#and these are just SOME of the characters I’m crushing on

[starhvney]

Hi, this is my first time sending a request ever. I hope I'm doing this correctly. ':3

I'd like to order a mys Laurence, some tea with cinnamon on top and a blueberry turnover, please, and thank you! (love your writing so much♡)

𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝟎𝟓: 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫!!

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: romantic tension, hurt/comfort, character is sick.

𝐚/𝐧: thank you so much for the kind words! it means a lot that you liked my writing enough to make a request. i hope you love this one, too! ^^

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ☆ 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

A long, dramatic groan leaves Laurance’s paled lips. The brunet was laid back on his bed like a sickly Victorian child, hand placed over his heart as if this was his last moments on his deathbed. There was no suave attitude or air of self assurance he always seemed to have; just the mushy, helpless form of what you think either might be your crush or an imposter.

“This is it. It’s over for me,” he rasps, turning his head to the side and wincing when his headache spikes again.

You can only sigh.

He was usually so self-reliant; always on the mature side and insisting on always taking care of you and everyone else instead of him. So the fact he had called you for rescue through his sick, slurred voice over the phone was enough for you to know he really did need help. Though, he totally seemed to be milking your pity for him, for whatever strange reason he had…

Still, you were surprised at how he was acting when you got here. You hadn’t ever seen him so weak before, the poor thing laying across his bed halfway like he’d barely made it back to the mattress before collapsing. This cold was seriously kicking him in the ass. It did make you feel bad, but you also couldn’t deny the fluttering in your chest that he wanted you of all people to take care of him and see him so vulnerable.

You bring the back of your hand to his forehead when he groans again, his eyes fluttering shut as he practically melts at the contact. His skin undoubtedly was much too hot to the touch.

“I seriously feel like I’m dying,” he whines, hand coming up to your wrist to keep your cool hand on him. “Please save me.”

Despite his tendencies for random playfulness and flirtation, even the way he was acting now was something you hadn’t seen before. Seriously, what was with him…?

…He should probably take some more medicine. It’s clear his fever was making him act this way, you conclude with a light sigh. Another almost inaudible whine leaves his lips when you pull away to stand and make your way to the door.

“Wait, where are you going?” His hand flops over the side of his bed as he reaches after you.

“To get you some soup or something so you can take more medicine. You’re burning up.”

“No! No, I ah… can’t be left alone. I’ll die.” he quickly says, lips pouting as he nods insistently, wincing once again as he does. “A terrible, lonely death.”

You deadpan, eyes searching over his pale face. His eyelids and nose were tinged red, and the usually sharp gaze he always had was now glazed over, eyebrows pulled together pathetically. He was being dramatic, for sure, but he really did seem miserable.

“You’ll die in the five minutes I’ll be gone?”

“Yeah. Just… stay here for a little bit.” he mutters, his chest heaving as he holds back a wheezy cough. “I can wait to take medicine for a little longer.”

You curse at how easily you give in, the smug look that briefly flashes across his face making you want to shake him around. That wouldn’t exactly help the situation, though, so you simply sigh as you sit back next to him.

“It’s true that men turn into big babies when they’re sick. You’re acting like a child,” you mutter, voice unable to hold any sternness. “Seriously, I’ve never seen you act like this.”

“I just… want to be next to you for a while.” He looks up at you, swallowing as his face grows paler, eyes shutting. “Ugh… and I really do feel awful.”

You frown, reaching up to his clammy cheek. This whole situation felt much too intimate for two friends. It was like you were his doting girlfriend or wife instead. A moment passes as you shuffle through your confused thoughts, this closeness between you throwing your poor heart through a loop. As if he already didn’t do it enough on his own without trying.

You clear your throat, shaking your head as you return your focus. Those thoughts needed to be put away for now, especially with how faint he was seeming to become.

“Thank you, by the way,” his hoarse voice speaks up, hand reaching out to grasp yours. “I know I’m being a pain.”

“You aren’t being a pain. I wanted to do this,” you reassure, pressing your lips together as you glance down at your connected hands. “This is how I know you’re sick out of your mind. Where’s the Mr. Confidence everyone’s used to?”

“Mph… don’t have enough energy for it,” he mutters, before a small smirk makes its way onto his lips. “But I did have enough to get you to come fuss over me. It may have cost a bit of dignity, but it’s so worth it. You should’ve seen how your face looked when you ran in here...”

“And the truth comes out,” you strain to say through the flustered wave that washes over you, quickly pulling back and walking back to the door as your heart pounds against your rib cage. “I’m getting you that soup now.”

“…Wait! Please, come back!”

©starhvney 2024. do not plagiarize, feed to any AI, or repost my works to any sites.

taglist: @wasting-away-on-the-internet @angelhyperfixates @valentique @arienic @dazedbydeath @theaquaticplant @starsbrightly @kalegrinch @izzybella1807 @marst4rz

[violetlunette]

I’m Silver-pilled atm so I just want to rant about how he definitely has pretty privilege but doesn’t realize/care

I mean, so many characters comment about his appearance, even animals think he’s pretty, so guy has GOT to have at least some pretty privilege. The only thing is that he’s both too dense to realize that he has people down bad and he also legitimately does not care about his appearance—the guy washes his hair with bar soap (which I hc pisses off Vil because the boy is wasting his good looks).

