#chen best dad

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

4x5 | 5x17

[rainboq]

This might be a long one. Assuming that William doesn't die, and Chloe doesn't end up quadriplegic, how does he handle her introducing different people (i.e. Max, Kate, Rachel, Steph, Alex and/or Victoria) as her girlfriend(s)? Obviously he's going to at least be accepting, hence I'm largely wondering how the relationship between him and each possible girlfriend might play out.

Max is by far the easiest, assuming she doesn't move. Max and Chloe aren't sure when they make the shift over from best friends to girlfriends, it's a subtle thing. Their late night games of truth or dare start including little practice kisses that stop being so little or about practice. Their hand holding starts getting more intense. Their cuddling up to watch a movie starts involving a lot more body contact. William watches all of it with a knowing smile and gentle encouragements as both girls come to him, freaked out about their shifting feelings for each other. He probably even brings up the topic of asking Max out on an official date, which freaks Chloe out because 'oh my god I'm crushing on Max, what if I mess this up???' That summer he takes both girls to pride with a 'free hugs from a dad' shirt. It's probably not even the first pride he's been too, I can see him being active helping the community back in his youth because he couldn't stand idly by during the AIDS crisis.

If Max leaves, it's more complicated, but he absolutely encourages Chloe to work up to telling Max her feelings and makes sure that they have plenty of visits together with lots of alone time to work it out.

Kate's an interesting one. Chloe's originally pretty dismissive of her, after all, she's got no use for religion while she's busy throwing herself into science. She's not necessarily an angry atheist type, but she's at the very least agnostic. But Kate's nice to her, she's on a scholarship like Chloe, and she's soft spoken, so all their interactions are positive even if they have nothing to talk about. That all changes when she sees Kate getting bullied. Chloe cannot abide a bully, so she stands up for this girl she barely knows. First she trades blows with her tongue, and then her fists. Chloe wins it, but she's got her fair share of bruises. When William arrives at the office to have a chit chat with Wells and take Chloe home for the day, he finds this mousey little girl sitting outside of the office, wailing about how it's all her fault. He gets the story from her first, and he couldn't be prouder of his daughter. He takes them both out for ice cream, and Kate spends the entire time fussing over Chloe's bruises, which has Chloe grinning like an idiot while blushing and fidgeting from the attention. He encourages Chloe to invite this sweet girl over, but it's not really needed. It's how impossible to miss how blushy they get around each other, and he pretty immediately tells Kate that no matter what, she's got a safe place in their home. Unlike with Max, Chloe's more sure of her sexuality this time around, maybe she's already been to her first pride with her proud poppa, but that cross around Kate's neck still freaks her out a bit, until Kate makes the first move. Maybe it's a stolen kiss behind the bleachers, or she wins a bet over a video game and claims her prize of Chloe's lips, but either way it blindsides Chloe and they fall hard. William tries to help them keep things secret and safe, but Kate's parents eventually learn and when all hell breaks loose, he keeps his word. (Shit, this is a fun premise, I might write this)

William adores Steph from the moment Chloe tells him about her, and he digs out his old DM screen and source books. Steph is amazed that she gets to play such an old edition, and not only that, she doesn't have to run the campaign! It's kind of an open secret between all of them what's going on between them, even if Chloe keeps tripping over herself, and Steph is just as much of a disaster. Instead their player characters start getting romantic toward each other, and William goes out of his way to give them all the setup they could ever want to make it happen. It's not a surprise when Chloe finally tells him that they're dating, but it's still a celebration. He ends up taking Chloe and Steph to pride with Steph's uncle, and they have a gay old time.

Rachel is more difficult. Without Chloe's reputation for skipping class and getting fucked up, she's not going to really take note of her like she did in canon. Sure, Chloe's pretty, clever, and fun, but she's not exactly plugged into the Blackwell social scene or on Rachel's radar. Maybe she pings Rachel's gaydar while she's looking to experiment. Maybe Rachel reaches out for a little extra help with chemistry homework. Or maybe some silly shenanigans happen that put Chloe and Rachel stuck in close proximity, perhaps spin the bottle leading to seven minutes in heaven? However it happens, William is wary of Rachel. He knows her type, and he sees how she's wrapping Chloe around her finger, but he also understands that Chloe needs to make her own choices and mistakes. He's also emotionally available to Rachel in a way that she's not expecting or used to, hoping that he can help her grow as a person and stop trying to wear a mask all the time. Either way he's there for Chloe every step of the way, regardless if it works out or not, and with Chloe having a more solid emotional footing, maybe it goes very differently for both of them.

Victoria is... well he's he's definitely surprised when he walks in on Chloe half dressed and furiously making out with a girl that she's repeatedly complained about at great volume for being a bully. After stammered excuses, a lot of blushing and a generous helping of swearing, both girls get dressed again and William gets to talking with them. He explains that he's not mad, but he's definitely confused, and maybe a little disappointed in Chloe for going down this route, even if he understands it a little bit. Neither girl has a great answer for how this happened at all, a tutoring session that escalated maybe? What really surprises Victoria is that he doesn't kick her out, instead not only does William take the time to ask, he actually listens. She can't believe it at first, but even a few hours with him has her realizing how alike father and daughter are. Eventually Victoria's own dorkiness starts coming out and she starts getting into long debates with Chloe over the merits of this or that anime, they cuddle up and watch classic movies together, she writes poems about Chloe, which is when William starts to really get it. The true game changer is when Victoria's having a really tough time, and not really knowing what to do, she goes to William about it, and he actually listens to her. That gets her bawling, and before long she's blubbering out all the weight of the expectations her parents have heaped onto her slim shoulders. William helps her through that in ways not therapist ever could, and Victoria starts finding the emotional strength to be her own person again, instead of the perfect bitchy princess her parents have been trying to shape her into.

Dana is just fun. He gives Chloe a high five for getting a date with a cheerleader, and her love of Halloween and classic movies means she fits right in with the Prices to the point Joyce rolls her eyes and makes a comment about 'there's three of you now'. William absolutely digs out photos of Chloe's old costumes to show Dana, much to Chloe's embarrassment, but her protests die away as Dana squeals about how cute she was. They end up doing an ensemble costume for every Halloween until Chloe and Dana are off at college.

Alex is going to be something that happens later in life. Chloe's been off on her own for a while, been through college, maybe even has her masters. Chloe stays in touch with her dad pretty regularly, at least weekly phone/video calls and visits for the holidays and she comes to him for advice on a lot of topics. He first hears about Alex on one of these calls, maybe she's a mysterious stranger that Chloe is helping out, or a traveling musician that she's hit it off with. Then come the pictures, and oh wow she's cute! Chloe's all blushes and excited babbling about her, how funny and smart she is, and links to her soundcloud while raving about her music. Chloe tries to coax Alex onto a call, but she's really shy about meeting anyone when she can't see their aura. Finally the holidays arrive, and he meets Alex, who is a giant bundle of nerves in a denim jacket. William is his usual gentle, gregarious self and Alex wonders how she was ever surprised that William is as genuine as his daughter. It doesn't take long for William to start becoming a father figure in her life, even if the -in-law bit might take a long while. That title is very much a formality as he takes her, and Gabe, under his wing, being every bit the father that John failed to be. She honestly has a few good, long cries over it. He also spoils the shit out of Ethan and gets stoned with Char, so that's fun.

If Chloe ever brings Cassidy home, he makes her take a fucking shower and then pulls out his own guitar.

[vixtionary]

✒ [[ch-chen and swain? 👉👈 ]]

SOURCE || OPEN @noxiianbound

Chen's presence in his life is... refreshing. In spite of her experience in the front, she is still youthful & somewhat naive to the ways of Noxians. Her vastayan heritage is a welcome addition to Jericho's personnel.

Vastaya are scarcely seen in Valoran, let alone Noxian territory. Throughout the course of the Noxian-Ionian war (commonly referred to as 'the Noxian invasion', albeit not in Noxian history books ) the vastayan families who have pledged allegiance to the Empire were mostly stationed in Fae'Lor to ensure Noxian occupation and only war captives were moved to the Bastion, where they would be sold as rare specimens for their innate magical properties or thrown in the arena.

Therefore, a vastaya being employed by the Grand General sets an example for the change the Trifarix wants to see in Noxian culture. Chen has made a few public appearances beside Swain, after all, primarily when handling the hounds. Originally, his choice to bestow that task upon her was purely strategical and based on her personal inclination towards the fickle creatures. She does have a talent for earning their respect, after all.

Moreso than an asset, however, Chen's presence in the Grand General's personnel is also a welcome addition because her upbeat attitude often times uplifts her fellow housekeepers & guardsmen. Quite frankly even Swain enjoys her company at times. She makes for a good companion to practice his Ionian with as well, even if she sometimes hesitates to correct him on his mistakes. Naturally, Jericho is willing to defend Chen as he would be for anyone on his team & has done so in public before, against accusations or racist comments from those who are not in favor of the way the new regime handles things in Noxus Prime.

And finally, Crucio & Malum have really taken to her well, which is a rarity given that Crucio at least was a full grown drakehound that has been in Swain's family for at least one generation already. Jericho won't deny that he was shocked to see Chen winning him over so quickly. As for Malum, Swain would be the first to warn her against indulging his puppyhood excitement, because Chen's gentle handling could prove detrimental for a drakehound. He knows she sometimes goes overboard with the pets when he is not present :/

[afictionaladventure16]

Safe & Sound (Tim Bradford x Adopted!Teen!Reader)

The Rookie Masterlist

Summary: While Tim and Lucy are on their first date, Y/N and Tamara face some challenges that ends with the realization that Y/N's past has come back to her new life.

Author's Note: I know Tamara technically doesn't find out that Tim and Lucy are dating until later on but uhhh this is fiction so yee. All requests are open!

Warnings: Mentions of fights and stabbing

Word Count: 4,630

You watched from the distance as your dad tried on different dress shirts in his bedroom. You had seen your father go on many first dates… maybe ‘many’ is an exaggeration, but that was beside the point, the point was that you had never seen him this nervous. He looked like a girl trying to find the right dress for the school dance, you couldn’t help but smile. He was in love. 

You pulled out your phone, sending a quick text to Tamara

 He’s a mess, you sent. 

A few seconds later your phone buzzed in your hands, 

So is she lol. 

You couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, “What’s so funny?” Your dad asked as he gave you a quick glance. 

You shook your head, “you guys have no idea how nervous you both are.” 

He sighed, “Should I call her?” You gave him a nod. Tim gave you a smile, “First, what do you think?” he raised up a dark grey shirt next to a light gray one. 

You rolled your eyes, “Does it even matter?” 

“What if it clashes with her outfit?” He asked. After the two years you had lived with the man, this was the first time you had heard him say that phrase. 

“I think all that matters is that you both are enjoying the date,” you suggested. 

Tim looked at you with a smile on his face. After Isobel, he felt so lost within himself and somehow he found himself becoming a foster father to a young ten-year-old. It was only a year later that he began the adoption process. It was a long one, especially with the history with Isobel, he had waited a year and a half until the adoption was finalized. It was the best day of his life and he knows that there will be other days in his future that will try to complete, but he will always hold that day close to his heart. It was the day he learned how to be himself again, the day he learned that family didn’t always have to be by blood. 

Now you were fourteen, looking forward to your fifteenth birthday coming up soon. A day that Angela was so busy preparing for because she knew as a Latina that you had to have a quinceanera, and Tim always tried his best to help you grow within your culture. It was one of the main reasons why he learned Spanish. 

He let out a sigh as he reached for his phone, “do you-” 

“If you don’t call her right now, I will call her myself, but I will video call her so she can see-” 

“Alright, alright!” Tim chuckled as he dialed Lucy’s number. 

You walked out of the room, sending Tamara another text. 

I’m assuming you’re coming over with pizza? You sent. 

You know me too well. 

Ever since you met Tamara, she has been like an older sister. Maybe it was because the two of you were in the system and bonded over the traumatic shit both went through. Or because you both lived with cops that took you in and, although Chen is technically just her roommate, they were now your family. 

Tim walked out of his room minutes later, “Alright, I am just a phone call away. Don’t forget to let Kojo out and please tell Tamara I said hi. Um- Am I forgetting anything?” He asked as he began patting his pants pockets. 

“Keys and they’re in the key bowl by the door,” you stated as you scrolled through Netflix, Tim walked over to the key bowl, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his keys, “Bold of you to assume Tamara is coming over.” 

“Is she not?” He asked. 

“No, she is,” you smiled. 

“That’s what I thought,” he sighed, “Don’t open the door for anyone but Tamara. You know the drill, make sure it’s her before you even op-” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Can you go already so we can get this whole Lucy and Tim being continuously nervous over with?” 

Tim took in a small breath, he couldn’t help but catch that you had called him by his first name. It had been two years already and you were still calling him Tim. Of course, he didn’t know how to tell you that calling him dad was okay with him and he didn’t want you to feel pressured to do so; but just hearing it would mean everything to him. 

He gave you a small nod, “Call me if anything, alright? And make sure to turn on the alarm when I leave.” 

“Yes, sir,” you watched as he walked out of the house, you waited for the sound of the lock before turning back around to continue your scrolling. 

Twenty minutes later, you heard the doorbell ring, which was then followed by a phone call. 

You quickly answered, “I assume you’re outside,” you said as you got up from the couch. 

“Your assumptions are correct,” Tamara said. You opened the door to let Tamara in. She had been carrying a bag, of what you assumed is junk food, along with a box of pizza. “Alright, so I found this new candy that you just have to try!” 

You locked the door behind Tamara, “Alright, but first I need a slice of pizza because I am starving!” You followed Tamara as she walked into the kitchen to put down the box of pizza. You instantly opened it and grabbed a slice, “I can’t believe I watched Tim go through every single nice shirt in his closet like he didn’t even do that on his first date with Asley!” 

“Oh, you think that’s bad? Lucy’s whole closet is now on her bed,” Tamara commented as she unpacked the bag of junk food. “Do you guys have sodas?” 

“Yeah, in the fridge,” you gestured towards the fridge. Tamara helped herself, as she always does when she comes over, and she came over quite a bit. “Why do you call your dad by your first name?” Tamara blurted out. 

You shrugged, “I dunno, I guess… I guess I just feel like I am not allowed to call him dad.” 

“But he adopted you” 

“Yeah, but… I don’t know. I’ve wanted to, I just feel like I lost the moment to do so since it’s been two years since the adoption.” Tamara opened the box for a slice of pizza, “Has he talked to you about it? Or Lucy?” 

Tamara looked down, “I know Lucy’s mentioned it. Something about he feels like he’s doing something wrong.” 

You sighed, “What do you think?” 

“I’m the last person you want to ask that.” You gave her a pleading look, and she let out a sigh, “Look, if it were me, the timing wouldn’t matter. He gave you a family, a home, he made you feel loved after everything you had been through in life… in a way, he gave you a second chance that not a lot of us get.” 

She was right and you knew that. It had meant a lot coming from Tamara since she never got the opportunity to get this chance. She would argue that she did when Lucy took her in, but in a way it was different. 

“Should I just do it randomly? Like just ‘Good morning, dad,’ just nonchalant about it?” You asked. 

“Something like that,” Tamara smiled, “You’ll know how to do it when you feel ready and I think you know that you are.” 

The two of you ate pizza and watched Game of Thrones for the next hour. At some point, you had gotten up and let Kojo out to the backyard, he had been whining by the door for a while.  Tamara had taken that opportunity to get up to grab some snacks when all the lights went out, you looked over at Tamara. 

“Whoa,” She exclaimed.

“This is fine,” you stated as you got up from the couch. “Tim usually keeps a flashlight in a drawer in the kitchen,” you walked over to the kitchen, rummaging through the drawers. It didn’t take you long to find the flashlight. You shined it at Tamara who had her phone flashlight on.

Tamara sighed as she walked over to the window, “That’s weird.” 

“What?” you walked over to her. You were quick to notice that the houses across the street still had power. 

“Looks like the neighbors next door also have power,” Tamara pointed out. You looked over at the neighbors to your left, she was right, “Did Tim forget to pay something?” 

You scoffed, “No, he’s pretty good at paying the bills on time.” 

The sound of the floorboard creaking caused the two of you to quickly turn your heads, “I didn’t move,” Tamara whispered. 

