#luke being a dumb little guy means so much to me

[incorrect-ralvez]

Luke: We have a problem.

Spencer: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

[7s3ven]

NOBODY’S SON, NOBODY’S DAUGHTER. luke (pjo) pt. 2

PART 1 > PART 2 > PART 3 > PART 4 (last pt)

( masterlist )

IN WHICH… Y/N is finally claimed by her father, who turns out to be Zeus. Now, she’s stuck in an empty cabin as the only forbidden child of Zeus. Luke, on the other hand, is thrilled to be playing her knight in shining armour and getting her through each lonely day.

“I’m in the wind, you’re in the water. Nobody’s son, nobody’s daughter.”

( follows the show - kind of just a oneshot bc i’m bored )

Warnings : a little bit of jealousy, arguing, Y/N being indecisive and confused (real), not proof-read

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TAG LIST : @hottiewifeyyyy @kamiliora @be-bap @finnickodaddy @th0tblckgrl @shoyofroyoyoyo @csifandom @uniquely-her @imafrkinsimp @syraxesrevenge @ahh-chickens @dracoslovergirl @midnightstar-90 @8812-342 @liv1104 @krkiiz @arialikestea @ch16rles @lizziesliz @maryclx01 @jennapancake @lukecastellandefender @yuminako @coryoskywalker @julielightwood @crybabysbakery @jsbaby @liviessun @p3pperm1nttea @angie-esc @purplerose291 @prettylilsimp @10ava01 @froggiesstalks @happy-jj @czennieszn @gisellesprettylies @loveyava @kkrenae

I really hope this part is good enough 🙏

—

Being claimed was perhaps worse than staying in the Hermes cabin. The Zeus cabin was completely empty, much to Y/N’s dismay. Percy was unlucky enough to be a forbidden child too. Looks like neither of them would be having any half-siblings.

“I always knew she was destined for greatness.” Clarisse would say as if the life of a forbidden child wasn’t lonely and utterly isolated.

“Knock, knock.”

But there was one person who could light up the dim Zeus cabin.

“Hope you don’t mind that I brought strawberries. I picked ‘em myself. It was not easy work, let me tell you.” Luke chuckled as he walked in, shutting the door behind him. “Nice place.” He sarcastically said, staring at the cobwebs that littered the walls.

Y/N stared at him, unimpressed and unamused. “Being claimed was supposed to feel great. But I’m just back at square one again.” She huffed and took a strawberry Luke offered her. He sat beside Y/N, gesturing her to continue.

“You know, at least the Hermes cabin had another people. I’m stuck in this deserted cabin because my father finally decided that he wanted to see me! All I’m wondering is why it took so long. Why bother claiming me now?! Percy got claimed in under five days. I know people who have been claimed in one. Why did it take me ten years?! At least I know why I always attract trouble now. It’s because Zeus, that utter man whore, is my dad!”

Luke’s eyebrows silently raised at her words. “You’re welcome in the Hermes cabin any time, Y/N. Don’t forget that. I don’t think your dad was ignoring you… he was probably just waiting.”

“Yeah. Waiting until I finally proved myself to him. Because a child of Zeus should be a prodigy. No normal feat is allowed. It has to be impressive to gain his attention. How dumb.” Y/N scoffed.

“I was fine without him. I’ve gone my entire life never hearing from him and after ten years of being at camp, suddenly he wants to play daddy? He should’ve left me alone. But hey, at least you guys have more room in the Hermes cabin. I heard Chiron was going to move me.”

“What? But you’re practically part of the family. I mean, not exactly. It’d be weird if we were related because… you know… we’re friends and being such good friends with siblings seems weird.” Luke spoke so fast that Y/N couldn’t understand him.

She silently stared at him. “… You’re weird. Chiron just wanted to make more room for the newcomers. And, you know, I had been there for so long that I wasn’t considered new.”

“You okay, though? Your cuts aren’t still hurting? You don’t feel sick, right?” Luke carefully inspected her face and bruised arms, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

“Luke, I’m fine.” She reassured him, laughing. “Nothing hurts anymore.”

“Guess I’ve got to let you win the next game now.” He sighed. “I can’t believe you guessed Poseidon and got it right.”

“I took a wild guess. I wasn’t expecting it to be correct.”

Luke shrugged and stood up. “I need to go check up on some kids. A new group just arrived. Will you be alright by yourself? I can always go get Clarisse.”

Y/N stared up at him and a part of Luke wished she would ask him to stay. To stay in the stuffy cabin and just… talk.

“I think I need some alone time right now.” She softly smiled, resisting the urge to ask him not to walk out, to keep her company. “I just need to process all the shit that went down.”

Luke chuckled, ruffling her hair. “That’s my girl.” He began to walk away before he turned around last minute. “Hey, Y/N… thanks for staying by my side.”

“No problem. Thanks for being my friend, Luke.”

With a wounded heart and the embarrassment of being friend-zoned hanging high over his head, Luke walked out of the Zeus cabin.

Y/N didn’t see Luke again until a few days later. He was always so busy with the new kids but he still had time to leave a small box of strawberries on her porch.

It was dinner when Y/N could finally speak to Luke. She smiled at him and subtly waved and he grinned back. He had been talking with Chris about a boring topic but his eyes lit up when he saw Y/N. Luke stood up to sit with her before he was quickly intercepted.

“Luke.” One of the new girls said, staring up at him with her big doe eyes. She was claimed the moment she stepped into camp by Aphrodite. She seemed to already be her mother’s favourite. “Are you free to sit with me and my friends? We want to ask you a few questions.”

Luke was pulled away by the girl, leaving Y/N to watch him sheepishly grin. Y/N’s smile faltered. “I think he’s avoiding me.” She muttered to Percy, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. She felt a twisted knot of jealousy well up as a girl giggled and grabbed Luke’s arm. And he let her.

The younger boy looked up in confusion. “Who? Luke? I don’t think so. Girls just seem to really like him.”

Y/N frowned but didn’t say anything else. She could only stare again as the girls around Luke laughed as he uttered something with a bashful smile.

“I’m turning in early.” Y/N said, standing up. She pushed her plate of dessert towards Percy, who slowly took it.

“You good?” He asked.

“Yeah. I’m not feeling well so I think I’m going to sleep early. Good night, Percy.” She deeply inhaled as she walked away, catching Luke’s attention.

“Excuse me, ladies. I’ll be back. I need to talk to someone.” He hurriedly got up, racing after Y/N. Percy, who was eating his second serving of cake, muffled a laugh. Luke was so whipped.

“Y/N.” The brunette boy finally caught up to her. He grabbed her arm, spinning her around. “Why are you leaving early? We haven’t talked for weeks so I thought we could use today to catch up.”

Y/N stared at him in confusion before she turned her head and quietly laughed. She covered her mouth to conceal the noise. “Luke… it’s only been three days.”

His face dropped and he cleared his throat. “I know… I was testing you. That’s all.” Yet his eyes looked at everything but Y/N. “So, how has your cabin been?”

“Lonely. It doesn’t feel the same without Chris ranting about Clarisse.” Y/N sighed, lightly biting the inside of her cheek.

“I’m not sure if I can rant about Clarisse like Chris but I could try keeping you company.” Luke offered, gazing at Y/N with eyes that begged her to agree.

She merely shrugged, not stopping Luke from strutting into her cabin and lying down on her bed. He outstretched his arms, confusing Y/N. “Hug.” Was all he said.

Y/N was never much of an affectionate person but Luke certainly was. His gestures ranged from secretly fiddling with her fingers to picking her up and swinging her around in the middle of the battle arena.

Begrudgingly, Y/N closed the distance between them. Luke grinned, pulling her closer. A few moments later, Y/N attempted to pull away. Luke prevented her from doing so. “Five more minutes.” He whispered in her ear.

But those promised five minutes turned into an hour.

And a peaceful hour turned into all night.

And all night turned into the sun rising and Clarisse waking the pair up.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, Luke.” The Ares girl snickered, folding her arms over her chest. “Your siblings are wondering where you went. I assume by the lack of clothes on the floor that you two did nothing. How surprising for you, Luke.”

“Clarisse.” Y/N warned, sitting up.

“Okay, okay. I’m going. See you at breakfast, Y/N.” Clarisse sent her friend a teasing wink before she slithered off, laughing to herself.

“Sorry. I fell asleep.” Luke muttered, stretching. He not-so-subtly placed an arm around Y/N and when she didn’t shove him away, he smiled.

“It’s fine. I’ve already prepared myself for whatever gossip is about to spread around camp.” Y/N leaned back, shaking her head, while Luke chuckled.

“Nothing we haven’t dealt with before.” Luke retorted.

Camp Half-Blood seemed obsessed with the little thing going on between Y/N and Luke. Friendship, romance, confusing situationship. The campers called it many things.

“I’m so tired.” Y/N muttered, rubbing her tired eyes. Luke took that as his chance to gaze at her. His eyes traced over the bridge of her nose and the curve of her Cupid’s bow.

He smiled to himself, pressing his face deeper into the crook of Y/N’s neck.

“Luke. We need to get up.” As if suddenly uncomfortable with his close proximity, Y/N stood up.

“Oh. Yeah. I know how you can’t miss breakfast because you get cranky without it.” Luke chuckled while Y/N shoved him.

“Get out, Luke!” Y/N exclaimed, throwing a pillow at him. He bellowed out a laugh as he ran towards the exit.

“See you at breakfast, sweetheart!”

Y/N, with flushed cheeks and a racing mind, barged into the Ares cabin. “Clarisse.” She said, holding onto the doorframe for support. “I need your help.”

“What do you need?” Clarisse questioned as they walked side by side. Y/N sighed.

“Well, for starters, Luke is acting weird. I mean, he was always kind of weird but it’s gotten… more extreme. He’s getting so close and… calling me these pet names. What am I supposed to do? And why does it make me feel shy? Clarisse, help me!”

Y/N gripped her friend’s shoulders tightly. Clarisse lightly snorted. “Y/N, he’s just in love. Let the boy be.”

“In… love? W-With… me? In love with me?!” Y/N’s mind was spinning by now and it looked like this was her mid-life crisis. “He’s not… he can’t be… no… no… No! I have to go, Clarisse!”

Clarisse watched as Y/N sprinted off with the speed of a lightning bolt. “Haha. It’s so fun messing with them.”

“Hey, Clarisse. What’d you say to Y/N?” Luke immediately filled in Y/N’s spot. He furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at Y/N.

“I just told her how in love you are with her.” Clarisse winked and laughed at Luke’s appalled face.

“You… did what?” He questioned, panicking. “Why… why would you do that?! Clarisse! Shit!”

Luke, just like Y/N, rushed off. Clarisse smiled again. “So fun.”

Y/N hid within the comforts of her own cabin. She was supposed to teach some of the newbies archery but she was sure Clarisse could fill in for her.

“Luke… in love with me… no way.” She shook her head and deeply sighed, clutching onto her blanket. “He likes that Aphrodite girl.”

“Hey, sweetheart.” Speak of the devil. Luke opened the door, grinning at her. “Sorry I’m late. I tried meditating but I ended up falling asleep.” Classic him. “I brought you some food. I gotta teach some kids sword-fighting soon but I thought I’d just leave this here.”

Luke had one leg out of the door before Y/N stopped him. “Luke, can you maybe, I don’t know… stay over tonight? Again? It feels less lonely with you.” Y/N spoke slowly, as if testing the waters.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. Sure. I’d be happy to keep you company. You can count on me, Sparky.”

Y/N scoffed, staring at Luke with her lips parted. “Sparky? No way are you calling me that.”

“Too bad. See ya, Sparky!” Luke managed to close the door before the pillow Y/N tossed his way hit him. She scoffed, looking around yet no words came out of her mouth.

“Sparky… Sparky?!” Y/N exclaimed in disbelief. “What sort of nickname is that?!”

Luke, who stood outside the door and heard Y/N, chuckled. He ran his tongue over his teeth, “Cute.”

A quiet knock on the door interrupted Y/N’s half-conscious nap. She stumbled to the entrance, slowly twisting the knob. “Hey.” She mumbled to Luke, who was holding an armful of snacks.

“Hey, Sparky.” He greeted her with his usual boyish smile. “Did I wake you?”

“I was just taking a small nap. You can always let yourself in, by the way.” Y/N muttered, yawning.

“I didn’t wanna be rude.” Luke replied as he stepped inside, brushing past Y/N. “Hey. I have an idea.” He suddenly said, spinning around. Y/N raised her eyebrows, gesturing him to continue. “I know you don’t like hanging out in this cabin so what do you say we check out the lake?”

“That’s breaking the rules.” Y/N said, shaking her head.

“Come on, I wanna go on a walk. And I’m already breaking rules being here. A few more can’t hurt.”

Y/N wanted to say no but how could she when Luke was looking at her like that?

“Fine.” She softly agreed. Luke dropped the snacks onto Y/N’s bed before dragging her out of her cabin. She didn’t even have time to grab a jacket.

