Jonah and the whale

I want to be perfect just like you ,pull my strings show me what to do

[jonah-cartwright]

leocallauber​:

Leo didn’t really understand why Jonah was so upset about being forgiven. Most people would move on. If they apologized at all that is. Leo himself wasn’t used to immediately being forgiven either, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t accept it and move on. “Dude, you’d only piss me off if it was on purpose. And it wasn’t was it.” Leo was fairly certain either Jonah was secretly a fantastic liar or didn’t have a lying bone in his body. Something told him it was closer to the second one.

“Were you a boy scout?” That wouldn’t surprise Leo at all. Leo had been a boy scout. But only for like 3 weeks. It didn’t work out. Sometimes he did the scouts honor thing as well, he just usually didn’t mean it. More of a joke to him then anything else really.

he day Leo went looking for bacteria was the day he started using his brain in science class. Who would even go looking for that in the first place. Leo may be a nerd but he wasn’t that kind of nerd. “I was trying to see how good it was for frog hunting. Pretty sure I’ve scared them all off for now.” What a bust this had been.

"so you're not embarrassed or whatever?"jonah asked with wide eyes. he was used to people taking out their own embarrassment or insecurities on other people. that was what being a high school boy was all about. none of them were gracious or had their shit together. maybe jonah had underestimated the goodness of people and settled for less than stellar treatment for too long. he needed to refocus. there was no need to have an existential crisis over making a guy fall into the creek."that's not my style."he assured leo.he had been the bystander to cruel pranks but he never participated. watching as people got their head dunked in a toilet caused enough guilt as it was. he would never leave the confessional booth if he participated in things like that. 

"i'm surprised you're asking that. i don't think i give off those vibes at all."he replied sarcastically, a grin on his face. he was aware that he was a cliche good old fashioned all american boy. fitting into the boxes and ideals other people had came with safety and security. you could easily slot yourself in and say you belonged. there was also very little to do in his home town growing, it was surrounded by endless fields and wide open spaces. he was a scout because he needed a hobby and it seemed like a good way to learn new things. 

speaking of people that didn't seem like they had specific hobbies jonah was shocked leo using by the word hunting. he didn't seem like a menace to innocent frogs "you're just looking for frogs, rights? you're not going to kill them." jonah theorized and hoped that leo just hadn't grown out of the putting spiders in a jar and keeping them as pets phase some kids had. that seemed likelier and more humane.

[jonah-cartwright]

♡⇨♨

♡: If you could spend a day in the life of any other student, who would you pick and why?

being maximo for the day would be awesome but i'd suck at it. he does whatever the fuck he wants and is effortlessly cool. being impulsive and not caring what people think looks freeing. but as i've already said i couldn't do that well.

⇨: Your cabin is on fire and you can only save three things from your bunk. What are they?

the photo i put near my bed is the first thing i'm taking. my parents took it last summer. it's of me, grace , naomi and abby hiking in louisville. grace turned it into a competition but she turns everything into a competition, that little shit. she doesn't suit her name at all. she's super clumsy. my cell is too expensive too burn and i need it. i have a bunch of reminders telling me when i need to do things especially when it comes to school stuff. i'd save my soccer boots as well.they're scuffed but we've seen a lot together.

♨ : If you could only eat one type of campfire food for the rest of the year, what would you pick?

i want to say s'mores because they're amazing and a classic. everybody loves that gooey toasted marshmellow goodness. but just eating s'mores would rot my teeth. that's way too much sugar. so i'm going to say i need a balanced diet of campfire food.

[jonah-cartwright]

emmahayashi​:

“Okay, first of all: relax,” Emma said flat-out. There was being considerate and there was being scared the wrong word would get you whacked. Jonah felt like he fell into the latter category. She didn’t know much about him but she knew enough to know he was sort of like, an overly nice guy. Not in a gross creepy way but weird enough that you wondered if he had a spine. He was good at soccer though she could say that much, having taken a few pictures of him playing for the Yearbook. “And honestly, yeah, that’d be pretty cool actually.” She was tired. She wasn’t in the mood to be above it. And as long as Jonah didn’t ask a shit ton of questions, she wouldn’t mind the extra help. “It’s kind of yellow and green, there’s some roses on it, and mountains and the Willamette river on either side of the text.” She didn’t make a habit of looking at the postcard too often when it was on her wall because it made her feel sappy but she was pretty sure that was an accurate description of it from memory. “I could like, help you with your shit too. Have you lost anything?” Most people have to her knowledge with all of their shit being strewn about all over the Retreat.

