to doze off. Y/n gently tapped her shoulder, gesturing for her to climb into the backseat. She helped pull her through and Ellie settled against the opposite window.

Joel drove them for an hour in silence before Y/n couldn’t stand being still anymore.

“Pull over,” she told him, “Let’s switch.”

Joel was tired enough to listen to her, stopping the car in the middle of the road. They unbuckled and got out, meeting at the front.

“You’re wrong, you know,” Y/n said once they were face to face, “About Tommy, about the Fireflies…all of it.”

“You wanna prove me wrong, have at it,” Joel replied, disgruntled by the whole idea.

“Tommy wanting to be a hero is him wanting to help people,” Y/n kept going, “To fight. To do the right thing. When has that ever been a bad thing?”

Joel nearly scoffed, “Maybe when it gets him killed.”

“If he’s still here after all these years, maybe you need to stop looking at him like he’s some idiot kid. You don’t get to judge the people who are trying to get some of this,” Y/n spread her arms out to the wide open space around them, “Any of this back. It’s a hell of a lot more than you seem to be doing.”

Joel rested a hand on the truck’s hood, “Maybe I don’t feel the need to waste my time on a pointless cause. Last time I checked, that was all the Fireflies ever accomplished.”

“At least I’m doing something,” Y/n fought back, “I’d rather spend the rest of my life on a pointless cause and go to sleep with what’s left of my soul than sell it to the devil and not recognize my own damn reflection.”

Joel felt the last part of her sentence push into his gut like the tip of a spear. She was hitting too close to home without knowing it.

“‘Keep going for family,’” Y/n repeated, practically spitting the last words, “When was the last time you fought for anything?”

Joel reached out, grabbing Y/n’s arm roughly as she turned away and spun her around. If she hadn’t dug her boots into the asphalt, she would have fallen right into him.

“You don’t know what I’ve fought for,” he growled, his eyes boring into hers.

Y/n’s chest rose and fell rapidly with rage, inching her face closer to his to show him she wasn’t afraid of him. “Neither do you,” she seethed.

Their breaths mingled in the few inches left separating their mouths. Neither one of them were making any real threats, there was simply too much tension between them to ensure a safe car ride. They needed to let it out.

Joel realized his fingers were digging into Y/n’s arm, it had happened when she had moved closer to him. Habits were tricky to break, but the body didn’t hold grudges like the mind.

The close proximity wasn’t lost on Y/n, but she was able to free herself from it before muscle memory took over. She yanked her arm out of Joel’s grip and took the keys from his other hand, stomping around to the driver’s seat and getting in. Joel unhappily followed, and their wordless journey continued…

—————————

Joel caught maybe thirty consecutive minutes of sleep while Y/n drove them. It wasn’t that she was a bad driver, he just wasn’t used to not being in control of a situation. He gripped the map tightly as they drove into downtown Kansas City.

Surrounding them were rusted abandoned vehicles, but the tunnel in which they needed to go through was blocked entirely by a semi. Y/n brought the car to a halt, glancing over at Joel knowingly.

“Wait here,” she told Ellie, who had just woken up.

Joel and Y/n got out, Joel grabbing their shotguns from the backseat. He handed hers over and the team took calculated steps towards the tunnel. Joel crouched down to get a peek at the open road waiting on the other side of the mess. The semi was parked that way deliberately.

Joel walked back to the truck, Y/n only a step behind him. They got back in their seats seat, Ellie squeezing over the glove compartment.

“Where are we?”

“Kansas City,” Joel answered quickly, taking the map from her. The three of them studied it.

“How far back do we have to go to get around this?” Ellie asked.

Joel traced their route with his fingertip, Y/n tugged the map closer so she could study it too. There weren’t a lot of options if they had a prayer of getting to Wyoming within their time frame. They could either go back, costing them a few more hours, or take their chances passing through the city.

Y/n sighed, everything she was about to say went against what she wanted to say….

“It’s your call.”

Joel was honestly surprised that she had relented so quick. “Screw it,” he muttered, “Head back ‘round the tunnel, get on the next ramp. We’ll be back on the road, minute tops.”

Y/n put the truck in reverse and backed them up, swinging around a shoulder of road that would take them into the city.

“You guys are my eyes,” Y/n said as she navigated the first set of streets,

“Tell me where to go.”

“Look for any signs,” Joel instructed while Ellie read the map.

They drove for about five minutes, having gotten no closer to finding the open road.

“Where the fuck is the highway?” Joel complained.

“I can’t tell from this,” Ellie let her hand fall against the map, “I’m all turned around.”

Joel was trying to help Ellie navigate while also keeping an eye peeled for potential threats. “Well, don’t look at the state map, look at the inset,” he directed.

Ellie groaned, “Well, I don’t know where we are in that either! This is my second day in a fucking car, man. I mean, I think we’re heading north?”

“I don’t even see any fucking signs,” Y/n mentioned.

“It’s gotta be the right,” Joel said, shaking his head, ”What the fuck?”

“Y/n stop,” Ellie exclaimed.

Y/n threw on the brake, bringing them to a halt in the middle of the street.

“Is that the QZ?” Ellie asked, her eyes wide as she peered over Y/n, “Where the fuck is FEDRA?”

Joel and Y/n got a look at where the Quarantine Zone should have been, zero military presence. That was unfathomable.

“Hey,” a voice called, their attention was drawn to a man limping towards their truck, “Please help.”

Y/n and Joel’s blood ran cold, they knew exactly what was about to go down.

“Put your seatbelt on,” Joel told Ellie, throwing his on as well.

“Aren’t we gonna help him?” Ellie asked innocently.

Y/n said a silent prayer to anyone who was listening for survival.

“No,” Joel answered, looking to his ex, “Drive. Now.”

Y/n pressed her foot down on the gas pedal, the “injured” leaping out of the way. The man cried something out she couldn’t hear over the blood pounding in her ears.

“Y/N!” Ellie screamed.

Y/n was too busy driving to see what Ellie and Joel were watching, but the message was received when a large object got dropped on their windshield. Y/n swerved, Joel reached over to steady the wheel as she regained control. In their mad dash effort, they didn’t notice the strip of nails ahead of them. The truck shook as its tires began to deflate.

“Fuck!” Y/n yelled, “What do we do?”

“Hard right into that building,” Joel shouted, there was another guy in their path, “Now!”

Instincts ignored, Y/n pulled to the right, holding her breath as they smashed through the glass windows of the nearest building.

——————

TYL Taglist: @bachiracore @stolenxkissess @kayleezra @the-wistful-reader @allthesesonsofbitches @goth-detectives365 @trippovert @rh1nestonecowg1rl @emiliaserpe @khaleesihavilliard @frietiemeloen @gracie7209 @dorck26 @thegirlnextdoorssister @alanis-altair @mariwinns16 @whosscruffylooking @endofthexline @alexiaricciardo @eonnyx @pedrosmexicangf @scarlettequinn @ao-sleepy @toinfinityandbeyonce2 @deanlovescassie @turmoil-ash @sorrowjunky @kpopslur @xxlilyxx90 @midgetpottermills @presidential-facts @scoopsnini @tubble-wubble @jamesdeerest @burninggracesandbridges @star-wars-lover @lucyhotchner @cococola-cocaine @witheringhqarts @fall-writes @alwaysdjarin @xxmoonn @emilia-the-artist @wand-erer5 @boneyarrd @lizard-zombie @itwasallinmyhead1 @cassidylea123 @paleepeaches @mxltifxnd0m @kettlekatie @ultimate-cinephile @gloryekaterina @caramelkatsukis-bitch @whovianayesha @memeorydotcom @deadunicorn159 @get0ut0fmyr00m @siriuslymooned @emmyeed @superbreadsoul @hellu-people1 @ourautumn86 @inas-thing @noraapple05 @givemylovetoall @luvwanda

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller imagine #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fanfic #the last of us imagine #the last of us fanfic #the last of us fanfiction #twenty years later

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wannabespacesmuggler · 8 months

Text

D.D. | Shane's Girl

Part Five | Masterlist | Buy me a coffee | Check out the playlist

Summary: Daryl Dixon knows he shouldn’t be thinking about you when he’s alone at night in his tent. Hell, he shouldn’t even be looking at you throughout the day. You’re not his. You’re Shane’s girl. But Daryl doesn’t like the way Shane treats you. And he certainly doesn’t like how you’re forced to play ‘loving girlfriend’ to a man with eyes for another woman at the camp.

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Reader

Warnings: Shane Walsh sucks

Word Count: 1.2K

Author’s Note: Thanks for the continued love on this lil fic. I love them. The connection they are creating with one another is so sweet and I cannot wait to continue writing for these two idiots. Shane of course continues to be a dick and will only get worse. We're getting closer to the start of the show. I won't be retelling the entire series in this fic. Just snippets of their life together -- the show will fill in the gaps in a way. Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this one, if you want to be added to the taglist, or just want to ask me a question.

Extras: Playlist

You don’t consider yourself a jealous girlfriend; however, as you watch Shane and Lori from across the camp, you cannot help the rage that begins to simmer in your chest. The feeling makes you nauseous. You adore Lori. She’s always been like an older sister to you -- the senior girl who took you under her wing during your freshman year of high school. So the problem isn’t Lori. No, it’s the way Shane is looking at Lori. His face practically lights up with affection and warmth as he listens to her -- a stark contrast to the Shane you’ve become accustomed to since the dead started walking.

“Hey, uhm. Is everything okay?”

Glenn’s soft voice cuts through your rising temper, startling you. You look up at him with wide eyes for a second, before attempting to pull yourself together. If anyone in camp knew the exact thoughts running through your head right now, you’d be humiliated. You take a deep breath before giving Glenn a polite smile.

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

Glenn shifts awkwardly on his feet. You haven’t really had a chance to get to know to know Glenn. You could probably count on one hand how many times the two of you have interacted since he joined the camp. For the first few weeks, you assumed he didn’t like you. However, Amy informed you that his avoidance is nothing personal -- it’s just that Shane terrifies him and you’re an extension of that fear. This seems to be a common problem for you around camp. People seem intimidated by you due to your proximity to the camp’s self-proclaimed leader. It’s infuriating and isolating.