Luke placed a finger over his lips, telling Y/N to be quiet. The two carefully creeped through the words, quietly giggling as they shoved each other.

“It’s prettier at night.” Y/N whispered, staring at the lake that sparkled in the moonlight. Luke smiled, nodding his head.

“Yeah.” He replied, but he wasn’t looking at the glittering water. He was looking at Y/N. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”

Y/N turned her head, faltering when she saw that Luke was already gazing at her. His lips curved into a bright smile.

“So, so… beautiful.” He repeated, staring into her eyes.

“Luke.” She muttered, thickly gulping. Butterflies swirled around in her stomach. After years of pushing down her growing feelings for Luke, they were coming back.

“Y/N.” He chuckled, adjusting his stance. But he slipped and fell into the lake. Y/N gasped, staring into the murky darkness.

“Luke?” She called out. “Luke!” He resurfaced, spitting out a mouthful of water. A few moments passed before Y/N burst into laughter. She stepped forward but tripped over a stray tree root. She hit the water with a loud slap, shocking Luke. He gasped, quickly swimming over. “Sparky, you good?” Luke questioned, holding her tightly.

She coughed. “It hurt a little but I’m good. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’m good. Thanks for asking, Sparky.” He twirled a strand of Y/N’s wet hair around his finger, his gaze flickering to her lips. “Don’t kill me for this, Y/N.” He whispered, leaning forward.

His lips pressed against Y/N’s, who froze in shock. The kiss only lasted a moment before Luke pulled away, holding back the animalistic urge to do it again.

“I won’t kill you… if you don’t kill me.” Y/N quietly responded, grabbing Luke by the front of his shirt and tugging him forward.

The second kiss was less controlled, more wild. Luke held Y/N tightly, scared she would slip away if he lowered his guard. In this moment, Luke didn’t care about his drenched t-shirt or his soaking hair. All he cared about, and had cared about for the last few years, was the girl in front of him

“You kissed?!” Clarisse screamed, tugging on the ends of her curled hair.

“Hey! I don’t want everybody to know!” Y/N hurriedly shushed the girl. They were hanging around in the arena for some extra sword training and Y/N clumsily mentioned last night.

“Okay, but seriously. Reel back. You guys kissed? Not once, but twice? Oh, man, Y/N. You are so whipped for Luke!”

“I am not! Besides,” Y/N fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke, “I heard one of the new Aphrodite girls is interested in Luke.”

“What? And you’re just gonna let her have him? You’ve been crushing on Luke since you first saw him.”

“I wouldn’t call it that! It was admiration.” Y/N quickly snapped to defend herself. Clarisse mockingly raised an eyebrow.

“You couldn’t stop gushing over how he pushed you out of harm’s way when you got claimed.” The Ares kid pointed out.

Y/N huffed. “I mean, I’m a feminist, obviously. But… I wouldn’t really mind him saving me. I’m not entirely opposed… to the idea. I’m just torn, okay?!”

“What are you confused about? Luke obliviously has the hots for you too.”

“Luke and I have been good friends for ages! I’ve known him for ages too! If we start dating and it goes up in flames… I don’t only lose a partner but I also lose a friend! There’s so many factors to consider. So many things that could go wrong.”

“You already kissed. Sooner or later, he’s gonna confront you.” Clarisse’s eyes flickered to a figure behind Y/N, “And looks like he chose now. You wanna talk to him or do you want me to make a distraction?”

“Distraction, please. I’m not ready. I need to understand my own feelings before dealing with his.” Y/N practically begged Clarisse. Being such a good friend, the daughter of Ares nodded.

“I got your back, girl.” She walked past Y/N, blocking Luke’s path. “Yo, Luke, you interested in having a little spar?”

“Uh, actually, I need to talk to Y/N.” Luke uttered, glancing over at the H/C-haired girl.

“Y/N needs to check on someone. One of the Ares kids got badly injured. You go ahead, Y/N. I’ll be with you soon.” Clarisse waved her off. Y/N silently hurried off, avoiding all eye contact with Luke.

She wasn’t ready to face him just yet. I mean, what do you say to a friend you kissed? More like made out with. And passionately, might I add. Beside a lake at night.

Y/N knew Luke would go looking for her an hour before curfew, so that’s exactly why she sought refuge in the Ares cabin.

“This feels stupid.” She murmured as she rolled under one of the bed, shooing the dust away.

“He’s obviously going to try and ask Clarisse about your whereabouts. You only have to hide under there until he leaves.” Erin, a girl who was a year younger than Y/N, spoke. As predicted, Luke knocked at the door.

“Hey.” He said when Erin swung it open. “Is Y/N or Clarisse here? I need to talk to ether of them but Y/N would be preferred.”

Erin shook her head. “No. Clarisse is showering right now. Maybe check Apollo’s cabin for Y/N. She might be helping out with the injured. She does that sometimes.”

The second Luke disappeared, Y/N crawled out from under the bed. She combed away the dust in her hair. “I know what you’re thinking.” She grumbled, looking up at Erin. “Why am I going through all this trouble? It’s complicated. I’m not ready to face him… yet.”

Erin hummed as she stepped towards Y/N. “None of us will be helpful with advice but if you really want help, visit the Aphrodite cabin.”

That’s how Y/N found herself standing on a porch decorated with pink and hearts and shining pearls. She sighed to herself before she hesitatingly knocked. A short blond girl answered the door immediately.

“We’ve been waiting for you.” She said while Y/N stared at her in discomfort. “Not in a creepy way, though. I swear. We knew you’d need help with you-know-who so we kind of planned it already. Come in.”

The girl warmly guided Y/N inside, beaming. “Our head counsellor isn’t here at the moment but Mai should be plenty of help!” The blond girl pointed over to a brunette who sat on her bed, reading a book. She was dressed in black shorts and a pink crop top. But when Mai looked up, Y/N was sure she was judging her.

“On second thought,” Y/N nervously said, “Maybe I should come back another time. Maybe in the afternoon?”

“The time you come doesn’t matter.” Mai piped up, closing her book. She gazed at Y/N curiously. “You’re afraid of expressing your feelings, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t know this was a therapy session.” Y/N lightly joked.

“Y/N, it’s obvious to everybody that you harbour some feelings towards Luke.” Mai said, pressing her pink-tinted lips into a thin line. “You guys are like the dynamic duo. I understand that dating someone who’s also a friend is scary but sometimes you’ve got to take the risk.”

“If you’re scared about going back to your cabin and running into Luke, you can crash here for the night.” The blonde girl from before offered. Nobody else seemed to have any problems with that so Y/N agreed.

She ended up on the bunk next to Mai, her unlicensed love therapist. Y/N tossed and turned but she still couldn’t fall asleep. She quietly groaned, rubbing her eyes.

“Can’t sleep either, huh?” Mai piped up, pursing her lips.

“No. I can’t help but worry.”

“Let me ask you one question, Y/N. Do you like him?”

“Luke?”

“I didn’t say a name.”

Y/N groaned again. “Fine. You got me. Yes. I guess I like him. I like his smile and how he’s always giving me food and how he barges in when I’m feeling lonely. I think his curled hair is adorable and there’s no other guy better-looking than him to me. But… I’m scared that I just like his platonically. Or what if we do date and I end up losing him?”

Mai smiled. “Don’t stress over it too much. You’re the daughter of Zeus, after all.”

“Yeah, thanks. Good night, Mai.”

“Night, Y/N.”

Luke approached Y/N the next day at breakfast. He let out a subtle sigh of relief when she didn’t run away. “Hey,” He whispered to her, tapping her shoulder and interrupting her conversation with Erin and Clarisse. “Can we talk? Alone?”

“Uh, yeah.” Y/N exchanged looks with both of the girls, who nodded and mouthed good luck. “What did you want to talk about?” Y/N asked when they were in the safety of her cabin and away from all the prying eyes. She played with the hem of her bright orange shirt.

“Forgive me for how blunt I’m going to be but what are we, Y/N?” Luke asked, not beating around the bush.

“We’re friends.” Y/N choked out, her conversation with Mai last night going down the drain. Perhaps it was selfish but a part of her wanted to remain friends because at least that way, neither of them would get hurt.

“No.” Luke wildly shook his head, “Friends don’t kiss. Friends don’t spend the night in the other’s cabin. Friends don’t look at each other like we do. Friends don’t sneak out in the middle of the night to go to a lake and end up making out! And now you’re ignoring me!”

His voice increased in volume the more he spoke.

“That was a mistake, Luke! I-I didn’t meant to! It just happened! I’m not ignoring you! What makes you think that?!”

“Well, what am I supposed to think, Y/N? You’re always running off and our conversations are up and down now. Sometimes we don’t talk for days! Sometimes you seem obsessed with me! I don’t know what to think!”

“That’s rich, coming from you!” Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. “If you’re not with Chris then you’re with that Aphrodite girl! You practically ignore me when you’re with her!” Y/N harshly poked his chest.

“I do not! And back to the previous conversation, was it really a mistake? Was hugging me a mistake? Was staring so adoringly at me a mistake? Was kissing me a mistake?! Maybe it was a mistake to you, but it wasn’t to me.” Luke caressed her face, holding it tightly. “Kissing you… will never be a mistake to me. Never, ever.”

Y/N gulped, practically shaking in Luke’s embrace. His lips lightly brushed her’s and she flinched.

“Sparky- Princess- Y/N,” He finally decided on what to call her in the heated moment. “I have feelings for you. And I have for a long time. So if you don’t like me back… just tell me. Because I can’t spend the rest of my life chasing after you. I get that you might be in denial but once I walk through those doors, I’m giving up.”

“Luke…”

“Do you like me or not?”

“Luke… please…” Y/N didn’t really know what she was begging for. Tears welled up in her eyes as he took a small step towards the door.

“Do you like me or not?” He repeated in a firmer tone.

Y/N silently stared at the ground, her hands clenched into fists.

“I guess I was wrong about you returning my feelings… I’m sorry for bothering you. I’ll leave now.”

Y/N’s body moved on its own as she reached out to grab his arm and harshly pull him back. Her voice was supposed to be gentle but hanging out with Clarisse seemed to have an impact on her.

“Of course I like you, Luke! How could I not? But I’m afraid and confused and I don’t know what to do. I see the way other girls look at you. They like you. And I’m scared that I don’t stand a chance against them. And what if we mess up, Luke? If we date then break up, we won’t be able to be friends again. I can’t handle that!”

“I don’t think I can be just friends with you right now, Y/N.” Luke softly replied, taking Y/N’s hand in his and pressing a light kiss to it. Y/N stared at him with flushed cheeks. “I don’t care about any of those other girls. The only person I care about is you. We don’t have to rush into a relationship but I just need to hear you say that you like me. That’s all I need for now. Can you do that for me?”

Y/N shakily inhaled. “I…” She hesitated. “I like you, Luke.”

Luke pulled her into a hug, smiling as he inhaled the sweet scent of Y/N’s perfume. “That’s all I needed to hear, Sparky.”

[bordysbae]

hey!!! it's me again :) i was just wondering if you could do a fic where the reader is trevor's sister, and she's with luke, but the fic is based on a combination on mine, stay stay stay, and that's the way i loved you by ms. taylor herself

ps. i actually love your writing sm 🫶

“my michigan boy”

luke hughes x zegras!sister

do you remember we were sitting there by the water, you put your arm around me for the first time.

as you and luke watch the sunset lower by the second, he wraps an arm around you as both of your guys’ toes dangle off of the dock. you rest your head on luke’s shoulder, embracing the final days of summer. the final days until you both head off to college, and before your guys’ brothers head back to california, new jersey, and vancouver.

“i’m gonna miss this, i mean i miss every summer spent at the lake house, but especially this one,” you state softly.

“and whys that?” luke mumbles, nearly lost in the orange and pink sky.

“because of us. it’s been too long of us just being awkward around each other, i’m glad we finally made it to where we are now. but it sucks, you’re staying in michigan for college and i’m going all the way to wisconsin”

“i know, but we’ll keep in touch, i promise. plus we’re both gonna see each other on winter break, and spring break too.”

“luke, it’s just that-“ you begin to say, but you’re cut off by trevor calling you both over to the fire pit to make s’mores with everyone. luke stands up and hurries over to make sure he gets a s’more, but you walk slow behind him. your older brother walks over closer, and grabs your attention by standing directly in front of you. “you okay?” he asks.

“yeah, just thinkin’”

“what about?”

“me and luke. we aren’t dating, but we’re definitely more than friends. anyone can see that, but we’re going away to college next week. there’s no point in dating, but i don’t want us to be left as nothing, y’know?”

“don’t date him, that’s a dumb idea. you’re going away to college, and you don’t want to be held back by a long distance relationship. plus luke is gonna be focusing on hockey. if you guys are really meant to be it’ll happen when it needs to,” trevor tells you.

“since when are you such a romantic,” you playfully elbow him, earning yourself a smack on the back of the head, “yeah yeah, shut up.”

and he says, “you look beautiful tonight.” but i miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain.

you and luke left things quiet in michigan. you never addressed the elephant in the room—the elephant being that you were both going away to college— so now you’re on a date with a guy you met at a bar last month.

