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bartletforamerica · 4 years ago

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How the Bartlet Administration Reacts to COVID-19

Abbey: is not taking any chances. After losing the fight to get the President to retreat to the farm or Camp David, she gets him to agree to limit himself to the oval office and the residence, with as few in person meetings as possible. Even before they’ve pulled together a White House task force, she’s made sure that everything is being disinfected and that her entire schedule is either canceled or made virtual. Her staff is the first to be working from home (and oh boy does she scold if she finds out any of them did something she thinks is foolish), with most of the rest of the White House staff following shortly after. She makes it her mission to do PSAs on what people should be doing and even does a virtual Sesame Street collaboration to teach kids how to wash their hands.

Zoey: Is not super pleased to be stuck in the Residence 24/7. She’s doing classes from her bedroom, so yay to not having to get out of bed early, but she can tell people are super disappointed that her camera is set up so that she has only a blank wall behind her [it turns out the secret service is very touchy about where you take video calls]. She also gets officially hired and given a security clearance for the sole fact that she’s one of the only people allowed to be near her dad who is tech-literate. She ends up doing some of her reading on the couch in his office so that she's on hand for when he's supposed to be skyping with the senior staff and can't figure out what link to click. She spends a lot of time worrying about Ellie, who helping do research about the virus, and texting her friends.

The President: is not happy to be closed up away from people. He also thinks that Abbey is overreacting where he's concerned. He misses actually getting to be around the younger staff. He and Zoey do a cooking from home video at C.J.'s suggestion, so that the country can see he's alive and to encourage people to not go out. They make chili and fight over whether it needs more cumin or oregano while Abbey records it and pipes in from behind the camera. The country is treated to a history of chili and a diplomatic incident nearly happens because apparently Mexicans deny having any association with it, even though most food historians say it has Mexican roots. The flaming debate doesn't stop a second episode at Thanksgiving where the country is treated to the history of the yam and all the secret spices that go into the President's stuffing. A large portion of the country gives him flack for putting Oysters in his stuffing. [In a small bedroom in an Illinois apartment a woman finally figures out why Joe Bethersonsen sounded so familiar.]

Leo: moved into the Residence because there was no way he was going to talk the President off ledges via skype for however long this lasted. He can only do so much. Zoey helps him learn to use Skype and he finds himself missing Margaret desperately even when he spends most of the day with a computer dedicated to having her on Skype so he can turn to it and ask her questions. She insists he get exercise and eat healthy (something he thinks she’s collaborating with the first lady on behind his back—they say very similar things much of the time). He skypes with Mallory on Sunday mornings over breakfast in his room and they pretend they’re at a hotel having a fancy brunch.

Charlie: is not particularly happy. He got sent home with everyone else because he’s not particularly necessary to have on hand if the president isn’t going anywhere. He’s still getting paid and he does do some work (the most important bit being hanging out on the phone with the president so he can ramble about history so Zoey can get her own reading done, Leo can browbeat the staff, and the first lady can do her own job) but he’s been ordered by the president and first lady to focus on getting extra school done while he can.

Donna: started freaking out the first day there was a rumor of a new disease in China. Then the White House shut down and even senior staff got sent home unless they absolutely needed to be in the building (basically just C.J. and some of her staff). And her roommate (not the one she'd really liked, who had a cat, but one she hopes is only temporary) works for a GOP congressman who thinks the whole thing is a hoax and bans masks in his office, so Donna is not at all happy and spends time she should be working cleaning things her roommate touches and that's sixty percent of how she ends up living with Josh.

Josh: is struggling with not being allowed to leave the house on pain of the first lady taking him to task (something about his lungs and the bullet). Even when he was putting his nose to the grindstone to make it through college and law school, he liked being around people while he studied, so he was usually in the library or a cafe rather than his room. He works best when he can bounce ideas off people and take in new ideas. When he was grounded after surgery it absolutely sucked and that was why he drove everyone crazy calling them all the time. Yeah he was bored, but he was also lonely. Plus he's not the best with technology. He very nearly went on national tv with his boxers showing, if not for Donna skyping him beforehand and making sure he fixed the camera. Between needing not to be alone and needing his assistant to be able to actually help him, the invite for Donna to stay with him slips out when she's complaining about her roommate. She shows up two hours later with two suitcases of clothes and two suitcases with pasta, toilet paper, and flour.

Donna and Josh: are handling the pandemic much better now that they're together. Josh can bounce ideas off Donna without it tying up his phone line. And she can listen in on his calls to the various members of congress about the stimulus package that they're working on. It's an even better look at Josh's job than she had before, and while it makes some of her work harder to focus on, she feels like she understands some things better than she ever has before. Josh even starts listening to her about how to sway certain congressmembers to their side. When they're not working, Donna forces Josh to cook with her so they're not entirely subsisting on delivery. They tried making bread and managed to spill half a bag of flour on the floor in the process but they ate all of it, even though it tasted pretty bland. Josh finally got Donna into baseball when it came back. Toby spit out his beer when he was on speakerphone with them and he heard Donna accurately yelling at the Mets for screwing up. Donna wears Josh's clothes more than her own, since she doesn't have to be on camera most of the time. They're platonically sharing a bed because they haven't found a convertible sofa for his living room that they like, they say, and it doesn't make sense for one of them to sleep on the couch, which they say has a spring that makes it uncomfortable to sleep on, even though Donna lounges on it all day with no problem. They are absolutely not dating and so they tell all their friends.

C.J.: spends five minutes laughing every time she gets off the phone with Josh or Donna. She loves her friends but god they're so completely in denial. It does, however, give her a much needed break. Her job has always involved a lot of people and knowing what venue to meet them in to ensure that she gets or passes on the information she needs. COVID protocols mean no more one-on-one meetings with journalists in her office, no more gaggles following her through the halls. The press corps were not happy when they moved all briefings outside and insisted on face masks and shields in addition to everyone sitting six feet apart. She gets asked about the president's health at least once a day and they start doing weekly waving from the balconies just so the press corps can get footage of him, healthy and shouting down to Danny and some of the others. Someone makes a cartoon of the president in the tower, with Abbey as his dragon keeper and though no one is willing to justify a cartoon with a comment, privately C.J. thinks it's accurate. She's always admired Abbey's fierce protectiveness of her family, even when she doesn't agree with every way it expresses itself or when it interferes with C.J.'s job. She has to come up with new ways to push the White House agenda (keep the economy afloat, stay home, no, don't listen to the GOP governors or those running for the primary, those ideas are not good, go the fuck home and stop having parties) and while some work, others bomb. It would help if everyone would stay on message and not screw up.

Sam: would like to make it clear that he did not know how many people would be at that gathering. He thought he was going for an outdoor meal with just a few old friends who could help raise money for the democratic party, not a fifty-person birthday party. The media fallout nearly gets him fired. Instead he gets yelled at by C.J., then by the First Lady. Mallory even sends him a card about how stupid he was. He's pretty sure that having Donna around is the only reason that Josh hasn't made the same mistake by now. It had to have been a toss up as to which of the two of them would screw up. Sam just isn't lucky enough to have a Donna (Sam is very happy that Josh has a Donna, Sam just wants Josh to realize that he talks about Donna the same way most men talk about their wives, because it's really hard not to respond to "why do I put up with finding her hair clogging the shower drain" with "because you love her and can't live without her, stupid"). He instead has adopted a cat for company. It tries to scratch him every time he tries to pet it. Sam spends his days trying to find a way to say "fuck the economy until we've beaten the virus" in a way that is palatable to the American people while trying to remind Toby that they can't actually say that outright. This is not an easy task.

Toby: would like to tell most of the American public to shut up, stay indoors for two months, pretty much nobody excepted, and if you don't, then you get tossed out to sea. He's come within an inch of telling anti-mask people they deserve to get sick on the record and is strongly advocating that the federal government figure out a way to mandate that every person in the country, minus those with legitimate medical exceptions, get the vaccine as soon as possible. He is also about to get evicted because it turns out his neighbors do not appreciate having rubber balls bounced against the walls for hours on end. Apparently, the thud is rather annoying. He worries about everyone, though this is delivered brusquely. Out of everyone he's taking the new work from home situation the best. No one can pop in to distract him, or comment on his eating habits. And if he doesn't want to talk to someone, he can always turn his phone to silent and pretend not to have seen they called. He's not pleased the Yankees lost to the Rays (necessitating rooting for either the Dodgers or the Rays, one of which beat his team and the other which betrayed New York), but he can at least take solace in the fact that the Mets didn't even make the playoffs.

#the west wing #pandemic #covid #jed bartlet #president bartlet #abbey bartlet #zoey bartlet #josh lyman #donna moss #josh x donna #sam seaborn #cj cregg #toby ziegler #leo mcgarry #basically there are still dumb people even with a good administration #but they try #and abbey will make sure they stay safe or else #i think this theoretically slots in somewhere in season... three?

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you-cant-spell-subtext-without · 4 years ago

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Continuing my dissertation on why Supernatural is about Destiel even when Cas is not in the episode, and here is my analysis of 11x18 - The Chitters.

I initially had this episode on a “never watching again” because the monster grossed me out so much, but then I realized that the writers were giving us a literal Dean/Cas as husbands mirror story by doing this

and hiding it in an episode with the most grotesque MOTW imaginable (seriously, name a worse monster than underground creatures who impregnate humans with their eggs via orgy and leave them in a damn cave; oh and cause them to shake, chitter, and have glowy green eyes. BRB, puking).

A little trickster moment in the beginning starting this episode with two brothers, and the eldest - Matt - dying in a *shocker* supernatural way, and the youngest - Jesse - then going on to dedicate his life to avenging his brother’s death. A lot of reviewers consider this intro to mean we are supposed to be looking for Sam/Dean parallels in the following narrative bEcAusE tHAt is WhAT thE boYS wOuLD dO, but I POSIT TO YOU IT IS NOT ONLY A 10000000 percent DESTIEL STORY, BUT ALSO THAT this is established in the very first scene - the conversation between Jesse and Matt in the flashback:

JESSE

It finally happened.

MATT

What? You didn’t get detention this week?

JESSE

Me and Jackie, we kissed.

MATT:

Okay, can I stop hearing about him every two minutes now? “You think he likes me?”, “Jackie looked at me. I-I think he looked at me.”

JESSE

He definitely likes me.

***I mean Matt’s comment - does this not immediately remind you of Sam “I am in constant Destiel super hell” Winchester?

For reference, here is Sam’s “I am in super hell please stop now” face:

**Also he LOOKED AT HIM?! What is 80% of Destiel if not subtextual pining and LOOKING. I don’t make the rules. Jesse is Dean. And Matt is dead. Matt’s death ENDS the “brother portion” of this story insofar as the parallel is concerned. (**please note I am not advocating for Sam to die. the parallel is just NOT about the brother storyline in this episode - there are plenty of other “mirrors” for the brother storyline, but this is NOT one of them).

We cut to the real Dean continuing in FULL RESEARCH MODE ACTIVATED because Amara has Cas at this point and he is panicking.

Was the red and black flannel an intentional wardrobe choice to mirror Jesse’s jacket? We will never know. (Yes. Everything is intentional. This is Supernatural. We hate it here. Also Cesar is in a KHAKI vest because KHAKI means THINGS in Supernatural for REASONS).

Also I love FULL RESEARCH MODE ACTIVATED desperately trying to get Cas back Dean. It’s real “I just started studying for my final the night before at 10 p.m.” energy. He’s refusing to stop to even look at Sam here:

Anyway, a few gross scenes of green eyed people, orgies, and a hilarious conversation about weed (or was it oregano?-

Jensen Ackles you slay me) later -

Jesse and Cesar save Dean’s bacon and the four of them end up in a bar chatting over beers. Here is where it is INCREDIBLY apparent that Jesse is a mirror for Dean (also I’d watch a bottle episode of these four hanging out doing regular every day stuff a la How I Met Your Mother or Friends).

JESSE

One of them took my brother 27 years ago.

[Sam and Dean look surprised. Sam turns to Dean, and Dean is speechless.

DEAN

[looks to Jesse] I’m sorry to hear that.

JESSE

I’ve been waiting years to come back and have this shot at them. So, I hope you understand, I’m gonna ask you two to take a step back from this one.

DEAN

[nods] Well, catch us up. Where have you guys been?

JESSE

In the woods, where the action is, looking for their burrow and saving your ass.

[Sam is slightly taken aback, but he gives a look of approval. Cesar scoffs.]

JESSE

What?

CESAR

Well, one of the reasons we’ve been holed up in the trees is because Jesse hates the town and everyone in it.

JESSE

Because they’re ignorant and useless. [turns to Cesar] They didn’t believe me 27 years ago, they’re not gonna start now.

CESAR

[sternly] It’s boneheaded not to be following leads in town.

JESSE

Hey, nobody stopping you from talking to the whole box of crackers.

[Cesar sighs and looks away.]

***You could replace “Jesse” with “Dean” and the lines wouldn’t need to change an iota to stay in the character. Cesar’s scoffing, the stern response, calling Jesse boneheaded, sighing, looking away exasperatedly - 100% Cas energy. I really don’t make the rules. Cesar isn’t anything like Sam, and he isn’t meant to be. This is not a brother story. THIS IS A STORY ABOUT TRUE LOVE DAMMIT.

Dean makes that red herring comment about them bickering just like brothers , then:

Which by the way is EXACTLY how Dean and Cas bicker. Hence why Sam is always in super hell.

I can’t find a better quality image of this montage, but I really wanted to bring attention to the EXPRESSION on Dean’s face:

***Sure, Dean. You’re curious about what it’s like to live with a hunter. Okay.

Also, whoever made this, you get it.

They start arguing on the next step - questioning a former sheriff, or going back to the woods to search for the creepy crawlies’ hidey hole.

JESSE

[sternly] We need to find the burrow.

CESAR

[patiently] Jess, we’ve been beating around the woods for two days.

JESSE

[stubbornly] That’s where they are. You saw the tracks.

CESAR

I can keep searching on my own. We’re losing.

****sternly-patiently-stubbornly <- it’s like a never-ending Destiel refrain. Cesar’s willingness to continue on what is purely Jesse’s quest for revenge so Jesse can move on is also so very Cas-adjacent. I LOVE A SUBTEXTUAL PARALLEL.

