#so he communicates a lot through notes and some sign language

[meiliarotten]

could you do demo, sniper, heavy and medic with virgin reader?? I have a hc that medic has a big ass corruption kink and the idea of deflowering someone turns him on oh so much. And other mercs are just find readers shyness cute and trying not to hurt you but make you feel good!

Virgin Reader Headcanons (Demo, Heavy, Medic, Sniper)

🔞Minors DNI🔞

The Masterlist

💥 Demoman 💥

Demo definitely finds your shyness cute as hell, and he’ll let you know it too

He loves watching the way you go red from his gentle teasing

I think this would actually be his way of making you feel more at ease, playfully teasing and poking fun at some of the more awkward aspects of sex and first times

He would talk you through the experience, always making sure you're aware and okay with what he’s doing

He’ll probably make you come at least once before the “main event,” either fingering you or going down on you to help you loosen up a bit.

Definitely let him know that you’re enjoying what he’s doing! Feedback, people!

Not only does he enjoy it (*cough* praise kink *cough*) but it also lets him learn exactly what you like

🥊 Heavy 🥊

Caution is this man’s middle name when it comes to this scenario

Heavy “Caution” Weapons Guy. (This was funnier at 3:00 AM)

I am a massive dick Heavy truther, so obviously that factors in here

Not only are you gonna be having sex for the first time but you’re gonna be tackling that

Lube is a must, of course, and this man is about to become the king of foreplay

Lots of communication, and not just verbal, either. Heavy would be super attentive to your body language, taking note of any tension or signs of pain

Once you’re comfortable though, he starts to relax, probably letting you ride him so that you can control the pace while he lays back, admiring you

He is also the king of aftercare. You’re definitely gonna be sore afterwards, but he’ll make sure you feel thoroughly pampered

🏥 Medic 🏥

I feel like Medic, while he’s definitely aware of the delicacies that come with a person’s virginity, would absolutely treat the encounter like an experiment

How do you react to this kind of stimuli? What sensations do you most enjoy? Do you like pain?

Basically this guy’s head is full of questions and hypotheses

Which, to be honest, is how most first times go. It’s all about trial and error.

However, anon, I see your headcanon, and it has given me thoughts!

I think the initial “deflowering” would be a more calculated and gentle encounter

Afterwards though, Medic would definitely try to slowly introduce you to kinkier things- Exhibitionism, impact play, collars, the list goes on!

And of course, he treats all of this like an experiment too, studying you closely throughout every scene, watching your sexuality change and grow

You are a precious little specimen to him

🦘 Sniper 🦘

Foreplay will instantly become a priority

Even if you would prefer to simply jump right in, Sniper would insist on the importance of it

It’s almost like he has a checklist in his head- makeouts, leading to caressing, leading to groping, leading to… etc etc.

It couldn’t possibly be because he’s touch starved, of course not (/s)

While I don’t think he places much stock in “virginity,” he will respect those who do

As such, he’ll put in the effort to make sure your first time is a good experience

He takes this task seriously, but will occasionally find humor in it, especially if you’re the first to laugh

And of course, aftercare and cuddles are a necessity.

[buckets-and-trees]

Hehe I’m here with a dare 😏

So I’m such a sucker for angst but with a happy ending - I’d love to hear how you would go about writing a forced proximity meets the one that got away fic, from what I’ve read of your writing I feel like you’d really do those tropes justice

Alright, Em... let me stretch my fingers and get ready for this one...

I THOUGHT about this.

Ari Levinson

Modern AU - college and then mid-to-late-30s Ari

We're going to call this... er... maybe an "imagine-novella"? It kind of ended up being a 2500-word plot exploration. No content warnings, only some language.

You meet Ari in college. He’s tall and toned and tanned, always in a baseball cap unless forced otherwise, and he’s already sporting a full beard and looking good with it. He’s a couple of years older because he worked out of high school before for a couple of years - long enough to put enough away to pay for tuition without being a burden on his parents. When you meet him, it's when there's the huge club rush out on the quad your junior year. It's in the middle of campus in the first weeks of the semester so everyone does wander through by the nature of when and where it is. You see the table for the radio station on campus. Truthfully you don't even notice him at first. You're standing twenty feet away looking at the sign and thinking about whether or not it's worth it, maybe shake things up, you love music - you're that friend always making the playlists, discovering new songs and bands, dying to go to big music festivals, etc, and your campus has a radio station...

Someone else was talking to him as he's running that table, and they leave and then he sees you standing there, and, "Hey! You!"

It jolts you out of your thoughts and you're caught off guard for just a half a second, and go, "Me?"

He grins, "Yeah, you."

Your feet move before you even really think about it because ... that's just what you do when people call you over. It’s an instant crush for you but you try and reign it in, because he's excited that you're actually interested in the station, and you genuinely are excited about it. He's a Journalism and Communications major and the station manager, and so he gives you the pitch to come to an info meeting they're going to have, he'd love to see you there.

And you do go. Because... it doesn't matter that he's cute. The more you keep thinking about it, you decide it would actually be fun. You get a show, you make a lot of new friends with the other station people - some of them are total nerds, but they're all fun or nice or a little bit irreverent, and so station meetings once a month are fun. You're a good DJ. You have fun with your shows. Ari takes note - he appreciates it. The station is his baby. He puts everything into it. He's not outgoing, even though he's charismatic, but he can't help but gravitate to the people who really fucking love it like him. You don't get to know him super well that first year, but when it's time for him to appoint new directors to run the station the next year, he pulls you aside and says he loves what you've done with your show and wants you to think about applying for a director position.

You do. It's going to be your last year of college, the DJ gig hasn't been work, it's just been fun, and ... you love being part of the team, love to work on exciting projects, dig your hands into the dirt and make something great, so yeah. You throw your hat in the ring, because why not? And it could be an extra thing to go on your grad school applications.

Ari not only picks you for the team, he actually ends up picking you to be the director of programming, his number two, the one who oversees the DJs and putting together the roster for shows each semester. And that's what launches everything to a new level.

You lock down DJs that you want to come back the next fall, you both go away for the summer, but now you're texting somewhat regularly about ideas for the next year, things you'll work on, and the real working friendship develops. When fall semester starts and it's full speed on the ground, you and the team of directors really work to make the station great, but it's A LOT of you and Ari.

And to say he becomes one of your best friends senior year? Maybe. You tread that line because there's still that part of your heart that crushes on him, but the part that loves doing everything station and music and working on this big beast together? That's big. You let that be the focus. Because it's fun. And he's fun. And he's brilliant (like you, which is why he likes you) and ambitious (like you) and he's got this great, rich laugh that you get to hear a lot. And a lot of your other friends are busy with their senior years, too, and so are you, and so you don't mind any of the time you spend working on the station with Ari and the other directors and the DJs who are just this pack of a couple dozen people who come and go. But a lot of you and Ari.

And he doesn't date anyone. Not the entire time you know him. You heard/thought maybe there were some hook ups he indulged in during your junior year, but not that year before you both graduate. He clearly doesn't have time for a girlfriend and doesn't love anything more than the station, but you do think - just a little bit - just in the back of your head sometimes - that maybe you don't hear about him with anyone this year because... he's not going to date you - that would be unprofessional for you two and the station - but maybe it's because you are close. And maybe as you get closer to the end of the year... maybe he's going to make a move. He's always said he's already a confirmed old bachelor, but the way he smiles at you, the way he values your opinion, how often he says how amazing you are and how he appreciates you... you're going to be the girl who finally gets him.

But time is running out. And even though you both pour your hearts into the station together, there are never any late nights (those are given to studying, passing classes, etc). The last month, he says stuff like he's never going to see any of you again. Jokingly. You all laugh as directors because how could he mean it? He's made you all a family.

He makes more comments like that in the last weeks and days, and when he says he's going to shut down all of his social media, because he only had it to run and promote the station, you call him on his bullshit. And he says no. He's serious. He's going to go into journalistic photography, and he's going to create the network he needs where he needs it, but he's not playing the PR games to do it - the dream is wild nature photography, work in remote locations, never talk to humans again if he can help it. And it's so stupid. You tell Ari he's being ridiculous. He can't want to live so far off the grid.

"I'm sorry," he says, kindly but matter-of-factly. "But when we graduate, I'm never talking to any of you ever again."

You scoff. But this conversation is now just you and him in the station on a Saturday afternoon. But then you look at him for a half a second and really see his face. And you think he means it. "Ari, I did not give my fucking heart and soul into this station for the last year as your friend for you to never talk to me again. You at least owe me a lunch five years from now."

He smiles. "Okay. Maybe in five years. You find me in five years and I promise I'll take you to lunch."

And you graduate a week later, and he says goodbye, and you're not sad about it. Maybe just a bit wistful for what might have been. But after that specific "five years" conversation, you realize it was only you who was maybe a bit foolishly hopeful. He'd really never led you on. You never told him you had a crush (you had tried to keep it professional, because you did genuinely love the friendship) and he'd never given you or anyone else any illusion that he was there for anything other than working on the station and that bonding and camaraderie. If he had led you on, if there had been late nights, maybe you would've been hurt. But aside from being secretly hopeful, there really wasn't much harm done by your pining. But maybe in five years, you'll look him up for that lunch he agreed to.

He does fall off the gridl You take a busy summer job and then a paid internship in the fall, and you try and track him a bit, but you do just… get busy and move forward. You think of Ari a lot, but less and less as the time goes on. You know the name of the newspaper he was going to start off with right after graduation, and although he got rid of social media, he did have a beautiful website he set up for his photography. And you check that once in a while, but less and less. You get a fulltime job after the internship, and your life becomes even more full with the things that aren’t Ari, and sometimes you think about him, but most times you don’t.

When that five years rolls around, you start to think of him more again.

But you let it come and go.

You didn’t necessarily feel like you were living your best life, and if you were going to get one lunch to win over the one who got away and make him realize you were the love of his life… maybe you’d feel a little better – a little more accomplished, go to the gym more, be really something – in ten years.

Fleeting thought in ten years. Though you do think of him when you realize it’s that ten year mark. And you just kind of smile because ten years ago you was so wildly for him, and five years ago you was still a touch foolishly hopeful, and wouldn’t it be something if you did look him up now? But you really don’t need to anymore.

Then a couple of years later, you move to a new place, and without ever even trying, who else should somehow be living two doors down from you but Ari fucking Levinson?

And he sees you first. He’s just gotten home, opened the door from the garage into the house to be reunited with his good girl – a beautiful golden retriever who’s waited for him all day, walked with her trotting along at his side out to his mailbox, and looks down the street to see who’s just sending off the movers out of curiosity for who’s moving into the neighborhood, and he does a fucking double take because it’s you.

His god damn jaw drops and he laughs and then calls out your name.

You turn, hardly believing it but knowing that voice anywhere, and you laugh and shake your head. “Ari Levinson?”

You push the messy hair from the long day’s work of moving out of your face and are glad you’re not besotted for this man anymore, even if he does look like even more of an Adonis now, because you do know you look a mess, but you don’t even care. Having moved out of state for this dream job, you couldn’t be any more happy just to have someone from your past right at your new home base.

“’Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world!’”