shit ! he'd already said the wrong thing and he'd only said four short sentences.it didn't come as a surprise.it felt like saying the wrong thing came naturally no matter how much effort he put into being likeable.at least emma hadn't glared at him or hexed him so maybe he was doing better than he thought."sorry ,i'll tone it down."his constant setting was trying too hard to please people so it was impossible for him to relax and just exist.he'd still make an attempt to relax (which defeated the purpose of making less of an effort to be everything to everyone). "it's kind of hard to relax right down."emma didn't need him to point out how stressful the clean up was.compared to the students kicking trees and shouting over sunglasses jonah with his stress bed making was well adjusted "cool." was his eloquent way to show he was surprised she accepted his help without being snarky.the missing postcard sounded like a regular basic postcard, complete with a picture of a landmark he'd never heard of.it was a good thing it said portland and had the same color scheme as the brazil soccer kit.a postcard was a weird thing to bring to school with you ,it was an ugly piece of cardboard.maybe it was sentimental? jonah wasn’t going to ask.it wasn’t any of his business and it didn’t seem like emma was a fan of sharing personal details.she seemed more into keeping secrets and wearing too much black eyeliner.”nah ,you don’t have to properly help.just throw other any flannel,i guess?”there were easier to track down than his hoodies and t-shirts.people’s hoodies were going to be hard to track down and organise.”i can’t find my pacers keychain.it’s shaped like a p and has a basketball on it.”it must have fallen off when whoever messed up the campsite threw his suitcase behind the junior cabin.

[jonah-cartwright]

emmahayashi​:

@ba-central​ ; LOCATION: Junior Cabin

You have got to be fucking kidding. It was already a load of horse shit that they had to stay in run-down cabins and now this? Emma had no idea why so many kids at this school believed in God when things like this happened. She was going to kill whoever did this. She’ll go straight to juvie, she didn’t even care. The worst part of it all was that she had to talk to people now. Because whoever did this was fucking thorough. It was like a hurricane blew through the place and everyone’s crap was all mixed up. For the most part, Emma has found most of her things. It wasn’t difficult. If something was black, it was usually hers. And she didn’t have too many things. But she was missing something. Something… dumb but it was important to her so she figured she’d ask around for it.

“Hey, have you seen like, a postcard?” Not like a postcard, a postcard. She was just fucking exhausted. Not to mention through-the-roof irritated. It was Friday. She just finished and submitted a bunch of shit at school. All she wanted to do this weekend was hole-up and watch some movies she downloaded while at the library. Hunting and collecting all of her crap off of the cabin floor was not part of the plan. “It says Portland on it.”

jonah grabbed the top right part of the graying bed sheet. he finally had the time to destress and remake his bed. after coming back to the trashed cabins his first instinct was to help other people find their things. he realized that some people were more uncomfortable with the idea of other people touching their stuff than he was.he was used to having his things moved or taken. it was a regular thing that happened when you lived in a house with six other people. especially when one of those people was a twelve year old girl that often stole your basketball caps ,video games and t-shirts. so he spent the immediate aftermath running between the two cabins and looking for other people’s belongings.he had even half-heartedly folded t-shirts for someone.

that moment was going to be time he used for himself. he could check if the dickheads weirdos that rearranged the entire site had placed anything in his bed. it was unlikely but anything was possible , jonah didn’t understand what went through the heads of criminal masterminds. but mainly he wanted to remake his bed for his own enjoyment. it was strange but he there was something relaxing about the routine of making a bed. he could do it quickly and efficiently. or maybe he would have to rethink his plans. 

he dropped the bed sheet when emma spoke to him. she must have been desperate and irritated. but when wasn’t emma irritated? the two of them had an unspoken pact to avoid each other and stay in their own spaces. she intimidated him with her all black wardrobe and dark make-up. he assumed she probably hated him by default.”nope ,i don’t think so.sorry.i could help you look for it? but only if you wan’t me to. i don’t want to tread on your toes or anything.” he made his offer to help in a sheepish way , giving her the option to refuse his help.she didn’t seem like the kind of person that wanted help but he didn’t know anything about her. not really.

[jonah-cartwright]

leocallauber​:

Leo trudged out of the pond letting his bitterness flow away as he listened to Jonah’s stuttered apology. It was kinda hard to be mad at that. Plus it really wasn’t that big of a deal. It’s not like these were his favorite clothes. “ Yeah I’m fine. No harm done. I needed to wake up anyways if you managed to scare me.” Now he was generally pretty scare able, but for Jonah to scare him was kinda a new low. Jonah was just to nice to scare people. As far as he could tell anyways. Not scare them into a creek at least. “You don’t have to make it up to me. Just try not to scare the next person examining a creek. Or me again.”

the initial relief jonah felt at being instantly forgiven was replaced by confusion.it was a blessing to be instantly forgiven but it felt like the absolution came too easily."really?you're not even like a little bit pissed?",jonah asked tentatively.upsetting people made him sick to his stomach but he would have understood if leo was angry at him.he frightened the shit out of him and caused him to tumble head first into a creek.yes it was an accident but it was the kind of accident that lead to people being embarrassed or getting cholera.he deserved repercussions.

