#pam is oblivious

[wandascosmic]

your boyfriend, he's upset (4)

wanda maximoff x fem!reader

part four of 'you belong with me' series

summary: basically a wanda series inspired by jim and pam from the office

word count: 2596

tags: slight homophobia, best friends to lovers, reader's so in love, wanda's as oblivious as it gets, to reader's feelings and her own, reader messing with sam even more, wanda joins in on the pranks, we hate vision in this one

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

“Hey,” Sam whispers to you as you’re reading over your files by the copy machine. “So, listen, I was thinking that it might be a good idea if you and I formed an alliance, you know, ‘cause of the downsizing.” 

You nod slightly, still keeping your eyes on your papers but acknowledging the fact that you’re listening to him. There was a rumor going around that Tony was possibly being forced by corporate to remove a couple of his staff, and because Sam was Tony���s biggest suckup, naturally he was worried about being laid off. You and Wanda had talked about it earlier, and you both weren’t too worried, since you knew you would remain friends. Plus, the only good part about your job in your opinion was seeing Wanda every day, so that would probably be the driving force that would make you miss this place at all.  

“Would you like to form an alliance with me?” he asks lowly, like the two of you were on some sort of top-secret mission. 

You meet his gaze, narrowing your eyes and looking over your shoulder as if to ensure no one was eavesdropping on your conversation. “Absolutely, I do,” you respond under your breath, imitating his spy-like tone of voice. 

“Good, good,” Sam answers, crossing his arms and scowling around at the members of the office. “Okay, now we need to figure out who’s vulnerable, and who’s protected,” he points a finger to emphasize his point. 

Sam continues to speak about his plan for the two of you, but you don’t hear him over the excitement bubbling up in your chest as he presents to you a way you can finally get back at him for all the times he’s annoyed you. Your mind runs through a million different ideas of how to prank him, and you try not to smile to give it away, doing your best to maintain a serious expression.  

“Just one other thing, and this is important,” Sam states, and you snap out of your thoughts to play your role once more. 

You lean closer to hear him clearly. 

“This alliance is completely secret, ok? You cannot tell anyone about this.” 

You nod, holding out your hand for him to shake. He takes it with a firm grip. 

*** “An alliance?” Wanda asks with a laugh.  

“Oh, yeah,” you shrug, leaning over her desk, acting nonchalant but giving her a look to indicate that it’s a joke to you too. 

“What does that even mean?”

You break out into a smile. “I don’t know, I think it has something to do with ‘Survivor’, but I’m honestly not sure,” you joke. 

Wanda chuckles at your jest. 

“It’ll definitely involve spying on people, and we may build a fort in accounting,” you finish amusingly as she grins. 

“Y/N!” Sam interrupts from across the room, your head snapping up to turn towards him by the fake tree in the middle of the office. 

He narrows his gaze at you and Wanda suspiciously. “Can I talk to you for a second about…the paper products?” he lies, beckoning you over with a gesture of his hand. 

“Good luck,” Wanda whispers to you. 

You wink at her before walking over to meet Sam in the kitchen. 

Wanda watches your retreating from with a smile and an amused shake of her head. 

***

Slamming the door closed, Sam wastes no time in confronting you. “Did you tell Wanda about the alliance?” he accuses, pointing a finger at your chest. 

“What? No-” you respond as if his accusation is completely ludicrous.

“Just now!” Sam shouts at you. 

“Oh,” your eyes widen in fake realization. “Oh, no, no, no, Sam, no. I’m using her,” you clarify. “For the alliance.” 

Sam looks at you skeptically. 

“Who knows the most information about this office? Wanda!” you explain. 

“Right, that’s good, keep doing it,” Sam says, watching Wanda work at her desk in suspicion through the kitchen window. 

“Well, I’m trying to,” you answer. “Do you see what I’m doing?” 

“Mhm,” Sam continues to analyze all of Wanda’s actions. 

“But listen,” you get his attention, turning him back around to face you. “I’m gonna have to talk to her a lot, all right?” Sam nods. “And there may be chatting, and giggling, alright? And you gotta just pretend to ignore it, got that? Wipe it away.” 

“Done,” Sam says. 

“All right,” you acknowledge, patting him on the back and leaving the kitchen to head to your desk. 

***

“You’re not gonna believe this,” you tell Sam in the parking lot between the cars, pacing back and forth with your arms crossed and a scowl on your face.  

“What?” he asks with worry. 

“Bruce and Nat,” you pause, stepping closer to him. “They’re forming an alliance,” you admit. 

“What? How do you know?” he asks disbelievingly. 

“I saw them talking at lunch,” you lie. In reality, they were talking about their favorite sandwich shop in New York and they let you join in on the fun. You actually managed to learn a lot more about the history of ham and cheese. “And if Bruce is in HR, and Nat is in accounting, think about it.” 

“Oh, they are forming an alliance!” he grunts angrily, kicking the tires of a red car in front of the two of you. 

“Okay, listen,” you tell him. “We need to assume that everyone in this office is forming an alliance, and is therefore trying to get us kicked off.” 

“God, damn it! Why us?” he asks up at the sky. 

You hold his shoulder as he makes eye contact with you. “Because we’re strong, Sam. Because we’re strong.”  

***

“Hey, Y/N? Can I talk to you for a second?” Wanda asks, her arms crossed as she comes up to your desk, seeming as if something was weighing her down. 

“Sure, what’s up?” you ask, swiveling around in your chair to face her. 

“Um, I don’t know, I’m just going a little crazy,” she explains. “‘Cause I keep overhearing all of these conversations between Tony and corporate.” 

Sam’s ears perk up as he hears Wanda’s confession from his desk next to yours. 

“And they’re all about like, staff issues,” she continues.

You smirk as you see Sam’s brows furrow out of the corner of your eye as he pretends to keep reading his magazine.  

“Oh, no,” you respond, leaning your elbow on your chair’s armrest and putting your chin in your hand. 

“Yeah,” she agrees. “And he’s making me take notes on all these meetings, and I’m like, “These people are my friends,”” she says with worry. 

“Right,” you acknowledge. 

“But he’s all like, “This is confidential, you can’t tell anybody,”” she imitates. “But I don’t know, I just feel like I need to tell somebody, you know?”

“Yeah, of course,” you assure her. 

“Anyways, just promise me you’re not gonna say anything?” she asks you nervously and pulling her sleeves over the back of her hands. 

“I will not tell anybody,” you promise. “This is between you and me.” 

“Okay,” she says with relief and blows out a puff of air. You get out your chair and follow her back to her desk. 

“I didn’t know you were an actress, Maximoff, that was perfect,” you whisper to her, stopping at reception, and drumming your fingers on the table.

“All in a day’s work, L/N,” she repeats your phrase back to you with a cheeky grin as she sits back down.

You shake your head in amusement. That was all her idea too. Leaning on your elbow and putting your head in your palm, you admire her quietly as she starts typing on her computer, giving you small smiles every now and then. You sigh softly, she’s so amazing.

***

“Okay, here’s the deal,” you let Sam know in the kitchen, locking the door and peeking through the window to make sure no one’s listening. “Wanda says that one of the alliances is meeting in the warehouse during Jennifer’s birthday party later today.” 

“Oh my god, we have to be there!” Sam responds. 

“I know! But it’s gonna be a little tough because there’s no good place to hide down there,” you explain. 

“No, no, yes there is behind the shelves- oh my God,” Sam’s eyes widen. 

“What is it?” you ask with curiosity. 

“I know exactly what to do.” 

***

“This is not what I had in mind, Sam,” you say as he steps into the large cardboard box in the middle of the warehouse. 

“Shut up, this is gonna be perfect, Y/N. It’s got a central location, and it’s the perfect cover. I can see and hear everything,” he answers. 

“Okay, good,” you respond, as he sits down in the box. “Wait, this isn’t gonna work, the lids open,” you let him know. 

“So tape it down,” he answers obviously. 

“I can’t do that,” you squat down at his level. “You won’t be able to breathe.” 

He rolls his eyes. “Look, I can breathe just fine, okay, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll poke holes in the box.” 

“Thank you, okay,” you nod, standing up and closing the lid. 

“God, you’re so needy, Y/N,” he says. 

“Yeah, thank you, Sam,” you say sarcastically. “So, do you want me to stay here, and you know, stand next to the box?” 

“No,” he retorts, opening up the lid from the inside. “You need to go upstairs to the party, so people don’t notice that we’re both gone.”

“Right. That’s good.” 

You poke a couple of holes in the box as well as two peepholes before taping the lid shut.  

Letting Sam know that you’re finished, he tells you to leave to go to the party. “All right, let me know if you hear anything,” you tell him, walking backwards slowly, and trying your best to hold in your laughter. 

Once you’re at the bottom of the staircase you turn to rush upstairs to let Wanda know about what your shared scheme has led to. 

***

“He’s in a box?” Wanda asks disbelievingly as she looks up at you from her chair. 

“Wanda, he’s in a box!” you laugh, eating a bite of Jennifer’s birthday cake and leaning further over her desk.  “He’s downstairs, in a box, on the floor near the shelves.” 

Wanda laughs. 

“I’m serious! Go down there, check it out, and work your magic,” you say as you point your fork at her with a mischievous grin. 

Wanda bites her lip in mischief, nudging her head towards the stairs for the two of you to go mess with Sam even more. 

Wanda steps down the stairs loudly to make sure Sam can hear her arrival, while you trudge behind her as quietly as possible ready to watch the scene unfold before you.

Stopping at the last few steps, you point towards the box Sam is in, and Wanda walks towards it, pulling out her phone. 

“Hey, where are you?” she says as if she’s on an important call. “Yeah, we were supposed to meet here.” 

You bite your fist to hold in your laughter. 

“What?” Wanda says with fake shock. “Oh my gosh,” Wanda says as she covers her mouth to hold in her laughter. “That ties in perfectly with something that Tony was telling me earlier!” The two of you look at each other with enormous grins as you both notice Sam trying to tear open the box from the inside with his pocket knife. “Yeah, I just don’t know what people, in like, accounting are gonna do,” she says as if she’s stressed. “It said specifically that-” 

Sam falls over in his box and the two of you nearly burst out in hysterics. 

With Sam letting out a groan of pain, Wanda shuts her phone and runs towards you with a huge smile on her face and grabs your hand absentmindedly, the two of you unable to control your laughter as you both make your way back upstairs. 

***

“Wanda!” you say excitedly as you run around her receptionist's desk to stand behind her chair. “I have something that totally tops the box.” 

“Oh, tell me, tell me,” she says eagerly looking up at you. 

“Okay,” you start with a big smile on your face. “I have just convinced Sam that he needs to go to Stamford, and spy on our other branch.” 

Wanda muffles her laughter with her hand. 

“No, no, no!” you continue. “But before he does so, I told him that he should dye his hair to go undercover.” 

“Oh my god,” Wanda says, putting her head in her hand as she tries to stop her overwhelming urge to fall to the floor in hysterics. 