“you look beautiful tonight,” he smiles, making you blush.

“oh thank you, aaron! you don’t look too bad yourself,” you smile, as you both head into the restaurant. aaron is sweet, but he’s just not luke. this is the second date, and he’s just careless in a way. he loves to talk about himself, and sure, he listens to what you have to say, but he doesn’t listen to the way luke did.

“what are your plans for winter break next week? you staying here?” aaron asks you, catching you off gaurd. he never really asks much about you, so you’re happy to be able to get some words in about yourself.

“oh! i’m going to michigan, my parents live there! i’m staying with my family friends at their lake house, which technically doesn’t serve the same purpose it does during the summer, but it’s always fun to go ice skating on the lake!”

“oh cool! i was hoping maybe we could hang out, but i guess i’ll just have to text you!” aaron chuckles, making you blush slightly.

it’s not that you don’t like aaron, you very much do, it’s just that he isn’t the same as luke. you and luke could talk about any and everything for hours, but with aaron it’s all just a little too unfamiliar for you. you even missed the fights you and luke would have. i mean sure, they sucked in the moment, but as soon as they were over, they were immediately forgotten. and then luke was your world’s axis again. he made your world spin.

you took the time to memorize me, my fears my hope and dreams. i just like hanging out with you, all the time

back in michigan, all is going well. you and luke are slightly awkward, since the tension from summer was never resolved, but you guys are still close as always. but what you didn’t expect to happen was for your brother to accidentally spill the beans about aaron, in front of everyone.

“ew, you still talk to aaron?” trevor exclaims, as he tosses your vibrating phone at you from from across the living room.

“who’s aaron?” quinn asks, pestering like the annoying boy he is.

“yeah y/n, who’s aaron?” luke questions, turning his head towards you. your heart begins to race.

“we went on a couple dates, that’s all,” you begin to explain, but before you can finish your explanation luke leaves the room. everyone’s eyes follow him as he exits, then they all turn back towards you with sheepish smiles. you sigh, and chase after luke. you hear him close the back door, so you go outside onto the deck. he’s sat under the awning, with his head resting upon his hands.

“luke, let me explain,” you sigh, as you sit next him.

“no don’t, it’s not like we were dating anyways. i mean we’ve both hooked up with other people while away at college, i don’t know why i’m upset. you don’t have to explain yourself, you did nothing wrong,”

“oh luke, yes i did. i knew all along that all i wanted was you, but i saw you going to these parties and shit, so i felt like i needed to move on too. i toyed with aaron’s feelings, just for it not to work,” you say, making luke look up from his lap at you.

“what are you saying?”

“that i love you, luke hughes,” you smile, making him blush.

“i love you too, y/n zegras,” he says, leaning in to kiss you. he cuffs your cheeks, as your hands make their way through his curly hair. suddenly luke pulls away and gasps, startling you.

“remember when you said you’ve always wanted to kiss someone in the rain? cmon!” he exclaims, immediately pulling you up from the small step, and into the pouring rain. your guys’ laughter could be heard from a mile away, until it’s silenced by luke’s lips crashing against yours.

“i like hanging out with you luke, we should do this more,” you giggle, making luke smile.

“do what, kiss more? or hang out more?”

“both. you’re my michigan boy.”

[starvinginbelair]

dude you have just baffled me a little what is your take on iwct? being sex positive? (important) or maybe about unmasking and being positive about all the other things we're ashamed for and think we'd 'fall from grace' if anyone knew? (like i made a joke once about walking into walls from being clumsy/spacing out once that that was what the song meant but i didn't think it actually did) please tell me i am So Confused

personally? i see it as sort of a petty sort of song? with all of the stuff that was happening with luke at the time, and his relationship was falling apart very very publically, it feels a lot like "if these walls could talk, you wouldn't be talking the shit that you are online, because you're just as bad as me". which i think, with ashton being a writer on it translates to "i have so much shit on you but i'm not going to talk about it out of respect to my friend"

the falling from grace part i think connects to public reception/reputation at the time. because before everything with luke and his ex, the bad was generally, big emphasis on GENERALLY, seen as squeaky clean, next up and coming "boy band" after 1d. and when luke and his ex got together, that's the first moment where a lot of the fanbase started to sort of realize that Oh the people we're being marketed are totally different from the people they actually are (which is valid and i'm not saying it's dumb for the guys to want to break out of that image). but i think that "grace", means going from being heralded as these angelic, nice sort of guys, to the reality of being growing young adults who maybe just want to have a good time.

at the same time though, i think my interpretation is very literal and grounded in a lot of how events unfolded in their lives. a lot of their songs are not really that way, and i think, especially with the verses, iwct leaves a lot of room for interpretation. imo though, youngblood and 5sos5 are the ones that are easiest to connect to their lives, and easiest for me to see how certain themes align with specific things that happened during their writing process

[hotpinkboots]

Hiii!! I see Mr. Djarin and I must request 👀 Could we get Mando having some sort of fear of losing y/n? I love how you change your blog theme throughout the holidays and events btw it's so cute 🥰

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~𝕯𝖎𝖓 𝕯𝖏𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓 x Reader: Separation Anxiety~

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"oh sorry guys I don't write with any anxiety topics"

also me: DIN WITH SEPARATION ANXIETY!!!!

Also my black text thingy STILL ISN'T WORKING (TUMBLR FIX NOW PLS DARLING) so I just didn't use any color...which is entirely against every cell in my body because I like the text color to match the character, but it's not working so I'm forced to just leave it all BORING :(((

ALSO DJDJDHDSHAWOWI THANK YOU SO MUCH ⭐REMEMBERRR THIS IS ALL PART OF THE MANDALORIAN SEASON 3 EVENT THINGY! Any requests I get with Mando will be done BEFORE any other requests in my inbox! This goes all week long!⭐

Note: this is a little bit after Grogu went bye bye with Luke. I made Mando all dumb and clingy C:

~Enjoy~

★★★★

𝕯𝖎𝖓 𝕯𝖏𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓

★★★★

~He seemed to be fine for a few days, he obviously missed the kid but didn't really show it much. Maybe just a bit quieter than usual.

~which basically means he was silent because he already doesn't talk much

~He seemed a bit more unfocused when he picked up bounty hunting again. He came back injured more often than he used to.

~Because his brain was completely focused on you instead of what he was doing. Would you be gone by the time he got back? What are you doing? Are you hurt right now???? No, you're fine. BUT WHAT IF-

~Worried you might just decide to leave him. The Kid left him because he wanted to go, would you leave just because you wanted to as well? Maybe it would just be better for you to, anyway. Life with a bounty hunter? You can't like him enough to stay in a life of danger.

~It doesn't matter how long you've been with him, he'll still worry that you don't like this life.

~Grogu left because it was his "destiny" or whatever, he didn't want to leave, right??

~Okay so basically he's just a mess you get the point

~He always seems to be hovering over you, now. Watching from the doorway, and when you say something about it, he just says he was checking on you.

~It gets annoying and then he's annoyed and embarrassed that you're annoyed and now he's stressed and kind of sad. He thinks he's being oversensitive and now he's even annoying himself. help him omg

~He starts getting way more violent than he used to be during hunts. Anything to protect you.

~Din's just realizing how important you really are to him. Doesn't understand how much something means to him until it's gone, he's learned, so now he's around you and just...looking at you and appreciating you and being so freaking worried over something that doesn't exist and isn't happening

~Super stressed out if you ever need to leave to do something, or even if you just want to go shop around or get something to eat.

~It comes off as him being super annoyed, but he honestly just doesn't want to see your back when you leave, and he's scared of you getting injured, kidnapped, ect.

~He used to always be fine with you doing literally whatever you wanted because he knew you could handle yourself. Now he's worried about the smallest thing happening and does not want you going anywhere.

~(Y/N): I'm going out to eat

~Din: we have food at home

~Clings to you and then tells you that you're the one following him when you say something about it. He gets embarrassed.

~But then he feels bad and realizes that's a form of gaslighting you so he rejects what he said and tells you that you're right.

~Really, he's just an emotional mess. He gets over it slowly, but Din really just wants to make sure you're safe and that you're happy with him. After Grogu left with Luke, you're the only person he has to take care of. He likes feeling needed by you 🥺

~So now you're the baby!

~He did already have separation anxiety due to his parents :( so now it's worse. It's not permanent, but he definitely starts overthinking about you and your safety.

~Just be patient with him, he'll be okay.

~The man just worries a lot and loves you.

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GRRRHRHRE I WANNA GO DEEPER INTO THIS BECAUSE I LOVE OVERPROTECTIVE AND WORRIED MANDO

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Here's my Masterlist!

And here are the rules!

