#giffing content from almost two years ago

[xlovz]

SAN: HALAZIA FANCAM 230112

[lavenderspence]

Sweater Thief | A.H.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!reader

Content warning: fluff, domestic fluff, mention of scars, inaccurate use of law jargon

Word Count: 1.5K

Summary: You’ve always loved wearing Aaron’s quarter zip, especially when he is away on a case. But he also loves coming home and seeing you in it.

A/N: Welp, this is my first Hotch fic! Honestly, I love this so much, and the inspo is simply my love and appreciation for Hotch in a quarter zip sweater, simply delicious. Enjoy this little baby, I have more Hotch fics in the works. And also, storyboards or gifs, what's better?

masterlist

The house felt unusually cold for mid-September. The sun had long ago gone down the horizon, taking the little warmth it had provided with itself. Your home was quiet - Jack was spending the 3 day weekend with Jessica, and Aaron had been on a case in Massachusetts for the past 4 days. 

You were feeling the loneliness slowly start to take over. Although Jack had been gone for no more than 4 hours, you had gotten used to it being the two of you whenever Aaron was away. He’d become your little partner in crime in the year and a half you've been dating his dad. He was an unbelievably charming and calm kid - you guessed the perfect mixture of both his parents. At least you thought as much, from what Aaron, Jessica, and Jack had shared about Haley. 

He loved cartoons, and he loved building things - legos and 3D models. He also loved puzzles, especially when you helped him assemble them. 

But you also shared one very important thing - you both loved and missed his dad whenever he was traveling for work. That’s why having each other was so special, and spending time together was always a blast - you baked together, you played, and you went on walks. You were there for each other whenever Aaron had to work.

To be fair, neither you nor Jack blame Aaron or his job. You knew how important it was to him and how important his work was to the families that faced tragedy. He was an important part of the BAU, and he needed to do what he was doing - he was made to help people. 

But not having him here and not having Jack to love on, and take care of, the house felt far too empty and quiet. It was bringing forth a sadness that often came with the feeling of missing him, and in this case, missing them both.

With a defeated sigh, knowing you had nothing to do this evening, and with the cold chilling you almost to the bone, you started for the stairs and walked into the master bedroom. You made it into the closet and went searching around deep in Aaron’s winter clothes until you found what you were looking for and pulled it free. 

The quarter zip was dark brown and soft against your palms, and it faintly smelled like him. It was one of your favorite pieces of clothing he owned and your favorite to wear when he wasn’t home. 

You pulled it on, almost melting into the fabric. It was a little big on you, reaching down past your hipbones, and around your fingers. That was fine though, it was just another reason to love his clothes. You felt like you were wrapped around him, calmed by the feeling and the scent of him around you. It made you feel just a tad less lonely, especially today. 

You went around the house, doing small things here and there, trying to pass the time. After an hour though, you felt like you needed your mind occupied, just for a little while longer. Like a part deep inside of you was expecting Aaron home tonight.

It wouldn’t be the first time you’d stayed up to wait for him to get home, but he usually called if he was returning in the late hours of the evening. A call hadn’t come though, neither had a text, and still you felt it. 

You found yourself in the study, pulling a book from the shelf before you relaxed on the little couch there and cracked it open. No more than 40 minutes had gone by, escaping into the world the pages painted for you, when you heard the front door. The familiar clank of Aaron’s keys being put on the little table by the door followed. 

You dog-eared the book, too excited to search for anything else to mark your progress, and then you left the room, making your way towards the front to welcome him home.

He’d just taken his shoes off, pulling his tie free, when you spotted him by the door. He heard you walk it, smiling your way gently, if a little tiredly.

“Hi, honey.” He greeted you with a whisper, just as you stepped in front of him. Your arms automatically wrapped around his middle, and your face found its’ favorite place - at the crook of his neck. You sagged against each other, a sigh escaping him, just your touch enough to make him relax.

“Hey, I missed you.” You whispered back, as he pulled you even closer to himself, one arm low on your back, as the other cradled your head with a gentle touch.

“I missed you, too.” He pulled back, only to lean in for a sweet kiss. His lips pressed against yours tenderly, a magnetic current passing through you at the touch. As you relaxed into the kiss, letting him bleed his love though, the longing within you quieted. You took everything he gave, and still wished for more, starving for him and his touch, after days when you couldn’t have him like this.  

You’d never get enough of the kisses he pulled you into the moment he walked home. The yarning for each other and the quiet relief of finally being in the arms of the person who loved and cherished you like no other. Kisses full of want and love. So similar in taste, but vastly different every time, as if each time was the first time he was coming back home to you. 

When he pulled away, he cradled your face in his hands. You studied him, the dark circles under his eyes were now more evident than ever. His hair looked unkempt as if the frustration of the job had really gotten to him this time. The more he looked at you, the more his eyes softened, and the worry left his body gradually. 

“Why are you up this late?” His thumb ran across your cheekbone.

“Had a feeling you might be coming home tonight.” He pulled you to him, kissing the side of your head as you slowly started pulling him towards the bedroom. He left his go bag next to the door, leaving the worry of unpacking for tomorrow. 

You finished pulling his tie free, before removing it. His suit jacket came off next, and you draped it over the back of the vanity chair. 

His hands found a place on your hips, and every few seconds he’d give you a light squeeze as you worked on unbuttoning his shirt.

“Isn’t this the sweater I was looking for before I went to Boston?” He tugged on it gently, a furrow in his brows, but the smile on his face betrayed him, he was amused because he already knew the answer.

“Oh, this one? I must have been thinking about another one, sorry honey.” You were barely holding in your smile. This was in fact the quarter zip he had been looking for 4 days ago, wanting to pack it in case of bad weather, but you’d stashed it deep into the closet after the last time he’d worn it. 

He chuckled, sounding tired, as you pulled off his shirt, laying a few kisses on his chest and abdomen as you chased the phantom pain of the scars left standing from his past. Each one got attention, just like every time you undressed him. His breathing always picked up, at first in surprise, and quickly after that out of love. 

You knew his feelings about the scars left from a dark moment in his life, having talked about it at length, and you always told him the same thing. Regardless of his past, his demons, fears, and even those scars, the man that he was now, was the man you loved. The man you went home to, kissed every morning and each night, whose smile you saw in your sleep. Nothing was going to change that. 

You went in search of a sleep shirt for him as he finished getting undressed. 

“I knew you were a heart thief, sweetheart, I mean, I have the evidence to prove it, but a sweater thief, I didn’t take you for.” He pulled you into another kiss, voice teasing, as was the smile on his face. He always claimed you stole his heart, but then again, he’d stolen yours just the same. 

“Your honor, the prosecution has no evidence to support such a claim, it’s all a ploy to smear my good name,” You rambled, getting a rich laugh out of him, “In all fairness, it smells like you, reminds me of you in the sweetest and hottest way possible. It’s comforting, whenever you’re away on the job.” You confessed. 

He searched your eyes before he pulled you in to kiss your forehead, “Next time we’re sent on a case, I’ll make sure to leave something for you to wear while I’m away.” He promised, before he undressed you too, pulling one of his shirts over your head, and taking you to bed, where he cuddled you until morning. 

Reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated!

[sempersirens]

raising hell all over town

pairing: best friend's dad!joel x f!reader

summary: you've been a friend of sarah's since you were old enough to steal bottles of her dad's whiskey for parties. sarah was always the sensible one in your friendship, getting you out of the trouble you usually started. but now sarah has gone off to college, who else but joel could pick up the pieces?

content/warnings: 18+ mdni. alcohol. drugs. age gap. violence/fighting. smut: unprotected p in v, spanking

a/n: inspired by this gif set, and the wonderful @amanitacowboy & @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin for introducing me to that yellowstone scene kind of nervous about this, my first proper smutty fic - i find smut really difficult to write for some reason (weird because i'm feral horny 24/7) so this was kinda out of my comfort zone but i hope you all enjoy! PSA: i no longer have a taglist! feel free to follow my updates blog @sempersirenswrites and turn the post notifs on to be notified when i post a new fic :)

Friday nights in Austin felt incomplete without Sarah by your side.

For years, she had been the epitome of your partner in crime; dragging you back to her place or putting you in a cab before the cops were called.

Had it not been for your fierce loyalty and protectiveness over Sarah, you're sure her dad would've barred you from the house years ago. Sarah was smarter than you in almost every way. Academically, emotionally, you name it.

Joel knew this, and he trusted the two of you together knowing you both balanced the other out. Watching the two of you reminded Joel of a younger version of himself and Tommy, always thankful that Sarah had followed in his footsteps as opposed to her uncle's.

Your relationship with your parents was rocky, to say the least, and the Miller's house had always been a safe haven for you. Joel had patched up your split lip or bloody nose more times than he wanted to admit for a girl your age. He swore he'd kill your old man one day for the states you'd turned up to their house in.

Still, he couldn't help but feel the urge to grab you by the shoulders and shake some sense into you from time to time. As much as his heart broke for you, it was also in your nature to be a damn brat. Joel had endured countless stifling days spent by the pool forcing himself to not let his eyes linger on the curves of your hips. He struggled to look you in the eye when he saw you sat on the kitchen counter waiting to leave for a party, your mini skirt riding dangerously high on your thighs.

There had been times when he had been reckless. Times that he'd had to pull himself away from your invisible grip on him and relieve his tension in the bathroom, fisting his cock onto the shower floor, biting down on the shape of your name on his tongue.

When he'd re-emerge into the living room, he knew that you knew. You'd look through your eyelashes at him and smile. His cheeks flushed, shame setting in at the speed at which he'd cum from the thought of your pussy clenching around his shaft.

He would never let it show, but something would rush through his body when he'd ask Sarah what the hell she do this time? He remembered one time in particular, as Sarah relayed the events of the night that had led to your bloody nose, he'd looked over at you perching on the counter. With blood leaking down your cupid's bow, you'd locked eyes with him and ran your tongue across your lip, revelling in the remnants of your victory.

Still, you had fine enough nights out with the girls from work. They just didn't get you the way Sarah did. They would shoot you judgemental glances from across the bar that lasted until the Monday back at work for whatever you had done this time that they disapproved of.

"They're just dull. You should see the way they look at me for literally just hooking up with guys." You had lamented to Sarah over the phone while you were both getting ready for your respective nights out on separate sides of the country.

"It's probably because they've seen you get through an entire friendship group before your second drink."

"Well, they should be taking notes. Tell me nobody at college is as fun as me." Jealousy tore through your chest at the thought of Sarah spending her time with new friends.

"Nobody here is as fun as you. They're very... reserved." You scoffed at her politeness.

"Babe, just say they're boring."

"I'm giving them a chance. Anyway, gotta go. Text me tomorrow and tell me the damage. Love ya!"

"Don't have too much fun without me. Love you too."

Despite their judging looks, you were always the first person they called upon to finish any mess they had gotten themselves into. Still, you were happy to oblige, even if it meant a few awkward minutes of silence at the coffee machine on Monday.

The group of you had poured out of an Uber into the busy bar around nine o'clock, buzzing with the confidence of your pre-drinks. Rounds of shots were ordered and consumed at a dizzying pace, and soon enough, bags of powder were discreetly distributed across the table.

"Bathroom?" Hannah, one of your closest and least judgmental co-workers nudged you.

"Thought you'd never ask." The two of you sauntered away from the table, hand-in-hand, quickly bundling into a tight cubicle.

The bathroom filled up as the two of you tried to be as silent as possible, scooping your pinky nails into the small bag.

"Hurry the fuck up!" Someone from outside the cubicle called, thudding her fists against the door.

"Get fucked." You called back, muttering this bitch under your breath to Hannah.

As the two of you packed your things back into your handbags, the cubicle door jolted half open, smacking Hannah in the shoulder.

"Are you fucking serious?" You shouted at the small brunette on the other side of the door, checking Hannah over for injury.

"You hit me, you bitch." She straightened herself up, rubbing her shoulder.

"I'll do worse if you don't fucking move." The brunette hissed in her face.

You screwed your face up and shoved her, making her stumble backwards into the sink. The other girls in the bathroom grabbed their bags and scurried to the exit, evidently not wanting to be caught in the crossfire.

"Apologise." You said, moving toward the girl who was now pulling herself up with the help of the basins on either side of her.

"Fuck you." She spat, saliva hitting your cheek before she lunged forward.

Your fist connected with her nose before she even had time to swing, and your right hand secured a tight grip on the back of her hair.

"I said, apologise to my friend."

"I'm sorry." She choked, pathetically. Her face shrivelled in fear and pain.

"Not so fuckin' big now, are you?" Hannah said, which was ironic, considering the girl who had bruised her was now quivering under your fist.

Content with her apology, you released your grip on her and re-entered the bar with Hannah trailing behind you. As you both rejoined your table, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

"Our friend said you just attacked her in the bathroom." Another petite girl looked up at you, one hand on her hip.

"She hit my friend, here. Was just trying to teach her some manners."

The entirety of your group was now turned to face you, exchanging harsh whispers of your name followed by just leave it.

"You broke her nose!" The girl shrilled. You looked over her shoulder to the girl doubled over, clutching her bloody nose with an ensemble of people crowding around her.

"No, I think it just looks like that."

You grinned at the rage growing behind her eyes, your smile unfaltering even as her fist collided with your cheek.

"Harder." You shouted, rolling your neck from side to side.

"What?!"

"Come on, hit me harder. I know you got it in you." She didn't take much convincing; her next punch knocked you backwards onto the table as everyone rushed to tear the two of you apart.

You stepped forward to finally let her have it when a pair of strong hands pulled you back.

"Get off!" You shouted, kicking against who you assumed to be security throwing you out. You just hoped they weren't calling the cops, too.

"C'mon, doll. You've had enough fun for one night." A familiar Southern drawl cooed, dragging you out into the warm night. "Now, that wasn't very ladylike of you, darlin'."

He let you go from his grip and you turned to face him. To your surprise, you were met with the smirk of the younger Miller brother.

"Tommy." You breathed, "I didn't see you in there."

"Well, lucky I noticed you ain't it." He grinned.

Spending so much time at the Miller's had you well acquainted with Sarah's uncle Tommy. He'd seen you in much worse states than this, and in turn, so had you.

"Didn't need you to swoop in and save me, Tommy."

"Wasn't saving you, sweetheart. Was savin' that poor girl." You both smiled at the tone of pride in his voice.

"You got somewhere to go, trouble? Don't think you should be hangin' round here for too long."

"Can't exactly go home bleeding from my face." You sighed, realising you probably hadn't thought this through. You missed Sarah.

Tommy fished around in his pocket for his phone before raising it to his ear.

"Hey, big brother." Your stomach flipped. "No, no- it's not me. Joel, listen." You could almost hear Joel on the other end of the phone, witnessing it in person more times than you could count. It's not even ten o'clock yet, don't tell me you're locked up already.

"Our favourite little troublemaker needs a place to crash tonight. I'd drive her over but I've already had my fair share of beers. Okay, great. I'll tell her."

Once he'd hung up, Tommy told you that Joel was on his way to come and pick you up. You could feel your heartbeat in your stomach. You'd never been alone with Joel for longer than a couple of hours at most, let alone spending the night at his while Sarah was out of town. Something inside of you twitched in excitement, a warm rush settling deep in your belly.

You told Tommy to go back into the bar, that Joel wouldn't be long and you'd walk down the street to meet him in case those girls came out looking for another round.

As you made your way underneath the streetlights toward the direction of the Miller's house, you pulled your compact from your bag and touched up your make-up, re-curling your lashes and dousing a thick layer of clear lipgloss onto your lips, not bothering to tend to any of the blood trickling down your skin. You spritzed yourself with perfume and ran a brush through your hair, smiling at the thought of Joel seeing you waiting on the curbside for him.

Right on cue, his truck pulled around the corner. You raised your hand and wiggled your fingers, a small smirk spreading across your cheeks.

You were grateful for your earlier decision to wear your knee-high boots with a denim mini-skirt, adding a little extra sway to your hips as you made your way to the passenger side of Joel's truck. You climbed in and turned to face him, flashing him a toothy grin, well aware of the blood staining your teeth.

"You're a damn mess, princess." Something deep inside of you came to life at his words, causing you to visibly clench your exposed thighs together. "S'there I was, thinking to myself how thankful I am for a peaceful night after workin' lates all week. When my phone rings, just as I'd sat down and made myself comfortable."

"Peace is overrated." You replied.

"So, what did you do this time? Steal another cop car? Break into a hotel pool? Make out with someone's husband?"

You played with the hem of your skirt as he spoke, blushing as he listed a few of your past activities he'd either bailed you out of or heard about from Sarah.

"I didn't start this one." You said, a slight whine in your voice. "Someone hit my friend, I was just looking out for her."

"Your friend can't fight her own battles?"

"You never have a problem when it's Sarah I'm throwing punches for."

He scoffed. "Now, you know I've always taught her to never start a fight but always to finish one. You on the other hand, I don't think nobody's taught you anythin' of the sort."

"And are you gonna be the one to do that, Mr Miller?" You mimicked his Texan accent, which was much thicker than yours, and parted your legs in your seat ever so slightly.

"If I didn't know you better, darlin', I'd think you were tryin' to get me in some sort of trouble."

He pulled into the driveway and switched the ignition off before jogging to your side of the truck and holding the door open for you, as well as offering you an outstretched hand.

"Always such a gentleman." You smiled, looking at him through your eyelashes as you stepped out, hand in his.

He exhaled out of his nose, shaking his head softly as he slammed the door shut behind you. His hand moved to the small of your back, guiding you into the house.

"Sarah's bed is all made up, I'm sure you know where her clothes are f'you wanna change into something more... comfortable." His eyes trailed down your figure, your clothes hugging all the right places.

"Do you not like my outfit?" You pouted, holding your hands behind your back and sticking your chest out, swaying from side to side.

"Course not, y'look real pretty. Just thought you'd wanna watch TV before going to sleep is all." Joel brought a hand to the back of his head, rubbing his neck nervously as his eyes shifted to the floor.

For such a handsome man, he was so damn insecure. Maybe it was the gentleman in him, thinking that it was wrong for someone his age to want someone the same age as his daughter. He knew you didn't think like that, Sarah had told him multiple stories about the older men you'd hooked with at the bar.

He'd even caught you making out with a kid from your school's dad a few years ago when he'd come to pick you and Sarah up from a party. Joel had seemingly known the man, and you remembered how he'd stalked out of his truck and toward you both, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and warning him that his wife wasn't going to like hearing about this.

So, you kicked off your boots and took yourself upstairs into Sarah's bedroom. Not bothering to close the blinds, you peeled your clothes off and looked at yourself in the full length mirror.

The warmth of your earlier drinks still coated your inhibitions. You knew you looked good in your black lace set, breasts sat perkily on your chest and your ass cheeks the perfect handfuls.

Fuck it. If he wasn't going to be ballsy enough to make the first move, maybe you should.

You kissed the tips of your fingers and pressed them against a framed photo of you and Sarah giggling at whatever was going on behind the camera.

"Sorry, Sarah." You whispered, before making your way down the stairs.

Joel heard you coming but was too preoccupied fighting with the TV remote control to turn around and face you just yet.

"If I can get this damn thing to work I think they're showin' Scarface at ten, I know you said you ain't seen it so thought we could watch it."

"Sounds good," you spoke, your voice more honeyed than usual. "Hey, Joel. Do you think this will be comfy enough?"

He whipped his head around quickly, ready to give you the same kind of answer he did whenever Sarah asked for his opinion in a changing room. It took a second for him to register what he was looking at, but when it clicked he dropped the remote to the floor and turned his whole body to face you.

