#There's a lot of teasing and a lot of drama involved | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bejeweledraven · 1 year ago

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call it what you want

All the drama queens taking swings All the jokers dressin' up as kings They fade to nothin' when I look at him

relationship headcanons with the gotham villains

parrings: oswald cobblepot x gn!reader, ed nygma x gn!reader, victor zsasz x gn!reader, jerome valeska x gn!reader, jeremiah valeska x gn!reader

genre: fluff, slight angst

warnings: mentions of criminal activity, mentions of toxic and unhealthy behaviors in romantic relationships/mentions of unhealthy relationships

requested?: yes

request: anon: can i request general relationship hc with oswald cobblepot, ed nygma, victor zsasz, jerome valeska and jeremiah valeska with a gn reader

song prompt: call it what you want by taylor swift

word count: 1392

oswald cobblepot:

first and foremost his love language is 100% gift giving

it would be both subtle and dramatic

subtle, because he would never ask directly; he'd listen

was there something you were talking about currently? or maybe something you've wanted forever? he would pick up on the slightest mention of it

but like i said, it would also be dramatic

an artist you've been listening to lately? he'll make sure you have every possible record on vinyl and cd, concert tickets, merch

a car that you've dreamed of for years? in your driveway, with every possible upgrade

growing up he didn't have much, so he wanted to make sure someone that he cares about never feels like that

although he's not really the one for physical intimacy, there are some small gestures he really loves

great example are forehead kisses - long evenings after tiring days, right by the fire places

he might not be huge with PDA, but everyone knows that you're involved with each other, making you untouchable

and when i say everyone, i mean everyone; his enemies, his allies, his staff

his worst fear is someone hurting you to hurt him; makes him extremely protective, making sure you're safe 24/7

your relationship is the definition of "private, but not secret"

ed nygma:

although the pre and post riddler ed might have fair share of differences when it comes to dating, there's definitely a lot of similarities

for example, for ed you're always the number one priority, not matter what

the pre-riddler ed would cancel any plans for you (not that he had loads of those anyways lol)

it would take one phone call from you for him to drop everything and meet you somewhere

if ed liked you, he would have the hardest time telling you; even if you were involved with someone else, he would be your shoulder to cry on, no matter how much it broke his heart

once you got together he would need regular reassuring of how much he means to you

would be a combination of his own insecurities and how highly he thinks of you

both before and after you start dating, you smiling in his direction would be enough to make his day

post-riddler is much more confident, cares significantly less of what people think of him

but even given all of his confidence, his old insecurities still get the best of him

he would get very jealous at times

whenever he would suspect you could have feelings for someone else (which is a conclusion he makes way too rapidly) he would feel like the awkward and practically invisible technician working at the police station all over again

takes a ton of reassuring to for him to seem confident again- because deep down he will always feel like that to an extent

being his partner means being his best friend- it's such a special connection

he relies on your support so so much

although it took him a while to learn to come to you with his issues, you're definitely the best support system he's ever had, and he makes sure you know how much that means to him

victor zsasz:

one word: TEASING

so so so much teasing

oddly enough, this might be the healthiest relationship on the list

he has an understanding of personal space and time

i mean don't get it wrong: he WILL show up unannounced in your living room in the middle of the night on a random tuesday, just chilling on the couch because "he missed you"

but if there is ever a situation where you tell him that you need space and time alone, he just respects it

he has a very laid back attitude towards you, but if the situation requires he will act very quick to protect you; whether you disapprove of his methods or not

even though like i said he gives you space and time if needed, he has his subtle ways of knowing whether you're staying safe and out of trouble

i can for sure see him with a fellow assassin, even, or maybe especially, working for a rival gang

business is business, and he doesn't see a reason why it should interfere with his personal life after work

and the constant competition is kind of fun and exciting to him, which is ironic, given the line of work

one time you were ordered by your bosses to take each other out, and for shits and giggles you even pretended to attempt it, but gave up easily just cause you couldn't take one another and this whole situation seriously

overall it's a very playful relationship of equal time teasing and strong sense of protection, on both sides

jerome valeska:

the best word to describe the relationship with this man is 'rollercoaster'

with the highest of highs and lowest of lows

good moments make you feel on top of the worlds and bad moments make your stomach drop

no two days are the same with this guy

no surprise that he is very obsessive

the second he saw you and was utterly and completely fixated on you and you only

it was obsession at first sight for sure (bonus points if you met at arkham)

and you can't really blame yourself, he was very charming

just something completely captivating about him

although his attention is all over the place, he would make sure to always have a good look at you, even with the corner of his eye

he just needs you around 24/7

the respect for personal space and time? yeah don't really count on that

at a certain point there's some sort of addiction formed, where you can't really function without him either

say what you want about jerome, but his energy is absolutely infectious and sometimes you just need someone who will make you feel like you're on top of the world

another thing about him is that his obsessive sense of protection mostly extends to guarding you from the GCPD, but not really to a basic sense of safety

he will take you with him to all of his most dangerous heists, because he doesn't want you 'missing out on all the fun'

he regularly finds places to break into in the middle of the night, like theme parks and big malls, and just goes CRAZY

he is there to make any absurd wish of yours come true

if during the time where everyone just assumed he was dead you moved on with your life and god forbid found happiness with someone else- he is changing that the second he's back

jeremiah valeska:

the jeremiah before the transformation was paranoid about absolutely everything

including your safety, mostly because of jerome

his childhood made him put up this shield around him and it wasn't easy to let you into his life - but once he did he shielded you even more than he ever did for himself

if it was up to him, you'd never leave his super-secure home/facility, because he's that worried

and many times he's begged you do to so

out of sheer sense of protectiveness over you

but staying in a windowless bunker is not really easy for many people

and he knows that he can't really argue you on that, so all he has left is worrying until you're back

you always were back, and he had to fight the urge to beg you not to ever leave again

the post-transformation jeremiah is also insanely protective- with the added effect of more confidence is slight obsessiveness

his obsessiveness would be much more subtle than one that his brother displayed - jeremiah would just always know where you are and who you're with

he would go to actual insane measures to protect you; he'd burn entire cities if it meant keeping you safe

both before and after the transformation he's not really the best at communicating his feelings, but his way of making up for it is acts of service - subtle before transformation and less subtle after the transformation

oddly enough, he also became a lot more openly romantic than before, with grand, dramatic gestures

not that he wasn't romantic before; just in a lot more shy and delicate way

one thing never changed - how much keeping you safe meant to him

#gotham x reader #oswald cobblepot x reader #ed nygma x reader #riddler x reader #victor zsasz x reader #jerome valeska x reader #jeremiah valeska x reader #gotham headcanons #gotham x reader headcanons #gotham imagine

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corpsebasil · 2 years ago

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well hello! Hope you're having a great sunday darling! Since you asked so nicely for Nikolai requests, here's one: I have this feeling that dear ol' Nik's love language is touch. Could we get a very smutty smut where we also also explore how much he is a sucker for always touching the reader? I'm also a sucker for Paddy's hands so it would be lovely if they feature somewhere. ^^ Thank you and lots of love!

Why yes I can, but Ima need at least two parts

Second in Command 18+ Part 1

Nikolai, your captain and fellow privateer, was discussing terms of passage with Alina Starkov and her…whatever his name was…friend. Nikolai was dramatic. He’d always been a drama queen, so when he told her how much she was worth, dead or alive, you’d almost snorted.

You sat at his desk chair, lounging with one leg crossed over the other. He had appointed you as second in command, trusting you the handle the…private affairs that involved weaponry and taking care of rumors. Now he was standing beside his chair as he spoke, and he would not. Stop. Touching you.

You pushed his arm off as casually as you could when he wrapped it around your shoulders. You gritted your teeth in annoyance when his fingers played with your braid as he spoke, his hand out of sight from the two guests. And Saints save you, when he put a hand on your shoulder and rubbed his thumb against your skin, massaging away a knot in your muscle that he’d found with maddening efficiency, you barely stifled a groan and simply knocked him away.

The worst part was this: he didn’t even seem to realize he was doing it. The man was the touchiest person you’d ever met, and it made you feel all sorts of things when you further realized he wasn’t this way with anyone else. But he was flirty, and he was something like a friend, and you could handle unnecessary physical contact if you stayed second in command.

Later, he found you leaning against the rail of the ship, your eyes scanning the water for any signs of life. You tossed a piece of bread down to the waves, hoping in vain to see a fish or a dolphin or something pop out and get it.

“If you toss some meat over we might see a shark.” Your captain said, approaching you, and you smirked over your shoulder.

“Maybe I’ll toss you in. That’d be a show.”

He chuckled as he leaned against the rail beside you, his arm touching yours. Saints, this man had absolutely zero concept of personal space. He ran a hand across the smooth rail, testing it for blemishes, and you tracked the movement. You hated to admit it, but the man had nice hands. Your eyes lingered on the rather large ring on his hand, then immediately looked away when he bumped your hip with his and let out a soft laugh.

“Imagining things, Second?” He teased, but took his ring off, holding it towards you. “Here. Try it on for size.”

“No.” You scoffed. Imagining things. As if.

“Come on.”

“No. I don’t want your ridiculous ring.”

“Suit yourself.” He sighed, tugging it back onto his finger. “What do you think of our new summoner friend?”

“I don’t think anything I don’t care.”

“You’ll care when twenty million Kruger is in your pocket, I bet.”

“All for me?” You asked sweetly, glancing over. He was closer than you’d originally realized and you startled a bit, his blue eyed stare watching you with sleepy amusement.

“All yours, if you want it.” He said, voice soft, and your gaze darted to his mouth, then his eyes. A slow, wicked smile began to spread across his face when you looked away, glaring out at the ocean. What the hell was wrong with you? “But truly. If Alina is as powerful and useful as they say, we’re in for a lot more than just money.”

You blinked, still staring at the water. Money. Think about the money. Not the way his hands look when he’s running them across a rail. Not the way his lips move when he speaks, the curve of his upper lip and—

“Y/N?”

You almost jumped.

“What?” You asked, heartbeat quickening. He was staring at you with a confused, almost curious expression, eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“I asked if you’re going to the tavern tomorrow. When we dock?”

“Oh.” Your brain scrambled, trying to remember at what point in the conversation did docking even become a thing? “We’re…docking?”

“Yes.” He was still looking at you, eyes narrowed slightly as if with suspicion. “To get supplies? Were you listening to me just now?”

“Yes. Yes I was. I was um—” you swallowed, cursing yourself for being so fucking awkward. You were confident as hell, and he was annoying, for Saints sakes. And now you were thinking about your captain’s hands? “Considering tossing you over again. For fun.”

“Ah,” he said, and it was so obvious you were lying that you almost hit him when amusement lit up in those eyes. “and I was thinking about kissing you. But maybe we’re both liars.”

Your stomach turned and you glanced away, then back, unsure of how to even begin to respond. So when he moved towards you and slipped a hand around your waist, dipping his head down to yours, you had a millisecond to register the whisper of his mouth against your own before you lurched away, stumbling back.

“No. No. What the hell, Nik?”

“You were staring at me like you wanted me to kiss you. So I did.” His expression was innocent. Too innocent.

“I did not want you to kiss me. I don’t.”

“Alright.” He said, calmly, and held his hands up as if in surrender. “No kissing, then.”

“Absolutely no kissing.”

“We’ve—that’s been established. Thank you for the unnecessary and slightly offensive emphasis.”

You scoffed and whirled around, practically stomping as you made your way towards your cabin, the only one on the ship besides your captain’s that you didn’t have to share. He followed you wordlessly, hands in his jacket pockets, whistling lowly under his breath.

You felt warm. Annoying warm as you moved into your room and shut the door, leaning against the wood as you breathed in and out heavier than you’d like. You swallowed. Then you drank a glass of water and sat on your bed. You changed into pajamas. You sat some more.

And then, suddenly annoyed into action, you picked up the nearest coat and pulled it over your nightgown, realizing only after you’d already knocked on his door that it was his own stupid coat. When had he even put it in your room? You—

The door opened, and a sleepy looking Nikolai poked his head out.

“Hello, lovely.” He said, eyeing what you were wearing. “I see you found my missing coat.”

“I was just returning it.” You gave him an annoyed look and shrugged it off, ignoring the appreciative glance he gave your nightgown. All your nightclothes were skimpy, but you hadn’t thought he’d ever see you in them. “Goodnight.”

“What is that—a napkin? Saints you women have interesting choices in clothing.”

“If think this is small you should see my lingerie, you judgmental bastard.” You regretted the words the second they left your mouth, watching as color rose on his cheeks and his eyes glittered with mischief.

“That can be arranged.” He purred, opening the door wider and leaning against the side. “But only if you’re wearing it when I see it.”

“Oh my—you’re such an asshole.” You whipped around to storm back to your room—really, it was only about ten feet away from his so the effect was lost—but were halted when Nikolai reached you in a few strides and grabbed your hand.

You turned to tell him off, annoyed and almost at your wits end, when his arm looped around your waist and he crushed you against him, mouth against yours.

You gasped when his fingers dug roughly into your skin, his tongue slipping between your lips, and damn you if he wasn’t the best kisser you’d ever had in your life. He backed you against the wall, hips to your own, and you almost whined against him when you realized absolutely anyone could see you right now.

“Stop it.” You whispered, pushing at his chest, but he only gave you an inch of space as he raised a brow. “Literally anyone could walk by.”

“Then we should go inside your room.”

“You are not going in my—”

“You could come to mine, if you prefer—”

But then footsteps echoed from somewhere nearby, voices of crew mates talking quietly, and you panicked, opening your door and practically throwing your captain inside before locking it behind you.