If only Silver was a little less dense and like, a ton more manipulative he definitely could use his looks to get whatever he wanted (he wouldn’t tho because he’s too nice).

Well now, let’s be fair here; everyone at NRC is pretty privileged. It’s like they were constructed by the gods to be appealing to women and curious boys, lol.

But I will say that in terms of appearance, Silver is top five at least (fucking fight me). His eye color alone gives him an ethereal beauty.

(look at him. Look how pretty Lilia's baby is!)

But yeah, our little angel’s dense to all the broken hearts he leaves in his wake just by existing. (Idia in particular seems to be crushing hard, lol.) If Silver had Azul’s personality, he would be using his looks left and right to get what he wants. Thank goodness he's sweet.

[dazeddoodles]

You may have addressed this at some point, but I’m curious how you feel about Lilith’s aroace identity never really being acknowledged in the show?

I definitely get the take that it’s a bit of a cop-out, though I’m also not sure where that would’ve fit in the show. At the end of the day, I’m not aspec, so it’s not exactly my say what counts as good aspec rep.

I'm probably not the best person to ask about this but I wouldn't necessarily call it a cop out since there technically IS canon media where she's depicted as AroAce, in her letter to Hooty audio. It's just not part of the main show.

I kinda agree that there isn't anywhere it could have fit in the show, especially her asexuality because since it's a kids show they can't blatantly bring up sex and how some people don't want to have it. Unlike say Todd in Bojack Horseman.

But still I feel like there should have been at least a line in reference to her being Aromantic. We don't see Eda date men in the actual show but they still had a line acknowledging she has dated men before + her ogling some offscreen guy.

IMO just a line about not wanting to be in a relationship would do. Especially because a lot of people who've only watched the show don't even know she's AroAce and thinks she has a crush on STEVE because she blushed at him once.

I still think she's at least decent rep for being an AroAce character who's a normal person and not like an evil demon or something.

[lillaydee]

Uncoupled - October Part 2

Roommate! Joel Miller / Reader

Two people leaving their marriages ended up going through the mandatory one year separation together before filing for divorce.

Nothing could possibly happen in a year, right?

WARNINGS: Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Ellie & Joel Bonding (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Protective Joel (The Last of Us), No age gap, Roommate Joel, Teacher Joel, Handyman Joel, Insecure Joel, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning.

SERIES MASTER LIST

October Part 1

---

You woke up at 730 when Ellie was tiptoeing around trying to shower without waking you, only to accidentally shut the bathroom door on her way out sans stealth mode. She joined you in bed once she got dressed, Joel bringing breakfast for the three of you to your bedroom. Ellie spent breakfast time on her belly staring at your wrapped up toe, fingers clearly itching to touch it, but stopped when Joel gave a stern ‘Ellie’ to her, giving your toe a small boop anyway when he wasn’t looking. He brought a bottle of water and some snacks, along with your iPad and laptop in case you got bored and told you he would be home during lunch hour and bring you something.

Ellie hugged you tight and told you she loved you. Joel stood around a bit awkwardly in your doorway, nodded his head and headed out, peeking his head one last time telling you to behave. You rolled your eyes. “Yes, Dad!”

You waited until you could see the two of them walk past the house, before getting up and spending the rest of the morning doing your normal chores walking on the heel of your injured foot. Pfft. Stay in bed. What were you, five? It’s just a small wound, women all over the world give birth every day, some without anaesthesia, you could handle a throbbing toe for a few hours.

Turned out, you couldn’t.

You were sat on the kitchen floor with a bag of ice on your foot within 45 minutes. You thought walking on your tippy toes in heels was horrible. It was why you gave them up and accepted your fate as a short person. Walking on your actual heel? Torture. So there you sat, contemplating that stupid choice you made of going against your roommate’s advice, when the sounds of a key being inserted into the keyhole on your front door snapped you out of your self-pity.

Shit.

Please don’t be Joel, please don’t be Joel, please don’t be Joel.

Frank’s head popped in.

Oh, thank God.

He rushed in when he spotted you, asking you what the fuck you thought you were doing. You were supposed to stay in bed, at least for the day. Rest the damn foot. What if you had broken it? He didn’t stop ranting until he got you back in bed.

“I didn’t break it. It was just crushed a little. I’m sure it would hurt a lot more had I broken it.”

“Well, just… stay in bed today and make sure. What’s wrong with that?”

“God you sound like Joel.”

He sat in bed next to you, a wide, curious smile on his face. “So, a month plus since he moved in. What’s it like living with RPH?”

You shrugged. “It’s alright, I guess. He’s neat, cleans after himself, does things around the house, cooks, he’s great with Ellie, I could do a lot worse.”

“You guys get along fine?”

“We get along alright, he’s a good roommate.”

“So… just friends?”

“Good friends, I’d say. It’s easy. Talking to him. He’s nice.”

“You know, if you ever want to be alone with him, I could take Ellie for a night or two.”

“Why would I need to be alone with him?”

Frank looked at you like you had two heads. His eyes narrowed a little, before just pursing his lips together and telling you to forget about it. He made you take another dose of painkillers before leaving, telling you that the offer to take Ellie in for a couple of days will always stand.