He meets you halfway, and he pauses a beat away from you because he’s not a hugger, but somehow there’s just this draw to hug you, and so he does. Only surprising to you for a second, but you’re so tired and it’s been a good day but a long day, and you were excited for this move, but you can’t deny a familiar face just feels good, so you melt into him just for the comfort of it for a moment. It’s just nice.

And when you pull back, the obedient but attentive dog draws your attention, lighting your face up with a beautiful grin. “Can I pet your dog?!”

But the two of you are already drawn to each other and bonding before he gets the, “Sure, of course,” out of his mouth.

He doesn’t wear those old baseball caps every day anymore, so he pushes his hand through his hair, and that move has practically made women drop their panties for him over the years, but you don’t even notice, too busy showering affection on his sweet golden girl while the two of you exchange the kind of words two of the oldest friends do when they haven’t seen each other in ages. Why is his chest so tight and warm all at once. Why does he have the thought cross his mind that you showing up here feels like home? Why are you falling in love with his dog and not with him? Wait, why did he think that?

This feels like a slippery slope.

But maybe he doesn’t fucking care.

When he is back inside his house, starting to pull something from the fridge to heat up for dinner, he remembers that he promised you a dinner.

It’s later than you two made the deal for, but… he’ll start there.

Just old friends who are new neighbors.

That night when he’s plugging his phone in to charge before bed, he remembers that he never did get rid of your contact in his phone. You might have the same number.

What he doesn’t know is that when he left the harbor, sure, you waited with that boat hopefully for a bit, but then you finally took your ship and sailed – everywhere really – and you may be eager to fall happily in love with his dog and genuinely grateful to know you’ll have someone in your corner on this new adventure, but you want nothing more than that good friendship in your life. He was one of your greatest friends all those years ago. But you finally got over that pining crush, and here’s no way you’ll be foolish enough to fall for him again, nor do you want to. You couldn’t ask for more than to have your old friend as your new neighbor, with his gorgeous golden retriever.

Ari does text you that night… just a welcome to the neighborhood again, and that he thinks he owes you a dinner, if he remembers correctly (he does, he’s just being casually clever), so he’s gotta take you out tomorrow night.

And it is still the same number, but you fell into the blissful rest of your bed, exhausted after move in day, so you don’t even see it that night. It will wait until you get to it in the morning.

Just like Ari will have to wait for what he wants. And work to try to even bring you around again.

Will he have waited too long and you’ll be the one who got away?

[stay-dazed]

jock!hyunjin

note: female reader. this photo inspired this little blurb 🥹

imagine moving to a new school and coming across jock!hyunjin. he's a senior like you, and appears as your typical movie jock. the type that dates the captain cheerleader and pushes smaller kids into lockers. you're admittedly surprised when he approaches and rather shyly introduces himself to you. he runs his fingers through his hair a couple times - a nervous habit - and remains unaware of just how pink his cheeks become. jock!hyunjin tries to keep the conversation going, asking why you moved schools and if you'd like him to show you around. the two of you click almost instantly, and you come to realize just how far he is from an average jock.

within a week you two are best friends. he takes you out to eat after school in his dad's truck, he lets you wear his letter jacket, he facetimes you on the weekends and tells you about his upcoming football games. you never used to care about football. it's almost embarrassing just how fast you came to like it all because of him.

in the coming months, you learn a lot about jock!hyunjin. you learn that he loves photography and saved up to buy himself a camera by working as a busboy over the summer. he cried watching titanic and 50 first dates, he frequently picks flowers for his mom, and he's learning sign language to communicate with a kid in his class who's hard of hearing. he enjoys sports, cars, and roughing up his teammates, as well as painting sunsets, reading classics like pride & prejudice, and going for drives through the mountains.

you adore how jock!hyunjin is an absolute gentleman. he holds his arm out so that you can link arms with him in the school halls, he holds onto your books/backpack whenever you need, he threatens to fist fight anyone who bothers you, and he gets blatantly jealous when another guy flirts with you. he even carries some candy bars and pads on him when you're on your period, just in case.

when you both finally start dating, like everyone knew you would, you continue to attend his football games. and when the stray kids' team inevitably wins, you run onto the field to give him a big hug and a kiss. it makes all the other girls who fawn after him angry, but that doesn't bother you in the slightest. you help dress any gashes he manages to get while playing, and he watches you the whole time, his eyes full of what could only be described as awe. you have him as "hyune 🏈❤️" on your phone, while he has you as "lovergirl 🩵" (blue is his favorite color).

he comes over some evenings to eat dinner with you and your family, and then proceeds to quiz you in your bedroom to help you practice for an upcoming test. and while he may be allergic to cats, that doesn't stop him from cuddling princess, your clingy kitten. after he hugs your mom, shakes your dad's hand, and gives you a kiss on the cheek, he heads home. your mom proceeds to gush about how much she adores your boyfriend. "he's the perfect match for you!"

jock!hyunjin loves going on evening walks with you, where he finds tiny flowers and tucks them behind your ear before going back to interlocking fingers. other guys, the really insecure and hypermasculine ones, try to tease jock!hyunjin about how soft he is with you. but it doesn't bother him in the slightest.

"well i oughta be, my girl hugs me and naps on me a lot. thank you for noticing!"

[ratkingsocks]

Misc. Heart Pirates Head Canons

So, when I'm bored out of my brain at work I've been thinking about my silly little beloveds the Heart Pirates! So here are some thoughts I've had about them and the crew structure! Crew Structure

Not a traditional first mate or incredibly strict hierarchy. I figure Law's authority issues extend to how he runs his crew!

There's four "departments" basically where one of the core-four preside over.

Bepo is in charge of all the helm stuff: navigation, steering, general operations (maintenance of equipment, engineering)

Penguin is in charge of personnel: finances, crew schedules, supplies (clothes, food, yatta yatta)

Shachi is on weapons: armory & procurement of, training the crew, and any like recon they do is planned by him

Law handles all the medical stuff: yearly exams, extensive charts/notes on the crew, any on-going treatments, and the supplies for this specifically goes through him

As captain, Law does oversee/supervise the others if he feels it relevant but after like 13 years he's pretty confident his favorite idiots can handle themselves!

The tang runs on two shifts so someone is always around to keep the sub running in case of emergencies, as such there's often multiple crew members capable of a job (ex chef, helmsman, engineering, nurses)

All the crew knows how to handle alarms, any gauge or sonar readouts, and just generally keep everyone from dying

Most of the crew knows basic triage and first aid

Any Big Decisions (TM) are normally talked over. The crew has a lot of say in most scenarios... One of the few times this was not the case was Law ordering them to Zou when he went to Punk Hazard.

It was an intentional choice on Law & the crew's part that none of them were spotted on jobs and don't have bounties. A lot of the crew's work, especially early on in Law's plotting against Doffy, was gathering information and other covert work. Them being well known or recognizable would've made it impossible for this to get done... It also would've made hiding from Doffy that much harder.

The crew splits proceeds evenly! 50% goes to the Tang's upkeep and supplies, 50% is split equally between everyone else.

Named Crew Jobs

Law- Captain, Doctor

Penguin- Quartermaster

Shachi- Armsmaster

Bepo- Navigator

Jean Bart- Helmsman

Ikkaku- Head Engineer

Uni- Head Nurse

Clion Chef

Hakugan- Helmsman

The unnamed crew I do plan to flesh out eventually, but I haven't made a whole lot of headway in that direction yet... Some day I shall!

Silly HCs

Other than Bepo, everyone is older than Law

Penguin likes to sing

He also has collected rocks & shells from every island they've stopped at to make a living map of their travels.

I personally like to think of Shachi & Peng as some sort of fishman-human hybrid or perhaps a few generations removed from a fishman ancestor? Not super sure on how it works exactly, but I think they both look a lil odd and that's why they hide their eyes and such with hats.

Ikkaku handles Law 2nd best only to the Core 4. She knows when he needs space and when he needs to be pushed pretty well, and so they're pretty close.

Uni loves to sew; it's how he relaxes and passes time while they're underwater for long stretches of time. He is also the person who customizes most of Law's clothes with their jolly roger

Law did said customization before they recruited Uni and still helps, but Uni shoves him off often and says this is his therapy time alone

Clione takes to new members the best

He's also a great fighter and definitely yeeted Shachi into a wall one day; Shachi was delighted with this

He can drink most of the crew under the table

Hakugan is enby! And uses they/them pronouns

They also communicate with sign language, so the entire crew is relatively fluent

Hakugan is never lost; they have a 6th sense for where north is at all times

Much like their namesake, Hakugan is a volatile creature prone to violence

Shachi likes to keep up with psychology journals in his free time, so sometimes he & Law will have a little "medical journal book club" to hang out

Bepo is more an astronomy & weather guy... there was, however, a tragic mix-up with the news coo one time that resulted in Bepo getting an astrology magazine.

He likes to torment Law by teasing him with a well placed "That's so very libra of you, captain."

Law actually likes his coffee absurdly, disgustingly sweet

Penguin, however, takes his coffee black

Shachi & Bepo are 2 of 3 members of the Hearts without a caffeine addiction. Hakugan is the third

Penguin has given up trying to get Law on a schedule... It has never worked in their 13 years sailing together

Law had to implement a "no gambling on the tang" rule shortly after Hakugan joined; They were absolutely taking everyone else's money

Law does, however, actively encourage fleecing marines & rival pirate crews

The crew has picked up some Mink social behaviors! As such they're very physically affectionate... Yes, even Law. Though he tends to contain his affection to when they're in private or on the Polar Tang

It's super common to see the crew swap undershirts, jewelry, or other accessories

Bepo has a collection of his crewmates' shirts! Uni made it into a quilt for him since he can't exactly wear them properly

Everyone else has a "Bepo shirt"

Ikkaku tends to forget she's wearing hers while working on the Tang or to sleep then walks about. Whenever Bepo sees this he gets all flustered & teary-eyed

Law, similarly, wears his to sleep in regularly. He would rather be caught dead than wearing though. That's way too mushy for him.... but if there are days where he's still wearing it when Bepo comes to check on him in the morning, well, nobody has to know but them right?

Shachi & Penguin one time wore their Bepo shirts and attempted to force Bepo into their shirts which... obviously did not fit. Undetered they stitched the two together to the ultimate-bros-shirt. Bepo loves this shirt & wears it regularly.

Shachi & Penguin remake this shirt whenever the old one starts wearing down or falling apart every few years

(I took this one from a fic cuz I thought it was just so good) Between more junior members of the crew, it's a running gag that Law, Shachi, & Penguin are more "lesser mink" than "human" after 13 years with Bepo.

Law finds this absolutely hysterical, Bepo says they're all lesser minks

Law is, in fact, capable of a variety of animal noises such as growling, hissing, or purring. He normally makes this noises on accident when startled or particularly relaxed. He did not intentionally learn to make these noises. He was just an incredibly weird child and like many weird children before and after him, mimicked animals

Shachi & Penguin may or may not make fun of him for this

They may or may not have started the rumor that one of Law's parents was a mink; a rumor that Law has unintentionally perpetuated with his general wet cat behavior

Penguin's family were whalers! He uses a harpoon & is a fantastic fisher as a result

The above makes him Clione's favorite

Penguin often threatens Shachi with the harpoon so he may join his bretheren. Shachi shrieks back that orcas are not whales but dolphins. This is a near weekly song & dance.

