#chris braide

[bucephaly]

Until I can get my thesis works photographed and posted, here's some of the development work for them! I started this particular series about halfway thru my thesis semester after feeling really stuck. Late one night I had the idea of a coyote-headed person having cut off their own head and were muzzling it. I drew it right there [the first sketch] and then over the next few days I had planned out the rest of my thesis.

[akaanuar]

Top 20: Best Albums of 2023

A escasas horas de terminar el 2023 les presento por undécimo año consecutivo mi top 20 de los mejores y favoritos álbumes del año. Música nueva de todas partes del mundo que me acompañó durante este año en los mejores y no tan mejores momentos. Pero antes, les comparto mi top 5 de los mejores conciertos que asistí durante el 2023: 1. Depeche Mode y Kelly Lee Owens @ Foro Sol, CDMX 2. Kraftwerk @…

[roughridingrednecks]

Castro

[lucyshypemaster]

I FOUND THIS PIC IN PINTEREST AND OMG, THIS IS LITERALLY BRYSTAL'S HAIRSTYLE?

[babysdrivers]

i'm just like sitting here weeping bc the jackass guys mean so much to me like they'll never know how big of a positive impact they've had on my life

[sinceileftyoublog]

Jolie Holland Interview: Refractive & Layered

Photo by Chris Doody

BY JORDAN MAINZER

When I called Jolie Holland last summer to talk about her then-upcoming new album Haunted Mountain (Cinquefoil), the LP had just arrived. Lying in her house was, in her words, "a mountain of Haunted Mountain." She had just finished boxing up a limited edition vinyl of her debut album Catalpa, sent to her supporters on Patreon, and a friend was coming over later in the day to help box up some more vinyl. The DIY and direct-to-consumer approach suits Holland and is certainly consistent with the themes of Haunted Mountain, an album that at times looks back at Holland's earliest years and contextualizes them within society's current fights against capitalism and the patriarchy.

On Haunted Mountain, you can hear battles in every aspect of Holland's experiments. Take the spacious electronica of "Feet On The Ground", its deep bass groove and panning, skittering beat tangling with Holland's soulful vocal and whistling, and buzz-saw guitars that cut in and out. On the surface, its lyrics recall protest, but to Holland, it's her first "anti-patriarchal dance" song, using bodily movement as a means to a more just end. Piano ballad "Orange Blossoms" lays side-by-side natural imagery and soundscapes to chide human effect on climate change while being careful not to delve into the world of self-righteousness or eco fascism. "Every single soul on this spinning globe / Is captive to this dick measuring contest," she quips with her trademark smoky, jazzy vocal. The galloping Buck Meek duet "Highway 72" references Holland's experience as a homeless teenager, piercing violin rubbing against gentle acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and Mellotron, the sonic manifestation of the daily struggle to live on the streets. The song uses the Nyabinghi rhythm, named after an anti-colonial Rwandan freedom fighter, Holland's subtle way of connecting the fights against colonialism and austerity.

It's no coincidence that Holland's first album in years came as her creative relationship with Meek flourished. She first met him at the Park Slope Food Coop, where they both worked. "The stairs to the office are lined with cheesy personal advertisements of people offering different services," Holland said of the Coop. "It feels like a college campus in the 90's." She decided to advertise songwriting coaching and music lessons, and Meek saw it and decided to get in touch, as he was a fan of her music. The rest, as they say, is history: Holland bared witness to Meek's burgeoning relationship with Adrianne Lenker, the formation of Big Thief, and both his and his brother Dylan's resulting success.

Yes, it was a coincidence that in 2023, both Holland and Meek released albums named Haunted Mountain. Holland co-wrote five of the songs on Meek's album, including its title track, a tribute to active volcano Mount Shasta. Guitarist Adam Brisbin, whom Holland introduced to Meek, plays on both records. Yet, that both albums deal with "reciprocity with nature"--a phrase Holland said that Meek used to contextualize his title track--and a sort of cosmic telepathy is a tribute to Holland and Meek's intertwined creative partnership. Right now, Holland is getting ready to tour the UK and EU in March and April. Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity, about Haunted Mountain, working with Meek, nature, protest music, and conversational songwriting.

Photo by Chris Doody

Since I Left You: This cosmic collaboration between you and Buck is years in the making.

Jolie Holland: I was super charmed. We've known each other for over 10 years. I love writing songs with him. We've never done it in person--it was just literally texting and videos that we sent each other.

SILY: On "Mood Ring" from his album, he sings about telepathy. Even if he's singing about it from a romantic standpoint, that he titled the album the same thing is even further coincidence.

JH: He didn't know I was naming my next record Haunted Mountain. I always was. I never questioned it. It was this very simple vision for me. It's such a straightforward thing to name a record after a song and clearly, it's a very evocative title. Who knows what it means? I don't exactly know what it means. It has this nice refractive multi-faceted character. It's also a soft rhyme that has a nice rhythm to it. It was unquestioned to me that was gonna be the title.

There was a similar thing going on in Buck's circle. He kept coming up with different names for his record, but everyone in his circle was calling it Haunted Mountain. They assumed that was the name. He thought, "This isn't moving. Everybody is into this." He sent me this extremely thoughtful email that explained the process. He said, "Can I name my record after your song, [but] only if you're not going to name your record the same [thing]?" I said, "Yeah, well I am [naming it Haunted Mountain]." It only took us a few hours to come around to the fact that [the coincidence] was awesome. [laughs]

SILY: He sings about the idea of "reciprocity with nature" on his title track, a humbled relationship with it, and so do you, especially on "Orange Blossoms". Can you talk about your personal relationship with nature and singing about it?

JH: I said that phrase, "reciprocity with nature," and then I completely forgot having said it. Buck was texting me, "What was that you said? Something about something with nature? What was it?" We finally both remembered my having said it.

Are you an Indigenous person?

SILY: No.

JH: Me neither. My grandmother had a Choctaw last name but wasn't tribally affiliated. She had a family background of being Indigenous. They lived in New Orleans. She was Black and French, and the spelling of her last name is typically only Choctaw. When I was a kid, she told me in a very strong New Orleans accent, "I'm half Black, half French, and half Indian. That makes me Cajun." It's some ridiculous shit. Did you read Braiding Sweetgrass?

SILY: No, but I'm familiar with it.

JH: It's so beautiful. It's written by an Indigenous botanist named Robin Wall Kimmerer. The audio book is so...gorgeous, hearing the cadence and the weight of meaning in her voice. I haven't even finished the book. It's very, very long, 15 hours or more. I've just dipped my toes in. But she tells this incredible story of being a young botanist student. She had this hypothesis that traditional harvesting methods were positive for propagating certain plant species. Her professor, who was not Indigenous, was not into the idea of her doing this experiment. He said, "That's clearly wrong. How could human behavior be good for these plants?" She did the experiment and proved that traditional harvesting practices were positive overall for the plant. There are these intensely unanalyzed perspectives in European and settler culture that humans are a curse on nature. It has so many deep repercussions.

I reference that Malthusian perspective on the record. There's a voice of nature on "Orange Blossoms" that says, "We throw this party every year whether or not you motherfuckers are around." [The line is, "We throw this party every year / Whether or not you humans are here."] [laughs] It's talking about spring. But that's a real settler colonial European attitude, that humans are not part of nature. It's obviously ridiculous. It's just a philosophical conceit.

SILY: Your references to fascism in that song are interesting. It reminded me of the very online debate during COVID about people staying inside and "nature healing" being an ecologically fascist point of view.

JH: I heard the line, "Every superhero is a fascist," through leftist comedians, Francesca Fiorentini and Nato Green. I found many examples of that analysis. There's a great couple chapters in the book The Utopia of Rules by David Graeber where he gets into that idea. He was friends with a lot of my friends, but I never met him. He died of COVID complications. His biggest macro-cultural hit was the book Bullshit Jobs, and before he passed away, he wrote The Dawn of Everything, which is extremely wonderful. He's an anthropologist, and the person he cowrote the book with, David Wengrow, is an archaeologist. They did an enormous global analysis of the systems of democracy and social organization that are not authoritarian. It's brilliant. I think it's going to be really important tool moving forward. It resets the picture on a lot of things.