“It’s just… those are my favorite pair of jeans.”

You look down at the wash basin in front of you. You’d been so distracted by your own thoughts, that you’d completely forgotten about the clothes you were washing. As your mind continued to race, your hands began moving on their own accord with just as much ferocity. Your face flushes as you stare at Glenn’s jeans that you damn near scrubbed a hole into.

“Sorry, Glenn. Just zoned out for a second.”

Glenn gives you a kind smile, seemingly content with your answer.

“Don’t worry about it. Happens to everyone.”

He shrugs nonchalantly before wandering off towards Dale. You let out a relieved sigh once he’s out of earshot. Deciding that Glenn’s clothing has been through enough torment today, you pull his garments out of the wash basin and move to pin them up on a clothesline. As you attach the last article of clothing, you hear footsteps approaching you from behind. Before you can turn around, you hear a familiar voice.

“I’m goin’ out to hunt, wanna come?”

You furrow your brow. Daryl has mentioned how much he enjoys hunting alone -- how relaxing it is. It makes sense. He’s a loner by nature, so the constant presence of people in camp must be overwhelming. You don’t want to intrude on his personal time. Before you can ask him if he’s sure, you notice his eyes shift from you over to Shane and Lori.

Oh.

You might have been able to fool Glenn, but you can’t fool Daryl. He knows exactly what has you so riled up. You’re embarrassed that the younger Dixon has seen through your ruse. The last thing that you want is Daryl thinking less of you because of your envy. You want to explain yourself -- let him know that you’re not just some jealous girlfriend -- but the words get stuck in your throat, so you nod wordlessly at his offer and allow him to lead you into the surrounding woods.

Daryl likes the quiet -- he usually finds comfort in it, but your unusual silence, while you both move through the forest, is unbearable. You’re the conversationalist. You’re the one who retells stories about your time in King County with Shane and the Grimes family, recites all the gossip you learned from Andrea and Amy throughout the day, and complains about whatever crappy meal the group was able to put together that evening. And he likes that about you. You ask him the occasional question about Merle or hunting, but you never pry. You’re the one that talks and he’s the one that listens -- simple as that.

But right now you don’t feel like talking and it’s making him anxious. He knows he should say something, but what? Sorry your boyfriend is such a jackass? He shakes his head at the thought. Real, smooth Dixon. This is uncharted territory for him. No one ever taught him how to comfort.

A rustling in the woods saves him from his attempts at starting a conversation. Daryl puts his arm out to stop you from walking in front of him, before aiming his crossbow toward the noise. He slowly moves forward and you follow his lead, knife in hand. Eventually, a walker comes into view from behind the trees. Daryl waits for a clear shot and pulls the trigger. You let out a sigh of relief as you watch the arrow sink into the walker’s skull.

“Nice shot.”

Your voice breaks through the silence for the first time and he’s glad to hear it. He wanders over to the walker and retrieves his crossbow bolt. He wipes the tip of it off on his jeans, before looking back at you.

“You ‘lright?”

You chew on the inside of your cheek as you think about his question -- you know he’s not asking about the walker.

“I’m just worried.”

Daryl furrows his brow at your response. He doesn’t ask why, instead, he silently shifts from one foot to the other, allowing you to continue if you so choose.

“I feel like you’re the only person in this camp who sees me as a person and not just Shane’s girl -- I just don’t want that to change.”

Daryl shakes his head at the thought. He’s seen you do more for this camp in one day, than Shane’s ever done. It’s stupid really, how everyone treats you. And he knows that you have more to give than cleaning laundry and preparing meals. You don’t have to prove yourself to him -- the two of you are far past that. You’ve already earned his respect -- something Shane has yet to accomplish.

“You ain’t gotta worry ‘bout that.”

You nod at his words, but Daryl can tell that they did little to reassure you.

“I feel the same way.”

Your brows knit together in confusion over Daryl’s words.

“You’re the only person who doesn’t see me as Merle.”

His tone is sincere -- you know he genuinely means what he is saying. You wonder how many people have met the Dixon brothers and simply wrote Daryl off due to the brashness of his older brother. You watch as he awkwardly shifts from one foot to the other, obviously uncomfortable with the vulnerability in his words.

“Yeah, you’re definitely not Merle.”

This causes Daryl to laugh -- actually laugh. The sound is surprising at first -- more boyish than the usual gruffness you're used to in his voice, but it’s nice. And it makes you smile brightly, knowing you’re the reason for his laughter.

“C’mon, we should head back.”

You allow him to take the lead again, navigating through the woods once more. He might not have caught any squirrel, but the two of you are not coming back to camp empty-handed. A newfound understanding washes over the both of you, bonding you to one another.

Taglist:

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#twd #The Walking Dead #walking dead #daryl dixon #twd daryl #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #daryl x reader #Rick Grimes #shane walsh #merle dixon #glenn rhee #lori grimes #the walking dead imagine #walking dead imagine #Norman Reedus #norman reedus imagine #norman reedus x reader

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foodsies4me · 4 months

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The trainees protecting Magnus is now immortalised as one of my fav head cannons to ever exist. Mostly cause Magnus deserves to be loved and protected and pampered. He has been doing this for others for centuries and secondly he deserves it cause he is just amazing and beautiful soul.

Secondly I actually got so emotional at all the trainees banding together to give him hugs and bring him snacks. Magnus really went from single bachelor with no soul mark trying his is unloveable to the being loved by a handsome Shadowhunter and his clan of protective lil beans. I can only imagine the scene after when Malec are alone and Magnus just breaks down cause ‘fuck, I really am adored for more than my magic’. Cue protective and soft soulmate Alec and just all the emotional reassurance cuteness ☺️

You’re honestly amazing. Like never miss a beat, always on point in ways I could never imagine ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As a (waaaaay too late) follow up to the Magnus getting hurt prompt and getting some trainees cuddles. (I am running so far behind on my prompts which I know all meant as prompts but they spark too many bunnies and then I want to write them.😂

Anyway here is the short follow up to that first prompt.💜

Magnus watches as the trainees walk out the door in pairs of two and threes. They’re all stalling, Hideaki “accidentally” forgetting five different pencils while Max forgets his socks, shoes and needs to pee before he runs out of excuses he can use. Clara is clinging to him, pouting and arguing with Alec that Magnus needs another Sad Pancake Day despite his injuries having entirely healed.

Seeing the displeasure on their faces – the disappointed pouts that not even Aloysius and Ariadne manage to hide has something squeezing painfully in Magnus’ chest. Something warm and tender and painful, tearing and healing old wounds as Magnus struggles to keep his voice light and teasing.

Chairman Meow is pouting as well.

It’s not as visible as the crossed arms and downturned lips the trainees have adopted, but it’s visible in the way he’s swishing his tail and twining himself around the trainees’ legs, trying to stop them from leaving in a way Magnus doesn’t dare to.

“-okay Magnus?” Alexander’s voice pulls him out of his internal stewing. He’s looking at him, waiting for an answer. He has Clara and Steph hiked up on one arm while Leo and Barika are dangling from the other and he doesn’t even seem to notice it and the sight makes Magnus’ heart tighten again.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that darling.”

“I’ll see you tonight?” he repeats, rolling his eyes when the reminder Alexander will be back tonight causes another wave of protests.

“Now, now my darling beans – it’s only until Saturday. I’m sure you’ll all survive a few days without me there.”

“But we don’t want to,” Payton grouches this time around. “Can’t you just come live with us at the institute? And then Chairman Meow can come too and we don’t have to wait.”

“Alright, that’s enough out of all of you,” Alexander interrupts before anyone else manages to fit another word in. “We’re already late so say bye to Magnus so we can go home.”

The chorus of Fine’s that echo through his loft sound somehow even more unhappy and displeased than everything else the trainees have said before this point. They bid him goodbye with quick stolen hugs and promises to see him on Saturday before Magnus is alone again in his too-big and too-empty loft.

“Meow,” Chairman Meow complains when the door shuts behind Alexander, the sound high and whiny.

“I know, Chairman,” Magnus sighs, sitting down on his couch so Chairman Meow can climb onto his lap. His chest is still hurting, his heart overflowing with more emotions than he knows what to do with. “I know. I miss them too.”

If later that night he ends up with tears in his eyes when Alexander hands him the drawings and get-well cards the trainees made him, his heart too full of love and care, then that’s only between him, Alexander’s shirt and the privacy of his wards.

#Foodsies rambles #Foodsies writes #AWG Malec

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herehavesomeheadcanons · 2 years

Text

Black Butler x reader headcanons, but it’s only the characters I think deserve more attention.

Ash Landers

🤍💜 If you managed to get Ash to fall for you, good job. This angel is SO PICKY when it comes to a s/o. I doubt anyone but the purest of heart could turn his pretty head. Seriously. He’s like a unicorn or something.

🤍💜 Absolutely devoted to his s/o. If you’re looking for a loyal doormat, Ash is your angel. He will cook, clean, and do basically whatever you need him to. Seriously, all you have to do is ask.

🤍💜 Definitely takes everything way too seriously, so avoid joking requests like, oh, i dunno, “could you light London on fire for me?” He will. Don’t test him.

🤍💜 I feel like his favorite dates would be either sitting at home and chatting over a cup of tea, or someplace high up. He’s an Angel, after all. He likes to be near the sky.

🤍💜 Yes, he will fly you around. Unless you’re scared of heights.

🤍💜 Can and will fight anyone who even looks at you wrong. You might want to keep hold of his arm so he doesn’t get himself charged with arson and murder.

🤍💜 Very gentle, and shy with physical affection. He doesn’t want to taint such a pure being! You are going to have to just tackle him. He will NEVER admit it, but he loves physical affection more than anything. He also loves complements and praise.

🤍💜 Overall, a wonderful catch of a man- well, angel. He will definitely treat you right :)

Snake

🤍💛 Oh he’s such a cute little shy bean! All you’d have to do was give him a singular complement and he’d be head over heels for you. If you like snakes, even better! His friends will love you too :)

🤍💛 rarely speaks for himself. You might have to try behavior training to get him to tell you what HE says, instead of what his snakes are saying. Not that he ever really disagrees with his snakes, but still.