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⭐REBLOGS⭐>💀LIKES💀

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Discord Server! Here you can roleplay with and as your favorite characters, get updates on my fanfiction, and get sneak peaks for my upcoming videogames!:

~~~~~~~~~~

~Love, PinkBoots

[fortheloveofwonderland]

A War of the Heart - Chapter Three | Luke Alvez x Fem! Reader

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter Summary - Luke introduces Lisa to the team which sparks jealousy inside of you and leads you to make an incredibly stupid decision.

Category - heavy angst | smut | eventual happy ending

A/N - for the sake of this, Luke met Lisa a lot earlier than canon. Also I’m not gonna lie, I forgot about Walker until much later in the fic. He’s briefly mentioned in a later chapter.

Content Warnings - jealous reader, lying, swearing, drinking, arguing, some cheating (making out), getting caught, risqué photos, oral sex (m receiving).

WC - 4.1k

Chapter Three

Present - Quantico, Virginia

The weeks rolled on and you spent as little time with Luke as was humanly possible. With Hotch’s sudden departure into witness protection and Emily coming back to take on the role of Unit Chief, you had other things to occupy your mind thankfully, so your feelings for Luke went on the back burner. 

Until today. 

It started like any normal day as you strolled into the kitchen to make yourself a cup of coffee and found Spencer and Luke chatting away by the machine. Before they registered your presence you caught the back end of a conversation that would inevitably lead you to spiral.

“She’s great, man. I’m really happy.” Luke’s cheeks flushed as he averted his gaze into his coffee mug. 

“That’s really great. I can’t wait to meet her.” Spencer smiled at the newest member of the team. 

“Meet who?” You croaked out, your voice much less levelled than you’d hoped it would be. 

Both Spencer and Luke turned to face you, the older man looking incredibly sheepish but Spencer clearly didn’t notice. 

“Alvez was just telling me about his new girlfriend.” Spencer smiled at you, not detecting the tension in the room.

“I think it’s still too early to put labels on it.” Luke was quick to counter. 

“She sounds really great.” Spencer was not deterred. 

You scoffed, shaking your head at Luke. The next words out of your mouth came spilling forth before you had a chance to rein them in. 

“I can only imagine the calibre of women who would date Alvez.” You remarked snidely, moving past both of the men towards the coffee maker and ignoring the looks they both sent your way.

“Y/N, that was a little harsh.” Spencer lowered his voice as if Luke, who was standing a few feet from him, wouldn't hear. 

“It’s ok Reid, I know she doesn’t mean it.” Luke’s tone was teasing and you turned to see him smirking at you. 

His eyes told you what his words didn’t. Say one more word and I’ll tell Spencer everything. 

You grinded your teeth together furiously, staring right at him and wanting to hurl his scolding coffee right in his stupid, beautiful, smug face. 

“Hotch had clearly already mentally checked out when he hired you.” You spat, unable to hold back. In truth that was the nicest thing you could think to say. 

“Guys, stop this.” Spencer interjected, looking between the two of you like you were small children. “I thought you were friends?”

“Were being the operative word.” Luke replied, not taking his eyes off of you. “Excuse me, I have literally anywhere else to be.” 

With that he pushed past you and headed across the bullpen to his desk. You watched him go, rage bubbling in your gut. You went to follow him, forgetting all about your coffee, but Spencer stepped in your way. 

“You want to tell me what that was about?” He folded his arms across his chest and frowned at you. 

“He just…he grates on me.” You sighed. 

“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you Y/N? You and Luke were just friends, right?” He was profiling you even though he’d promised he never would. You could tell by the way he was watching you, looking out for any tiny tick that would give you away.

Luckily for you, you had an excellent poker face, one in which even Spencer wouldn’t be able to see through. 

“Of course we were just friends.” You spat. “You’d think I’d be so dumb as to what? Date Luke Alvez? Come on, Spence, don’t be ridiculous.” 

He continued scrutinising you for a few moments before he sighed and nodded his head. 

“I’m sorry.” He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to accuse you. I know you wouldn’t lie to me.” 

When he smiled and leant in and placed a soft kiss on your cheek, your heart ached in your chest. Spencer was such a good guy, the best guy really. He didn’t deserve any of this. 

Over his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around you, you noticed Luke staring right at you. Your heart plummeted to your stomach as you realised you were never going to love the man holding you. Not the way you still loved Luke fucking Alvez. 

***

Lisa Douglas was, by all accounts, a really nice woman. She was a physical therapist, she helped people for a living. She was charming and friendly and to top it off she was absolutely stunning too. She had the whole team eating out of the palm of her hand as she clung to Luke’s side, his strong arm protectively around her waist. Everyone loved her. Everyone, except for you. 

Admittedly she didn’t make it easy to hate her, but every time Luke touched her or sent a loving look her way, your blood boiled in your veins. He seemed genuinely happy and you hated yourself for being so angry at that fact. 

The whole team had gone out for drinks after wrapping your latest case and if you’d known she would be joining you wouldn’t have gone. This was quite honestly the last place in the entire world you wanted to be. 

Spencer was at your side, his own arm tucked around you, holding you close to him but you barely acknowledged his presence. You were too preoccupied analysing every look Luke gave Lisa, every small laugh, every tiny touch. As a result you’d consumed a little more wine tonight than you normally would have. Which was the only reason to explain why, when Luke excused himself to use the bathroom, you’d quickly done the same and followed him. 

Thankfully the men’s bathroom had been empty aside from him when you’d entered it, Luke’s back to the door as he used the urinal. You stood impatiently waiting for him to finish his business. You heard his zipper go and then he turned and his eyes met yours. 

“Uh…I’m pretty sure this is the men’s bathroom.” He frowned, heading to the sink and washing his hands. 

“Are you doing this on purpose?” You folded your arms over your chest. 

Luke flicked the excess water off his hands before wiping them down the front of his jeans and turning to look at you.

“Urinating? Washing my hands? Can you be more specific?” He knew exactly what you meant and you knew he did too. 

“You’re flaunting.” 

“I’m doing nothing of the sort.” He scoffed. 

“Oh of course not.” You rolled your eyes. “Is this your way of getting back at me because I’m dating Spencer?”

“Excuse me?” He shook his head. “Are we twelve?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.” You took a few steps closer to him. 

“You made your position on us very clear. I met a girl and I asked her out. If you’re allowed to be happy, why aren’t I?” 

It was a good question. A really good question. One you didn’t have an answer to other than the thought of Luke with another woman made you feel physically sick. But it was hypocritical, you were with Spencer, he was allowed to date whoever he wanted. But why did it hurt so fucking much. 

“You’re just trying to get a rise out of me.” You said instead. 

“Have you ever considered the possibility that not everything is about you?” It was Luke’s turn to take a few steps closer to you. 

“What’s the matter Alvez, you can dish it but not take it?” 

“I’m sorry?” He frowned at you. 

“I seem to remember you having a lot to say about my relationship with Spencer. But I don’t get a say on your so-called relationship?” 

“I’m not going to keep doing this with you, Y/N. You either want me or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways. You don’t get to be with Spencer and still have a hold on me.” He spat angrily, his jaw set harshly. 

“I never said I wanted you.” You shook your head, averting your gaze which made Luke laugh. 

“You didn’t need to.” He chuckled.

“I’m with Spencer.” You retorted.

“Still, you didn’t deny it.” He stepped even closer to you and you caught a whiff of his cologne. “Because you can’t, can you? Tell me you don't want me, Y/N. I dare you.” 

You forced yourself to meet his eyeline and the look in his eyes was challenging you. You swallowed a large lump in your throat, begging yourself to speak, to tell him you didn’t want him but you couldn’t. The words just wouldn’t come out. 

“I knew it.” Luke smirked, stepping closer yet again. “Y/N, if you want me, you know all you need to do is say the word and I’m yours. Just say the word.” 

“N-no.” You croaked, finally finding your voice. “I d-don’t want you.” 

“You don’t want me? But you also don’t want anyone else to have me?” 

“I didn’t say that.” You swallowed again thickly. “I just think you can do better.”

Luke chuckled darkly, coming yet even closer to you, leaning in to you and whispering in your ear.

“Be careful Y/L/N, your jealousy is showing.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek, desperate not to retaliate for fear of what you might say. Instead you shoved him backwards by his shoulders, and kept shoving him until he was up against the wall. 

His eyes were darker than you’d ever seen them as he stared at you, waiting on your next move. What happened next surprised you both, but you couldn’t stop yourself even if you tried. All of your pent up feelings spilled over all of a sudden and you pounced on him, crushing your lips against his as if it was your only lifeline. What was even more surprising was that Luke didn’t hesitate in kissing you back. 

His arms were quick to wrap around you, holding you in that firm way you remembered so well. He parted his lips, taking back the control and somewhat roughly edging his tongue in your mouth. He managed to spin you both around and tossed you against the wall without breaking the kiss, furiously grinding his hips against you. He was already hard, maybe he had been before you’d even kissed him. 

You wrapped your arms around his neck and let him grind you into the wall, giving yourself over to him completely the way you always did. His scratchy stubble felt so different from the thick beard he’d sported in Iraq but it still felt so good. His hands wandered from your waist, under your shirt and over the planes of your back. You moaned into his mouth at the sensation of him touching your bare skin after so many years. At the moment, your respective other half’s were the furthest thing from either of your minds. 

You would have let him take you right there and then, you had absolutely no doubt about that. You would have let him fuck you up against that filthy bathroom wall and probably not even felt bad about it. But you were pulled apart tragically too soon by the sound of someone clearing their throat. 

Luke leaped back from you, his eyes wide as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. You panted heavily as you stared at the figure in the doorway. 

David Rossi looked epitome of unamused, his expression something akin to a parent ready to scold his children. His eyes flicked between the two of you and your puffy swollen lips. Luke tried to hide the tenting in his jeans with his hands while you crossed your arms over your chest to conceal your painfully hard nipples. 

“Well,” Rossi huffed with a roll of his eyes. “I can’t say this is entirely unexpected.” 

Getting caught was not ideal, but you couldn’t help but be thankful it wasn’t by Spencer. When neither of you responded, he spoke again. 

“I know you probably think you’re really subtle, but may I remind you, we’re profilers. I am not the only one who had my suspicions about the two of you. Reid doesn’t deserve this. And that nice girl out there doesn’t either. So this is what’s going to happen,” he stepped closer to you both. “Either this is never going to happen again and I won’t tell anyone. Or, you do the decent thing and put Spencer and Lisa out of their misery. Capeesh?” 

You and Luke glanced at each other briefly before looking back at Rossi and nodding simultaneously. 

“Thank you, Rossi.” You replied sheepishly. 

“Yeah, thanks.” Luke agreed. 

“I’m not doing it for you.” He shook his head. “Now get the hell out of here so I can use the can.” 

The two of you scurried away like frightened children, not saying another word to each other. 

From across the bar, Spencer watched the two of you exit the men’s bathrooms together, his stomach coiling into knots. He knew you’d been lying to him. From the moment he’d seen you and Luke together he’d known you’d been more than friends. He wondered how many more times you would lie to him as you rejoined the group, sidling up to him and smelling suspiciously like Luke Alvez’s distinctive cologne. 

***

2010 - Diyala, Northeast Baghdad 

With only two weeks left until you were reassigned, you spent every free moment you could with Luke knowing it would soon be over. When you were together you didn’t talk about your leaving, it wouldn’t make it any easier anyway. You just simply relished every second you had left together. 

Tonight he’d been working late and by the time he made it back to his unit he was completely drained. He was ready to shower and collapse for the night, until he stepped into his housing unit. 

His jaw practically hit the floor when he switched on the light to find you kneeling on his bed. But it was what you were wearing that really got his blood pumping. 

“Fuck,” he quickly closed the door, glancing over at the burlap divider. 

“Martinez is out on mission. Won’t be back for a few days.” You smirked at him, curling a finger to beckon him closer. 

“After the day I’ve had, this is the best welcome I could have asked for.” His eyes raked up and down your body taking in every inch of you. 

You were wearing one of his army jackets, his last name stitched over the chest. You wore it undone and the sliver of skin on display told him it was the only thing you were wearing. 

“I wanted to be naked but it’s so damn cold in here.” 

“Somehow this is better than you being naked.” He took off his own jacket, dropping it on the floor and grabbing something off of his desk. 

He pointed it at you and you were quick to wrap the jacket tightly around your body. 

“No way.” You laughed, shaking your head as you looked down the lens of the Polaroid camera. 

“Please?” He whined a little. “For when you leave me.” 

You pulled a face, a little sad he would use that against you, but you could never deny Luke anything. Reluctantly you parted the sides of the jacket a little, enough to show off a little cleavage and stomach but you weren’t giving him the full show. 

It seemed to be enough for Luke as he hissed and poised the camera. You pouted at him, smiling at the camera with your eyes. Seconds later you were blinded by the flash and heard the whir of the camera spitting out the film. 

Luke gave the Polaroid a little shake before tucking it between the pages of a book to develop. He deposited the camera back on the desk before walking over to the bed. 

You knelt up on the mattress and Luke grabbed the lapels of the jacket to pull you close, he kissed you fiercely, still standing next to the cot.

“You have no idea how fucking perfect you look like this.” He spoke into your lips. “I’m going to cherish that photograph forever.”

“By cherish you mean jerk off over, I assume?” You teased him and he retaliated by biting your bottom lip.

“Obviously.” He laughed, hands working their way into your hair. 

Your own hands wandered, down his back and over his ass before circling his waist and stopping on the button of his pants. He deepened the kiss as you popped the button, wriggling the fabric of his pants and underwear over his hips just enough to free his already hard cock. 

