#nolan: why do i feel like someone's watching me? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gatorbites-imagines · 7 days

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Thank you so much for writing for Invincible!!!!!! There's hardly anything especially with a male reader

So like yandere Mark, am i right? If he were to be yandere i could totally imagine him using his powers to intimidate his lover and get rid of anyone who he doesn't like and he would act like it's your fault if you're sad when he kills someone, he got it from his dad

Mark Grayson Yandere Alphabet

I found this yandere alphabet, so I decided to fill it out for Mark :3c This is post season 2 mark, or something around that, which is why Mark is different to what Nolan would be like. Let me know if you guys wanna see more alphabets like this.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

I think after everything that’s happened, Mark would be a very clingy guy. He would hug, hold, and kiss his darling any chance he gets. It can get pretty intense, like, mark holding you so hard bones would break if you try to wiggle free or if he’s feeling extra emotional, be it positive of negative. In the beginning hed be too shy to kiss you, but when he crosses that bridge, he never stops.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

After everything with his dad and with Angstrom, it would be much easier for Mark to get violent and bloody, especially if he thinks someone is trying to harm you, in his opinion. And to him, anybody trying to rescue you from him is a threat.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

I don’t see Mark as someone who would mock his darling. Instead, he would try to pamper you and make you love him back, to make you accept that this is your new life now and its for the best. He would be overly affectionate, to the point where its extremely overbearing. His horrible self-worth also makes you seek a lot of validation. So, all in all, he’s very draining to be around.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

Mark would hug you, cuddle you and kiss you against your will. Hed go as far as to force you to take care of yourself if you don’t, either by him doing it for you, or watching you like a hawk as you do it. hed never force himself on his darling though, since he still sees himself as a hero.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

He would expose his heart to you from the very beginning, since he feels so guilty about kidnapping you. Mark would just word-vomit everything he feels and how this is what he needs to do, because he loves you so much and can’t lose you.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Mark would be so sad, but he understands why his darling fights back in the beginning, at least some part of him does. But he would grow frustrated if they kept fighting back for a longer period of time, since he thinks hes doing the right thing. Why cant his darling just SEE that?

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

Its in no way a game for Mark, this is almost life and death for him. He hates seeing you trying to escape too, since he knows its just proof that you don’t love him back or understand his version of the truth.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Probably the fact that there is a high possibility that Mark has killed his darling’s family and loved ones, since if he killed them, there’s no reason for you to leave right? You have no one else, just him, and that’s all you need. Hes also broken many bones, sometimes without meaning too, and sometimes on purpose.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

He fantasizes about an almost movie like future, with a happy spouse who loves him back just as much as he loves them, where you’ll greet him at the door and embrace him so happy he’s home. It wouldn’t be too out of this world for Mark to imagine his darling as still living in solitude in what he deemed the safest place.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

Mark gets so jealous, since his mental state is already very broken. The very thought of his darling loving someone else or wanting to leave him for someone else? Its almost enough to get him spiraling, and it either leads to him having a horrible breakdown, or growing extra violent when he fights crime.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

Disgustingly doting and clingy. Hes always right behind you or touching you in some way. He absolutely craves your attention and validation, and will have a panic attack if you ignore him. But he also uses a lot of guilt tripping when he isn’t getting his way, or his darling it acting out.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

I imagine your relationship was actually pretty normal in the beginning, with you replacing Amber. As normal as a relationship dating a superhero is at least. So mark was kind of clumsy but so sweet and genuine. But then everything with angstrom happened, and he just kinda breaks.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Yes. Mark acts cooler and a lot more down to earth around people, suppressing the worse parts of himself. He wants to come across as a hero that everyone can look up too, which also means very few people know of your existence after you disappear.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

Mark doesn’t like to hurt his darling physically, but he isn’t above breaking bones. He will sob the entire time though, crying and yelling at you that this is your fault and hes only doing it because you gave him no other choice. But he prefers emotional punishment instead, like isolating you for long periods of time.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

He would try to keep as many rights for his darling as possible, not wanting to damage their way of life too much. But you would have no connection to the outside world, and you defiantly wouldn’t be able to leave wherever he keeps you. If you act up too much though, then he would have to start taking privileges away, and chaining you to the bed can also be one of those privileges.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

He tries to be patient. Mark knows it’s a big change for you, so of course you’re gonna act out and you’re gonna scream at him and try to fight back. But it also wears on him, making his frayed edges get worse, until he just can’t take it anymore and breaks down, which only adds onto all the guilt he’s been piling on you.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

No way. If his darling dies, then Mark would spiral completely out of control. He would either isolate himself completely, or snap to the point where nolans acts look like a field trip. This depends on if his darling’s death was caused by someone else though. If you leave or escape, you bet your ass Mark is coming for you again. And the GDA would most likely help him, since they know the easiest way to control Mark is to let him keep you.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

Mark would feel incredibly guilty and selfish for kidnapping you, but since he thinks it’s the right thing to do, then he would learn to cope with it. There is a chance you can get him to leave you go though, if you catch him at the right time when he’s most vulnerable, and if he thinks you truly love him in return. But this would be rare, and him coming back for you would be very likely.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