🤍💛 Yeah his snakes do a lot of the flirting for him, and they all have WILDLY different ways of going about it. Wordsworth, as the refined gentleman he is, gives very good complements. Emily likes to be in charge of planning dates. Goethe is very friendly and will ask how your day’s been (even if he just asked the same question five minutes ago!). Oscar is the problem snake. He’s a lil naughty noodle. More often than not, his comments are not translated (”Oscar! He can’t say THAT! Says emily”).

🤍💛 Very very shy about physical affection, but if you give it to him he will be addicted. Like, very addicted. He’s particularly fond of cuddling. He likes to be warm :)

🤍💛 Oh gosh if you complement his scales he will melt. He’s so self conscious and probably always worried that people with judge you harshly if he’s seen with you.

🤍💛 Defend him from bullies and you’ll have his loyalty forever. He will. Not. Leave. Your. Side. (Is that really such a bad thing? He’s so cute-)

🤍💛 Oh gosh please be gentle with him he’s such a fragile little noodle- Always speak with a gentle tone. He’s very sensitive to criticism.

🤍💛 Yes, you can hold his snakes. Yes, you can boop their little snoots. Just be gentle.

Charles Grey

🤍💙 Just don’t be a boring, beige colored, saltine cracker of a person and he’ll love you. By that I mean, actually have a personality. Be funny! Challenge him! Keep things interesting!

🤍💙 This man is a five year old trapped in a grown man’s body. Just look at that smug face. Does he look like a mature adult to you? He’d probably go to a carnival with you if you asked him. AND he’d win you all the prizes. He’s just that good.

🤍💙 Buys you lots of expensive gifts. He’s filthy stinking rich, after all. Will also take you on the most extravagant dates. I hope you like fancy food (and lots of it!) :)

🤍💙 He already knows how awesome he is, but tell him anyway. Are you just feeding his already over-large ego? Yes. Should you stop? Absolutely not. The way he puffs out his chest and shows off is just the cutest thing! Like one of those funny birds of paradise.

🤍💙 Being best friends with Phipps is a requirement. They’re a packaged deal. Which is funny, considering they’re polar opposites. Phipps has been dealing with Charlie’s shit for years now, he’s happy to have you around to lighten the load.

🤍💙 Boundaries? What are those? This little shit is all up in your business 24/7 and hates when you don’t pay attention to him. Absolutely loves physical affection. Not even the slightest bit shy about it. Prepare to be absolutely smothered with affection.

🤍💙 Would you like to learn fencing? He’d be delighted to teach you! Even more so if you happen to be good at it. This bastard loves a challenge!

🤍💙 He’s scared of ghosts and snakes, and you can DEFINITELY use that to your advantage. He will deny his fears till the day he dies, but it’s pretty obvious how terrified he is. You can get some pretty funny reactions out of him with a well-placed rubber snake! He’ll pout about it for a while, but after a bit he’ll come right back. Be warned: if you give him a particularly good scare he might end up in your bed that night. (He’s TOTALLY not scared, he just wants to make sure you’re ok!)

Aleister Chambers

✨❤️ Buckle up, buttercup. If you’re actually here for this man, i applaud your unique tastes. Not everyone can handle this bastard.

✨❤️ If you have a female body, congrats! You’re his type! Hope you didn’t want to get rid of him any time soon, because you will be stuck with his dramatic ass from the first time he lays eyes on you. And he has plot armor.

✨❤️ Yes. He is very, very, very dramatic. If you’re reading this, you’ve likely seen the show and you know EXACTLY how he acts. If you say even ONE insulting thing to him, he will act like you’ve stabbed him with a sword and flop onto the nearest piece of furniture, moaning about how you’ve wounded his feelings. It’s really funny, actually.

✨❤️ Will spoil you with extravagant gifts. He’s rich, what did you expect? He has SCARY good tastes, and will pick the best outfits for you. Don’t ask how he found out your size for… well, anything.

✨❤️ Oh he’s so clingy. Constantly wants your attention. I really don’t know what else to say, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he is NOT shy with physical affection. If physical affection is your love language, you’ll be in heaven with this man.

✨❤️ Get ready for some WEIRD pet names. Hands up, who’s surprised? Nobody? Thought so. Sure, he COULD use normal pet names, but it’s much more fun to come up with his own. If you give him a weird pet name, he’ll be absolutely delighted. Go ahead, see who can come up with the strangest nickname. It’ll be fun.

✨❤️ Honestly it’s worth it to endure him just for the free entertainment. His natural personality is so over-the-top extravagant that even just sitting at home with him is like watching a comedy skit. He gets way too excited about absolutely everything, and will randomly start spinning like he’s a glitched video game character.

✨❤️ He loves to dance! And throw extravagant parties where he can show you off to everyone.

✨❤️ Over all, is he a creep? Yes. But he’s also funny, pretty, and rich. So in all actuality, he’s a pretty decent catch.

Drossel Keinz

🧡💙 If you’re here for this man- er- puppet, congratulations, you are one of the only groups with more unique tastes than the Aleister simps. I’m honestly just writing him because he’s funny and i like his funky, jerky movements.

🧡💙 Achievement get! Acquire stalker (provoke any kind of positive feelings from the creepy puppet man)

🧡💙 Yeah he’s gonna stalk you for a while. He might not even approach you at all. He’s just curious about these ‘feelings’.

🧡💙 If he does approach you, it’s gonna be awkward as fuck. Seriously. He has no idea how to properly socialize, much less flirt. (Haha relatable)

🧡💙 every time he’s confused he does his little 90 degree head tilt. He’s confused a lot. He’s trying his best, ok? He quite literally has straw for brains.

🧡💙 If you’re artistic, he’d love to do art things with you. He’d also really love to show you his puppet collection. Hope you didn’t like sleeping :)

🧡💙 He’s not great at affection in general, but he tries. Sometimes his complements come off as creepy. Awkward head pats. So many awkward head pats. His skin feels like wood, and he smells like sawdust.

🧡💙 Be patient and explain things to him. He’s not great at feelings yet. Also very bad at even recognizing his feelings. Talking through feelings stuff with him is a great way to bond.

Gregory Violet

🖤💜 Anime onlys buckle up because some of the characters you only see in the manga are the best. Case in point, this art goth.

🖤💜 I feel like he would go for a more introverted s/o. Especially someone who’s artistic, like him. Not certain how two introverts get together, but whatever.

🖤💜 He’s a little eccentric, but that’s just part of his charm. Where else are you gonna find a cutie that likes to blow bubbles in his tea?

🖤💜 Unlike with other people, if he says he’s gonna draw you, he’ll actually draw you. He won’t make you stay posed for five hours while he draws everything BUT you (rip Greenhill).

🖤💜 You want to draw him? He’s a little shy, but i’m sure you can convince him to pose for you. He wants you to be happy, after all.

🖤💜 Café dates!! And art museum dates!! You should definitely attend his concerts as well. Make sure to complement his dancing afterwards! He’s a little embarrassed about having to dance in front of crowds. Remember, he doesn’t like dancing to begin with.

🖤💜 You might have to pester him for a bit, but he will give you private performances. Will it be the whole P4? Probably not. He wouldn’t want to bother his friends with something so silly. Besides, you’re his, not theirs.

🖤💜 He sings wonderfully. I imagine him having a low baritone kind of voice. The songs he sings for concerts often get stuck in his head (much to his annoyance), so sometimes you can hear him singing in the shower.

🖤💜 Unlike literally everybody else on this list, Violet is not clingly. He’ll give you your space when you need it. He needs his space too.

🖤💜 Not very physically affectionate. He’s pretty strictly traditional and what not, so you might have to beg him for kisses. Unfortunately, his lipstick doesn’t really taste like anything.

🖤💜 He’s actually really low maintenance and pretty self sufficient. Probably one of the best picks on this list, if i’m being completely honest.

#black butler x reader #black butler x you #Ash Landers x reader #black butler snake x reader #charles grey x reader #aleister chambers x reader #drossel keinz x reader #gregory violet x reader

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half-truths-and-hyperbole-louk · 7 months

Text

Louk's Bad Batch rewatch part 23 !!!

I'm back batchers rip my sleep schedule lmao but nothing can stop me from watching tbb

I've got my skittles and my tumblr and disney+ and I'm ready to go 🤟

The Bad Batch 2x03

this entire planet looks like it's made of spice

nervous imperial you're not fooling anyone my dude

Tawni Ames 👑 shoutout to the queen herself Tasia Valenza 💕

CORUSCANT !!!

CROSSHAIR 🥺🥲😭💕❤ I missed you sm (I watched s1 hours ago 🤫)

another Kallus parallel 👀

regs will always hate tbb lololol

Rampart 🔫😁(me, I hate his guts)

32 rotations... 32 ROTATIONS I- 😫

the empire are bitches and we don't negotiate with terrorists

the memorial wall 🥲 (we're gonna pretend it isn't a bunch of random letters hehe)

a few behind Crosshair literally say: sdflkphi, dkniihqaz, aweututn, qqhgouer ~ anyone know more aurebesh than me who can explain this pls ??

he called him by his name !!!

CODY CODY CODY CODY 💕💕💕💕👑👑👑👑

Cody's face when Crosshair mentions the jedi 😭

the only two without their helmets on !!!

FLASHBACK TO THE FIRST BAD BATCH APPEARANCE IN TCW 👀

"mmhmmmm" ~ battle droid, bro 💀

"Dooku was right in the end" real

"We always get shot down when we travel with regs" 👀

"How unfortunate... for you" ~ someone else said this and now I can't find it 🙃 anyway I'm pretty sure it was Crosshair idk

the droid high five lmaooo

clever boys 👑

Crosshair and Cody team up will never fail to make me happy 👌

"I've beaten clankers with far less" tbb mention 🥲💕

Cody trusting Crosshair 🥰 "you do make things interesting" I'd love to see early Cody + tbb missions pretty pretty please 🥺

my mans doesn't even flinch !!!!!

I can feel his smirk when he blows up the tank hehe

Cody has a jetpack and still went nah Ican make that jump 😂 I mean he did but still

Cody complimenting Crosshair 💕

WYLER AND NOVA OWN MY HEART FR

droidekas !!!

