#but the fact that it's never addressed as a bad thing?

[yamamasjumpercables]

Cowboys Don’t Cry

(Chapter Three)

Pairing: Cowboy!Bangchan x Fem!Reader

A/n: i kept fighting on if I wanted this series to be first or second person (first was better)

Summary: Y/n and Bangchan were childhood friends until he moved away to the big city, leaving Y/n heartbroken. Years later Chan comes back to town for good, now he has to fix what he broke all those years ago.

AU: Cowboy/Country Boy

Trope(s): Childhood Friends - to - Lovers, Grumpy x Sunshine, Slow Burn

Genre: Rom-com, Drama and Angst

Warning(s): 18+ rating (cussing)

The sun has fallen, covering this small town with darkness. Only the bar graced the town with light. Laughter was the only thing that was heard from this lively place. Leeknow had texted Chan earlier to meet him and the guys at the bar to catch up.

Chan walked into the bar, throwing a few “hi’s” and “long time no see” to the people he has left in the town. “Chan over here” I.n said waving him over. “Oh hey guys” Chan said happily, exchanging a few hugs and dap ups. “So how you been, how is city life treating you?” Hyunjin asks eagerly, as Chan sits down next to the seat next to Changbin. “It’s good but, I always miss home” Chan says smiling. “And when you mean home you mean us right?” Seungmin says raising an eyebrow. “Of course I mean you guys” Chan says laughing.

The night went on with laughter, drinking and talking. Until Felix decided to address the elephant that wasn’t in the room. “So did you see Y/n” Felix asks as he takes a sip of his rosey drink. “Yea I did just the other day at the hardware store” Chan says looking down at his water downed drink. “She looks the same, well other than the fact that her hair got longer, and she got a bit taller” Chan says thinking about his previous interaction with you. “And she finally grew into her face” Leeknow adds. “And she can strangle us in our sleep” Seungmin says chuckling.

“Her ass got bigger too” Han adds with a laugh. “Oh my goodness here we go again” Hyunjin says annoyed. “He’s not wrong though” I.n says shrugging his shoulders. “Ok nevermind all that, she just grew up gracefully” Felix says admiringly. “You sound like a grandma, just say she’s beautiful” Seungmin says taking a bugle of his fries. “Well she was always beautiful you know, and now that she’s older she looks even better.” Chan says smiling. “Her hair frames her face perfectly, her cheeky smile that-“ Chan continues before getting cut off by the boys booing him. “Just say you’re in love with her dude” changbin says rolling his eyes. “What no no no I’m not in love with her” Chan says embarrassed, as his ears turn red. “Sure Chan and Han has a girl in his bed every night” Hyunjin says with an unimpressed look. “Hey why bring me into this” Han says as he throws his hands up in defense.

“Shhh Han” I.n says patting Han’s back. “We are focusing on the wrong thing here, how did the conversation go with Y/n anyways?” Leeknow asks shifting the attention to Chan. “Um it was something, she said I disappointed her, do you guys know what she’s talking about?” Chan asks the boys. “I-Ooh wow I don’t feel good” Han says anxiously. “What does she mean by that guys?” Chan asks again. “Chan don’t worry, it’s most likely nothing” I.n says trying to reassure him. “Yea you know how she is” Seungmin adds. “Should I talk to her about it then?” Chan asks nervously. “NO!” The boys say simultaneously. “Oh ok I’ll just leave it alone then” Chan says begging to sulk. “Yea it’s for the best” Hyunjin says.

As the night continued Chan never stopped thinking about what I meant by him disappointing me. He wanted to understand what he possibly could’ve done. Is this why i had such a bad attitude with him earlier? Chan’s mind kept running in circles trying to think of some explanation, in the midst he started to overthink.

What if I never talk to him again, did I hate him? Chan had to know. He drove to my home, it was already late. Yet Chan wanted his answer right there and then to relieve his thoughts. As soon as he arrived to my house he rung the doorbell waiting for my response.

I walked down stairs unaware of the unwanted visitor at my doorstep. “Han it’s too late for this, please don’t tell me you had another nightmare” I said tiredly as I rubbed my eyes. I opened the door to reveal Chan. “Oh it’s you, why are you here” I say crossing my arms. “I know I shouldn’t be here but I needed to ask you about something you said to me” Chan says fidgeting with his nails. “What did I say to you?” I say tiredly. “You said I disappointed you, I want you to shed some light on that please” Chan says eagerly.

“What’s there to shed light on, you disappointed me so are we done with this now” I say closing my door, only for it to be stopped by Chan’s foot. “No we aren’t done here” Chan says opening the door. “Listen its to late for this I’m tired ok so just leave me alone” I say annoyed, finally slamming the door in Chan’s face. Chan stood at the doorstep step, confused and hurt. What did he do? And how could fix it?

Chapter 4 coming soon…

[lillaydee]

The Unlucky One Part 7

Joel Miller (No Outbreak AU) / F Reader

When it comes to love, Lady Luck seems to have lost your address. After being left at the altar without so much of an explanation, you decided love is no longer something you are interested in. Not even meeting an unlucky-in-love-himself Mr. Grump could change your mind.

Right?

Let me know if you want to be tagged, or if you want to be removed from the tag list.