"got it ,no more scaring people.scout's honor."a warm smile was on his lips.he made sure to do the scout's salute while saying his vow.he didn't do the scout salute out of irony or social etiquette.he meant it as a genuine basis for honestly.it was the same as how he still used pinky promises as a foundation of trust.but only with his younger sisters,using the scared pinky promise with anybody else would be embarrassing.

the word examine piqued his interest.in general he wasn't the kind of person to examine things or go hunting for answers ,preferring to take things at face value, . so why anybody would examine the creek was lost on him."you were examining the creek ,huh? what were you looking for? bacteria? or maybe a human-fish hybrid monster?"

[jonah-cartwright]

leocallauber​:

Location: The Creek

@ba-central​

Leo crouched down and stared down at the creek. He poked the surface and watched the water ripple.  It didn’t seem too deep. At least in the daylight it didn’t look that way. Maybe a couple of feet at this part of it. Seemed like a good spot for something he hadn’t done since he’d last been home. He’d never been very good at frog hunting but that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun. Maybe he could get some of the students to join him.  

He didn’t hear the person approaching until the twig snapped. One thing about Leo is that he scares way to easily to be attending Broadripple. The snap startled him so much he lost his balance. Instead of the universe giving him a break and letting him fall backwards he fell forward. Resurfacing he wiped his eyes and stared at the one who startled him. “What the hell dude.”

he felt guilty for disturbing leo in mid pond poking flow but his curiosity and boredom outweighed his guilt.”sorry!i didn’t mean to scare you!”,he announced as he scratched behind his neck.he was cringing the same way he did when he messed up the latin during mass so it probably wasn’t necessary to clarify his intentions.but it didn’t hurt to make sure there was no room for a misunderstanding. he had people get the wrong idea about him before,mostly due to him sitting by and letting horrible things happen “are you ok? maybe i could…god I don’t know!make it up to you somehow?"he didn’t know what the right way to make amends for causing somebody to fall into a creek was but he was willing to try anything.

[jonah-cartwright]

lucygson​:

Lucy raised her eyebrows like that wasn’t at all a good enough answer, although her expression did soften once he elaborated. Intrigued was a start and she was more than happy to offer a less-than-subtle education in the art of, well, her art. “You’re meant to feel how you want to feel.” She turned her attention back to the wall in question. “Doesn’t it make you want to tear down the establishment and start all over?” she asked hopefully. “Start a movement, get involved, that kind of thing?”

 “but what if i want to feel what everybody else feels?it’s easier.”,he shrugged.he knew that it was the coward’s way out but he liked being palatable.there was safety in being mild and not standing for anything.nobody rejected you when you moulded yourself to their liking.people preferred the version of jonah he created especially for them better than the authentic version he hadn’t discovered yet.”not really ,sorry.i’m more of a blend into the establishment kind of guy.”he stated like everything about him didn’t make it blatantly obvious he wanted to be accepted by the establishment (whatever the hell that was).”you really think you’re going to change the world with your..pussy riot shrine?”,he asked.it was disturbing that lucy potentially was friends with the devil but it was cool that she had ambitions.jonah had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.the only thing he thought he excelled at was soccer and he was good with kids so maybe he might become a coach?or he could help people through priesting?did priests need complicated college degrees?

[jonah-cartwright]

lucygson​:

@ba-central​

Lucy had been dreading moving day since she heard about the destruction of the dorms. Until she actually got to the site. She knew that some of her more high maintenance peers wouldn’t fare well in somewhere to… rustic. Lucy even cracked a smile when she saw the state of the rooms. Her first mission was much like anyone else’s — decorate.

She wasn’t looking to make it homely, just somewhere that she didn’t hate. She tacked up a few posters, mostly indie bands and her favourite poems. Pussy Riot took centre stage, bordered by a frame of old popsicle sticks. Still, she felt like something was missing. She crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back, looking around the room for inspiration. “How does this arrangement make you feel?” she asked, as if it was some grand art exhibit and not just a collage on the wall of a rickety old cabin.

jonah had been wondering around the retreat sight like a lost puppy for the last ten minutes.it hadn’t taken him long to unpack his belongings ,he was a light traveller and didn’t feel the need to attempt to personalize the cabin.he didn’t want to take up space and hopefully his stay in the cabins was only temporary.he had no problems staying somewhere with minimum luxuries but he dreaded the change of routine ,especially when it came to his morning jogs,.

 he was looking for a way to make himself useful when lucy asked him about her modern art  installation.his first instinct was to ask if she was allowed something with that kind of language on campus but he pushed down that thought in fear of sounding uncool or like a prude.”Confused.”he tilted his head to take in the poster.there must have been a reason for the women in multi-colored ski masks.maybe they were making some kind of statement.”but also...intrigued.what am i meant to feel?”