The two of you break out into a fit of laughter together, and in the heat of the moment, you wrap one of your arms around her shoulder and place your palm there and hold her hand with the other. 

“If we can get him to drive to Connecticut, and put peroxide in his hair,” you continue through your laughter, the two of you unable to stop your giggles. 

“What the hell is this?” 

Your heart drops as you hear the sound of Wanda’s fiance. Stopping your laughter immediately, you take a big step away from Wanda and turn your head, making direct eye contact with Vision. 

“What are you trying to cop a feel or something, L/N?” he asks in anger. 

“No, no, no-” you try to explain. 

Vision’s anger overcomes him further and he starts to stalk towards you in rage. You take a couple steps back in fear away from him. 

“Vis! Hey, hey, stop!” Wanda interrupts, putting herself between the two of you and placing the palm of her hand on Vision’s chest.

Wanda looks at you wide-eyed as Vision continues to glare daggers at you. 

“God, I don’t even know how to explain this,” you say awkwardly, rubbing the back of your neck. Whether that was in fear or nervousness you didn’t know, but this was definitely not an ideal situation. “Um,” you clear your throat. “Sam asked me to be in an alliance,” you state, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. “And, um, we were, we’ve just been messing with him, you know, because of the whole alliance thing.” 

“Yeah, it’s just office pranks,” Wanda explains to her fiance, rubbing his arm to calm him down. 

“Exactly, it’s just office pranks,” you agree. 

“An alliance, what the hell is he talking about?” Vision asks Sam who stands by the fake tree. 

You look at Sam, silently apologizing and urging to explain the situation. 

 “I have absolutely no idea,” Sam replies, ignoring the situation before him and plopping down at his desk to make his sales calls. 

Your mouth parts slightly in shock. 

Vision looks at you angrily. “C’mon,” he tells Wanda, shoving her in the direction of the door while never breaking eye contact with you. Wanda tries to give you an apologetic look as she walks out but you don’t manage to meet her gaze as her fiance continues to intimidate you. 

Once Wanda’s outside, Vision stalks even closer to you, and at this point you’re nearly completely back to back with the wall. “You know she’s not gay, right?” he tells you venomously. 

Gulping, you nod. 

He narrows his eyes at you in anger, before finally deciding to walk out and follow his fiance. 

Standing awkwardly at Wanda’s empty receptionist’s desk, you walk quietly towards the ledge and lean onto your elbows, and sigh softly into your hands.

part 5

[classychassiss]

I'm not gonna lie: it kind of sucks that a lot of SDV Fics and even Mods have instances where Demetrius is straight up abusive to Sebastian and people have coded actual divorce mods for him and Robin when like, canonically he doesn't do those things? He's painted so aggressive and it sucks. Like yeah, the game touches on his favoritism with his biological daughter, there is no doubt thats an issue and Sebastian laments this a lot, but I don't see why that means he also has to be cruel to Sebby, or like Robin would still be with him and just Let Him abuse her son? His scenes suggest like, at worst that he's incredibly oblivious and bad at communication, at worst he's no more flawed than other adults in SDV.

Which sucks even MORE because there actually IS a character who is seen struggling to be nice to their child - a few actually!- but specifically Pam, with ACTUAL angry sprites and topics of being harsh to Penny in her heart event (you literally can call her out on it if you upgrade their house) and while sometimes people can be nasty to Pam about it, I don't see nearly the same vitriol so like. HMM.

It'd be nice to see Demetrius and Sebastian interact more friendly, even if its awkward. Like, Demetrius of all people would probably understand Sebastian's job in programming and computer science given that one of his own main recipes is a Farm Computer and Maru ALSO dabbles in robotics. I'm positive that if he has any issues, it's because he thinks he ought to be more logical and not coding games, but still, you can address one form of bad parenting without making up another to add onto it lmao

[hiramaris]

Kiss It Off Me

CHAPTER 3

Chapter Summary:

'Next time,' she promises herself. 'I'll take a photo of her.'

Pairings: Haley x Fem!farmer

Disclaimer:  I do not own Stardew Valley or any of the related characters. Stardew Valley is created by and owned by ConcernedApe. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Stardew Valley story belong to ConcernedApe.

Warning: None so far? Just Haley being her usual self

Gif from weheartit.com

Spring 6

"Em."

No response.

She tried again, this time a little louder.

"Emily."

Still nothing.

Her eyes twitched in mild annoyance, frustration simmering within her as she tried to get her sister's attention. Haley didn't have the patience to deal with this anymore.

"Emily!" she practically shouted, her voice echoing in the small room.

"What?" Thank Yoba she finally looked up from her sewing machine. Haley's already seconds away from leaving her room and just stew about this stupid problem for the rest of the week.

She probably could but nooo, the guilt has been eating her for days already!

Haley's not one to apologize, she didn't even know how. Emily already told her the mechanics and only Yoba knows how long she's been practicing her lines in front of her mirror. The last time she was this distressed was when her parents suddenly thought it was a good idea to move here without even asking if she and Emily were okay with it.

She'd done the hard part and she didn't even know if her apology will be as heartfelt as Emily would expect, but there was a problem.

One she can't do alone without looking pathetic. 

Emily doesn't even have any idea how much pride Haley had to swallow just to barge and sit here in her hippie room and on her just as hippie bed surrounded by her Yoba awful wallpaper, and ask for help for the second time this week. 

"It's the farmer," she finally responded quietly. She had been stalling for time, hoping that Emily would somehow magically understand what was going on.

Oh, god why is this so difficult?

"The farmer?" Emily repeated, her eyes narrowing with confusion. Haley winced at the thought of having to say the words aloud.

"She's avoiding me."

"Avoi–" Emily stopped herself as she gave Haley an incredulous look. "Now you're just being ridiculous, sis. Have you not been wearing the rose quartz ring I gave you?"

"No?" Haley replies, confused.

What's a stupid stone got to do with her problem?

"It's been days and I haven't caught even a glimpse of her hair," Haley flail her hands wildly in frustration. "This town is no city. How the hell could I have missed her? How am I supposed to apologize to someone who keeps hiding?"

"Slow down, Hay." Emily finally abandoned her little project and proceeded to sit beside her. "I haven't seen Y/n/n for over two days either. Maybe she's just busy with the farm?"

"Y/n/n?" Haley's immaculate brow shot up in surprise. Emily's already on a nickname basis with the farmer? And what did she just say? "Two days ago?" She questioned.

The last time Haley saw you was that embarrassing incident, and that was three days ago.

Okay, if Haley wasn't sure before, she's definitely sure now. The farmer is indeed avoiding her.

Why else Emily was able to see you and Haley couldn't?

"Yeah, she visited the saloon." Emily remained oblivious to her sister's inner turmoil. "She's super cool and has already made friends with Leah. They even came together. Even Shane and Pam seemed to warm up to her immediately."

"Leah?" Haley repeated, eyebrows raising even further than possible.

She's not all that surprised with Pam and Shane. Despite their slightly hostile personality, they are pretty much the easiest to impress if Haley would dare to try. Just give those two a couple of beers and they are good to go.

But really? Leah? Haley barely knows the woman. "The weirdo that carves wood outside of town?"

Emily poked her with a bony finger. "She's an artist," she corrected, a frown creasing her features. "Seriously, sis. You need to stop calling people names. Remember that's the reason you're in this situation."

"Okay, mom." She grumbled. No need to rub it in. 

"I'm pretty sure you're not even trying to find her," Emily accused with a glare.

"Yes, I am!" Haley's defense was immediate. Of course, she's been looking for you. How else could she have assumed that you were avoiding her?

"Did you go to her farm?"

"No."

"Did you look for her all over town?"

"No. Are you nuts? That's a long walk from here."

Emily hummed in acknowledgment. "Then how can you say she's avoiding you when you're not even leaving the house?"

"I did!" Haley protested. Did she, though? She deflated for a moment. "Once, I guess, the other day. I waited for her in the river. She always feed the squirrels, but she never came."

"I'm sure she's just busy, sis. Don't be sad."

"I'm not—" Haley was suddenly engulfed in Emily's arms.

"I haven't seen you this stressed since forever. My baby sis is finally growing up and learning how to say sorry," Emily sniffled, wiping a fake tear. Haley could only grumble in annoyance.

She's ruining my hair!

Haley rolled her eyes at her sister's dramatics but couldn't help but feel comforted by the embrace. "I'm not a baby," she muttered but didn't push her sister away.

"I know. Still..."

Speaking of apologies though.

It seemed like Haley didn't even need to apologize after all.

The farmer— Y/n is apparently okay and has a cool friend already. She didn't hurt any feelings, hooray! 

The world can now finally continue without Haley saying sorry.

She can also finally throw this guilt away and start taking photos seriously. She's already behind in finishing her portfolio. At this rate she won't be able to submit her photos to some galleries she's been eyeing since last fall.  

Maybe tomorrow she'd break out the camera. 

Yes, that would be ideal.

****

Spring 7

Haley found herself standing by the Cindersap River once again. Of course, this had absolutely got nothing to do with the sole purpose of seeing a certain farmer.

Not at all.

The lighting outside is just too perfect to let it slip away. 

In fact, she’s so focused on getting a good angle for the squirrel without frightening it away that she didn't notice that the person she's been looking for finally went out from her territory and went straight to what's-her-name's cottage with a bowl of green, leafy vegetables Haley would probably eat for her Spring diet and not out of want. 

Yes, she didn't notice all that, at all. 

Note the sarcasm though. Sometimes she's just good with this language that people mistake it as her mother tongue. 

If only she could get a better shot for this little guy, it will be a great addition to her portfolio. As stagnant as Pelican is, she could never deny that the town has the best spots in featuring how nature and humans interact together in harmony. Something that urban life lacks. She even had a photo of Marnie feeding her animals, and it's probably one of the closest pictures that fit her theme. There's also another one— that one picture she got a few days ago with the farmer. 

It's a good picture. She thought to herself. The farmer could be a good model for her theme. If there's one person closest to nature that would be you. You're a farmer after all.

Yeah, right. As if. 

If anyone would suggest that to her, she'd probably laugh at their faces.

Impossible.

Focus, Haley. She mentally scolded herself. 

Nah, this angle just won't do. It's too flat.

She looked at the lens again and took a few steps to the left. And only then she realized her mistake when she failed to notice a slippery patch on the ground. Before she knew it, she had lost her footing and was tumbling toward the water. Her heart raced with fear as she desperately tried to regain her balance.

"Oh, my god!"

She's gonna fall.

Her camera's going to get wet!

Her photos from the previous days are there, and she hasn’t developed all of them yet in her dark room.

She braced herself for the impact.

To get wet.

To probably throw her camera and purse on the side. Never mind it might break, but she can still save her photos.  

Just as she thought she was about to fall into the river, a strong, calloused hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a solid chest. She looked up to see none other than the farmer, who had just saved her from potentially drowning and ruining her photos,

"That was a close one," you breathed.