You tore your lips away from his and he straightened himself up, now at his full height you were in the perfect position. You pulled him closer by his hips and placed kisses along his pelvic bone. One of his hands found purchase on the back of your head, gripping your hair and guiding you lower. 

You glanced up at him through your lashes as you let your mouth fall open and you started to take his length in your mouth. Luke moaned deeply, a sound that rumbled through his whole body and he thrust the rest of the way into your waiting mouth. 

As usual, Luke set the pace, using his hold on your hair to move you back and forth on him. You enjoyed when he took control, simply letting him use your mouth for his own pleasure. You hands groped at his ass while he fucked your mouth, pulling your hair at the roots as he did so. 

You only had a finite amount of time left together and you were going to make every second count. 

***

Present - Washington, DC

“You wanna come in?” You asked Spencer as you unlocked your apartment door later that night. 

Spencer had been oddly quiet on the taxi ride from the bar to here and had barely made eye contact with you. 

“Not tonight.” He shook his head, gnawing on his bottom lip. “I just wanted to see you home safely.” 

“Oh, ok.” You nodded stiffly. It wasn’t like Spencer to pass up spending time with you. 

“I want to ask you something and I need this to be the last time I have to ask you.” He scuffed the toe of his converse on the floor awkwardly. 

You held your breath, you had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say. 

“Ok.” You pushed your back up against the door, only half wishing you could disappear through it. 

“Were you and Luke ever involved? Romantically.”

You swallowed thickly. You knew you owed him the truth, it was the least you could do. Looking into his downtrodden eyes you wanted nothing more than to be honest with him. But he wouldn’t understand. He’d freak out and get jealous and you were sure it was better for him not to know. In your own way, you were trying to protect him. 

“No.” You were getting so good at lying about it you almost believed it yourself. 

“You see the thing is,” Spencer’s eyebrows knitted together and he took a half step away from you. “I don’t believe you. I want to. You have no idea how much I want to. But I’ve seen the way you are around each other and I think there’s more to the story than you just being friends. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but I don’t think I am.” 

“Spence, please? Just come inside?” 

“No.” He shook his head. “No, I need some time to think.” 

You watched him walk backwards towards the stairs. You knew you could get him to stay if you wanted to, but you didn’t want to force him to be here. You stayed silent and watched him go until he reached the top of the stairs and he turned away from you finally so he could descend them. 

He hoped he was wrong. But he suspected he wasn’t. And if you’d lied to him, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to forgive you for that. 

***

“You were awfully quiet tonight.” Lisa spoke from where she sat on the edge of his bed as he exited the bathroom after his shower. 

His towel was slung low around his waist as little beads of water rolled over his skin. He wasn’t sure why he’d asked her back to his place tonight when he really wanted to be alone. Roxy was curled up at the foot of the bed and all he wanted was to curl up with her and maybe sob against her soft fur. 

“Yeah sorry, I’ve got a lot on my mind.” He croaked. 

“Is it anything to do with this?” Lisa held up a small thin item she’d been toying with in her hand and Luke immediately knew what it was. “I wasn’t snooping, I was looking for a phone charger.” 

Luke sighed heavily, running his fingers through his wet hair. He padded over to the bed and sat down next to her, taking the Polaroid photograph from her hand. 

“I mean I can tell it’s an old photo but I’m pretty certain that’s Y/N.” 

“Yeah.” Luke nodded, staring down at the Polaroid, instantly being transported back into that moment. 

That picture had been Luke’s solace on many lonely nights after you’d gone to Afghanistan. That photo and his hand were all he had left. It had been a really long time since he’d looked at it but he kept it nearby just in case. 

You looked so goddamn beautiful in that photo, in nothing but his army jacket and the smirk on your lips. He couldn’t look at it without imagining the way you’d sucked him off right after he’d taken it, and the way he’d fucked you after. 

“You didn’t tell me you dated.” Lisa didn’t sound annoyed, frustrated sure, but not angry. 

Luke looked away from the image and turned it upside down before placing it on the bed. 

“She didn’t want Spencer to know about our history so I kept quiet. I guess I thought it was best for you not to know either although I don’t really know why.” His voice was distant, lost in another time. 

“Well, you can tell me now.” 

Luke nodded, knowing he wouldn’t get away with not being honest with her. He closed his eyes and ran his hands over his face. 

“We met in Iraq thirteen years ago. I was older, technically her boss. She was a ray of fucking sunshine in the middle of a war zone. It was supposed to just be physical but I uh…I fell in love with her.” He felt the tears pricking the backs of his eyes. “I wanted to marry her. And then she was reassigned and I never saw her again. No, that’s not true, I saw her one more time, eight years ago at the funeral of a soldier we worked alongside in Iraq. But I didn’t see her again after that until I joined the BAU.” 

He finally looked back at Lisa and she could see the unshed tears obscuring his vision. She reached out and cupped his cheek. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just…I don’t know. I just didn’t. And I’m sorry.” 

“I understand.” Lisa nodded sadly. “But I have to ask; do you still have feelings for her?”

Luke swallowed thickly, one single tear rolling from his eye. 

“Yes.” He admitted. “She was my first love, Lisa, you have to understand. I thought I was gonna spend the rest of my life with her. Seeing her again has been hard, complicated. I can’t lie and tell you there aren’t some unresolved feelings there. But it doesn’t mean I don’t also have feelings for you. You’re the one I want to be with, ok?” 

“Do you want to be with me because you have feelings for me, or because she doesn’t want you?” She let her hand fall from Luke’s face. 

“I want to be with you because you’re amazing and beautiful and incredible. I would want to be with you regardless if she wanted me or not.” Ok, so maybe that wasn’t strictly true, Luke wasn’t entirely sure. 

Admittedly after you’d kissed him tonight, if you’d told him you wanted to be with him he probably would have marched out of that bathroom and ended things with Lisa on the spot. But you didn’t want him, so what was the point in telling Lisa that? 

“Ok,” she nodded, forcing a smile. 

“Ok?” 

She cupped his face again, leaning in close and placing a chaste kiss to his lips. 

“We all have a past. It’s not like I’ve never dated anyone before you.” She laughed a little. “Granted I don’t work with any of my exes but, I get it. And I’m not stupid enough to let an amazing man like you go over something so petty.” 

Luke rolled his lip between his teeth, nodding at her words. She kissed him again softly, pulling him back to the mattress. 

Taglist

@carolinesbookworld @wooya1224 @littlebeanwrites @randomrambling

[theaawalker]

Character tropes are a writer's bread and butter, for better or worse. Because of this, it can be easy for your characters to be mistaken, copied, and boxed in with others. Especially in this industry, it's important to stand out. What’s the difference between a flat character and a well-rounded character? How do writers bring a character to life on the page? When it comes to character development, these are central questions—especially when it comes to using character tropes...

[ ~ a world that's waiting up for me ~ ]

What Are Character Tropes?

The word “trope” refers to a common motif or pattern in a work of art. In the context of fiction, character tropes refer to common attributes or even entire stock characters. The word trope comes from the Greek word 'tropos' meaning “to turn.” Originally it referred to rhetorical devices that a writer uses to develop an argument. Character tropes can be useful in fiction, but when overused, they can detract from a story.

Common Character Tropes

Every genre of storytelling has its own stable of common character types, and as a storyteller it’s worth being aware of them. Here are nine of the most common:

1. The chosen one:

The chosen one is a common fantasy trope. Their identity typically revolves around a task that’s been set aside for them, which they typically pursue without much hesitation or complication. Like Frodo Baggins, Luke Skywalker, and Harry Potter, the chosen one is often, conveniently, an orphan.

2. The damsel in distress:

One of the most common and pernicious types of female character tropes, the damsel in distress, whatever form she takes, is a passive figure who exists mostly as an object for the hero to save. Even versions of the character who turn out to be a little more plucky than expected (think Princess Fiona from Shrek or Princess Leia from Star Wars) have become their own subset of this creaky old trope.

3. The femme fatale:

A mysterious and seductive woman who uses her sex appeal to seduce and entrap her enemies, the femme fatale is a popular character trope in hardboiled mysteries. In many ways, the femme fatale is an updated version of supernatural witches or sorceresses. It’s no spoiler to say that she nearly always leads men to destruction. Sharon Stone, Uma Thurman, and Eartha Kitt are the queens of this trope. <3

4. The girl next door:

The small-town girl with a heart of gold is, in many ways the opposite of the femme fatale. A common film and TV trope, the girl next door is innocent, kind, and wholesome. In other words, she’s the embodiment of domestic femininity and typically a candidate for the male protagonist’s love interest. Take Mary Jane Watson for instance.

5. The mad scientist:

Going back to Dr. Frankenstein (or any number of sorcerer antecedents), the mad scientist is usually a villain, driven by an eccentric, antisocial personality and unrestrained hubris or a desire to play god. The mad scientist’s benign counterpart is the nerdy “absent-minded professor” who’s so engrossed by their work that they struggle to relate to “normal people.”

6. The trusty sidekick:

Like the damsel in distress, the trusty sidekick typically has no life outside their relationship to the main character and their quest. Whether the sidekick is a loyal companion, like Samwise in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, a faithful butler, or a chatty best friend—as in any number of romance novels—their main quality is that they have no story of their own.

7. The wise old man:

Sometimes an actual wizard, sometimes just an old guy who’s seen his share, the wise old man is a long-enduring stock figure who usually imparts some special wisdom to the protagonist. Dumbledore, Master Oogway, Gandalf, and Master Miyagi.

8. The dumb muscle:

Based on the idea that it’s impossible to be smart and fit at the same time, the dumb muscle is an exceedingly common minor character, especially in action and adventure stories. As a bad guy the dumb muscle is easily outsmarted or otherwise bested by the main character. X-Men's Juggernaut is a prime example.

9. The antihero:

Antiheroes are typically cynical loners with major personality flaws, often darkly appealing bad boys. Like normal heroes, the antihero still drives the story, but often to a more amoral place. Tony Soprano, Red Arrow, Emma Frost, and the grittier versions of Batman are all prime examples of modern antiheroes. These days, antiheroes are almost as common as idealized heroes.

5 Tips for Avoiding Character Tropes

Character tropes aren’t good or bad in and of themselves. In some types of fiction, especially epics, satires, and more plot-driven forms of fiction, the use of stock characters can be expected and even desirable. The problem is when writers lean so heavily on these tropes that they’re no longer telling an original story. This is the point where archetypal characters can bleed into stereotypes. In order to avoid (or at least complicate) character tropes, you’ll need to develop a richer sense of your characters. Here are a few tips:

1. Figure out what your characters really want.

One reason writers lean on stereotypes is because they don’t know their characters well enough. Instead of playing to type, spend some time figuring out what really motivates your characters. Are they driven by a need to belong? By a thirst for knowledge? By a desire to be recognized? These super-objectives may lead your characters to buck their outward roles in interesting ways.

2. Look for opportunities to subvert tropes.

If you find yourself drawn to certain tropes, look for ways to undermine them. While this sort of self-conscious style may not be right for every story, it can be especially compelling in the context of genres that traditionally rely on tropes: think fantasy novels, horror movies, love stories, westerns, and other popular genres.

3. Get to know your characters outside the story.

A common writing exercise is to develop backstories for your major characters. Imagine them in real life. Ask yourself questions about your characters, like: What was this person like in high school? What objects are on their nightstand? How do they get along with their families? While seemingly inconsequential, these questions can help you get a sense of the individuality of your characters, rather than just thinking of them as adhering to a common type.

4. Allow your characters’ personalities to change.

Again, there are types of stories where characters may remain static, but in general, it’s important for readers to feel like your character changes (or at least has the potential to change) over the course of the story. Remember, the change need not always be positive, but there should be some sense that the experience they’ve had has marked them in some way.

5. Avoid clichéd situations.

Sometimes the issue isn’t with the characters you’ve developed but the scenario in which you’ve placed them. If you’ve created a pair of star-crossed lovers who are meant to fall for one another at first sight, it’ll be hard not to make the situation feel hackneyed—no matter how well-drawn your lovers are. If you’re only thinking in terms of common plot tropes, it may be hard to get your characters out of them. If you’re working in a science fiction or fantasy setting, this is where worldbuilding might help you find more interesting angles to explore.

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Did I mention I'm publishing a book soon?! If you're interested in YA fantasy, fiction, and philosophy, then see my website, newsletter, or email me at guardiansofcamoria@yahoo.com for updates.

[invisibleraven]

"Not sure if the banner was already obvious enough, but I would like to ask you to be my date." for Willie/anyone, because chaos

Willie could credit himself at being pretty good when it came to reading people. Case in point, when the end of the school year grew closer and closer, and Alex started getting grumpy and fidgety, Willie knew something was up.

More than this is exam jitters-because Alex's school related anxieties just had him pop an extra Ativan by now. Not a worry about the future, as the band was signed for a three album deal, and were set to do a mini California tour come the summer before they did their first album.

No, his mood took a definite change when the posters for the prom started popping up.

Willie had no real wish to go to prom. Sure, he liked dances just as much as the next gay guy, and with Alex as his boyfriend, they could cut a rug with the best of them. But it was such a stupid, heteronormative tradition, and Willie was definitely counter culture. Sure, the school was 100% okay with queer couples going-heck they were even letting Julie bring both her boyfriends as her dates, which made Reggie beam with giddy joy, and even though Luke rolled his eyes, Willie knew he was super excited as well.

But he wasn't sure how Alex felt. So he poked at Reggie for some insight.