Photo by Chris Doody

SILY: Do your views on colonialism and nature jive with the anti-colonial bend of "Highway 72" as well?

JH: Why do you say it's anti-colonial?

SILY: I thought the juxtaposition of imagery in the line, "Great-horned owl slipping by the overpass / I feel like every year might be my last," was referential to systems of oppression constantly threatening to kill us. Is that song auto-biographical?

JH: [laughs] Yeah, I was a homeless teenager, and there's a lot of imagery of that time in my life in that song. My friend called it an anti-colonial hymn because the rhythm, Nyabinghi rhythm, is an anti-colonial rhythm. It's named after the Rwandan female military leader. I've loved that rhythm for a long time. There's this movie Land of Look Behind made by Alan Greenberg, who was a cinematographer who worked with Werner Herzog. He was friends with Bob Marley and happened to be visiting him when he died. There's all this beautiful footage of Marley's funeral and footage of backwoods Rastafarians hanging out and playing music. There's a band Keith Richards produced called Wingless Angels, and it's some of my favorite gospel music. It's so moving to me. It's been an important part of my musical vocabulary for 20 years. I forget how deeply embedded it is in my way of thinking about music. One of my best friends, one of the first people to hear the record, said something so beautiful about the rhythm: "It's slower than my grief." I said, "Wow, I don't know what you're talking about, but I love it!" [laughs] I think he was trying to say it helped him move through a certain healing process.

I looked up the beat because I wanted more concrete information about it. I forget anything I've learned about it because I've been into it for so long. Keith Richards said something so amazing about it: "It's purposefully slower than your heartbeat." [I thought,] "Is [my friend's] experience of the song related to Richards was saying about it?

SILY: It requires an active participation or listening.

JH: What do you mean by that?

SILY: When something is that slow, it can't be experienced passively. To stay engaged, you have to commit to it.

JH: That's interesting. It's like Bob Dylan getting really really quiet when the audience is loud.

SILY: Definitely similar. I was intrigued, though, when you were just talking about the relationships between humans and nature, because the song is about you living outside.

JH: More and more of us experience that as capitalism fucks us up. [The song isn't about homelessness, but] about [my] experience of homelessness. A lot of people look at me, clearly a fucking intellectual, and they think I went to college and had a family. I'm a white lady, so there are assumptions about my socioeconomic background. They're wrong! [laughs] I didn't want to be taken as a ghoul, bloodlessly discussing so-called social problems, looking at it from an external viewpoint.

SILY: "Feet On The Ground" seems to be describing the relationship between protesting and activism and our emotions.

JH: That's interesting. It's not. But I like your analysis.

SILY: The line I highlight is, "When you've taken all that you can handle / Every act of tenderness is a frightful gamble." What does that mean to you?

JH: I've been working on this project of trying to make anti-patriarchal dance music, and this is the first [song]. It's more about interpersonal relationships. It's very inside-out. It's from deep inside of relationships with men.

SILY: Which is a political statement in and of itself, inherently.

JH: Totally. I love that you saw it that way.

SILY: Have other people heard the song without knowing what it refers to and interpreted it other ways?

JH: My friends who have heard it have been overwhelmed by the production. I was really excited to talk with people about what it means, but everybody I've played it for, Buck included, have thought it's such a crazy soundscape.

SILY: Somewhat of an anomaly for you.

JH: It's my first dance track...It's listed as a different genre.

SILY: What's your relationship with The Painted Bird, and why did you frame "One Of You" around that book?

JH: Have you read that book?

SILY: No.

JH: Don't read it! It sucks! [laughs] It's so fucking intense.

SILY: It's one of those books where I haven't read it, but I'm very familiar with the discourse around it.

JH: I read The Painted Bird when I was 13. I didn't know what it was. How could I have? I don't even know where I found it. Probably in the library, or I borrowed it from one of my mom's friends. It's the story of a little blond-haired Jewish boy walking out of rural Poland in the aftermath of WWII, who encounters repeated creepy atrocities. There's a lot of sexual violence in the book, which I really wish I hadn't been exposed to as a child. The central image in the book is when the kid sees these country boys that capture a bird and paint it in these bright colors and release it back, and the flock kills it.

SILY: Because they think it's an intruder.

JH: It's this extremely visceral metaphor for genocide and the process of othering. "Feet On The Ground" and "One Of You" were kind of the same idea for a minute. It was really hard to write "Feet On The Ground" because in one sense, it's protest music, but I'm not interested in writing protest music that's accusatory. I want to write music that actually gives people an ability to consider things from a more basic level than just an oppositional state. That's always been my criticism of oppositional protest music. If it's just accusatory, the person being accused is not listening to the music. I totally value a lot of music that is accusatory and is that kind of typical punk rock anthem-type stuff, but I've [long] been interested in how to write in a different way. Daniel Johnston was a big influence in moving in that direction. He's somebody I think a lot of people wouldn't naturally identify with, somebody with mental illness. But he presents himself in a way where it's impossible not to identify with him.

"Feet On The Ground" is based to a degree on that William Onyeabor song "Better Change Your Mind". Another discursive protest song I found amazing is, "Can't Blame The Youth" by Peter Tosh.

SILY: Accusatory protest songs, in my experience, exist more as cathartic than wanting to make actual change. They serve that purpose, even if delivered to an echo chamber. However, I was listening to the latest Bully album, and the final song, a punk song called "All This Noise", is what you think of when someone says, "protest music," but the song before that, "Ms. America", is much quieter and has a basic premise of, "I want to have a kid, but I don't want to teach a kid how to fight." It turns protest feelings inward. I found it to be a more effective protest song due to it eliciting more empathy than what you would think of as typical protest music. Is empathy a part of what you're trying to achieve?

JH: What do you mean by empathy?

SILY: When you look inward a bit more in your protest songs, essentially, you're trying to uncover some more universal truth that other people can identify with, as a means of making change, rather than being accusatory.

JH: Do you mean empathy with the people you're trying to change?

SILY: With anyone listening.

JH: Probably. I'm definitely not interested in preaching at people, so it's about talking with the people listening and trying to be part of a bigger conversation with anybody who might be on board, as opposed to something intended to be strictly cathartic and outwardly directed.

SILY: "Me and My Dream" references some legendary songwriters. Can you talk about the weight that carries?

JH: I always loved the songs of Lou Reed's where he's referencing his friends. We don't even know who these people are. "'Margarita told Tom,' 'Kennedy says.'" Those aren't famous people. Those were his friends. Or maybe they were famous. It doesn't matter in the song. It's so beautiful. I remember when he talked about his orientation with writing lyrics, he wanted it to sound like the kind of things he wanted to say to his friends. An interpersonal conversation. I love lyrics like that. This was me approaching that idea. I'm always thinking about other artists' work and the ways it affects me and how I respond to it. Blind Willie Johnson, [Tom] Waits, and Richards are the namechecked artists, but I also reference Betty Davis' "I Will Take That Ride".

SILY: What's the story behind the cover art?

JH: I love this artist Jo Bird. She's a metal viola player I know from Houston. She has a band called Fiddle Witch. She moved from Houston to Galveston, which is the beach I grew up with as a child where I got sunburnt to fucking hell. Another one of my songs, "June", on Pint of Blood, talks about imagining mountains out of clouds. I grew up in the fucking swamp with no mountains, but the sky is incredible with cumulus clouds and rainbows and thunderstorms and tornadoes. I loved seeing her pictures all the time, how this goth photographer gets these scary pictures of the beach. [The cover] was a picture she took on her iPhone. We had to use some magic to get it big enough to use on the cover. We still chose to keep it kind of small so we didn't have to distort it to get a good image of it.

SILY: What instrument do you write most of your songs on?

JH: I write most of them in my head. I don't want the music to be limited by whatever I know or don't know instrument-wise.

SILY: Do you find adapting them to a live performance a totally different artistic endeavor than writing and recording them in the first place?