Haley's cheeks burn, quickly separating from you as if she were burned. you're too close. Too close that Haley caught a whiff of your earthy smell, what seems to be freshly cut grass, and a small hint of mint that she knows she supposedly hates. "I— I..." 

"You okay?"

"I am!" She answered quickly. Too quickly. Haley laughed nervously. "Thank you, um..."

Just spit out her name already.

"It's Y/n, remember?" Oh, joy. Now she assumes Haley doesn't remember her name. 

Haley looked up once again. You don't seem offended even for the slightest bit. If anything, you looked amused. 

"Of course, I remember. I was just... I haven't seen you since whatever and," Haley tried to cross her arms in defense but the camera dangling around her neck prevented her to do so. "I was still shocked, okay?"

"Wait, so you're looking for me?"

"No!" came her reply, vehement and just plain defensive.

"Well, if you're not wondering," you threw her a sideway glance, smirking as you continued, "I was actually busy tidying things up on the farm. I also brought the things I left in the city."

"Okay." She shrugged in feigned indifference. "As I said, I wasn't looking for you or anything."

The chuckle that came from you was rich and genuine. "Right, right." It doesn't look like you believed Haley for one bit, and she wants to definitely smack the smirk right off your face. "You should be careful next time though." You turned completely serious now. 

"I know. I was just taking a picture of..." she turns to point toward the subject of her camera only to find an empty spot where the squirrel should have been on. "Great," she huffed. "It's gone."

"What is?" you tilted your head in confusion and Haley didn't get why her stomach suddenly flipped from the gesture.

"The squirrel!" She flails her hands in exasperation. "I've been trying to get the perfect shot for hours!" 

"Don't worry," there's that smile again. "I see another one right over there."  

Truth be told from where the farmer's index finger points was a squirrel a couple of trees away. "But" Haley started when she remembered something," they always run away from me. I had to hide earlier to even get a shot."

You only hum in acknowledgment as you take a few walnuts from the pockets of your worn-out farmer pants. "Here." You reach out, clasping Haley's hands in yours, and place a few nuts on her open palms, and Haley's mind can only shut down at the sudden contact. 

You slowly leaned down, making an urging motion to the little guy as you began making clicking sounds with your mouth, hoping to get the squirrel's attention. The little guy paused and looked in their direction. You repeated the sound a few more times, and to Haley's delight, the squirrel started to approach them.

"Come on, little guy," you whispered, continuing to click your tongue. The squirrel hopped closer and closer until it was only a few feet away, its tiny nose twitching as it sniffed the air. You turned to her with a wide grin and Haley had to turn her cheek away, fearing of getting caught staring. "Just be gentle and they won't run away anymore. I've been feeding these guys for a while now and they easily warmed up to me. Here, let me show you."

You crouched down and held out a single walnut on your open palm. The bold little squirrel immediately scampered up to you, its tiny paws reaching for the treat.

Haley watched in amazement as you patiently fed the little guy, letting it nibble on the walnut before offering another. As she watched you interact with the animal, she couldn't help her stomach twist into knots once again.

"It's so cute." Haley bit back a smile.

"Aren't they?" You returned her with one of your own, your eyes crinkling at the corners. "It's your turn now."

"But I don't..."

"Don't worry, I got you." 

Haley wasn't exactly sure what 'I got you' meant but she didn't expect a pair of calloused hands wrapping on her own ones as the farmer guided her down to face the little animal. Haley's heart was pounding, hard and fast, and she liked to think it was because she was nervous around wild animals. She always liked taking a picture of them but feeding them up close is an entirely different story. Her parents also don’t like her touching them.

If you noticed her shaking hands, you didn't give any indication. Instead, you were giving her soft words of encouragement as she held out the walnut.

A sense of excitement surged up in her as the squirrel approached her with curious eyes before taking the walnut one by one with her tiny paws. 

"Are those supposed to fit all in its mouth?" Haley asked with a giggle, surprised at the sound of it escaping her lips.

Giggle? Haley never giggles.

But the sight of the little guy trying to fit its fifth walnut in its mouth was simply too adorable to ignore.

"I know, right?" You barked out a laugh.

Her heart sores at the sight. She tried to ignore her hands twitching to capture this moment but she knew she only has limited time before the squirrel runs away again.

So instead, she raised her camera, and took a quick adjustment with the shutter, lighting, and a bit of exposure before finally taking a snap.

'Next time,' she promises herself. 'I'll take a photo of her.'

She took a quick peek at the viewfinder. She wants to check first if it was blurred, or if the lighting suddenly becomes off at the last second.

But as she looked at the screen, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. The way the light was filtering through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground, was simply breathtaking. And the squirrel was perfectly captured in all its glory, with its bushy tail fanned out behind it and its tiny paws holding the nut with precision and delicacy. The sharpness of the image was astounding, with every little detail of the fur and the texture of the walnut visible in stunning clarity.

"Wow, this looks good." You were suddenly behind her, your warm breath tickling the back of Haley's neck. "I'm glad you made good use of the natural lighting. Squirrels get frightened a lot with flash."

Haley couldn't help but feel a bit flustered by the proximity of the farmer. "Kiss ass much?" she tried to joke, but her breath was caught in her throat.

You chuckled awkwardly and leaned back a bit, your ears turning a faint shade of pink. "I'm not—I..." you stumbled over your words. "It's a good photo, okay?"

Haley throws her head back and lets out a loud, unrestrained laugh.  

"Haha," you roll your eyes and pretend to walk out. 

Haley's hand shoots up to grab your arm for a brief moment in the midst of laughter.

"I was just kidding. Yoba, you're so serious."

Haley's grin was never wiped off from her face but she half expected you to frown at her or even look away. Yet, your eyes were sparkling in great amusement, the corners of your eyes crinkling, and you gave Haley your biggest, endearing smile.

"Am not!"

"Am, too!"

"Am not!"

"Am, too!"

Your banter continued, filled with playful bickering and teasing words, until you finally raised your hands in mock surrender. "You win, woman."

Haley smiled in triumph. "Ha, I'm always right anyway."

You could only smile at her antics, and Haley found herself wondering when was the last time she had openly enjoyed someone's company besides Alex's. He's not exactly the most exciting company since all he ever talks about is his grid ball but he's a great listener and a friend nonetheless

The farmer, however— Haley takes a good, subtle look at you.

Dark messy hair tied in a loose bun with uneven locks framing your face, a worn-out denim jacket over what looked like an old white shirt, and your boots were covered in mud and grass. Haley tried not to wince at a patch of mud just below your chin yet that stupid smile of yours made Haley overlook everything else.

Everything that Haley hated; dirt, hand-me-down clothes, and every single mundanity farm life could offer— she hates it all.

She started hating everything about the farmer long before she could even step foot in this town and yet this dork, this woman has the audacity to stand so close to her and give Haley that dumb smile and help her take a photo and just ugh.

How could she hate you now? 

"Is there something on my face?" 

Haley mutters another prayer to Yoba that the sun shining between the gaps of leaves from the trees hid the growing redness she felt rising from her face. 

"You're fine." Haley forced out with a teasing tone, hoping to hide her own nervousness.

"No, really, Haley?" Your fingers lightly touched your face in a self-conscious gesture, and Haley's heart skipped a beat. It was so endearing that she almost forgot to breathe. "Do I have something on my face? Was that the reason you're laughing?"

Haley rolled her eyes to mask the smile threatening on her face. Haley's name shouldn't sound so good coming from your mouth, but it is.

It's unfair, really.

"Oh, my god." Rolling her eyes, she whipped out a handkerchief she was keeping in her purse. She closes the distance between her and you. With a dainty hand, she wipes the mud from your neck. "Next time, maybe take a look in the mirror before stepping out," she added, trying to sound as snobbish as possible.

Key word 'try.'

Luckily, you actually had some dirt on you, so Haley had a reason why in Yoba's name she'd been looking at you for far too long than necessary, but she couldn't help but glance at you with a quirky smile on her lips.

"Thanks," you murmured, your tone almost bashful as you looked at Haley.

It was then that Haley realized just how close she was standing— much closer than she had intended. Before she could pull away, however, you surprised her by placing a gentle hand on hers, and in the other hand, producing a bright yellow daffodil seemingly out of thin air.

Haley didn't allow herself to breathe until you finally tucked the flower into her hair and finally put a space between the two of you before Haley did.

"As a thank you," you murmured.

"I..." Haley's mind was racing as she tried to decide whether to run or stay and face the overwhelming wave of emotions coursing through her. But before she could make up her mind, you beat her to it.

"I'm sorry!" You exclaimed apologetically, probably mistaking the look of horror (or probably utter embarrassment) written clearly on her face as discomfort. "I didn't mean to invade your personal space. I just..."

"No!" Haley couldn't help but interrupt, her voice rising in pitch, feeling a sense of urgency in her words. "I did it first and it’s no problem really." Lie. "I also got you something."

Summoning her courage, Haley dug into her purse and pulled out a freshly developed photo, one she had taken just three days ago. With trembling hands, she placed it into your open palms, this time keeping a respectful distance between the two of you.

"Here," she said.

"Oh." The farmer breathed in surprise. "This one is..."

"Yeah... the one the other day."

You hesitated before speaking again. "Are you sure?" you asked, concern lacing over your words. "This photo is amazing, Haley. I'd feel bad if..."

"Keep it," she said firmly. "Please, it's the least I could do after taking that shot without your consent." 

"It's okay. It turned out good anyway. Thank you!" You flashed her that smile again.

Haley felt a wave of relief wash over her. She was about to turn, taking that as her cue to leave when you moved to inspect the back of the photo.

Quickly, Haley spoke up, hoping to distract you.

"No problem! Uhm, I still need to cook for lunch, yeah." Another lie, but was good enough to capture your attention. "Thank you again for helping me and for the... saving thing. I'll... I'll see you around, yeah?" 

She wished she didn't sound so hopeful.

Your small grin reassured her. "For sure. I'll see you around, Haley."

****

"What's up, Hay? I haven't seen you in... wait— nice flower by the way! Where'd ya get 'em?"

"Just a thank-you gift from someone."

"A someone, huh?" Alex raised an eyebrow in playful suspicion. "Do I know this someone?"