“Saints, be careful I almost fell over your—”

This time it was you who lunged for him, almost knocking him over when you seized him by his shirt and kissed him as hard as you dared. He groaned and your heart dropped into your stomach, his hands grasping your waist as he kissed you back. You moved when he stepped backwards, sitting on the edge of the bed and tugging you up onto his lap. You groaned, then, when he ground you down against him and moved his mouth to your neck.

“Is this the moment I see your lingerie?” He teased, and you could only sigh when his tongue and mouth trailed a searing path down your throat to your collarbone.

“Nikolai—” you gasped when he ground up against you again, evidence of his arousal digging into your pelvis.

“Yes, love?” His teeth nipped at your skin as his hands slid your nightgown up, fingers brushing the lace of your underwear.

“Nik, I want you to—”

A knock hit your door and you both jumped, turning to stare in absolute horror at the entrance to your bedroom.

“Miss Y/L/N, do you know where the captain is? We need to ask him about some maps we’re looking over.”

“He uh—" your voice sounded strained and you cringed. “Im not sure where he is, sorry.” Nikolai’s fingers tightened on your hips when you moved to get off him and you shot him a glare.

“Do you think you could look at them, then? Your opinion is just as good.”

“I—” you tried not to squeak when Nikolai leaned into you and began sucking a bruise onto your neck, completely unbothered by the current situation. “I can’t right now. Sorry.” You smacked your captain on the arm, ignoring his grin when he finally let you off him. “Give me like, three minutes.”

“Oh, alright.” A pause from outside. “Do you want us to wait here or—”

“No no. Conference room is fine.” You swallowed roughly and listening to the footsteps fading away, headed off to likely prepare the discussion you were about to have. You sighed dramatically and turned, giving Nikolai a look that promised violence. “Don’t do that when I’m trying to talk I almost—oh don’t give me that look.”

“What look?” He asked innocently, tilting his head to examine your flushed and rumpled features, his lips swollen and hair messed up. “What ever will the crew say if they heard you moaning my name when they think we’ve gone to bed?”

“Nikolai.”

“See, just like that, only with more emphasis.”

“I can’t stand you sometimes.” You groaned, moving to your vanity to grab a robe. “If you’re coming to the meeting, try not to act too suspicious.”

“What ever do you mean?” He teased, coming up behind you as you tied your hair back to pull your ass against his front. “Is this suspicious? What if I—”

You smacked his hand when it slipped beneath your dress and he let out a startled ow.

“Fine, fine.” He rolled his eyes, but took your hand before you could move away and slipped his ring onto your finger. “But wear this. Just so I know how this night’s going to end.”

“I’m not wearing—Saints save me fine.” This man was a pain.

He was a pain and an annoyance and you were a bloody pushover when you looked down at your finger and admired the jewelry instead of cringing at it. It was a bit big for you, though, so you took it off and threaded it onto your necklace’s chain instead. He smile grew when he watched your actions, nodding in approval.

“Never thought I’d be jealous of a necklace before.” He mused, eyeing your chest, and you whacked his arm lightly, trying not to grin at him. “See, I’m funny. You almost laughed.”

“I did not.” You argued, and walked ahead of him as you left the room and went down to meet up with the crew.

No one said anything, but it was obvious to everyone that the captain had been with you the night before when they couldn’t find him. It was a ship, not a castle, and there were limited places a man like him could be hiding without being found.

Plus, to your chagrin, there was the whole matter of Nikolai was being so damn annoying about it. The man was practically strutting around the ship the next morning, his smile wide, and at breakfast, where you sat sipping a coffee and nibbling a bowl of fruit, your nose in a book, he embarrassed you by kissing the top of your head and squeezing your shoulder as he passed.

“Nice necklace, Y/N. New purchase?”

Bastard. Cheeky bastard.

But he continued on like nothing unusual had just occurred, moving to discuss navigation with Mal, as you looked up at Tamar and Alina who were watching you with curious, amused expressions.

“When did that happen?” Tamar demanded, eyes darting from the captain to you.

“It was nothing. He’s just messing with me, I suppose.”

“Liar. Your heartbeat increased.”

“He’s just flirtatious you know that.”

“I think you’d be cute together.” Alina piped up, smiling as she watched the exchange. “You seem well matched. To be honest I thought you already were together when we met.”

“We’re not together, gods above.” You groaned, raising your book to cover your face.

“Basically. That man’s been obsessed with her since they met.” Tamar told Alina, furthering your embarrassment. “Everyone knows. It’s just funny watching them act like we don’t.”

“They do not know.” You insisted, mortified, and Tamar’s laugh was genuine.

“Come on, Y/N. When the guys went to Sturmhond’s room last night to find him, they had already placed a bet on whether he’d be there, or in yours.”

“No.” You protested, momentarily thrown when you remembered that no one else on the ship knew his true name but you. “No they did not.”

“Yes they did. And Wesley won forty Kruger when he was in yours.”

“Scandalous.” Alina giggled, then covered her mouth with a hand when you shot her a dirty look. “Sorry. It’s just funny, them betting over something like that.”

“Plus,” Tamar said, pointing a fork at your neck. “you’ve got a hickey the size of Ravka on your neck. You look like he tried to eat you.”

“Oh my—” you shot up out of your seat, snatching up your book and shooting Tamar a look that would scare almost anyone but her. “That’s it. Dish duty for you for the rest of your life.”

She was still laughing, ignoring your words completely, when you gathered up your breakfast and decided you’d have it in your room instead of bothering with being teased all day.

Whewwww the way Nik gets sassier and sassier every time I post is sending me

#shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov #nikolai lantsov x reader #nikolai x reader #smut #nikolai lantsov smut

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rafaelsilvasource · 2 months ago

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Husbands (we love typing that as much as you love reading it) T.K. (Ronen Rubinstein) and Carlos (Rafael L. Silva) are coming into the fifth and final season of 9-1-1: Lone Star (premiering Monday, September 23 on Fox) already dealing with the unsolved murder of the latter’s father. But there’s more drama to come.

Carlos’ obsession with that investigation is going to put their marriage to the test. T.K.’s half-brother, Jonah, is coming to Austin (which is sure to affect Rob Lowe‘s Owen as well). Below, co-showrunner Rashad Raisani previews that and more that’s ahead for the fan-favorite couple.

Carlos is investigating his father’s death. What can you preview about that investigation? That’s also going to involve Campbell (Parker Young), right?

The way we’ve been talking about Campbell and Carlos is that they’re like two brothers, the big brother and the little brother. Carlos comes along, and in Campbell’s mind, he got kind of a free pass because of who his dad, Gabriel Reyes, was, the legend, and to go to the front of the line and become a Texas Ranger. The first episode is about these two brothers both fighting for daddy’s love and daddy being Chief Bridges, their boss. But what’s gonna happen is they learn to respect each other and they’re gonna discover that they’re so much better when they work as a team and they really complement each other brilliantly, not just as investigators, but as characters and frankly to me, as actors. I think just they have a wonderful dynamic that only gets richer as the season goes forward.

Carlos’s father’s murder is a thing that Carlos is not giving that up. It is the central driving force in Carlos’ life. And there’s no way we’re going to end the series without giving that poor guy some answers. So there will be some answers at the end of the day on that.

The season description says that T.K. and Carlos’ marriage is put to the test because Carlos becomes obsessed with solving his father’s murder. What can you tease about how we see that play out and how tough things are gonna get in the middle of that for them? I do have faith that they’re gonna be okay by the end.

A big part for me about their marriage was I really wanted to treat it like a real marriage, and by that, I mean that even though these guys are so wonderful to each other and they’re so handsome, life isn’t perfect no matter who you are and everybody has real struggles that affect even great relationships. And the true strength of a relationship isn’t the absence of challenges and problems, it’s how you grapple with them and encounter them and if they make your relationship stronger or weaker.

And so for Carlos, this burden of his dad’s murder is going to sit there and take up a lot of oxygen in the room and T.K., who is an incredibly supportive husband, is gonna try and be patient and graceful and allow Carlos to have that space. But at a certain point, he’s got to advocate for them to have a future together, and that’s part of what you were talking about with Jonah. I like to think that little boy, in some ways, represents the future of their relationship and Gabriel’s murder represents the past of their relationship, and there’s gonna be a tension between those two things and that’s gonna be their central dynamic this year, is that one person is struggling to get answers in the past and the other person is struggling to move on and build a future, which I think is a very relatable human experience.

All of this makes me think about kids, and that has been a bit of an issue for them in the past. How does that come into play?

I think that’s another pressure point because Carlos was very upfront with T.K. about, “Hey, I’m not ready to have kids and I don’t know if I ever will be,” and then now that his dad’s been murdered, in his headspace, that’s the last thing that he’s got the bandwidth or the emotional energy to deal with. But like I said, T.K. is feeling like life is happening right now, like we don’t get moments back, and especially as a first responder, they see that you can’t take anything for granted. And circumstances are going to align that are going to [lead to] a situation where T.K. is like, I know that you were uncomfortable with taking this next step as a father, but I feel like it’s something powerful that I need to do, and to make that a crisis point for them as well.

I hope that the audience can see the argument from both of their points of view and just go, “S**t, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I would do either.” That’s what I hope because I feel like people have real problems that aren’t so simple as to say, well, he’s right, he’s wrong, whatever. We just wanted to put them through that.

#911 lone star #tarlos #ls season 5 #ls 5 pr #ls 5x01 pr #mentioned #carlos reyes #ls press

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ezziefae · 8 months ago

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My thoughts on The Prisoner's Throne.

(spoilers ahead, and talk about Holly Black's planned book)

ps: I finished this book in one sitting on release day and needed days to process everything, that's why this is a late post. Enjoy!!!!

Heather and Vivi

Where were Heather and Vivi? They were present in the prologue but then they vanished. I was excited to see Vivi become friends with Wren, especially after the rude comments she made towards Wren in TQON. I wonder why Holly excluded them from everything after the prologue, such as the family drama scene at the feast. However, I appreciated how they were mentioned in the story, particularly when we learned that Oak and Heather's mom are close, and that Oak would sleep at their house.

Oak abdicating as heir

So yeah, Jude and Cardan have given Oak permission to resign from the throne as heir, and obviously Oak is taking that opportunity to do just that, just not yet….he has to stay heir for months since Jude and Cardan are going away together. I always knew Jude and Cardan were going to stay as High King and Queen of Elfhame, but only because Oak married Wren and therefore became King of the Ice Needle Citadel, but that didn't happen…Jude is letting him step down because she knows he's grown, and wants him to make his own choices, which is great. If Oak resigns, Jude and Cardan will need to have a child to maintain the royal lineage. So, it's VERY possible that we may see a Jurdan baby in the future.

political problem (Holly Black's next faerie book)

So finally we know what the next book will be about. We know that Jude and Cardan have plans to go to the Undersea. That was the plan Holly Black has been teasing at us for a long time now. This means we’re getting another Elfhame book (Holly didn't say an "Undersea book", she said "Elfhame" even though it's going to be set in the Undersea). In an interview online, Holly Black states that this book will possibly be a stand-alone. Many fans are speculating that this book is going to be a Nicasia POV, but from reading the interviews from Holly I believe it’s going to be either a Jude or Cardan POV (maybe even both). This would make sense since Holly has said many times that she's planning to give us more Jurdan, and that Jude still has a lot of story in her. The Prisoner's Throne leaves us with many unanswered questions, such as what happens to the Ghost, if Oak gets married, news about Wren and her family, and whether Jude and Cardan have children. A standalone book to wrap up these loose ends would be very needed.

Cardan saving and being protective of Jude

Do you guys remember the post I made about Cardan fighting alongside Jude? and how he will not sit on the sidelines to watch her fight? Fans who know Cardan well already knew this to be true, but this book further proved this. This isn’t the first time has Cardan stepped in front of Jude to save her from being impaled. My man sacrificed himself so Jude wouldn't get hurt. Many times during the Stolen Heir duology Cardan has been called a coward, but mannn he's no coward, he will protect those he loves dearly, it was so refreshing to get more of his protective side in this book.

Taryn and The ghost

Since TQON, fans have been speculating that Garrett and Taryn are involved in a romantic relationship. Although it wasn't confirmed in the book, The Prisoner's Throne offered some insight into this. We find out that Heather, Vivi, and Oak have all speculated about it. Furthermore, Oak reveals that even after 10 years, The Ghost has remained close to Taryn and her child Leander. In one chapter of TPT, The Ghost has a serious conversation with Oak, but when Leander interrupts them, Oak notices that The Ghost becomes a different person around Taryn's son. He changes his behavior and has an indulgent smile towards the boy. I personally find it adorable, and after all the hardships The Ghost has been through, I believe he deserves to find happiness, even if it's with Taryn of all people.

The Ghost’s tragedy *sobs into pillow*

I never expected The Ghost to become such a prominent character in the book. It was amazing how I started to develop an emotional attachment to the Ghost throughout the book, only for him to end up turning into a tree by the end. The chapter where the family feasts and Lady Elaine and the Ghost are found dead was pure chaos and full of royal family drama. I had such a good time reading that part, until the Ghost turned into a tree. Also, going back to the topic of the Ghost and Taryn, I feel bad for Taryn even though I know she is a terrible character. It was heartbreaking to see Taryn sob and hold the Ghost while he was slowly dying (We didn't get word from Taryn that they were dating but I think that part was enough comfirmation that they were indeed lovers). As far as we know, Taryn and the Ghost did not get a happy ending in this book :(

ps: This is why I believe holly black's next book will be a Jurdan POV, because the only way we get to know about the ghost is through them. Nicasia is not close to Wren, Oak, the Ghost, or Taryn, we will never get insight on what happens to them if this next book is a Nicasia POV. Also I've been hearing as of 3/12/24 that Holly might possibly write a Jurdan dual POV, so...more reason to believe that it will definitely not be a Nicasia POV.

