#that surprised me a lot in the moment even though separately i already knew those things

[undiscovered-horizon]

"Femme fatale" - Nikolai Lantsov x Reader

[suggestive themes but nothing explicit]

SUMMARY: When you reveal how you won the suspiciously heavy bag of coins, Nikolai is overwhelmed with anger at the thought of you being intimate with another man. The thing is, he's never told you how he feels about you... until now.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.7k

<I cried on national TV today, I am anything but fine lmao>

>>Grishaverse-inspired playlist<<

The bag thuds loudly as you drop it on the nautical maps scattered on Sturmhond’s desk. Tolya, Tamar and the privateer in question suddenly fall silent, their excited chattering put to a halt. Three pairs of eyes glance once at you, once at the big leather pouch.

“Did you rob a bank on your way here?” Nikolai asks. Although framed as a joke, his voice reveals that he’s not exactly discarding this possibility.

“I know that look.” Tolya gives you a half-smile, crossing his arms on his chest. Even if he wasn’t a Heartrender, he’d still be proficient at reading people. “She ripped someone off.”

You shrug and wave your hand in dismissal. “Some whaler, roughly the size of a small elephant, was very eager to spend the night with me. At first I wanted to rip his face off but then I realized that I saw a ship docking around the same time we did, so the whalers must have just gotten their wages. I offered the man that if he can win against me in cards, I’ll let him do whatever he wants to me. He got so excited he didn’t notice the stack of aces up my sleeve.”

Tamar nods her head in acknowledgement. The small smile on her lips betrays a sense of proudness. “Beat him at his own game. I respect that.” It was your and Tamar’s thing - the whole crew probably knows that most commonly known methods of cheating were invented by either of you.

“Thank you very much,” you say as you take back the bag. “But I doubt this is anywhere near close enough to get Hyram to take the nightwatch for me, so I’ll be off.”

“Come on, sister,” Tolya taps Tamar’s arm, “we have things to do as well.”

When your hand pushes down the door handle, you hear Nikiolai calling out your name in a rush. “Stay for a moment,” he asks in a strangely anxious voice. You give the twins a questioning look but they only shrug in response - their previous conversation with their captain never once involved even a mere mention of you.

The door closes with a thud behind Tolya and Tamar. What used to be a lighthearted, friendly atmosphere suddenly turns absolutely uncomfortable and tense. You furrow your eyebrows studying Nikolai’s expression. He looks… angry. Slowly, you stroll towards his desk again but the closer you are to him, the more uneasy you’re feeling. Standing maybe a meter or two away from the table, you suddenly find yourself unable to move forwards as though some force is separating you two.

Nikolai sighs. He shakes his head and looks at you with a fiery glint to his eye. "Are you out of your mind?!"

The sudden loss of composure renders you speechless. "I beg your pardon?" Part of you realizes that this conversation is not going to end quickly, so you drop the bag on the floor next to your leg. Besides, the pouch filled with coins does weigh quite a lot.

"What if you lost?” His voice cuts the tense air like treacherous blades. Those bright eyes aren’t any softer. This outburst is already surprising but considering the details of his appearance, this is already a tempered version of the fury residing in his viscera. “Have you any idea what…” he cuts himself off and sighs again. Nikolai closes his eyes, rubs his face and only then resumes talking. “What could have happened to you?"

"What's up, boss?" you nod upwards at him with furrowed eyebrows. "This isn't the first time I'm conning people out of their money through frankly reckless wagers."

"This is different,” he drones his words.

"How so?” you bite back. His inexplicable irritation is rubbing off on you. “I knew I was going to win. Even if I didn't, by some chance, I would have fought them."

"By yourself?” his voice raises again. You’ve never seen him like this before, only further convincing you that something serious must have broken his patience. But considering your history of relatively legal enrichment, it seems unlikely that it’s this little bet that had set him off. “With whalers that make Tolya look like a spud?”

It’s like dancing. Except he’s clumsy for a man of his agility and keeps stepping on your toes. And just like guests do on weddings, the two of you are pirouetting around the main attraction, naively thinking that the other person will miraculously be enlightened. The orchestra is playing the music and yet the dancing guests refuse to tell each other the name of the song.

"Come on, talk to me,” you coax him impatiently. This… dancing is tiring and there’s still quite a few things you need to do before the crew goes to sleep. “Say the quiet part out loud."

Nikolai hangs his head. You see his shoulders slowly raise and fall - he’s taking a deep breath, calming himself down. He walks around the desk and sits on its edge, leveling his eyes with yours. Something about his expression is changed like Nikolai has discarded the anger in place of defeat or compliance; like the steam that urged him to fight simply run out, returning the level-headed captain to you.

His eyes meticulously study the right-hand side of the room, along with the leather pouch, before he looks at you. "Can I be embarrassingly honest with you?"

You vaguely open your arms in a welcoming manner. "I'm all ears, captain."

Nikolai stares at you with a newfound intensity. The words almost escape him but he forces them back down his throat when he presses his lips tightly together. You see his hands grip the edge of the desk he’s sitting on as though he’s looking for something to ground him or just an outlet for his clearly turbulent emotions. Finally, Nikolai speaks but his voice is uncharacteristically low and somber: "The thought of another man having you makes me want to break this ship into pieces."

A strange tightness in your chest and throat; suffocating warmth sets your tired muscles on fire, its flames temptingly brushing against your starved skin. Then, a moment of defiance and doubt - how can you know he’s serious? That he’s not just saying this to keep you close in case he grows bored or frustrated one day? Privateers, pirates, corsairs, you’re all cut from the same cloth; hungry, money-grabbing, opportunist cloth.

"Another?" you ask. Hopefully Nikolai remains oblivious to the effect his words had on you. "You're making it sound like there's already a man I should be spending my nights with."

"There certainly is a man foolish enough to give everything away for the chance at your affection."

"If he's so desperate,” you begin thoughtfully, your voice low, “why has he never said a word?"

"I'm afraid he might just lose his sanity if you tell him no."

Perhaps it’s your own corporeality or the undisputable vulnerability in his words that makes you forget the distrust and defiance you felt towards this consuming notion. Suddenly, the tension that prevented you from coming closer has disappeared if not shifted to be located behind you, dissuading you from leaving the room. The nervous, thrilling atmosphere is nudging you forward, towards the man sitting a mere meter or two away from you, his eyes boring into you with anticipation. Some devious voice in the back of your head notices the romance in the dim candlelight and steady rocking of the boat traveling the seas.

Your legs, betraying your will, push you towards Nikolai. He straightens his back noticing you walking in his direction, suddenly his muscles flexing and creating tension. No matter how one wishes to look at it, he appears ready, prepared to take action.

"Well,” you shrug slightly, “unless he asks, how can he know it's going to be a no?"

"Better safe than sorry, I suppose,” he answers quietly as though the lack of space between the two of you is pushing down his chest, squashing juvenile vitality out of him.

A breathy chuckle leaves your lips. You shake your head in amusement at the atypical uncertainty. "Said the famous privateer Sturmhond, known for his utter lack of bravado."

Then, like you had lifted a curse that clouded the blue sky above his head, Nikolai furrows his eyebrows in a confused expression. "Yes, that doesn't really sound like me, does it?"

"Not in the slightest.” You answer. His lips curve into a smile and you find yourself wallowing in relief at the familiarity of his easy-going, up-beat attitude. “This makes me think that the mysterious admirer simply can not be you."

"When did you become a detective?” he jokes. Whether it’s your lack of straightforward rejection or the fact that you’re steadily getting closer to him, Nikolai’s humor is only improving. “Amuse me. What would I have done?"

"I think…” your voice trails off as you fiddle with the hem of his frock coat, “that you would say something smooth and suave, then have me however you want. And I’d come crawling back every night."

In a quite unprofessional manner, if either of you even thought about that aspect at the moment, his hands slide up your thighs and hips only to rest on the curve of your waist. Then, Nikolai forcibly pulls you closer to him. First you yelp in surprise but soon you hear yourself gasping as his leg brushes against your groin.

A low chuckle leaves his mouth. "That sounds like a yes to me."

You can’t stop yourself from cradling his face, threading your eager fingers through his golden locks. Nikolai’s hot, ragged breath grazes your cheeks when you lean in. His lips are slightly apart, silently begging you to let him indulge in the sweet release of carnal desire. You lean closer to his ear, your voice comes out nearly as a growl:

"I'd say yes even if it's going to be the last thing I'm going to say."

His lips feverishly kiss your jaw and neck. A stifled moan escapes your lips and you swear you can hear Nikolai snickering.

#shadow and bone fanfic #shadow and bone #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone imagine #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov imagine #nikolai lantsov fanfiction #nikolai imagines #nikolai x reader #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai lanstov x y/n #nikolai lantsov x you #sab

[starseneyes]

Chenford- Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 12

"Death Notice" aka "Bow Chicka Bow Wow"

SPOILER ALERT: If y'all wanna stay un-spoiled. Run. Just run. I say this with all love, but this is not the place to be. I am going to spoil EVERY SINGLE DETAIL that I notice. But, if you want to digest every morsel of deliciousness with me, come on in!

How'd it all shake out? Let's dive in!

Riding in an Elevator

Let's just call out Tim for stopping the elevator for Lucy, and her little breathless, "thanks". These two are adorbs. Also, shoutout to the makeup, hair, and costume departments who put a lot of work into this scene.

And Tim's eyeroll on the "Detectives" line? I was rolling.

Tamara and Lucy

FINALLY getting to see Tamara, again!

"You're here." "I live here. "I went to bed at one and you still weren't home. "Oh, I came home around then. I must've just missed you. Trivia went late." "And how was Trivia?"

Let's be real. The entire point of this conversation is that Tamara wants to let her know that she's onto Lucy. Tamara wants to talk about this new development, considering last she knew of Tim and Lucy was "This is work" when she caught them macking in the living room.

And Tamara is never going to judge Lucy, and will always give her space. But, it's about time the gal came clean with someone.

"You are such a smooth liar. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, all that undercover training." "I'm not lying. "I saw Tim drop you off."

I love the fact that Lucy literally drops the weight she's been carrying. Not only that, she slides around to sit on the couch and dish with her roomie about her new boyfriend.

Lucy crosses from behind the couch that was separating them and sits on it, leaning down to chat with Tamara. The camera moves down with her, the audience settling in with Lucy.

"Thank God. I am so over coming up with cover stories." "Why the big secret? You're both single." "I mean, we're just keeping things under wraps until we figure things out."

There are so many layers and levels here to the why. But this implies that Tim and Lucy don't want to go public until they have a gameplan. And that really makes sense for both their personalities.

I've seen folks ask, "Why is Tim so cool with this secret dating thing?" Do you know how weird it can be when friends start dating and they spend every. freakin. day. around their other friends? Everyone has an opinion.

Tim doesn't mind delaying that a bit longer. Same with Lucy. But, also, this is a huge transition. Even though they're both secure in the knowledge that they want one another, and they have years of history, they have to figure out who they are together.

"We're not sleeping together." "Why not?"

First off, the music cue had me rolling. Oh. My. Goodness. Director, Editor, whoever came up with that idea? Thank you. I had a much needed giggle.

But, also, remember that this is strange behavior for Lucy. Lucy isn't a one-night-stand girl, but she's also not a "dating you but not doing you" girl.

Tamara's gotta be wondering if Tim misfires or something, at this point, because there ain't no other reason she can think of that Lucy hasn't torn those clothes off by now.

And this is part of the maturity of Tim and Lucy's relationship that I love. They don't need to be sleeping together to be fully committed, but they're also not rushing to get to that moment.

"We're taking it slow. We want to do this right." "So, you're not sure how you feel?" "I know exactly how I feel. I mean, this is the most amazing relationship I've been in since, ever."

Oooh, the "r" word returns. Lucy tried to talk to Tim about their relationship on her last day riding with him as a Rookie and the man was not a fan of putting a label on it.

But, it's also important to note that Tim and Lucy have been dating a matter of weeks and she already knows this is the best relationship of her life. Not only the most important. Best.

"Okay. And you're waiting why… again?"

I hear Tamara's point! If y'all are on the same page and completely committed, why aren't clothes flying through our living room? For one, Tamara might want to get a look at Tim's bare chest in Jackson's honor. For two, what's the hold-up, lady?

I've talked a lot about them savoring this relationship. But, I also think Lucy has been using the "taking it slow" idea as an excuse so she doesn't have to think about the roadblock in her way.

Think about it. Lucy couldn't process through whether or not to date Emmett, so she needed to talk it out with Tim. Lucy couldn't process why she didn't want to move in with Chris until she talked it out with Tim.

What Lucy needs to do is talk it out with Tim. But, Tamara's push is taking Lucy in a different direction. It's not a bad direction.

They could have slept together and it wouldn't have wrecked anything. But, I think the security they have at the end of the episode (Yes, I'm skipping a little... go with me, here) is what Lucy needed.

Tim isn't facing the issue of their professional relationship. This whole episode demonstrates that. They need to take care of that power imbalance, because if they don't, then there's no point in any of this.

To truly be together, there were three things that had to go as outlined by Tim in Season 5, Episode 1. "I'm dating Ashley. And Lucy is with Chris. And I'm her Superior Officer, so..."

Tim told us himself what has to go for them to truly be together. And it's that last one that's still in their way, whether they acknowledge it or not.

"Morning." "Morning."

First, I have to say I love to see them greeting one another fully. Back in 5x06, Lucy kept trying to tell Tim "Good morning" and he kept looking past her or trying to avoid it. Because he was trying to avoid her and his feelings for her.

But that particular obstacle is out of the way because Tim knows how she feels about him and Lucy knows how he feels about her.

Now to the part y'all thirsty folks really care about:

Hands. Glorious hands. Wandering, sexual-desire filled HANDS. Lucy holds her keys in both hands so she can release one as she sidles up alongside Tim. Tim taps on her thigh with his fingers, a little, "hey, honey". Then he tries to catch her finger with his pinkie. In broad daylight. In front of the station. Are you insane, Tim Bradford?!

They can't keep their hands to themselves! Y'all, these two are outside a police station where they both work. Before they were dating, they would stand outside with at least enough room for the entire Holy Trinity. Now, they're practically walking on top of each other and "sneaking" in touches.

But nobody's gonna notice? Yeah, right!!

Tim seems to finally remember himself and wipe that gorgeous grin off of his face. But, oy, I love seeing him so happy!

Both of them quickly make fists with their hands after the initial contact, and Tim even presses his hand against his pocket as though checking for his keys.

But it's Tim's smile that I can't stop rewinding and watching. Look. At. Our. Boy. Have we ever seen him so happy? Tim is beaming and all they did was barely brush one another.

Because much as the physical is amazing, it's about simply being close to the person who makes you happiest in the world. Lucy is Tim's person and he gets to touch her and have secret moments with her.

He's no longer pining across the parking lot. He's walking alongside her knowing she is his as he is hers. And, let's be real, this isn't about being possessive. Lucy isn't a purse any more than Tim is a wallet. It's about knowing that this person is your person. And Tim and Lucy are each other's.

And don’t think I didn’t peep the ring. Lucy chose to put that on this morning when she told him it was naked time, just like she did when she came to the station to tell him Chris was out of the way. The streak continues!

Folks... I haven't made it past the first two words of the scene... Y'all know this is gonna be a looooong one. I hope you have snacks!

"Ummm."

Look how Tim is still smiling as he leans his head closer to hear what she's going to say. So cute.

"Tonight is the night."

Tim was not expecting that. I'm not saying that he doesn't want to add that layer to their relationship. I'm simply saying he wasn't expecting her to announce it in the parking lot at work.

"Oh, really?"

Look at that man's quizzical brow. He wants to be sure he understands perfectly, that he's not misunderstanding. Because, come on, he misread things once before and Lucy set him straight. They've been on the same page for a while, now, and he wants to be sure they still are.

Lucy, meanwhile, has already planned out the outfit she's going to wear when he finally undresses her. Come on. You know she has. After the disaster of running late to their first date because she couldn't pick an outfit, Lucy can't be late to her own apartment.

Lucy's got a plan, and she's ready for her man. Wow, Dr. Suess just got a kinky upgrade, and I didn't even intend it! Anyway...

"Yes. Really."

Come-hither Lucy has made her appearance, folks. Yowza!! The Velvet Voice has traded places, and Lucy is already seducing her man... in the parking lot.

And poor Tim can't even see the way she's looking at him... Like he's whip cream and her tongue can't get enough. Like he's a chai latte and she wants to drink every last drop. Like he's... Okay, you get it. Lucy's got it bad for Tim Bradford and I am here for it!

"My place or yours?"

With doubt out of the way, Tim is wasting no time. And I'm proud of him for it! He is so fully committed to this relationship, and so is she, and it really shows in the confidence they both have.

Let's talk about that for a second. Lucy doesn't look to the future with the guys she dates. She doesn't want labels. She doesn't want to meet the parents. She doesn't invest in the relationship because it's never been worth it before.

Tim is the exception. In the past, it was Tim who didn't want to label their "relationship" (partnership... mentorship), but Lucy has always put a label on it. Even when she blurted out her feelings, she labeled it a "relationship". That was while she was still dating her "work in progress".

Because it's different with Tim. She doesn't want to rush into bed because she wants to savor every second of this. I've said it before, but when you know it's your last anything... you savor it a bit more.

Lucy's already half-joking about grandchildren, and thinking about their future together. She has the confidence that this is built to last—and Tim does, too.

We've talked throughout the series about Lucy's issues with second-guessing, but Tim has his own self-esteem issues. He trusts himself as a cop explicitly, but as a man, far less.

That's why he was so cautious coaching Little League, why he minimizes himself and his wants in relationships. He's so afraid of being his father. He doesn't trust who he is outside of the job.

Lucy has helped him find himself, again. She helped him go after his dreams of Sergeant. She prevented him from sacrificing himself to protect Isabelle. She had his back with the false-fender-bender. I could keep going, but I'll stop.

The broken pieces of a man are almost impossible to put together, but like the Japanese art of Kintsugi, there is a way to mend them into something whole and beautiful. Different from what it was before, but no less complete.

Tim helped Lucy find surety in her decisions, sure, but she helped him find confidence in himself. They balance one another so beautifully, and in the light of one another's love, they're blossoming.

Tim is confident in who he is with Lucy. Lucy is confident in who she is with Tim. There's the promise of forever without the discussion. Because it isn't needed. They both knew as soon as they took this risk, it was all or nothing.

And now, they're taking the next step in their relationship, together.

"Jealous dog or nosy roommate?"

Kojo! Oh, Kojo is going to be so happy that his Mommy and Daddy are finally together. That poor pups been sitting there thinking, "When is the blonde lady who tastes gritty going to leave so I can get Mommy back?" Well, baby boy, your Mommy is coming home.

Just not tonight.

"Tamara knows." "What? You told her?" "No. She has eyes. I didn't have to."

Let's be real. Anybody with eyes (not you, Nolan) knows what's going on here. Tim's been smiley. Lucy and he are now glued to the hip out-of-uniform. He's doing an awful lot of "nothing".

"But she is staying at her friend's tonight. So…"

Suddenly Tamara's knowledge about them is a good thing. "I should go," Tamara once said... No worrying about her walking in on them this time.

And, look, I know some people really wanted to see Tamara catching them. But we already got that in S4 and it was hilariously done.

Not everything has to happen on-camera. Not every item on our wish lists will be fulfilled. And that's okay. This isn't the Chenford show (much as my Metas might suggest otherwise).

That's what fanfics are for! And, believe it or not, I wrote quite a bit back in my college days, mostly for Alias.

We are going to see some gooooooood stuff on-screen, even if we don't get everything we want. So, stick around, eh?

Side Note: It sounds like Eric has a cold! They really mean “the show must go on”. I once did a show with a fever of 102. I knew I wasn’t feeling great but had no idea how bad it was until I got off the stage. Performing’s a funny profession!

Grey whisks in, reminding me I'm supposed to be talking about Chenford and not me. Yikes! Let me get my focus back.

Tim and Lucy need that same splash of cold water because they are looking at one another and Lucy's doing that thing where she presses her lips together while thinking about Tim that is doing things to our boy.

"Mm, this is gonna be awkward. " "It doesn't have to be. We've ridden together hundreds of times." "Never as a couple."

Oooh, we've graduated! First it was "we're dating", then we got the "relationship" mention to Tamara, and now we've got the "couple" label. Nice!

Why am I making such a big deal about this? Lucy doesn't do labels. In that past she did, we know, because she mentions her boyfriends never being good enough for her mother. But with her guys in this show? Nope!

She wanted to keep things casual with Nolan and wouldn't leave her stuff at his place. Emmett was not her boyfriend, as she stated many times. Chris was her "work in progress".

Tim is a labels guy. He likes things to have boxes and labels and organization. His house is very put together and uncluttered.

But I feel like he is taking her lead on this. He knows Lucy. She doesn't do labels. But she does with Tim. Because Tim is the one she's been waiting for... she just didn't know it.

"So, are you telling me you're not gonna be thinking about tonight?" "Not at all. Thank you." "Me, neither."

It's like an un-said bet, except she is totally checking out his ass.

Also, Lucy and Tim opening doors for one another. Wow, is that a metaphor for this episode. Lots of opening and closing doors all over the place.

It started with the elevator with Tim making sure it stayed open and letting Lucy go first. Here, Lucy's the one opening the door for Tim.

Their whole relationship is littered with opening and closing doors. And this entire episode (much as the theme seems to be "judgment" and "the choices we make") is about opening and closing doors.

"I could tell Grey that I got food poisoning." "Just to get out of riding with me?" "I mean, I get the day off. We avoid all this weirdness. Wins all around." "You're overthinking this. We leave our personal life at the door, just like always" "Oh, And you can just shut it off?"