"Ugh. Shut up, Alex!"

~~~~~

Previous

Next

Notes:

Is this still even a slow burn?Oh, well I suck on it apparently. Still I hc Haley as having a lowkey admiration(or crush) for the farmer on the first year of Spring but was too stubborn (and oblivious) to admit it so here ya go

[threalcrabbysamantha]

you know Kataang really kind of perfectly encapsulates the issues I have with a lot of friends-to-lovers dynamics

Let me preface this by saying: I have a fraught relationship with friends to lovers. Some of it I love (Jess and Nick from New Girl, Jake and Amy from BK99), but there’s a version of friends to lovers that I absolutely despise. I call it the Power Fantasy F2L.

In this version of friends to lovers, often one person pines for the other oblivious one, who, usually after some romantic trials and tribulations of their own, turn and realize that their friend was worth loving all along. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth for a couple reasons, namely that often at least one person in this pairing is treating the other one very badly (cough cough Colin being a dick to Penelope behind her back at the end of season 2 of Bridgerton).

More than anything though, I think the problem is that most of these relationships don’t belong in this category at all because the pairing is never really friends to begin with.

Let’s look at the most classic example of friends to lovers: Jim and Pam from the Office. Now look, I love Jim and Pam, okay? Ultimately I do like that they end up together, but they’ve never reached a favorite ship of mine by any means because they have PROBLEMS, namely that Jim doesn’t really like Pam all that much.

Okay yes it’s a bold statement, and some people are going to hate me for saying it, but Jim is not interested in Pam’s friendship ever in the show. He’s interested in being with her romantically, and that’s why he confesses that he loves her when she’s engaged (and clearly expects her to reciprocate), then leaves when she rejects him, and then when he comes back he does not try in any genuine way to rekindle their friendship. Of course, he’s not obligated to, and it makes sense if his feelings are hurt and he’s crushed and he needs space. But it’s hard to claim that he values Pam’s friendship, since he does everything in his power not to nurture their friendship in season three. She’s the object of his desires, not his friend.

This is true of Ross and Rachel on Friends as well. It’s also true of Stiles and Lydia in Teen Wolf, though I’d argue they manage to walk that one back a little bit because he kind of releases his obsession with her somewhat before they get together.

And it’s true of Kataang.

Is Aang really Katara’s friend? Maybe more than Jim is Pam’s friend, but when someone has girlfriend-zoned you from the first moment you met, I’m inclined to think you aren’t really friends, are you? Aang‘s obsession with Katara means he can’t really see her (note his inability to understand her during the Southern Raiders episode especially) and causes him to run head first past any of her own feelings to center his own need to be with her romantically.

How is that friendship?

And maybe this is all very personal. I know there are people who appreciate this version of friends to lovers. People went feral for Polin this spring, and Jim and Pam are maybe one of The Favorite Couples of all time. And Kataang obviously has its fans. But to me, friends to lovers is only satisfying if it’s like Jess and Nick from New Girl: two people who love each other so much, it doesn’t matter what form their relationship takes. They’re in each other’s corner, even if that corner takes them to a different romantic interest. They really see each other, flaws and all, and it’s that recognition that ultimately brings them together.

[hernakedmuse]

Horror!Bimbo Reader Aesthetic

She's like Cassie Ainsworth meets Pam Anderson. She's a total bimbo but an oblivious little weirdo, like the nicest girl you'll meet in the asylum. Miss Congeniality of the mental hospital.

[ohhappyday123]

Office Dynamics - Part 9: Boredom and Bonding

The next day, the office was abuzz with the usual morning chatter as everyone settled in for a new day. You were at your desk, catching up on emails, when Michael's voice came over the intercom.

"Everyone, conference room! We've got a special presentation today. Let's move it, people!"

You exchanged a knowing glance with Jim, who was already rolling his eyes. "Another one of Michael’s 'special' presentations, huh?" he muttered.

You chuckled, grabbing your notepad and pen. "Looks like it. Let’s see what he has in store for us this time."

As everyone filed into the conference room, you noticed Tori, the new intern, setting up a PowerPoint presentation. She looked eager and a little nervous, which wasn’t surprising given the somewhat chaotic environment of Dunder Mifflin.

You and Jim found seats next to each other near the back, ready to endure whatever Michael had planned. Pam gave you a sympathetic smile as she took her seat across the room, while Dwight sat front and center, poised and ready to take notes.

Michael clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. "Okay, everyone, settle down. Today, Tori is going to give a presentation on improving office efficiency. I expect everyone to listen carefully and take notes. This is important stuff."

Tori started her presentation with a nervous smile. "Good morning, everyone. Today, I'll be talking about strategies to improve our office efficiency, focusing on time management, organization, and workflow optimization."

As she droned on about time management techniques and color-coded filing systems, you felt your attention slipping. You glanced over at Jim, who was doodling in his notebook. He caught your eye and leaned over, whispering, "Who knew there were so many ways to organize paper clips?"

You stifled a giggle, whispering back, "I think we might need an efficiency plan just to get through this presentation."

Jim snorted quietly, causing Pam to glance over and smile knowingly. Just then, Michael shot you both a stern look. "Hey, keep it professional back there. This is serious business."

You and Jim straightened up, trying to look attentive. Tori continued, oblivious to the minor disruption. "Now, let’s talk about the benefits of a clean desk policy. A clutter-free workspace can significantly increase productivity..."

As Tori’s voice became a monotonous drone, you felt your eyelids growing heavy. You fought to stay awake, but the combination of the warm room and Tori's soothing, albeit dull, voice was too much. Before you knew it, you had leaned over, resting your head on Jim's shoulder, and drifted off to sleep.

Interview with Y/N: “I didn’t mean to fall asleep during Tori’s presentation. It was just... really boring. And Jim’s shoulder was surprisingly comfortable.”

Jim glanced down at you, a soft smile playing on his lips. He shifted slightly to make sure you were comfortable without waking you up. Pam noticed and shot Jim an amused look, mouthing, "So cute."

Jim rolled his eyes good-naturedly but couldn’t hide the warmth in his expression. He gently took your notepad and started doodling little cartoons on the margins, glancing occasionally at Tori’s presentation to make sure he wasn’t missing anything crucial.

Interview with Jim: “Y/N fell asleep on my shoulder during the meeting. It was adorable. And honestly, it made the presentation a lot more bearable.”

After what felt like an eternity, Tori finally wrapped up her presentation. "And that concludes my talk on improving office efficiency. Thank you for your attention."

Michael clapped enthusiastically, trying to rally the room. "Great job, Tori! That was very informative. Let’s all give her a round of applause."

The rest of the office joined in half-heartedly, relieved that the presentation was over. You stirred at the sound of applause, realizing where you were and quickly sitting up, embarrassed.

"Sorry, did I miss anything important?" you whispered to Jim, who was grinning.

"Just the thrilling conclusion about the benefits of a clean desk policy," he replied, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

You groaned softly, rubbing your eyes. "I owe you one for not letting me sleep through the whole thing."

Jim shrugged, his smile widening. "Anytime. You looked like you needed it."

Interview with Pam: “Y/N falling asleep on Jim's shoulder was the highlight of the meeting. They’re just so comfortable with each other. It’s really sweet to see.”

As everyone filed out of the conference room, Michael approached you and Jim, looking slightly concerned. "Y/N, you seemed a little out of it during the presentation. Everything okay?"

You nodded, still a bit groggy. "Yeah, Michael. Just didn’t get much sleep last night. Sorry about that."

Michael softened, patting you on the shoulder. "No worries. Just try to get some rest. We need you at your best."

You smiled, grateful for his understanding. "Thanks, Michael. I will."

The rest of the day passed in a blur of typical office activities, but there was a lingering sense of camaraderie and light-heartedness from the morning’s events. Pam and you found a moment to chat at her desk, still giggling about the meeting.

"So, you and Jim are getting pretty close," Pam teased, her eyes sparkling.

You blushed, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess we are. It’s nice."

Pam nodded, her smile widening. "You two make a great team. Both in and out of the conference room."

You laughed, feeling a warmth spread through you. "Thanks, Pam. That means a lot."

Interview with Y/N: “Today was a bit embarrassing, but it also reminded me how great it is to have supportive friends like Jim and Pam. Even in the most boring meetings, we manage to find a way to make it fun.”

As the day drew to a close, Jim walked you to your car, his hand brushing yours in a familiar and comforting gesture. "So, dinner tonight? My treat. Consider it a reward for surviving Tori's presentation."

You smiled, feeling a flutter of excitement. "Sounds perfect. But only if I can stay awake this time."

Jim laughed, opening your car door for you. "Deal."

Interview with Jim: “Days like today remind me how much I enjoy spending time with Y/N. Even the most mundane parts of the job are better with her around.”

As you drove away, you felt a sense of contentment and anticipation for the evening ahead. Life at Dunder Mifflin was full of surprises, but with Jim by your side and the support of your friends, you were ready for whatever came next.

[victorialovesstiles]

I was listening to Somebody Else by VÉRITÉ.

And okay listen, everyone is talking about Buck pining era with oblivious Eddie, right? But imagine Eddie KNOWS. Imagine Buck confesses, and Eddie REJECTS him.

But Eddie tells Buck how important he is, and how important his friendship is to him. Total Office/Pam & Jim moment - Buck says "I want more than that"; Eddie is like "I can't".

Cut to Buck trying to move on... but Eddie keeps getting jealous and upset that Buck isn't around as much anymore. Upset that things have changed. He starts interrupting dates and trying to sabotage any chance Buck has with a new love interest.

Buck confronts him and Eddie is like, well you love ME so why are you going out with someone else...

and Buck is stood there like ???

[serenefreakgeekao3]

The Office of Chocolate and Pining... Masterlist

Jim Halpert x GN!Reader

Description: 

Dunder Mifflin, Scranton branch is getting its own documentary crew. Why? Who knows, but Y/N certainly doesn't think it'll turn into anything interesting. The rest of the office disagrees. A film about how ‘a typical paper office runs their business' quickly turns into an office romance drama, and things heat up rather quickly when the cameras are around.

Y/N's year anniversary of getting their receptionist job is coming soon- along with Pam's wedding just a month afterwards. With pranks, office meetings, and arguments abound, no one can predict what will happen. Though, Jim has a weird feeling that things might change soon, and he's not sure if it has anything to do with his actual job.

(This will include multiple mentions and callbacks to the actual show- but not in order! I’m also not quoting word-for-word from the episodes, so this will be all ‘new’ content!)