JH: No, it's all really creative and an opportunity to see different stuff in the music. We've been playing "Haunted Mountain" a lot of different ways. One way we've been doing it is synth, bass, viola. I love how it breaks down to just the elements. I love presenting songs in a lot of different settings.

SILY: Are you the type of songwriter who is always writing, or do you need to set aside time to sit down and write?

JH: I'm always collecting ideas, but I do need to sit down to make them come all the way through. I woke up and wrote some lines a couple mornings ago, which is great, because I'm so busy with everything else that it starts to feel weird to not have time to write.

SILY: Is there anything else upcoming for you?

JH: I put out Catalpa on vinyl in an extremely limited release that I offered to my Patrons. I'll do [a wider] re-release. It was never mastered at all, let alone for vinyl. Larry Crane, the editor of Tape Op, an awesome engineer, prepared the files. [The originals are like] a sketch on a cocktail napkin. They're made out of pure garbage. Larry's colleague Adam Gonsalves mastered them. They sound incredible. Adam mastered Haunted Mountain and Escondida for vinyl. I've been working with him for a while. My friend Jason Tavares, who runs a hi-fi Shop, listened to Catalpa on a hundred-thousand dollar system and said it sounds amazing.

I wish people had access to better systems. So many people don't even have a record player. I didn't even have a decent record player until I moved to L.A. 10 years ago. Before that, I was moving around so much, so it didn't make sense. Larry Crane played bass for Elliott Smith and did similar work for his shittier recordings, turning them into something that could take production. He's such a fabulous nerd and knows all the new things. He happened to hear those recordings of Elliott's while out and about, and said, "I would have done it differently now." He learned a lot of stuff before Catalpa, so I'm glad to hear Jason said it sounds good.

SILY: Did you start a Patreon over COVID?

JH: I did. I couldn't figure out how to access unemployment and was real fucked. I was about to go on tour in February 2020, so it was great to get into Patreon. I did something super gimmicky the other day that people fucking loved. I said, "I'm going to release a Tom Waits cover every week until I reach this many patrons." People responded to it so fast I had to keep moving that number until it made sense. It's been interesting engaging with people on that level. I'm glad there's platforms like that. Marc Ribot helped start Music Workers Alliance, and they did an analysis that streaming has taken 20 billion dollars a year out of artists' pockets, [so] it's great we have these direct support systems [like Patreon].

[purposefully-lost]

Hello listen Chris doing Rabbit's hair in french braids

CUTE?? 😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💕❤️💕💕

[disteal]

The burning man debacle is rly captivating to me in the ‘convention dumpster fire poetic irony’ sense. Like ur telling me these silicon valley crystal guys are stuck in a flooding lake bed after calling the cops on climate change protestors holding up traffic into the festival? By telling the cops these unarmed protestors had a gun? Fantastic. And they’re dying from exposure- oh they’re scaring the shit out of each other with a fake ebola scare??? Of course. I’m sure they’re handling that normally. Just saw a video from a guy at the festival saying folks need to stop being ‘negative’ about the people who didn’t survive the night. And they can’t leave the flooding lake bed because nobody can move their cars- It appears Chris Rock and Diplo have escaped the lake bed by walking out, as it was only a few miles until they hit regular traffic. We do not know the state of the burning man sex plane, the plane at burning man you book to have sex in, which exists. Never before seen cataclysmic impact to the ‘white women with $5k veneers and box braids’ community.

[luvjunie]

— trust who?

pairing: e-42!miles x 1610!fem!reader

contains: angst, mentions of death, yandere?miles

summary: you were taken from him a year ago, and now it seems the universe has given him a chance to do things differently— and this time, he’s not letting you go. no matter what. wc: 1,648

a/n: i got a lil carried away w this one won’t lie, lol. i love this song, and i put a little twist on it to match the plot. song lyrics are in small, bold italics

🎧: Not You Too - drake (ft. chris brown)

“trust- trust who? trust me and i can set you free. left your man came straight to me you the real mvp, my love.“

dimmed hues of red lights spotted your vision as you came to, eyelids heavy as they peeled apart to reveal the room you assumed would be the setting of your demise. your head snapped up when you finally regained consciousness completely, fright-riddled eyes darting around to scout out an escape plan. but just as you went to move, you heard chains clink from above as your body swayed, and realized you couldn’t. you looked down to find your legs bound by rope, as well as your hands, as well as the rest of your body to a firm, stuffed sack.

feet dangling from the ground, you let your head fall back against the punching bag, defeated, and settled for your only remaining option. “help!” you yelled, voice rasped and weak. “help!” you tried again.

“don’t bother, can’t hear a thing down here.”

an artificial, robotic voice sounded from above, warranting your eyes to meet a masked man who resided on a high beam, crouched in place, watching you. how long had he been there?

he jumped down, catching himself and effortlessly hanging from one arm before his sneakers met the steel floor. they were untied, you noticed.

fear permeated your entire being as he strolled over to you, a semblance of uneasiness coursing through your veins, pumping into your blood and rendering your spine straight as the ominous figure stopped just in front of you.

“ple—please, i don’t know why i’m here,” the words tumbled out in a broken heap of suffocated, stifled sobs as tears welled in your eyes.

“shh, it’s okay,” he shushed you, a hand reaching out to gently pinch your chin, lifting your head back up after it’d fallen. his touch was delicate, like he was scared he’d break you.

“i’m not gonna hurt you, mi vida. i’d never hurt you… you know that.” the voice distorter cut out, your breath catching in your throat and your eyes fluttering over every inch of this strange mask. it reminded you of a ventilation mask you’d seen in miles’ room once, a mask used to protect your lungs from the fumes of spray paint.

as if your mind were working against you, you found yourself… calmer than you were just a few seconds ago, and even more confused. why did the voice sound so familiar?

something wasn’t right.

“who— who are you?” you gulped.

“you don’t remember me?” the shield over his face pulled back, the quiet sound of mechanical whirring as it revealed his face drowned out by the heavy thrumming of your heart in your ear drums.

here stood your boyfriend in front of you, the same features, but… different. his entire demeanor had shifted since you had last seen him just prior to whatever time it was now, to something sinister. his hair was longer, pulled back and braided. an accent, almost resemblant of his mother’s lingered on the tip of his tongue, dripping within the words he spoke. his face was harder, etched and carved like the weight of the world had chipped at it piece by piece, only to settle on his shoulders, leaving him with no time for himself.

this couldn’t be right.

“miles?” you choked out, mouth gaping to find your voice. “w-why… what am I—you’re, you… but different? what is this? where am i?”

a puff of air shot through his nostrils, his best effort at a laugh as a small, smile lifted the corner of his lips, braids gliding over his shoulders when his head tilted to the side.

“you came back to me, mi amor. and god…you’re even more beautiful than i remembered.” he breathed, eyes flickering with sorrow for just a moment as they studied your face, a moment that was almost too brief for you to catch.

when he’d encountered you and his counterpart on the roof with his uncle, he swore his prayers had been answered. somehow, someway you’d been brought back to him— the pain of witnessing the bullet that pierced through your chest that fateful night just a year ago drifted from his mind, and replaced itself with the all consuming, peaceful, sleeping image of you the minute he’d picked you up and cradled you in his arms. it pained him to inject you with the needle to sedate you, but he had no other choice, he could never truly hurt you. no, he would never do that.

“i missed you so much.”

“first time in a long time hurtin' deeply inside”

the hand sporting his mechanical gauntlet lifted towards you, fingers bending so the claws wouldn’t scrape your skin as he let the cold metal brush against the swell of your cheek. the sound of the steel joints ticking made you flinch, chest stuttering for breaths you couldn’t keep within your overworked lungs as you turned away from him.

you looked at him with so much fear in your eyes, when all he’s ever wanted to do was keep you safe, to protect you, to make you feel comforted and secure. and he failed at that before, he knows that, but he’s ready this time. he’d been given a second chance, and he’d be damned if he let you slip through his fingers again.

“it’s me, hermosa… it’s okay, you know me. just trust me, and i can set you free, and then we can be together. just like old times.” his brows furrowed, his tone one of sincerity as he assured you, but it did nothing for your racing heart.