Wyler r.i.p my love 💔

There is just something about clones vs droids ya know

Crosshair and Nova silent communication I love it 👌

Cody screaming for Nova and Crosshair pulling him away 😭😭😭😭

r.i.p Nova my beloved 💔

Crosshair's discs !!!!

backflip !!!!

knife knife knife knife knife- 👀

Crosshair calling for Cody to help 🙃

KNIFE KNIFE KNIFE KNIFE KNIFE-

Crosshair putting the puck in Cody's hand - bro at first I thought mans was too injured to move the way he was like 'throw it for me I can do it from laying down in this spiral staircase' and he makes the shot and stands up 2 seconds later and is back to committing war crimes ?? Crosshair you dramatic bitch 💀

"nice throw" "nice shot" 🥰🥰🥰🥰

notice how the tk troopers got captured so they send clones to get them out.... 🙃

Mina Bonteri 💔

"peace was never an option" devastating

the clone music when Cody reasons with Tawni 😫🤧

Crosshair following orders but also saving Cody from having to kill Tawni

the Crosshair music 🥲

"so much for peace" 💔

"put her body in the square" but I can imagine how gentle he would have been with her body... do you think he left his helmet off so the people could see his face or did he cover his face for that

Ok I want to go full english teacher for a moment I'll do it in a few eps watch this space 👀

Crossy and his lil toothpick 💕 (he just murdered someone)

the clones did the dirty work now more tk troopers arrive 😡

Cody's whole speech 💔😭 "we make our own choices and we have to live with them too" knowing he's thinking about everything he's done and thinking he killed Obi-Wan... what if I screamed into the abyss ???

Crosshair not being able to sleep 😫

Rampart doesn't even know their names 😡

OKAY do we think "gone awol" means Cody has actually left or is he awol the same way Wilco is??

COME ON CROSSHAIR JUST LEAVE THE EMPIRE ALREADY 😫

hehe thank you for coming to my 2am tbb rewatch (again hehe) 💕 sorry it's late again if you saw any spelling miatakes no you didn't 🤟

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inthefieldwithdiamondbutterflies · 1 month

Text

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE WALL CRAWLER

-warning this post will be a tad bit chaotic and long but hopefully lots of fun. I had fun doing this

In honor of his special day, i decided to make him a birthday cake. 🎂

I’ve had this headcanon that every year on his birthday he loves a chocolate cake with blue icing

So I decided to bake just that

As someone with minimal baking skills

Let’s go

Nia vs baking 👩‍🍳

First wash your hands

Then gather up all your ingredients. This is the cake mix I used. Once the eggs, water, oil and cake mix were all I needed for mine. Measure everything out and mix until well combined or for at least two minutes on medium. And drink a cup of water while you’re at it. Your body loves water. Not too much or risk water poisoning. Too much of anything can kill ya.

Then go ahead and grease whatever type of pan you’re using and place it in oven. I used mini pans so it can be a layered cake. It smelt so good while baking and then I nearly almost burned because read the instruction on the box. Make sure you read really carefully and use the time they give how big your pan is

I feel like Peter would like a homemade cake though for his birthday. I think it was just something he had while growing up and not coming from a lot. He appreciates it more than a store brought cake. Mainly because he knows someone close to him took time out of their day to make something special for him. Think he just grew up on it and is favorite tradition for his birthday. Plus he probably loves a good rich, moist chocolate. Just big sweet tooth vibes in general from him. He would love going to Hershey, PA and making his own chocolate bar or even just the M&M store to celebrate. His ideal birthday would probably just be something small and intimate. He cares a lot about out his loved ones and spending time with them.

While baking I cleaned up and jammed out to some Taylor Swift. Does anyone else think that Peter would have a hard time getting plastered btw? I think that purely because of his high metabolism. But if he ever does get there oh be prepared.

Anyways back to baking. Grab some white frosting. I had like half a thing left so I only used five drops of blue food coloring to get what I wanted. I say start off slowly and don’t add in a lot at once because can’t take it away.

Once cakes are done take them out and let them cool. If you greased them properly they should pop right out like how mine did. Number one baker over here.

Once cooled down try and level the cakes (thank you very much YouTube bakers for teaching me this)

I don’t have a cool tool like they do is just used a bread knife and hoped for the best

That hope caused me cutting off a but too much from some and not enough from others so was a little lopsided but it gives personality !!!

Then go ahead and frost. Slap that frosting all over the cake until it’s nice and coated

Another trick I learned was a crumb coat. Frost first, stick it in the fridge for a bit and then frost again. I don’t feel like it made that much of a difference but I am a frosting girly so I wasn’t mad

Next, grab your fav lil Spider-Man plush, give him a party hat and light candles in the cake

Lastly, cut yourself a slice and indulge on your favorite spidey movie

Happy baking ❤️💙🖤

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star2stop · 4 months

Note

ill ask about your jashlings 🫵🏽 which two are your favorite to draw and whats their relationship with each other

AAAAAH THANK YOU FOR ASKINGGGG!!!

so... mmh my two faves to draw... i havent drawn them a lot yet actually, as for now im focusing on coming up with a design for all of them so i havent done a lotta doodles really, but i can certainly answer that with no problem either way!

okay... mmmh. definitely maverick, like, i LOVE drawing deranged looking characters and the little eye and mouth drips are very fun (i love drawing goop i love drawing goop i love draw-)

another one i really liked to draw was xavier even tho i admit i kinda struggled with the colors at first lmao, the spikey hair is always a joy to sketch out and lineart also the overall sharp shapes are just great

imma be honest i dont think they'd be very good friends, or related if that matters, maybe distant cousins? but eh i doubt it, idk them being related doesnt seem right to me,,,

i feel like xavier is pretty clean in terms of alcohol and drugs and whatever, like yeah, a lil drink sometimes is nice but he aint the type to get black out drunk and wake up on the sidewalk like five hours later lmao, hes not much into clubbing if ya feel me

his natural habitat is the gym ur honor, when hes upset he just lifts some weights or idk runs a mile? actually- he doesnt even have to be upset, dude hits the gym just for fun (also fun fact he can run and jump and everything with heels, and yes everyone is so jealous of him for that lmao)

maverick is a bit wilder,, and louder definitely... (also high 90% of the time-) pretty much the opposite lol

you'll never catch him in the house dude, hes ALWAYS out, doesnt matter the hour, bro could be at the store at 3am simply cuz being at home is boring and he cant sleep anyway so why not?

hed definely call you at UNGODLY hours and ask you to hang out lmao

not gonna lie the only thing they'd have in common is probably the fact that they like videogames? or reading perhaps? (mmmh thinking of a potential book club in the jash verse rn...) maybe the few times they see each other they play mario kart together and catch up who knows

xavier is definetely one of the only jashlings that hangs out with maverick btw, even if they rarely do. as one of my friends described mav, "this is the weird cousin everyone stays away from" and kits so right for that lmao

agdhfh sorry this just became a yapping session about the characters themselves more than their relationship dhgdhfng i just love these silly guys so much...

#dsfjgsfk i fell asleep so thats why it took me a while to answer lol #BUT THANK YOU AGAINN!!#now that u asked about my jashlings i am obliged to love you forever sorry i dont make the rules #chonny jash #tw alcohol mention #tw drugs mention #ask response

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dialovers-translations · 2 years

Text

DIABOLIK LOVERS GRAND EDITION Gentei Tokuten Drama CD ”The Test Wars: Winter Break On the Line!”

Original title: 冬休みをかけたテスト戦争

Source: Diabolik Lovers GRAND EDITION Gentei Tokuten Drama CD

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Toriumi Kousuke, Katsuyuki Konishi, Midorikawa Hikaru, Kaji Yuki, Hirakawa Daisuke, Takashi Kondou, Takahiro Sakurai, Kimura Ryouhei, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Kishio Daisuke

Translator’s note: This CD was honestly a little...disappointing? It felt like very little was accomplished in the end and none of the guys really got to shine. Even though it’s about the exams, we don’t get to see (or hear) any of them study at all. I guess it’s because they already did a CD very similar to this one, so I suppose they didn’t want to repeat that. I honestly would have much rather seen a CD about the Sakamaki & Mukami family going skiing together over the winter break. That could be a wild ride. :p

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Ayato: …Oi! Whatcha bein’ so restless for? God, I can’t believe you’re gettin’ all excited over Winter Break. How old are you, five?

Anyway, as my possession, you’re bein’ quite cheeky, thinkin’ ‘bout how you’ll spend the break and all. You just need to spend time with me, end of the story.

You ask him how he will spend his break.

Ayato: …Shut up, Chichinashi! That’s none of your business, is it? Why do I have to tell you? It’s already bad enough that I have to go to school period, so no way in hell I’m also adjustin’ to some stupid rules made up by a bunch of humans.

You ask if he would rather not have a winter break at all then.

Ayato: Haah…? I never said I don’t want a break, did I? Honestly, a break sounds great just ‘bout now. Studyin’ is just a big pain in the ass after all.

Reiji: Haah…I was wondering what the two of you could be talking about over here, but you’re already discussing your winter break plans?

Laito: I think you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself there, Ayato-kun.

Kanato: Agreed. Besides, she is mine, so I’d highly appreciate it if you would stop talking as if she belongs to you.

Ayato: Haah!? Who are you callin’ yours…!?

Laito: Nfu~ Kanato-kun’s casually trying to claim her, but Bitch-chan belongs to me, remember?

Subaru: Haah!? Cut the crap! I can’t believe you’re just lettin’ these guys say all of this stuff…Why don’t you talk back a lil’ too, huh!?

You frown.

Shuu: Pwaah…Nn…Shut up…You guys woke me up. You really are a nuisance.

Reiji: I believe you are the biggest nuisance of us all for sleeping in such a place. Although right now, I have to give Ayato a reality check first.

Ayato: Haah!? What do you mean, reality? Honestly, you always talk like you’re the shit.

Reiji: Good grief…Sorry to break it to you Ayato, but I am afraid you simply do not learn.

Ayato: …What’s your problem, you fuckin’ Four-Eyes!? Dare say that one more time!

Reiji: I do not mind repeating myself as many times as needed if that is what you wish.

Ayato: Che…!

Reiji: Since you appear to be completely ignorant of your current predicament, allow me to take this opportunity to make it clear to you. While you are free to get excited about the break, please do not forget that there will be exams right before.