Anyway, then they split into twos, pairing Sam with Jesse and Cesar with Dean for the next few scenes. Lots of reviewers tracked this as a brother-brother (i.e. Sam is paired with the version of himself and Dean is paired with the version of himself) parallel, but THIS scene with Sam, Jesse, and the old sheriff SCREAMS otherwise:

JESSE

[angrily pushed Cochran down the chair] You son of a bitch.

[Sam moves forward to get Jesse back.]

JESSE

You knew the whole time! You knew where they were when everybody was suffering.

COCHRAN

[pushes Jesse off him] I was suffering too!

SAM

[pulls Jesse away from Cochran and tries to calm him down] Jesse. Hey, hey. Hold on. Hold on.

***EXCUSE ME, did he just say DEAN’S CATCHPHRASE. And how many times has Sam done this exact thing to Dean when he is in a rage?!? I DO NOT MAKE THE RULES.

ALSO something about THE JUXTAPOSITION of Cesar and Jesse in the following scene. This is very Dean with Cas quietly waiting for him to me.

A lot of creepy monster montage scenes and dead bodies later, the day is saved. Cue adorable husband exchange, and the news that Jesse and Cesar are going to retire.

SAM

So, uh, what’s freedom look like?

JESSE

Nice little spread in New Mexico. We’ve been paying on it for years. Set foot on it about … twice?

CESAR

Gonna raise horses. And if that goes bust, Jesse used to be an EMT.

JESSE

Oh, so now I’m supporting your ass?

[Cesar chuckles and looks at Jesse lovingly, before both men turns to the Winchesters. Sam follows the laugh.]

CESAR

It’s time to start living.

Also this SHOULDER touch. And it’s the left shoulder. (there is a great Casifer post out there about how Dean was thrown off specifically because Casifer touched his RIGHT shoulder, and Cas always touches his LEFT).

All I really need now is a FACE CUP, tbh.

You want more parallels? Recall that CESAR (aka Cas-adjacent) is the one who saves Dean’s bacon in the beginning.

Then he helps him get up off the ground. You know, as in he RAISES him from -

(JENSEN YOUR ACTING CHOICES WITH THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE ILYSM)

Dean, realizing that he is watching an AU version of himself and his boyfriend/future husband:

Yes, hi, we are the same character.

Anyway, I will always and forever love this episode for showing us the ending Dean and Cas deserved (WHAT WAS THE REASONNNN) - settling down on a small ranch together in New Mexico. At least these two got their happily ever after.

ALSO, MANIFESTING

Maybe then Sam can finally leave super hell.

BONUS:

Sam: Couldn’t do it, huh?

Dean: [shakes head] No, didn’t feel right.

Sam: Yeah. I know what you mean. Two hunters who make it to the finish line?

Dean: Yeah, you leave that alone.

Saving this to my box of INCONSISTENCY TRASH DUMP FOR 15x20.

P.S. I am starting to develop a theory that the episodes we all like LEAST, and therefore tend to skip [or that have off putting plotlines/ don’t go with the general myth arc/creepy monsters/bizarre or even boring scenarios] are the ones with potentially the most subtext, and therefore the best underlying story line (so likely no Cas in the episode, random stuff like Red Meat, the creepy chitters monster that makes you want to cringe).

So at the end of the day, the subtext was always the real story anyway.

(OMG I JUST REMEMBERED THAT THE GIRL WEREWOLF IN BLOODLINES WEARS A FUCKING KHAKI TRENCH COAT THE ENTIRE TIME. AM I GOING TO HAVE TO REWATCH THE ALWAYS SKIPPABLE BLOODLINES NOW? And that definitely means I am DOOMED to rewatch the worst episode that ever was when I get to season 15. Dammit. What have I done?!?!??!?!)

#destiel #spn analysis #spn fandom #destiel parallels #spn mirrors #destiel mirrors #deancas #supernatural #spn recap #spn seson 11 #spn 11x19

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shiddyformers · 4 years ago

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Weed headcanons for the main characters in Duckt*les

Just assume that the kids listed tried weed as adults unless stated otherwise.

Webby

Doesn’t habitually use weed, but has crazy encyclopedic knowledge of everything under the green rainbow, will know exactly what you need for the high of a lifetime. Louie absolutely worked with her knowledge to build his “budding” business.

Lena

Tried weed in high school. While she seems like she’d be laid back, most strains make Lena paranoid as hell, but she can hide it, for the most part.

Scrooge McDuck

This duck has done it all. At over 150 years old, he’s lived during a time when heroin was given to children to sleep, and coca-cola still had cocaine in it. He has absolutely done the devil’s herb and much more. While he’s clean today and admonishes drug users like the hypocritical rich old man he is, he suddenly had no problem with them when he realized that marijuana was a multi-billion dollar industry that a certain capitalist pig duck could get in to. Probably has some ancient enchanted/haunted hookah from India that he stole from its culture discovered.

Huey

The Junior woodchuck guidebook says don’t do drugs, and Huey has religiously followed that, but he does have a love for its cousin, hemp, due to its wonderful rope making qualities that he can use for tying knots. He also has a lot of respect for CBD to due to its non-psychoactive medicinal qualities. Despite this moralistic aversion to pot, he accidentally ate one of Louie’s pot brownies, and was the calmest he’s ever been in his whole life. If he takes Indica, he acts more laid-back like Louie. If he takes Sativa, he acts more like Dewey on a normal day.

Louie

Has tried weed in high school. Was the local pot dealer that your parents warned you about, except he gave oregano because the dumbass kids can’t tell a kitchen spice from an actual product. Made tons of money doing this, and eventually opened a dispensary when he became an adult. He uses weed a few times a week to feel even more chill while he watches asmr and power washing videos to wind down.

Violet

While she has tried weed, she doesn’t much care for it. When Violet looks for a high, she means business, and weed won’t cut it. She’s the type to try and contact spirits and aliens through the nth dimension using a straight up DMT or magic mushroom ritual. Only Webby is crazy and knowledgeable enough to have tried this with her.

Dewey

Thought he tried weed in high school, but it was Louie’s oregano. Tried real weed once when he was an adult... once.

Don’t give weed to Dewey. Just. DON’T.

Launchpad

Accidentally ate one of Louie’s pot brownies and got so freaked out and paranoid that he went to the hospital. It didn’t help that he drove himself to it, while still high, in his plane. Louie has had his pot brownies under lock and key ever since then.

Della

Della doesn’t need drugs. She’s high on life. Literally. She gets her fix from adrenaline, and while she has tried weed for adventurous purposes, it was a really boring experience to her. When she found out about her sons having done weed, at first she tried to be really against it because “Drugs are badTM” and was trying to act more like how society would expect a mother to react to finding out her kids have done weed, even though they were adults by the time she found out. Afterwards though, she felt bad about her reaction to that, and then went to the awkward opposite extreme of suggesting they try weed as a family, which all her kids said no to.

Donald

Donald’s to much of a goody two-shoes to have done weed when he was younger, and when he became a single dad to Della’s kids, it was absolutely out of the question. Was probably the most upset out of everyone to discover that Huey, Louie, and Dewey have tried drugs, but as is typical of dealing with his family, he was forced to swallow his anxiety and accept a reality that he was uncomfortable with yet again. It’s a shame, because the right strain could do wonders for his anxiety, stress, and anger issues.

Mrs. Beakley

Having been a government spy during the 60s-70s, Mrs. Beakley is absolutely aware that the negative views on marijuana was a result of the War on Drugs enacted by Richard Nixon as a political propaganda tool to enable government policy to lock up protestors and minorities. For this reason, she’s neutral to supportive when it comes to weed use, even with Webby, though she is against it’s use by children, being aware of scientific studies that show that THC can have a negative impact on brain development in people that are still growing. She has used it casually during missions so as to not arouse suspicion from villains that she was observing undercover.

Fenton and Gandra

Fenton has 3 e-girlfriends and they all smoke weed (Gandra has 3 rp accounts that she uses with Fenton for... stuff). Before Fenton met Gandra, he was to nervous and awkward to do weed, especially because his mom’s a cop. Even after having been introduced to it by his girlfriend, he still hasn’t gotten used to it all, and will cough up a storm if smoking it. Gandra has started to subtly bring edibles and tinctures to their sessions instead for this reason.

#weed #drugs #drugs tw #profanity #discrimination mention #Im not tagging duckt*les #because even though tumblr is 13+#its still a show for kids that doesnt have drugs #unlike transformers where dark energon is drugs and ratchet did steroids #altered art #long post #original post

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every1studio · 4 years ago

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“heartstrings series: intro” [wayv]

genre: fluff + LONG

ficstyle: bulletpoints + series [INTRO]

summary: everyone knew you were in love with an oblivious boy but you didn’t know that others were in love with you

songs to listen to while reading this: you call it romance - k.will ft davichi + day 1 - k.will

note: (I’M SORRY I’M JUST WRITING MY OWN STUFF RIGHT NOW, BUT I’LL TRY TO GET TO MY REQUESTS ASAP)

you were a hopeless romantic

maybe you watched too many shoujo animes and read too many romance mangas

but it made you a sentimental person; one who stay up at night to look at the stars

a forgiving person; one who believe in second chances

an observant person; one who’s always in the background

if you were a character in a romcom drama, you would be the best friend of one of the most popular girls in the school

the one that’s just there to fill in space and have a couple lines to add onto the plot

the one that all the guys overlook because the one that they are looking at is the pretty girl that’s sitting next to you

and if guys did talk to you, they treated you like you were just one of the boys

you were used to it

but you always had a feeling that there will be someone for you

so you didn’t mind waiting

also because how can any regular guy compete with your 2D boyfriends

that was until you met Lucas

he was the new transfer student; and boy, oh boy, he was STUNNING

all the girls swooned for him in an instance

even you fell victim to the boy’s visuals

you heard he had a brother that was pretty good looking too but you were too busy admiring Lucas to see what he looked like

you could say he was your first, real crush

you were playing so many scenarios in your head that you didn’t see the tall boy exiting the bathroom

you were about fall on your butt but you felt his arms wrap around you

“are you okay?”

you looked up and saw someone you didn’t recognized

but he was pretty handsome, he looked like a prince

“y-yeah.. yeah I’m okay..” you muttered as he helped you up

“hey bro, you ready for basketball tryouts!” you recognized his voice, that was Lucas

your face got more and more red, the closer and closer he got

“oh hey you..” Lucas smiled as he offered a high five

your eyes widened as you received his high five, “you know me?”

“yeah~ you’re in my class! you know Hendery?” he points to the guy who’s still standing there

“no.. I just.. bumped into him..” you muttered, you had a hard time keeping eye contact with him

Hendery saw how flustered you were, but he knew you weren’t flustered over him

“hey.. I’m Hendery, Luca’s brother..”

your jaws slightly dropped, eyes shifted back and forth between the two handsome guys, “oh.. Oh...OH....”

“yeah, we gotta go to tryouts.. see ya later Y/N” Lucas waves at you before dragging Hendery

Hendery kept looking behind his shoulder at you, “you know she likes you right?”

“huh? her? nah, man.. I mean with MY face, I can see how she can be starstruck but I don’t think she’s like INTO ME, into me... hmm.. no yeah.. I don’t think so” Lucas babbles as he tries to play it off

Hendery face drops in disappointment, he can’t believe that his brother is so oblivious

he can’t believe that his brother can’t see that this beautiful girl has completely fallen for him.. like he fell for her

Hendery shoved his feelings aside for his brother

why?

because he was never strong enough show his feelings; that’s his weakness

you were looking for after school clubs that ended at the same time basketball practice

this is your last year of high school, maybe you should join a low effort club

so you thought it was a good chance to wait for Lucas; a confession would be too much but just talking would be fine, right?

you came across an empty music room; empty meaning there wasn’t anyone around but there was an abundance of instruments

you sat down with the guitar and started to strum and hum

you were so into it that you didn’t notice the quiet boy standing by the door

“hey do you wanna join our band?!” he was sounded so excited, he probably forgot that the room echoed

you almost dropped the guitar, “WHO ARE YOU?”

he puts his arms up to show that he’s innocent, “I-I’m Xiaojun from class 2-B..”

“oh you’re an underclassman... you’re in a band?” you asked as you relaxed

“yeah.. we need a vocalist and you got a great voice.. a sub guitarist wouldn’t be too bad ei..ther...”

Xiaojun’s sentence draws out as he sees your face clearly

you were so pretty in his eyes and your voice was the cherry on top

you placed the guitar down and smiled at him, “what makes you think I can’t be the main guitarist?”

he shook his daydreams away and smiled back at you, “because I’M the main guitarist..so you’re gonna have to fight me for it”

he’s just thinking how he’s finally talking to his crush since his 1st year of high school

BUT making sure that you didn’t know about his feelings because he wouldn’t know how to act or what to say

“hey Y/N, ready to go home?”

you turned to see your childhood friend and your neighbor; your surprised face melted into a warm smile

which worried Xiaojun

“hey Kun~”

“oh hey Xiaojun!” Kun goes over to pat Xiaojun on the back

“you know Xiaojun?”

“yeah we’re in a band!”

you frowned at your friend, “you never told me you were in a band!”

Kun pinches your cheeks, noting how cute you look when you pout, “yeah because if I did, I would have to introduce you to my good-looking band mates..”

you swatted his hands away

“yeah yeah whatever... now I know that you’re not in that weird cooking club..”

“he’s actually in that club..” Xiaojun said with a slip of the tongue which got Kun glaring at him

“it’s not weird...” Kun murmured

“hmm what is this aroma, is it oregano? mixed with rosemary? oh it has to be rosemary,” you clowned Kun for a conversation he had with a member from the cooking club back when you two were 1st years

Kun yells through his embarrassment and tries cover your mouth

Xiaojun kind of saw this moment in slow motion; it was like a cheesy scene out of a k-drama

“you guys dating?” he thought he said it in his head but he said it

out loud

for you and Kun to hear

“WHAT?” Kun’s ears started to get red

“NO!” you said at the same time

no one could see how Kun was slightly upset by your quick rejection tinged with a little bit of disgust

“Kun is like my brother! I’ve known him since I was a baby, that would be weird to date him..” you shuddered

Xiaojun nodded in relief and started to set up the room

“wow, you’re not gonna tell him that you used to call me “my prince charming” up until middle school?”