All the loss and chaos he’s experienced since gaining his powers. The stuff Mark has experienced is enough to break the strongest of men, and with his mental state already being so fractured, the thought of losing you would be the last push he needed.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Mark would feel so horrible about seeing his darling cry or scream, since he already feels guilty about kidnapping you. This is also why it would take him months or even longer to tell you he killed your entire family and all your loved ones, since he doesn’t want to see you cry more.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

Theres so many flavours of yandere, that Marks acts would fit some type of yandere, so probably not. Maybe the fact that there is a small chance he would willingly let his darling go? Or the fact that he resorts to using his own guilt and tears to manipulate you.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Honestly just play along with his delusions, that yes Mark, this was the right idea and the world id dangerous. You love him too, and of course you’ll hold him and tell him he’s doing the right thing and being such a good hero. It wouldn’t be too hard to twist him around your finger, since he’s so starved for you and your attention. Escape would be pretty fucking hard though, since even the GDA wouldn’t help you.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

Most of Mark hurting you would be accidental, if hes under a lot of stress or very wound up. But it isn’t above him to hurt you on purpose if he thinks there’s no other choice, like you trying to escape too much, or trying to attack him.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

Mark would worship the very ground you walked on and would see you as the center of his universe. This is also why the GDA wouldn’t do anything, since Mark sees you as his everything, and you are human and live on earth, then he wouldn’t turn against humanity. Mark would also bend over backwards to gain his darlings affection, whatever it takes, as long as it isn’t letting you free or anything like that.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

If you replaced Amber, then you two would have been dating for a while before he snaps, so he would have pined for around that time.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

I don’t think he would do it on purpose, but it would come as a byproduct of his darling being isolated for so long that they just kinda break on their own. Or might be more his darling being slowly shaped into the same kind of stuff that Mark is made out of than outright breaking, since Mark still loves you for who you are. This is where he’s different from his dad.

#male reader #reader #yandere alphabet #mark grayson #invincible #invincible season 2 #invincible comic #mark grayson imagine #mark grayson headcanon #mark grayson x male reader #mark grayson x reader #yandere mark grayson #yandere invincible #invincible imagine #invincible headcanon #invincible x male reader #invincible x reader #yandere x reader #yandere x male reader

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fluentmoviequoter · 2 months

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It's Not About You

Requested Here!

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!reader

Summary: When Tim overhears his fellow police officers and your other neighbors flirting with you, he gets jealous, and takes it out on you.

Warnings: jealous!Tim (he's hot), brief angst, fluff at the end

Word Count: 2.1k+ words

Picture from Pinterest

Masterlist Directory | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

Over the last few years of impromptu visits to the Mid-Wilshire LAPD station, you’ve gotten to know most of the front desk staff. They know you too, and you’re often wordlessly handed a visitor’s badge and wished good luck. You’ve heard the stories about the man you come to visit: how intense and grumpy he can be, but you’ve never seen that side of him for yourself.

Today, two people sit at the front desk, and you’ve never seen either before. Moving into one line, you wait until you reach the desk. You smile as you look at his name tag and are surprised to realize that you have heard his name.

“How can I help you today?” he asks, clearly displeased with his current position and forcing his smile.

“Officer Nolan, I am here to visit Officer Bradford,” you answer.

“Bradford,” Nolan repeats. “Tim Bradford?”

“That’s the one. I just need to drop something off and ask him a quick question.”

“Oh, sure,” Nolan replies. “Just fill this out for me and I’ll get you a badge.”

You nod, stepping to the side as you fill out the paperwork you haven’t seen since your first visit. Knowing that Nolan is new, though, and seeing just how busy the station is, you decide to do as he asks rather than argue with him.

“So, do you know Officer Bradford?” Nolan asks.

“I do. I’m his neighbor,” you answer.

“Ah, I see. I’m surprised someone as nice as you would intentionally visit him.”

“What does that mean?” you ask, furrowing your brows as you pass the clipboard back to him.

“Nothing, just- Hang on, I’m out of badges. Jackson, do you have visitors’ badges over there?”

“Uh, yeah,” the man beside him, Jackson apparently, answers.

“She’s here to visit Bradford,” Nolan explains.

“On purpose?” Jackson asks.

“That’s what I said!”

“Why is that so surprising?” you ask, smiling.

“He’s just… grumpy, and you seem so kind and fun to be around,” Nolan replies.

“You think I’d be fun to be around?”

“I- I mean, yeah. So envisioning you and Bradford talking to each other is just weird.”

“And concerning,” Jackson adds. “Have you been tested for any cognitive issues?”

“That’s not cognitive-related, you’re just questioning if I’m a good judge of character,” you argue.

“What’s your impression of me?” Nolan inquires. “Just to make sure you’re okay.”