"What the hell," his face turned bright red, unsure what to do with his hands. You could give him a few ideas.

"You not like it?" You asked, voice low as you walked slowly in his direction.

His trousers began to tighten around his hardening cock and you smiled, glad that you were indeed on the same page.

"Course I- I, what the hell are you playin' at?"

"Come on, Joel. I gotta make up for interrupting your peaceful night somehow."

You closed the gap between you both and placed a hand delicately on his chest, tracing circles with the tip of your long, manicured nails.

Joel swallowed hard.

"This ain't right." He said weakly, his eyes betraying his words as they devoured the sight of your body before him.

"Cut the shit, Joel. I know you want me, and I want you."

He didn't answer, but instead threw you over his shoulder and carried you up to his bedroom, placing a couple of firm smacks on your ass as you wriggle against his strong grip. Your stomach did backflips, exhilarated at the prospect of what was about to happen.

Upon entering his room, he threw you roughly onto the bed and worked at undoing his belt as you scrambled onto your back, resting on your elbows.

"Y'know what I really thought when Tommy called, tellin' me I needed to come pick you up?" He said, although it didn't sound much like a question. "I thought, this dumb slut needs some sense fucking into her."

You moaned at his words, basking in the side of him that you knew always existed.

“Thought t’myself, she needs teachin’ some fuckin' manners f’once.”

Joel stalked around the side of the bed and sat and patted his lap. Wordlessly, you shifted your weight next to him and dangled your legs over the side of the bed.

He brought his right hand in between your thighs, making you shiver at the feeling of his coarse fingers grazing your skin. He ran his fingers up and down the length of your thigh, each time stopping short of the hem of your skirt.

"This is what you want, ain't it sweetheart?" He spoke lowly, voice gravelly and as rough as his touch. Each night spent tangled and alone in your sheets, fingers grazing your soaked folds with his name on your lips felt redundant. Nothing could come close to the feel of his skin on yours.

Pulling you from your trance, he slapped your inner thigh hard when you didn't respond. "Need t'hear you say it."

"Yes,' you moan through gritted teeth, surprised you can even find your voice. "This is what I need."

Sick of his incessant teasing, you clamber onto his lap and hook your fingers around the back of his neck.

"But I think you need this just as much, Mr Miller. You must get so lonely in this house all by yourself. Sarah always tells me how you never have any lady friends hanging around."

You straddle his lap and grip his neck for support, softly grinding yourself on the hardness of his lap. He moves a hand from your waist to roughly seize your chin, tipping your face down to meet his gaze.

"Your old man must've forgot to teach you some manners, little girl." His low voice tore through your body.

Joel hoists your skirt up to your waist and flips you underneath him in one swift motion. His body looms over yours, fingers trailing a rough and jagged line down to where you need him most. He moved at an antagonising slow pace, but you can't bring yourself to give into his little game by begging for more.

"Here's what we're gonna do, darlin'. You're gonna be a good girl f'me and tell daddy exactly what happened tonight." The mouth on him.

The way your body writhed and squirmed at his words didn't go unnoticed. With no warning, he plunged two thick digits inside of you and held them deep in place, his face inches away from yours.

"N'if you stutter, or lie, or say anythin' I don't like for that matter, you'll be over my knee, red-raw," his fingers curl inside of you and you bite back a moan, desperate to not let him have the upper hand.

"No matter how much you cry those pretty little eyes out, I won't quit 'til you've learnt somethin'. Understood?"

You suck a breath in through your nose, a sharp sting reminding you of the open wound still decorating your face.

"Yes, sir."

part 2 coming soon

taglist: @cool-iguana @nostalxgic @chaotic-mystery @beardedjoel

[jjk-expansion]

The Five Times He Almost Kissed You...The One Time He Did || Kento Nanami

Summary: The five times where Nanami almost kissed you, and the one time he finally decided to take a chance.

Warnings: 18+, mild adult content, swearing.

Authors Note: I had so much fun writing this one, and I hope you enjoy. I have only just started watching the anime, so please forgive me if I get anything wrong. Gif by @erensjwife

One…

The first time Gojo had introduced the two of you was a day after Yuji Itadori’s miraculous resurrection. You were only a few years younger than himself, and perhaps a little older than a first year Jujutsu sorcerer should be, but Gojo had vouched for you, claiming that you had immense potential in your abilities, though they were still developing and extremely rare.

All Nanami knew, was that you could use your cursed energy to create protective barriers around yourself and others, and that your reverse cursed technique somehow came naturally to you, you could heal any wound or injury on yourself and others. It was an incredible technique no doubt, but from what he had heard from his colleague, the healing aspect of your technique was very physically demanding. So he made a silent promise to himself, should the two of you work together in the future, that he would be careful not to sustain any injuries that required your attention.

However, that was not to be the case.

Leaning back against the white tile, Nanami sighed heavily. The wound in his side was throbbing painfully, the bleeding refusing to stop no matter how many pieces of paper towel he held to it to stop the blood flow. The amount of blood from the wound had eased slightly, but not enough for him to be happy with his current state.

He had sent you a text twenty minutes ago to meet him here, and he silently hoped that you had seen his message and that you were on your way. He shouldn’t have left you alone on that cinema rooftop with those two human monsters to go after that cursed human spirit, he also shouldn’t have left himself open to the spirit’s attacks. That couldn’t be helped now though, and so all he could do was wait, and hope that he wouldn’t eventually bleed out.

There was a faint knock on the bathroom door, his eyes glaring towards the door as his entire body tensed in anticipation.

“Nanami? It’s me…are you in there?”

The sound of your voice caused his body to relax, a sense of relief washing over him as he cleared his throat. “I’m alone, you can come in Y/n” he called out to you, adjusting his position against the wall. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror to his right, from the corner of his eye he could see that he was slightly pale, thanks to the blood loss. His hair was in slight disarray, and his favourite blue shirt was stained a deep purple. He cursed under his breath as the door opened, his gaze returning to your entering form…and widening in complete shock.

You were covered in small cuts and bruises, your (eye/colour) eyes meeting his own brown hues as an awkward yet kind smile formed on your lips. Your (hair/colour) hair was a complete mess, stray strands framing your face at all sorts of odd angles. You closed the door behind you and released a huff, blowing upwards to remove some of the strands of hair from your vision as you approached. He noticed in his stupor that parts of your uniform had been ripped, though they were easily reparable, they had no doubt been made by cuts that pierced your skin.

Nanami didn’t know what to say. He watched as you now stood before him, your eyes widening at the amount of blood-stained paper towels there were strewn about the basin. You met his gaze with a look of concern on your features, a sincere look on your eyes as folded your arms over your chest “What happened? Are you alright?”.

Nanami grimaced, the throbbing in his side annoying, and the newfound heat on his cheeks infuriating “I-I’m fine. I was careless, it won’t happen again.”

He watched as you sighed heavily, your eyes falling downward to where he desperately clutched at his side. You hummed lowly, extending your hands and gently prying his away from the wound so you could get a better look at it. You could see through the fabric of his shirt that this was no mere flesh wound, the cut ran deep, no wonder there was so much blood everywhere.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to-“

“Shh…” you replied quickly, “I’m trying to concentrate…”

Nanami watched you intently, the blue hue of cursed energy swirling around your hands has you gently held them one over the other and pressed your hands firmly over the wound. Nanami hissed, feeling the cursed energy surge through him like the feeling of pins and needles which faded to a feeling of numbness, and it seemed like almost instantly that feeling faded.

Nanami turned his gaze back towards the mirror, lifting his shirt high enough to examine the fading blue glow where your hands had been when a shocked gasp left his lips. There was nothing there, almost as if he hadn’t been injured at all. There was no scar, no remanent of the wound that he had sustained. It was incredible. That was when he noticed your reflection swaying in the mirror.

His eyes widened as his gaze quickly returned to your form. Your skin was pale, your eyes slightly glaze as you swayed dangerously from side to side. Nanami’s hands gently grasped your shoulders, steadying you in place so that you wouldn’t fall. You were breathing heavily, your eyes squeezed shut as small beads of sweat formed on your forehead. He was growing increasingly worried the more you continued to sway, your left hand darting out to stabilise yourself against the bathroom basin with a low groan.

“Sorry…” You apologised, blinking slowly to try and stop your spinning vision “I’m a little tired after fighting those…things.”

The two of you were so close now, Nanami was practically holding you upright against him. He could feel his heart racing in his chest as your tired eyes lifted to meet his, a lazy smile forming on your lips. He couldn’t think straight, he couldn’t stop the racing of his heart. You were so close that he was worried you might hear it. The sudden urge to kiss you crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it with a shake of his head. He had only just met you a few weeks ago, he couldn’t be thinking like this could he?

As a small blush formed on his cheeks, Nanami helped you to stay on your feet whilst he tossed the blood-stained paper towels in one of the bins. He then carefully wrapped his arm around your waist, steadying you against him as the two of you made your way out of the bathroom. He had no idea how thankful you were for this, as he allowed you to lean into his side as you walked out onto the city streets. He was practically shielding you from any prying eyes, and especially in your battered state, it was an incredibly kind gesture.

You found yourself unconsciously leaning closer to him, savouring his warmth and the distant smell of his expensive cologne. Unknown to you, Nanami wrapped his arm around you tighter, determined to protect you no matter the cost.

Two…

Having known you for just over a month now, Nanami learned that you were the type of person who would go out of your way to help anyone, whether that be one of your friends, or a stranger on the street. But this often led to you over-exerting yourself, especially when your other first years Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, Maki, Inumaki and Panda required urgent healing after an assignment went wrong.

You had been returning from an assignment with Nanami when Gojo had asked you to return to Jujutsu High asap, since the exchange event was in a few weeks, and everyone needed to be at the physical peak. Nanami often thought that Gojo took advantage of your cursed technique, especially after he had witnessed it first-hand. He saw how completely wiped out you were after healing his wound, it worried him just thinking about what could happen to you if you healed multiple people at once.

Arriving back at the school, you both jogged towards the infirmary where Gojo had directed you. When you arrived, your eyes widened as your gaze landed on your fellow first years. They had all sustained wounds or injuries of varying degrees of severity, which meant that you would have to expend more cursed energy to heal them completely.

Nanami wasn’t happy.

He turned to Gojo, scolding his colleague quietly enough so you couldn’t hear him while you set to work. “This isn’t a good idea, Satoru, she can’t handle-“

“What do you mean? Of course she can!” Gojo exclaimed, gesturing over to your knelt form as you struggled to heal a small cut on Nobara’s arm. Nanami ‘tsked’ annoyedly, “You’re happy for her to burn herself out!? You and I both know that she struggles with maintaining her cursed energy-“

“You worry too much, Nanami. Y/n is more than capable of-“

“Do you know what happens when she heals to many people at once?” Nanami snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously on the man before him. When Gojo didn’t answer and instead cast his eyes downward, it only confirmed Nanami’s suspicions. Of course he didn’t know, you had never done this before. Just healing him was enough to deplete your energy, to send you swaying on your feet and feeling incredibly nauseous on the return journey home.

When Nanami returned his attention toward you, his eyes widened in disbelief. You had already made your way to Panda, having already healed Yuji, Nobara, Megumi and Maki…and you seemed fine. Though you were facing away from him, he couldn’t see your face, but you appeared to be holding on for now. As you turned your attention toward Inumaki, Nanami’s eyes watched your hands. They were trembling, badly. He watched as your cursed energy flickered around your hands as you struggled to maintain your focus, the blue flames faintly burning as you placed your hands on Inumaki’s wrist.

You were pushing yourself too much, your cursed energy was fading. But you pressed on, forcing your cursed energy to surge forward and heal the cut on Inumaki’s skin. Just as the scar tissue healed, you released a pained whimper as your cursed energy spluttered violently, dissipating into nothing as you collapsed forward onto your hands and knees. You couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think clearly. Your body was consumed by a dull ache that continued to increase, an ache that felt like you had overworked your limbs too much, but you knew that it was your cursed energy biting back at your for over-extending your abilities.

You felt a hand place itself on your shoulder, but you couldn’t determine who was speaking through the ringing in your ears. Stars began to dance across your vision as you struggled to focus on your surroundings, your entire body shaking as you felt your limbs give out from underneath you. You collapsed into a pair of strong arms, the sound of distant shouting the last thing that crossed your senses as your vision faded and you were consumed by darkness.

Nanami was furious.

You had collapsed exhausted in his arms, head coming to rest against his chest as he wrapped his arms around your protectively. Panicked shouts erupted around the room, with Yuji and Megumi arguing over what they should do. Nobara, Maki and Panda tried to calm them down, while Inumaki sat in disbelief, staring down at his wrist with an expression of guilt.

With a sharp glare, Nanami turned his attention toward Gojo who stood silently in the corner of the room. With the blindfold over his eyes, his gaze was downcast, and his hands were stuffed into his pockets. Nanami could tell that Gojo was feeling guilty, though he wouldn’t admit it out loud. But Nanami huffed loudly in annoyance, skilfully picking you up in his arms bridal style and carrying you out of the infirmary. He paused by Gojo, glaring at his colleague from the corner of his eye. “I warned you that this would happen, and yet you didn’t listen. Do not, make this mistake again” he spoke darkly, not bothering to wait for Gojo’s reply as he carried you out into the corridor, and made his way towards your quarters.

He'd been there only once before after sustaining another injury, where you had offered to heal it for him and refused to let him leave Jujutsu High until he let you. No matter how many times he declined and said he could take care of this one himself, you were incredibly stubborn, an adorable pout forming on your face as you tried to reason with him. He let you heal him of course, on the promise that you wouldn’t exhaust yourself while doing so. Which you hadn’t, but the memory made him smile unconsciously.

As he reached your bedroom and slid open the door, he looked down at your unconscious form and sighed softly. To some it looked as if you were merely sleeping, but deep down he knew that this was more than that, this was something that had been brought on by your expenditure of your cursed energy, that fact alone made a small sense of worry settle in the pit of his stomach. The repercussions of healing cursed energy were still unknown, given its rarity. Perhaps this was one of them, a way for your body to rest and regain its energy.

Nanami gently placed you under the covers of your bed, tucking you in and making sure you were comfortable. When he was satisfied with his work, he cast one more glance down at your form and sighed longingly. You looked so peaceful, so innocent. Your kindness was rare in this world, especially the one you both shared. The life of a Jujutsu sorcerer was dangerous, you had to be ready for death at any moment. But Nanami found himself craving your company. He valued your presence more over the others, and he looked forward to the times when the two of you would work together.

It was the little things that he noticed about you. Your smile, your laugh, the way you fiddled with your hands whenever you were nervous, or the way you would cheer happily whenever you made progress with your cursed technique. He was drawn to you, though he sometimes wondered if he shouldn’t be. He was a professional sorcerer, and you were technically a first-year student despite your age. But you were both adults, so he supposed to some degree that status didn’t matter.

A sudden thought crossed his mind, to press a gentle kiss to your forehead in goodbye. But that was quickly dismissed with a quick shake of his head. He didn’t want to disturb you, and he thought it would be inappropriate for him to do so. So he closed the door to your room and left, but not before asking Yuji to give him updates on your condition whenever he could.

Even with Yuji giving him updates, Nanami was getting worried about your condition. You had apparently been in a state of limbo, in and out of consciousness for brief periods of time. You were in good hands though, he knew that the others at Jujutsu High would take care of you, but that didn’t make him any less worried. It had been three days since he had left you, and your condition hadn’t changed. It was now Thursday, and Nanami waited eagerly for Yuji’s text.

Itadori

She’s awake! She’s still a little tired, but she’s asking for you.

Nanami felt his heart stop, his eyes widening as he reread the text message over and over. A feeling that he could only determine to be elation consumed him as he replied to Yuji, grabbing his jacket and racing towards his apartment door.

I’ll be there in an hour, keep her company until I get there.

After what felt like hours, Nanami had finally arrived. Everyone was training, he could see Megumi and Yuji sparring in the middle of the grounds, Maki and Nobara were working on their techniques…

And there you were, engaging in a conversation with Panda and Inumaki. There was a small, tired smile on your lips, you were being polite and nodding along to what they were saying. But when your eyes met his from across the grounds, your eyes regained their enchanting sparkle, and you looked a lot happier.

He watched as you excused yourself, slowly standing up from your seated position and wrapping a small blanket around your shoulders before making your way over to him. He met you halfway, not wanting you to waste the energy you had just recovered on him. He smiled down at you as you stood before him, a sense of nervousness consuming him as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “H-How are you feeling?” He stuttered, internally cursing himself for the mistake in his speech.

You shrugged your shoulders, clutching the blanket closer to your body as you shivered at the cool breeze. “I’m still a little tired. Gojo has put me on leave so I can rest a little, but otherwise I’m doing alright” You replied kindly, giving him a kind smile. A moment of comfortable silence passed, as both you and Nanami enjoyed each other’s company. You cleared your throat awkwardly, “I uh…I wanted to thank you, for what you did…” You spoke softly, your eyes falling to the ground as a small blush crept onto your cheeks “…You didn’t have to, and to be honest I’m not sure if anyone else would-“

“You’re my partner…” Nanami interrupted blatantly, his words causing your head to shoot back upward in shock “…I warned Gojo that we didn’t know what would happen if you exerted your power, and I wasn’t particularly happy that you would so recklessly put yourself at risk like that…”

He trailed off when he watched your expression fall, the sparkle in your eyes flickering slightly as your gaze fell to the space between the two of you. Nanami sighed slightly, extending his hand and hooking his fingers under your chin. He lifted your head up and stared deeply into your eyes, “…but that being said, the kindness you show people is rare these days, and in the short time I’ve known you, you would go above and beyond to help your friends no matter what the cost would be to you. I made a promise to protect you the first time I met you, and that isn’t going to change now. If you promise me to take care of yourself, then I’ll be happy.”

The sparkle in your eyes returned, glowing brightly as your tired smile widened. The blush on your cheeks darkened, but that didn’t stop you from nodding excitedly. “I promise, as long as you promise to let me heal you when you get hurt, and you can’t protest! If we’re partners, you have to expect that you’re my first priority when it comes to life or death”.

He should have expected that, you giving him a condition to your partnership. But nevertheless, he accepted with a small nod of his head, his stomach erupting in butterflies.

Three…

You dodged Nanami’s attacks, a grunt of effort escaping you as you flipped over to land behind him, bracing your wooden naginata for his next attack.

It came swiftly, he’d already wheeled around and was preparing to strike when you spun to your left. However, he had already anticipated where you were going to go and changed his direction of attack. Your eyes widened as you lifted your hands up to prepare for the blow, knowing that Nanami’s attack would likely send you reeling backward, or flat on your ass.

Nanami slashed with his short sword slicing the naginata completely in half, the force of his attack knocking you completely backward. You released a small shocked scream as you landed on your back, a sharp pained gasp leaving your lips as the air was forced from your lungs. As the dust from the training ground cleared and the stars dancing across your vision ceased, you found yourself staring up at the sky.

This wasn’t working. You had made the active decision to train and make yourself stronger, thinking that maybe this would help you manage your cursed technique so that you wouldn’t pass out as much or expend all of your energy. But so far, the only thing that had happened was that Nanami kept handing your ass to you again…and again…and again. Just when you thought you were progressing and feeling good about yourself, it was ruined by one small mistake.