*Poing*

Ayato: …!? E-Exams...you say!?

Laito: Aha! Geez, Ayato-kun! Seems like it completely slipped his mind!

Subaru: How do you even forget about that…? You’re a sophomore, aren’t you!?

Kanato: I’m sure he’s the type of guy who conveniently forgets everything he doesn’t want to remember.

Ayato: …Fuck off! Get off your high horse already! I only forgot ‘bout those stupid tests because I didn’t deem them worthy to remember!

Kanato: You plan to ignore Father’s orders? I doubt you will get away with that. …Aah, but, I suppose that could be interesting as well. Right, Teddy?

Ayato: N-No way! I never said, did I!?

Reiji: Ayato. Your homeroom teacher called me in to talk earlier. Your grades are far too terrible, if you keep this up, you will surely have to repeat the year.

Ayato: Repeat the year…!? Oi, are you bein’ serious!?

Reiji: Why would I lie about it? For one, you sleep through most of your classes. So how would you expect your grades to be stellar when you never study at home either?

Ayato: Keh…

Shuu: Tests are just a big pain in the ass. I honestly don’t understand the people who get all serious about them.

Reiji: Shuu. This warning applies to you as well. After all, who is the guy who already had to repeat his year once because he could not be bothered to do anything?

Shuu: Oh yeah, I guess that happened. Well, I definitely don’t want a repeat of the North Pole fiasco, so I actually anticipated and did the bare minimum this year.

Reiji: …

Laito: Reiji. Too much anger is not good for your health. Shuu has always been like this, so why get upset over it now?

Reiji: …Either way, to ensure that no other member of this family gets held back a year, I shall personally tutor you so Ayato, please bear that in mind.

Ayato: Haah…!?

Reiji: By the way, you do not have the right to refuse. If the results of your tests are not up to par, then you will devote your entire winter break to your studies.

Ayato: Reiji, you bastard…Don’t be decidin’ this for me! …Also Chichinashi, what’s up with that look? Don’t tell me you’re pityin’ me!?

Laito: Bitch-chan is so kind~ Those bad grades are something he brought upon himself, so no need to pay mind to it. More importantly…How would you like to spend our winter break? How about we both retreat to my room for some ‘naughty fun’...~?

Subaru: Don’t make me gag! I don’t see how anythin’ good could come from lettin’ you have her during the break.

Laito: Oh? Would you perhaps like to join in as well, Subaru-kun~? I don’t mind. I guess the three of us can all have a good time together then!

Subaru: Did you listen to one word of what I said!? Fuck…I never alluded to that, did I!? ーー O-Oi! Whatcha touchin’ her for!?

Laito: …Mm~ Bitch-chan’s hair smells so wonderful. This fair skin of yours as well…Even just looking at it makes me weak in the knees…I guess it’s because your blood is just so sweet and delicious?

Shuu: Oi, Laito. Can’t you shut up for even one second? It gets even worse when you’re around her so back off.

Laito: Eeh~? No way. If anything, I want to cuddle even closer to her. Nfu~ I wouldn’t mind having a little sip of her blood eiーー

Shuu pulls you away from Laito.

*Rustle*

Shuu: Enough with the bullshit. …And what is your deal, huh? At least fight back a little more. By reacting like that, you’re basically asking him to suck your blood.

Laito: Excuse me, Shuu? Could you not pull her away out of nowhere? She seems to be in pain.

Shuu: …It’s your fault for trying to suck her blood.

Laito: Eh? You’re putting the blame on me!? How cruel!

You frown.

Shuu: You always seem to be having such a good time when I suck your blood, so can’t you let this one slide?

Kanato: Please just let go of her hand already. It’s highly upsetting. …What is the problem with you guys? Are you trying to show off on purpose?

Shuu: Not really…That’s not my intention.

Kanato: Honestly…You’re not in the clear either. You always let everyone do with you as they please…Are you testing my patience, perhaps? While I do like submissive dolls, it isn’t exactly enjoyable to witness other men have their way with you right in front of my eyes. You don’t seem to realize that you belong to me. You are my plaything. Therefore, all you need to do is do as I please. If you fail to comprehend that…Perhaps I should just make it so you cannot move at all?

Subaru: …Ugh.

*THUD*

Subaru: Cut the crap! …Oi, you! Come here already!

Subaru pulls you his way.

*Rustle*

Kanato: …!? What do you think you’re doing, Subaru!?

You thank him.

Subaru: Ah? …No need to thank me. Honestly, these guys just keep on spoutin’ bullcrap…It pisses me off!

*THUD*

Reiji: Please leave it at that! We have gotten quite a bit off-topic…but the matter we need to discuss right now is Ayato’s grades problem.

Ayato: Who cares ‘bout that crap!?

Reiji: Stop being so stubborn, Ayato. If you fail these upcoming exams as well, you will no longer get any pocket money!

Ayato: …Hah!? Fuck that!

Laito: Ayato-kun, I think you might regret going against what Reiji says~ Or else it won’t just be during the winter break, but you might never get any money again.

Subaru: Heh! Serves you right!

Ayato: That’s fuckin’ dirty, Reiji!

Reiji: Call it whatever you please. Besides, as a noble Vampire, you should be ashamed of yourself for getting worse grades than mere humans!

Ayato: Fuck…Guess I have no other choice. Just this one time, ‘kay!? Still, you really think I’m gonna study all by myself? Chichinashi and all of these fuckers will suffer with me as well!

Subaru: Haah!? Why do we have to keep you company!?

Kanato: Exactly. You’re the one who’s at risk of having to repeat his year, correct? This doesn’t apply to us!

Shuu: I’m definitely not tagging along.

Laito: Hm~ Personally, I wouldn’t mind joining in if Bitch-chan is there as well~

Reiji: How ridiculous…Are you perhaps hoping that I will be more lenient with more people around? I believe it is time to you stop struggling in vain and just honestーー

Kou: M-neko-chan~!

Reiji: You guys…

Kou: Hey, hey! It’s almost winter break, right? The four of us are planning a ski trip so why don’t you join us?

Ayato: Aah!? Are you out of your fuckin’ mind!? She’ll be hangin’ with me during the break!

Kou: Eh!? You don’t have any time to play, do you? Don’t you have to study? I’m pretty sure that you’ll be stuck studying the whole break if you get bad grades on the upcoming exams so you won’t be able to hang out, will you?

Ayato: Kuh…

Reiji: Eavesdropping, I see. What a nice hobby you have there.

Laito: Hm~ The whole Mukami family is here, it seems.

Kou: Man, you really must have it rough having to keep up with the selfish whims of the Sakamaki family. …Hey, don’t you think so too, Subaru-kun?

Subaru: Shut up!! I mean, I’m part of that family too, aren’t I!? I bet you’re askin’ me on purpose!

Kou: Geez, how cold. If you keep on making that scary face, you won’t get any love from M-neko-chan~

Subaru: …!! You bastard…!!

Yuma: Oi, Sow. Yer grades aren’t half bad, are they? Then why don’t you join us before Ayato gets ya involved in his mess?

Azusa: Hey, Eve…Let’s hang out together…I’m sure skiing will be fun…Ah, but I guess it might not be with me around…Although in my case, I enjoy any time as long as we spend it together…

You assure Azusa that you enjoy his company too.

Azusa: Ah…I’m happy…You really are so kind…

Kanato: Kuh…Why are you guys here?

Azusa: Why…? We just so happened to pass by…That’s all…

Kanato: Please don’t tell such blatant lies! I bet you secretly followed us, didn’t you!? That’s so creepy, it’s making me gag!

Yuma: Oi…! Stop throwin’ a hissy fit over every fuckin’ lil’ thing!

Kanato: How about I sew that loud mouth of yours closed instead!?

Yuma: Aah!? The fuck did ya just say!? Ya wanna throw fists, mate!?

Ruki: Cut it out. What’s the point in lowering yourself to their level? There is no need for us to give those guys any attention, is there?

Ayato: Ahー God! Shut up already, all of you! We stay quiet for two seconds and you instantly assume you can just run your damn mouths! All I need to do is pass my exams, right!?

Ruki: I honestly cannot imagine that happening to the guy whose grades have been rock bottom the whole semester.

Ayato: Kuh…Oi, Ruki! Don’t think you’re the shit just ‘cause you’ve got good grades! I can pass those exams with ease as long as I put in just a little effort.

Kou: A little, you say? That’s an interesting claim, Ayato-kun. Ruki-kun is pretty smart, you see?

Ayato: Shut up! Keep that mouth of yours shut!

Ruki: Then, how about our families having a competition to see who can get the best average score? The winning family earns the right to keep her all to themselves over winter break.

Ayato: Heh, interesting. You’re on!

Subaru: Don’t be decidin’ that on your own! I’m not doin’ this shit!

Yuma: Hah! Is Mr. Hikikomori scared of losin’, huh?

Subaru: You bastard…Are you pickin’ a fight with me?

Azusa: …Can we win? …Right. We might be able to…if Eve cheers us on.

Kanato: Please do not voice your ridiculous fantasies out loud. It’s unsettling.

Shuu: I don’t want to deal with any trouble.

Laito: I like the idea of all of us fighting over Bitch-chan like that! It kind of sounds like the plot of some cheap romantic drama, it’s giving me the shivers!

Reiji: Good grief…Things have become quite bothersome because of you. However, we cannot back down now. Very well. We accept this challenge!

Ruki: It’s settled then. I hope you will not have any regrets, whatever the outcome may be.

*TIMESKIP*

*Thud*

Ayato: So this is where you’ve been Chichinashi! Don’t make me look for you!

Reiji: One would almost assume that you are avoiding us on purpose. Do you understand that you are not entitled to do so, I wonder?

You try to explain yourself.

Reiji: You do not wish to get in the way of our studies? How imprudent of you. Seeing as you are part of the reason why this challenge was set up in the first place, do you not believe it would only be logical to help us out? If you fail to realize your own position, then I believe I will have to make things extra painful for you today. Please brace yourself.

Laito: You heard him, Bitch-chan~ Reiji can be quite scary, can’t he? Personally, I would ensure that you experience the ultimate pleasure alongside the pain, so what do you think?