“Well,” you begin, tapping the desk as you think.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim looks down at his watch before glancing at the door. You should be here by now; your text said ten minutes, and it’s been twice that. Tim abandons the conversation he’s been ignoring and walks to the door behind the desk. He hears you say why you’re there, but when Nolan starts talking to you about how different you are from Tim and then dips into what sounds like flirting, Tim's jaw tightens as he listens.

“As much fun as this has been,” you say with a chuckle, “I’m really late, and-“

“Bradford hates that. Trust me, I know,” Nolan interjects. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“I do. Thank you, Officer Nolan.”

“John.”

Tim watches you smile as you use Nolan’s first name, and his nostrils flare. Usually, he can recognize his own emotions (and he’d admit - to you, at least - that he doesn’t have much emotional range). Right now, he can’t place the feelings he’s experiencing watching you and Nolan.

“Uh, Tim?” you ask, stepping through the door to go to the bullpen.

“Hey,” Tim replies, turning quickly. He picks up a folder and adds, “Everything okay? Took you longer than usual.”

You look at the folder in his hand and answer, “Yeah. My favorite cop wasn’t at the front desk so I actually had to go through the whole visitor thing.”

“I’m not your favorite cop?” Tim asks.

“Depends on the day,” you reply, smiling as he steps beside you.

Tim doesn’t answer, and when you look over at him, you’re surprised to see him looking straight ahead, bending the folder with a tight grip. You stop, placing a hand on his forearm.

“Are you okay?” you ask softly.

“Never been better,” Tim answers. “Why’d you stop by?”

“Oh. I wanted to let you know that Kojo is at my house, but also have a question.”

“Then ask.”

You bristle slightly at Tim’s disinterested tone, but you know his job is tough, and he’s probably had a long day.

“Do you-“

“Bradford!” someone calls. “Let’s go!”

Tim looks toward you, and you say, “Go ahead. My question can wait. Have a good day, Tim.”

“You too,” he mutters.

Tim takes the time to watch you leave, despite his seeming indifference. When you stop by the desk to say bye to Nolan, Tim destroys the folder as he realizes what he feels. Tim Bradford is jealous. Worse, he’s jealous of a rookie.

✯✯✯✯✯

Kojo is on a leash in your front yard, and you smile as you watch him jump after a ball. Tim lives directly beside you, so you’ll know when he gets home. Hopefully, the rest of his shift went okay, and he’s in a better mood now.

A deep voice calls your name, and you look away from Kojo. Your neighbor from the other side stops on the sidewalk before your house to continue talking to you.

“Hey! How are you?” you respond, staying by your porch.

“Better now,” he replies with a flirtatious smile.

He’s not a bad neighbor, but he makes you uncomfortable because he flirts with you every time he sees you. Having Kojo nearby makes you more comfortable, but you hope to get through the small talk and move on.

“I’m having a little get together on Friday if you’d like to come over.”

You call Kojo to your side, and he happily sits before you, another buffer between you and your neighbor. Tim’s truck turns into his driveway, and you sigh in relief. He gets out quickly, stopping by his passenger door as he watches you and Kojo. You smile, unsurprised but disappointed when Tim doesn’t return it.

“Friday?” your neighbor asks.

“I’ll, uh, I’m not sure if I can make it,” you offer. “Thanks for the invitation, though.”

“Open invite,” he adds before walking back toward his house.

“Hey, Tim,” you call, walking across your yard with Kojo’s leash in your hand. “Work go okay?”

“Yep. Thanks for taking care of Kojo.”

Tim takes the leash, his hand covering yours for just a moment. He pulls his hand away quickly and nods before he turns toward his house.

“Do you need me to watch him tomorrow?”

“No,” Tim answers, keeping his back to you. “Have a good one.”

You stand in your yard for a moment, wondering what happened. You’re starting to see the Tim Bradford that the officers at Mid-Wilshire talk about, and you’re not sure you like it.

✯✯✯✯✯

Tim was hoping that you’d ask your question when he got home. When he saw your other neighbor talking to you and, from what Tim heard, asking you out, he decided he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Turning his back on you felt wrong, but his jealousy is calling the shots for now. Everyone close to you, close to Tim, seems to be making a move on you. Tim doesn’t want to admit it, but part of why he likes you so much is because he’s falling for you. He knows he’ll never be good enough for you, so he’s happy to be your friend... until today, and now he’s not sure if he can stand by and watch another man attempt to make you happy.

“Any chance you can tell me that I saw that wrong?” Tim asks Kojo. When Kojo huffs, he replies, “I didn’t think so.”

✯✯✯✯✯

Kojo starts barking as soon as you return home from running some errands. Tim said he didn’t need your help today, but Kojo needs something. You text Tim, asking if he wants you to check on Kojo, but he doesn’t answer. After a few minutes, you use your spare key and enter Tim’s house.

As you walk into the backyard with Kojo, you call Tim, but he still doesn’t answer. Kojo is fine, simply lonely, so you take him back to your house. After texting Tim to let him know, you walk back to your car to lock it. A police car stops across the street, and when you see Nolan exit the driver’s side, you yell his name and jog toward the road.

“Hey,” he greets.