You groaned and brought your hands to your eyes, balling them into fists to rub away the frustrated tears that threatened to fall. Footsteps crunched against the dirt, a shadow obscuring the sunlight above you. “Come on, again” Nanami ordered, likely extending his hand towards you to help you up from the ground. Your hands dropped to your sides, your tearful eyes glaring up at your partner as you sighed heavily.

“Tell me honestly…am I getting better?” You asked him, a small painful pang twisting through your chest. As you laid there, you waited for Nanami’s reply. He stared down at you through his glasses, you could see that he was deliberately thinking of a reply, or trying to craft it rather so as to not hurt your feelings. But he didn’t have to say anything, his hesitation was enough.

You let out a small whimper, pushing yourself up into a sitting position as you buried your face into your hands. You began to cry, your heart aching as you sobbed loudly. You felt so useless, what use was a Jujutsu sorcerer who couldn’t defend herself, or who was so weak that she could only heal a few people before collapsing from exhaustion.

You wondered what Nanami thought of you in this moment, practically curled into a ball and a complete sobbing mess. You must look so pathetic like this, but you didn’t care. Through your cries you heard the crunching of dirt once more, feeling Nanami’s arm gently brush yours as he sat down on the ground beside you.

The truth was, you were getting better, ever so slowly. You were making progress; he saw it on your last assignment together. You were holding your own incredibly well against a Special Grade spirit when he had accidentally left himself open to an attack, which left him incapacitated. He should have known better, but when he came to you were healing him, and the special grade was gone.

He removed his glasses, sighing lightly as he placed them in his pant pocket. He then reached out and took your hands in his, gently prying them away from your face. When your eyes met his, Nanami felt his chest tighten unbearably in sadness. Your beautiful (eye/colour) hues were bloodshot, the sparkle that he had come to love so much was non-existent now. You looked so sad, your bottom lip quivering as you sniffled softly.

His thumbs gently traced circles on the back of your hands, a gentle comforting motion that caused your cheeks to flush a bright pink and your stomach to do backflips. “You are progressing at your own pace, but I am seeing improvement from you Y/n-“

“I just feel so useless!...” You exclaimed, releasing a loud huff in frustration “what kind of Jujutsu sorcerer am I, if I collapse at the slightest use of my cursed technique? What kind of sorcerer am I if I can’t even protect the people I care about-“

You were suddenly silenced as Nanami surged forward, cupping both sides of your face with his hands and staring deeply into your eyes. Your eyes were wide, your body completely frozen as the distance between the two of you became smaller.

Nanami could feel his heart racing, a light blush forming on his cheeks as he spoke softly. “You are not useless, Y/n. Yes, your cursed technique is rare, and not much is known about it…but that’s what makes you extremely powerful. We don’t know the true extent of your power, but that is also the beauty of it. You have so much potential, but the fact that it takes such a toll on you physically means that we have to do this slowly so as to not hurt you in the process. You and I are in this together, and I am going to be with you every step of the way.”

The two of you were so close now, so close that of Nanami had closed the distance, his lips would have been on yours. And god, he wanted to kiss you. You did something to him that he just couldn’t understand, you made his heart race, he couldn’t think clearly whenever you were near. His stomach wouldn’t stop doing backflips, and his chest would tighten nervously whenever your hands accidently brushed, or when you hugged him, or when you smiled or laughed. It dawned on him then in this moment as he held you so intimately, that he loved you. His eyes softened upon this realisation, a loving smile forming on his lips as he watched your shocked expression fade.

You wanted him to kiss you. He was so close to you now, your heart was racing so wildly in your chest that you were surprised that Nanami couldn’t hear it. You had had a crush on him since your first meeting, that crush slowly growing into a deep and affectionate love when Yuji had told you how concerned Nanami was about your condition when Gojo had asked you to heal everyone before the exchange event. Your missions together only fuelled your love for him, and now that you were both in this intimate position, you wanted nothing more than for him to capture your lips with his.

But of course, the moment was ruined.

“Hey! There you two are! You both weren’t answering your phones, and I thought I’d find you here!”

Both you and Nanami instantly pulled apart, blushing furiously as you both turned to face the evil grinning face of Gojo a few feet away. You couldn’t stop the small laugh that left your lips as Nanami’s face instantly changed from a soft loving expression to a harsh glare, as he directed his annoyance towards your colleague with a sharp reply. “Do you mind? We were kind of in the middle of something-“

“If by ‘in the middle of something’, you mean staring dreamily into each other’s eyes, slowly leaning in and waiting for the other to make a move-“

Nanami jumped up from the ground in a flash, sprinting toward Gojo with an annoyed cry whilst the white-haired sorcerer screamed in fright. You shook your head as you watched the two of them run around the training grounds while you made yourself comfortable, folding your arms over your chest and crossing your legs as you waited for your partner’s return.

Four…

After deciding that the team needed a night out free of stress and cursed spirits, Gojo had invited everyone to a local bowling alley in the city. He had stated explicitly that it was a ‘compulsory team building exercise’, and so Nanami had no choice but to attend.

He would have preferred to stay inside his apartment, reading a good book and staying warm on this particularly cold night…or inviting you over and making you a nice dinner, like he had planned. But you had managed to convince him that it would be fun, you did remind him that he did have to work with the others and not just you, which he blatantly protested. But even still, he found himself entering the bowling alley a few minutes earlier than the agreed meeting time, his eyes landing on Megumi and Maki who sat at a booth by the wall.

He was a little dejected that you weren’t here yet, but he hoped that you would show up soon. He sat beside Megumi and watched annoyedly as everyone else arrived, even Gojo arrived before you, and he was usually late to everything. His phone vibrated on the table, alerting him to a new message. He lifted the phone to investigate who was texting him and smiled when he saw your name pop up on screen.

Y/n

I am on my way, I promise! I just got a little caught up, tell everyone I’m sorry and I’ll be there soon.

Nanami chuckled, replying casually and ignoring the fact that Yuji and Gojo were peering over his shoulder to see what he was smiling at.

Are you alright? It’s not like you to be late.

You didn’t reply, for ten minutes Nanami waited anxiously for his phone to alert him to your message. He was growing anxious and irritated, crossing his arms over his chest as he eyed the door of the bowling alley. Every time it opened his heart leapt into his chest in the hope that it was you finally arriving, but he was left disappointed each time.

His phone vibrated again, Nanami’s attention immediately shifting back to the table as he snatched the device off the table before Gojo could grab it. Your name appeared on the screen again, a small sense of relief settling in his chest before it was replaced with panic. He had to reread the text twice, just to confirm that what he was actually reading was correct.

Y/n

Hey, sorry I didn’t answer. There was a cursed spirit on the train, nothing to major. I’m just down the street now, I’ll be there soon.

Nanami practically jumped out of his seat beside Megumi, with everyone shouting at him and asking where he was going. He raced towards the door, his worry and panic consuming him as his hand grasped the door handle. His mind raced as he threw open the door. Where you alright? Were you injured? He had to get to you, he had to make sure that-

As he opened the door, almost tearing it from its hinges, he froze in shock with his eyes widening in disbelief. You were standing before him, your eyes meeting his with a kind smile in greeting. His eyes examined your entire form from head to toe, searching for any sign of injury. But when he found none, the relief he felt was euphoric.

“Hey, I told you I was literally down the street. You didn’t have to come out and-“

Your words died in your throat as Nanami wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into his embrace and hugging you tightly. A blush formed on your cheeks at his sudden gesture, but you returned his embrace, wrapping your arms around his torso and burying your head against his chest. The smell of his cologne overwhelmed you, the scent of bergamot and leather, with a faint smell of vanilla that drove you crazy. You breathed deeply, releasing a long breath as you spoke softly “I’m okay, Nanami. I’m fine”.

He pulled away from you just enough so that he could peer down at you. With his arms still wrapped around you, he smiled down at you lovingly. The way your eyes softened, shining so brightly under the city lights. He wished he could have stayed in this moment, with you in his arms forever.

But once again, Gojo had to ruin it.

“Y/n! There you are, we were worried you wouldn’t show up” He teased, appearing beside Nanami and wrapping his arm around his shoulder. You gave Nanami a knowing smile, sensing his annoyance at the sudden intrusion, but you turned your gaze to Gojo and shrugged.

“I’m sorry, I got a bit caught up with something. I’m here now though, so let’s get this night started” You replied, feeling Nanami’s hold on you tighten when Gojo leaned his full body weight against him.

Gojo grinned, his gaze moving between the two of you behind his glasses sceptically. “Alright then! Let’s get you two kids inside, and we’ll get things started!” He announced, motioning with his head to follow him as he removed his arm from Nanami’s shoulder and disappeared back inside. Your eyes met Nanami’s once more, you could see that there was a small glare set onto his features, the reflection of the street in his glasses hiding his actual gaze. But when you pulled away from him and held him at arm’s length, his gaze moved back to you.

You smiled up at him, taking his hands in yours as your gaze flickered to Gojo’s retreating form and then back. “Come on, we should head inside. Gojo might lose his mind if he has to wait any longer” You joked, your words causing the man before you to laugh. Nanami shook his head, nodding in agreement with a short sigh “I suppose you’re right, I’m not promising that I’ll be any good at this though-“ “Oh, I’m terrible at bowling. We can both share in the embarrassment then” You joked lightly, grinning teasingly as Nanami chuckled wholeheartedly.

The two of you joined the others, and the night of chaos began. Gojo had decided to make it a challenge, splitting the group into two teams. Whichever team lost, they would have to buy the winning team ice cream. Thankfully, you and Nanami had ended up on the same team, partnered up with Nobara, Yuji and Panda, while the other team consisted of Inumaki, Gojo, Megumi and Maki. While they were uneven teams, you were getting your asses kicked.

You slumped back into your seat, sighing heavily as you folded your arms over your chest. This was the last round, and the other team was nine points ahead thanks to a spare from Megumi. It was Nanami’s turn, the last turn of the night. “You’re up Kento…” Gojo drawled, standing tall and confidently “…try not to miss”.

You really didn’t want Gojo to win, he would brag about it for weeks on end and would never let you hear the end of it. You watched from the corner of your eye as Nanami stood up from beside you, stretching out his arms as he made his way over to pick up the bowling ball. You grew nervous as you watched him walk up to the lane, his intense gaze focused on the bowling pins.

He lifted the ball and swung, allowing the ball to fall from his hand and roll down the lane at a high rate of speed. Your hands flew to your mouth as you waited anxiously, it was like the entire room had gone silent as you all waited for the impact. The ball made contact with the pins…and you watched in amazement as all ten pins fell over. And with that, your team had won by just a single point.

Your team jumped up and cheered ecstatically, while you rushed towards Nanami and practically jumped into his embrace. He caught you with ease as you wrapped yourself around him, holding your thighs securely he spun you around with a deep and happy laugh. “You did it! You won!” You cheered, laughing along with him as you leaned back slightly to stare into his eyes. You removed one of your hands from his neck, and gently removed his glasses before placing them in his jacket pocket. He looked stunned by your actions, a light blush forming on his cheeks as the surrounding bowling alley seemed to fade out of existence.

He wouldn’t lie to himself, Nanami had often thought about holding you like this perhaps in a more…intimate position. It made his heart stutter, his brain short-circuit. He was suddenly very aware of the distance between the two of you, or lack thereof really. All he could focus on was the feeling of your hands on the back of his neck, the sensation sending a rather pleasant shiver down his spine. He could have kissed you, he almost did. You looked so beautiful underneath the neon lights of the bowling alley, your eyes reflecting the colours in a dazzling array. The urge to capture your lips with his was strong, but then you both suddenly seemed to snap back to reality upon realising that you were in front of numerous prying eyes.

He carefully placed you back down on the ground, clearing his throat awkwardly as the two of you fixed your clothes with a few quick brushes. However, it seemed that no one seemed to notice the moment the two of you shared, as they had descended into a tense argument. Megumi had claimed that your team had cheated, while Yuji retaliated and defended your team.

You and Nanami turned to look at each other again, laughing quietly to yourselves as you both stood together, hands brushing one another’s as you watched your friends descend into a full-blown blame game.

Five…

“Are you seriously getting mad at me for this!?” You exclaimed, glaring up at the man before you in annoyance. Nanami huffed, his hands clenching into fists by his side as his anger grew.

Upon a sudden revelation from Sukuna, who Yuji had allowed to take over in order to deal with a rather difficult Special Grade spirit, he had taken a great interest in you when he first heard about your abilities. He was impressed, a healing cursed technique like yours hadn’t been seen in hundreds of years, since he was last physically alive, and not to the powerful extent that he could sense in you. He’d offered to help you master it, stating quite blatantly that if you didn’t and expended too much of your energy in one go, your cursed technique would kill you.

As it turned out, your cursed technique used your physical life force to heal a wound or injury. Because you were channelling it through your form, and not allowing yourself to draw on the cursed energy surrounding you, it was killing you every time you used it. It was still a very dangerous technique, Sukuna made the point of stating.

‘You wouldn’t want to die saving your dear, precious Nanami…would you?’

And now the two of you found yourselves here, in Nanami’s apartment arguing for the past half hour.

Nanami took a moment to compose himself, allowing himself to take a deep breath in and releasing it slowly, his shoulders rising and falling tensely. “No, I’m not mad at you…” He spoke lowly, staring down at you whilst trying to contain himself “…I’m more mad at the fact that you actually thought about working with Sukuna-“

“What else am I supposed to do!?” You exclaimed, throwing your arms out in exasperation, “You heard him, if I don’t learn how to use my technique properly, I will die. If he is the only one who knows how to master it, then maybe I should take that chance”.

“Absolutely not…” Nanami growled, his jaw clenching harshly “he wants something from you. You saw how interested he was when he met you, once he has taught you everything he knows about your technique, if he knows anything at all, he’ll force you into a pact, and I am not going to let that happen-“

“I want to be able to help people without collapsing after I heal a papercut…” You spoke firmly, your voice quivering as your hands balled into fists “I want to be strong, I want to be able to help everyone and myself, and I can’t do that with the way I am now”.

“You are talking about getting help from the most powerful and dangerous Special Grade spirit we know…” Nanami snapped, his eyes narrowing into a dangerous glare as his tone darkened “…you would be throwing away your life either way.”

“I want to be able to protect the people I care about Nanami, I want to be able to protect you…” You cried, the angry and frustrated tears falling onto your cheeks. You felt like he wasn’t listening to you. He didn’t know what it felt like to feel completely useless, to feel like you were only getting in other people’s way when you used your technique. If you used it in the field to keep someone standing, you were practically a deadweight afterward, completely tired and worn out.

You weren’t strong like Nanami, your cursed technique didn’t allow you to pinpoint a spirit’s weak spot and strike with deadly precision. You weren’t skilled in weaponry like Maki, nor were you able to fight like Megumi or Yuji. But protecting them, protecting Nanami…that is what mattered to you.

Nanami sighed heavily. He could see the frustration on your face, but you weren’t listening to him. Sukuna would use you until he got what he wanted. He would train you, yes, but then what? Nanami wouldn’t be able to live with himself if that happened, if Sukuna were to possess you and use your healing technique to his advantage. So Nanami shook his head, trying to maintain a calm composure so as to not completely blow up in anger.

“I don’t need your protection, Y/n. You need to focus on protecting yourself, and you need to go about it the right way”.

He watched your eyes widen in shock, the tears in your eyes freely falling onto your cheeks as your body trembled. The look on your face made his heart ache painfully, your bottom lip quivering harder as your gaze fell downward to the floor. The choked sob that escaped your lips broke him. Regret instantly settled in his chest as he watched you wipe your eyes, grab your jacket from the top of his kitchen counter, and slowly trudge towards the door. You didn’t say goodbye to him as you left, you merely opened the door and disappeared out into the hall.

A heavy weight hung in the air as Nanami sunk into the chair behind him, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed heavily. Tears stung his eyes, his chest aching as the heartbroken expression on your face imprinted on his mind. The one thing you wanted to do was protect him, and he had just told you that he didn’t need your help.

He cursed loudly, swatting at the decanter on the coffee table and sending it flying, the crystal smashing violently and the liquid inside splashing all over the floor. He slumped further back in his chair, breathing deeply as he tried not to cry himself. He’d hurt you, he’d promised to never hurt you.

He decided that he would call you later to talk, to apologise for what he had said. He never meant a word of it, all he wanted was for you to understand that he was trying to protect you from yourself. He would never let you make a deal with Sukuna, over his dead body. But first, he thought he should let the situation calm down.

An hour later his calls were left unanswered, his texts unread. He supposed that you had just turned your phone off, or you just weren’t speaking to him now. That didn’t stop him from staring down at his phone screen, desperately hoping that you would answer him sometime soon. That hour turned into two, then three and so on.

He went to bed, hoping that when he woke up the next morning there would be a reply from you. But it was now 1am in the morning, and he couldn’t sleep. Your silence was unnerving, it was incredibly unlike you. His mind raced, going through multiple scenarios of why you weren’t responding to him. It literally could be that you just weren’t talking to him. You were mad at him, and you had every right to be. But a part of him worried that maybe something had happened to you, that you had been hurt by some sort of spirit or you had expended your energy somewhere…and he wasn’t there to help you.

But he knew you were strong, you were more than capable of defending yourself. Of course you were, he had trained you himself. But he would continue to worry about you, he cared about you too much not to. He tossed and turned, becoming restless as he couldn’t get comfortable, sleep alluding him completely. A sudden thought crossed his mind, he should go to Jujutsu High and see you, apologise personally. But it was way too early in the morning, and he didn’t want to wake your either.

But he decided to do it anyway, your silence eating away at him. He got out of bed and dressed quickly, choosing for a more casual look than his daily suit before stuffing his phone into his jean pockets and exiting his apartment. He estimated that he would likely reach Jujutsu High a little before 2am, taking into account the traffic that would likely be in his way.

By the time he arrived, heavy raindrops had drenched his clothes. His hair was a mess, matted to his forehead as he skilfully and stealthily approached your room so as to not alert the guards. He was a bit surprised to see light coming from inside your room, but it allowed a sense of relief to settle over him as he knocked on your door gently. He could hear a faint shuffling sound from behind the door, his eyes watching as it swung open to reveal your form huddled in a blanket.

Your eyes widened, a short gasp leaving your lips as you frantically searched the hall behind him. “Nanami!? What are you doing here!?” You exclaimed in a hushed whisper, your eyebrows furrowing as you stared up at him in confusion. Nanami sighed softly “I…You weren’t answering your phone. I know you’re mad at me, but I wanted to apologise-“

“So, you came all the way here, at 2am in the morning, in the rain…to apologise?” You asked quietly, a light blush forming on your cheeks as you put two and two together. Nanami nodded, small droplets of water dripping from his hair and onto the floor.

“What I said, about me not needing your protection…I didn’t mean it. Knowing that you are by my side and using your ability to protect my life has made me realise that yes, being a Jujutsu sorcerer is extremely complicated, and these forces and techniques all work in mysterious ways, but I’ve come to love yours even more than the others. You are selfless, kind, and willing to risk your own life to protect the people you care about, though I would prefer that you didn’t. If you wish to speak with Sukuna and learn how to master your technique, then I won’t stop you, but I want you to know that no matter what happens I will not be happy about it, but I will stand by you and help you to the best of my ability.”

His words struck you with such intensity that your eyes stung with tears. Your heart beat wildly in your chest as you stared up at him with a soft and loving smile. A pleasant shiver ran down your spine, your chest filling with such emotion that you just…didn’t know what to do. You surged forward, wrapping your arms around his torso and hugging him tight. You didn’t care that Nanami was soaked, or that your clothes were now damp, all you cared about was him.