Lucy is the one thinking clearly, here. Look, I love Tim. He's my favorite character (Lucy is a very close second), but he's not facing reality. The reality is—something has to change.

And, oh, that is scary for a person who grew up with instability and clings to what is known and safe. The minute he acknowledges this problem, he won't be able to ignore it, and then they have to face it, and then everything has to change.

"At 7:59, I'm your girlfriend. At 8:01, I'm your, what? Your subordinate?

What. Did. You. Just. SAY!?!?! Lucy Chen, who has resisted calling any of the guys we've seen her date a "boyfriend" just self-identified at Tim Bradford's girlfriend.

I'm gonna need a minute, here. Because, OH MY GOSH IT HAPPENED!

I should save that for later, right? Right.

But, nope, I'm losing it. I'm squeeling into a pillow trying not to alert my kids so they run into the room saying, "Mama, Mama!" and then I miss what's next. Because Lucy bad*ass Chen just called herself Tim Bradford's girlfriend.

They've been dating three weeks! Remember Lucy's initial response to why she didn't love Chris when Tim asked. She said they hadn't been together long.

But everything is different with Tim. And it always will be. They were carved from opposite sides of the same stone, destined to reunite when the time was right. Or, we might take Plato's nod and think of the one being split into two, destined to search for their other halves.

"Really?" *models herself* "My duty belt. My taser is on the wrong side. Usually, you'd be all over me for that."

I admit, I didn't notice. Crap. I'm as in love with her as Tim is!

"You did that on purpose? You don't do Tim Tests. I do Tim Tests." "Well, that's 'cause this isn't a Tim Test. It's a Lucy Lesson. And, admit it, you're taking it easy on me. We're not even on duty, yet, and our dynamic has changed."

Damn, Lucy! Holding him accountable!! But I love Tim blowing air out as she said, "Lucy Lesson". He's so exasperated with his woman.

Lucy taps his arm, and I must applaud her restraint. It's definitely a "on-duty Lucy" touch in that her hand is open and barely connects with his arm. But, she's trying to check him.

"Get in the car." "It's called a Shop."

Much as I hate the point, she's absolutely right. Tim and Lucy on-duty dynamic together has changed. And it has to.

"You haven't noticed?" "What? That you're carrying your coffee in your gun hand? Of course, I did. I just haven't said anything because these Lucy Lessons are pointless." "You really don't think you're treating me differently?"

First off, Lucy's touch lingers, this time. Much as she's telling Tim that their dynamic has changed (and he does need to acknowledge it), she's demonstrating it accidentally as much as on-purpose.

Also, remember Tim barking at Lucy for holding her radio in her gun hand in front of Emmett? And how Lucy was angry at Emmett for making an issue of it, because Tim was technically the in the right?

That's where my brain goes, immediately. He rarely goes soft on her, and she always notices. But now Tim Bradford is f*cking mush around his lady.

Tim wants so badly for this not be an issue. It reminds me of him at the restaurant trying not to react to the two men arguing, hoping that it would go away. If he doesn't acknowledge it, it doesn't have to be faced... but this has to be faced.

"You're not a Rookie. You want to change up your duty belt, carry your coffee in your right hand, it's up to you. You know. This isn't about us. I'd give Thornsen the same leeway."

*cough* BULLSHIT *cough*

"This is robbery. Wait a minute, you had your gun! This is armed robbery." "I'm sure your earrings will come up. We will call you when we have them." "I want a receipt" "We don't issue receipts. Look, it's all in the report. If you want to file a complaint, you can do so at the front desk on your way out." "I didn't take the earrings." "I know."

Tim will never accuse you of stealing, but this is a big deal. And Lucy knows it. Tim knows it, too, but he wants to do whatever he can to save her.

FAST FORWARD: And, let's be clear, after exhausting every avenue, he was going to do it... to report her. But he was going to try everything in his power, first.

"God, I've been so focused on us. Did I screw up?"

Damn. This hits hard. Poor Lucy always does her best to do it by the book, the way Tim taught her. Where did the earrings go? Tim doesn't want to acknowledge it, but you can see how soft his eyes go, immediately. He's worried for her. He's not thinking about the earrings—he's thinking about Lucy.

FAST FORWARD: And, yes, I've seen the whole episode, now, so I know. But... I like to write these as though it's the first time. And the first time, I should have seen that Lucy Lesson coming.

I mean, it was so beautifully set up with Tamara commenting on Lucy's ability to lie so smoothly, and then with the string of Lucy Lessons. I should have seen it coming, but I admit I expected the worst and didn't.

I truly expect ships I love to go through horrible pain and be destroyed. I'm learning to trust The Rookie more as the show goes on, but I have a lot of harnessed distrust there to dislodge.

"We'll keep checking until we find them." "Wait, wait, okay. Look. You need to file a memorandum with the chief. It's protocol. I get it." "We're not there, yet."

Tim is avoiding. He's trying to hard to not have to face it. And Lucy's the one being practical, here. She can see that Tim is treating her differently and she knows it can't be that way.

He doesn't want to face it. He once felt responsible for pushing her towards a serial killer. We saw how unhinged he was, and they were nowhere near this level in their relationship, now. If he is the one to write her up and it tanks her career... He'd blame himself.

"Well, how long can it wait?" "I have discretion with things like this. We find the earrings no paperwork necessary." "But if we don't you need to report me to IA." "Maybe janitorial swept them up."

Lucy can see what Tim is clearly (yes, I used their word) missing, here. But she's trying to let him get their on his own. Talking to him about it was getting nowhere, so she changed tactics.

And I love how this is shot. It's giving me major CSI Grissom/Sara vibes. Flashlights and searching while dealing with tension and romance? Yeah, I've got a type.

But, seriously, there's such simplicity in the matching over-the-shoulder shots of them, on opposite sides of this issue, but still very much in line with one another. I love the symbolism, intentional or not.

"We canceled our date." "What happened?" "Well, Tim and I rode together today and it really drove home all of the problems with dating your boss." "It did seem tricky, but I didn't want to say anything. Does that mean you guys are breaking up?" "No."

No hesitation from Lucy. Look, I love Tamara (and her relationship with Lucy is one of my absolute favorites on the show). But, Tamara's view of relationships is filtered through her own experience.

Come on, all of us filter how we see Tim and Lucy through our own experiences, for better or worse. But those once-in-a-lifetime relationships are different. They change how you see your future because for the first time there is a future with that other person.

Tamara hasn't experienced that herself, yet, and based on what she's seen with Lucy, none of her other guys really stuck.

Tamara's known about this relationship one day, so she doesn't know all the details or struggles Tim and Lucy had getting to this point. There's no going back for Tim and Lucy. It isn't even a consideration.

"We'll figure out how to make it work. " "Great. How?"

This is tricky. This is tough. Tim and Lucy have to figure this out, and do it now. There's no more time to put it off, to pretend it's not an issue, to ignore what they know to be true.

Tim puts the people he loves ahead of everything because they are so few and far between.

He didn't want to coach Little League for two seconds, because just being on that field in that position risked him becoming his father.

We all know that risk is near impossible, but Tim doesn't. As a child of abuse, he's haunted by what he's survived and terrified of becoming it.

He will do whatever he needs to for Lucy... but that doesn't make it right. With Isabelle, he was about to go over that line if not for Lucy. We know he's capable.

And, to be fair to Tim, when there was no other recourse, he was willing to do what was right in this case. He hated it, but he was going to do it. Because he is still the man he was... thanks to Lucy.

"Lucy! Your boyfriend's here."

I love Tim's face on "boyfriend". This is likely the first time he's heard himself called Lucy's boyfriend, and it just makes me giggle every time I see it.

Tim has his hands in his pockets, much as he did the last time he stood outside this door, urging her to go to UC school as she feared he was pushing her away.

"Did she tell you I figured it out on my own? I'd make a great detective." "I have no doubt."

Such an interesting quirk to hear Tim echo those words in that doorway, again. Last time it was to Chris about Lucy's level of care. This time, it's about Tamara.

So, I have to believe that on some level, he means it. And that could be a very interesting turn of events if they ever wanted to take Tamara down the path of becoming "the rookie" since they try to have someone in a "rookie" position each season.

"Hey, I thought we canceled." "Uh, we didn't." "Oh."

Now that Lucy doesn't have to hide from Tamara, she goes in for the hug. And I love the way Tim's head ends up in the crook of her arm. It reminds me of the hug from Breakdown in Season 4.

It's like he's nestling into her. Because, it takes effort for him to bend down to that level. I'm always fascinated watching tall/smol ships and how they handle that.

Tim and Lucy have history to draw from, but I look back at The X Files and I giggle thinking about the "Gilly boxes" they had Gillian Anderson stand on to get them framed well in the same shot. I have wondered a time or two if they'd used them for Chenford. No lie!

But I love how... relaxed Lucy is in front of Tamara knowing that she doesn't have to hide Tim, anymore.

But this is a serious discussion, and they need Tamara to skidaddle. "Go on, kiddo. Mom and Dad need to talk."

"You have to report it, now." "I know." "And if it was Aaron, you would have reported him already." "I know. But it's not Aaron. It's you." "And you can't be objective when it comes to me, right?"

Look at Tim's sad face and the shake of his head. But this is where Lucy needed him to go. He needed to see that he is going to treat her differently, and that's not going to work.

"And now endeth the Lucy lesson." *giggle* "The what?" *giggles*

I love this, "What" Because Eric Winter puts so much into it that I am cackling with laughter.

"The earrings were never missing?" "Nope! I set them aside and I gave them back to Sergio after work." "That's evil. And impressive. And evil."

GIRLFRIEND! I am so proud of you. It's like a productive prank. Yes, she manipulated him, but much like some of the Tim Tests, it was what he needed. Tim helped Lucy become a better cop. She's helping him become a better boyfriend.

Because in this case, what he needs to do is be honest with himself. He can't be objective where she's concerned.

"I know, but you weren't facing the problem." "Okay, well now I am. So what do we do?"

These two are absolutely working together. I stan a couple who communicates. Because he slides that "we" in there so fast. Lucy and Tim are learning how to really communicate and work through issues as a couple, and I love seeing that on my screen.

When my husband and I first married, I came from a family where screaming and name-calling was the norm. He came from a family where conflict was ignored because it was "unpleasant". It took forever for us to learn how to have a productive discussion when we were on opposite sides of an issue.

One of the simple pleasures of The Rookie's track record with ships is getting to watch our favorite couples work together. Jyla and Wopez paved the way for Chenford, in that respect.

"We only have two real options." "Break up or one of us leaves Mid-Wilshire."

First off, I love how they never even entertain the option of breaking up. Because that isn't an option for them. Yes, it technically exists as an option, but it's not one Tim and Lucy will ever consider.

They're in this and neither one is giving up on it. No second guessing. No doubt. Tim and Lucy are completely sure about one another and secure in their relationship.

"It should be me." "No. No, you love it here." "No, I do. But there isn't an open Sergeant supervisor job anywhere else in the division. I checked. Which means you would have to take a demotion and that's not happening."

I love that she talked about it. And that she'd already researched other Sergeant positions. That's our girl! Sorry... Tim's girl.

But right this second, I can see the wheels turning in Tim's mind. Lucy is basing her assumption on what she's seen of him in the past.

She knew before Rachel did that he wasn't leaving LA. She didn't know about Ashley trying to pressure him into retiring, but anyone who knows Tim knows he loves patrol.

Different as this is for Lucy, I don't know if she yet realizes how different it is for him.

"Lucy-" "No, it'll be fine. Rookies leave their first station after making P2 all the time." "That's true." "So, this is the best move, right?" "Maybe, but we don't need to decide right now."

Lucy is ready to commit to this decision, and I love it for her and for Tim. Because Lucy is choosing Tim. Forget her friends, her commute, and her comraderie. In this moment, Lucy has chosen Tim. And what other woman in his life has ever done that?

It's a hard, hard decision either way, but they both are on the same page... something has to give.

And someone better do something, because there's footage all over these cameras of an Officer and Sergeant in love. Like, that could be a problem, too, if they don't get on top of it.

Tim and Lucy's Silent Approach

This is their first time in a dangerous situation together as a couple. Tim's trying to keep it straight, and so is Lucy. They have innocents to protect. This isn't earrings. This is human life.

And Tim and Lucy get the job done.

But was it harder because of their relationship? That's the question, here. Lucy already proved that Tim can't be objective because of her, but now they're looking at the other angle—what if that hadn't happened so perfectly?

"Nice work today." "You, too. It's not a bad way to end our partnership, saving a family."

First off, Tim has really embraced complimenting Lucy. Second, Lucy has fully embraced that they are no longer going to be in the same chain of command after today.

Look at her picking the lint off of his shirt, which was a classic relationship test in the series New Girl. And then she's touching him and

"Yeah, although we're still not partners. I mean, on the job, anyway."

Look at her tapping his arm in a very gentle hit. Because, now they are partners. And her adorable smile that coaxes out his loving one. Oh, these two!

"It's going to be so weird going to a different station knowing I'm not gonna to see you all day." "Yeah. And there's no guarantee that our shifts will sync up." "I hadn't thought of that. Wait. Wait, wait. So by doing the right thing, we're going to see each other a lot less?" "Most likely." "No." "Yeah."

Gosh, this is hard for them. Melissa O'Neil broke my heart with how Lucy delivered, "I hadn't thought of that". Because Lucy is often the one who has thought of everything.

But this is an area Tim knows better, and now that they're facing this reality, it kinda sucks. But note how Lucy doesn't change course. Because, much as it sucks, they both know it's the right thing to do so they can stay together.

"I'm going to put in my transfer request in the morning."

This is heart-breaking. Lucy goes to pull the bags out of the Shop, like she always does, but Tim grabs ahold of the one closest to him, waving for her to give him the other. He's carrying her burdens. And look at the way she smiles at him.

They hate that the status quo is going to have to change for them to be together. But they will be together. And that's worth it.

Meanwhile I'm screaming at the screen, "Swoop in and resign first so she can stay!"

"Got a minute." "Sure."

Well, that was fast! Tim closes the door behind him and takes a seat. He didn't even wait to get into plainclothes to have this discussion because he wants to be sure he gets there before Lucy does.

And, it's so easy to say, "Oh, there's Tim Bradford giving more, again." But he really isn't. He's giving exactly what Lucy was willing to give for him. Only this scenario is actually better for them even if it's worse for him.

Because Tim finally has a partner who gives and takes, who will hold his hand through the heartache, and call him on his bullshit, and be the one to hold him when he deals with the rolling emotions of his father finally passing. Tim finally has the love of his life. And that's worth all of this.

"I've been keeping something from you. Lucy and I started dating a few weeks ago." "I suspected as much."

No surprises here. We've always said that Grey was onto these two. But, I think he was waiting for them to come to him since it wasn't impacting anything, yet, from what he could tell.

"Sir, we wouldn't've lied, but we needed time to figure out how we felt."

Which means we've missed some scenes. Look, I know I was the first person to say that we're not going to get to see everything (and y'all fic writers are on it, I'm sure). But I don't think they needed time to figure out how they felt so much as they wanted to make sure the other was fully on the same page.

After half a season of miscommunication, Tim and Lucy are trying to get on the same page at every step. Lucy's "Lucy Lessons" illustrate that they have a ways to go, but also that she knows how to get through to Tim when needed. They've got this.

"And since we're having this talk, I assume it's serious." "It is, but for it to be appropriate, I need to move out of her chain of command."

First off, "it is." That's it. That's all Tim has to say because he has full confidence in Lucy's love. Have we ever seen him so sure? Have we ever seen him so secure in love that he will shift the course of his entire career? Of course not.

Lucy is his sun. She is "the one" that Grey once said starting over would be worth it for.

And Grey doesn't question that it only took a few weeks of dating for Tim and Lucy to get to that conclusion. He's watched them battle against one another and together. He's seen the dance as they wrestled with what they felt, and he wasn't oblivious when dancing around one another shifted into dancing together.

This isn't a "You're marrying a man you just met" scenario. Tim and Lucy have known one another in so many ways. The typical timelines and steps don't apply. Yes, Tim and Lucy are taking their time, but that's never been for lack of assurance in one another's commitment to this relationship.

And now Tim is doing what he needs to to protect that relationship... to put them first. Not Lucy first, as Tim too often has done in his relationships, minimizing himself. He's putting them first.

Grey doesn't love helping Tim with this because he knows he's losing a great Supervising Sergeant who can hold down the fort when he goes on trips to visit his daughter at University. This is going to create a giant hole in the Chain of Command.

But Grey's going to help Tim, anyway. Because, this is a man of integrity—a man who walked into this office to come clean without prodding, who wants to do the right thing, who has finally finally found love after all his heartache and loss.

Who wouldn't want to help a man like that?

"Okay. Unfortunately, there's only one position open that'll do that." "I'll take it." "It's not a great job." "Doesn't matter. I'll take it."

TIM BRADFORD. See this is what we love about Tim. When he's all-in, he's all-in. Before, it was the job. Now, it's Lucy.

He is walking away from the job he loves to get out of her chain of command and keep her from having to leave. This is such an incredible demonstration of love, and despite the Chenford scene following this one, this is the scene that has me in a choke hold.

Tim doesn't ask for a pay scale. He doesn't ask for a job description. Hell, he doesn't even know what the job is. He sees that it meets what he needs to maintain his and Lucy's integrity and not be separated from the woman he loves. That's it. That's what matters.

Some things matter more.

No, he didn't utter the line. But, he's saying it with his actions. By making this sacrifice, he's showing her that a job will never be more important than her. That his love of patrol is great, but his love of Lucy is greater.

Because, at the end of the day, he doesn't want to see Lucy only on alternating Tuesdays and bank holidays. He wants them to have time together so they can continue to build this relationship. He wants them to build a life together. And that takes time.

So, to give them the time... he takes a step back. Because this is true love, damnit.

"So, I've been thinking, Hollywood division would be kind of ideal."

I love Lucy cooking for her man. Because next time it's Tim's turn. This is something neither of them will ever do out of duty or expectation, but because they both enjoy cooking, and this is an expression of love.

Lucy has a whole meal planned out for Tim. There's salad bowls, an open bottle of wine, plates and placemats.

Second, Lucy's about to give me a Wings-style heart attack with how many candles she's lit (the place burned to the ground while the couple hooked up... it's the only episode of that show I remember).

We knew from end of Season 4 that she likes to light candles like my Dad when he was tipsy during a hurricane (so. many. candles), but last time they weren't actually considering naked time.

"Well, it's not necessary. I talked to Grey, And you're looking at the new Court Liaison Sergeant." "But that's a desk job." "Yeah. Out of your chain of command. "You'll be bored out of your mind."

First off, Lucy knows Tim well enough to know he'd never be satisfied in a desk job. She didn't even consider this job when she looked up available jobs. But he took it without looking at the job description. Because some things matter more.

"That doesn't matter. Look, you and I'll get to see each other every day. And you won't have to travel to some, I don't know, far away station where they'll make you work the midnight shift because you're the newbie."

He has a sound argument. My husband and I worked opposite schedules the first year and a half of our marriage. I worked nights and he worked days. It was awful. Building a marriage when you never seen one another is a struggle I wish upon none.

And at this angle, I FINALLY get to confirm that Tim is wearing a shirt that snaps open and closed. It's not even a button-up. He went for snaps. This man came prepared. Talk about understanding the assignment!

"Tim-" "It's done. Okay. No sense in arguing about it."

This is such a husband move. Like, we all know she was willing to be the one to go, but he jumped in first, and it means they get more time together. "Wins all around", right Lucy?

And Tim and Lucy could argue about it (because they are "worth the effort"), but it's unnecessary. What's done is done.

"But we're so good at arguing."

Lucy, now you are reminding me of the couple with the golf clubs. The horny side, I mean, not the property-destruction side. Because, YOWZA, you knew what you were doing leaning over and kissing him like that, leaving enough room for him to stand up and come to you.

Yes, I know there are pieces of tape on the floor showing them where to stand. Shhhh! I'm in Chenfordland, right now, and I'm going to give Lucy full credit for that move.

Tim slips in his "I know" before kissing her, again, practically murmuring it against her lips.

"I know. But I'm hoping that we're good at certain other things, as well."

Welp. THAT happened. I mean, how the heck am I supposed to get through this scene without taking apart every move of the hand, of the lip, of the eye, of the BELT!? Oy vey, y'all, strap in (heh), because this is gonna take a bit.

First off, Lucy's kiss when he was sitting was definitely a come-hither kiss. She's got her arms wrapped around his shoulders for balance, but also to put a little weight on him. I mean, for all we know she likes it on top, right?

As they stand up, she's already got her hands on his shirt, on his chest. She's telegraphing interest as Tim's right hand takes a trail up her thigh to her waist.

And. Look. At. His. SMILE! Tim Bradford just walked away from patrol to take a desk job, but it's all worth it because he's looking into the eyes of his love, and she's staring back at him. And now they're both ready for this next step.

Tim is glowing in the light of her love. I once likened Lucy to the sun and Tim to a star. Now, technically, a sun is a star, right? And some solar systems have more than one sun. Lucy and Tim are each other's light. Neither has ever felt this secure in a relationship. This alive.

Rachel wanted Tim to move. He didn't. Ashley wanted Tim to retire. He didn't. Chris wanted Lucy to move in. She didn't.

Three weeks in and they're both ready to walk away from the job they love for the other? In the words of How I Met Your Mother, "That's love, bitch."

"Want to find out right now?" "Yeah."

Tim's "yeah" is barely above a whisper, but it's there. I wasn't certain it would be subtitled, but I'm so glad they did!

And I love that they are both on the same page. There's no doubt or confusion about what's about to happen. Lucy invited Tim to cross another threshold with her, and he breathed that sweet "Yeah" that's peppered their conversations since they became a couple.