“trust—“ you sputtered, voice wavering when you spoke. “trust who? you? how can i when you have me tied up like this?!” you balked, your bewilderment such a stark contrast from his bleak, seemingly unmoving disposition.

“yeah… i’m real sorry ‘bout that. uncle aaron made me, so i tried not to make ‘em too tight. you know something like this would never, ever be my idea.”

you shook your head, was this some kind of sick joke? why wasn’t he understanding a single word that was coming from your mouth?

you grew frustrated, time was not on your side, and honestly you were getting tired of this game.

“i don’t know anything about you, i don’t even know who you are. you might have his face, and—and his body,” you looked him up and down. “but you… you are not my miles.”

he felt a pang in his chest, the words you uttered, the way you said ‘my miles’, as if he wasn’t right here, as if he wasn’t right in front of you. the version of himself he’d buried in the ground with you just last year wanted to jump out and yell at you, plead with you, anything to make you see he could be just like your miles, because he was your miles.

“oh,” he pulled the skin of his cheek between his teeth as he turned away with an agitated nod, extending his arm out to point towards your miles, who was still unconscious, chin dropped to his chest as he hung from another punching bag.

“him?” his voice raised in volume and broke apart with desperation, a humorless chuckle unintentionally escaping his trembling lips. “what’s the difference? huh? tell me.” he demanded, nostrils flaring as he tried to maintain his composure, staring deep into the eyes of the girl who would’ve burned the whole world down with him if he asked. the girl who was in his grasp, right in this moment, yet still so far from his reach— reserved for the one who had everything that belonged to him.

your head whipped to where he pointed, and the moment your eyes landed on your boyfriend your blood ran cold, a pained gasp rippling your chest. “miles! oh god, please!” you called out for him as you struggled against your restraints, his counterpart interrupting you by blocking your line of your view with his body.

“cálmate,” he hummed, “he’s fine, just unconscious. i’m not cruel. is that how you remember me, mamí?” he questioned, voice bleeding with hurt.

your gaze drifted over to your miles again, hope swelling within you when you heard him groan.

“no, no, princesa. don’t look at him, look at me.” he urged.

he didn’t understand. you always used to say you would love him in every universe, that you’d find him in every lifetime, what happened to that?

“please, we need to get home, if we don’t… he won’t be able to save his father, he—he’ll die. you have to understand.” you pleaded, the tears finally bubbling over your waterline, streamlining down your cheeks.

“you are home! it’s me, mi amor, i’m right here. what about everything we went through?” he asked tenderly, voice full of hurt and eyes still soaking in the slight difference in your features. he was too distracted by the fact that the girl he thought he’d never see again, was right here in front of him to even try and comprehend what you were trying to say. “please, don’t cry. you know i hate seeing you cry.”

nothing else seemed to be working, so you settled for empathizing with him. he was still miles, after all, different universe or not, he was still the same person deep down. and from the way he was looking at you, love flowing from the eyes that held so much anguish within them, you knew some version of you had loved him, too. in the same way you loved your own.

“look, i’m sure i-“ you stopped to correct yourself, “she, loved you, but i’m not her. i’m not from here, and i’m sorry she’s gone, and i’m sorry you have to live with this pain, but, please… you have to let me go.” your tone was forbearing, words teetering off into a hushed plea, your lingering apprehension threatening to tear through the seam of your heartfelt spiel.

“let you go?”

you nodded tentatively.

he moved closer to you, to unbound you from this elevated prison, you assumed. because maybe, just maybe you’d managed to get through to him.

but this wasn’t your universe, and this… this was not your miles.

for the first time in your entirety of knowing miles morales, you felt your heart stop— and not in the way that brought a flurry of warmed, passioned butterflies to flutter within you— but in a way that invited his words to settle like ice in your bones, allowed panic and dread to inhabit your senses, clutching you in a selfish grasp of resentment that had no intentions of letting you go— you realized, as this time, his gloveless hand swiped away yet another tear you hadn’t even noticed you’d shed.

“why would i do that?”

“I've given you enough time. hurtin' deeply inside.“

- please do not plagiarize, copy, or repost my works to other platforms!

likes, comments, and reblogs are very appreciated 💗

©luvjunie 2023

[verysium]

ACT 1, SCENE 1: blue lock headcanons

rin is the type to have hyper-fixations, except you would literally never know. this man is discreet, as in batman level of shadiness. one time, he accidentally took too much adderall at 3 a.m. and considered making a shrine of you inside his bedroom closet. he was already halfway done with printing and cutting out your pictures before he realized what he was doing. that was the only time you caught him slipping, and he doesn't even remember most of it. definitely makes little voodoo dolls and sticks pins in the people he hates (looking at you, isagi.)

sae smells like fresh linens and warm laundry. sometimes, if you snuggle up to him, you can also sniff out hints of the sea. if you asked him what shampoo he uses though, he would not know. (it's definitely a 5-in-1 though since this man emphasizes practicality above all else.)

kaiser is secretly a pathetic coward with zero pain tolerance. he had a smug smirk on his face the entire time he got his blue rose tattoo done because of how badly he wanted to impress you. definitely went home later that day and cried from the pain. he would scream and be an overdramatic baby when you tried to remove the saniderm.

rin would insist that he is not like sae in the slightest but then proceeds to act like a sore loser when he doesn't immediately win. do not challenge him to any game that involves a ball. competitiveness runs through the entire itoshi bloodline.

sae is financially illiterate. he would definitely buy you anything you looked at for longer than 0.5 seconds. when the cashier asks him where to send the check, he tells them to ring it all up on his manager. definitely does not know how much is too much.

reo tried to get nagi into houseplants once he saw how lackluster nagi's apartment was. but all of them except the cactus died since nagi forgot to water them. choki is obviously a trooper.

rin is lactose-intolerant, but his gourmand tastebuds only allow him to drink one specific brand of almond milk. would make you drive two hours back to the grocery store just because you accidentally forgot to get the unsweetened version without the artificial vanilla flavoring.

noa is very grounded, mostly due to his background but also because of his personality. definitely the type to be rich but not act rich. he would get along very well with keanu reeves. that's not to say he won't spoil you though. this man would let you have whatever you wanted, so long as it was reasonable.

sae is a horrible gift-giver. every christmas, he gives you socks, a mug, or some random overpriced souvenir he panicked and bought at the airport on the way home. needless to say your kitchen is now overcrowded with jumbo fridge magnets and keychains.

shidou would flirt with the entire female population but with an almost exclusive emphasis on teachers. if you showed up one day wearing a pencil skirt, he would go absolutely feral.

rin used to be the shortest in his class back in primary school. he went home after picture day and cried because they made him stand on the bottom row for the class picture. years later though, he now towers over both you and sae.

chigiri was very close to his older sister when growing up. she definitely forced him into some very embarrassing predicaments. one time, his sister made him model all of her dresses, and he paced around the hallway in full catwalk style for an entire afternoon. because his sister used to play with his hair, he always makes you run your fingers through his locks and do the braids for him. it's a force of habit.

chris heavily overuses cologne despite being the touchiest man in existence. he doesn't understand why people try to distance themselves from him. no one told him he smelled like an entire distilled perfumery until the day you came into his life.

rin gets jealous over sae's fangirls, especially the ones that carry around cardboard signs during games. a fan wants to get married to his brother? not on his watch. you had to physically drag him out one time because he was infinitesimally close to throwing hands.

kunigami is a firm believer in women's rights (and wrongs.) one time his sisters were bullied at school for their dresses, so he showed up fully decked in hello kitty merchandise and a hot pink bow on his head just to show the boys that feminine wear can be cool too. toxic masculinity is actually scared of him.

sae had a teacher phase as a child, except everything was football related. he sat rin down in front of a whiteboard while he took a stick and walked his little brother through every single passing combination in existence. also deliberately gave rin a failing grade because his standards are so high. rin started crying, and sae felt bad, so he changed them all into passing marks.

nagi definitely plays dress up games on his phone. sometimes when you're both rotting in bed on a saturday evening, he asks you if he should use pink or blue eyeshadow for the disney princess for whom he's currently giving a makeover.