“Neither did I,” you whispered back. You felt your heart leap into your throat, “Maybe I should call Tim,” you whispered as you took your phone out of your pocket. As soon as you had unlocked it you noticed the no bar signal on the top right corner. “Fuck,” you whispered. Kojo was scratching at the door, whining to get back in. 

“What?” 

You showed her your phone, “I have no signal.” 

“W-what? How?” 

You looked around for something to use as a weapon, “I’ve heard Tim mentioned this before. Some people use jammers in order to block a phone’s signal.” 

“You think someone is-” You held up your finger, Tamara stopped talking. The two of you fell silent, listening to the floorboards creaking increasingly. 

“We need to get out of here,” you whispered. You glanced over at the door, “I’m gonna grab kojo-” 

“No, if Tim were here he’d want you out, Kojo can fend for himself,” Tamara stated. Tamara quietly walked over to the kitchen grabbing a pan that was on the stove. You slowly walked through the living room, you knew Tim had a bat lying around somewhere for emergencies. 

What happened next was a blur. One second you were looking over at Tamara as she inched closer to the front door and the next you were on the ground and you heard yelling. You fought back as the person who was attacking you pulled out a knife. You were trying your best to use the techniques Tim had shown you, but this man was tougher than you had ever imagined. You knew that it wasn’t an excuse, that even if he was tougher and bigger than you, you had to find a way to defend yourself. 

“I got the other one,” you heard another voice yell out. You hadn’t realized there were two of them. 

You looked over at where Tamara was, “Tamara, run!” You yelled out. You could see the hesitation in her, “Go!” 

Tamara felt like running would be the biggest mistake, but she knew there was no way of getting help by staying here. The second man inched closer to her, she swung the pan that she had in her hands, hitting the man in the head, it was enough to stun him so she could get a running start. She ran out of the house and into the neighbor's front yard, running up to the door; she began banging on it, “Help!” 

You, on the other hand, were trying to get out of the man's grip. You sucked in a breath knowing that you had to do something you never wanted to do. You opened your mouth and bit the man's arm as hard as you could, he let out a loud yell and let go of you. 

“You bitch!” he yelled out as he lunged towards you with his knife. 

You lunged away from him, trying to dodge the knife, but he was bigger than you and still quicker than you. You felt a sharp pain in your side, “What the fuck did you do, Rick?!” The other guy asked as he came back inside. “Do you have any idea what he’ll do to us if we bring her in like this?” You reached down to where you felt the pain coming from, feeling something sticky. The more you touched it, the more pain you felt. Your knees buckled and you fell to the ground. 

“Fuck,” the man named Rick, looked at the knife and then at you. “I-I can fix this.” 

“No! Forget it! It’s been compromised! We have to go, the other girl ratted us out!” The man began to make his way to the back door. “Let’s go!” he yelled out again. You lay on the ground, watching as the blurry image of them ran out of the house. 

~~

Tim couldn’t help but look towards the door every other second. Was part of him worried someone from the station would see him? Yes. But also, he had a habit of looking at the door every time someone walked in, especially when he was nervous. 

“Are you worried someone from the station is gonna walk in?” Lucy asked. 

“What?” 

“You are,” Lucy said in disbelief. 

“No, I-” 

“Wow.” 

“What are the odds?” 

Lucy rolled her eyes, “It’s likely.” She cleared her throat, she didn’t want to have this discussion right now. “So, Y/N’s quince is coming up, how is that coming?” 

“Good, good. I um probably going to be in debt for the next year so you can expect a nice Christmas card from us rather than nothing but emptiness inside.” 

Lucy chuckled, “Angela is running you dry with this quince.” 

“That she is. Anything Y/N wants, she gets. I swear she spoils her like she's her own kid.” 

Lucy smiled, “I’ve noticed.” Lucy’s phone began to ring, she took it out, letting out a small chuckle at the sight of the name. “It’s Tamara, the girls are probably trying to check in on us,” she rolled her eyes. “Should I let it go to voicemail?” 

Tim wanted to say yes let it go to voicemail, but there was a voice in the back of his head telling him not to. “Answer it,” he smiled, “Two can play this game,” he teased. 

Lucy placed the phone on speaker, “Before you even ask, yes we are still at the restaurant and no I am not bringing you leftovers, I know you guys had pizza,” Lucy said with a hint of laughter behind her voice. 

“Lucy,” Tamara cried out. 

Lucy and Tim’s facial expressions changed, “Tamara, what’s wrong?” Tim spoke up. 

“It all happened so quickly,” Tamara began. 

“Just take a deep breath, Tamara,” Lucy began, “What happened?” 

Tamara let out a soft sob, “Someone broke in the house. They cut the power and we had no way to call anyone. I-I ran to the neighbors for help, but Y/N was still inside, I-I’m sorry, I couldn’t get to her.” 

Tim felt his chest tightened, suddenly this world no longer felt safe. In all his years working as an officer, he never imagined this to happen. Yes, he was prepared for it, or so he thought he was, but now, this world was more of a menacing place than he had realized. 

Tim wanted to tell Tamara that it was okay, but he couldn’t, because to him, nothing was okay at the moment. He had failed the one promise he had kept to himself the day he took you in and that was to keep you safe. Now the one day he decided to be vulnerable and comfortable, it all came crashing down. 

Tim got up from his seat, “Where are you?” Lucy asked. 

“St. Vincents,” He heard Tamara say as he left a few bills on the table and began walking away. Lucy told Tamara that they’d be there in a few before catching up with Tim. 

“Tim,” Lucy began, you could hear the pain within her voice. “Tim,” Lucy pleaded. Tim quickly turned around as they got outside. “I’m driving,” Lucy stated as the exited the restaurant. 

“No-” 

“No,” Lucy exclaimed as she got in front of Tim, “you’re not in the right mindset to be driving right now.” Tim opened his mouth to argue with her, “I’m driving.” 

Tim closed his mouth and gave her a nod. They got into Lucy’s car and drove off to the hospital. Lucy broke a few laws that day, but Tim probably would’ve broken a hundred just to get there sooner. Tim didn’t wait for the car to be fully parked to hop out, he was already inside the emergency room making his way to the receptionist when Lucy made her way into the hospital. 

“My daughter was just brought in, her name is-” 

“Tim,” Lucy choked out, her eyes had landed on a horrific sight in front of her. 

“Lucy!” Tamara called out, Tim turned around just in time to see Tamara running over to Lucy. He looked around for you, hoping to see you running up to him, but his heart sank deeper every second that passed. He walked over to the girls, his eyes landed on what Lucy was focusing on. 

“Oh God,” he let out a shaky breath, as he watched nurses surrounding work on your wounds. He ran up to you, one hand grabbing yours and the other brushing the hair out of your face. “Y/N, sweetie, it’s me,” Tim began, “I'm here, okay?” he brought your hand up to his lips and placed a small kiss on them. He felt the tears begin to stream down his cheeks. “Is she going to be okay?” 

One of the nurses let out a deep sigh, “The stab wound barely missed one of her aorta’s by an inch, it did knick her one of her lungs causing her to loose a significant amount of blood.” one of the other nurses began to lift the handles on the side. 

“We’ll be needing to take her up to surgery now, to repair the damages,” another nurse said. 

Tim couldn’t find the strength to let go, but he knew he had to. “Tim,” Lucy began, “they need to take her.” She placed a loving hand on his shoulder. 

Tim felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, he placed a small kiss on your forehead, “We’ll get through this okay? You can’t leave me.” 

Lucy felt like the villain as she pulled Tim away from you, but she knew he wouldn’t have been able to do it on his own. 

Tim looked over at Tamara, “What happened?” 

Tamara let out a small sob, “I-I don’t know. One second we were watching Game of Thrones and the next the power goes off.” She took in a deep breath, “We decided it was safer to be outside of the house once we realized we had no signal, she wanted to get Kojo but I told her to just leave him outside and that’s when they attacked her. I should’ve stayed with her,” she looked at Tim with remorseful eyes, “I’m so sorry, she told me to run, but I should’ve stayed.” 

Tim shook his head, “No, you got help, if it weren’t for you, you both would’ve probably been worse off.” 

“Tim,” Lucy called as she spotted Sgt. Grey walks towards them. 

“Sir,” Tim began. 

 “I came as fast as I could, How is she?” he asked. 

Tim sighed, shaking his head, “She’s in surgery, the stab wound hit one of her lungs.” 

Sgt. Grey shook his head, before turning to Tamara, “We’re going to need your statement if you’re up to it, if not we can always wait for tomorrow.” 

“I think after all they’ve been through, I think it’s best if we wait for tomorrow,” Lucy chimed in. 

Tamara gave him a nod, “Tomorrow it is.” Sgt. Grey stated. He looked over at Tim, he noticed he hadn’t said much. His eyes were focused on the double doors where they had just wheeled you through. He walked closer to Tim as Lucy and Tamara walked over to some nearby chairs to sit down. “How are you holding up?” Sgt. Grey asked. 

Tim shook his head, “I wasn’t there.” 

“And you won’t always be there,” Sgt. Grey confirmed. “You can’t always be there, it’s one of the things we have to get used to when being a parent. We have to hope we raise them with enough knowledge so they know what to do in situations like this.” He let out a sigh, “trust me, it isn’t easy.” 

Tim nodded, “I’ve noticed.” 

“You let me know if you need anything,” Sgt. Grey gave Tim a soft smile before walking over to the nurse's station. Tim walked over to Lucy, sitting down beside her. No words were exchanged and somehow he preferred it this way. Lucy held his hand, squeezing it every once in a while as if she were checking in on him and he would squeeze back. 

Tim felt like he had been waiting for days when in reality it had only been an hour. His eyes never left the double doors that were ahead of them, his body would jump every time someone would walk through them. 

Eventually, a man in scrubs walked through them, his eyes scanning the lobby of people waiting to be seen or waiting for a patient. “Family of Y/N Bradford?” He called out. 

Tim quickly got up from his seat, “I’m her father,” he quickly stated as he walked up to the man. “How is she?” 

“Hello, I’m Dr. Avery, I was the lead surgeon. I am happy to say that the surgery was a success,” Tim let out a relieved sigh. “We’ll need to keep her for a few days for observation of course, but she’ll be good to go home after.” 

Tim smiled at the man, “Thank you, when can I see her?” 

“She’s in recovery right now, I can only allow one visitor,” The doctor stated. 

Tim looked at Lucy, “Go, we’ll come back in the morning,” Lucy said. 

“Do you mind stopping by my place and picking up Kojo? I think Y/N would kill me if she knew he stayed the night outside.” 

Lucy let out a small chuckle, “Yeah, we’ll pick him up.” 

“I’ll have you follow me,” the doctor gestured for Tim to follow him. 

Tim followed Dr. Avery to the recovery room, he knew this hospital too well to know where he was going, but he never thought he would have to be here for a reason like this and he never wanted to be in this hospital again unless it was for work. Once he got to the room, the doctor left to finish up some paperwork. 

Tim sat beside the bed, he gently held your hand. You looked so fragile to him as if you were a newborn, he was scared that one wrong move would hurt you. He waited by your bedside throughout the night. The morning sunlight began to peak through the windows, causing him to wake up. He gave you a small glance, sighing once he realized you were still asleep.  

He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes once again, hoping to get some extra sleep. 

You began to stir, you could feel the pain in your abdomen and you heard beeping. Slowly opening your eyes, beginning to realize that you were now in the hospital, the last thing you remember was watching the two men run out of the house. “Dad?” you called out with panic in your voice. 

Tim’s eyes darted open, “Hey,” he said as he sat up in his chair. He grabbed your hand, he was overjoyed that you were awake, but also overjoyed of the fact that you had just called him dad for the first time. Although he was trying to hide his excitement because he didn’t know how to react to it, he had been waiting for this moment for so long and now it was here but the situation was overshadowing it. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked. 

“Like shit,” you stated. 

You winced as you tried to sit up, “Let’s try not to do that for now, alright? I know you’re uncomfortable, but I can get the nurses in-” 

You waved your hand to stop him, “No, I’m fine.” 

“You want to talk about what happened?” He asked. 

You shrugged, “It all happened so quickly. The lights went out and Tamara noticed that the neighbors had electricity and that’s when we tried to call you, but our phones had no signal.” 

“Looks like they used a jammer,” Tim speculated. 

“That’s what I thought, we decided to leave but I wanted to get Kojo-” 

“Kojo can take care of himself,” he stated. 

“Tamara said you would say that, but someone attacked me as I got into the living room. Tamra was already at the door and she hit the other guy with a pan before running to the neighbors. I used all the techniques you taught me,” you felt tears well up in your eyes, “I tried-” 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. You fought back and you’re alive. That’s what matters right now,” Tim placed a kiss on the top of your head. 

“I remember one more thing,” you began. “When the guy that attacked me stabbed me, the other guy got mad. He said ‘Do you have any idea what he’ll do to us if we bring her in like this?’ in those exact words.” 

Tim felt the panic rush through his body, if his gut was right, he knew what these men were talking about. “Do you think they were planning on taking me?” You asked. 

Tim didn’t want you panicking, he didn’t want you to feel like you couldn’t be safe because someone was looking for you. “I don’t think so,” he began, “But Angela is on the case, you’ll tell her what you told me and we’ll get this straightened out.” You nodded, “Now, how about we talk about the elephant in the room.” 

You looked at him with a confused expression “What elephant?” 

“You called me dad,” he smiled. 

You rolled your eyes, “I can go back to calling you Tim.” 

He chuckled, “No, no, it’s about time you called me dad. I was starting to worry you weren’t going to.” 

“I felt like I lost my chance to do so,” you confessed. 

“Honestly, if you had waited twenty years to call me dad, I would probably be sad that you waited twenty years but, overjoyed that you did,” he smiled.

“Be honest with me,” You began. “There isn’t anyone from my past that’s looking for me right?” You hadn’t spoken about your past in a few years, it was something you wanted to leave behind. “The last thing I need is these fantasmas (ghosts) coming back,” you added. 

Tim sighed, “I don’t know, but you have me there and I can promise that from here on out–” 

You shook your head, “You can promise to keep me safe but let’s face it, you’re not there with me when I’m at school or when you’re at work.” 

“You’re right, I’m not. But I’m a cop. I have my ways and I know you too well.” 

You smiled, “Yeah, I think you do.” 

“Plus, if anyone does kidnap you, they’ll return you in two minutes.” 

Your face turned into shock, “Wh-what?” 

“Trust me, I don’t think they’ll be able to stand the twenty questions they’ll be getting from you or even the karaoke. I give them two minutes before they return you,” you let out a small laugh before you winced in pain. Tim sighed, he knew no matter what that he was going to protect you, and if he failed to do so, he was going to do everything he possibly could do, to get you back. 

[callsign-dexter]

Coach Bradford

Summary: Tim, your father, agrees to coach your softball team along with Lucy.

Pairings: Tim Bradford x Daughter!Reader

Warnings: fluff, angst, Tim being Tim, swearing, injury, blood, hospital

Masterlist

Summer was officially here and that meant that travel softball was starting. You loved softball. You've loved it ever since you could remember. You had played it for most of your life starting from t-ball all the way up to fast pitch. You were the best player on the team. You could pitch, hit, catch, be infield and be outfield. You were just in elementary school ending 5th grade and already so good. Maybe it was because your dad, Tim Bradford, was a baseball lover and a hard ass when it came to practicing but he was only doing to help you. He would never push you too hard to the point of physical hurting yourself.

Playing softball took your mind off your mother not being there. She had left when you were young but you were old enough to understand what was going on. You threw yourself into softball which you just grown to love and it became one of your favorite hobbies.

You loved your team and your coach and coach assistants. You also loved that your dad, his girlfriend, Lucy Chen, and the rest of the group, John Nolan and Bailey Nune, Wesely Evers and Angela Lopez, Nyla Harper and James Murray, Celina Juarez, Aaron Thorson, and Wade Grey and Luna Grey, showed up to your games whenever possible.

Currently, your coach had to step away for a family emergency. The assistant coach was out sick, and the other coach was sick along with his wife, who was the assistant coach, but their kid was fine and staying with another friend. That meant a parent needed to step in. You being you volunteered your father and to say he was surprised but he would do it for you anyway.

You had just come to the station after practice still in your softball gear. You had been dropped off by your friend's parents. You walked into the station and greeted the front desk and they smiled and greeted back and let you go. As you were walking you ran into the first person you liked to play practical jokes on, Quigley Smitty. "Hello, Smitty." You said sweetly knowing it would unnerve him.