Each of the "core four" have a way to show they accept a newbie into the crew!

Shachi carves a little wooden animal

Penguin embroiders their name inside their boiler suits

Bepo trades clothes with them

Law procures a custom mug decorated to their taste

Law normally gives his first, actually. Firstly, if he invited you to his crew he already likes you well enough. Two, he knows he can be an unapproachable dick and sees it as a bit of a peace offering. Three, to show the rest of the crew this new person is approved!

Shachi & Penguin gives theirs whenever they feel the new member has "earned" it. Normally 2nd/3rd in whatever order they deem.

Bepo basically always gives his last. He's a very anxious lil guy and doesn't want to disturb or weird anyone out.

Jean Bart is, ironically, the only crew member to not have concussed himself on the doorways in the Tang

Law had a few problem years after his sudden growth spurt, but it hasn't been a problem since he got used to being taller

After reuniting on Zou there was a crew wide cuddle puddle

Law is surprisingly tactile so long as it's on his terms. A head pat there, brushing his hands against a cheek or shoulder there... That kind of thing

This is generally the best indicator of how much he actually likes you

Law often stims using Bepo's fur or paws. Bepo loves this very much

[s4toryuu]

inumaki headcanons — 1

notes: bc im losing it and i love toge too much.. also numbered for future masterlist because there will be multiple hcs!! —also not x reader bc not everyones into that but truuust next hc will be x reader

part 2

he mostly communicates through notes app and signing but since it’s annoying to pull up every time he just resorts to body language and signaling to things

he knows that he can probably say a lot of words but he’s too scared ever since some kind of incident in his childhood

he can definitely say other nouns but when he says people’s names, that person automatically anticipates a command or smth so he just refrains from saying anyones name

despite him being a troll, there’s definitely a side to him that wishes people took him more seriously

he can type like 150wpm due to it being his only straight way of communication LMAO

texts with chronically online slang

absolute menace outside of assignments and school (see: maki’s skirt incident)

kind of likes that his onigiri language can piss people off

can’t lose arguments

really fcking funny on tw1tter and on his ig spam

like he’s actually hilarious and probably has a couple thousand followers

he doesn’t tweet a lot or post a lot but when he does it’s stupidly funny and genius wit

his hair looks a little like back it did when he was a first year when he wakes up in the morning

I feel like he’d like hot chocolate idk he just looks cozy all the time and I associate it with hot choco

his body temp runs on the warmer side

he’s a twice fan idc I don’t make the rules

has never once used his cursed speech for malice

at least not for anything serious

like he definitely got free candy or something when he was little from a candy store, “give me free candy” idk

he’s one of those “sigh.. this generation” people who say that whenever they’re out and everyone’s on their phones

but actually it’s just cuz he likes spending time with his friends so he wants everyone to be present

he just mutters “okakaaa” with a sigh and dramatically rolls his eyes while him and the second years wait for their food in mcdonalds

maki’s like “what now” and he points to their phones and mocks how they’re sitting like capital Cs

more soon!

— reqs [open]

[reina-tries-2-write]

The Space Between Sounds

Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Territory

SYNOPSIS: What will your first day at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech entail?

WC: 3.2K

AUTHOR'S NOTES: The story switches between your POV and Toge's between the asterisk cuts. Any descriptions of sign language will be referencing ASL not JSL since I don’t know it. This is my first serious work so I hope you enjoy!

masterlist - next

You step off the train onto the platform in Tokyo, stomach churning with anxiety. The station is noisy, louder than you expected and the ambient volume is a lot to take in. The buzzing and humming is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before and it feels like electricity is running through you.

Scanning the crowd in the station, your eyes finally land on the person you’re looking for. He’s not hard to spot since he’s easily over six feet tall and wearing a blindfold which only makes him stand out further. You walk over and greet him which he eagerly reciprocates before leading you out of the station.

The two of you don’t talk as you make your way through the massive city that you are spending most of your time gawking at. You lived in a remote village and had never seen a building taller than four stories so the city was quite the shock for you. It was beautiful and a lot more colorful and busy than you expected which was honestly a little overwhelming but enjoyable nonetheless. The towering skyscrapers reflected the mid morning sun in a dazzling display that sparkled in your vision as you took in the colorful lights and people of the city.

Today is your move in day at Tokyo Jujutsu Tech and you are incredibly anxious about it. Sure, anyone would be nervous about moving five hours from home for university but you have an extra reason to be nervous.

Aside from missing the first month of classes, the thing about you is…

You’re deaf.

You can read lips and speak fine, or at least well enough to be understood, but you still battle a communication barrier. It can be quite frustrating at times as well. When people find out you’re deaf but can read lips, they often exaggerate their mouth movements as they speak which only makes it harder for you to understand them.

You find yourself nodding and smiling along with strangers quite often, having absolutely no idea what they are saying to you.

Back home, your friends Mari and Kai were the only ones who weren’t weird about you being deaf and took the time to learn sign language with you. You had a blast teaching them in middle school and the three of you were super close throughout the rest of middle and high school.

The three of you went off to separate colleges but promised to do your best to keep in touch despite being so far apart. You were definitely going to stay in contact with then since they’re your best friends, number one supporters, and honestly, the best people in your life. They’re more like family really.

You snapped yourself out of your thoughts of your friends and back into your anxious reality as the blindfolded man, Gojo, lead you up a dark cobbled path onto campus.

As you walked closer and closer, the buzzing, humming, and crackling in your ears got louder. Despite being deaf, you can hear cursed energy, and is louder the stronger it is. That being said, Gojo is pretty damn loud and so is the campus.

Regardless of the volume, it is really nice, set in the woods just inside the city and has beautiful traditional architecture. There are several different types of housing buildings on the campus along with student housing of course.

There is also a large training area with multiple accompanying buildings, and more official looking buildings where classes and other meetings are probably held, in the middle of campus.

There are some nice secluded corners of the campus too with ponds and shrines and small places to spend time in nature.

Gojo leads you to a dorm building and you take a deep breath of the crisp September air before walking up the three wooden steps. After the front door closes behind you, you sigh lightly in relief at the welcome, slightly quieter atmosphere.

Your room is nothing crazy fancy but it’s still very nice. Your belongings have already been delivered and are neatly sitting on the wooden floor in the middle of the room.

All of the furniture was wood but was in very good condition, clearly new and well taken care of. The bathroom was pretty plain, white tile and vanity, a shower with a small bench inside, and a small cabinet under the sink. You take in the warm wood of the room, breathing in the smell of varnish and a fresh citrus-y cleaner. The only noise in the room was the loud crackling and buzzing of Gojo’s cursed energy blaring in your ears.

After looking around, you turn to him to await further instruction, having no idea what you’ll be doing today.

“Alright! Now I’ll give you a quick tour of campus and then you can meet the other first years.” He tells you.

You nod your head nervously and follow him out of the dorm. Despite the fact you are able to speak, you prefer not to. Mari and Kai had described your voice to you on one occasion and, through no fault of their own, made you extremely self conscious about it. You knew you didn’t sound normal and had what is called a ‘deaf accent’ which only made you even more different. Needless to say, you never speak unless you absolutely have to.

You hated the way people reacted when you did speak— the way their eyebrows would knit together, and their smiles would falter, told you everything you needed to know. It was better not to try. Better to just be silent. Stay in the background.

Gojo takes you around campus and explains some day to day activities, giving you a mini version of the orientation that you obviously missed. Walking by the training arena, you spot four people at work. Well, three people and a panda to your utter surprise.

Noticing your intrigue, Gojo explains that they are the other first years and that you’ll get to meet them soon. You watch a guy with platinum blond hair and the panda goofing off which makes the girl cross her arms and shake her head as if to fake disdain for their antics while the other guy laughs along.

They all clearly knew each other pretty well at this point and that only made you feel even more excluded. Not only were you going to have to learn how to read them, get to know them, and be accepted, but you were going to have to figure out how to communicate without talking if possible. You didn’t want them to think any differently of you.

Well, more than they initially would.

Were you going to be able to fit in with them? What were they going to be like? Particularly the panda. Was he able to talk? Would you be able to read him? What if you couldn’t?

After a tour of the buildings, Gojo lead you down the stairs into the arena where the other students were still training. He greets them and instructs them to come over to meet you. The humming-buzzing noise gets louder as they approach and you are able to tell that the taller guy is the loudest which only makes you more nervous. He’s almost as loud as Gojo and you know he’s freaky powerful.

Your only goal today was to try and fit in. Okay just get through introductions without looking like an idiot. If you can do that then maybe, just maybe, this whole new life— your fresh start— wouldn’t be so terrifying. Yeah. You got this. You had to. You couldn’t survive four years alone without anyone who understood you. Back home it was so easy to slip into the background unnoticed. But there were so few of you here you had to fit in. You’d just be a burden to them if you couldn’t. You had to be seen— useful for once.

You get increasingly nervous as they all stand around you and you begin to fiddle with your bracelet, plucking at the beads with shaky fingers as Gojo introduces you to them, simply saying your name and explaining that you’re deaf.

You wished he would have said more and you looked up at him, eyes pleading to give a better explanation. You desperately wanted to fit in. But he didn’t look over at you.

You give everyone a timid wave and notice the guy with platinum blond hair seems to take particular interest in you, his thin brows raised curiously. Unfortunately for you, he’s got a high collared sweater covering his mouth so you won’t be able to read his lips.

Everyone goes around and introduces themselves to you but, as usual, you have no idea what their names are. New words you’ve never seen spoken before, names in particular, were very difficult for you to lip read.

The girl seems a bit standoffish, crossed arms and raised brow, but looks relatively happy to have another woman around nonetheless as she looks you up and down with a bit of approval. You get the feeling she’s pretty intense and despite having the least amount of cursed energy, you’re most definitely intimidated by her presence and sizing you up.

The taller guy seems pretty tired, eye bags and slouched posture, and a bit shy due to his timid wave and smile. But he gives you the impression that he’s pretty easy going and approachable despite the massive amount of buzzing cursed energy he’s struggling to control.

The panda eagerly introduces himself but since you’ve never exactly spoken to a panda before, you have no idea what he says at all. He then gestures to the blond guy and seemingly introduces him since he doesn’t speak to you. Or you don’t think he does anyway. He gives you an eager wave, eyes crinkling with his assumed smile.

Great.

You still had no idea who any of them were. Not to mention, you’re particularly anxious about how you’re going to communicate with the guy who covers his mouth. Hopefully that wasn’t a regular thing with him. Could he even speak? The panda did introduce him and for all you knew, he could be deaf too. You highly doubted that though. He would have signed to you if he was, right?

****************************************************

Gojo told us that the final first year would be arriving today and we were all curious as to who they would be. I got genuinely a bit disappointed at having yet another person who wouldn’t understand me but that’s just how things are for me. Always have been, always will be.

We were in the arena for afternoon training when we heard Gojo come in. With him is the new student, another girl to Maki’s clear intrigue. The pair make their way down the stairs and we meet them at the bottom for introductions.

“Hey guys! This is our final first year Y/N! One important note is that she’s deaf but she can read lips so we’ll do introductions now!” Gojo chirps in explanation.