sae keeps random hair ties on his wrists. the tabloids used to speculate that those hair ties were evidence for him dating someone in secret. lo and behold, the paparazzi later catches him shopping for groceries with his hair tied up in pigtails. those hair ties are, in fact, only for him.

niko has family issues, no explanation needed. definitely had some unresolved trauma on his mother's side. he secretly thinks he doesn't deserve you, but your kindness is always there to bring him away from his insecurities.

hiori has curated playlists for every mood. his taste is absolutely immaculate. when you go on late night drives with him, he's always in charge of the speakers. doesn't want you to know that music used to be his place of solace during the times his parents were fighting, but the warmth of your hand on his makes him believe that everything will be alright.

rin used to get a high fever at night sometimes, but instead of going straight to his parents, he would creep into his brother's room and hover above the bed like a specter. rin would stand there and just whisper, "sae, i frew up." after he started dating you though, he just climbs under the sheets without asking. please take care of this poor boy.

nagi massacres his exams with absolutely illegible penmanship but then proceeds to get every single question correct. his teacher never put his work up on the wall because it looked entirely like chicken scratch. you had to reteach him the entire alphabet just so people could actually understand his written work.

rin and sae both get sunburnt easily, except sae actually cares for his skin and meticulously puts on sunscreen beforehand. one time, you three all went to the beach and rin was the only one who came home looking like a burnt tomato.

barou used to live with his grandmother every summer, and she would force him to clean the entire house with her. that is where he picked up such good cleaning habits. his personal hygiene is impeccable, and he would love nothing more than to brush his teeth with you every morning and make the bed together. spring cleaning is his favorite hobby.

sae was on spider-catching duty every time there was an arachnid longer than 5 centimeters in the house. he would pick up the spider with bare hands while you and rin both stood in the corner of the bathroom, trying to act cool but internally screaming.

© verysium 2023 / please do not translate, repost, or plagiarize any of my works

[mattsturnioloswifey]

Vacation

Pairing: Matt Sturniolo x Reader.

Summary: You and Matt have known each for as long as you can remember due to your parents being best friends. The only thing is, you hate each other. Now you were going on vacation with the Sturniolos.

____________________________________________

"I'm not sitting by him." I say, annoyed.

"Well I'm not sitting back there." Chris shrugs. "I'm not either." Nick agrees. I clench my jaw, theres no way was I gonna sit by Matt Sturniolo for hours on end.

"Please someone just switch me seats." I beg as Nick and Chris shake their heads. I sigh and sit next to Matt in the very back seat. He doesn't look up from his phone. MaryLou gets in the driver's seat as my mom gets in the passenger's seat.

"Everybody ready?" MaryLou smiles as she begins driving. Nick, Chris, and my mom all nod. I put my airpods in my ears and listen to music. This is gonna be a long ride.

-

After being in the car for 9 hours, stopping occasionally on the way to go to the gas station and whatnot, we finally made it to a hotel. I live in Boston, as well as the triplets. We are going to Orlando Florida. 19 hours away and we still had 10 more to go. 10 more hours.

"I'm so tired." I say as we all walk into the hotel. "Me too." Chris nods.

We check in to the hotel and go on the elevator to the 3rd floor. Once we get there my mom speaks, "Okay so we are gonna have rooms in pairs. MaryLou with me in room 105, Chris with Nick in room 106, and Matt with y/n in room 107." My face drops.

"No. I am not sharing a room with Matt." I shake my head. Matt glares at me as my mom speaks, "you two need to get over whatever hatred you have for each other. It will be perfect for you to bond. You're sharing a room whether you like it or not." I roll my eyes, "Fine."

Marylou hands everyone their room key and we all go to our rooms. When I open the door my face drops in disbelief. Only one bed. "Where are you gonna sleep?" I ask, turning to face Matt.

"In the bed." He states blankly. "I'm not sharing a bed with you. You can sleep on the floor or something." I say, sitting on the bed.

He sits on the bed next to me, "I'm sleeping in the bed whether you like it or not." I sigh, "Fine but keep some distance." He nods and I head to the bathroom to shower.

After I've showered I wrap the towel around myself, brush my teeth, and do my skincare. I realize I forgot to grab pajamas from my bag in the room so I walk out of the bathroom and get some pajamas from my backpack. I see Matt looking at me before turning away.

I walk back into the bathroom and get dressed. I put my hair in two french braids and walk to the bed, I lay down and Matt rolls his eyes, muttering something underneath his breath. He stands up and stomps into the bathroom. A minute later I hear the shower turn on. I drift off to sleep.

-

I wake up and try to move but then stop, realizing Matt's body was pressed against mine, his arm around my waist. I hear him breathing softly and feel his heart beating against my back. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm really comfortable right now. No y/n you can't be thinking about Matt this way.

I sit up and his arm wraps tighter around me before I push it away and go into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

-

"You ready to go yet?" Matt asks, sounding slightly annoyed. "Yeah." I grab my backpack and exit the hotel room, seeing My mom, MaryLou, Chris, and Nick all exiting their rooms.

"How did you guys sleep?" My mom asks softly. "Good." Nick and Chris say in union, Matt and I not saying anything.

My mom tilts her head at Matt and I. "what about you two?" I look at the floor, trying to avoid Matt's gaze. "I slept fine." I lie, knowing I slept the best I have in a long time. Matt nods his head, agreeing with me.

"Well, we better get going!" MaryLou says happily and we all walk to the elevator.

-

"I have to sit back there again?" "Yes y/n Chris and I already agreed we were all gonna sit in the same spots that we sat in yesterday." Nick says, sitting down in his seat.

I roll my eyes and sit by Matt. This time he looked up at me, stared for a moment, then looked back down at his phone. It's okay y/n, you only have to sit by him for 10 more hours.

-

"We're here!" Marylou sings loudly. "Finally." I mutter, stepping out of the car. I grab my bags and suitcase from the trunk and walk up to the vacation home we're gonna be staying in.

I walk in, everyone following behind me. "Theres only 3 bedrooms so MaryLou and I discussed what we'll do." My mom says, looking at Marylou. "We are each gonna share a room with the person we shared the hotel rooms with. Nick with Chris, MaryLou with me, and Matt with y/n."

My eyes widen "What?" Matt glares at me. "Y/n you'll be fine. You and Matt need to spend some time together." MaryLou smiles softly.

"Which room is it?" My mom points to a room and I walk in, setting my bag down on the bed. Of course there was only one bed. I didn't even question where Matt was gonna sleep.

-

I wake up and realize this time Matt wasn't holding me from behind, I was resting my head on his chest, my arms wrapped around his waist, and his hand resting on my hip. I sit up and go to the bathroom to get ready, same thing I do everyday.

-

"Matt I need your help." I say, unzipping my suitcase that's on the bed next to where Matt's sitting. Matt looks up from his book with an annoyed expression on his face "What do you want?"

I pick up two bikini sets "Black or blue? I don't know which one to wear first." He looks at me for a moment "Blue." I smile at him and he shakes his head, looking back down at his book.

I head to the bathroom and change into my blue bikini set. I put on some shorts and a t-shirt over it. When I go back into the room I see Matt shirtless and notice he put on blue swim trunks.

I look down, grab a beach towel, and walk out of the room. I walk to the car where MaryLou, my mom, Chris, and Nick are all waiting. I sit in the same seat Nick and Chris assigned me. Matt walks out and sits in the car next to me a few moments later. Matt looks at me and then looks away quickly.

"Let's get to the beach!" My mom says happily.

How am I gonna keep my eyes off of Matt. Shirtless Matt.

-

"CHRIS!!!" I laugh as he pushes me into the water with him. I look over and see Matt glaring at us, I quickly look away.

"You two lovebirds having fun?!" MaryLou shouts at Chris and me from the spot her and my mom are laying at. Chris smirks at me and I hit his chest playfully, but I probably shouldn't have because he picked me up and threw me at Matt who was standing in the water next to us.

Matt wraps his arms around me to catch me and then pushes me back towards Chris. "Chris stop doing stupid shit." Matt says angrily. Chris looks at Matt and sticks his tongue out, acting like a child.