"Hello Mini Bradford." He said

"How are you?" You asked and he eyed you suspiciously.

"Fine." He said and you smiled.

"That's good. I'll see you around." You said and winked at him and walked off. He shivered you had played some pranks on him that made him scared of you. As you were walking further into the station you saw your dad. "Hey, Dad!" You said enthusiastically and he turned around and smiled.

"Hey, Sweetheart. How was practice?" He asked

"It was good. Coach had to tend to a family emergency and the assistant coach is out sick along with his wife." You said and he nodded. He knew the coaches and knew they wouldn't miss anything unless absolutely necessary.

"So who is going to be coaching you?" He asked as Lucy came up along with Angela and Harper.

"Oh you are." You said just so casually.

"Wait what?" He asked surprised.

"Yea they needed someone and I volunteered you." You said and the three girls snickered.

"What?" He asked turning to them.

"Oh it's nothing really but I can't see you coaching." Lucy said trying not to laugh.

"Well get used to it because you're helping him." You said smirking and her laughing stopped.

"What? Seriously?" She asked and you nodded and now it was his turn to laugh. "You know what? I would love to teach your team with you." Lucy said and you smiled.

"Thank you." You said

"Sweetheart, you know I would love coach too. You just took me by surprise." He said and you nodded.

"I know but none of the other parents know what they're doing but I knew you did. So, I volunteered you." You said now feeling guilty for now talking it over with him but they needed a decision right then and there. "I'm sorry for not talking to you about it. They needed someone right then and there." You said and everyone's heart broke.

"It's ok really. Lucy and I would love to coach you. It's not a problem." Your dad said and Lucy nodded.

"He's right. We would love to do anything for you." Lucy said and you looked at the two of them.

"Really?" You asked and they nodded.

"Although Tim may be a hard ass he would do anything for you, Y/N." Angela said

"She's right. When is next practice?" He asked

"Tomorrow at 8 AM. We don't stop until 3 PM." You said and they nodded.

"Perfect. Now go into Grey's office and wait until the shift is over." Your dad said and you nodded and headed off that way.

"You coaching? I would love to see this." Harper said smirking.

"I love coaching. You'll see it her next game." He said and then walked off. Lucy stayed behind and was about to say something but Tim's voice sounded "Chen!" He yelled.

"Uh yup! I'm coming!" She yelled back and took off after him.

"This is going to be interesting." Angela said

"You know it." Harper said and they walked off together talking about their recent case.

---------------------------------------------------

The next morning bright and early you were at the field with your team and Lucy. Everyone was on the field and they gathered around your dad and Lucy. "So what do you all do first?" Lucy asked.

"We usually stretch and then some of us start with some passing. The rest usually go with batting along and then some pitching and catching." Millie, your friend and main catcher, said your dad and Lucy nodded.

"Alright, we'll start with that. How many goes where usually?" Lucy asked before he could even though he knew the answer.

"Usually we have three groups of three practicing. 3 passing, 3 batting, and 3 pitching and catching." Samantha said and again they nodded.

"Alright get to stretching. We're going to need a third person." Your dad said and everyone scattered.

"Ok." Lucy thought "What about Harper and Angela?" She asked and Tim laughed.

"Yeah, that's a no-go." Tim said

"Nolan?" She asked

"He would be too nice to say no. Give him a call." Tim said and Lucy nodded and headed off to call him as Tim started to instruct on exercises.

6 minutes later Nolan was rolling up to the field with his fiancée Bailey Nune. You loved them both and were so happy to have them here. Tim gave him the run down and practice was started. Tim had tried not to be a hard ass because that's how his father was but he was organized and your team was really good. He wasn't surprised and neither was Lucy, Nolan, or Bailey because they had seen your team play and man were you guys good. You were only 5th graders and already good your goal was to play throughout middle school and high school.

Now that there was an extra person to help real practice began. You, Millie, and Samantha went with Tim to start practicing passing. Three went with Lucy to start batting. The last three went with Bailey and Nolan to start pitching and catching. Once the amount of time your dad thought was needed for each was up the groups switched. Breaks were given in between if needed.

Practice went really well. Some parents showed up and some had to work so they got a ride with a friend. Tim was afraid that he was going to need to be a hard ass but it turned out that was not the case and he knew that deep down but he was still afraid. "Alright girls! Bring it in!" Your dad yelled and everyone came in. "For the last few minutes of practice we're gonna run some plays. I'll be batting and Y/N will be pitching. Then we'll be switching it up and I will be hitting the ball to certain parts of the field." He added and everyone nodded.

"Got it!" Everyone said and you all were heading to your positions. Lucy, Bailey, and Nolan all stood to the side and the drill started. You started to pitch and some of them he could hit and others he couldn't and he was proud of that. After a few minutes of that it was time for him to hit the ball to different positions.

"Outfield!" He yelled and hit the ball and it went to the outfield and Amy got it threw it into Millie and it was a hard and fast throw and Lucy was impressed. "Good work!" Your dad yelled out and you smiled. "Alright infield!" He yelled and hit it directly at you and you got it then you passed it to, Christine, first base and then she passed it to Jennifer, third base, and then she finally passed it to Elizabeth, second base. Then the ball was passed back to you. That drill was practiced a few more times and different ways and then practice was over. Everyone huddled in.

"Great work guys. I'm impressed." Lucy said and everyone smiled.

"Thank you." Everyone said

"Next game is when?" Nolan asked

"Friday. Noon. Here." You replied and he nodded. More information was given and then everyone was breaking for the end of practice. You couldn't wait for the next game. The team you were going up against was at the same level your team was and it made you nervous but you had faith in your team and knew everything was going to be great.

On the ride home your father had stopped at your favorite place to eat and got you lunch/supper and then you both were headed home. "You did great. Everyone did great." He said and you smiled.

"Thank you that means so much to me and us. We work hard and we love the game." You said as he pulled into the driveway.

"That's what makes the game fun. I know it is a way for you to cope from when your mom left and I'm sorry for that." He said as he killed the engine and you shook your head.

"It's not your fault she loved being undercover more than her family. You don't think she'll show up do you?" You asked

"Do you want her to?" He questioned

"Would it be bad if I said not really?" You asked and he shook his head and smiled at you sympathetically.

"No, Sweetheart. Not at all." He said and you nodded "Lets go and eat and then spend the evening together binge watching our favorite show together." He added and you nodded and hugged him.

"Thank you, Dad." You said and he smiled.

"Anytime, Sweetheart." He said and kissed you sweaty head. "On second thought maybe you should take a shower after you eat. You're gross." He said and you slightly hit him.

"Rude." You said and he laughed.

"I was just joking. Seriously though you need to take a shower before after we eat." He said and you chuckled.

"I know." You said and the both of you went inside and ate. You then took a shower and then spent the evening together watching your favorite show together.

---------------------------------------------------

Friday came around and it was game day and you were nervous and felt that something was going to go wrong. You didn't want to bring this up to your dad because he had a lot going on right now and you knew that he would overreact. So you put on a brave face and got ready to go to the field.

When you got to the field some of your teammates were already there. Once you got there the rest of the team arrived along with Lucy, Nolan, and Bailey. Your dad had you guys practice some. Once he thought you all had enough it was time to rest and get ready to play. As you were resting and talking with your teammates you saw Grey, Luna, Angela, Wesley, Harper, James, Celina, and Aaron show up and you smiled and waved when they saw you. Your dad, Lucy, Nolan, and Bailey saw them too and they walked over. Everyone greeted each other and chit chatted and then it was time for the two teams to take the field. First up to pitch was your team.

You pitched and struck most of them out and the ones that got a hit were caught or tagged out. That feeling of something going wrong was pushed to the back of your mind and you were focused on the game. There had been a few close calls but you either ducked in time or caught the ball. You caught the ball in some fancy ways and everyone was impressed.

You had just pitched the ball and the other team hit it. The ball came back at you and you got it backhanded and then threw it. There was a player on first and when you pitched the second pitch they started to run the ball came to you and you caught it high and spun around and threw it to Christine, everyone cheered and you smiled. The third pitch was contacted with the bat and once again came to you and it was low so you dived for it and caught it and while still on the ground you threw it to Christine making sure the batter was out. That was three outs and it was your team's turn to bat. Your dad had been supportive and loving all the plays that were happening. As you headed to the dugout to change out gear and grab your bat. "Damn Tim you got yourself a real star there." Wesley said and that made him smile.

"I sure do." He replied

"I have to admit that you're really good at coaching." Harper said admitting defeat.

"He is amazing. I think he should keep coaching when he can." Lucy said and your dad laughed.

"This is a one time deal. I would rather be on the other side of the fence." He said

"Oh come on. You have to admit this is a little fun." Nolan said as he tended to the team with water bottles and words of encouragement.

"It is really fun." Bailey said

"Yes it is fun but I know that I'll just push it to far one time. I don't feel like ruining that relationship with Y/N/N.

"That's understandable." Grey said and Luna nodded and hugged his side.

"I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen." Celina said

"Everything is going to be fine." Aaron said but she was still apprehensive about it.

"I'm sure they wouldn't put these kids in danger. Right, Tim?" Angela asked

"That's right their priority and safety comes first but accidents do happen." He replied

"They're doing great." James said and your dad smiled.

"That they are." He said and then it was time to get back to the game. The other team may be good but your team was better. Each pitch was hit and runners were on base. Before you knew it the game was 4-0 with your team leading. It was your time to bat and you were nervous but you had to do this for your team. You took a few practice swings and could hear the parents and the others cheering you on. The ball was pitched and you swung, your bat made contact with the ball and it was out of the park giving you a homerun and sending the player on base home. The score was now 6-0 with your team leading.

Finally it was your turn to pitch again and the game was coming to a close. You threw a few warm-up pitches and then it was game on. The first few pitches were good and nothing had happened but that feeling something bad was going to happen came back. You threw the pitch and the other player hit the ball and it was a line drive to you and you tried to catch it but it hit you in the face and took you down. The crowd made a noise of hurt. You were grabbed the ball and threw it to Christine even though you were in pain. Then you were collapsing in pain and was close to blacking out and as your dad arrived with the others and the other coaches you were out cold and not moving. Bailey jumped into action. "Y/N can you hear me?" She asked but got no response.

"Y/N. Sweetheart." Your dad said but again no response.

"Call 911." Lucy said looking up at anyone.

"Already on it." Grey said as he had his phone to his ear. He walked slightly away and in a few seconds came back. "They'll be here in 2 minutes." He said.

"She's breathing and has a strong pulse." Bailey said but you still hadn't woken up and that sacred your dad. There was blood running down your face. "It looked like she got hit in the temple." She said and everyone nodded and agreed. "She was conscious enough to throw the ball so that is good." She said.

"I think she hit her head going down too. It would explain the blood." Angela said. The others had gone out to get direct the paramedics to you and they had just rolled in and onto the field. They assed you and Bailey gave them the run down and then they were loading you onto the gurney and taking you off the field and into the ambulance. The umpires called the game and your team ended up winning. Now it was a trip to the hospital. Tim rode with you while everyone stayed back to wrap things up and then they would be meeting you at the hospital.

---------------------------------------------------

They had taken you back fairly quickly leaving your dad in the waiting room. About 10 minutes later the others were joining him. "Any news?" Harper asked and your dad shook his head.

"No they took her back to run some tests but she hasn't woken up." He said

"Oh man. This sucks." Aaron said and everyone nodded.

"She's going to be ok." Grey said

"I agree. Have you seen who her dad is?" Lucy asked smiling and everyone chuckled.

"Thanks guys." He said

"Anytime." Angela said and just about that time your doctor came out.

"Bradford?" He asked and your dad was standing up and fast.

"That's me. I'm her father." He said and the doctor nodded.

"I'm Dr. Tango. You have one strong little girl. She's awake and just has a concussion. It seems like she passed out because that is how her body was dealing with the stress. I want to keep her overnight and check in on her in the morning. She's awake now and she can sleep but she'll need to be woken up every few hours and asked questions and monitored for any signs of change in how she looks or acts." Dr. Tango said and he nodded.

"Can we see her now?" Your dad asked and Dr. Tango nodded.

"I'll have a nurse lead you to her room." He said and he did just that. When they reached you, you looked so out of it but when you saw your dad you lit up.

"Daddy?" You asked and he smiled with tears in his eyes and he walked over to you.

"Hey, Sweetheart you scared us." He said

"I'm sorry." You said and he shook his head.

"Nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't your fault. Accidents happen." He said

"I knew something bad was going to happen but didn't want to tell you." You said and he smiled and shook his head "What?" You asked.

"Celina had a feeling something was going to happen to." He said and you looked over at her.

"I knew I liked her." You said smiling and everyone chuckled and she came over and hugged you. "Thank you everyone." You added as she pulled away.

"For what?" Bailey asked

"For being there at the game and helping me." You said

"We would've done it even if you weren't playing. You're our everything." Angela said and you smiled.

The rest of the day/night in the hospital was filled with games, food, chit chat, sleep and yes being woken up every few hours and asked the most simplest questions it was annoying but you knew it was necessary. When it was time for everyone to go home it was just you and your dad. You yawned and he smiled. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you up when I need to." He said and you nodded and laid down. As you were drifting off to sleep your mind drifted at the love and support you had and that made you feel good inside and smile.

"Dad?" You asked and he looked up from his phone.

"Yes, Sweetheart?" He asked

"I love you." You said and he smiled and leaned up and kissed you forehead.

"I love you too." He said as you closed your eyes and leaned into him. Yeah you had a pretty good support system and you weren't letting them go any time soon. No matter what the world threw at you.

Tag list:

@callsigns-haze

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

@angenu01-blog

@talesofreading 

@callsign-revenge

[fluentmoviequoter]

Better Care

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!wife!teacher!reader

Summary: One of your students is absent, and you worry about her until you return home and see her with your husband, Tim Bradford. He's taking care of her following the death of her parents, but neither of you want it to be a temporary arrangement.

Warnings: angst, parental death (OC Lilliana), fluff, adoptive girl dad Tim Bradford

Word Count: 3.1k+ words

Picture from Pinterest (ignore the jack-o-lantern and focus on the handsome boy)

Masterlist | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

Your classroom is one of the most welcoming places you’ve ever stepped foot in. You and your husband Tim worked tirelessly over the summer to make your classroom feel like a second home to your students. Being a teacher is your dream job, something you worked for throughout college, and you continue to strive to do better each day. Teaching second grade can be challenging, but the rewards outweigh the bad days and the tiring students. Being in your room early like this is one of your favorite things; it’s quiet, the day is full of potential, and you have time to prepare for your day and your students.

While you put your things away and begin placing morning worksheets on each desk, you put a personalized sticky note beside each and hope for a good day. This year has been good so far, but your students can always benefit from a little reminder that they’re doing well.

Meanwhile, Tim is seated in roll call and mentally preparing for a good day. He doesn’t have quite as much faith in people as you do, but he knows that what you do is important, so he supports you in all you do. Visiting your class has also become one of his favorite pastimes, and whenever Wade asks for someone to do community outreach, he finds himself sitting beside you and talking to your class. Your students love him, too, and ask about him often. As Wade greets the officers, Tim decides to drop by and surprise your kids (with your permission) soon.

“Good morning,” you greet with a smile as you walk to your desk.

“Good morning, Mrs. Bradford,” your class answers together.

“Who’s ready for a good day?”

They cheer, and you chuckle at their excitement to learn. Though you wouldn’t admit it to many people, this is your favorite class so far. After they silence, you give them directions to complete their morning worksheets as you fill out your attendance report.

When you reach the bottom of the list, you look around the room with your lips pursed.

“Where’s Lilliana?” you ask.

“She isn’t here, Mrs. Bradford,” one of the girls in the front row replies.

“Her backpack isn’t in her cubby,” another student adds.

“Okay. Thank you,” you reply.

You mark her as absent but hesitate before you input the report into your computer. Using the paper before the computer is unnecessary, but you like being able to walk around and actually see your students as you fill out the attendance. Not seeing Lilliana unsettles you. She loves school, to the point that she cried in your arms once when she was checked out early to go to a doctor’s appointment. Maybe she’s just running late or not feeling well. You make a note to check with the officer later before returning your attention to the students who are present and nearly done with their worksheets.