She gives us a shy smile and wave before continuing to fiddle with the bracelet around her left wrist. She looked absolutely terrified of being here, out of her element and around people who she clearly couldn’t understand. She nodded and smiled along with everyone’s introductions but I know she had no idea what we were saying.

I’m very used to getting that look when I speak. The awkward smile and glimmer of confusion in their eyes, stiff and nervous body language, being obviously uncomfortable and suddenly reserved— I know all the tells.

But something about her quietness was different. It was like she was escaping into her world of silence whereas my quiet was just something I was used to. Something that just inherently came with me.

I felt genuinely bad that she wasn’t understanding but of course there wasn’t anything I could say to help the situation. Panda introduced me and I did my best to be welcoming and approachable. I could tell she had extra no idea about Panda and I, probably because she’d never spoken to a panda and it was difficult to read his lips. Well, snout. Whatever.

I’ll have to do a proper introduction with her later when I can type or write something up. I didn’t want her to feel isolated. I know what that’s like too.

****************************************************

After the very unhelpful introductions, Gojo tells them to resume their training and says that you can just watch for the time being as the allotted afternoon training time was almost over. You nodded and sat down on one of the benches as the others continued.

The girl wielded a polearm and was clearly very talented with it, sparring with the Tired Guy who’s weapon of choice was a katana. The Panda and Blond Guy didn’t wield weapons and instead goofed off a bit and worked on their physical fitness, doing a few laps around the track and the like.

Training ended a little bit before dinner time and you walked back to the dorms with the others, behind them on the dirt path. Blond Guy looked back at you a couple times, his expression hard to read and you hoped he wasn’t being judgmental even though he most likely was.

You weren’t very hungry due to the large meal you’d eaten on the train a few hours ago so you simply headed off to your room to unpack. Plus you wanted an escape from the loud buzzing of cursed energy that was going to take some getting used to.

You started with your litany of clothes, filling up your closet before you started on the mess of boxes. You hadn’t exactly organized them very well in your rush to pack and you had to dig through them to find everything you needed as you went.

The room quickly turned into a mess, items scattered all over the place as you looted through boxes and simply dumped a few of them out on your bed to rifle through the contents.

But a couple hours later and your room was complete, reflecting your bedroom back home, your style, and personality as you liked it to. It was an extension of yourself in a way and you felt much more at home now that it was decorated and the like.

Okay. Nice and organized and just like home. Yeah. This is good.

It was now your new sanctuary in this new and honestly overwhelming place. Despite your orientation, you were still pretty clueless as to what was going on around here and you struggled to keep up with the fast pace of the place.

It was well after dinner time when you got hungry and thankfully, one of the few things you understood was that the kitchen was communal and you had free reign to use whatever you’d like unless it was clearly marked with someone’s name.

You made yourself a simple sandwich and as you finished, you heard the buzzing increase like someone was walking toward you. This noise was more of a humming that wasn’t overwhelming and had an almost pleasant pitch. Like a machine quietly whirring as it worked intently on its task.

Cursed energy noises— that was your one and only auditory cue as to your surroundings and since most everyone had some amount of cursed energy, you learned to tell where people were relative to you.

****************************************************

I ran into Y/N later that evening in the kitchen on my way to get something to drink. She had her back turned to me as she prepared something on the counter and as much as I wanted to approach her, I didn’t want to scare her or anything by suddenly appearing or tapping her shoulder.

So I stood there a bit oddly as I contemplated how I wanted to approach but a few seconds later, she turned around. Thankfully she didn’t look surprised or scared about my presence and I chalked it up to her having felt my footsteps as I walked in or something. That or she just wasn’t a jumpy person and was used to others randomly appearing.

She looked really troubled, her brows furrowed at seemingly nothing and her shoulders slouched as she held a blue ceramic plate with a simple sandwich on it.

Looking up at me, she froze, eyes wide for a second.

Did I scare her? Was there something intimidating about me? Was it because it was just the two of us in here? I didn’t want to be threatening.

She blinked a few times before she gave me an awkward smile before her expression fell even further than it was before.

I did my best to ask if she was okay but she didn’t pick up on it immediately. But after a few seconds, she understood and shrugged her shoulders in answer before looking down at the plate in her hand, expression conveying some sadness among other things.

She holds her hand up in an odd goodbye of sorts, almost as if to stop me from asking or saying anything before she scampered off to her room, shutting the door loudly.

What was going on in her head? Was I not as approachable as I thought? Or was something else going on? She probably had a very overwhelming day and another social interaction might be too much for her right now. I wasn’t offended at her awkward departure, I was just worried and confused about what she was thinking. I didn’t want her to feel isolated here.

****************************************************

Turning around, sandwich in hand, you saw Blond Guy in the kitchen behind you. He gave you a smile and wave before his expression changed. His brows furrowed and his head tilted to the side ever so slightly.

Your eyes widened as you froze in place.

How were you gonna communicate with him? The one person around here that you can’t understand at all. Was he gonna think you were weird for smiling and waving and gesturing instead of talking? Would you be able to fit in here with him?

He pointed to you and then gave you a hesitant thumbs up. Your own brows furrowed in confusion before you realized he was asking if you were okay.

Are you okay? No, not really. You were overwhelmed and exhausted and hungry and terrified of what tomorrow was going to be like.

But you give him an awkward smile before shrugging your shoulders and diverting your gaze from his violet eyes to the sandwich on your plate.

You notice what looks like a frown on his face, again you still couldn’t see his mouth, but the rest of his face conveyed it fine.

Oh god, what is he thinking? Does he think you’re weird? Does he not like you? Is he scared to try and communicate with you?

You hold your hand up briefly as a goodbye of sorts before sheepishly heading back to the quiet of your room.

The weight of the day settled onto your shoulders as you shut the door behind you. For a moment, you stood there, leaning your forehead against it, letting the quiet calm you down.

Finally, a space where you didn’t have to try so hard.

[a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual]

These Nimona headcanons have been sitting in my notes for like two weeks

I just know Bal and Ambrosius were those kids who had to be put on opposite sides of the room in class

And a lot of teachers assumed that they would just give up and pay attention but no

They’re some stubborn little shits who can't leave each other alone for more than five minutes 

And while they were on their breaks they went through the options of “long-distance” communication (because yes these dramatic dorks consider ten feet long distance)

Notes? No that could be tracked back to them

Sign language? No that's too noticeable 

They finally landed on morse code (because these losers would rather learn a dead language than wait to talk to each other)

Now you might be thinking “Roo wouldn't Bal be too focused on the lesson to talk to Ambrosius?” 

No this little nerd records all of their lessons so he won’t miss a single piece of information  

After they became fluent the only thing you could hear in class was the teacher talking some tapping here and there and Ambrosius and Bal holding back laughter with every fiber in their being 

I also know these dorks would choose each other for every single activity 

It got to a point where teachers would beg them to choose other people 

They would listen for like one day and then go back to working with each other 

These losers have known each other for so long that they can read each other's minds 

All they have to do is look at each other and they’re angry or laughing or blushing 

When people point it out Ambrosius will say he doesn’t even notice it anymore 

Bal will say it’s as natural as breathing 

And Nimona calls it creepy as fuck

They could also fill a book with the most random inside jokes most of which they don’t even really remember the context of 

The main trio are fiercely protective of each other 

Bal only got into a handful of fights back in the institute and it was all because someone got a little too comfortable and started talking shit about Ambrosius  

People lost count of how many fights that Ambrosius got into 

After a while Bal stopped wasting his breath by begging Ambrosius just to ignore them and bought a cool quality medkit 

The number of fights Bal got into skyrocketed after the wall fell 

While the majority of society saw the trio as heroes there were still some who called Nimona a monster and Ambrosius a disgrace

And most of those people couldn’t say anything afterward because their jaws were broken 

There was an incident in the market which was could be summed up as Ambrosius holding a man at knife point while threatening to cut his tongue out if he ever heard him call Bal a murderer again 

After Nimona came back the fights increased tenfold 

The first time Nimona and Ambrosius went to the market alone they came back bloody and bruised 

It wasn’t until Bal checked the news that he found out those dorks started a fucking riot 

There were also rumors that a man was missing a tongue but Bal hoped those were just rumors 

One time the three of them went out to dinner and some dumbass tried to jump them 

They claimed that it’s what Gloreth would have wanted 

Bal had to drag Ambrosius off of him while Nimona was egging him on

The first time that Nimona and Bal kidnapped Ambrosius from his office was undeniably the worst 

He hadn’t eaten or slept in days and he looked like he was ready to keel over 

And a couple of people dared to try and stop them 

Claiming Ambrosius “still had work to do” 

Nimona looked them dead in the eyes and said “If you don’t let us walk out of here I’ll make sure you never walk again” 

No one argued with them after that 

Bal told Nimona he was proud of them for keeping their cool

And Nimona replied “Thanks but I definitely broke someone’s foot on the way out”

He couldn’t even get mad at her because he broke someone’s hand

Bal says they’re the reason he’s getting grays in his early 20s 

To which Ambrosius responds “Moonbeam you came home yesterday with a broken nose and busted knuckles don’t talk to me about gray hair”

[st4rrmii]

Lucien Throughout The Years

(Close ups+some backstory under the cut)

First day of Camp Cretaceous

Age:14

Very reserved at this point, does not verbally speak due to selective mutism and prefers to communicate through notes or sign language. His Dad sent him to CC (he has his connections) due to his mental health deterioration after a few not so great events in his life. Uses walking sticks/crutches due to undiagnosed hypermobility. Ben immediately became a "safe"/"special" person for him, especially because Ben was the only other camper who knew sign language.

Coming Home

Age:15

Turned 15 while on Nublar. Is able to communicate vocally with the campers now, though still uses sign language with Ben from time to time. A lot less shy and scared all the time. Has a bit of a hatred for humans and vows to protect dinosaurs after the Mantacorp incident. Closest to Ben (both figuratively and literally, they dind out once they're back home that they've lived no more than thirty minutes away from each other all their lives) and still keeps in touch with him frequently. Very relieved to be home with his dad now that he knows he's still kicking.

1 Year Post Incident

Age:16

Lost his father to his sickness less than a year later after returning home, which has put him in a deep depression as he regrets losing almost a year with his father just to go to a camp despite knowing he was sick. Both he and his little sister have now moved in with Ben and his mother. Ben tries to help the best he can but it's difficult. Ends up leaving for 'a job opportunity' a few months after his father's death, coming back a little under two years later.

Chaos Theory

Age:21

Doing a lot better mentally, though Brooklynn's death did take a toll on him for a while, as he considered her one of his best friends, luckily he had Ben and Ben had him to be there for each other. Also got a major growth spurt due to his fathers genes finally kicking in after being on T for a few years, putting him even taller than Ben. Works on a dinosaur sanctuary, though Ben knows his job goes a lot deeper than that, even if he won't tell anyone. Designs prosthetics for injured dinosaurs. Is dating Ben.

These aren't his full lore, and there's a TON missing, but I'll go more into that some other time, I just wanted to add some key points of these stages of life for him.