"Yeah" when she said she wanted to get dinner sometime. "Yeah" when acknowledging they would do the right thing but never see each other. His soft little "Yeah"s are multi-purpose.

But that breathless one just now? Oh, that takes the cake, folks!

Lucy wastes no time with Tim's shirt. Her hands were on his snaps before his mouth met hers. No wasting time, here. She starts with one snap at a time, but at the end it's like popcorn, tearing that shirt open because it is in her way.

And her little sounds as she's undressing him? Girlfriend is gone. (and I can say that, now, because I'm never going to get over Lucy Chen being Tim's girlfriend)

C'mon. When she was wiring him to go undercover as the Hit man she was totally scoping those pecs. And let's not forget Rachel's house where all the man was wearing was a towel. Lucy's seen things. Now she wants to fully appreciate them.

There's a difference between admiring artwork from afar and really getting your hands into the clay on the wheel. Lucy's done looking. It's time to get hands-on.

Tim's left hand goes for her face, but he feels the last button give. She pushes the shirt over his shoulders, and as he pulls the sleeves off, completely, Lucy is all eyes on her man.

And what I love about this is that as Lucy is appreciating every inch of Tim's chest, her hands tracing the V toward his pelvis, his eyes are watching her, drinking her in. Seeing her turned on is turning him on all the more.

Her eyes meet his, and she smiles the most serenely sexy smile. This is everything she ever wanted in a relationship, and tonight is everything she ever wanted in a last "first time".

The second he shakes that shirt lose, his lips are back on hers. Her right hand winds around his back, her other on his face. He has both hands on her face, directing each kiss with the surety Lucy once dreamt.

Tim loves to touch Lucy's face. Like the airplane bathroom and the kiss at the food truck. But this kiss is different. Instead of sweet, this is starving.

Tim is starved from his want of Lucy. Forget the dinner Lucy was making... Tonight Tim and Lucy feast on one another.

Lucy got the engine started, but Tim's the one driving, now. And like her dream of him, she's all the more turned on by him taking the lead.

He's firm, but not aggressive, as he kisses her, drinking in every taste of her mouth like it's his first drink of water after days without. Lucy is the only thing to sate his thirst.

Her hand traces his back before both hands land on his belt. She's pulling him as much as he's pushing her toward the bedroom. They walk in step together, like the hottest four-legged, sandwich-style race. Lucy giggles as they go.

Because sexy as this is, it's also still them. Tim and Lucy are enjoying themselves. And we've learned through the course of this relationship, thus far, that comes with some giggles from Lucy.

No doubt, she's built this up in her mind. They both have. But here in this moment, they aren't second-guessing or wondering. Tim's not standing before her, waiting to see if she's interested. Lucy's not thinking about the past and letting it still her.

In this moment, they are both living, breathing, and craving right now.

Tomorrow, there'll be the jobs, and the logistics, and all the other things to worry about. But in this moment, Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen are carefree save the love they carry for one another.

Every kiss is punctuated by desire fueled by love. There's echos of every other kiss they've shared—but these kisses are like breathing. In this moment, Tim and Lucy are one another's oxygen tanks, and the only way to exchange breath is to share it.

They could bee-line right to the bedroom, but Tim can't help himself. He doesn't want to wait to feel himself pressed fully against her—every curve of her body responding to his.

His right hand reaches for the door frame, so when he pushes Lucy back against it, she doesn't hit her head. In fact, his left hand is cradling her head, so it's his hand that meets his hand.

But she feels every muscle, every part of Tim pressing against her, wanting her, aching for her. With every touch of his bare skin against her skin, his taste on her lips, and his pelvis pressed against hers, her desire grows.

Her left hand winds to his neck, as though she could pull him even closer, somehow merging every part of them before they've even made it to the next layer of clothing discarded.

Tim shifts so his left hand is around her waist as she backs into her bedroom, Tim practically on top of her, not wanting to separate an inch now that he's finally here. He can feel her responding to him, and like her lips, he's growing addicted to that feeling.

Tim pushes the door most of the way closed as Lucy giggles, completely free in the wonder of his love. Locks of Lucy's hair catch the frosted glass as the door slams shut—Lucy no doubt with her back against that door (and possibly lifted up by Tim, judging on the placement of her hair in that window).

Tim Bradford once more forgetting the bed behind him because they're going to break it anyway.

Seriously. I fully expect "Lucy needs a new bed" to be a plot point. Just to see her scrolling options on her phone would be enough for me! That bed is not ready for the action it's gonna see tonight.

I have to say, I love that we can hear the scene. The music isn't overpowering this moment, and for someone like me whose ears hear everything, but can't separate if sounds are too close in decibel or pitch, that made the scene.

Back when they kissed in the airplane bathroom, we could hear the sounds of their lips. But this scene was so much sexier with all of Lucy's hums and gentle moans into his mouth. The music volume was perfect to add to the moment without distracting from it.

Fan Fic Writers... go do your thing!

And to Eric Winter, golly, I hope he wasn't too sick. Listening to how much of a voice he has in each scene and gauging shooting scheduled based on how weak it was was amusing. But, seriously, the job of an actor can be killer. Any job in the industry that involves being on-set, really.

My mom is a hair and makeup artist. She worked on a series in Wilmington in the late 90's where one of the lead actresses and she both had the flu. Didn't matter. They both had to work through. Mom has this photo of the two of them passed out on a couch together between scenes. It makes her smile, now, but it reminds me of how hard it can be.

We think about the glitz and glamor. And while that does exist, the hours alone can be a huge deterrent for any sane person. Creating art takes time, patience, and a crew of folks who sacrifice so much of their personal lives to make it happen.

If it's a good crew, it can become like family. If it's a complicated one, it can be incredibly trying to get through 18+ hour days stuck together, short turnarounds, and Fraturday schedules.

Also, I hope poor Melissa O'Neil didn't get sick from Eric Winter because of this scene. Because, golly, it's a weird job, right? I once did a shoot where I had to make-out with two separate men I'd never met before on the same day (no, it wasn't a porno). Like, you're really getting paid to do this. It's so weird.

Back to the show... There's a line in this episode that Wesley says to Angela that really sticks out for me... kind of the mantra of all the ships of The Rookie "It's not ideal, but we can handle it."

Romance in real life is messy. Too often, I see television shows go one of two ways... full on soap opera or train wreck. There are very few shows I trust with ships, even in hindsight.

The Rookie shows these very real people dealing with very real issues. Kids keeping you on a schedule that prevents you from getting any sleep. Having more kids. Shared calendars. New love and job schedules. All of that is so relatable, and it's so nice to see a show that is committed to showing people work through.

It's a detail that I really appreciate as a real person with real issues.

Anyway, if any of y'all are still alive, I want to thank you for reading. I have so much fun writing these, and the fact that people read and comment and enjoy them still blows me away. Thank you.

See you on the next!"

#Chenford #Lucy Chen #Tim Bradford #Melissa O'Neil #Eric Winter #Lucy x Tim #Tim x Lucy #The Rookie #Meta

[sumeru-academy]

New romantics.

synopsis: first meetings—but as children.

character(s): hu tao, shenhe, ningguang. (separate)

warning(s): depicted bullying (hu tao), mentions of blood/past trauma (shenhe).

note(s): female reader. uses of y/n. i have an obsession towards the idea of childhood friends. help.

⎯⎯mod lie 🪜

HU TAO

It all started when you were kids. 

You had always thought Hu Tao was… strange, from the very first moment you saw her in class. She was a creepy, weird girl who hated school—even if she was a prodigy. She often left class early after completing all of her (in her words to the teacher, easy) classwork—and then she ran off to the Wangsheng funeral parlor to do only Archons knew what.

You had asked Granny Ping about Hu Tao and the funeral parlor, and she seemed pleasantly surprised at the question. Looking back on it, you wonder why you chose to approach Ping. It's not like you knew her all that well, but at the time it seemed like the right choice. You almost regretted it though, when she asked you if you were trying to become friends with Hu Tao. You explained it away as simple curiosity, and that’s when Ping sat you down and told you of Hu Tao’s family business.

You learned that the Wangsheng funeral parlor was an organization founded in the time of the Archon War. Ping retold the tales of a plague which swept over Liyue; and how the funeral parlor’s work in disposing of the fallen citizens was the key to saving the land.

It was… kind of cool, to be honest.

It's strange to think that these saviors of Liyue were ancestors to the bookish, meek Hu Tao; especially considering she was not revered and respected as they were. Not in any capacity at all, really.

In fact, your classmates bullied Hu Tao. They somehow pulled at her already cropped hair, ruined her books, taunted her with mean names. You never did these things, but that didn't stop your silent dislike of the weird girl who would rather be friends with corpses than her own classmates.

Disliking Hu Tao was easy. It was expected. And yet...

You remember one day, after school was finished and everyone was packing up their things—Hu Tao was still there. She sat at her desk silently, almost ghostly quiet. Practically everyone had rushed out before she had a chance to. You noticed a twig tangled in her short brown hair. Someone had probably been hitting her with discarded tree branches again, and the remnants of that bullying stayed tangled in her already messy locks. 

You couldn't see her eyes, as they were pointed down at the closed book cover on her desk. Her bangs hung over her face, but you could still see the remnants of tears on her cheeks. 

A weird, almost unwelcome feeling wells up within you.

"Come on, y/n, let’s go play!" One of your 'friends' shouted to you, edging closer to the classroom door. You wouldn't exactly call her a friend, more like a companion who accompanied you during school. 

Memories flash through your head of this particular girl laughing along with Hu Tao's bullies.

"Go without me," You say, packing up your things as slowly and methodically as possible. Your 'friend' left with another muttered phrase. You didn't care enough to listen.

You and Hu Tao were alone.

She sat in her desk chair, not making an effort to be rid of the school building. Even the instructor had left, asking you to clean up the books piled onto your desk. As you slowly placed them in their proper place, Hu Tao was still quiet.

You got up, packing away your own personal books into your school bag. Books. Hu Tao read those a lot, didn't she?

You swing the strap of your bag over your shoulder, walking over to the strange girl. Before you even realize what you're doing, you pull the twig out of Hu Tao's hair. 

Her strangely colored eyes widen in shock, her head turning to face you. You stand there like an idiot, fingers clenching around the archons-forsaken twig.

"You're a weirdo," You say to Hu Tao, because you honestly don't know what else to say. You're eight years old, still a child without knowledge of the world.

Hu Tao's silence is stiff, and she once again turns away from you.

"But that doesn't matter." You step away from her, approaching the classroom door. "Don't let them bully you just because you're brave enough to be who you are, okay?"

As you turn only slightly to shut the door behind you—you notice Hu Tao has a strange expression on her face. Awestruck may be the big word you would use to describe it.

SHENHE

Shenhe is ten years old, and she did not like to think of what her life was like before she was the apprentice of Cloud Retainer.

Her master told her that it was unhealthy to dwell on the sorrows of the past, and so Shenhe found herself never thinking back on any of it—lest the bad memories seep forwards first. The red ropes helped her mind focus on things that weren't sad, and she preferred it that way. It's been a very long time since tears had stained her pillow, and she knows her master is proud of her for it.

But sometimes, when the weather is too reminiscent and the memories of black hair covered with red become too much—Shenhe walks.

She walks, and she walks, until her legs cannot move anymore. These instances are the few times in which she edges the border between Mt. Hulao and the rest of Liyue.

Now, she shudders as she takes another step forward, her feet seeping into the muddied ground. It was raining, it's still raining, and there's a girl at the base of the mountain, crying and trembling whilst curled into a little ball.

It was the first time Shenhe saw you, and the first thought which popped into her head was;

What an idiot.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ 🔖

The strange looking girl approached you with trained steps, and yet the mud sloshing below her alerted you to her presence. Your head shoots up in alarm, tears mixing with straying rainwater as your eyes look up to meet the stranger’s. She looks at you with hardly concealed annoyance, and that almost makes you want to cry harder.

“Get up,” She says, voice cold and seemingly unfeeling. You recoil at her words, but you get up nonetheless, sensing a great deal of knowledge radiating from this girl. She seemed wise beyond her years.

“Are you an adeptus? You're here to help me find my way home?” You ask with wide eyes, wonder replacing your fear.

“...Just come on,” The adeptus bites out, turning and walking off onto the path; likely waiting for you to follow.

You fall into step behind her, hands holding your discarded coat above your head in a desperate attempt to shield yourself from the rain. You would have tried to shield her as well, but the girl walked a little bit ahead of you—as if she was trying to cause distance. 

While you were contemplating this strange adeptus and her unusual yet helpful behavior, you managed to not notice a particularly large puddle hiding a hole on the edge of the path. Your foot fell into it, causing you to stumble, and you would have fallen into the ditch beside the road if the adeptus didn't catch your hand; yanking you back onto the safety of the dirt path.

“Pay attention,” She hisses, yet her hand is not harsh where she grabs your own. You blink once, confused at the obvious softness in which this cold looking girl holds your hand.

“I think… I think it would be best if you hold my hand the rest of the way back!” You claim, confidence lacing your voice even if the request is positively embarrassing. You were a big girl now at ten years old, and yet you wanted this adeptus who appears to be your own age to hold your hand so you don't fall!

You can't see the other girl’s face, as she's turned away from you, but she doesn't let go. If anything, her hand tightens just a fraction more.

You get the feeling that she has not felt something like this in a long time, and the thought makes a frown bloom on your face. Holding her hand all the way back to Liyue Harbor may not erase the sadness obviously present in this girl, but at this moment you swore to yourself one thing—you would befriend this adeptus, and make her happy.

Of course, it was only as a repayment for her kindness, and not because your heart thumped a little harder in your chest whenever she looked at you. Definitely.

NINGGUANG

Ningguang was not born with the wealth she so desperately adores.

Nowadays, people look at their Tianquan with unbridled awe and fascination. But also, lurking under their praises and wonder, is a burning curiosity. They don't know much about her personal life… at all, really.

Perhaps if they remembered the child she used to be, they would understand the person Ningguang grew up to be. Sadly for them though, you were the only one to have that privilege.

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The first time you had seen Ningguang was when you were a child wandering the port of Liyue Harbor, admiring the shops and the many people dotting the area. The size of your wallet had attracted many vendors to you, and in your childlike innocence you didn't notice how much you were being swindled.

“Half priced jewelry for today, my lady! Only 20,000 mora for this beautiful necklace!”

“Oh look at you sweetheart, I bet you would look lovely with this imported kimono from Inazuma. What say 100,000 mora for a renting fee?”

“The prices on the board are actually outdated, my apologies! The actual price for this premium fish is 15,000 mora more than the fee posted.”

Perhaps if you were with your parents, you would have noticed how badly obvious these vendors were with their tricks. But sadly, you were not, and so you approached the area you planned to meet your parents at with a lighter wallet and a heavy frown.

However, before you could approach your parents, a girl outside of the famed Liuli Pavilion stopped you.

“Hello young lady! Would you like to try some samples of our famed dishes? Only 10,000 mora for the first sample!”

Initially, you had shied away from her plate of samples, a light decline leaving your lips. You were tired and weary, completely over the prodding and poking of vendors you had been dealing with all day.

“Oh, but you simply must try these. I'll even lower the price to 9,000!” She chortled, pushing the place closer to your face.

Your head was beginning to pound with a roaring headache, and so you decided to give into her insistence, prying open your coin purse with reluctant fingers.

“Excuse me, but I believe you offered me the same sample at a price of only 700 mora,” A new voice pipes up, and your head turns to be greeted with the sight of a stranger. “Was this a mistake on your part?”

The pavilion worker stumbled with her response, “I—well…”

The girl who had saved your wallet sighed at the swiftness of her own victory, and she looked over to you with startlingly mature eyes—considering she seemed to be your own age. Her clothes were dirty and wrinkled, and you wondered how a girl so knowledgeable seemed to be so unfortunate.

“Let me lead you to your destination, lest you be accosted by another person trying to take advantage of your money and kindness.” She says, glaring at the sample lady all the while, and you nod slowly; surprised at the helpfulness of this stranger.

As she walked away from the stunned pavilion worker, you walked alongside her, a light blush for some reason coating your cheeks. It truly was kind of her to save you from that situation.

“You are a foreigner, correct?” The girl asks suddenly.

“Ah, yes…” You reply, stunned out of your own thoughts. “I came to visit Liyue with my parents.”

“I apologize if it hasn't lived up to your expectations, I know some shopkeepers around here revel in extorting tourists.”

A smile makes its way onto your face. “I'm only thankful you were there to help. I wish to repay you somehow.”

When you begin digging into your coin purse once again, the girl holds up a hand in protest, eyes closed with a sophisticated air that does not match her dirtied appearance.

“I will not accept a monetary gift for something as simple as this,” She says, face perfectly blank. “please understand.”

Your smile drops. “Then… how am I supposed to repay you for your kindness? You must allow me to reward you!”

“I do not have to allow you to do anything,” She says, and the sharpness of her words stuns you. You stop walking, planting your feet into the ground as you yank a singular mora out of your purse.

“If you will not accept a monetary gift… then take this as a token of my gratitude.”

She is obviously confused at your words, eyes narrowing in trepidation. “That is still mora.”

“I'm not giving this to you as a coin. Instead, see it as… a symbol of our new friendship!”

Neither of you speak for a moment, and you're scared that you said something utterly ridiculous when... the girl suddenly smile at you. She hadn't smiled yet, so the action makes you feel breathless. She takes the coin from your trembling fingers, holding it closely to her form.

“Thank you very much, friend.”

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Years later, some of her secretaries may note that in her rare times of stress, Ningguang could be seen balancing a singular mora along her knuckles. She stared at it longingly, even affectionately. Her secretaries also often noticed it was the same look she would give letters from an unknown source. 

Many often wonder who those letters were from, and why she seemed to adore that old coin so deeply. She did not let the answer be spoken out loud, often brushing it off whenever anyone asked.

They may not know of your importance to Ningguang, but she knows. And that's all that matters to the Tianquan of Liyue.

#mod lie 🪜 #hu tao x reader #ningguang x reader #shenhe x reader #hu tao imagines #hu tao headcanons #hu tao fluff #ningguang #shenhe #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin ningguang #hu tao genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin #ningguang x y/n #hu tao x y/n #ningguang x you #shenhe x you #shenhe x y/n

[idatenjumpfanatic]

Hot Chocolate (Gabu x Makoto)

Aight, as the poll dictates, here's a Gabu x Makoto oneshot I wrote back in 2020, now posted here in Tumblr!

As per my old A/N, the two are 15 y/o

Also, I'm not taking more requests, sorry! I just saw a long discussion about this ship so I figured I would bring this here too for those interested

Word count: 3.7k

=================

"I'll be out in a bit!"

Makoto ran downstairs, throwing a scarf around her neck while putting on her mittens. "Where are you going?" Kyoichi asked concernedly as he walked out of the kitchen. Makoto didn't even look at him as she rushed to put on her boots.

"The new candy store just opened yesterday, and Sho told me they're selling my favorites, so I have to go," Makoto explained.

"The dagashiya from the next block?" Kyoichi asked.

"Yup!"

Makoto stood up, putting on her sling bag over her shoulders. "All right, but hurry back, the snowstorm's about to hit anytime soon," Kyoichi advised. Makoto bade farewell once more before heading to the garage to take her MTB. Years may have passed, but her love for MTB never faltered, and the feeling was mutual for her brother and friends. Quickly she rode off, plunging herself into the chilly winter world outside.

It was Christmas break, and everyone in the neighborhood seemed to be enjoying the calm afternoon. It had snowed for quite some time already, so it was the opportunity for the people of all ages to unleash their creativity in the white snow all around them... or simply avoid the cold outdoors and stay inside.

After a few minutes, Makoto stopped in front of a store. It was evident that it was new, seen from the balloons that framed the entrance and the large speakers that blared nostalgic music. Without a doubt, she was there, and surprisingly enough the dagashiya was much larger than a typical neighborhood candy store.

She put her Neptune in the bike parking before heading in, grateful to have her face be greeted with literal warmth. Inside was much bigger than it looked, with a sign of an arcade leading to the stairway at the side. "Can you even call this a dagashiya?" Makoto wondered. There were children of all ages swarming the place, overwhelmed by the practically limitless choices of snacks to decide on.

However, tempting as it was, Makoto brushed these other options aside and began searching for the ones she was familiar with; she knew well enough that a lot of people, especially those within her age range, would flock into dagashiyas im search of their childhood candies, so she didn't want to waste time on exploring before the nostalgic ones ran out.

As she went through the store, she found some of the sweets that were on her mental list and took them, and she was quite happy with this. Though, her satisfaction was not met until her eyes fell on a particular chocolate-strawberry bar, and it was the last one, too. Makoto stared at it in awe, before she broke into a gleeful grin; if she were to rank sweets, this one would surely top on her list.

"Nope."

Just as Makoto was about to have that blissful moment of having such a beloved candy wrapped around her fingers, someone else had managed to snatch it before her. She retracted in surprise before whipping her head at the culprit that separated her from the chocolate.

"Hey, that's mine!"

Gabu gave her a scoff. "Yours?" he questioned mockingly. He waved the bar in front of Makoto like a flag of victory. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm the one who got it first, so it's mine," he stated proudly. He gave the candy another good look before stashing it in his basket. Makoto growled, mentally cursing the redhead before her.

"You don't even like chocolate strawberry," she grumbled angrily under her breath.

Gabu smirked, enjoying the sight of the fuming girl. Dare he even say that he found it... cute. "So what? I take whatever I want since I can, so deal with it," he shot back, pushing back the last though he just had. No way would he admit that! He turned around and left to scour through what else the dagashiya had to offer. Makoto huffed as she crossed her arms, disappointed to have failed to get the candy bar.