You laid in bed waiting for the meds to kick in, wondering what the heck Frank was talking about. Why the fuck would you and Joel need alone time? Did Joel say something? Was there something he was unhappy about? Was he rethinking the living arrangement? Were you relying too much on him? Making him do too much? What?

You were enjoying living with him. You felt like you had a friend. Someone to talk to after work. Frank and Tess were great, so was Maria, but they had lives outside of their work life with you. You didn’t want to intrude. But Joel lived there with you. He told you about his work life and you him. This, in this house, was the life the two of you lived. You talk. You’re friends. So the thought of him not being happy with anything worried you. You didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable.

You did tell him about your worry of him missing out on a social life of his own because of how involved he was in you and Ellie’s lives, but he brushed it off. So that can’t be it. Then, what was it?

You fell asleep still worrying about it. You woke up when Joel knocked on your door, coming in with the first aid kit and lunch for the both of you. He lifted both items for you to see.

“Lunch first, or bandage change?”

“Let’s do lunch, you might not have the appetite to eat after you see my big ugly toe.”

He laughed, not possible, he said. Cutest toe in the world.

You rolled your eyes, sitting up as he sat cross-legged next to you, opening the bag with your sandwiches inside. School cafeteria food, he said. Shockingly, he thought they were not bad before. But now that he gets a packed lunch every day? He scrunched his face in distaste.

You shook your head, calling him a snob.

“Hey, I live with a great baker. Not my fault my standards have gone up a few notches.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, snob.”

He changed your bandage after lunch. The toe actually didn’t look that bad, although you suspect the nail was definitely coming off when it healed. It’s not swollen or purple, and you were able to wiggle it without much pain, apart from the fact that there was a cut across the nail. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, so, you’ll take that as a win. He did ask that you stay off it for the day, telling you he received a very suspicious text from Frank, raising an eyebrow at you.

You feigned innocence, telling him you didn’t know what he was talking about, and then shooed him off to work again, yelling thank you as he left.

**********

Joel started walking over to the preschool at a quarter to three, his hands in his jacket pockets. He was excited to see Ellie again. The little girl always had some story for him whenever he picked her up. He learned, just two days ago that Alan, the boy who sat behind her, was allergic to cats. Oh, and he had two mommies and two daddies. He also learnt that cats could see in the dark. Oh, did he also know that donkeys make a ‘hee-haw’ sound?

He liked this. This life he was living. He liked that he lived so close to school. He liked that he had someone to come home to, someone to be responsible for. He liked that no one in the house rolled their eyes when he entered a room or started talking to them. He liked that the three of you eat together every morning and night. He liked that after putting Ellie in bed, he had someone he could talk to, joke around with. He liked making the grocery list with Ellie or you and planning out the meals for the week ahead. He liked that no one flinched or moved away when he sat next to them during TV time. He liked that he had chores to do on the weekends, or stuff to fix around the house.

He liked that every time he was puttering around the house doing something, you would check on him and asked if he needed anything. He liked that you made sure he had water to drink, that he was warm enough, cool enough, comfortable enough. He liked that you folded the laundry with him while watching TV, but hated that you won’t let him help cause he had no idea who or what a Marie Condo was, or was it a Condominium? He needed to Google that.

He liked that you ate the food he prepared for you, despite knowing you were a much better cook than him. He liked that you packed his lunch for him and Ellie, he even got a selection of snacks with his lunch. He liked that Ellie quietly gave him her box of raisins in exchange for the cashews in his lunch pack and made him promise not to tell you she didn’t like raisins. He liked that she gave him all the raisins from her bread pudding, taking the crusty tops off his for herself. He liked that you knew he liked the custards to flood his bowl when eating that pudding. He liked that you made sure there was no beansprouts in his or Ellie’s Pad Thai. He liked that eating your cooking felt like an adventure around the world.

Today, as he was getting coffee from the common room, some of the teachers were talking about Halloween. They asked him what his plans were – he had never gone to any Halloween themed stuff since Jen got the promotion, except maybe that Stetson he wore when the school made teachers dress up. Jen always had elaborate costumes, going to party after party, planning for them a year ahead. But he was never invited to go along with her – he was not fancy enough, she had said - so he sat at home and watched scary movies, alone.

So when he got asked that morning, he excitedly told everyone he was taking Ellie trick-or-treating this year, although the little girl had yet to decide what she wanted to wear. He imagined that the two of you would just put on some mask and hat and followed the little girl around. He realized how excited he was for that night, having never done that in his adulthood. He never had children to spoil. He was elated thinking about how starting next year, he would have Ellie and his niece or nephew to take. He imagined the kids and Tommy and Maria and you and him taking them, obediently following little children in costumes around for years to come.

He liked that three of you were like a family.

It’s the life he envisioned when he proposed to Jen, but never got to have.

And that’s exactly what troubled him.

When he saw you in your car outside his marital home that day, he actually, for a split second, thought to himself, maybe, just maybe, he should sleep with you. Your spouses were doing it, why not the two of you?

And of course, the moment those thoughts entered his head, he felt so ashamed of himself. That’s not who he was. He was not a vindictive man. He wouldn’t sleep with someone just to get back at Jen, no matter how much she hurt him. And even if your husband was partly responsible for his marriage crumbling, you did nothing wrong. He shouldn’t use you to get back at Jen and Max. And then, another thought entered his head. Wouldn’t it be funny if this whole thing ended up with the two of you being together?