[jonah-cartwright]

JONAH CARTWRIGHT  is a 17 year old JUNIOR student at Broadripple Academy.HE is originally from GREENVILLE ,IN but moved to Broadripple THREE YEARS ago. HE is COMPASSIONATE and DEDICATED but can also be INSECURE and WEAK-WILLED. 

BASICS

name:jonah charles cartwright

age:seventeen

grade:junior

house:fenwick

cabin room:one

how long have they been at broadripple:three years

where are they from originally:greenville ,indiana

extra curricular:soccer ,field hockey ,sacriston club the swim team

 TRAITS

positive personality traits: dedicated ,compassionate ,benevolent ,organised and observant

neutral personality traits: people-pleasing,humble ,cautious ,altruistic and a natural follower

negative personality traits: insecure ,weak-willed ,self-deprecating ,bumbling and naive 

FACTS 

The Church was an important looming presence in his childhood both in a literal sense ,it was the most grandiose building in town, but also in a metaphorical sense.growing up he went to the church youth group and mass every sunday.his moral code is through a catholic lense

he holds himself to standards that he doesn't expect other people to meet.his friends can lie as much as they want as and have as much pre-martial sex as they want but he would be disgusted as himself for that.he feels like he needs to be perfect and the support system for everybody else.

he thinks he should be stoic but he has Big Feelings™ and no idea how to process them in a healthy way that doesn't come with a bunch of self-loathing and guilt

mostly he cares about how people see him and fitting into a narrow definition of masculinity.as the only boy out of four children he feels like he has to encapsulate everything his dad wants in a son

his parents have lived in the same town all their life and quickly settled down after high school-they wanted their children to have more options so looked into a wide variety of prestigious schools until settling on broadripple jonah followed in the footsteps of his older sister ,a gymnast prodigy, and started attending broadripple a year after her also on a sports scholarship

HEADCANONS 

 he's a creature of habit,he loves routines and having meticulously thought out plans.having a schedule makes him feel safe.one of the things he's most apprehensive about when it comes to the retreat is whether or not he'll be able to go on his morning runs 

  i was tempted to write touch starved in all caps because he really is touch starved in all caps.after putting so much effort into being restraint he needs a long hug and to finally let go for once in his life

besides religion the other defining thing in his life is soccer.he loves the adrenaline rush and comes alive on the pitch

he's not a great babysitter because of how much he let's the kids do whatever they like but he is a well loved babysitter.he's good at talking to kids and all of his younger cousins adore him

his music taste consists almost entirely of wailing indie darlings (and he's also a secret dolly parton stan) but if he gets handed the aux cord he puts on crowd pleasing stadium rock

i would say he’s dishonest but the only person he actively lies to is himself.he’s so focused on living up to other people’s expectations that he doesn’t know what he wants or who he is.the idea of actively deceiving anybody else makes him uncomfortable though.he's a good honest boy except when it comes to himself 

has an awkward hand gesture for every situation.you would think by now he’s know how to conduct himself in a way that doesn’t make him look uncomfortable.but nope he still throws up an awkward peace sign because he hasn’t worked out what to do with his hands

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RETREAT 

what do they think about The Retreat? internally he was disturbed by the cicadas infestation because of it’s striking similarity to a biblical plague.however ,he’s looking forward to living in close proximity to his classmates and getting to know people better.he feels like he’ll finally be able to show his strengths while living in the cabins

do they have any previous experience with camping or other outdoors? is that even a question? he was the golden boy of the boy scouts and still remembers a lot of the practical skills he learnt.he’ll be the first person to offer to set up the camp fire

what does their cabin bunk look like? how will they decorate their space?he has a minimalist set up because he didn’t want to risk damaging any precious items on the flight to broadripple.keeps his space neat and his bunk is always made when he’s out of it.one of his biggest priorities is trying to find a place to hide a vape pen in close quarters

do they believe in the supernatural? to what degree? he doesn't know what he believes in.he's unsure if demons are literal supernatural creatures or more of a symbolic representation of evil.he thinks that dead souls being trapped on earth could count as purgatory but he isn't sure on anything

are they easily spooked? he was the weird kid that lifted up logs to see if there were bugs underneath them so he's not afraid of creepy crawlies.and not that he'd ever admit it but he's afraid of the unknown and unexplained loud noises