Taryn Vs Wren

It's funny how Holly decided to create a lot of family issues in the second book of the duology. Many fans believe that this duology should have been a three-part series to resolve these issues. One major problem is that Taryn dislikes Wren and holds her responsible for what happened to The Ghost. Oak's family is also not very fond of Wren. It would have been nice to see a moment in the book where Oak's family and Wren could have worked together and gotten along, but that didn't happen. If Oak and Wren plan to get married, I hope that they can resolve these issues between them all.

Cardan VS Taryn

It shocked me that after 10 years of them being brother and sister in law, that they still don’t get along. I think Taryn was wrong to feel like she had to protect The Ghost from Cardan when he was only trying to help. In fact, it annoyed me a bit. While Cardan was respectful towards Taryn, he had every right to dislike her, unlike Taryn who had no reason to dislike Cardan. Moreover, I would like to mention the moment when they found the ghost almost dead and Cardan ignored Taryn and answered Jude instead, Cardan being petty to Taryn in the most respectful way is hilarious. I think that moment perfectly sums up their relationship.

Wren’s Family

Although I’m happy Wren's sister Bex reunited with Wren, I was very much expecting to get more closure from that, like seeing Wren's entire family together reunite in the book. It feels like that left a huge void at the end of the book.

Wren’s Transformation

Okay, that was absolutely shocking. Holly mentioned in one of her interviews that there would be a transformation in the book, and I guess that was it. Wren now has beautiful wings. Can someone please draw a picture of Wren with wings? Also, can you imagine what Oak and Wren's children would look like if they ever had any? Their child would have blue skin, hooves, and wings. That would be a very interesting looking child.

Wren VS Jurdan

Wren was so wrong for making Jude and Cardan appear weak in front of their court. While reading this part, I remember thinking 'Wren, please stop," I found this chapter fun to read, and seeing Jude and Cardan's reaction to Wren's power. It was interesting to see how Wren exposes Jude's geas and curse to almost the entire court, and how Cardan becomes overprotective of Jude while Wren was removing her curse. I love Cardan.

Where was Queen Annett?

Since the stolen heir, I believed that queen Annett was going to be a problem for Elfhame and Wren. As you may recall, Wren freed her prisoners, and I always believed Queen Annett would've punished Elfhame for it since Wren was with Elfhame's heir Oak. However, she did not appear in The Prisoner Throne at all. I wonder if Holly forgot to bring this issue up or if she has decided to address it in her upcoming faerie book. (Queen Annett is also pregnant, so I think she will definitely be brought up again)

Madoc's Character

I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting a lot from Madoc in this book, but nothing happened, except the fact that Jude lifted his exile (temporarily?) It bothers me that she lifted his exile easily, does Jude not remember he caused many problems for them? Madoc is the reason why Cardan almost died, why Oak was put in danger, he's the reason why the royal family died, and why Orlagh was weakened. I at least expected that Jude lifting his exile would've caused political problems for her, since Madoc is a political criminal for Elfhame and the Undersea. I thought he would’ve at least made a big heroic or villainous move in The Prisoner's Throne, or found a way to at least redeem himself, but nope.

Oak and Wren's Ending

So…Oak does not become king of anything, which is shocking. Everyone believed that if he didn’t become the King of Elfhame he would at least rule the Ice Needle Citadel, which can still happen, since he did propose to Wren at the end of the book. But still, I find it unnecessary, I think that Wren should step down from being Queen, and run to the mortal world with Oak where they can live away from the royal duties. Oak has expressed many times he does not want to be king, but if he marries Wren he will be king, which doesn't seem satisfying to me. Wren never cared for power in The Stolen Heir, she only ever cared for love and her family, I think the ending felt incomplete and unfinished. A lot of stuff was built up from The Folk Of The Air series, and this duology was supposed to give us results, but it did not. Even Oak and Wren's love story felt rushed. I didn’t see much of a connection. It didn't give me much of what I felt when I read Jude and Cardan's love story (You guys are so welcome to disagree with me)

Jude and Oak

So if you read the book, you know how shocking Jude and Oak's relationship became. Especially that scene where they “duel” (And Jude was an absolute fucking badass in that scene) The way she tricked Hag and even Oak at first that she was going to trade Oak for Cardan. I was very impressed with Jude in this book, especially in this chapter where we see her ordering her archers, and her ripping her dress to be able to fight while she's all wet. Her dialogue was so badass: "What if I give you Oak's head instead of Cardan's" and even this quote "Well, then, what a wonderful opportunity for you to prove your loyalty and die for the High King." Chapter 23 (I was so gay for Jude in this chapter, she was so mommy material) Despite feeling a bit betrayed by Oak and believing that she had failed in protecting him, she still trusted him when it came to Wren.

Oak Vs Taryn

"For a moment, he thinks of going over there and dumping his red clover tea over his sister's head" (Chapter 19)

(Jaw was on the FLOOR when i read this) I think it really sucked that Oak's family never told him about this, and I understand that Oak had every right to feel so raged that his family hid his mother’s true killer from his knowledge. Oak and The Ghost have been close, we did get some insight of The Ghost going to the mortal world and train Oak with Magic. I really hope Oak and The ghost's issue gets resolved, but that can only happen when the ghost gets cured....I love family drama, and it shows.

Jurdan Kids

Going back to the topic at hand, Cardan and Jude have given Oak permission to abdicate, which leads me to believe that they are planning to have kids of their own. So far, there hasn't been any indication from Jurdan that they are against having children. Holly has given us insights into Jurdan taking care of Leander, which is incredibly heartwarming. For example, we find out that Cardan plays with Leander, and there's a part where Jude is in the mortal world with newborn Leander, and Oak remembers Jude playing with baby Leander with a toy, almost like she was playing with a cat. I think these are definite hints from Holly that Jurdan would make great parents. Holly did say that we would get an answer to Jude and Cardan possibly having kids in the Prisoner's Throne, and I believe this was it. I will definitely make a separate post on this.

Randalian

I'm so happy this man is dead, it was long overdue. This man annoyed the crap out of us since the folk of the air series (it’s crazy that Jude and Cardan never decided to remove him from the living council, he never saw eye to eye with Jude and disrespected them constantly)

Lady Asha apperance

It turns out that Lady Asha is still in the court. She was only mentioned once when Lady Elaine was speaking with her. At that moment, I became suspicious and believed that Lady Asha was also part of the conspirators.

Locke appearance

The dream Oak had with Locke as a fox was fun and interesting. Even though it was a dream, it was cool to hear Locke again and how he acknowledged being murdered by Taryn.

Taryn is aging...but not Jude

FINALLY, we have some information on this topic. Oak describes Jude as looking very young, and Taryn as aging. He offers two possible explanations for this: either Taryn has visited the mortal world too often as her years are catching up to her, or becoming a mother has exhausted her. For a long time since TFOTA series, fans have speculated that since Jude is the Queen of Elfhame, she will never age. And it looks like Holly seems to support this, especially since Oak finally wonders "if Jude is quite as mortal as she once was". I from now on have no doubt about it, i am a "Jude will never age as long as she's Queen of Elfhame" believer.

The Cardan and Oak problem

it turns out that it wasn’t a big deal, Oak had been too much in his head, he was his own enemy when it came to Cardan, and it was amazing to see Cardan and Oak have a brotherly talk by the end of this book. Cardan’s character has really matured, and its amazing how comfortable he's become with his loved ones (i love him so much) I will admit, that when Cardan was talking to Oak about delaying his abdication of heir, I thought he was going to announce Jude’s pregnancy and you can't blame me, the way Holly wrote it made it sound like he was going to do that. (would’ve made me scream) but nope.

Summary:

The beginning was slow, but I nonetheless enjoyed it. I love Oak and Wren, however, I felt that they could have had a stronger connection in the story. There were too many unanswered questions left in the book, and it did not provide any closure to Oak and Wren's future. I feel that the series should have been a three-part book series instead of a duology. Moreover, many of the main characters seemed to have lost their power, such as Oak's resignation as heir to the throne, Wren losing her godly powers, and Tiernan being fired from his position as Oak's guard. I think many new readers who have never read the Folk of The Air series might not have appreciated that. Despite this, I appreciate that Jurdan was not removed from the Elfhame throne. However, I think that Holly Black set up more problems in this book than solutions, which makes it feel neglectful towards Oak and Wren's story. I am excited about this book, and I am sad that we may not get more news on Elfhame until possibly 2026, as she is currently working on the second book of The Book of Night. Anyways, In other news, I have a virtual event with Holly Black tonight 3/12/24, so I will write anything important down, and I will try to ask good questions!

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heavencanbeaprisontoo · 9 months ago

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The Other Shelby Girl

Platonic!Shelby Siblings x reader

Headcanon/Imagine for a second Shelby Sister. Explores dynamics with each sibling based on of the reader were their older or younger sibling.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, mentions of war, violence, period-typical sexism, over-protective sibling drama.

Arthur

Older Sister:

You are the third most respected woman in Arthur’s life, which is greater than it sounds. First was Mum, then Polly. To be succeeded only by Polly in Arthur Shelby’s eyes is precious. He’s always looked up to you, but didn’t always show it. After the war, Arthur would come to rely on you heavily for emotional support. There were nights he would come to your home and no be able to speak. Where he would seem to turn back into a little boy, crying into your shoulder as he begs you not to speak of this to the others. When Arthur met Linda, you were one of the few to be supportive. You are Arthur’s greatest advocate, but his pride and Tommy’s influence make it hard to help him. When you have a family of your own, it’ll only make things harder. You often feel like you have to take sides. Still, you do what you think is best.

Younger Sister:

Depending on just how young you are, Arthur might try to put on like he’s your Dad. Arthur doesn’t always know how to talk to you. You’re just a young woman, he doesn’t feel like he can talk to you the way he does with John or Tommy. He wants to tease you and pick on you as he would with Finn, but he can’t. The moment you hit out your bottom lip and look like your feelings got hurt, Arthur is a flustered mess of a guilty brother. You might resist his attempts at being fatherly, or welcome them. Regardless, you can see that Arthur just wants you to know he’s a safe space for you. Maybe if you ask him nice enough, he’ll teach you how to draw horses like he used to. No matter how old you get, Arthur is the brother that still sees you as a little girl.

Thomas

Older Sister:

Before the war, Tommy only saw you as someone who nagged at him. The meddling older sister warning him away from throwing curses at people and fighting with the cops. After the war, you became something far more delicate than that. You became something like his conscience. That pleading voice that begged for peace and forgiveness that grows fainter every year. As adults, you swear sometimes he hates you. The way he disregards you and keeps you at arm’s length. In actuality, he’s only trying to avoid the shame your hopeful gaze gives him. It was you who tried to get the brothers to hide from the draft. It was you who told him getting involved in London affairs would be dangerous. You who told him not to accept anything from the Russians. You were always right. Always good. He also feels he must protect you because you know him when he was soft and weak. Aside from Polly, you’re the last person who ever heard him laugh.

Younger Sister:

He lumps you in with Ada without really meaning to. You and Ada are both younger, and are both girls. As such, you both have similar problems that have his head aching and his trigger finger itching. Two pretty girls tend to attract a lot of scummy men. You’re both so stubborn about not needing anything from him, which is bloody absurd. Of course you need his help. Whatever money you’re making doing legitimate work isn’t going to be enough to keep you safe. You have never gone on a single date without someone Peaky Blinder watching you. Arthur tries to give advice like he’s your dad, and Tommy drops rules on you like he’s your dad. He has absolutely said the phrase, “And where are you going dressed like that?” Tommy will kill your ex-boyfriends if asked, he already knows why you want them dead and he agrees. The only thing he likes more than you accepting his help is hearing you admit he was right.

John

Older Sister:

He is the little brother who reads your diary and eats your food after being told not to. As a kid, John was Hell on legs. As an adult, John is still Hell on legs but with children. Growing up, you spent a lot of time picking John up from police stations and headmaster offices. John stresses you out like he’s being bloody paid for it. But, he loves you dearly and you forgive him more often than you should. John has called you “Mum,” as a joke many times but it’s not quite a lie. As an adult, he is far more respectful towards you. He is one to bow his head when you lecture him about fatherhood and how his drinking is going to harm his children. John respects you enough to take his cap off when he enters your home. However, he’ll still gobble down any treats you’ve left out in the kitchen and have the audacity to say, “What?!” When you shout at him for it.

Younger Sister:

John will not only read your diary and eat your snacks, but he will loudly announce your crush the moment he finds out. Any reluctance Arthur has about picking on you is nonexistent in John. He is a fully grown man who is unafraid to tease you with schoolyard chants in public spaces. Has walked into your room while you were reading just to slap something off of your desk and run. John has spent so long as the younger brother, he has to get his kicks where he can. That said, nobody better say anything rude to you. Ever. One time, a mate of his simply repeated a mean name he had called you and John slugged him for it. Nobody is allowed to annoy you but him. John is obnoxious in an almost biblical sense, but he is the one to see you cry and ask: “Who did that to you.”