WARNINGS: Protective Joel (The Last of Us), Good Parent Joel (The Last of Us), Soft Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel Needs a Hug (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Grumpy Joel (The Last of Us), Jealousy, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Idiots in Love, unlucky in love, Child Abandonment, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us)

@peelieblue, @vickie5446, @harriedandharassed, @lovefreylove @martuxduckling @kikookii @liciafonseca

SERIES MASTER LIST

Part 6

---

Joel found himself contemplating saying yes. Before you, Jen was the only woman in his life for about 10 years or so. He stuck with her even when she left him. Wore the stupid wedding ring as if it meant something – it sure didn’t to her. She was openly galivanting around, showing off men after men on social media sans wedding ring since the day after her parents’ funeral. He was the one who was stupid enough to still wear his, blindly hopeful that this ‘phase’ would be over.

When Tommy’s then girlfriend brought up introducing him to Lucy, Tommy got way too excited. She had shown Joel a picture of Lucy, but he said no. Tommy coaxed him into meeting her for one drink, and still, he said no. Tommy was so insistent, so persuasive to the point that he almost gave in, but somehow he managed to get out of it. He wasn’t ready.

Heck, he wasn’t ready now. Well… that’s not quite true. He knew he was ready to take it slow with someone – just not her.

But the woman he was pining for was taken.

Still, there was an unease in his heart. He couldn’t do this to Lucy. She seemed like a sweet woman. Younger than him, that’s for sure, but she was clearly very hopeful that he would say yes. She knew he had a kid, so that was one thing he didn’t have to deal with. Telling someone new he came with baggage wasn’t exactly something he was looking forward to do. He was writing a script in head on how to tell you about Sarah should you call him, praying hard that you wouldn’t find that to be a dealbreaker. So with Lucy, that conversation needn’t happen. And, she was a kindergarten teacher, so she must be great with children.

But Joel wasn’t a player. He couldn’t lead this seemingly sweet woman on like this, knowing that if he did agree to sit down for a drink with her, there was a possibility that it might lead to another drink, and whatever came after that. He couldn’t do that. Not when he knew for sure that he would only be doing that to distract himself from the fact that the woman who was haunting his dreams was living right next door.

He had never been the kind of man who would use a woman that way. And he wasn’t going to start.

Lucy was still looking at him, hopeful that he would say yes.

“Actually,” Tommy said, surprising him, “We should be going. It’s nearing Sarah’s bedtime.”

“Oh, come on,” she persisted, “It’s not even 7 yet.”

“Yeah, but it’s bath day, and we promised her a new book to read tonight so…” Tommy insisted, placing his glass on the counter, beginning to push Joel out. Joel was shocked at his brother’s sudden change of heart. He genuinely thought this was Tommy’s dream come true. Not two years ago he was fending off this younger man’s pleas for him to go out with her, and now he was giving excuses for him?

“Yeah, we really should be going,” Joel said, downing the rest of his beer and placing the bottle on the counter. He could see the disappointment on her face, but he tried not to let it get to him. This was, after all, for her own good.

“Well, okay, but could I at least get your number? We could text? Maybe talk? Set up another time?” she tried.

Joel put both his hands in his pockets, taking a deep breath. He shook his head a little, “Sorry, I just don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, still not wanting to start anything that might lead to her getting hurt.

He could see the defeat in her face, but she smiled, shrugged, and said something about giving it a shot before finally turning away.

“What was that?” Joel asked Tommy as they buckled up in the truck. “Less than two years ago you were begging me to go out with her, and you couldn’t get me out of there fast enough?”

Tommy sighed. “I don’t know… something was… anyway… I thought you were going to talk to Aria first? Lucy seemed too excited to run into you, that drink would’ve led to something else. What if you were wrong about Aria? You can’t just dump Lucy if you decide to get with hot new neighbour.”

Okay, who the fuck was this guy? What the heck happened to the guy who spent the entirety of their flight to Bali trying to convince him he needed to sow his wild oats now that he was divorced? The one who tried to get him sowing while he was still married, even?

That night, as he was lying in his bed, a sleeping Sarah wrapped up around his right arm, her new book still in his left one, a thought suddenly came to his head. Did Lucy introduce herself as Sarah’s teacher? He met Sarah’s teacher. He knew Sarah’s teacher. Mrs Adler. The lady who lived down the street from him. The one who picked up his daughter and dropped her off daily. He was too busy trying to place Lucy in his mind that he didn’t pay much attention to what she was saying. Maybe he heard her wrong? Maybe she said that she was a teacher at Sarah’s school?

Whatever she might have said was lost from his thought when his tired body decided it needed sleep now, rather than continue mulling about this little factoid, or carry a sound asleep Sarah to her own bed.

**********

“Morning neighbour,” a chirpy Tess called out to you as you exited Maria’s car, a tray of coffees and a paper bag full of breakfast in your hands. She had just arrived home herself, it looked like, looking tired from working through the night.

“Morning!” you replied, shocked at how genuinely friendly you were sounding. “Wanna come over for breakfast? I bought plenty!”

“That’s so nice of you, but I’ve gotta crash. I’m shocked I could still stand here talking to you,” she said, looking genuinely knackered.

“Rough night?”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

The door to her house opened, and Tommy walked out, a cup of coffee in his hand.

The driver’s door to Maria’s car slammed shut, and she and Tommy just stared at each other for a few seconds. Tommy walked over, a happy smile on his face.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Small world.”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Tess was smiling at you, going inside. You quickly took the other paper bag of food from her, unlocked your front door and went in, depositing the bags and coffee on your kitchen counter before going to your front window to snoop. What you saw made you smile.