While Gabu walked around, he spotted a particular blue box that stood alone in a shelf. His eyes widened in surprise, for it was none other than a a pack summer-special orange flavor pocky sticks. "It's not even summer," Gabu breathed. The idea of getting a rare seasonal candy was appealing for him, though.

He quickly reached for the box, but before he could get his hands on it a purple gloved hand managed to take it before he could. "Oh wow, it's the limited-edition Brazilian orange pocky!" Makoto gasped. She then shot her head up, giving Gabu a teasing close-eyed smile as she tucked the box in her own basket.

"Sorry, but this is mine," she said, "thank you for showing me, though!"

"I found it first!" Gabu complained.

Makoto opened her eyes and readily put out her hand. "Then, let's trade," she offered. Gabu clicked his tongue, annoyed to have fallen for the girl's schemes. If anything, he refused to succumb to any of what was happening. "The choco strawberry for the orange pocky," Makoto insisted, her smile never leaving.

She was aware that she had the upper hand as she knew Gabu had a taste for both minty and tangy sweets, just like how he knew that chocolate strawberry was her absolute favorite. How they found out, it was through a long and heated argument about candies that they had years ago, and since then neither of them had forgotten.

"I'm not playing your games," Gabu denied, his voice hinted with a bit of bitterness. "You can have that damn box of sticks."

Makoto frowned, a bit taken aback by the refusal. "Well, I'm not going to stop bugging you until you agree," she pointed out. There was a visible drop of sweat that rolled at the side of Gabu's face as the boy gave her a half-lidded stare.

"You must really want this chocolate," he muttered.

Gabu then whirled around, shocking Makoto even more. "Then suffer," he told her plainly. He then began to walk away, but Makoto followed close behind to continue proposing her offer. After a few minutes of being stalked, Gabu was starting to get annoyed by the constant tail that he had been ignoring the whole time. With a groan, he gave in.

"Fine."

He stopped and took out the candy bar. Makoto lit up like an excited puppy at the sight of the chocolate finally being handed to her, but just as she was about to take it Gabu pulled it away. "The pocky," he demanded in a monotone. Makoto let her expression drop before rummaging through her basket and taking out the box of pocky.

"Same time."

At a mental count of three, the two simultaneously put out the candies for trade, and with their free hand, grabed a hold of the other sweet. Having satisfied to get his favored snack, Gabu went off to the counter. However, he caught Makoto still following him.

"What are you doing?"

"To go to the cashier, duh."

Gabu flinched a bit, catching up to his own thoughts. He assumed that Makoto wanted something else from him, when really they were just coincidentally heading at the same direction. Flustered, he looked away and hurried to the cashier without a word. Makoto wasn't numb to this and noticed Gabu's sudden freeze, but she brushed it aside.

"Oh dear, the storm's coming."

Both Gabu and Makoto's ears perked at the clerk's comment. "Let me finish this up quickly, so you kids can go home before you get stranded," the clerk told them worriedly. She scanned the items in quick succession, and as soon as Gabu paid she began to scan Makoto's. Deciding it was a faster way, Gabu bagged up his goods on his own, to which the clerk was visibly relieved at.

"But what about you?" Makoto asked.

"I still have to close up the store, but I'll be fine sweetie don't worry."

While the clerk was punching in the payment, Makoto felt her phone ring in her bag. She quickly answered it, and she was immediately greeted by her brother's worried voice.

"Makoto, are you not done yet?"

"Just paid," she reported. "I ran into a little problem earlier..."

At that note, she lightly glared at Gabu, who raised a brow at her in return. "Has the storm hit there?" Kyoichi asked. Makoto looked outside through the glass doors, where she could see the snowfall slowly getting stronger. "Not yet," Makoto told him.

"Well it has here."

"Already?!"

"And I'm not quite sure how far in the storm is here. I would advise you to head home now, but..."

Kyoichi's voice trailed off, hesitancy clear as a sunny day. Noticing the worry in Makoto's face, Gabu decided to speak up. "What's the hold up? Expecting me to bag your food, too?" he quipped. Makoto shot him another glare, but answered anyways.

"The storm reached my block, so Kyoichi isn't sure if I should head back now."

"Well I just practically live across the street so you can stay with me and Taiga for the time being."

As soon as he finished his statement, Gabu froze up. The words just slipped out of his mouth that he didn't even realize what he was saying until he said it. He couldn't find an excuse to take back his words when he really meant it. Fortunately though, Makoto was too wrapped up with her own worries that she didn't see Gabu's reaction.

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yeah..."

Makoto gave him a quick hopeful smile, and the sight of it was enough to tug at his heartstrings. He wouldn't dare confess to such feelings, but it would seem that he was too obvious that he noticed the clerk giving him a knowing look.

"Yes, he said he lives here... okay, I will... of course, I love you."

Makoto ended the call, letting out a sigh of relief. "Kyoichi said it's fine, and I'll call him as soon as the storm stops," she announced. "Aight, get your bag and let's get out of here," Gabu instructed. Makoto did so, waving the clerk goodbye as she exited. Once they were outside, the two teens were slapped by the harsh cold winds.

"Hurry up."

Gabu led the way, and not even a minute after they stopped at the gates of a house. He opened the gate and let Makoto inside. He led her to the garage, and at the push of a button the door slowly slid up.

"Gabu, you didn't even bring your MTB, why are you--oh."

Taiga, who was inside the garage tuning his MTB, stopped himself from his nagging when he saw that his brother was not alone. "She's stranded with us for the meantime," Gabu explained flatly, pointing at Makoto behind him with a thumb. "Well, since you're here you handle her right now. I'm heading to the kitchen," he followed, and without waiting for a response he entered the house, much to Taiga's dismay.

"Hello, Makoto. Please, come inside."

Makoto greeted him with a bow before entering. Taiga stood up from his work and closed the garage door with the button inside, keeping any more warmth of the home from seeping out. "I take it you were at the dagashiya?" he guessed, and Makoto nodded. He then ushered her inside, where it was even warmer. While Makoto took off her boots, they talked.

"I'll get you a blanket."

"Thank you Taiga, but that isn't necessary."

"Then, how about staying at the kotatsu?"

"No way, you have those?!"

Taiga chuckled at Makoto's response. "Since Gabu practically ditched you, that makes you my guest," he reasoned out. "So, would you like to?" He didn't have to ask again before Makoto eagerly agreed. He led her to the living room, where a kotatsu was set up in replacement of the usual coffee table. There were cushions around it that served as something to lean on.

"Make yourself comfortable, I'll just go get something."

Makoto didn't wait another second and took off her mittens, coat and scarf, which were all starting to turn sticky due to the snow melting off on it. She folded them neatly and set them at the edge of the kotatsu before tucking herself under the table. She immediately felt the warmth of the futon, sliding her freezing arms underneath it as well.

"That's my spot."

Makoto looked up from relishing the hotness of the kotatsu and saw Gabu giving her an annoyed look. In one hand was a can and two mugs with a spoon each, and in the other was a kettle. "I'd apologize, but you leaving me in the cold like that makes me not want to," Makoto pointed out. Gabu's scowl only deepened, but the redhead didn't bother to reply and instead placed the items he held on the table before settling in adjacent to Makoto.

As Gabu popped the can open to prepare his hot chocolate, he noticed that Makoto was staring at him, perhaps since the moment he set the can down. "What are you looking at?" he asked. Makoto jolted, her face flushing once she realized what she was doing. "I was wondering what kind of chocolate that is," she admitted, pointing to the can. Gabu gawked at her, as if he heard the most sacrilegious thing in the world.

"Don't mess with me," Gabu huffed. "You, of all people, would not know the existence of hot chocolate drops?"

Makoto narrowed her eyes at him, seeming more offended by the accusation. "Excuse me, but not knowing one thing doesn't make me an abomination of the candies," she shot back. Gabu rolled his eyes, tipping the can and letting two packs of drops spill out. "So much for a chocolate enthusiast," he murmured.

Makoto was about to open her mouth to retort, but decided against it as she figured she wouldn't go through another lengthy debate about sweets with Gabu; the last one they had lasted for a week. That's how passionate they were with candies, and equally determined to prove their points right as well.

...and perhaps the only way they could find an actual reason to talk to each other.

As kids, neither had any real purpose of interacting. Questions about MTBs? Sho, Kakeru, and Kyoichi would provide for Makoto. Schoolworks? Gabu couldn't care less about it, in contrast to Makoto. Sweets? Now that's the common ground they had.

Ever since their first debate on it, they got that reason. They would bump into each other in just about every place there'd be something sweet; cafes, ice cream parlors, candy stores. Name it, they've met there once or twice, and it would either lead to them arguing which is better or having a discussion without being at each others' throats. Since a time neither could pinpoint, feelings began to creep its way to their chests at the mere sight of each other, but even it was obvious, neither dare admit.

"So is this one for me?"

Makoto pointed to the mug that Gabu wasn't bothering. "Well, duh. You're my guest," Gabu replied as if he was stating the most obvious thing. Makoto could feel her cheeks suddenly warm up, but she hid it away by not so subtly lifting the futon over half of her face. Gabu watched her in amusement, seeing how dumbly was trying to cover her blush. Now, he could tell the obvious reasons for her face turning red, but he'd rather pretend it was from the cold... even if they were already inside.

"Hey, let that go. I'm going to educate you how to make hot chocolate using this."

Gabu hastily pried off the blanket from Makoto's face. With one hand he held hers, while he took one of the drop packs with the other. He placed the pack on Makoto's hand that he held before finally letting go.

"Her hands are freezing," he thought.

In contrast, Makoto felt that Gabu's hand was freakishly warm, like a moving hot compress. It was only for a short moment, but the feeling of Gabu's hand on hers was something she found quite indulging. Gabu was talking about something, most likely about the proper way of melting the chocolate, but Makoto was too absorbed in her own thoughts to actually listen.

Dare she admit, she want to touch his hands again.

"I don't think I have to explain why the milk shouldn't come to a boiling point, but-"

Gabu stopped from his explanation, noticing that Makoto was clearly lost in thought with her distant eyes. "You... weren't listening..." he trailed off, sweatdropping. He was disappointed that Makoto wasn't listening, so he figured to just make the drinks. He poured the hot milk from the kettle and into the two mugs, which already contained the hot chocolate drops.

"Here."

Makoto blinked at the sudden contact of the mug to her fingers, feeling the nearly burning sensation that seemingly thawed her freezing hand. "You'll be fine here, it's not like I'm going to imprison you," Gabu huffed. There was an underlying tone of concern in his voice, and a bit that showed on his face, but he was more of annoyed by the fact he was ignored throughout his explanation.

"That... uh, wasn't what I was thinking about."

Gabu raised a brow at her, unconvinced, as he stirred his drink. "Whatever, just try out the hot chocolate," he replied. "This is one of the best, so I reckon you'd find any bad critic of this." Makoto hummed, feeling challenged by the statement. She picked up the spoon and stirred her own drink, watching as the rich brown chocolate swirled in with the milk.

She then rose the mug to taste the hot chocolate, but then suddenly stopped before her lips touched the rim. "This isn't a trick, is it?" She accused, lowering her mug. Gabu immediately stopped drinking to give her an offended look.

"Last time you made me taste a chocolate you bought, you made me pay for it, literally!"

Gabu opened his mouth to deny, but he slowly closed it as he tried to recall such memory. His face scrunched for a while, and then his lips drew to a flat line as he remembered the instance Makoto mentioned.

"Well, you can rest easy, I didn't plan to do that this time."

"Oh, really?"

"I planned to give you one of these, just didn't expect it to be now."

Makoto's eyes widened in shock. Gabu returned to his drink, but turning away at the same time to hide his tinted cheeks. "Oh... thank you," Makoto breathed, smiling widely. She looked down on her mug, and as she began to drink she savored in the luscious smell of chocolate that overpowered the milk.

As soon as she took a sip, her eyes lit up with surprise. "This is good!" she exclaimed happily. Gabu smirked upon seeing her reaction. "See? And here I thought you'd force yourself to fight against it," he noted quietly.

"Hey, if it's good, I'll admit it's good," Makoto admitted proudly.

After a long silence, Gabu dared to give a glance at the girl beside him. Makoto was evidently enjoying the new kind of hot chocolate, and after a bit she looked over to the window. Her joyous expression suddenly faded, changing to a more dejected one as she watched the storm ensue violently outside.

"Still worried, huh?"

Makoto tore her gaze away when she felt something warm envelope her hand that laid on the table. She looked down at her hand, then up to Gabu. The boy had his eyes closed, and from the way he held her hand she knew that he was unusually tense. "Look, we have no clue how long this storm will last, but Taiga contacted Kyoichi already, so he knows you're safe here."

"I'll make sure of it."

Makoto stared at him, at a loss of words. She was touched by such a sincere assurance, but her silence was only making Gabu more anxious. "That's... well, if it's you, then I'm not that worried at all," she finally mustered to say. Gabu, with his ever growing blush, willed himself to open his eyes, and what greeted him was something he could only call enchanting.

Makoto was smiling warmly, her brown eyes gleaming with such softness. She gently placed her other hand on top of Gabu's, and the reassuring act was enough to put the both of them at ease. Gabu let out a breath, relieved that he didn't embarrass himself. Though, with his nervousness gone, he realized that he made such a direct move.

Having no excuse to break contact, Gabu opted for the best choice he could think of at the moment and immediately yanked his hand away. He coughed through his fist and awkwardly looked away. Makoto, although taken aback by the sudden action, couldn't help but giggle at his fiddly behavior.

"While you're here, and since we just came from the dagashiya, I wanna see what you got from there. Definitely nothing better than what I got, that's for sure."

Recovering from the sweet moment earlier, Makoto narrowed her eyes as her lips curled to a challenging smirk. "Oh, I'm confident with my candies, that's for sure," she declared proudly. Gabu returned the grin.

"We'll see."

As the two started their debate, Taiga chuckled silently, for he'd been watching them from the staircase the whole time. "I'm glad to see your attempts have become successful, brother," he laughed quietly before standing up. He knew Gabu had been purposely going to the same places that Makoto went ever since he started to have a liking for her, but heavens forbid him to be honest with himself from the very beginning.

#idaten jump #gabu samejima #makoto shido #taiga samejima #kyoichi shido #idaten jump fanfic #fanart #fanfic #mod writes #<- new tag

[megan-is-mia]

Joshu with these prompts

58. “Of course I’m jealous! You’re mine!”

84. “Pay attention to me! Why aren’t you paying attention to me!”

58. “Of course I’m jealous! You’re mine!” 84. “Pay attention to me! Why aren’t you paying attention to me!” (Yandere! Joshu Higashikata x Fem! S/o)

This is what (Y/n) got for being nice. An annoying, spoiled rich boy who would not leave her alone. Oh, why the hell had she even bothered helping Joshu in the first place? She had known the entire time it was going to bite her in the fucking ass! Maybe it was because he had looked so pitiful, standing there out on the pier with tears streaming down his cheeks. She hadn't even done anything that nice anyways, just stood next to him to stare out at the ocean and offered him a tissue for his teary eyes.

After that she couldn’t get rid of him, no matter where she went in Morioh it wasn’t long before Joshu was there too hanging off her arm and begging for attention like a cat in heat. If (Y/n) was a more aggressive gal she would have had the guts to tell him off properly. Instead, she found herself almost begging the boy for personal space. Most of the time her pleading seemed not to even reach Joshu’s ears as he shushed her and spoke loudly about the stuff that interested him.

Eventually, she grew used to it, grew used to having her own wants and needs ignored by the bratty boy. Over time (Y/n) was able to tune out Joshu and allowed herself to be dragged around in an unaware daze by the young man. After all, the effort necessary to keep nagging for her own freedom was not worth the lack of results obtained from it. Her very clear apathy towards the situation was interpreted by Joshu as not only acceptance of his feelings but a return of those very feelings.

“Baaaabe, my parents want you to come over for dinner tonight” Joshu said speaking right into (Y/n)’s ear and sending a shiver down her spine. “I’m not your babe” (Y/n) replied more out of habit than anything else. There were a lot of things she was willing to tolerate with Joshu’s delusions but the pet names were one of the things she could not stand. “Why do your parents want me to come over anyway?” she added even though she had a bad feeling that she already knew what the answer would be.

“Duh, they wanna meet my girlfriend. We’ve been dating for months, it's about time I properly introduce you to my folks” Joshu said as if that was obvious, which sent chills down (Y/n)’s spine. She was suddenly realizing just how serious the situation had gotten, how could she have let things spiral this far?! (Y/n) had thought that Joshu would get a hint and leave her alone but instead, he’d concocted this whole made-up romance between the two of them!  

“Babe! Pay attention to me! “ Joshu said poking his girlfriend’s cheek as her eyes glazed over. “Hey! Why aren’t you paying attention to me!” he protested as he continued to poke at (Y/n)’s face. Eventually, he slapped her, nice and hard, and finally her eyes focused back on him the way he liked. “There we go, gosh you made me all worked for a moment there” he said with a sigh before leaning in for a kiss. He was in for a nasty surprise when instead of a smooch he ended up with a smack across the face of his own.

“I hate you” (Y/n) said her voice low and hoarse. “I hate you so fucking much you self-centered, entitled, jealous bastard! I should have never taken pity on you! Well, I'm done doing that shit” the girl said shoving Joshu away and turning to leave. She didn't get far before her legs suddenly separated from her body and she went tumbling to the ground. “Oh (Y/n) of course I’m jealous! You’re mine!” Joshu cooed with his stand hovering over his shoulder, totally invisible to his lover. 

“I hate to have to do this but until you remember how to be nice to me, I’ll just have to keep you all helpless like this for me~” Joshu added before disconnecting (Y/n)’s eyes from her head and plunging her into eternal darkness…

THE END

#yandere jojo's bizarre adventure #yandere jjba #yandere jojo #jojo's bizarre adventure #jjba #jojo #yandere jojo's bizarre adventure part 8 #yandere jjba part 8 #yandere jojo part 8 #jojo's bizarre adventure part 8 #jjba part 8 #jojo part 8 #joshu higashikata #yandere joshu higashikata

[superthatguy62]

FFIII Fun Facts of the Whatever: Dev Interview Edition (Part 2)

When the DS version of the Final Fantasy III remake was released in Japan, Square-Enix released an official strategy guide to go with it. This strategy guide went into quite a lot of detail about the game, giving tips on how to use jobs, showing off unusual team compositions and even discussing some mechanics that may not be clear in the game itself.

I’ll talk about that stuff later, but the most interesting aspect is an interview with the game staff at the back of the manual, touching upon various aspects of the game.

Thanks to Alex Highsmith of Shmupulations, part of this interview has been translated. I only had enough for an excerpt, but this excerpt is very interesting: In it, Kazuhiko Aoki (Battle Supervisor) and Hiroaki Yabuta (Main Planner) discuss the battle system for III, several of the jobs, a few ideas that didn’t make it into the final game and a rather surprising fact: A PVP mode was considered.

--Please tell us about your overall concept for the battle system of FF3DS.

Aoki: The thing we were always aiming for, throughout the development, was making sure that the battle system would be easy to pick up and enjoy, even if you knew nothing about it or hadn't played the Famicom version. That's why we decided to change some of the finer details from the original. It should still give players that overall "Ah, it's FFIII" feeling, though. I hope older players will enjoy comparing their old memories of how the game progressed, which jobs were good, and so forth with the new game.

Yabuta: For me, I didn't want this to be one of those RPGs where you just spam Fight and breeze your way through it. That's why we changed many enemies' attributes and attacks. During the development, we actually made the enemies TOO strong, and after a single normal battle your party would be practically dead. (laughs)

Aoki: There's no thrill to the battles if you're just mindlessly pressing the A button the whole time. We instead wanted a system that forced characters to make tense choices, one where your characters could easily die if you aren't paying attention.

--It sounds like balancing that system was a big challenge. Compared to the Famicom, there's fewer monsters in each battle... was this also part of that balancing?

Yabuta: When you go 3D, the battles always get a little bit longer. We calculated how often we wanted players in a given dungeon to get close to death, and adjusted the number of enemies, their strength, and the encounter rate accordingly.

Aoki: Speaking of balancing, Aoki kept adjusting the strength of the final form of the Cloud of Darkness all the way to the very end of the development, moments before the deadline.

--Now I'd like to ask you about the job system. Let's start with Suppin [Freelancer].

Yabuta: Since we've added personalities for the four characters, it felt odd to suddenly start the game and see that everyone already had the "Onion Knight" class. So we brainstormed some new names, but it was surprising how quickly everyone settled on "suppin." (laughs) Suppin first appeared in FFV, as the most powerful class that could equip anything, but we've made them a little weaker for FFIII. With everyone in their basic default state like this, players would be able to better enjoy the prologue... that was our concept.

--Did you know from the beginning that you would split the Onion Knight and Suppin in this way?

Yabuta: We had planned to add some special bonus features as apart of the new Wi-Fi functions. At that point we already had separate designs for Suppin and Onion Knight drawn up, so we decided to make the Onion Knight a hidden job, something you'd have to dig a little past the surface to find. Rather than a brand new job, we thought it might make players happier to add the most popular job from the original FF3 as a hidden job.

--You acquire the Thief job earlier now too, and with their attack power and Steal command upgraded, they're a lot more usable.

Suzuki: There weren't many monsters in the Famicom version you could steal from (or items to steal), and we thought players who are used to modern games wouldn't be comfortable with that. So we gave players the Thief earlier and added more items so players could enjoy using Steal more. Also, the number of attacks you get in FF3DS is based on the weight of your equipment, not your speed stat, so you get to take more actions if you wear light equipment. The Thief excels on both these points so he can play a much more active role in battle.

--In contrast, you get the Karate-ka [Black Belt] later now.