“What’s going on?” you ask, walking into the street so you can hear him.

“Noise complaint. How long have you been home?”

“Ten minutes, maybe.”

“They called about excessive dog barking, and that’s a direct quote.”

“Oh… that was Tim’s dog. He’s fine now, but he was barking at me when I got back because he was lonely.”

Another shop parks behind Nolan’s, and Tim slams the door as he exits.

“It was Kojo, I’m so sorry,” you offer.

“I told you he was fine today,” Tim replies.

“He started barking and I was worried about him. You didn’t answer, so I-“

“It’s fine,” Tim snaps.

“Sorry,” you whisper.

Nolan nods as he gets back in his shop. Tim waits until he drives away to take a deep breath. He begins to speak, but another neighbor stops as he drives by, rolling his window down to ask how you are. Tim opens his door, and you rush to his shop and look through his rolled-down window.

“I’m sorry, Tim,” you repeat.

“It’s fine.”

“Clearly it isn’t because you can’t even look at me. I won’t do it again.”

“It’s not about you,” Tim argues. It is, but he can’t tell you that.

“Got it,” you murmur, stepping back. “I’ll take Kojo back to your place and leave my key.”

You cross the road, walking through your yard as you think about what you’re losing by accidentally pushing Tim away. Tim yells your name, and you stop but don’t turn toward him. He walks up behind you, and you can’t see his hands flex at his sides as he tries to find the words to say.

“It is about you, but not about you taking care of Kojo,” Tim begins. “It’s about you and me.”

Turning your head, you watch Tim’s hand fold into a fist as he continues.

“I just- Nolan was flirting with you, and…”

“You think he was flirting with me?” you ask, turning so you’re facing Tim.

“He was. And it made me angry. When I came home and saw what’s-his-name flirting with you too…”

“You got angry?”

“I got jealous,” Tim forces out.

“Why?”

“Because they’re doing what I want to do.”

“What does that mean, Tim?”

“It means that I want to be more than your friend but I’m not relationship material. Watching guys try to be what I want to be makes me jealous and angry, and for some reason I took it out on you.”

“And Nolan?”

Tim pauses before nodding.

“You know the worst part of this?” you ask. “That if you had just told me, I would have let you know that I feel the same.”

“You don’t get jealous,” Tim argues.

“That’s not true. Every time someone flirts with you or stares a little too openly, I remember that you could have anyone you wanted. Being your neighbor was the closest I thought I could get.”

Tim steps toward you, and you match his movement, closing the distance together.

“So…” you begin.

“So. What did you want to ask at the station?"

"If I could come over, but I feel confident assuming that you'd say yes."

Tim closes his eyes when your neighbor says your name.

“Cute,” you murmur.

“I realized that a big gathering like that wasn’t a good choice, so I wanted to ask if you were free Thursday? Maybe we could get some dinner or something."

“She’s busy,” Tim answers, his eyes on you.

“But-“

“Let me rephrase, she’s taken!” Tim yells.

“Oh, sorry man, I didn’t know.”

Tim watches him scurry inside before turning back toward you. You smile as you look at him.

“I’m taken?” you repeat.

“Only if you want to be.”

Nodding, you lay your hands on Tim’s chest. He moves a hand up to your waist, pulling you against him. Kojo barks before he can do anything, and you laugh against Tim’s uniform.

“Aren’t you still working?” you ask.

“Technically. How about dinner when I get off?”

“Only if you cook.”

“Like I’m taking you out in public this soon. I just got over the jealousy.”

You kiss Tim’s cheek just before dispatch alerts him of a call in the area.

“Where are you going?” he asks as you walk away.

“Home!” you call as you walk into his porch. “My boy lives here. And you do too.”

#tim bradford x reader #tim bradford fluff #tim bradford imagine #tim bradford the rookie #tim bradford #the rookie #requests #fem!reader #kojo bradford #hanna writes✯

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diazsdimples · 1 month

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hey james! for buddie or bucktommy. i’m making you choose jsdjskf “why are you looking at me like that?”

Hey Nolan!! I'm gonna do Bucktommy for this one, if you don't mind!!