Nanami instinctively wrapped his arms around you, holding you close and burying his face in your hair. He thought about pressing his lips to your skalp, a gentle kiss to seal his apology and hopefully gain your acceptance. He wanted you to know that he was truly sorry, and that there was more that he could do if his words weren’t enough-

All too quickly you pulled away, stepping back and taking his hands in yours and tracing gentle circles on his palms. “I’m sorry too, for everything. I’m not going to speak with Sukuna, I’m going to do this my own way…and I would like you to be there with me-“

“Of course, anything” Nanami replied quickly, your smile causing his heart to swell with happiness. With a small motion of your head, you spoke softly “You can stay the night if you want, I don’t see the point in you coming all the way here and then going all the way back. You’ll be getting back by like 4am-“

“Oh no, really it’s fine Y/n I-“

“Nanami…” You whispered sternly, giving him a stern playful glare as you shook your head “…I insist. Seriously, I have some of Gojo’s old clothes that might fit you-“

“Why do you have Gojo’s old clothes?” He asked bewilderedly, giving you a confused look as you giggled awkwardly.

“Oh! No it’s nothing like that I promise! When I first got here in winter I didn’t have that many warm clothes, so he gave me a hoodie and trackpants to keep me warm!”

“Uh huh, sure” Nanami teased, chuckling as you hauled him inside. You groaned, lightly punching his shoulder as you closed the door behind him “Seriously? Gojo is like an older brother to me, I’ll get you the clothes just shhhhhhhh!” You scolded, to which Nanami glared at you playfully. He smirked, taking the clothes from you and disappearing into your bathroom.

When he emerged, he saw that you had already crawled into your bed. You gently patted the mattress beside you, the blush on your cheeks deepening. Nanami knew exactly what was going through your mind, and without another word he crawled under the covers beside you. Your heart was beating so fast you worried that he might hear it, as the two of you settled in. With a small whispered ‘goodnight’ to each other, you both fell into a comfortable sleep.

Come morning, Gojo grew concerned. You usually woke up early and met him for breakfast, and when you didn’t, he knew something had to be wrong. He made his way to your room, knocking gently and waiting patiently for your reply. When none came, Gojo slowly and quietly opened your bedroom door and his eyes widened in shock and awe.

You were lying in bed, tangled in Nanami’s arms! Your head was buried against his chest, with Nanami’s arms wrapped around you securely. The two of you were snoring softly, completely dead to the world as you shifted slightly, Nanami’s arms holding you closer whilst his chin came to rest on top of your head. Gojo snorted quietly, covering his mouth with his hand so as to not burst with laughter. He needed evidence that this happened, otherwise no one would ever believe him. Hell, he wouldn’t believe him if he wasn’t looking at this historic moment right now.

So Gojo quickly took out his phone, snapping a few pictures before exclaiming victoriously in a hushed whisper…that was until a pillow smacked him in the face. With a loud ‘oof’ he heard a stern voice growl “Delete that, or I will make sure you regret it”.

“No way Kento! I have been waiting forever to catch the two of you like this, I need evidence this happened otherwise people will think I’m crazy!”

“You are crazy!” Gojo heard you screamed, your voice loud and high pitched “Get out!”.

The glare that Nanami directed towards him was so intense that Gojo felt an overwhelming sense of nervousness consume him, the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up on end as the familiar feeling of cursed energy hung in the air. Gojo shrieked as he left your room, phone clutched in hand as he laughed evilly.

The one time he did…

Finally, a quiet night in.

A night that was undisturbed by the sudden appearance of a cursed spirit, one of your fellow first years requiring your attention, or Gojo suddenly appearing from nowhere and ruining the peace.

Deciding to follow up on that nice dinner he wanted to make you weeks ago, when everyone went out bowling instead, he invited you over to his apartment so he could make you your favourite dish. You practically lived at his apartment most days anyway now, he didn’t mind though, he loved your company, and honestly wouldn’t have minded if you said that you wanted to stay permanently.

He kept sneaking glances at you from the kitchen, watching your huddled form on the lounge as your curled up with one of the books he was reading. He was already about halfway through it, but you had taken a great interest when he had explained the plot to you on the morning when Gojo had caught the two of you together. He watched as your eyes skimmed the pages, the way you unconsciously bit your lip as you tilted your head to the side in intrigue. They way you smiled when you-

“Shit!” Nanami hissed, the knife in his hand clattering against the stone-top loudly as he stepped backward away from the bench. A sharp stinging pain coursed through his hand, a strange warmth spreading downward as he lifted his hand up in front of his face. He cursed again at the blood that poured from the cut on his finger, immediately turning around to face the sink and run his hand under the water.

“Are you okay?” He heard you call out from behind him, the soft ‘thump’ of a book landing on the coffee table echoing throughout his apartment. Nanami winced as the water made contact with the cut, the stinging sensation becoming unbearable as he allowed the blood to dribble down the drain. “I’m fine, I just dropped something” he lied, bracing his other hand against the kitchen sink as he pressed his lips together in a thin line. The pain was becoming worse, he’d surely cut deep hence the amount of blood. He shook his head in annoyance, cursing himself internally.

Damn it, he’d ruined everything. The food was no doubt covered in blood, completely inedible. Just one night, one night where something didn’t go wrong-

Nanami watched with wide eyes as your hands suddenly appeared in his field of vision, reaching across him and turning off the tap. He stood practically frozen as you turned him to face you, taking his injured hand in yours and holding it close to your face to examine the cut on his index finger.

You pouted slightly, peering up at him through your lashes as you ‘tsked’. “Well, that was silly of you” You scolded, shaking your head teasingly while Nanami blushed a bright red in embarrassment. He cleared his throat awkwardly “I-It was an accident” He stuttered, feeling the weight on his chest lift as you laughed softly.

“I would hope so…” you replied calmly, placing his hand in-between both of yours as you closed your eyes “…I wouldn’t be very happy with you if it was intentional”. He watched in amazement as your hands began to glow, the blue cursed energy flame consuming both your hand and his. That familiar pins and needles sensation settled in his hand as he watched the cut on his finger close, the blue flame flickering out as the wound completely disappeared. His eyes flickered upward to watch your face for any sign of discomfort, waiting for any sign of fatigue that would indicate that you had expended too much of your energy.

But when you opened your eyes and released a deep and calm sigh, Nanami felt an overwhelming sense of pride consume him. Your eyes met his and you smiled, teasingly holding his hand up in front of his face “See? All better. Was that so hard?”.

Nanami chuckled, shaking his head at your playfulness. You had come so far with your cursed technique, it practically didn’t bother you that much anymore. The two of you had figured out why healing others took such a toll on you, and it was because your cursed energy was so potent that it often didn’t align with someone else’s. You had to attune yourself to their cursed energy, match its frequency, and then allow your technique to flow through them in order to heal them. It was harder for some more than others, with Nanami it pretty much came naturally to you now.

He examined his finger, still impressed by the fact that there was no scar tissue left behind. Your abilities amazed him, it always left him speechless. “So? How does it look?” You asked softly, waiting anxiously for his answer. Nanami shrugged, turning his hand over with a slight huff. “Eh”.

“EH!?” You exclaimed, your eyes widening in shock as you stood there bewildered “There’s nothing there anymore! What do you mean eh!?”.

Nanami erupted in laughter, pulling away from you and clutching his stomach as it ached. He watched as realisation dawned on your face, flinching away from you as you lightly began to punch his arm lightly. “Oh you ass! That’s not nice!”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it…” Nanami replied, wiping a stray tear from his eye as he composed himself “the look on your face was priceless”.

He watched as you pouted, folding your arms across your chest as you turned away from him. He felt a bit bad, turning you around to face him again as an apologetic smile formed on his face. “I’m sorry, I was only teasing” He spoke softly, to which you nodded slowly.

You hummed a small reply, avoiding his gaze on purpose as he tried to get your attention. You looked at anything but him, and your teasing laughter was driving him insane. Your laughter grew louder when he grabbed your waist, pulling you against him so that there was no space between you. Your eyes widened in shock at the sudden movement, a bright blush forming on your cheeks as you stared up at him.

It happened all so suddenly as Nanami dipped down to capture your lips with his. You immediately melted into his touch, wrapping your arms around his neck while his hands settled firmly against your waist. You found yourself being moved backward, your lower back making contact with the countertop as you were now effectively pinned between the counter and his chest. You moaned softly, your heart racing as your hands tangled themselves in his hair.

You had been wanting this to happen for months now, this kiss had been way overdue. A surprised squeak left your lips as Nanami’s hands moved down your waist to your thighs, not once breaking the kiss as he effortlessly lifted you up so that you now sat on the countertop. He moved to stand between your legs, one hand resting on your thigh while the other moved back to your waist. A pleasant shiver coursed through you as you inched yourself closer, a low groan resonating deep within the man before you as he deepened the kiss.

Eventually the two of you pulled away, breathing in much needed oxygen as you placed your foreheads together. Nanami so desperately wanted to continue this, months of pent-up feelings and emotions had finally amounted to this long-awaited kiss, and he wanted more. He froze completely as he watched your eyes fluttered open, your hands slowly tracing downward from his neck and grasping the tie around his neck.

“What would you say about skipping dinner? We could maybe do this another-“

Before you could finish his lips were on your again, your words dying out and your train of thought forgotten as Nanami lifted you into his arms and carried you towards his bedroom. You soon became lost in a tangle of limbs and sheets, the night becoming intensely pleasurable and one that you wouldn’t soon forget.

When Gojo visited the next morning, concerned at the fact that neither one of you were answering his texts or calls, he soon got his answer. Entering Nanami’s apartment unannounced, his bright blue eyes widened in shock and embarrassment at the sight before him. You were sat on the kitchen counter wearing nothing but Nanami’s favourite blue shirt as you turned to look at him over your shoulder, and Nanami was completely shirtless, glaring towards him in annoyance and rage.

Gojo had never left a room faster than he did that morning, not once looking behind him in case an angry Nanami was hot on his heels.

[trifectamix]

I was contacted by someone claiming to be AtlusxP5

A few weeks ago, I got a submission from someone claiming to be AtlusxP5. I brushed it off, thinking it was some prank. On the evening of October 11th, 2024 I received an ask from the same blog. This time I did respond, privately replying that I want proof of their identity.

This is what they gave me:

This is a GIF of the video "goodbye" from another angle.

Me and the person promptly started chatting. I'll be the first to admit, I was rather blunt and direct, still suspect of this person. I asked for more proof, asking for certain unwatermarked images. They provided me with these within minutes, as well as related images.

I have uploaded these images on Mega for your viewing.

I have gotten permission to post these by the person as long as I include a message from them regarding the edited images. I will explain this by the end of this post.

We chatted for almost two hours that evening until I had to go to bed. As I'm writing this, it's October 12th. Earlier today, we had another, more casual, chat. We are about to talk more later.

So, is this person AtlusxP5?

Perhaps.

I asked them questions, and they always responded clearly, never taking more than a minute to formulate their reply. I asked them things that no one but me would care about, and they always had a response.

They have shown me more than just the images I have provided in the Mega link—a lot more. I will not post this content unless given explicit permission to.

Having spoken with them, they don't come off as a person having watched last year's documentary and trying to claim the glory. They have knowledge only someone who's been following this project for 11+ years could possess, not to mention the skill to produce believable content.

I'm sorry if this post is a mess to read. Perhaps I am jumping the gun by publishing this, but I would like to present this for everyone to see.

Before ending this post, I will relay some information regarding early P5:IP pictures.

As a reminder, early "artwork" by AtlusxP5 were in reality edited pictures of existing characters, such as the image below.

It was requested by the person that I include this.

(...) the reasoning as to why I went out of my way to use pre-existing media sources and edited them down just enough so it appeared as an illusion of something else. I wanted to make it just identifiable enough where people could still upon closer inspection find the original source, fitting my theme of illusion and upon closer inspection finding out the truth rather than seeing things face value

Thank you for reading.

[jonathan-cranes-mistress-of-fear]

Things to note - from a "popular" fandom blogger

I absolutely memorize urls of people who are in my notes regularly

This wasn't always the case, but now tumblr tells you who is following or a mutual. I extra love those people

BUT I also have a special place in my heart for the lurkers or tumblr users who never follow, but regularly visit my blog

Yes please spam me with notes. This is not Instagram, note spamming only effects us positively.

Reblogs over likes yes, but I will be equally happy if you like 20 posts in a row even if you don't engage

Please engage though. Ask culture dying. We (usually) love when people ask us our favorite headcanon or for clarification on canon facts. If someone doesn't want asks, they usually say so. When in doubt, send in a comment. It's always welcome.

Just because I didn't respond within five seconds doesn't mean I'm ignoring you. I do have a life. But also, sometimes it's hard to respond for whatever reason (thanks autism) I do see your kind words and I love them. I'm not mad at you either. I'm just exhausted 24/7 However please understand that I do not owe you my presence all hours of the day. Yes, even if we are close friends.

Please treat me how you want to be treated.

I have almost 90,000 posts, mostly reblogs, but I have a lot of content and I do not mind you doom scrolling. In the same vain, do not assume I was the same person that posted one, two, five or ten years ago. Going through my blog to find "problematic" content only wastes time and tells me you think people are incapable of growth and change. Do better.

Keeping a schedule is tantamount to keeping people engaged and them building a following. Whether you post one a week or daily, or like me--almost hourly--people will come no matter your content if you give them a Reason to come.

No matter how unpopular the thing you are blogging about it's there is ALWAYS an audience. It's never a wasted effort to be creative and put your voice out there. Please, the fandom gets stale without new creators and ideas.

On that note, you are not stealing from another for making the same or similar content. That means you should gif that show that's already been gif'd dozens of times over. You should draw that comic of a popular headcanon/ship. You should write your story. As long as you are doing things in your own words/style and not outright copying word for word or sketch per sketch, you're fine. Two cakes are ALWAYS Better than one.

Being angry and spending your time hating/attacking/vague blogging about other creators only hurts you in the long run. jealously is a normal emotion, but when you let it take over your happiness you're only falling deeper into a pit that's already hard to get out of. (trust me)

Please, please, please do what makes you happy. Life should not be wasted on anger. You don't need popularity to be happy, sometimes it can be hella stressful. (take my word for it) Don't become the bully you wish you where in middle school. Spread kindness, support artist and creators. (this includes gif makers, image editors, amv makers, writers, OCs, etc)

Just. Have fun.

[waitmyturtles]

1) CHERRY MAGIC (episode 2) IS SO GOOD, I HAVE TO COVER MY MOUTH AND KEEP MY MEEPS FROM BEING TOO LOUD

2) GOD, TAYNEW! New is SMASHING THIS.

3) The wonderful @so-much-yet-to-learn and I had a discussion a couple months ago about the stylistic and rumored decisions to not have Kurosawa and Adachi (Machida Keita and Akaso Eiji) kiss in the Japanese Cherry Magic adaptation. The rumors (only seen online and not at all confirmed with primary sources) were that Machida's and Adachi's agencies were not supportive of the two having an on-screen smooch. We also considered the public vs. private taboos of public displays of affection in Japanese society and art, which differ from those in other Asian countries (like Thailand).

It's not known if the two actors felt differently about not kissing. At least Machida's agency, Gekidan Exile/Exile Tribe, has provided quite the number of actors in other Japanese BLs who have acted out many more deeds on screen, from Candy Color Paradox to Tokyo in April Is..., and more.

But I think part of the campy gloriousness of the Japanese Cherry Magic adaptation was, in fact, the lack of kissing, and the sensual acting around the indication of that kissing, from Kurosawa's eagerness and his constant struggle to control his emotions, to Adachi's discomfort-to-acceptance-and-happiness journey. There was tremendous communication in their body and verbal language that got them to their happy ending in the series, and to not have the actual kiss was, for me, dramatically satisfying for how that decision was supported through the excellent acting and the painstaking details of the show.

So, for so many of us, as we learned that TayNew would take up this mantle in Thailand last year, we were like -- alright, NOW we are going to get the kisses, right?

And at least for now, we haven't, which makes me wonder a bit. We saw Kurosawa's lips touch Adachi's forehead in Japan,

and Karan's lips were hidden by Achi's fluffy bangs in Thailand.

Does New need some texturizing, or was this on purpose? (I'm CACKLING, poor Tay, look at that hair in his FACE, omg.)

If this was a stylistic nod to Japan? Then... well done, because at least I noticed it, and kinda loved it. We know (WE KNOWWWW, heh heh, thank you, Kiss Me Again and Dark Blue Kiss) what TayNew are capable of, and I just loved this little moment of subtlety here in Cherry Magic, because we don't actually know what we're going to get later this series.

Because I am a fucking simp for all things Cherry Magic, I also noted the slight changes in how Karan approached Achi on the rooftop later that night, as compared to Kurodachi. Honestly, I am SO ENJOYING these different approaches, and only note these simply by way of how I'm loving Machida's acting versus that of Tay.

Kurosawa on the rooftop was a ball of NERVES, man.

Whereas it almost seemed like Tay's Karan was silently joyful, with smiles playing at the edges of his lips, to be so close to Achi and having this conversation about the dinner game.

These are NOT the greatest screenshots, but if I could gif, I would try to capture how the corner's of Tay's mouth in that last screenshot just uplifted slightly. This wasn't a moment of shock and nerves; this was a moment of OMG OMG OMG EEEEEE THIS IS MY TIMEEEEE.

(EDITING TO ADD: I’m such a dunce! I should have known the gif makers were already on this — and the gorgeous deity @liyazaki captured Tay’s mouf perfectly. That giddiness in the last gif!)

And in their acting? I love BOTH APPROACHES so much. Because both approaches are well within the emotional range of the moment that we're experiencing with them.

We're departing from the Japanese dorama next week in content, and I cannot wait to see where we go. GMMTV gave us some holiday gifts in Last Twilight and Cherry Magic airing on Fridays and Saturdays, no?

[heavyhitterheaux]

Favorite Son-in-Law

First Lady of Private Garden Fic

Gif by @jackharlowgifs 💕

AN: First Lady's family absolutely adores her husband

Synopsis: First Lady's parents explain why Jack is their favorite son-in-law 🤭

Pairing: Husband!Jack Harlow x Wife!Reader

Requested by: a beautiful anon 💕

First Lady of Private Garden Masterlist Part 1

First Lady of Private Garden Masterlist Part 2

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

“Baby! You almost ready?” You heard Jack ask you from the bedroom as you were in the bathroom trying to finish curling your hair.

“Give me five more minutes!” 

Just then Jack came into the bathroom behind you and wrapped his arms around you and then leaned down to kiss you cheek which you gladly accepted.

“I’m not rushing you mamas, but you told me to give you five minutes twenty minutes ago. I could have been eating you out for all that.”

“Jackman! Behave!”

“I am behaving! We were supposed to meet up with everyone at 2 and it is now 3:15.”

“Pookie.” You said as you turned around to look at him since you had finally finished putting the last curl in your hair.

“Yes, princess?”

“How long have we been together?” You asked while placing your arms around his neck.

“Umm ten years.”

“And you know your wife is black, correct?”

“What? Where are you going with this?”

“Since when has my family EVER started anything on time? Trust and believe that my parents will be pulling up at the same time we do.”

“I-.....”

All you did was look at him and smirk as he was trying to come up with an answer for when your family had been on time for a function.

“Exactly. Now give me kisses so we can go.”

“Now, don’t start anything you can’t finish.”

“We’ll finish when we come back! Kisses please!”

Jack leaned down to place several kisses all over your face and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Now it’s time to go see my favorite in-laws.”