"Dude, what do you mean?" Reggie asked. "Alex has been dreaming about dancing at his prom with his boyfriend since he first saw Pretty In Pink. And The Prom. And the third High School Musical movie, even though he bitched about them making the choreographer character straight."

"That was super stupid," Willie admitted. "So you think he want me to ask him?" Reggie shot him a look at that. "Okay, stupid question. You don't think he wants some big promposal right?"

"Have you met Alex?" Reggie asked. "No, he'd die. But maybe... make an effort and do something special, just for you."

That Willie could do. Sure, prom was stupid, dumb, and lame. But Willie could do a night of stupid, dumb, and lame for Alex. Especially to fulfill a dream he thought he'd never get. His parents had crushed so many of Alex's hopes, so the last Willie could do was give him a magical night he had been told over and over again he never would.

But how to ask?

Well, amongst Willie's numerous talents, he was pretty decent at art. So grabbing a ton of paper, his beloved spray cans, and an unoccupied Molina family garage (thanks to Julie clearing it out once she heard his plan) he got to work.

It was a couple hours later that Alex showed up. "Okay, I'm here, Reggie said I had to come out here because you needed me. Even though we both agreed to no make outs in the studio after last time."

Willie snickered as he greeted Alex at the door. "I know hot dog. Just-look."

Alex looked up and saw a bright pink banner there, covered in glitter and in Willie's messy cursive and blocks of rainbow colour, was one word; Prom?

Alex turned to Willie who gave him a mega-watt smile. "Not sure if the banner was already obvious enough, but I would like to ask you to be my date."

"But you hate stuff like prom!" Alex said.

Willie shrugged. "But you love it, and Reggie told me you've been dreaming of prom since you saw Pretty in Pink."

"Fucking Reginald," Alex grumbled.

Willie guided Alex's face to his. "Hey, no. He was being a good bro, and wanted to make sure your dream came true. So what do you say? You wanna go to prom with me?"

"No."

"No?" Willie asked, confused and a little heartbroken.

"No," Alex repeated, shaking his head. "You'd be miserable the whole time, and then I wouldn't have fun. So I'd rather stay in, watch movies. We can put on some music and dance around the living room at your house, have our own prom."

"But your dreams..."

"You're more important," Alex replied with a shrug.

"That's why I asked you!" Willie said, laughing. "Because you getting this one thing you never thought you'd get was more important to me than me hating this shit!"

They both started laughing at that, collapsing onto the couch, holding one another. Finally, wiping their eyes, Willie looked at Alex. "I kind of want to go now, just to prove you wrong, that I'd have fun."

"Really?" Alex asked.

"Just for like, a few dances, sure," Willie relented. "Unless you'd rather stay in."

"Uh uh, you said we're going, no backsies," Alex replied, kissing his nose.

"Figures," Willie said, but he was smiling. Sure, prom was never going to rank high on his list of activities he was looking forward to-but Alex's smile made it all worth it.

Plus, Willie admitted on prom night, as they swayed across the floor, Alex looked damn good in his pink tux.

[novelsoverload]

City of Glass Review (SPOILERS!)

Author - Cassandra Clare

Genre - Fantasy, Young Adult Literature, Fantasy Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Horror Fiction, Adventure Fiction, and Paranormal Fiction

Dates - August 1, 2024 to August 3, 2024

Page Count - 545

Method - Special Edition Hard Cover Book

Tropes - Unqualified Protagonist Succeeding Above Overly Qualified Supporting Characters, Love Triangle, Unambiguously Bad Boy Guy

Part of a Series - Yes - Book 3 of 6

Ratings Storytelling – 10/10 World Building – 10/10 Characters – 10/10 Romance – 4/10 Character Development – 10/10 Overall Rating – 10/10

Review This is so far one of my favorites of the series. I loved the action, romance, setting, and just everything. I have seen Shadowhunter’s tv show so I know more than I want to about the book (mainly because I want to live this as I read it), but I am still really happy with the books. They are better than both the movie and tv show. Honestly, I hope the rest of the books can live up to this one. Now into the review! Honestly, all of them traveling to Alicante wasn’t much of a surprise to me. I mean I figured the main characters would be there. But Jace lying to Clare and to the Lightwood’s about everything (Clary the time, Lightwood’s that Clary didn’t want to go) was BULL! Though I do think that Jace pulling Simon through the portal to save him was pretty nice of him. But Clary making a portal!!!! WTF! Like she could have died and PULLING Luke THROUGH!!! But I guess that leads us to meeting Luke’s sister, Amatis. She really was a favorite minor character, so far.

One thing I HATED was Jace’s reaction to Clary being there. What he said to her! NOT COOL! He completely broke her with that little, stupid speech of his. Like 100% made me hate him for a little while. It was uncalled for and just RUTHLESS! Then not telling her Simon was there and then keeping it from her about him being locked in a CELL in the Gard. Like seriously. That’s her best friend and he just DOESN’T tell her. Big no no Jace. Bad Jace. I honestly didn’t like that part of the book. Then he just brushes it under the rug like it didn’t really happen and he wasn’t a complete ASSHAT! Samuel/Hodge was a surprise little toss in for us. I think that it gave his character the much-needed closure with everything that went one. I know there could have been more and probably better ways, but the way it was done was good. I approve. I really thought it was some random dude for a while. But him knowing where the mirror was and him actually telling them about it was a bit of a redemption for him in my eyes.

I don’t even want to talk about Sebatian/Johnathan…I hated him from the moment he appeared. Like everything about him was just OFF. I also knew he was Johnathan (from the tv show), but it was really well written and hidden with little hints of who he was. HIM KILLED MAX WAS UNCALLED FOR AND I HOPE THAT WHATEVER IS COMING FOR HIM IS THE WOREST THING POSSIBLE!!!!!!! I also think that Seb releasing the demons early was just dumb, like he is so bloodthirsty he couldn’t wait like he was told. Guess that Demon Blood means he is impatient. Then him wanting to kill Jace, yeah, we get it jealous boy. Then him telling Jace the truth and stabbing him. Like just tell us you are jealous that daddy didn’t love you like he did Jace and that you are just a sad little boy. I know he’s not dead…but I wish he was. Because I HATE HIM!!!

The whole Ithuriel stuff was HEARTBREAKING! That poor angel was tortured and so broken. I loved that he was able to communicate with Jace and Clary about what he had been through in an interesting way. Though I HATED that he just offed himself. Like I get he was broken and all, but like he could have gone home. He could have had his vengeance. Like WHY!!!

I am a Malec fan! 100%! I loved that Alec was so willing to introduce Magnus to his family. I can’t wait to watch their relationship grow! Alec kissing Magnus in the Hall was PERFECTION! I LOVED IT! Along with that I LOVE Luke and Jocelyn together. I think there is great potential for a great love story there!

Jace, saying he loved Clary and then watching her sleep was kind of cute. I mean I love he was able to say it before going off on his little mission to save the world…asshat, but the note he left her was SO DAMN CUTE (Don’t know if everyone has read the full thing, but in the special edition I have it was at the end…I flipped to read it). But Jace going off on his own because he thought he was “cursed” was just stupid! Clary going off on her mom. I think it was needed…in a way. Clary had been thrown into this life and having to figure out everything on her own…I would go off to. I am glad that they were able to reconcile. I loved that we were also given the events of before. I liked seeing Jocelyn’s point of view from it all. She had her reasons, and I get that. I also liked that Valentine talked to her while she was in her coma. It did give him more character traits, other than being the asshole he was. Valentine…just that’s all. I hate him…glad he is dead…he deserved worse. He killed the Inquisitor even though he was a hologram…how!?!? Then finding out the Consul was on his side…glad he died too!

Characters Clary - Main Character (Shadowhunter) - 9/10 - Again, Clary just jumps into things without fully thinking. But she does do the things she does with a reason in her head and heart. She just wanted to save her mom and the other people she loved. I think that as time goes on, she will learn more about her ability to create runes and hopefully use them! I did love that she got the Clave to work with the downworlders!

Jace - Bad Boy (Shadowhunter) - 8/10 - I loved that he didn’t just leave Simon there to die at the Institute. Then Jace going off on Clary like that in the library was so HARSH! Him treating her like that was not cool. I mean I get why he did, to try and protect her…but there could have been a better way. He does get better. As stated above in my Jace section.

Isabelle (Izzy) - Sexy Goddess (Shadowhunter) - 8/10 - I hated Izzy at the start. Because she was cruel to Clary and just bleh, but she came back. She kicked some ass and saved Aline. I hated that she blames herself for Max’s death…really hate that. But she pulled through, the best she could and saved Jace. She took Seb’s fucking hand like a BOSS!!!!

Alec - Gay Bestie! (Shadowhunter) - 9/10 - He really has grown! I love that he is more open and willing to be with Magnus. I think that there should be more of his development as a character. I can’t wait.

Simon – Vampire Bestie - 9/10 - Though Simon was locked up most of the book, he really pulled his weight towards the end. Accepting the Mark of Cain and going to Raphael took GUTS! Then agreeing to be in the battle and going full vamp! PERFECTION! I also love that he is letting go of the idea of Clary and him. I mean it’s sad, but it also means he gets a chance to be happy.

[adultswim2021]

Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II | November 16, 2008 - 11:30PM | Special

Time for more re-re comedy for gay nerds. Hey--HEY! That wasn’t very nice. Don’t say stuff like that! Okay. I am sorry. I forgive you. Thanks. 

Robot Chicken Star Wars! It’s one of my least favorite things. I ain’t never seen this stuff, and I wish I didn’t decide I had to watch it for a blog that no one reads. I wonder if I will do an exhaustive breakdown of each sketch? Um… HOW ABOUT NO. This shit sucks and just because it’s segmented doesn’t mean I have to be! Segmented, I mean.

Okay, so here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna rank my top three and bottom three sketches. This is going to be very hard, because I don’t like any of them, really. And, because I don’t like any of them, really, I will likely just be picking stuff borderline at random. Also, I skipped over some real short ones for consideration cuz who cares. Here, both lists are worst to best. 

BOTTOM THREE (WORST TO LEAST-WORST) 

Luke's Lack of Perspective. This is the one where Leia scolds Luke for being sad about Obi-wan dying because her whole planet was vaporized. The premise is lame, and also they cast the real Carrie Fisher, who has old lady voice and sounds nothing like her younger self. You can tell they pitched her up a little to try and make up for it. It’s just distracting, and the sketch isn’t even worth recasting.

AT-AT Drag Race. I couldn’t even really make much sense of this one. There’s a weird edit in it that I remember thinking implied that it was a dream? Which it wasn’t, obviously, it just was edited awkwardly and the joke is just “wouldn’t it be funny if guys raced AT-ATs?" and who gives a fuck. I did like the visual of the AT-AT clicking it’s heels, though.

Going Out Like a Punk. This is the one where Uhh. I forgot his name, no really. I almost typed “Cowboy Bebop.” The bounty hunter guy that everyone loves just because he has a cool name that I forget what it even is. Bop-Bop Peranu, I think it is. Anyway, he’s in the Sarlac pit (I remembered that no prob) and talking about how he didn’t go out like a chump. This one seems like it’s aimed squarely at annoying dorks who think they’re clever for making the same observation. I watch television to get away from shitheads like this! Cartoons, mostly, but still! 

[EVERY OTHER SKETCH IS TIED FOR THE MIDDLE]

TOP THREE (WORST TO FIRST)

 Palpatine's Trip. Depicting Palpatine's annoying travels to the Deathstar, paralleling the annoyances of regular Earthly air travel. He gets annoyed by the chair placement in the throne room, and as indignities mount he says, to some one, “here, watch me tempt fate. (mock exasperation) could this day get any worse? (casually) I think I’m safe, because I said that ironically.” The punchline is he gets tossed by Vader, like at the end of Star Wars: The Last Crusade. I just really like the tempting fate/irony joke!

Anakin's Happy Place. Decent premise depicting Anakin slaying children at the end of Episode III. It's the darkest scene in all of Star Wars, and I was fine with what they did with it here. The joke at the end is a little dumb, but it’s fine. It’s Robot Chicken.

Mouse Droid. My favorite, because I could imagine making a fan-edit of the original Star Wars with zero changes except you add the insert shots of the little mouse guy driving the droid. I like when mice drive stuff. That's basically the only reason I liked this.

This has an “extended” version available, but I just watched the version on HBOMax. This is probably worse than the first special, but I don’t want to think about it too long. All of these sketches are dumb as shit and for dorks, which I DEFINITELY am not one of. Go to hell!

EPHEMERA CORNER

Clerks: The Animated Series (November 14, 2008 - 11:00PM)

This could very easily be a whole goddamn thing. It will probably be longer than other EPHEMERA CORNERs, but I’ll still try to be concise. Clerks the Animated Series was an animated spin-off of Clerks, the scrappy, vulgar, independent comedy from Kevin Smith. It’s cult success lead to him inexplicably having a career, including two direct movie sequels to clerks. This cartoon only lasted six episodes, two of which aired on ABC. They came out on DVD shortly after, with a racist audio commentary track for every episode.

I literally taped the Super Bowl because a website reported that the Clerks Cartoon was going to get a commercial during it. I diligently taped the two episodes that did air. ABC decided to air the fourth episode, which was a parody of courtroom dramas (and had a very funny non-sequitur ending allegedly completed by the Korean animators without any input from the American writers). After that they decided to air the second episode, which heavily referenced the first episode. It’s main concept was that it was a clip show, and Dante and Randal spent a significant portion of the episode flashing back only to the first episode, which hadn’t actually aired. 

The show was a fairly typical animated comedy of it’s time. The vulgarity was tamped down in favor of absurdist gags and cultural references. Mostly, it worked. There were some really funny ideas, and the commentary tracks had some really fun tidbits about planned episodes that never happened. Honestly, if I weren’t already privy to the doomed nature of the show, or we lived in the alternate dimension where this was allowed to continue for multiple seasons, I would probably aspire to write for this thing. With a few exceptions, the humor was even more on my wavelength than Kevin Smith’s movies.

Weirdly, I don’t think I ever actually watched this show on Adult Swim. I remembered it as a Comedy Central acquisition. When Adult Swim first aired, I really admired the fact that one could watch Fox’s Sunday Night cartoon line-up, switch to Adult Swim, and then when Adult Swim was over you could switch to Comedy Central and watch reruns of South Park, Duckman, and this. It was a real special time to have cable. Hot damn.