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Tommy asks as he once again catches Buck staring. Buck flushes deeply, a pretty pink running up his neck and into his cheeks until he feels like his whole face is on fire. Never before has he been with someone so skilled at reducing him to a giggly, blushing mess like Tommy can. It's like Tommy has a direct line to the "Idiot Centre" in Buck's brain and can activate it with a simple look or a few well timed words. "I-I'm just - I mean, I wasn't - looking at you like what?" Buck stammers. Honestly, he's got no excuse for the way he was gazing at Tommy, all lovesick and dopey like a highschool girl. His boyfriend is hot and he's still a giddy that Tommy's with him at all. So he stares at him sometimes? Sue him! Tommy grins, his nose scrunching in a way that has Buck's stomach go all fluttery, and he rounds the kitchen island so he's no more than a couple of inches away from Buck. Close enough to have Buck's heart rate going up a couple of notches, but still too far. He needs him close, needs to be able to feel Tommy's chest press against his as he breathes, needs to feel Tommy's lips brush his as he speaks, needs to feel Tommy's co- Okay yeah, he's getting a little carried away. It's not his fault. "You were looking at me the way a 2000's teen girl would have looked at Justin Bieber whenever he flicked his hair," Tommy teases, and Buck wishes a hole would open underneath him and swallow him up. "I was just-" he begins, going redder still when Tommy crosses his arms and watches him with a half-smirk, his head cocked to the side. He looks far too adorable for his own good and it's not helping Buck's dilemma at all. "You're cute," he finishes lamely, unable to meet Tommy's eyes because he just knows Tommy is going to be looking at him with that soft, amused look on his face, like watching Buck bumble and ramble his way through their relationship is his favourite pastime - which, it probably is. "I'm cute," Tommy repeats, and Buck can hear the delight his voice. It's mortifying. It's humiliating. He's going to run away and live in the forest and become a hermit and - Suddenly Tommy's lips are on his and oh, yeah that's okay then, Buck can go with this. Buck can definitely get behind kissing Tommy if it means he doesn't talk and make even more of a fool of himself. Plus, Tommy's got this way of completely taking Buck apart with his lips, kissing him so thoroughly that he forgets his own name, forgets every little detail about himself except that he's kissing Tommy. Tommy pulls away and Buck pants, a little breathless from the kiss. Their foreheads rest against one another and their breaths mingle, warm and heavy and full of affection between them. "Well the good news is," Tommy says, his voice husky enough that it sends little shivers of joy down Buck's spine, "I think you're cute too." What else is Buck meant to do than blush once again?

Send me a ship and a sentence and I'll finish it!

#james answers things #james writes #bucktommy ficlet #bucktommy wip #bucktommy #evan buckley #tommy kinard #911 fanfic #911 abc #tuck #tevan #kinkley #poor blushy buck #hope you liked this nolan!!!

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bagopucks · 1 year

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N. Hischier - Sun Days

✄————————————

Nico Hischier x Reader

Requested✨

Word Count: 1.4k

Warning(s): joking mentions of sex, and general banter. Nothing worrisome!

—————————————

I aimlessly fiddled with the beads on Nico’s wrist. Each bracelet bought for a different occasion and holding a different meaning. I told him he’d have a weird tan line. He told me he didn’t care. He wore a black pair of swim trunks, and after his unwavering persistence, I wore a matching black bikini. Our New Jersey Devils hats were pulled low over our eyes, which were covered by sunglasses. Nico promised we’d go on a real vacation, but for now I had to make do with the chilly water of the New Jersey beaches, and the boyish games of the team around us.

Two goalies sunbathing in the sand. Jack, Timo, Bratt, Miles, Luke and John playing Spikeball. Two other goalies off on a walk seashell hunting. And the rest scattered about. Haula and Nolan had gone off to join a group of locals playing volleyball. And Graves was helping Hamilton with some sandcastle empire down by the water. Anybody else was out of sight and out of mind.

Nico and I settled for observing. Beach chairs side by side. Close enough that when we rested our arms on the armrests, they’d touch and we could hold hands. Close enough to share occasional quiet conversation, and simple banter. Close enough to make fun of Marino for how horrible he was at Spikeball. Neither of us were Canadian, but our witty insults and shouted playful comments were nothing short of a scene straight out of Letterkenny.

“This is why you play defense!” Nico teased.

“You’re just chirpin’ cuz you’re safe with your girlfriend!” John would snap right back.

And perhaps that was true, but I’d done my fair share of teasing as well.

“Spikeball done so soon?” I quipped as the group made their way up the sand to find the cooler by Nico’s chair. Miles was the first to collapse down on a towel next to my chair. I chuckled.

“Jack’s a cheater.” Luke griped, pulling a beer from the cooler. He was too young to drink, but it was practically a right of passage for his accomplishments. At least until he got caught by someone with more jurisdiction than the elders of the team.

“Oh shut up. You just suck.” Nico and I chuckled before I watched their captain gently swat at Jack’s leg.

“Be nice.”

“Tell him to stop lying.” Jack protested.

“It’s just a game.” I rolled my eyes and laughed.

“He’s definitely not Lying.” Timo chimed in as he grabbed a bottle of water, a smirk on his lips as he and Nico shared knowing looks.

“Maybe we should make John sit out and recruit Nico.” Jesper suggested as he grabbed a water bottle and tossed it to Jack.

“I don’t know.. I’m pretty comfortable.” Nico pursed his lips, faking a look of disinterest. Or perhaps that was a real look. He did seem fairly comfortable.

“Why do I have to sit out?” John immediately complained. But everybody knew. Because he sucked. And nobody had the heart to tell him, so the conversation moved on.

“Dude. You’ve been with her all day.” Jack whined.

“Like you’re not attached to Luke’s hip all the time.” I glanced away as I spoke, but I could feel Jack’s gaze on me.

“That’s different.” He protested.

“Is it though?” Luke chimed in, causing a few quiet giggles among the group.