Kun tried to brush off his disappointment by making fun of you, he ruffled your hair

before you could say anything, he started to shove you out the door, “think about joining the band, but for now you gotta go.. we got practice!”

he shut the door on your way out

you stuck your tongue out at him

you looked at your phone to look at your time

“I need to go now or I’ll miss Lucas..”

you started to dash through the empty halls

you passed another guy but you didn’t pay too much attention to him

his hair grazed his lashes, he was adorned with lots of ear piercings, airpods in his ears, phone in his hands and had a pair of drumsticks not chicken in his tote

you made eye contact with him and he gave you a smirk of a smile

which made you look away so fast and suddenly you were thinking if you were running weird and started to fast walk instead

as you made it to the end of the hall, the boy had entered the music room

“hey Ten!” the two boys greeted him

“hey..”

you continued turned to see if the boy was gone before you started to run again

you didn’t want anyone to judge the way you ran or thought of you as the weird 3rd year student who spends her time after school running halls of the school

you cursed the school for being so big

you estimated that if would talk you a whole 3 minutes, if you ran, you would make it to the basketball courthouse that was separated from the gym

being as non-athletic as you were, you were having second thoughts if this boy was really more important than your lack of air

in those second thoughts, you ran into something

Newton’s first law of motion came into play

and the external force?

was brighter than the sun itself

AND?

you were laying, in pain, on that sun

“are you hurt?” the sun said with a smile

“what? no.. are YOU hurt? I’m SO sorry!!” you frantically got off him and offered your hand to help him up

he took it as he kept on smiling

“I have to go... I’m running late..once again, I’m sorry!!” you apologized as you fast walked

he smiled as he rubbed his chest, “that kinda hurt.. but for some reason.. I don’t mind it..”

“hey YangYang! are you gonna start the meeting or what?” the student council VP said through the doors down the opposite side of the hall

“yeah yeah.. coming!”

you finally made it to the gym so the basketball courthouse would only be around the corner

you spotted a tall guy with a bag similar to Lucas so you ran up to him

“hey Lucas!” you tried not to sound out of breath

when the guy turned around, you immediately started to apologize which you have doing a lot more today

“I’m sorry, I thought you were a friend of mine-”

“you’re Kun’s friend right?” he interrupted you

your brows knitted together in confusion, “you know me?”

“yeah.. Kun talks about you all the time.. I’m WinWin, I play the bass for same band as him..” he stuck his hand out for you to shake

you shook his hand as you saw a couple of girls you recognized from the Traditional Chinese Dance team giggle as they came up to WinWin, “good luck on your solo performance, WinWin..”

he nods at them and put his hand up to acknowledge them

“you have a solo performance? how do you have time to do both dancing and being in a band?”

he smiles at you as he hoists his bass case, “when you find things you love to do, you make time for them..”

and with that he left

“Y/N?”

you turned to see Lucas waving at you with Hendery by his side

you ran all this way and Lucas was the one to find you first

“hey Lucas... Hendery..” you gave them a small smile, mind was clouded with Winwin’s words

“you okay?” Lucas asked, Hendery looked just as worried

“yeah..” you were happy that Lucas seemed worried about you but you didn’t want him to, “are you free?”

“hmm? yeah I am now.. just gonna head to get something to eat with Hendery!”

Hendery read the lines of the situation and said, “you go with Y/N, I need to go home first. I got LOTS of homework and I can scavenge the something in the fridge..”

he was getting the keys to unlock his bike out from his bag

before either you or Lucas could put in a word, Hendery waved at you too, “see you when you get home! and get me something to-go! bye Y/N!”

and with that, he took off on his bike

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck; kind of confused by the situation and nervous because this is the first time he’s talking to you, by himself

he didn’t keep anything that Hendery told him before about you in his mind

“so.. are you okay with the diner on 7th Avenue? that’s where Hendery and I were gonna go, you know... we were craving burgers... and like, saw that that place had good reviews...so.. uh, you down?”

you smiled as you tucked the hairs in your face behind your ear, “yeah.. I’m down..”

you and Lucas made small talk on your way to the diner as he dragged his bike along

your shadows slightly touching each other even though there’s some distance between you and Lucas

the golden hour made his golden skin glow even more and you never thought that you could ever fall for anyone so effortlessly

he opened the door for you as he excitedly talk about his favorite combo of sweet and salty, “Y/N! Y/N! you HAVE to try the milkshake and fries together, it’s my guilty pleasure!!”

you couldn’t help but smile over his excitement of milkshakes and fries

and you couldn’t help but fall hopelessly more and more in love with him

is it possible to fall in love with him in only a day?

and is it possible for him to fall in love with someone like you?

only time will tell

will you be the one to pluck his heartstrings?

or will it be someone else..

or, will someone unexpected pluck your heart?

Are you still watching “The Heartstrings Series?” -Continue watching? -Exit

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

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galaxymysteryelephant · 3 years ago

Text

The Start of Something New 2

The second chapter is up, you can read it here.

Part one; Chapter one

---

There is a knock on Rex’s door promptly at 1800 hours.

It is as he goes to answer the door that he realizes he is nervous. He has to laugh at himself. Of all the things he experienced in his life and faced head on, this is the most nervous he has ever been.

Rex channels his nervous energy into opening the door. “Hey Ben,” he greets when he sees the auburn haired man waiting to be invited in. “Please come on in.”

“I bought these for you,” Ben says as he hesitantly holds out flowers, a bouquet of pink stargazer lilies.

Rex smiles as he accepts the flowers from Ben. “These are so beautiful.” He brings the flowers to his face and inhales their glorious scent. “Please make yourself comfortable while I go put these in some water.”

Rex watches as Ben removes his coat and hangs it by the door before heading to his kitchen to find a vase for his flowers.

“How was your day?” Rex asks with his head in a cabinet.

“It was alright,” Ben states. “I spent the afternoon with my brother, thankfully not talking about his wedding.”

“Is he your only sibling?” Rex asks as he fills the vase he found with water.

“Yes. Though I am quite close with one of his friends, and I think of her as a younger sister. What about you?”

“It is just Cody and I.” Rex places his flowers in the vase, then places the vase in the center of his island.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Ben says as he hands Rex a bottle of wine. “It is a berry moscato and should pair well with dinner. “

Rex gives Ben a soft smile and gently scolds him, “I said you didn’t need to bring anything.”

“I know, I just hated the idea of coming here empty handed.”

“Dinner should be ready soon. Please take a seat while I check on it.”

Ben takes a seat at the island as Rex checks on dinner. “How was your day?” Ben asks.

“Not too bad, it just got a whole lot better, if I am being honest.” Rex flashes Ben a flirtatious smile. Rex grabs two plate settings and sets out to serve two portions of food. “I hope you are hungry,” Rex states as he places one of the plate settings in front of Ben.

“It smells and looks delicious,” Ben claims.

“You don’t need to wait for me, dig in. I am going to get two glasses for the wine.”

As Rex pours wine into two glasses he cannot help but hear the pleased moans escaping Ben’s mouth at the taste of the food.

“Did you add any spices to this?” Ben questions when Rex sits across from him.

“The only thing I really seasoned was the chicken. And I seasoned it with fresh basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and mint.”

“It is really good. I love how all of the flavors work together. And the chicken flavor seasoned the vegetables really well too.” Ben smiles at Rex, “Where did you learn to cook?”

“My parents mainly.”

“I think you could have made it as a cook,” Ben admits.

“Technically I am one; I cook at the firehouse.”

“Is that an experience you like?”

“Yes and no,” Rex starts. “The thing about cooking at the firehouse is that we always need to be prepared for a call, so it’s better to make something that is quick and easy or can be eaten in a hurry. So, it is mostly sandwiches or the like. I have recently encouraged everyone to start bringing in stuff from home, so we can just heat it up when we have downtime. Yesterday, Jesse brought in a big pot of chili that he made, it was so good.”

Ben gives Rex a small smile. “Do you enjoy being a firefighter?”

“I love it,” Rex replies.

“How long have you been a firefighter?”

“About three years. Earlier this year, I received that rank of captain for all of my hard work,” Rex states proudly.

“Did you always want to do this?” Ben asks curiously.

Rex lets out a small sigh, “No. I wanted to have a career in the military.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I enlisted after high school and served for three years. My career was looking bright, I received the rank of captain and was happy, before I got discharged,” Rex explains.

“What happened?”

“I was injured on a campaign and deemed unfit for duty,” Rex gives the short version of events.

“Rex, I know you probably don’t want to worry me but I am curious. I want to know everything about you. So, can you tell me what happened,” Ben says after a moment.

Rex sighs and gives a curt nod. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts before he begins.

“It was midday and we were trying to siege an outpost in the middle of nowhere. I was with a small squad when a battle broke out. At some point during the battle, I was shot. But adrenaline was pumping through me that I didn’t notice until after the skirmish was won. Pain surged through my body and I passed out.

“When I came to one of my men was by my side. He was pale and I knew from the look in his eyes that it didn’t look good, that I might not make it out alive. He told me that I was shot several times in the chest and shoulder. He had his hands pressed on my chest wound to stop the bleeding. I can still recall the smell of iron in the air and how blood stained his hands were as he called for a medic.

“The medic performed an emergency surgery right there in the middle of a battlefield. He removed two bullets from my chest which were mere centimeters from my heart. He requested an emergency evacuation and rushed me back to base, where I could receive better medical attention. When I reached base, I was rushed into another surgery due to complications.

“A day later, I was scheduled for another surgery, this time for my shoulder. The bone was shattered and the ligaments torn. The medics fixed it up as best as they could but doubted that it would ever heal properly, even with physical therapy.

“They informed my commanding officer of my medical condition. He came down to check on me himself. He advised me that I needed to pass evaluations, in order to go back to the frontlines. I failed every evaluation and was deemed unfit for service. They discharged me as a result. When I came back home I had to undergo a couple more surgeries and lots of physical therapy.”

Rex can see the pity that Ben holds for him in his gaze. It is one of the reasons he doesn’t talk about his time in the military.

“You must be stronger to overcome such trauma,” Ben states into his now empty plate.

“I suppose you can say that. To me it was more patience than anything.”

“If you don’t mind my asking how old were you?” Ben questions.

“I was 20.” Rex looks at Ben and clears his throat until the other man meets his gaze. “Not to be rude or anything but can we please talk about something else?”

“Of course.” Ben gives Rex a small smile, “My apologies if I made you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t. I just think it is a heavy topic for a first date.”

“Is that what this is?” Ben asks teasingly, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, I thought it was obvious. We have a homemade dinner and wine.”

Ben laughs. “When did you decide to open the coffee shop?”

A smile takes over Rex’s features. “About a year ago. Cody came up with the idea actually.”

“So, why open a coffee shop if you are a successful fireman?”

“Believe it or not, the firehouse is underfunded. We have fund-raised but never raised enough money. Cody proposed opening a coffee shop where the profits and proceeds can go to getting equipment needed for the firehouse. Since opening the coffee shop we have been able to get another engine.”

“Cody seems like a wise man.”

“He is,” Rex smiles proud of his older brother. “If it weren’t for him the firehouse would only have one engine and one rescue. We have a greater response time now with the other engine.”

“That is great. I take it you and Cody are close to have decided to open a business together.”

“We are. He is not only my brother but my best friend. We have done so much together and have always been there when the other needs them. We have gone through a lot of hard times which only brought us closer together.”

“That sounds like a nice relationship. My brother and I are close but not as close as you and Cody. My brother and I are often at odds; we disagree about so much.”

“Well that is brothers for you. You may not always see eye to eye on things, you may annoy the shit out of each other, but you always have each other's backs.”

Rex gives Ben a quick smile and holds up his glass of wine, which has remained untouched until now. “How about a toast?”

Ben returns Rex’s smile and holds up his half-filled glass, “You can do the honors, dear Rex.”

Rex smiles bigger at the endearment before he comes up with the perfect toast. “To the start of something new.”

“To the start of something new,” Ben repeats.

Their glasses clink and they both take sips of the wine. Smiles dance across their faces when they place the glasses back down on the island.

“I am going to clean up in here and then we can go into the living room to chat and have some pavlova. Does that sound like a plan?”

“Yes,” Ben responds. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You are a guest, please relax.”

“As your guest, I insist on helping you clean up.”

Not wanting to argue and ruin this, Rex reluctantly agrees. The two begin clearing the island and washing the dishes.

Rex allows a comfortable silence to fall between them as they complete the task. He allows his mind to wander.

If Rex is being honest with himself, he thought Ben would have left after he found out about Rex’s past. After all, it is still something that haunts his dreams; it is still something he needs to deal with everyday. Most people do not want to be with someone from the military for that reason, because it puts a strain on the relationship. Rex only hopes that he didn’t ruin this budding relationship with Ben.

Rex is pulled from his thoughts when Ben lightly bumps his hip against Rex’s. It is something so casual and so domestic that Rex cannot help but smile.

I definitely didn't ruin this.

#star wars #the clone wars #captain rex #obi-wan kenobi #obi-wan/rex #modern au #my writing #galaxymysteryelephant writes

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kinglazrus · 5 years ago

Text

Make Tacos, Not War

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @nocturna-starr: Why did Sam Manson choose to be a vegan? Sam explains to Tucker why she refuses to eat meat and why his diet bothers her.

Summary: Sam, tired of Tucker constantly ragging on her for her dietary choices, challenges him to go one week without eating any meat. If he succeeds, then maybe she'll finally tell him why she went vegan in the first place. (A montage of Tucker's first, and only, week as a strict vegan)

Word count: 5339

Monday – The Bet

Monday morning, Sam and Tucker sat down at their usual lunch table without Danny. They were used to him skipping out on quality friendship time because of ghost stuff, but this week, it was his family that had him occupied. Danny had been on edge lately, acting paranoid, and maybe even hallucinating. Danny's little stint on the Spin-o-Matic definitely didn't help.