"Chris you're acting 5 right now." Nick laughs as Chris turns to face me, wrapping his arms around my waist "You love it, don't you?" Matt clenches his jaw, clearly not liking what Chris just said to me.

"I do not, Christopher!" I giggle, shaking my head. Matt grabs my wrist and drags me away from Chris. "Let go of me!"

Matt keeps a tight grip on my wrist, dragging me to where my beach towel lays. He grabs it and turns to face me, letting go of my wrist. He wraps it around my body and grabs my wrist again, walking towards the car.

"What are you doing?" I try to get my arm away from him but he grips my wrist tighter. "We're going back to the vacation home." I furrow my eyebrows, "what? No, not yet."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes, we are."

"No, we aren't."

He stops, letting go of my wrist as he turns to face me. He grabs my shoulders and looks into my eyes with an unreadable expression.

"I need to talk to you, so we are leaving." I furrow my eyebrows out of confusion, "about what?" He sighs, "just come with me." I nod and he grabs my hand, leading me to the car. We sit in the seats we usually do and everyone else comes in the car too.

-

When we get back to the vacation home Matt grabs my hand and leads me into the room we're staying in, shutting the door behind us. He sits on the bed and I sit next to him.

"What did you wanna talk to me about?" He takes a deep breath before responding, "I don't hate you. I thought I did, but I don't."

"So you wanna be friends with me now?" I question, looking up at him. He shakes his head, "I think I'm falling in love with you." My eyes widen and he continues to speak, "I know you don't-" "I'm actually in love with you, I just acted like I hated you because I thought you hated me."

His eyes widen and he grabs my face, making me look at him, "I love you, y/n."

"I love you, Matt." I smile and he presses his lips against mine.

The end.

____________________________________________

a/n: this is horrible. There might be an epilogue but idk. I put all 3 parts together for this since they were so short and could all be 1 part.

[wcters]

matt’s girlfriend is definitely like a sister to chris. they’ll watch movies together and gossip, he’ll feel comfortable to talk about girls with you, ask for advice. you’ll drive him around if matt won’t or is busy. drive him to dates if he needs a ride and will make him text you to let him know he’s safe and it’s going well. will also be there ASAP if he needs a reason and a quick getaway. will help him come up with date ideas if he needs help. if you’re older, you’ll let him have a sip of alcohol if there out for dinner. paints his nails and braids his hair if he asks. she’ll teach him about things whether he should know it already or not. late night conversations if he can’t sleep. she’ll find it weird at first, but will let him sleep with her and matt. you’ll be the best hype girl out there 💯. you’ll teach him to cook something if he wants to learn how and to teach him some life skills. you’ll def be silly with him sometimes when your out and about. you’ll let him play aux in the car if you’re in the front seat and feel bad.

[guccifrog]

NANNY 🍡

matt sturniolo X f!reader

summary : The Sturniolos found it increasingly difficult to raise their brother, Matt's daughter especially since they were all boys, hiring a nanny seemed like the best solution, your slight obsession with money and the pay they were offering was too good not to apply, but little did you know that your bond with the dad would become more than just professional.

part 1

☆

"Evelyn!"Chris shouted into the hallway of the Sturniolos' house, where Evelyn could be heard giggling from the other side of the door. She was always playing hide-and-seek with her uncles, and it seemed like it was her favorite game. Today, however, Chris had a more important task at hand: getting his niece to put on a pair of pants. 

But it was not an easy task. Chris had been trying to get Evelyn to wear pants for the past thirty minutes, and every time he thought he had her cornered, she would somehow wriggle free and run off to hide again.

 He sighed, rubbing his forehead as he considered his options. He knew that he couldn't chase her around the house all day, and he was starting to feel irritated.

"Evie? come out sweetheart, I'll let you play with my hair, don't you love braiding my long hair?"Chris winced, as he remembered how Evelyn had almost made him bald once, trying to braid his hair. But, he had to try something. He heard a tiny giggle from the other side of the door and waited, hoping that she would come out. 

Then it hit him. He remembered a little trick that always works. Candy. If he gave Evelyn some candy, she would probably be distracted enough to let him help her put on the pants. Grinning to himself, he hurried to the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards until he found a bag of her favorite chocolates. He returned to the hallway, clutching the bag in his hand.

"Evie! Hey, Evie, come here for a second," Chris called, trying to sound casual. When Evelyn finally poked her head out from under the coffee table where she'd been hiding, she flashed him a big grin. "I've got something special for you," he said, holding up the bag of chocolates. Her eyes lit up, and she skipped over to him, her little hands already reaching for the treat.

"Treats!" she exclaimed, taking a few pieces and stuffing them into her mouth. As she chewed happily, Chris took the opportunity to kneel down beside her and gently slip the pair of pants onto her little legs. "Don't tell your dad, okay?" he said, sighing in relief as he finally buttoned her pants. Evelyn nodded, her mouth full. She had never been so happy to wear pants before.

As Chris stood up, he noticed Nick, walking into the room, his eyes glued to his phone. "Are you guys done?" he asked, looking up and, noticing the half-eaten candy in Evelyn's hand. But before Chris could respond, Nick's expression turned sour. " Chris what the hell are you doing?!" he whispered-yelled. "Giving her candy!? she had like three bags this morning!"

"Shut up, Nick," Chris hissed back, "I was just trying to get her to wear some pants." He looked at Evelyn, who was still munching on the candy, Nick rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Chris. sighed, turning to Evelyn, ready to take the rest of the candy away from her. But before he could, An ear-piercing scream filled with terror rang out through the house.

Evelyn had dropped the candy, clutching her hands to her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Chris and Nick exchanged confused glances before rushing to her side. "Evie, what's wrong?" Chris asked, panic rising in his voice. 

"DADDY!" Evelyn screamed, pointing behind them. Chris and Nick turned around to see their brother, Matt, standing in the doorway looking confused. " Chris took my candy!" she cried, pointing accusingly at her uncle.

"Hey!" Chris snapped his head back to his niece" trying to defend himself. "She was the one stuffing her face with it!" Nick chimed in, half-heartedly siding with Chris. "And you had plenty of other candy!" Evelyn, however, was having none of it. She continued to cry, pointing at Chris.

 Matt, looking more confused than ever, stepped into the room. Evelyn walked to his side, making grabby hands at him. "Daddy, Chris is being a meanie," she whined. "He took my candy!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Oh, my fuck-"

"Chris!" Nick yelled, interrupting whatever was about to come out of his mouth. 

"He's just jealous because he's not as cute as you, Evelyn." Nick sighed hoping she would stop. The little girl smiled up at her uncle and flipped her hair before giving Chris a nasty look.

"Kid I swear to-"

"Chris" Matt warned, raising an eyebrow. "Evie, honey, you know you can't eat all that candy, right?" He asked her. She nodded, still looking a bit upset. "Well, why don't you put the rest of it away for later, and we can find something else for you to eat, okay?" Matt suggested, reaching out to take the rest of the candy from her. She hesitated for a moment but then handed it over to her father.

Chris couldn't help but feel a bit relieved as he watched the interaction between Matt and Evelyn. He glanced at Nick, who looked like he didn't care about any of this. 

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Nick said, walking over to the door and opening it. He wasn't expecting anyone, and he definitely didn't expect to see who was standing there. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in the beautiful woman before him. She had long, flowing hair that cascaded down her back in waves, and she was wearing a stunning olive green dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. A white lace parasol was draped over her arm. Her eyes were piercing through him, as she smiled coyly. 

"Hello! Is this the Sturniolo household ?" the beautiful woman asked, her voice smooth and melodic.

Nick glanced back at the woman. He cleared his throat and managed to respond, "Yeah, um, yeah, it is. Can I help you?" He asked.

"Nick why is it taking so long?" a voice from behind him asked. He turned around to see his brother, Chris, standing there, looking annoyed, but when he saw who Nick was talking to, his expression changed to surprise and then amusement.

She smiled at him, before turning her attention back to Nick. "I'm here to see Mr.Matthew Sturniolo. Is he around?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Her index finger rested on her pursed lips, as she pretended to be deep in thought.