Yabuta: The biggest reason for that was to maintain the balance of the number of jobs you get. The water crystal has a lot of fighter-type jobs. But strategically we couldn't afford to hold back the Dark Knight and Dragoon classes. So it was like, who can we put later... and that was Black Belt. My apologies to fans of this class from the Famicom version.

--The Ranger could use white magic in the original, but you've replaced that with Barrage.  

Yabuta: Barrage didn't appear until FFV, but it's now one of the Final Fantasy serie's most well-known, signature abilities. Attacking four times feels great--and my personal love for that ability was a part of it too. (laughs) As for the white magic, we were worried that if there were too many jobs that could use magic, it would make the Ranger's role kind of confusing. We wanted him to be focused on fighting.

--How about the Sage?

Suzuki: Compared to the original we lowered their power a lot, so much so that I was wondering if it's OK. Our image for them was a balance between the Devout, Magus, and Evoker jobs.

--Next, I wanted to ask about the Scholar.

Suzuki: The Scholar works very well with the Thief. The Scholar can use the items the Thief steals 2x as effectively, while being able to discern enemy weakpoints too. He uses healing items like Hi-Potions twice as effectively too, so if you have a Scholar you don't necessarily need a White Mage. That versatility made him very popular with our staff, too.

Yabuta: The problem is whether players will realize these things. We definitely don't advertise the 2x item effectiveness very much in game. But I think once players notice it they will think the Scholar is awesome.

--Next up is the Viking, who I feel has been hugely improved from the original.

Suzuki: In the Famicom version, the Viking was one of those jobs that didn't really stand out. Since they don't get a lot of hits--or rather, they are a low speed character--we decided to compensate for that by making the Viking focused on single, one-shot power attacks. And the biggest change, of course, was adding the Provoke command. If you make use of that, the battles become quite easy.

Yabuta: It's easy for players to get into a habit of just spamming Fight for every battle, so Provoke adds a nice accent to that. It was a great addition for that reason, I think.

--It gives you more of a chance to combo attacks with your allies.

Aoki: Yeah. In the Famicom version he was more of a solo fighter, but this we're hoping players will think of the various combinations they could pull off with the Viking and other characters.

--Moving on, I wanted to ask about Yabuta's favorite job, the Evoker.

Yabuta: This job gave us a lot of trouble. At first, we considered letting the player choose the summoning effect (black or white), but ultimately we reverted to the original way of having it be completely random. We're hoping players will actually enjoy the slight unexpectedness of it.

Shiva, Ramuh, Titan, and Ifrit are about equal strength, and if you can figure out the right one for the right circumstance, then Evoker can be very strong. On bosses, Titan might be best for the consistent damage, while for normal enemies, Shiva is a good choice for the sleep or magic damage... if players realize those distinctions I think they'll have a lot of fun with it.

--Like the abandoned "at-will" Evoker ability you just mentioned, were there any other abilities you dropped during the development?

Yabuta: There were tons. (laughs) There was an ability called "tsuresari jump" [abduction jump] for the Dragoon.

--What was that like?

Yabuta: The Dragoon would grab the enemy, take them into the air with them, and then slam them down on the ground. Another idea we had, actually, was to have PvP battles using the Wi-Fi connection. And for awhile we had a number of abilities related to that feature, but ultimately we felt uncomfortable about it. "Should Luneth and his friends really be fighting and hitting each other...?" So unfortunately,  we decided to put that off for another game in the future.

Thanks once again to Alex Highsmith for translating this. Shmupulations is a site that hosts translated video game interviews from various sources, including several Final Fantasy games, such as VI and Tactics.

#Final Fantasy #Final Fantasy III #FF3 #FFIII #Unused #Interview #Onion Knight #Freelancer #Thief #Black Belt #Ranger #Sage #Scholar #Viking #Evoker #Game Design

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 14

Chapter 14: “Trump Card”

It’s interesting how the scene of Ray becoming Isabella’s spy is done differently on three separate occasions. As he’s retelling the moment to Norman right now, he seems relatively calm about making the deal, whereas in ch181.5 (back when it was actually happening) Ray was so frightened that Isabella might ship him off for knowing the truth that his heart was racing. (I’ll mention the third instance once I get to ch37. this a memo to myself so I don’t forget).

I’ve been trying to avoid chatting about cover & extra pages since they usually are typically pretty scenes that may or may not relate to the current situation of the story and/or try to lighten the mood with humor, but I wanna mention this one. First off, the Grace Field library is huge and it’s crazy to think that Ray actually manages to read every single book before the escape. I’m also intrigued by some of the details on the books themselves, aside from the obvious “never” with an old-styled ship that appears in several places throughout the story, but never really means much in the end. I remember a lot of people used to make theories about them though. Oh.. unless the ship was to reference the shipments themselves..? I only just thought of that. Anyways, there’s also some books that have “treachery” and “betray” written on them. The book on the shelf near Emma’s antenna has “read this yourself” written on the spine and it gets me curious, like what kind of book would say that? Speaking of our girl, I’m sure she was pretty upset upon learning that Ray was in fact mom’s spy, but more shocked and sympathetic than anything (but saving those thoughts for next chapter).

I know this is a serious conversation between the two of them, truly, but those middle panels are so funny to me. They already look so done with each other’s bullshit and the deal has only just begun. It’s gonna be a long six years for them.

This chapter gives Ray many psycho faces, but this is probably my favorite of the bunch. I can hear “Existence of an Insider” in my head perfectly. I still prefer that over his “81194” theme too. I dunno why.

Despite the history he has with Isabella, the fact they can chat so casually about the situation amuses me. Makes me wonder if this is how Isabella would handle Ray’s mischief in a normal life. The “useless dog” part kills me each time. I don’t doubt that Ray knew Norman was very capable of picking locks and he just decided to keep that info from her either. Hell, maybe he even taught him. Ray likes to tinker with stuff, so I can imagine Norman became interested in doing so as well. (for the life of me, I can’t remember if this is factual (and if so, from where) or a popular fandom headcanon..)

Favorite panel/moment:

I love this little interaction with all my heart! All of them are just so precious. I sadly understand why the anime left it out though (and had Ray pause at the top of the stairs and then walk away instead), as an adorable moment like this really wouldn’t have fit the tense mood the RN conversation left us with since “Existence of an Insider” was also still playing at this point.

I still think it could’ve worked somehow. We don’t see Ray & Emma really interact again until he reveals he’s the real traitor to her, so perhaps it would’ve surprised her more from seeing him act so friendly one moment then finding out he’s been sorta kinda betraying her the next? Ah well.

#the promised neverland #tpn manga #182daysoftpn #chidoroki used chatter

[dreaming-in-alicante]

Thoughts on Chain of Thorns

I've had a few days to process now and I think the word to sum up my thoughts on the book is simply underwhelmed

A lot of this has been said already by others, but my own two cents:

I think Cassie should have either 1) taken more time to write or 2) kept her original ending

There was SO much to tie up and I feel like it was done in the most inefficient way possible. She spent half the book resolving Jordelia in the most painfully drawn-out way, then the other half actually defeating Belial.

Not to say it was all bad though, which is most frustrating because that means it was possible for the rushed parts to have been better! Matthew dealing with his alcoholism, Matthew and James getting back in sync, the clever way Lucie and Cordelia got rid of the Cordelia-is-Lilith's-paladin problem - all really good!

But there was just so much I was unhappy with.

1)Too many things felt rushed:

the 'Charles was with Alastair' reveal - I expected something dramatic but Matthew just casually drops "oh I knew about everything" in like the 5th chapter, even though there was no sign of him knowing before? We did get that hilarious scene with the four guys all together, but then later on it's just 'oh and Charles told the Clave everything and it's fine'

Thomastair getting together - they had like 2 conversations and suddenly Alastair was over all of his reservations?? Cassie should've saved some of the tension she used on Jordelia and put it towards Thomastair

Arianna getting together - same as with Thomastair! Ari leaves home, has like one conversation with Anna, and boom they're together

Matthew telling James and then later his parents about what he did - this is a devastating secret! It has separated Matthew from his loved ones for years and driven him to alcoholism!! Yet all we get is a page of him telling James and James giving him a quick reassurance, then a short paragraph about telling Charlotte and Henry and they're just like, 'oh glad we know, we forgive you, also we're having another baby surprise'. Where is the emotion? The catharsis?!?

Lucie and Cordelia becoming parabatai - we just don't get even a paragraph of the ceremony? Just a mention in the last chapter that they're parabatai now

2) Christopher dying

One of my biggest grievances is Christopher's death. I thought maybe I was just biased because he's one of my faves but after looking at other posts, I see it's not just me! It feels like Cassie killed him off solely because she thought 'well someone has to die' - and that's just not a compelling reason! What was the purpose? To show that Tatiana was evil beyond redemption? To show that the stakes were high? We already knew both those things!

Also to my point #1, the reactions to his death felt rushed. We got one short scene with Thomas and one short scene with Anna that were actually emotional, then a moment with Grace. Other than that it was like - 'wow I can't believe Kit is dead, I miss him'. Where's the emotional weight??

3) Then there were the things that just didn't make sense to me

Grace and Jesse. Oh Grace my poor girl. Again, she's one of my faves so I recognize I'm biased but - she deserved so much better, especially from her own freaking brother. This post and this post put it way more eloquently I can.

Cordelia killing Tatiana - I feel like it was mainly to explain the "paladins blade can heal wounds made by it" plot point but - it just didn't make sense?? Literally the second Tatiana has done all the plot-related things she needs to, poof she's taken out of the equation. Also. One of Cordelia's strengths, something we see over and over, is her kindness. I mean, despite being wronged the most besides James by the gracelet, she is one of the kindest to Grace after the fact. I expected some moral crisis for her after killing Tatiana. Yes, it was forced by Lilith and yes, there was a lot happening at the same time - but she still killed someone! And there's no exploration of those feelings!

Lucie and Cordelia's friendship - if they need prompting from a demon in the latter half of a final book to truly reconcile? Then they're NOT besties, I'm sorry. Not that they aren't friends, but I was not convinced they were on the level of friendship that would make them good parabatai

Overall I think my issue is at that too many points, it felt like Cassie ticking off the boxes of events that needed to happen, rather than letting us experience things through the characters.

#chain of thorns #chot #tlh #the last hours

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation episode 1 review

And we're back!

I must admit I didn't even realize how soon Bleach: TYBW would return back, but it's back. Man, I've been waiting for this and I bet many other people have also waited for its return.

I'm happy that the second course (season?) started so strongly when it opened with Yhwach's birth. The moment I saw those 'glowing lights' I knew what they were and I knew where it would lead. But the fact we saw a little bit of how the system works with Yhwach? That was a bit surprising. Those who have read the manga will get the reference right away, but it'll be kind of a bit surprise to anime-only watchers. ;)

That new opening was truly a banger! I've missed openings like that where the vibe seems so relaxed, but in reality lot of things are going on. The fashion, the way characters are represented, etc. everything looked very neat and the lyrics supported nicely everything. So many little details that hint at the future, but done in such a way one might not get it right to way. I hope some fic writers will get inspiration from the opening and write some AUs based on the world we saw at the opening before it shifted back to the universe we're familiar with.

I'm glad the anime picked up right away where it was left because while recaps can be handy, in this case, it would have felt a bit unnecessary.

The animation is still top-notch, and so are the soundscape, music, and voice acting. Glad to see the animators and the rest of the staff got the needed time to keep up with the quality we got at the first part.

I loved how Ichigo walked all the way up to Ichibe's palace, then thanked and bowed and was all 'bye'. Like bruh. I would have probably been too exhausted to go right back, not to mention...if Ichibe would have just wanted Ichigo's thank you, I doubt they would have needed to climb aaall the way to his palace that is on the mountain.

The transitions between the scenes were quite smooth.

Even though I knew why Bambietta called that guy, it still made me chuckle a bit. The poor guy thought tonight would be his lucky night, but unfortunately...Bambietta has a bit different preferences. xP

Hehe, the Yhwach announcement really caused havoc among the Sternritten ranks, eh? But it was a good way to showcase some of the main Sternrittens' personalities.

I must admit Liltotto's voice surprised me a bit. I don't know, but I didn't imagine it to be so low and so mature sounding? I'm not sure what I was expecting, but not that. That doesn't mean, though, I wasn't positively surprised by it.

Also, Giselle casually calling out Candice. Lol. Goes to show the girl group's internal dynamics. A further point of that was just moments ago Candice calling out to Bambietta.

Man, I couldn't help but swoon over that successor ritual scene. The animatics during that scene were just fantastic. I loved the contrast between turquoise, white, and black. The little red? (Though blood rituals are a bit cliché in my mind) It was a nice addition to that all. It just drew the viewer to look at the scene where Uryuu severed his ties with his friends and embraced his Quincy origins.

Man, I still wish I could read Japanese just so I could understand those middle dividers in the episode. Even though I bet those are merely just telling further about the things we already know or will learn, I still kind of hope that.

Also, it's nice how at the first course (season?) the theme color was magenta, but now it's turquoise. Small neat detail that goes to show now it's time to hear more of the Quincies' side of things.

Lol, what were Nel's fraccions doing? Playing once again tag or what? And yeah, I know the scene was supposed to be foreboding and serious, but my focus slipped upon them...instead of Orihime's conversation with Chad.

Luckily that scene quickly switched to Ichigo's training and then to Kyoraku and Nanao. And yeah, like Kyoraku let that slip on purpose. Of course not. He isn't such a man. (Oh, but he is.) And generally showcasing what others were up to.

Wait, Kirinji called Rukia? I kind of get people at Seireitei having cellphones, but even at Royal Palace? Who is their dealer? Or, who makes those? Not to mention it made me think about how the whole service system works...

And omg! We actually get the naked Byakuya scene! I was quite sure we wouldn't get it, but we did. I bet all Byakuya fangirls cheered when they saw that scene. ^^

I think the whole Soul Ticket's reason was explained much better in this than in the manga. I don't know why, but back then when I read the manga, it didn't make so much sense to me. In this, it felt like it made more sense. Not to mention, it portrayed Kyoraku in a very sweet light for considering Ichigo's human friends, should the worst-case scenario happen.

I know they probably added that adult shinigami giving a child that toy just to showcase how peaceful everything was in one moment and then nothing wasn't anymore, but even so...It's kind of hard to believe considering everything, everything would return like that when the upcoming war was looming over. Then again, even in the real-world humans tend to try to forget all bad, upcoming things and just enjoy peace and little happiness there is...in that way, it was a good shift between 'everything is alright' and in the next moment, nothing will be. Even so...it felt a bit...awkward -at least in my mind. But if not anything else, at least the animation of that tone shift was very neat.

Not much to write about the ending. I felt like it was on purpose done in a more muted way, as a contrast to the beginning which was all bubbly and colorful. (Which merely covered the bubbling problems underneath everything.) The ending was truly from Quincies' POV and showcased how they've lived in the shadows...just like Soul King.

Foreshadowing much, eh?

I'm not sure if the one at the ending was Rangiku who spoke that poem, but it sounded like her? But the poem itself didn't exactly fit her, so I'm unsure who it was this time around...

#BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation #BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Separation episode 1 #episode review #episode 1 #Bleach #bleach: tybw #episode 14 #Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War episode 14 #kurosaki ichigo #uryu ishida #yhwach #shunsui kyoraku #inoue orihime #nanao #quincy #arrancar #bambietta basterbine #candice catnipp #giselle gewelle #liltotto lamperd #byakuya kuchiki #rukia kuchiki #ichibe hyosube #tenjiro kirinji #nanao ise #rangiku matsumoto #text post #long post

[mypoisonedvine]

𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 || helmut zemo, bucky barnes and sam wilson x reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : your sugar daddy boyfriend is finally out of prison and he brought a few friends to show you off to.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : just over 4k

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : smut (foursome/group sex, oral m receiving, spitroast; sliiiight dubcon???), established zemo x reader, sugar daddy relationship, ‘sir’ kink, ‘daddy’ kink, pussy spanking, one regular spank, orgasm control, overstimulation, creampie, a bit of cockwarming, exhibitionism, possessiveness (kinda? but also not at all lmao it’s hard to explain), a bit of degradation but plenty of praise as well, subtle cuckolding but without the usual power dynamics there, shitty reconstructed “sokovian” (I wrote it in the latin alphabet but the cyrillic and translations are at the end), unexpected and unnecessary fluff, very subtle angst (basically all in a flashback anyways)

                  You were needlessly anxious as you waited for him to arrive.  It had been your own idea to wait in the jet, and yet you spent every other second glancing out the tiny window, desperate for a glance of the man you missed so dearly.

If someone had told you all those years ago, when this arrangement first began, how easily he would have you wrapped around his finger… you couldn’t have believed them.  It’s just about the money, you would’ve told them, but you would’ve been impossibly wrong.

For a lot of women in this sort of situation, it really was just about the money; likewise, for a lot of men in his situation, it was just about the sex.  But the two of you had something entirely unique, nearly indescribable in fact, that very few could ever understand.  In the beginning it became clear to you that he was more in need of a companion than a lover or girlfriend, specifically.  He was still grieving his wife, still devoted to her completely, but lonely right to his core… angry, even, at the prospect of a life without his family.  You were a shoulder to cry on, first and foremost.

You thought maybe he enjoyed spending money on you because it was his way to protect you, in a way he felt he had failed to protect his family before.

And it was you that fell for him first, for his passion and his kindness before his riches or looks.  Just when you feared that he’d only ever see you as a status symbol or dress-up doll, he returned your affections in spite of his guilt at first and the two of you were inseparable ever since.

Except, of course, when you were separated, and he was imprisoned, and you were left on your own again.  Not that spending his money wasn’t fun or anything, but his loneliness was more sympathetic with each night you spent in that massive bed by yourself, wanting just to feel the warmth of him beside you again.

So, it should be understandable why you were so on edge in anticipation of his arrival.  Your painted fingernails toyed with the hem of the dress you remembered he liked on you most— the silk one that barely covered your legs and was only held up by absurdly thin straps crossing at your back.

The night he bought it for you was clear in your mind like it was only yesterday; his voice in your ear telling you how he couldn’t resist taking such a thoughtful, intelligent woman like yourself and dressing you up like a mindless drolja… or ‘slut’ as it might be said in English.  Just remembering the way he said things like that sent a shiver down your spine as strong as really hearing it, your thighs clenching together on top of the plush leather seat.

Just as you thought you might go crazy waiting for him, you saw the car pull up— your Helmut at the wheel and his two associates in tow— and your heart soared.

Longer than all the years apart combined was the minute you spent waiting to descend the jet’s staircase, hoping to meet him on the taxiway at the exact right moment.  You made sure the jewelry around your wrists and neck was laying just right before finally making your appearance.

The way he looked up at you as you started to walk down towards him… it wasn’t so different from the way he’d looked at you through the glass for the past few years, really, but it felt different.  He certainly looked different to you, without the prisoner’s uniform and looking rather imposing with that massive coat instead.

You were careful to still walk slowly, since you were wearing stilettos and all, even when you wanted more than anything to run to him and jump into his arms.  Instead, you came face to face with him, loving that confident smirk which never seemed to leave his expression, and slipped your arms around his fur-adorned neck.

“Dobrodošla nazad, ljubavi,” you hummed, pressing your lips to his and almost letting out a squeal of surprise when he immediately slipped his tongue into your mouth, kissing you aggressively as his gloved hands gripped you at the waist.

He was rarely so bold, but then again he had been alone in prison for so long with only your words to try to satisfy him.  As much as you cherished being in his arms again, you also got the impression that this wasn’t just about making up for lost time— if that were true, he would’ve skipped the kiss entirely and taken you in the back of his car the moment he saw you.  No, this was a show of dominance, and not only for your benefit; that was clear when one of the men with him cleared his throat loudly and Helmut still didn’t stop.  

But that was very much like him: he was never finished with you until he was satisfied, and not a moment sooner.  His power over you was so effortless because you didn’t mind at all being his plaything… so much so that it was you leaning in for more when he pulled back, making him laugh softly.

“Did you miss me, lutka?” he purred, and you nodded as you bit your lip slightly.

“Always, Helmut,” you nodded, finally taking a moment to look away from him and at the visibly uncomfortable men at his side.  “I heard you freed him,” you said to the man you knew to be James Barnes, “thank you.”

“I’m still not over that,” the other— Sam, as you’d heard— added with a scoff.

“Come on, darling, let’s board the jet and we can talk there,” Helmut suggested, and you nodded as you turned to let them follow.

Of course, you couldn’t be totally sure, but you were pretty confident you could feel three pairs of eyes on your ass as you climbed the stairs.  Honestly, with how short the dress was, there was a risk of your thong being exposed as well, exactly the sort of almost-subtle teasing your Baron loved the most.

Once inside, Helmut showed James and Sam to their seats, and took his own as he instantly pulled you into his lap.  You caught the other two men glancing to the empty fourth seat, knowing there was plenty of room for you two to stay apart, but could they really blame you after how long you’d been alone?

Throughout the takeoff, one of his strong hands rested comfortably on your crossed legs as the other held his glass of champagne, and Sam’s gaze was attached to the way his thumb gently stroked your thigh while James seemed to be doing his best to look literally anywhere else.

“I noticed you haven’t introduced us to your… friend…” Sam trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, yes,” Helmut chuckled as if he actually forgot, “this is the woman who has been managing my estate in my unfortunate absence.”

“You’re trying to tell us this is your accountant?” James grumbled.

“She’s also my lover,” Helmut relented.

“Obviously,” Sam replied, unamused.

“She’s beautiful, no?” Helmut prompted as he ran his fingertips higher up your thigh, only glancing at the other men as he focused mainly on nuzzling against your neck. 

“Yeah, the finest money can buy,” Sam quipped, earning a cold glare from you and your man.  