Sam and Tucker blamed it on lack of sleep because of all the ghost hunting, not that they'd tell the Fentons that. Maybe a little time away from Amity would do him good. Until then, it was just them holding down the fort until Danny got back. This meant that Sam knew exactly what Tucker was going to ask when he opened his mouth after they sat down.

"So, really, why do you–"

"No," Sam said, cutting him off. Ignoring Tucker's bewildered look, she popped the lid off her pasta salad. It was a new recipe she was trying out, with a spicy almond butter sauce rather than her usual vinaigrette. She was looking forward to it.

Tucker reached across the table, covering Sam's salad with his hand, forcing her to look up at him. "You don't know what I was gonna ask," he said.

Sam glared at him until he moved his hand. Gathering up a forkful of fusilli and red peppers, she took her time savouring the bite, chewing slowly. The sauce could use a bit of a stronger kick, but overall, she liked it. Only once she was satisfied that she had gotten a good taste did she swallow and answer. "Actually, I do, because you ask it every time Danny goes away."

Tucker scowled and folded his arms, unable to argue that point. "Okay, maybe I do. Answer me and I'll stop asking."

"Stop asking and maybe I'll answer."

"That... doesn't make any sense."

Sam jabbed at Tucker with her fork. "Neither does you being obsessed with why I'm vegan."

"I'm not obsessed! I just want to know, there's nothing wrong with that," Tucker said.

They glared at each other. By now, this was all routine. They weren't actually mad at each other, but their conflicting views meant they got annoyed with each other sometimes. It was fine, because they were always friends in the end, but sometimes Sam wanted to eat without someone questioning her dietary and moral choices.

Setting her fork down, she steepled her fingers and fixed Tucker with a calculating gaze. "Fine. I'll tell you. If you go one week with a vegan diet.

"Um, what?"

"One week, no animal products, and I'll tell you. I know that would be practically torture for you, but–"

"Okay."

Sam faltered, "Wait, what?"

"Okay. I'll do it."

Leaning forward, Sam scanned Tucker's face. He looked completely serious, grinning at the challenge. Sam never thought she'd see the day where Tucker Foley would be excited about eating vegetables, but she wasn't about to toss away such a golden opportunity.

"Okay. It starts tomorrow, goes until next Tuesday. No cheating. I've got a binder of recipes at home that Anna uses. I'll bring it to your place tonight," Sam says. She makes a mental note to talk to Tucker's parents about the bet, knowing how much they love their barbecue nights. With any luck, they will make Tucker stick with the diet. Tucker's mom should. Sam knew how much she liked to cook, and some of her vegan recipes might interest Angela.

"Cool. Wait, who's Anna?"

"Our maid."

"You have a maid?!"

—

Surprisingly, it took Tucker a few hours to regret accepting the bet. He spent most of the afternoon feeling smug, knowing that Sam would finally divulge why she was vegan. And then, when he got home, opened the front door, and was hit by the glorious smell of roasting ribs, he realized just what he'd agreed to.

"I'm going to die," Tucker moaned. Swinging his backpack off his shoulder, he tossed it into the living room and trudged over to the kitchen. Inside, his mom was working on dinner. They often ate early since she worked the nightshift at the twenty-four-hour pharmacy. Dinner for Tucker and his dad was usually breakfast for his mom.

"What's wrong, baby?" Angela asked, glancing at Tucker over his shoulder.

"I'm going to starve from lack of meat this week," he said.

"Oh, is this about that bet?"

Tucker lurched upright, slamming his hands on the table. "You know about that? How do you know already?"

Angela laughed. Tucker always thought his mom was really pretty when she laughed. "Sam called me not too long ago. I think it's a great idea! We should all try it for the week. As a last hurrah, I'm making your favourite food tonight."

"Cajun ribs?" Tucker asked, earning a nod. "Marinated steak bites?" Another nod. "Beer-braised Szechuan chicken wings?"

"All of it!"

"Mom, you're an angel, I love you so much," Tucker said, practically drooling over the table. If he died this week from lack of protein, at least he will have had one last good meal to remember.

—

The doorbell rang halfway through dinner. Tucker, sticky-fingered, mouth covered in Szechuan sauce, went to answer it.

Sam stared at the orange sauce staining his lips. "Nice, Foley. That's a great look for you."

"Oh, shut up," Tucker said. He quickly wiped his mouth on the paper towel he'd brought with him. "Thanks for calling my mom, by the way. She's making all of us vegan for the week. I won't even get to come home and smell the sweet, juicy scent of steak and burgers. For a whole week!"

"You can't tell, because it's on the inside, but I'm weeping for you right now," Sam said, deadpan.

"Yeah, whatever. Just give me the book."

Sam passed him the binder. It was surprisingly heavy, filled to the brim. Tucker was impressed the rings managed to hold all the pages. Didn't stop him from holding the binder away from his body like it was a feral animal, though.

"These are all vegan?" Tucker asked, gaping at the pages.

"How many recipes were you expecting?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. Ten? It's vegetables. How much can you do with vegetables?"

Sam shook her head, sighing in disappointment. Clapping a hand on Tucker's shoulder, she leaned and said, "I really pity you, Tucker."

"Hey!" Tucker shouted, indignant. "Rude."

Sam, unswayed, rolled her eyes. "Suck it up, it's not that bad. Just look at a few of the recipes. You might actually like them."

"I am going to die," Tucker moaned. Opening the binder, he flipped through a few pages, his grimace getting deeper with each one. "Veggie burgers? A travesty. Zucchini noodles? Do I have to say it?" He paused halfway through the book, pointing to a stained page. "Fried bean tacos?"

"I use that one a lot," Sam said, explaining away the stains. She wasn't the neatest cook.

"Okay, that one actually sounds kind of good." He snapped the binder shut and tucked it under his arm. "I still don't get why you can't just tell me why you're vegan."

"I could, but it's a lot more fun this way."

Tucker disagreed.

—

Tuesday – Day One

In the morning, Tucker had a smoothie for breakfast.

"Sorry, baby. I need to go to the store and get some groceries to make most of the really good recipes," Angela said. She sipped at her own smoothie, bags under her eyes. This was her dinner before she would go to sleep. "I don't work tonight, so I'll pick some stuff up later. For now, your lunch is in the fridge."

Tucker shrugged. He liked smoothies, although he wished they were more filling. Downing the glass without complaint, he grabbed his lunch from the fridge—a single container, which didn't bode well—before setting his empty cup in the sink.

"Later, Mom. Have a good sleep!" he shouted over his shoulder before heading out the front door.

—

Tucker stared in dismay at his lunch. Tomatoes, cucumber, olives, red onions, sliced and diced and tossed into a cheap plastic container with a strong-smelling dressing. And some weird little green stuff scattered all over it.

"That's oregano. It's a pretty standard herb that your mom probably uses all the time. Don't be such a baby," Sam said. She tore into her bean burrito with gusto, smirking at Tucker from across the table.

"It's just... vegetables..." Tucker says.

"It's vegan."

"There's no cheese!"

"It’s vegan. And there's dressing. Just shut up and eat it."

"As soon as Danny gets back from his road trip, I'm going to tell him you tortured me. Tortured!"

Sam ignored him, instead savouring her burrito and silently delighting in what a nice day it was. Sunny, but not too warm, with a cool breeze. The perfect day for lunch outside. They weren't the only ones who chose to sit outside instead of in the cafeteria, but everyone was scattered across the lawn, so it wasn't too crowded.

Tucker groaned. "I gave my mom the whole binder, and she chose to make this?" Looking across the table, he stared forlornly at Sam's burrito. "That at least looks like something I'd eat. This," he gestured to his Greek salad, "is just plant stuff!"

"Congratulations, you know what vegetables are." Sam rolled her eyes as Tucker groaned again. "It's not going to kill you. You didn't have to agree to the bet."

"You didn't have to make it a bet. I just want to know why you don't eat meat, that's all."

Sighing, Sam put her burrito down. She folded her hands on the table and stared intently at Tucker. "I want to know why I have to explain my personal choices to you. Maybe I'm allergic to the preservatives people put in certain meat. Maybe I'm allergic to beef. Maybe I just don't like how meat tastes."

"I think we both know it's none of those reasons," Tucker says. Reaching into his container, he picks out an olive, grimacing at it, and pops it into his mouth.

"You're right. It isn't any of those reasons, but if it were, that would be my business. Do you get people constantly asking you why you eat meat?"

"Well, no, that'd be stupid."

"So why isn't it stupid for people to ask me why I make my dietary choices? I'm tired of having to constantly justify being vegan. Yeah, there's more to it than me just liking vegetables. But, quite frankly, I don't owe anyone an explanation, especially when they're just going to scoff in my face about it and act like it's dumb."

Tucker stared guiltily down at his salad.

Sam stood up, re-wrapping her burrito, and shoved it in her backpack. "If you want to know why I'm vegan, then you have to respect the effort it takes to be vegan first. So shut up and eat," she said before leaving.

—

Tucker picked at his quinoa cakes, watching them crumble under his fork without actually eating them. Sighing, he stabbed at a chickpea and dragged it through the balsamic sauce decorating his plate, drawing meaningless swirls.

"Something wrong?" his dad, Maurice, asked. Hiding his mouth behind his hand, he leaned toward Tucker and whispered loudly. "Not a fan of the quinoa either, huh?"

"Maurice, you are going to eat every little seed on that plate or else I'm never making you ribs again. You need less red meat," Angela chastised.

"Oh, man," Maurice grumbled, but dutifully went back to eating.

"But your father has a point. What's up, Tucker?"

"I think I made Sam really mad today," Tucker said, lowering his fork. "I didn't think she really minded me asking about being vegan, but she got all huffy talking about respect and stuff."

"Do you respect her?" Angela asked. Her stare was intense.

"I mean, yeah. She's my friend. She's cool, and smart, and stuff." Tucker shrugged. "We wouldn't be the same without her." In a lot of ways no one else would ever realize.

"So, show her that. She wasn't 'huffy,' she was upset, and probably didn't think you were respecting her and her boundaries. Even if it seems like a small thing to you, it could be incredibly personal to Sam." Angela reached across the table and squeezed Tucker's hand. "Apologize to her tomorrow, and then everything'll go back to normal."

Tucker squeezed back, smiling. "Thanks," he said. Feeling better, he finally dug into his dinner. It wasn't half-bad.

—

Wednesday – Day Two

Catching Sam outside science class, Tucker grabbed her backpack and stopped her from going in. He had seen her from the other side of the hall and sprinted all the way down to intercept her.

"What do you want, Tucker?" Sam asked, shaking him off.

He held up a finger as he caught his breath. For someone who ghost hunted on the regular, he was really out of shape. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was kind of an ass yesterday."

Sam pursed her lips. "Yeah, you were."

"You're one of my best friends, and I respect you, even if I don't always act like it. You don't have to go through with your end of the bet if you don't want to," Tucker said.

"You just want to eat meat again."

"Obviously I want to eat meat again. It's only been a day and I can feel myself wasting away." Sam started walking away. Tucker scrambled to stop her, latching on to her sleeve and saying, "But! But I want to make it through the week. Even if you decide not to follow through, I will."

Sam's pursed lips softened into a smile. "I respect you too, Tucker. I may not like that you're practically a carnivore, but you're a decent guy."

Tucker grinned. Letting Sam go, he straightened up and reached into his backpack. All that honesty made him hungry. He pulled out his snack for the day, homemade fruit roll-up, and took a generous bite.

"You think we could have that exact same conversation in front of Melanie from calculus?" he asked Sam. "She said she really likes guys who respect women."

Sam hummed, like she was actually considering it. "I don't know," she said before walking into the classroom.

"Is that a yes?" Tucker shouted after her, mouth full.

"See you at lunch, Tuck."

"Sam, is that a yes? Come on!"

—

Thursday – Day Three

A solid block of tofu was not Tucker's idea of a good meal. A solid block of tofu marinated in a Sriracha-soy sauce, grilled, and stuffed into an English muffin was an okay meal. He licked a line of sauce dribbling down his fingers, enjoying the taste of turmeric.

"Is your mom only making the spicy recipes?" Sam asked. A victorious grin overtook her face at the way Tucker devoured his lunch.

"No, she made that fruit stuff, too. Tomorrow's pancakes for breakfast, apparently," Tucker said. He took another bite, chewing happily, and swallowed. "Tonight is some kind of pilaf thing?"

Sam frowned and asked, "Is it the one from the front of the book or the back?"

"I don't know. Why does it matter?"

"There are still a few recipes in there from when I was just vegetarian. My parents wouldn't let me go full vegan when I was younger because they were worried about protein intake," she explained. "Some of those recipes have eggs, milk, and cheese in them still, and maybe some fish. Most of them are at the front."

"Wait, wait, wait." Tucker lowered his sandwich. "Fish?" Last time he checked, fish was meat, which meant it definitely shouldn't be in a vegetarian recipe.

"I had a pescatarian phase before they let me go full vegan. Those recipes have blue circles in the corner. Make sure you warn your mom about them."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. But what the hell is pescatarian?"

A familiar glint entered Sam's eyes. It was the look she gave right before she was about to lecture someone. "I am so glad you asked," she said sweetly.

"No, I take it back," Tucker said, shaking his head vigorously, but it was too late.

"There are actually a few different variations of vegetarianism. Lacto-vegetarians can eat dairy products, but no other animal products. Ovo-vegetarians allow eggs. Lacto-ovo is both dairy and eggs. Pescatarians, on the other hand, usually have no dairy or eggs, but they do eat fish," Sam said.

She was brimming with excitement, eager that Tucker was actually showing interest in her lifestyle for once. In all their arguments about food, never once had he shown genuine curiosity for vegetarianism, only disdain.

"Isn't that kind of hypocritical?" Tucker asked. "Fish are animals. That's meat. That's exactly what being vegetarian is against."

"It depends on why they're vegetarian. It could be for dietary reasons, not because of a concern about animal cruelty. Fish has a lot of health benefits, especially for your heart, while too much red meat is bad for you. Or, they can be using fish as an alternative protein source. While mass fishing isn't without its issues, it has a lower environmental cost than raising livestock."