Ada

Older Sister:

Yet another sibling to boss her around. Excellent! Ada is one who would resist you trying to take care of her. She doesn’t want to hear your advice! She doesn’t need it! Until her first heartbreak and then she’s sobbing on your bed waiting for you to come home. Ada hates to feel dependent on others, but she does trust you. There’s something special about having a sister. You understand each other in a way your brothers never will. The fear that builds as a man walks a few yards behind you out in the streets at night. How every romance has that bitter taste as you think about all that you’ll lose if you were to get married. Ada gets her best advice from you, but you’re also her security. You were probably the one to start taking her to the movie theater. It’s likely that Ada imitates you subconsciously. When you got your hair bobbed, so did Ada. When you started wearing heels, so did Ada. She denies it, but it’s obvious that she follows your lead.

Younger Sister:

Might be a sad thing to say, but Ada didn’t think much of you until she had Karl. You were just this clinging little sister that everyone thought she was supposed to take care of. All you did was follow her about town and put your nose where it didn’t belong. Tommy probably found out about her and Freddie through you. You don’t mean to be annoying, you’re just lonely. Ada couldn’t see that until she had a child and a home away from Small Heath. The dynamic flips hard when Ada comes back to Small Heath. Ada is all about leading you in “the right direction,” and is very serious about your education. She essentially begs Tommy to set aside money for you to go to university when you express interest. You want to be in with the Peaky Blinders, though. Oh, God. You’re in your rebellious phase and Ada wants to shake you till you forget all about jazz and pretty boys with guns. You both adore each other, but you butt heads over where your life is going and who should have a say in what direction it goes.

Finn

Older Sister:

Between you, Polly and Ada, he’s almost got a mother. As a young boy, Finn has actually called for you as his mother by accident. It makes sense. You were often left in charge of him. To Finn, you are all that he knows. It’s often left to you to make sure he goes to school and stays out of trouble. You’ve spent many afternoons arguing with his teachers to give him a second chance. Finn needs that, someone to stick up for him. That doesn’t mean he always likes it though. Finn wants to be a gangster, like his older brothers. You want him to do literally anything but that. When Tommy, Arthur, and John, pick on him too much you are the one to back Finn up. He used to like it… until he was roughly twelve. What used to be you coming to his rescue has become you inadvertently humiliating him. You try to back off, but Finn makes poor choices for himself which require you to come save him. Therefore, the cycle continues.

Younger Sister:

You are the only one beneath him in the Shelby Family Pecking Order, and he lives for it. When Finn has a bad day, he takes it out on you. Why not? It isn’t like he had anyone else he can push around and be the boss of. So, he’ll cut your dolls’ hair, call you names, and make fun of the things you like. But only if there’s other boys who can see him do it. When he goes too far and you cry, he has to answer to all of your siblings and Polly. Finn picks on you to soothe his own ego. When it’s just you and Finn, he’s very quiet. You two can spend hours not talking but be perfectly happy. Finn likes to turn on the radio and just sit, listening to music or the results of a boxing match. Sometimes, he vents to you about how Tommy wouldn’t let him do this or do that. You always listen to him. Finn usually takes these quiet times to apologize for past pranks or insults. You always forgive him. It’s odd to you how your accepting of his apology seldom puts him in a better mood. Truth is, he’s very jealous of you.

#peaky blinders #thomas shelby #peaky blinders x reader #arthur shelby #peaky blinders headcanon #john shelby #ada shelby #ada thorne #finn shelby #peaky blinders x you #peaky blinders imagine #platonic

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yourlocaldcbitxh · 17 days ago

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Gotham Headcannons: If you work for the GCPD (cop or other not specified)

He cares

A lot

But tries to play it off like he doesn’t and that he completely trusts you

(He doesn’t)

The type of guy to try and weave his way into your conversations and try a figure out information

Goes on your laptop and phone so don’t leave those out if you have confidential info

Will accuse you of spying like 2 times a week with his whole dramatic hand wavy thingy

Give him little tidbits of information that are not important and he will trust you more

He lives for the office drama

Especially if Gordon is involved

All in all why would you do this to yourself

4/10 being generous

Pre-Riddler

Leaves you riddles and cupcakes on your desk because he gets into work before you

Will stop by once or twice a day to say hi and chat

Lunch together is a mandatory and it’s great

You usually eat down in his office as the other employees tease him for being able to find a partner

Simply stroke his ego a bit and he’ll be fine

Will totally ramble about his work and let you do the same if you want

Great talker and listener

9/10 cause he’s a little awkward but it’s ok

Post-Riddler

Manipulation is a word that comes to mind

He will, without fail, attempt to get you to spill information about how the GCPD is doing on catching him

You usually tell him cause it’s not confidential

That’s a gateway to more questions though so be careful

Your relationship will be a lot better if you knew him pre-riddler but he still loves you even if he didn’t

When he’s in his “Penguins bitch” phase he so saunters into the office and leans against your desk

Be warned though other officers hate you for dating him

4/10 in general he’s good but why are you dating a cop killer?

A true neutral

Doesn’t give a shit to be honest

He’s an assassin not a spy so he won’t pry for info except when it comes for him (wants to know about Alvarez)

You indulge him with the gossip and he eats it all up

Sassy queen will protect your name if anyone makes a comment about you being a cop

He may not like the system but you’ve showed him that even cops have a good side

He finds it ironic

No one knows you’re dating obviously because that’s a line neither of you will cross

Especially due to his line of work

All in all a pretty normal relationship 8/10

He is so happy to have someone who is a cop like him

That doesn’t stop him from being worried as shit about you

Totally that guy who’s like “oh a really dangerous case? I’ll take it” and then proceeds to double check your work without asking

Talk some sense into him please

His hero complex needs to be brought down a notch

You are capable and he knows that he just worries

After all like everyone he ever dated turned somewhat insane

Watch out for that

Harvey teases you guys and does that “if you hurt my brother I’ll kill you” stuff

Don’t be scared of him he’s fine

ANYWAY

Don’t bring up penguin

Ever

He will become a whiny bitch and no one wants that

All in like 6/10 cause he’s a workaholic and a mansplainer

He thinks it hot

You and a gun put together makes him feel things

But he totally puts on that “I only date dainty women so fuck off” the first time so smack some sense into him as well

Unlike Jim trusts you more with his job than himself

Will ask you to double check his cases if he feels a little off about it

He worries though

He hasn’t had great relationship success because of his personality so if you like brash Irish men this is your guy

You actually help him stop drinking it’s wonderful

He still does on a hard case but not as much as he used to

7/10 he’s great if you’re into him

Little Miss Barbie has a little temper Tantrum but that’s ok

You can’t blame her, her ex made her go insane and he was a cop

Ensure her that you’re nothing like him and maybe feed her a little info and yall are fine again

The type of person to call you at work and ask how you’re doing and if you can get out early so you guys can hang out

You usually say yes because dumping cases in Gordon is so fun

Plus you think he likes it so it’s no biggy

Tell Barbara you make his life a living hell and she will marry you right then and there

Don’t go to her club during her business meetings though that’s a mess no one wants to

All in all like a 6/10 cause of her mood swings but you can deal with that

Unhappy little man

Will either use you for information or kill you

But

If you somehow manage to weasel your way into his heart with your loving personality

He begins not to give a shit

Or pretends

He care and he doesn’t like it

And may kill you at a moment notice

But for now you’re good

2/10 you’re probably dead or being used

Again literally nothing on him he hates cops and bombed the entire city

Death is the most likely outcome

Or manipulation for information

More like that Ecco will kill your first rather than Jeremiah

1/10 dead probably or close to it

#Gotham #Gotham x reader #Jeremiah valeska x reader #Jerome valeska x reader #Jim Gordon x reader #Harvey bullock x reader #Barbara keen x reader #Oswald Cobblepot x reader #Edward nygma x reader #the penguin x reader #the riddler x reader #GCPD #DC

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turboacek-blog · 9 months ago

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Random: I wouldn’t mind Katara x Zuko and Aang x Toph in the Netflix adaptation

So with the Netflix live-action Avatar series coming out soon, I figured I should get this thought out the way

Back when it was first announced I remember they said they were going to slightly age up Katara so that she would be essentially Zuko’s age and Aang would still be 12 (112) basically instead of her being 14 she would be 16 like Zuko

And people speculated that it’s because they want to do Zutara (Zuko x Katara)

Amongst a number of other changes that’s has been revealed in the pre show premiere life cycle like the recent info they’re getting rid of Sokka’s sexism

I’ve mentioned it before but I’ve became neutral on remakes and reboots and such

Which includes changing things from the original is fine as the original still exists

It’ll be ininteresting how they handle it as the original show had a sizeable focus on Aang liking Katara and I can see it shifting to just being friends but it would also change a lot of scenes involving the two as the Gaang's dynamic is the way it was because one of the threads is that Aang and Katara had the romance aspect

And without it, you will need to sell their friendship in a different way which can be fun with a more platonic take but I think it has to be done well as Aang getting upset he can hurt Katara with fire bending or just the Haru and Jet situations are different if there isn’t a potential romance brewing

And might be worse if it’s fully one-sided as in Aang still has a crush but Katara doesn’t like him in that way at all, which ties into the other ship's angle

Katara x Zuko

It can work, I don’t think the people who shipped them were just crazy fans putting two characters together, there’s evidence

But without the Aang influence, it can be weird if not handled well let alone how they handled a character like Mai

Aang x Toph

I think when people mention this, it’s mostly because she’s the only one who would likely still be in his age range meaning she's the most realistic option if Katara and side characters are off the table

And you can pull it off I think, from Aang being Toph’s first friend, and the mentor-student dynamic can be tweaked plus they also have an opposites attract dynamic like Zutara. And reshift the crush Toph had on Sokka and Zuko to Aang it's possible

I just think it’s a case of they would have to truly commit and not tease too much / if it gets some backlash don't double back to the original canon pairs as you would basically be a season behind

Like don’t still do AangxKatara stuff if they are really going to do ZukoxKatara as the endgame

2/2/24 edit:

@vibee2001 let me know the Katara aging up was a rumor and she's more than likely still going to be 14, while Sokka and Zuko are aged up 1 year so most of what I said doesn't matter lol

But since they have said it's going to lean more into the drama genre I think a lot of what I said can still be applied to leaning towards drama by having different pairings and such and the general they are making changes to some elements of the story like characters

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #zutara #aang x katara #zuko x katara #aang x toph #netflix #netflix avatar #aang #avatar aang #katara #zuko #toph beifong #taang

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makncheese12 · 1 year ago

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Top Shelf pt. 2

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Masterlist

Summary: being the kid of a well-known book store owner was easy, so was running into famous people. But being book smart doesn’t make everyone people smart.

Warning: my writing, I don’t know how to fully play chess so it’s a bit weird haha, very awkward, a little rushed if you come back tomorrow sometime after twelve it should be better

Word count - 3.1k

Credits: @novmoth (my friend from school who feeds into my delusions and gives me more ideas for this story🫶🏻)

“So,” Lyle starts as you move a piece across the chess board and look up to him then back down at the half played board. “You mean to tell me you ran into Jenna Ortega—“ he says through gritted teeth and puts his hands together and leans his forehead against them.

“—and you didn’t know who she was? She’s known world-wide after her recent show on Netflix!”

Why was he so surprised? He knew your parents situation and how it was critical that your mothers family didn’t find her.

Why would you want to be on social media so much anyway? All the drama involving celebrities and people switching up on them after finding some stuff they don’t like.

Hell people could even find information to black mail or threaten you with, that would just be your luck.

It was better to not get caught up in all of that. All you had was Instagram that had nothing to do with the last name and TikTok with no post that you barely used.

“You know I don’t watch a lot of TV.” You mumble watching him move the white piece taking your black on the board between the two of you. “Dude,” Mj starts looking up from pride and prejudice.

“We all used to watch her on stuck in the middle in sixth grade at Rosa’s place before Marco moved.” She says, clearly uninterested in the conversation yet wanting to be right.

You knit your eye brows together making Lyle stare at you like you were some kind of idiot. “She played Harley, middle child AKA stuck in the middle.” You continue to stare dumb founder.

The large man only groans and Mj scoffs at your lack of knowledge. Dru is then seen, holding a pile of games he wanted to try out.

“The chick with the hot sister who used her for an invention with her boyfriend.” He hums, placing the games next to the computer nearby.

Realization hits you like a brick and you nod, now knowing who they were talking about and the seeing the resemblance.

She both sounded and looked older now, you noted before moving a chess piece.

“If that’s what it takes for you to remember things then we’re all doomed.” Mj states as she pulls her legs up to her chest.

“Okay, when did she come exactly?” Lyle stares at the board, eyes clearly focused but keeping his attention on the conversation.

You think back to the interaction as he makes his move. “A few hours ago, right after lunch when people usually come in.”

“Wonder how she got here without getting noticed.” Mj wonders out loud. This girl must have been a big deal if she can’t get away without being noticed.

“Check,” Lyle hums and your eyes snap back to the board to see him move his piece. You narrow your eyes at the board for a moment and huff out.

You two had decided to create your own set of rules after playing together for so long it had become a bit boring. With his idea, you both made the game a little more interesting and complicated.

“She probably has little disguises, you know to specifically get away from the paps.” Dru mumbles, face inches away from the screen.

You grimace at the sight, now seeing why he needed glasses yet he was still doing it with them on.

“He has a point.” Lyle replies watching you make your move before his smile grows. “Checkmate.” He flaunts making you groan as he snatches your king.

“Your slacking, Y/N, do better.” He shakes his head before putting all the pieces back in place.

His teasing only making you groan again, louder this time making him chuckle.