Reiji: There is nothing to think about. She does not have the right to choose after all. You will come to my room once we’ve returned home, do you understand?

Laito: Eeh~? Then once you’re done with her, can it be my turn next? I’ll show you a world・of・fun~

Subaru: God…I thought we were goin’ to study?

*Thud*

Kou: Ah! M-neko-chan, found you~! Come and study with us~

Ayato: Aah!? Chichinashi’s goin’ to help me with my studies! Fuck off!

Yuma: Haah!? I bet you’re the one who decided that on your own!

Ruki walks up to you.

Ruki: I doubt you have the time to look after other people right now, do you? You should worry about your own grades first. Come here. I’ll help you study.

Your eyes widen in surprise.

Ruki: Don’t look so dumbfounded. Are you really that surprised by my offer to help you out? While I hate unintelligent women, I believe you have potential.

Azusa: Lucky you…Ruki is a great tutor, you see…

Ruki: Come here already.

You join Ruki.

Ruki: Do you have any questions regarding the test material?

You point something out.

Ruki: I see. Well, you’re supposed to use this formula and…

Kou: Ah-aah~ Ruki-kun snatched her away. Look at how they’re basically huddled together. I want to cuddle up to her as well. I tried so hard to finish all of my work in time too, it’s no fair Ruki-kun gets to have all the fun…

Ruki: Kou. If you are going to talk badly about someone, at least lower your voice. How is she supposed to concentrate?

Kou: But I mean…When do we ever get the chance to study together like this~? So even if it’s only for a short period of time, I want to spend every second of it together. You feel the same way, don’t you?

Ruki: Come on. How long are you going to stay distracted? Stay focused. …Your cheeks are flushed. Your breathing is somewhat ragged as well. Heh. Seems like you’ve got some other things besides studying on your mind.

Kou: Heeh~? Are you perhaps hoping to get sandwiches in between Ruki-kun and I as we both suck your blood simultaneously~?

Ruki: It would be rather absurd if that were truly the case. While it still makes sense for us to crave your blood, for you to seek out our fangs as well…What a greedy Livestock you are.

Kou: Ahahaha~ For real! You actually have some nerve. If my fans find out about this, they might just kill you, you know~?

Yuma: Hey, how much longer? It’s our turn now, isn’t it? …Heave-hoh.

*Thud*

Kou: Ah…Hey! Yuma-kun! I can’t believe you lifted her up with the chair and all…You’re such a brute.

*Rustle*

Yuma: …There. Oi, help Azusa and I study as well. …Hah? What are you sayin’? Why bother askin’ Ruki for permission if you’re fine with it? Come on, teach us already.

You start explaining.

Yuma: …Oh. Hmー Hm. …Heh!? …You’re pretty good at this! I think ya could totally become a great teacher!

Azusa: But for now…She’s our own personal teacher…

Yuma: Heh. A private lesson with a female teacher, huh? Sounds pretty good.

Azusa: In that case…I’d love to learn more about you…instead of the subject matter…Although, I suppose that’d make you feel troubled, wouldn’t it? I’m sorry for saying something inappropriate…

Shuu: If you know that you’re being inappropriate, then you won’t complain if we take her back, correct? Let’s go.

*Rustle*

Shuu: Why are you so easily won over by others? The triplets are throwing a tantrum because you were taken away. If you want to pretend to be a teacher that badly, then go ahead and do so close to me.

Azusa: …They left.

Yuma: Che…That guy pisses me off with everythin’ he does!

*TIMESKIP*

Ayato: Ahー This shit makes zero sense! I find the motivation to keep goin’!

Reiji: I am teaching you in a way that even an idiot should be able to pass the exam. If you have a somewhat-functioning brain, at least try your best to remember this.

You return with Shuu.

Laito: …Ah, Bitch-chan~! We’ve been waiting for you! Those Mukami’s didn’t pick on you too much, did they?

Ayato: Oi, Chichinashi! Teach me this part. Havin’ Reiji teach me is an absolute nightmare.

Kanato: Excuse me? She will obviously teach me first. We already know that you will fail the exam, Ayato, so it’d just be a wasted effort.

Laito: I’d love to have you thoroughly teach me as well~ …Okay, Bitch-chan?

Reiji: Good grief, you lot…You want her to teach you that badly? Right. I suppose if I teach her first, then it will naturally reach you guys as well.

Ayato: Ah? The fuck are you sayin’?

Reiji: This is in your best interest as well, so I will not take no as an answer. In that case, I am counting on your full cooperation.

Laito: Eeh~? We’re going to study?

Subaru: Haah…I’m headin’ home first.

Reiji: Hold up, Subaru. I shall not allow you to leave.

Reiji stops him.

Subaru: Oi, let go of me. Ayato’s the only problematic one here, right?

Reiji: Excuse me? This concerns our whole family. Even if it is just Ayato who fails the exam, all of you will have your monthly allowance cut.

Subaru: Aah!? Fuck off!

Kanato: Why do I have to face the consequences of Ayato being an absolute idiot!?

Shuu: Haah…Ridiculous.

*Rustle*

Shuu: …!

Subaru: Oi, Shuu! Don’t you dare try and sneak out by yourself!

Reiji: Well then, let us get started. If Ayato gets a failing score, then I shall give all of you a taste of Hell. So keep that in mind.

*Whip*

*TIMESKIP*

*Flip*

Ruki: The results are in but…

Reiji: As much as I hate to say this, it appears that our challenge has ended in a draw.

Ayato: Hehe! How’s that? Pretty amazing, huh? I skillfully dodged failin’ my exams!

Kanato: Oh please, don’t brag about that.

Laito: Oh well, all’s well that ends well, I suppose?

Azusa: Since we both got the same score…Does that mean Eve will have to hang out with us…as well as with the Sakamaki’s…?

Yuma: So we can’t have her all to ourselves durin’ winter break?

Subaru: Hah! Serves you right! Told you we wouldn’t let you fuckers have her!

Yuma: Shut up! Ya guys can’t keep her all to yerselves either!

Shuu: Oh well, I suppose we’ll have no other choice but to accept these results.

You suggest you all hang out together.

Shuu: …Hah?

Reiji: …All of us together, you say? You mean both of our families…?

Ayato: No fuckin’ way! I don’t want to spend time with them!

Subaru: Che…Ridiculous. I’m not gonna pretend to be pals with these bastards.

Kanato: It’s unpleasant but I suppose we have no other choice. Those who have a problem with it can simply spend the break by themselves.

Ayato & Subaru: Fuck off!

Subaru: Who says I have a problem with it!?

Ayato: I never said I’d spend the break alone, did I!?

Laito: You won’t gain anything from that kind of attitude. Just try and make the best of it~

Kou: Yeah, exactly~! Let’s all have a blast together! Right, M-neko-chan?

Azusa: Mmh…I’m also looking forward…to spending winter break together, Eve…Say, what should we do…aside from skiing?

Yuma: There’s still some time until the end-of-term ceremony, so we’ve got plenty of time to brainstorm.

Ruki: Right. Why don’t you come over to our place so we can set up a plan?

Kou: Nice idea, Ruki-kun!

Azusa: Well then, with that settled…Let’s not waste any more time. Eve…Let’s go.

Subaru: Hold up! Don’t be tryin’ to abuse the situation to take her away! Didn’t you agree to spending the break all together just earlier!?

Yuma: Hah! Says the guy who didn’t seem to like the sound of that at all!

Azusa: Mmh…Yuma’s right.

Subaru: Shut up!! Besides, why do you guys get to decide everythin’!?

Ruki: The more people, the more difficult it becomes to come to an agreement. Rest assured, once we’ve settled on a plan, we shall inform you guys as well. I cannot deny that the challenge ended in a draw after all. However, winter break has not yet started.

Kanato: Exactly. Do you really think that twisted logic of yours will fly?

Yuma: What do ya mean, twisted logic!? He’s makin’ perfect sense!

Azusa: Exactly…I don’t believe Ruki is wrong…

Kanato: Are you an idiot, Azusa!? I’m trying to say that I can’t give you guys permission to take her to your house.

Subaru: No way we can trust some kind of shady plan you fuckers came up with. …Come on, you too! You don’t need to feel obligated to go with those guys. For today, just come back home with us, ‘kay?

Ruki: Do not make a fuss simply because things have not gone your way. It is painful to watch.

Subaru: Kuh…Ruki…You bastard! Meet me outside so we can fight it out!

Ayato: Cut it out, you shitheads! It was always the plan for her to spend the winter break with me!

The Sakamaki’s and Mukami’s start arguing in the back.

Reiji: Well, I do find it frustrating that we were not able to put those Mukami’s in their place, I suppose I can hardly complain seeing as Ayato did manage to pass his exams. …That being said, I am already getting a headache just from knowing that I will be the one having to constantly stop them from arguing. Good grief…Haah…

ーー THE END ーー

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #shuu sakamaki #reiji sakamaki #ayato sakamaki #kanato sakamaki #laito sakamaki #subaru sakamaki #ruki mukami #kou mukami #yuma2016 #azusa mukami #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers drama cd #but as far as drama CDs are concerned

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just-before-dawn · 6 months

Text

did i ever talk about my Cats RCCL Cast 14 experience on here? i dont remember

anyway so flashback to september 2023, i went on the oasis of the seas cruiseline for the second time and ofc i watched cats ALL three times it showed on that boat (along with dragging my family along to see it with me all three times hehe)

cats rccl cast 12 made me REALLY get back into cats so me going again made my heart fucking soar!! now i knew everything!

first night, we lined up early so we could snatch the front row and i was dead center (bc at this point my entire family knows that im actually insane about this show) and not only did i tear the fuck up during the overture, SO MANY MOMENTS happened while watching!!

first show: during naming of cats, gus and i were literally having a full on staring contest. dude was UP CLOSE to my face and my fixating ass was mouthing the poem with him. my family was fucking laughing at the whole interaction. (during this, i think tantomile was scaring my older brother lmao)

the entire first show was so great, i was literally having the time of my life and trying not to tear up. its so refreshing to see the jellicle ball in full and to see the entire mr mistoffelees dance. daniel chesnut is such an amazing misto. he encapsulates that cat so well, his dancing is amazing!!

i think it was during moments of happiness or something, rumpleteazer and mungojerrie snuck up on me. rumple rubbed her head against my knee i was fr like "AHHHH" in my head.

anyway, the first show was so amazing i was literally starstruck i did not want to leave that theater 😭 got noticed by misto so many times and had an overall blast. i was shaking walking out of the room

second show, we just came back from dinner so we didn't get to snatch seats and had to sit in the balcony seats but it was funny to see misto blind everyone with the bright light during skimbleshanks when they made the train.