[outerexpanse]

downpour headcanons + designs :)

Thoughts on each under the cut, some contain direct spoilers. (Lots of writing)

Note for pronouns listed: These are just my HCs, use whatever you prefer or see fit. :)

Gourmand: She/He/They Full of love and oh so happy with life. Simply went out into the world for FUN and to learn more, why not? Respected and highly regarded at the Home Tree as one of the smartest slugcats around. Coming up with ways to make meals more filling is always important with so many slugcats! Gourmand returns with many regions mapped out, and thus gives way to more slugcats to explore as groups and create homes for themselves. Teaches about the taming of lizards, and to take care when doing so. What was an incredible enemy can make a greater ally. All around a very positive, happy-go-lucky slug to me.

Artificer: She/Her I wanted her to design to be .. fire-esque with the markings like flames in a way. Obviously very troubled, so incredibly lonely because of it as well. She's afraid of connections, what if the past repeats? It would hurt too much. That SAID.. she will find her way to Outer Expanse and be welcomed with open arms. Prior, I think she was apart of a small nomadic family of slugcats so the Home Tree is something else entirely new. Arti could, in this scenario, take on the role of a community mother in a way. There's still fear of the past coming back in new ways, but in this she begins to open up more and becomes adoptive mother to slugpups whose parents have been lost in some form. I just think!! She deserves the world!!! She gets to relax. No more Situations.

Rivulet: She/He/They Somewhat based on how some aquatic animals have a whiter tummy to blend in to creatures below them in the water, and a darker upper body to camouflage to those looking down in the water. (A bit difficult with all the pink, I wanted to keep that on her though..) Very kind :) she loves to bring gifts to Moon, and periodically pays visits to 5P for as long as he still lives. I like to think they also lived with Moon until they passed themselves. Spent a ton of time listening to Moon reading the pearls he found out in the world, and exchanging stories (perhaps via writing..??) that they both have. Softanthiel still hangs around, primarily used as a way to gauge the danger of potential threats to the tree.

Spearmaster: It/They/He Definitely Looks like a slugcat but with something Wrong (on the wrong blueprints in a way). It is taller and longer than the average slugcat. Leaning more into the bodyshape it has in game (bowling pin looking ass) I’d say it has a harder time retaining fat through a liquid diet and constant movement as a messenger. Built quite sleek, I’d picture it with an agility somewhere between Artificer and Rivulet. Spearmaster has nasty little "spots" on his tail so why not give him little freckles too? SRS did not give SM a mouth, so, to me I think that he would be taught sign language. ASL (Ancient Sign Language) would no doubt be something stored and memorized on various pearls. Given its time around an Iterator it would also know how to read/write in the Ancient's language. I feel like they'd be quite a bit lonely.

Saint: They/He To me, they are a distant descendant of Monk. Their fur is very soft, almost like downy feathers in a way. Absolutely vital to their survival in the now frigid wasteland. Keen to grooming themself like a cat would! The echoes are old friends, a familiar warmth. Seeing them is like visiting family, of which Saint no longer has now. Definitely nomadic, never stays in a den for longer than three cycles. Lanterns are tucked into fur for ease of travelling with free hands. :) He's round and spotted because I love him so much!!

WHEW ok thats all. feel free to share your thoughts :)

note that i dont mind these designs being used or designs inspired by them but i would like my art to NOT be reposted.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Random thing #12

This one is less of a romance post and more so a friendship post. I talk a lot about how I love platonic stuff and that I want to write it more but I never do it.. so now is as good a time as any to do it!

Imagine being childhood friends with Jason, of course before.. that day. You both meet at camp, and quickly become friends when you don't jump in on the bullying. You don't mind how he looks or how he's always clinging to his mother when she was available. Pamela actually approved of your friendship, even through her protectiveness of her boy.

I've always enjoyed the idea that Jason and the Reader would hang back away from everyone else and just.. exist together. Sometimes you would draw together, other times you'd read stories to him. In return he would teach you sign language so you can better communicate with him. In the mean time you both speak through notes...

Do you think Jason would keep some of the drawings and notes you both exchanged with each other, as an adult? He'd keep them inside his cabin and read them when he's feeling sentimental. He wonders if you're still out there, thriving. Do you miss him? Do you even remember him?

Moving back to the main topic, he often seeks you out when hes being bullied. Even if you standing up for him doesn't do much, he finds comfort in knowing that you'd always be there for him. He makes a bee line for you whenever he can; in the cafeteria, in group activities, and so on. He's glued to your hip from sunrise to sunset. Ever the more gut wrenching when one day he's not there anymore...

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday! First off Hallelujah the actors strike is over. Now it’s just semantics and such before we get our ship back on our screens. Just saw the SAG board approved the deal with 86% percent in favor on Friday. All that is left is getting it ratified and an episode order. We’re on the right track I can not wait. Been too damn long since we’ve been excited about some new content.

Till then I shall continue my rewatch. Hoping to line it up ending it whenever a premiere date appears. So fingers crossed on that. Once we do have that might amp it up to 3 reviews a week instead of 2. This one is not a huge content heavy one for them. It's shorter than normal, but it is Lucy’s first ep as his aide. They’re riding back together. I love it so much. Absence makes the heart grow fonder they say. Some good moments peppered in this one. Sassy married moments we all love. Off we go.

4x04 Red Hot

We start off with our lovely duo at the end of roll call. Tim coming in hot and sassy. Calling her Gofer right off the bat. Asking if she’s ready to go? He had to know he was gonna get a sassy reply calling her that first thing. Man knows what he’s doing. Tim loves their little dance and banter. So he lights the fire and waits for the results. (Also good Tall/Smol shots here my fav.)

Lucy matching said sass with some of her own. A little flirting mixed in cause they can't help it. Not showing an ounce of fear with his 'authority' haha Tim picking up on that right away. Flirting right back saying he’s sensing a lack of fear in his authority.

Oh Timothy you lost that long ago my love. You have her utmost respect but the fear? Yeah that went bye bye some time ago heh Some pre-shift foreplay going on here. We know they’re both just excited to be riding together again. It’s all over their body language and this flirty exchange.

Her ‘Yes, sir.’ So cute basically saying for her 'You don’t scare me.' LOL Lucy's body language is everything with that flirty smile. She has no problem roasting him. Tim loves it despite the words coming out of his mouth. Sunshine x Grumpy ride again. I'm so happy for it. Missed it since 3x09 that’s a long time apart for them. We’ve had lovely moments in between but nothing better than them riding together. Plus they needed time to miss one another.

They’re so obvious together. Grey hears their exchange and is holding back a chuckle as he comes up to Tim. Wade knew long before they did...That is a fact. They continuously forget everyone can hear them. It’s so funny. Carrying on like a married couple in front of their colleagues.

Lucy and Tim end up joining Nolan on his missing wife call. (So happy they’re riding together. Making my heart happy) His call has gotten more complicated because well it’s John’s call….Nolan tells them she was drugged and the people claiming to know her we're speaking Russian. So they all go back to the house where the call originated.

No one is there when they arrive. They notice the house seems off... Like it��s staged and no one actually lives there. John noting it feels a lot smaller on the inside. Tim saying it’s like a reverse Tardis...Lucy’s reaction is so damn funny. Props to Melissa for the facial expression here. I’m dying. Tim already sensing her judgement cuts it off. She doesn’t even have to say what she’s thinking. He just knows and defends himself.

S4 is the fruit of all that rapport building. We get to see the end result constantly. Watch how close they are. That silent communication coming through, the comfortability and playfulness. Not even trying to hide it anymore. The amount of sass in Tim's reply. My god she has rubbed off on this man. I love it sfm I can’t stand it. Such flirty dorks in front of Nolan it’s the absolute best. So nice to have them together on cases again. I missed it.

They get a report the car was torched but no sign of the woman over the radio. Nolan opens the cabinet and sees an impressive setup. A panel with cyrilic buttons they can't read. Goes into contractor mode saying they have 500 MCM wires. Running 400 amp service out of this place. Lucy not knowing what that means but wanting to save face says her line above. Also knows Tim may not either so she throws him under the bus LOL

It’s so cute and cheeky. The theme of this episode for them is sass. 100%. The way Tim looks at her plus his little leg stamp. LMAO His reaction saying 'Seriously Lucy?' He’s not even mad about it so much as in awe of her being so damn fresh at this point. Doesn’t even fight her giving him shit anymore. Just accepts it. Smitten man right here. Front and center.

Nolan goes on to say a normal household doesn’t tend to go past 200. Whatever they’re powering is big because just the minimum can power a house and a/c under that. Nolan starts messing around with the panel like an idiot and trips something. Because well it's Nolan. Like an unattended child. It locks down the entire house and they pull their guns in case.

Tim’s reply is the best. ‘I don’t know what it says so I push it?’ LMAO Roasting John like a marshmallow. Sassy Tim has come out to play and I’m dying. A tv turns on showing surveillance of the entire neighborhood. John asks if human traffickers normally are this sophisticated? Tim replies no…It’s a safe house.

Lucy’s interest is piqued of course. Asking if it’s for spies? Tim gives her a small peak into his past. Which you know she will eat up like crazy. Always craving to know about it. Hell me too. Any morsel we can get from Tim’s past I’m all about. Lucy in wifey mode tries to get it out of him. The when and where? You can see the absolute curiosity all over her face. He just drops a bomb like that and expects her not to try and dig a little deeper?

Tim is classic in his reply. Saying it’s classified and that is that for his answer. I'm sure he was wanting to impress her with that reply. When really she's just annoyed at him haha Lucy’s reaction is so damn funny. She is offended he won’t just share his classified past with her in front of Nolan LOL That wifey look in the second gif. Ha. Look at them just flirting away no problem in front of John. That’s not an issue but asking about his past is. These two... Also when they talk in this scene it’s like Nolan isn’t even there. I love this about them. They only pay attention to one another when they get like this. I just love their banter. It’s fantastic.

Nolan discovers a panel after hitting another button. It leads to a whole other hidden part of the house. It’s clearly where they were torturing her. They dig a little deeper and find more surveillance camera's set up. Looks like they tried destroying everything before they took off. There is still some paper work and such lying around. Looks like they didn't get everything. Tim wants them to take pictures of everything before the feds show up. Because they’ll ice them out ASAP. I love when he’s a sexy leader directing everyone. yum. gimme.

This next section when the feds finally show up is primo. Mike Weston introduces himself and Tim knows right away he’s CIA. The feds are with him though. Reason being Weston has to work with them since he isn't allowed to work domestically. Tim has some serious smug husband energy going on in this scene. Watching his girl square off and win with this guy. Lying on his behalf it’s amazing. Lucy handles herself like the bad ass he knows her to be. Coming up with this on the fly. That UC training kicking in right here.

The immense amount of pride on his face is everything. He didn’t even have to tell her to lie she just did for him. Their silent communication once again is out of this world. He just stands there proud af. Like yeah that’s my girl. Doesn’t have to say a damn word. Knows she’s got this covered. Smugly smiling at this guy trying to get them to do their job. Knowing they secured the scene and got all the photos they needed. Part of that smugness is from knowing they’re not sharing. Lucy shutting them down completely and he just stands there happy as a clam while she handles the situation.

Lucy is bummed they’re taking over. Nolan reminds them she touched his hood. Tim says they can get a true ID. Try and solve this thing before the feds and CIA know what hit them. I love this. They get a hit in the database. She’s a Russian citizen here on a NGO visa. Tim saying it’s perfect cover for a Russian agent.