You best friend, the one who went through her adulthood convinced that she didn’t want a relationship with a man, was obviously smitten with this guy she met in Bali. And he was here. At that moment, you knew. You just knew. She liked him. And as much as you didn’t know this Tommy from Adam, you could tell, he liked her too. That smile Tess gave you told you she knew that as well. They seemed to be exchanging their shock (and maybe happiness?) at the fact that they had been in the same town all these years, and despite their attempts to withhold information from one another in Bali, they managed to meet again.

You watched as the awkwardness between the two turned to familiarity, as their body languages relaxed. If you had to guess, they were catching up. Their shy smiles turned to full on laughter and easy chit chats.

And then their conversation seemed to take a serious turn, frowny looks were exchanged, more conversations, before looks of disbelief finally settled. Tommy turned and seemed to call someone. Tess came over, still in her uniform, a gigantic coffee cup in her hands. You watched as the same serious, frowny look landed on Tess’s previously smiley face, turning to disbelief as well.

And now they were all laughing.

What the fuck was going on?

Oh, you had a bad feeling about this. You didn’t like it. You didn’t like it one bit.

They continued talking for a few more minutes before Kyle and Ethan arrived, and the two joined in on the conversation after Tommy shook hands with them. The same facial expressions came and went on their faces before more laughter followed.

Okay. This was not good. Should you go find out? But you didn’t know if you wanted to. You had decided early on that you didn’t want to get too close to Tess. The lesser of a friend you were to her, the less severe the scratches she would leave on your face should she find out you had slept with her man.

The group was now intently discussing something, huddling closer to one another. You were practically pressed up against the window now, trying hard to listen in, but to no avail. Damn you, high quality triple paned picture window!

They talked for a good few more minutes before dispersing, your three friends bee lining for your front door. You just about injured yourself trying to move over the scattered boxes and half-assembled furniture to get to the kitchen before they came in, somehow managing to sip on your coffee just as they did, Ethan’s bad leg giving you the opportunity to get there in time.

The four of you had breakfast, unpacking the basic kitchen utensils you bought as you did. You had just finished unloading them into the dishwasher when Maria suddenly chirped.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you. The neighbours are coming to help assemble the rest of the Ikea stuff this afternoon.”

“What? No!”

“Why not?” Ethan asked, innocently sipping his coffee. “It was your idea, wasn’t it? At Ikea, a pizza assembly party! Plus, they’re your neighbours. You should be nice to them. Who do you think would be coming to your immediate rescue if you scream for help?”

“They’re bringing the pizza, too. Very nice neighbours, if you ask me,” Kyle chimed in, mouth full of eggs, “That reminds me, we need to order drinks,” he said, taking his phone out.

“We could tackle the rest ourselves. We don’t need their help!”

“Oh honey, who are you kidding? It took us hours to assemble your closet. They are contractors. They could probably do it in half the time and not break a sweat!” Maria said.

“But…”

“Babes, talk to him. You might be surprised,” Ethan coaxed.

You spent the rest of that morning unpacking your clothes into your closet, taking the nightstands upstairs and getting your room somewhat in useable order. Your head was empty, your heart beating uncomfortably fast, trying hard to not think about seeing Joel again. You picked up the boxes from downstairs and brought them up to the respective rooms, wanting to make things easier for the freaking party you’d only suggested in the first place because it didn’t occur to you that there was a possibility that the man you slept with was gonna be joining you.

Noon finally came, and you were attempting to lift the rolled up double mattress to bring up to the guest bedroom when the first knock came, startling you to the point of almost dropping the mattress. Kyle had to catch you, taking the mattress from you and taking it upstairs himself.

So there you were, standing on your staircase, not knowing what to do when Maria opened the door and greeted Tommy, Tess, and the man you were trying to avoid, carrying his daughter. They all, save for Joel, greeted each other enthusiastically. You reluctantly went to meet them, taking the many, many, many pizza boxes from Tommy into the kitchen, before turning around, almost bulldozing a little girl who, unbeknownst to you, had followed the pizza boxes.

“Oh!”

“Hello!” she said, her eyes, so like her dad’s, looking up at you. “I’m Sarah Miller. What’s your name?”

Miller. Joel Miller. So that’s his name.

“Hi Sarah, I’m Aria.”

“Hi Aya.”

“No, baby, not Aya, it’s Aria,” Joel’s soft voice said, making your heart stop.

“Aya.”

He knelt in front of his daughter, “Ah Ria,” he said, nodding his head so she could repeat after him.

“Ah Ya.”

He laughed softly, looking up at you, mouthing ‘sorry’.

Oh well, she’s too cute to correct anyway. You’ll take it. Aya it’ll be.

“I’m hungry, Aya,” she said. “Daddy order cheese sticks for me.”

“Ah, right, I’ll put some on a plate for you.”

You rummaged around looking for the correct box, Joel pointing it out to you. You genuinely had no idea how you’re still alive and kicking in the kitchen right now – you were convinced your heart stopped beating the moment you saw him. You went to the cabinetry to get a plate, but he stopped you.

“We got paper plates and cups for today, figured you might not be equipped to serve this many people yet,” he said, taking some out of a bag he had just deposited on the counter, handing one to you.