Tags: Gender Neutral reader (they/them), First person POV, Fic Rewrite, Chocolate loving reader, Nerdy Jim Halpert (because I said so), Flirty Pam, Jello stapler prank, Pining, Mutual pining, the reader is a fanfic author because this totally isn't just a self-insert or anything, Pam is a good guy still, Oblivious Jim Halpert, Sort of asshat Roy, Michael is Up To Something, 

Warnings: canon compliant cheating (if you count Pam flirting while engaged), mentions of a concussion (brief), Confrontation, Intrusive thoughts (minor), 

Words: TBD

Key: [ ֎” ] before a scene means that it’s an interview, typical use of Y/N (your name) Y/L/N (your last name) and Y/N/N (your nickname), ‘—‘ is a pause in the scene which will be continued following a second ‘—‘, 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PART ONE (rewrite)

PART TWO (rewrite)

PART THREE... coming soon

[amos-reviews]

Can we take a moment to appreciate that Zo recognised that Nita was uncomfortable with they way Zo tried to engage with her on their not a date date? It often seems as though when one of our main leads is trying to pursue a girl before realising he is in love with his male friend, they are oblivious to what the girl actually wants. Rain in LITA continued to pursue his female classmate despite the constant rejection. Noey in I Will Knock You was persistent with Pam. Even Kawi in Be My Favorite kept on pursuing Pear up until the point he realised Pisaeng was the one that made him happy. Yet here, Zo tries to have one on one time with his female crush, and immediately senses that she wasn’t comfortable with his behavior. Although he is having doubts next week, I think the fact that he knows now that Nita doesn’t feel for Zo the way he does, will mean he won’t try to force something between them that isn’t there.

[wandascosmic]

get your humor like i do (3)

wanda maximoff x fem!reader

part three of 'you belong with me' series

summary: basically a wanda series inspired by jim and pam from the office

word count: 2871

tags: best friends to lovers, reader being completely in love with wanda, wanda's an oblivious best friend, i might mean oblivious to her own feelings as well but who knows, both of them being complete dorks, reader messing with sam with wanda as her pranking accomplice

part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 part 6 part 7

“Last night, on trading spouses,” you told Wanda enthusiastically, leaning over her desk on your elbows. 

“Uh huh,” Wanda nods, chewing on the end of her pen as she listens to your story with a smile. 

“There was- oh, wait, have you seen it?” a look of realization comes across your face. 

“No, actually, I have a life,” Wanda jokingly responds. 

You laugh, “Interesting,” you played along, “What’s that like?” 

“Fun, you should try it sometime,” Wanda quips back. 

“Wow,” you said thoughtfully, staring off with a wistful look in your eye. “But then who would watch my TV?” you remark. 

Wanda laughed agreeingly as she looked up at you from her chair. 

“That’s sort of like a win-lose-” you continue until Tony’s voice interrupted your sentence.  

“Y/N, can I see you for a minute please?” 

Giving your favorite receptionist an apologetic look, you nod before following your boss into his office.

Wanda frowns slightly, sighing as she picks up her phone and gets back to work. 

***

“I need you to help me decide on which healthcare plan the office should be on, then explain it to the rest of the office,” Tony says to you as you sit across from him at his desk, handing you the large stack of papers with the various healthcare plan options. 

You nod slightly, “Wow, this is a great offer,” you point out, truthfully not believing your lie for a second. 

“I’m glad you see it that way,” Tony replies with disinterest. 

“But Tony, I really think I should be concentrating on sales,” you told him, holding back a smile at your plan. “I just don’t think this is a task that I’m well-equipped for, but I do know someone who is.” 

“Wow, who’s that?” Tony answers monotonely. 

“I think Sam would be great for this. You know, he’s smart, hardworking-” you sell your idea. 

“Sure, yeah, whatever, go get him then,” Tony cuts you off.  

You nod in agreement, smiling as you walk out of Tony’s office. 

Sam was such a sucker. 

***

“You did it again,” Wanda remarks, seeing Sam sitting in Tony’s office through the window, excitedly taking the papers Tony handed him. 

“I did,” you admit, smiling at her as you're back at her desk once more. 

“I can’t believe that actually works every time,” she says with a laugh. 

You shrug. “Sam’s such a suckup that he’ll do anything to get on Tony’s good side. So, naturally, in his good nature he should be glad to do any task Tony gives him. Even the ones he gave to me first,” you say smugly, popping a candy from the dish at her desk into your mouth.  

“You’re quite devious,” Wanda teases. 

“All in a day’s work, Maximoff,” you reply with a grin. 

***

Sam has fucked up awfully. You suppose it's no surprise since Sam has a limited understanding of natural human needs, however, his healthcare plan is basically as cheap as a gas station slushie. Everyone in the office is completely outraged.

You and Wanda have decided to attempt to convince Sam to fix his plan, as the health care coverage he’s chosen is basically second to none. 

“Sam,” Wanda says as she opens the door to the conference room with you following behind her with your hands in your pockets. 

“Wanda, haven’t you ever heard of knocking?! This is an office,” Sam says exasperated from the table he’s sitting at with papers scattered all over as you and Wanda stop to stand in front of him. 

“It says workspace,” you point out, nudging your head toward the sign on the door, knowing Sam had argued toward the title of office, but Tony had told him no. 

“Same thing,” Sam argues, reading over the papers. 

“If it’s the same thing, then why did you write ‘workspace’?” you ask with curiosity.

“Just knock, Y/N,” Sam says frustrated. “It’s a sign of respect, and as your superior, I deserve that respect.” 

“You’re not my superior,” you retort.

“Ok, well, then why do I have an office?” 

You tilt your head slightly. “I thought it was a workspace, Sam?” 

“Okay!” Wanda interrupts, putting a hand on your shoulder. “Sam, are you really in charge of picking the healthcare plan?” she asks the worker in front of her, crossing her arms over her button-up shirt. 

“Yes, and my decision is final,” he responds with assertiveness.

“This is a ridiculously awful plan, Sam, you cut everything,” Wanda explains to him, her worry increasing at the fact that it might as well be considered as having basically no health care coverage whatsoever. You rub your hand slightly across her back, noticing the slight furrow in her brows indicating the fact that she’s worried. 

Sam pouts in fake pity, ignoring the scene in front of him. “Well, times are tough, Wanda. Might as well get used to it.” 

You narrow your eyes, his dig at Wanda irritating you slightly. “You cut more than you had to, didn’t you?” you cut in, knowing Sam’s lack of sympathy for anything related to the human race. 

“Sure,” Sam shrugs without care. 

“Well, why did you do that?” you ask, not understanding why he wouldn’t want health care coverage for himself as well. “You work here, Sam, don’t you want good insurance?” 

Sam scoffs. “I don’t need it, Y/N,” he says obviously. “I’ve never been sick. I have a perfect immune system.”  

You and Wanda look at each other in uncertainty. “Okay, well if you’ve never been sick, then you don’t have any antibodies,” you explain to him.  

“I don’t need them. I have superior genes, I’m a Wilson. And on top of that, I have superior brain power. With extreme concentration, I can raise and lower my cholesterol at will,” he argues.

“Why would you want to raise your cholesterol?” Wanda asks, looking at Sam warily. 

“So I can lower it, obviously.” 

***

“Everyone, gather around,” Sam announces, stepping out of the conference room, looking frustrated. 

You swivel around in your chair to face him, ready for whatever irritating thing will come out of his mouth this time. 

“It has been brought to my attention that some of you are unhappy with my plan,” he says, his annoyance seeping through. “So what I’d like you all to do, is to fill out this form and write down any diseases you might be suffering from that you would like covered, and I’ll see what I can do, since you people are weak enough to get sick.” 

You raise your hand, a clear issue in his plan sticking out to you. “Sam,” you cut in, and he looks at you irritated. “Well, we can’t write down our diseases for you because that’s confidential.” 

Sam rolls his eyes. “Okay, well, I didn’t say to write your name down, did I?” he answers sarcastically. “You can fill it out, and leave it anonymous. Or, don’t write down any disease at all, and it won’t be covered. “Sam slams the forms on the shelf next to the wall. “Alright, I’ll be in my office.” He retreats back into the conference room. 

“Workspace,” you remind him. 

Sam slams the door closed. 

***

You stand at Wanda’s desk, the two of you filling out your forms together in silence. 

Looking over at Wanda, you notice her biting back a smile as she fills out her form. 

“Wait, what are you writing?” you ask with curiosity. 

She looks up at you with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“Don’t write ‘Ebola’, or ‘mad cow disease’,” you tell her, her smile faltering slightly. “‘Cause I’m suffering from both of them,” you grin, showing her your paper. 

Wanda laughs. “I’m inventing new diseases,” she reveals. 

“Oh, great,” you lean further over her desk, intrigued. 

“So, like, let’s say my teeth turn to liquid,” she describes. “And then, they drip down the back of my throat, what would you call that?” 

“I thought you said you were inventing new diseases, Maximoff,” you wave your hand in an obvious gesture. “That’s spontaneous dento-hydroplosion,” you describe with a smile. 

Wanda looks at you, impressed. “Nice,” she states. 

“Thank you,” you respond, smiling as you watch her write down the fake disease excitedly. 

***

“Y/N!” Sam growls from the conference room, rushing out the door. “All right, who did this?” he yells, holding up the forms.  

“What are you talking about?” you ask with a tilt of your head, still standing at Wanda’s desk. 

“Someone here forged medical information, and that is a felony,” Sam accuses, narrowing his eyes at every one of the office staff. . 

“Whoa, that’s a pretty serious accusation there, Sam,” you warn, holding up both your hands in fake surrender. “How do you know that they’re fake?” you ask him. 

“It’s obvious, Y/N,” Sam retorts. Reading out the diseases, he lists, “These hysterical diseases like, flesh-eating bacteria.” You snort.  “Hot dog fingers.” 

“Wow, that sounds awful,” you whisper quietly to Wanda who snickers at your dig.  

“And my least favorite,” Sam reads out. “Government-created killer nano-robot infection.” 

Wanda looks up at you cheekily, and you widen your eyes, impressed. 

“You did this, didn’t you?” Sam accuses you, as you turn back around, narrowing his eyes. 

“Absolutely not,” you answer calmly. 

“Yes, you did.” 

“No, I didn’t.” 

“I know it was you,” Sam argues. “Okay, you know what,” Sam says frustrated. “I’m going to have to interview each and every one of you until the perpetrator makes him or herself known. And until then,” he pauses. “There will be absolutely no healthcare coverage for anyone!” Sam yells out, retreating back into his workspace and slamming down the papers in anger. 

Holding in your smile, you ask, “Killer nano-robots?” you inquire to the receptionist in front of you. 

“It’s an epidemic,” Wanda shrugs with a playful glint in her eyes, smiling at you.

You shake your head in amusement.  

***

“The problem, Y/N,” Sam starts. 

“Mhm,” you acknowledge, sitting across from him in the conference room. 

“Is that the people who are really suffering from a medical condition won’t receive the care they need, because someone in this office is coming up with all this ridiculous stuff.” He picks up a form. 

You listen with fake intrigue. 

“For example, Count Choculitis,” he reads out. 