But he knew it was the grief speaking. He was grieving his marriage, as bad as it was. He was trying to find ways to make himself feel better about the decision he had made – the packed bags and boxes in his house. When Tommy playfully suggested getting together with you, he saw how stupid that idea was. He was not ready. And he shouldn’t pull you into the bullshit ‘getting back out there’ scheme Tommy was thinking about. You were vulnerable, just as he was. It wouldn’t be right to take advantage of you like that.

But then he moved in with you. And he saw what a wonderful person you were, especially with Ellie, the little girl he had come to care for so much. He cared about you, too. He liked talking to you. He felt he could trust you. He felt protective of you, and definitely protective of Ellie. When you got emotional leaving Ellie at the school that first day, he hugged you, not even realizing he did it, his lips automatically going to your temple. Ever since then, he had to remind himself again and again, he was just lonely, that’s why he couldn’t stop thinking about the comfort the way your hair smelled gave him. Nothing more. You were his landlady. His friend. Fast becoming his best friend these days.

His heart almost jumped out of his throat when he heard you scream that morning. And when he placed you in bed and you were sobbing from the pain, all he wanted to do was comfort you, hold you close and never let go. And when you fell asleep, he couldn’t resist giving you a kiss. He really should control himself better. Just last night, you were telling him you were not thinking of dating. The last thing he wanted to do was make you uncomfortable. Cause if you were, he would lose you, and worse, lose Ellie, and he couldn’t imagine waking up in the mornings not having breakfast across from her moody face and your cheerful one.

Yes. That was it. He was just someone who was not used to being single, and having the two of you in his life made him feel whole. It felt like his dreams had come true. And now he’d gone and projected his fantasy of having a family of his own onto you and Ellie, and it was messing with his head about how he was feeling about you. He was friends with Jen for years before he realized he had feelings for her. He couldn’t possibly have feelings for you after a month and a half. That’s crazy.

It had to be the fantasy. It’s not how he was really feeling, right?

**********

Joel stood at the usual spot where parents hung out to wait for the kids. He called you, asking how the toe was feeling. He was just picking Ellie up. What would you like for dinner? Just as he hung up, the bell rang. He moved to be closer to the entrance, wanting Ellie to see him when she came out. A parent he had seen around the yard came and stood next to him.

“You’re Joel Miller, right?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, have we met?”

“I’m Gigi. I used to work with Jen.”

Oh.

“Who are you here for? I wasn’t aware you and Jen had kids?”

He was trying to figure out what he should say, or whether he should say anything when Ellie came running out, telling him she got an A for drawing. It was like the woman didn’t exist at all of a sudden. All he could think of was how proud he was of Ellie. He high-fived her, lifting her up onto his shoulder, nodding at the woman and walked off, listening to her chattering about the A, taking the painting out of her backpack and shoving it in front of his face, wobbling dangerously on his shoulders. He held her tighter, worried she might fall, the painting now obscuring his sight. He stopped walking, taking the picture she was showing him, placing her on the ground, crouching next to her, one hand tight around her shoulder as he studied the painting of a garden with different flowers.

She climbed on his back, excitedly telling him about the different flowers. “Roses for Mommy, sunflowers for Daddy, tulips for Beans and daisies for you.”

He stood up with her on his back, turning his head slightly, “You drew daisies for me?”

She nodded vigorously. Joel was about to ask her some more questions, touched that she would include him in her drawing, when Lucy came bounding out of the school building, asking him if she could get a ride home.

“Hi Ella!”

“It’s Ellie,” Joel corrected her, yet again. “I’m not driving. I’m walking.”

“Oh, is this your drawing Ella? It’s beautiful,” she said, taking the picture from Joel, walking awfully close to him. Ellie snatched the drawing away from her, placing her head on Joel’s other shoulder, telling him she wanted to go home to you now.

“Okay, kiddo. Let’s go home. See you Lucy.”

“Wait, come on,” she said, taking his arm in hers, “Why don’t I follow you and you can drive me home after you drop Ella off?”

Joel pulled his arm away from her. “Again, it’s Ellie. And no, I am not sending you home. And please respect my private space. We are at work, please don’t touch me like that,” he politely said.

“I wasn’t…”

“Yes you were. Come on Joel. I wanna go home.”

Joel walked off, Ellie piggybacking him, leaving an annoyed and disappointed Lucy behind.

**********

“Ellie wanted to be a donkey for Halloween,” you told Joel, carefully taking your socks off to put in the wash. Your toe had almost healed, but you were still traumatized by the memory of that one time you forgot about the wound, and your toenail came off along with the sock.

“Not any donkey, Donkey, from Toy Story,” he explained, closing the fridge door, Ellie’s garden drawing proudly displayed on it. “So that means we are going as Sherriff Woody and Jessie.”

“Crap. I do not look good in yellow.”

“Yes you do. She insisted you go as either Jessie or Bo. You have a Sheppard’s crook, a bonnet and a poufy pink dress?”

You shook your head. He nodded, “That’s what I thought.”

“You mean to tell me you have a Woody costume?”

“No,” he said. “But I have flannels, boots and a Stetson.”

You stared at him in shock. Oh, you have got to see this. “Show me.”

“Nope. You’ll see when we go trick-or-treating, Jessie. Better start looking for a red wig and cowboy hat.”