“Bradford, Chen, we need you at my location for a double homicide,” Angela radios. “The neighborhood’s blocked off from the main streets, so come in from the east side.”

“10-4,” Tim answers.

He sighs as he returns the radio to the dash. There are plenty of ways he could be spending his day, but babysitting a crime scene doesn’t sound like the most exciting or the best use of his time. But, this is Tim’s job, and he’s good at it, so he hits the sirens and drives to the entrance Angela directed him to.

“Hi, Marsha,” you greet when the school secretary answers. “My student Lilliana is absent today, and I wanted to check if her parents have called. I’m just worried about her.”

“Oh, yes, sweet Lilli,” Marsha says. You can hear her keyboard click as she types. “I haven’t received a call about her, but I could call them if you’d like.”

“That’s okay. Thanks for checking, Marsha.”

“She has perfect attendance. Strange that she isn’t here today.”

“I thought so, too. Maybe she’ll be here before lunch.”

“If she isn’t, let me know, and I’ll reach out for you, hun.”

“Thanks, Marsha. Enjoy the rest of your morning.”

“You, too. I’ll see your class when they head to recess.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

You end the call more distraught than you were before. It’s completely out of character for Lilliana to miss school, but for her parents to not call and explain why is even stranger. When she left forty minutes early for a doctor’s appointment, her mom told you two weeks in advance and insisted that it would be okay to give her more homework for anything she may miss. As your class returns from their extracurricular, you tap your fingers on your desk to expel your nervousness before beginning a math lesson. You’re tempted to call Tim and let him calm you down, but he’s busy too. You’ll just have to worry about Lilliana later.

Tim closes the shop door behind him and waits for Lucy. They approach the crime scene together, and Lucy whispers about how many people are surrounding the house.

“Double homicides usually require a lot of hands,” Tim informs.

“And that’s all we are today?” Lucy inquires.

“Welcome to police work, boot.”

“I’m not a boot,” Lucy grumbles.

“Bradford!” Nyla yells across the front lawn.

Tim nods as he raises the crime scene tape. Lucy goes under first, and he surveys the bullet holes littering the front of the house as he walks across the grass.

“What happened?” Lucy asks.

“The caller said-“

Someone yells Tim’s name, though the fear and tears mumbling it make it sound like “Off’cer Bra’ford!” He turns quickly and sees a young girl running toward him. She jumps toward him, and he bends to catch her easily.

“Lils,” he says as he pulls her against his chest.

She cries harder in his hold, her face pressed to his shoulder and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Tim recognizes her from the number of times he’s visited your class, but seeing her here, like this, during a school day, concerns him.

“What is she-“ Tim begins, looking toward Angela.

He realizes quickly. Between her presence at this specific house and the look Angela gives him, it’s easy to deduce. Her parents are inside.

“Lils, do you want to go sit in my police car?” he asks kindly, rubbing a large hand over her shaking back. “We can turn on the sirens.”

She nods before she pulls back. Her face is streaked with tears and a deep frown starkly contrasts her usual smile, the one that is on her face from the moment she steps into your classroom until she leaves.

“And the lights?” she whispers.

“Of course.”

Tim nods toward Angela and Nyla before he shifts Lilliana to his hip. He positions her so she can’t see the house as they walk. When she points to the firetruck waiting down the street, Tim takes a quick detour to see it. He sits in the driver’s seat of his shop with her on his lap. She lays her hands on the wheel and giggles before he shows her where the switch to turn on the lights and sirens is. Tim considers calling you, but you’d leave work, and he isn’t sure of the full story yet, anyway. So, for now, he’ll try to comfort her and distract her until they have more answers.

Back in the house, Lucy follows Angela through the rooms and looks at the damage caused by the murderer.

“Did she see anything?” Lucy asks. “The little girl?”

“We don’t think so. She was in the backyard when we got here. Definitely heard it, though. We’re not sure of anything. The woman is her mother, and there’s a male victim as well, but…” Angela trails off. “Until we get more answers, we’ll have to trust child services to get any answers she may have.”

“She knows Tim, maybe she’d talk to him,” Lucy suggests.

“Yeah, she’s in Tim’s wife’s class. That’s why I called you two. I was hoping you’d be willing to help secure the scene while Tim helps us work the case from a different angle.”

“Of course,” Lucy agrees.

Tim pulls Lilliana back into his arms when he arrives at the station. She hadn’t wanted to sit in the backseat until he promised to turn on the lights and stay with her the whole way. The moment he opens the door, she raises her arms toward him and clings to him.

“Use my office,” Wade says when Tim enters. “There’s some stuff in there I thought she may want.”

“Thank you,” Tim calls over his shoulder.

He closes the door behind him and sits in Wade’s chair. Tim expects Lilliana to climb out of his hold to search through the coloring sheets, a large bin of crayons, and toys littering the desk, but she only twists to sit in his lap.

“Which one?” Lilliana asks.

She pulls two coloring sheets toward her; one is a cop with a police dog and the other is a police car. Tim moves the chair closer to the desk so she can reach it to color as he taps the picture with the dog. She nods once before raising her chin to look through the different crayons. Tim unconsciously raises his arms by her sides to keep her steady as she leans over the desk. He watches her color and smiles at her enthusiasm.

“What color is this part?” she asks, pointing to the vest on the dog.

“Blue, black, or dark green,” he answers. “Since he’s brown, maybe do blue or green.”

“Can you help me?”

“Of course. With what?”

Tim leans forward and looks over her shoulder. She draws a line over the blank area at the top of the picture.

“There’s nothing here.”

“Well, you could draw a rainbow, or write your name…” Tim suggests. “Maybe even add another picture.”

“Rainbow,” she decides with a nod.

Someone knocks on the door, and Tim looks up. Wade shakes his head before he gestures toward a woman from child protective services.

“Grey,” Tim begins.

“It’s protocol, Bradford. I’m sorry,” Wade interrupts.

Tim takes a deep breath before he gently takes the crayon from her hand.

“Do you want to finish this later? We have to go see some people,” Tim explains.

“You keep it,” she answers.

Tim thanks her quietly before he stands. She lays her cheek against his shoulder, and he hugs her tightly before he sets her on the floor. Lilliana takes his hand and holds it firmly as they follow Wade out of his office.

“Hi, Lilliana,” the woman greets. “I’m Karen and I’ll be taking care of you for a while. Can you come with me, and we can talk?”

Lilliana shakes her head and tightens her grip on Tim’s hand.

“It’s alright, Lills,” Tim says. He squats beside her and adds, “She needs to make sure you’re okay.”

“I don’t want to,” Lilliana whispers.

“It’ll only be a few minutes, Lilli,” Karen says with a disarming smile.

Lilliana looks up at Karen and Tim sees tears building in her eyes even as she agrees. Tim reluctantly releases her hand and watches Karen lead her into a private room. Lilliana looks over her shoulder at Tim, her lip wobbles, and Tim hopes that she’s okay in there alone.

“What happens now?” Tim asks Wade. “Foster care?”

“Not today. They’ll take her to a shelter for tonight and push the paperwork through in the morning for foster care placement,” Wade answers. “You’ve done all you can do and more, Tim.”

“No, I haven’t. She’s gone through enough without having to move in with strangers who will never understand what kind of trauma she just experienced. You know that she won’t even be able to grieve in foster care,” Tim argues.

“It’s the way it is, Tim.”

Tim shakes his head, prepared to argue that there has to be a better way, but is cut off by Lilliana yelling before she begins crying. He stands up straighter, letting his crossed arms fall to his sides, and watches the door. Her crying grows in intensity before Karen pulls the door open and steps out.

“Officer Bradford?” she calls. “I could use your assistance in here.”

Tim nods but turns to Wade to say, “Let me take her home. We’ll take better care of her than any shelter.”

He rushes into the room and Lilliana immediately calms. As she calms down, Wade knows that Tim’s offer to take her home is more than just seeing a kid in need. Tim is the man for the job for more reasons than Wade can count.

“Karen, a word?” Wade calls.

“Bye!” you call with a wave as your last student is picked up.

The moment your classroom is empty, your smile falls. You move quickly on autopilot as you clean up today’s mess. Lilliana’s desk is untouched, your heart-covered sticky note still adhered to her name tag. As soon as everything is tidy, you gather your things and walk out. There’s too much on your mind to hang around this afternoon. Though an empty house doesn’t sound much better than an empty classroom, at least you won’t have to look at an empty desk with no answers about where its usual resident is.

When you pull into your driveway, you’re surprised to see Tim’s truck. He’s supposed to be at work for a few more hours, but you certainly won’t complain about his early return. You rush inside to tell him about your day and hug him tightly, but you stop short when you see the living room.

Dozens of bags, an oversized coloring pad, and a dismantled police car model litter the room. Tim is leaning back on the couch with none other than Lilliana asleep in his lap. Your eyes widen at the sight, and he sends you a close-lipped smile as he waves for you to come over. After you set your bag in its proper place, you sit beside him on your knees. Lilliana looks peaceful, you think, but you have so many questions that you don’t dwell on it long.

“She wasn’t at school today,” you whisper.

“Lucy and I got called to a double murder,” Tim explains. “She was there when we arrived and ran straight to me. Child services was going to put her in a shelter tonight, then foster care in the morning. I- uh, I couldn’t let her go through that, too, not with everything else she’s struggling with right now.”

“So, her parents were…”

“As far as we know, yeah. Her mom was ID’d at the scene, but Angela and Nyla are still working.”

You raise your hands to cover your mouth as your eyes water. Tim extends his arm toward you, and you twist to sit beside him. The movement jostles Lilliana, and you freeze as she stirs. Her eyes open briefly, and she smiles when she sees you. She moves so she’s between you and Tim, but drifts back to sleep quickly.

“You’re amazing,” you whisper to Tim.

He shakes his head and rubs your shoulder in response. You can’t imagine sending her to a foster home, where she’s just another temporary resident who gets the parents a government paycheck each month. Especially after what she just went through.

“Are you working tomorrow?” you ask.

“I took the day off,” Tim answers.

“I will too. I feel terrible, Tim. Maybe if I had called her parents earlier-“

“Don’t,” Tim interrupts softly. “Don’t think like that.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Bradford,” Lilliana says as she rubs her eyes to wake. “I wanted to come to school today.”

“That’s okay, sweetheart,” you assure as she climbs into your lap. “It was boring without you, anyway.”

She giggles before asking you to color with her, and you happily agree. Tim watches you interact with her and knows that he can’t do it. He can’t let her go.

“Tim,” you say as you stand beside your bed. “Did Lills see it?”

Tim moves his head to gesture for you to join him. When you’re in bed beside him and wrapped in his arms, Tim kisses your forehead.

“We don’t think so. She’ll have to talk to a psychiatrist and the detectives soon, but she was in the backyard when they arrived. At the least, though, she heard it,” he answers.

You ignore the tears running down your cheeks, the result of sympathy and concern for the young girl sleeping across the hall from you. Tim wipes your cheeks gently and whispers that everything will be okay. You trust him, but you know it won’t be okay for Lilliana if she has to acclimate to an entirely new life just hours after her parents were killed.

A small knock on the door draws your attention away from Tim. Lilliana stands in the doorway holding the police dog stuffed animal Tim bought for her on the way home.

“What’s wrong, Lilli?” Tim asks.

You move out of Tim’s hold and walk toward her. She hugs you tightly and mumbles that she missed you, and you close your eyes to keep more tears from leaking out. Tim smiles when you look back at him and moves so that there’s more room in the bed. As you set her between you and Tim, he mouths I love you over her head, and you waste no time in replying.

The following morning, as Lilliana eats breakfast and watches Paw Patrol beside you, you look toward Tim. Beginning the conversation about not sending her into foster care is harder than you anticipated. You hesitate, but Tim smiles as his eyes meet yours. 

“I know,” he answers before you begin.

You smile, glad that he knows you so well, and Tim pulls you close as he nods. You kiss him quickly before Lilliana calls for you. She raises a coloring of a cop, a woman, a kid, and a police dog.

“It’s us!” she cheers.

Tim smiles as you applaud her work. He’s as attached to her as you are, and he loves you so much that he knows exactly what you are thinking. This may not be exactly how he planned to become a parent, but he would do anything with you, even adopting one of your students. Seeing you interact with Lilliana in your home like this, though, makes Tim confident that he wants to have a child of his own with you, and Lilliana does seem like she would be a good big sister.

[starlightkun]

❧ teaser word count: 453 | full fic: 25.4k ❧ genre: fluff, enemies to lovers, single dad kun, single mom reader, there is some angst but not between reader and kun, more-so around them in terms of like life events ❧ warnings: cursing, kid on kid violence (biting lol) ❧ extra info: people are non-sexually called ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ in this so if u can’t be normal abt that maybe skip this one ❧ estimated release: thursday, october 3, 2024 6:00 p.m. est (a birthday present from me to me!)

“Wonderful, everyone is here,” Mrs. Chen, the older of the two teachers, announced.

“Qian Kun.” The man took it upon himself to do the introductions, bowing to you politely. He then ruffled the hair of the boy standing beside him, just above knee-height, “And this is my son Junyi. I am deeply sorry for Junyi biting Woobin, Miss…?”

“Y/L/N Y/N,” you half-nodded half-bowed back to him as best you could with Woobin in your arms. “And before we get into all that, what I really want to know is—” You rounded on the teachers. “How this could have even happened.”

Ms. Xu, the younger teacher with whom you had spoken yesterday, opened a door on the far side of the classroom, “Of course. We’ll be having the meeting in here.”

With a short sigh at how your question was once again brushed off, you stepped into the interior office space. It looked like it must be where the teachers took their breaks and did any sort of administrative work. A few desks were against the walls, closed laptops and bags set on a couple of them. There was a table set up in the middle, four chairs around it, and a small area with toys off to the side.

“We have a place over there for the children to play while we discuss,” Ms. Xu smiled, gesturing to the toys you’d spotted when you walked in.

Mr. Qian nodded, gently directing his son towards them, “Go on and play for a bit, Junyi. Daddy’s going to talk right over here, okay?”

Junyi toddled over and plopped himself down on the playmat, picking up a truck and doll, easily entertaining himself. The other three adults looked to you and your son expectantly.

“Thank you, but Woobin is going to be staying with me,” you informed them. All the talking had made Woobin stir, but he seemed rather content in your arms anyway, simply looking between all the adults with big, curious eyes.

“Ms. Y/L/N, I assure you, I had a talk with Junyi last night and again this morning about not biting our friends. He shouldn’t be doing that anymore.”

“And I assure you, Mr. Qian, my concerns are not about your parenting,” you told him frankly. “But Woobin will be remaining with me for the duration of this meeting.”

“Ms. Y/L/N, really, Woobin will be fine with Juny—”

“Mr. Qian, I’m failing to see how this is any of your concern.”

“Because you’re treating my kid like he’s a felon.”

“Well yours treated mine like a chew toy so excuse me for exercising some caution,” you finally snapped, tightening your grip around your son and cradling the back of his head.

⤷ masterlist

[airlocksandaviaries]

OLD MAN YAOI SUMMER WAS AMAZING AND WE LOVED IT BUT NOW ITS MONSTERFUCKER FALL, BABY!!!!!

I can’t put into words how much I loved Venom 3, genuinely it’s my favorite of the trilogy 🥹🤩

Spoilers below cut!!

Venom is not dead because I said so 😌

I CANT BELIEVE WE GOT SYMBIOTE YURI WITH DR PAYNE!!! I need more of them ASAP

Mrs Chen is probably the best thing about these movies

ALL THE SYMBIOTES FIGHTING AT THE END LEGIT MADE ME SCREAM AND KICK MY FEET

that family was adorable and an amazing addition to the story

SYMBROCK SHIT HAPPENED BRO. SERIOUS SYMBROCK SHIT.

VENOM CALLED EDDIE SEXY?!?

VENOM SAID EDDIE WOULD BE A GREAT DAD?!!??!!

EDDIE SAID HE NEEDED VENOM

The way Venom licked blood off of Eddie’s cheek and Eddie just thanked him. God they’re so homosexual

Venom being wholesome and interacting with kids in a cute way was something I didn’t even know I needed

Venom singing along to David Bowie and dancing to ABBA okay fruit basket

Guys I’m not normal about this film. I need to see it 10299238 more times.

THAT IS ALL FOR THIS POST. THANK YOU

(Currently typing this while sitting through the credits LMFAO)

[zebaji]

au where I mix up all of the Ninja's powers and backstories into a slushie mess and see what happens.