“Are you with me for my money, draga?” Helmut asked you quietly as he planted a gentle kiss to the spot right where your neck met your shoulder.  You smiled and shook your head, staring right at Sam’s nervous expression.

“No, sir,” you answered aloud, and the title clearly made both of the other men uncomfortable… if, perhaps, in different ways.

“Uncross your legs,” he demanded, though his tone was still soft, and you obeyed right away as he started to lightly move his touch between your thighs.

James began adjusting in his seat and never really stopped, tugging at his jeans in an obvious attempt to conceal the growing bulge between his legs, but you only laughed at his clear embarrassment.

“See how respectful she is?” he cooed his praise, addressing the other men but keeping his eyes on you.  “I know exactly the words to make her obey to my every whim… James, you and her share that quality.”

The man sneered as you suppressed a giggle, squirming in Helmut’s lap impatiently.

“She’s loyal, too, unendingly dedicated,” he continued.  “You know she visited me weekly in Munich, at the very least?  Always by my side… like any good pet.”

A whimper escaped your throat at that term, your gut burning with need as he balanced praise and degradation effortlessly.  You didn’t find it truly demeaning only because you loved being his plaything so much, and because you knew mutual respect was at the core of your relationship with him.  But, still, it was nice to feel small when he was there to keep you safe.

James watched with a small snarl and Helmut slipped his hand into your panties, and Sam licked his lips but shifted his stare to your face instead, just as your eyes started to roll back and your head fell weakly on Helmut’s shoulder.

“And such a precious little pussy as well,” he added darkly, giving you a spank between your legs to make you choke on a squeal.  “Sweet, delicate… much like a Turkish delight, but even more addictive.”

“Please, sir,” you whispered under your breath.

“You want more, don’t you?  Tako očajno…” he chuckled.  You nodded, already starting to soak through the lace and rock your hips.  “You want to be fucked, yes?”

“Yes,” you moaned.

“Be polite and take care of our guests first, draga,” he encouraged, kissing your neck one more time before releasing you from his embrace.

Although you were most interested in being with the man you loved, you were happy to obey whatever he wished— and, frankly, sinking to your knees on the jet’s carpeted floor to crawl towards James wasn’t exactly lacking in its own appeal.

James’ eyes narrowed as Sam’s widened, and you sat up between the spread, denim-clad thighs as you blinked up at him and licked your lips.

He tensed up slightly as your hands delicately slid up his legs, his Adam's apple bobbing with a dry swallow when you grabbed his belt buckle and began to open it.

“You… you don’t have to…” he mumbled, apparently too distracted to finish his sentence.

“Yes I do,” you denied.  “Because he told me to.”

Sam winced and looked away as you unzipped James’ fly and pulled his jeans and boxers down to expose his cock, already hard and leaking a bit from the tip.  You smiled proudly, but chose not to tease him for his eagerness and instead just get right to work; you gripped him at the base and gave a few kitten licks over his shaft, savoring the taste of his precum and looking up at his expression that was equal parts shocked and sultry.

You only spent a moment suckling on the head before skipping right ahead and deepthroating him all the way to base.

“Oh, fuck,” James choked, reaching up grab the seat behind his head as his back arched, making you want to smile though you thankfully kept it down.

“Well-trained, isn’t she?” Helmut interjected proudly.

“Y-yeah,” he answered, his other hand grabbing your shoulder tightly as you began to bob your head.

Occasionally, in your peripheral, you caught Sam looking, and it made you wiggle your hips with the desire to rub your throbbing clit against the floor.  

You got a chance to breathe whenever you pulled back to suck the head and stroke the rest with your hand, and in a few minutes you had already found all the little spots that made him moan the loudest, or made his legs quiver a bit by your sides.

“Stop,” Helmut instructed, and you were already starting to pull off when James hissed and grabbed your head to hold you down.

“N-no, please,” he blurted out.

“She’ll come back to you but Sam is looking rather lonely in the corner over there,” Helmut explained, and James hesitated but let you go.  You wiped your lips and started to move towards Sam, but he shook his head.

“I don’t roll like that, man,” Sam explained, “I don’t want her doing it just because you said so.”

“Darling, won’t you tell us how badly you want to service your new friends?” Helmut challenged, and you swallowed nervously because you were a bit embarrassed to say too much and potentially anger him.  But the sparkle in his eyes didn’t seem like he was leading you into a trap… even if the other two men were confident that was what it meant.  “You find them attractive, don’t you?”

“Um, yes, sir,” you answered hesitantly, “I… saw them, and I wanted to know what their cocks looked like.  And tasted like.”

Helmut smiled and leaned forward, giving you a spank of approval through your dress (which was riding up to show most of your butt anyways).

You looked at Sam expectantly.  “May I please suck your cock, Mr. Wilson?”

His eyes darkened and you knew you were on the right track.  “What happened to ‘sir’?” he asked coyly.

“I only call Helmut ‘sir,’” you explained, “but I could call you something else.”

His finger curled to encourage you to come closer and you crawled up to sit between his legs.

“Call me ‘daddy,’” he finally instructed, opening his belt and pants for you.

“Yes, daddy,” you nodded, keeping your mouth slack for him to push his cock into.  You hummed as the head slid over your tongue, looking up at him as he bit his lip and thrust back into your throat.

“Shit, that’s good,” he whispered, guiding your head at the speed he wanted.  “Who taught you how to suck cock so good, baby?”

Helmut raised his hand and James snorted.

Sam was a bit longer but he was still no challenge to swallow all the way down, and you heard him breathing through his teeth but let your eyes fall shut to focus on your work.

“Is this… how you treat all your guests?” Sam asked tensely between heavy breaths.

“Only those who are at the right place at the right time,” Helmut answered cryptically, but you happened to know this sort of occasion was incredibly rare.  Although it might seem counterintuitive to some, this was his way to re-stake his claim over you, and after so much time apart apparently he felt he had a lot to prove.  “Keep going, but don’t let him come,” another instruction echoed from behind you.  

You pulled back to stroke Sam’s length while you croaked: “yes, sir.”

Helmut had you go back and forth for a while, keeping both men on edge and occasionally allowing you to stroke one while you sucked the other, your own need growing so quickly as you dreamed to have something inside you, anything really.

Obviously, he knew exactly how much having a cock down your throat made you wet and desperate.  And he knew that such a taboo act of, in a certain sense, breaking fidelity with a man as he not only watched but commanded you to do it would get you right on the edge in no time.

He had gotten in your head so quickly after meeting you, memorized everything that made you tick, and not once had he forgotten.  

“I-I’m close,” James warned as you sucked his head, making you slide the tip of your tongue over his slit before you took a break to suck his swollen balls into your mouth.  “Fuck, can I come?”

“Not yet,” Helmut instructed sternly.

You felt him tug you back and into his lap suddenly, and he quickly yanked your dress down to expose your breasts to the men in front of you.

“Her tits are hard, no?” Helmut prompted them, and you watched them both nod as a warm hand reached around from behind you to tweak your hardened nipples.  “Yes, she really loves to get on her knees and choke on cock.  I’d let her do the same to me but I have greater plans for her…”

As if it weren’t obvious what those plans were, he pulled your skirt up to your waist as well, spreading your legs and pulling your flimsy panties aside.  

“Is she wet?” he asked the men and they nodded again.

“Drenched,” Sam chimed in.

Helmut gave another spank to your clit as you shuddered, then rubbing slowly as if to soothe the sting.  “I’ll teach you what happens when you get wet for another man, little girl,” Helmut growled against your ear, “not to mention two.  And they’re Americans, do you have no shame?”

“I’m sorry, sir,” you whispered.

“No, you have nothing to be sorry for,” he corrected.  “I love seeing you act like a whore all for me.”

You hadn’t even realized he’d taken his cock out of his trousers until you felt the thick tip of him prodding at your entrance.  It was already a lot just by itself, but then you had these strangers staring at you and for some reason it only turned you on more.

That ‘some’ reason of course being that you loved your Baron taking ownership over you for anyone to see.  Clearly, prison had given him much more creative ideas than just fucking on a balcony or against the glass of a window.  

“Are you ready for me?” he asked in a hushed voice against your skin which seemed to be burning hot all of a sudden.  

“Yes, sir,” you whispered.

It took a lot not to cry out as he pulled you down and filled you in one deep stroke, your nails digging into the leather of the chair’s armrests at either side.  But more than the sting of pain it felt so perfect, so fundamentally right, and just after your gasp of shock was a sigh of relief.

He sighed along with you and let his forehead fall between your shoulder blades, clearly a bit overwhelmed at being inside you again for the first time in so long.  “Draga...” he breathed, “not that I ever doubted… but you must have been faithful to me; you’re so tight, I know no one has touched you since I left.”

“Only you, sir, nobody but you,” you agreed breathlessly, eyes falling shut.  

He kissed your back as he started to move your body on top of his, the hands at your waist tightening and tugging on the remaining fabric of your dress.  “Tako dobro,” he hissed, “you feel so good, darling, you can’t imagine how long I spent dreaming of being inside you again.”

A tear rolled down your cheek, and it would be impossible to say for sure what caused it— a little bit of everything, really.  

Opening your eyes and noticing the way they were staring at you, you leaned forward and took each of the other men’s hard cocks in your hands, stroking in time with the way you bounced your hips on top of Helmut’s.

The both of them had been on the edge for a bit too long, Sam already biting his lip as James thrust himself up into your palm.

“Fuck, please,” James moaned, “I need to come in your mouth.”

“Come closer then,” you breathed, watching him stand up and bring his cock right to your lips which you eagerly gagged on, any pretense long gone as you sloppily sucked and stroked while Helmut thrust up to slam into you.

“Ohh, fuck, that’s it— gonna come,” he grunted as he reached up to press his hand against the ceiling of the jet, and it all must have hit him rather unexpectedly since the moment his musky taste began to coat your tongue, you heard a clanging sound and realized he had pushed up so hard that he bent the steel interior, his other hand tightening into a fist in your hair.

You moaned happily as you swallowed every drop, still sucking even as James’ moans became loud and higher in pitch.

“Fuck, don’t stop, oh god,” he whined, cock throbbing even after he stopped filling your throat with come.  You reached between his legs and squeezed his balls a bit and you could tell his knees nearly buckled, causing him to finally pull back and tilt your chin up to stare down at you.  “You’re somethin’ else,” he panted, taking a moment to catch his breath before falling back and slumping into his chair.

You looked over at Sam and saw his hand was still lazily guiding yours to stroke over his cock although come already painted his abs and dripped down from his swollen head over your fingers.  “Can I clean up your mess, please, daddy?” you asked, voice a bit hoarse though you couldn’t be sure if that was from the deepthroating or just how hard Helmut was fucking you now.

Pulling your hand back, Sam’s eyes followed as you lapped the thick, hot come from your hand, moaning openly at the taste.  You sucked your fingers down into your throat, not leaving a drop behind.

He leaned back in his chair and began to catch his breath, both of them now staring at you with that exhausted, glazed-over expression.  They looked satisfied, and you considered it your reward for a job well done.

"A belly full of come and a pussy full of my cock, you must be feeling ecstatic," Helmut presumed.

"Yes, sir," you agreed quickly.

All at once he began to fuck you faster, harder, deeper which you hadn't even realized was an option.  He growled a string of the filthiest curses in your ear, in Sokovian so the other men wouldn’t understand, with one hand wrapped around your neck as the other pinched your clit almost too roughly.  Even in your native language you could barely understand it: how could you when he was so deep inside you?

“Will you come, draga?” he finally asked, voice rough with his own desperation.

“Not until you let me, sir,” you moaned, and he chuckled a bit.

“Good girl.”

But wow, the way he rubbed your clit was impossible to ignore, like he was trying to make your promise impossible to keep.  You tightened your jaw, moaning through your teeth now as you fought to keep your orgasm at bay.  

“Please sir, I need to come, please— so close, I’m so close,” you mewled.

“I won’t be much longer, either,” he warned.  "Too long without you has taken its toll, I need to finish."

“Inside me, sir, please,” you begged, “come inside me.”

You felt him nod against the back of your neck.  “Come for me,” he instructed simply, and as obedient as ever, you felt your walls pulsing as pleasure overtook you.  Not even meaning to, you threw your head back, and he had to hold you tightly to keep you from shaking too violently as the waves of sensation washed over you.

The heat of him spilling inside you warmed you from the inside out, making you smile happily through the fog of your high and intentionally tighten your walls around him.  He hissed and throbbed within you, his fingers digging into your hips now as he held you down against him.

He gave a few more lazy thrusts until finally slowing to a stop, both of you catching your breath eventually.

"My... accountant will be keeping my cock warm for the remainder of the flight," Helmut informed the other men, "I hope you don't mind?

"No, no, go ahead," James approved as his head fell back against his chair.

It was still quite a ways to your final destination so it wasn't much of a surprise that you ended up falling asleep in the Baron's arms, something you used to do every night that had been only a dream for years.  Perhaps this afternoon wasn't the reunion you expected, but it was somehow even more perfect than you could've ever wished for.

///

dobrodošla nazad, ljubavi = добродошла назад, љубави = “welcome home, love”

lutka = лутка = “doll”

draga = драга = “dear/beloved”

tako očajno = тако очајно = "so desperate"

tako dobro = тако добро = "so good"

#baron zemo x reader #helmut zemo x reader #helmut zemo smut #bucky barnes x reader #mafia!bucky barnes smut #sam wilson x reader #sam wilson smut #sambucky x reader #tfatws fanfiction

[nagarashi]

As I finished watching Arcane once again, I once again broke my heart over Silco's death scene... How did they achieve that, that every time is like the first time? Bloody sadists... love them.

Okay. This is going to be a lot of letters...

This scene...   It's beautiful from the beginning.

When I watched it the first time and when I heard Jinx's words to Vi, I even believed that she was saying it sincerely, which surprised me... 

I was surprised at the spontaneity of her feelings for her sister. I thought to myself,  "Why are you saying this? After all, she left you, and not once, Silco was the one who was always there for you, always believed in you. Why?" and only then did I begin to realize that it was a performance for Vi, to make her believe that her beloved Powder had shown herself into the light after all, as she had wanted.

That it was only a performance was hinted at by Jinx's abrupt change in behavior, as if a switch had been tripped.

"Are we still sisters?"

"Nothing will ever change that."

And it's time to put those words to the test....

And then there's the dish scene. At first this scene seems humorous, but in fact, it's a test for Vi, which she unfortunately (luckily?) failed.

She really expected to see Caitlyn's head there, she expected this kind of atrocity from her sister.... As if from a mad monster.

"I'm not that crazy ..." but Vi thinks she's crazy enough to do something like that.

"You'll be with her a day before she realizes you aren't that girl anymore and turns her back on you.

Silco's words could easily be seen by many as a simple attempt to manipulate Jinx's feelings, and besides, he's already so conveniently labeled as an "Evil Manipulator". But I don't think so...

Over the course of the series, we've been shown more than once that Vi... is not very reliable, to say the least.

"You're aren't lying? You wouldn't lie to me. Not again."

It's been there somewhere... right?

"She wouldn't do that. Not again."

And we all remember what happened then...

"I'm not lying. I'm on your side. I promise."

And that's why she gave her name to the Council without delay, hoping for.... what? That they'd get rid of Silco and they'd let her have Jinx in peace? How stupid is that.

Is that why she left her on the bridge to die?

That's why she lies about sitting in jail dreaming of going back to her, even though she told Caitlyn earlier in episode 6 that she was sure Powder was dead. Who did you want to go back to, then? Okay, maybe it's just an irrational desire to go back...

Unlike Silco, who, for the entire show, has exhibited exactly the opposite behavior one would expect from him.

And the beauty of that behavior is that it's not thrown in the viewer's face, it's barely noticeable in most moments, but it's there... Just notice how twitchy he gets when someone speaks bad of Jinx. It's barely noticeable on his face, but it's there. (That's something I'd give a separate post to.)

I believe Silco's words are based on what he saw and what he felt himself. He saw how, because of Vi, Jinx almost died in his arms, and he knows the pain of being rejected.

Vander.

Recalls the scene at the end of episode 3.

"I knew you still had it in you."

This is a phrase that can be understood in two ways and the first time I misunderstood it. At first I thought the phrase meant that Vander was still willing to fight, but then...

I realized that the phrase was more about Vander not changing in a good way, but he stayed the same... He grabbed Silco again and started choking him again.

It was a refusal. Vander refused to understand Silco, just as he had on the day of the betrayal.

Remember Silco's face when Vander grabbed him. Amazement, maybe even fear... again? In spite of his words that Vander was not forgive himself for what he did to Silco... he does it again.

Only when Vander's fingers clench, does Silco grin angrily. Yes, it happens again, and Silco kills Vander, there could be no other outcome, the other outcome has been rejected.

Now the phrase "I knew you still had it in you" has taken on a different color, after realizing that...

Let's go back to the table.

Silco knew the pain of betrayal, knew the pain of rejection, and tried with all his might to spare Jinx that pain. He knew that Vi would reject her just as Vander rejected Silco. That's why he was telling Jinx all this, he didn't want her to go through the same thing he did.

Did Jinx believe him? Did she understand him? I think she did, because in the next scene, when Caitlin gets up and points her gun at Jinx, she steps back to Silco and puts her gun down next to him. Why would she do that? She could have put it exactly where she stood. Maybe she was giving him a chance to grab it if something went wrong... and unfortunately, it went wrong...

Now let's move on to the moment when this awful Jinx nightmare scene begins.

The scene itself and what's going on perfectly demonstrates Vi's attitude toward her sister and the fact that Jinx and Powder are two different people to her, not realizing that by doing so, she's ruining her sister's life.

She shouts the words to make Jinx remember, but unfortunately, Jinx didn't forget, just started to, but Vi didn't let that happen.

She is surrounded by monsters again. She asks Vi to stop, but she just ignores her and keeps going. Even as Jinx literally breaks down and falls to the floor huddled like a child in a corner, Vi continues to scream.

She could see visually that what was happening to her sister was not normal, that she was in pain. But somehow Vi doesn't let that stop her.... She will bring Powder back, even if it means completely destroying her sister's already sick mind.

I understand that Vi is just clinging to the past, but that in no way justifies her in this scene.

It's like taking a grown man, breaking all his bones and expecting them to heal the way you want them to, but in reality you just end up with an disabled. Vi is essentially doing the same thing just on a psychological level.

I can only imagine how unbearable it was for Silco to watch what was happening to Jinx, all the things he was trying to save her from....

It's important to note that in this scene Silco is not trying to get Jinx on his side, he just asked her not to listen, knowing that his daughter would be hurt. He didn't yell, knowing that it wouldn't help Jinx, he tried to get out and protect her.

The look in his eyes as he gripped the weapon was full of desperate madness, an almost animalistic desperation to protect what he loved.

The actual scene of the gunshot, which finally silenced Vi.

Many people say it was Powder who fired the shot, though I don't agree with that at all, nor do I agree with the way people like Vi share Jinx and Powder as two different people.

Powder is thought to have shot Silco to protect her sister, but I insisted and will insist that Jinx did it instinctively reacting to the sound, we are, after all, accentuated visually and audibly by the way the gun in Silco's hand is triggered for a reason.

She was in a completely inadequate state, surrounded by her own horrors, and reacted instinctively to possible danger. After all, if she had deliberately shot at Silco, why didn't she realize at once who she had hit, even though she was looking directly in his direction?

Only when the glimmer of light fades in her eyes, then, does she realize what she has done. There is no Powder, it is always one person.

And finally that scene...

Silco's death is probably one of the strongest moments in the series, at least for me. The final scene kills me every time I rewatch Arcane, but especially... Jinx kills me. Her face and eyes at the moment of Silco's death, it's something devastatingly beautiful.

That brief moment when she holds his face in her hands, hears one last tender goodbye and pleads not to cry, for she is beautiful... his eyes close. And then his head begins to slowly bow down under the weight of the shadow of death...

And at that moment Jinx tilts her head toward him, her eyes expectant, even childlike disbelief that all this is really happening, it can't be true, can it? He will never leave her...

This gesture on her part looks so natural, as if they had already done it so many times, touched each other's foreheads to make sure that all is well with them...

But then she touches him and realizes that it's over... In that moment, the childish naive hope shatters in her eyes, giving way to pain and the realization that she has lost him forever. No more kind words, no more gentle touches. The end.

This simple and obvious gesture, which, for some reason, I didn't immediately notice, it just shatters me... there's too much in it, it doesn't even need words. That's why I love Arcane so much...

I hope Vi realizes that she deprived Jinx of her future because she so stubbornly and selfishly clung to the past...

Like I said, I understand why this is happening, but it doesn't excuse her. Breaking her sister's life twice.... is too much.

#arcane #jinx #silco #silco and jinx #so many words #vi #vi and jinx #jinx and silco

[1101001]

THE GIRL WHO FLEW DOWN THE STAIRS _

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‘ the story of akashi meeting you and all the events after that made him realize he was falling for you ’

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character .. akashi seijuurou

word count .. 1.3k

tags .. fem!reader who is energetic but also thoughtful and likes to learn (as requested) , lowkey pining? , s h o g i , written from akashi pov , requested by the lovely bean anon <3 

Akashi’s first impression of you wasn’t anything bad. It wasn’t exactly good either. It was certainly memorable though. ‘The girl who flew down the stairs, knocking him onto the ground, and landing on top of him with a thump’ is how he remembers you. 

The moment was almost cliche. If your eyes had met and lingered on each other, both aware of the position you were in but not moving away, then it possibly would’ve been a scene straight out of some cheesy romance novel. 

Instead, you seemingly bounced straight up upon impact, not even bothering to spare Akashi a second glance. You proceeded to give him a quick apology, running down the next flight of stairs immediately after.