“Jack, baby, they’re your only in-laws.”

“They’re still my favorite.” Jack answered you while shrugging before leading you both out of the bathroom.

The two of you were now walking hand-in-hand in Cherokee Park to the spot where your parents told you everyone would be. You quickly spotted them along with your grandparents, Dani, Drama, all of Private Garden since your parents considered them their sons, and a lot of your aunts, uncles, and cousins.

“It’s about time you two got here!” 2fo said while walking up to the two of you while eating with his plate in his hand.

“You know what they were probably doing! We actually started at 2:45 this time!”

“Shut up Urban! Or should I say Big Whore!” You exclaimed and he made a face at you.

“Hey! Don’t act up in front of company!” He responded and all you and Jack did was shake your heads.

“The princess took an hour curling her hair.” Jack muttered and you pinched his side. 

“Jackman, don’t start.”

“It looks pretty on you though.” 

“Aww, why thank you, baby.” You said while reaching up to kiss him. 

“See? That’s the type of shit that made yall late in the first place.”

“AHHH! Is that my baby and my favorite son-in-law?” Your dad exclaimed while making his way over to the both of you. He quickly embraced you and then hugged Jack.

“HE’S YOUR ONLY SON-IN-LAW DAVID!” Your mother Ivy said and you couldn’t help but to laugh.

“Is that? Is that what I think it is?” He asked and motioned to the bottle of Hennessey in Jack’s hand.

“Of course, I know it’s your favorite.” He said while handing it over to him.

“Baby girl, keep him around FOREVER. Now I have to make sure your Aunt Cassie don’t see this. I know you two remember what happened last time.” He responded while eyeing the two of you. 

“Daddy, I am so done with you.” You said as you simply shook your head and all Jack was doing was laughing next to you.

“Y/N! Why you always keeping Jack from us?!” Your Aunt Keisha asked as she quickly walked up to hug you both.

“Because yall are embarrassing and I can only take yall in doses. 2FO! THAT BETTER NOT BE THE CHEESECAKE MY MOM MADE FOR ME!” 

“I SAW IT FIRST!”

“Not the white boy bringing the Hennessey to the black function.” Shloob said and immediately busted out laughing.

“I thought it was understood that he was just light skinned! He’s been around us since he was fourteen!”

“Wait, Jack’s white?” You heard your grandmother ask and you looked at her in disbelief.

“What the? Yes nana! My husband is white!” You said while laughing and shaking your head.

“Oh, I thought he was a rapper?”

“Jesus, have mercy. He is nana!”

“You know I heard that First Class song on the radio the other day. Maybe Jack can do a collaboration with him one day.”

“NANA, THAT IS JACK! THAT’S HIS SONG!”

“SINCE WHEN?!”

“I-... baby come on so we can get food because I CANNOT with them.” You said while grabbing his hand again and leading him towards the food.

The both of you made your way over to where your Uncle Julius was on the grill while you saw your Uncle Jason, the youngest of the triplets that your grandmother had making his way towards you.

“Oh shit.” Jack muttered because he immediately knew what was about to happen.

“Ignore him and maybe he’ll go away.”

“JACK! BABY GIRL! LONG TIME NO SEE.”

“Mm hmm.” Both of you said as your Uncle Julius simply handed the both of you plates and went back to flipping burgers.

“Aye! Let me hold something! I got yall the next time I see you! Oh wait, actually Jack lemme get them New Balances off your feet. Those the new 550’s ain’t they?”

“JASON! Get away from my babies and leave them alone! You always acting like a damn fool!” Your mom exclaimed while reprimanding her younger brother while you and Jack stifled a laugh.

“I just need twenty dollars! Oh better yet, Jack can I give you my mixtape? Been working on a few things.”

“Then get a job! And no he doesn’t want to hear your dried up crusty ass bars! You’re over 60! It’s time for jazz music now. The rap career as a goal ship has SAILED!”

“IVY, you always been a damn hater!”

The two of you piled your plates high before making your way over to your best friends and sitting down with them while your parents, sister, and Dani were at the opposite end. 

Urban was currently talking to your younger cousin Demi while 2fo had gotten his fourth plate, Quiiso was talking to your cousin Cierra and you’ve been trying to hook them up for the longest, and Shloob and Ace went to go play basketball with your old ass uncles and put money up to see who would win.

“Now, Demi, go to your grandma Kat and ask her for an eight and give her this entire thing. Don’t short change her now. I’ll give you ten dollars when you come back.”

“Okay, be right back.”

“URBAN!” You exclaimed while shaking your head in disbelief.

“What?!?! Your grandma got some of the best weed I ever smoked in Kentucky! I’m not messing up this business deal.”

“I… I gotta agree baby.” Jack said as he took your soda can from you and opened it and slid it back since he knew you would have trouble doing it with your long nails.

“Yall are a hot ass mess and fit right in with my family.”

“OH LOOK! IT’S MY FAVORITE WHITE BOYS, JACK AND URBAN!” Your Aunt Marisa said while coming over to the table and all you could do was laugh. 

At the other end of the table, your mom was watching the two of you with nothing but admiration in her eyes as the two of you were feeding each other and Urban was making gagging gestures before you threw a spare fork at him which hit him on the forehead. 

“At least one of our kids had a successful marriage.” Your mother said as she eyed Dani and Drama.

“Mom, seriously?” Dani asked as she took another bite of her food.

“Yeah seriously and look how well she turned out. All thanks to me and your dad. Because if it was left up to you, she’d probably be doped up somewhere.”

“Now Ivy…” Your dad David started to say but all she did was shrug.

“Don’t Ivy me. She’s successful because of what we instilled in her and I damn sure will never let you two take credit for it. We raised her, not you.”

“I-...” Drama started to say but was immediately cut off by Ivy.

“Now don’t either of you start with me. I said what I said and you two need to come clean to her because I can already sense that this is about to turn into a shit show. Been telling you two that for years and now the girl is 24.”

“We will when the time is right.” Drama said while looking at them.

“There isn’t ever a right time but she needs to hear the truth and hear it from the two of you. And you know what this means right?”

“What? What does it mean?” Dani curiously asked while glancing at you and seeing you laughing at something Jack whispered in your ear.

“I highly doubt that she’ll ever forgive you two for this.”

Marisa was telling you her latest products that she was selling and Jack was listening to her intently while you were intrigued.

She’s been selling sex toys and anything that has to do with sex for as long as you could remember. 

“So, it’s like the rose toy? Jack bought me that already.” You asked her and she shook her head no.

“No, it’s even better. Rose toy takes about what? Three to five minutes for you to hit your peak? I give this one two minutes and don’t let Jack be in you too, bitch you will see HEAVEN, okay?!”

“Now Aunt Marisa…” You said while trying not to laugh but Jack was all for it.

“How much?!” He eagerly asked and you looked at him like he was crazy.

“You’re my favorite nephew and niece so it’s on the house, just leave a good review for me. You two won’t be leaving the bed the entire night.”

“They don’t do that anyway.” Urban added as Demi came back up to him with his weed in her hand.

“Demi! My girl! Okay, here you go.” He said while handing her a ten dollar bill.

“Grandma Kat said the price went up but since you’re one of her favorite customers, she’ll keep the price the same.”

“Damn bestie, I love your family.”

“I do too even if they are a bit crazy.” You confessed. 

The day was winding down and the sun was starting to set since it was now around eight and your father had gathered everyone around as he was sipping from his Hennesy bottle.

“Now Jack is my favorite son-in-law ever and baby girl, you aren’t allowed to marry anyone else, okay? We just had to make sure that was clear.” Your dad said while throwing his arm around Jack and you knew he was tipsy.

“I just wanted you two to know how proud I am of the both of you and that I admire the way he takes care of you and you do the same exact thing for him. I never worried about you growing up, but that Danielle? Whew, story for another day. Anyway, Jack you better not hurt my youngest and baby girl you better not hurt Jack, understood? Because you damn sure not moving back in with me. Whatever goes down between the two of you, you better fix it! No take backs Jack! You snuck and married her so now you’re stuck with her!”

“What the? DADDY!”

“And since you two finally got caught! Been married since you were nineteen!” Your mom exclaimed while eyeing the two of you.

“But that was URBAN! His fault!”

“I didn’t say I do like the two of you!” Urban said while sipping on his beer. 

“Might as well had, since you are definitely a part of that relationship!”

“But on a serious note, we love the both of you so much and can’t wait to see the success that will come. The way you two love each other is evident in everything that you do and I know this marriage is meant to be.” Your mom said and the both of you went over to hug her.

“Appreciate you saying that, mom.” Jack said and all she did was nod and you knew for a fact that she was about to cry.

“Now… I want my grandbabies so get a move on!”

“I’m trying, but I swear your daughter is dodging me!”

“I am NOT!”

“Then let me get you pregnant!”

“Give me another year!”

“See what I mean?!” Jack said as he threw his hands up in disbelief and all you did was laugh.

Your Grandma Kat then came next to Urban and motioned for him to open his hand.

“Got another eight for you and don’t you go telling all my grandkids. I don’t like them the way I like you, Jack and baby girl. Tell them I’m out if they ask you.”

“If I was older we would have definitely been married. You stay looking out” Urban said while quickly slipping it in his pocket.

“If I was thirty years younger, I might just take you up on that. Just don’t let my husband hear you say that.”

“GRANDMA KAT! STOP TRYING TO SHOOT YOUR SHOT AT URBAN!” You yelled while looking over at them in disbelief.

“HE DID IT FIRST!” 

“I do like cougars though. No shame in it.” Urban said while shrugging.

“Like I said before, all of you fit right in with my crazy ass family.”

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[ladylooch]

WAIT can you do Nico smut about letting him go without a condom for the first time? maybe he finishes quick and reader expects him to be done so the reader is a bit disappointed

A Night of Firsts- Nico Hischier

(say thank you GIF makers of Tumblr. We love you. Plz GIF more Nico at Worlds. Thx!)

A/N: So. I almost feel like I should apologize here. This is.. yeah. Whew. I’m a lil tomato here posting this cause it’s pretty smutty. Also, I’m getting on my soap box. As a.. mature (yuckie) woman, this may be an different opinion but it is fucking HOT when a man is like… omg I’m not going to last long and comes in a few strokes. I’m going to pat myself on the damn back about this 100% of the time. Now, our partners have a responsibility to handle it a certain way after and I think Nico does that here 😉 Enjoy bby.

World Count: 2.3k

Warnings: SMUT 18+ Content, Swearing, toys of the adult variety.

I sit on our bed in a plush robe, staring at the door to our master bathroom. Flickers of light are waving under the door at me from where my boyfriend is inside. It’s been quite the day for us. After the Devils were eliminated in the second round by the Hurricanes, Nico needed a day like this. We both did. What has the day entailed? Absolutely nothing. Except for soft touches that are igniting a need between the two of us. We had coffee in bed. Lunch at our favorite restaurant just down the street. We napped. Made Baked Ziti for dinner- the long two hour from prep to finish one- and indulged on hot chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven. 

After all that food, we were sleepy, but opted to watch a comfort movie: The Holiday. Nico secretly loves this movie and often puts it on when he sees it as an option on our various streaming platforms. Armed with a blanket and dressed in comfy sweatpants, we snuggled together under a fortitude of warmth. I was almost asleep when his hands started to wander. At first, just his finger tips dipped below my sweatpants, but it didn’t take long for him to begin stroking fire just above and below his favorite places. 

When I started returning the favor, Nico begin to writhe beneath me. 

“Let’s take a bath.” He blurted out suddenly once I finally skimmed my fingers over the tent in his pants.

“What’s in the bath that we don’t have here?” I asked. He bit his lip, looking at the two distinct points in my shirt.

“You wet and naked with a glass of wine.”

That sounded like heaven, so here I am, waiting patiently for him to open the door and let me in.

“Ready?” He asks when he finally cracks the door open. Just one of his eyes pokes out to look at me.

“Was five years ago.” I joke. He rolls his eyes. 

“Welcome to paradise, babe. Right here in Jersey!”

I grin as I step into the low, flickering light of the candle lit room. The smell is a combination of lavender and lemon. The bath is drawn perfectly and the warmth from it’s water fills the bathroom. Nico turned our towel warmer on to get our towels ready for when we inevitably dash out. He comes behind me, kissing the back of my neck as he gathers my hair up. He makes an awkward bun on top of my head, securing it with my purple scrunchie. 

“Ooo, that’s bad. Don’t let me do your hair when it matters.”

“Wasn’t going to.” I laugh as he works the tie of my robe apart. “Would ask Timo before you.” Nico considers and nods in agreement as he pushes the robe off my shoulders. He sighs when I’m naked in front of him. He brings me to the tub and steps in, then guides me to move between his legs. I settle back into his chest, feeling him grow hard beneath me. I look at him over my shoulder, gnawing on my lip aggressively as he hands me a glass of red wine.

“Thank you.” I murmur in appreciation. I lean back to rest my head against his shoulder, sighing at how good he and the water feel on my skin. I could stay here forever. I close my eyes after resting my wine glass back on the edge. Nico’s fingers trail from my hips up my stomach to my breasts. He holds them both in his hands, swiping the peaks into stiff points. My lips part with a pleasureful sigh.

“We’re gonna play tonight.” He whispers in my ear. “Wanna worship every part of you.”

“Okay.” I respond.

He plays with my nipples longer, letting the soapy water lap at them when his fingers take a break. I wiggle against his thick thighs, scratching my nails along them as he becomes stiffer against my lower back. His touch moves down my chest to glide between my legs. He fingers my opening then rubs a few, welcoming circles along my clit. A heavy moan falls from my mouth as he pushes my legs wider. 

“This thing waterproof?” Nico asks me, bringing my vibrator in front of my face. 

“Uh.” I sputter in surprise. “Yeah.”

“Can I use it on you?”

“Yes.” I whisper, eyes wide as he brings it into the water with us.

“Show me which setting you like.” He presses it against my folds and I suck in shallow breaths as I bring my hand over his on the device. It’s a clit focused vibe that has air suction with it. I turn it on, moving his hand back to adjust the intensity so we can build together. I feel Nico’s dick pulse against my back as I moan, setting the sucker over my clit. “Just hold it here?” He whispers into my ear. I nod, breathing in deep as he presses a bit further in. I jolt and he pulls back, sensing it’s too much. 

My legs widen further, one of them extending out of the bathtub. I dip further down Nico’s chest. The hair at the base of my skull gets wet as I dig my finger nails into his forearm.

“That mean more or less?”

“More. Next setting.” He increases one press and my loud moan rattles off the bathroom walls back to us. Nico grins into my hair, savoring the way I grind against the toy and his hand.

“That feel good?”

“Yeah. Ohmygod.” I yell, arching off his chest as his unoccupied hand comes to my breast. He rolls my nipple while biting my ear lobe.

“Mmm, good girl.” He praises. I’m gone after that. I shutter against the bathtub, pushing the toy away as I pulse rapidly. Nico drops it to the bottom of the tub gently rubbing my clit through the waves. 

“Holy fuck.” I moan to him as he kisses along my bare shoulder. I turn to capture our lips together.

“I’ve been wanting to do that to you for a long time.” He admits. 

“You should have asked sooner. I would have let you.” I murmur against his mouth. His tongue snakes out, lapping at me. He tastes like desire and red wine- my favorite things. I turn in his arms and work my way to straddling him. We make out. Nico’s hands trailing up my back. Between his touch, the orgasm, and the cooler air, goosebumps form along my skin. I shiver a bit, causing us to break apart. He lets me sit back further into the water, still mounted on his thighs.

“Maybe…We could have another first…” I trail off, smearing the bubbles on his chest as he places his wine glass back on the edge after a sip. His hands then grip my hips before trailing up to my ribs, just below my breasts. “Maybe I could feel all of you tonight?” Nico looks into my eyes, confused. “No condom.”

“Yes.” He says immediately, sitting up straight. “Yes and yes and yes.” I laugh as he leans forward to stuff his face between my breast, getting sudsed up in the process. 

“Nico.” I murmur, wanting him to think with more than just his dick.

“Baby, yes. We’re clean. We trust each other. We are in love. I want you pregnant with my baby as soon as possible. Just yes.” He knocks off all the worries I have in my head without them even being expressed. I bite my lip, not quite believing he’s real, even as his fingers run around to my ass cheeks, spreading them and working my hips into his hard cock. He’s just too perfect.

Nico stands, our bodies dripping obnoxiously as he walks us from the tub. He sets me on the bathroom counter, grabbing his towel and tossing me mine. We wipe as much water from us as we can before he’s hustling us into our bedroom. My damp back hits the comforter hard. I work my way up the bed as Nico follows me eagerly.

He strokes his head once through my folds then shoves himself deep. The feeling of his bare skin stroking mine is everything. I can’t even describe the feeling that rocks through my body. Nico shakes above me, mouth open to breathe as he watches my eyes. I bite my lip, breaking eye contact to groan in ecstasy. 

“Fuck.” He whimpers, breathing ragged as he strokes. It feels incredible, I agree, but I’m a little worried about how much his words quiver as he tells me how good I feel. He’s close already.

“Oh shit. Ah, I can’t. I’m sorry.” He pants abruptly from above, sliding out to come on my stomach. I purse my lips against the laugh at the way his face is distorted in pain and pleasure. “I’m sorry.” He moans as he strokes himself. I can’t help it and start to laugh, clasping a hand over my mouth to muffle the sound. “Oh god, now she laughs.” Nico hangs his head, squeezing his eyes shut with a final grunt.

“It’s okay. It’s hot. I came without you earlier.” I assure him, rubbing at his thick thighs. The hair there tickles my fingers as I stroke him.

“You felt so good, baby. Fuck.” He mumbles against my lips. He hovers over me making it hard for our lips to stay connected while he tries to not get cum on himself. “I’ll be right back.” He says, walking off to grab a towel. I laugh as he swipes along my stomach, digging into my belly button and making me cackle. He tosses the used cloth onto the floor, then comes back to give me a real kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I say back to him, biting down on my bottom lip. I feel a little disappointed that it’s already over. We spent hours teasing each other for it to end without the ultimate high for me. “Wanna finish the movie?” I move to sit up, pushing those thoughts aside. Nico gives me a put off look.

“Uhhh… we aren’t done.” I look down at his softening shaft and then back into his face. I open my mouth to respond but then shut it again, not sure what to say. “Because I’m done we are done?”

“Well, yeah isn’t that usually how this works.”

“Not with me, baby. You’re not leaving this bed anytime soon.”

“Neeks, it’s okay you don’t have- oh.” I startle, snapping my head back into the pillow as his mouth moved between my thighs. He places teasing kisses all along the plumped lips. In the past, when old boyfriends would come early, that would be the end of this. Nico seems to have a different perspective. “Oh wow.” I whisper to the top of his head, threading my fingers through his hair. I pull his strands, mouth falling open to suck in a deep breath at the incredible circle his tongue forces along. I startle forward, quivering. He moans against my clit, making me buck harder into his face. His light stubble creates a friction that begins to slowly drag my orgasm to the surface. It’s incredible, deep and soft laps, then swift circles that make it hard to breathe.

Without me even asking, he slips his middle finger into my entrance, curling it up to hit the velvety spot I need him to. My abdominal muscles quake. I reach for his other unoccupied hand, placing it on my breast, so he can rotate my nipple between his fingers. I come hard against his lips, shaking into the tender kisses he leaves on my inner thighs. In a quick twist, he gets me to my stomach, then encourages my hips up into the air.

“I’m more than just a hockey all star.” He tells me as he strokes his plumped head through my sensitive folds. He’s rock hard, ready to dunk into the abyss again.