THE THIRD SHOW HOWEVER!!

this time we sat front house left. and OH MY GOD THE INTERACTIONS DURING THIS SHOW. AGAIN DURING NAMING OF CATS. okay so this time, misto and i were having a staring contest, mouthing the poem to each other, then suddenly BOMBALURINA POPS OUT OF FREAKING NOWHERE!!! AND SHE'S UP AND CLOSE TO ME! SHE'S IN MY FACE. GIRL WAS LIKE 3CM AWAY FROM ME, ONE FOOT ON THE CHAIR. MY HEART WAS RACING. during this, misto was like 😳 to my cousins as they watched this whole thing happen.

during moments of happiness, mungojerrie would literally not break eye contact with my cousin, it was so fucking funny. THE WHOLE NUMBER he was staring at her. mungojerrie also like fnaf 2 jumped at us during the end of the show.

DURING MR MISTOFFELEES!! after misto made old deut appear again and he was standing at the edge of the stage waiting for tugger to show old deut who saved him, he made a lil heart shape at us and i fucking died. i deceased.

he did so again a second time!! during bows and tugger noticed us as well going like "sir who tf are you making a heart at" and haha guilty :3c

but as misto left the stage, he gave us a high five and AHHH wanted to scream and die again. we literally had the most fun that night and i miss it so much 😭😭

im in such show withdrawal right now. i miss this show so much. bootlegs and the 1998 recording isnt enough, PUT ME BACK ON THAT SHIP!!

#cats musical #peach drabbles #mr mistoffelees #cats rccl cast 14 #cats the musical #cats 1998 #mungojerrie #rumpleteazer #mungojerrie and rumpleteazer #bombalurina

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 2 years

Text

QTA: Queer Teacher Alliance

so, homophobia ft. queer teacher alliance? incredible fic, I have gone back and reread that thing at least five times becuase the comfort is immaculate 👌 anyway, becuase of that, I have returned with another lil request for u to consider! after the whole homophobic argument mess, virgil has to get his class switched, and surprise surprise, his new teacher for that period is one of the other sides! (idk which one, any would be chill) I was thinking a couple little snapshots (maybe a sort of 5+1 deal except I dont know what the +1 would be haha) of v in that class, possibly a little h/c sprinkled in becuase i am a weak man with a primal need for soft things :) thank u very much for considering! I love reading your works, and I geeked out a totally reasonable amount when u answered my last request <333 - vinbee631

Read on Ao3

Warnings: homophobia

Pairings: none

Word Count: 3666

Virgil doesn't really expect much to change

Virgil doesn't really expect much to change. Come on, it's high school, they don't do much to take care of you. He thinks he'll be lucky to get away with that one day of being slightly coddled by his surprisingly accommodating also gay teachers and then it'll be back to grind.

But he gets taken out of all the classes he has with that teacher, Kyle, and Leslie.

He still has all the same teachers, just at different times. It's…honestly?

That would've been enough.

But then this week happens.

It starts off with art class. Mr. Dagenheart's introducing a new unit that's supposed to be about 'identity' or something super vague that's basically just an excuse for people to do whatever they want and bullshit something at the end. Of course there are gonna be some try-hards and people that are actually good at art that are gonna be amazing, but Virgil's just looking to coast through this and not try too hard.

Then come the whispers.

Gossip in high school spreads like wildfire, so it's no surprise that everyone knows why Virgil was transferred out of the other class. Don't get him wrong, some people came up to him and were very much all that was shitty and fucked up and I'm sorry, tell me if anyone else does that and I'll kick their asses, which was nice, but this is still high school and his standards are practically nonexistent after everything.

So when 'identity' gets dropped as the new theme, he's not surprised in the slightest when people start giving him little looks.

Fuck. Is this where I have to embrace my identity as the Gay Kid? Am I expected to make some big thing about how my 'identity' is being gay and all that shit?

I don't even like rainbows that much.

Even so, when everyone splits up and starts brainstorming ideas for what sort of art piece they want to create, Virgil finds himself idly writing the words 'gay' and 'rainbow' down on his piece of paper as he starts randomly sketching something reminiscent of all the actual good pieces of art he's seen.

"Virgil?"

"Oh. Hey, Mr. Dagenheart."

He takes a seat on the stool next to him. "That looks cool."

"Thanks. Totally didn't steal the idea from something sick I saw on Instagram yesterday."

Mr. Dagenheart snorts. The scratch of Virgil's pencil occupies him for a little longer before he silently points to the two words. Virgil glances up to see a silent expression that definitely means are you sure?

Glancing around to make sure no one else is looking at them, he lowers his voice. "Aren't I…supposed to?"

"Supposed to what?" Virgil nods to the words. "No, Virgil. You're not 'supposed' to do anything. If that doesn't feel like you, don't do it. That's the whole point."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. This unit's supposed to be—well, it's supposed to help keep the art budget low—"

Virgil snorts.

"—but no, it's you. Whatever bits of you that you feel comfortable putting into the world and sharing in this classroom. There's no right way or wrong way to do it."

He glances around too and leans a bit closer.

"And there's no one way to be gay, V," he says quietly, "it's okay."

Virgil looks back down at the piece of paper and slowly erases the word rainbow, but leaves gay.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Mr. Dagenheart nudges him. "What medium do you think you wanna work with this time?"

"…not gonna lie, I'm really tempted by your suggestion of just throwing paint at a wall."

"Now you're speaking my language."

But, sure. Mr. Dagenheart is Mr. Dagenheart. He's an art teacher, he can get away with being…well, himself.

But Mr. Mackenzie? Virgil expects it to be the whole 'we don't talk about this, we don't acknowledge it, we just be professional and don't concern ourselves which such things.'

So when quantum physics rolls around and Virgil's frantically trying to remember the difference between a quark and a lepton, he's really not expecting one of the other students to ask Mr. Mackenzie to make good on a promise.

"Come on, sir, you've been saying you'll explain why classical mechanics is heteronormative since we did constant acceleration!"

Hold up.

What now?

Mr. Mackenzie sighs, adjusting his glasses. "I did promise that, didn't I?"

A general clamor goes up around the classroom and he chuckles, raising his hands for quiet and moving through the presentation until he finds a slide on the double-slit experiment.

"Now," he says, "I cannot take credit for this idea or explanation. It belongs to an incredible person named Amrou al-Kadhi, who is also a drag performer under the name Glamrou."

"Go off."

"Oh, hell yes."

"I didn't have talking about drag queens on my science-class bingo card but I'm not complaining."

Virgil sits up a little more.

"But what the gist of their explanation is this: Newtonian physics—classical mechanics, is very strict and regulated. If I do A, B happens, and so forth. It's why I had you all study those formulae until you were sick of them." He smiles as a general grimace forms. "But once we get to subatomic particles, quantum physics, everything gets thrown out the window. It's why I told you to be prepared for me to make you angry when I explain how everything I just taught you was wrong."

He points to the slide.

"Now, we've just gone over this experiment, yes?"

A general 'yes' and Virgil nods.

"A key component of it is that electrons, which are particles, seem to behave like waves. Light behaves like both a particle and a wave depending on how it's examined. Classical mechanics tells us that it should go through either the left slit or the right slit but sometimes…" He gestures to the picture. "It goes through both, and we don't really understand why."

Something in his face softens.

"What al-Kadhi explains is that as queer people, we are constantly defying these sorts of regimented rules and 'laws,' so to speak. We question and search for answers in a world that doesn't want to make it easy for us to find them. So when you study quantum physics and find that the most fundamental of particles disrupt and disobey all the 'natural laws,' it can be somewhat comforting."

His eyes meet Virgil's for a moment and he almost smiles.

"Besides, I think it's far more interesting that explaining that if you push something off a bridge, it's going to hit the ground very hard."

The class laughs and Virgil laughs too. Huh…nonbinary physics…

"I definitely recommend looking up the video where they talk about it. It's an excellent understanding of a rather complex idea and they articulate it wonderfully."

"You should make that our next homework assignment."

"You know what, maybe I will."

But...sure. Okay. Fine. It's just an explanation or a one-off thing, right? It isn't like they're actually being taught that it's queer, it's just, y'know, a cool way of thinking about it.

History class isn't Virgil's favorite class, but it isn't his least favorite either. Maybe 'cause Mr. Everheart has this way of explaining things that actually makes it seem like one, he understands what he's teaching and two, that he respects you enough as an adult to tell you the truth.

"If you study history, there will be times when you're uncomfortable. There will be times when you're outraged. There will be times where you really don't want to study the things that you're studying," he'd said once, "and if you never have any of those feelings, you probably aren't studying history."

They're talking about recent American history and they get onto the topic of Reagan. Virgil mentally wills himself not to whisper what the fuck every two seconds as they start going through things, and then someone says this:

"Why is everyone so upset about Reagan's presidency? I mean, we survived it, didn't we?"

Mr. Everheart gets quiet. He takes his glasses off and polishes the lenses before putting them back on.

"You're right," he says lowly, "people did survive Reagan's presidency. In fact, most people you hear about survived Reagan's presidency. But what have we repeatedly said about history?"

"It's written by the victors?"

"Yes, but also by the survivors."

He sits up a little more and nods to the syllabus in front of him.

"I was planning to wait until we got there to bring it up, but I suppose we can do a little bit now. How many of you know about the AIDS crisis?" A few hands go up. "How many of you know how bad it was?"

Some of the hands go down.

"How many of you know what AIDS used to be called?"

The two hands that had been raised are lowered slowly. Mr. Everheart hums.

"Who can tell me what AIDS stands for?"

"Uh," says one of them, "it's like, autoimmune deficiency syndrome?"

