#but season 1 was rushed as hell and it looks like season 2 will be more so?

[thenationofzaun]

Thoughts on Act 1 of Arcane Season 2

The positives:

- The animation is fucking incredible.

- Jinx and Sevika teaming up watered my crops and cleansed my skin.

- Underwater goodbye with Jinx and Silco. That scene was made specifically for me.

- Jinx's voice actress continues to be excellent.

- Loved the designs of all the Chembarons. The glimpse we got of the gang wars was also interesting. Unfortunately, too tiny a glimpse. Which brings me to...

The negatives:

- Too many plotlines. They stuffed the season with too much shit which is why each individual plot gets a much shorter screentime than it should. Smeech is introduced and killed in the same episode. Chembarons' gang wars, a huge issue which has repercussions on the entire Undercity, gets only one musical montage before moving on. And this is coming from someone who loved that montage, as well as the song. My favourite on the soundtrack so far. But musical montages shouldn't come at the expense of the story and definitely shouldn't replace the story. There are just way too many music video scenes in general that feel like a way to condense a storyline into the sparknotes version because they don't have the screentime to flesh it out. And they would have the screentime if they cut out all the extra stuffing. Look I'm happy for the League fans who are excited for the Black Rose and all that, but what the hell is it doing in a Piltover/Zaun show. And with zero foreshadowing in Season 1 too. It would definitely be easier to swallow if they had at least hinted at it in the first season. They could have kept Ambessa's beef with this magic cult for a Noxus show. The P/Z narrative has enough to deal with, enough characters to handle already.

- The new side characters are uninteresting and generic. Maddie and the two other enforcers (we don't even know their names after three episodes LMAO) are bland. We know nothing about their characters or personalities. Maddie looks like a rookie, and one of the dudes is an alcoholic, yet they get chosen for an elite strikeforce to capture Jinx? Isha is pretty generic too - the token cute kid that needs protecting. I get the role she will play in Jinx's arc. But that's the problem - she should be a character in her own right, not just a vehicle for someone else's character development. A good example is Mylo. He died for Jinx's arc, but when he was alive he was a distinct character with his own personality. We had a sense of his insecurities, his goals, who he was as a person. Name a single personality trait of Isha and Maddie other than "generically nice person". That's right. You can't.

- Whatever the hell is going on with Viktor. He wakes up from his coma and immediately rejects Jayce so quickly that it was funny. Apparently disapproves of Jayce using the Hexcore to save his life, but then immediately goes to use the Hexcore to save random Undercity people. Bruh. I also don't really like the way the fridged woman from last season seems to be his motivation so far. Nor the way he seems to have no agency in his Machine Herald arc. Instead of Viktor himself believing in transhumanism and mechanizing himself, Jayce does it for him. Instead of Viktor having an ideological drive and wanting a "Glorious Evolution", he is driven by guilt over Sky. Meh. Also he's not even mechanized, instead he's weirdly fleshy?? In a magical way?? More like The Magic Herald :(

- Vi. Her whole character is a mess. Insanely rushed arc which I find unacceptable for one of THE main characters and one of the faces of the show. She and Jinx are supposed to be the leads, their relationship the heart of the story, but so far only Jinx is a well-written fleshed out chaacter with a believable arc. I have too much to say about Vi so I'll expand more on this on another post.

- So much nuance and detail is missing. How does Heimerdinger feel about his ex-colleagues being killed? Does he care? Does he feel guilt? Relieved that he wasn't in the chamber when the bombing happened? No clue! Let's have comedy Mission Impossible instead! How does Ekko feel about the Council attack? Does he approve of it? Think Jinx went too far? How does he feel that she even survived their fight to begin with? No clue! Here, have him joking around with a Councilor for a bit (someone whom Ekko logically should despise), then he can talk Science with Jayce and all three get sent to another dimension together. Yay. What does Vi think happened to Ekko? The last time she saw him, he was fighting Jinx to the death to give Vi and Cait time to escape. He could be dead for all she knows and she doesn't give a fuck. Doesn't even think about him nor mention him once. It's like the writers forgot they're childhood friends. What does the entirety of Zaun make of Silco's death? I assume they heard about it from Piltover (who heard about it from Caitlyn), but how do they think it happened? His body is gone and to Zaun it seems he just mysteriously disappeared. Are there conspiracy theories? Conflicting accounts and rumours? So much nuance that would give the world and characters more depth, sacrificed so we can pack in more rushed subplots and music videos.

- Caitlyn "Wifebeater" Kiramman. And Caitvi in general. So far Caitlyn has guilt-tripped Vi, manipulated her into joining the enforcers, insulted her and then physically abused her. After Vi sacrificed everything for Cait, wore a badge she hates for Cait, even let Cait kill her own fucking sister (and only intervened when the random kid got involved). Why should I give a shit about such a one-sided relationship lmao. "B-but Cait's mom is dead so she's sad about it", every other fucking character in this show has dead parents. Half the cast has faced unfathomable amounts of trauma and pain that make Cait's pale in comparison. Nothing justifies her hitting Vi. "B-b-but it's a parallel to when Vi hit Powder", a shit parallel then. Because the circumstances are not even remotely comparable. "God forbid lesbians do anything🤪", give me a break with this corny bullshit. Be serious for a second. I'm not even a Vi fan and I think she deserves better than this mess of a relationship. The power dynamic between them makes it worse. The way Caitlyn is one of the richest people in the city and Vi is broke. The way Caitlyn is highly educated and Vi never went to school and spent her entire teen years locked in a box. Did the writers think about all this when writing their relationship? Keep in mind, Vi met Caitlyn like a week ago. She barely knows this chick. She's been out of prison FOR A WEEK. Where she was physically abused every fucking day. Putting her in a relationship with a cop who hits her would certainly be a choice! Do I have faith this show will handle it with care? Not really, no. They already ignore Vi's prison trauma. Most likely they will make Vi forgive Cait way too easily because "muh mummy muh grief".

[space-blue]

Having digested the first 3 episodes of Arcane 2, I'm ready to say something bold and brave, and I hope I don't get too much hate for it.

Vi is just not a nice person.

In season 1, I feel like I was maybe unfair to the writers by saying that "rushing the romance with an enforcer/1% like Cait" was "flattening" Vi's character. That it was bending her out of shape.

How could a Zaunite as maltreated as Vi so easily turn to someone like Cait?

I was told by shippers it's because Cait is the first to show her kindness in a long time, and I still think that's hogwash. She is fresh out of mega hell prison where enforcers beat her so often they lost track of it. I don't believe any amount of kindness could make you fall for an enforcer within 48h in this context. Not realistically.

But now?

Vi hears Cait dehumanizing Zaunites and doesn't fight back. It takes a few compliments to make her accept an enforcer badge. She's running around gasing the people of the Lanes, making excuses for it, while looking fresh out of a WWII horror movie in that gas mask.

And when the gas mask is off, she's wearing Claggor's goggles... Like, yeesh.

She's clearly blinded by Cait. And that's fine! I used to think it was the flaw of the writers trying to hurry a Caitvi ship along. Now I gotta admit, it looks like Vi just doesn't have strong morals.

She hates enforcers but she'll join them easily. Her wanna-be gf says we use toxic gas that has horrible side effects [cut to horror medical slides] and she says "yeah, it's for the good of the people, sure".

She sees Jinx and accuses her of killing Powder, and says she's tired of making excuses for her.

To WHO, Vi? We don't have you on screen apologizing to anyone for Jinx's actions. I'm sure things were said to Caitlyn, but like, yeesh.

She accuses Jinx of orphaning kids, WHILE WEARING AN ENFORCER UNIFORM, the same worn by the people who orphaned HER.

I give up. The writers knew what they were doing.

A flawed woman who wasn't made a better or more moral one by all the suffering she endured in Stillwater.

Vi is cool, but she's not super loyal, is a bit of a meathead, doesn't have her priorities in orders, leads with her fists and caves easily to her emotions. She's horny for Cait and not very interested in the fate of her community.

Being locked up and beaten didn't make her smarter or kinder. It just made her a better fighter.

It's kind of my bad for assuming that Vi "should be better", logically. If she's written as a human, then she should be flawed and yeah, I guess she fucking is lol

I'm curious to see if she develops some... class consciousness, or some patriotism of some sort, when everyone realises the Noxian offers of protection are a yoke. I'm a lot more curious seeing where she ends now that I've accepted she's cool while also kinda shitty. It's nice that it goes along Cait's spiral into villainy.

[catasterisms]

The more I find out about season 2 of hotd, the more confused I get. Like, HBO isn't netflix, they can afford to make long series - especially with something so guaranteed to be popular - why are they rushing through this? There are only 8 episodes for season 2, and by the looks of the trailer they've already got Aemond at Harrenhal? Do they want to finish this show after 3 seasons or what? What is happening with this, why can't your writers do pacing for shit? Because to get from Blood & Cheese to wherever the hell they're ending it in EIGHT EPISODES? When we first got the dragon's head in King's Landing spoilers I just thought they were gonna end this season with Aegon bedridden, and Aemond being made regent, but they've cast the dragonseeds, and we got a possible glimpse of Jace's last battle in the latest trailer, and I just ??? Is this season gonna end with Rhaenyra and Daemon at King's Landing?

[antivivziepopparade]

All of the proof that we have that Vivziepop is abusive. (So far....)

While you support this post please go ahead and support my channel to see more about Vivziepop's abusive behavior. Thanks!

1. She rushes her employees.

Season 1 was made in 2020. While Season 2 was made in 2021 while being released with MULTIPLE EPISODES only ONE year later.

That's-

INSANE!

-and im about to tell you why:

The average cartoon needs almost ONE WHOLE YEAR to produce one episode. And this is what we see in MAINSTREAM shows.

Meanwhile, Helluva Boss took only one year (and a half) to make MULTIPLE ENTIRE EPISODES that last over 20 minutes. The longest waiting time for an episode being 8 months. Not even a year, and we get multiple episodes off the drawing board.

You can even see here that it's taken only three years to make 16 episodes. When this is an indie studio, so this should have taken so much longer to make. Yet for some reason, it took only a few years for us to get full seasons. In 2021, we got over 4 episodes alone. Have you ever wondered why these episodes come out so fast while other shows take a lot longer to get new seasons? That's an easy question to ask... Spindlehorse...

Is being ABUSED.

And I have the proof to show.

2. The pay controversy.

Spindlehorse's payment has been under controversy for providing the lowest pay possible to those that work at the studio.

One piece of evidence was given by Adam himself (albeit unintentionally) by saying this:

This kind of pay is highly unstable! And before you say "But he didn't force them to be there-"

LOOK.

The employees themselves admitted that they had no choice. People had no choice and Vivienne Medrano took advantage of that for her own selfish desires. This is disgusting treatment of a studio as small as Spindlehorse. Or any studio for that matter.

Hell! chaifootsteps said once that once Zeurel released that he was paying his animators too low, he deleted one of the tweets showing the low pay and decided to do something to give his employees better wages. Meanwhile, Chimera Bunny pays even less than Viv does and just because paying your workers low is normal in the animation industry- plot twist: Doesn't make it ok!

People have suffered so much in this industry, it's why "New Deal for Animation" exists. The only reason you haven't seen many Vivziepop workers having protests and speaking out is because Vivziepop says things like this behind people's backs if they "dare" do anything she doesn't like:

So that explains as to why so many people remain as "anon" or say nothing at all because they got cold feet. Vivienne's terrible!

Especially since even her top employees have admitted to not being paid enough despite Adam's "I pay them to stay if they make us the most mon-ey!" claims from the article:

Also this:

This is how she speaks about her own employees:

"YOU DONT LIKE HOW I TREAT YOU?! FUCK OFF!"

Straight up abuse.

Also, wasn't Walt Disney known for abusing his employees?

To the point where people had an entire protest in 1914 about it?

Wow... such a healthy workplace treatment comparison. Doesn't make Vivziepop look more like a jerk.... at all! /s

3. She bullies kids/laughed at a sa victim that was sa'ed by her friends. As one kid was bullied into a panic attack (I know them personally) back in about 2020 and Viv decided to vague post about them behind their back even after they apologized.

For someone who's so focused on "forgiving despite cancel culture" she sure likes to blame and harass people for disliking even ONE thing about her show or herself. One thing- and you're harassed over making a meme about a cartoon with fictional characters (What Froot Did that set Vivziepop and Gumball off.)

Secondly, one of her friends sexually harassed a minor.

And instead of acknowledging the sa, Vivziepop wrote this:

She ended up calling it a "joke" and made fun of the victim involved.

This is outright abusive behavior that should not be tolerated.

Children don't deserve to be traumatized this way. Especially over something as simple as making memes about a cartoon (negative or not) or simply telling someone to stop fetishizing abuse.

More on this in this video made by Gummypop:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND-

That's all that I have for now!

Will likely be updating this post in the future. Goodbye!

EDIT:

More evidence of Vivziepop using abusive language and slander against her employees behind their back. Claims of them being a "stalker" (like she did to Kedi and also its clear that she told her employees to say that Kaz was a "stalker" otherwise how else would they be saying these things after she fired them.) along with using abusive language such as "CUNT!" to prefer to Kaz this way in a professional setting I cannot. 💀

More evidence of Vivziepop harassing a kid:

ANOTHER edit:

More evidence, she's burning them the HELL out!