AND FINALLY,A very dumb but (hopefully) fun quiz made by your admins, please share what result .jonah got that he’d sacrifice himself for somebody else and yes 100% accurate AND FINALLY,A very dumb but (hopefully) fun quiz made by your admins, please share what result .jonah got that he’d sacrifice himself for somebody else and yes 100% accurate

[jonah-cartwright]

jocelyn-conway‌:

Joss chuckled at Jonah’s assessment but didn’t have the heart to tell them that yeah, he was sort of right about that. “Well, duh, we’ll be fine but I’m thinking that we’ll have our asses handed to us if we go back to the dorms soaking wet and covered in mud,” she suggested, “I’m sure Sister Michael would love to hit us with a fire hose in the courtyard but I’m pretty sure she’d have to at least pretend to be pissed and I think we’d score a detention or two out of it anyway and I don’t know about you but I’m not super into the idea of spending my afternoon in class- especially not with Sergeant still serving his sentence for the whole mustache in class thing. Why don’t we call it a day and if you really want me to kick your ass on the field I can just do it in FIFA20 if the PlayStation is free?”  

“Stop being sensible ,it’s freaking me out.”,Jonah quipped ,scrunching up his face at his own idiocy.He hadn’t considered the consequences of playing soccer in the rain.All that was on his mind was blowing off some steam and playing soccer.”You’ve got a point about probably getting detention for dragging in mud.That shit would suck.”,he commented.His record wasn’t spotless but he felt remorseful the few times he got detention,unlike Sebastian with his ‘Carl Marks’ moustache.”I don’t know man,I think we could all use a hosing down from Sister Michael and her fire hose.Do you think she’d use regular water or holy water?”,he asked.That would certainly make communion more interesting.”Sure ,I’m always up for kicking your ass at FIFA20.”He wasn’t confident when it came to most things but he was confident in his ability to beat Joss at video games.

[jonah-cartwright]

jocelyn-conway‌:

@jonah-cartwright​

Jocelyn stopped when she felt a couple of raindrops hitting her forehead and sighed to herself as she pressed her gloved hand to her forehead and looked up at the sky above the soccer pitch. Despite the fact that she was wearing Skins under her shorts, an extra pair of socks and a long-sleeved top as a defense against the cold, it was no match for the rain that threatened to pour down at any given moment and ruin her impromptu training session with Jonah. “I think we’ve got maybe ten minutes before it starts really coming down out here- you wanna risk it or call it a day now?” she called out to the boy across the field, while she stood patiently with the soccer ball at her feet.

Jonah bounced up and down on the balls of his feet in anticipation.With the fast approaching gray clouds and chill in the air even the most oblivious person could tell that a storm was approaching.But he refused to be put of by bad weather.He used to be that one annoying kid that enjoyed being forced to do P.E in the rain by malicious teacher.It added an extra layer of excitement.”It’ll be fine but you know I can’t be trusted to make decisions.”,he shouted back from further down the field.”That’s why you’re the captain and I’m not.”

[jonah-cartwright]

casey-ro‌:

“You look like you secretly read fan-fiction,” maybe that was just a little too honest and obtuse an opinion to be sharing with a BBC boy but he wasn’t a real BBC boy, right? He was like a trainee or an apprentice or whatever. He didn’t have the same hulking figure as Sebastian or psychotic gaze as Max, she felt a little bolder around Jonah, “-but you also know the guys and if the guys did this then yeah, I figured you’d be able to I.D. them pretty quickly. You’re trying to tell me something like this wouldn’t be shared in your Snapchat groups immediately?” she challenged, raising an eyebrow. She was pretty sure that every time one of the BBC boys thought they did a cool fart, it was shared with the rest of their clan. Surely something like this would be the headline of the hour, in their circles, if they were indeed responsible.

She thought about her own words for a moment and the longer she digested it, the more it seemed that the BBC boys were innocent. Or at least those that considered Jonah a friend were. “You really don’t know anything about this?” she questioned, her voice less accusatory now, starting to sincerely believe that maybe, just maybe she wasn’t the victim she’d thought herself to be nor was Jonah the antagonist she’d thought him to be, either directly or by association.