You took it, placing some cheese sticks on it to give to Sarah. The little girl thanked you, climbing on a dining chair to eat it. Joel handed her a napkin, kneeling in front of her, asking her if she remembered what they talked about.

“No mess in Aya’s house,” she said, carefully eating the cheese stick with the plate below her mouth to avoid spills and crumbs.

“Oh, no, that’s okay, we can clean things up,” you quickly said.

She shook her head. “No, I behave. For Daddy.”

God, you hadn’t had that many children around you, but this kid is kinda awesome. And so cute. Too bad you might be the reason for her parents’ possible break up.

The rest of the gang came in, taking paper plates and helping themselves to pizza, standing around the kitchen, sitting down and leaning on cabinetry, eating and laughing as you all did. You and Joel joined along, but somehow, less enthusiastic compared to the rest. Sarah asked for a slice from you, of all people, and you lifted her up the counter so she could choose. After much deliberation from her, during which you had to explain and demonstrate that bell peppers were a type of chilli but not the spicy kind, she settled on plain cheese, politely asking you if you could cut the pizza into smaller pieces for her.

As you placed her back on her chair with her plate of cut up pizza, you suddenly realized how quiet the kitchen was. You turned around to see the entire gang staring at you, a small smile on their faces.

“What?”

Nothing, nothing, they all claimed, going back to idle chit chat.

Joel wanted to cry. Bad enough that you were now living next door with your hunk of a man, but now he had seen his daughter, usually taking a while to warm up to strangers, easily took to you, asking you for the cheese sticks and pizza rather than him, Tess or Tommy. Fuck. How was he supposed to get over you if you kept being perfect for him? This was literally torture.

“So, Tess,” Ethan started, breaking the silence. “How did you and Joel meet?”

Shit. Really, Ethan? You tried to give him the deadliest of your death glares, but he, along with the others were now looking at Tess, who quickly wiped her mouth with a napkin and swallowing, taking a few sips of her drink, no doubt preparing herself to regale you and the rest with the romance story that would shatter your heart.

“Oh, we go way back, really. I suppose it all began when our grandparents met.”

Huh?

She obviously clocked your confused look, “Our mothers were sisters. Joel and Tommy are my first cousins. My parents died when I was eight. Uncle Jake and Aunt Anita took me in. We grew up together.”

Ew… they’re kissing cousins?

“Daddy,” Sarah said, nudging Joel on the hips.

“What is it baby?”

“I make a mess,” she said, pointing to a piece of cheese she had dropped on the floor.

Joel bent down to get the cheese, wiping the floor with the napkin he was holding.

Wait, baby? She’s the baby? He called Sarah, baby?

Ah… Tess called him, and he was talking to her… to Sarah. His baby.

So, he and Tess were not…

“What about you two?” Tess asked Kyle, “How did you and Aria meet?”

You couldn’t help but see Joel’s shoulders stiffen as he stopped wiping the floor, standing up with a defeated look on his face, going over to the trash can to deposit the now soiled napkin. What the hell was that all about?

“Oh, we go way back as well. She’s my first and only girlfriend. High school sweethearts,” he said, taking a bite of pizza.

Why was everyone smiling? All eyes were, for some reason, on Joel, who was busying himself at the counter, taking more napkins, spending way too much time selecting one as he waited for Kyle to finish chewing and continuing the story as his heart began to dissolve into a puddle of hopelessness.

“Anyway, prom night came, and I realized that while I love her with all my heart, I cannot lie to myself. I’m gay.”

Joel’s head snapped as he turned to Kyle.

“Her Dad and Grandpa almost killed me. But when they heard my parents disowned me for being gay, her Grandpa, bless his soul, took me in, sent me to college, and we’ve been best friends ever since. Can’t imagine my life without this amazing woman,” Kyle said, coming over to give you a side hug and a kiss on the temple. “She introduced me to Ethan, and we’ve been married for three years now.”

More smiles around the kitchen as Kyle squeezed your shoulder, giving you another kiss.

“So, you two are not together?” Joel heard himself say before he could stop himself, suddenly not caring if there were others in the kitchen with the two of you.

“No,” you answered, puzzled that he would think that.

“So, why did you leave that morning? What did I do?”

You rubbed your face, feeling stupid right then, “I heard you talking on the phone. You called someone ‘baby’, telling her you loved her, you missed her, and I peeped, I know I shouldn’t, but I saw you talking to Tess.”

Realization dawned on his face. “You thought Tess was my girl? No, I was talking to Sarah. Tess called me for her. She was babysitting. She’s like a sister to me, we grew up together.”

You nodded, “I figured, just now.”

The two of you laughed at what was now clearly a misunderstanding.

“So, we both thought we helped the other cheat?” he asked, a huge smile on his face.

You laughed, feeling so silly, but oh so relieved.

It was only then you realized that the kitchen was empty. Even Sarah was gone.

“So,” Tess came back into the kitchen, the others milling about the living room looking at the remaining boxes, “Why don’t the two of you take the study and smaller guest bedroom upstairs? Tommy and Maria can take the guest bedroom, the guys and I and Sarah will take care of whatever’s downstairs. She didn’t leave much room for discussion, quickly going back to the living room, a sly smile on her face.

You and Joel stood awkwardly in the kitchen for a few seconds, hands in your pockets, before he gestured for you to go ahead. He followed you into the smallest room, meant to be your office, his tool kit in his hands.