Yet ANOTHER edit:

More evidence of Spindlehorse being abusive:

EDIT:

Even MORE evidence:

The fact that the story AND the storyboards AND the animating for season one's episodes were all done in one year is just so crazy to me like... WHAT?! Either way, this post will continue to extend the more that I find evidence. So remember to look forward to that one!

EDIT:

Sadly no, as animation abuse is so common that the police dont even see it as an issue. The last time I tried to call the police on her they needed a location. The problem? There is no location of Spindlehorse since it's a "private" studio. So because of that viv gets away with abuse despite the obvious implications of her behavior and how many people came out with allegations towards her.

[samcats]

Mike and Wills friendship vs everybody elses

I’m sick of people acting like Mike and Wills friendship is platonic when 1. One literally had a crush on the other and 2. None of the other friendships are treated the same way Mike and Will are throughout the seasons so let’s go over them!

(This is gonna be a long one!)

Season 2 & 1

First off, in season 1, the show focuses on how Will going missing effects Mike the most out of all his friends. Mike is the only one to notice Will isn’t at school the day he goes missing. Mike is the one to come up with the idea to go out looking for him. Mike only keeps El around when he realizes she can help find Will. Mike is the only one that’s focused on after they find Will’s “dead” body. Mike is the only one out of the party members that holds proper hope that Will may still be alive.

In season 2 he was the only one that went outside of the arcade to check where Will had gone. He was the only one that noticed Will was being extra quiet that day at school. He panicked when he couldn’t find Will, “Will what’s wrong? I couldn’t find you, are you hurt? I’m gonna get you home, okay? I’m gonna get you home”, He purposely volunteered himself to go check on Will and then proceed to stay with Will in the hospital for days afterwards. He was the only one out of his friends that stayed with Will in the shed when he was possessed.

Edit: also wanted to point out how in the crazy together scene when Will told Mike about the mindflayer he said “just please don’t tell the others okay? They wouldn’t understand.” Implying that Will trusts Mike the most and that he thinks only Mike would understand what he’s going through.

& Will only yelled Mike’s name when he was having an episode before the crazy together scene happened. He didn’t yell Lucas’s name or Dustin’s or even Jonathan or his mums, his first instinct was to call Mike for help. Both of these things furthermore prove my point that their friendship is different from the others and they’re much closer

Again, the show focuses on Will and Mikes friendship the most this season. Not their friendships with Lucas or Dustin or anybody else, just with eachother. None of the other friendships in the show have done anything like this. Hell none of the friendships in the show ever GET as much attention and focus as Mike and Will do throughout the seasons. They are treated so differently. Still don’t believe me?

Season 3

One of the most iconic Byler scenes is the rain fight scene. Now I'm not really gonna talk about how obviously romantic this scene is by itself. But how it contrasts Will and Lucas's apology scene. The contrast between these two scenes is such a huge piece of evidence to me and I'm surpsired I don't see it around more

(Thank you to this video for saving me while I was trying to find the scenes https://youtu.be/u-rLx10eROw?si=vdGoQNtnXU103iZt )

Here’s the two scenes mixed together for reference:

Byler’s fight

In the Byler scene, it has buildup. Will getting mad and then bursting out of the room, Mike follows him while Lucas stays behind. Once they get outside, the lighting is dark and blue. The music playing in the background is somber. The way both characters talk and act makes you know that this is a serious scene. The aftermaths of Will going to his house and crying as he destroys castle Byers. And Mike and Lucas biking out to find him in the rain. You could make the argument that Lucas being there makes this scene bad proof, but it focusing more on Mike then Lucas tells you otherwise.

Lucas’s apology

It’s super rushed, you barely even notice it. It’s super random and isn’t focused on at all, it just starts with Lucas saying he’s sorry and Will saying it doesn’t matter and it’s pretty much over. The lighting is bright, our minds are more focused on trying to get ready to trap Billy then the actual conversation they’re having. Neither Lucas or Will react to it afterwards. You could literally skip this scene and you wouldn’t miss anything.

So why have such a useless scene in the middle of nowhere?

The Byler rain fight is such an important scene to show how Mike and Wills friendship has gone downhill, to show the change between children and teenagers, and also to hint at Will's sexuality. The Lucas and Will scene is just so useless and random and could've been left out, but the way it contrasts the Byler fight scene makes me think that its only purpose was to show the difference between Mike and Wills friendship together vs anybody else's, and nothing else. Because why else have it there? If Mike and Wills scene wasn't meant to have a deeper meaning, then why make it as dramatic as it was? Why build it up the way they did?? If it was platonic the scene would've been more similar to the Lucas scene and/or toned down a LOT.

It's undeniable that the Duffers where trying to show us something with these two scenes

Season 4

You can tell there’s clearly tension between Mike and Will when they reunite in the airport, which is very odd. Mike and Will are best friends, and again, Mike wouldn’t act this way with any of his other friends. He didn’t even act this way with El

Mike then later admits that he was being an asshole to Will, and we get that beautiful “friends. Best friends.” Scene.

Now, I want you to rewatch that scene and pretend that Will is Max or Lucas or Dustin or Erica or Steve or Jonathan or anybody Mike is friends with. But you can’t. It just feels too wrong and too romantic, doesn’t it? It seems weird as well, because we know full well Mike wouldn’t say something like that to any of his other friends. He’s never had a conversation like that with any of his other friends, either. This is because they’re just that. Friends. So why should it be any different for Will and Mike?

This is the same for any scene with Mike and Will. Season 4 or not

And if you seriously cannot notice the difference between Mike and Wills friendship vs anybody else’s, you need to do a rewatch

Anyways, there’s probably more stuff I could add but I’m gonna leave it at that for now. If you have anything to add leave it in the comments! Thank you for reading

[diana-rose-25]

— Let's Dance

PART 1

STYLE INSPIRATION

pairing/s: BEBE! Bada Lee x Jam Republic! Reader x Wolf'Lo! Chocol

warnings: None so far, an unrealistic description of being an exchange foreign student, might confuse some words in ballet (as most of them are only through research and not based on experience).

description: A professional ballet dancer in Street Woman Fighter Season 2? (Y/N) Bae, a 23-year-old ballerina and dance prodigy enters the fighting arena alongside the infamously known crew, Jam Republic. Making the team's aura and presence far more intimidating despite being clad in soft pink and white clothing, adorned with astonished faces and friendly smiles. As the young woman entered the arena with curious eyes and small smile, the other teams couldn't help but awe at her beauty and elegant aura, unknowingly capturing the eyes of two charismatic dancers.

status: unedited

word count: 4.5k

"They're the last one to enter."

"This crew is intimidating."

These are just some of the comments circulating around the arena as they waited for the last and final crew to come out.

"It's amazing that JAM REPUBLIC is here," Akanen, Tsubakill's leader, stated in awe. Looking at the empty space where the last crew of the show have yet to enter the small arena.

A certain buzz was felt in the air as the other contestants waited for the anticipated arrival of JAM REPUBLIC. More notably, they were excited to meet the celebrity of all dancers, Kirsten Dodgen.

"We'll see Kirsten in person," Biggy stated admiringly.

Dancers expressed their love and admiration for the pink crew's leader and her arrival. One member from Deep N' Dap even stated that she cried when Kirsten cancelled on her classes due to visa issues after she signed up for all four of her classes. Her leader, Mina Myoung, promptly scolded her. Stating firmly that "this is a serious competition." Despite this, two of her members joked around, lifting up the atmosphere that turned heavy just before.

The longer the dancers wait, the more nervous and excited they get to finally meet the members of the crew.

"Wah, Kirsten is here," Yeni, a member of Wolf'Lo stated. The said woman bounced a little on her seat, the adrenaline rush pumping into very veins so fast she could barely contain it.

"Hey," she perked up, turning to Baby Sleek as she remembered something important.

"Hey Baby Sleek, is it true that (Y/N) was once your student?" Her question caused all the members to look at their oldest curiously and for confirmation.

A fond smile crossed Baby Sleek's face as she shrugged her shoulder. "Yeah," she confirms making her members awe and shout in disbelief as she rarely takes in students. "She was for a short while. (Y/N) trained under me for more or less than three years." The other crew turned to Wolf'Lo when they heard the commotion, curious to know what made them react in such a way.

"Wow, what was she like?" Haechi questioned. "Is she really that pretty in real life?"

Baby Sleek nodded, "when I first met her, I was so shocked at how pretty that kid is. I thought she was an idol. In my mind I was like, what the hell? How can this kid be so pretty at her age?" The members laughed at the whiny tone of her voice.

"But putting her looks aside, (Y/N) really is a monster at dance. A natural. At first, I was hesitant at her skills since she is more focused on the ballet genre, but after a few lessons, the girl was a beast. As if she was dancing hip-hop since she could walk! Of course, there were times where she would struggle with something, but her dedication and hard work pushed her through it all. It was really admirable."

The other members were floored at the high regards and compliments Baby Sleek showered you in. Suddenly feeling much more intimidated by the crew that isn't even present yet. Yeni, Haechi, and Halo nodded for the respect they felt for the Jam Republic member while Chocol and Mini sat rigidly in their seat.

"Yah, I'm starting to regret picking her as my No Respect Dancer," Mini laughed nervously before faking a cry and shoving her hands to cover her face. "Why didn't you say that before we pick the weakest dancers?!" She whined.

"They're not even here yet calm down," Chocol said, patting Mini on the shoulder in a mock comfort. "Have confidence, we can probably give her a good fight and win at the end of the day."

Halo and Baby Sleek giggle at the antics of their members and nodded encouragingly.

"Aya, don't mind. The both of you probably have more freestyle and dance battle experience than her. Don't doubt your capabilities now," Halo, their leader, commented while patting their heads.

"Right. Be confident, but keep your guard up. We saw her list of accomplishments before, so let's be prepared." Baby Sleek said seriously, shaking her hands a little to expel the nerves of the upcoming competition as her mind slowly shifts into battle mode.

〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

Meanwhile, the pink crew of Jam Republic waited patiently for their cue to enter the arena in their given room.

(Y/N) tapped her hands against her thighs repeatedly. "I'm so excited and nervous at the same time."

Her members giggled at her but also felt the same energy as her. Ling, who sat next to her on her right, held her right hand to squeeze it gently for a few times.

"Me too. But don't worry, we got this." (Y/N) smiled at her as she intertwined their fingers together and squeezed her hand back.

"You'll be fine girl, we got your back." Latrice said, smilingly comfortingly at her as she sat next to Emma who gave you a nod and a finger heart to which you giggled.

Audrey, who sat next to her, leaned her head against her shoulder and looped her arm around her. "Yeah, calm down and let's just have fun! There's nothing to worry about." (Y/N) smiled fondly at the youngest member of the group, patting her knee in gratitude.

"I mean come on," Kirsten said, clapping her hands out of excitement and to hype her fellow members up, "this is us we're talking about!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" (Y/N) shouted, now pumped and excited, "Let's do this!" The girls laughed at her sudden mood change and hyped each other up even more. Even though some of them just met a couple of days ago, they were now starting to form a bond with each other. She smiled at the sight before her, feeling the warmth that bloomed in her chest, leaning back on the couch to compose herself.

The moment (Y/N) closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the TV screen came to life, signaling to their crew that it was time to enter the arena. The Jam Republic girls simultaneously yelled in surprise and excitement. Feeling gittery, Kirsten stood up and the rest of the girls followed her lead.

"Okay guys, are we ready?" She asked.

The members giggled a positive response albeit the nervous, quiet laughter that accompanied it as they form a circle.

"Shall we do this?" Kristen asked, placing a hand in front and the members followed one-by-one. "Entrance is going to be fire, three, two, one, wee!"

"Wee!" They followed along, laughing and giggling as they exited their room and walked towards the arena.

"Let's dance!"

The group walked down the narrow hallway of the building. Audrey clinging to (Y/N)'s arm and squeezing her hand gently with a bright smile on her face. She couldn't help but find the youngest so adorable! The dimples on her cheeks made (Y/N) want to pinch her cheeks really hard.

She then gestured to Emma who was falling behind a little, signaling her to walk beside them. Once she fell on step with (Y/N) and Audrey, the former girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Which was quite easy as the ballet dancer was noticeably the tallest amongst them (in her crew at least). The girls stated their excitement as they walked, feeling the nerves and adrenaline creep in.

Kirsten walked in front of them, leading the crew around the place until she momentarily stopped at the entrance.

"Ooooohhhh!" she cooed, placing both hands on the sides of the opening as she marveled at the sight before her.

"Holy damn!" Ling exclaimed once she saw how huge the room is. As they walked, they couldn't help but look around in amazement, eyes sparkling and hearts beating.

"Wow! This is so exciting!" Latrice and Audrey commented. (Y/N) giggled at them, enjoying their reactions that made her feel less conscious and nervous.

She'll be seeing her old teacher again, and she can't wait for it. After all these years, (Y/N) wanted to prove to Baby Sleek that all her training had not been in vain.

As soon as the other teams heard them, almost all of them perked up in their seat and looked up towards the stairs where they'll enter shortly.