You whistle. “Sounds tough.” 

“Why did you write that down, Y/N? Is it because you know I love Count Chocula?” he says with seriousness. 

“Do you?” you ask. 

“I think you need to confess,” he explains.  

“Mhm,” you nod, standing up out of your chair. 

“The fact-” 

“Yup.” You grab his keys from his desk. 

“What are you doing?” he asks in confusion. 

“What?” you ask, as you open the door and walk out. 

“Those are my keys, Y/N,” he tells you, slowly standing up out of his chair. 

“Good luck,” you tell him, starting to close the door on him. 

“Y/N!” he sprints after you, the door closing before he can stop it from closing. “Damn it!” he slams his palms on the door window in frustration.   

Locking the door completely, you hold the keys by their key ring to taunt him, then smile as you throw them behind your back where they land across the room. 

“Let me out!” he bangs on the door. 

“No, I don’t think I will,” you retort, plopping yourself down at your desk as you can’t stop the shit-eating grin on your face. 

***

You smirk as your phone starts to ring. 

“Y/N L/N,” you say mockingly as you answer. 

“Let me out,” Sam says immediately through the phone. 

“Who is this?” you reply, swiveling around in your chair to face him as he glares daggers at you. 

“Let me out or you’re fired,” he fights back. 

“No, you can’t fire me,” you say as you turn back around, putting your feet up on the desk. 

“Yes, I can, I’m the manager for the day,” he retorts. 

“Mhm,” you nod, not believing him for a second. 

“Clean out your desk,” he continues. 

“Ok.”you reply, when suddenly,  your phone rings again. “Can you hold on one second?” you tell Sam as if you’re speaking to a customer. “I’m getting a, uh, beep.” 

“No, don’t you dare put me on hold!” Sam shouts. 

You ignore him, answering the incoming call. “Y/N L/N,” you introduce. 

“Hey, Y/N, it’s Wanda,” you hear the smile in her voice. 

“Hey, Wanda!” you say enthusiastically,  “How are ya?” Wanda playing pranks with you was a long-time tradition in your friendship, and it was something you treasured very close to your heart. Plus, it made you fall in love with her even more every time. 

Sam bangs on the door, interrupting your train of thought. “For god’s sake, Y/N, open the door!” he shouts from the conference room. 

You ignore him, continuing your conversation with Wanda. 

“I’m doing good, how are you?” Wanda answers, watching you with a grin on her face. Playing pranks with you was probably one of her favorite things in the world. 

“I’m doing ok,” you respond through the phone. “Getting excited for the weekend though.” 

“Yeah, same, oh, I’m not bothering you, am I?” Wanda asks, biting her fist to hold in her laughter. 

“No, not at all!” You reassure, turning your chair to look over at Wanda as she looks back at you with her glistening smile. 

“No? You don’t have anything you’re doing?” she says mischievously. 

“I have absolutely nothing to do,” you shake your head. 

“Y/N! Sam yells from the conference room, banging on the door once more. 

“Yeah, no, this weekend, I’ve got nothing,” Wanda says on the phone with you. “I’m not really doing anything.” 

“Y/N!” Sam shouts again. “Stop flirting with Wanda and let me out!” 

“Might go to the mall,” Wanda continues. 

“The mall,” you repeat. 

“I need new shoes,” she tells you. 

“Oh, interesting, what kind of shoes?” 

Wanda finally breaks as she laughs. 

You smile, wanting to mess with Sam a bit more both for your entertainment and Wanda’s, you hold up your eraser to show her and she nods as she knows what you’re about to do. Turning around, you show Sam the eraser as well, then throw it directly at the window where he’s standing with fury in his eyes. 

“I tried being rational!” Sam shouts at you. 

***

“Tony, why did you leave Sam in charge of the healthcare plan?” Nat asks Tony, as he steps out of his office, the rest of the workers surrounding their boss in a circle. 

“What did he do?” Tony asks disinterestedly, reading over the magazine in his hands. . 

“His plan is awful, it’s basically a pay decrease,” Bruce explains to him. 

Seeing Sam walk out of his workspace as he finally unlocks the conference room door after trying to pick it for an hour, the workers start to shout at hiim in frustration. 

“Sam, what did you do?” Tony interrupts. “Didn’t you raise benefits?” 

“I most certainly did not,” Sam retorts, crossing his arms and glaring back at everyone who looks at him in anger. 

Tony sighs, exasperated. “I should’ve never let you do this,” he puts his head in his hand.  “Alright, everyone, go home, it’s after 5, I’ll call corporate and have this fixed by the end of tomorrow.” 

The workers mutter their distaste for the awful day they’ve had, starting to scatter and pack up their things.  

“This isn’t over,” Sam tells you as you and him both pack up your things at your desks. 

“Can’t wait, Sam,” you smirk at him as he scoffs back, bumping into your shoulder as he starts to walk out with his briefcase in his hand. 

***

After packing your messenger bag, you run up to Wanda’s desk, drumming your fingers on the ledge as you ask her if she would like to walk out with you. 

“Sorry, Y/N,” Wanda apologizes. “Vision’s on his way up now to pick me up so we can leave together.” 

“Oh, okay, no problem,” you assure, your heart slightly deflating as you hear about her fiance once more. 

“Thanks,” Wanda smiles.  

“Yeah, you too,” you respond. “Hey, uh, that was great, how you helped me out with messing with Sam.”

Wanda laughs. “Yeah, that was fun. You really got him today, it was awesome.” 

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you,” you tell her with a soft smile. 

Wanda looks at you with affection, and you stare back at her, admiring the infinite green swirls in her eyes. 

Clearing your throat you say, “So, um, I should probably head out.” You point to the door behind you. 

“Oh, yeah,” Wanda nods with realization. “Have a good night, Y/N.”

“You too, Maximoff,” you bid her goodbye with a wave. 

Closing the door behind you as you step out of the office, you sigh at the day you’ve had, chuckling slightly at how you messed with Sam. 

As you descend the flight of stairs to walk out to your car, a small smile makes its way across your face at the thought of a certain green-eyed brunette who always managed to brighten your day with just a simple look.

part 4

[fire-for-you]

well, look, that changed everything

|-<3-|

pairing - j. halpert x d. schrute

rating - gen. audiences (concussions, pre-relationship, bisexual jim, au - canon divergence, episode: s02e12 - the injury, fluff)

word count - 1,350

summary - "the injury" alt ending

a/n - wrote this in like 2 hours after watching the injury and seeing that couch moment. please enjoy! also I chose a daffodil for the symbol for this story becuase it symbols new beginnings

|-<3-|

“Finally, feel the... blood coursing through my foot veins,” Michael announced, twirling his wrapped foot. 

Dwight slumped over, groaning. 

Jim stood up quickly, walking over to the downed man. “Oh! Okay, I think we need to take him to the hospital, because... I’m pretty sure he has a concussion.” The salesman hoisted Dwight up, Angela at his shoulders. 

“Oh, now you feel some compassion for him,” Michael said snarkily. 

“He needs to go right now, and you’re his emergency contact. I think that you should go with him.” Angela retorted, steadying Dwight. The older man had his head in his hands, trying to keep it upright. 

“Why don’t you go with him?” 

“I, barely know him…” 

“I want Michael to take me,” Dwight finally spoke, sounding out of it.

“I can’t take you, I don’t have my car.”

“Please?” Dwight interrupted.

“-And yours is all vomity.” Michael finished.

Meredith stepped up, offering, “You can take my van!”

“Oh, okay, that’s great. No, I can’t drive. Jim, why don’t you drive.” 

“Fine.” 

“We’ll go. I’m still recovering. So let’s just, Ryan, could you get my coat, please?” 

Jim grabbed Dwight from his office chair, putting his arm over the taller’s shoulders. They walked toward the office door, Jim almost tripping them up. “Slowly, slowly. Let’s just get to the elevator.”

Dwight started making noise, what sounded like a helicopter. 

“What are you doing? What, stop, stop.” Jim said as they started falling on the couch. 

“Vietnam sounds.” 

A single “stop” was all Jim got out before his lips met Dwight’s. The force of the Schrute sagging onto the couch pulled the younger in, and now their mouths were connected. Not long after, Dwight pulled away, closing his eyes, oblivious to what just happened. Jim blushed; his face turned a violent shade of red. 

“Tired...”

It was the best kiss Jim ever had, but he had to worry about other things at the moment, tucking away the firm press of Dwight’s lips away for later.

“Just take a rake-” 

Jim found the spray bottle, squirting the man. 

“Wake up!” 

“Ahh!” Dwight jolted, sitting up. 

Pam came over, helping him stand. “Wait, here, let me help you, Dwight. Get up, get up.” 

“Okay, Pam, thanks. You’re the best.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Keep him awake.” Jim reminded her. 

“It smells like chicken soup.”

“I know.” They traveled out the door and to the elevator.

“I have to go to the hospital.”

“I know.”

“Where are we going?” 

“I just want to say goodbye, okay?” Pam said, looking at the taller. 

“I’ll be back, I mean…”

“Yes, I know, but it’s gonna be different.”

“Why?”

“It’s just... hard to explain,” Pam answered, shaking her head.

“Aw, Pam, you’re adorable.” He taps her nose, and she smiles. 

“Oh, my goodness!” She backs up a little; Dwight is swaying. 

He giggles as she pulls him in for a hug. “Come here.”

“Oh, huggy hugs.”

-

Michael pushes open the door, calling out, “Shotgun!”

Jim, face still pink but wearing off, asks, “You don’t think you should sit in the back with Dwight?” 

Michael tsks. 

To the doc crew...

“The rules of shotgun are very simple and very clear. The first person to shout “shotgun” when you’re within the sight of the car gets the front seat. That’s how the game’s played. There are no exceptions for someone with a concussion.” 

-

On their way to the car, Michael says, sounding disgusted, “Oh, God, a mini-van. What is Meredith’s problem?”

“Well, I think she has a kid,” Jim responds, Dwight still leaning on him. 

“Yeah, she has one kid, no husband. She’s not gonna find one driving this thing around.” 

“Where are we going?” Dwight asks as Jim opens the side door. 

“Come on, get inside.” 

“Where are we going?” Dwight asks again, gazing off in the distance. 

“We’re going to Chuck E. Cheese.”

“Chuck E. Cheese?” The camera swings to Michael. “Oh, God, I’m so sick of Chuck E. Cheese.”

“We’re going to the hospital, Michael,” Jim says as Dwight climbs into the van. 

“I know, just sayin’.”

-

Michael turns around to Dwight, seeing a bottle in his hand. “Dwight, what are you drinking?” 

“I found it under the seat.” 

Jim looks into the overhead mirror, Dwight smelling the bottle in the reflection.

“Oh my God, Dwight, put that down.” 

“I’m thirsty.” 

Jim leans behind the seat, spraying Dwight in the face. “Give the bottle to Michael.”

Dwight protests, slinking away from the water. 

“Give the bottle to Michael!” He sprays him again.

“I’m thirsty!” 

“Give it to me,” Michael demands. 

“No!”

“Dwight...” Michael faces Jim. “Just keep your eyes on the road. “Turning back to Dwight, he says, “Give me the bottle or you’re fired.”

 “You can’t fire me, I don’t work in this van!”  

“Give it to me, Dwight.” He reaches back for it as Dwight takes a drink. 

“No.”

“Give me the bottle!” Michael yells, still grasping for it.

Jim looks at the passenger seat. “Will you stop?”

“Gimme the bottle, Dwight!” 

“Michael, stop.”

Dwight takes another sip, groaning.

“Just give it!”

Jim retakes the spray bottle, spraying Michaell first and then Dwight, both recoiling. 

“Stop, stop it! Stop spraying!” 

Dwight is whining in the backseat as Michael finally grasps the bottle. 

“My eyes! My eyes!” 

-

“Dwight, what is your middle name.” 

“Danger.” The salesman responded, completely unfocused. 

Michael sighs, thinking. “Something with a ‘K.’” 

Jim answers for him, “It’s Kurt. Wow, I am so sad that I know that.”

“What do I write under ‘reason for visit’?” 