Lucy with her social media skills found her Instagram page. Linking her to an Air Force major named Lyle Marks. Who she was apparently dating. Nolan says she was probably dating him just to get to secret information. Lucy calls him a cynic heh I love it. Then says yeah that’s probably the most likely scenario…

That he works for drone command and hasn’t shown up for work today. Tim says no need to loop in Weston. If they’re onto something good he will find them. They show up to Mark's house and find him tortured and killed. Weston of course shows up right after they find his body. Just like Tim said. He’s so smart. Beauty and Brains.

The fact that a soldier was killed this can’t be contained any longer. Weston realizes he’s going to need their help. Especially since this is on US soil. He brings them back to his fancy spy van. So they can have a private conversation protected. Tim gets right down to business. Asking what they know about Katerina? Mike tells them they believe her to be a FSB case officer. Just like Tim said earlier. Sexy how smart he is. Intelligence is attractive af.

Apparently she went rogue during her mission. She was supposed to be recruiting intelligence assets for Russia. It’s why those two guys came into the country after her. Rather her die than be in the hands of the CIA after she escaped. Tim asks if they knew about the relationship with officer Marks? Weston replies no or they would’ve stepped in weeks ago.

Also let’s note the lack of space with them in this scene. The Grand Canyon between John and Tim. The smallest sliver between Tim and Lucy. Another theme of this season. Personal Space? Never heard of her…

This next part is more of that proud/smug hubby energy from Tim. The way she dismantles Mike is glorious. Trying to say she’s naive and espionage isn’t a romance novel. She crushes him with some solid ass logic. Lucy owns this guy not once but twice in the same day. Lucy came to play and it's so fun to watch her confidence. The way she handles herself now. So self-assured it's just as glorious to watch as Tim's growth.

I love the look on Tim’s face. (also him licking his lips I see that tongue sir. Mmm.) His reaction is 'Wifey is right and you are dead to rights sir.' He couldn’t be prouder of her confidence with this man. Held her own from the jump. The growth here is amazing. Lucy just confidently owning her moments. Tim backing her without a second of hesitation. True partners. Nolan gives a 'Told you so' look too but it’s not as important as Tim’s LOL Weston concedes and says she has a fair point…

That being said Mike said he’s read her file. That isn’t the type of person she is. They ask why she was dating Marks then? Weston says he ran the entire west coast drone command. That he had the keys to the entire program. Tim then poses if she wasn’t stealing secrets or planning to defect then what’s her play? Mike says doesn’t know..and that scares the hell out of him

That’s their last scene together for the ep sadly. We find out with just John and Bailey she killed Marks. He issued a drone strike that killed her brother. The flash drive Nolan finds in his shop is what she wants. She wants to kill everyone else on the list of the mission. Sadly Lucy’s love theory is kaput after that haha That's all she wrote for this one. Short but sweet one for them.

Side notes-non chenford

I love Lucy reaching out to Aaron to be his support through training. He fights her at first then gives in and calls her when he has bad experience with an old friend. Aaron does stick his foot in his mouth about Jackson. Poor Lucy still hurts her talk about him.

Then they bond over it. He talks about Patrick and says it still gets him too. How it sneaks up on you. You could be having normal day and something triggers it. Aaron tells her it’s nice to have someone to talk to. Love this friendship being built.

Thanks as always to those who read these reviews and show your support through likes, comments and reblogs. It’s my fuel haha so thank you. Shall see you all in 4x05

[fake-guns-blazing]

yesterday at work, a group of young guys got in line to check out with me. three of them were wearing shirts that looked like they might be from a school; i wasn’t sure which one. i saw them signing in ASL and realized that they must all be deaf. i got this “oh no” feeling—not because of the guys, but because of me.

i didn’t freeze; i started doing my job, ringing them up. on the inside, though, i was thinking through a lot of scenarios. some transactions are very easy and don’t require a lot of communication between the cashier and the customer, while others are more involved: i might have to explain a sale or help a customer use our app, for example. i thought to myself, “i can’t speak ASL (and i don’t think anyone else who works here can either). what if this is one of those complicated transactions? what will i do then?”

i was very grateful when one of the guys asked me where the bathroom was by typing a question in the notes app on his phone. i thought, “there, that’s what i’ll do.” i grabbed my phone and typed out “aisle 5, at the back of the store.”

i did end up having to ask a few questions (“would you like paper bags?” etc.). i typed them out on my phone and showed it to one of the guys, and was pretty much able to gauge from his body language what the answers were.

i believe that this was the absolute best i could do in that situation, given my abilities (or lack thereof). but since then, i haven’t been able to shake the feeling that i could do better. not in that particular case (i don’t think), but in the future, i can do better. i’ve had a few encounters at work where some knowledge of ASL would have been helpful, but this one made me feel like it’s a need.

it’s a need, and it’s a want. a very real want. because at the end of our transaction, the guy i had been directing my questions to signed “thank you,” and i recognized it. sure, it’s a simple sign, but i honestly haven’t had much exposure to ASL in my life beyond the knowledge that it exists. if i had ever seen anyone say “thank you” in ASL before yesterday, i don’t remember it. there wasn’t really any reason i would have known what he was saying, but i knew! and it felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. if i’ve ever had a moment of catharsis, that was it.

so i’m going to do some research and find out the best ways for me to learn, and then i’m going to learn, because i need to. because i want to. because i want to be more helpful to more people at work. because i want to make more connections. because i want less of that “what do i do?” and more of that “i understand!” feeling that gives me butterflies every time i think about it.

[maximusboltaqon]

random assortment of headcanons bc ive been thinking about them too much lately:

-blackagar didn't get his first haircut until he was like, 9-10. he just had long kind of unruly hair for most of his childhood. he had absolutely no idea how to properly care for it (and obviously nobody bothered to help much on that front). after intergrating back in society + getting w medusa, he's considered growing it out again, but never commited to doing so.

-i think he does let it get a bit longer post his mini series/doti, but never to its previous length

-prior to developing sign language, bb spent a LOT of time communicating through notes. he has really neat and clear handwriting because of it.

-this handwriting skill resulted in their parenting having bb teach maximus how to write (at least to some extent), and although maximus' isn't as good, their handwriting is very similar. mostly due to their parents constant pushing for both of them to be better.

-maximus' handwriting has deterioted a lot over the years because of the technology in attilan making it pretty obsolete long before they were learning it as kids. post The Fall, it's also a bit shaky due to the prosthetics.

[hisaribi]

anyway, beta Dick angst, because I can and honestly betas feels like really underrepresented in omegaverse, so gonna make my fav it

and because I have no idea how to write it without info-dumping in the fic itself, I'm gonna write it as a post on tumblr dot com

mostly ramblings, but paragraphs surrounded by 🦇 symbol we have dc characters related thingie

so, first, start with biology. let's start with something nice-ish, such as scents. so alpha/omega kids have a keen sense of smell from the birth, they scent emotions rather than note some other tells and whathaveyou, and later going into adulthood they have this mate thing, that for a long time was considered once and for all the time, but apparently is just the sign of which alpha or omega can become the best person to have kids with. betas, on the other hand, have no such thing, they don't get any specific smell to themselves, at least not in the smells like cinnamon and rain, human scent is still here but not very obvious. children before presenting also have the similar scent, which leads to some ugly stereotypes

🦇

and also means you can't have the same communication with betas like alphas and omegas can. It took Bruce hilariously long time, almost a year, to catch up to the fact, that his new kid is beta. They are somewhat rare, about 10% of the overall population, even though they can be born to any set of parents, so Bruce, who is an alpha, with alpha Alfred (Alphred) was used to get this sourt of cues, he was used to the societies that were filled with scents and just knowing how some people feel (at least when you know this person and you know what each of their emotions scents like) because of that no need for words

he learned at circus from lady-beta who was like a fortuneteller but actually was way too good about reading people and showed him tricks and tips so he could navigate the world he had no idea about better, and she was the one to teach him because his parents were alpha and omega

apparently the first Robin needed words, pointers and while he masked well, with reading body language, the tone of voice, some other tells, he could go through what other person feels, but it made a rocky begining. and well, while on the streets they used scents suppressants anyway, so nobody would know what they smell like and have an off-chance to recognize them

but we're coming closer to a different world-building piece for it, so let's move on from batclan to some more biology

I'm not going into greasy details, but basically the difference is that female betas have periods and not heats, male ejaculate and don't have ruts, they're basically what we call humans, but with a twist of male ones could have children with both omegas (male and female presenting) and f betas, and female can get pregnant from both alphas and m betas. also betas are the only being on earth that can have children with aliens, which is funny somewhat

🦇

can you imagine how pissed Lex was when he learned he couldn't have a kid with Superman because of that (dun worry, Kon still exists, but also Lois is beta, Clark is a weird one in this, because I cryptonians didn't have any betas, just omegas and alphas, and still, betas are the only one who could get children with them, looking at Dick wink-wink)

that sort of covers biology angle, but wait, there's more

a lot of betas because of how the world is pumping up alphaomega things in literature, movies, all the love advises and all that meant for such more or less usual couples, and it's always about scents and heats and ruts so a lot of them consider themselves either asexual or aromantic, but they come to it realization after their pan-phase (three-phase? like you can't really be bisexual, though maybe it's actually means like you're interested in people of the same gender, but also it brings a whole male/female presenting and welp that's too much, not thinking about it)

🦇

so for the really long time Dick sort of thought he just swinged all the ways, he had things with (alpha) Roy, (omega) Wally, heck, the whole fab five was at least having handjobs with each other (Donna feels like aplha but you can play really well into the feminine part with her being omega, Garth idk, he feels like omega especially in that Dan Mora Superman/Batman world's finest, but honestly, atlanteans are the whole other can of worms, because of my knowledge of young justice cartoon canon and Kaldur being my prime character to see atlanteans through, and also Momoa Aquaman but uh well he's still more of a Duncan Idaho sue me)

and honestly, he sort of did, but he was pressed by the fact that he couldn't even begin to feel the same as they all did, and well, everybody moved on from him, Garth went back to his fish, Roy got himself Jade (also beta) and Lian, Wally is somewhere on the way to get his kids, Donna is happily married, and Dick's just, welp, not fit for that, can we all be friends maybe with benefits

while he also had at least Mar'i with Kory, but they both are sort of off-planet and their kind isn't like humans they like can choose when to get children and from whome, so for Kory it was an actual choice (not like she could've gotten a child from most of her partners because of well betas still being the only ones to get kids with aliens but hey)

and here comes somewhat supernatural angle. well, more like a teen wolf angle

so packs are considered an outdated concept, just like mates are, but still, you can get to be the pack, you can feel the pack bond. this is really a connection that allows to pass emotions between families, also orders, feels, and all that, nothing concrete, you can't pass words or even images

guess who can't be included into the pack.

yep, betas

🦇

once again we have Bruce having no idea how to deal with the kid who can't pack-bond. Bruce who remembers his family's pack bond and had Alfred for the other part. And suddenly a kid who doesn't get soothing, who acts out, and honestly, it's just awkward how much time Bruce had to spend to understand Dick was beta well also mostly because he thought that Dick didn't accept the bond because he was still grieving, hey, Bruce did too, so he let it somewhat go, even though a kid without a pack is a recipe for disaster, well, not beta kid.