“You’re making me feel like a sin getting scolding by his father after a bad game.” You mumble before sitting up again and making the first move.

“Good,” he laughs watching you make the same move as before. “You need it.” He says in response.

“Fuck the game, what are you going to do about Jenna Ortega?” Mj speaks up closing her book and slamming it on the table.

Usually, you’d scold her for doing so but it was after hours and no one was inside to bother.

Lyle huffs. “Never say that again, this game is very important.” Mj rolls her eyes in response, everything was important to him.

“What would you have me do? Send her a quick text and ask her to come back?” You laugh at the thought.

It would have to be a miracle to get any celebrities number, it would have to be a god send to get her phone number.

“You’re such a pessimist.” Lyle snorts and you send him a glare. “I would be if a cute celebrity showed up and I never saw her again.” Dru calls out making you huff.

“I will see her again, actually. I think, at least.” Mj perks up at this. “Oh? How so?” She asks, leaning forward on the table.

You send her a glare and lean away. Why was she suddenly acting like a fourth grade friend who finds out about your crush.

“She borrowed the book, so she kind of has to come back.” You grumble scooting your seat farther away from her.

You didn’t really think you’d actually be excited for someone to return for a book. Sure, there were cute people that came in and out of the library all the time. But none had really had any real affect on you like she did.

Though the interaction was short and quick, it was probably one of the most interesting ones you had with a customer.

You’d do anything to see those freckles in person again.

The clicking sound of a phone brings you out of your thoughts as you glance up to Lyle whose holding up his phone.

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he begins angry typing. “You just looked so aesthetic with the chess board, I gotta post it to Insta.”

You roll your eyes before they move to Mj who paces back and fourth.

“Okay, so that would probably be your only chance at actually talking to her.” She says as if she were talking to herself.

“She’s so delusional

“That is if you don’t fuck it up,” she mutters that last part with a as she continues pacing making you point to your face that is clearly unamused.

“But how will you do that? You’re a horrible flirt, that much is true and your humor is as dead as Lyle’s hair.”

“Hey!” He quickly goes to cover his purple hair with his large arms. “There’s no hiding that atrocities.” Mj rolls her eyes, once again for the hundredth time tonight.

“I say you just go for it.” Dru says tapping his computer key quickly and you notice the game to be ‘cookie clicker’, an online game that is not any of the games in his pile.

“Be yourself and you’ll be fine, if she doesn’t like that oh well.” He says inching closer to the screen, glasses almost touching it.

“Wow DD,” Lyle says, looking up from his screen that was suddenly getting lots of notifications. “I never thought you could be so poetic.” He teases and Dru sends him a side eye glare.

“That wasn’t even poetic, just common sense.” He replies, eyes traveling back to his screen.

Lyle sticks his tongue out at the older man who doesn’t even notice.

“I want sushi,” You say standing up watching the abandoned chess pieces fall from their place. “Let’s go get some.”

“Right behind you,” Mj says eagerly as she grabs her book and jacket, Lyle not too far behind her.

“Wait, give me a second!” Dru calls but you just laugh and continue your way to the door.

“Wait! I want sushi too! Stop!” He calls out louder as Lyle holds the door open. “Just abandon mission dude! Sushi is way better.” Lyle says as you begin walking down the street, Dru coming out not long after making sure to lock the door.

————

You carefully pull books out of the return section as the beat of your music rings through your ears making you bop your head lightly.

You glance over to Lyle who sat in the desk chair, playing Call Of Duty mobile on his phone. You wouldn’t usually be allowed to do that but it was a particularly slow day.

It had been two weeks since Jenna had last came to the library and to say you were disappointed was an understatement.

You knew it could be months before she would have to return the book and you would have to charge her for it if she really didn’t and that is what you didn’t want to do.

Mj made sure you didn’t forget either, sending you cheesy pick-up lines and ‘how to flirt’ website which only aggravated you and hurt your ego.

You did look at a few though and had to admit some were actually good while others made you skin crawl.

You don’t notice the sound of the bell ringing or the way Lyle quirks up slightly glancing toward you

Jenna looks up to him as her body guards walk to a side table in front of the window allowing her a little freedom to walk after seeing there weren’t many people.

He makes his lips into kissy form and a small ‘ooh’ leaves before turning to you, back turned as you sort through the books.

He looks back to Jenna who is now standing at the front desk contemplating to help her or not.

He decides against it but doesn’t want to leave the celebrity waiting. He stands up and quickly grabs the closest thing to the back room door before putting his finger to his lips.

“Shh..” He says, eying her as a playful threat before chucking the item at you and rushing through the door.

The thing hits your head and you whip around, barely missing Lyle as your eyes land on Jenna who held her books, glancing between the storage room and you.

“Did you..” you say, pulling your headphones out and picking up a mouse key that had been ripped off from the cord. “Did you just throw a mouse key at me?” You ask with playful tone as you walk toward her.

Jenna thinks back to Lyle’s silence threat before speaking. “You weren’t paying attention, it’s bad customer service.” She just shrugs.

“Oh, my bad.” You say putting your hands up in defense and her smile grows. “I’m sorry I was doing my job,.” You say shaking your head before playing glaring at her.

Be confident, all girls like that!

Mj’s words ring through your head making you cringe slightly.

Not too confident, that’ll get you punched.

Dru had stated after and your lips pull up at the memory of Dru getting punched at the skating rink during you tenth grade year.

You think of all the pick-up lines that actually seemed subtle and weren’t cringe worthy but decided against it as she pushes the books toward you.

“So, what’d you think?” You ask taking them and scanning the under the red light and pressing the ‘return’ button on the computer screen.

“I actually enjoyed between shades of gray surprisingly even though it was pretty dark,” she says shyly and you nod. “But the other wasn’t really good.”

“Just shows I have better taste than you.” You tease lightly, attempting to flirt but realizing it wasn’t actually flirting.

You were starting to realize how bad of a glitter you really were and Mj was right.

You feel your phone buzz go off multiple times at a time as Lyle comes out of the storage closet with a box full of old tapes you had just put back in there a little while ago.

He takes his seat and watches through the corner of his eye, looking through the black blocks clearly acting like he was doing something as he ease-dropped.

You roll your eyes before leaning against the counter, rolling your thumbs around each other, becoming nervous by the sudden pressure of his gaze.

“Does he always stare at you like that?” She suddenly asks, amusement clear in her voice making you snort.

“Unfortunately yes,” you say and his head yanks toward you, fake offense taking over his features. “He’s always been weird but I guess that’s what makes us friends.”

He forms a heart with his hands before blowing you a kiss making you grimace at the large man.

“So,” you say looking back up to her, noticing her biting the inside of her lip slightly before looking back to you. “Looking for anything else or should I just get back to work?” You ask, smirking slightly as you look up toward her.

You hear a quiet snort come from Lyle and send him a mental glare in the process. Oh how you wished it was Dru here instead, hell even Mj would do.

“Actually, yes.” She says, perking up slightly at your mention. “I was hoping to get another suggestion from you, since you know.” She finishes making you raise an eye brow and hum to yourself.

You think through the hundreds of books you’ve read before coming to your conclusion and standing up straight.

“I have one,” you say and she nods. “I figured.” She replies as you pass through the low door and around the counter.

“It’s sort of the same as Between Shades of Gray, same time frame.” You say walking toward the historical section. “I will need to help get it though,” you snort to yourself, feeling glare in the back of your head.

“I’m actually six foot two if you remember correctly, it’s just the angle your looking at that makes me look shorter.” She argues and your smile grows.

“I’m sorry, I completely forgot I hope I haven’t offended you too deeply.” You tell her, bowing slightly as she passes you walking into the aisle with her head high.

“But in all seriousness,” you say scanning over the the spines of the books. “What made you think the name ‘Top Shelf’ wouldn’t be quite literally the top shelf.” You reach out and grab the book ‘The Book Thief’ before turning to her.

“I thought it was like a metaphor or something.” she mumbles taking the book from your hands, reading the cover.

“Oh definitely, especially with the owners being tall themselves.” You say, laughing at her glare at you through her eye lashes.

She rolls her eyes before moving past you and toward the front desk.

You follow after her quickly and go behind the desk again before pushing past Lyle who was messing with the computer.

“Excuse you,” he stares at you wide eyed as you click back to the search bar. “Your fault you were in my way.” You mumble only giving him a glance.

“Name?” You asks glancing toward and you can almost feel the glare Lyle gives you.

“You’re joking?” She asks, clearly unamused. “It’s policy.” You send her another playful smile watching huff out.

“Jenna Ortega.” She says before Lyle pinches your side making you jump slightly. “Stop that,” you whisper before kicking your leg back at him, you miss completely.

“Burrowing or buying?” You ask and she again, rolls her eyes. “Burrowing.”

You feel Lyle pinch your other side and you send him a glare, clearly wanting him out of your bubble and away from your conversation. “You’re so annoying.” You say before watching him stick his tongue and move back to his seat.

You look back toward Jenna who was, once again, chewing her lip.

You take her credit card and swipe it quickly, using your hand to keep him a safe distance away from you.

“Anything else?” You ask, glancing up to the girl who is already staring at you.

“Actually,” she mumbles quietly as Lyle pinches your arm pit making you elbow his chest and he lets out a hard huff.

“You seem pretty cool and I was wondering..” she hesitates for a moment, trying her best to maintain eye contact which makes Lyle stop, chest against your back.

She continues you hesitate as you bag the book and slide it toward, you fidgeted slightly as anxiety creeps up to your core.

“If I could have your number? Or maybe I could give you mine?..” there’s a sort of shyness in her voice and she begins to bite the inside of her lip again.

You stare at her dumb founded a second, not fully expecting that.

But then again it was very obvious it was coming from the first part of her sentence, that was clear especially to Lyle who glances between you two.

The two wait for your response that seems to never come which makes Lyle’s eye twitch and Jenna to shift on her feet.

“You can say no, of course I just thought I’d ask.” She says, voice even quieter which makes Lyle decided to take matters into his own hands.

He snatches the phone from your pocket and sends you a small knowing smirk before turning to the girl. “Excuse her, she’s not used to these kind of interactions.” He says unlocking you phone and opening your contacts and going to the number screen.

“She is, after all, a librarians daughter. She just has no game what’s so ever.” He shakes his head and clicks his mouth. You quickly snap out of your dazed state to glare toward him.

“Yeah, sorry but I’d actually love that.” You say before watching her smile grow and all the nervousness leave her body as she begins to type.

“Cool,” she says before handing you your phone back. “Very cool.” Lyle states as he nods and gives you a knowing look.

“Text me,” she says before picking up her bag and walking toward the door. “I mean it!” You watch her stern look as her body guards stand and open the door for her with a goofy smile on your face.

“I will!” You call out as the door shuts behind her.

“Holy shit,” Lyle mutters watching her walk down the street. “Holy shit.” You repeat, still a little shocked by the whole situation.

“Jenna Ortega thinks my best friend is cool and gave her her number.” He says pulling out his phone and typing quickly before you feel a buzz in come from the phone in your hand.

You open the text messages in the group chat and see a series of text between Lyle, Mj and Dru. They had to have been spamming the entire time.

You read over the last text and snort.

My best friend is cooler than you, you also owe me twenty bucks <3

Read next part here!

A/N: Lyle being R’s wingman is in fact canon🫶🏻

Also, while you’re here why don’t you request something for different characters. I have some drafts for other things I’m working on but I would let to create some you guys ideas!

#Jenna Ortega #Top shelf #jenna ortega fanfic #Jenna Ortega x reader #tara carpenter #scream 5 #scream 6 #wednesday Addams #Vada Cavell #jenna ortega x you #Lorraine day #x #the fallout #Jenna Ortega imagine

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astonmartingf · 8 months ago

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IMPECCABLE TIMING . . . 🏁🍒🏎️

LICENSE TO DRIVE ; f1 driver!oc x platonic! f1 grid

. . . as a part of katarina's media duties in the paddock, the press questions about her "sudden" move to porsche, with people theorizing about her impeccable timing of doom.

amgf 2.1k words... set during the bahrain pre-race press conference, mention of red bull controversy, implied media play, mystery(?)

license to drive ; masterlist

SITTING FOR INTERVIEWS ISN'T REALLY KATARINA'S FORTE, just like the other drivers she'd rather race. But at the same time, she enjoys the chaos press interviews bring. Especially for the upcoming 2024 season, a lot has happened over the winter break.

One transfer which Katarina is heavily involved in, and despite not being one to tell all to the press, the feeling of slow feeding information to journalists, leaving crumbs of information here and there, laying down innuendos is more than enough for her to agree for the press conference schedule.

It's the first race of the season, drama is about to unfold, and Katarina is ready to watch them all from the palm of her hand.

Greeting the drivers, she sits right beside Lewis as the conference had just begun, with the host talking to Lando furthest to her. At the same time, Carlos walked from the sea of reporters, Lewis teasing him, gesturing his watch.

Katarina scoots over to the edge, with Carlos situated next to Lewis. Opting to get interviewed last, knowing very well of the questions she's about to receive.

The female driver keeps herself busy with her thoughts, listening in to some of the drivers and their questions. As much as she hated interviews listening in to the drivers answer repetitive questions was funny up to a point.

"This season is not only filled with finales but also debuts. Shocking everyone during the first half of winter break, having moved from Red Bull to Porsche. In her 8th season we have Katarina Lombardi— how do you feel about moving teams and debuting in Porsche for the season?"