"Oh, they're coming," Yoonji, a member of Mannequeen said in an excited tone.

"Wah, we'll be seeing them soon omg," Yeni clapped her hands lightly. Looking at the stairs in anticipation for the awaited group.

"You'll see your protegee soon Baby Sleek after all these years," Halo nudged her, "how are you feeling?"

"I think I might cry once I see her," Baby Sleek's answer made the members giggle fondly at her before cooing at the sight of her face. She looks like a mother waiting for her daughter to come home after all these years.

It wasn't long before the figure of Kirsten made her way down the stairs followed closely by the other members. The rest of the crew gasped in shock as soon as they saw her.

"Welcome to Korea!" A girl stated as the girls descended slowly down the stairs.

While descending, (Y/N) holds onto the railing of the stairs to look around the room to find her former mentor, taking advantage of the height to seek her out. She was so focused on finding her that she failed to see the looks of shock and awestruck faces of the other teams as soon as she turned around. Her eyes met Baby Sleek's, a bright grin soon adorned her face once they made eye contact and an excited giggle escaped her lips.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain dancer on the same team as her former mentor was blown away the moment she set eyes on you.

"Wow..." She whispered breathlessly, keeping her eyes on you.

Once the girls adorned in pink, white, and black clothing landed on the bottom of the stairs, they were once again looking around in astonishment and bowing to the people around while the others made comments about them.

"Wah, look at Kirsten's figure. It reminds me of Gabee."

"Their aura is so intimidating."

"Omo, Audrey is really pretty."

"She looks like a doll."

The team closest to them, BEBE, stared at Audrey in awe.

"Why is she so pretty?" Bada commented in awe, leaning back slightly in her seat while Tatter looked at her in wonder. "She looks like Anne Hathaway." She commented.

"I can't see (Y/N)," Lusher whined. The girl had her back facing the blue team making them unable to see her face. "I didn't see her clearly just now."

"Oh my god is that (Y/N)?!" The mentioned girl and her team almost jumped in shock at the loud voice that called out to her. They turn around to find a girl standing with a shock expression complete with a hand to her mouth as she stares at the girl she yelled for. Jam Republic laughed loudly and clapped their hands.

(Y/N) giggled and covered the bottom half of her flushed face. "Hello, nice to meet you." She said in fluent Korean and bowed down to the girl that was still standing.

Harimu, a member of 1 Million and her team yelled in surprise yet again, causing another laughter to roar out from Jam Republic.

"How can someone be that beautiful?!" Harimu yelled aloud, causing laughter to erupt from the room as she whined and stomped her foot to the ground in a faux tantrum manner.

Feeling even more flustered (Y/N) turned to hide her blushing face, fanning it down to compose herself but accidentally made eye contact with one of the hottest and trendiest choreographers today, Bada Lee.

So pretty, (Y/N) thought.

She regained her composure and grinned at the girl who was now staring at her with wide eyes and an agape mouth.

"Hello, nice to meet you all," she greeted the team, forcing herself to look away from Bada's eyes to bow down at every member of BEBE.

"Omo!" Lusher yelled, grabbing onto Kyma's hand, who was sitting beside her in shock. "Oh my god!" The rest of the team could only stare in shock at the woman still smiling, all of them shared similar looks of shock and admiration.

(Y/N) gave them one last smile and a bow before returning to her team, choosing to stand behind along with Audrey.

"Did you see her?"

"Oh my god her visuals are out of this world."

"My god, have you seen her height? She could be a VS model."

"Or those cliché movies about princesses."

"Bada-unnie," Tatter called out to her, giggling once she saw the still awestruck look on Bada's face, her gaze still trained and focused on (Y/N). "Our leader is still in a starstruck trance everyone."

"Looks like someone has a crush~," Minah teased, poking the shoulder of her leader with her pointer finger.

Bada snapped her gaze away once she heard the teasing tones of her team members and light shoves on her shoulder. She groaned and hid her flushed face away.

"Shut up!" Bada's voice came out muffled but the others still heard it loud and clear.

"Wah, she's a young woman now," Halo looked at Baby Sleek who commented in a soft voice. Despite the fond smile that painted her face, tears began to well up in her eyes. The leader chuckled softly and wrapped her arm around her for a side hug, rubbing her hand up and down her shoulder.

Chocol stared.

Even though (Y/N)'s back was facing them, she stared. Taking note of her poise, the way she stands and holds herself. Shoulders back and standing tall, petite that of a standard ballerina but somehow oozes that aura of regal elegance. Wow, Chocol thought. She's like some sort of royalty.

The large screen above suddenly made a noise, effectively catching the attention of Jam Republic and everyone else.

"Oooh," (Y/N) said, holding onto Audrey's hand when the younger one sought hers out. "Evaluation time."

Jam Repuiblic stood in front of it, anxiously awaiting the thougts, opinions, and evaluation of them by other crews with a smile on their face. Although (Y/N) nervous, she had a feeling that most of these aren't going to be friendly since this is a competition show. They need something for drama after all.

"The strong point of Jam Republic is the fact that they've been on the great stage. We can't ignore this."

(Y/N) smiled at the sweet comment, though, that didn't last long.

"All the members of Jam Republic think that they're number 1. Everyone wants to be the main dancer. Can they really be united?" Ah, there it is.

(Y/N) subtely side-eyed Akanen who commented on the video. She has respect for the dancer and leader of Tsubakill, admires her even, but she can't help but smirk towards her. She understands her point, but it still wasn't enough to hide that but of irritation towards her comment. Akanen, who was looking at Jam Republic when her comment was shown, gulped when she made eye-contact with (Y/N) and swiftly looked away.

"Wah, she didn't like that comment." Momo commented when she saw the three second interaction of the dancers.

"I know, I'm suddenly scared," Tsubakill giggled quietly at Akanen.

The next few comments of the evaluation targeted Kirsten and her affiliation with the world renowned crew, The Royal Family. (Y/N) titled her head in confusion when a dancer tried to insult Kirsten by looking for Paris Goebel instead of her.

"They do know you're one of the key members for a reason right?" She nudged at her leader, leaning down to whisper in her ear. Kirsten just nodded and smiled in response with her eye glued to the screen in front.

"A fake Royal Family?" (Y/N) couldn't help but gasped humourly at the harsh comment.

If that wasn't enough, the next comments are targeting Audrey. (Y/N) felt the younger girl squeeze her hand; she turned to look at her face to find the girl trying to keep a small smile despite the harsh criticisms thrown her way.

"She looks like an amateur dancer. The skills of a baby dancer."

"Audrey is a pretty doll. As she's a pretty doll, standing and doing nothing would be enough."

"Oh my gosh," the taller girl clicked her tongue in annoyance towards the comments. Are they really doubting her skills because she's young and pretty? "That's a shallow critic."

Jam Republic giggled in shock when those words came out of her mouth. The other teams, on the other hand, looked at her face nervously. The happy and excited face of the tallest Jam Republic member, now, still has a small smile; but eyes devoid of any emotion.

"She looks like she's seething with rage right now." Bada commented, leaning forward with clasped hands, resting her elbows on her knees whilst keeping her gaze on the girl in pink.

"She's like an older sister who wants to fight the bully of her younger sister," Tatter said, the rest of the crew agreed with her after taking a swift glance before looking back at the screen.

"(Y/N) is another pretty face," ah, there goes the comments about her. The mentioned girl straightened her back and inhaled deeply. Mentally preparing herself to receive the harsh comments thrown at her.

"(Y/N) is a professional ballerina who had performed on broadways before and competed in ballet genre on competitions. I don't think some people realize how hard it is to compete in ballet and make it look so easy. I really have so much respect for her." The said girl couldn't help but bow in gratitude at the praise she received from a member of Mannequeen, Cera.

"Thank you so much," she whispered. Audrey grinned brightly at her and nudged her teasingly.

"(Y/N) is a ballerina, right? And a pretty one at that. She could stand on pointe all day and stand on a music box, let it spin her around, and people would appreciate her dancing."

"I honestly don't think she could perform well in any other type of genre since her main focus is on ballet."

"Yeah, like a one trick pony."

The gasps could be heard echoing throughout the room after the comment. (Y/N)'s and her team members' jaw dropped in shock, "ouch, that hurts."

The former girl clutched her chest in exaggeration and pretended to lose her balance. Audrey held on to her and laughed at her dramatic antics.

The room suddenly erupted in shock when the screen showed how many No Respct stickers each Jam Reublic member will receive. Above showed their names in huge, bold, and bright fonts their name and the results:

Kristen - 2

Latrice - 0

Ling - 1

Emma - 1

(Y/N) - 4

Audrey - 6

An overwhelming amount of people chose Audrey as their No Respect Dancer. The youngest member of Jam Republic cheered and held her thumbs up in the air, whilst (Y/N) just clapped slowly with a smile, still looking at the results.

4 No Respect Dancer stickers might not be much compared to Audrey. However, the message was still loud and clear that there are people who are doubting her as a dancer.

"Okay, okay," she said, turning to Audrey as she held up a hand, "let's show them what we've got." The two girls high-fived each other with matching grins.

As they made their way to their designated seats. (Y/N) made eye contact with Baby Sleek. She grinned towards her and gave a small wave, bowing down in greeting towards Wolf'Lo who sat beside them.

(Y/N) sat at the top of the seat with her back straight, a trait she acquired after it was conditioned in her body. She was still quite frustrated at the one trick comment she received. She clicked her tongue in frustration and puffed her cheeks, inhaling and exhaling deeply through her nose.

"You okay?" Kirsten asked and patted her thigh.

"Yeah," she nodded - albeit partly lying. "Don't worry, Audrey and I will make sure they'll eat their words after they see us dance."

Audrey shot her finger guns with a wink, "that's right mama!"

She laughed at her adorableness and pinched her cheeks. Inhaling deeply one last time, she forced herself to relax and remember that it's all part of the show. (Y/N) gathered her hair all together in her hands and placed them behind her back when she heard a sound of awe.

Startled, the girl turned her head to the side. Staring at her was a woman with bright red hair that it almost looks orange. She thought it suited her very well and loves the boyish look the other woman adorned.

Chocol flushed furiously when her eyes suddenly met (Y/N)'s. One moment, she was admiring her side profile, then the next, she's looking into her eyes. She gasped as she placed a hand on her mouth and bowed deeply.

"Nice to meet you! I didn't mean to stare, I'm sorry!"

(Y/N) giggled and bowed to her as well, waving her hand dismissively at the poor woman whose head was still bowing down. "Nice to meet you too! And don't worry, it's fine, thank you!" She grinned with a blush on her face.

Haechi laughed at her flustered team member, garnering second-hand embarrassment from her. Both of their teams turned their attention to the commotion behind them and laughed at the flustered state their two members are in.

"Look at Chocol's face! It's almost the same color as a tomato," Buckey commented as she watched their interaction. Mannequeen giggled in amusement.

Wolf'Lo seemed intimidating when they first arrived. Now, one of their members are left in a flustered mess against a member of Jam Republic.

"I guess even Chocol couldn't resist (Y/N)'s charm." Redlic commented.

Once the commotion died down (there's still a red hue across Chocol's face), the room cheered once again once the judges were introduced: Shin Monika, Son Hyun-woo (Shownu), and the guest judge; Mike Song.

After the introduction, all the crews were instructed to return to their hideout rooms to change and prepare for their first mission: No Respect Battle.

Jam Republic debriefed about their evaluation after they've changed as they waited for their cue to return back to the arena. The members lounged comfortably at the couch while Audrey was left standing to voice out her frustrations.

"It's like, you can't even see my face! It's the shoulders! They're focusing on my shoulders!" She laughed in frustration.

"I know! They see one video of you doing markings, and suddenly, they deemed you as the worst dancer!" (Y/N) replied, leaning against Ling as she hugs the plush bunny tightly.

There's a visible frown etched upon Audrey's face. She understands her frustrations and sadness that the youngest might be feeling right now. So, she stands up and makes her way towards her. (Y/N) placed her hands on her shoulders as she bends her knees to be on Audrey's eye level.

"What they said about you isn't a reflection of all the hard work and dedication you've put into your craft. Don't let their comments get into your head too much. They don't know what you bring into the table."

(Y/N) tilted her chin up with her finger when Audrey smiled at her. "Chin up, darling. Show them what you've got. "

Back in the arena, the tension in the air thickened. Dancers stretched and prepared for the upcoming battle; the first bettle and mission of the season. Everyone wants the win for themselves; everyone wants to prove themselves and the stregths of their team.

Jam Republic conversed to themselves as they stretched. (Y/N) was in middle spilts as she conversed with Emma and Latrice.

"Who do you want to battle (Y/N)," Emma asked as she stretches her shoulders.

"Oh, definitely Cera of Mannequeen." She answered instantly before standing up. "We have the most similar style out of everyone, and I love her power and charisma when she battles. She's so cool."

(Y/N) was about to add onto her comment when she saw BEBE enter the arena, more specifically, their leader. Bada came into her view dressed in oversized clothing and a cap in her head, almost covering her eyes. Her outfit and confidence boosted her charisma, which left (Y/N) speechless.

Bada took a sip of her drink before scanning around the room. Initially, she did this to scout out her competition when she met the wide eyes of a certain member of the pink team.