It hurt to be judged by anybody but being judged by Casey hurt more than Jonah expected it to.Not that he ever thought he'd have a real conversation with her.Something strange really was happening at Broadripple."Isn't that the thing where people write about stuff like Sonic The Hedgehog and Shadow doing it"?,he asked with a raised eyebrow.This was the second time somebody accused him of being into weird porn.Once would just be a fluke (especially because Max would say anything to make people uncomfortable).But now a pattern was emerging."What is it about me that makes people think I'm a closet freak?How do I have a weird closet freak vibe?",he asked sincerely.Whatever it was he was going to change it. Casey's withering gaze caused Jonah to avert his gaze.She didn't have an intimidating bone in her body but he had the backbone of a jellyfish and a penchant for feeling guilty. "You're not wrong about the groupchat.",he responded with a shrug.There was a lot of questionable shared in the Boys Club Snapchat group. He dealt with it by swiping through quickly and hoping that it wouldn’t come back to haunt him.

“Yes I’m sure.”,he answered flatly.He didn’t want to seem too confrontation but their entire conversation was hitting a nerve.."I'm sick of people assuming shit and making me out to be some bad guy." , he continued before taking a drag of his juul.Being called a douche by association still ran through his head.All he wanted to do was keep his head down and be a part of something bigger than himself.He didn't go out of his way to antagonize people.However ,all his good intentions kept being thrown back into his face and people acted like he personally wronged them somehow.He was just trying to survive.

[jonah-cartwright]

maximlicn‌:

“Now  you  get  the  bigger  picture,  just  grow  a  backbone  and  it’ll  work  wonders  for  you.”

And  he  was  still  beating  the  dead  horse  that  was  that  terrible  pirate  movie  franchise,  his  expression  growing  dull  and  lifeless,  in  contrast  to  his  mind  too.  Jonah’s  words  weren’t  perceived  in  the  all  Max  heard  was  gibberish.  “Are  you  done  now?  Like,  seriously,  because  you  cannot  take  a  hint  man,  I  could  care  less  about  Depp,  and  his  pirate  movies  that  went  on  for  far  too  long.”

“Dude,  if  you’re  into  talking  animals  just  say  that,  I  mean,  I’m  gonna  judge  you  regardless,  but  just  say  that,”  a  simple  statement  really  no  matter  how  fucked  up  it  truly  was,  and  a  definite  kinkshame.  “So,  do  you  like,  search  up  Lola  Bunny  in  the  the  PornHub  search  tabs  or  what?”  He  quizzed,  getting  on  the  very  last  nerve  of  anyone  was  something  Max  took  pride  in.

Dangerously  blue  eyes  widened  as  a  result  from  Jonah’s  comment.  “Man,”  he  sighed,  a  chuckle  following  him  soon  after,  “you’ve  got  to  start  saying  ‘no  homo’  after  a  few  of  your  sentences,”  he  concluded,  like  he  just  didn’t  state  that  asserting  dominance  over  the  pledge  was  a  hard  on.

“You  can  set  them  on  my  desk  chair,  I  was  gonna  have  you  fold  them  and  put  them  up  by  color,  but  seeing  my  speedos  or  underwear  might  turn  you  on,”  he  said  placing  his  phone  on  the  wireless  charging  station  that  also  charged  his  Apple  Watch  and  AirPods,  it  was  a  sleek  black  design  and  went  swimmingly  with  the  rest  of  his  room..  “So,  why  exactly  did  you  pledge?”  He  questioned,  straightforward  to,  to  be  exact.  “I  never  got  to  ask  you,  and  you  look  like  you’ve  got  a  reasonable  moral  compass.”

"Sorry,I'm shutting up now."It looked like his plan to grow a spine had stopped as soon as it started.Whether or not it had ever started was up for debate."I just think the Bend It Like Beckham chick is cool."

“I'm not into talking animals.What do I have to do to get you to let this go?"There was nothing he could do but it was worth a shot.One last ditch attempt before he decided to say fuck everything and become a hermit in Lorehill woods."No!Anyway,everybody knows that DevinantArt is the best place to go for furry porn."That wasn't going to help his case but maybe it would get Max to shut up or be too distracted to say something something else equally unnerving."Can we stop talking about what you think my PornHub history is?It's fucking weird.” 

"It was a joke.",he mumbled as a weak defence."You don't have to say no homo when you're joking.It just looks like you're overcompensating.",he explained.Hypocritical for somebody who's entire existence was overcompensating but that only made him more of an expert at knowing when something made somebody look like they were overcompesanting.Apparently,he was also now a no homo etiquette expert now."Anyway,you're the one that said it was a hard on.I was just trying to make it less weird.

His eyes widened in fear.Max was fucking with him like always did, he didn't notice shit."Fuck you.",was the most articulate thing Jonah could come up with."Not everybody wants you.",he argued.Suddenly,Max's desk chair looked very interesting."I didn't realize you had to be a heartless bastard to pledge.",he joked.Eli was false advertising."I thought it sounded fun.I liked the sound of parties and girls.Doesn't have to be more complicated than that."He wiped his hands on the sides of his pants.He hoped that was a good enough answer that didn't make him sound pathetic."I can't tell if that's meant to be a compliment or not."Not that Max ever gave him compliments but it would be nice and he didn't think there was anything wrong with having a moral compass.