It was definitely one of the odder interactions Akashi had with his fellow students at Rakuzan High, but it amused him nonetheless and made him notice you much more often around campus. Even though you weren’t in any apparent rush anymore, you still radiated this energy that was all bubbly and seemingly ready to burst. 

It brought a small smile on his face every time he saw you, bouncing along hallways without a care in the world, chattering away with your friends. Sure you seemed like the typical happy-go-lucky person, but Akashi couldn’t help but see you as a bit more unique.

Your second interaction with Akashi was an interesting one too, in Akashi’s opinion at least. 

The basketball team had just won a tournament the other day, so Akashi was free this afternoon. He had decided to go challenge some shogi club members to a few games. 

In the middle of one of those games, you walked into the club room.

Akashi didn’t think you were part of the club, and his suspicions were confirmed when another member of the club went to ask if you needed anything. Akashi was definitely not eavesdropping, no he was paying attention to his game (the one he knew he would easily win anyway) when you pulled out an envelope and he happened to overhear you telling the club member that someone asked to meet you. 

Nobody in the room came forward to claim they were the one who sent the letter though. 

After a few awkward, silent moments, you moved to take a seat with some of the other club members. It was an action that surprised Akashi. He figured you would’ve just left because the whole did seem like a waste of time. However, you just sat there asking some club members to teach you how to play. 

Akashi could sense genuine curiosity in you and, needless to say, it intrigued him. It seems like there’s more to the “girl made of energy” than he originally thought.

The clock ticked, and a few rounds later, Akashi decided it was time to head home. Saying his formal goodbyes, he walked out of the clubroom. 

He didn’t expect you to come running after him, almost slamming into him again in the process. 

“You shouldn’t run around school so much, you know. You could end up bumping into people and maybe even hurting them.” The words left Akashi’s lips sounding a lot more teasing and flirtatious than he intended.

You blushed and started rambling out apologies. ‘Cute’ Akashi thought. 

His brain froze. 

Wait. Cute? How-

“Anyway um.. you left your notebook back there…” you said, holding out what was indeed his notebook out towards him.

“Oh…” was all he could say. He rarely forgot his things, especially things as important as his notebook. It seems his mind must’ve been too distracted by... other things. “Thank you L/n-san.”

He saw a slight shock on your face. “You know my name?” 

His brain froze yet again. How was he supposed to answer this question without seeming like a stalker?

“Well yes…” he started before you cut him.

“Didn’t expect the Akashi Seijuurou to know my name.”

He scoffed at that. “I think I’d know the name of the girl who jumped down the stairs and knocked me to the ground.”

“Again, I’m really sorry about that…” you said with a smile, although Akashi could see the guilt that lingered behind your eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” he quickly said. “I was just…”

He was just what? Flirting? Was he actually flirting? Him. Akashi Seijuurou. Flirting??

“…you know,” he finished quietly.

You didn’t say anything in response but instead looked at him with a peculiar sort of gaze. 

“Um.. hate to make things awkward by asking this but… were you the one who sent me this?” You held up the envelope Akashi saw earlier.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Oh… okay then.” Was it just Akashi’s imagination or did he hear a sliver of disappointment in your tone? “I suppose you don’t know who it is either right?”

He shook his head.

A lot of thoughts rushed through his mind. Did you actually expect him to send you a love letter? Did you hope it was him? 

He sensed you were about to leave though, so before he could regret it, he asked you, “Why do you want to know who sent it anyway?”

Your eyes widened slightly at the question.

“I understand the curiosity and wanting to know who it is but… if they didn’t show up, why are you still waiting?” He clarified.

“Akashi-san, you’ve never confessed to someone have you?”

He gave a slight nod.

“Well, I don’t see why you’d need to,” you mumbled more to yourself than him. Clearing your throat, you continued, “The thing is, confessing takes a lot of courage. And writing this letter asking me to meet them here would’ve taken a whole lot of that courage already. I think that, if they were able to go that far, then I should at least hear them out right?”

That… surprised Akashi. 

“But then again, there’s always a possibility this is just a prank,” you added as an afterthought. 

Unsure of what to say, he just nodded. “It is possible, considering how long you had to wait.”

You smiled, “The wait was fine though. I had fun learning shogi.” 

You actually had fun learning how to play? Looking back, it did seem like you were enjoying yourself… 

It’s strange. Akashi realized just how much his view of you changed in one afternoon. Earlier, you were that bubbly, energetic girl bouncing through the halls. Now, you were this thoughtful and kind person who liked to learn. You also said you had fun playing shogi, which nearly made Akashi’s heart skip a beat.

Oh. 

Oh.

He gets it now. The reason his brain was acting all slow was you. With that thought, everything became clearer. 

Now he wishes that love letter really was a prank.

“Ah Akashi-san, I think I have to go home soon,” you said, holding up your phone. “You’re heading out too right? Wanna walk with me?”

He blinked in surprise but quickly agreed.

“Great, just let me get my things first-” And with that you rushed back into the club room.

Akashi stood staring at the empty hallway, still caught up in his thoughts and trying to process what just happened between you two just a few seconds ago.

When you came back out with your things, he couldn’t help but smile softly. The two of you fell into conversation easily, and by the time you walked out of the school gates, you were still in a talk that showed no signs of nearing an end.

He wanted to continue walking and talking like this, but there was a car and a driver waiting for him in the exact opposite direction of where you were headed.

“Well, goodbye then L/n-san,” he said, hoping the reluctance wasn’t obvious.

You smiled in response. “Goodbye Akashi-san. It was nice talking to you.”

With that the two of you went your separate ways. Throughout the car ride home, Akashi could think of nothing but you. It would seem… he has taken quite the liking to you.

He isn’t sure what’ll happen next, but he’s looking forward to seeing you again and hopefully, talking more with you too.

. . .

note .. THIS CAME OUT LONGER THAN ORIGINALLY INTENDED but anyway i actually enjoyed writing this,,, yk all the stuff potentially going thru akashi’s mind when he has a crush intrigues me and uhh i hope u guys liked this and if u do PLS LMK WHAT U THINK !! it would legit mean the world if u guys did <3

#knb x reader #akashi x reader #akashi x you #akashi seijuurou x reader #akashi seijuro x reader #akashi fluff #knb fluff #knb imagines #kuroko no basuke #kuroko no basket #akashi seijurou #and again idk how to tag sht #signed.. koko

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

Rooftop Conversations (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader/ Yelena Belova)

Hi everyone!

This is a little shorter, but hope you all enjoy!

Summary: Reader shares a complicated history with Wanda. What will happen when Natasha introduces her sister to the problem? Who will reader end up with?

“Y/n.”

The closer you got the tower you called home; the more anxiety began to bubble in your chest. You had been away for over three months now and the entire time you were away Yelena refused to accept any of your calls. Admittedly they were few and far between due to circumstances, but the rare instances when you were able to get your hands on a phone, the other woman would always be miraculously busy.

You didn’t blame her.

Not in the slightest. Still, with every flimsy excuse Natasha gave you whenever you asked to speak to Yelena, you couldn’t help but feel that you were losing a part of yourself. Yelena was woven into your being and being shut off from her was something that was… entirely your fault.

It always made your heart ache though. To know she didn't want to even speak to you. To be away from her. There was so much about her you missed. Like her voice, her laugh, her jokes…

You just missed her.

“Y/n!” You jumped slightly and turned your attention to Steve who was glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. “Everything okay?”

All you managed was a weak nod as you focused back on the world around you. It was something you had to do often over the last few months. “Fine.” You replied, turning to face him as you awaited whatever it was he wanted to say.

“You can stop fidgeting with your necklace. We shut down all the bases. That’s all we could do.” He eventually said.

It wasn’t until Steve pointed it out that you realized that your fingers were fiddling absently with the charm that was hanging from the necklace Wanda had given you before you left. “What are you talking about?” you questioned, your brows furrowed in confusion.

Steve gestured broadly in your general area with one hand, while the other hand remained on the controls of the quinjet. “Whenever you get nervous you start fiddling with the necklace.” His hands returned to the controls as he shifted his attention. “Like a safety blanket.”

Grumbling absently, you folded your hands and looked out the window like a child who had just been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to. “Says the one with the pocket watch.”

In response, Steve shrugged. “Touché.”

You smirked and leaned back in your chair. “That’s what I thought." He chuckled. "Besides, I know we did all we could on the mission. I’ve come to terms with Dr. Wilkerson getting away, without his bases of support though he’s nothing.”

“Is that not what you were nervous about?” Steve prodded.

You shook your head. “I’m worried Yelena is going to hate me forever.” You admitted, your hand once again flying up to fiddle with the charm on your necklace.

Steve whistled lowly. “Still no word from her?” You shook your head again. “All you can do is be honest, kid. Earn her forgiveness. While you may have had good intentions, you lied. Even if it was to protect her. She reserves the right to be angry about it.”

“I know.” You replied. “I agree entirely, but… I don’t want to lose her. I can’t lose her. She-… She means… Everything to me.”

There was a moment of silence. “Do you love her?”

It had been months since you had allowed yourself time to think about the inner workings of your heart, yet the answer remained the same and came with no hesitation. “Yes.”

Steve nodded. “Does that mean you’re over Wanda then?”

The question took you by surprise and suddenly the pendant burned under your touch, like every nerve ending in your body went haywire. Overwhelmed with the thought of the two women that unabashedly occupied your heart. You feebly let your hand fall back to your lap.

Again, silence hovered in the air until, “No.” You replied softly, knowing it was the truth. Knowing you had no reason to lie to Steve.

Again, there was no hesitation in your answer.

“Sounds like you still have a lot to figure out then, kid.” Steve reached over and pat your shoulder sympathetically, “Between you and me though, I always thought you and Wanda would find your way back to each other. You’ve always been like magnets you two.” He admitted. “Natasha disagrees with me. She seems to think that you and Yelena are the most irritatingly perfect match. Her words not mine.”

You narrowed your eyes slightly. “You and Romanoff better not be placing bets on my love life again. You remember what happened last time, Rogers.” You warned with a point of your finger.

Steve chuckled and raised his hands innocently. “No bets were made. I’m just telling you the information.” He paused slightly. “Though I will say if it was a bet, I'd probably win since I did say Wanda would be the one to ask you out originally because you’d be too nervous to even get a word out. You won me fifty bucks that day.”

You punched his shoulder. “I can’t stand any of you.”

“That’s what families do.” You rolled your eyes and chose not to respond as you both distracted yourselves with your own tasks.

Just over an hour later Steve spoke again. “Hope you got enough thinking done because we’re touching down at the compound in five minutes.”

You sucked in a breath as the clouds opened up and the sharp points of the familiar building filled the sky before you.

Suddenly it was as if you blinked, and Steve was lowering the quinjet onto the waiting platform. “It’s good to be home.” You mumbled as you gathered what little you had and walked off the jet with Steve.

Before you could get far, you were met with an armful of someone else causing you to drop everything in your arms to catch the other person.

When the familiar floral scent invaded your senses, you quickly relaxed and held on tighter, relishing in the moment. The comfort that you hadn’t felt in months. “I missed you too, Wanda.” You whispered into her ear as you tucked your chin over her shoulder.

“You have no idea.” Wanda replied as you both held tightly to each other. You faintly heard Steve mumble how he would take your things inside for you, but his words barely registered as you familiarized yourself with the touch you hadn’t felt in months.

Suddenly, it felt like you were grounded again. Like you had been drifting freely and now, being back by her side you felt anchored again. Connected to the world in a way that mattered again.

Sure, you had managed to speak to Wanda briefly a handful of times over the course of your mission, but those sparse minutes were nothing compared to the sensation of actually being in her arms once again.

“It’s good to see you again.” You said leaning back slightly and taking in her every feature, every speck of color in her eyes. This was the longest you had gone without seeing her since the day you both met. “How did you know we were coming back? We wrapped up a few days early, I thought it would fly under the radar.”

Wanda smiled sheepishly back at you, and you couldn’t help the way your own lips pulled up endearingly at the sight. “I may have convinced Tony to program a new feature to FRIDAY that would let me know when you landed.”

A small chuckle of amusement slipped pat your lips. “Yeah? How did you manage that?”

“I may have pulled the Stark missile card.” Wanda answered with a small shrug.

“Didn’t know you couldn’t be so devious, Maximoff.” You teased as Wanda playfully dusted the invisible dirt off her shoulders.

That was when another voice interrupted the moment. “Really? You didn’t?” You turned your head to find the source of the interruption, though from the voice you knew exactly who it was. “I’ve known for a while now.”

Wanda pulled away from you and looked away, rubbing her own arm uncomfortably. “Nat,” You warned. “I just got back; can we not fight first thing?”

Natasha looked between you and Wanda for another moment as if she was contemplating her choices before opening her arms in silent invitation. “Fine, I’ll play nice. Sorry Maximoff.” Wanda nodded in acknowledgment. You suspected she was still terrified of the other woman.

You glanced at Wanda to be sure she was okay before walking over to your best friend and embracing her just as tightly, finding comfort in her embrace. Comfort in knowing that they were all okay while you were gone. That was all you could have wanted. You missed this. All of it.

Regardless of how chaotic it could be at times.

“I assume you didn’t manage to play nice while I was gone. No wonder I stayed away so long.” You said playfully as Natasha pinched you side. You swatted her hand and pulled away in protest. “Is this how you show how much you miss me?”

Natasha rolled her eyes, “Miss you being an idiot? Sure.” She nudged you playfully. “It’ll be nice to have you back though, the compound hasn’t felt the same without you.”

“It really hasn’t.” Wanda agreed, wincing when she saw the blank look Natasha gave her.

You shook your head, “Nothing has changed.” You lightly rested your forehead on Natasha’s, so she could focus on you, so she could hear the sincerity of your next words. “I did miss you, you know? No need to be snappy.”

Natasha finally cracked a smile. “I know, I missed you too.” She lightly nudged your nose with her own before pulling away and ruffling your hair.

You smiled back at her but couldn’t help but look over Natasha’s shoulder a moment later. If Natasha knew you were back, then it was only safe to assume that… “Is- Is Yelena in her room?”

Amusement began shining in Natasha’s eyes. “Couldn’t even go ten minutes without asking about her, could you?” Heat quickly rushed into your cheeks. “She’s on a mission with Clint, should be back later today. Just light recon about a minor disturbance a few cities over.”

“Surprised you let her go without you.” You mumbled, already anticipating the moment of Yelena's return, mentally preparing all the ways you could earn her forgiveness.

“Tony had me on a separate assignment until this morning.” Natasha explained. “Besides, she’s with Barton, they’re both in good company. Safe.”

You nodded, if Natasha wasn’t worried then you had no reason to either. “I-” You lowered your voice. “Will you let me know when she’s back? Don’t tell her I’m here until I get a chance to talk to her, please, I don’t want her to avoid me anymore. I want to apologize. To make it up to her.”

Natasha analyzed you for a moment, analyzed your pleading tone before nodding. “I’ll give you this one shot because I know you only did what you did to protect her... I would have done the same.” She looked over your shoulder before looking back at you. “Now, I think I’ll head inside. We can catch up later. Don’t do anything that will make me have to kick your ass.” She warned.

Before you could utter a reply, your best friend had disappeared into the compound. “She actually talked to me once while you were gone. It was about a mission report, but still, she’s not ignoring me anymore.” You heard Wanda say from behind you.

You chuckled slightly as you turned to face her again, gesturing for her to follow behind you. “That’s actually great news to hear. I miss being able to spend time with both of you.” You leaned against the railing of the landing pad and let the wind traveling through the air be the only sound for a moment.

Wanda mimicked your position, her arms brushing yours, your own pinky shifting slightly to be in contact with hers.

It was like Steve said, there was something magnetic about you both and it felt even stronger after the separation. You couldn’t help but feel like you wanted to be closer. Your free hand raised to fidget with the charm on the necklace nervously.

“Still wearing the necklace, I see.” Wanda noted, her eyes shining happily in the light of day.

A faint blush quickly spread over your cheeks, and you managed a weak nod, your hand once again falling from the charm. “Steve says it’s my safety blanket.”

Wanda’s smile widened. “I didn’t know if you’d even use it since you had given it back to me after we broke up.”

You shrugged halfheartedly. “We’re past that. It represents more now. It represents you.” The sound of Wanda’s breath hitching caught your attention and you couldn’t help but feel your heart hammer in your chest. You just hoped she would change the subject, the vulnerability felt all too much in that moment. "It was nice to have on the mission."

“How did the mission go? I assume well since both you and Steve are back in one piece.” Wanda eventually asked, breaking the charged silence much to your relief. She always was good at reading your wants.

You nodded faintly, eagerly responding to the change of topic. “It did. We shut down every base we set out to, which was all of them.” You could see the happy smile form on Wanda’s lips, and you continued. “We did everything we set out to do except catch Dr. Wilkerson.”

Wanda’s smile fell almost immediately. She knew Dr. Wilkerson was your greatest enemy, your greatest fear. “Are you okay?” As the last word fell from her lips, her pinky moved to rest over yours, as if she herself wanted to be closer. To comfort you.

In response you turned you hand over in silent invitation and Wanda accept the offer immediately, her fingers tangling naturally with your own. “I feel okay, Steve still thinks we can catch him. He won’t get too far… I know he wants to take me back.” Wanda’s fingers tightened against yours. “Don’t worry, without the bases, without his minions? He’s nothing. Powerless. It’s only a matter of time.”

“The day he tries to come after you will be his last.” Wanda said seriously, her eyes darkening at the mere thought. “He won’t hurt you again, Y/n.”

You squeezed her hand, you knew Wanda would never hurt anyone, but her protective nature may change that. You’d never want to put her in that position. “I know, Wands. Don’t worry, Steve and I will find him. I’ll be okay.”

Her lips turned up faintly. “I know, I’ll be here to make sure of it. I’ll protect you, Y/n.”

“And even though you're infinitely stronger than me, I will protect you.” Wanda giggled slightly and you smiled back at her.

For a moment you both just stared at one another, allowing yourselves to get lost in the moment, moving closer and closer until you could feel her breath fan across your lips. You quickly looked away. Not ready to take that step. Not ready to ruin the leaps and bounds of progress you had made with her.

“Now fill me in on what I missed while I was gone.” You said in hopes of brushing over the minor traces of awkwardness that lingered in the air.

That was how both you and Wanda spent the remainder of the day, catching up on everything that had happened in the last few months, the hours slipping away with ease. There was only one thing that could ruin a relaxing evening like that.

And it was the sight of a smaller quinjet landing a few feet away. Your heart began hammering in your chest because the only other ones out on a mission were Yelena and Clint.

The woman that had occupied your mind so deeply was now just seconds away from you.

Except when the doors to the quinjet opened and Clint was the only one to step out, looking battered and bruised. Your stomach dropped at the sight.

You ran over, Wanda following closely behind. “Clint, where is Yelena?”

It was like Clint had just seen a ghost, his eyes widening even more than they already were. “Where is Natasha?”

“Whe-”

“WHERE IS NATASHA!” He yelled, his voice reverberating in the air around you.

Bile climbed up your throat in tandem with the panic you felt squeeze at your chest as the three of you ran into the compound in search of the other woman.

A few moments later you found her lounging in the main room of the compound with a notebook in her hands. Natasha immediately looked up when she heard the sound of panicked footsteps enter the room. “Clint, what-”

Clint quickly interrupted her, his panicked expression making you sick as you anticipated his next words.

“They took her. They took Yelena.”

And just like that, the world stopped.

And that's all folks! This chapter was more of a set-up for the unraveling of the remainder of this story which I now know will be 12 parts total. Sorry for no Yelena in this part. As always, thoughts and comments are always welcome!

Previous part: "Necessary Lies"

Masterlist: "Omen"

Tag list:

@abimess // @helloalycia // @imapotatao // @madamevirgo // @magicallymaximoff // @women-am-i-right @myfavoriteficss // @spicysashimi // @olsensnpm // @natasha-danvers // @xxxtwilightaxelxxx // @7thavenger // @aimezvousbrahms // @yourtaletotell // @purplemeetsblue // @b0mbdotc0m // @cristin-rjd // @trikruismybitch // @hopelesslyfallenninlove // @when-wolves-howl // @b-5by5 // @mionemymind

@sighsam // @simonsbluee // @pxterstrk // @heyyoweveryone // @euphoriaszn2 // @nosense-blog // @stressed-but-a-mess // @tomy5girls // @prentisshoe // @ghostyfacey // @imasimpfornatashamaximoff // @3and30aresoultwins // @gayarchnemessis // @https-sunshine // @donnietarantino // @lezzzbehonesthere // @chaekhan // @cxld-blood // @loomontoia // @ouat2017 // @anxiousgoldengirl // @lostandsearching //@liladoesfanfics // @just-a-normalpersons // @wandamaximoffsrings // @marvelwomen-simp // @hopemikaelslay // @im-in-lesbians-with-u // @paumxmff // @hitchgoonie // @yelenabelovasgf // @psychadelichues // @amourtentiaa // @yeeterthekeeper // @daniescady // @iliketozoneout // @megsi98 // @cyberbonesworld // @liver-casserole // @Andy-aj-rose // @chonisbestmistake // @gaylor-okay // @rwritesstuff // @ithrewmypieforglee //

#wanda maximoff #wanda #wanda maximoff fic #wanda maximoff x y/n #wanda marvel #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x you #wanda x reader #wanda x y/n #yelena belova x you #yelena belova x reader

[kingsuckjin]

Company Policy -JJK

- Pairing: coworker Jungkook x reader

- Genre: established relationship? Sort of

- Rating:18+

- Words: 5k

- Summary: Eight months. Eight months you have regretted breaking off being fuck buddies with your hot coworker. You were so afraid of being caught with him but now that you’ve had time to think, would it really be so bad as long as you could have him all to yourself again? Does he even like you anymore? Has he moved on? All you know is it’s been eight months since you’ve had sex, he’s been all you could think about. Now he’s looking pretty hot at this office party.