(Y/N) chocked in her saliva in shock when their eyes met. She immediately turned her head and buried her face in her hands.

"What's happening to you?" Latrice laughed at the girl, taking note of her red ears. She looks at the direction the latter girl was looking at and grinned teasingly. She patted Emma's hand to direct her attention to the tall woman who was staring at their member.

Bada was still staring at (Y/N) with a smirk on her face. She chuckled lowly when she saw how the girl became flustered under her gaze.

"Cute," she commented before taking a seat. Mentally forming a plan to make herself acquainted with the girl after the camera's stop rolling for the day.

"What did you say?" Tatter asked when her leader muttered something inaudible.

"Nothing. Dont worry about it." Bada patted the blonde's head. Tatter was confused at the giddy mood her leader was in but ultimately dropped it for the time being.

Back with Jam Republic, Latrice and Emma share an amused look on their faces as they watch (Y/N) fan her face.

"What?" The girl asked, knowing full well what it is about.

"Nothing," they replied simultaneously. She narrowed her eyes at them and pouted her lips.

"Stop teasing her guys," Kirsten commented. "Let her focus on her stretching. Otherwise, she might focus all her attention on a certain blue team member." The rest of the team burst out laughing. (Y/N) flushed even more as she glared at Kirsten. The leader looked back at her with an innocent smile and fluttering eyes in faux innocence in response.

"Whatever," she muttered before standing tall to prepare herself to position herself into an arabesque.

"Still can't get over how flexible you are," Emma commented. Watching her effortlessly pull the move.

(Y/N) hummed in response before inhaling, feeling the deep stretch on her core, back, and legs. She always loved the feeling of deep stretches. It's like letting your breathe after a long day. She held the pose for as long as she could before she exhaled and released her leg.

"Woah, she's so flexible," Redy stated as she watched the girl pull the move. Harimu and her had been observing her for quite a while now. Lia, their leader, watched them in amusement before glancing at who they're looking at.

"Hey, stop that and focus on the mission," she scolded them.

It wasn't long before Kang Daniel, the host of the season, welcomed them back and introduced the rules of the mission. (Y/N) bounced her feet in anticipation and wiggled her shoulders.

Mind and body ready for the fight that's about to begin.

tag list:@luvjanexx @b1ackbunny @thedevilisrory @kaaylvst @badagf @aestrelle19 @leo-dragon @efyyylee @smoooore @infinite1sblog @xiakiyama @watamotee33 @tnu-ree @hallotherenicetomettyou @skuuzae

note: italized names can't be tagged. I'm sorry 😭😭😭

next part>>>

[logansargeantsbabymom]

Anyone but me

Insecure!Logan x Fem!Reader

warnings: Cursing, Insecure Logan

A/N: Here’s something short, I wasn’t gonna post since today makes 10 years since my grandpa passed but I didn’t wanna make today abt me. Enjoy.

F1 Masterlist

Follow my instagram account (THATS STRICTLY FOR THIS BLOG) for updates on when i post and fun stuff like that!

instagram

Another race. Miami had been another race this season that has been shit for Logan. Why was something always fucking it up for him?

First they gave him shitty cars, then whenever they did give Logan a somewhat good car, he wasn’t driving it the way he should, then they gave away his car to Alex after he crashed his. Now he had to retire the car because KMag decided to crash into him?

It’s almost lil the universe is against Logan and his time in Formula 1, which might I add is utter bullshit.

Logan hasn’t been the best driver and I knew that, but I didn’t fall in love with him because he’s a formula 1 driver, no, I fell in love with him because he’s always been there for me even when he was going through his own problems and has never once complained about it (him being a famous driver was just a perk).

Logan and I have been together for just over 2 years which means I’ve seen the best and worst of his career, but right now after he got hit at his home race was heart wrenching.

I stood by the tv screens that showed his camera footage live from his car and my hands shot up to my face when I saw the impact of the crash. The crash wasn’t what made my heart shatter for him though, no, instead it was the live radio feed from him to pit that I was currently listening to.

His groans of pain and the tremble in his voice asking if he did anything wrong was what hurt. He was so worried and scared that he fucked up something whilst driving that he didn’t pay attention to whether or not he was hurt.

They replayed that crash maybe a dozen times and each time felt like it stung worse than the previous one before it. I watched as they got the track clear from any debris and brought Logan and the car back to the Williams garage. The look of red eyes and tear stained cheeks was the sight I was greeted with.

I would’ve done anything to take his pain away in that moment. Hell, I would do anything to make sure he never felt pain again. But unfortunately, I can’t. So I had to suffice for the next best thing, comforting him.

I walked over to him and the second he turned and saw me walking over with a somber look on my face he rushed into my arms, pulling me into a tight embrace before absolutely sobbing.

The team around us walked off allowing us a moment of peace while I comforted my boyfriend. His face was in the crook of my neck as he shook with violent sobs and I rubbed my hands up and down his back trying to soothe the ache in his heart.

“Logan you did amazing, it wasn’t your fault. I’m so proud of you. You’ve come so far, I love you so much” I whispered in his ear as I kissed the side of his head.

We stayed like this for a moment, as Logan continued to sob I continued to try to soothe him and murmur sweet nothings in his ear with more small kisses on his head.

After a moment or two, I felt Logan pull away before he looked me in my eyes. I could tell he wanted to say something.

“What happened, Baby?” I whisper as I bring my hands up to his face to wipe his tears away

“I don’t deserve you.” He whispers, his voice breaking again as he moves my hands from his face

“Lo, don’t” I say, tears of my own springing in my eyes

“No Y/N/N, please. I don’t deserve you. I’m not good enough, you deserve to be with someone who wins and makes podiums. Not me, someone who finishes last or doesn’t finish at all.” by the time Logan was done berating himself, I was the one sobbing.

“Logan Hunter Sargeant. Stop talking like that. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me. There was before you, during you, and I never want there to be an after you. I have never loved anyone more than I love you. My heart is so filled with happiness and you’re the reason. You’re the reason I’m still alive today, I have the best life right now and it’s because of you. So please don’t break my heart because you feel like I don’t deserve you, because I never want to live without you. So unless you’re unhappy in our relationship, we are not breaking up. Are you unhappy with us?” Tears were falling like waterfalls from both of our eyes.

“No, I love you too much. I just don’t want you to be with a loser like me” My hands shot up to his face and I made him look at me

“Stop it, I’m not leaving you. I’m staying with you whether you win 100 grand prixs, 1 or none. I’m here until the Lord takes me from this earth. I promise” I said as I placed a sweet and sincere kiss on his lips before we rested our foreheads together

“I’m here always and forever”

taglist

@luckyladycreator2 @itsmiamalfoy @jeffs77 @ilivbullyingjeongin @forevercaffeinated-lee @daemyratwst @gulphulp @callsignwidow @f1wintermoon13 @teenwolf01 @victoriassecret101 @hiireadstuff @formulaal @kazza72584 @zabwlky1999 @dark-night-sky-99

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buddie: 9-1-1 is being VERY LOUD about the narrative they set up during season 7 in the 8x5 sneak peek!

THIS IS BUCK & EDDIE'S ROMANTIC LOVE STORY! Therefore, 9-1-1 is not going to let BT stans hijack it for a PLOT DEVICE! (This is a petty META post!)

The context for the above statements regards the ROMANTIC NARRATIVE 9-1-1 established back in season 2 for Buck and Eddie and during season 7, they included a PLOT DEVICE character to prepare the audience for CANON Buddie. It clearly illustrated T*mmy as a plot device but some BT stans saw two kisses then they started paying the actor because he was creating a FAKE narrative and it turned into a $hitshow of epic proportions for the network, showrunner, cast, crew, fandom and Buddie shippers. The hiatus was one of the worst there's ever been (even TM said so in an interview), therefore it appears the writers used a one minute and eleven second scene to remind the AUDIENCE who the story they're telling is about. Just in case someone is in doubt... it's about BUCK & EDDIE! IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE.

Be clear because the show is not being SUBTLE about the main characters they've established a romantic storyline for and it's NOT for BT. They're sending a CLEAR message in season 8 that indicates Buck was NOT trying to get T*mmy's attention even though the BT stans kept trying to force the showrunner and the network to make T.K. 2.0 a main. Some wanted Eddie gone so T*mmy could replace him 🙄 but be CRYSTAL CLEAR... before season 7 began, TM (showrunner) said Eddie (RG) is too pretty to die AND HE MEANT IT. Eddie's here to stay and trust and understand that he's the love of Buck's life, not some PLOT DEVICE that's on his way out.

The show has included several unmistakable narrative points in the sneak peek scene and I've indicated them below. (I addressed three of them in an earlier post [linked here] but here are four more.)

First, in 7x6, the WRITERS clearly wanted the audience to know that Temu could have dressed up for the bachelor party but THEY DIDN'T WANT HIM TO BECAUSE HE'S NOT IMPORTANT. But the BT stans made all kinds of excuses like "He was on standby so he couldn't dress up." It was addressed in the 8x5 scene since T.K. entered Buck's hospital room and said he got there as soon as he could after his shift but that dude was wearing his civies which means he was at work (didn't leave early) but he took a shower and got dressed in his civilian clothes then came to the hospital. That's not the sign of someone who cares because even if he couldn't leave work early (which I doubt) he should have rushed there while he was still wearing his uniform. Eddie had been sitting there since Buck was admitted and he was still in his LAFD uniform so WTF. Stop making that damn excuse because it's lame as hell.

Second, Tommy was at work LAUGHING with his co-workers about Buck. That's tacky and trifling but also, how could he laugh at the person he's supposed to be in a relationship with? Furthermore, does his co-workers even know he's with Buck? If they do then they're just as $hitty as he is because a normal person wouldn't have laughed and they would have told their co-workers to F~CK OFF!

Third, the entire scene in 8x5 was a callback to 7x6 because once again it clearly shows WHO KNOWS BUCK AND IT'S NOT TONSILITIS. IT'S EDDIE! King Eddie was sitting there by his future husband's bedside like they always are for each other. They have the other one's back, remember? They agreed to do so in Eddie's first episode, 2x1 "Under Pressure." Also, of Eddie and Toy Story, which one looks like he's married to Buck? It's EDDIE just in case anyone's wondering.

Fourth, this one is hilarious because it appears the writers are sending a message to those who came for the kiss but didn't take the time to watch the entirety of the 6 seasons that preceded it, so they would know this story is about Eddie and Buck. Buck was trying to get Eddie's attention in 7x4 but he was confused. That's what the narrative illustrated and the showrunner explained it after 7x4 aired but BT stans refused to believe it! Now they don't have a choice especially since BT is about to be BONES! Based on this scene, it's possible there won't be any more kisses between Buck and Tonka Toy🙃 but feel free to stay for the Buddie kiss because it will be EPIC.

Basically, it seems like the showrunner addressed all the ridiculousness that made being in the 9-1-1 fandom pure hell for the past 6 months with one episode. While it's true 8x5 won't air until tonight, if the interview OS did and the BTS pics are any indication of what's about to happen, BT is Bones and Buddie is going CANON.

[shinestarhwaa]

INFERNO || PARK SEONGHWA

Genre: Fluff, Smut

Pairing: Seonghwa x Fem reader

Word Count: 1.88K

Tags/Warnings: Singles Inferno AU/Dating show AU, Unprotected sex, Fingering, Blowjob, Facefucking, Dirty talk, Praise&Degradation, Dom!Seonghwa, Breeding kink, Sooo much kissing like they literally don't stop

Taglist: @anyamaris @a-soft-hornytiny @whatudowhennooneseesyou @wooyoungmybelovedhusband @pyeonghongrie-main @woosanbby @dreamlesswonder86 @changbinslovelylegs @jonghostie @lovjensoo @1-800-shedevil @mjyungi @bratty-tingz @sugarnspice630

For context: in Singles Inferno there are 2 places Inferno ("hell") and paradise. If you and another person both vote each other you can be a match and you get a night in paradise (a luxury hotel) where you are allowed to get to know each other. I really recommend watching the show on Netflix! I've been enjoying it so far :)

ENJOY!

It was exciting, this new flame. You had participated in a new season of a dating show on Netflix and in the finale you and another male contestant happened to choose each other as the person they wanted to date.

Seonghwa had been like no other. His style and persona were so unique, radiant and intriguing. His eyes big and round like boba pearls, defined nose and plush-looking lips, lucious hair and abs sculpted by the finest artists.

He was tender and kind, even a bit silly if you got closer to him. You came in late so your mindset was a bit negative as you figured most of the contestants must have found their match already. But Seonghwa was different.

Ever since you got on the island he has been nothing but caring to you, making sure you felt included and even offering a hand or arm when you were walking over the rocks down at the beach. You had no idea that Seonghwa was so glad to see your arrival. None of the others had truly matched his taste but you, he found you exquisite. How could it be inferno when there was an angel right beside him?

Now the show was over you could finally meet alone, without any camera's which was a relief, but also scary. You didn't have the most pleasant experiences with men so you were a bit damaged in that sense, fearing that Seonghwa wasn't a good guy after all.

Seonghwa proved you differently, taking you out for dinner and being an amazing listener as well as sharing stories about himself. He paid, checked in on your wellbeing and kissed your cheek as he dropped you off back home. He was the perfect, sweet boy, a true blessing.