[jonah-cartwright]

jasonncrth‌:

Wasn’t that the question of the hour? Jason didn’t think himself a sensitive guy, and was usually one to let insults roll off his back – you had to be, when you looked like him and went to a predominately white school in the capital of the country. But there was certain shit he didn’t tolerate from anybody.

“Starts with a C and rhymes with sink,” said Jason. He stood in front of Jonah in his boxers, hands on his hips as he rattled off a list of names from the DMZ of name-calling, most of which had racist or xenophobic undertones. A guy on his way to the showers gave him a confused look in passing, likely wondering why the hell this new kid was standing there in his boxers and reciting every ethnic slur known to man.

When he finished, he flashed his pearly whites. “Anything I should steer clear of calling you, Tiger?” Jason may has well have asked him what his preferred pronouns were – he was so woke.

"Oof that's a pretty understandable thing to be pissed about.",he replied nodding like a clueless uncle at Thanksgiving that exclusively wears flannel and thinks Star Trek is too political now but heard you came out and got into activism so wants to be supportive.For all intents and purposes he was an awkward uncle and was as about as educated on racial issues as your average clueless middle aged white guy.But he knew that objectively racism was bad and thought people should be treated equally despite never actually thinking about how racism impacted people and not knowing institutionalized racism was a thing.

He knew that listening to Jason rattle off the dictionary of racial slurs was the polite thing to do and would have helped him learn some things but he was distracted by trying to stop his eyes from roaming where they shouldn't.It was unfair how somebody could have shoulders that broad.How did God expect him to resist temptation when temptation had pecs that could cut glass?He needed to stop this train of thought before it got weird.It was fucked up and predatory to perv on the new kid.He neded to gain some self-control.

It was infuriating that Jason also had perfect teeth and a smile brighter than Jonah's future.He needed to have some physical imperfection.It was unjust."Nope.I'll take anything ,really.I get called a bitch all the time."What the fuck?He was thinking about how often he got belittled by Max and Sebastian but he didn't need to blurt that out.That just made him look pathetic.It wasn't cool or relatable.

[jonah-cartwright]

jasonncrth‌:

He watched the locker swing open with mild astonishment. His school uniform sat neatly inside, folded in a neat stack beside his dress shoes and backpack. “Well,” Jason said with a nod. “Thanks, Jonah.”

Giving himself a final wipe down with his t-shirt, Jason began to undress for the showers. The mark of any school’s gym program, in his humble opinion, was the quality of its shower room. He couldn’t end his workout beneath a stream of ice-cold water – nor could he burn his skin off with a boiling-hot spray. Temperature was something that had to be just right. Also, Jason much preferred single stalls to an open floor plan, where everyone was free to get buck naked and come about as they pleased. Call him old-fashioned, but he didn’t like baring his goods for all to see. There was a trust there, you know? He only showed the ‘tals to real ones.

Plus, he’d spent most of his freshman year getting towel-whipped in the ass. Jason still had the emotional scars to prove it. 

“Yeah, well,” he dropped his shorts, “I figure there’s no time like the present.” His socks followed, landing in a dirty heap at his feet. “Name’s Jason. You can call me J, Jase, J-shot. I don’t really care. Just don’t call me anything that’d get you popped in the mouth, and we’ll be alright.”

“Don’t sweat it.”,he shrugged.It’s not liked he rescued a kitten from a tree.All he did was punch a locker ,some people did that without being prompted.Those people did it because they had anger issues and not to help somebody out but it was still the same thing.

He leaned back further into the empty locker.Suddenly , fascinated with a mysterious brown stain on one of the ceiling tiles in the corner of the locker room.Jonah wasn’t sure what asbestos was but he was sure it didn’t look like a mustard stain or the kind of grime you can only find in public restrooms.His body was one of the few things he wasn’t insecure about.He didn’t think he was ugly or anything.He worked out three times a week and remembered the one time a drunk girl said he looked like ‘the guy from the new Harry Potter movies,the one with the cute animals, but your arms are better’.But he still didn’t understand how people could casually strip off in front of other people.It still felt weirdly personal and embarrassing.

“Roger that.”,he replied with a salute.”Hypothetically speaking,what would somebody have to say to get punched in the face?”He wanted to avoid getting punched in the face but he was curious and wanted to see how chill this guy really was.There were some people that would punch you for looking at them the wrong way or breathing in their general direction.He wanted to know where he stood.