So far I have:

Wu gets bitten by the Great Devourer and becomes super manipulative and toxic, as he tries to make Ninjago perfect, neat, and orderly with the Golden weapons. (Think lord business from the lego movie) Too bad he refuses to use his Oni side to obtain four arms to use them together.

Garmadon still trains under Chen and practices the Dark arts, but understands the balance of good and evil, and is filled with guilt over the fact that Wu got bitten when it should have been him. Wu, who doesn't like that Garmadon leans into "evil" practices and banishes him to the underworld.

The Green Ninja is Morro, who is biologically Wu’s son. (yeah, you thought canon morro was bad, this morro is so much worse since he's literally the weapon in making Ninjago in Wu's image) His personality is pretty much the same as canon (perfectionist, obsessive, crazy) it's just that he is in fact the Green Ninja and Wu enables him a lot.

Before everyone figures out that Morro is the Green Ninja, they think it might be Kai, who is the brother of Maya and has the power of Wind. He's Morro's replacement in this au, in the sense that he is also desperate to become the Green Ninja by whatever means necessary, and Wu pits Morro and Kai in a rivalry to see who becomes the Green Ninja. And Morro, who cannot fail his father, becomes violent and kills Kai. Kai isn't great in this au either and ends up in the cursed realm and later becomes a ghost.

Misako sees how problematic Wu is and after Garmadon gets banished, she runs away with baby Lloyd and tries to take Morro too, but Wu freaks out and thinks she tried to kidnap Morro so that she could use the Green Ninja's power for her own gain and he kills her to "save Morro," and thinks he kills Lloyd too.

Lloyd's actually fine, and just grows up at Darkley's until he gets adopted by the Royal Family, much to his dismay, and becomes the Quiet One who is willing to punch a dude to get his dad back. Because he doesn't have his powers, he relies a lot on his dragon and Oni heritage.

Nya is the only child of Ray and Maya, and when they disappear, Chen finds and adopts her, and she becomes the sister of Skylor. Despite having the element of fire, she relies heavily on mechs, and loves to invent, letting her sister use her powers while she designs Chen’s button chair.

Pixal is Ninja of Ice and still was created by Cyrus Borg, so Zane is still in the Birchwood Forest, forgotten and stuck there until Lloyd finds him and offers him a place in the cult group he’s starting.

Cole's dad dies, and while he tries to honor his dad's dancing legacy, he still inherits his powers and is forced to become a ninja. He's still a popular entertainer and pretty well known in Ninjago as such, and he really doesn't want to be a Ninja full-time and is only doing it because he's scared of what Wu will do to his loved ones. I do not know what power he should get and I am open to ideas.

Jay was raised as Cliff Gordon's son and so he's wealthy but he is also extremely talented in robotics. He and Cyrus Borg collaborate a lot and is best friends with Pixal. He does not have powers and tries to help Cole get out of the team. Honestly, I have no idea about Jay either.

Harumi releases the Serpentine after her parent sends her to a boarding school and forget about her. She does not want to be forgotten, and in a rage over it, discovers she can control Lightning.

Morro finds her and takes her in, reassuring her that there is a place for her on his team.

The team consists of Morro, Ash, Cole, Pixal, and now Harumi, all trained under Wu.

And then Lord Garmadon crawls out of the Underworld, eyes glowing purple and with four arms, demanding to see his son, and everyone starts to panic because they are pretty sure Lloyd is dead.

[thebestandworstdayofjune]

everybody’s goin’ off the deep end (s.h. x reader)

A/N: Long time no see! I wrote this in the midst of Steve Harrington brain rot, I hope you enjoy! If you prefer, you can find it here on Ao3!

Summary: Your life has always been simple. Not necessarily easy, but simple. You know your way around the world you live in. You love your dad, your friends and your exceedingly nerdy babysitting charges. When you’re assigned to be Steve Harrington’s tutor because he is one step away from being kicked off the basketball team, you can feel things beginning to shift in your small town. And that’s just the beginning.

Friday, November  4, 1983

“I think it’s time we admit that this is hopeless.” Steve Harrington looked positively morose, hunched over his Hawkins High School issued copy of Macbeth for the third Friday in a row.

You did your best not to laugh, but he just looked so ridiculous leaning back in his chair far enough that the front legs rise off the ground, shoulders slumped and pencil tapping against the table rapidly. “It’s been ten minutes, and we’ve only made it through two pages.” If you hadn’t been anticipating the slam of the front two chair legs on the floor, you would have jumped out of your seat. You had several times in the past few weeks, even. 

But by now, you had the routine down. For the first fifteen minutes, Steve would joke and grumble, hoping that you would offer to cut your session short. Had he been assigned any other mandatory tutor during the meeting with Ms. Chen, the school counselor, and two out of three of his basketball coaches, he would have had a shot. But you’d had one too many reluctant students stuck in front of you at a library table in your time to give in to his whining. 

“Exactly!” He tapped his pen against the copy of Macbeth in front of him on the desk, accentuating his point. “Two pages in ten minutes is a horrible track record!” His eyebrows drew together, as they always did when he was particularly pouty. “Besides, Mrs. Brown already spoiled the whole thing.” You raised your eyebrow, continuing to make notes in your already  extensively annotated copy. “Calling it a tragedy in class kind of ruins the ending, you know?” You missed the way Steve’s eyes sparkled as you threw your head back in laughter. 

“That’s just the type of play, Steve. There’s comedies, tragedies, like Macbeth, and histories.” You glanced over to see Steve slumped over the table, his cheek resting on his hand. “It might be helpful to write that down.” He blinked, seemingly confused for a moment. “For the test?”

“There’s going to be a test?” Steve looked mournful. 

“I know that Mrs. Brown went over the syllabus on the first day of class. And there have definitely been tests over the other two books so far. What do you mean what test?” You looked up from your folder, where you had been shuffling through past syllabi to find a lopsided smirk on Steve’s face. “You can’t do that, Steve!”

“I’m offended you bought that! You know I’m taking this seriously.” He looked slightly sheepish at the realization you might not believe him. You took a moment to consider. You’d started studying together a few months ago, and Steve had been remarkably punctual, and had yet to cancel a session. He’d only forgotten to bring his work once and remained apologetic the whole session, even when you’d reassured him that it was fine. You’d spent the hour hunched over your notes with him beside you, you providing insight into the short story from class while Steve did his best to make you laugh. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” 

Steve’s eyes grew wide, mock astonishment clear on his face. “An apology?” 

“Oh my god, shut up, Harrington.” You playfully roll your eyes, before sliding your own copy of Macbeth towards him. “Trade me.” 

Steve glanced down at your copy, grinning. “Do they know you’re defacing school property, Ms. Clarke? I’m not sure that your father would approve.”

“My dad spends all day trying to convince middle schoolers to retain information about layers of the Earth’s crust. He’d just be glad I am taking an interest in an academic pursuit.” 

“Even if it’s English?” 

You smile to yourself, remembering the year you had to admit to your dad that your Science grade was not what it should be. You’d built being that daughter of Scott Clarke, science enthusiast and Earth and Biology Teacher extraordinaire of Hawkins Middle, up in your mind to be a heavy burden to bear. You’d been so afraid to hand your report card over, but he’d diligently ignored your C- and instead waxed poetic about your perfect English score. “Finally, someone to round out the knowledge base in this house!” He’d beamed and loaded you into the car for ice cream with an urgency unbecoming of the situation. 

“Especially if it’s English.” You leaned over the table, quickly finding where you and Steve had left off in your copy and pointing it out to Steve. “Start there, let’s try again.” You made it through the next two scenes, with only minor detours, usually when Steve found one of your annotations particularly amusing. 

The door to the library squeaked open, breaking your focus. Nancy and Barb hurried over to your table, crowding around your study materials. “Macbeth cannot possibly be so interesting that you forgot we had plans.” Nancy joked, Steve’s arm settled over the back of the chair. Nancy insisted it ‘wasn’t anything serious’ but you caught them making moon eyes at each other the last few times that your tutoring sessions ran over, and you could have sworn that last week he slipped his number into her notebook when he thought no one was looking. 

You glanced up at the clock, cringing internally when you realized you were, in fact, fifteen minutes late to meeting your best friends in the parking lot. Across the table, Steve let out a heavy sigh. “We were a little too into the ghost of Banquo in here.” 

Barb gave Steve a weird look. You were almost sure that she was going to say something, her eyebrow was quirking up in the way it usually does when she is about to be snarky, but the moment passed, somewhat awkwardly, but passed all the same. “I’ll see you next week, Steve.” You stood up from your chair,  Nancy and Barb following your lead. Steve started to slide your copy of Macbeth back to you across the table. “Keep it, maybe you can get through a few chapters on your own before I see you again.” 

“You firing me, Clarke?” 

“I don’t think I have the power to fire you from mandatory tutoring, Harrington.” 

Steve gifted you a rarity, one of his genuine smiles that makes the corners of his eyes crinkle slightly before standing up and heading for the library doors. “See you on Monday, Ladies!” He offered the three of you a joking salute and a wink before heading for the parking lot. 

“Doesn’t he know we are all going the same way?” Barb said, breaking the silence of the library. The three of you dissolved into giggles, and you took your time packing your book bag, not not in the hopes that you would avoid running into Steve again in the parking lot. As much as you loved Nancy, it was almost painful for you and Barb to watch her try to keep whatever is going on with her and Steve from the two of you.

______________________________________________________________

“What about this?” Nancy held up a pink blouse off the rack, eyebrows raised. 

“It’s nice, Nance, but I just can’t understand the urgency.” You laughed. The three of you’d had plans to head to Benny’s for milkshakes, as you did every Friday, but on the way Nancy had begged to stop at Pam’s, the clothing store downtown. Reluctantly, you’d parked your dad’s car out front and let her drag the two of you inside. Nancy ducked her head, blush taking over her cheeks as she put the shirt back. Her dismissive muttering could barely be heard over the store’s speakers, blaring the new Cyndi Lauper single. 

“Oh come on, Nance.” Barb rolled her eyes, snatching the blouse off the rack again. Nancy’s eyes were wide as her head snapped up to meet Barb’s gaze. “You are horrible at this. Just tell us what’s going on with Steve!”

Nancy grabbed for the shirt, but Barb was holding it over her head while you did your best to hold in your laughter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Nancy grabbed for the shirt, looking back at you over her shoulder clearly asking for help. All you could do was shrug. 

“We saw him put his number in your notebook, and the last two times I called your line was busy! It’s never busy!” Nancy’s blush was creeping down her neck. She gave up the fight for the blouse, looking at you accusatorially. Another shrug, and a nod had her looking like she was going to stomp her foot. 

“I just-“ she paused, taking a deep breath “I need to make sure that Steve Harrington isn’t going to steal both of my friends.” 

“Barb what are you talking about?” On some level, you could understand why she was worried about Nancy. It wasn’t typical for the three of you to have secrets. But you’d tutored countless people, or joined different after school activities, and she’d never worried about the state of your friendship before. 

Barb hesitated, suddenly looking ashamed. “Nothing, it’s-” she dropped the hanger back on the rack, her hands twisting together nervously. “It’s nothing, swear.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. You and Nancy shared a look, not entirely convinced. 

Without a word, the two of you wrapped your arms around Barb sandwiching her between the two of you as you had done since preschool whenever someone was having a hard day. It had been a while since you’d had reason for a best friend sandwich, but when Barb wrapped her arms around the both of you, leaning her head on top of Nancy’s, you knew you’d made the right choice. “You should get the shirt, Nance. I think Steve will really like it.” Your voice came out muffled, and you couldn’t see Nancy’s face because it was smushed into your arm, but you would have sworn that you felt her smile.

______________________________________________________________________________

You pulled into the Hawkins Middle parking lot doing your best to keep your smile from turning into a grimace. Nancy had been stuck debating between two options at Pam’s for a solid twenty minutes, and after Barb’s minor breakdown, you hadn’t felt it was the time to rush anyone. You threw the car into park and barely managed to stop yourself from sprinting as you headed for your dad’s classroom. The tension left your chest when you heard the screaming from down the hall. In any other situation it would have had the opposite effect, but hearing the AV Club chattering away meant that even if you were running late, your dad is running later. 

“Like I said boys, it should be here next week but there is just no telling for sure.” Your dad had run the Hawkins Middle AV Club for as long as you could remember, but he had never had such an enthusiastic membership. In years past, you’d stop by a meeting or two after outgrowing the appropriate age for club participation, but you’d babysat for a few of the kids before, and you had a special soft spot for them. The unanimous, synchronized exclamations of “Bea!” as you rounded the corner led you to believe the feelings were mutual. 

Bea was a nickname that had pulled double duty since you were little. Bea, as in short for Beatrice, your middle name after your grandmother who had passed long before your arrival, and Bea as in bumble bee. You were a Bea to everyone, but when your dad used the name, you both knew the difference. You gave everyone a warm smile and a small wave, plopping down in a desk close to the door. 

“As soon as it comes in, you all will be the first to know.” 

“And the only ones to care.” Mike muttered, causing you to hid your smile behind your hand, in an effort not to encourage them. The boys almost instantly began to speak over one another, calling dibs on who got the first go, where they should call first. Your dad gave you a smile that said ‘there’s nothing I can do about this’. 

You coughed a few times, gaining the boys’ attention. “You guys do know you are cutting it close if you want to be somewhere with cable, so you can catch the new episode of that Dungeons and Dragons show. It comes out on Fridays, right?” The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, before they started hastily shoving books into backpacks and tearing out of the room. You stuck your head out of the doorway, calling after the boys to remind them you would see them at the Wheeler’s on Sunday. You were planning on studying for your chemistry test with Nancy. You had probably fifty vocab words to make flashcards for, not to mention the equations and elements you needed to know for your test next week. They waved without turning around before sprinting out the doors of the school. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Sunday, November 6, 1983

You’d been able to hear the boys screaming in the basement from your spot on Nancy’s bed for the last few hours. You had a rare weekend off from babysitting, as most of your regulars were currently 9 hours deep into a Dungeons and Dragons campaign in the Wheeler’s basement. Weekends without a babysitting gig were more frequent now that the boys were old enough to bike home from school alone. You would watch Lucas’s little sister on occasion, and Holly more regularly, but it was far more common to end up at the Wheeler’s with Nancy for a while and then offer give the boys a ride home. They would take you up on it if the weather is bad but more often than not, they preferred to race home. 

You and Nancy had been pretending to study for the same amount of time. You’d arrived with the best of intentions, your bag heavy with notecards and textbooks, but Nancy had a new copy of Tiger Beat, and then she’d launched into an hours-long grievance against Steve having yet to take her on a real date. Apparently, grabbing a milkshake after school didn’t count, “we do that all the time anyways”, and a makeout session in his care was not cutting it either, “besides it was only like, one time”. Ever since Barb had weaseled the confession out of her at Pam’s, it was like the dam was broken. You’d managed to corral her into focusing on studying for all of ten minutes  while you secretly contemplated if it was over stepping to bully him into just asking her to go steady if it meant you got your study partner back, when her new blue phone started ringing on her bedside table. She popped up to answer it, and you resisted the urge to roll your eyes. You’d made double the note cards she had and you still had two chapters to go. You’d largely tuned her out until you heard Steve’s name. 

Your eyes snapped to Nancy’s, a blush already having taken over a vast majority of her face. You heard some murmuring from your spot across the bed, but nothing that you could make out clearly. Maybe he was finally working up the nerve to invite her on a proper date. Her shoulders deflated, and the blush was quickly receding from her face when she looked at you. Without a word, she held the phone out to you. 

You frantically shook your head, she shoved the phone farther across the bed, causing the base to tumble onto the floor, pulling the handset out of her grasp with it. You both scrambled for the phone but Nancy was quicker, snatching it off of the floor and holding it up to your ear. “Hello?” You asked, wincing when your voice came out squeakier than you were used to. 

“Hi, I, uh, I called the number you gave me but your dad answered. Said you’d be here.” Steve sounded almost bashful, which was not something you were used to hearing from him. 

“Did my dad say something to you?” Nancy leaned her head closer to the receiver, and you adjusted to make more room for her. 

“Just that learning is a voracious and exciting river, and you have to give yourself over to the current, or something.” Nancy started to giggle, you gently shoved her back against her pillows. 