“Concussion.” He rolled his eyes as Michael scribbled something out. “What did you write?”

Michael clears his throat. “Nothing. I wrote ‘bringing someone to the hospital.”

“So you thought they meant your reason for coming to the hospital.”

“No… you know what, Jim, this isn’t about me anymore. I made a miraculous recovery, which is more than I can say for him.” Michael said, motioning to Dwight, who was falling over onto Jim, eyes closed. 

Jim sprayed as Dwight got too close to his shoulder. Dwight sat up immediately, saying, “Hi Michael!” 

“Hi, Dwight.” 

-

The phone rang, and Pam picked it up, saying her signature line, “Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam.” 

Jim responded, “Dunder Mifflin, this is Jim.” 

“Oh my God, what is going on, is Dwight okay?” 

“Uh-hmm, he should be fine, but, uh, they brought him in for a CAT scan.” 

“I can’t believe he’s getting a CAT scan.”

“Michael went in there with him too. It’s pretty sweet.” 

“Really? Michael went in with him?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Wow. Uh, hey, since you’re alone, I saw you kiss Dwight.” 

Jim flushed as it was brought up again. “Um. Yeah, it was an accident; I don’t think it meant anything.” 

“But it meant something to you, right? I mean, Jim, I’ve seen how you look at him. And you always try to get his attention with the pranks. You really gonna tell me there isn’t something there?”

“Damn, you are too good, Beesly.” 

“Mmm-hmm.”

“He’s not gonna remember.” 

“I don’t know about that. You should ask him when he gets better.” 

“Yeah, I’ll think about it. Talk later, Pam.” 

“Yep.” 

--

The next day, Dwight was back at work, there before Jim was, even though he lived farther away. Jim spent all night thinking about the kiss and how he could approach the other about it. 

It was Dwight who said something first, when they were both alone in the break room. 

“Um, Jim.” 

The taller looked away from his sandwich and into Dwight’s eyes. 

“I-I know I accidentally kissed you yesterday, and I just want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make you feel weird-” 

“I liked it.” Jim blurted, immediately covering his mouth in horror. 

“Yeah? Well, I did too. Can I take you out for dinner then? Tonight? At seven?”

Jim’s eyes were almost popping out of the sockets. “Yes. Yes! A million times yes.” 

Dwight grinned, getting up to kiss him on the cheek. “I guess I will see you later then.” 

The brunette beamed at him as he walked away. 

He’d never been more excited. 

you can also read this story here

|-<3-|

masterlist & other such things

|-<3-|

The Office (U.S.) masterlist

[jaggedwolf]

pll rewatch 2x04

The Great Gatsby billboard staring at them from above after they get an A text!! Conveniently in this sketchy location for the girls to maybe wonder if there’s a camera in that eye. Okay, maybe they didn’t wonder, but I sure did

Everyone did a solo session with Dr. Sullivan before Hanna does this episode, hmm. Emily might’ve talked about moving to Texas, Aria about her parents cheating or blustering on about something else, but I bet Spencer showed up, brought her homework, and said nothing.

When her mom stops her in school, Aria immediately assumes Ella wants feedback on her teaching. I’m starting to enjoy when Aria is like this to her mom because my opinion of Ella as a parent has sunk compared to my memory of her.

When Caleb makes fun of Lucas’s room being filled with toys, Hanna immediately defends them as collectibles. Hanna probably does get it, given her own 1001 handbags and shoes.

Wren sucks more every time he shows up, he is passing out drugs to his ex-fiance and should lose his medical license.

Sullivan: “I’ve talked with a lot of young people about loss” Maybe Sullivan specializes in teenagers, with a focus on grief. Give the Liars’ parents a half-point for finding a relevant therapist.

Hanna is guarded about saying that a combination of guilt, anger, and fear is what she feels about Ali - so far, the girls haven’t really discussed with each other the experience of being friends with Ali. They gesture to it, like with Spencer pointing out Emily’s easy acquiescence to Ali, but they do not expose their own vulnerability in depth to each other

And I think Hanna would be the least likely to do so with the others

Aria is forced to endure sports and I am forced to endure too many shots of shirtless dudes (in a Philly November? Wear a a shirt!)

At least Aria gets rewarded with getting to ogle Jason. That man’s biceps are gigantic and I did not recall this about Jason

Omg there’s more Emily/Samara scenes at swimming meets. RIP Paige hope you’re oblivious to this

Doubt she is, because Pam Fields is yelling DANBY all over the stands and you know Nick McCullers is going “see if you got anchor you would’ve gotten a guaranteed offer too and not mere interest”.

Nick McCullers exposing the letter lie after doing some digging would’ve been so funny and so bad and both Paige and Emily would have wanted to melt off the face of the planet

Spencer wishes she could sleep over at Aria’s :( Last time she wanted Emily to stay over. Someone be a nice non-threatening sleepover buddy for Spence already :(

Pam is extremely charmed by Samara, who talks about the challenges of glue guns and the delights of crafting (with her mom). Samara gives good parent.

Generally speaking I spent very little time contemplating Samara back in the day, but I appreciate the way she functions in the context of Emily and Pam’s mending relationship 

Samara does all do this before a second date though, which, wild. Wild as well is Emily telling her the letter is fake. The unearned guilt must be eating at her.

So, Hanna in 2x04. It is specifically helping Lucas with his Danielle date and him thanking her that drives her back to Sullivan’s office. With every Liar, there’s the damage that Alison does to the girl and there’s the girl’s complicity in Alison’s cruelty, and somehow it is Lucas saying he no longer sees the latter in Hanna that drives Hanna to fully reject the former. As I said above, I don’t think any of the other liars have gotten as far as Hanna does this episode in extricating Alison from herself. Hanna’s the only liar whose present version we’ve seen interact with Alison so far, and there’s no regression to her flashback behaviour. 

All of the liars felt chosen by Alison, and all of them had an angle Alison was working. The way Alison comes at Emily and Hanna, I think, is that both girls are experiencing adolescence as their bodies betraying them. But where I don’t think Emily’s personality was wildly different pre-Alison, for Hanna I always get stuck on Mona’s anecdote of Hanna as a child bowing after a successful backflip, even when covered in vomit. A kid happy to get attention, fond of some showmanship, in contrast to the more muted one in the flashbacks. That isn’t all Alison - female adolescence in general gets some credit - but it’s hard to separate it from Alison. 

Hanna’s imaginary Alison suggests Hanna is scared of the liars moving on from her. I don’t think this is (as of yet) a fear we’ve seen any of the others express, and it’s a fear that has no basis in the current liar dynamics, so that’s interesting. I do read Hanna as the most guarded in S1 about the gang getting back together. I like that her conclusion here is that this has nothing to do with the liars or Alison (or Ashley, or Caleb, or Mona, or god forbid her dad), that she has herself and always will. Am reminded of a different blonde teenager who replied to “Take all that away...and what's left?” with “Me.”

I thought she was wearing a robe when Lucas came by her house in the morning and I was so thrown that she was wearing the same outfit at Sullivan’s till I realized it was a regular top

Why is Aria so pissy about Mike not playing basketball? The audience knows it’s bad vibes but girl, your parents pay zero attention to what y’all do after school, that’s how you have so many hours to waste in Fitz’s apartment or hang out with your friends you are banned from seeing. Do you want to rock this boat. 

Emily wants to call Garrett when they all shadow Melissa and Wren. I STG Emily it worked out with Toby but not all sketchy-seeming men are worth your trust. Glad Aria is a “No” on calling Garrett

As the four liars approach the abandoned barn (1) Emily would like take a photo, to prove to the cops they are honest kids (2) Hanna would settle for not getting murdered (3) Aria wonders if Ian has a gun, because “he’s a bad guy” (4) Spencer is laser-focused on Melissa

Yeah, that tracks.

Best A message of the episode: NOSY BITCHES DIE, painted in red across the wall in Sullivan's office

[wearevillaneve]

What we don't talk about in the KE fandom.

Easily one of the best deconstructions of the repulsive way Killing Eve destroyed the four seasons of goodwill it built up was written by Vulture essayist Angelica Jade-Bastien's "Killing Eve Chose Cruelty". In four words, Jade-Bastien captured why weeks after the last gruesome minutes of the show flickered away from the eyes of horrified viewers it continues to burn and sear into their minds.

The fourth installment to the series, but particularly its last two episodes, demonstrates how far the show has fallen from the dizzying heights of its premiere. Gone is the delicious fashion pivoting on moments of transformation in the manner of fairy tales. Gone is the supremely precise characterization, replaced with a confused internal logic that jockeys the characters according to the needs of its threadbare espionage plotting. Gone is the spry presentation, achieved through blocking, editing, and costume and production design. But most important, gone is the tense cat-and-mouse game between Villanelle (Comer) and Eve (Oh) that acted as the engine. Killing Eve is a study in how jumping from different showrunners each season can leave a series without a profound singular voice — and it is evidence that a shallow understanding of representation and the female gaze isn’t enough to create a memorably good, cohesive story that gives a damn about the women onscreen. It amounted to a finale that gave once perpetually ravenous viewers a paltry version of what they wanted before snatching even that away.

Read the entire essay and it makes you feel better about the nonsensical trash Laura Neal dreamed up one night over too much cheap beer. Jade-Bastien brings up the one problem that predates Neal and the KE fandom hasn't talked about nearly enough.

This is a topic that many in Killing Eve's non-White fandom are well aware of, yet many of their White peers are oblivious to. Racism? In my favorite show? How could that be? Real easy.

The obvious and overt racism of Donald Trump or Kanye West is in your face and it can't be easily ignored. The soft, but pernicious bigotry practiced by the KE writers' room was manifested by keeping Eve an enigma from beginning to end. She was never given a family or life outside of her job, marriage, and the obsession with Villanelle that cost her everything. It's an irritation to know less about Eve than we do about Gemma, Geraldine, or Pam, but that's where we are. Eve was an enigma because she was never written to be anything else. A decision was made by someone to ensure nothing more than the bare minimum would ever be known about Eve. She was given a name and the bare bones of a backstory, and that's all.

For many in the KE fandom the Villanelle solo episode is their absolute favorite. It's one of my least favorites because it made erasing Eve official as Villanelle forgets all about her and so much so in "End of Game" even her name isn't uttered.

KONSTANTIN: I don't think you really want this.

VILLANELLE: I want it!

KONSTANTIN: You know what it means? It means you have to leave everything, the clothes, apartment… and her.

VILLANELLE: I know.

"...and her." "Her" has a name and it is Eve, but to Heathcote that wasn't important. That was a disservice to Sandra Oh, the actress who brought Eve Polastri to life even though she was not allowed to be more than a one-dimensional cut-out of a character. Remember Oh was one of the two stars of the show. This was one of those rare occasions where the titular lead character gets less fleshed out than multiple supporting ones.