“Yeah you are, baby.” I groan as he slides in to the hilt. He’s so thick and deep. My head claps all the way back, lips parted and sobbing at the ceiling as he moves.

“Ugh.” He sounds tortured again. “You are so wet. Wish you could see how beautiful you look like this.” The slickness of me eases his thrusts and allows for him to pump deeper without any protest from my body. I reach around, gripping his wrist that holds my right hip. He leans forward, working his left hand around my stomach to press in a bit, making his cock feel so much deeper.

“Ooooo.” I breath out, quivering at how damn incredible he feels against my cervix. My teeth chatter in my mouth as Nico whispers in my ear.

“You’re taking me so good. Can you handle a bit more?” I nod and he presses deeper in. I become limp in his arms as my orgasm rocks through me. It’s so intense, Nico has to hold me up from collapsing off the bed. I pulse agressivly around him, pulling Nico off the cliff with me. He comes inside of me, smearing my walls unexpectedly.

“Shit. I’m so sorry.” He sputters for a completely different reason. He pulls out, stroking the last little bit of cum out of himself in a half ditch effort to save the moment. “I am so sorry. Baby. Shit.”

“Nico.” I reach around, holding his thigh so he can’t leave the bed. “I’ve got an IUD. We are good. And that was perfect. Don’t ruin it by freaking out.”

“I just.. I love and respect you and we didn’t talk about that being okay-“

“Consider this me saying it’s okay.” I grunt as I fall onto the bed, melting into the mattress and looking up into his face. “Tonight and every day after this. Don’t change a thing for next time.” Relief relaxes his shoulders and face. He looks down at me, eyebrows pulling together in adoration of me. My face is pink, hair curly from the dilapidated bun and our hot bath. My skin is peppered in gooseflesh from his strokes. “What are you thinking?” I ask. HE is quiet, eyes get deeper, fingers stroking at my face. 

“That I’m looking at the rest of my life.”

I smile back, knowing I’ll remember this moment with him forever.

[virtie333]

Paint It Black

Yovanna is starting a new life in Australia, but she would be happier if the man who helped her get there could share that life with her.

My first Triple Frontier fic, written in honor of the Netflix movie's 5th anniversary. It's just a simple love story, what I would have wished to see happen for Santiago and Yovanna.

@triplefrontier-anniversary

Rated NC-17 for Explicit Sexual Content (18+ Only!): Includes protected P in V and mirror sex.

Cross-posted on AO3

5.6k words (sorry, not sorry!)

Inspired by this gifset!

“Katia?”

It took almost two full seconds for Yovanna to respond to the teenage girl behind the counter; she was still not used to that name. Katia Hernàndez was who she was now, but despite living with that name for the last six months, she still had a hard time remembering to respond to it. She wondered if she would ever find it easy.

She turned toward the front of the delicatessen, where sixteen-year-old Maggie was looking at her expectantly, a plastic bag on the counter in front of her. The girl smiled when Yovanna looked her way, and Yovanna smiled back.

“Sorry, I was distracted.”

Maggie giggled. “Yeah, my mind likes to wander a lot, too.”

Yovanna walked over to the counter to take the bag with her purchases. “Gracias,” she told the girl.

“De nada,” Maggie responded. “Is that right?”

Yovanna smiled. “Si, that’s one way to say ‘thank you’.”

A woman came up behind Maggie, grinning. “You know, she had no interest in learning a foreign language until you started shopping here,” Lauren said. Blonde like her daughter, Lauren Oggelby owned and operated Oggelby Deli, one of the few delicatessens in Kiama, New South Wales. Seeing as it was just down the street from the apartment Yovanna shared with her little brother Emiliano – Ezra now, she reminded herself – it was the only deli she had been to in this town. The straightforward friendliness of Lauren and Maggie made it feel comfortable and safe.

Safe was not something Yovanna was used to.

“I want to learn it so well I can have a full conversation with you in Spanish,” Maggie said, responding to her mother’s comment.

Yovanna nodded. “Well, from what I understand, it’s a lot easier to learn Spanish than English, so be glad you already know the hard one.”

Maggie laughed while Lauren nodded. “You speak it fluently,” she observed.

“My mother was raised in the United States,” Yovanna said, making sure she didn’t say where in the U.S. “I grew up speaking both Spanish and English.”

“I want to visit Guatemala someday,” Maggie said dreamily. “It sounds beautiful.”

Yovanna smiled again. “It is.” She shrugged. “I better get going. I’ll see you both later!” She didn’t dare speak any more about the country she was from, especially since it wasn’t Guatemala. The two women waved at her and said their goodbyes as Yovanna left the store. She slipped on her sunglasses and headed down the sidewalk, away from the beach which was only a quarter of a mile away to the east. She would probably end up there later today; she usually did. She loved the ocean, though she had rarely seen it before coming to Australia six months ago. She would be content to live next to the sea for the rest of her life.

She arrived at the gate to the small complex she lived in. At the moment, it was only temporary, as she hoped to find a nice house in the near future, but odds were good Emiliano would stay here. He had started on-line classes just a few weeks ago, and Yovanna knew he wanted to become more independent; they had been in each other’s pockets since they had arrived, and they were both ready to start living their own lives now that things seemed to be settled.

Kiama was a beautiful, quiet place, and Yovanna was ready to call it home.

Yovanna climbed to the second floor of the complex, then walked to the third door down. She unlocked it, then nearly ran into her brother as he was heading out. “Where are you off to?” she asked in Spanish.

“I’m going to Ted’s,” he told her in English. He was determined to fit in to his new home by rarely speaking his native language. He wanted to rid himself of any accent other than Australian. “Then I have a date with Margo tonight, so I don’t know when I’ll be home.”

Yovanna felt a tug of anxiety and tried to ignore it. Emiliano had been doing well since they had arrived to this new country with new names and forged documents. His short jaunt in jail in Colombia, and the terror of having been in the discotech in Tarapacà when it was raided and almost destroyed by police, had set him back on a safer course. Money was not an issue for them anymore, and drugs had fortunately not become an addiction before his arrest. Their arrest, actually. Only she had gotten away.

With the help of one of those ‘cops.’

“Well, have fun,” she responded, also in English. “But not too much fun. Make sure you use protection.”

She couldn’t help but smile as her little brother, who stood taller than her and was very much a mature young man, blushed. “I will,” he mumbled before heading past her out of the apartment.

Sighing, Yovanna took the bag into the kitchen and began to put away the meats and cheeses and spreads she had purchased, her mind drifting, as it often did, to the ‘cop’ who had helped her and her brother get here. She wondered where he was. What he was doing. Had he made it out of Colombia safely? Had he and his friends gotten all that money over the mountains? Was he now lazing on some beach somewhere, some beautiful blonde in a bikini feeding him cholados?

She shook her head, chastising herself. She needed to stop thinking about him. He most likely had forgotten about her. Hell, she didn’t even know his name!

She finished putting away her purchases and leaned back against the counter, remembering the last day she had seen him, when she and Emiliano had started their journey to Australia with three million dollars. She remembered the question his friend, another former soldier, had asked her. “After you had sex…” She scoffed. She wished that had been the case. For the almost thirteen months she had known ‘Consejero,’ he had never once done anything improper or propositioned her in any way. She had often wondered why, as other ‘officials’ she had known, American or otherwise, had never been shy about requesting sex in exchange for protection and secrecy.

And Lord knows if he had requested that of her, she would not have refused.

But he never did. Though there were times… no. She was fooling herself, thinking she had often read more in his gaze than was most likely there. That he cared about her. That he worried about her.

That he loved her.

She groaned out loud and pushed herself away from the counter, moving toward the refrigerator, intent on getting something cold to drink. Though the AC in the apartment worked wonderfully, thinking about Consejero always made her heat up. She needed to follow her brother’s example and find someone here. Goodness knows she had already been asked out by enough people since her arrival. It didn’t matter that she was always comparing them to him. And always found them lacking.

There was a sharp, sudden knock on the door and it made her jump. She shook her head at her own nervousness and moved toward the door, wondering if it was her brother. Maybe he had forgotten something. She unlocked the door and pulled it open, then stood in silent shock as she saw who was on the other side.

As if she had conjured him with her thoughts, Consejero himself was here.

XXXXX

Yovanna stared at the man standing outside her doorway, her eyes quickly assessing him, noticing the changes from the last time she had seen him. His hair was longer, the grey a little less pronounced in the thicker curls. He had the familiar 5-o’clock-shadow, but his face seemed narrower, his cheekbones more pronounced, as if he had lost weight. His broad shoulders also seemed sharper under his dark grey button down, and as her gaze trailed down his body to his khaki cargo pants, she realized he was indeed skinny. Too skinny.

She brought her eyes back up to meet his. Chocolate brown and as intense as always, this was something that hadn’t changed. She opened her mouth to speak, but the shock of his appearance kept her silent.

“Hello, Yovanna,” he said softly, his heavy brows low as he watched her carefully.

“Katia,” she said automatically in reply.

He huffed slightly and the corner of his mouth curled up. “Katia.” He took a deep breath, then shook his head. “If you want me to leave and pretend I never saw you-“

“No!” she interrupted him. She stepped back. “Come in, please?”

He did as she asked, walking past her toward her living room. His cologne, subtle and alluring, caught her attention. That also hadn’t changed, she thought as she closed her eyes and breathed deep. Delicious. She opened her eyes and closed the door, locking it immediately as she had become accustomed to. She turned and followed him into the living room.

He turned to face her, his expression uncertain. “Where’s Duke?”

She rolled her eyes at her brother’s nickname. “Ezra is with friends.”

“He’s doing well?”

She nodded. “Yes.” She paused, and when he didn’t continue, she rushed ahead. “What are you doing here?” She didn’t bother asking how he had found her; he had been the one to have the fake passports and documents made. He knew more about her new persona than she did. The question that she needed answered was why he was here.

He bit his lip, and she tried not to think about what that action did to her physically, then he met her eyes with his own. There was a strange desolation in them, a sadness she didn’t remember seeing in his eyes before. She had witnessed him angry and concerned, and she had seen those eyes light up with laughter, but never had she seen him like this.

“What happened?” she whispered, knowing it wasn’t good.

He gave a heavy sigh and moved to sit down on one of the stools that sat along the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. “Everything wrong,” he told her.

“You didn’t get the money out, did you?” she asked softly.

He shook his head. “Not much.”

“Did everyone make it?” she whispered, instinctively knowing that while losing all that money would be devastating, losing one of his friends would be worse.

His lips tightened and his eyes narrowed as he looked away from her, then he gave a sharp shake of his head. “Redfly didn’t,” he mumbled.

“Redfly?” she said. She hadn’t known the men he had brought to take down Lorea, but he had told her that she could trust them. That he trusted them with his life. And she had overheard them talking with each other. “He was the one that didn’t trust me, wasn’t he?”

He gave another sharp nod, then looked at her. “And I’m not going to deny how pleased I was to prove him wrong about you,” he said softly. “But he was off his game. We all were.”

“I’m sorry,” Yovanna said softly, and she meant it. While she might not have had a good experience with the man, he was still this man’s friend. And she cared about this man. Too much.

He shrugged. “What money we got out, we gave to his family,” he continued. “I’ve just been… wandering since. Can’t go back to Colombia. Can’t go back to the States.”

She nodded. “Diego and his men know your real name,” she said. And they had plenty of contacts in the States. She huffed a laugh. “So, you came to the one person you know who actually benefitted from your heist.”

He furrowed his brows for a moment, then his eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. “Oh, no! That’s not why I’m here,” he argued. “I may not be a millionaire, but I’ve still got plenty of my own money from investments keeping me afloat. I…”

She laughed at his defensiveness and moved to the refrigerator in the kitchen. Opening it, she pulled out a couple bottles of Schweppes lemonade and handed one to him. “It doesn’t matter,” she told him, trying to believe it herself. The idea that he had come for her and just her was too much to hope for. “It’s not like Emiliano… I mean Ezra and I are going to need all that money. It started out as yours, and you are welcome to a share.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s yours. I don’t care if you keep the majority in hiding or invest it or give it all away to charity, it’s yours.” His dark eyes were focused on her intently once more. “I came here because I missed you.”

Yovanna sat on the stool next to him, but couldn’t look at him. Instead, she focused on opening the bottle in her hand.

He continued. “I missed talking to you. I missed complaining about all those little things that annoy me to you, and getting your sympathy. You were the only person I really trusted in Tarapacà, dare I say my only friend there?” He paused, waiting for her to look at him. “I missed your smile. Your laugh. The way you glared at me when I teased you.”

She finally looked at him, searching his face, but she saw no duplicity there. Despite their official relationship, she believed he had never lied to her. And she had never lied to him, which is why he had been so angry with her after the discotech raid. “I wasn’t like any of your other informants, was I?” she asked, and she couldn’t help the bit of sarcasm in her voice.

Either he didn’t pick up on it or he chose to ignore it. “No, you weren’t. And you were my only one in the end. The only one I trusted.”

Yovanna took a sip of her drink, then shook her head again. “I always wondered why you treated me different,” she told him. “Carmen and Lucia had much different relations with you.” Carmen was one of the secretaries in the office she had worked at, the one where most of Lorea’s money was funneled through. And Lucia was her friend who worked as a housekeeper for several of Lorea’s men in Tarapacà. It was through them that this man had found her, a lowly accountant, who knew far more about the coming and going of all that dirty money than most of her coworkers.

He seemed to pull back at her words, knowing now what she was getting at. Carmen and Lucia had both commented more than once that he ‘paid them well,’ both in and out of bed.

He watched her silently for a long moment. “You’re wondering why I didn’t fuck you, aren’t you?”

She felt her face heat, which was crazy. Yovanna wasn’t an innocent, though it had been a very long time since she had been in a relationship with a man. Since before she met this one, in fact. She tried to shake her head to deny his question, but she couldn’t.

“There’s two very good reasons why I never asked you for that kind of arrangement,” he told her, his voice hardening. “One was that I knew you weren’t that kind of woman. Lucia and Carmen both used sex to control the men in their lives on a regular basis. It was an exchange as easy as money to them. I knew you were different.” He took a deep breath. “And two… I knew I could love you.”

Yovanna’s eyes shot up to his face. Had she heard him right? Had he actually used the word love? She was literally speechless at his comment, but as she searched his face, she once more found no evidence of deceit. If anything, he looked nervous, as if he wasn’t sure he should have admitted something so dangerous.

When her silence continued, he grimaced and nodded. Setting the unopened bottle of lemonade on the counter, he stood. “I just wanted to be sure you and your brother were doing okay. It looks like you found a perfect home, and I hope you are happy here. I don’t want to upset that peace. Goodbye, Yovanna.” He paused and smiled slightly. “I mean Katia.” He nodded and turned toward her door.

“I don’t even know your name,” she said, hating how desperate her voice sounded.

He stopped and turned back as he reached the door. “Santiago,” he told her. “Santiago Garcia.”

She slid off the stool and walked quickly toward him. “Don’t go, Santiago. Please, don’t leave.”

“Give me a reason to stay,” he responded, his voice rough.

She reached for his hand, taking it in both of hers and rubbing his calloused palm gently. She brought it up to her mouth and kissed his rough knuckles, then looked him in the eye. Slowly, deliberately, she turned and tugged on his hand, coaxing him to follow her to her bedroom.

He didn’t resist.

XXXXX

Santiago.

The name rolled around in her head like the lyrics to a favorite song. Santiago. It was perfect for him. It was strong and masculine, but caring and empathetic, like the stories of the saints she learned as a child. Santiago.

As soon as the door to her bedroom closed behind them, he had her pinned to the wall, her arms up with their fingers entwined, his mouth on hers. She reciprocated by writhing against him, meeting his tongue with her own in a sensuous dance. As his lips dropped to her neck, she pulled her hands free, reaching down to work on the buttons of his shirt. He responded by grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it up and over her head. She stepped away from him a bit so she could toe off her shoes and he moved to sit on the corner of her bed so he could remove his boots.

She followed him there, bending over to work on his shirt once more. He tried kissing her while they both worked, missing her mouth and connecting with her cheek or her ear over and over again until she was giggling. When she looked at him, the crow’s feet around his eyes grew as his smile widened. The darkness in his eyes had faded.

She straightened and reached behind her for the clasp of her bra, slowly letting it slide down her arms. His eyes became intense once more as he watched her, slowly taking off his now unbuttoned shirt. As he focused on her bare breasts, she ran her eyes over his chest. While he had indeed lost weight in the last few months, he was still beautiful. Muscled without looking like a body builder, his copper skin tantalizing. His chest was hairless, but the trail of hair that began under his navel and disappeared under his waistband was alluring.

“Wait!” he said suddenly, and she brought her eyes up to meet his. “I seriously wasn’t expecting this,” he told her with a slight shake of his head, his eyes huge. “I don’t have protection.”

Yovanna smiled slightly and walked over to the dresser next to the bed. She opened the top drawer and pulled out an unopened box of condoms, then brought them back to Santiago. “I bought them for my brother, but he assured me he had his own.” She tossed the box onto the bed next to him.

He looked at them, then looked at her, and the excitement she saw in his eyes sent a shot of electricity through her. He began to unbuckle his belt, and she started to work on the fly of her lightweight trousers, quickly sliding them off as he stood and removed his, boxers and all. He stepped into her before she could get a good look at his impressive erection, wrapping his arms tight around her and finding her mouth with his own once more. She let herself sink into his kiss, feeling her whole body shiver at the feel of his naked skin against hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her hands sweep along his shoulders and the back of his neck. Her fingers found the scar there, and she gently massaged the area. She knew he had gotten surgery on his neck only a few months before the heist had taken place; he had returned home to the States for it, and she had missed him while he had been gone. His mouth once more dropped down to her neck, but then she felt him still. She pulled back slightly to look at him, and realized he was looking behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see what had caught his attention away from her.

It was their own reflection in the floor length mirror on her closet door. She felt her heart start to race as she watched his hands smooth down her naked back, cupping her almost-bare bottom; she was still wearing a pair of teal-colored panties.

Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around with a growl deep in his throat. As she faced their reflection, she caught sight of his cock, which looked even more massive than before now that he was fully aroused, and then she felt it pressed against the upper curve of her buttocks. His arms came around her once more, one hand cupping her breast and squeezing it lightly, the other dropping down between her legs, his fingers delving into her panties to burrow into her wet heat. She cried out, both the feel of him and the sight of them in the mirror shooting her arousal into orbit.

“So fucking wet,” he murmured roughly against her neck, his fingers playing with her sensitive folds. “So fucking wet for me.”

His words made her whimper, and she rocked her hips against his touch.

“Look at me!” His words were harsh and made her jump. She hadn’t realized she had closed her eyes. She opened them to look at him in the mirror, making eye contact through their reflection. “Tell me you want this!” he demanded. “Tell me now or I walk out of here.”

And he would, she knew. He would stop if she didn’t give him the okay. This man, a trained killer, would leave her alone if she asked, even as fully aroused as he was right now. Holding his powerful gaze, she nodded. “I want this.”

He brought his hand out from between her legs and plucked at her panties. “Off!” he told her as he backed toward the bed, grabbing the box she had put there and ripping it open. She slid her panties off as he removed a condom, preparing it and sliding it on. She had turned to watch him and didn’t hide that fact. ¡Dios mío! He was thick! She felt her pussy weep even more fluid at the thought of him inside of her. He finished and stepped toward her again. Briefly he made eye contact once more before grasping her shoulders and turning her away from him again. He pushed her forward gently, toward the mirror.