I really do wish this lasted longer. Deserved at least half the success of Family Guy. In my ideal world, this show takes off and Kevin Smith stops making movies. He only revisits the "canon" View Askewinverse in occasional comic book mini-series. You ever read his comics? His writing style comes off better in those, I think.

PLEDGE: The currently-ignored Adult Swim 2022 blog will return on some kind of non-daily schedule. I’ll finish out Baby Blues, and then do this. Happy, KON?? 

MAIL BAG

Time for some mail. Good lord. 

you gotten the adult swim 2021 group dm all riled up about xtacles. are you gonna do anything to fan these flames???

I dropped some bombs Hulk style, and things seem to be under control. You are right, they were out of line and it pissed me off!

dino and scott are excellent as mr burns would say. i forgive anything in their problematic past as long as they become the banner, ta ta for now

Despite the fact that one of them was nice to me once, and the other one made out with my friend (which is arguably also nice), I simply can’t. I like racist stuff, so I’m keeping the Minor Guys or whatever that show was called. Bye!

cahpo

?

so far it seems the only shows you like are space ghost, assy mcgee, and xtacles. i guess venture bros and morel orel made you cry, if that's a good thing. Anyway, just a like observation from this looky loo. Bye!

It is sorta fucked up that a TV show can make people cry. Should be illegal. But, hey, look out for the end of the year when I rerank all the Adult Swim shows. BYE!

and we say bye bye now

Bye bye! 

Bye bye!

Goodbye.

[daintyduck99]

Cuddle prompts! 14 and 26 for ship of your choice.

14. cuddles after being touch-starved & 26. sitting in their lap & cuddling

Julie does her damndest not to stare.

It's just that Bobby's back, and he always returns worse for wear. Brittle. He's got crescent moons stamped under his eyes, and a hunch to his shoulders that curls him in on himself, another sliver of the moon.

She's never met his parents, but she can't stand them for doing this to him.

Julie keeps her head carefully bowed over her sketchbook, stealing glances through the curtain of her curls. She aches to help, but she doesn't know how. Possibly, her presence is enough. He's content to sit nearby in silence, it seems, like a cat.

You're supposed to wait for cats to come to you, and in a way, she supposes he has. This is her mom's studio, after all. They all hang out here, but it's just the two of them this morning. He could've left, but he came, and he took the coffee she offered with a little grunt that might’ve made her giggle if he wasn't so exhausted.

He stayed. She can wait a little longer.

It would be so much easier if the other guys were here. Reggie and Luke especially. They bring out a certain brightness in Bobby, and he doesn't shy away from them as much as anyone else. They can get away with touching him, sometimes, and it fascinates her in a way it probably shouldn't.

She traces her thumb over the stark eyes that stare up at her from the page. They're intimidating, at a glance, but they don't mean to be, not usually. They're cautious, really. Shrewd. Sort of beautiful with their seemingly endless depths.

"What are you working on?"

Maybe she's the cat, because she nearly startles out of her skin.

"Oh! Um…"

Bobby makes an intrigued sound. He carefully perches on the edge of the sofa.

"Is that me?"

She nods, swallowing the dumb thing she's been calling it in her head.

The Man In The Moon.

She tips the sketchbook in his direction, along with a nervous smile.

"What do you think?"

He leans in, and their shoulders brush.

"You're too generous. I'm not that…pretty."

"You are," she breathes, then bites her lip.

He's barely touching her, and she's losing her mind. You'd think she'd be used to pretty boys hanging all over her, she's friends with several of them, but maybe it's different because it's Bobby. It's special.

Not that…no no no, that's a bad rabbit hole to wander into. Losing her mind!

Boys. They'll be the death of her.

She feels it when Bobby shrugs, burning all along her arm.

"If you say so. I don't look like that now, that's for sure. I know I look like shit."

"None of you can take a compliment, can you?" She pauses. "Except Luke."

Bobby snorts. "You're not wrong. I don't know what you said to him last week, but it made him even more of a damn bouncy ball than Reggie. He wouldn't stop smiling either, like—"

They turn towards one another, pressed lightly together, curled like parenthesis. She almost misses the face he's making, a smug smile that startles a laugh out of her. His smile settles into something more genuine, a little half-smile, and it's nearly too much on top of the memory with Luke.

I think we make each other better.

Yeah. She's losing her mind. She swallows.

"Hey, so…do you want to see the rest of my sketches?"

That little smile leaves a glowing imprint on her heart. It melts into the shape of a moon, bright with his light.

As they sit there, flipping through her sketches, and he leans over every time to see better, gently jostling her, she decides that she's waited long enough.

Maybe that's the last of her sanity fleeing the scene, but he keeps initiating contact, so she's going to do it back.

"You know, you'd have an easier time if you just sat in my lap."

He makes an interesting sputtering sound, somewhere between a scoff and a laugh.

"What? Julie, I'd crush you."

"Reggie sits in my lap all the time! And he gives me really good reviews, five stars. You should listen to him."

Bobby mumbles something that she doesn't catch, and she grips the edges of her sketchbook a little tighter.

"What?"

"No, it was dumb—"

"No! Please tell me, Bobby."

He sighs, raking his bangs out of his face.

"I said that it would probably be easiest if you sat in my lap. I could just look over your shoulder. It'd take less maneuvering."

Maybe she is a lunatic. Maybe this isn't real. Either way, she smiles wide.

"That sounds good to me."

She scoots into his lap with her sketchbook clutched to her chest, and he wraps his arms around her waist, which prompts her to exhale. Unspool.

He's…very comfortable. Calm. The rise and fall of his chest is almost hypnotic against her back. If she simply tipped her head back a little further, letting it rest on him, she could…sleep. She could sleep.

Eventually, his cheek settles in her hair, and she smiles again, a Cheshire cat smile since no one can see.

So yeah. Maybe she is, in fact, the cat, purring in his lap.

Maybe she's mad, but who wouldn't be at least a little mad about the moon?

[innytoes]

“You got me a stocking?” - “Of course, you’re family.” for Reggie & Rose?

Reggie is ten when he meets Julie, after being held back a year in class. All his friends move up, and sure, he still sees Luke and Alex and Bobby in the halls and after school, but their lunch period isn't at the same time anymore. It's lonely, and a lot of kids in his new class think he's dumb, and maybe he is.

Julie is the first person to talk to him, to be his friend. Then, she drags him into her little group, with Flynn, and Carrie, and it's a little weird at first (not because girls have cooties, but maybe a little something like that. Reggie learns a lot about Girls in general and these girls in particular.)

He gets invited to birthday parties and sleepovers and Mr and Mrs Molina (who are quick to tell him that just Ray and Rose is fine) don't even make him sleep in a separate room because he's a Boy. Though they do have to leave the door open. They're kind of the coolest parents ever, even cooler than the Mercers. (If only because the Mercers don't have an entire music studio in their back yard.)

Reggie is eleven when Julie starts bringing extra big lunches to school, and insisting he take some, talking about how her aunt foisted too much food onto them, or how her dad accidentally packed her two sandwiches.

He hadn't thought anyone would notice he's stopped bringing lunches to school. His mom refuses to sign the little paper that would qualify him for free lunches, saying Peters don’t take hand outs. But after a few weeks of Julie coming up with excuses, she just casually slides Reggie his half, and Reggie quietly accepts. Carrie and Flynn never say anything mean about it, and his mom doesn’t have to find out, so it’s fine.

Reggie is twelve when he has to start explaining away mysterious bruises. He starts wearing his flannel or the cool leather jacket he and Flynn found while thrifting pretty much all the time. The guys take it in stride (Alex runs cold a lot too, wearing hoodies even in summer), and the girls seem to think he's just found his signature style. Like Carrie and Pink, and Flynn and... Coolness, he guesses.

It's Rose and Ray who notice it, question it when he pushes up his sleeves to wash his hands before dinner. He jokes about how he swears that doorjamb moved at the last second. But the bruises get harder to hide, and he's pretty sure even his friends are starting to get suspicious the second time he shows up to band practice with a black eye.

Reggie is thirteen when he starts to live with the Molinas. He's also thirteen when he sees Rose nearly punch out his mom. It’s at parent-teacher night, and his mom is furious to hear he’s once again in danger of flunking a grade. (She'd already been in a bad mood because Dad had promised to take this parent-teacher night so she could go out with friends and had then just not come home.)

She pulls him away by his wrist through the corridor, into a stairwell. Her shouts had echo and bounce around the space in an awful manner, especially when he knows how good harmonies can sound when you stand at the bottom of the stairwell and sing together.

He knows what’s coming, flinching and waiting for the slap, but it never does. Instead, his mother gave an angry squawk, and then he looks up, Rose is holding her raised wrist. From the looks of it, she’s squeezing a lot harder than Mom had squeezed his wrist.

There’s a lot of furious shouting, and Reggie backs up a little. This is all his fault. If he was just smarter, Mom wouldn’t be so mad. He knows Rose means well, but as soon as he gets home Mom is going to take it out on him, and probably forbid him from going to the Molinas ever again.

It’s only because Ray puts himself between the two that prevents a total drag out fight. He pulls his wife away with one strong arm, but then wraps the other around Reggie's shoulders and pulls him away as well. He can hear his mom insist he get back here, and he knows there will be hell to pay later, but he clings to Ray instead, letting him guide him away.

It's a confusing mess after that, with a trip to the guidance counselor, a talk with a social worker, Julie and Flynn hugging him tight after he gets out of that meeting, red-eyed and cried out... and then suddenly, he's at the Molina house, sitting on Julie's bed in her favourite yellow smiley face sweater as Rose piles blankets on the air mattress.

It's called a kinship placement, the social worker explains to him later. When someone he already knows well takes him in. Usually that's a grandparent, or an aunt or uncle. But the Molinas offered, and they passed all the background checks. She does ask him if he wants to stay here, or if he'd prefer a different foster home, and he rushes to reassure her that yes, the Molinas are awesome, please don't send him back to Georgia to live with his dad's estranged sister.

He gets his own room, Rose taking him shopping to pick out paints and wallpaper and bed sheets and cool stuff to put on the walls. Ray stocks the kitchen with his favourite cereal and poptart flavours, and gets him his own designated mug. It has a picture of a dog holding a slice of pizza in its mouth. Julie teases Luke and Alex and Bobby that sorry, Reggie's vote for movie night counts twice now, since he lives here. They watch a lot of Star Wars.

It still feels a little unreal by the time December rolls around. Apparently Rose and Ray made a deal many years ago that she has to wait until December first to decorate for Christmas. Which she does, but it also means he and Julie come home on December first to find piles and piles of boxes in the living room, festive garlands already wrapped along the staircase, lights on the porch.

"Just in time to help me with the tree!" Rose says, but it comes out muffled, because she's got a nail between her lips. She takes it out, using a hammer to drive it into the wood above the fireplace. The entire mantle is covered in a tiny little Christmas village, little houses resting on soft fluffy white fabric to simulate snow. She finishes the nail, and grabs some stuff from another box.

A blue stocking with little cameras embroidered on it that reads Ray. One with a music note fabric that says Rose. A deep purple stocking with white butterflies on it that said Julie, and a baseball patterned one that said Carlos. They’re off center, Reggie thinks, and there was one nail too many. Except then Rose goes into the other room and comes back with a beautiful red and black plaid stocking that reads Reggie. The fabric looks just like his favourite flannel.

"You got me a stocking?" he asks, shocked.

"Of course," Rose says, hanging it up. "Reggie, you're family."

That Christmas, Ray insists they all smoosh together on the couch in their matching Christmas pyjamas to take some new family photographs. After all, they need to update the ones on the mantle to include their new son.

[missmitchieg]

"I was hoping if I died, then maybe there'd be some kind of loophole where I could somehow be with you and..." Tyler slowly let out a breath. "Without the never-ending guilt for the dumb thing I did."

"'Dumb'." Penelope swallowed the lump in her throat, an angry smile stretching over her face. "Let's try 'dangerous' and 'boundary-breaking' and..." She looked down, tongue between her teeth. "You... Tore my trust asunder, sir."

Tyler stared at her, a frown on his face as he averted his gaze. "I'm sorry." He whispered, almost sounding genuine. Almost. "I really am."

Penelope stared at the man, a hurt look on her face as she laughed humorlessly. "You're sorry." She repeated, disbelief in her eyes. "Tyler, a guy like you says 'sorry', you mean... 'Leave me alone'." She quoted Luke's words, her shoulders slumping forward.

"Penelope." Tyler whispered, grabbing her hand as her too-soft-for-this heart hammered in her chest. He frowned, batting his big brown eyes at her.

"When you gave me that baby kitten as a peace offering," Penelope pulled her hand away gently, "you didn't say "sorry" for being a little turd." She pointed out. "You handed me the kitten and expected that adorable little bribe to be the end of it. You're not the guy that apologizes with words. You apologize with gifts."

"Let me explain." He begged, his breathing picking up.

"You told me that after you found the man that killed your sister, you were going to-" She cut herself off and bit her lip, a sob escaping her lips.

Tyler winced, knowing there was no way to dig himself out of that hole.

"You lied to me." Penelope bit her lip, starting to pace around his bed. "You lied to everyone. You knew Lee's photo was right there and you lied."

"Pen-"

"Luke and Emily were so mad at me. Because of what you and I did." She snapped, fingers fidgeting with her jewelry. "And I- Oh, God. I acted like a little brat to everyone." She fussed. "None of them deserved that. Everyone was so apologetic about asking me back because they all promised they wouldn't and I was such a monster about having to go back there."

Oh, shit. Tyler didn't know about that promise. "Sweetheart-"

She turned toward him and scowled, shaking her head. "Please don't call me that. Let's not forget this whole thing started because..." With her fists clenched, Penelope took a shaky breath. "Because you forced me back to the FBI."

"Pen, look. I know, I was a major asshole, but-" He stopped himself, knowing he went way too far beyond Penelope's limits.

"Tyler, I like you." She rushed to get out, her eyes screwed shut. "I like you, but-" she shook her head slightly, tears streaming down her face. "I like me too much to be with someone willing to hurt me like that."

Tyler watched her stand up from the side of his hospital bed, straightening out her skirt. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out.