Katarina smiles, picking up the microphone from Carlos beside her. "What a lengthy introduction that was. I think it was a pretty good move, I mean for me I moved a few times before, nothing shocking really it's just fun. I'm absolutely happy in Porsche— not that I wasn't in Red Bull mind you."

She clears the air and jokes around realizing the cameras pointing at her on live television. Watching Max from the corner squinting his eyes playfully, earning a small laugh from Karina.

"To me like what Lewis and Carlos have said, moving is a common occurrence in the sport, I mean just four years ago I was in Mercedes, and then moved to Red Bull, and now I'm in Porsche. It's our first year together and things are definitely looking interesting. Not just for me but for the whole team, we're learning together and getting through the ropes, I'm happy and I hope we can deliver through more of our goals."

Katarina smiles, satisfied with her answer, if it wasn't evident with the big smile on her face one can clearly see how she's enjoying this season. In fact, Katarina is excited, having worked with the car, their only goal was to score points, and if possible chase Max in his rocketship of a Red Bull.

Despite the rumors of her falsely being kicked out of Red Bull, Katarina left in her own volition. Offered a seat in Porsche, the female asked one question before solidifying a contract with the team.

When Porsche revealed they were planning on signing Liam Lawson to the team it was enough for her to move, she had faith in him, and together they could score points together. During the break she spent her time with Lawson in Germany testing the car. Which performed more than she expected, not bad for a first time, but the female knows the only results that matter is on the actual track.

"Hello, I am Felipe Santos. Question for Katarina Lombardi–" Your eyes perk up, as you watch a middle aged man in his forties from the back ask his question, "following your move to Porsche there has been a lot of speculation in your move, a lot pointing out the comedic timing of your move, back in 2021 from Mercedes to Red Bull and in the same year the championship went to Red Bull, and now with the issues going on in Red Bull, you moved teams to Porsche. People have been calling you a horseman of doom, are these issues the reason behind your move? Or are they mere coincidences that happen? Are you glad to have moved out from Mercedes and Red Bull?"

Katarina grabs the mic from Lewis, formulating her answer in her head before speaking. This is the type of questions the female's PR manager prepared her for, there are times for snarky remarks or sarcastic comments, and there are times for prepared responses, as what her PR manager instructed.

There is no such thing as a scripted answer, we are prepared when such occasions arise– yadda yadda yadda something about keeping the team's integrity or brand. Shit.

Katarina hums, filling the silence still contemplating on the response to give out, on the far corner of her eye she sees Nicolas, her PR manager staring at her, hands waving on his neck.

Breathing in at an attempt to keep her composure, but the insinuation of Katarina's move as some comedic timing, as if real people weren't involved fumed her in a different way.

She may act indifferently to the press about moving teams, and how her calculated moves benefited her, but they don't see the late night negotiations and hours of talking to lawyers and advisors for the best move.

She didn't like being involved in the drama one bit. "I think calling it comedic timing is inappropriate. Because the situation is not comedic at all, it's not funny, nor do I enjoy seeing my decisions plastered into this controversy. It's disheartening, in this time and age to hear about these allegations. I am glad to have moved but not at the expense of my decisions being held to a higher standard than the actual controversy going around."

Silence.

She could feel her PR manager rolling her eyes, but Katarina couldn't care less. It was one way to shut up the crowd, she was not about to let the media use her move from Red Bull to Porsche as a cover up story.

She's been in the sport for so long, things have to change. She passed the microphone back in Lewis' direction as the media got back to asking questions.

For the remainder of the interview, no one dared to ask her another question.

"WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?"

The first words Nicolas, her PR manager spoke as soon as she left the press conference schedule.

"It's the truth! What do you want me to say? Some neutral answer to pacify the press?" Rolling her eyes, Katarina entered the Porsche motorhome greeted by Alessia, her trainer who was waiting for her.

"You know that the team has given you freedom to speak whatever is on your mind, and we admire that. But a heads up could be good, I knew for a fact you weren't about to answer the memorized paragraph we spent hours together—"

"You want me to say it in a nicer way? Is that what you're implying?" Katarina cuts him off, turning around to face the man stressing about the stack of papers in between manila folders.

"The media will do everything to twist your words, tread lightly."

Katarina laughs, head shaking at his statement, "Yeah, and if they dare twist my words I'll just have to speak up more about it then. I worked hard for this, moving to Porsche was a gamble to my career! Not that I'm not enjoying it right now, it's definitely better than I expected, but for my move to be belittled as some comedic timing? No way! I fought my back out of Red Bull, they can't twist my words against me."

Nicolas nods his head slowly, arms rubbing around the female's shoulder trying to calm her down. "I know. I know how hard you worked to get out of Red Bull, and how Porsche is your saving grace for offering you a seat but they don't know that. They don't know you took one of their junior drivers, and that's what they're trying to get out of you. So calm down, and think before you speak- would be my advice as your PR manager. But as a friend, I want you to know that we're a team here, and whatever you plan on doing, we'll be here to support you, but don't go in blindly like that. Tell us, we've been through thick and thin, don't you dare think I'm about to leave you after working with you for the last 10 years."

A small smile curves up in Katarina's lips looking away bashfully at Nicolas, "Fine. As my PR manager I promise not to do things without telling you first. As a friend, thank you. For staying, and coming with me despite Red Bull's efforts to poach you undr my nose."

Leaving Red Bull was a sensitive topic for Katarina— but she'd rather act to the press about an amicable split then open up a whole can of worms. She had to leave and she doesn't like to talk about it.

Her decision to leave was done before the 2023 season even ended, yet none of the grid knew of her transfer. Not even her previous teammate Max, and other than Liam, after the news of Lewis' transfer to Ferrari, Katarina greenlit Porsche' announcement of her and Liam Lawson as their drivers for the upcoming 2024 season. That being said, her winter break was definitely eventful.

Raising her head from her notes, Katarina watches Lewis welcome himself in her motorhome.

"Katarina Anneli Lombardi, we're full of surprises this season huh?" Lewis closes the door behind him, getting comfortable beside you.

"I'd like to say the same with you, Ferrari, good choice— maybe by the time engine regulations come you'll come out on top, or Charles doesn't matter to me, I'll beat either of you."

Scoffing, Lewis closes Katarina's notes pushing her legs in his direction, facing him. "So, how did that happen?"

"I could say the same to you, you know." Katarina shrugs, parroting his own question back to him.

"Yeah we're not doing that. You know what's the deal with Mercedes, I'm glad you didn't sign that contract extension. But you, what happened?"

Looking away from Lewis hands settled on hers, zoning out on the wall behind his silhouette. Left frozen in her own thoughts, gulping as she avoids the question.

"If you're not ready to say anything, you don't have to say anything yet. I just want you to know that I will always support you."

The female blinked her thoughts away, slowly nodding her head digesting what Lewis said. "I'm glad you got out of Mercedes too. I hope this season will be kind to you."

Lewis laughs, dropping the topic behind them. "But during the press conference, what that interview said, comedic timing huh? Didn't even realize that."

Katarina sneers, "I almost got myself stuck in Red Bull if I didn't move then."

Her eyes widened, she spoke too soon without thinking. Fuck.

And Katarina was right, her words didn't fly past the older male beside her, raising his brows. "Katarina..."

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes as Lewis pulled up with his "serious dad" voice. "I promise you it's nothing."

"You say that, and then I find out later it's something serious. Anneli, what happened with Red Bull?"

The female shakes her head, refusing to answer. "I'm sorry Lewis, but now is really not the time to talk about this." Looking left and right the windows of her motorhome, Katarina stands up towards the door, checking if it's locked.

"I promise you I'm fine Lewis. Who else would I tell you if I don't feel good?" Twisting the door open, hiding her actions under the guise of a polite act, "But now it's time for you to leave because I have to rest and study for free practice. Now go back to your garage, they might tamper if you're not looking."

Lewis faces the younger incredulously, shaking his head, before pulling Katarina in a hug.

"I'll see you before free practice?"

Katarina ponders before turning her head side to side, "Nope, I'll see you after free practice."

Lewis hugs her once more before leaving her motorhome, the female standing by the door watching his back leave. Checking the area around the motorhome, Katarina takes note of the neighboring team garages beside them, to the right was the familiar Williams motorhome, and in front of them was the fiery red Ferrari.

Going back inside the comfort of her room, Katarina shakes off her thoughts focusing back on her notes for the upcoming practice. Knowing very well that there are vultures lurking, waiting for a feast before their eyes.

Only time will tell, but today isn't one of those days. Because like how the journalist coined, it'll all come in impeccable timing. She was a horseman of doom like they said, and soon she'll have to prove herself like she did eight years ago.

amgf why'd she leave red bull? i guess we'll find out soon hahahaha i enjoyed writing this so much, i think i'll be writing this following the 2024 season, of course tweaking the scenes a little bit but what an introduction! i can't wait to write more about her, and hopefully we see a more fleshed Katarina and how she came to become like this. enjoy 👍

#f1 driver oc #f1 female driver #f1 x oc #f1 fluff #f1 imagine #f1 fic #f1 fem driver #formula 1 x oc #formula one x oc

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risingmoonyue · 6 months ago

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Some more notes and world building for my Lucy redesign:

Celestial spirit mages have a really hard time learning different kinds of magic if it's what they first start out with, since they naturally flow towards opening interdimentional doors. They'll usually find themselves accidentally opening different keys instead - if they have more than one, then it's usually whichever spirit is most comparable with the type of magic they're trying to learn, and if that doesn’t apply, then it’s just the easiest spirit to summon. Path of least resistance and all that.

This is doubly so if the celestial mage in question is naturally born with great aptitude for celestial spirit magic

Lucy herself was born to a long line of celestial spirit mages, as well as has an extreme aptitude towards summoning them. Her magic almost exclusively works with spirit keys because of this. If she works at it, she might be able to learn some basic requip, but she's pretty much completely locked into spirit keys or weapons specifically made to channel her type of magic (think Fleuve d'étoiles)

Celestial mages also have to be careful when making promises. It's all too easy for their magic to flow into one and make it a Contract, which has major consequences when broken - especially towards a spirit or concerning something an involved party feels strongly about. Even disregarding that, most will always keep their promises since once word spreads through the spirit world that you don't, not a single spirit will want to contract with you. In some cases, depending on your existing contracts, it may be grounds for them to be broken.

It also works somewhat the other way around. Breaking a promise to a spirit mage is a Big Deal, and can have detrimental affects to the people involved. The spirit mage can take the backlash themselves though, in the even someone breaks a promise to them. Usually it's not a big deal because it's not super important, but the ones that really mean something to one or both has a much heavier backlash

Lucy works hard to foster close bonds with her spirits, and on every anniversary of her gaining their Key, she lets them ask anything of her (within reason) and she'll do it. In all honesty, they could ask her to do something at anytime, and she'd totally do it, but enough spirits protested her doing that all the time, so they compromised to once a year

The protests may have mostly come from Aquarius and Cancer, who didn’t want other spirits to take advantage of the fact that Lucy will do basically anything for them. Loke was extremely relieved when he heard about this.

Aquarius helped raise Lucy, and she's basically Lucy's second mom - or at least overprotective guardian figure.

Cancer, who has been with her the second longest, has similar feelings. He tends to act more as the cool uncle tho.

Later on when Loke joins the roster, he becomes her BFF/Best Bro. He's very protective, and has basically formed the Lucy Heartfilia Protection club aka her celestial spirit fanclub. He is low key actively recruiting members.

He likes to tease her with his flirty drama, but also won't hesitate to punch someone eyeing her the wrong way. She knows he's not serious with the flirts towards her, and he knows she knows. He is very serious about singing her praise tho. He lets loose his cat behaviors when they're together because he trusts her and also because it's funny

But in all seriousness, Loke is solid and dependable for Lucy, and a great source of comfort. He knows when to be serious and how to make her smile when she’s upset, or when she just needs someone to be there for a while to let her know she’s not alone.

Virgo is also part of the bff/sibling club

Celestial Spirit Magic is rare, and not a whole lot of people know anything about it. In fact, the keys sell for a lot in the black market, and doubly so if included with the mages themselves. Lucy, having grown up in a rich mansion with basically only her spirits as her friends, is surprised at how little everyone seems to know about them and how dangerous it actually is to openly be a spirit mage. Suddenly her spirits’ overprotectiveness and nagging about never leaving her keys anywhere and keeping them out of sight makes a lot more sense.

The spirits’ overprotectiveness is admittedly justified, since Lucy is very trusting and is always trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. She's actually not bad at picking out suspicious people, but she doesn't really trust her own instincts.

It’s a relief for everyone involved once she joins Fairy Tail, because now that she’s part of an official guild, especially as well known and powerful as they are, it is way harder for anyone to try and capture her and her keys.

Makarov is aware of this, and takes measures to make sure people (especially the more powerful people) know that anyone who lays a hand on Lucy will regret it very, very quickly. He also makes sure Mira knows since Lucy tends to hang out at the bar a lot, and Mira quietly spreads it to the rest of the guild.

Loke, before he joins Lucy, quietly makes sure to tell Natsu (and Erza and Gray later) more specifically about being careful and why they really, really need to watch out for and be careful with Lucy. For all that he’s trying to avoid spirit mages, he definitely doesn’t want to see another one dead, or worse. Sadly, he’s seen it all - and since they’re always with her, they’re probably going to be the ones who run into the most situations.

#fairy tail #lucy heartfilia #world building #fairy tail headcanons #ft aquarius #ft cancer #ft loke #my writing #redesign

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languidlotus · 1 year ago

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Mysterious Lotus Romance Tropes?