But he was too perfect. He looked too fine and he had the audacity not to kiss you on the lips. He had the audacity not to push you against the wall and make out with you. He had the audacity of not taking off your clothes and licking your hot skin and make you shiver. How dare he not make your toes curl?

You were aware that some people have a slower pace but you have known each other for weeks now and you've dropped all the hints. After the 4th date you screamed in your pillow out of sexual frustration. Could anyone blame you though? He's literally sex on legs for God's sake.

Today you had your fifth date with him and the trees slowly turned red and brown, leaves falling down onto the wet pavement. You started to miss the summer as it was so gloomy and the summer reminded you of the happiness that Seonghwa brought into your life.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked with a smile. You hesitated. You could make something up right now and shrug it off, or you could be straightforward and honest. You decided on the last one.

"Seonghwa why won't you kiss me?" You asked as you stood still in front of your doorstep. He was taken aback to say the least, surprised at your words. "What...You... You want me to kiss you?"

You stared at him blankly. 'You want me to kiss you?' Who did this man think he was? The hell was he on? Yes you do!

"Well isn't that obvious?" You grinned. Seonghwa smiled and nodded. "I... I thought I saw some signs but I promised myself I wouldn't rush into anything. I didn't wanna waste my chance on you and I... I enjoyed getting to know you."

"You're too sweet, God, I really... I really appreciate that... Because not many men think like that," you said with a smile as you caressed his arm, "but I am still a woman. With needs. A woman who wants her man to throw her on the bed and ravish her. A woman who needs to have her man's tongue between her legs."

"Her man?" Seonghwa said with a smile. You laughed and smacked his chest. "That's all you got from that story?!"

"No, no, I did not but I... I like the sound of that... Being your man. Are we a thing then?" "You mean like boyfriend/girlfriend? I think we are," you nodded. He smiled and caressed your cheek softly before leaning in. "Well if you're my girlfriend...," he started, but you did not let him finish as you crashed your lips together.

You stumbled through the hall, clumsily taking your shoes and coats off, barely being able to hang those on the coatrack. His kisses were intense and made you weak at the knees. The way his hands slid over your body ignited a fire inside your core you didn't know you had. You took his hands and tried to get up the stairs and kiss at the same time but you didn't make it and you sat down on one of the steps. That's where your sweaterdress was taken from your body, leaving you in your underwear in front of your new boyfriend.

He grunted as he left little kisses, nibbles and bites down your neck and soft flesh of your chest. Seonghwa pulled down your underwear and spread your legs, admiring the wetness that he created.

"Fuck, precious," he muttered against your lips as his fingers slid between your folds, smearing out the slick arousal. Even the tips of his fingers on your sex nearly sent you to heaven. Nothing else mattered in the moment, it was only you and him, on the stairs frankly.

His tongue slid over your bottom lip as he entered your cunt with 2 of his fingers, spreading and scissoring you open. "God, baby you're fucking perfection. You wanted this right? Just like this? Is my baby satisfied now?"

You nodded and moaned as you hastily pressed kisses to his lips. "Yes, yes, fuck this feels good," you nodded. "Yeah? Is this spontaneous and hot enough for my princess?"

Seonghwa's fingers were slender and moved so gracefully between your legs. Soon enough they found your g-spot, making you moan out and arch your back. "Oh, Hwa, babe, fuck!"

He made you go insane with the power of his fingers, giving you no time to relax. "F-fuck, where did you learn this?" You panted out as he rubbed your clit with his thumb as he kept ramming his fingers against your g-spot, making you squirm.

"Gotta make you cum now, talk later," he said with a smirk as he thrusted a few more times before you finally came, squirming and moaning out his name loudly. "God, I love the sounds you make, Y/N," he spoke as he pulled his fingers from you, licking your juices off of them.

"Your hand feels so much better than mine, wow," you sighed. Seonghwa grinned as he helped you up. Before he could rush upstairs you crashed your lips on his again, tasting your own arousal on his lips. You took off his sweater and started undoing his belt as he slowly guided the two of you up the stairs.

Finally you got to the bedroom and all you and Seonghwa had on was your bra and his underwear, which you tugged down the moment you hit the bed. "Fuck," you cursed as your mouth watered at the sight of his cock. He smirked and propped himself up on his elbows. "You wanna taste that?"

"Yes, yes I wanna taste it, Hwa," you confessed as you spat on your hand and stroked his cock up and down a few times. "Go ahead then," he said, encouraging you with a nod of his head.

Seonghwa's head fell back the moment you took his length into your mouth. You weren't one to take it slow, instead you took a lot of him right away and eagerly bobbed your head up and down. You couldn't help it, the only thing you wanted was his cock down your throat and you couldn't wait much longer.

"Fuck, so eager, aren't you my dear? Want my cock that bad, huh?"

You moaned around his member as he thrusted up in your mouth suddenly, hands in your hair, forcing you down on him. Tears formed in your eyes as you gagged on his dick.

"That's what you wanted isn't it? You wanted spontaneous, you wanted rough, you wanted my cock, didn't you? So you better take it now."

And like the good girl you were you couldn't do anything else than take it, or let him take you instead. His eyes rolled back into his head as he rutted into your hot, wet mouth. You could hardly breathe at times but suffocating on Park Seonghwa's dick was quite a good way to go if you were honest.

Suddenly Seonghwa pulled out and threw you down on the bed, face forward into the sheets. He took a hold of your hips and pulled them up so he had a good view on your ass. Seonghwa positioned himself behind you and stroked his cock a few times before sliding into your awaiting cunt.

"Fuck, such a pretty princess... And so needy aren't you? Your pussy's sucking my cock in so well baby, you really wanna get fucked huh?"

"Y-Yes, Hwa! Fuck, I want you inside me, want you to fuck me, fuck me full!"

"Fuck you full, huh? Does baby want me to breed her tight little pussy? Fill it up with my cum and stuff her full?" You nodded and screamed out his name as he started to firmly thrust into you. "Y-Yes, yes! That's what I want, oh fuck, that's what I want, fuck me full, I'll take it all, fuck! Please, breed me, breed me, breed me," you pleaded.

"Breed you huh?" He smirked as his thrusts got faster and harder. You moaned uncontrollably as his cock fit you so perfectly and moved deliciously along the sensitive walls of your core.

"Shit, you're fucking heaven, fucking paradise baby, really," he moaned out as he felt his high coming up, muscles in his abdomen tightening. Suddenly, like a wave of arousal he came, hard and deep inside you with a loud moan. His cum filled you up so well, it felt hot and warm and it left you shaking as he send you over the edge as well.

Ever since that moment Seonghwa never held back anymore. He fucked you everywhere he could. Now the days were slowly getting colder and rainier, and eventually snowy, it was better to stay inside, so he visited your house nearly everyday after work to fuck you senseless.

"P-please, please Seonghwa!" You begged as Seonghwa pressed kisses down your jawline and neck, cock slowly moving in and out of your cunt to tease you. "What is it baby?" He smirked, knowing damn well what he was doing.

It had been about three months now and he kept fucking you, nearly each time better than the previous one. He fucked into you with long, sensual strokes, making you desire him more than ever before.

"Fuck, you're such a little angel, how could I ever have met you in inferno, hm?" He said with a flirty wink. "Well stop putting me in inferno with all your teasing and just fuck me, just fuck me full Seonghwa, god damn it, please!"

[flower-boi16]

Bring the thunder down

Well time to give my thoughts on the latest episode.

POSITIVES:

-Seeing callbacks to previous episodes in season 1 was pretty nice

-Holy shit Verosika development? HELL YA!!!! I'm just going to say it; Verosika is the best part of the episode hands down. I like that we get to see a real side of her beyond just being a one-dimensional bitch, her being friendly towards Stolas due to seeing him, and how SHE felt when she was hurt by Blitz.

And she deeply empathizes with people who were also hurt by Blitz and holds this party so people can cope with their experinces for how Blitz damaged them, a place where they can all get together. Viv developing a female character...? That's insane! Verosika feels like an actual person in this episode, not just a one-dimensional bitch.

-We don't get a rushed resolution to Blitz's feud with Verosika like we did for his feud with Fizz, which I am very happy for. I liked how they handled the reletionship between the two here,

-The development for Blitz here is genuienly great...? Like, the episode does a good job of showing him finally realizing how his actions have hurt others, and shows him trying to play victim here in the final scene of the episode before accepting that HE IS THE PROBLEM. And it's now the begining of him finally deciding to grow and become a better person, which is probably going to be a major arc in both season 2 and the rest of the series.

-The characterization here for Blitz is also great. Again it shows him playing the victim here because he's too much of an asshole to accept how he might have hurt others, until he realizes how his actions actually affect those he hurt. He feels genuine remorse now for his actions after the song that Stolas' sings on the stage.

-SPEAKING OF THAT SONG NUMBER; I have some issues with it when it comes to Blitz victim blaming but for the most part it's not bad. The visualls during it look quite nice and the singing is really good. This also serves as a good moment for Blitz as a character; as he sees that actually did, genuinely, have real feelings for him, and it helps Blitz realize all the mistakes he's made throughout his life and how his actions have genuinely hurt others.

-The episode, generally, does a good job of showing how Blitz's actions have hurt others.

-The finale scene in the episode is fantastic. Like I said we get some great development for Verosika and some insight on how she felt when Blitz ran off, characterization for Blitz and growth with him finally realizing his mistakes and the begining of him growing as a person. The voice acting from the two especially sells the emotions in it.

This episode has a suprising amount of good stuff in it when it comes to Blitz and Verosika...unfortunetly there are still some issues.

NEGATIVES:

-Unsuprisingly the Stolas stuff here is awful. The episode constantly frames him as another one of Blitz's victims who was hurt by him which just shows more Stolas victimization. Whopee. The begining scene is especially awful when it comes to this. The thing that really gets me is the line "since when have I ever looked down upoun you", like, dude, YOU CONSTANTLY BELITTLE HIM THROUGHOUT THE FIRST SEASON. OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO THINK YOU LOOK DOWN UPOUN HIM.

And then he says that Blitz is like Striker which is fucking stupid.

(though tbf Blitz is deffiently an ass in this scene so I can get Stolas' perspective to a slight extent, but some of the framming here and dialogue is still questionable)

-Speaking of that begining scene, its...eh. It has the issues with Stolas victimization as I already talked about here but then there's the fact that they used Blitz not telling Stoals about Striker as a way to create cheap drama. YAY! Also this...never gets resolved in the episode btw.

-The stage scene where Stolas sings his "motherfucker" song is good enough in terms of development for Blitz but since Blitz isn't in the wrong here for not believing Stolas loves him it still come across as another instance of Blitzo victim blaming to a slight extent. I already expressed my opinions multiple times about why Blitz is not in the wrong for not thinking that Stolas has real love for him so I'm not gonna repeat myself here, but I'm really sick of the Stolas victimization in this season and I just wish the show would stop pretending that Stolas is the victim here.

-The conversation the two have after the song isn't an awful scene but still shows Stolas victimization. Again, more Stolas victimization and a lot of the dialogue from Stolas here really seems to point to this. Like the scene has Blitz apologize to Stolas and act like the latter deserves better than the former because the former was soooo mean to him UwU, and it just. Ugh. And then the episode has Stolas whine about how he just wants someone to care about him and I'm just like. Viv. You aren't going to make me sympathize with this stupid fucking owl. You just can't.

-The episodes seems to be implying that Blitz has feelings for Stolas...? Huh???? Since when??? And also why does Blitz even have feelings for Stolas to begin with? Like everytime Stolas and Blitz interact Blitz always shows physical discomfort around Stolas, why tf is he suddenely interested in him NOW???

-How exactly was Verosika able to know of Stolas' reletionship with Blitz?

-Blitz decides to go into the party WITHOUT A DISGUISE. Like he takes one eventually but why didn't you bring one to begin with...?

-Is there no one guarding the entrance to this party? Because Blitz should have not able to get in here.

-Blitz comeing in without a disguise doesn't bring any attention for some reason???

This episode was...actually kind of good. Like, I'd say this is probably the best episode of season 2 so far. It mainly suffers from more Stolas victimization and some very weird plot holes and the out of nowhere development of Blitz getting feelings for Stolas but there is genuinely fantastic stuff in here that's good enough to make the episode at least a 7.5/10, hell maybe even an 8. I could forgive a small amount of plot holes if there's enough great stuff in the story and in this episode there is.

So ya, I actually kind of enjoyed this one.

[orionsangel86]

Well. This is interesting.

Episode titles in no particular order:

Song of Orpheus is self explanatory. We knew they were doing that episode.

More Devils than Vast Hell Can Hold - if this is the Midsummer Nights Dream episode then its probable episode 1 I would have thought.

Family Blood I would think is the family dinner at the start of Season of Mists.

Which would then kick start the Season of Mists arc with the episode of the same name. The Ruler of Hell presumably would come next.

Brief Lives has thrown me though. I know we've had rumours here and there, but I genuinely didn't think they'd be touching the Brief Lives arc yet because SoM and aGoY cover so much ground.