“And where the heck are we going to find a Donkey costume for her?”

“Brown shirt and pants, donkey ears and a mask. Already ordered them.”

Damn. He’s really excited for this. “Well, okay, let me know how much it costs, I’ll Venmo you.”

“Nope. Not taking your money.”

You followed him around the house arguing that he shouldn’t be spending that much money on her, while he sang ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me’ at the top of his voice, ignoring you.

On Halloween, you were at the bakery, finishing some themed cupcakes with Tess and Frank. You were all having dinner at the bakery before taking Ellie trick-or-treating, everyone excited – never having children to do this with before. You were placing the last of the pumpkin gummies on Frank’s elaborate webbed décor when the door jingled, and Maria and Tommy walked in, Tommy wearing a Buzz Lightyear t-shirt, and Maria wearing long fake ears and a snout.

Andy, dressed in a simple pink t-shirt and a pink cap, claiming to be the modern version of Bo Peep squealed, going over to greet the two, dropping to her knees to say hi to Maria’s tiny bump. Bill came up, shaking Tommy’s hand and giving Maria a kiss, placing the plates he had found on the tables for dinner. You were trying hard to figure out who he was supposed to be, he was just dressed in his jeans and t-shirt, and he claimed to be in costume.

Frank came out and placed the boxes of cupcakes on the counter for pick-up, hands on his hips, telling Bill he had forgotten something. Bill grumbled and went out to his truck, coming back with a black bowler hat perched on his head.

“Mr Potato Head!!!” everyone chorused, howling with laughter. Bill certainly did not look impressed, but smiled a little when Frank gave him a small peck.

Ah… the shit you do for the people you love.

Tess dressed as the plastic soldier man, which consisted of a green shirt and pants. Frank was supposed to be Forky, wearing a t-shirt with a fork on it, and had drawn some stuff on his face with markers to look more like the character. You were just in a yellow checkered shirt and a tiny plastic hat hair pin you found online just clipped to your hair. It was supposed to be a full sized hat, but… oh well, let’s just say you were never ordering things online ever again.

Ellie, of course, looked fabulous. The googly eyed mask Joel got for her perched on her forehead, the donkey ears on her head. She looked so pleased with herself, walking around holding on to the tail Joel had pinned on to her pants. Joel walked in after her, wearing his flannel and jeans and boots, but no Stetson in sight. That’s not to say he didn’t look good, but you were disappointed the Stetson did not make an appearance.

After all the cupcakes were picked up, and the dinner all eaten and everyone was feeling full and happy, you loaded the dishwasher while everyone else, save for Ellie and Maria cleaned the place before leaving. As you hung your apron on its usual hook, Joel walked in, Stetson in place.

Oh, fuck me.

Damn, he looked good.

Your mouth dropped open, “Damn, cowboy!”

“Howdy, Ma’am,” he said, tipping his hat at you. “You ready to take Donkey trick-or-treatin’?” he asked, offering his arm for you to take.

“Why, yes I am,” you said, patting the stupid super tiny hat on your head, taking his arm in yours.

The rest made you, Joel and Ellie take a picture together, Ellie happily perched on Joel’s hips, you by his side.

After a night of trick-or-treating and coaxing Ellie into not eating all her candies at one go, you and Joel sat defeatedly in the living room. God, you never knew how big the area was, and how many children lived around here. Maria, who had stayed at your place told you the five bags of candies you had prepared ran out in under an hour. Everyone was exhausted. But it was all worth it, seeing Ellie so happy, although she did tell you and Joel she missed her parents just before her eyes closed for the night.

“She had fun, right?” you asked him for the fifth time in the 40 minutes since she had gone to bed.

“Yes, she did. Don’t worry. You did a great job.”

“No, you did. You got her the costume, you carried her when she got tired. I was just the one holding the bucket.”

“Hey, we’re a team, right? So long as she’s happy.”

“Thanks Joel. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here. I’m always worried I am not enough, you know? Annie was an amazing mom. And Ed…” you rubbed your face, “I just knew I could never live up to them. But, having you around helped. Thanks Joel. I really appreciate it.”

He squeezed your knee, telling you he was happy to do it.

“And to be honest, I’m worried I’m asking too much from you. Ellie shouldn’t be your responsibility at all. I feel bad that you have to do so much for us. I just don’t want you to feel obliged or anything. If it’s too much, just let me know. I don’t want you to think I’m dumping my responsibilities on you. I would hate for you to leave because of this,” your worry was clear on your face, thinking about Frank’s offer to take Ellie for a few days. He wouldn’t have offered if Joel hadn’t said something, right?

“Hey, no, don’t think like that. It’s no trouble at all. Really. You shouldn’t worry about that, okay? I’m here, I’ll help. Plus, I like spending time with her. She’s a smart girl. Seeing her so happy makes me happy. So, don’t ever worry about that, okay? We’re a team, remember?”

You seemed hesitant, but you nodded, nonetheless.

Of course, he neglected to tell you that he was proud as a clam when countless men told him during that trick-or-treating session that he had a beautiful family. That he wished it were true. That the three of you were, indeed, a family. His family.