“So,” he said, as he took a cutter and began to cut open the box your desk came in, “You’re not with Kyle, but are you seeing anyone?”

You shook your head, taking the plastic off the gamer chair you had purchased. You?

No, he said with a small laugh.

So, both of you were single.

So you asked him to tell you everything, just so there was no confusion. And shockingly, he did. He told you everything, shaking his head as he did, feeling stupider and stupider as he repeated his love life to you. “That morning we went hiking? I woke up to IG stories of her wedding. On what would’ve been our eight year anniversary. The new husband is 23.”

Ah… hence the tears and the sullen demeanour.

“I’m sorry, Joel. And she hadn’t had any contact with Sarah?”

He shook his head. “I think, after those years she left, that was the thing that got me the most. How could you not want your own child? I think I saw her hold Sarah maybe twice since she was born. Never fed her, not even at the hospital. All bottles. All me, my Mama, my mother in law, father in law, Tommy or Tess. She didn’t care. She just didn’t want her. We thought, or maybe hoped, as wrong as this might sound, that it would be a post-partum thing, at least that would mean this was all a phase, that she would snap out of it, but she never did.”

Wow. You were really at a loss for words here. You couldn’t even imagine. How lucky for that little girl that she had Joel as a father, her Nana, her aunt and uncle to give her the love she deserved.

“She’s an amazing little girl, Joel, you did a good job.”

He smiled, a soft thank you escaping his lips. “So, what about you? What’s your story?”

You took a deep breath, warned him to brace himself, and told your story. You told him everything. Your mother, your sister, Kyle, Eric, the boyfriends before him, and finally, Andrew. Another realization dawned on his face when you told him the reason you were in Bali, shaking his head, telling you how sorry he was you had to go through all that.

You shrugged. Your lot in life, it seemed.

The two of you worked in near silence after that, completing the desk, chair, bookshelves and armchair in your office before moving on to the smaller guest bedroom.

He learnt a bit more about you, what you did for a living, where you went to college, and you in turn learnt more about him, and how he came to own the business with Tommy. Once the daybed, closet and nightstand for the room were assembled, the two of you sat on the new bed, facing each other.

“Look, Aria, I’m gonna be straight here. I like you. I really do. But I have a feeling, that you are maybe not quite ready to date?”

You nodded hesitantly. “I like you too, Joel. But I’m worried that if I move too fast, things might fall apart faster. What if I’m just rebounding? And the way my life is, I’m worried you’re just gonna find it a bit much.”

He nodded too, “I understand, I feel exactly the same way. I’d be lying if I say I’m ready for another relationship, especially since my last one was mostly on standby for years. But I have to be smart here, I have Sarah to think about. It wouldn’t be fair to her,” he said.

More understanding nods were exchanged.

“But” he continued, “Maybe, we could get to know each other better? Take it real slow? For real?”

“Do over?”

“Do over.”

He held out his hand to you, “Hi, I’m Joel. Joel Miller. I’m a single dad, recently divorced, and I live next door.”

You took his hand, “Hi, Joel Miller. I’m Aria Stevens. Recently dumped at the altar, has two wonderful fathers, a questionable mother and sister I no longer talk to, and am best friends with my ex-boyfriend. I just moved in next door to you.”

“Nice to meet you,” both of you said, a huge smile on your faces.

A loud crash came from the other guest bedroom, Joel immediately rushing to the door, asking if everything was alright.

“Erm, yeah, bed frame fell,” Maria’s voice came, rather meekly. There was a lot of shuffling before the door was unlocked, a dishevelled Maria and Tommy emerging, looking guilty as fuck. The furniture remained unassembled, save for the mattress, which was unrolled and inflated, lying in the middle of the room, next to a fallen headrest.

“Oh God,” you cringed, upon realizing what just happened, “You’re buying me a new mattress,” you told Maria, who was trying hard to stop herself from smiling.

“Well, someone had to Christen it!” she defended, her face red.

“Sorry, Aria,” Tommy meekly offered as you turned around to head downstairs. “We’ll get going on assembling the stuff now.”

You shivered as you went down the stairs, Joel chuckling behind you, lifting Sarah up as she gave up collecting discarded boxes with Ethan and running to her dad. “You want another slice?” he asked her, and she quickly nodded. He got her a slice, cut it up into smaller pieces, just as Tess came in from the back yard, telling you the benches and table for the backyard were assembled. Joel asked if it would be okay for Sarah to eat there? Of course! You got a plate for the both of you as he grabbed some drinks and went outside to eat in the fresh air.

Tess, Ethan and Kyle joined the three of you, making use of the newly assembled outdoor furniture, chatting about your plans for the house, you telling him you hadn’t even bought the electronics yet. You didn’t even have a car, not that you needed one desperately. You’ll be working from home, but since you would be required to meet up with clients, you should probably get one some time.

Joel offered to drive you if needs be, and you told him you didn’t want to take his time away from his work. He brushed your concerns off, saying he could take time off if you needed him to, he’s the boss, after all. He had workers to delegate to, he said, causing Tess to choke on her drink. She looked like she was going to say something but changed her mind when she saw the look Joel gave her. You suspected he didn’t delegate much when it came to work when even Sarah giggled along with her aunt.