Obviously this should all be taken with a pinch of salt - I guess I had hoped they wouldn't rush through the story too quickly (for fear of Netflix not renewing further perhaps?)

This is all speculation and its totally possible that the names will change anyway. There are 12 episodes being released in possibly 2 batches according to the article, looking like a 2025 release date.

What are we thinking?

[somehow-a-human]

Good Omens & Visual Tarot - Part 1

I have been fiddling with a few different posts that are going to take a while longer still to complete. In the meantime I decided to do a little bit of a Good Omens Tarot visual analysis.

*Disclaimer* I am not a tarot expert, I am using visuals simply to equate these scenes to the Rider-Waite Tarot deck. Most of the limited meaning and analysis have been pulled from various tarot websites.

I hope you enjoy looking through these! They are not super deep or intensive but were very fun to put together :) They are ordered first by Major Arcana, then Minor Arcana, and finally Court Cards.

THE FOOL

The Fool represents the willingness to take risks, being inexperienced, improvisation and beginners luck. Aziraphale and the 1941 magic debacle are very fitting for the fool card. He doesn't know he's just endangered Crowley in front of Hell, doesn't know about the miracle blocker, and what they are about to face. Teetering dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Yet, they've just somehow successfully escaped the stage unscathed.

----

THE MAGICIAN

The Magician represents one's potential, and capability to harness one's potential, especially in a situation where transformation is needed. It brings to mind the change that's needed in Heaven, the work Aziraphale needs to do to fix a broken system.

----

THE EMPEROR

The Emperor sits on a throne, flanked by dual rams heads. This card represents leadership, power, authority, courage, and intelligence. The Emperor is considered to be someone who is very powerful. Crowley's powers and past angelic identity are still somewhat of a mystery to us, and we have good reason to believe he was indeed a powerful figure. Could this be foreshadowing as well?

----

THE LOVERS

While The Lovers in modern decks often has a romantic reading, traditionally this card represented a crossroads in a relationship. Choices between life paths, and commitment. Aziraphale and Crowley choosing their side at the end of season one reflects this crossroads and decision very well.

----

THE CHARIOT

The Chariot represents overcoming conflict and moving forward, but the charioteer is warned to be wary of the way ahead. Crowley rushing back to Aziraphale after the Book of Life threat is ready to move past their earlier conflict and move forward. But danger might lie ahead.

----

THE HERMIT

The Hermit represents the ability to recognize a 'teacher in a humble disguise', wisdom and enlightenment. Though it takes Aziraphale millenia, I think he eventually does recognize Crowley is a teacher or a guide in disguise for him, helping him sort through the abyss of human morality.

----

THE WHEEL OF (MIS)FORTUNE

The Wheel of Fortune card reminds us that life is ever changing and moving, we cannot stand on top of the wheel indefinitely, where we think we finally may see and understand things clearly, it will always turn. Looking at the Good Omens Wheel of Misfortune, it has interesting items like "going abroad" - a nod to season 3 possibly being set at least somewhat in New York?

----

THE TOWER

The Tower represents disaster, distress, and upheaval. There is an unforeseen catastrophe that will need to be weathered. I believe Aziraphale's emotional journey in the Job minisode exemplifies this perfectly. His realization that he has reached a turning point in his beliefs, his willingness to fall to save Jobs children and defy the Almighty... The path going forward will be difficult.

----

PART 2 (coming soon)

[zombiewhor3]

DEATH TRAP

daryl dixon x fem reader

WARNINGS: injured daryl, mentions of scars, gun usage, mentions of fighting, death threats, season 1-2 era tbh, mentions of Andrea/Shane

she had been waiting for Daryl to come back from looking for Sophia, she had offered to go with him but she could notice he was distressed at the fact they hadn't found his brother and well that he hadn't had a clue on where the hell she was.

she sat back in one of the cheap lawn chairs that came from Dale's RV as she had been carving a piece of wood with her blade, maybe just until it ran out or maybe she was making a stake.

whatever it was it was out of the boredom and anxiousness of waiting for her boyfriend to come back from his journey, his journey that she knew was dangerous because the woods were filled with walkers and steep hills that could surely kill him if he fell.

she looked up at Andrea who had a straw hat shaped like a cowboys, a dirt stained white tank top and a pair of jeans that obviously needed a fresh wash, she crossed her legs as she cocked her head at the sight of something slipping from the woods.

"Walker!" she called watching as Rick, Shane and Glenn had hopped over the fence, she angled her rifle, "bet i can nail him from here" she spoke with her obvious ego flashing through but Rick had told her hold back that, he had told her to let them handle it.

because after all the noise would trigger more walkers and their camp wasn't very much fit for a one hundred percent guranteed protection for them even if it was littered with barbed wire and wooden fences.

y/n had hopped the fence herself walking towards the walker, she turned to hear the click of a gun the sound of the safety being clicked off by the blonde who sat on top of the RV behind her.

"He told you to stand down! follow the order" she scoffed as she flipped back around pulling out her blade and rushing toward where the three men stood, except they weren't killing the walker they had just been simply standing around it watching it.

it only took her a few more steps to realize that it wasn't a walker but instead it was her boyfriend who was covered in dirt and drenched in water while he had an arrow through his body.

"is that Daryl?" Glenn asked as he had a knife ready in his hand, Rick had pointed his gun at him aiming for dead center of his forehead.

"that's the third time you pointed that thing at my head" he scoffed as he licked his lips clean hearing the others let out a breather of relief once they realized he wasn't a walker.

"Jesus Daryl you scared us thought you were a walker"

she sighed as she tucked away her knife back into her holster before one of the others could get a word in they heard the loud echo of a gun shot rocket through the air around them.

and suddenly he was knocked on the ground, his body out as he flopped back into the grass, y/n let out a scream as she dropped to her knees to see if the bullet had actually hit him.

she swallowed harshly as she rubbed the side of his head feeling some blood emit out onto her fingers, "i was just kidding" he remarked as they helped pick them up from the grass.

y/n could feel some tears being harshly forced back inside her as she looked down at the wounds on his body, a few scrapes and bruises from his arms to his face, an arrow through his torso, and now an almost lethal gun shot wound to the side of his head.

she had watched the others running towards the fence while Glenn had ripped off the walker ears he wore around his neck, Andrea had a look of defeat on her face as she could still see her target walking.

and well her target that wasn't a walker but yet one of them.

"what the hell happened!" Carol yelled as she watched y/n flick her eyes up to the blonde who was now hopping down from the roof of the RV to try and fix her mistake.

"he alright?" was all she asked, not an apology or even a full sense of worry lingering from her, except those two god damn dull words.

"don't worry about it Andrea" y/n scoffed as she and Rick had taken control of carrying his body up to the house, Hershel had followed behind them while he looked at Daryl's blood stained tank top.

Y/n was angry, she was scared and she was so god damn furious, so much that she could feel a wave of anger wanting to erupt like a tsunami on the women who almost killed him.

Daryl was placed down in the bed and stripped of his shirt, Hershel had gotten his table full of tools and Rick had forcefully pulled y/n out of the room so she wouldn't have to watch an arrow being removed from his body, she bit at her nails nervously.

Rick had noticed her distress and hadn't left her side even if it meant him sitting there for hours while Hershel fixed and cleaned up the wound to make sure it hadn't gotten infected.

and the subtle three hours had felt like eternity to her, because she couldn't stop pacing and wanting to get a glance through the door, even some of the others had come to comfort her all except the women half responsible for almost killing him.

and once the bedroom door was opened she could see Hershel pulling off a latex glove and patting y/n on the shoulder, without even such a hesitation she was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him, looking at his bandages and scrapes and bruises.

"what happened?" she asked watching him lick over his lips before actually responding the full story of how he ended up like this.

"well that damn horse got scared and threw me off a cliff and i landed on an arrow, as for the walker ears i wanted a trophy" he spoke feeling as she got closer so she could rub the side of his cheek.

she frowned softly at the wound as she looked over at it, "don't be sad it was just a simple scratch and tumble" he spoke taking her hand in his and trying to soothe her.

"just a scratch? she almost killed you and well for the arrow you could've died if it hit one of your organs Daryl" she watched him smile a little almost like he was amused by it.

"i'm fine just a little sleepy that's all, promise you won't worry while i catch up on some sleep please?" he asked rubbing over the top of her hand while he could feel her gently pull away.

she nodded at him standing up from the bed and peppering a kiss on his forehead, she turned out the lamp and softly shut the door behind her, and with that she checked to see if her gun was loaded.

and it was, she had a full round left over, a full round that meant there was enough to maybe take over on walker duty because the obvious woman in control couldn't do her job right.

she thanked Hershel who sat in a reclining chair reading an old book, he smiled and replied with a simple nod at her gesture of thanks, he watched her slip out of the door her gun tucked away from his view.

she could see the others still around as the sun was just now barely setting, it was still quite visible in the sky making the day still alive as they now sat around to enjoy one another's presence and maybe just to wait on answers on how Daryl was doing.

"he's fine, he's just sleeping" she spoke to the group as she patted Glenn on the shoulder and moved along to where Andrea sat, now she was lower on the ground and not on top of the RV.

she ripped the rifle from her hands as she tossed it to where the others were sitting, Andrea had her hand on her knife to which y/n had pulled out her pistol placing it in between her eyes.

"c'mon try it" she hissed watching as her hands went away from her knife and into the air to show she wasn't going to try anything.

"woah! what the hell are you doing?!" Shane announced as he adjusted the police cap on his head watching as y/n's gaze focused on the curly blonde in front of her.

"what the hell am i doing? what the hell was she doing? Rick gave you an order and you ignored it, you could've killed Daryl, and you didn't even say anything close to an apology"

she could see Shane reach for her belt but she had placed the gun in his direction watching him back down before she focused back on Andrea who's pupils were dilated in fear.

"he looked like a walker not my fault" she remarked back at y/n watching her eyebrows raise as the tip of the gun was moved to now the dead center of her forehead making the others look around in a quite nervous terror at one another.

"you ever and i mean ever pull any of this bullshit on me or Daryl or even another one of us and so help me i'll place a bullet in you and i promise you i won't miss my target like you"

y/n remarked placing her gun back in the leather holster she could see the others staring at her like she was a monster like she was crazy but she hadn't felt anything for her, she hadn't felt anything but stupidity for trusting her.

Shane had grabbed her arm to pull her away, "are you crazy?" he hissed bitterly in a slight whisper, her eyes flicked up at him as she looked away with a roll of them.

"don't touch me or i'll put a bullet in you" she huffed as she snatched her arm away from his grasp and taking a few steps back so she could manage her way away from him.

"whatever freak show you have with him doesn't mean you can come and start waving a god damn gun in our face you hear me!" Shane shouted stepping even closer while she now was starting to step away even Rick had noticed him growing closer and closer.

"Shane back the hell away it's not your decision, let it be she did what she did even if it was wrong or right it was it is now back away"

she felt good that rick was standing up for her, but also she could sense she had been a fool to start waving a gun in someones face.

but she reminded herself that someone she loved could have been gone within a few split seconds because of her foolishness, because she didn't know how to properly follow an order she was given.

Shane had backed away poking his tongue in his bottom lip as he softly huffed at the idea of her placing a gun in her face, y/n gulped as she looked around at the others.

"i had my reasons, what if she killed him? you know how devastated we would be if he died! how devastated i would be? i'm not going to let her risk our lives! Rick you gave her an order and she still didn't stand down when you told her to!"

she watched as Glenn looked down at his shoes sinking into the dirt because he knew she was right, Dale seemed to look back and forth at both girls and Rick rubbed over the stubble of his beard while the others still remained keeping their eyes on her.

"hand over the gun" Rick spoke watching as y/n scoffed and raised her eyebrows at his demand, "no!" she uttered in disbelief at him.

"give me the gun, we don't kill the living y/n!" he yelled while he gestured his hand out for the pistol, "you get it back when you're out scavenging or hunting that's it you want safety i'm giving it to you right now so take the deal and move on"

he made a deal with her to which she un-holstered her gun and clicked on the safety while pressing it harshly into the bare cracked palm of his hand.

-

she watched Carol slip out of the bedroom as she set a plate of dinner in front of both of them and left with just a soft smile.

y/n had always liked Carol, she liked the way she cared for Daryl and the way she was like a mother to her, the way she was so kind and so sweet and well the way she was so homely even in the end of the world where flesh eating monsters roamed, even when her husband died and her own daughter had gone missing.

Daryl quickly stuffed his face with the food because truly he had barely been eating, unless you count raw squirrel intestines and to which they weren't very filling for him.

not with how long he had been walking through the woods, and fighting off walkers, which is why by the time y/n had actually taken her first bite he was done with half of the plate.

he could notice something was off, he could notice she was playing with her food while she stared down and kept avoiding eye contact each time he tried to pry her eyes to look at his.

"what happened while i was out?" he asked watching as she took a bite of a green bean on her plate swallowing it down harshly and poking her fork around the plate with a sad silence.

"y/n what happened while i was sleeping?" he asked this time rubbing her thigh while his thumb skimmed against the clad fabric of the dirty blue jeans she had been wearing for days.

"got my damn gun taken by Rick" she spoke flicking her eyes to look up at the man who had his brows furrowed while he was still stuffing his face with some of the food brought in by Carol.