Nick looked at her curiously, before glancing back at Chris. "Um, yeah, he's actually right here," he said, signaling for Chris to call Matt.

"MATT!" Chris shouted, making Nick physically cringe at the volume. His brother rolled his eyes before turning back to the woman. She smiled politely at Nick, her gaze curious and unblinking. 

"what's up ?" Matt asked, walking up behind his brother, and noticing the woman standing at the door. His jaw almost hit the floor.

"Oh, hello there," she said, her voice as smooth as silk. "I'm the new babysitter, the name's y/n." 

"Holy shit..."

"excuse me ?" Y/n raised an eyebrow.

"I said hello" Matt stuttered, clearing his throat as he regained his composure, making Nick snort. 

"I was told I'd be working for the Sturniolo family. You must be the father, Mr.Matthew?" She held out her hand, her posture confident and balanced.

"Ah, yes. Yes, I'm Matt" Matt replied, taking her hand and shaking it firmly. "And these are my brothers, Nick, and Chris" He gestured to the two people who were both staring at the woman with matching smiles.

"Nice to meet you all" Y/n smiled, looking at each of them in turn. "I understand that I'll be taking care of little Evelyn from now on?"

Matt nodded, still a bit taken aback by her presence. He gestured for her to come in, and she walked past them into the house, her heels clicking softly on the hardwood floor. "Make yourself comfortable"

"Daddy?!" Evelyn's voice echoed through the house, as she ran into the living room, her tiny hands full of toys. She stopped short when she saw the tall woman standing there, and her big blue eyes widened in awe.

"Princess" The little girl whispered, eyes still wide, as she slowly walked towards the new woman. "Who... who are you?" she asked shyly, looking up at her. Y/n knelt down to be at the little girl's level and smiled warmly at her.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm your new babysitter, y/n. I'm going to take really good care of you from now on, okay?" Evelyn nodded slowly, still eyeing her with curiosity. "Would you like to show me some of your toys?" she asked, gesturing to the toys in Evelyn's tiny hands. The little girl's face lit up, and she happily began to show her all of her favorite things.

In the background, Nick and Chris exchanged glances, still in disbelief over the new babysitter. Matt smiled to himself, thinking that she seemed perfect for the job. Not only was He confident that Evelyn would be in good hands with her, but he also couldn't deny that he was enjoying the view.

-taglist: @sleepysturnss @mattestrella @lvr-111 @sturniolhoe @sturniolowhore @thenickgirl @demistyles @freshsturns @b2cute @devouredyou @rizzsturniolo @thebottledwatersupplier @sunsetsturniolos @ariieeesworld @1horrormoviewhore1 @mattslolita @leia-13 @bernardenjoyer @abbybarnesstuff @imwetforyourmom @ava34333 @rootbeerworshiper @mbbsgf @yourfavoriteraye @sturnsssbow @donthugmeimhot @maryx2xx @nttnxxd @sturniolopowers @ivyyyyyysposts @slaysturniolo @whoisgraciet @blahbel668 @rebecca-diary @caitlinn57 @sarmysabrina @sidjfhshxbx @differentavenue @rvavasworld @matt444nixi @buenolover @sluts4matt @emasbloggg @urmomjanyla @chrisloyalgf @speakn0w13 @ilovemattsturn @cupidsword @minaismywife @lovergirl4387 @69isabella69 @slutread3r @mattgirly @ivonchetooo1239 @crybabycat1 @ealf333 @muwapsturniolo @imsosillygoofylol @7tee3n @sturnlova @sturdiii @

[sturnsdoll]

𝑮𝑰𝑹𝑳𝒀 𝑮𝑭 ˚୨୧⋆｡ - C.S

(headcannons!)

warnings: hc's, chris x hyperfeminine/girly reader, sfw and nsfw but they are labelled as such. nsfw warnings: dom!chris, brat!gf, teasing, mostly suggestive.

authors note: i had fun with this so if y'all want a pt2 or any other hc's pls send reqs for them!

SFW !

₊⊹⤑ chris always admired how in touch with your feminimity you are. he always loved the bows, dainty necklaces, skirts and lace, it made you seem so delicate and sweet.

₊⊹⤑ chris will always jump at an opportunity to help you braid your hair (which you taught him.), clip a necklace for you, zip the back of your dress. he loves helping you out no matter how big or small.

₊⊹⤑ anytime you're doing your makeup or picking out an outfit you can always find chris watching with adoration.

₊⊹⤑ even when chris didn't understand something, he still loved it. did he know what the difference between cream or powdered blush? nope. but nonetheless, he thought it looked pretty on you.

₊⊹⤑ did he know what the hell the difference between coffin or square was? also no. but he paid for your nails anyways because he knew it brought you joy.

₊⊹⤑ he'll find any reason to get close to you so he can take in your familiar sweet scent..

₊⊹⤑ from your hair to your clothes to your perfume, you always smell like candy, cake, anything and everything heavenly.

₊⊹⤑ sometimes your delicate appearance comes back to bite you in the ass though.. you and chris will get into small arguements and he'll just stand staring at you, a small smile growing on his face..

₊⊹⤑ "what's funny jackass?" "jus' can't take you serious when you look that cute" he'd tease you.

NSFW !

₊⊹⤑ despite your delicate exterier, chris knows you have another side to you. ₊⊹⤑ chris would casually congragulate you on things infront of friends with a nonchalant "good girl." or "you're doing so well" that would make your thighs clench. ₊⊹⤑ chris knew exactly what he was doing though. he would say the same things when you were on your knee's for him or when you asked him before you came. ₊⊹⤑ what did you love more than chris' praise though? ₊⊹⤑ being a brat.

₊⊹⤑ on days where you'd wear your short skirts and dresses, you'd always make sure to tease him. sitting on his lap, bending over near him to let him catch a glimpse of your lacey thong. ₊⊹⤑ you especially loved doing this in public where he couldn't do anything about it.

₊⊹⤑ he'd whisper in your ear "keep it up sweetheart, i'll bend you over my lap the second we're home." and he would. ₊⊹⤑ he loved how your attitude betrayed your sweetness, but you know what he loved even more? to fuck it out of you. ₊⊹⤑ "such a dirty mouth for such a sweet girl. maybe we should fix that hm?" and next thing you'd know you were on your knee's, doe eyes looking all fucked out as he filled your perfectly glossed lips.

₊⊹⤑ skirts were also a weakness of his for other reasons. easy access when you were sitting in his lap asking for attention or when he wanted to tease you under the table at dinner with friends.

₊⊹⤑ it was nearly impossible to say no to you though.

₊⊹⤑ you'd come to him while he was getting ready. "chris. i need you" "i need to film in a few. later okay baby?" "chris please." then he'd catch sight of you.. ₊⊹⤑ pretty little top with your clevage peeking out, your hair pulled back with ribbon but little pieces framing your face. a desperation in your eyes that only he can fix.

₊⊹⤑ how could he say no to you?

₊⊹⤑ so before he'd film, he'd lay you out across your bed on your fluffy blankets. his head would dissapear beneath your skirt till your perfectly manicured nails were dug in his scalp, till you were more than satisfied. ₊⊹⤑ matt and nick couldn't help but giggle when he entered the car. ₊⊹⤑ "dude.." nick started. chris looked at his brothers confused "what?". "you have pink lipgloss ALL around your mouth.." matt would tell him knowingly.

₊⊹⤑ wonder where that came from?...

tags: @mattsrod @sturncakez

[morlao]

Sisterly advice

▪︎Luke Castellan x fem!reader

▪︎daughter of Aphrodite

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

You and Luke have always been close. So close, in fact, that newcomers automatically assumed that you were dating. The surprised look on their faces when the older campers told them you weren´t, was according to your siblings hilarious.

It's evening and you're sitting on your bed, your legs crossed, while Silena is braiding your hair.

Of all your half-siblings she is your favourite one. Loving, gentle and kind. She is the perfect definition of a daughter of Aphrodite, as she embodies everything that comes to your mind when you think about love - and you want others to feel the same way. They should also think of her and not your other siblings with their childish plays and cruel rituals of breaking others hearts. Maybe they themselves don´t understand what it means being the child of love.