“Yeah, that sounds like him. Did you,” you pause, struggling to sound less surprised than you were, “need something, Harrington?” 

“I just,” he paused, and you could almost see the way his gaze gets stuck on the ceiling while he tries to work up the nerve to say something he is worried will make him sound stupid. “I needed to know what was up with Lady Macbeth’s weird bloodstain monologue. All you had in the margins was that she was ‘wickedly fucked’. Don’t get me wrong, you’re right, I think anyway, but why is she so crazy all of a sudden.” 

You sighed. You’d given him your number after he’d canceled a session during lunch after you and your dad had already arranged the car schedule one too many times, and begged him to call if he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it as soon as he could. It wasn’t exactly for study emergencies, not that you had ever really expected Steve Harrington to have one. “She and Macbeth have swapped how they were at the beginning. Remember how you said he was being a bitch and she was a badass for plotting Duncan’s murder?” You could hear his hair rustling against the speaker, and you could picture him nodding through the phone. It didn’t seem like the time to remind him there was no possible way you could see him. “Well, now she is regretting rushing in and being brash, and he has fully accepted what the witches said at the beginning.” “That it’s his destiny to be the king?” “Yep, you’ve got it. The whole thing is about how power and ambition is corrupting.” More rustling. “Steve, are you nearly done with the play?” “I finished it, that one part was bugging me that’s all.” 

“You finished it?!” You winced at the surprise that was clear in your voice. Nancy had not looked this confused since the time you told her the boy’s campaign had actually been interesting the last time you watched them as a group after Joyce got called in for a last minute shift, and Jonathan had photography club, rendering him unavailable. You shrugged, not sure how to explain it. 

“Your notes were really helpful, and funny. I didn’t mean to but, yeah.” 

“Oh.” 

“Oh?” 

“I just, you said that reading Macbeth was worse than taking sandpaper to your eyes.” He’d looked like Mike when he was ten and realized that you had tricked him into finishing the steamed broccoli his mother had left for dinner, the picture of theatrical disgust. 

“I said your notes made it better, didn’t I?” 

You blinked a few times as Nancy scooched back to your side. “Well, I guess we will have a lot to talk about on Monday, then.” “Yeah, yeah. Um, tell Nancy to have a good night.” He went silent for a moment, and you searched for the right words. “And you too.” He added, derailing your train of thought. 

“Sure, Steve, goodnight.” You placed the phone back on the base as if it were a live bomb. “What was that?” 

“What do you mean what was that? You’re the one he was calling!”  

You gasped. “If one of us is more accustomed to receiving phone calls from Steve Harrington, it’s going to be you!” 

Nancy rolled her eyes, a signal as clear as ever that she was gearing up for what she liked to call a lively discussion, and you hated to admit was an argument. Before she could, the phone rang again. You held your breath, preparing to hear Steve’s voice through the phone. Thankfully, it was Barb calling to ask if Nancy needed a ride to school tomorrow, she did, and if they had been studying for Kaminsky’s test, sort of. The conversation quickly devolved into talking about Steve after Barb asked if Nancy had heard from him. Nancy was recounting the awkward conversation you’d just finished and you were doing your best not to help when there was a knock on the door frame. 

You glance up to see Dustin standing at the threshold of Nancy’s room, holding a pizza box. He shook it enthusiastically. “There’ two slices left if you want ‘em, sausage and pepperoni!” 

You are about to nod enthusiastically when Nancy tells Barb to hold on. She leaves the phone on the bed and shuts the door in Dustin’s face. “Nance!” You frown at her, and you’re off the bed and out the door before she can respond. “Dusty, wait up!” You call when you get to the top of the stairs, catching a glimpse of his hat disappearing around the corner. You find him in the kitchen, depositing the pizza box on the counter. “Did you finish the campaign?” 

“Nah, we just got to the fight with the-”

“With the demogorgon? Mike was telling me about it when I was here watching Holly last week. He seemed pleased with the planning.” Dustin shrugged, looking unusually gloomy. “Is this about Nancy?” Another shrug. You throw an arm around his shoulders, walking him to the backdoor. “She didn’t mean it, she’s having a weird night.” 

“Seems like she’s been having a weird year.” He mumbled, pulling the door and stepping outside. “There’s something wrong with your sister,” he announced, making his way over to his bike, where it sat in the Wheeler’s garage. 

“What are you talking about?” Mike huffed, exasperated. 

Lucas was quick to chime in. “Yeah, it’s because she’s been dating that douchebag, Steve Harrington.” His gaze shifted to you, looking guilty. 

You held your hands up in the air in surrender. “Don’t look at me, I’m just trying to keep him from getting kicked off the basketball team on account of his English grade.” A touch of mirth made it’s way into your eyes. “Didn’t you hear, we might actually have a shot at State this year.” The boys dissolved into giggles, kicking up the stands on their bikes, fully aware that you had never the willpower to know anything about the school’s sports teams. 

“The day that you care about the basketball team is the day that Will rolls two nat twenties in a row.” Lucas laughed. Will was a notoriously bad roller. 

You ruffled Will’s hair, discreetly checking to make sure all of the boys had their bags and the flashlights on their bikes turned on. You’d been called late at night over forgotten homework one enough that you did your best to confirm they had anything before they got too far down the street. Lucas rolled his eyes. “We have everything mom.” The rest of the boys shook with laughter. 

“Let’s see how you feel being woken up at eleven o’clock over missing math homework, and then we can talk. Are you sure you guys wouldn’t rather have a ride home?” The boys shook their heads in unison, rebuffing you when you asked fi they were sure.

They confirmed one more time that you had no updates about the new radio your dad had ordered for the AV club, before beginning to pedal away. “Be safe, boys!” You called, stepping inside, leaving Lucas and Dustin’s unified “We will!” And the sounds of Mike and Will talking softly drifting in from the garage behind you. 

You quickly said your goodbyes to Mr. And Mrs. Wheeler, stuck your head in to say goodnight to Nancy and gave Holly a hug before heading out to your car. By the time you got home, your dad was in bed, a note on the fridge reminding you about your early wake up time for tomorrow, so that he could be at Hawkins’ Middle to receive a package. You were thoroughly tired by the time that your head hit the pillow, but somehow, a pit had formed in the bottom of your stomach. It wasn’t often you tossed and turned, but when you did, you were an old pro. You lasted fifteen minutes before crawling out of bed and setting yourself up on the couch, a cup of tea and a worn old copy of A Wrinkle in Time your dad acquired in high school. It was your favorite bedtime story growing up and it usually did the trick even now. You read until your eyes got heavy and your tea grew cold, before dragging yourself back to bed in the hopes of feeling more like a well rested, responsible, functioning human in the morning. If you were being honest, the chances of that were slim. 

next chapter

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Kiss-eki: Dear to Me

*Kicks open door*

SURPRISE BITCHES! I am several days late and hundreds of dollars short, but I did finally *finally* decide to watch Kiseki: Dear to Me in an attempt to add one more show to the Completed Watchlist for 2023. This was a show I was planning on watching a bit earlier, probably closer to the time it was actually airing, because I'd heard it was ridiculous and thought it would be a good show to have on in the background during work. But @ginnymoonbeam had my best interests at heart and told me that I Absolutely Could Not Do That because There Was Body Language Dammit!

If I have not made it clear, THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME, GINNY!

Kiseki was absolutely wild and completely insane if you try to describe a single aspect of the plot whatsoever, but I would have given it a ten off sheer entertainment value if it wasn't for those back to back fake outs with Chen Yi being shot and Fan Ze Riyu being stabbed. But, I digress. I have only seen three things from Taiwan at this point, but those three shows have provided quite a lot of evidence to the claim that Taiwan is nearly unparalleled in their ability to portray domesticity and physical chemistry. I have also heard that Taiwan has a tendency to create content on more taboo subjects, and Kiseki was my first forray in to that side of Taiwan considering Ai Di and Chen Yi are brothers and Bai Zong Yi is a minor when he starts his relationship with Fan Ze Riu. I think both of these subjects were very smartly handled in their set up and their structure. I normally hate the like, adoptive siblings falling in love thing, cause like...that's your sibling, but they don't give us a lot if any flashback to these boys growing up together, and they don't share last names, or really call their adoptive father Dad, so there are quite a number of abstractions in that dynamic that means this is the first time I didn't have a squick about it. And having Fan Ze Riu trying so desperately not to succumb to his feelings for Bai Zong Yi and to put that distance between them, to have Bai Zong Yi be living alone and also be 17 so he's pretty close to legal age, and then to have Bai Zong Yi be the pursuer in their relationship both serve extremely well in making that relationship feel responsibly handled.

I have not been in the tags, so forgive me if this has already been done, but I have not stopped thinking about the first kiss between Ai Di and Chen Yi or the first kiss between Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Riu since I saw them and I simply *must* do a scene/body language breakdown about both of them. God, it's good to be back!

[side note: I was going to split this up with funny titles like Cat Boy and Mr. Sulky, but I realized that actually could apply to both couples...]

Ai Di and Chen Yi

Okay FIRST OF ALL, I just want to say that I love Ai Di, I love how ruthless and blood thirsty he is and how incredibly dangerous and scary he could be...if he wasn't so easy to pick up and carry around like a football, or like...a feral, hissing kitten. I am going to focus mostly on the first kiss that Chen Yi initiates with Ai Di because holy shit was there so much complex emotion and reaction packed in to that pretty small moment, but before I do that I am contractually obligated to acknowledge how fucking brilliant it is to show how much/how well Ai Di and Chen Yi know each other, by having Ai Di torture Chen Yi for information by threatening to feed Chen Yi incredibly spicy baby corn AND TO HAVE THAT TACTIC WORK. And to show how much Chen Yi tolerates by having him easily get out of the restraints and tie Ai Di up when he gets bored. Fucking incredible character choice to show how absolutely batshit Ai Di is, fucking incredible relationship choice to show how well Ai Di knows Chen Yi, and fucking incredible choice to use for a call back later. Also, fuck this show for that birthday cake scene! Brutal.

Okay. That said:

You know Ai Di has not for one second stopped loving Chen Yi, and now he is being met with some actual interest from Chen Yi. Chen Yi is full reciprocating what Ai Di has wanted for so long and if this were a typical BL with more simplestic characterization, we would have gotten the moment where Ai Di just melts in to it, fully lets himself have it. Accepts that Chen Yi has woken up, gotten with the program, and is ready to be in a relationship with him. And to be honest, that is what I was expecting. Ai Di has been such a loud and obvious simp for Chen Yi that I thought for a moment he would be the kind of person to let himself have it. To not question it too hard, especially because he is young and impulsive. So imagine my surprise when I got this reaction from him instead:

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Ai Di likes to challenge, likes to push buttons, likes to press. And he starts this scene doing just that. He is on his way to tucking Chen Yi in to bed (folding the edge of the bed spread over him because Chen Yi is drunk off his ass and too heavy for Ai Di to manhandle under the covers. But the second that Chen Yi starts simping over his Boss again, Ai Di stops performing any level of care for Chen Yi, and you can see this little change in his face where he gets annoyed and actually undoes his little moment of care and pulls the bedspread back off of Chen Yi and then he postures and he’s trying to act tough, and he’s needling intentionally, and all of these things where he is trying to be antagonistic to Chen Yi because that is the only way that Ai Di really knows how to express his emotions and he’s butt hurt about Chen Yi once against obsessing over someone Ai Di knows he can’t have when he is right there. 

Now, Ai Di gets manhandled a lot by Chen Yi and while he isn’t able to break out of it, he does very often struggle/fight back to get out of Chen Yi’s grip when he’s been baby carried away from a scene like a sack of potatoes. Which is why I do think Ai Di is giving in to his own feelings a bit here because he…doesn’t do that. He lets Chen Yi pull him closer, he lets Chen Yi push him up against the wall. And he’s still needling but it’s all bark, no bite. When he starts calling Chen Yi impotent his face softens looking up at him. 

And then Chen Yi goes in for the kiss and Ai Di’s eyes go wide, you can see an entire internal monologue running through his head. I am fairly confident there are some what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck’s going through his head when Chen Yi first kisses him. 

gif by @khaotungsfirst

There is a moment, just a moment so quick where Ai Di kisses back, where his heart gets the better of his judgment and he lets himself *have it* for *just* a second, and then his brain snaps back almost immediately and he bites Chen Yi and pushes him away. 

And honestly, I do not understand how actors work, because Ai Di’s face twitches. How the fuck does Louis do that?! He’s out of breath, and his mouth is agape, and he looks horrified, and heartbroken, and confused, but maybe a little hopeful. Like he won’t let himself believe that Chen Yi would actually do this. Like he is thinking Chen Yi is doing this out of pity, or just to shut him up, or mess with him. Because Ai Di messes with Chen Yi all the time.  This is what Ai Di wants. He wants Chen Yi, but now that he is face to face with the possibility he does not have the ability to believe in it. 

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

And in a very rare occurrence he listens to Chen Yi when Chen Yi tells him to get out of his room. The gears are definitely turning, but he simply cannot believe it, and it is so fascinating to me thinking about all these little microexpressive moments we get from Ai Di later on in the show that he really does not believe that Chen Yi kissing him in Episode 6 was Chen Yi actually admitting feelings, because every time that Ai Di tries something like torturing Chen Yi with spicy baby corn, or flirting to try to get Chen Yi to be uncomfortable or to back off, he reacts with genuine confusion when Chen Yi flirts back. 

Case in point: 

gif by @25shadesoffebruary

gif by @shijiujun

Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Riu First Kiss

It’s really interesting for me to compare this kiss to the Ai Di and Chen Yi kiss because they feel like completely mirrored (read: reversed) reactions. Where Ai Di leans in to his kiss for a moment for a moment and then forces himself to push away, preventing further intimacy, Fan Ze Rui forces himself to push away for a moment and then leans in to it, allowing the intimacy to proceed.

gif by @alejunsu

The set up is incredible, and in my opinion, foreshadows the fake amnesia plot in that Ze Rui is absolutely laser focused on his task (treating Zong Yi’s wounds) and intentionally ignoring everything else because he knows that it is irresponsible for him to initiate a relationship with a seventeen year old. Zong Yi is the first to lean in and go for a kiss, and he lingers at a distance that is respectful but with obvious intent for as long as it takes Ze Rui to look up and notice. There is a split second where Ze Rui’s eyes flit down to Zong Yi’s lips, and then he puts himself right back on task. Zong Yi is not to be dissuaded and goes in for the kiss again. Ze Rui notices, and grabs at Zong Yi’s shoulder to stop him, furrowing his brow in what I would consider confusion and focus, but once again his eyes betray him and he looks back at Zong Yi’s lips. This time without looking away, so Zong Yi continues, leaning in slowly and Ze Rui is drawn in at this point, he is frozen there, he isn’t trying to disengage from the inevitable anymore, unable to rebel against his own desire. 

gif by @alejunsu

Their lips meet, and to me it looks like Ze Rui is shocked, like his brain has short circuited and he doesn’t know where to go from here. It’s like his body is just reacting and reacting before his brain can catch up with the responsibility. He kisses back before his brain has really processed what is happening, and then he knows he shouldn’t be doing this so he tries to push away in the most half-hearteded attempt to be responsible, and a second later he’s abandoned the effort and started engaging more enthusiastically in the kiss. 

I do not fucking know how Hsu Kai does it because I swear to god Fan Riyu was cycling through about a hundred different emotions in this one moment and they were all acting against his physical reaction to the kiss. The way his arm goes out to Bai Zong Yi's shoulder to try to keep physical distance between the two of them, while he is having a full out internal war with himself? Holy fucking shit. It’s really like his brain is going “is this actually happening? Shit yes it is I have to- fuck it” 

gif by @maxescheibechlinichacheli

And at the start of his active participation in the kiss he is still not letting himself have it. I think he is still stuck on the fact that he shouldn’t be doing this, and as a result he pushes Zong Yi back so he can see his face, study it. All it takes is for Bai Zong Yi to go back in yet again to continue their kiss, and then it’s all over for Fan Ze Rui. He’s all in. His hand goes to Zong Yi’s face, to his neck, and before we know it he is pulling himself in to Zong Yi’s lap from the floor so  smoothly. 

Reunion Sex 

I initially was only going to focus on the Ep 6 Ai Di x Chen Yi and the Episode 7 Zong Yi x Ze Rui moments in this post, but I am so in love with the structure of the reunion sex scene that I absolutely had to talk about it. 

