YVONNA TAURASI-TAYLOR has everything: legacy, talent, and two of the most influential last names in Women's Basketball. After an undefeated freshman season at UConn ends in a crushing Final Four loss, she's forced to return home and confront the weight of expectations -- especially from her mother, Diana.
Caught between pressure and identity, toughness and tenderness, Yvie must find out who she is beyond the name on her jersey -- before the game, and the legacy consume her.
WARNINGS: none! also yvonna is indigenous #staywoke #selfinsert mom!diana taurasi x daughter!reader
AUTHOR'S NOTES: im irritated asf.. little bit of a prologue moment.. i think its called
APRIL 2025 -- THE SUMMER BEFORE
"Sound familiar?" Penny laughed, glancing at her daughter. Her cutlery danced across her plate, making a terrible scratching sound. Yvonna's head piqued, looking at the blonde lady with a sheepish smile.
"A foul? I mean.. sometimes it's not."
"Mm," Penny turned back to her plate, shaking her head. The smile on her face was evident. It made Yvonna's tummy flip. "You sound like your mother."
"You wish you had my whistle," Diana smirked, holding her wine glass by the stem.
The Taurasi-Taylor family scarcely ate dinner outside; or even together at all, much to Penny's disliking. She spent some good money on the fairy lights around the porch, and the smell had gone since the old neighbours moved out. The lack of stench was most of the motivation for eating outside.
Yvonna is a big girl now, driver's permit, D1 scholarship to UConn, and even honey blonde highlights. Apparently big girls don't eat dinner with their families, much to Penny's disliking.
Diana leaned back in her chair, seemingly inspecting her daughter's expression as she poked at the dumpling before her. She was quieter tonight, Diana. Watching, taking everything in the way she does.
"You ready?" Diana asked.
Yvonna blinked. She looked up, perfect brows furrowing in confusion. Was she supposed to guess?
"For..?"
"UConn."
Yvonna swallowed, grip on her metal chopsticks faltering just a second. Of course, Diana couldn't possibly go a single night without bringing up her daughter's incoming future. It would be insane if she didn't.
After years of rewatching tapes, analysing opposing teams and their patterns, crying in the car -- after years of being Diana Taurasi's daughter, Yvonna wouldn't expect anything less.
"One more summer," Diana continued. Her tone was cutting, but casual.. somehow. "Then it's real. Different audience, different pressure, whole new pace. You're not the best on the team anymore, Yvie."
Yvonna nodded quickly, inhaling deep and slow. "Yeah, mom. I know."
"I don't think you do," Diana pressed. Penny shifted uncomfortably, sending her wife a look. Diana didn't acknowledge it. "They don't care whose kid you are."
There was a pause. Penny's eyes flickered between the two.Yvonna's gaze stayed fixed on the dark haired woman. Was this a lecture? It sure felt like one. She could never tell for sure with how unpredictable her mother was. Uncertainty gripped Yvonna by the extremities; holding her captive in her own statue-still body.
If this were the 2019 mannequin challenge, she'd probably be viral.
"I can't wait to watch you dominate out there," Diana said. "For real. You got it, kid. The IQ, the speed -- all of it. You should be running that team by sophomore year. Minimum."
It should feel like praise. It kind of does. But Yvonna's pretty sure she just shit herself.
Diana reached forward, chopsticks reaching to grab more dumplings. Penny swears up and down she makes them herself. Yvonna saw the packaging in the bin once. She never told Diana. Or Penny.
"Just don't play small," Diana added. "Hate when you do that." The giant didn't bother to put the dumpling on her plate, opting instead to shove it in hear mouth.
Yvonna's bare feet slid across the concrete under her chair. "I don't--"
"You do," Diana cut in absentmindedly. "You pass up shots. You second-guess. You start thinking instead of playing. At UConn, that'll get you benched."
Yvonna nodded, her stomach suddenly feeling full. She hummed softly, looking up at Penny across from herself.
Penny set her drink down gently. "Hey," she nudged her wife. "She's got time. She's allowed to figure it out at her own pace. She's still a kid."
Yvonna watched her parents, hazel eyes flicking between the two of them. Penny's accent had faded over time, Yvonna noticed. When she was younger, it sounded like a damn episode of H20: Just Add Water.
Diana paused, and for a moment, Yvonna swore she saw a soul behind her mother's eyes. Silence stretched across the dinner table. Yvonna hoped, crossing her painted-white toes under the table, for her mother to relent, and say something kind.
You're right, my darling wife. You will do great, my favourite angel-baby, Yvonna. In fact, here's $80. Go get your nails done tomorrow, Yvonna imagined her mom saying. She cringed. Felt weird. Like a deepfake of Obama kicking a puppy.
"She's ready now," Diana said instead.
Yvonna's shoulders dropped, nodding. Yeah, that was my fault. Got ahead of myself there.
"I just.. I wanna do well." Yvonna swore she thought it, screwing her eyes shut at the feeling of her vocal chords vibrating.
"You will," Diana said, though instead of it sounding like reassurance, it sounded like a demand. Yvonna nodded, but she didn't say the rest out loud.
I just don't know if "well" means to me the same as it does to you.
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Eu estava afim de desenhar Näktaē como a Cunhã-poranga, a guerreira que ela é!.
E claro que sim - É Boi caprichoso!!! Boi do povo guerreiro e injustificado!.
(Ps: A bandeira é referente ao meu Estado Natal -Manaus -!! - O boi é do município de Parintins que sedia o Festival de Parintins onde os Bois se apresentam em um dos maiores festivais folclóricos do Brasil.)
(eu tentei!)
Eng: I was in the mood to draw Näktaē as Cunhã-poranga, the warrior that she is!
Of course it is - It's Boi Caprichoso!!! The ox of the warrior and unjustified people!
(Note: The flag refers to my home state - Manaus -!! - The ox is from the municipality of Parintins, which hosts the Parintins Festival where the oxen perform in one of the largest folkloric festivals in Brazil.)
continuing with my western oc, velia jose espuma; a pascua yaqui woman who hunts down hacendados. still working out her backstory but it's definitely one of vengeance >:)
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Some concept art for one of my little original stories, So We Meet Again. It’s mostly me trying to figure out how I want these two to look.
The story is still very vague rn but it follows these two — Anacoana and Niza — two ancient civilizations girls who reunite after years and fall in love!
Though their story is a part of a universe I made, with a fantasy earth, their civilization is based on the Dominican Republic Taino! I’m trying to do my own research on things like clothing, culture, and so on — but if anyone has any resource suggestions, please let me know! ^w^
Some sketches, first is Wolf enjoying a cigarette. Second is Black Winds Howl in his hogan when Conley Madigan and his stupid pinkerton goons come to interrogate him on White Horse’s whereabouts.