You got up and went into the kitchen, coming back with a handful of Ellie’s candy, telling him you won’t tell her if he didn’t. He smiled cheekily, patting the couch for you to join him, and the two of you began demolishing the candies, sharing stories about your childhood Halloween, him making you laugh so much at Tommy’s attempt of making Spiderman’s web, only to end up in the ER when he succeeded in getting his hands stuck together trying to pull superglue into fine threads.

His heart soared seeing you laugh so much. Tonight had been a dream of his for a long time and having you and Ellie with him just seemed so perfect, so real, he had to remind himself that this was just his loneliness speaking. You were his friend, his landlady, and Ellie was your niece. Not his wife and daughter.

Yeah. He was just projecting his hopes and dreams on the two of you. That was all. He knew it wasn’t healthy for him to feel that way. He was just compensating for something he had always wanted but might never have. But for tonight, he wanted to enjoy and savour the feeling.

His phone started buzzing endlessly. Texts were coming in, one after another, all from Jen.

‘What the fuck is this, Joel?’

A screenshot of Maria’s Insta story was attached. The picture of the three of you at the bakery.

Another followed. One where the three of you were on the floor counting Ellie’s candies, happiness and laughter clearly all over your faces.

And the texts kept coming in.

---

November

[ringdabel]

“Oh you watch One Piece? Who are your crushes!? Let me guess…Luffy, Zoro, Law, Sanji, Mihawk, Shanks, Ace, Smoker, Usopp, Sabo, Kid, Corazon, at least one of them is on your crush list right?”

Me : yeah ur right! (All of them are)

Also me : *hiding some character crushes that-people-might-be-concerned-that-I’m-crushing-on behind my back because it happened before*

[stinkythehutt]

also. something about palpatine being so adept at seeing into the future that all of his successes feel completely joyless by the time he achieves them because he’s just going through the motions… how fucked up and nihilistic and brutal that would make you…

[kinokoshoujoart]

CORRECT TAGS‼️‼️‼️‼️ @rn0na-lizard you are so so so correct….. my favorite ‘Normal Girl’ in hmds…….i almost never see anyone talk about these aspects of her let alone also love her for them as they should.

i feel like Leona/ DS lumina gets mischaracterized super often which is understandable bc out of all the DS candidates leona is the least like her ancestor (who i also love, for different reasons).

in AWL lumina was the only kid in the valley for a very long time, but many of the DS residents have lived in the valley their whole lives. while lumina had accepted her role as a proper young heiress by chapter 3 of AWL— and when DS begins Leona already at this point of her life— lumina still had a lingering sense of uncertainty and angst and loneliness and doubt, and unresolved worries about her parents. absolutely none of this is present with leona

in this world leona starts with Lumina’s 22 year old appearance, she’s just rich as hell and living her best life (as she deserves), she’s unabashedly shallow, puts herself first always, speaks so politely and affably yet she can be so casually cruel in the most genuine cute way and out of touch with reality and and i fucking love her and i’d die for her. my beloved girlboss girlkeep girlypop

more iconic Leona Moments

when muu/muffy asks for beauty advice leona’s recommendation is “this brand of mail order beauty cream is simply divine! and it was quite inexpensive too, just 100,000 G 🥰” everyone else looks uncomfortable and muu is like “you’re as frivolous as always….”

aside from the 3 who take literally half your money (Witch💖, moi, and thomas) leona and panama (romana) take the most money from you if they carry you home when you faint. just a couple of girl bosses holding on to their girlpire (btw shout out to sebastian, the only resident in the entire valley who carries you home for free)

neither panama nor leona attend the harvest festival, they send sebastian there by himself to test the food first lmao (if you poison it like the witch they’re harboring on their property requires you to do, sebastian is just like “i can’t serve this to Mistress Panama…”)

once again sebastian attacks mukumuku for her sake, this time not to make her a paintbrush but she told him to get her the best slippers and this was apparently the easiest way. sebastian gets fucking mauled btw

leona has hands down the best romance route in hmds. all her scenes are incredible but god the slow burn friends to lovers with your DVD player….

in her purple heart event she shows up at your house because she heard you have a DVD player, asks you to show her how it works, and then just leaves after she’s done playing with it

in her yellow heart event she has sebastian fetch van so she can buy a DVD player for herself but van’s like “i’m so sorry …. Pete… bought the last one….”

leona is so unable to stomach the idea of other people having things she doesn’t that she starts to cry and the only way to placate her is to tell her she can go to your house anytime she wants just so she can use your DVD player. that’s not a setup to a budding romance that’s her final heart event

it’s the most incredible romance arc in the world like girl you have infinite money you can just. buy a DVD player somewhere else?? “i want to watch DVDs at my house just like you!” leona you have three entire bedrooms

“rich girl love interest who has everything except love, win her heart by having genuine conversation with her”: done to death, tired, i don’t have time for that

“rich girl love interest who has everything except a fucking DVD player, win her heart by giving her expensive stuff and ‘relax tea’ and access to your DVD player”: audacious, intriguing, never been done before, innovative

if you deny her god-given right to access your DVD player she is like “Is that so……………Just let me be alone for a little bit.” incredible tragedy i understand. take as much time as you need to grieve darling

oh but her first heart event asks you to pick a side in an argument she’s having with panama and the correct answer is to say “sebastian is the one who’s wrong” (sebastian has said nothing wrong this whole time and yet both of them have just been yelling at him to shut up)

and her blue heart event is “help me find this heirloom necklace… boohoo…” and when you find it she’s like “perfect! now grandma won’t get mad at me. hmm, you seem pretty dependable…♡” augh she’s way too good at this…….!!! i’ll do anything for you!