A faint ‘hello’ could be heard from the front. Tess craned her neck to see, telling Joel someone was in front of their house. Maybe a delivery? He shrugged, he didn’t order anything. Neither did she, Tess said, getting up to see.

“Something tells me you don’t skip work as much as you claim you could, Mr Miller,” you said to him, taking a piece of cinnamon bread from his plate, nudging him with your shoulder, laughing a little.

“Hey, a man can change,” he said, to an explosion of giggles from Sarah. “What? I can too, change!” he defended, to more giggles from her, as if he just said the funniest thing ever.

Kyle and Ethan watched this exchange, Ethan nudging Kyle to point out that you and Joel were eating off each other’s plates as if it was the most obvious thing to do. You were wiping Sarah’s mouth with a napkin when Tess reappeared, a lady following her.

“There you are,” she said, “Hi Sarah!” she cooed sweetly. Sarah nuzzled into your side, telling you she wanted to wash her hands.

You looked at Joel, seeking permission from him, noticing the bewildered look on his face at this lady’s sudden appearance. He nodded, helping you up. You lifted Sarah up and went into the kitchen. She ran off to the living room to look for her iPad once you’ve dried her hands. Tommy and Maria came down, Tommy joining all of you in the backyard while Maria sat with Sarah, looking at the game she was playing.

You sat back down next to Joel, as the lady, Lucy, apparently, talked about the pudding she had brought. She was in the area, she said, dropping off a dish to a friend down the street, she thought he might enjoy some too.

Tommy quickly got the disposable dish from her, Joel still sitting down, thanking her for the dish. Tess sat back down, thanking her again.

“Can I join you guys?” Lucy asked.

“Actually, we were just leaving,” Tommy said, “Thanks for the pudding, though.”

“Oh? Maybe we could go for a walk, Joel?”

“Uh, I’m kinda beat. Sorry. Plus it’s my free day. I need to spend it with Sarah,” Joel said, looking inside to see what Sarah was doing.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence before Lucy excused herself, telling Joel to enjoy the pudding, glancing at you briefly, giving you a small smile and disappearing.

Okay, that was weird.

“How did she know where we live?” Tommy asked.

“Maybe Jules told her?” Tess guessed, looking rather uncomfortable.

“Jules and I dated for two months. She didn’t know where I live. I never told her, never brought her here, remember?”

The three of them looked at each other uncomfortably.

“Sorry to ask, but who is she?” Ethan asked. The awkwardness was palpable.

“She’s this woman Tommy’s ex tried to fix up with Joel once,” Tess told him.

Ah… you thought, trying to brush away the small pang of jealousy that suddenly peeked its ugly head in your head.

As they were leaving that evening, you thanked your new neighbours for their help, Joel asking you if you’d like to go to the electronics store the next day with him. Wouldn’t hurt to look? You agreed on the spot, blushing a little as he kissed you on the cheek, thanking him again for his help.

As you laid in bed that night, a text message chimed in.

‘It was nice spending time with you again, Ms Grump. Good night. See you tomorrow. Mr Grump.’

You quickly saved his number, texting him a ‘good night Mr Grump’, going to sleep with your heart light, and dreams of him and his sweet, dimply smile.

**********

The next day you and Joel spent some time at a store to look at some basic electronics. It was as if the awkwardness of that reunion day had decreased way down. The two of you sort of fell into easy chit chats as if you’d known each other forever. He was rather excited to show you around, telling you this was a far cry from shopping for soaps and coffee in Bali.

Turns out, going with him had its perks. He very quickly pointed out something about required plumbing for a washer dryer you were thinking of purchasing, telling you the plumbing at your house would suit another one, instead. He would know, he installed them. As you were placing your order for the basics, Joel looked around for a good coffee machine to purchase as a house warming present for you, although you did try to talk him out of it. He was staring at a particularly complicated looking one when someone tapped him on his shoulder.

“Hi! Three times in three days! How lucky for me!” Lucy chirped.

Joel looked around, “You here alone?”

“Yeah, I needed a blender,” she said. “Wanna help me choose one?”

“Actually, I’m looking for something myself,” he said, rather uncomfortable now.

“Oh, cool, I can help you look, what are we looking for?”

“All done! Delivery in two days, which means, I will only have clean clothes, cold food and big screen entertainment in… oh, hi!” you said, smiling at Lucy, stopping your cart filled with appliances you could carry home next to Joel.

“Hello,” she said, returning your smile. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Lucy,” she offered you a hand.

“Aria.”

There was a few seconds of awkward silence as Lucy looked at Joel, asking him again about her offer to shop together.

“I’m here with someone,” Joel said, turning to you and pointing to a classic looking coffee machine, as well as a more modern looking one next to it. “What do you think?”

“Joel, I told you, you didn’t need to do this. I can get one myself.”

“And I said I wanted to give you a house warming present. Plus, this way, I can make sure I have the rights to use it every now and again when mine breaks, since I bought it for you,” he teased, smiling, “Need to have that Balinese coffee again, you know?”

You laughed, reluctantly pointing at the classic looking one. He immediately picked up the box it came in from under the display, adding it to your cart.

“Well, I’ll see you around?” he said to Lucy, who quickly smiled and said a polite goodbye to the two of you. Joel placed his hand on the small of your back, pushing the cart with his other hand, saying goodbye to Lucy.