“What have you guys been doing anyway?” Timo swiftly changed the subject.

“Talkin’ sex?” Of all the phrases to leave Marino’s mouth, I hadn’t expected that to be one of them.

“Johnny boy, don’t make me wash your mouth out with salt water.” I teased with a smirk. He held his hands up swiftly in surrender.

“Come on, Hisch.” Jesper nudged Nico, and I looked over at my boyfriend in time to see him peer at me. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could see the way his brow lifted and his shoulders shrugged. As if to say there was nothing he could do about it, but also asking for permission to go.

“Your sexy lady’ll still be here when you get back.” I shot an immediate glare at Luke.

“Watch it, kid.” I warned, releasing Nico’s hand.

“I’ll be back.” Nico stood up, turning to lean forward. I met him halfway for a swift kiss. Something about being the captain’s girlfriend seemed to put me on a pedestal. I wouldn’t call myself a mother to the boys, but more so a figure they could go to. I cooked for them occasionally, helped host them when Nico had them over, always offered advice, they all had my number for emergencies.

I’m some ways, sure, I took on a maternal role. And apparently with that, came the childish gagging and grossed out groans when Nico and I kissed. He pulled away with a smile, stripping the bracelets from his wrist and handing them over for me to hold onto.

“Sure you’ll be safe back here?” The ever blonde Jesper piped up. Just as I finished slipping the last of Nico’s bracelets on, I had looked up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Just asking if you’re too close to the action? Wouldn’t want you getting hurt.” He was teasing of course, but what was said, had already been said. And I, was a competitive person.

“Nico.” I caught his attention. We shared a look.

“Let’s not instigate, alright?” Nico must have misunderstood my look.

“No, no.” I slid his bracelets right back off my wrist. “Let me play.” I was careful when I placed the beaded items down on my chair, quickly standing up.

“There has to be an even number of players.” Jack argued.

“Miles is right there.” I pointed to Wood, still laying on the towel.

“Hell no.” Was all I heard in response. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. They must have really worn Miles out.

“Akira!” I looked over at the goalie lying on a towel, his head shooting up as quick as a dog who heard the word treat. “You’re coming to play Spikeball, bud. Let’s go.”

“Oh boy.” Nico reached for my hand. “You’re sure?” He asked. The game was nothing that required big muscles or much athleticism. I was sure I’d get by.

“You and Akira are on my team.” I responded, adjusting my hat. “We’ll take Jack too.” I flashed Jesper a sarcastic smile.

“Woah! You can’t pick like that.” Luke chimed in, throwing his hands in the air.

“I think she just did.” Praise the lord for Nico and his fleeting sass. It didn’t come around often, but he used it when I needed backup.

“Who do we have?” Jesper quickly looked around. Himself, Luke, Marino, and Timo.

“I’d like to have a formal pick, please!” Jesper spoke, but when he looked back, Nico and I were already making our way down the beach hand in hand.

“So, captain..” he started, “what’s the plan?” I smiled and glanced in his direction. “First,” I pulled away from Nico once we made it to the net, twisting my hat backwards. “We beat the shit out of them at this stupid game.”

“Right.”

“Then,” I twisted Nico’s hat backwards as well, laughing softly at the way certain strands of hair stuck out in all directions. “We put some more sunscreen on your cheeks.” I watched an immediate blush form on his already pink skin. “You’re starting to look a little rosy.” I cupped his face in my hands and rubbed my thumbs over the beginnings of a sunburn on his cheeks.

“I’m fine.” Nico gently pushed my hands away.

“We live together. I don’t want to hear you whining every five seconds at home about your sunburnt face.”

“I won’t,” he tried to defend himself, but Nico’s voice took on a guilty tone immediately.

“How do you play this game?” Akira interrupted, causing Nico and I to peer back at him, our brows risen and jaws clenched with worry.

“I think you got a little too eager.” Nico whispered to me.

“I should have called for Vanecek.” I agreed.

“Definitely.”

✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾

#nhl imagine #nhl x reader #jack hughes #nico hischier #nico hischier imagine #nico hischier blurb #nico hischier x reader #john marino #timo meier #jesper bratt

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luv-gukkie · 11 months

Text

cherry | 𖦊 : six

pairing: yandere! park jimin x f. reader, yandere! jung hoseok x f. reader

genre: fluff || smut || non-idol au || yandere

summary: you’re the cherry on top of everything. the little girl in front of your parents; the gooody two-shoes of your family, friends, and everyone who knows you. so when you’re staring at the two bright, red lines on the pregnancy test. you know you’re fucked, you really do. especially when there’s not only one man, but seven.

word count: +1k

tags/warnings: nothing really!

notes: jimin is kinda catching up…hoseok made an appearance!!!

tag list: @bananamochidaisy @mageprincess7 @darkuni63 @princess-sunshyn @redeyezbloodymouth @bxcndd @iloverubberduckiez-blog