She realized what he was doing and she began to pant in excitement. When she was close, she leaned forward, her hands on the mirror. She looked up to see him move behind her and grasp her hip with one hand. She felt his cock come up between her legs, but he didn’t push in. Instead, he used his other hand to run it all over her dripping pussy, covering the condom with her juices. She moaned at the sensation, her hips moving counter to his actions. “¡Dios!” she cried, feeling an orgasm already threatening.

“Hermosa?” His throaty gasp caught her attention, and she looked up again, meeting his questioning gaze in the mirror.

She nodded quickly. “¡Ahora!”

Without any resistance, he slid into her. She cried out, smiling at the absolute pleasure his invasion brought her. “Yes!” she cried out in English.

“Fuck!” he responded. “You’re so tight! Please, tell me I’m not hurting you!” His voice was desperate.

“Santiago,” she said, her voice breathy as she continued to pant. “Santiago, please, fuck me!”

And he did, his hips immediately thrusting into her at a steady and solid pace. She dropped her head, unable to keep on watching their reflection in front of her, her sole focus on the feelings his body was creating in hers. She was so full, but she wanted more. She pushed back into him, encouraging him without words to move faster. He responded by quickening his pace, but he grumbled at her as he did so. “I’m trying to take this slow, Querida.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his words. “I don’t want slow. We can go slow next time!”

“Fuck, yeah!” he said, his grip on her hips tightening. “Next time!” He began to pound into her harshly, and she laughed again in pure joy. Yes!!!!

“Oh, Dios!” she cried. She was almost there!

Suddenly, he dropped one of his hands down, reaching around in front of her to tease her clit. “Come on my fucking cock!” he hissed in her ear.

His touch combined with his words sent her over the edge and she squeezed her eyes shut, feeling her body convulse, her pussy squeezing him tight, her legs tremoring. She saw stars. Or maybe they were fireflies. She wasn’t sure and she really didn’t care. She was crying, tears of ecstasy rolling down her cheeks. Her legs began to give out and Santiago moved his arm up to wrap around her waist, holding her tight against him.

When she was able to focus again, she realized he wasn’t moving. His cock was still buried deep inside her, but he was simply holding her. She looked up at him in the mirror, afraid and embarrassed of her reaction. He was smiling softly at her, his eyes wide and almost black with passion and… dare she think it? Love?

“You are so fucking beautiful,” he whispered.

She gathered her strength and straightened her legs, standing on her own again. His grip loosened, then he let her go completely and backed away, sliding out of her.

“No!” she couldn’t help but gasp. He wasn’t done. Just because she had had the most amazing orgasm of her life didn’t mean they were done!

His smile got bigger as he took her hand and led her toward the bed.

He sat on it and pushed himself back, laying down with his head on her pillows. His smile had turned into a smirk. “Come on, Cariño. You know what I want you to do.”

Yovanna climbed onto the bed on her knees and shuffled over to him. She threw one leg over his hips and settled on his thighs, his still rock-hard cock in front of her, teasing her super sensitive clit. Taking a deep breath, she rose up on her knees and grabbed his cock, then carefully mounted him. She was still so wet, he slid in easily, and she closed her eyes as she absorbed the feeling of him filling her once again, this time touching places he hadn’t in their previous position.

“Oh, yeah,” he murmured. “Perfect.”

She opened her eyes to see him looking to where they were joined. She also looked down, rather amazed that she could take him all, then she looked back at him. He was watching her now, and as she made eye contact with him, he lifted his hands toward her, fingers outstretched, in invitation.

She accepted, meeting his hands with her own, palm to palm, fingers intertwined once more. She began to rock, back and forth, with her hips. She leaned down to kiss him, bringing their joined hands up to rest just above his head on the pillow. He moaned into her mouth, letting her take control this time around, and apparently loving it. Eventually, they let go of each other so they could take their time touching each other. Yovanna played with his hair, running her fingers through it as she had imagined doing so many times before. Santiago let his fingers toy with her breasts, thumbing her nipples, then massaging her curves. They never stopped kissing.

As her rocking became faster, his hands moved down her back to her buttocks, the tips of his finger straying down to where they were joined, then up to tease her asshole briefly, making her squeal in surprise. It hadn’t been uncomfortable, she realized, just nothing she had tried before. Interesting. She pushed herself up straight once more, using her strong thighs to push herself up and down on him now. He also sat up, diving in to lick and suck on first her breasts, then her neck. He found her pulse point and began to suck hard; she knew he was marking her and didn’t care. Her bouncing increased in speed and his grip on her ass tightened.

“Fuck, I can’t hold it anymore,” he groaned.

“Don’t!” she told him. “Let go! Come for me!”

She felt his hips raise up off the bed as he ejaculated, finally coming. Dios, his stamina was amazing! As he let himself fall back onto the bed, Yovanna felt her own body start to tremble once more. This orgasm wasn’t as strong as her first, but it was no less satisfying. Breathing hard, she let herself fall forward and a little to the side, letting him slide out of her. He winced, then sat up to take care of the condom, tossing it in the waste basket next to the dresser. Then he fell back onto the bed, looking at her, a soft smile on his face.

She scooted close to him, tentatively putting her head on his shoulder, not sure how he felt about post-coital cuddling, but his arm wrapped around her immediately and he began to kiss her hair. They lay like this for a long time, letting their breathing and their hearts come back to normal. Yovanna became sleepy, but her brain soon started working overtime, and she was wide awake once more.

“Where are you staying?” she asked him.

“A little bed and breakfast on the other side of town,” he told her.

“You’re welcome to stay here,” she said softly.

“For how long?”

She lifted her head to look at him. “For however long you want.”

“With you?”

She shrugged. “Well, for a while. I’m planning on buying a house of my own, soon, but Emi—I mean Ezra, will probably stay here. So,” she gave him a teasing smile. “You can be roommates with him, or you can come live with me.”

He snorted a laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure he’d love if I stayed with him,” he said sarcastically.

“Then stay with me,” she told him, her voice soft but firm. “As long as you want.”

He was silent for a moment. “I know where the money is.”

She frowned at him.

He licked his lips. “Ironhead gave me the coordinates where we dumped it. In the mountains.” He was looking at her expectantly.

“How dangerous would it be to go back for it?” she asked carefully.

“Very,” he told her. “Not just because there are still people looking for it, but because the location it’s in is… treacherous.”

She bolstered herself for her next question. “And how much do you want it?”

He took a deep breath and pulled away from her. He slid off the bed and looked around until he found where his trousers had ended up, then he went over to them and pulled his wallet out from the back pocket. He opened it and took out a slip of paper. He dropped the pants and walked back over to where she was still lying on the bed, leaning on her elbow, her head propped on her hand as she watched him. He showed her the paper and she could see the coordinates on it. Then he reached for the long-stemmed lighter that sat on the dresser next to one of her scented candles. He lit it, then touched it to the paper, setting it on fire. He held onto it while most of it burned, then placed it on the candle, the remaining flame lighting the candle as it burned the last of the paper. He looked at her.

She gave him a half smile. “That’s a beautiful gesture,” she told him. “But do you really expect me to believe you don’t already have those numbers saved in your phone? Or even memorized in your head?”

He laughed. “Oh, come on! Let me have this dramatic moment!”

She laughed along with him, but soon he became serious once more.

“Give me a reason to not go back for that money,” he told her, the darkness from earlier appearing in his eyes once more.

She looked at him for a long moment. Then, in a trembling voice, she said, “I love you.”

His expression softened and his mouth opened as if he was stunned. He blinked rapidly, and Yovanna felt tears forming in her own eyes in response to his obvious emotion. He cleared his throat and bit his lower lip, but didn’t seem to know what to say. So, she sat up and continued.

“Stay here with me,” she told him. “Start a new life with me, away from pain and fear and anxiety.” She paused. “You’ve done more than enough, dealing with demons both real and in your mind. Let your body and your soul rest the way you deserve.” As his expression turned hopeful, she added, “Let me love you while we take care of each other.”

Slowly, he moved to lie next to her on the bed once more. “Forever?” he asked, his expression still full of such hope.

“Forever,” she told him.

“I love you, Yov—Katia,” he smiled softly as he corrected himself.

“And I love you, Santiago.”

“Yes, I’ll stay.”

Forever.

THE END

[scotianostra]

On 9th November 1769 The Fenwick Weaver’s Co-operative Society, the worlds first co-operative association, was founded.

In the Anglocentric education system that most of us older Scots grew up with we were told that the Yorkshire town of Rochdale were first to have a Co-op, this was in 1844. The truth of the matter is that The Fenwick Weavers' Society is considered to be the earliest known co-operative in the world for which full records exist about 75 years before the English claim.

The cooperative movement was born over 250 years ago in a barely-furnished cottage in the East Ayrshire village, when local weavers manhandled a sack of oatmeal into John Walker's whitewashed front room and began selling the contents at a discount.

In Yorkshire a sign on the railway bridge above the A664 leading into the town from the M62 states: "Rochdale: birthplace of cooperation", while the council's website describes the town as the "home of the worldwide cooperative movement", so I made a wee meme gif with the Still Game Neds to put hings right.

The Fenwick societies foundations started 8 years before when on 14th March 1761, 16 weavers met together in Fenwick Church to sign the foundation charter of the Fenwick Weavers’ Society. By signing the document, they agreed to its terms and conditions. These included ‘being honest and faithful to one another’ and to their employers, making 'good sufficient’ work, and setting prices that were 'neither higher nor lower … than are accustomed in the towns and parishes of the neighbourhood’.

The society members promised to pay an admission fee of two shillings and sixpence which was to be used for the good of the Society. Regular contributions to the poor fund were made from these shared investments. As well as offering mutual support to its members, the society aimed to bring benefit to the wider community.

On 9th November 1769, the society agreed that its funds should be used to buy, 'victuals’, or food, in bulk to be sold to members and non-members at a good price. In addition, members enjoyed the privilege of up to four weeks’ credit.

The society funds were also used to buy books and, in 1808, the members established a library for the local community. In the society records, there is also evidence of a form of 'credit union’, or community-based bank organised on co-operative principles. People could borrow money from the communal funds at a fixed rate of interest.

Sadly handloom weaving could not resist the advance of the factories and, in 1873, with only three members left, they wound up the Society. However, their memory lives on, both in the descendants of the Weavers now all over the globe, and also in our great world-wide Co-operative Movement with almost a billion co-operators affiliated to the International Co-operative Alliance.

The Society was reconvened in March 2008 and has been reconstituted as a co-operative, in legal form as an industrial and provident society, in order to record, collect and commemorate the heritage of the Fenwick Weavers.

The image with the transcript was the initial meeting from March 1761 you can read it in full at the link here https://www.nls.uk/learning-zone/politics-and-society/labour-history/fenwick-weavers/

[nikkoliferous]

Out of the twelve episodes of the Loki show, only season 2 episodes 1, 5 and 6 felt like they were actually about Loki. He didn't even feel like the protagonist in like 75% of the show. And even in those three episodes, he was completely ooc, as if the episodes were centered around Larry not Loki. They wasted screentime on that random Zaniac guy and on Miss Minutes becoming horny ffs. Kang doesn't even matter to MCU anymore. They retconned Loki's character for nothing. I hate this all so much.

And Loki was suddenly so comfortable with using the torture devices of TVA. He was trying to protect the TVA for the majority of the series. Even at the end they don't destroy TVA, only reform it. And the entire two seasons had absolutely nothing to do with Loki. It's like they plucked Loki from his world and threw him into a random story that had jack shit to do with him and where he was most definitely not the protagonist.

*sorry, wanted to rant to someone and thought you might understand. 😅*

Take care and have a nice day!

it's not like they plucked Loki from his world and threw him into a story that had jackshit to do with him. that's precisely what they did.

...except no. they didn't even do that, actually. because even according to the show's own logic, this is canonically not our Loki. it's some random "variant" who didn't exist until sixty seconds into the series, who is inexplicably shown a reel of hand-selected, out of context moments from someone else's life in a bid to break him psychologically. (but really, to speed-run his "character development" and catch up all the viewers who have little to no familiarity with Loki. which seems to be what a lot of series stans are, by their own admission. funny how that works, isn't it? it's almost like the the show wasn't even made for fans of Loki).

after watching all of season 1 despite my better judgment, I made the choice not to watch a single episode of season 2, a decision which was only further cemented by what I have seen of it against my will through gif posts. so I can't speak to the contents of any individual episodes beyond season 1. I will just say that even if certain episodes of that season do centre around a character calling himself Loki, if that individual is so OOC as to be unrecognisable as himself, then those episodes are also not about Loki. and not to beat a dead horse, but again—none of the series, regardless of which character it focuses on, is about our Loki. it's about some other character bearing the name Loki so that Disney can reduce him to a mere commodity through the concept of the multiverse.

in the words of my Loki AI well over a year ago now:

[cumulo-stratus]

Rainy Love

(GIF NOT MINE)

Pairing: Spencer reid x Male reader

description: y/n has always loved the rain, and decides to share that love with spencer (ps this was idea was inspired by a fic by the lovely user @ssa-atlas-alvez <;3)

Content warnings: possible swearing (lemme know if theres anything else :))

flufftober day 2: love confession

It was a rainy day at the BAU. A very rainy day. The team members each sat at their own desk, quietly working away. But y/n, he was distracted- he had long since abandoned his paperwork for staring out the tall rectangular windows, longing to be feeling the effects of the rain pouring down on him. Every once in a while he would close his eyes and imagine the feeling of the cool raindrops pelting his skin.

Spencer, whose desk was closest to y/ns, was the first to notice y/n’s distracted state. Spencer decided to take the opportunity to talk to the man he had loved for years, but never told.

“Hey y/n, whats got you so distracted? are you okay?” there was that small knit between spencers brows that he always got when he was worried, which was a lot. Y/n thought this to himself, often being the one who noticed things like that about spencer. But y/n wouldn’t help himself, he was in love and it was involuntary.

Y/n’s attention was pulled away from the pattering rain outside by spencers question. “oh- y’a im fine spence, i was just distracted by the rain.” When y/n talks of the rain theres a fondness in his voice like that of someone talking about an old friend. “You know- i wish i could be out there right now. Id love to feel the rain on my skin.” very time y/n tries to put his attention back on spencer, hes drawn back to the window. Spencer notices y/ns fondness of the rain and decides to take advantage of the cluelessness of those around him and says to y/n with a mischievous smile “let’s go!” and offers up his hand to y/n, his palm open waiting for y/ns. Y/n looks at spencer confused for a moment and spencer elaborates; “out there!” with an excited gesture towards the rain pattering against the window, and then continues; “You obviously wanna go out there, no ones looking and i finished my paperwork 20 minutes ago!” Spencer gives up on waiting for y/n and just takes his hand pulling him up, out of his seat, and towards the big glass doors.

When the pair finally reach the front doors, y/n is the one to push them open. Having long since abandoned the idea of actually getting any work done for the rest of the day. Y/n pulls spencer by the arm out into the rain- and as y/n spread his arms out and loaded up with his eyes closed, quiet literally soaking in the rain. He found himself staring intently at Y/n, admiring everything about the man he’d come to love. Admiring the way the rain soaked his eyelashes, and the H/C hair that stuck to his forehead.

finally y/n opened his eyes again, only to find spencer staring at him. Spencer noticed Y/ns awareness of him and his cheeks went red. he looked down and y/n said “what you staring at goofball?” (y/n had almost immediately taken to calling spencer goofball when they met, and spencer never corrected him). Spencer felt a surge of reckless confidence surge through him and said “you.” without thinking. spencer, being the man he is- almost immediately regretted this action.but what took him by surprise was when y/n took spencers chin softly and pushed it up with his fingertips. In that moment the two made intense eye contact.

“ I love you y/n- i cant help myself..”

spencer trailed off at first but when y/n didnt respond he started nervously rambling. But Y/n was still processing the fact that the man he had loved for years, but never even considered the fact that he might love him back- was telling y/n that he loved him. When y/n could finally speak again he said;

“Stop.”

with a gentle sternness to his voice. And spencer stopped what he was saying and looked up at y/n desperately hoping that’s he hadn’t ruined the relationship with his best friend. But instead of yelling or screaming or telling spencer to never talk to him again, he simply said;

“I love you too goofball.”

and there they stood together, drenched to the bone, forehead to forehead. hands on each-other’s others hips.

The End

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Weekend everyone :) Whew we are almost halfway through s3 already it's crazy. I love how when we get little content the previous ep the next one has loads. This is Lucy’s first real foray into UC. Seeing that deeper Harper/Lucy bond. Tim’s freak out and protectiveness. Such a good one for so many reasons. So many more gifs I wanted to use but sadly Tumblr keeps me to 30. They need to up that ha Oh well let’s get this started.

3x06 Revelations

Our ep starts out with Tamara and Lucy. Lucy making sure she gets at least one good dinner for the week. I just love their relationship so much. Tamara was such a good addition to the show. Adding some extra depth for Lucy. She is an excellent pseudo mom to her. Tamara asks if she can interview Lucy for a paper for school. Has to do with women in male dominated fields.

Lucy is adorable in her reply saying she's honored she’s asking her. How far these two have come. Lucy says she should be off early tomorrow. Let's Tamara know she’s just doing site security with Tim. It’s for the CCOA. Basically a convention for UC cops. I did love her saying ‘My Sergeant’ when explaining her work plans tomorrow. Made me happy. Yes he is. In more ways than one. Heh

We first join our lovely duo running security checks at the entrance. Lucy asking if Tim does this every year? Tim tells her no but he went with Isabel once to this. Look our boy bringing up Isabel casually. Being the one to and not have it bring him down. I'm so proud of him. Doesn’t phase him like it used to. Not only that but he’s cracking jokes over here.

Saying he just worked on his tan while Isabel attended seminars haha Replying to her question about what they teach here with sass. Tim tells her he has no idea but he's clearly having fun with his reply. Lucy still isn’t used to his sassy side. Her reaction above says it all. You did this lady hehe Enjoy the fruits of your labor madam.

Their lighthearted moment is interrupted by an old friend of Tim’s. He drives up like a bat out of hell. Tim is excited to see him (at first...) Tim is in such a good mood when he rolls up. Just outside cracking jokes with his girl having a good time. Even introduces Lucy (by her first name BTW) to his friend proudly. Shortly after their reunion Tim realizes the girl in the car is not his wife….

She blatantly hits on him calling him pretty. I mean he is. Look at the man. I’ve said before he is sex on stick. Mack notes he only gets prettier with age. He's not wrong...it’s true. Loved Eric since his DOOL days. Was in love with him then as a teenager and even more so now ha So that is accurate. Aged like a fine ass wine. *chef kiss*

Tim pulls Mack aside and wants to talk. Lets him know if he wants to run around on his wife that's his business. But he looks high as a kite. I love the way Lucy watches the interaction. Already in protect Tim emotionally mode. Mack tells him it's just oxy. He got hurt on the job month ago and the pain is a bear.

He takes off before Tim can say more and the look of worry on Lucy's face only increases. She can tell Tim is shook up about seeing his old friend this way. It’s affecting him more than he would like. I think he must’ve been in the academy with Tim. To watch someone you used to be close fall from grace is never easy to watch. Especially when it's so closely related to what Isabel was like.

Lucy spies on Harper giving a lecture to potential female UC’s in the making. You can see her interest is piqued. Harper even spots her before she shuts the door. Cracks me up the way she jumps when Tim catches her. I always love me some arm crossed disapproving Tim. Mmm. gimme. His emotions are written all over his face. They honestly color his attitude for almost the entirety of this episode. He’s not upset she snuck a peak. He’s upset she’s interested in UC. The way he looks back that that sign says it all. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach has settled and its not going anywhere.