The two of you had a quick lunch at the store, laughing at stupid purchases you both had made in the past only to find them to be a complete waste of money. By the time he left your house, having come in to help you assemble the coffee machine, it was as if that awkward reunion had never happened.

Once the electronics were delivered, you spent the rest of the week just getting your house ready for your dads’ visit, going out to buy sheets and towels for them. Ethan came with you sometimes, when his bad leg allowed, but otherwise, you were alone, Ubering your way around the city. You were excited. You first home – you had only lived in shared apartments or dorms before – so this visit needed to be perfect. And next week, you would officially be a designer for Ethan’s company, which he somehow managed to run without an actual office. The wonders of technology.  

As you drew your curtains closed that evening, a glimpse of a man caught your eyes. He looked familiar. Not familiar like he was someone you knew, but rather someone you’d seen throughout the week. Like someone you kept running into.

Oh well, new place. As big as the city was, it wasn’t that big. You’re bound to see the same faces every now and again, right?

---

Part 8

[black-and-yellow]

Stupid doodles I did because I couldn't get them out of my head

[butchvamp]

also it is really funny even with the chantry basically removed from the game it still gets handled with more care and respect than any of the other religions, the fact that you get so many options to comfort the andrastians when it's revealed their maker may not be real, and you can even pray at the temple later with the viper after minrathous is attacked... every character is just assumed andrastian, and if they're not it's always used against them in some way (dalish elves are repeatedly punished in these games simply for being dalish and are depicted as being foolish for wanting to connect with their gods and culture instead of assimilating and "moving on from the past") it's always amused me in that way even when trying to be critical of the chantry, the writers still manage to always grant it and the andrastians so much grace because of their real world bias (white + culturally christian) and the obvious real world inspiration for andrastianism. even with it's absence in veilguard it's still There in more subtle and even insidious ways given that all blame is placed on the evanuris instead.

[shoyoist]

realized i can talk about this here LMAO so i just finished the poppy war trilogy (r. f. kuang) a few days ago and i feel like i have a lot of unpopular opinions on that series... finished it and felt so incredibly angry that i did a google search to see if anyone agreed with me and,, i didn't see anyone agreeing with me ?? elaborating in the tagss

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

hate when i see a youtube video that's like 'analyzing why [thing] is bad!' and you watch the video and they just say nothing for twenty minutes

[birdricks]

just remembered the pheonixperson fight [walking into the ocean]

[dent-de-leon]

every day I am in Agony over the fact that widomauk is the first kiss of the campaign, Caleb kissed Molly back in the very end, the literal last scene between King and Caleb is them flirting and King is still so utterly enamored with his Magician, and I just wish...there was any mention of those feelings in the wrap up or a q and a or anything. Absolutely begging Taliesin to tell us what Molly/King feels for Caleb--why he chose to make King's last moments on screen him being explicitly attracted to Caleb, and whether we will ever get to see him revisit those feelings one day...

[rollercoasterwords]

I have, a genuine question for you. Do you acknowledge the racism in the original AYTD or at least know about it? Like how MsKingBean uses slurs and racist stereotypes?

hey, so, i'm a bit apprehensive about answering this because...it doesn't feel like a very geniune question to me, if i'm being honest. "do you acknowledge x thing" is a question that is inherently set up so that i'm meant to answer "yes, i acknowledge that x thing is true," because the alternative is saying "no, i don't acknowledge that x thing is true," which is already framing this interaction as if to disagree with you would be a kind of failure on my part to do some due diligence of engaging critically with a text. and the fact that you say mskingbean89 used slurs in atyd shows me that you haven't even engaged with the text, because that simply...isn't true.

if what you're referring to when you say "slurs" is the anti-romani stereotypes--this is coming from an extra chapter in the bootleg tapes focusing on greyback, where there is a slur used to describe his living situation + he + his family were portrayed as nomadic irish people in a way that was insensitive. people who read that chapter and then went back to the canon story with that characterization in mind rightfully pointed out that it was fucked-up. mskingbean89 addressed those criticisms by adding this note to the beginning of that bootleg chapter:

personally, i think this was a good way to take accountability + acknowledge the mistakes she made with that portrayal. she was a human being who made an ignorant mistake, which then just happened to get absolutely blasted to millions of people--she did not have sensitivity readers or editors looking over her fanfiction, because she did not write it expecting it to reach the level of popularity that it has. to be honest, i am not really sure how she could have better acknowledged her mistake, aside from just....not having made it in the first place. she explains her intentions without acting as though that intent cancels out harm, owns up to the fact that the stereotyping was harmful regardless of intention, and provides resources to learn while also committing to be more mindful + educate herself moving forward. honestly, that's exactly the response i would hope to see from someone who makes a mistake like this one.

i agree with you that people reading atyd should acknowledge + understand the racism regarding romani stereotypes stemming from that bootleg chapter, which is why i think it's great that there is a note literally built into the beginning of that chapter acknowledging it! but i feel as though there's been this like...game of telephone happening online when it comes to atyd, where there are now people who have never even read the story talking about things that quite literally do not appear in the base text itself. i've also seen people acting as though mkb herself did not address these issues when they were raised to her, which is just...patently false.