Penelope sniffled and wiped the tears from her face. "Look, I know that there is a parallel reality somewhere where this is just a bump and…" She laughed softly. "And we live deliciously ever after. But, um… Then there's this world."

"Where I keep hurting you." Tyler added, resigned to his fate of watching Penelope walk away from him.

"Yeah. And I can't let that happen. I hope you have just..." She watched him, a tight smile on her lips, "the most wonderful rest of your life. I really, really mean that. But I won't be by your side to witness it. You want me to leave you alone?" She shook her head and turned her back to him. "Fine. I'll leave you alone." She promised, walking out slowly. She was surprised to find Luke leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Hi."

"Hi." Luke said softly, a neutral look on his face. His honey brown eyes watched her, soft and caring as ever as he straightened up and stepped toward her.

"You heard all of that." Penelope said simply, new tears falling from her eyes. She sniffled, finding that she wasn't sad about losing Tyler. She was more sad that Luke was upset because of her.

Luke nodded, reaching a hand up to caress Penelope's tear stained cheek. "Garcia, I wasn't mad at you." He said, surprising her.

"What?" She hiccuped, her heart suddenly speeding up. Oh, thank God. Their friendship, if she was still allowed to call it that, wasn't ruined. He didn't hate her now. Granted, there was always a part of Penelope that was certain Luke just wasn't capable of real hatred, but she was still relieved to know.

"I wasn't mad at you." Luke repeated, emphasizing the last word. "I was mad at him," he explained, "because of the way he talked to you before. I was pissed at the audacity of that man, thinking he could condescend you like that even when you tried to be nice to him- Yes, Rossi told me what he's like when I'm not around." He chuckled fondly at the questioning look Penelope gave him. "But from what I just heard, it sounds like you two are done?"

"Oh, so done!" Penelope nodded. "Look, I may have had a huge lapse in judgement for a minute there, but let's be real. I could never be with a guy that doesn't like cats."

Luke scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Good riddance to him." He smirked triumphantly, his eyes sparkling. "So I'll be pet sitting for two cats and taking prescription allergy meds from now on?"

Penelope laughed, taking Luke's hand in hers. "Indeed." She was about to say something else when Dave appeared behind Luke, cheeks flushing as her father figure gave her a knowing smile.

"I'm all good to go. Ready to head back?" Dave announced, trying not to look smug.

Luke took a deep breath and nodded, giving Penelope's hand a quick squeeze. He felt his heart pound in his chest as she grinned and leaned into his warmth, leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek.

Penelope squeezed back on instinct, silent as the group left the hospital. She felt as if she was in a haze as she went through the motions of following her boys out of the hospital and into the FBI building, stepping inside the elevator. She glanced at Luke when she felt his eyes on her, her shoulders relaxing as Luke placed a hand on her back and her arm reaching up to wrap around him.

She had to admit it felt pretty damn good to lean on him and have him lean on her. As much as she put on her act of not liking him, she hoped they would have each other to lean on forever. She really liked the sound of forever.

[horizon-verizon]

I reread the whole dance of dragon sequence from the books and god the show writing makes me so fucking angry [again]!!! like uff in many parts it feels like the show writers wrote the blacks as an accessory for the development of greens throwing blacks so down in the imagine of public. and so i hate when show fans speak [mainly greens] as if all knowing when they cannot discern the hypocrisy and the flaws in writing of the show. show!alicent's moments make me so angry.

recently i saw someone on twitter say that blacks hold the books in higher regards so they went to read them only to get a 'history book' with only accounts from many forming their opinion on how the books are just books and not a good story. the replies were full of how GRRM was so bad at writing them as if they have half the wits if they cant comprehend the text, the accounts of who were the main people telling the story to get to form opinions closer to "truth". its not that hard, simple reading comprehension can tell you what we can take as almost truth. they think HOTD was meant to be the medium to show the truth T_T

with Daemon and Laena, i feel so that he truly did love her. I hate it when they just toss aside Laena. he fought for her hand. they had two children together both who he loved so dearly. even Laena's friendship with Rhaenyra is erased in the show [i feel like they just didnt want to show that Rhaenyra was capable to hold good relationships at all] coming back to Daemon:

Her grueling labor had drained all of Lady Laena’s strength, and grief weakened her still further, making her helpless before the onset of childbed fever. As her condition steadily worsened, despite the best efforts of Driftmark’s young maester, Prince Daemon flew to Dragonstone and brought back Princess Rhaenyra’s own maester, an older and more experienced man renowned for his skills as a healer. Sadly, Maester Gerardys came too late. After three days of delirium, Lady Laena passed from this mortal coil.

even if he lost his boy, Daemon doing this for Laena is just love. I love Laena with Daemon as i love Rhaenyra with him too. Its just plain sad such a good character was put aside in the show. and then after Laena, Baela and Rhaena are given to little regard in the show. [that baela-rhaenys clip which is going about. god they had to show Aegon getting off didnt they]

also with Rhea Royce's death... there is no way Daemon killed her. He was in stepstones when she died. its such a dumb thing in the show to. or okay in the books there is no way he could have gone on dragon to vale and back without anyone noticing a fucking dragon in the skies. people are so dumb.

i dont think Daemon or Rhaenyra or any other killed Laenor, other than Ser Qarl. I dont see how people see Rhaenyra ask for someone to do it.

Like in the books so and they are biased in my opinion, Rhaenyra is not shown to have good relationships much, and which are shown are rumoured with lovers and scandals like wtf. They all mean to undermine blacks so much.

sometimes i think what if Jace and Luke were trueborn and sometimes i feel strongly as if they are. i dont care if they are bastards or not, but sometimes i think. do you have any posts mainly on this?

this was written in mess of emotions, i may be wrong in come accounts and so i'll be happy to see what you think. Ive been in the book fandom for only few months, I love your posts. hope you are having a nice day <3

As for the Daemon killing Laenor, I changed my mind a little.

I think that if he were alone, he would have had him killed after Laena already died--was willing to.

So rather than it being a morality thing, it is a convenience matter that makes me consider how Daemon may or may not have killed Laenor. Including how he might have hidden his own movements and preparations to have this guy killed, which, yes, could just be him meeting with Qarl Correy in secret as he did in the show. But again, it depends on how dumb Corlys and Rhaenys are, or how willing they are to suspect Daemon and believe it.

He'd still have convinced Rhaenys very well that he had nothing to do with it, which I can't imagine was easy or worth it for him. Both Rhaenys and Corlys still have to support Rhaenyra after all, if the goal was to get closer to Rhaenyra and gather support/be support for her, as is the argument for the pro-Daemon killed Laenor thing.

As for how the show writers and Condal wrote the blacks to have less and the greens to have "more" by stealing their traits, ozymalek writes the best (and my own final agreement as to how this came about) HERE. Excerpt:

The Dance era in "Fire and Blood" is something that will fundamentally cause the feelings of cognitive dissonance. I think this is why people initially disliked this book when it first came out. It did not provide easy answers, it was written as a historical account, the in-universe historians were clearly biased. People, however, had trouble realizing who the historians are biased for and against.

Team Green would have you think that "F&B" is biased against the Greens, because their allegiance as maesters clearly being to Hightowers notwithstanding, they could not evade simple historical facts: that most of the kingdom supported Rhaenyra, that Greens were horrendously misogynistic and that her usurpation was clearly wrong. That's why, approaching it from the "choose your favorite war criminal" point of view, it was difficult for Greens to accept that their preferred side is so cartoonishly evil - obviously bias must have been involved, even though the only pro-Black narrator of F&B is Mushroom, the rest are Greens. The maester's anti-Targaryen bias, however, manages to sneak in and mess with the reader's balance, causing said cognitive dissonance.

It's hard to deal with it as a reader, let alone as a showrunner who's trying to adapt a story in which not everything is set in stone. They incorrectly assumed that, because they are constantly forced to question what is happening in the story, the bias is with the underlying idea that there was a correct side. As such, they assumed that all the inconsistencies result from maesters not choosing to view it that way. Ryan Condal repeatedly stated that he does not want watchers to pick sides, while George RR Martin embraces it and even encourages it (and I think that he himself has picked the Blacks). Such is our nature as human beings.

So they decided that they have to balance the scales. Because Greens are poorly developed, they added more characterization for them that contradicts their book personas (abused child bride meow meow Alicent who is clueless about the plans that in the books she herself set in motion, for example) while simultaneously taking the characterization AWAY from team Black members.

I still think that the writers are also more inclined to write Rhaenyra misogynistically for a male audience through the male gaze (xenonwitch's POST and ozymalek's POST and my own POST/its reblog by monoijikayu).

[nolanhollogay]

arguing in the grocery store aisle because one wants normal oreos while the other wants to try one of the new, random flavors that just got released + dealers choice!

did i google oreo flavors in the 90s for this? yes

also this is pre-dating antreggie, though i think that's clear thru ant being a huuuge bitch

+

"No way," Ant said, as Reggie dropped the box into his basket.

The two of them were on snack duty, stocking up for the band's movie night. Luke had declared that a movie night was in order, where they would study every movie about bands – and including bands – that they could get their hands on. He was raiding the video store with Bobby and Alex, while Ant was having his patience tested in the grocery store.

He really hoped they picked up Purple Rain like he requested. He would need the gift that was Prince's beautiful face after dealing with Reggie.

Reggie frowned, watching as Ant removed the box. Mini Oreos, it read. The white box stared up at him, almost mockingly. "Why not?"

"Because they're stupid. You get way less cookie for basically the same price," Ant said, rolling his eyes. "We should just get the originals."

"But they're so cute," Reggie whined. "And it's not your money anyway, so why does it matter?"

Bobby had given them his rich kid credit card that was full of his rich kid money. Ant felt like he wasn't supposed to be touching it when Bobby handed it over. He slid his hand into his pocket, just to check, and breathed a little easier when he came in contact with the plastic.

Eyes shining with mischief, Reggie suggested, "If it means that much to you, we could get both?"

"I'm not —" The words jumped ship from Ant's tongue. I'm not comfortable spending money that doesn't belong to me was such a loser thing to say. "It's dumb to spend money on a stupid gimmick product. Especially money that isn't your own."

"Are you joking? That's exactly why we should get it!" Reggie exclaimed. He glanced at Ant's sour expression and paused. "You seriously have a problem with this, don't you?"

Ant scoffed. "No!" Reggie looked less than convinced. "No, I just... It feels scummy to use someone else's money like that. I know it's not a big deal, but—"

Reggie sent him a gentle smile as he took the box out of the basket. "Hey, it's alright. We don't have to get 'em. My heart wasn't set on it, and I don't want to do anything that upsets you."

Why the hell was he so nice? How could one guy have so much kindness in their heart? Especially when Ant was being so annoying about it.

He placed the box back on the shelf, and grabbed Ant's wrist. "C'mon, let's go find Dunkaroo's."

[feralgodmothers]

I mean. What with his attitude crypticness and general personality. Luke’s nephew could’ve been part of a cult. Hell. He could’ve been head of a cult. I wouldn’t put anything past that kid. Except perhaps the ability to be kind to others. Other than that the moron was unpredictable.

You’re gonna get me assassinated today lol

But I’m 100% gonna take this concept seriously and analyze the crap out of it, because it’s fun for me (and what are fandoms for, if not to push canon boundaries and experiment with little fictional guys?). 

So.

Do I think that (under the right circumstances) Jess could ever join a cult?

And here’s why:

I’ve always thought of Jess as a much ruder version of Shawn Hunter from Boy Meets World. And anyone who’s watched Boy Meets World knows that for one episode - SHAWN ACTUALLY DID JOIN A CULT. 

Now let’s dive a little deeper into cults and the people who fall victim to them, shall we?

I know that society in general (heck, even the show Jess is a part of), tends to look down on and make fun of people who get mixed up in a cult. They view it as something only “dumb” people do, because an “intellegent” person would never fall for that.  But cult victims really can’t (and shouldn’t) be measured in terms of intellegence - but rather in terms of emotional vulnerability.

Now, Shawn Hunter isn’t stupid. Sure, he’s had plenty of dumb moments for the sake of laughs (because Boy Meets World is a sitcom) - but for all intents and purposes, he’s a pretty bright kid. He actually caught on fairly quickly that the group he was with, was in fact a cult. 

But cult leaders are master manipulators. They know how to find emotionally vulnerable people who feel like they have something missing in their life (purpose, belonging, etc.), and they zero in on that and offer you the very thing you’re looking for in order to suit their own hidden agenda. 

Now back to Jess. I believe it’s very possible that if just the right person found him at just the right time and gave him just the right pitch - he could join a cult.

Some would probably argue that Jess is too emotionally guarded for that, but I would counter it with: Shawn was emotionally guarded as well.  Being guarded doesn’t change the fact that everyone has needs.  And when those needs not being met mixes with you having trouble finding direction - that is prime time for getting swept up by a cult leader.

Now with regards to Jess being said cult leader, I’d say - close, but no cigar.  I don’t see him quite fitting that mold. However, I do think that under the right circumstances, he could be a cult leader’s right-hand man. We’ve seen that he can be very driven and determined when his heart is set on a certain path, and he can even excel when he chooses to. If you took him with that same mindset/personality into the hypothetical situation of joining a cult that has an objective he believes in? BOOM. Right-hand man, easily. I think he could reach that position the same way he: 1) got employee of the month at Walmart, 2), wrote and published a book, and 3) started a business - with quiet, steady, diligent work and smarts. 

(I know you probably didn’t sign up for a full-blown essay anon, and I’m sorry lol. I just thought about it, and became fascinated by how plausible it could be. 😂)