༻❤︎︎ ★ ★ ❤︎︎༺

jimin's eyes stared back at the man in black. "i want you to do a job for me. an important one." the other man nods in agreement, "follow this girl. she's someone that i'll do anything for, she's my soon-to-be fiancé." jimin hands over a file with all your information and even a picture of you. he watches the man eye the file, flipping the pages and finally, he stretches his hand out in agreement. jimin smiles, "the money will go straight to your account. my assistant will email you the rest of the details of where to meet and more." shaking his trusted man's hand, "take care of her for me, and of course, yourself seo-jun." the man leaves without uttering a word, his food untouched and just his drink gone. always a quiet man with a taste for expensive alcohol just like when he was younger. jimin's head hurts after such a long day, he misses you already and yet, he doesn't want to see you. he feels anxious every time he thinks about, doesn't know what to believe. are you cheating on him? the purple-colored skin never leaving his mind. that's why jimin's gonna have seo-jun follow you, bring him back every tiny detail you do and where ever you go. he's not gonna lose to any scumbags you might be fooling around with. jimin isn't going to lose you.

seokjin spent the night with you. the pair stayed up until midnight, laughter filling the night with food placed all around the table. his eyes often glancing at the phone that stopped ringing with messages. never getting a chance to see who was texting you so much. you left him in your apartment eating by himself, promising to see him again after you come back from your classes. "why are you so busy all the time?" your best friend asked, a pout forming on her face. "just things, family things." you sat at your desk, greeting nolan with a small smile. "family, huh? do you visit them every week?" nolan questioned, a small smile on his face. "i try t—", "let's start the class!" the professor announced. but it didn't stop the three of you from talking to each other in secret. the lesson ended earlier than expected, all of you agreeing on visiting a coffee shop together. "i'll pay, don't worry." nolan took his credit card out with no problem. not a single glance at the price he was paying, just a quick swipe and he walked out without looking back. "thank you." you squealed at the excitement of having free food. "you're welcome. my parents finally put money into my account." he grinned, fiddling around with the card. after a while, all of you departed from each other with a good bye.

unaware of the man who watched the meeting from the corner of the room. taking pictures of the boy who offered to pay. his boss wouldn't like that at all. seo-jun send them all to his boss, who immediately responded. he drove behind the car the boy got in, following jimin's order to follow around the boy for the rest of the day. leaving you by yourself, no one left to watch you. not that you noticed either. after getting home, you called your parents for your usual meet up. you lived about two hours away from them. the two still living in your childhood home, where you learned to ride a bike and where you went to school. all your innocent memories. you yearn to ride a bike around the streets you used to run in. maybe a visit back home wouldn't be too bad. "i think i might visit you two." you say to the the phone that shows your parents' face. "oh please do! we miss you." their faces filled with happiness at a chance of seeing their daughter. "this sunday?" your parents quickly nod at the suggestion, "we'll have a small barbecue with the family!" you hear a door open from your phone before hearing a child's voice causing you to beam. "(y/n)! i miss you, please come back to visit me." your little brother begs, baby face pouting and tears at the brim until you finally accept. "i'll see you soon, mateo. bye!" you make a kissing face at the screen before it turns completely black.

a sudden knock at the door has you jolting up in fright. "who is it?" your mind wanders if you were supposed to meet with somebody until it hits you. you check the date and time, remembering the plans you made with a certain someone. "oh c'mon, did you forget me? already?" his voice yells through the locked door. you rush to open the door and let the bright man in. his presence immediately making your lips turn upwards. "hobi!" you shriek as he brings you into tight hug, spinning you around. there's peony flowers that he hands over to you after letting you down. a cute, huggable teddy that holds a heart filled with coconut filled chocolates. hoseok begins to speak without a single take for breath. he goes on and on about everything that has happened since two weeks ago. hoseok goes on to put the peonies into a vase, changing the other flowers that he brought. "i've missed you." you blush at his words, a little grin plastered on your face. "you did?" he hums in response, "i went to italy, brought back a couple of souvenirs for you." he tells you, pulling out a game board from his bag. "aww, you didn't have to, hobi." but all he does is shake his head, "of course i do. you're my girlfr-" he coughs in between, letting go of his sentence. "let's play. i'm gonna win this time." he smirks at you. "sure, hobi." multiple rounds later, hoseok and you are tied, always begging for another round. "i'll be right back. no cheating!" he yells in a stern voice while squinting his eyes. "i could never."

he comes back no later, "who's is this?" hoseok's tone is serious. your eyes widen at the blue toothbrush he carries along with him. "why do you have two?" his questions don't come to a stop. "who's been sleeping here, (y/n)?"