[jonah-cartwright]

casey-ro‌:

“Okay, normally I wouldn’t ask for help but this is not a normal situation and it’s dire,” it wasn’t dire but it was probably about as close to a dire situation as Casey Roberts would get during her time attending an elite private school on the Eastern seaboard. “- somebody shit behind my car,” she announced with evident horror. “-like, my van,” she clarified, it wasn’t a car at all, it was an old as balls mini-van covered in weird bumper stickers that she had her brother had collected over the years including hits like ‘cowboy butts drive me nuts’ and an honor student style sticker that read ‘my baby daddy was inmate of the month’ from a legitimate bail bonding company located somewhere in the state of Kansas.

“I don’t know if somebody did or something did,” she confessed a moment later which made the story slightly less exciting, she would concede. “How good are you at tracking?” not tracking but poop identification, more specifically. She wanted to know who the culprit was before she attempted to back out of the school parking lot, praying that she didn’t run right over the criminal dookie.

For Jonah feeling guilty came as natural as breathing.Perfection was a clear goal that was always out of reach.No matter how much effort he put into being virtuous he'd always slip up somehow.He was fundamentally broken and had vices he couldn't escape.Vaping was one of the vices he felt guilty over.He assumed that mild addictions and hiding things from nuns were sinful.But he hoped that the fact that there were unhealthier ways to intake nicotine and the worse behaviour of his classmates took the heat off his sinning.

His emergency solitary vape break in the parking lot was interrupting by Casey Roberts being herself.There were worse people to be interrupted by when you wanted to be alone with your juul but her presence was still irritating (and weird because Casey made everything weird).He snapped then instantly regretted it."What does that have to do with me?"Deep breathes asshole.It wasn't her fault he was stressed.Casey didn't deserve to be snapped at.She was a gangly freak but a harmless gangly freak that guys were supposed to find hot.At least Jonah assumed he was supposed to be into her judging by her being invited to the pool party."Sorry that was harsh.You didn't deserve that.I really can't help you though.I'm not like some rugged man of the forest."He liked the outdoors but being by the coast didn't involve identifying crap."But seriously why are you asking me?Do you think it has something to do with The Boys? Do I look like someone that can identify animals based on their crap?”

[jonah-cartwright]

jasonncrth‌:

Jason splashed his beet-red face with water, wiping himself dry with the sweaty gym shirt in his hand. Today in P.E., he spent the entire period running laps on the track. Guys cast sidelong glances as he passed them and girls whispered to their friends on the bleachers, who’s the new kid?

He didn’t necessarily mind the attention, but he wasn’t actively seeking it, either. He just wanted to run.

After his cool down, Jason made a beeline for the locker room. The staff had generously assigned him the sole empty locker in the very back of the space, near the toilets and showers. He slung his makeshift rags over his shoulder and tried his hand at getting the lock open – a task he’d been dreading since the beginning of class. His lock was old and rusted and looked as though it’d break apart if he applied just the slightest pressure. 

Eight. Fourteen. Nine. Nothing. Eight. Fourteen. Nine. Still nothing. Jason sighed, giving it a tug out of frustration. No luck. He caught the eye of the guy a couple lockers down and lifted his chin, gesturing to the offending lock. 

“Hey,” he said. “Jonas, right? You have any idea how to get this thing to work?”

@jonah-cartwright​

Jonah had been treating locker rooms like a lethal war zone since seventh grade.He had a carefully planned out strategy with how to cope and fly under the radar.All he had to do was keep his head down and not do anything faggy.That wasn't hard. Occasionally he'd join in with whatever jokes the other guys were having but mostly he was focused on quickly getting changed.

He was about to fasten the top button of his shirt when the new kid caught his attention.He wandered over.He could work with that.He was an expert at being polite."I wish.That would have given me way more street cred in second grade.It's Jonah.My name that is.That's my name ,Jonah,."Fucking idiot.Of course New Kid would have realised he was introducing himself.He was making a great first impression.And street cred ?Who the fuck said street cred outside of characters in old teen movies written by people that haven't spoken to teenagers in decades? The only option he had left was to become a hermit."Yank it if don't remember the code ."He demonstrated his advice by tugging at the latch.Success.The locker swung open ,making the same sad creek as an asthmatic kid after cross country."Hey presto.But quick warning sometimes you gotta enter the code a few times."

"So New Kid ,how are holding up?It's a bit of a weird time to transfer.",he asked , leaning after one of the empty lockers.It was daunting enough changing schools at the same time as everybody else in your grade he couldn't imagine going somewhere else after everybody else had settled in years ago.He was genuinely concerned and curious."And is there anything else I can call you other than New Kid?"