- Warnings: pining, explicit content, public sex, they fuck on a coworker’s desk, public sex, unprotected sex, vaginal fingering, heavy dirty talk, brief mention of oral sex and a ton of other past sexual acts like thigh riding and hair pulling, kind of jealous tattooed kook, not voyurism but someone else is there at some point, and finally a dash of fluff.

- A/n: This post is a commission for the ARMY for AAPI Justice and Advocacy Event. Please click >here< to find more resources and consider donating to the cause! Thank you so incredibly much to the donor @lcksndkys​ for donating and commissioning this, you are an absolute angel, I hope you know that. I might’ve gotten a bit carried away and wrote a few thousand more words than planned, but you deserve it. 

“Morning,” 

“Morning.” Was the greeting between you and Jungkook every morning when you stepped into the elevator, coffee in hand.

That was it, that was all you ever said to each other anymore. His smell always floated around the confined space making your mind flashback to what once was before you quickly pushed it away from your brain.

Neither of you ever said anything about it, it was like it had never even happened and sometimes you wonder if it even had or if your brain had made up everything that had happened eight months ago from your frequent dirty thoughts of your coworker. It felt like a lifetime ago. The familiarity of him, his smell, his smile, his voice along with the cold distance, avoidance to even look at you, and the constant wonder of him having someone else made you a little sick at your stomach.

You had decided to break things off… as if either of you were any more than fuck buddies. You knew that if anyone at work had ever found out about the two of you, you’d most likely both be fired. No banging other employees was a pretty strict policy there and you remembered the two nice ladies that were fired last year for it, you remembered it because your boss had made such an example of it.

You had been more than paranoid when you and Jungkook were boning for a whole month, you both had been so secretive even going as far as to have each other park down the street from your houses when the other came over. It didn’t help that you lived with your sister and didn’t want her to know you were sneaking someone in the house and screwing them. It also didn’t help that his roommate worked there too and didn’t get along at times. It didn’t seem like all the effort to sneak around was worth it at the time, but now you felt like you had a mistake.

As you took your seat behind the reception desk and began to put away your things for the morning, you just kept stealing glimpses of him doing the same at his cubicle. Every morning he would put his black messenger bag under his desk, turn on his computer, and roll the sleeves of his white button-up shirt up to reveal one very tattooed arm. His wavy hair was usually put back into a half ponytail for professionalism and probably so he could see, but there were always strands that managed to escape his hair elastic throughout the day. It was painful mentally at times having a view of him but trying not to look, it was painful knowing he wouldn’t look back at you anymore. You could still feel what it was like when he had glanced at you and smiled at you, your heart sped up at just the thought. 

“Ugh why are you always here so early, you leave before I even wake up.” his roommate,Jimin, had walked in, looking great as usual but a bit tired in the face. He was lingering around Jungkook’s desk with his things still in hand.

“I like to be prepared, unlike you.” Jungkook joked back with a smile but you knew it was just more than a joke, Jungkook really didn't care for Jimin, he was a bit too spiteful towards him sometimes.

He had always come in early, you both were typically the first ones here besides the janitor. You had to be, your boss liked you here nice and early to greet everyone as they walked in.

“You coming to the thing tonight? The boss is letting us have booze.” Jimin asked him.

You felt like you really shouldn’t be paying attention to the conversation so you went back to sipping your coffee and getting ready to start the day.

“Hey.”

It nearly scared you to death as you rummaged through your bag under the desk for your chapstick. Your body jolted up to see Jimin leaning one arm on the reception counter.

“What?” you asked in confusion, wondering what he was now doing hanging around you with such a sly smirk.

“Well good morning to you too. Are you going to the party tonight? Boss is having a thing to celebrate meeting our yearly product sales goal.”

“I… haven’t thought about it, why?” you were honest, it didn’t mean anything to you.

“I know we have this policy, but you should think about going with me.” he gave you a wink that made you raise your eyebrows in surprise. “We could come here and have a few drinks and a good time, then we could go back to my place and-”

“How about we don’t? We could just not do that.” you gave him a very fake smile.

Sudden loud coughing erupted through the room making you both look over at the source.

Jungkook was doubled over with his coffee still in his hand.

“You good?” Jimin asked him casually and Jungkook gave a thumbs up to show he was fine, even though his big eyes were slightly teary before holding up his coffee cup to signify he had strangled on his coffee.

“Anyway, if you’re worried about someone saying something about us, you could just come separately and we could just see what happens…”

“I’m not worried because there is no us, Jimin. I’ll come, but let’s not see what happens, and let’s not even speak.” 

“Your loss. At least I’ll have Jungkook there with me.” Jimin responded along with a shrug to your savage words before walking away.

You looked over to Jungkook to make sure he hadn’t died because he was no longer choking, you just wanted to make sure he was still breathing but your eyes were met with his. He was giving you this gaze before he raised his eyebrows at you with a slight momentary smirk, it all only lasted less than a split second before he adjusted his black tie and turned back around to face his desk. 

How could he be so casual with a look like that at you? How could he be so casual with everything that had happened between you? You had no idea what that look was about but it had your brain so frazzled. It could’ve been nothing, but it was the most interaction you’ve had with him in so long, all it had done was remind you how starved for him you were.

You looked down at your desk feeling your face get a little warm.

Images of that very shirt he was wearing right now, being unbuttoned rapidly with those tattooed fingers in some dark, sketchy hotel room ran through your mind. 

“I wish you knew how much I’d go through to be this close to you, to be inside of you.” The memory of his words and hushed voice into your skin gave you goosebumps.

The same man who had said that now sat right over there, not even having tried to flirt with you in the past eight months as you sat here and wondered why you do this to yourself. 

Did he still feel that way or had he just meant it at the moment? There were plenty at the moment things that he had said that would flood into your mind just to hurt you when you saw him.

You glanced at him throughout the day as you often did.

You avoided each other on your lunch break, stepping around each other to get to the vending machines in the break room.

You ate at your desk alone while he ate with Jimin in the break room.

Things were the same as they had been, the look he had given you earlier meant nothing, maybe nothing that had happened in the past meant nothing to him too.

Maybe it was all just fun like you both had planned for it to be, if so, why were you still so stuck on it? Why were you stuck on him? You told yourself it was just because he was attractive, the most gorgeous man in the office, but there were just these little things about him you couldn’t get over. The way he stretched and grunted in the morning, you knew the way he liked his coffee, you knew his parents’ names. You had both shared so much of your lives for an entire month almost constantly until you ripped it away from yourself so stupidly. You had both agreed to delete each other’s numbers, but the truth was, you still kept his name in your phone with little hearts by his name. You needed this to end, you needed to stop being so hung up on him because he wasn’t with you. You decided to go to this thing tonight and at least hope for some answers, if you failed to get any you would do your best to stop thinking about him.

------------------ 

You had talked yourself out of this more than five times already, but you had gotten dressed and ready and made the drive over.

You now sat in the office parking lot just picking lint off of your black dress, not looking forward to how awkward this might be. In your years of working there, you had mostly just kept to yourself… until the thing with Jungkook happened.

“Are you nervous? You look nervous” he gave you a little smile from across the table from the coffee shop. He had asked you to get coffee after work and he could see right through you

“A little.” You had admitted.

“Don’t be shy, it’s just me. It’s just Jungkook, we work together every day.”

“Don’t be nervous.” You found yourself saying out loud to yourself as you gazed out your windshield at the building. “I shouldn’t be. I work with him every day and nothings going to happen anyway.” You hurt yourself a little with the last part. You put a lot more care into how you looked tonight than you wanted to admit.

“It’s just a stupid office party,” you grumbled to yourself before unbuckling your seatbelt and getting out of the car, if it was horrible or boring then you could just go home.

-----

You didn’t know what you had expected, but it wasn’t this. You had followed the signs to the floor that had held a large meeting room, but it didn’t look like a meeting room now.

It was just a room full of people with a snack table and alcohol. The room was dimmed but there were some cheap party effects lighting things happening. People were laughing and talking over some pop music that wasn’t eardrum-bustlingly loud but you still had to strain to hear over. You spotted a lot of coworkers you saw every day, more that you didn’t know from different departments though. You kind of just went and stood by a wall with your eyes searching faces, not stopping too long on any just in case they might think you were staring at them. Before you had left you wondered if you had been too dressed up, but now you were glad for your little black dress as you saw what the others were wearing. Everyone looked so nice and not at all what you were used to them wearing. 

While your eyes were going over who was talking to who, you found him.

In the corner of the room on the opposite end, talking to some girl you had only seen a handful of times. She was touching her hair and smiling at him. He looked so dressed down in his ripped black jeans and a black t-shirt. His tattoos were freed as you had always liked seeing and his hair wasn’t being held back. You had seen him like this multiple times, but had anyone else? He had always looked so good like this, so himself. 

Just seeing his hair down reminded you of all the times you had grabbed at it while moaning his name. Seeing him in those black ripped jeans reminded you of all the times he has made you ride his chiseled, hard thighs until you came multiple times. 

You felt like you had been kicked in the heart as your brain went back to the present moment and saw her placing a hand on his shoulder.

He laughed at something she had said but took a step back out of her grasp smoothly before giving her a small wave. A few more words were exchanged before she apprehensively walked away from him, heaving him alone to stand at the wall on the other side of the room.

Your eyes darted away from him and over to the snack and drink table, you weren’t planning on getting any, but you wanted to make it look that way.

You felt nervous, he looked good and at least one other person had noticed. You told yourself that the lady who had just spoken to him didn’t know him as you did, she probably just saw a hot guy dressed in black with tattoos… just like you had when you both had started whatever happened. He was more than all of that, to you especially now after you had a lot of time to think about it all.

Although you didn’t want your eyes to, they had darted to him for a split second to see he had his phone out… until he looked up from it at you.

He had seen you, he had seen you looking at him from across the room, but he didn’t react. Instead, his eyes went back down to his phone, and yours went back to the table.

Your phone buzzed in your bag and you decided to fish it out thinking it could help you look busy.

“Hey, it’s Jungkook. I see you :)”

Your heart nearly jumped out of your mouth as you read the text. 

He hadn’t deleted your number just like you hadn’t his.

You felt his eyes watching you but you didn’t look up. He was waiting for your reply, but you just stood there dumbfounded that he had just sent you a text from across the room.

“I know.” you had nervously typed different versions of this reply over and over only to erase each time before settling on the most simple reply.

“You look good.” it had taken him no time to reply in comparison to you. You stood there in shock and lost as to what to say to him. You were taking too long because he sent a second text.

“I know that dress. I remember it.”

You had been hoping he would. You had worn this dress on the first night you both had ever done anything. You made out in his car after your coffee date. He had just kept telling you how pretty you looked even with his hand in your underwear. It was hard to resist him from even the first date, you had no idea how you had made it eight months now.

“You look nice too, you always have.” You typed and sent it quickly before you could change your mind.

You watched him run his inked fingers through his hair as he read the text. You could swear you saw a flash of a smile on his face before his thumbs went to work on his phone.

“I miss you.” Popped up on your screen.

Part of you felt like crying a little. You felt his eyes on you once again and you looked up away from your phone to see that your feeling had been correct. You were sure your mouth was open as you locked eyes from across the room. Your phone vibrated again in your hand.

“We should talk.”

“Hey, gorgeous!” Jimin stepped in front of you making you lock your phone. “I know you said let’s not talk but-“

“Then why are you talking to me?”

“How could I not? You’re the prettiest one here.” He smirked but you could smell the alcohol on his breath. You couldn’t help the roll of your eyes.

“Oh hey! I’ve been looking for you!” Jungkook now walked up with a smile at you. “You found her for me and didn’t even know I was looking, thanks, man.” Jungkook seemed to be thanking an equally confused as you Jimin.

“Sorry to bother you about work stuff at a party, but I forgot to earlier. I need the contact info to a client I’ve been working on to sell more products to. It’s wild, it’s like I went to the bathroom one day and the info to this big buyer just kinda… disappeared I guess. So weird, almost like someone has it out for me.” Jungkook gave the fakest joking laugh you had ever seen and Jimin looked a bit wide-eyed. “Anyway, You’re the receptionist so I know you have the contact info for everyone anyway so I was wondering if you could maybe help me out and get it for me? It’s kind of really important and I need it ASAP. Already asked the boss and he said it was cool.” 

Jimin had just kind of slinked off silently, but you knew what Jungkook was doing.

“Yeah, Uh of course.” You nodded.

He tilted his head in the direction of the door before you followed him out.

He led you towards the elevator in absolute silence and even as he pushed the button for the floor you both worked on he said nothing.

You were beginning to think he was wanting your help. And then you thought about it more in the silent ride and you felt so stupid. Of course he was wanting your help, he had never said he actually didn’t, not even when Jimin had walked away.

“I can’t believe that asshole sabotaged me like that. My roommate sabotaged my sale.” He mumbled before scoffing as the elevator door opened.

“I-I’ll help.” You said but he passed right by your desk.

“I’m glad you said that.” He replied as he walked over to Jimin’s cubicle.

“What are we doing?” You finally asked.

“Depends…” he raised an eyebrow as he looked back at you. “What do you want me to do?” 

You swallowed the lump of nervousness in your throat to speak as you looked into his mischievous-looking dark eyes.

“Whatever you want I guess.”

He lifted you in almost an instant and sat you on Jimin’s desk.

“You know he’s always liked you, right? He would tell on us if he ever found out. You were willing to risk it, right here right now?” He dared.

Instead of speaking you grabbed a fist full of his t-shirt and tugged him down until his lips met yours.

God did you want it. You have wanted for eight long months. You were willing to risk everything after so long without his lips on yours.

You were still nervous but his kiss brought it all back for you and how natural it felt.

“Fuck me.” You pleaded against his lips.

“You need it? Tell me you need it.” His lips moved to your neck as he ran a hand through the back of your hair.

“Ah, fuck I need it. I haven’t fucked anyone since you.” It slipped out of your mouth and got a second your body went rigid.

“Me neither.” He nipped at your neck.

The second thing he had done tonight that had stunned you.

“Wait.” You stopped him and he backed up to look at you.

“I missed you too. Not just… not just this, I missed you. I don’t know if you feel the same but-“

“What did you think I meant by I missed you? I didn’t just mean the sex or your body. I meant you as a person.” 

“I-why didn’t you just say?” You wondered out loud. 

He dropped to the floor on his knees between your legs.

“Cause you dumped me.” He let out a snort “you told me to delete your number, which surprise, I didn’t. You wouldn’t look at me. Plus this went two ways you know. You didn’t contact me either.” He stated as he looked up at you while ghosting his fingers over the skin of your thighs as he spoke.

“I dumped you?” You were surprised by this news. You know neither of you had had the relationship talk before.

“I mean, I like to think we were together.”

“Then we should be again,” you decided. You were tired of wanting him and not having him and something told you that he felt the same.

“I think so too,” he whispered, inching his lips closer and closer to yours before smashing into them.

His hands squeezed at the meat of your thighs before trailing them up the sides, up under your skirt, and hooking them in your panties. Your tongues whipped together in each other’s mouths. You managed to move so that he could get your panties down, but he only pulled them to your knees. He grabbed your hips and pulled you closer to the edge of the table, so close you thought you might fall off if he wasn’t right there between your legs. 

His fingers now slowly ran from your inner thighs to your folds. As soon as he touched you, you unlocked your lips from his and let out a shaky breathed whine.

“I can tell you missed me. You're so wet for me,” he whispered so quietly just for you to hear even though no one else was in the room.

You did your best to stay quiet as his fingers teasingly and slowly ran over your clit and back down to your cunt.

He lifted his slick fingers to his mouth and you watched with a slightly open mouth as he let them slide past his lips and then out of his mouth altogether, coming out more glossy from his spit.

“I missed the way you taste”

His even more wet fingers that now teased at your pussy were making you want to grab his hand and force it to do something more. You were practically shaking under even the slightest of his touches. You were nervous for someone to walk in at any given moment and all he was doing was drawing things out and letting his fingers kill precious time playing in your folds.

“I'd love to make you cum right now with my mouth” he pressed a kiss onto your neck where his face had been camping out while his fingers tortured you. “But I know how that makes you scream and we have to be very…” another kiss to your neck “very” his fingers finally slowly slipped into your cunt “very quiet.” his whispers tapered off to quieter and quieter, so much so that your shaking breaths felt loud between the both of you.

You were doing your best not to break out into full-blown moans so that maybe if someone walked in you could play it off as just talking or something else, as long as no one heard your moans on the way up the both of you could have time to look normal. 

His fingers curled inside of you with his palm grinding down onto your clit slowly.

“Oh God.” you breathed not knowing how you were supposed to survive this. He was all you wanted for months upon months and now that you had him here, tattooed hand knuckle deep in your pussy, his lips on your skin saying nothing but filth, you felt like you couldn't even let go as much as you wanted to, but you were trying.

His hand sped up its movements as you could feel how hard he was now in his jeans against the inside of your thigh.

Your lips squeezed together but it couldn’t stop the small whimpers he forced out of you. You could hear him breathing in your ear along with the wet sounds of your pussy. You were close but so scared. Doing this out in the open was such a thrill but it also made you paranoid. 

“Cum for me. I hear the way you’re whining, you’re so close I know it. Just cum for me. Cum around my fingers, no one will know.” 

You couldn’t stop it now.

You grabbed a hold of his shirt and forced his chest harder against yours, you wanted him closer, impossibly close as you came undone, clenching around his fingers rhythmically as each wave of pleasure pulsed through your body. 

He let out a little moan at the sound and feel of you coming. 

“I missed that too.” He whispered to himself before pulling his fingers out of you slowly.

He reached between you and you felt him quickly yet nervously fiddling with his button and zipper with his hand that wasn’t soaked in your wetness.

He made a show about taking his thick, veiny cock out of his pants and rubbing your juices from his hand over it. 

In seconds he was back in your ear.

“Can I fuck your brains out?” The whisper was soft, his voice was sweet but the words themselves were as hard as his dick he still stroked in his hand.

“You're always allowed brains out.” You whispered back “just do it.” 

You felt his head run over your folds teasingly as he continued to play with you and himself.

“Do you still think about me fucking your brains out?” He asked. You could hear how much wetness had spread from you to his cock with each pump of his hand.

“Every time I need to get off.” You admitted. “So give it to me so I don’t have to keep wishing anymore.” 

He pushed into you slowly, letting out a deep sigh and throwing his head back for a moment so you could see his perfectly sculpted throat.

You missed how full he made you feel while he was inside of you. 

He pulled out almost entirely, the head of his cock was the only thing left inside of you, pushing on your g-spot before the thrust back in hard. This was the way he fucked, pulling out almost entirely so his head hit where you needed it. You had experienced guys that just flopped around, but he knew you, he knew your body, he paid attention, he had a very special handcrafted way to get you off over and over until you were shaking.

One of his hands grabbed your hip while the other went to your clit to play with using his thumb.

“You miss this, baby?” You miss my dick between your legs?” His lips brushed with your parted and panting ones as he spoke.

You let out a whimper as you focused on your second orgasm, his hips were not letting up and neither was his lips that whispered pure filth.

“Want me to cum inside of you, make you not want to forget me and who you belong to? Right here on Jimin's desk.” 

Your eyes squeezed shut and you clutched at the fabric of his shirt as you were once again thrown into pure pleasure.

You couldn’t help it this time. The way he touched you, the way he felt inside of you, his grunts and words were all too much.

“Please, fucking cum inside of me, I want it all fuck you feel so good.” You cried out way too loudly. 

“Oh my god, fuck.” He breathed through pants as his hips pounded into yours. You felt him release inside of you. Your walls clenched around him upon hearing his long deep guttural moan. 

“I haven’t cum like that in…” he panted before letting out a little chortle of laughter “well in eight months.” 

“So,” there was a loud voice in the room making your heads turn and your stomach’s sink. “You fucked on my desk.” Jimin looked beyond angry as he sat in an office chair across the room with his phone in his hand, pointing it at the both of you. You had no idea when or how he had come in, but you knew you were both beyond physically fucked.

Jungkook had already scrambled to pull out of you and zip his pants back up as you jumped off the desk, pulled your underwear up, and smoothed out your dress.

“That's fine, I have you both on video. I really liked you y/n. Jungkook, Looks like I’m moving out.” he stood from the chair and headed towards the direction of the elevator. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to speak to our boss about this. He probably won't be too happy to see you two are breaking company policy.” 

“Fuck company policy and fuck you! You were an awful friend, roommate and you've always been jealous of me!” Jungkook yelled at him back.

“Not anymore, jobless.” Jimin turned back to give Jungkook a smirk before he stepped into the elevator.

With that, you were both just left there.

“I… I am so so sorry…” Jungkook began apologetically and just as stunned as you were.

“Don’t be, we’re too good for this job anyway, we can find new ones. It looks like you need a new roommate now though.” 

You watched his face as a small smile grew on it.

“Yeah, looking for someone prettier and nicer, maybe someone willing to be my girlfriend? I don't know though, I don’t want to make too many demands.” 

“Well I could meet all of those demands.” you played along. “We won't have to sneak around anymore.”

“Yes, please, yes. I uh- don't want to ruin the cute moment, but I think we should get out of here before Jimin brings the boss up.”

“Oh fuck, right. Uhh, we should probably just never come back too. Let’s just grab our stuff from our desks and make a run for it.”

“Let's go. You know, this is simultaneously the best, worst, most exciting, and most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me,” he said and you couldn't help but laugh and agree.

Maybe the both of you had made a big mistake, but perhaps there could be good that came from it. You had him back and honestly you didn’t feel too bad about trading your dumb job with its dumb company policy for him.

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