Tucker stared at her blankly.

Realizing she had lost him, Sam sighed. "Basically, there's a lot of reasons," she said.

Tucker nodded, finishing the last bites of his lunch. Even if he didn't really get what Sam was saying, she appreciated that he tried. Maybe Tucker wasn't a hopeless carnivore after all.

—

Long after Tucker was meant to be asleep, he sat at his desk, a bowl of Cajun-seasoned popcorn in his lap, and stared intently at his computer. The glow of his screen washed him in pale blue light, glinting off his glasses as he shoved handfuls of popcorn in his mouth.

Opening his browser, he typed into the search bar: what makes vegetarianism better?

—

Friday – Day Four

"Ha!" Tucker shouted, slamming a piece of paper down on the picnic table as soon as he reached it.

Sam tried to read it, but his hand covered most of the text. Lifting her eyes to Tucker's, she asked, "How were the pancakes?"

"Aggressively mediocre," Tucker said, flopping into his seat. He swung his backpack up onto the table and pushes the paper toward Sam. "I found out your secret," he said in a singsong voice as he reached into his backpack.

Sam snatched up the paper, sparing Tucker an annoyed glare, and scanned it. "Did you print out a page from a discussion forum?"

"I needed evidence," Tucker said. Digging around in his backpack, he searched for today's lunch, eventually pulling out his burger. Portabella mushroom, carrot and cucumber slaw, avocado spread, and a tangy sauce stuffed into a rye bun. He was actually looking forward to this, but he'd die before telling Sam that.

"Evidence of what?" Sam said, giving the page a more thorough read.

"You vegans aren't so great."

"First, I never said we were great. Second, what the hell, Tucker?" Sam's gaze halted halfway down the page.

Tucker grinned smugly, knowing exactly what she had found. "Most of your precious vegetables are farmed using exploited labour. It's practically slavery. At least raising livestock doesn't have that."

"You think big corporations deadest on producing as much meat as possible are against exploiting workers?"

"Well, no, but–"

"And you're forgetting about local farmers. I get my produce as local as I can. I have a greenhouse so I can grow my own food year-round."

"Maybe you do, but I was just–"

"And just because the produce industry isn't 'pure,' that doesn't make certain livestock practices better."

"I didn't say that."

"And I agree with you completely," Sam finished.

Tucker's next protest died on his lips. "You what?"

"I agree," she repeated. Folding the paper Tucker gave her in half, she slid it across the table back toward her. "No mass industry like that is perfect. That's exactly why I try to grow my own food and buy local as much as I can. But one person isn't going to affect much, so I protest, too. I speak out in the hopes that these practices will stop."

"Oh." Tucker deflated, his righteous indignation leaving him in a flash. "At least you know," he added weakly.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Sam enjoying the very same tacos Tucker had pointed out the first time he opened her recipe book. Tucker chewed thoughtfully on his burger—which he decided was only okay because he didn't like the texture of the mushroom—and turned Sam's words over in his head. He specifically thought about her callout of big industries, something her family was deeply involved in.

"So, does everything you just said have anything to do with why you're vegan?" Tucker asked.

"Three more days, Tuck," Sam said, smirking at him over her taco.

"Ugh." Tucker groaned but let it go. Three days. He could wait three days.

—

Saturday – Day Five

Standing at the counter, Tucker flipped through Sam's recipe binder, giving it a more thorough look through. He easily found the recipes his mom had already tried, marked with green stick notes. A few more were marked in green. He figured those were ones she wanted to try.

Angela shuffled into the kitchen, yawning.

"Morning, Mom," he mumbled. After a moment, he blinked, frowning in confusion, and looked up. "Didn't you work last night? Why are you awake?"

"Anderson asked me if he could take my shift, needed the extra money. I don't work again until Sunday night, which means you have to suffer through me all weekend, baby," Angela said, giving Tucker a quick hug and ruffling his hair.

"Ugh, Mom, nooo," Tucker whined half-heartedly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, seeing the recipe book laid out before him.

"Well, one of the reasons Sam wanted me to do this was so I could appreciate the effort being vegan took. Or something like that." He waved his hand dismissively. "But just eating the food doesn't take a lot of effort."

A proud small graced Angela's lips. "Do you want to help me cook today?"

Going back to the binder, Tucker showed Angela a page he had marked with his thumb. "Sam's got a couple snack recipes here. Appetizer stuff, like mini-tacos, stuffed peppers, assorted veggie bowls, stuff like that. I thought it might be fun to make a bunch of them."

"That sounds fantastic!" Angela said, giving Tucker another squeeze. "We can pick out which ones you want to make and go to the store. I'm going to tell everyone we run into what a considerate young man you are."

His cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"We should have breakfast before we go. Anything in particular you want?"

"Um, actually..." Tucker trailed off. Blushing even more, he pointed toward the table. "I tried making the lettuce wraps, but, uh.... yeah."

The lettuce wraps were more like lettuce massacres. The iceberg lettuce wouldn't peel neatly off the head and Tucker ended up ripping most of the leaves in half, resulting in wraps that couldn't wrap around anything. Unevenly chopped vegetables spilled off the cutting board into the table. Off to the side, a ramekin filled to the brim, with sauce dripping down the sides, was in the process of staining the tablecloth.

"You are so lucky I'm here," Angela teased.

"Mom," Tucker lamented, but he actually sort of liked it.

—

Sunday – Day Six

Tucker rocked back on his heels, cradling his chin in his palm, as he scanned the Nasty Burger menu. He finally understood what Sam was talking about every time she complained about how there was nothing to eat her. For Tucker, who loved big, sloppy burgers, there was an abundance of options. But for vegans? Or even vegetarians? It was woefully lacking.

Which made sense, because it was a burger place. But Sam said she couldn't get a decent vegan meal anywhere in a five-block radius around the Nasty Burger, which meant whenever she, Tucker, and Danny went to eat there, she couldn't pick food up somewhere else and bring it over.

Tucker hummed, looking over his limited options, and almost missed Valerie walking in front of him, heading around the counter to start her shift.

"Hey, Tucker," she said, pulling on her hat. She gave the acne-riddled teen currently at the register a wave. "You can go on your break, I'll take over."

"Thanks, Val," the kid said.

"So, Tuck. Might Meaty Melt with extra meat?" Valerie asked, already punching it in.

"Actually, no," Tucker said. He couldn't decide between the veggie burger or one of the salads. The kitchen probably didn't have a separate grill for the veggie patties. Would the meal not count if it touched beef juice? It wouldn't be the same as eating a beef burger, but Sam always said it made her uncomfortable knowing the veggie patties might have been grilled in raw juices.

"We've got a new meaty burrito, with sausage stuffed beef." Valerie waved to the promotional sign on the menu board.

"Sausage stuffed beef? How does that even work?"

"No idea, want to try it?"

"Not today. What kind of fryer oil do you use?" Tucker asked, finally looking away from the menu.

"Uh..." Valerie frowned. Glancing back at the kitchen, she squinted at the fryers. "I think we just use canola, why?"

Tucker nodded, finally settling on his order. "I'll get the veggie burger, but can I get the patty deep-fried? And no mayo."

Valerie didn't make a move to punch it in. "What?"

"What?"

"You want a veggie burger?"

"Yeah." Tucker shuffled his feet, feeling awkward. "Why?"

"You. Tucker Foley. Carnivore of Casper High. You want a veggie burger. With no mayo." Valerie looked like she just saw her dad petting the ghost dog that ruined her life. She looked like the world had turned upside down.

Immediately, Tucker realized he could have fun with this. "I'm vegan," he said.

Valerie's face went completely blank for one glorious moment before she screeched, "What?!" Leaning across the counter, she grabbed Tucker. "Since when?"

"Uh, for a while now. Geez, where have you been, Valerie? Don't you know meat is murder?" Tucker asked, tutting and shaking his head.

Valerie, looking like she had woken up in another dimension, slowly punched in his order. Her shocked expression had Tucker giggling all throughout his meal. He made sure to look extra pleased with his burger whenever Valerie looked his way.

—

Monday – Day Seven

Tucker popped the last bite of his burrito into his mouth. It had been an absolute monster full of three kinds of beans, guacamole, salsa, and a wide range of vegetables. His mom specifically saved that recipe for Monday night because she knew it would be his favourite. Chewing fast, Tucker didn't even take the time to savour, instead swallowing as fast as he could and throwing his arms in the air.

"I did it!" he cheered. Pushing away from the table, he leapt to his feet and whooped. He pranced around the room. "I did it, and I didn't cheat, and nobody can ever say I can't appreciate a good vegetable ever again!"

Sam, who had joined the Foley's for dinner that night, shook her head as she watched Tucker. She still had half her burrito left, as did Tucker's parents, because they didn't try to inhale it like they hadn't eaten in a week.

Tucker skipped around the table and stopped beside Sam's chair. "Now you have to tell me."

"I thought you said I didn't have to?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tucker went completely still, his face falling.

Sam laughed. "I'm just kidding. But I'm going to enjoy my dinner first. We aren't all heathens," she said.

Groaning, Tucker returned to his seat. For the rest of the meal, he kept motioning for Sam to hurry up and finish eating. It only made her chew slower. When she finally finished, Tucker eagerly stood up.

"Okay, let's go," he said, grabbing her hand.

Sam pulled back. "Mr. Foley, would you like some help with cleaning up?"

She and Maurice shared sly, conspiratorial grins as Tucker protested loudly.

"That sounds lovely, Sam. Thank you for offering!" Maurice said.

Twenty minutes later, when the dishes were clean, the kitchen was spotless, and the floor was swept, Sam turned to Tucker and said, "Okay, let's go."

"Finally!"

Tucker dragged Sam into his room, closing the door. He took the beanbag chair in the corner of the room while Sam claimed his desk chair.

"So, the reason?" Tucker prompted.

"When people get rich, the first thing they want to do is make more money," Sam started.

"What does that have to do with being vegan?"

"It's relevant! My great-grandfather invented stuff, and he was good at it. Made a lot of money doing it. By my grandfather wasn't as savvy. He took over the company, but he wasn't as innovative. To keep the money coming in, he looked to other industries," Sam said.

"Like farming," Tucker said. "You've mentioned that before."

"Yeah. When I was eight, before he passed away, my grandfather took me to one of his industrial farms. He knew I liked animals and he thought it'd get me interested in the family busy."

"When you were eight," Tucker deadpanned.

Sam nodded. "When I was eight. I saw how horribly the animals were treated there, and it honestly scarred me. I couldn't stand eating meat after that, not after knowing that's how they're treated."

"And that's it?" Tucker asked. He frowned, a little let down. The way Sam built it up, he thought there would be some big reveal. Maybe a deep, dark secret she never shared with anyone before. But it wasn't. She had just been a little girl who loved animals and hated to see them hurt.

"Sorry it wasn't worth the wait," Sam said with a wry grin.

Tucker shrugged. "Eh. My fault for building it up so much." He paused. "Are you going to take over the family business one day?"

Sam lowered her cheek to Tucker's desk and frowned. "I don't know. I don't want everything to be handed to me on a silver platter just because my family has money. I want to work for it. But..."

"If you take over," Tucker said, realizing where Sam was going.

"I can change the way they do things. There are lots of ways to farm ethically. Small local livestock growers? I support them wholeheartedly. They care about their animals and make sure they have good lives before they're killed. I want the Manson Company to be like that," she said. "And until I can make that change happen, I refuse to eat meat.

"Huh. Well, if anyone can do it, you can. I don't think I know anyone as stubborn as you are," Tucker said.

Sam smiled softly. "Thanks, Tuck. That means a lot."

"Now will you talk to Melanie from calculus?" Tucker shot finger guns at Sam. "You never actually said no."

"Oh my god, you're unbelievable." Leaning over, Sam snatched a pillow from Tucker's bed and whipped it at him.

"Hey!" he rolled away, jumping to his feet, and hoisted the beanbag over his shoulder. "Was that a threat, Manson?"

"You think you can beat me, the reigning pillow fight champ since our first sleepover in third grade?" Sam asked, snatching up another pillow.

"I can damn well try!" Tucker pounced.

Sam immediately beat the stuffing out of him. But he wasn't too choked up about it. He made good on the bet, after all. Thanks to that, he now understood Sam a little better. Tomorrow, Danny would be back, and everything would go back to normal. There was no way Tucker would give up his food arguments with Sam, even if they had an understand now. They were just too much fun.

Lying on the floor, panting and wondering how Sam could bruise him with pillows, Tucker hoped Danny had fun this week. Tucker certainly did.

#phic phight #phic phight 2020 #danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #phanfic #phicc #tucker foley #sam manson #tumblroneshots

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staticscreenwriting · 4 years ago

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I don’t love you // Chapter 1

Chapter One - Bluebird

Synopsis: Jess is over Rory, only he’s not. Olivia is tired of trying to find the one piece missing from her life, only she’s not. A wedding, a bus ride, a lost notebook and an unforseen offer bring these two together and spark the idea that maybe the best people do enter your life in the most unexpected ways. A/N: I’ve uploaded parts of this story before on a blog specifically dedicated to it but I want most of my writing in one place so here’s a reupload. This is NOT a literati fic!

" There's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him,I say, stay in there,

I'm not going to let anybody see you. "

- Bluebird (Charles Bukowski)

There was an ice cold beer clutched in his hand, half empty already, and a lady to his right that had been trying to engage in a conversation about the weather for the last 15 minutes. None of that really mattered, none of that he really acknowledged.

There was only her. Her dancing and laughing and singing along to the cheesy pop songs he knew she'd never admit to liking but secretly sang along to at home when she thought no one was watching. Her and the way her hair that had been perfectly pinned back earlier was now slowly coming undone, strands framing her perfect face that had changed so much and yet so little in all this time.

Her and her all consuming, breathtaking, heart shattering beauty. Her and all the memories of all the feelings that had ever been there and would always be there.

God, he was so screwed.

This was the "I love you" all over again, the Yale visit, the open house. He had honestly thought he had left this part of his past behind. That he was over her. He had tried over and over and it never ended with a happily ever after for him, not with her. Maybe they just weren't meant to be.