That's not accidental. It was deliberate and it robbed Eve of her agency and autonomy. She really was little more than "an Asian woman with amazing hair." Eve was the lone woman of color constantly reacting in a world of Whiteness. Phoebe Waller-Bridge boldly chose to be colorblind in casting Sandra Oh as the very British and very White Eve Polastri and deserves all the credit in the world for it. Unfortunately, when she left she didn't leave any instructions to her successors on what to do with Eve, so they all chose to do nothing. After the show ended some sought to scapegoat Sandra Oh for the lousy last season stating as an executive producer she must have approved the direction the show went when Suzanne Heathcote and Laura Neal became the lead writers. Nobody knows how much input Oh had into the writer's room, but if she did that means she went along with a noticeable drop in screen time and the complete absence of a backstory for Eve. It's hard to believe any actor would deliberately reduce their own role in just the third season of a show, but that's exactly what some KE fans believe Oh did. They're the same ones who say Villanelle needed a stand-alone episode to explore her history, but have no issue with Eve being devoid of a past. This isn't racism in the Killing Eve fandom. Most of the fans don't show up that way. What they do instead is fail to notice how little Eve there frequently is in Killing Eve. It's not necessarily racism, which is bad, but it is erasure, which isn't good.

[lurkingshan]

My Ride: So Close We Can Taste It

This show. THIS. SHOW. I love the way this episode takes Mork and Tawan right up to the line of acknowledging what is happening between them–and then gives Tawan one final shock. Because Tawan is not quite done processing the trauma of what Por did to him, and this incident with Fern will be the final catalyst they need to get it all out in the open. (All gifs in this post by the great and good @gabrielokun, our #1 My Ride gif maker).

So, in this episode the show continues building on the careful foundation it set. Tawan goes home to heal from the drama with Por, but rushes right back because Mork misses him. Mork introduces Tawan to his nephew Khai (after messing with his head for a few minutes, the little shit) and takes him out on a family date. At this point, Mork is making his intentions very clear and Tawan is no longer oblivious. The way they were smiling at each other in this episode had me pterodactyl screeching over and over again. At this point, they both know they like each other and they are slowly inching their way toward making it official.

Enter Fern. @bengiyo pointed out that the Fern hug at the end of this episode plays on fandom’s trauma from The Great Pam Debacle of 2gether, sending us immediately into a doom spiral even though we all know Mork is simply being his kind self to his undeserving ex. And it makes perfect sense in this story that seeing Mork with his ex again would shake Tawan’s confidence, not because he doesn’t trust Mork, but because Por has just put him through the ringer and made him doubt himself. Por didn’t just cheat on Tawan, he told him he cheated because Tawan was not enough for him (Por did not get punched hard enough, as @neuroticbookworm said). So seeing Mork with his ex, it makes perfect sense that Tawan’s confidence about whether he is the right person for Mork would be shaken.

Luckily we only have to wait until tomorrow to watch these perfect sunshine boys clear up this misunderstanding and finally affirm what they are to each other. See you then, pals. 

(Also tagging @wen-kexing-apologist @callipigio @manogirl @chickenstrangers @kayatoasted @troubled-mind @blmpff @rocketturtle4 @sparklyeyedhimbo @negrowhat). 

[ohhappyday123]

Office Dynamics - Part 8: Pranks and Laughter

The day after the successful ByteSize meeting, the office was buzzing with a renewed sense of energy. As you settled into your desk, you couldn’t help but notice Jim glancing at Dwight’s desk with a mischievous glint in his eye. Pam caught your eye, and you both shared a knowing smile—today was going to be interesting.

Jim wandered over to your desk, leaning in conspiratorially. “Got a minute?”

You nodded, intrigued. “Sure, what’s up?”

He gestured for you to follow him to the break room, where he outlined his latest plan. “Okay, so you know how Dwight is always going on about the superiority of Schrute Farms? I thought it’d be fun to mess with him a bit.”

You raised an eyebrow, curious. “What’s the plan?”

Jim grinned, pulling out a small, wooden plaque. “I had this made. It’s an award for ‘Best Regional Beet Farm.’ I’m going to swap it with his ‘Assistant to the Regional Manager’ plaque and see how long it takes him to notice.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s brilliant. Need any help?”

Jim nodded. “Actually, yeah. Could you distract him while I make the switch?”

You agreed, eager to see how this would play out. As you approached Dwight’s desk, you struck up a conversation about the ByteSize meeting, knowing it would keep him occupied.

“Dwight, I just wanted to say, you did an amazing job yesterday. ByteSize seemed really impressed with your knowledge.”

Dwight straightened up, a proud smile spreading across his face. “Thank you, Y/N. I take great pride in my work. It’s all about precision and dedication.”

Meanwhile, Jim slipped behind Dwight’s desk, deftly swapping the plaques. He gave you a thumbs-up from behind Dwight’s back, signaling that the deed was done. You continued chatting with Dwight for a few more minutes before making your way back to your desk.

Interview with Y/N: “Pranking Dwight might seem a little mean, but it’s all in good fun. And it really does bring the office together. Plus, it’s hilarious.”

It didn’t take long for the rest of the office to catch wind of what was happening. Pam was the first to notice the new plaque, her eyes widening in surprise before she stifled a laugh. She quickly motioned for Phyllis and Stanley to look, and soon enough, everyone was in on the joke, quietly waiting for Dwight to notice.

Dwight, oblivious to the change, continued with his work, completely unaware of the amused glances and suppressed laughter around him. It wasn’t until he reached for his usual plaque to show it off to a client that he realized something was amiss.

“What the…?” Dwight muttered, staring at the “Best Regional Beet Farm” plaque in confusion. “Where’s my ‘Assistant to the Regional Manager’ plaque?”

The office erupted into laughter, everyone unable to contain themselves any longer. Dwight looked around, bewildered. “What’s going on?”

Jim, barely keeping a straight face, stood up and approached Dwight. “Looks like someone recognized your true calling, Dwight. Congratulations on being the best beet farmer in the region.”

Dwight’s eyes narrowed, but he couldn’t help the slight twitch of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Very funny, Halpert. Now, where’s my real plaque?”

Jim handed it back, still grinning. “Here you go, Dwight. Just wanted to remind you of your other impressive achievements.”

Interview with Jim: “Pranking Dwight is like a tradition at this point. It’s always good for a laugh, and deep down, I think he enjoys the challenge.”

Dwight rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his amusement. “You know, one of these days, I’ll get you back, Jim. And it’ll be legendary.”

Interview with Dwight: “Jim’s pranks are juvenile, but they do keep things interesting around here. It’s a game of wits, and one day, I’ll come out on top.”

The rest of the day was filled with a lighthearted atmosphere. The prank had brought everyone closer, and the laughter was infectious. Even Michael, who had initially been confused by the uproar, joined in once he understood what had happened.

During lunch, you and Pam sat together, still chuckling over Dwight’s reaction. “I have to admit, that was a good one,” Pam said, shaking her head. “Jim really outdid himself this time.”

You nodded, taking a bite of your sandwich. “Yeah, it’s nice to have these moments. They remind us not to take everything too seriously.”

Pam smiled, her eyes twinkling. “You and Jim make a great team. Both in pranks and otherwise.”

You felt a blush creep up your cheeks but smiled back. “Thanks, Pam. I think we do too.”

Interview with Pam: “Seeing Y/N and Jim work together on that prank was great. They bring out the best in each other, and it’s nice to see them so happy.”

The afternoon passed smoothly, with everyone still riding the high from the morning’s entertainment. Jim found a moment to pull you aside, his expression warm and affectionate.

“Thanks for helping with the prank. It wouldn’t have been as fun without you.”

You smiled, feeling a flutter in your chest. “Anytime, Jim. It was a blast.”

Jim leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “Dinner tonight? My treat.”

You nodded, excitement bubbling up inside you. “I’d love that.”

Interview with Y/N: “Jim and I working together on that prank was a lot of fun. It’s moments like these that make me realize how special our connection is.”

As the day came to an end, the office gradually emptied, the energy still high from the day’s events. You packed up your things, ready to leave for the evening when Michael called out to you.

“Y/N, great job today. And good work on the prank. It really boosted morale.”

You smiled, appreciating the compliment. “Thanks, Michael. It was a team effort.”

Michael nodded, looking thoughtful. “You’re really something special around here. Keep it up.”

Interview with Michael: “Y/N is like the glue that holds this place together. She’s got everyone’s respect and admiration, including mine. And she’s great at pranks. What more could you ask for?”

As you walked out with Jim, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of contentment. The day had been filled with laughter and camaraderie, strengthening the bonds between you and your coworkers.

Jim took your hand as you walked to your cars, his eyes twinkling with mischief and affection. “Ready for that dinner?”

You nodded, feeling a warm sense of anticipation. “Absolutely.”

Interview with Jim: “Days like today remind me why I love working at Dunder Mifflin. The people, the fun, and especially Y/N. She makes every day a little brighter.”

As you drove to the restaurant, you felt a sense of happiness and fulfillment. Life at Dunder Mifflin was unpredictable and sometimes chaotic, but it was also filled with moments of joy and connection that made it all worthwhile.

[izzy-art-879]

Here's Numbuh 162, the 2x4 Technology Officer and lover of rainbows of Sector QT! Here's some extra facts about her.

Her parents moved to Richmond before she was born.

Her last name Arcoíris is Spanish for "rainbow" which fits her love for rainbows and colors.

If she had to pick a favorite color other than rainbow, it would be pink.

She knows some Spanish from her parents and relatives but can't speak Spanish fully.

The name Paloma means "dove."

Her nicknames are Pam and Pammy.

She is considered very attractive and cute and pretty so many boys in her class and in the KND often flirt with her. However, she is oblivious to this and takes it as them being nice.

She creates new weapons and gadgets such as the G.L.I.T.T.E.R.B.O.M.B. and the S.K.A.T.E.B.O.A.R.D.

She not only loves Rainbow Monkeys, but also fashion doll brands such as Brittany (a parody of Barbie) and Scented Sheep plushes (a parody of Care Bears and Squishmallows).

She LOVES glitter and anything sparkly and cute! (She goes crazy for glitter! Make sure you never run out of glitter when Numbuh 162's around...)

She is the combination of Hoagie/Numbuh 2 and Kuki/Numbuh 3.

Her favorite Rainbow Monkeys are the Glittering Color Rainbow Monkey (which is colored rainbow, decorated in glitter and even glows in the dark) and the Theater Actor Rainbow Monkey (which may reference her secret crush on Monroe!).

Just because she's oblivious to some things and can be a bit of an airhead doesn't mean she's not smart. She has a high intelligence and is a skilled fighter.

She likes to sketch out her weapons before building them.

She acts as second-in-command whenever Cyrus is away or out sick.

She loves anime! Her favorite is the magical girl genre!