when you propose she says “of course, i always dreamed of having a romance and a wedding♡” and says nothing abt how she feels about you <3

also if you marry her, once a week she goes to hang out at her ex love interest’s place for 6 hours straight and comes home saying “whew��� i had so much fun that i must have lost track of time… i’ll hurry on home”

if you marry another girl she starts flirting with you like “I’m so envious of your wife, having such a fine husband… Pete.” (or whatever your name is)

i’ve become obsessed with her and romeo’s horrible trainwreck soap opera marriage since replaying cute in jp… it’s SO… i have so much to say about them that it should be its own post but i’ll just give the cliffnotes

shotgun wedding vibes. romeo is surprised by his own wedding. they’re childhood friends but he himself has never considered marrying her. her words to him at their wedding are “Make me happy♡” (command)

she understandably can’t stand his terrible table manners or his clothes or anything about him (except that she wants to watch him surf and have his child. but he instead walks in circles all day. coward) and he’s both really good at accidentally stepping on landmines and just ever so slightly majorly terrified of her after marriage (“but surely her angry outbursts are just her way of showing love hahahahaha” you’re going to die. she’s going to kill you). the only positive things they say about their marriage are extremely shallow. they can’t communicate with each other because romeo always says the Dumbest Shit obliviously and leona always responds by cutting him out of her life forever!!!!!! (for 5 seconds) while he has no idea what happened

they are both so melodramatic and they both just do nothing except make each other worse and run away from each other and push each other away but they can’t escape each other. neither of them ever has to grow or change if they marry each other because an elderly overworked man is sustaining both of their existences and neither of them can take care of themselves and i love them your honor

also romeo’s first crush as a kid was apparently her mom, and if leona falls for YOU she flirts by mentioning that sebastian says you look like the spitting image of her dead father. dear fucking god

they’re the epitome of “You're both just enabling each other's mental illnesses. You're both perfect for each other. Never change. Just never involve anybody else in what you've got going on.”

romeo really does feel like her stupid lackey. like the karen to her regina. they even had this dynamic in the games they played as kids… she was the Harvest Goddess and he was Servant A/Minion A (they might still be playing this game as adults…he calls her lady/mistress sometimes after marriage…)

btw leona’s best friend (wife) marivia is also just as… there’s an event where they just gossip about all the mineral town ppl and marivia says ann would win a gluttony contest and they both giggle

there’s also an event where marivia casually walks into Witch’s hut and just interviews her so she can write her into a novel. witch is left completely drained by this exchange. leona and marivia both are so chill about the horrible cruel villainess living in leona’s shed who wants the town poisoned and rewards you for killing animals and hurting yourself and is putting curses on everyone (and they’re right. she’s never done anything wrong in her life)

[tojiscrack]

how i feel knowing that when your ‘liar, liar’ fic gets big (and it WILL), i’ll get to say that i was one of your og readers, laughing as the new readers (peasants) wish they were here during the chaos - when people were shipping malakai with EVERY CHARACTER EVER or when people were making predictions about future chapters or everyone collectively losing their minds over the angst tag etc etc:

we’re going to look back at this time and feel nostalgic when the fic’s over. i need megumi and y/n together RIGHT NOW but i know that when that happens, their story will be over ☹️

liar, liar masterlist here:

AHHH NOT THE TIKTOK PROUD EMOJI LMAOOO 😭 fun fact: it’s my fav emoji in the world and if apple doesn’t find a way to let me use it outside of tiktok, i’m gonna combust on the spot 😀

‘and it WILL’ — your confidence is what i’m gonna hide behind, ty 🌝

DON’T CALL THEM PEASANTS OMG??? 😭 THEY’RE NOT EVEN HERE YET 🫨 i’m trying so hard not to laugh rn 😟

it’s already been, what, a couple of months since the first ever malakai x y/n ship started by that anon who, like, never returned after causing all that chaos? 🫢 so it’s already becoming an old thing the ogs would know about, and don’t even get me started on the panic the angst tag has everyone in LMFAOO, my fault, honestly, but idc i like it 😋

and girl, we have a LONGGG way to go before mercupine’s story is at a close. we’ll worry about that when we get there, i’m just glad the small family we’ve got are still here after nearly an entire year with such slow updates (i’m sorry 😭) <3

and ofc, i’m well aware that you are one of the og’s, sending a cute (albeit weirdly confident/funny) message about it was not necessary ‘cause ANY time i see ur user in my notifs, i remember that you were the first ever reader of SOANO (which i’ve yet to update but i’m working on it if you’re still interested 😔). your support has meant, and still means, the world to me. idk how to speak in such a sappy way, i’ll pocket that for when i’m done writing liar liar 😤💘

[chamerionwrites]

Somewhat more controversially - beyond just well-written characters, I think a lot of people find themselves repeatedly drawn to particular Types of characters. And I think the frequency with which those types appear, and the particular flavor of those types, is often (unnecessarily!) gendered. (Sticking with the espionage theme: it’s pretty difficult to find clever, calculating, socially astute female spy characters whose tradecraft doesn’t hinge primarily or at least very heavily on their sex appeal). TL;DR even very well-written female characters are often (unnecessarily!!!) confined to a much more limited set of narrative roles and archetypes.