Silena´s fingers run gently through your hair, parting it and intertwining the individual strands together.

“So… what about Charlie?”

You don't have to see her face to know that a smile flashes across her lips at his name. “What about him?”

“Did he finally ask you out?”

She laughs, trying to pretend that she finds the idea absurd. “We are just friends.”

You turn around and give her a look that expresses your opinion about it all too clearly. Don´t try to fool me, darling. I see what´s going on between the two of you!

Again, Silena laughs, gently turning your head forward again to finish the braid. “Okay, other topic. What about you and Luke?”

You copy her laugh. “What about us? We´re just friends.”

You could feel her rising her eyebrows. “Let me give you some sisterly advice: Just friends don´t look at each other like that.”

“Who did you quote? That sentence is so cliché!”

She laughs, taking a hair tie from your bedside table and wrapping it around your braid. “Well… maybe it is but it totally fits you and Luke.”

You turn around, giving her a skeptical look.

Silena shrugs and sits down beside you. “I mean… have you seen his smile when he looks at you? Also he constantly finds excuses to touch you. He improves your posture in archery, even though you are at least as good at it as he is. And – “ she looks at you triumphantly, “He gives you a kiss on the cheek every time he greets you or says goodbye.”

You feel your cheeks flush and cross your arms, trying to think of a counter argument. “A lot of people do that.”

“Yeah, but you´re the only one where Luke does that. Haven´t you noticed?”

To be honest: no, you haven´t. But now as you think about it in detail... it is true. When Luke greets one of the other girls, he just smiles at them.

“In addition, he immediately drops everything when he sees you”, Silena adds, “Yesterday he left in the middle of training because he saw you walking by and wanted to talk to you. Or on Friday, he was in the middle of a conversation with Chris and you waved at him. And what did he do? Exactly, he immediately jogged over. Also last week…”

“Enough!” You laugh, trying to make her shut up by covering her mouth.

Silena dodges you, laughing as you reach into the void. "He let you draw hearts on his sneakers! He watches the sunset with you! He bought you a bracelet for your birthday! You know, I could go on with this for hours." She steps closer, cupping your cheeks with her hands. “Believe me, sis: He´s in love with you!” Her voice is melodic, angel like even. Loving, gentle and kind.

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks and embarrassed you pulls away and cover your face with your hands. “I´m pretty sure he isn´t! You´re overinterpreting!”

“Nope, I´m a daughter of Aphrodite, I can feel it!”

“So am I! And I don't feel anything!”

Silena grabs her cherry lipstick. “Your reaction makes me think that you like him too!”

Did you like him? You weren´t sure. Of course he meant the world to you, but did you like him more as than a friend? Wouldn´t that be weird kissing him since you know him for so long?

"I'm not sure", you finally manage to say, rolling off your bed and taking a look at the clock. Fortunately, you can at least put the topic off for today. "Oh, damn! Come on, we are already late!”

Silena grabs your hand and leads you outside of cabin 10. It´s already dark and in the distance you can see the flickering flames of the campfire. Most of the campers seem to have already gathered there, their drink in their hands and a smile on their lips as they talk to their siblings and friends.

“Finally!”, one of the Apollo girls greets you.

Chris Rodriguez grins. “Why are the Aphrodite girls always late?”

That is definitely not true! You're not always late. Just most of the times. God, you hate being a cliché.

Luke lifts his head as he hears his brother say “Aphrodite girls”. He spots you and his face lights up like a Christmas tree. Immediately he walks up to you and hugs you, his lips placing a soft kiss on your cheek.

From the corner of your eye you can see Silena rising an eyebrow, as if to say "Well, what did I say?"

“You look amazing”, Luke whispers in your ear, before breaking away from the hug and greeting Silena with a smile. “Charlie is already waiting for you!”, he grins, nodding towards said boy.

Silena giggles, before walking over to him. Gods, it was so obvious that she was head over heels for him.

Luke takes your hand and leads you over to his place next to Chris, where he had already a blanket spread out for the two of you. “Mylady” He pretends to bow.

You can feel your cheeks blush as you sit down. “Thank you so much, Mister!”

Gods, somehow Luke always manages to put a smile on your face. You sit down and stretch out your legs, feeling the comforting heat of the fire.

As Luke takes a seat next to you, you can feel him slide closer, his arm touching yours. Feeling him beside you was comforting, the closest feeling you had to "home".

Luke Castellan. You tilt your head back and look up at the stars as if you expect to see his name engraved up there. You have always liked his name. Luke Castellan. It feels like a secret incantation on your lips.

You can feel his eyes on you. The flickering flames make his face look almost golden. Golden boy. Why didn´t you notice before how handsome he is?

The next song starts and immediately everyone joins in. They lie in each other's arms and rock back and forth, bawling Country roads.

Well, maybe it was just because Silena had told you, but Luke really seems to find exuses for touching you. He leans against you, his arm around your shoulders - even after the song has already ended. You enjoy feeling him so close next to you. The heat he radiates. His soft skin against yours. The realization hits you straight in the face. You had fallen in love with your best friend.

He looks at you and you can't help but smile. Fascinating how beautiful an evening with a campfire could be. For a moment it feels like gods and monsters didn't exist. For a moment everything seems peaceful.

 “Can I talk to you for a second?” You can feel Luke´s warm breath on your neck as he whispers in your ear.

Your heart skips a beat. Did he notice the way you looked at him? Did he suspect something? Was Silena wrong? “Sure!”

Your voice sounds more enthusiastic than you feel.

Luke takes your hand and leads you away from the campfire, away from the singing and the laughter of the others.

You look at him, smiling nervously. “Sooo… what is it? Or did you just want to escape singing Knocking on heavens door.”

He shakes his head, laughing. “No, why would I want to miss Drew´s wonderful voice?”

You cringe at the thought of your sister singing louder than everyone else – and on top of that terribly wrong. She doesn't hit a single note.

“No, actually… Y/N…” He runs a hand through his hair, trying to find the right words. “Gods, you´re so beautiful.”

It´s not the first time that somebody told you that. In fact, being a daughter of Aphrodite, you had heard it thousands of times already.

Still his words felt special to you. Special because he wasn´t just anybody. Ä

He was Luke. Your best friend Luke. Luke who was always there for you, who comforted you when you had trouble with your family, who managed to make you laugh when you lay in your bed crying your eyes out over something your stepmother had said. Luke who you trusted with all your heart.

“I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go on a picnic tomorrow?” He avoids looking at you.

Why is he so shy about going on a picnic? That's quite strange since you´d done this a few times before. You had even found your very own spot with a fantastic view over the sea. There was nothing more beautiful than watching sunsets while drinking juice and eating biscuits. So why does he seem so insecure?

Luke seems to notice your confusion. “I meant as a date”, he clarifies.

You raise your eyebrow, your heart racing. “Are you asking me out?”

“Yeah.”

For a moment you stood there, perplexed. Why was it so obvious to the others while you had no idea?

"So... what do you say?" Luke looks at you, biting his lip nervously. He seems to assume that you aren't answering because you're looking for a way to reject him as gently as possible.

Quickly you step forward, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear. "Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you."

"Really?" Immediately he blushes deeply. That must have slipped out.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" You giggle, taking his hand. "I've known you for years now. You're kind and brave and one of the most caring people I know."

A laugh escapes his lips. "Wow, if I had known that, I would have asked you way earlier." His hand slowly reaches for your cheek.

You hold your breath as he leans forward and places a soft kiss on your lips. It didn't feel weird at all. The opposite, actually. Seems like sometimes best friends can turn into lovers.

You wrap your arms around him, pulling him closer. Soft kisses become more passionate. His hands run through your hair, slowly brushing loose strands out of your face.

When he pulls away a huge smile creeps across his lips. "I love you, Y/N"

You return his smile, taking his hand and intertwining your fingers. "I love you, too."

As you walk back to the campfire holding hands, Silena beams at you. "I told you, Y/N, friends don't look at each other like that."

You shake your head, laughing. "Your advice really is the best."