and so what i'm wondering here is what you're looking for from me when you ask a question like "do you acknowledge the racism in atyd." anyone who actually reads the texts has to acknowledge the racism in that bootleg chapter, because mkb puts that acknowledgment front and center at the beginning. and also like...in the part of the fandom i'm in, in the conversations i've listened to or taken part of regarding atyd, people have acknowledged the issues with that bootleg chapter and the ways it reflects back on the main story. so what do you mean by "acknowledge" when so many people, including mkb herself, have already... acknowledged it? what action are you calling for, and who are you calling for it from?

because like. if what u actually want to say here is that atyd is Irredeemably Problematic and we should all like....shun it? universally agree that it's Bad? then it's just like. it is up to each individual reading the story to decide whether that specific portrayal of greyback in the bootleg chapters is something that ruins the story completely for them or whether they still think the story as a whole holds worth. personally, i feel like i can acknowledge that there are issues with mkb's portrayal of greyback and i need to be mindful of that when reading the story so as not to internalize harmful stereotypes while still finding atyd to be a masterpiece that really beautifully deals with a lot of nuanced issues regarding class and disability and systems of power. this is just part of thinking critically when you read; many famous and beloved works of fiction contain the biases of their authors or have mistakes or issues in the way they portray things that are a product of ignorance. and i know everyone reading marauders fanfiction should understand this, because if u genuinely think that a character being negatively stereotyped means u should throw the entire work in the trash, then none of u would be touching harry potter fanfiction with a five foot pole in the first place.

so, anon - if you have actually read atyd, and there are issues with racism that you have found that i am unaware of, and not just telephone-game twitter posts of people taking shit out of context that you're accepting as truth without bothering to engage with the work yourself--if you want to have a real conversation about it, i would invite you to come to me as an actual person and not an anonymous ghost in my inbox. my dms are open, but when it comes to talking about serious issues, i tend to find it more genuine if the person coming to me actually cares enough and believes in what they're saying enough to say it as themself. and if you haven't read atyd and are just parroting things you've heard other people say online then i would invite you to actually sit down and read the work and form your own opinions on it before getting back to me. i know that might sound harsh, but honestly i'm just completely fed-up at this point with all the bad-faith takes and misinformation that i've seen people spreading about atyd just because they think it's cool to dislike a popular thing.

[aristoteliancomplacency]

German leftists are so incapable of separating Judaism and Israel that their heads practically explode when Israel does something bad, and then they end up stickering over a sticker than just says ‘free Palestine’ with a fucked up sticker saying ‘antifa means supporting Israel’ and think they’re somehow still leftist.

Like imagine your supposed principles being so malleable and your critical thinking so lacking that when a notably really right wing government commits genocide you have to pretend that’s compatible with antifascism because you can’t conceive of Israel as separate to Judaism.

[infizero]

every time i so much as think about that scene where light looks at porn magazines while scowling i go into hysterics its genuinely the funniest thing i've ever seen

[lightdancer1]

See the further irony is:

That in using 'Mall Goth Sauron' as the take on Dark Willow over 'misogynist has character randomly killed for LULZ' it also allows for greater accountability on the one hand and for Season 7 to thematically focus on repairing all this damage in the midst of facing an enemy of shadows reliant on lies to further itself. The only way to break the Druj is the absolute Truth in a very Zoroastrian sense. Characters don't get to neatly skip past accountability for their actions, and this would spiral over into further later seasons with the essential reality that in an otherwise lower-level setting this one random girl from California is a Dark Phoenix-tier reality warper and the most powerful person on the planet, or the universe.

And the questions of how that power could and should be employed on the one hand and that Willow is essentially a Doctor Strange type who beats up Gods and Eldritch Abominations for her regular line of work where her counterparts deal with the more 'street level' crises would in turn be the logical conclusion of where the show ends. She doesn't do as much physical fighting for the same reason that Stephen Strange never uses magic to go punch the Hulk in the face, her narrative role is ultimately that of Sorceress Supreme of Earth, with literally nobody in an ancient established war anticipating that this one random ginger from California was and is the new Sorceress Supreme and that if they had had such awareness the realities are that this power would and could have taken worse forms.

Unfortunately for the world, the reality too is that it is a shy computer geek who has a not at all subtle dark side and the usual teenage anxieties and insecurities given the equivalent of being able to reliably actually do things other people might dream of but can never do.

But again as long as Dawn Summers being a good thing is a narrative convention that's established memory magic is a poor choice to show the corrupting effects of reality-warping. It's a case of 'yes as established in canon all of this is true for that one season but then they decided to retcon it, so the fans are not obligated to care about it any more than the canon does about this itself.'

[pantoranqira]

"Anakin/Obi Wan/Yoda/Padmé/Shmi is the most tragic character in Star Wars" you are WRONG actually. L3-37 HOWEVER.....

[mangled-by-disuse]

not everything bad is white supremacy

not everything bad is capitalism

not everything bad is conservatism

not everything good is leftist for that matter

maybe this is a hot take but posts that blame, idk, the urge to punish on white supremacy, or power imbalance as a whole on capitalism, or personal greed on conservatism, are just a really great way to not be taken seriously. and shouldn't be taken seriously, because they strongly suggest that you put no thought into the cause of social ills beyond your own context.

[trans-leek-cookie]

DNI IF YOU THINK GEGE IS A GOOD WRITER WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT.

[greatlightthroughapinhole]

i love to see people stop demonizing any kind of food and acknowledging that there is actually quite a bit of nutritional value in ice cream and fries and stuff, but there is also a way to do that without acting like none of us have high cholesterol