Again, I do not understand how actors work because Hsu Kai just knocks it out of the motherfucking park. I love that when Fan Ze Rui rouses from sleep and starts muttering under his breath and engagin with Zong Yi, you don’t need any visual confirmation from the story whatsoever to understand that Ze Rui definitely has actual dreams of reuniting with Bai Zong Yi. And you don’t need that additional confirmation because of how Hsu Kai sells the talking in his sleep moment here when he’s riding on the pills and alcohol. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

He blinks through heavy lids and reaches out toward Zong Yi instantly, his smile is absent and dreamy, and unrestrained in a way that genuinely impresses me because I feel like it is hard to pull off acting the kind of drowsy you are when you’re still trapped in the limbo between wake and sleep when you’re not actually experiencing it. Ze Rui’s touches are unrestrained, his eyes are barely opened under their own weight, and he’s loose and droopy still when Bai Zong Yi lifts him in to the hug. Ze Rui’s bones look heavy and his muscles look loose, and he’s not really able to maintain his own structure as a result. Settling back flat pretty quickly have Zong Yi has released him from his embrace. 

And then the light changes and the setting gets dreamier despite the fact that Ze Riu is actually starting to wake up, being reminded this is real, Zong Yi is real with grounded touches that we see in close up. And I am so sad we don’t get to see Ze Rui’s face at the exact moment of the scene when it clicks for him that this is real, because it happens during the close up of the hands (which I am also fine with :D). But when we pull back out into the wider shot, Ze Rui is already sobbing against Bai Zong Yi’s cheek. And Ze Rui tries his damndest to be his normal jokey, smiley self once he knows what is happening is real, because that’s who Zong Yi loves, and that’s who Zong Yi deserves after all the pain he’s suffered for Ze Rui but instead he just…breaks. Y’all I lost it at the way all the strength just falls away from Ze Rui’s voice when he says “kiddo”. How small he sounds when he says he’s sorry. The meekness in his voice during his own apology speaks volumes for how important it is, how much weight it carries. Because Ze Rui knows what happened to Zong Yi over the past four years. He knows all of it. He knows that Zong Yi went to prison to protect him, he knows that Zong Yi got attacked there, he knows that Zong Yi has memory problems now because of it. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

He has all of this guilt that is driving the way he interacts with Bai Zong Yi in their interlude here. By the way: “It’s been 1,573 days. Did it hurt?” is joining my list of Incredibly Devastating Lines. And it’s not just because of the line itself, it’s not just because of the way Bai Zong Yi shakes his head no. It’s especially devastating to me because right before Ze Rui asks the question, he slides his hand up to the back of Bai Zong Yi’s head and massages it a little bit with his thumb, like he’s trying to rub at an ache in hopes of getting rid of the pain. It is in no way the focus of the scene, and the action is mostly cut off and regailed to the edge of the screen, but jesus fucking christ it did wonders for me in terms of selling the scene. 

Anyway, Ginny was right, the body language was incredible, and I’m glad I didn’t watch this live or else I’d have gotten zero sleep writing essays every day of the week about some of these scenes

[shijiujun]

WHY YOU CAN TRY WATCHING YUAN ZUI 原罪 Original Sin (2024)

Okay I've watched up to 20 episodes (out of 25 I think) and can say that this is a mild, low-level rec — just for people who MIGHT be interested in it, and don't have too much expectations on script etc. Off the cuff, it's very SCI-esque production but with slightly worse lines and acting (I'll explain later) BUT the filming visuals aren't bad, main characters are cute, and the cases objectively are pretty okay. My two cents is - if you're bored and looking to just pass the time, you could watch this, but if not, you won't be losing out on much either, but it's worth a try.

IN GENERAL

It passes as a detective drama - to be very fair, they've really tried their best to do a detective drama properly with the hints, the process, the autopsies, the high management police relations, some spy work, some vulnerabilities, some teamwork, some misunderstandings and arguments, some backstory and some PTSD < they've got all the makings of a good show, plus Wang Haoxuan and Chen Huan the two main leads are nice to look at, and their acting is passable.

Clunky script, lines and acting - Personally I think a lot of the lines were not necessary, and because you stuff like a scene out of place, there's like a lot of unnecessary emotion at strange places you wouldn't expect logically LOL. Some of the clues are also a bit ??? I mean I watch with a lot of suspension of disbelief trust me, but I found myself LOL-ing with a cringe at some places. A little overboard in acting also for the PTSD or like the cases that really affect the two male leads, like you can feel it's a tad over the top in terms of trying to get a feel for the scene, but I mean, like I said, low expectations.

If they had a better production and more episodes, I think this might have turned out to be 100% better. It's a hardcore detective drama, so much so that technically some character development scenes would have done it well but they're like almost overly focused on the detective parts of it and like relationships are all for show, but we'll make do.

SUMMARY

Dai Yu (played by Wang Haoxuan), a medical examiner, works closely with Zheng Ming (played by Chen Huan), a police squad captain to solve five cases (5 episodes per case) — they've known each other for a long time, as Zheng Ming's mentor is Dai Yu's dad, and their relationship goes way back. Between them is the death of Dai Yu's father, who was shot right in front of Dai Yu, and the death of Zheng Ming's best friend Hai Shan, who was exposed for his undercover role and shot to death by Zheng Ming by accident during a hostage situation. This results in Zheng Ming being unable to shoot a person after, afraid that he would miss his shot like he did. As they work through several cases, they unravel secrets of what happened in the years after these two deaths.

Total 25 episodes

Playing on iQIYI, but don't know if there are subs since it's so obscure as a production there's barely any promo of it online

BROTHERHOOD (AHEM)

Truly a brotherhood like as if they're allergic to bromance BUT there are really like split seconds where you have to do a double take OKAY! They're kind of close because Dai Yu's dad was Zheng Ming's mentor, but Dai Yu himself took a while to warm up to Zheng Ming and Zheng Ming is kinda hot-headed, and misunderstands people really quickly. The both of them switch between being real familiar with each other to super professional like SUPER professional.

EP. 1: Zheng Ming sends Dai Yu back but Dai Yu has fallen asleep in the car so he literally removes the seatbelt for Dai Yu and then they just fall asleep in the car like that.

EP. 6+7: Dai Yu has his own house but when he sleeps over at the police housing he rooms with Zheng Ming, and Zheng Ming always nags at him for sleeping with his shoes on. And always buys him breakfast. And when Dai Yu once again falls asleep while talking to Zheng Ming without taking his shoes off, Zheng Ming takes it off for him and is all like "There you go again, sleeping with your shoes on."

EP. 15: After having a cold war with each other for like 3 episodes, Dai Yu tags along on a bust without permission and nearly gets knifed and Zheng Ming is pissed off as fuck going like: "What if that blade really hit the mark?! If it was a gun, you'd also step right in front of it?!" and then he walks off and then Dai Yu says, "If it was you (in danger), I definitely would stand right in front of the gun."

There are a lot of other moments, but it's always just RIGHT when you think it could be a bromance moment NOPE they make it so professional I'm like BRUH!!!

But otherwise for me personally, who's a low-maintenance viewer, this hits the spot and I'd keep watching!! Edit: Just finished watching the whole thing and ARGH wow talk about the most abrupt cold-feeling ending ever LMAO?!!?!

[snazzilystoopid]

Kai Smith-Jiang Headcannons!

Here's Kai next! Enjoy!!

Starting off, I headcannon that he's Chinese and Polynesian

He's definitely gym buddies with Cole but just can't be bothered to commit to working out all the time

The guy's lazier than you think lmao 😭

He's got burn marks up his arms, and he also has a high pain tolerance, especially when it comes to burns

He loves spicy food

You can literally cook stuff on his skin

Great to be around during winter, not so great during summer

Dating Skylor Chen, but they always argue over the pettiest things most of the time

Don't get him wrong though, he loves her sm and they usually make up like 15 minutes after because Kai craves her attention lol

He's bi, he actually was commonly asked out alot by both men and women

Pro at skateboarding

Nya's his no. 1 best friend and he'd do anything for her

He didn't actually have a proper education, because he had to look after Nya in the absence of his parents

He goes through half a tub of gel every couple days

Most famous ninja, he's an influencer and probably has half of Ninjago following him on Chirp

Lloyd is like a little brother to him, and he always looks out for him

If anything ever happened to Lloyd or Nya, Kai would instantly blame himself

He has two ear peircings on each ear, one of them always matches with Skylor's

This man will swear in almost every sentence he speaks, he's just so pissed at everything all the time

His favourite thing to do is just ride around on a motocycle just for the feeling of wind in his face and hair.....no he doesn't wear a helmet

And YES he legit thinks that he's a movie's main character and everybody else are just extras

He owns a leather jacket that used to belong to his dad, Ray, and he'll wear it literally everywhere when he's not wearing his ninja gi

Thanks for reading !! <33

[somelegobird]

I need something to do so uh,,, *ahem*

What every character has said they love(d) (according to the fandom wiki transcripts)

Same structure as my wish list, this doc has it colour coded and some extra notes from me if you're curious.

I'm not taking tone into account here because I can't understand it!! I'm also only counting stuff that they said themselves, if someone else said they love something/one it won't be counted. Maybe if I get bored one day I'll create a second version in the doc that does include them, but don't count on it.

I've only done this to the episode The Spell at the Waterfall (DR s2e5) because that's the latest transcript available SOMEONE PLEASE GO DO THE TRANSCRIPTS AAA

Acronix

For Kai and Nya to try and escape

Arin

The idea of looking out for ways to help anywhere he can

His parents

Benthomaar

Trimaar

Brad

Planting flowers

Chen

Buttons

Lessons

Cole

To visit his Mom and Dad

The smell of land hurtling towards you in the middle of the night

His Tread Assault

Ceremonies

Chocolate-covered shell peas

Slow jam

Dareth

Mr. Pale's work

When a plan comes together in his head

Delara

Nadakhan

Dr. Julien

Zane

Ed

A tour of the Bounty

To see Nya again

Edna's crumb cake

Edna

A tour of the Bounty

To see Nya again

Fedulian

To catch the ruffian that broke into his place

Garmadon

What the Oni did with Ninjago

Harumi

Lloyd

Jay

When it's Zane's night to cook

The idea of whoever finding the identity of Samurai X becoming the green ninja

Daffy Dale

Their new gis (in Rebooted)

The hacking capabilities of the Techno Blades

The Weekend Whip

Fritz Donnegan movies

His room in the Tournament of the Elements

Roller Skates

Skiing

Cleaning the hull of one of Nadakhan's ships

Parades

Going in and kicking snake butt, or whatever passes as a snake's butt

Mister Cuddlywomp

Nya (Six times)

The smell of arcade in the morning

Kai

The idea of the ninja holding a tournament to figure out who is the best

The gold highlights of their uniforms

A good old fashioned rollercoaster

Nya (twice)

When a plan comes together

Sitting around and talking instead of doing

Crazy ideas

Clutch's book

The "infinite lives thing" of Prime Empire

His Golden Dragon Raider

Karlof

To build

Lloyd

The dark

The idea of being called "Mutt the Miracle"

The Destiny's Shadow

Lou

Kai's energy

Mechanic

Spider bombs

Misako

Garmadon

Lloyd

Murtessa

To see a demonstration of Jay's elemental powers

Mystake

Ninjago

Nelson

Bananakhan flavoured ice cream

NinjaFanInfinity

The New Ninja and the Classic Ninja working together

Nya

To go on a date with Jay

The lights of Day of the Departed

Jay

Nyad

The song of the whales

Percival

Studying at school

Pixal

Zane (Three times)

Pythor

Revenge

Raggmunk

The smell of screams in the evening

Ronin

The Allied Armor of Azure

The Ninja's TV spot

Rufus McCallister

Zane

Sora

Allotted recreation hour

Arin (twice)

Spitz

The smell of new old stuff in the morning

Suetonius

Mucoid hat mondays

Trimaar

Benthomaar

Vangelis

Vania

Wu

Scenic drives

Misako

Zane

Pixal

Below is this list but ordered chronologically and the lines are directly copied from the transcript (and it says what season & episode they are). There's also some lines that aren't included above because they weren't directly about one person's love

Rise of the Serpentine

(Rise of the Snakes) Kai: And will be declared the Green Ninja! I love it!

(Home) Jay: Mmm. Oh, I love it when it's Zane's night to cook.

(Home) Wu: Yes, Zane. We would love for you to make dinner.

(Snakebit) Ed & Edna: We'd love a tour!

(Snakebit) Lloyd: I'm the son of the Dark Lord. I love the dark. I eat this stuff for breakfast.

(Snakebit) Cole: Hi, Mom and Dad. Of course, I'd love to visit.

(Never Trust a Snake) Pythor: Hmm, I love revenge!

(Can of Worms) Cole: Ah. I love the smell of land hurtling towards you in the middle of the night.

(The Snake King) Kai: I love the gold highlights.

(The Snake King) Kai: I love a good old fashioned roller coaster,

(The Snake King) Jay: So whoever learns the identity of this Samurai is the one who will become the destined Green Ninja. Ha! I love it.

(Tick Tock) Dr. Julien: And the only reason I'm about to do this is because I love you.

(Once Bitten, Twice Shy) Nya: Sure! I'd love to.

(The Royal Blacksmiths) Lou: Kai, love the energy, hate the hair.

(The Rise of the Great Devourer) Cole: I love this thing.

Legacy of the Green Ninja

(Darkness Shall Rise) Wu: Also, I love scenic drives. 

(Double Trouble) Cole: I love ceremonies. 

(Double Trouble) Brad: And I love planting flowers.

(Child's Play) Jay: Oh, look. A first edition "Daffy Dale." I used to love that nut growing up. 

(The Last Voyage) Rufus: I love you, you stupid Nindroid.

(Island of Darkness) Misako: There was a time when I loved him very much.

(Island of Darkness) Kai: Oh, I love my sis.

Rebooted

(The Surge) Jay: I love the new threads.

(The Surge) Jay: Ha! I love it! 

(The Art of the Silent Fist) Jay: Hey, I love this song.

(Codename: Arcturus) Jay: I love Fritz Donnegan movies.

(Codename: Arcturus) Kai: Ah. I love it when a plan comes together.

Tournament of the Elements

(Only One can Remain) Jay: Haha! I love my room!

(Only One Can Remain) Cole: Look, chocolate-covered shell peas. I love these.

(Ninja Roll) Jay: Oh, roller skates. I love roller skates!

(Ninja Roll) Chen: Button, button, I love buttons.

(The Forgotten Element) Chen: I love lessons.

Possession

(Stiix and Stones) Ronin: Hey, love the armour.

(Grave Danger) Jay: Whoo-hoo! I love skiing! Haha!

(Curseworld, Part I) Cole: I do love a slow jam.

Skybound

(Public Enemy Number One) Ronin: Been meaning to say, love the TV spot.

(Public Enemy Number One) Kai: Haha. I love my little sister.

(My Dinner with Nadakhan) Jay: Ha! I love it!

(Wishmasters) Lloyd: Uh, sounds great. Love the idea.

(Operation Land Ho!) Edna: And after you save Nya, bring her over for a bite. We'd love to see her again.

(The Way Back) Nadakhan: But do you still love me? Delara: Of course.

Day of the Departed

Nya: Oh, this is my favorite holiday. I love all the lights.

Ed: I know, son, but I love your mother's crumb cake.

Hands of Time

(A Time of Traitors) Jay: Aw, I love a parade.

(Scavengers) Kai: Oh, yay, I just love sitting around and talking instead of doing.

(Scavengers) Jay: I love it!

(A Line in the Sand) Raggmunk: Ah, I just love the smell of screams in the evening.

(The Attack) Jay: Mister Cuddlywomp… is a teddy bear I used to love when I was five, but now he's totally lame and—

(Secrets Discovered) Lloyd: I love it!

(Pause and Effect) Wu: I should have told you I loved you before you went to—

(Out of the Fire and Into the Boiling Sea) Acronix: I suppose escape is impossible, although I'd love for them to try.

Sons of Garmadon

(Game of Masks) Harumi: I...I love you.

Hunted

(Iron & Stone) Dareth: I love your work.

(Iron & Stone) Karlof: I love to build!

(Two Lies, One Truth) Mystake: And I fell in love with this world he created.

(The Weakest link) Dareth: I love it when a plan comes together in my head.