(Sssh, nobody tell the censors.) The amazing thing is, these are just some of the tropes I could have included. (And just one example, because Fang Duobing does these things a lot.) There are many, many more.

Feeding loved one? Check. Constantly asking how they are? Check. Giving loved one medicine? Check. Being forced to watch as loved one is abducted? Check. Panicking because they think loved one might be dead? Check. Frantically searching loved one for injuries? Check. Getting jealous (because of attention from possible romantic interests)? Check. Family teasing the main characters about their relationship? Check. Shielding loved one from (possible) harm? Check.

There are so many! (In fact, if anyone wants to suggest scenes from other shows (preferably with the episode number) for the above scenarios so I can make a part 2, please do!)

Dramas involved: Mysterious Lotus Casebook (every even gif) Love Between Fairy and Devil (1) Stand by Me (3) My Journey To You (5) (13) Destined (7) Love Like The Galaxy (9) (17) (25) Love You Seven Times (11) (21) Who Rules The World (15) The Legends (19) Till The End of the Moon (19) (23) Novoland: Pearl Eclipse (27)

@fan-man-huaisang @wuxia-vanlifer

#arcana's gifs #mysterious lotus casebook #love between fairy and devil #stand by me #my journey to you #destined #love like the galaxy #love you seven times #who rules the world #the legends #till the end of the moon #novoland pearl eclipse

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movingmusically · 29 days ago

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Caught Feeling - Chapter 4

Synopsis:

A quiet evening together strengthens the bond between y/n and Hank, but when their bowling date takes an unexpected turn and ends at the hospital, y/n realises their growing connection may be more unpredictable than she imagined.

Word Count: 5,434

Masterlist

After dinner, we were both too full to move, lounging on the couch with the remnants of takeout scattered on the coffee table. I reached for the remote, scrolling through the endless list of movie options while Hank stretched out beside me, his leg brushing lightly against mine as he settled in, looking completely at ease.

“You really want to watch that?” I teased, pausing on an old action flick that looked like it hadn’t aged well, judging by the grainy cover and outdated tagline.

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” Hank grinned. “You’d be surprised how much heart these movies have.”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hide the smile tugging at my lips. “Right. ‘Heart’ hidden under explosions and cheesy one-liners?”

“Exactly,” he said, giving me a playful nudge with his knee. “The explosions are just a bonus.”

I laughed, sinking a little deeper into the cushions. “Fine, I’ll let you pick next time. But tonight, we’re watching something with an actual plot.”

As I scrolled through more titles, Hank leaned in slightly, his hand lightly grazing my knee. “Alright, I’ll bite. What kind of movies are you into? Aside from ‘actual plot,’ of course.”

I grinned, feeling comfortable enough to reveal just how varied my tastes were. “I love Horror, Thriller, Fantasy… but I’m a sucker for a good Comedy too. And every once in a while, I’ll go for a Romance or Drama.”

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “You’re into Horror and Comedies? You’ve got range.”

“Why does that surprise you?”

“I don’t know,” he said, smirking. “I just wouldn’t have pegged you for a Horror fan.”

“Oh, I love them,” I said, grinning. “The scarier, the better. But Thrillers? That’s my sweet spot. I love the suspense, the tension—it’s addictive.”

“Interesting,” he said, clearly impressed. “I’m more of an Action and Comedy guy, but I don’t mind the occasional Romance. Gotta mix it up sometimes.”

“Sure, sure,” I teased. “I bet your idea of ‘mixing it up’ still involves a lot of car chases and shootouts.”

Hank laughed, nudging me gently. “Maybe. What about all-time favourites? If you had to pick your top three.”

“That’s tough,” I said, pausing for a moment. “But I’d say Jurassic Park, Jaws, and Lord of the Rings. Those are classics I could watch over and over.”

He nodded in approval. “Solid choices. I respect that. I’m more into Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, though.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “OK, important question for you.” I leaned closer, a playful challenge in my tone. “Would you say that Die Hard is a Christmas movie?”

His grin turned mischievous. “No, it just happens to take place at Christmas.”

I gasped, pretending to be scandalised. “How dare you? Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie!”

Hank looked amused. “Just because it’s set at Christmas doesn’t make it a Christmas movie.”

“Yes, it does!” I shot back. “Bruce Willis saves Christmas, Hank. It doesn’t get more Christmas than that.”

“We’re going to have to agree to disagree on this one,” he said, shaking his head with a laugh.

“I’ll convince you one day,” I said, grinning back.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he teased. I raised an eyebrow but couldn’t help the grin tugging at my lips.

He leaned in a little closer, eyes still gleaming with amusement. “So, what else do you love that I should know about?”

“I’ve got a soft spot for war and gangster movies too,” I said, enjoying his reaction.

Hank’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? That I didn’t see coming.”

I smiled, leaning back against the couch. “Yeah, Goodfellas is one of my favourites. I watched it with my Mum and Dad growing up.”

“Goodfellas?” he repeated, clearly impressed. “That’s a bold pick. You’ve got taste.”

“Bold, but true,” I said. “And my Dad? Total Arnold Schwarzenegger fan. We used to have movie marathons—Terminator, Predator… you name it.”

“You’re full of surprises,” he said, a grin spreading across his face. “I never would’ve guessed.”

I shrugged with a small smile. “I’ve got layers.”

He glanced at the remote, then back at me. “Well, since you’re already a fan of Die Hard, I think we’ve found our movie for tonight.”

I raised an eyebrow but couldn’t help the grin tugging at my lips. “Fine. But only because it’s my favourite Christmas movie.”

“Exactly,” Hank said with a wink as he hit play.

As the familiar opening sequence of Die Hard rolled across the screen, I sank back into the couch, resting my head on Hank’s shoulder. His arm slid comfortably around me, and I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest as we settled in. It felt easy being close to him, like this was something we’d done a thousand times before, even though it was still new.

Halfway through the movie, between Bruce Willis’ quips and the explosions on-screen, Hank shifted slightly, his voice low as he spoke.

“You know, we should do something fun this weekend,” Hank said casually, his voice soft against the low hum of the TV. He was playing with a loose strand of my hair, and his relaxed tone made the idea sound spontaneous, like he’d just thought of it in the moment.

I tilted my head up to look at him, intrigued. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

He shrugged, but there was a playful glint in his eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe go see a movie? Or we could do something active… like bowling.”

I grinned at the suggestion, instantly imagining the disaster that would follow. “Bowling? I should warn you—I’m not just bad, I’m the worst. Ever.”

Hank’s smirk widened, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “Worst ever, huh? I find that hard to believe.”

“No, really. I’m talking gutter balls. Every. Single. Time.”

He raised an eyebrow, the challenge clearly sparking something in him. “Well, now I have to take you. I’ll teach you how it’s done.”

I let out a laugh, nudging him playfully. “Oh, I see. You want to show off?”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “You got me. But come on, it’ll be fun. Worst-case scenario, you’re terrible, and I get to give you a hard time about it. Best-case scenario, you impress me.”

“I won’t,” I said, grinning. “But I’ll take you up on the challenge anyway. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I’m up for the challenge,” he said confidently. “Besides, how bad could you really be?”

I shot him a mock glare. “You’re underestimating how bad I am. Like, genuinely embarrassing bad.”

Hank laughed, his chest vibrating beneath my head. “I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

I rolled my eyes, settling back into his side. “Well, when you’re done laughing at me, I’ll just kick back and let you win.”

“You’re not off the hook that easily,” he teased, leaning down to press a kiss against my temple. “I’ll get you a strike by the end of the night. Even if I have to guide your hand.”

I laughed at the thought. “If you can do that, I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Deal,” he said, his grin widening. “You better start thinking of which fancy restaurant you’re taking me to.”

I relaxed against him, already picturing the disastrous but fun night out. Hank’s enthusiasm for the challenge was contagious, and I couldn’t help but be excited, even though I knew I’d probably end up embarrassing myself. It struck me how easy it felt to make plans with him, like we’d been doing this for longer than just a few days.

Just as I was about to suggest another potential plan for the weekend, Hank’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He reached for it, glancing at the screen. His relaxed expression shifted ever so slightly—something that made his brow furrow for a split second before he quickly masked it.

“Everything okay?” I asked, lifting my head to study his face, curious but not overly concerned.

He sighed lightly, locking the screen and setting the phone back down on the table. “Yeah, it’s just work. They need me to cover a shift tonight.”

I could hear the subtle shift in his tone, a mix of frustration and responsibility. He clearly wasn’t thrilled about the idea of leaving, but I knew from the way his brows furrowed that he felt like he had to go.

“You don’t have to go, do you?” I asked softly, not wanting to sound needy but also not exactly ready for him to leave.

Hank leaned back, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “No, I don’t have to, but… they’re short tonight, and I know Yvonne’s been dealing with a lot of the busy shifts lately. I’d feel bad leaving her to handle it on her own.”

“Yvonne?” I asked.

He nodded, his expression still relaxed but distant. “Yeah, she works at the bar too. She’s been picking up a lot of shifts since one of the other guys quit. It’s been pretty hectic.”

I tried to keep my tone light, not wanting to pry too much. “Sounds like things are pretty crazy at work.”

“Yeah,” Hank said with a slight smile, but I could tell his mind was elsewhere now. “It’s been busy, but it’s manageable. I just didn’t expect to be called in tonight, especially since I was hoping to spend the night with you.”

There was a sincerity in his words that made my heart flutter, and I could tell he wasn’t just saying it to be polite. He genuinely wanted to stay, and for a moment, I considered telling him not to go. But I didn’t want to be the reason he felt guilty about leaving his coworkers hanging.

“Go,” I said, offering him a reassuring smile. “If they need you, you should go. We’ll have other nights.”

Hank met my gaze, and for a moment, it seemed like he was debating whether to argue. But then he smiled, soft and warm. “You sure?”

I nodded. “I’m sure. You can make it up to me this weekend.”

His eyes brightened at that. “Definitely,” he said, his hand brushing a strand of hair away from my face. “I’ll make it up to you.”

I laughed softly, leaning into his touch. “I’ll hold you to that.”

Hank stood, stretching slightly before grabbing his phone and jacket, but his eyes lingered on me for a moment longer.

I stood too, and he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around my waist. He paused for a moment, his eyes searching mine before he lifted a hand to gently cup my face. Then, he leaned in and kissed me. It was simple, unhurried, but full of warmth.

When he pulled back, there was a softness in his eyes, and I found myself smiling up at him, wishing the night didn’t have to end.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said softly, his voice warm and steady. I smiled, standing there for a second longer. He stepped back reluctantly, and I followed him to the door, watching as he slipped on his shoes. It felt like we were both silently holding onto the night, neither of us wanting it to end. But reality had other plans, and before I knew it, he was opening the door, pausing to give me one last smile.

“Goodnight, y/n,” he said softly, his voice carrying a promise of more moments like this.

“Goodnight, Hank,” I replied, my heart doing that little flutter it always seemed to do around him.

He left, the door closing softly behind him, and I stood there for a second, listening to the sound of his footsteps retreating down the hall. The apartment suddenly felt too quiet, the absence of his presence leaving a hollow kind of stillness in the air. I sighed, turning back toward the couch. The movie was still playing, but my mind was far from it.

I flopped back onto the cushions, staring at the screen but not really paying attention. My thoughts drifted to Hank, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about the future, even if it was just about something as simple as bowling.

And then there was that text from Yvonne. It wasn’t a big deal. Work was work, after all. Hank had a job, and I knew what the service industry was like—unpredictable hours, people needing shifts covered last minute. I shook my head, brushing the thought away. There was no point in overthinking it. He was just doing his job, nothing more.

Still, the flicker of disappointment lingered as I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. I glanced at my phone, half-hoping for a message from him already, but of course, there was nothing. He’d barely been gone for ten minutes.

I stretched out on the couch, letting the quiet of the apartment settle around me. As much as I wanted to distract myself, my thoughts kept circling back to Hank. The way he’d opened up to me tonight, the ease of our conversation, the comfortable silence that followed. It felt… real. Like we were building something more than just a casual fling.

I smiled to myself, hugging a cushion to my chest as I thought about the plans we’d made for the weekend. I was already looking forward to it.

The next day at work, I found myself replaying moments from last night more times than I cared to admit. Between patient check-ups and scribbling notes into charts, my mind kept drifting back to Hank. His smile, the way his hand had brushed against mine as we joked about Die Hard, and the playful challenge in his eyes when he suggested bowling.

I wasn’t used to feeling this… giddy. Like a teenager with a crush. But I couldn’t deny how much I enjoyed it.

The next few days flew by, punctuated by Hank’s texts that never failed to bring a smile to my face. Each message was like a little nudge, reminding me of our budding connection and the easy banter that had become a highlight of my day.

My phone buzzed in my pocket just as I was finishing up a routine exam on a tabby cat. I eagerly pulled it out, my heart lifting as I read his latest message.

Hey. Still ready for our little bowling disaster tomorrow? ;) I’ve already started looking up fancy restaurants for the victory dinner after I get you that strike.

I bit back a laugh, quickly typing out a reply as I stepped out of the exam room.

You’re really confident, huh? You think you can work miracles?

His reply came almost instantly.

Don’t worry, it’s not a miracle—just skill. See you tomorrow?

I smiled at my phone, excitement buzzing through me.

See you tomorrow.

As I tucked my phone back into my pocket, the flutter of anticipation for tomorrow’s challenge made the rest of the workday feel like a breeze.

The day of our bowling date arrived with a sense of something imminent and thrilling. It felt like stepping into a scene I had replayed in my mind a thousand times, each replay slightly different from the last, anticipation building with each iteration.