"i threatened Andrea and Shane so he said i can only have it during scavenging and hunting, besides Andrea could've killed someone, and what if she did, we don't kill her for it?"

y/n spoke pushing the plate of food away as she looked at his plate now empty without even such as a speck left on the white porcelain.

"you're angry i get it, remember when i tried to kill that one dude back in the city but Rick told me no, because he took Glenn and i was so angry, i don't blame you y/n" he spoke with a soft smile.

"she deserves to pay for the mistake maybe not death but when i walked out there she still had that damn rifle in her hands, no one even thought to take it from her, she didn't even think to come and apologize for almost killing you Daryl."

she almost wanted to cry but he put the plates on the night stand and pulled her into his arms, he shushed her softly as one of his hands stroked over the top of her hair.

"in the end it'll happen, maybe not now but someday she'll learn from the mistake just like we do, just like i've learned not to ride horses" he joked hearing a soft sniffle and giggle come from her.

he peppered a kiss on the back of her neck.

"and i've learned to never give her a rifle"

[salty-autistic-writer]

For @bucktommypositivityweek round 2 Day 1: make your own season 8 opening disaster.

Summary: After the bee-nado, Buck waits for Tommy to wake up (Link to AO3)

“Have you seen the Bee Movie?” Buck asks, chuckling quietly and fidgeting with the bandage wrapped around his hand.

“I, uh, watched it with Chris once. We were laughing so much. It was a cute and funny movie. A bee fell in love with a human. And, uh, there was a plane. The pilots were knocked out mid-flight and so the bees helped land it. We really have to watch that movie together sometimes.”

He takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his still sweaty face. “Man. I wish those bees we had to put up with these last two days were as much fun as that movie …”

He shudders, remembering all those red swollen faces. Swollen hands. Swollen legs. Swollen arms. Everything and everyone swollen. No fun at all. Especially because the stings of those bees hurt like hell. Buck received one as well. Underneath the bandage, the whole side of his left hand is red and hot. He got some cream and a cooling pack for it.

Now, Los Angeles is slowly recovering from the insane incident that was called the “bee-nado”, the bees who were still crawling around alive being collected and settled somewhere else. The hospitals are filled to the brim with bee-related emergencies.

Buck is in the hospital too. Waiting for his boyfriend to finally wake up after he had to crash land his helicopter in a field and ended up unconscious, with a probably severe concussion and several bruises as well as lacerations. It could have been worse. Way worse. But still …

“You can’t keep doing that, you know?” He says, looking up from his hands at Tommy’s too still face. “You can’t always play the hero and let me sitting here, wondering if you will ever open your eyes again. And yes. I know that was what I was doing to people who cared about me way too often. But still. I can’t get used to how much this hurts. I miss you so, so much.”

And he could really use a hug right now. After everything that happened at work with Gerrard … 

Buck shudders as he remembers. Gerrard screaming at him for every little thing. Gerrard taunting him because he noticed Buck texting Tommy with a smile on his face. Gerrard telling him to stay behind and clean the trucks while the rest of the team went to deal with the bees. Gerrard still scowling at him even when Buck was the one who rushed to help him.

“Gerrard is allergic to bees, did you know that?” Buck tells Tommy. “He almost died. He didn’t even tell anyone. But I gave him the epinephrine that kept him alive until he could be taken to the hospital.” Buck scoffs. “Wasn’t grateful at all … I wish we could get rid of him somehow. I was thinking about something. But so far, I have no idea.”

He leans back in the uncomfortable plastic chair, squinting into too-bright neon lights, his thoughts floating away, to better, easier times. To Bobby. Oh he’s still pissed at Bobby. How could he resign?! Without telling anyone … Buck shakes his head, trying to think about something else. He’s not ready yet to face those emotions …

Time passes.

Buck almost dozes off. But then, a groan and a cough make him perk up. Tommy moves, brows furrowing and lids fluttering. He finally opens his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling in confusion. 

“Tommy!” Buck feels like a heavy weight is taken from his heart. Finally. Finally, he gets to see his boyfriend’s eyes again. He takes Tommy’s hand, squeezing it. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

Tommy looks at him, eyes widening a bit. “Ev … Please. Tell me. Bees are gone,” he croaks.

Buck chuckles, leaning over to give Tommy a kiss on his cheek. “Yeah. They’re gone.”

Tommy sighs, eyes closing again. “Good. Everyone … safe?”

“Yeah,” Buck says, swallowing. His stomach clenches. “Everyone is safe. But Tommy … You have to be more careful in the future. I was so worried …”

Tommy hums. “Sorry. Didn’t … didn’t tell the bees to fly into engine.”

Buck huffs. “Yeah, I know . Still. It was risky to fly in these conditions.”

“Helped. Save the day. With the water,” Tommy points out.

“Yeah. You did. Again,” Buck says softly, holding onto Tommy’s hand firmly. “My big brave hero.”

Tommy smiles. “Hmmm. Another medal?”

Buck laughs. “I don’t know. Do you think chief Simmons has to do some damage control for his career again? If not, I don’t think so. Listen, I’m going to go and get your doctor, okay? She said they have to run some tests when you’re awake. Just to make sure it’s not more than a concussion.”

“Okay,” Tommy says, one eye opening and searching for Buck. “Please. Come back.”

“Of course,” Buck says, swallowing around the lump in his throat. “Always.”

He hasn’t gotten used to being this worried. But what he and Tommy have … It is worth all the pain.

[chaifootsteps]

Regarding the anon's question about Hazbin getting rebooted in the future and hoping someone does... that's actually one of my personal goals.

Eventually. A few decades down the line when a reboot becomes feasible, plus after I hopefully launch one of the three main series I'm working on pitching (one of which is Hazbin-inspired, the other two drawing elements from other things I love).

Can't say for sure if it will ever come to that point, but in the hypothetical scenario that it ever does get to that point I have a few plans I'm swearing by if that does happen in the future:

Get as many of the original pilot cast as possible, providing they want to be part of the reboot and can still do the voices. If for some reason studio heads deem I can only pick two from the original pilot, Michael and Ed. If for some reason only one, Ed at the bare minimum and I will fight tooth-and-nail for that.

Make sure every character talks differently. Of the main cast, limit the swears to Husk and Angel as regular parts of their vernacular (Husk moreso than Angel, Angel gets the sex jokes). Have Charlie swear on a few occasions but be a bit nervous when she does except when the chips are down. Have Alastor only swear when the chips are down. And give him 1920's/30's slang (mostly 20's since if I recall he died in 1933).

Give Charlie her pilot spine back.

Depending on the episode length, have 1 song per episode, except on the scant few episodes that are musical episodes in themselves (think the A Canterlot Wedding 2-parter in Friendship is Magic). And only have the songs when the characters' emotions are at the height, for good or bad.

Properly showcase the worldbuilding. Make the hierarchy and the nature of contracts clear. Give Lucifer a bit of his "powerful King of Hell" persona back. Showcase the contrast between Heaven and Hell. Make them feel like fleshed-out places.

Don't have Hell just look like LA but red. It's a place that combines sinners from all different locations, times, and backgrounds with eldritch horrors who live there. Lean into that, have fun!

Slow down the pacing. Have the redemption plotline not be rushed. Take time to get to know the characters. While it would suck if the story was cancelled due to not having later season's greenlit, it's infinitely better for a series' longevity with its fandom to have them wanting more rather than looking back at a show and thinking the pacing was incredibly rushed. Don't ruin what you can tell because you worry about what you might not be able to.

That's an awesome goal. My crusty old ass will be watching eagerly!

[peakyswritings]

Heart, Body and Soul || Tommy Shelby x OC

PART II

Summary: Nina has a chat with Tommy, and she doesn’t hesitate to make some things clear. As they get to know each other more, they learn one thing: neither of them wants to let the other win.

Warnings: mentions of arranged marriage, slow-burn, small age-gap (Tommy’s 30, Nina is in her early 20s), time-typical misogyny, English is not my first language.

A/N: This is set somewhere between season 1 and 2. Feedback is always appreciated🤍 Read part I HERE

SERIES MASTERLIST

SERIES MOODBOARD

Gif credit

Dividers credit

Tommy followed Nina’s quick steps down the hallway of her big house, his mind still racing from the past events. He still had to come to terms with the fact that he was in Sicily, he was alive, and the deal was not some trap set in order to get rid of him.

Nina stopped in front of a door, turning to look at him for the first time since she had started walking. She tucked a loose strand of her long hair behind her ear, finally resting her gaze upon him.

“This is your room.” She said, opening the door. “It has a private bathroom. If you need more towels or stuff like that, you can take them from the cabinet at the end of the hallway. Make yourself at home.”

Her flat tone, in high contrast with her polite words, made it plain that she had been told to be civil, and that she didn’t really care about him feeling comfortable. Tommy figured that the grudge she apparently held against him was probably due to the fact that, just like he didn’t trust those people, she didn’t trust him.

Nina’s dark eyes shifted to stare at something right above his head, and it didn’t take him long to realise she was looking at the razors sewn in his cap. He waited for her bold facade to crumble, for the unmistakable signs of fear to appear on her face. However, defying all his expectations, the glimpse shining in her eyes was not one of fear, rather one of curiosity.

“The Peaky Blinders…” she murmured, more to herself than to him, with the tone of someone who was suddenly aware of something. Then she blinked, seemingly recollecting herself. “I just wondered why you called yourselves like that.” She explained.

“Now you know.” He said, with a nod of his head.

Silence fell between them as they stood face to face, studying each other, all while keeping their distance. There was a fiery stubbornness in her eyes, but it wasn’t intentional, or a mere way of presenting herself to the world. It was rooted in her very nature. That restless gaze was something that Tommy knew all too well.

“Anyway, you won’t need it.” Nina suddenly spoke, nodding towards his cap. “Just like you won’t need the gun you’re hiding inside your coat. Don’t bring them to the lunch.”

Tommy squinted his eyes, opening his mouth to say something, but no sound came out of it as words failed him. How the hell would she know what he was hiding in his coat?

She shot him one last glance before walking past him, without giving him the chance to speak. Only when she reached the middle of the hallway, she spoke again, slightly raising her voice. “Lunch will be served in an hour. Don’t be late.”

“He’s not an old man.”

Nina went straight to the point as she stormed inside her cousin’s bedroom, eager to ease at least one of her worries. After her conversation with Tommy, she had hastily left her house, crossed the shared garden, and rushed inside Agnese’s house for an update session.

“Good.” Agnese said, taking one last look in the mirror before turning to face her cousin, who had proceeded to sit on her bed. “How does he look?” She asked, some sort of trepidation in her eyes.

Not like a Devil, Nina thought to herself. She had heard stories about him, about how everybody called him “The Peaky Blinder Devil”. She had pictured him like an unpleasant man - nasty, even -, rough and surly. Instead, he couldn’t have been more different. She had to admit that he was, in fact, quite attractive. And his manners were fairly good.

“He’s… nice.” She hesitated, the word feeling like a burning lump she had to swallow. “He has blue yes.”

Agnese stared at her with a puzzled look in her eyes, probably expecting something more articulate. But as much as she tried, Nina couldn’t find the words to describe the man she had just met. For some reason, they just wouldn’t come out.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be a Teresa.” Nina broke the silence with a joke, making her cousin chuckle.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Teresa was a girl they used to play with when they were children, a sweet girl, unfortunately born in a poor family. She was married off as soon as she turned eighteen. The man was twice her age, smelled foul and missed a front tooth.

Being a Teresa was not that uncommon.

“Anyway, it’s not like he’s betrothed to me. They just suggested him to marry me.” She remarked, grabbing a hairbrush and turning towards the mirror again. “He might not choose me.”

Nina raised her eyebrows as she looked at her cousin in disbelief. “Are you serious?” She asked, slightly raising her voice. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the village, everybody says. And you’re gentle, and good.”

Agnese shook her head, slowly brushing her brown hair. “My sisters are beautiful as well. And so are our cousins both from your mother and my mother’s side.”

“Yes, but your sisters are not even twenty yet. And our cousins don’t know a single English word.” She pointed out. “Who else would he choose, me?”

A genuine laugh escaped from Agnese’s lips at her cousin’s sarcastic remark. Everybody knew Nina wasn’t exactly marriage material, with her smart mouth and unusual ideas. Silence fell between them as Agnese struggled to tie the front parts of her hair behind her head with a ribbon. Nina got up from the bed and walked up to her. She took the ribbon from her hand and started to style her hair. “Don’t be worried, Agnese. I’m sure he’ll only have eyes for you.” She said softly, giving her a supportive smile through the mirror.

When she finished, Nina sat back on the bed, suddenly becoming serious. She fidgeted with the hem of a blanket, trying to voice her thoughts without sounding negative. “Is this what you want, though?”

Agnese glanced at her with furrowed eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t it be?” She asked, pure wonder in her voice. “I’ve always known I’d have to get married.”

Nina sighed, slightly shaking her head. Sometimes she felt like her thoughts were something that could be understood by her and only her. She had no one to share them with, no one who would genuinely listen. And even though her cousin was the only one who didn’t look at her as if she was some lost cause, Nina knew that, deep down, she thought what everybody else did. That one day, Nina would have to stop with her nonsense and get married.