March of The Oni

(Into the Breach) Garmadon: Love what you've done with the place.

(Endings) Misako: I love you. 

(Endings) Kai: I love crazy ideas.

Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu

(The Belly of the Beast) Jay: Oh, thank you, Nya! I love you.

(Boobytraps and How to Survive Them) Kai: Yeah! I love...that book.

(Ninja vs Lava) Jay: Oh, thank you Nya! I love you!

(The Message) Zane: Pixal, I love you.

(The Kaiju Protocol) Pixal: If this doesn't work, please tell Zane... I love him!

Prime Empire

(Superstar Rockin' Jay) Kai: Huh. I love this infinite-lives-thing!

(One Step Forward, Two Steps Back) Jay: I love you!

(The Temple of Madness) Jay: Don't leave me! I love you.

Master of the Mountain

(Queen of the Munce) Murtessa: I would love to see a demonstration.

(The Skull Sorcerer) Vangelis: I love you, child, but why don't you ever listen?

Seabound

(Long Live the king) Trimaar: I love you.

(Long Live the King) Benthomaar: I love you too, Father.

(Papergirl) Nelson: I love Bananakhan

(The Calm Before the Storm) Jay: Ah, I love the smell of arcade in the morning.

(Nyad) Nya: she mouths "I love you."

(The Turn of the Tide) Jay: Nya! I... I love you.

Crystalized

(The Call of Home) Nyad: Oh, I love their song.

(Public Enemies 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5!) Kai: Wow. I love this thing!

(A Painful Promise) Jay: Take care of Nya. Tell her I love her.

(The Fall of the Monastery) Mechanic: I love these things.

(Return of the Ice Emperor) Pixal: Zane, if these are our last functional moments, I want to express that my love for you is ingrained deeply in my circuits.

(Compatible) Pixal: I felt things ... I never felt before. I felt ... love. For you.

Dragons Rising season 1

(Return to Imperium) Past Sora: I'm just excited about getting back to my work is all, but love allotted recreation hour.

(Mindless Beasts) Percival: I love studying at school!

(Mindless Beasts) Arin: Love the sound of that.

(The Temple of the Dragon Cores) Sora: I love ya, Arin, but not everything is some big cosmic plan.

Dragons Rising season 2

(The Blood Moon) NinjaFanInfinity: New ninja, classic ninja, working together? Love it!

(Shattered Dreams) Suetonius: Mucoid Hat Mondays. Yes! Love.

(Shattered Dreams) Fedulian: I'd love to catch the ruffian that broke into my place, but I have a business to run.

(Shattered Dreams) Sora: Arin I love you buddy, but you got to realize that not everyone tells the truth.

(Beyond the Phantasm Cave) Arin: What? No! I love you! I miss you!

(Force From the East) Spitz: Ah, I just love the smell of new old stuff in the morning.

If you notice an error or want me to order it in another way for ease of use, feel free to tell me!

[callsign-dexter]

"I got you, Baby Girl."

Request: Hmmm this is so hard to pick, all of them are so angst!! How about…. “hey – stay with me.” For Baby Bradford Universe…

❤️love you!!

Starter- Hey-stay with me.

Pairings: Tim Bradford x Daughter!Reader, Lucy Chen x Daughter!Reader, Tim Bradford x Lucy Chen

Warnings: angst, guns, gunshot wound

Masterlist

Baby Bradford: A Little Fighter

miscellaneous angst starters.

A/N: Thank you @maverick-wingman for this angst request you really do know how to wreck me......

Banner done by @callsigns-haze

Tim always knew that his little girl, himself, and Lucy would be in danger due to their job especially when the people got out that they put away wanted revenge. That is why he kept his private life and his work separate but only let the people he worked with know about his little girl, Y/N, because he knew they would protect her with their lives. He didn’t like when she had to be left alone, he always wanted someone with her at all times and for her to have her location on and of course Y/N got irritated about it but she understood and didn’t put up too much of a fight, she loved her dad.

It was a Friday evening and he and Lucy just gotten off, Saturday was meant for them to be off until Monday with Y/N but they had gotten news that they needed to go in to work that day, they weren’t happy about but did as they did what they were told. Now they just had to break the news to Y/N which wasn’t going to be easy because the 15-year-old cherished her time with her dad and, now, mom, on their off days. Both of them had just picked up their kid and were heading home, they decided to tell her over supper. She had just hopped into the car after putting her backpack in smiling at her parents. “Hey, Mom and Dad!” She exclaimed as she buckled herself in and once, she was Tim started to drive off.

“Hey, Baby Girl.” Tim said smiling at her through the review mirror and then quickly putting his eyes back on the road.

“Hey, Buttercup.” Lucy said actually being able to turn around and look at her. She had given the girl the nickname because she loved the movie The Princess Bride and Buttercup was one of her favorites and she also like Reese Peanut Buttercups.

“How was your day?” Tim asked still focusing on the road and she shrugged.

“It was ok. One of the seniors got arrested because he was caught harassing a teacher and was high.” She said and they were surprised.

“Wonder why we didn’t hear about it.” Lucy said having turned back around.

“School security arrested him.” She said like it was nothing and to her it probably was nothing due to her parents being cops. After a few minutes of driving and nothing more was talked about the topic of food came up.

“What do you want for supper?” Tim asked and she looked at him and thought about it.

“I’ve been wanting BBQ.” She spoke

“Make it or buy it?” He asked her.

“Make it. You make the best BBQ.” She said and Lucy nodded in agreement and he smirked.

“You got it. What do you want with it?” He asked

“Mac and cheese.” Lucy and Y/N said at the same time and Tim smirked it was a good thing that Lucy and his daughter had similar tastes. The were home and no time and they were getting out of the vehicle which was now parked in the garage and heading inside. Once they were in, they took off shoes and as Y/N was sitting her backpack down and was about to head upstairs her father stopped her.

“Do your homework so you’re not waiting until last minute.” He said knowing she had a habit of doing so.

“Fine.” She sighed in frustration and sat down to begin her homework which could be done in no time since she excelled in mostly all subjects. By the time dinner was ready her homework was done and they could eat. As they got their plates of homemade BBQ and homemade mac and cheese along with their drink choices they began eating and it was mostly quiet until Tim started to speak up.

“Lucy and I got called in to work tomorrow.” Tim said he and Lucy watched their daughter’s face go through so many emotions while he took a drink of his water.

“What?” She finally asked once it hit her.

“Oh, Buttercup. It’s only for Saturday and then you have us all day Sunday.” Lucy said and Y/N was not satisfied with that answer and they could tell by the quietness that she went into.

“Nolan is going to be with you.” Tim said and she nodded as if saying ‘ok’. They hated telling her bad news because she always seemed to get down but they had to tell her eventually. Tim and Lucy looked at each other but they continued on with dinner and when they tried to make small talk all they got were one worded or short answers. The only thing that made it better was that Nolan was going to be with her while they were working, she absolutely that man and maybe because it was that he was gentle and patient with her. When dinner was over, they put their plates in the dishwasher and then headed into the living where they always had a movie night after dinner, it had become a tradition, after changing into their pajamas. Y/N had fallen asleep with her head in her dad’s lap. When the movie was over Tim had picked her up and headed into her room and tucked her in and then giving her a kiss to her head “I love you, Baby Girl.” He said and then headed back out into the living room where he and Lucy watched an episode of a show they had started and then they were headed to bed.

Saturday rolled around and Tim and Lucy were up early preparing to go into work. After they both had showered and packed the doorbell rang and they knew it was Nolan and Tim went to answer it, as Lucy began to get their coffee ready. She was making Tim’s first because it would take longer because he wanted the coffee pot and her’s wouldn’t take long because it was in a Keurig, he swore he would never use one of those ever. “Hey, Nolan.” Tim greeted him and let him.

“Good morning, Tim.” He said and just about that time Y/N walked into the kitchen and smiled at everyone and greeted everyone. “Good morning, Lucy and Y/N.” He added.

“Good morning, Mom, Dad, and Uncle Nolan.” She said and hugged them all.

“Alright, we’re about to head out soon. You be good for him and Nolan,” Tim said turning towards him “don’t let her drag you into anything or let her trick you.” He said knowing that Nolan had a weak spot for the young girl and he nodded.

“Noted.” Nolan said

“There are leftovers in the fridge or feel free to go out.” Lucy said and Nolan and Y/N nodded. “Alright, Tim we got to go.” Lucy said looking at her watch and then hugging her daughter and kissing the side of her head as Tim nodded and did the same thing.

“We love you.” Tim said

“Love you too.” She said and they headed out after saying bye to Nolan. Once they were gone, they turned to each other.

“Movie day and then out for lunch?” Y/N asked him knowing the answer because that became their tradition as well.

“Absolutely.” He said and she smiled and they went into the living room and began their day. It was only 8 AM so they had some time before lunch. Breakfast consisted of junk food and some movies that had some bad acting especially the cop movies, which everyone liked to nick pick.

 12 PM rolled around and Y/N and Nolan were headed to their favorite café that they liked to visit when they are together and well everyone’s favorite. As they pulled up, they were laughing and having a good time but something just didn’t feel right when they walked in but they decided to ignore it and continue on. They ordered and waited for their food and when it was ready, they went and sat outside wanting to enjoy the sunny day. The feeling of something bad happening slowly ebbed away as they talked and made jokes. It was nearing the end of lunch for them and both Nolan and Y/N were done and she had decided to take the trash up and then maybe she could get him to agree to get some ice cream and everyone’s favorite place. Just as Y/N had thrown away her garbage she heard her last name being shouted. “Yo, Bradford.” The voice shouted and she turned around smiling expecting to find one of her friends but it quickly went away when she didn’t recognize the person and gun was pointing at her “This is for my dad.” He said and before she could answer he pulled the trigger and everyone started shouting and then he took off running. Pain was what hit her first after the initial shock wore off and she made a face as her hands went towards her abdomen and she fell to her knees.

Nolan heard the shout and looked up from his phone and saw the scene and paled and then jumped into action and as he was heading towards them the distinct sound of a gunshot going off was heard and at first, he ducked but then kicked himself into gear. He pulled out his gun and was about to pull the trigger but he was already too far ahead and around other people. “Call 911.” Nolan said to someone and they nodded and then he was off to Y/N. “Hey, Y/N/N. You’re going to be ok.” He said and while covering her hands with his hands but she was losing blood fast and she wasn’t saying anything just staring at him and gasping for air. He was about to say something when he heard sirens and then footsteps behind him and he looked back behind him and saw Tim and Lucy coming over.

“Y/N?” Tim asked and knelt down next to them “What happened?” He asked Nolan as he took over pressure and that made his daughter cry out.

“She went to throw away the trash and I was answering some emails and texts when I heard a shout and looked up. The guy had a gun pointed at her and I jumped into the action but couldn’t get a shot off because he was already too far away.” Nolan explained but Tim didn’t say a word too worried about his daughter, he wasn’t mad at Nolan.

“Angela and Jackson are going after him now.” Lucy said and then Y/N started to cough and blood was starting to come out of her mouth and flow down her chin.

“Hey-stay with me.” Tim said when he noticed her eyes start to shut and breathing started to become irregular. There wasn’t an exit wound and that worried him. “I’ve got you, Baby Girl.” Tim started trying to keep it together but his voice was slowly cracking “Dad and mom are here.” He said knowing she would find comfort in that Lucy was there too. The ambulance rolled up and were quick to load her up and head to the hospital with everyone behind them.

When they got to the hospital Y/N was immediately rushed into surgery and now Tim, Lucy, and Nolan had to wait. Grey had heard and was immediately there as well along with Talia, even though she had moved to a different department Lucy was quick to let her know, Harper, who was quick to grow close to the girl because she reminded her of her child and would protect her at all cost and Nolan let her know, Angela, and Jackson. Wesley Evers even showed up after hearing the news from Angela since she was on the phone with him and he had to admit he cared for Y/N Bradford and she had grown close to him. “We caught the man. He was the son of someone that Tim had put away a few months ago and he somehow figured out she was your daughter. He wanted revenge. He’s going away for attempted murder.” Grey said and they nodded.

Grey had immediately let Tim and Lucy have the rest of the day off since it was their child in the hospital. Everyone else besides Nolan, Harper, and Wesley had to go back to work. Nobody talked while they waited Tim was just staring at his hands, his hands that were stained with his daughter’s blood something that he wished would never happen. He had tried to wash them off but it had worked only a little bit and the same went for Nolan.

4 hrs is how long they waited until a doctor was coming out. Wesley and Harper had gone to grab everything Tim, Lucy, Nolan, and Y/N needed from home. They tried to get Nolan to go home and rest but he refused to leave his niece behind. Grace Sawyer had been her doctor and her heart dropped when she saw it was Y/N that she was going to be working on, even though she had met the teenager a few times the two grew close, Grace saw them and walked over to the small group.

“Grace.” Tim said “How is she?” He asked and Grace smiled but it was a small one.

“It was touch and go and we almost lost her because of blood loss but she’s a little fighter.” She said and everyone nodded agreeing “The bullet entered her abdomen and then traveled and hit one of her lungs and collapsed it which was why her breathing was labored. We got all of the bullet out and fixed her lung. She’s in recovery and everyone can go an see her now Gino will be here nurse.” She said and they nodded. Gino and her had also become close after the short interactions they also became close but then again that was just how she was and nobody could resist her. “I’ll show you to her room.” She said and they followed her “She’ll be out of it for a while just so she’s not in as much pain and it was a pretty major surgery.” She added when they got there Gino was making sure everything was set to go and smiled and greeted everyone when they got there but was quick to leave so that they could have some time with her.

Everyone took a seat and they waited. Tim was sat the closest to holding her hand being careful of the IV. While Lucy beside him and Nolan on the other side. Nobody spoke and they only sound was the steady heartbeat coming from the heart monitor. They knew that she was going to be ok because she’s a Bradford and Bradford’s don’t let anything take them down even if it is a gunshot wound. She also had the best doctor and the best nurse on her side.

Tag List:

@kmc1989

@els-marvelvsp

@atarmychick007

@nyx2021

@grandstrangerphantom

@angenu01-blog

@talesofreading

[kindaasrikal]

Garmadon and Morro similarities in both my AU’s and in Cannon, though mainly cannon.

They’re both apart of the FSM’s family.

In their duos (Wu and Garmadon, Lloyd and Morro) they’re the older counterpart.

They’re also the resident evil ones.

They both had an evil sensei/master (Chen and the preeminent)

They both followed the lies of their respective sensei and master to a point, eventually coming to a realisation and becoming morally grey leaning to the good side characters.

They both later ended up helping the people they ‘don’t like’ (Morro helping Lloyd and Wu during the DotD, and the time evil Garm helped them and when teen Garmadon helped Wu in the serpentine war.)

They both have SEVERE daddy issues. (We all know its true)

They’re both evil turned good people who are now ghosts chilling in the departed realm.

They are both way more powerful and knowledgeable then most.

They both met unfair ends to their lives.

(Not a similarity, but ever notice how Garmadon is the evil dad to Lloyd, and Morro is the evil son to Wu?)

They both feel like they wronged the best person in their lives, who are unfairly good people.

They’re both definitely sassy. Morro’s got that normal “teenager whose been an emo teen for decades” rude sass, whilst Garmadon has the dignified “well maybe if you listen to me” old man sass that every older brother has.

They’d both definitely make horrible jokes. Garmadon would purposefully make the worst dad jokes he can find and say them in front of any of the ninjas normal friends. Morro would make puns. Legit just puns, bad ones, in the middle of a horrible situation.

They’d both meditate. I know Morro doesn’t seem like the type, but i feel like if you were to push away the whole green ninja thing, he’d be incredibly disciplined and follows Wu’s teachings to a T.

They’re both characters who have “leader” like personalities, and have led armies now, but would later-after their redemption- prefer to be a co-leader or smth.

They’re both old. Like Morro might not be age wise old with the whole death thing stopping him from ever aging again, but they were alive and grew up during similar years. They both have the soul’s of old people.

They both are incredibly passionate, determined, and protective.

They’d both burn a house down, say its an accident, and people would completely believe them.

Anyways thats all i got man, now i just need to find out why we haven’t used the fact that these two are in the same realm to our advantage. Also, i got this idea after making a post on my Tiktok under the same name doing that trend “and now i know how Joan of arc felt” and here we are.