I chose my outfit with more thought than usual, opting for comfort yet wanting to look good for whatever the evening might throw at us. Settling on a pair of well-fitting jeans and a soft, fluttery top that I knew flattered my figure, I left my hair down, hoping the curls would hold through the night.

By the time I got to the bowling alley, I was half-excited and half-dreading the inevitable disaster that was about to unfold.

Hank was already waiting by the entrance when I arrived, his grin spreading across his face as soon as he saw me. He was dressed casually, in a faded orange tee layered over a long-sleeve white shirt, paired with rugged green cargo pants—perfect for a laid-back evening but stylish enough to show he’d made an effort.

“Ready to embarrass yourself?” he asked, that familiar spark of challenge in his eyes.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the smile tugging at my lips. “I’m warning you now—this is going to be bad. Like, really bad.”

Hank chuckled, slipping his arm around my waist as we headed inside. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you look good out there.”

The energy of the bowling alley hit us as soon as we walked through the doors. The clattering of pins echoed in the background, and the warm scent of fried food mingled with the polished wood of the lanes. Hank grabbed our shoes from the counter, handing mine over with a smirk.

“You’re about to witness true talent,” he teased, lacing up his bowling shoes. His eyes glinted with challenge, and I couldn’t help but feel the spark of competition light inside me, even though I knew I had zero chance of winning.

I raised an eyebrow as I slipped on my shoes. “Talent? We’ll see about that.”

We found a lane near the back where it was quieter, and Hank took his position, confidently selecting a ball like he was a pro. He rolled it effortlessly down the lane, and naturally, it was a strike. The pins crashed, and Hank turned to me with a cocky grin.

“Alright, show-off,” I muttered, but I couldn’t help smiling.

“Let’s see what you’ve got,” he said, leaning casually against the ball return as I approached the lane.

I selected a ball, already feeling the weight of failure pressing down on me. With a deep breath, I gave it my best shot, releasing the ball with a prayer… and watched it veer straight into the gutter.

Hank let out a deep laugh that filled the air, and I turned back to face him with a sheepish smile. “Okay, so maybe I wasn’t kidding about being terrible.”

“You weren’t lying,” he teased, coming over to stand beside me. “But don’t worry, I’ll help you. I’m not just a bowling master; I’m also a teacher.”

“Oh, how generous of you,” I laughed.

He stood behind me, guiding my hands as I gripped the ball again. His hands settled on my shoulders as he adjusted my stance, his voice low as he murmured instructions. “Relax your shoulders. Focus on your target. Don’t overthink it.”

His proximity sent a shiver down my spine, but I managed to focus long enough to send the ball rolling down the lane. It teetered dangerously close to the gutter again but stayed just inside the line, knocking down a few pins.

“Hey, progress!” Hank cheered, high-fiving me. “Next time, we’ll get you that strike.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, feeling a little thrill of victory. “At this rate, you’ll have me competing in leagues.”

We took turns after that, the lighthearted competition between us growing with each round. Hank was obviously better than me—every shot he took seemed effortless—but I wasn’t doing as badly as I’d expected.

Finally, after a few more rounds, it happened.

I rolled the ball, holding my breath as it glided smoothly down the lane. One by one, the pins toppled over, and before I even realised it, they were all down. I blinked, staring at the empty lane in disbelief.

“You did it!” Hank exclaimed, grabbing me around the waist and spinning me in the air, his excitement almost infectious.

I laughed, feeling a rush of triumph. “I actually did it!”

“You owe me dinner,” he said with a wide grin, setting me back down.

“Fair enough,” I replied, breathless but happy. “So, where are we going?”

His hand lingered on my waist for a moment longer before he pulled away. “It’s a surprise,” he said, “But I think you’ll like it.”

We grabbed our things, leaving the bowling alley behind as the excitement of the evening still buzzed between us. There was something about the ease of the night, the way we slipped into this playful, carefree rhythm with each other, that made it feel like we’d known each other forever.

Outside, the night greeted us with a soft breeze, the distant hum of the city filling the silence between us. Hank reached for my hand, his fingers lightly intertwining with mine. I glanced over at him, smiling as we strolled down the street together, curious about the mystery spot he had in mind for dinner.

We meandered through the city, the lively energy of the evening palpable as people dined and laughed around us. Hank’s steps seemed purposeful yet relaxed, and his hand felt warm in mine. As we approached a colourful, somewhat eclectic-looking place with a neon sign proclaiming “Lucky’s Brew & Q,” my curiosity piqued.

“This place is a bit of a local legend,” Hank said with a grin, pushing open the door to a buzz of activity and a mix of aromas that promised good food and a great time.

Inside, the decor was a vibrant collage of vintage signs, quirky artwork, and strings of lights that cast a cheerful glow over the wooden tables. The chatter of patrons and the clinking of glasses added to the lively atmosphere, making it immediately welcoming.

“Lucky’s is famous for their craft beers and killer BBQ,” Hank explained as we found a spot at a rustic bar table. “It’s laid-back but always a lot of fun.”

The menu was a delight of comfort foods, featuring everything from spicy buffalo wings to loaded nachos and slow-cooked ribs. We ordered a pitcher of their house craft beer and a mix of finger foods to share, keeping the mood light and carefree.

As we sipped our beers, I took a moment to glance around the busy bar, noting it was a typical bustling Saturday night elsewhere in the city. Intrigued, I turned back to Hank. “So, it’s Saturday night and Lucky’s is packed. I’m surprised they didn’t need you at the bar tonight, especially since you mentioned being short-staffed.”

Hank nodded, his expression mingling gratitude with a hint of worry. “Yeah, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. We’re short-staffed since one of the bartenders quit. Yvonne’s been picking up a lot of slack, and normally, I would have had to help out.” He took a slow sip of his beer, his gaze lingering on the glass as he set it down. “But I talked to my manager Edwin earlier this week, made it clear I needed tonight off. Took a bit of negotiating and promising to cover some extra shifts next week.”

“That sounds tough, always having to balance things like that,” I said, my tone soft, empathetic to the strain such a situation must place on him.

“It’s part of the gig,” he shrugged slightly, but his smile returned quickly. “But it’s worth it, especially for nights like this.” His hand found mine across the table, giving it a gentle squeeze, his warmth reassuring.

“I’m glad you did. It’s been a great night,” I smiled, squeezing back, appreciating the effort he made to make our evening together possible.

The food was delicious—messy and rich with flavours. We challenged each other to try the spiciest wings, which led to a bout of playful competition as we raced for the cooling relief of our beers. The casual setting felt just right, allowing us to let our guards down and enjoy each other’s company without pretence.

As the evening wound down, the bar began to quiet, and the earlier energy settled into a comfortable hum. Hank glanced at me, a playful yet sincere expression on his face. “I hope this place hit the mark for our victory dinner.”

I laughed, wiping my hands on a napkin. “It was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better evening.”

Hank’s smile deepened, and he reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “I’m really glad to hear that. I wanted tonight to feel just right.”

We lingered a while longer at Lucky’s, finishing our drinks and talking about everything and nothing at all. The comfortable ease that had defined our evening was still there, but now it carried a little more weight—something unspoken hanging between us. Hank leaned back in his chair, his gaze soft yet intent as he looked at me across the table.

“You want to grab another drink somewhere? Or…” he trailed off, his eyes flicking to the door, then back to me. His voice softened as he added, “We could head back to my place, or yours. No pressure.”

The way he said it, so casual and sincere, made my stomach flip with both nerves and excitement. There wasn’t any expectation in his tone—just an invitation. The night had been perfect so far, and part of me wanted to keep it going, to see where this connection would take us.

I met his gaze, holding it for a beat longer than necessary, weighing the options. The warmth of the bar, the low hum of conversation around us, and the slight buzz from the drinks all made me feel bold. “Your place sounds good,” I said, my voice steady even though my heart raced.

Hank’s smile widened, not quite a smirk, but something close. He stood up, offering me his hand. “Let’s get out of here, then.”

We stepped outside, the sudden quiet almost jarring after the buzz of the bar. Hank’s hand was still holding mine as we walked, his thumb lightly tracing circles over my skin. The streets were quieter now, the occasional car passing by, but it felt like the city had slowed down just for us.

We were nearing Hank’s building when I heard a scuffling sound from farther down the street, followed by a gruff voice and the unmistakable thud of someone being shoved. I turned my head and saw two figures hunched over someone—an older man, who stumbled backward into a parked car.

“What the hell?” I muttered under my breath, my steps slowing. Hank’s expression darkened instantly. His hand left mine as he picked up his pace, his entire body tensing. “Stay here,” he said firmly, but I didn’t.

As we approached, I got a better look at the scene. The man being pushed around looked dishevelled, his clothes worn and grimy, his face creased with age and weathered by something more. He was trying to stand upright, but it was clear he wasn’t in any shape to defend himself. The two younger men messing with him barely even glanced our way as we came closer, too focused on taunting the helpless man.

“Hey!” Hank shouted, his voice cutting through the noise like a whip. The two men froze for a moment, then turned to face him, eyes narrowing. The taller of the two sneered, clearly unimpressed.

“Mind your business, man.”

“This is my business,” Hank said, stepping between the older man and the two younger guys. His voice was steady, but there was a sharp edge to it. “Leave him alone.”

The second guy, wearing a ratty hoodie, raised his chin defiantly. “Or what?”

I felt my heart hammering in my chest. The last thing we needed was for this to turn into a fight, and Hank wasn’t exactly small, but these two guys looked like they were itching for trouble.

“Or you’re going to regret it,” Hank replied evenly, his posture unyielding. “Just walk away.”

For a moment, no one moved, and I felt my pulse quicken in the silence. But after a tense beat, the taller guy scoffed, nudging his friend. “Whatever, man. Let’s go.”

With one last glance at Hank, they slinked away into the shadows of the street, leaving the older man slumped against the car, groaning softly.

Hank immediately turned his attention to him, crouching down and gently placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Jason,” he said quietly, his voice softer now. “You alright?”

I blinked, taking a step closer. “You know him?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” Hank sighed, helping Jason stand upright, though the man was clearly struggling to stay on his feet. “He’s been around the block for years. Jason’s… he’s got a rough life. Drinks a lot, doesn’t really have anyone looking out for him.”

Jason mumbled something incoherent, his eyes glassy, and I could smell the alcohol on him from where I stood. He was in bad shape, bruised from the attack and barely able to hold himself up.

“He needs a hospital,” I said, glancing at Hank.

Hank nodded grimly. “Yeah, we need to get him checked out.”

I quickly pulled out my phone, calling for an Uber. “I’ll get us a ride,” I said as Hank shifted Jason’s weight onto his shoulder, steadying him as best as he could.

Within minutes, the car arrived, and with some effort, we managed to get Jason into the backseat. The driver shot us a wary look but didn’t say anything as we told him to head to the nearest hospital.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, the atmosphere heavy. Jason was slipping in and out of consciousness beside Hank, who kept a close eye on him, holding him upright. I sat in the front seat, casting glances back at them every so often, a knot of worry tightening in my chest.

When we arrived, Hank and I practically carried Jason inside, the nurses at the front desk immediately recognising the severity of the situation. A wheelchair was brought over, and they whisked him away without hesitation.

We found ourselves in the waiting area soon after, the harsh lights of the emergency room flickering overhead. Hank sat beside me, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped together tightly. His face was tense, his mind clearly elsewhere.

I touched his arm gently. “You okay?”

He nodded, though his expression didn’t change much. “Yeah. I just… I hate seeing him like this,” Hank muttered, rubbing his jaw. “Jason’s been living on that block longer than I’ve been around. He’s harmless, but no one really looks after him. I try to keep an eye on him when I can, but…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I should’ve done more.”

“You’re doing what you can,” I said softly. “You helped him tonight. If you hadn’t been there… I don’t even want to think about what might’ve happened.”

Hank let out a long sigh, the tension in his shoulders easing just slightly. “I guess. It’s just… it’s tough seeing someone like that. It feels like the whole world’s forgotten about him.”

We sat in silence for a while after that, the hum of the hospital around us filling the quiet. Eventually, a nurse came over to let us know that Jason was stable, but that his condition was a result of years of heavy drinking. They were going to admit him for observation, but it wasn’t his first time here, and it wouldn’t likely be his last.

Hank thanked the nurse, but I could see the worry still etched into his face as we stepped back outside. The night air was cool, a stark contrast to the stuffy warmth of the hospital.

“Do you want to head back to my place?” Hank asked quietly after a moment, his voice subdued.

I thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

The ride back to Hank’s was quiet, the earlier buzz of the night replaced by a heavy calm. By the time we got to his apartment, the exhaustion from the night had settled in. Hank unlocked the door, pushing it open, and I followed him inside, both of us moving quietly, still processing everything that had happened.

I sat down on the couch, letting out a long breath as the weight of the evening finally settled over me. Hank disappeared into the kitchen for a moment, returning with two glasses of water.

“Thanks,” I said softly as he handed me one. He sat down beside me, leaning back, his hand finding mine again.

“I’m really glad you were with me tonight,” he said quietly after a few moments of silence. “It… it made everything easier.”

I smiled, squeezing his hand gently. “I’m glad I was there too.”

We stayed like that for a while, the quiet between us comfortable, almost soothing. After everything, there wasn’t much else to say. Eventually, Hank’s arm slipped around my shoulders, pulling me close until we were lying together on the couch, the weight of the night slowly giving way to a shared sense of calm.

And even though the night had taken an unexpected turn, being here with him felt exactly where I was meant to be.

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