“Yes, but doesn’t it bother you?” Nina asked, her dark eyes full of obstinacy. “They don’t involve us in the business, but they use us as some sort of bargaining chip when it suits them.” She spat out.

“The business is men’s business, Nina.” Agnese said with a soft voice, trying to reason with her. “We help the only way we can.”

“But what do we get from it?” She insisted.

“Security, stability. Someone who provides for us. That’s how things are. It’s not like we have any other choice.”

Nina scoffed, putting an end to the conversation. It was an important day for her cousin, and she didn’t want to ruin it for her. But as much as she tried to support her, she couldn’t understand how she could just accept that. In moments like those, their difference emerged in all its magnitude.

And she was well aware they really couldn’t be any more different. Not just in the way they thought, but in the very depths of their being. That difference was right before everyone’s eyes. She had been compared to Agnese all her life, to her beauty, to her softness. There was nothing soft about Nina. She was all sharp edges and searing looks. Where Agnese wore a smile bright enough to put the sun to shame, Nina wore a scowl. Where Agnese’s words, sweet like honey, meant to soothe, Nina’s words meant to cut. She was outspoken, and defensive, and angry. Angry at her family, whose judgmental stare burned on her skin. Angry at her mother, who had wanted her different since the moment she had drawn her first breath. Angry at her father, who still treated her like a little girl who knew nothing of the word. Angry at Tommy Shelby, who thought he could just barge in and state some claim over one of them.

Standing up, Nina shot her cousin one last look before walking towards the door. “I’ll wait for you in the garden.”

Not even half an our after Tommy Shelby’s arrival, the garden was already full of nosy relatives, half of whom didn’t even have a part in the business. The news of there being a gangster had roused the interest of ambitious mothers and their giddy daughters.

“Is it always like this?”

Tommy’s voice came to Nina’s as he walked up to her, stopping by her side. She was quite pleased to see that he had listened to her and taken off his cap, along with his coat and his jacket. No gun nor razors in sight.

“No, thank God.” She shook her head. “Usually, we only gather on Sunday. But now you’re here, and everybody’s curious.” She explained, her Italian accent coming through with all those r’s. “Those people there,” she pointed towards a group of people talking next to the table, “they’re from my mother’s side. And those ones-” she indicated another set of relatives, “they’re from Aunt Rita’s side, Agnese’s mother. I’d tell you to introduce yourself, but they don’t speak English.”

Tommy nodded to himself, trying to keep all that information in mind. “Are they part of the business, too?”

“No. The business is only run by my father’s side of the family. By they do benefit from it.”

A part of him was glad that he didn’t have to remember all of those people, or to interact with them. His main concern were the Ferrante brothers - or rather, two of them, since Antonio had stayed in England -, their wives and their sons and daughters.

“For the next few days this is how it’s gonna be.” Nina spoke again, a hint of annoyance in her voice as she looked around. “Once you make it clear who it is that you want to marry, the whole thing will die out. I hope.”

“Your uncle Mario has three daughters, right?” Tommy asked, trying to put together what he had learned about the family. He was pretty sure he remembered all of the important things, but a recapitulation wouldn’t hurt.

“Yes.” She confirmed. “Agnese, Rosa and Sofia.”

“And you only have brothers.” He said, taking his cigarette case out of his pocket. He opened it and offered Nina a cigarette, but she politely declined.

“No, thank you. Two older brothers.”

He rubbed the cigarette against his lower lip before lighting it. He took a long drag, relishing the calming feeling of the smoke filling his lungs. All that situation was nerve-racking, way more than he had imagined. They could’ve simply arranged a marriage with Agnese and get on with it, but no, they had to do things the right way. See if they got along, see if there could be a better match. But it just looked like some kind of sale.

“So it would be convenient to marry one of you four.” He noted, speaking more to himself than to her. “Because all of your other cousins and their family are not directly involved in the business. And they don’t speak English.”

“One of them.” She corrected him, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tommy blinked, feeling like he had missed some part of the conversation. “What?”

“You’re here to marry one of them.” Nina clarified, emphasising the last word. “I took myself out of the list.”

He exhaled a cloud of smoke, trying to hide the amused grin that threatened to appear on his face. Although he barely knew that girl, the thing didn’t surprise him in the slightest. “Could you do that?”

“Who cares?” She shrugged, raising her eyebrows. “It’s not like you could force me anyway.”

There was something entertaining in those quick answers, in the way she didn’t hesitate to make things clear. He had the impression that she had been constantly challenging him since the moment they had met, and it was something completely different from what he was used to. He wasn’t even sure she was doing it on purpose, it seemed to be just her way of being. “No, I couldn’t.” He agreed, flicking the ash to the ground. “And I wouldn’t. But if I were to choose you, and you were to say no, and I were to consider all of your cousins as unsuitable, I could decide to go on with the war. Would you take that responsibility upon yourself?” He provoked her, squinting his eyes.

Of course, Tommy would’ve never done something like that. It wasn’t in his interest to find a wife that was “suitable”, he only wanted to put an end to that war. But the girl in front of him seemed clever and quick-witted, and he was curious to see how long she would manage to hold her own.

“As I come to understand, this peace is more necessary to you than it is to us.” Nina started. “You were the ones who have been hit the hardest. You lost two pubs and a warehouse, right? And a few men.” She added, and it sounded more like a statement than a question. She cast him a sly glance, her brown iris glinting with smugness when she noticed the muscles clenching in his jaw. “You won’t go on with the war, it would be suicide.”

Tommy raised eyebrows with a nod, finding himself in the position of acknowledging that she, in fact, had a point. “I thought you weren’t involved in the business.” He said, before taking another drag from his cigarette. He knew the Italians were more old-fashioned in that sense. The men didn’t trouble their wives, sisters and daughters with the matters of business, not only because said business was dangerous, but mainly because there was a hierarchy to respect.

“I’m not.” She shook her head. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know things.” She added cryptically.

Tommy had to give it to her, she was smart. However, there was a small detail she was forgetting, and he was determined to have the last word. “The thing is,” he drew on his cigarette again, taking his sweet time before going on. “If your family didn’t need me, I wouldn’t be here.”

He turned to look at Nina, staying quiet for a few seconds to test her reaction. She kept her gaze on a spot in front of her, waiting for him to go on, and from the expression on her face Tommy knew he had a chance of winning that conversation. “You can’t defeat Sabini without my help. You know he’s working with the Solomons, now?”

That was it. With a certain satisfaction, Tommy realised that she had no idea of what he was talking about. Maybe she didn’t know everything, after all. “You don’t even know who Solomons is, do you?” He rubbed it in with a taunting tone, stomping out his cigarette.

Before she could have the chance to answer, a voice called from behind them.

“Mr Shelby.”

Vincenzo Ferrante approached him, followed by a man and a young woman. “Meet my brother, Mario, and his daughter, Agnese.”

Tommy shook Mario’s hand before shifting his attention to the girl. They were right, she was a beauty. Her brown hair fell down to her shoulders, framing her sweet face. The pink, floral dress she was wearing flowed around the soft curves of her body, gracefully brushing against her rounded hips. Her doe eyes looked at him with shyness, and for a moment she seemed almost intimidated. But then, her full lips curved in a gentle smile, and her cheeks turned a vivid shade of pink as she held out her hand to him.

“Pleasure.” He shook it delicately, offering her a kind smile.

Agnese then turned to Nina, giving her a warm hug, but it was clear that it was just an excuse to whisper something in her ear. Nina shook her head, saying something in a fake scolding tone, making her cousin laugh.

“Come, Mr Shelby,” Vincenzo spoke again, drawing Tommy’s attention back to him. “I’ll introduce you to my wife.”

Against Tommy’s expectations, the lunch ran smoothly. He was introduced to Nina’s mother, Maria, and Agnese’s mother, Rita, although he didn’t speak much with them because of their lack of English. He engaged in conversation with Nina’s older brothers, Salvatore and Pietro, who were starting to take part in the Italian side of the business, and he met Agnese’s sisters. Sitting across from Nina, he noticed how she only spoke with Agnese, while her interactions with her aunts - the ones from her mother’s side of the family - were brief and characterised by some kind of tension. Her numerous cousins, for their part, seemed to barely acknowledge her existence. Tommy couldn’t help but steal a glance at her from time to time. For all she tried to put on a serene face, her rigid posture gave away how uncomfortable she actually was. Perhaps this time he had stared at her for a bit too long, because she raised her gaze from her plate to look at him. Their eyes met for a second, but Tommy was quick to look away, nodding at something that Mario Ferrante had said to him.

The lunch lasted until the early afternoon. After the majority of the relatives who had joined it had left - except for some of the aunts - Maria and Rita called their daughters to help cleaning everything up. Tommy remained sat at the table with Vincenzo, his two sons and Mario, all of them ready to settle the terms of the peace once and for all. Tommy’s headache, which had been plaguing him since the moment he had left Small Heath, was finally starting to subside. Now he would declare his intention to start courting Agnese, as they had suggested, and hopefully in a few weeks he’d be married and with one less enemy. Too much time had already been wasted, and getting to know the other girls would’ve slowed everything down even more. He wasn’t there to find the perfect match, he was there to save his family and his business. Agnese would do.

“So one of yours might get married soon, eh, Mario?” Vincenzo teased his brother, grabbing a bottle full of some bright yellow liquid that his wife had brought, before pouring it five small glasses. “Limoncello.” He said, handing one to Tommy.

“Who says? Maybe it’s your Nina that will get married.” Mario playfully retorted, winking at him with the glass in his hand.

Vincenzo chuckled, as if his brother had said the most amusing thing in the world. “You know my Nina’s not ready for marriage. Let’s leave her alone for a couple more years.” Having said that, he shot Tommy a look. It was a silent warning, my daughter is not up for sale.

Tommy cleared his throat, straightening his back. Maybe it was a bit too soon to declare his intention. As much as he wanted to get it over with, he didn’t want to seem hasty. Because, again, those people wanted to do things the right way.

Waiting two or three days wouldn’t hurt.

“Look at them, sitting at the table like fucking kings.” Nina murmured, looking out the window as she scrubbed a plate. “God forbid they raise a finger.”

Luckily for her, neither her mother nor her aunts could understand what she was saying, and her cousins were too busy talking amongst themselves to listen to her. She was in no mood for a scolding. She kept on cleaning, getting lost in her own thoughts. That day had been draining, and it wasn’t even over yet. It was always like that, every time that the family gathered. Feeling judged and looked down upon for everything she said or did was tiring. It didn’t matter how much she tried to be good, there was always someone ready to point their finger behind fake curiosity and nasty smiles.

And now they were speaking loudly, talking about how beautiful Agnese was, about how Mr Shelby surely was already in love with her. Nina pretended not to see how they tended to look at her while making their comments. It was an implicit comparison, she knew. And she knew she was right when the comparison became explicit. Aunt Clara, one of her mother’s sisters, said only half jokingly that Nina would find a husband as well one day, if she decided to get rid of that frown and put some meat on those bones.

For once, Nina bit her tongue and kept on scrubbing the plate, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of a retort. Her mother, however, blushed and cleared her throat, almost embarrassed by the situation. Nina knew that her opinion about her was not that different from her aunts’, and that her behaviour was indefensible even for her mother.

Maria poured the coffee she had just prepared in five small cups that she had placed in a tray, then asked her daughter to bring it to the men. Nina sighed and grabbed the tray. At least she could leave that kitchen now.

She went out into the garden and walked to the table, that was now full of cigarette holders, matches, bottles and small glasses. She squeezed between their chairs, trying to find an empty spot big enough to place the tray. No one seemed to notice as she struggled make space with one hand, while with the other she balanced the tray, trying her best not to spill the coffee. A wave of irritation spread from her stomach, slowly rising to her chest and shoulders, all the way to her head, and soon she was gritting her teeth, her patience rapidly running out. Just when she was about to snap, two strong hands grabbed the tray, guiding it towards the space she had just cleared. Tommy’s blue irises pierced through her, and for a moment all her anger left her. There was something calming, in that particular shade of blue. She cast him a grateful glance, not only for his help, but mainly for preventing her from throwing a fit.

“Oh, no, no, please, sit, Mr. Shelby.” Her brother Pietro said, waving his hand. Nina raised her eyebrows, fighting the urge to slap him on the back of his head.

Tommy squinted his eyes and for a moment it seemed like he was about to say something. Then his gaze rested upon Nina again, and he nodded at her. “Thank you for the coffee.” He said, sitting back in his chair.

She took a few steps back, looking at him one last time before starting to walk away. Before she could go far, Pietro’s voice came to her ears again.

“Hand me the ashtray.”

Nina stopped in her tracks, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She gathered all her strength to remain calm, and turned around to look at him. “You have hands,” she simply said, before going back to the house.

It would be a long day, indeed.

NEXT PART

Heart, Body and Soul tag list: @zablife @queenofshinigamis @raincoffeeandfandoms @call-sign-shark @kmc1989 @babayaga67 @kmhappybunny240

Regular tag list: @iamngoclinh08 @lilywinchesterlove @fandom-puff @capitanostella @caelys @lucillethings @peakyxtommy @queenofkings1212 @lyarr24 @kmc1989

Tommy Shelby tag list: @50svibes