So the whole batclan who can have silent conversations, who are sort of on the similar wavelength, and Dick who also sort of holds them together is exempt from such a link, he always acts like it's not a big deal, but oh well.

Also Titans at first sort of formed their own pack, it was the first time they had someone out of family to bond with, and everyone were so confused about Dick not being able to feel the same thing, Roy probably said something rude and he and Dick had a fight over it (we don't tell how Roy definitely has a thing for betas, don't look at Jade, wink-wink). And yet he wasn't just a pack, he was its leader, the one who they subconsciously wanted approval of, the one they put their faith in. Which is an ongoing theme for all and every Dicks, but he can only logically understand what it all means to them, not really feel it

So let's go back to Batman and Robin times, Batman had to learn to work together not just with a partner but with a kid who is challenged — and he did use this language at first which pissed Dick off, but well, there was an argument that betas are somehow disabled — and so he's much more relying on a means of communication Dick would understand, which was a learning curve. But also later when he had Tim in the begining and when Steph was there and with a Batgirl, he could work with them more effectively. And after the justice league formed, well, let's just say he was the one who could communicate with them and coordinate them without an actual need for a pack bond

Dick on the other hand learned to see physical cues for pack bond signals, so the ones coming later into the pack weren't even aware he wasn't in it

So ye, just beta Dick for the angst. Pls come and talk to me about that

[kedicatt-cotl]

I am loving the AU, though I am most curious. How is Leshy and Heleks' time in the cult? Did they make any friends among the Followers?

Sweet and open to change, Leshy made friends with the followers pretty easily.

The followers have been waiting for him, the first of the four bishops, to come, and as soon as he was left all by himself, they started shyly approaching him one by one, trying to make a conversation. They reminded him of his own cult, in a way.

The followers like Leshy for his niceness, and because he knows lots of interesting fairy tales made up by the Green Crown cult. They were more than glad to help Lamb pave stone pathways through the main areas of the camp, to help Leshy navigate more easily.

---

Heket was nothing like Leshy. She wouldn't want to talk to anyone even if she could.

She was willing to tolerate Lamb, but she always looked down on his followers, finding them dumb, and wouldn't talk to Narinder or the children at all. She preferred to silently isolate herself in her tent, and everyone was quick to learn to just leave her be - at least, for now.

Leshy was the only person she would enjoy spending time with, even though they couldn't communicate directly. Leshy would talk, and Heket would listen. She never understood how he could be so friendly to those stupid followers.

It was through signing that Heket first willingly started making contact with the cult inhabitants. Lamb held study sessions for all of his followers, teaching them words in the follower sign language - before every single one he would borrow the book from Heket and note down a few signs from it. The frog herself would never attend the sessions, preferring to study in solitude. Still, whenever she had to leave her safe corner to, for example, grab her dinner, she could notice the change. The followers of all ages, even the kids, all of them knew how to sign. Just the basic, simple things - short study sessions were way less effective than learning on your own for a while - but they would always do their best to sign as they speak, if it were possible.

One day she asked Lamb, "Why do they sign when speaking to each other?" Lamb smiled, and said, "I asked them to do that. It was Narinder's idea. It's great for practice, and this way, everyone", he made a pause, "would always be able to understand their conversations". Heket nodded. It was actually a pretty good idea, she thought.

Lamb was really going out of his way to make it easier for Kallamar to adjust. She wasn't even doubting that her cowardly brother would choose to stay here - it would be very like him. Seeing all the effort the Lamb's cult was putting in, just for her and her family who they didn't even know, she couldn't entirely hate them.

When she started playing music, it made her the center of attention. She wasn't doing anything spectacular, still the followers who heard music for the first time would compliment her performance and ask if they can try playing the instruments, too. And when that happened, she started responding to them.

A few months later, she's still looking down on the followers, but now she has a few nice acquaintances, which some may even dare to call "friends"… That is among the smarter ones, of course.

…

But we aren't there yet. Right now it's just her, her tambourine and mildly irritating small talk with mildly irrintating followers.

[softiecaro]

GORGEOUS — MICK SCHUMACHER

summary: Inez think that Mick was too gorgeous to be real and every time she looked at him she felt like was going to die. Mick wondered why she always ignored him.

pairing: Mick Schumacher x Inez (reporter!reader)

words: 4K

warning: Some swear words, a lot of angst. Also, English is not my native language, so any spelling or writing error is the fault of the translator hehe.

notes: The lyrics of the song are in italics, and these are not in the same order of the song, so i put excerpts that may have some connection with the situations that I am narrating.

MASTERLIST TAYLOR SWIFT SONGS SERIES

Inez Santana is a journalist by profession, who started out uploading videos to tiktok about motorsports and making podcasts about it. Thanks to the success that she had on this podcast, she was given the opportunity to start working for Formula 2 years ago. Despite not having been around for as long as some of her colleagues, she is well liked by the people in the teams and the paddock in general, even by the fans. 

She formed a strong friendship with Esteban Ocon when she signed a short contract for a few months to do some communications work for the Alpine team. When that contract ended, they continued to hang out constantly, even spending a few vacations together. 

She is known for her sweetness and kindness with everyone, for how she talks to people and puts all her attention on them as if they were the only thing that mattered, she made them feel loved. Of course, this happened with everyone except the 23-year-old German driver, Mick Schumacher. 

It's not because she hates him. Quite the contrary. She thinks he is too gorgeous and his presence makes her so nervous that she prefers to ignore him. Every time she can get away from being in the same room with him, she does. Of course, she can't escape her obligations at work and the interviews that she sometimes has to do with Mick after a career. 

Inez, Esteban and Lance were walking through the paddock one morning as they greeted everyone along the way. They were laughing at something the French one said, and by mistake, the girl dropped her coffee cup on the floor right in front of the Haas team space, which luckily was not full. 

They laughed even louder, which caught Mick's attention, who came out to see what was going on. 

—Damn Esteban, look what you made me do.—She joked, still laughing as she stood looking at the mess she made.

—Hey, don't blame me. 

—Hey guys, what happened here?— Mick approached them with an amused smile on his lips. They greeted each other with the typical fist salute that men give each other.

 Her smile automatically disappeared when she heard his voice. Posture uncomfortably straight, lips set in a line, she looked everywhere but at him, except at his ocean blue eyes. If she looked at them, she felt that it would be the end of him. 

—Just Inez being Inez.— Lance says humorously, putting his arm around her shoulders. 

—Are you okay?— Mick asks. She looks at the floor, looks at Esteban and then looks over Mick's shoulder at something, continuing his work of avoiding his eyes. 

—Yes.— She simply says. 

—If you want I can bring you a new coffee.—The blond tells her as he points to Hass's space.— You know, free coffee. 

—No thanks, I have to go.

“You're so gorgeous. I can't say anything to your face 'cause look at your face. And I'm so furious at you for making me feel this way. But what can I say? You're gorgeous”. 

Have you read those cliché stories where the main character gets locked with her love interest in an elevator for a period of time, they kiss, then someone pulls them out of the elevator and they walk out completely in love? That was what happened to Inez, except for the kissing part of it, of course. 

The cars that take the communications people from the hotel to the paddock left at 7:30 a.m. It was 5 minutes before the time limit and Inez was on the 20th floor waiting for the elevator which was taking too long. 

—Come on, please, quickly.— she whispered anxiously as she saw that the elevator was finally approaching her floor.

When the gates opened, Inez couldn't believe how much bad luck she had (or good luck?). Mick was inside in his blue Haas team uniform, who also hadn't noticed the girl's presence since he was too busy texting. 

She quickly entered and went to press the button for the first floor, but seeing that it was already selected, she left her hand in the air. 

Inez looked at the boy out of the corner of her eye, still typing on his phone with a visibly frown. Inez wanted to say hello, but nothing came out of her mouth. So she just looked at a fixed point of the elevator as she held her breath hoping to arrive at her destination soon. 

She suddenly felt the lights on the buttons start to flicker and she approached it curiously. Then, the main light that illuminates there began to blink. She turned around, facing Mick on the opposite side of the elevator, but he still didn't notice anything. 

Silence. 

—Mick?— A whisper of hers barely left her. The blond raised his head automatically and looked at her with those ocean blue eyes just a millisecond before the place went completely dark. 

Neither of them said anything, analyzing the situation. 

—Inez?

—I'm here, Mick.— She answered fearfully as she hugged herself. 

The next thing that happened was the elevator made a loud noise that caused Inez to gasp in surprise. She suddenly felt a pair of icy hands touch her face in delicate touches, to which she cringed.

—Here you are.—Now he was touching her shoulders as if looking for something specific, then went down her arms slowly until he reached her hands. His touches were so delicate, as if she was going to break. He gave her chills. 

—Hey, are you okay?—She gave a little startled cry at his touch and her closeness, a sound that Mick took as a sort of nod to his question. His hands felt so soft and perfect on her.

“And you should think about the consequence of you touching my hand in a darkened room."

—Let me call someone on the team.— So he unlocked his phone and the light from it lit up his face. 

—Don't be scared, I can feel your heart beating so fast. Try to calm down, we'll be fine.—Now he had pulled his hands away from her and stood beside her, feeling his left side against her right side.

—It can't be, I don't have a signal. 

—What?—She exclaimed, turning in his direction.

—I was joking, sorry. I've always seen that happen in the movies.— He laughed a little as he dialed a number. 

Inez started to reply but before she could think of anything to say to him, Mick spoke again. 

—Kevin? Hi, you're not going to believe this but I'm stuck in the hotel elevator.

She stirred in her place and suddenly remembered the car that was supposed to take her. She took her phone and looked at the time. It marked 7:45. The car had already left without her. 

—No, I'm not alone, I'm with Inez. Yes, Esteban's best friend.— She felt Mick say the last thing with a different tone that caught her attention.— Uh-huh, yes. OK thank you. See you mate. 

Inez sends a message to her boss explaining the situation and saying that she will unfortunately be late, hoping that he will believe that she got stuck in the elevator, although it sounds a bit false.

Maybe Esteban hasn't left yet and she can go with him to the paddock in his car, so to make sure, she texted him too to ask if he's already gone. 

—Hey, don't worry, it won't take long for them to come for us.— Mick told her softly when he saw the girl's worried face. 

—It's not that.— She locks her phone so the place is bathed in darkness again. 

—What happen? 

—Nothing.— As soon as her word left her mouth, and in an unkind tone, she regretted it. 

Silence again. 

The closeness of his to her sides disappeared as he moved away from her. 

—Why do you hate me?

Inez's heart sank. He thought she hated him? Silence again. She didn't know what to say. 

—Mick, I don't hate you. 

—Then why are you always like this with me?

—What do you mean? 

—Whenever I'm getting close, you run away. Plus you never look me in the eye. You're always ignoring me and... 

Suddenly a voice from the elevator speaker startled them both. 

—Guys, we're about to get you out. The elevator will make a small jerky movement. Don't be scared, it's part of the process. 

Only a couple of minutes later, in which neither of them had said anything else, the elevator doors were being forced open and two big men could be seen through the small space on the other side. Behind them, some familiar faces of some people from the teams, including Lance and Esteban, who were laughing. 

—You first.— Mick told her. So Inez quickly made her way out of the small space with help from the men. Then Mick came out. 