He had really thought he'd learned his lesson and yet here he was staring at her and wondering if he'd ever completely get over her or if he might be doomed to forever be in love with Rory Gilmore.

" You know if you keep staring at her any longer it's gonna change from kinda cute to downright creepy, right ?! " he heard his younger cousin's voice speak up as she plopped down in the seat to his right, the weather lady had apparently gotten the hint that he was not interested in a conversation with her and had wandered off at some point.

" What do you know ? Aren't you busy being edgy, smoking, finding yourself ? " he replied and gave April little smirk and a friendly shove with his shoulder. She was a peculiar one his cousin, had been since the first time he'd met her but she'd done a lot of growing up over the years and had turned from a strange kid into quite the smart and witty adult, pseudo hippy phase and all.

" Haha, aren't you funny, Jess. Seriously though, what's up with the longing looks ? "

" Ah you know, just figuring out that I'm still in love with the girl I dated when I was in high school. The girl that made me change into the person I am today. The girl that is the sole reason I became a better person. " Is what he thought but there was no way in hell Jess would ever talk about his feelings. Ever. " Don't know what you're talking about. "

" Sure you don't. Just sayin' you could go over there and actually talk to her instead of glaring a hole through her head."

That he could do, but what would he say ?

"Hey Rory, sorry to interrupt but I just realized that part of me is still madly in love with you. " ?

" Oh hi there Rory, been watching you all night wondering if we ever stood a chance, wondering if we still might stand one. Wondering if this could ever be us, getting married and all that. " ?

Those were the things that were ghosting through his head but he'd be damned if he ever told those to anyone, especially Rory. He'd tried that before, multiple times, and look how that turned out. To be fair one of those times he ran off, but that was only that one time.

No, there really wasn't anything he could tell her that would change anything about this situation. She had enough on her plate as it was, she was writing a book for god's sake and if anyone knew how stressful and chaotic that time is, it was Jess. The last thing she'd need was him bringing up old feelings and confusion.

" There's nothing to talk about. "

" Okay, James Dean. I know that whole repressing your emotions deal runs in the family and works well with the grumpy mysterious guy image you're trying to maintain but that needs to stop. You're clearly still into this girl and I'm not gonna sit here and watch you throw away what might be your last shot at your epic love story. "

" Oh Jesus when did you start getting so corny. Does Lorelei make you watch 80s romcoms when you're over at their place ? Does Luke know she's doing this to you ? "

" Jess, I'm serious. Sometimes you gotta fight for the things you want. "

For the first time in a while Jess left his gaze drift from Rory and turned towards his cousin.

" I'm 33 years old, April. I'm done fighting over girls, fighting for girls. Things either work out or they don't and they obviously didn't for me and her. "

" But what if you're her Luke ? "

" What if I'm not ? What if I don't want to be ? I don't want her to settle for me after years and years of trying. I want to be a conscious decision. For once in my life I want someone to chose me. Not because of a feeling of guilt or nostalgia or comfort or because they feel like they owe me or because they feel responsible. I'm done with this. I can't do it all over again. "

A silence settled upon them as neither of them really knew where those words had suddenly come from. If there was one thing you didn't except from Jess Mariano it was as sudden outburst of honest emotions.

" Okay. "

" Okay ? "

" Okay, I get it. I didn't mean to push you to do something you don't want to do. I just wanted to help. I want you to be happy. "

" I am happy. "

" Are you ? "

Was he ? Yeah. Sure. Truncheon was going well, he liked his job, liked his coworkers, his friends. He had his own little apartment & his own car. He was in the process of coming up with ideas for a second book. He wasn't particularly phased by the fact that he'd been single for a while now either. Whenever he felt like it Jess had no problem sweet talking a girl at a bar. Girls, he had found out a while ago, were totally into the broody writer persona.

Was he truly happy though ? He didn't know.

" Yeah. "

" Okay. "

" Look, April. You know I'm not big on the whole family reunion stuff, especially here in Stars Hollow where half the population still holds a grudge against me. I came for Luke but he and Lorelei ran off a while ago so there's really no harm in me leaving too, right ? "

It was the truth, Jess wasn't particularly thrilled about returning to the Connecticut town he'd spend some time in as a teenager, but there was no way in hell he could've said no to Luke. The man had done more for him than anyone in his entire life, his mom included. He'd been one of the few who'd believed in him when even Jess himself had almost lost hope that he'd ever amount to something. He owed Luke so much and showing up to his wedding was the least he could do.

" You've been drinking. "

" Last bus is leaving in 20 minutes. "

" To Philly ? That's a long ass drive, Jess. Are you sure you don't wanna crash at the apartment above Luke's and leave tomorrow ? "

" I got a book with me, it'll be fine. No offense April, but if I don't leave now I'm just getting sucked back into things that I should've left behind a long time ago."

" What about your car ? "

" I was thinking, maybe my favorite cousin would like to come visit me in Philadelphia before she goes back home, and maybe she could bring my car with her? " April stared at him for a moment and Jess could see the gears turning in her head, trying to come up with an idea to get him to stay. His mind was made up though, if he'd stay he'd have to get drunk and if there was one place Jess Mariano didn't want be drunk at, it was the town center of Stars Hollow with his ex girlfriend in close proximity.

" Alright " April said and let out a defeated sigh " Be careful and don't talk to any sleazy looking guys. "

" Yeah okay, mom. " Jess replied and took a last sip on his now empty bottle of beer.

As he got up off the chair, Jess' glance wandered back over to Rory. He could go after her, fight for her, show her the man he was today and how this was all for her. He could. But he didn't. Because he was scared ? Maybe. But also because he was just tired. Tired of running after the same girl over and over again. Always failing.

" Just so you know, I don't think you're doing the right thing. Just running from your emotions. " April spoke up. " Well cousin, I don't think you're doing the right thing getting your nose pierced and acting like a pothead when they could probably sell you oregano without you noticing. Yet here I am, accepting your decisions. "

" You're an ass. " April responded as a small smirk tugged at the corners of her lips.

" That's family. Thought you'd be used to that by now. Seriously though, don't worry about me kid. "

" That's family, Jess. We always worry. Thought you'd be used to that by now " She replied with a smile before walking away, back into the sea of Stars Hollow residents that were singing and dancing to some obscure 90s popsong.

This family, his family, was quite honestly a mess. It was a family though, something he hadn't had for the longest time. And no matter how strange or broken over overly intrusive or annoying they were, they meant the world to him. Because they were his people and to them, to Luke and April he was a conscious decision. It was their decision to care and to worry and Sometimes you gotta admit defeat.

With one last look towards Rory, the girl that changed it all, Jess turned his back towards the gazebo covered in dozens of fairy lights and the quirky town that surrounded it and took on the walk towards the bus stop. Maybe April was right and he was just running from his emotions and his crippling fear of rejection. But so what ? Sometimes you gotta let yourself be scared to save yourself from pain.

Sometimes you gotta run.

#jess mariano #jess mariano fanfic #jess mariano fanfiction #jess mariano x OC #jess mariano x OFC #Jess x Oc #Jess x OFC #gilmore girls fanfiction #girlmore girls fanfic #IDLYFanfic #jess

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bronsonthurman · 3 years ago

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Don’t Underestimate Salad for a Quick, Amazing Meal

It’s summer time, reaching ninety degrees out, and no wants to cook. But some people will have chips for dinner because they are afraid of salad. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll go hungry. Maybe they’re still suspicious of vegetables. Maybe they’re afraid someone will think they’re, gasp, vegan. The horror!

Seriously, did we mention it’s hot out? We’re hot, we’re hungry, and we don’t want to spend afternoon at the lunch table when the beach is calling. We’re throwing together a salad because it’s good, it’s fast, it’s cold, and it’s now. Here’s a few reason why hungry people are missing out if they’re dismissing this humble but powerful meal.

An Easier Sandwich with Less Carbs

A sandwich is often held up as the epitome of a quick, handy, and complete meal. Honestly though, look at a sandwich: it’s just a salad with too much bread. Plus, you’re going to dirty a cutting board, a spreading knife, and a cutting board all before you even put your meal on the plate, probably more if you’re using proper cross-contamination prevention with meats and cheeses. Instead, just throw your ingredients in a big bowl, toss with a fork, and eat. What you say, you like bread? Us too--tear a piece up and throw it in after tossing, fork a piece before each bite. All the parts of a sandwich, with less dishes and a more reasonable serving of carbohydrates. Never forget to wash your hands properly when handling food--it’s harder to overlook when your ingredients are going straight from hand to plate.

No One Said You Can’t Have Carbs

If you’re used to a higher volume of calories, you might be concerned that a salad will soon leave you hangry again. If your experience with veggies is a side salad of iceberg lettuce, that’s understandable. But this is YOUR salad--go ahead and put something filling on it. One upside is you’re not limited to bread, the whole world of crunchy snacks is available. If you were going to eat them instead of a proper meal, you can instantly improve your meal by using them as a salad component. Many common corn or wheat based snacks are much healthier than you might expect, the main concern being less-friendly oils and a possible excess of salt--but check those ingredients, there is a world of difference between Fritos and Doritos, and some snacks are a garbage heap of fillers, sugar, and preservatives.

No One Said You Can’t Have Meat

Meat goes great on salad. Even better, a healthy portion of meat goes great on a salad--meat proportions in America are usually excessive for health or comfort. Keeping the meat modest helps keep you on your feet and on to your favorite activities, instead of sleeping your meal off on the couch.

Your favorite cold cuts will help you keep it easier-than-a-sandwich, or if you are a grill master, you’re in a great position to prepare and slice your favorite cut of beef or pork to properly refrigerate and add to salads over two to three days. The addition of chicken to a caesar is an obvious option, but don’t limit yourself. If you were planning to eat some wings, throw them on some lettuce. Seasoned wings will have all the flavor a few leaves in each bite need and picking up a wing in a bit of lettuce helps keep the seasoning in the bite and off your fingers.

I recall a sandwich customer offended that I would offer him “rabbit food” to go with his beef sandwich; it’s hard to understand how some imagine themselves to be “carnivores” as a diet, including myself as a young man in that category. You don’t want to know how real carnivores such as wolves or tigers get their balanced diet, but suffice to say, meat on the bone is not what they eat first. Trust me, you want your roughage in the form of fresh greens, not the way carnivores get it.

Salads Can Be Crunchy

We’re not just talking about lettuce here either, though greens do provide a nicely crisp bite. Those salty snacks we mentioned earlier bring crunch too. But that’s not all, there are a lot os suitable ingredient when you’re looking to add new textures to your salad. Some people like various cold beans. Corn kernels serve this role too, even outside of a traditional corn salad, though canned corn is not so appealing as freshly cooked. Just adding a cob is also nice, particularly with a unified butter-based dressing

If You’re Bold Enough for Hot Peppers, You'll Love Spicy Greens

If you’ve expressed a love for hot sauce, you should be eating watercress--it’s about the most nutritious thing you can eat, and it’s nicely spicy. This ingredient has somewhat disappeared into the tradition of the cress tea sandwich--don’t be fooled, this is a powerful staple food if you enjoy piquant foods Some paler varieties are less intense; the spiciest stuff announces this right up front if you give it a smell. Arugula-Rocket and mustard greens are also known

Dressings Are Indulgent Wonderland

It’s true some greens can have a bitter initial bite--luckily for us, we can sooth those flavors with dressing. If you’ve ever looked over a shelf of marinates in wonder, you’ve got a whole new world ahead of you. There’s probably a favorite you’ve discovered already, even if you were just trying to get through a salad that was forced on you. But don’t stop there! Where meat condiments tend to lean very heavily on tomato and soy, salad dressing is ahead of curve when it comes to foodie-innovation. Fruits are not as nutritious so much as they are relatively benign; a dressing can bring a little bit of fruit to the meal without replacing a lot of the nutritious content. Increasing variety has blown up the grip oil-vinegar-cream traditionally has had on selection with tahini, poppy seed, flavorful boutique vinegars, or other obvious ingredients back to the bottle. Just look at the ingredients. Sugar is becoming ever more ubiquitous and it can mute strong flavors, for better or worse. The key to a salad is balance--modest indulgence goes a long way to enhance a healthy meal.

Superfoods are Salad Foods

The Center for Disease Control has done an analysis of actual nutritional content per weight to focus attention on “powerhouse” foods, which it scores and publishes as a ranked list. High nutrition content is a crucial thing to consider, as contemporary agriculture has generally reduced nutrient density, making many traditionally nutritious foods less so.

Watercress sets the upper limit at 100 and every food scoring above 60 is a leafy green vegetable. Grapefruit defines the bottom of the CDC’s list with a score of 10. Kale and broccoli might surprise you by falling below 50, but all of the foods included are extremely healthy. Salad staples like spinach, romaine, scallion, cauliflower, carrot, tomato, lemon, strawberry, radish, orange, lime, turnip, and blackberry are all included. With the modest addition of carbohydrates and proteins it is extremely easy to make an extremely healthy salad.

Have the list handy in case your grandmother tells you these ingredients are all just empty calories and water. There are some very outdated notions of what is nutritious floating around.

Leaf Lettuce is Surprisingly Nutritious

One strike against salads is that healthy greens are associated with bitter flavor. Surprise, you throw basic lettuce in to dose your food with nutrients. Red leaf lettuce will be healthier, being more mature, but won’t last as long as green leaf. Romaine and even iceberg lettuce both also make the CDC’s list. So there is no problem finding nutritious greens even if you are looking to keep the flavor mild.

Some Tips for Greater Salad Success

Lettuces don’t keep particularly well--buy lettuce with the intent to eat it within the next three days, tops. If it’s much of a commute to the store you’ll probably want grocery day to start the salad part of your week, then switch to more durable foods in the days leading up to the next shopping. If you do enjoy bitter greens, these tend to keep a little longer. Red leaf lettuce is just riper leaf lettuce, so if you get a mix, eat the red leaf first.

Micro-greens are extremely easy to grow. If you have a window with at least 6 hours of sun it’s easy to place a window planter (inside or outside) and seed it to produce your favorite fresh greens in less than a month. Look online and you’ll find a wide variety of approaches to this, complete with tutorials.