And while I’m definitely not saying this is something we should all just accept completely uncritically, I do think it’s a pretty undeniable factor in why a lot of people’s lists of favorite blorbos might be kinda dude-heavy.

[candyheartedchy]

So uh… I might end up with a live action f/o…

[joanofexys]

i owe everyone an apology for the fictional characters i’m down bad for

[kagoutiss]

I'm very curious, how did you get into Star Wars? Are you a returning fan or is this a new media fixation for you?

oh no it’s very new for me, lol. i mean i did see the films growing up and already knew the basic facts that inescapably pervade all of pop culture, but i never had an actual interest in the series until recently. part of it is literally just because i havent been able to play video games as much this year bc of health problems, so i’ve needed stuff i can just watch/read while resting rather than sitting at a pc, and i’ve found star wars stuff is kinda good for that because it’s. very silly and has lots of different supplemental materials, and. extremely convoluted/messy/interesting lore that has been weirdly helpful for passing the time some days. my interest got piqued from just listening to random videos about different shows & movies in the background because i never just watch tv like a normal person, and at some point i was putting on random star wars stuff bc it stuck in my head, and by then it was too late. i’m mostly just interested in the OT/prequels, but i also like a lot of the comics and some of the older paperbacks i can get my hands on, even if the contents can be weird or inconsistent (plus i just rly like the 80s-90s era cover designs…..they’re neat…)

part of me was definitely intimidated by being an uninitiated enjoyer of what is probably one of the most historied & divisive long-running series ever, but a bigger more evil part of me that somehow loves things like the zelda timeline was like ‘no, we can handle this…What Do You Mean There’s A Guy Named Salacious Crumb’ and now here i am

[kinos-fortress-2]

ok another headcanon and is from my ultimate comfort favs:

When demo got first hired by pauling he was like very shy and introverted at some point where everyone wasn’t like… that conjoined and besties as how they are now. And i feel like he got a pretty rough time to even start to talk with his teammates or get a tiny friendship with them.

And he often times was very threatened by small lady in glasses that liked to be strict with them in their first day since… it was business only ofc

but by the time when pauling got a bit more soft with them, and got also a bit friendly with demo i feel like at some point he started to develop a tiny crush with her since she was the one who often talks more with, and i have this other hc that also he would fell easily with people that befriends him (not like anyone of course it really does depends the person for him)

so you know pauling it’s nerdy and a bit sensitive (she cries very easily) and she is very friendly or a bit more extrovert if she gets to, but like in a sense where she is more ambivert too. uhhh idk she is just talkative with people if you get her chance where she’s not busy and will tell you to go to hell. rough lady

and he liked that! i think he thought they both shared some stuffs along and can infodump their love for guns and for the work they are in and then if they can go a bit personal with some drinks and he liked that he could share this stuffs with her all chill and cool

but i feel like he just had this side secret crush with her and stopped those want to be romantic feelings because he really saw she is not like, up to those stuffs, she is so focused on work and also stressed and depressed like him and he could just understand that she just only want someone to listen to her but she will not like, pay that much attention about romantic relationships and he could completely understand that once he get to know her more deeply. and he just couldn’t do that to the one who also considered a friend and he probably guessed she will not feel the same for him but that didn’t like hurt him and is not like he ever confessed to her. he just had those secret feelings for her for a time and then realized she was not really like the one for him to be in a relationship

and that’s where i thought of him now having a more soft spot for her and caring her like a sister (not like literally but in a familiar soft spot sense, but that’s ofc his friend)

so yeah idk 👍

[headfullof-ideas]

Age and name reveals of the next gen Pirate kids, that took me forever to finish, but it’s done, finally. Now that I’ve got these out I can actually work on/post drawings of all the kids interacting with each other, and then lead up to revealing whose parent is who. Tho I am planning on doing a drawing of all the significant others before i post any of that, so that will probably be what i focus on tomorrow

[cuteniaarts]

@katkastrofa, circa 40-ish hours ago: Hey, what if our newest bunch of OCs adopted a baby from one of the other brothel girls who knew she couldn’t afford to raise one? That would make for some fun shenanigans :D

Me, with a notoriously non existent sleep schedule, instinct of self preservation or concern for my poor wrist: Alright, bet. Watch how fast I can make you fall in love with this hypothetical baby >:)

Daneli as a gentle and loving caretaker-turned-adoptive-mother is something that can be So Personal, actually, and originally I was going to leave it at this quick sketch, but then I got carried away thinking about what this child will grow up to be like raised by this little gang of misfits, so…

Here she is!! A little older and so, so beautiful, I need more of her in my life immediately, she’s way too precious

And, because I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also add a sapphic element to this absolute cinnamon roll, a small crack ship that I’m only half serious about for when she’s a little older still:

All in all, we may be getting impossibly far from canon, but I for one already cannot get enough of sweet darling Kumisai <3

(I fully drew three pieces from scratch in 9 hours I cannot feel my brain or my hands anymore send help)

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

Im on episode four, and Vanitas is surprisingly sinister- I was expecting him to be silly goofy and a little childish- but then he did that thing with Jeanne (or whatever her name is) and I’m just- dude?????? wtf???????