—I can't believe you got locked in an elevator.— Lance was still laughing at the situation. 

—How long were you in there?

—Like 30 minutes.— Mick replied. 

—30 minutes?! And what did you do during all that time? 

—Nothing dude. I have to go, see you.— Mick smiled at the three without showing his teeth and left. 

—Inez?— Esteban spoke to the girl after seeing her in a kind of trance.— Are you okay?

—Yes, I'm perfect. Why?

—You're red as a tomato, are you sure nothing happened in there? You know you can trust us, come on. 

—I swear to you. Now come on please, my boss is going to kill me. 

…………………………..

On a Saturday after a race, Inez is preparing for the press round with the drivers. She had already interviewed Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris and now she was with Esteban. 

—And moving on to the next race, what do you think about Hungary? 

—Yeah, I can't wait. Great memories of course from last year. So hopefully we can fight in full force.— He simply answered.

—That's all Esteban, thanks. See you.— They finally say good-bye, but as the French boy was walking away, he whispered something to Inez that didn't help her for what lay ahead of her.

—Mick is next.— Followed by a wink. 

Just hearing his name made her stomach turn. She then saw him slip from the previous reporter until they were face to face. He gave her a toothless smile and her blue eyes met his. 

"Ocean blue eyes looking in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die."

She was silent for a few seconds until she reacted when noticed the expectation on the face of Mick and his communications assistant. 

—M-mick, we saw that the race had some problems, sorry about that. Because in some way, you were unfortunately a victim of the crash between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso. How much was your race compromise by accident damage?

“Did I say everything too quickly? Why is he looking at me like that? Do I have something in my teeth? After the rain of thoughts that attacked her, she felt the blood begin to pool on her cheeks, and felt the temperature rise even more when she watched as Mick lapped her lips with his tongue. 

—Yeah, there was quite a bit of unfortunate damage that affected some specific areas of the car.— As he began to speak, he leaned slowly between the grid that separated them and Inez tried to appear as if that movement didn't affect her. As if having him so close to her didn't make her heart burst.— Obviously it was something that got out of hand but I think that, looking on the positive side, at least we were in a good position to give the team points. 

—And speaking of the performance of the vehicles, what do you think are their strengths and weaknesses and do you think they will be able to continue on a good path with this one?

—Yeah, I mean I don't see any reason why it shouldn't. I think our car. And we are aware that there is a constant battle with teams like Alpha Tauri, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo. So all we care about is finishing the races and collecting as many points as possible in the coming weekends after the holidays.— He finishes with a smile. 

—Thanks for your time Mick, rest and have a nice vacation. 

—Thanks Inez, see you around. Goodbye.— Giving her one last look and a characteristic German smile, he walked off in the direction of the next reporter. 

Inez. Inez. Inez. Inez. Inez. Inez. Why did his name sound so nice when it came from his lips?

 ……………………………………. 

That same night someone organized a party because after this race there would be a short vacation before returning to the tracks. It would be a lie to say that Inez hated parties, because she didn't. But she really wasn't a big fan of crowds, so this was what always discouraged her from going. Both Esteban and Lance tried to convince her to go but they couldn't. 

She preferred to stay in her hotel room watching some romantic comedy movie on netflix. She changed into comfortable clothes, made herself some hot tea, and lay back in the comfort of her bed. 

Before the movie started, she took a picture for her Instagram stories and then put her phone aside and played the movie. The sound of the notifications caught her attention so checking the phone she saw responses from some fans, from Lance, from some people she knew from the paddock, but what mattered most to her was Mick. 

“Guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats, alone. Unless you wanna come along." 

@mickschumacher won't you come to the party? 

@inez.santana nope :( 

Immediately the three dots appeared in the chat indicating that Mick was typing, only to disappear later. She then blocks her phone but was left waiting for her reply message. The ring rings again, she picks up the phone, but it wasn't Mick. 

@landonorris GURLLLLL are you really going to lay down and not come to the party? 

@inez.santada BOYYYY, yes

@landonorris sent an audio note “Come on Inez, how dare you miss out on the best party of your life? DJ Lando will liven up the place. I'm still at the hotel, so I'm not going to let you stay here alone with yourself. Tell me your room number and I'll pick you up in 20 minutes, see you muac” 

Inez was left thinking. Maybe she should just give him on seen and he´d never find her room, but he probably ask Esteban and Lando would come banging on her door until she came out. 

@inez.santana 621 floor 10. 

She quickly got up from her bed leaving her computer on the desk along with her tea. “I'll come back for you” she thought looking at her drink. Then, in record time, she dressed in white cloth pants, a bright green top and boots. "Yes, this will be fine." 

A little makeup, a little shadow on her eyes, mascara and matte lipstick on her lips. She grabbed a purse and had minutes to spare before Lando showed up at her door.

—I thought you wouldn't come out.— He said when Inez opened the door for him. 

—I thought about ignoring you, but then I figured that one way or another you would know my room number and you would be knocking on my door desperately all night, so… 

—You guessed right.— Lando laughed as they both got into the elevator. On the way to the party they were both talking about random things and laughing. When they arrived, Lando opened the door to hus car and helped her out. Then they came in laughing with their arms crossed. 

—Lando, there you are! Get up here.— Someone yelled at him. Lando looked at Inez and she nodded so he knew she was going to be okay. 

—Go, I'll look for Esteban. 

So he gave her a little hug and walked away. Inez's mind said that she would search for her best friend Esteban in the crowd, but her heart began to search for Mick. She can't find him, and in fact for some reason she can't find any familiar faces. So she just walks over to the bar, orders a drink and sits there. 

From Inez to Estie bestie: Heyyyy! Guess what, Lando brought me to the fucking party. Where the fuck are you? I can not find you :( 

Then she put away her phone again, took a drink as she continued to scan the room. Until she saw him and her heart stopped like it always did when she saw him. But this time it was different, now he is with a girl. They are both sitting across the room talking. Mick said something to the girl while he pointed to the crowd, seconds later Esteban appeared on the shot and sat next to the unknown woman, leaving her in the middle of it. 

“If you've got a girlfriend, I'm jealous of her. But if you're single that's honestly worse 'cause you're so gorgeous it actually hurts (Honey, it hurts)”. 

Inez wanted to go, but she couldn't, she didn't want to, not with Mick and that girl there. But then Esteban checked his phone and automatically started looking for his best friend in the crowd. Until he saw her and began to beckon her to see him. She pretended she didn't see him, so the French one got up and went to look for her. 

—Inez! I've been waving to you for a while. Come on, we're over there with Mick and Emma. 

Inez wanted to ask her who Emma was and why she was with Mick, but she kept quiet. 

—I'll be there in a moment, I'm fine here. 

—Something wrong? I'm staying here with you, no problem sweetheart. 

—No, please go. I'm going in a minute.

Esteban looked at her doubtfully, then she gave him a smile and pushed his shoulder in a friendly way to unconcern him. 

—Okay, we'll wait for you there.— She took one last glance in the blonde's direction only to meet his gaze already on her. He smiled at her and waved, but she ignored him, took the last of her drink, got up and went out to the terrace of the place. 

From Mick's perspective, he felt his heart break more and more at the attitudes she held about him. He constantly questioned his own actions, wondering if he had ever done something wrong that upset her.

—Where are you going bro?— Esteban asked Mick when he saw him get up. 

—I'm going to get some air, I'll be right back.— Mick was adamant about her goal, clear things up and for her to tell him why she hates him. 

—Hello.— Inez jumped in shock. She didn't need to turn around to know who he was because she recognized that voice anywhere.— I thought you told me you weren't coming.

—I know, I didn't come of my own free will. Lando made me. 

—Oh. 

Finally she dared to turn to look at him and gave him a small smile. 

—Can I sit with you? 

—Sure.— She replied immediately. 

They didn't speak for what seemed like an eternity. Both looking towards the horizon. But both wanting to look at each other. 

—I understand if you don't want to talk about this, but that day when we got stuck in the elevator, I felt like the conversation was on hold. Because it is a topic that is very important to me and I need to know the answer, if there really is one… 

—Oh, that. Do you want to know why I'm ignoring you?— Suddenly she felt a wave of confidence. Maybe it was the alcohol… or desperation. 

—Hmm…— Mick nodded. 

It took Inez a while to collect her thoughts to see what she wanted to say to the boy next to her. With so many thoughts in her head she became dizzy and felt like she was going to pass out. 

—I ignore you because…because you're so kind and respectful and caring and generous and funny, and you're so damn gorgeous that I can't even look at your face, because look at your face.— She finally blurted out, regretting it the second she was done. That was like the vomit that her heart needed to release. 

—What? So…so you don't hate me? 

—No fucking hell Mick, I'm in love with you and I'm ignoring you because you make me so nervous.

Silence. 

Only the music from the party and Inez's heart breaking into a thousand pieces could be heard. 

—Look at me. 

—Mick… 

—Please look at me. 

Inez knew what was coming now. Mick was so nice that he would probably give her some compliments like how she's beautiful and smart but he didn't reciprocate that feeling. He would ask her to start being friends, probably. 

Already emotionally prepared, she turned to see him, trying to hide her nervousness and the tears that asked to come out of her eyes. She tried, but she couldn't hold his blue gaze for more than 2 seconds, turning to her own hands as she played with them.

Mick raised her head taking her chin gently so that she looked into his eyes again. 

—What would happen if I told you that I'm in love with you?

—What are you talking about? 

—I said what I said, what would happen?

—I wouldn't believe you.

—But it's true.

Inez hadn't realized the closeness between them and her breath caught in her throat. 

—Mick…— She said barely.

—Can I kiss you?— He whispered inches from her lips, still with his hand on her chin. 

"Ok, I'm going to pass out right now." she thought. 

She licks her lips and looks into his eyes, and swore it were even more beautiful up close. As if his eyes could illuminate the dark place they were in at the moment. 

—Do you want to kiss me?— She asks, still not believing what was happening to her. 

—Yes, do you want to?— Now he had shifted his hand from her chin to her jaw. 

—I do.— That was all it took for Mick to close the space between them. 

At first it was just a chaste kiss on her lips, to test the waters. Seeking to affirm something, she put her hands on his chest and squeezed his shirt as if wanting to bring him closer to her. 

It was then that he lowered her hands to her waist and found hers again on his lips in a relaxed movement, full of love that they had hidden for far too long. 

She could easily have melted in Mick's arms and she was glad they were sitting because her now-jelly legs would probably have betrayed her. With her arms also made of jelly, she reached for Mick's neck and her hands buried themselves in his blond hair pulling him closer to her, as if that were possible. 

Leaving his left hand on her waist, Mick ran his right hand up her arm as well, leaving a trail of fire all the way to her head to smooth out some strands that were bothering the kiss, and then continued. stroking his head lovingly. 

When they felt that it was too much, both separated from the kiss, still with their hands on the other. 

Inez didn't want to open her eyes, she didn't want to wake up from this perfect dream she was in. She thought that she had actually ignored Lando and stayed in his hotel room, had fallen asleep and now she was having a wonderful dream with Mick. 

But finally she relented and met the ocean blue eyes that always took her breath away. It hadn't been a dream, Mick had really kissed her. 

—In case it wasn't clear to you, I'm in love with you too.

------

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@primadonnasdream

@midnightric