Herbs are greens. Fresh basil, parsley, dill, oregano, cilantro--whatever your tastebuds prefer. Be prepared for more flavor than you’re use to compared to dried spices, especially if your herbs are garden fresh. Note however of the herbs I mentioned, only parsley makes the CDC’s list, but generally the flavor of herbs is so strong you’ll won’t need to replace much volume to get the effect.

With this in mind, there’s never a reason to miss out on a real meal, even when the heat makings cooking a non-option. Next time you reach for the crackers, swivel to the crisper and turn that snack into a nutritious meal.

#cooking #lunch #dinner

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eleanorbloom · 4 years ago

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15, 34 and 49 from the angsty asks. Thank you !

15. who misses the other more, or really thinks about them more?

On dialy work basis, Eleanor misses him more because she has more “spare time” than him. What I mean is, Bryce is normally all day in sugery and he’s focused on that 100%, while Eleanor, even if she’s stuck or immersed in difficult cases, has more time to miss him.

In equal conditions, or during spare time, I would say Bryce thinks more about her because he’s trying to compensate all the time he hasn’t been able to think about her. He would be like “how’s my baby doing? where would she be? are their patients treating her well? has she drunk enough water? has she eaten properly?” hahaha and well, the other reason is that he’s a goldie in the need of constant attention, and of course the first thing he will do is trying to get attention from her (and give his full attention to her as well) ❤🐕

34. what scent reminds them of the other?

Popcorn, pomegranate and bolognesa sauce reminds him of her.

Popcorn because that’s the accord he feels the most from her perfume (I gave Eleanor my perfume, Black XS Pure). so every time he smells it he will think about her.

Pomegranate because of her shampoo. In All I Ever Wanted I wrote that when they played darts after the first day of residency he had felt that scent from her hair for the first time: “The moment she turned to him, all victoriously, a trail of pomegranate scent reached his nostrils“ and since that day, pomegranate will always remind him of her. Although it was a rewrite of chapter 12 without involving the AU, to me is canon in general in my Eleanor/Bryce relationship.

Bolognesa sauce/Oregano I think it’s less recurrent than the two previous, but is important because pasta is the first dish they cooked together and consequently, it’s the first feeling/memory of domesticity with Eleanor.

That night will always be important to Bryce because that’s the day Keiki came back to his life, but is also the time that he let Eleanor in by telling her about his family. Also -and this is something I’ll be digging in the next chapters of WYR-, that’s the night that changed everything for both of them, specially the way Eleanor sees him and how their relationship turned after that day in terms of commitment and how they trust each other. I would say more, but it’s better if you find out in the series with more detail hahaha

Eleanor on the other hand has a strong olfactory memory, so eveytime she smells Bryce’s perfume in anyone, it will remind her of him. I haven’t chosen a specific perfum yet but I always write it as sweet. To me it has to have a sweet note somewhere, and of course that’s the note she will always catch first.

The same with his shampoo(something expensive that smells amazing), his body wash(fruity, sweet, again. He’s a fucking charmer and doesn’t give a fuck about stuff made only for men), his after shave (fresh and minty).

And last but not least, cottom, because that’s how his clothes and sheets smell and it’s in his arms and sheets where she feels the safest and where she would spend the rest of her days.

49. do they think about each other a lot? does it affect their performance/schoolwork?

They think about each other A LOT. To me, even if they are 50, they’ll be just as in love as they are now and they’ll be in each other’s mind just as the beginning.

When they started dating, they thought about each other a lot, but it affected Bryce the more, because he was in love with her and he couldn’t believe she had agreed to date him that night at Isabella’s. To Eleanor, it made her feel little absentminded but not as much as happened with him.

Post chapter 17 of WYR, again this affects Bryce the more, because he’s at work worrying about Eleanor and her recovery, and still dealing with the traumatic experience of almost losing her.

But without this external effects, it doesn’t affect their work because they’re (and the have to be) very professional. They know they need to give their full attention to their patients. BUT, when the shifts are over, they make up for the lost time and they give their full attention to each other, which is very disgusting to Keiki, because she’s the main witness of their excessive PDA (PG-13 of course). She cannot understand why they act like siamese 😂

It was long, that’s why it took me so long, I’m sorry hahahah thank you for asking! ❤ This was very cute to write.

From this Angsty Relationships Ask

#Ask Dani

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theragamuffininitiative · 4 years ago

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hiyo

A brief personal update: riveting stuff, obviously.

I'm still working at the theatre, and pre-covid it was beginning to look like a promotion but if that happens it likely won't be this year, and I'm ok with that. Being furloughed March through May was one of the weirdest times of my life. I was way more strict about not going places and seeing people than anyone else around me, largely bc I have so many friends in areas that had the higher case counts at the time. Now the midwest is fit to get its share and I'm just....doing my best. Pretty sure you all can relate to that.

Still living with my roommate bc her boy didn't propose and there were Things. But they're getting married at the end of the year now and I'm excitedly ready to have my own space. At last.

I have stopped drinking soda. I’ve had it three times this year and otherwise I drink oceans of tea.

Also don't have a cat yet.

But.

Soon.

Very soon.

Still working on OtB as far as writing goes. It's been way slower than I like lol.

Fandom things you guys might actually be interested in!!

I watched Bandstand like thirty times when they streamed it. Coming at your tumble gifsetters... That show. I can’t. I just can’t. It’s so good. So. Good.

@hisloveconsumesme me sent me a Donny Nova Band shirt which I adore and I wore it on the 4th of July because obviously.

She and I also have been watching a lot of SPN and are almost done.

I still love the boys and I'm still not an actual fan of the show, so that hasn't changed lol (I think she tolerates my outbursts against it rather well).

I did of course tune in to see Winn return to stupidglue.

I had forgotten how horribly idiotic that show is. There literally are not words to describe what a garbage fire of a production that show is, all my love to the cast and crew living in that nightmare. It is a gargantuan failure of a story, the cw writers wouldn't know a proper plot arc or character development if it leapt up and slapped them in the face - which has happened. (I did, on those occasions, peruse @ninjagoat 's blog to soothe my outrage with salty commentary.) But Winn still holds my heart, and I love his life in the future; he has found everything he deserved that was refused from him in the current time. Family, true romance, appreciation for the genius he is, and friends who actually care for him. Also I died of laughter and love when his whole point in coming back appeared to be giving everyone a kick in the pants or a heart to heart and imparting his particular brand of wisdom. And he was right on all accounts as far as I could see. My best space boy.

I have read 14 books so far this year. Thought I would read more but I've delved a lot into certain blogs and such for reading time, and spent a surprising amount of three months of quarantine being social: group chats and movie nights and video calls, I had to start scheduling them lol.

I WATCHED HAMILTON LAST NIGHT

I watched all of the Mandalorian, and might rewatch it now that I’m personally subscribed and paying more of my soul to Disney. I think the Mandalorian might be my favorite Star Wars thing to exist.

2020 has been so weird, I don’t know what else has happened that might be relevant to this blog.

Oh. Needtobreathe’s upcoming album might be the best thing ever in all of existence, even if I did cry when they announced Bo leaving the band.

Uh, lastly, I have plants. I have four air plant buddies named after the villains in Airbuddies for obvious reasons even though I never watched that movie. And I have some rosemary and thyme and some oregano I’m trying to salvage, some strawberry plants I’m trying to grow from seed, and several tiny aspenglow succulents that don’t get enough sunlight in my window and probably won’t make it, but I tried.

That’s about all, folks. Maybe next year I’ll come back with a cat and a boyfriend and a progressing career path. XD

#this has been an update #an absolutely unnecessary one but here i am #ragamusings #this has been a /year/ in my life post

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clareguilty · 5 years ago

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Charles/Javier/Reader Fic

Read it here on AO3 Rating: General | No Warnings (reader is gender neutral but masc) Word Count: ~4500

"I know, old girl," you patted your horse reassuringly as she let out a worried snort. "We'll find them soon."

The sun was sinking over the Grizzlies, and Flat Iron Lake was turning from purple to inky black as you carefully made your way along the shore.

You knew how important it was that camp remained well hidden, but you had hoped that you would at least be able to find the gang with nothing but Mary-Beth's letter to go off of.

Dearest Cousin,

The weather is growing too hot here now that spring is in full bloom, so we've decided to move somewhere cooler. Your uncle has found a great place for us to pass the season right on the shore of Flat Iron Lake, not too far from Rhodes. Just head East from town. Come visit us as soon as you get the chance, the whole family can't wait to see you again. I hope this letter finds you well.

Warm regards, Leslie Dupont

P.S. We passed through Valentine. It is a disgusting and rotten town, and the sheriff is very unhelpful.

The girl was clever. She had sent you the location of the new hideout without giving away anything else about the gang in case the letter fell into the wrong hands. You had guessed that the law had caught up with them around Valentine, and that the sheriff was on the lookout for any trouble. You had no need to go back there anyways. The past few weeks, you had been working a job at Emerald Ranch.

It was your first real job. Your first time being out on your own since you joined the gang. The freedom and independence meant a lot to you, not to mention the fact that Dutch trusted you enough to send you out on your own. You were tired of feeling like dead weight, and this was your chance to prove yourself. Hosea had set everything up for you, and you had gone undercover as a ranch hand for nearly a month as you gathered information and put all the pieces in place that allowed you to steal away in the dead of night with $800 and a satchel full of valuables.

But that $800 dollars would never make it into Dutch’s hands if you couldn’t find the goddamned camp. It was getting dark, and that wouldn’t help you any.

Or would it?

As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, you noticed a flicker of light through the trees. That fire had better belong to the gang.

You picked your way through the thinning trees, stumbling upon a pack of familiar horses.

“Oh, thank god,” you hitched your old girl and stripped her of as much tack as possible before striding determinedly towards a familiar white tent.

Arthur looked up from his journal as you passed his cot. “You’re back!” he grinned, pushing to his feet to follow after you. “Did you get on alright?”

“Yeah. Everything was fine for once.” You made your way to where Dutch was sitting. A few other gang members had noticed your arrival and were heading over to meet you.

Dutch greeted you with open arms and a boisterous cheer. “How great it is to see you,” he pulled you in for a chaste embrace.

You pushed your stuffed satchel into his arms. His grin widened as he hefted it, feeling the sheer weight of your score. He shot you a look of pure admiration. “You’re always so good for me.”

You flushed and smiled. Dutch was kind, and he cared for you. It felt good to be home.

A hand closed over your shoulder and you turned to see Hosea smiling just as wide. "Thanks for setting up that job for me," you clasped your hand over his.

"I should be thanking you for bringing my ideas to glorious fruition," the older man grinned. "You did good."

It was the warmest welcome you could imagine. A celebration was quickly under way, rejoicing at your return as well as the money you brought with you.

"You must be tired," Susan flitted over, "let me show you where we've got you set up." She led you to a spot by the fire. Your bedroll was laid out among the others, but that was all you could see.

"Where's my trunk?" You asked, unstrapping your gear and setting it neatly nearby.

Susan's brow creased. "It should be right over here. I had them unload all of your stuff already."

You circled the tent. Swanson's, Charles', and Javier's trunks were all neatly lined up, but no sign of yours. "It's not here."

"I'll have Bill double check the wagons. He was the one responsible for picking up your things." She strode off, and you wanted to feel sorry for poor Bill. Susan was a force to be reckoned with. But you couldn't muster up any sympathy at the moment; you wanted your trunk.

The sharp cadence of Susan's voice could be heard as you grabbed a beer and settled in by the fire. Uncle had pulled out his banjo, and Pearson was on the accordion, leading Sean and Lenny in a drunken and out of tune rendition of some old navy song.

You watched as Bill lumbered over to the wagons, peering in each one. He grew more and more frustrated as you watched him. At last, he threw his hands up and returned to where Susan and Dutch were sitting. You made your way over there as well.

"-must have gotten lost somewhere along the way," Bill was saying. "I swear I loaded everything up."

"Where's my trunk," you demanded.

The three of them turned to you. None of their expressions showed any promise.

Bill was the first to own up. "I promise you I packed it before we left Horseshoe Overlook. I don't know what happened, but I can't find it."

"My clothes are in there. My things are in there."

"I know," Dutch attempted to placate you. "We'll keep looking for it. I'm sure your things will turn up."

"I want my clothes," you were growing angry now. You had more than just your clothes in that trunk: a bottle of nice brandy, a bag of coins, and some jewelry you had stolen from some asshat in Strawberry, but Dutch didn't need to know about any of that. You had worked your ass off for weeks only to come back and find all of your things were missing. Not to mention you had to leave your spare shirts behind at Emerald Ranch to make room for everything you had stolen.

"We'll find them," Dutch raised his hand, "and if not, I'll set aside some of your most recent score so you can replace what you lost."

You took a step forward, glancing wildly between the three of them. "I just rode all the way from Emerald goddamn Ranch, stumbling through the woods to find this place. All I want is a clean shirt and a night of rest, but what do I find? My things are gone."

You could hear the camp fall silent around you, watching your outburst as you jabbed a finger into Bill's broad chest.

Heavy footsteps approached from behind you and large, warm hands closed around your shoulders, pulling you back a respectable distance. "Easy, Little Bear," Charles was grinning; you could hear it in his voice. "Let's wash what you've got on and hang it to dry overnight. You can borrow some of my clothes in the meantime."

You acquiesced, knowing it was useless to try and argue with Charles. He was more level-headed than you and always so damn reasonable. He steered you away from Dutch and Bill, towards the shore of the lake where the water lapped gently against the muddy bank.

"Your clothes will be too big on me," you complained. Charles was easily twice your size.

"Yes, but they'll be clean." He pointed a warning finger at you, a silent command to stay still while he went to grab something for you to change into.

You sulked and stared out over the water, watching stray boats drift across the horizon. Charles returned, a bundle of familiar fabric draped over his arm. You recognized his blue button down.

"Wash up and get changed. I'll help you wash your things." He handed you the clothes.

The polite thing to do would have been to turn him down; you could wash your own clothes. Instead you stepped behind the wagon, stripped out of your things, and tossed them in the general direction of Charles. He didn't say anything, but you heard his footsteps retreating towards the wash basin.