This next scene we start to see Tim’s demons about UC surface a little. That good mood of his is long gone. He immediately confronts her about it. Asking her if she was spying in on seminars? She can’t lie to save her life when he looks at her. She adorably replies maybe…She's so excited by the prospect of UC she isn’t picking up on the stress Tim is throwing down in this scene.

He chews her out a little for spying and why it was wrong. I think we all know this has zero to do with the spying. That it 100 percent has to do with the subject matter that’s peaked her interest. He is trying to cut this off at the pass. He is not remotely excited about her being interested in UC at all..

We return to our couple reporting to Mack’s room. His wife Beth is banging on the door. His mistress won’t let her in. Tim doesn't have time for this and kicks the door down. Oh my. He runs inside and sees Mack has OD’d. Lucy goes and gets the Narcan to revive him. Mack comes to and is begging his wife to stay. He is so very out of it. His wife storms off saying she can’t do this anymore. Ugh poor Tim. The look he shares with Lucy kills me. The pre-tears and all. The fact that he's upset and looks back at her for support. My heart. This was not how he envisioned spending this day. It was supposed to be an easy security site job that turned into so much more.

Tim rejoins Mack at the hospital. He is so very angry with him. His pre-tears are killing me in these scenes with Mack. Poor Tim this ep is bringing up a lot of demons for him. Ones he truly thought he was putting behind him. Not just UC ones either. Telling Mack he’s not making the same mistakes he did with Isabel. Tim has made major strides when it comes to her but those scars still linger. They’re not gone and probably never will be fully. I’m sure he still tortures himself about his inaction with her. He won't do that again. To Tim this is a way to make up for that. Atone for that sin.

Lucy is leaving for the day when she spots Harper waiting at her car. Now I said when Harper joined the show how excited I was. That her and Lucy’s relationship was one of those reasons. These are the moments that I love so much. Harper is straight with her and says 'You know we’re gonna have to talk about it right?' Clearly referring to her sneaking a peak.

Lucy thinks Harper is there to scold here just like Tim did. The beautiful thing about this scene is she doesn’t. Nyla encourages and supports her UC aspirations. This is where she becomes her UC mentee really. After Lucy explains why she peaked in Harper can’t help but want to help Lucy with this.

Can sense her genuine excitement about it. Even agrees to drinks to talk about it. Hell it’s her idea how far we’ve come ❤️ Lucy postpones her interview with Tamara to go out with Nyla. Harper then gets a distress call from one of her old UC contacts. Asks if Lucy wants to come instead of a rain check on drinks? She jumps on this offer immediately. Wanting to see first hand what an operation is like.

Harper sends Lucy into the bar solo while she spots the tail on her friend. Lucy looks so amped to prove herself. She finds June or ‘Coco’ as she’s known right now at the bar. Sato joins the table immediately after Lucy does. Obviously he is the tail June has been worried about. The balls on Lucy in this moment. If Tim could see her right now he would have a friggin heart attack. Lucy throws a damn drink in his face.

She covers her ass so well and pretends she’s the chemist. Really smart move on her end. Even though he buys Lucy’s story Sato and his guard make them both move outdoors. Harper is waiting in the wings like the BAMF she is. Takes out Sato’s guard easily. Harper tells Coco there’s a tracker on her car. They must be cops. Sato is now the one in trouble saying they’re not. Salonga his boss just wanted them surveilled.

Coco up's the price for pissing them off. He tells them if they do the price hike Lucy better be at the buy. Harper tries to shield Lucy. Telling them she doesn’t go on buys. Lucy jumps in and says she’ll go. That she's already spent her share in her head. Shocking both Harper and June. If Tim could see this he would be losing his damn mind. Well he will later on….

Crazy how good she is at this right away. Harper notices the immediate potential in her. They tell her she better bone up on chemistry. She beams like the nerd we all know and love. Says she got straight A’s in chemistry in high school. Of course you did haha Lucy gets so caught up in the moment she forgets she was supposed to do the report with Tamara. Oops.

Tim comes to Grey’s office about his report on Mack. Wade is asking him if he’s sure he wants to do it this way? Tim so desperate to right the wrong he did with Isabel he doesn’t hesitate. Says it’s the right thing to do. That it’s what he should’ve done with Isabel in first place. He warns him he'll lose his pension. Tim continues on says its right thing to do. Grey doesn’t disagree. Wade then tells him Lucy will be occupied with a UC op today. He is none too pleased about this and quickly heads to roll call room.

Tim acting like a mad worried husband from here on out. He is SEETHING above. That determined strut and crossing of his arms. His whole demeanor screaming his discontent. Anger ready to spill over onto Harper. So very worried because Lucy has volunteered for a UC op and a very dangerous one at that. He doesn’t hide his stress in the least. Lucy has become such a fixture in his life at this point. To potentially risk losing her to a UC op like he did Isabel…He can't handle the idea of it. The rest of this scene reflects that.

His demons coming out to play extra hard in this one for him. Lucy looks so excited when she's asked to stand up. She's so ready to prove herself. She is just excited in general. Then she turns around and sees Tim’s disapproving stance and stare. She freezes immediately and instantly feels reprimanded. Looks back at him one more time and sees his body language hasn't changed. Tim is emanating anger and Lucy knows it. Whew lord. He’s ready to eat Harper.

Before we move on let's take a moment to enjoy the forearm porn we’re getting here in the gif above. Hot damn. Arms are crossed, biceps bulging and his forearms look toned as hell. Sweet baby James should be a crime to be this attractive. But let’s get back to the episode before I gawk at him any further LMAO

The very SECOND the meeting is over Tim is all over Harper. Pushes off the wall and storms toward her. He is ready to tear her a new one about allowing this. Let’s remember this episode has been VERY rough on Tim to this point. It’s like he’s being forced down memory lane in the worst way possible. With maximum PTSD. He started the ep casual, having fun with Lucy. Even bringing up Isabel at a UC convention without it bothering him. Then Mack showed up and dominoes started to fall and haven't stopped. This scene is his boiling point with good reason.

From Mack who’s his friend forcing him to relieve his trauma with Isabel. Having to make an ethical call about his career due to him becoming an addict. To Lucy going undercover which he feels she was roped into. She wasn’t but he’s not exactly thinking straight right now. It's what happens when our emotions drown us. The logical part of our brain disconnects and all that’s left is intense suffocating emotion. Lashing out trying to get some semblance of control.

We also need to remember the last time he was involved in a UC op Isabel was shot in the head. Almost died. His PTSD is crying out in his scene. Harper tries to calm Tim down by saying she volunteered, Grey approved it and she has the best backup she could possibly have. The thing is though no matter of logic is going to penetrate his panic right now. Tim telling Harper she’s using Lucy and he’s losing his mind over it. He felt Isabel was used in her OP and now those feelings are bleeding over into Lucy’s. He is showing all his cards emotionally in this scene. The sheer terror he feels over Lucy going under cover. He doesn't want to lose her to same thing.

I love the writers for tapping back into these issues of his. They don’t just go away. They tend to linger on for a long time. They’ve left deep scars on him. This shows how raw this nerve still is for Tim. Now to top his day off they’re throwing his person into the one thing he fears the most. Lucy has become the one constant in his life. This incredibly resilient sunshine person that has become so important to him. He can’t stand the thought of being hurt or worse. His fears from 2x19 echoing in this scene. About not being about to protect her. To losing her and him having no say in the result.

I don’t think Tim even understands why he’s reacting this way. Most of their relationship he is like this. Acts without understanding the why behind it. Only that it is a driving force for him. It's not until 4x22 he starts to understand why he acts the way he does with her. He only knows right now it’s instinctual and he can’t stop himself from letting it out.

Lucy looks absolutely crushed by the time he says his line about her being used. The look they share before before he walks away. It's crushing to say the least. We all know how badly she wants to impress him. For him to be proud of her and what she’s accomplished to even be in this OP. Tim has always had her back. Supported her and truly seen her as a person. Had unrelenting faith in her this entire time. To not have that in this moment is rocking her entire world.

I adore Nyla for how she helps Lucy after Tim hastily departs. She’s the best mentor Lucy could have. I love these moments between them. The way she tells her it’s Tim’s issues not her. (It’s true but also it being Lucy adds tons of fuel to the fire for him) Lucy feeling stupid for wanting him to be proud. Harper is so wonderful in validating how she is feeling.

Doesn’t shame her for wanting Tim’s approval. That he got her this far. It makes sense she would want that. Tells her there is NOTHING wrong with it. Such a good scene for them. Why I love their dynamic so much. Harper is so good for Lucy and her confidence building. She covers what Tim can't. What I love about it. These were the scenes I was so excited to get to once she was on the show for these reviews.

Tim and Nolan have joined the op to surveil overhead. No way in hell he wasn’t going to be apart of this. I'm sure after that scene with Harper no one was going to stand in his way. Also how else could obsessively keep his eye on her if he’s at the station? Hehe Nolan thinks he’s helping by comforting Tim in this scene. Sorry John you don’t know him like that and his replies show it.

He is gruff, deflects and is cocky in his replies. All things he does with those he’s not comfortable around. Only Lucy gets soft Tim. I will commend Nolan for having the balls to say anything though. The gall of Tim to say 'Who said I was worried?’ Uh only anyone who’s interacted with you since this whole thing started. LOL The way you bit off Harpers head in front of a room full of people. But sure love you’re not worried…

Eric is so amazing in this scene. His face says the opposite of 'not worried' His stiff body language encompassing all his immense worry. Side note let’s not ignore the amazing shots of his jawline in this scene. Could cut glass on that thing. All scruffy too mmm love it lick it like a lollipop. Ahem anyways...His continued annoyance with Nolan shows as the scene goes on.

Especially when he tells Tim about how Lucy can handle herself. Tim is VERY aware of how capable she is. It’s why he’s a little offended in his reply. He seems annoyed Nolan even mentions she can handle it. As if he's telling Tim this for the first time. Like he hasn't ridden with her pretty much every day for a year plus. He's watched her develop into who she is now. He knows dude. Nobody knows it better than Tim Bradford how damn capable she is ya schmuck...(Oops my Nolan annoyance is showing) It’s what shakes him the most with her interest in UC. That she’s going to excel at it and that scares the hell out of him.

He is playing the worried husband to the letter. Easy Tim your feelings are showing. Showing enough that John Nolan who is usually scared of you is commenting on it. John is doing it to comfort Tim which I respect. But for Tim when it's not Lucy he isn't as receptive. As I stated about earlier he is only going to deflect, be cocky and gruff in his replies. Hence his line above. Tim isn’t going to be able to relax or breathe till she’s on the other side of this. So until then he is going to ward off Nolan and his compassion by being self assured. That he trained her so he’s not “worried". Whatever gets you through love.

Lucy acts like a complete bad ass during the whole thing. No surprise. Gets pulled into the limo with the boss and holds her own. Even speaks Tagalog impressing Salonga even further. Writes out the formula and preserves the OP. Doesn’t take long before she’s released and they’re given the money. That’s when everyone swoops in and arrests everyone. I read in theflyingdutchwoman’s amazing analysis in their anatomy Of a scene series (if you haven't read her stuff I highly recommend it) about Tim bailing on his post during this section. I couldn’t agree more I have no doubt the minute she stepped into that limo his ass was off that rooftop immediately. Ready to go when she needed him.

Tim is in fierce protector mode until he reaches Lucy. Then breathes a sigh of relief. Morphing into soft Tim instantly. Only for her. He quietly asks her if she’s ok? That small set of words exposing EVERYTHING about how he’s feeling. The anxiety and how stressed he was till this moment. She nods fervently and his body continues to relax. What follows this is so sweet. Let’s admire the way he holds her cuffed hands.

How gentle he is with her as he escorts her to the shop. He could have put his hands on her arms or elbow like Nyla got with Nolan. But then Nolan isn’t in in love with Nyla…He legit held her hands all the way to the patrol car. I love it sfm. Like he needed to do this to ground himself after the adrenaline rush he just experienced. Proving to himself that she’s there. She’s safe and he can relax.

Then comes the more beautiful part of the scene and really the episode if you ask me. Lucy isn’t expecting anything from Tim in this moment. Last time she saw him was his outburst about her even doing this. Then in the most Tim Bradford-esc way he voices how very proud he is of her. By telling her ‘You did good.’ To anyone else might not mean much. Or seem like much. To Lucy Chen it means the entire world. She knows Tim’s hang ups with UC. The demons he had arise with this. She also knows he’s putting aside those feelings to let her know he’s proud of her. Which is HUGE.

Because at the end of the day this OP was about Lucy and building her confidence in this area. He wants her to know that and does so. She craves his approval and support so much. Let’s not forget she grew up in an emotionally abusive household as well. Parents who withheld praise and support for anything she did. Never proud her. (I know that life) It’s why Tim’s approval means so damn much to her.

Why she lives and strives for it. Tim has had nothing but unconditional faith and support in her since day one. When he blew up about her doing this she thought she had lost that. These three words restore that for her. I don’t think Tim even knew the depth of how much him being proud of her meant. Ugh these idiots. I love them and their slow burn sfm. To round out the scene I adore Nyla’s wink at the end. She is also so very proud of Lucy. Handled herself like a damn pro. I love her so much for the impact she has on Lucy it’s unreal.

Poor Tim (said this a lot but seriously this ep is hard on him) has the episode end pretty roughly for him. Beth comes to find him and rip him a new one. Tim tells her he can’t excuse the past. But this is now and he stands by what he did. It calls back to 3x04 when he was telling Lucy the same thing. That he can’t fix what he did then but would make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

This situation is proof of that. Doing for Mack what he should’ve done for Isabel. It’s awful to watch her tear him apart. But the right thing and the easy thing are rarely the same. Unfortunately this is very true for Tim in this instance. He ends this ep on a low note and I just wanna hug him.

For Lucy it ends better. She makes up the report for Tamara by providing not just herself but Nyla and June for her repot as well. It’s cute to watch Tamara absorb all their banter. I love Lucy’s speech here it’s so good. Praising the women next to her in a way Tamara is revering them all. It's perfect way to the ep for them both. Such a good one.

~~~~

Side notes-non chenford

I love the introduction of Silas. I think that’s it’s didn’t really care about Nolan’s classes SL tbh. But cool castle reunion.

Thank you always to those who like, reblog and comment. Make creating these reviews so worth it shall see you all in 3x07 :)

[annislittleshopofhorrors]

Well he lost almost 9k after the first day in Washington DC. That's bad... (side note: his stats were updated before his spring cleaning) // WAIT! These stats are on a new level. I mean it’s one thing to drop some bots but daily and then on a big content day dropping almost 10k drop is yikes. I saw another anon on Nancy’s tumblr say that there was also no one streaming this thing. This is not just hardcore fans signing off but it feels like the general public saying bye. ASP has always felt out of touch from its launch but it feels even more ignorant and disconnected than ever. Especially with younger voters. How the mighty have fallen…

Ngl, I was shocked when I saw his stats. But yes, that's what happens when you lose the support of your fandom. A year or two ago, social media would have been full of ASP pics and gifs.

[awakefor48hours]

As I'm rewatching TADC, I'm beginning to realize that in the near future, we're probably going to see more indie projects and I actually think that it has the potential to be good for the entertainment industry as a whole.

As time goes on, more people are pretty much only using streaming services but streaming services have a lot of problems with their platforms. The subscriptions are getting more expensive, there's so many of them, and a lot of the shows are getting cancelled in their infancy (some after being greenlit for more) despite their popularity.

Since 2019, Netflix alone has cancelled dozens of shows such as Dead End Paranormal Park, Julie and the Phantoms, Inside Job, Lockwood and Co, Warrior Nun, The Baby-Sitters Club, Raising Dion, Shadow and Bone, The Oa, I Am Not Okay With, A Typical, Anne with E, and much more.

This list doesn't even touch on other streaming platforms but I'm choosing to focus on these shows from Netflix (probably the most well respected streaming service) because I feel like it gets to the root of the problem. A lot of these shows were cancelled in their infancy despite having had high ratings (once again, some of them were even greenlit for more seasons). I almost never hear about shows ending anymore, I only hear about how they get cancelled after a season or two.

With both streaming services and cable not really giving creators the most certain platform, doing indie projects seems like the best bet and it works really well for both the creator and the audience.

To go back to streaming services, the amount of streaming services in the world are only growing and not everyone has the ability to pay for all of them but even the people that do pay for a lot of streaming services can't watch everything. I've mentioned this once but my parents are subscribed to 5 different streaming services, that's so many but they still ask me for help to pirate about once a month because they want to watch a show that isn't available on the streaming platform they use. That is ridiculous and I fully believe my parents should be allowed to watch whatever they want. (Just like my parents, I'll gladly share the piracy sites I use but it's through DMs only, I promise I'm not scary I cry watching kids cartoons).

But when it comes to shows on YouTube, it's available to basically everyone with a Wi-Fi connection and I fully believe it's the main reason why shows like TADC, Lackadaisy, Helluva Boss, RWBY, RvB, and more were able to get their level of popularity. They're on a free to use platform and can be shared to other people just as easily. Also when creators post their show on YouTube, it's much easier for people to make gifs and edits (which, let's be honest, are the real advertisers of a show) because YouTube lets people take screenshots/screen record without any hassle.

*If you want to know how to screenshot/screen record DRM content (things like Netflix, Hulu, CrunchyRoll, etc), I do have a post about here.

Along with the fact that it's more available to the public, it's also more available to the crew and creators. A few years ago, Dana Terrace (creator of The Owl House) made a tweet introducing a new character to the show but the tweet got popular because admitted that she had to pirate The Owl House in order to watch it.

(Since it's cropped in this screenshot, in the top right corner is a watermark of a well-known piracy site for The Owl House).

Imagine working for a company like Disney and not have the ability to watch your own show. They couldn't even give her complimentary mp4 files or even a subscription to Disney+ despite the fact that without her the show wouldn't exist. It's really annoying to see this but when it comes to shows like TADC, that problem doesn't really exist. You can just watch the episodes for free on YouTube.

Also, the fact that the episodes take a while to come out really makes the fandom feel a lot more united. The wait time between episode really kills the binging aspect of TV and I'm in full support of that. Ever since streaming services started to become the default way to watch TV, binging culture has gotten really bad and it can be pretty isolating to people who have busy lives.

Take me for an example. Someone like me, a single adult who has no kids and a terrible sleep schedule (ignore username), can stay up until 3 in the morning binging shows without too many negative consequences. But I have friends who are married/getting married and have kids/planning on having kids, meaning that they don't have the same amount of time as me. I can finish binging shows in a day or two which isn't a pleasure my friends have and it also mean I can't talk to them about it because they're only on episode 2.

I also feel a lot more comfortable donating to these indie projects because the money goes directly towards the creators and crew. When the WGA strike happened, creators explained how they got paid (you can watch the whole video here), and the quick version of it is, they only get paid the amount of times someone watches and episode, they get paid thee residuals from the subscriptions which is so little that it almost feels criminal. When you really put it into perspective, donating to 2 dollars to a GoFundMe and watching the show three times on YouTube is going to do more for a show then paying for a 15 dollar subscription and watching it 10 times.

YouTube definitely has it's problems, I've been subjected to whole ass adults saying "seggy" for nearly a decade, but when you compare it to the current state of streaming and cable, it seems like the best option for both the creators and fans.