"Close. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. This name came into popular use in 1982 when it was coined by the CDC. It went by a few names before then, but the most widely used—including by government officials and mass media outlets, was GRID. Any ideas as to what that stood for?"

A few people shook their heads. One person raised their hand. "General-Related Immune Deficiency?"

"No. Anyone else?"

When nothing follows, Virgil's grip on his pencil tightens.

"GRID stood for Gay-Related Immune Deficiency."

Shocked noises come from around the room and he holds up his hand.

"And because it mainly affected the queer community, people of color, and other disadvantaged socio-economic groups, almost no one took it seriously. The reason it still has the stigma it does is because of that. So we don't have a lot of that history because the people who would be a part of it, died."

Silence.

"Now, don't get me wrong. There are still people that lived and tell their histories. I encourage you to seek them out. I don't want to sound as if I'm saying that everything was lost, but I want you to think about why we don't hear about it. And why when we say we 'survived' things like Reagan's presidency, it's because the people who did, by and large, weren't at risk from it at all."

By the time he gets to Mr. Prince's class, he's just waiting for it to happen.

One of his favorite things about learning with Mr. Prince is that the man will go on tangents that have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with whatever he's supposed to be teaching them and then, fifteen minutes later, find some way to link it back to whatever they're studying and it is some kind of witchcraft. He also encourages people to just kind of talk at him when they think they've got something, which means everyone is taking notes from each other as much as they are from him.

But he wasn't exactly expecting it to come up like this.

"So," Mr. Prince says, "The Gay Gatsby—wait."

The whole class explodes into laughter as Mr. Prince pinches the bridge of his nose. Virgil can't help it, he joins in too, watching the shake of his head as he smiles sheepishly at them.

"Freudian Slip?"

"I mean," another student manages, "you're not wrong."

"No, I'm not. Matter of fact—how much time do we have left?"

"Like, ten minutes?"

"That's good enough. We're on schedule." He claps his hands and sits on the desk. "Gatsby: Gay or Not Gay? Discuss."

"Oh my god," Virgil's friend scoffs, "so gay."

"Pink suit? Fancy parties that he personally invites just Nick to? A weird compulsion to be with Daisy even though he obviously doesn't love her anymore?" Someone else throws their hands up. "That's a gay if I've ever seen one."

"Excuse you, this is disaster bisexual erasure and I will not stand for it."

"Also," another friend says, "are we gonna talk about how Nick and Jordan are gay-lesbian solidarity? They're both each other's beards."

"Wait, Nick's gay?"

Mr. Prince sighs. "Okay, honey, if you can give me a heterosexual explanation for whatever that missing scene is with Mr. McKee, I'll give you a 100 right now."

"No, no way, that's the most not-a-sex-scene sex scene I've ever read."

"Also, no straight man talks about another straight man like that."

"Isn't there a line where Jordan says that Nick looks like he's 'having a gay time' and then the next page is all about Gatsby's smile?"

"Putting aside the other use of the word 'gay,' yeah, no, this man is not straight."

"Pink suit, guys, pink. Suit."

"Also Tom hates him for some other reason."

"Wait, hang on." Virgil steeples his fingers in front of him. "Who's seen the movie?"

"Me."

"I have."

"Leonardo De Caprio's in it, of course I've seen it."

"Do you guys remember the scene with the party in New York with Tom and Myrtle and everything? You know that one line that Tom says about knowing Nick likes to watch and remembering that from college?"

"He says what?"

"Wait, wait, is that in the book?"

"No, it's not. They just put that in for the movie. What the f-heck was that all about?"

"Now, now," Mr. Prince says as the class starts to debate what implications that has, "let's cite our sources, shall we? Do we think this clip exists on YouTube?"

"Oh, it totally has to."

"Wait, can we watch it? Hell yes!"

He's staying behind on a Friday again, just to finish up this last part of the art thing he's doing for Mr. Dagenheart, when he looks up to see the rest of them come in.

"Uh. Hi?"

"Virgil, yes, Remus said you'd still be here." Mr. Prince waves. "How's it coming along? It looks great!"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Are you working through lunch?" Mr. Mackenzie tilts his head. "Have you eaten already?"

"Well, no, but Mr. Dagenheart said it was okay if I—"

Of course, then said teacher bursts out of the supply closet and scares the hell out of him.

"You guys brought food, right?"

"It's your week, Re."

"Oh, shit."

"Language!"

"Virgil," Mr. Mackenzie says quietly, "would you mind if we ate in here while you work?"

"Uh, no, that's fine, I don't care. I can, um, I can leave if you—"

"No, no, you're working. We'll try to be as minimally disruptive as possible."

Mr. Prince snorts. "Speak for yourself."

Mr. DeLuca smacks his shoulder and Virgil quickly tries to focus on his work again.

This is fine. This is fine. This is so fine.

"Virgil," Mr. Dagenheart calls, "remember, you can work in here as long as you eat, so chomp, chomp over there, yeah?"

"I remember!"

"Good."

Sure, Virgil thinks as he gets politely mother-henned by his queer teachers into eating lunch and taking a break from his work, this might as well happen. This week's already been so goddamn weird.

+1.

Mr. DeLuca is fucking scary.

He doesn't get mad in the I'm-gonna-be-loud-and-shouty way but he gets really quiet and really serious and cold, like he's gonna rip you apart with just his words and death-stare. And he's currently shredding two of Virgil's classmates over throwing temper tantrums about the homework.

Just shut up. Don't look up. Don't fucking move. Just stare at the numbers. Just look at the numbers.

"I have yet to behold mature and reasonable students," the icy voice says, "what I see are petulant, rude, obnoxious, ill-behaved children."

He's not talking to you. Just shut up and don't move and he won't look at you.

"Now that didn't have to happen in front of all of your friends and peers, but it did. Because you had to make fools of yourselves. Now, I understand that you have some studying to catch up on and all of you—"

Virgil just manages not to flinch.

"—have a test next week. I presume I don't have to tell you that it is mandatory."

A few brave souls whisper 'no, sir,' and there's a faint rustling from people shaking their heads.

"Mm. I suggest you get to it, then. You two—" don't flinch, not you— "will go and speak with Mr. Johnson, and I will join you in half an hour. Virgil?"

What the fuck did I do? Did I do something wrong? Shit, fuck—

"Stay behind for a moment."

A few of his friends shoot him pitying looks as they flee from the classroom. He takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders, sitting up straight as he puts away all of his math stuff. He's frantically running through his head of anything he could've done wrong—maybe his grades weren't as good as they should be, maybe he made a dumb mistake on the last homework—shit, was he talking too obviously in class? He was just trying to explain a thing—

He jumps when Mr. DeLuca sits down across from him.

"Did Mr. Everheart speak to you this morning?" Virgil nods. "So, you understand that the others are currently in a meeting with the Dean to discuss repercussions for the teacher who encouraged and participated in the homophobic bullying."

He nods again.

"What would you like to see happen?"

What? Excuse him? He doesn't fucking know. He shrugs.

Mr. DeLuca raises an eyebrow. "Conversations do work best when both participants speak."

"Sorry, I, um, I don't know, I—I didn't think anything would happen, so I, um, didn't think about it. Sorry. I don't know."

There's a pause, then he leans forward. "Are you alright, Virgil?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm good."

"Don't lie to me."

There's nothing in the world that could've stopped Virgil's flinch at that. He stares down at his hands. Fuck, fuck, what do I say? I can't tell the truth, what the fuck am I supposed to do? He's gonna fucking eviscerate me, he's gonna say I'm being dramatic, I can't—I can't—

The sudden scrape of a chair makes him flinch again, head jerking up to see Mr. DeLuca getting up and walking toward his desk. A hysterical part of Virgil's brain sees his hand flash near the ruler and truly panics, only for him to pick up a tissue box instead. He walks back over and places it on the table before crouching—crouching next to Virgil.

"What's wrong, sweetie," he asks in a soft voice that gives Virgil whiplash, "tell me?"

Don't cry. Don't fucking cry.

"I—I—um, I—"

"You look scared," he says when Virgil can't do anything more than stutter. Virgil nods shamefully. "Yeah? Is that it, you're just scared?"

Not much of a 'just' about it, but yeah.

"What's scaring you?"

Now, this is a trap. He has no idea what the actual fuck he's supposed to say, so he just stares at him. When Mr. DeLuca raises an eyebrow, he gestures feebly around at the classroom.

Confusion flickers across his face until Virgil sees him realize what he's so afraid of.

"Is it me," he asks quietly, "are you scared of me? Because of what just happened?"

Shame burns his face and he nods, trying to hide. Mr. DeLuca makes another one of those confusing soft noises and rests a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Virgil, I didn't mean to scare you. You're not in trouble, I'm not mad at you."

"I-I know." He sniffles and quickly wipes it away. "Sorry, I promise I'm not doing this on purpose. I'm not trying to be dramatic."

"I know, sweetie. It's okay." He nudges the tissue box closer. "If you need to cry, it's okay. Go ahead. Do you want a moment?"

"N-no, you can—you can stay."

And he does, gently rubbing Virgil's shoulder and letting him be a total fucking mess all over his table. It's weird and confusing and so at odds with the scary teacher who just humiliated two students for crying too and he's not gonna question it anymore.

"Listen," he murmurs when Virgil's all done with his meltdown, "I get mad when students throw fits and do things on purpose to try and get their way or draw attention to themselves. I do not get mad when people get upset and need to cry. And if anyone ever gives you a hard time or makes fun of you for needing to cry, you come and you tell me and I'll be scary at them, alright?"

"Okay."

He smiles and ruffles Virgil's hair. "Good. Why don't you and I sit here for a while and calm down, then we can talk?"

"…don't you need to go be scary?"

"You're more important right now. Mr. Johnson's used to handling those two. And, Virgil?"

"Yeah?"

Mr. DeLuca gives him a look. "I am happy to be scary for you if you ever need it."

Virgil frowns. "For me?"

"Yes, Virgil, if anyone ever decides to be an ignorant bigot, I am more than happy to be scary for you."

Okay. So.

Maybe things can get better after all.

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#dragonbabbles #sanders sides #fic #roman sanders #remus sanders #sympathetic remus #janus sanders #sympathetic deceit #deceit sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders

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