You waded into the lake. The water was still warm in the shallows, heated from the afternoon sun. The mud was soft and cool beneath your bare feet, squishing between your toes until it dropped off into cold darkness. You swam out a few yards, scrubbing through your hair as best you could and trying to rub all of the Heartlands' dust from your skin.

The quiet of the lake was soothing, and you floated in the water until your fingers wrinkled and pruned. Finally, you waded to shore, drying off with a spare cloth before pulling on the clothes Charles lent you.

He was right; they were clean, and soft, and they smelled good. Charles must have stored herbs with his things because everything smelled like oregano and mint and thyme and leather.

They were also far too large on you. You rolled the sleeves up as far as you could and resorted to simply tying the bottom hem at your hips to keep the shirt from reaching to your knees. You rolled the pants to your ankles, working your belt through the loops with only a little difficulty.

You spotted Charles hanging your things out to dry. He looked you up and down as you approached.

"I look ridiculous," you groaned, helping him pin your trousers to the line. He made a soft sound, but didn't say anything.

"Thanks for loaning me some clothes," you placed a hand on his arm as the two of you walked back towards the fire.

"It's nothing," Charles shrugged. He passed you a beer and steered you towards the fire where Sean was giving a slurred, impassioned speech about what you assumed to be the beauty of a woman's breasts. You took your seat, waving off any comment about the fact that you were drowning in Charles' clothes.

The party continued on even as you laid down for the night. The younger men carried on and on without any care, much to everyone else's annoyance as things refused to quiet down.

Just as you fell asleep, you thought you heard the distant rumble of thunder, but that might have just been Uncle snoring.

It was thunder.

You woke to a sheet of rain coming out of nowhere, jolting you awake as well as Javier next to you. Thunder rang out over the water and the wind began to pick up more quickly than you could understand.

Javier cursed and began grabbing anything he didn't want to get soaked, dashing for the nearest wagon. A flash of lightning broke you out of your stupor and you jumped to your feet.

"My clothes," you whined. You ran to the line where Charles had hung them, but it was empty. The wind had taken everything. Not even the pins remained. "Aw, shit," you cursed, stomping in the mud.

Camp was in a state of chaos behind you. No one had anticipated the rain and people were running left and right to try and keep the storm from causing too much damage. The girls were all huddled in John's tent, sheltering Jack as best they could. Hosea and Lenny were trying to keep the ammunition dry, pulling a waxed tarp over the crates. It was a surprise the gang had dealt with many times before. Rain was nothing but an inconvenience.

Charles found you staring wistfully at the empty clothesline.

"They're gone," you said lamely.

"I'm sorry. I should have seen the storm coming," he tried to pull you at least under the bough of the tree so you weren't standing under the downpour.

"It's not your fault." You shook your head.

"Come on," he tried again to usher you towards some shelter, "there's no need to stand out in the storm." You followed along begrudgingly, settling in across from Javier in one of the covered wagons.

The storm passed, and everything was mostly dry by the next evening. You were now stuck in Charles' clothes indefinitely. Sean and John wasted no time in teasing you. You looked ridiculous.

"Please, Dutch," you begged, "just let me go into town and buy some clothes. I'll head straight to the general store and nowhere else."

"I'm sorry," he shook his head. "Our presence, or lack thereof, in this town is of the utmost importance. We have an in with this Sheriff Gray and his family, and I'm not going to risk it for anything."

You stormed off, throwing your hands up in disbelief. Sadie shot you a look that could only be described as commiserating. She was in the same boat as you, forced to remain in camp until someone decided to escort her to town.

Javier waved you over before you could get too far. He must have sensed your plan to steal away into town without anyone noticing, because he forced you to go out fishing with him on the lake.

You let him row the boat out onto the water, too petulant to even take your rod out for the first 20 minutes. Javier was unfazed. He baited his hook and cast his line like you weren't even there.

You eventually gave in and cast your line beside his, bringing in a few small bluegill while Javier managed to hook a bass. "Not bad," he clapped you on the back. "Much better than Arthur."

The compliment made you feel better, and you offered to row back to shore.

Charles was waiting for your return. He took the bass from Javier and told you to give the bluegill to Pearson.

"This can be our dinner tonight," Javier grinned. "We catch it, he cooks it."

You had no objections to that, following the two of them over to one of the smaller fires where Charles immediately set to work preparing the fish.

"You know," Javier spoke up, "you can borrow some of my clothes if you need to. They'd probably fit better, and we all know I'm the best dressed one around here."

Charles didn't appear to take any offense to the suggestion, so you grinned at Javier. "Thanks for the offer. I can't believe Dutch won't even let me go into town."

The three of you shared a meal of fish and mushrooms. Javier and Charles were easy to be around, and they never hesitated to put another serving on your plate. You envied the easy familiarity between them, the soft touches and gentle smiles they exchanged. They had a bond stronger than any men you had known before, and you enjoyed this invitation into their comfort and intimacy.

Another sunrise, another day of Dutch refusing to let you go into town. Fed up with his nonsense, you wandered over to where the O'Driscoll boy was resting among the horses.

He was eager to help, especially since he didn't know you were going against Dutch's orders. He helped you saddle up one of the Morgan horses, cooing to the beast as you mounted up and slipped quietly into the forest.

You pushed north until you broke the treeline, and then turned west towards the road. It was a straight shot to Rhodes from there. Sure, you looked ridiculous in Charles' oversized clothes but you weren't going to let that stop you. You could change once you got to the general store and then everything would be right as rain.

Except you didn't even make it to the general store. You were hardly at the edge of the farmlands before the thunder of hooves sounded behind you. Your pistol was in your hand before you had even turned.

Charles and Javier were gaining on you, and this borrowed Morgan would never be able to outrun them. You let out a groan of frustration, rearing to a stop and giving up before the men had even reached you.

They overtook you on either side. Charles scooped you up in one arm and deposited you onto Taima in front of him. Javier rounded up the poor horse you had borrowed from the O'Driscoll and began leading it back to camp.

"Little Bear, what were you thinking?" Charles was scolding you. "You're in Dutch's good graces after that job at Emerald Ranch, would you really want to ruin that by defying him?" You slumped forward. Charles threw an arm around your chest to keep you upright. "I don't understand why you can't just be patient. Javier and I can look out for you until Dutch says it's okay to go into town." He was right, but you certainly weren't satisfied with it.

You let them sneak you back into camp. For the rest of the night, neither one let you out of their sight. Whenever you strayed too far from the gang, Javier was there, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

Even more embarrassing, Charles moved his bedroll to be on the other side of you. You were trapped between him and Javier with no way of sneaking out in the night. Despite your frustration, you felt safe between them.

The days wore on with no chance of going into Rhodes. Javier took great pleasure in dressing you up, forcing a multitude of accessories on you and laughing to himself as he made you look 'proper.'

Arthur and John stood by with amused smiles on their faces, snickering every so often. You glared at them, but you doubt the expression carried any weight when you looked like a goddamned fool.

"They're just jealous that they can't look this good," Javier scoffed. "Let me comb out your hair."

If you thought you looked ridiculous in Charles' oversized clothes, you felt like a clown in Javier's. Sean and Uncle began to lay into you instantly, and you quickly grew too irritated to be around them.

The girls were the only ones who had anything nice to say about how you were dressed, but they turned all of their compliments to Javier and his impeccable sense of style. You were nothing more than a pretty doll for them to look at.

"You look fine," Charles assured you. "Javier’s look suits you. Maybe you should consider adding a waistcoat to your new wardrobe."

You rolled your eyes at the suggestion, but he didn't miss the way your hands smoothed over the fabric. You were considering it.

Javier followed you around constantly, showering you with praise that was really just him complimenting his own work.

"If you don't cut it out I'm going to take this off right now and throw it in the lake," you turned on him.

"But then what will you wear?" Javier countered.

"I'll borrow something of Arthur's," you waved a hand to where the older outlaw was scribbling in his journal.

"Huh? Me? Why can't you wear John's stuff?" Arthur immediately shot you down.

"Because none of Marston's stuff is ever clean," you said. Arthur and Javier both nodded in agreement at that. Marston was always filthy, and his clothes were worn and threadbare.

Remembering the true source of your anger, you turned towards Dutch's tent, fury in your eyes. None of this would be an issue if the bastard would just let you go into town. Javier quickly stepped in front of you, seeing how poorly this could end.

"Hey, hey -- easy, Osito," he backed you up a few steps, "just wear my stuff for a few days. I promise we'll get you something soon."

Ignoring Javier, you took a step toward Dutch’s tent. His arms locked around your chest and shoulders and he began dragging you away. “Dios mio,” he muttered under his breath, “Te amo, pero puedes ser mucho.”

You had no clue what he was saying, but you didn’t care unless he was taking you into Rhodes. Javier dragged you up the hill, past the horses and into the trees. You didn’t fight him, but you certainly didn’t make it easy on him. He dropped you in the leaves once you were you of sight of camp.

“What’s your problem, huh?” he demanded. “Dutch gives you one order -- una orden -- and you have to fight him at every turn? He has a job lined up for us. You can’t jeopardize that. Why can’t you just wait until he gives you permission to go into town?”

Javier’s scolding made your blood boil. You pushed to your knees, staring up at him. “He’s being ridiculous. Even you have to see that. I’ve lost everything. I hate being so dependent on everyone for everything all the time, and now I don’t even own the clothes off my back. I just want to have something of my own again.”

Javier opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the approach of someone else. You both turned to see Charles; he had probably heard everything. He walked straight towards you, helping you to your feet. You glanced between him and Javier.

“I understand you’re upset,” Charles spoke first. “You lost more than just your clothes in that trunk. Was there anything important?”

You looked to your boots. Charles wouldn’t tell Dutch that you were hiding money from him, but you weren’t as sure about Javier. Sighing, you spoke up. “A bottle of brandy -- the good stuff. Some jewelry I had stolen. A, uh, a bag of coins. Those don’t really matter thought, they can all be replaced. There were some letters from my mother -- heirlooms and things too. I can’t get those back.” You kicked at the underbrush.

“I’m sorry,” Charles smoothed a hand over your hair.

“Sorry won’t bring them back,” you hated that you couldn’t stop fighting. You didn’t want to argue.

“Can you do something for me, Little Bear?” Charles gently nudged your chin with his thumb and you looked up at him. Against your instincts, you nodded. As much as you wanted to take care of things yourself, it would be better to trust Charles. “Can you wait three more days?”

You frowned and turned to Javier, eyes pleading. He just shrugged and shook his head. This was between you and Charles.

“Three days,” you agreed. “After that, I’m doing things my way.”

Charles nodded.

The next morning, he was gone. You searched all over camp, but you knew he was nowhere to be found; Taima was missing as well. Several other horses were missing as well, The Count and Silver Dollar were nowhere to be found.

“Where’s Charles?” you asked Arthur.

“No clue. He left before I woke up this morning. Must be riding out pretty far, I reckon.”

You were tempted to break your promise. Who knew when Charles would be back? Three days was nothing. He likely wouldn't be back until next week. No one would notice or care if you left camp now.

Except Javier. Loyal Javier, who had watched you give your word to Charles. Javier, who was letting you borrow his clothes. You couldn’t do that to him.

So you dug in and did your chores, helped cook and clean and sew, always one ear to the ground for any word from Dutch or Charles. Damn that van der Linde and all his planning. You just wanted to be reckless for once, to run in without thinking. What did it matter, all these Grays and Braithewaites?

Night fell on the third day, and you slumped into the seat next to Javier. He threw an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into his side. “Don’t worry,” he grinned. “Things will start looking up again soon.”

“Whatever,” you sighed, but Javier made a satisfied sound next to you. You narrowed your eyes and pointed a finger at his chest, “You know something, don’t you?”

“Who? Me?” Javier laughed, “I am not in the habit of knowing things.”

You knew you would never get a straight answer out of him, so you leaned into his side and watched the flames lick up towards the sky. You dozed off without meaning to, unsure if you imagined the feeling of Javier’s lips brushing against your forehead.

The sound of an approaching horse woke you. Someone had returned to camp.

Taima’s white flank shone in the moonlight and you raced to meet Charles as he dismounted. He scooped you into his arms, spinning you around before setting you on your feet. You couldn’t help but match his wide smile.

“I’ve brought you something,” he retrieved a rather bulky parcel from his saddlebags. “Let’s move closer to the fire.”

You tore open the twine and paper, running your fingers over the soft fabric inside. “You didn’t…” you held up the shirt in the firelight. It was nicer than anything you had owned before, and it must have cost a fortune.

“I spoke to Dutch, and he agreed to let me ride to the tailor’s in Saint Denis. You should thank him when you get the chance.”

You didn’t think Dutch deserved any thanks for all his ridiculous impositions, but you threw your arms around Charles’ neck. It was one of the kindest things anyone had ever done for you.

“There’s more,” he turned you back to the parcel. “I’m sure Javier wants to see them as well.”

You held up each item, letting both men feel the fabrics and admire the craftsmanship. There were shirts, trousers, a jacket, and even a tie. When you reached the last item, you let out a bark of laughter. It was a waistcoat, not unlike the one Javier had leant you.

“Muy hermoso,” he nodded in approval. “You’ll look almost as good as me.”

You rewrapped the items and tucked them next to your bedroll.

“You don’t want to change right now?” Charles raised an eyebrow. You were in his shirt and Javier’s pants. They were comfortable and worn.

“It can wait until tomorrow,” you shrugged. "Thank you… for taking care of me," you stared at the bottle in your hands. "I know I've been difficult to handle."

"You would do the same for us," Charles smoothed a hand over your hair.

"There's one more thing," Javier shot you a coyote grin. He reached into his own pack and pulled out a bottle. The firelight caught in the glass and glowed amber. "The good stuff," he passed it to you. It was brandy, nicer than the bottle you had lost.

You hugged him tight, uncapping the bottle and taking a drink before offering it to Javier. He drank and passed the bottle to Charles. It was some of the smoothest, sweetest liquor you had tasted.

#Charles Smith #charles smith/reader #Javier Escuella #javier escuella x reader #javier escuella/reader #charles smith x reader #charles smith/javier escuella/reader #fic #rdr2

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