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wheelsupin-azarathmetrionzinthos · 11 months

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Lucy needed a friend in S4

Whenever I think about episode 4x17 and Chris singing Dream A Little Dream of Me in front of Lucy like it was a normal thing to do or a normal mistake to make. I question like the rest of us “why didn’t she break up with him?” We could assume that it was the show itself minimizing her trauma or keeping Chris around for drama reasons. But ignoring that type of meta analysis, in character I think it all comes back to the fact that in season 4, Lucy doesn’t have the friends and support she had before. Yes I know she had Tim but we’ll get to that. Losing Jackson lost Lucy a very important person in her life, because yes they were best friends but they were also peers. They went to each other about everything. Like we saw with Vanessa Chen, Jackson was willing to go scorched earth for Lucy against her own mother, even while Lucy would’ve just suffered in silence about her parents’ disapproval. Unlike her friendships with Nyla, Angela or Tim, Jackson was a peer, they went through the academy together, they were in a very similar stage of life. He was her sounding board in a way Nolan wasn’t or Rachel used to be before she moved. Lucy in season 4 also became Tamara’s primary caretaker, she got a little sister to care about and protect. Lucy absolutely wouldn’t want to burden her with any of the emotional uncertainty or trauma she was working through. As previously demonstrated with Rachel, Lucy works through her issues by talking through them with someone. Her best ability to introspect is talking through her feelings, and having someone point out the lack of logic, or being able to point out her own logic. She can’t do that with Tamara, she’s not burdening this kid. She can’t really do this with Nyla and Angela, because while they are her friends they also outrank her, and are further in their careers and lives. Thorsen is still a rookie and isn’t quite at that level yet. That leaves Tim, but at this point, I think something would prevent Lucy from really discussing her relationship with Tim. They both can’t really admit to each other that there are problems in their relationships because well...that would require them to address their deal. THe only reason Lucy intervened with Ashley is that Ashley called *her* about Kojo So anyway back to 4x17. Chris sings the song, Lucy spirals, and then she decides to watch the video, she decides not to testify, and then she’s fine? She goes to dinner with Chris? But let’s look at that scene. Even on one of her most vulnerable days, Lucy sees that Tamara is interested in lawyer intern Austin. So she makes it easy on Tamara. She knows if she’s not perfectly okay, Tamara will feel bad and it’ll ruin her evening. Lucy cares so much, even at the detriment of her own feelings. Lucy takes care of Tamara by going to dinner with Chris and convincing herself that yeah this is fine and that being with a man who belittles her career, and doesn’t listen to her, and is moving too fast is okay. It’s okay because the two people who could clock that she’s not okay, are Tim (distracted by trying to not have feelings for Lucy, and also Lucy will always want him to be proud of her which means not being vulnerable about things she’s supposed to be “over”) and Jackson (who is dead). If Jackson had been around, Lucy could’ve let herself fall apart over the SUPER TRAUMATIC DAY, and he would’ve called her on her stubbornness in needing to make Chris work. Jackson was her safeplace, in the way that Angela was Tim’s and Nyla had become Nolan’s. S4 left her unmoored which left with the ability to grow in her relationship with Tim, but it also hindered her when things came up that she couldn’t talk to Tim about, like issues with Chris, or kissing Tim in her apartment. S4 Lucy needed her friend Jackson a whole bunch, and nothing shows that more then 4x17, because Jackson would have protected her from herself.

#lucy chen #jackson west #tim bradford #Chenford #Chris Sanford #the rookie #tldr: if jackson was still alive Chris would not have lasted as long as he had #for many reasons #primarily calling lucy on her own bullshit #affectionately but you know

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b0ng05 · 8 months

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Celina Juarez x fem reader

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Word Count: 1090

Prompt:

“God. I missed that.”

“Missed what?”

“Your aura. I- it um- it sounds kinda dorky, but your aura lights up the room.”

Summary: What happens when John Nolan and Lucy Chen notice some similarities between their rookies? What if they decided to play match maker?

Master list/ Request list

Part 2.

————————————————————

John walked into the bullpen, Celina in tow. Celina has been staying with John and Bailey on and off for a few weeks now.

“-I’m just saying, you should consider burning sage in your house.” Celina rambled as John tuned her out.

John just let out a small ‘maybe’, before sitting next to Lucy. As he sat, he let out a heavy sigh in irritation, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“What’s got you all grumpy?” Lucy teasingly asked, a playful smile itching to show.

“I think I need to set Celina up with someone.” John stated before glancing up at Lucy.

“And why exactly do you need to do that?” Nyla piped in while taking a seat on his left.

“Celina is an amazing girl, but Bailey and I haven’t been alone in weeks. Reminds me of when Henry was little.” John admitted while raising his hand to toy with the brim of his coffee cup.

“Just tell her that you need space.” Bradford suggested as he made his presence behind Lucy known.

“What are we talking about?” Angela asked as she took a seat on the edge of the table.

“Celina, John wants to set her up with someone.” Nyla replied while giving Angela a small smile.

Angela instantly perked up, “Isn’t there supposed to be a new officer transferring today? Set her up with the newbie.”

“Wait, is that her?” Lucy inquired while looking through the window of the pen to see Sergeant Grey and a woman.

The others followed Lucy’s sightline to a short woman chuckling at something Grey said.

“More importantly, is that Grey smiling?” John retorted, his eyes squinting in confusion as his head tilted.

Grey started walking to the bullpen door, the woman following closely behind.

When the woman walked in, Celina’s brain turned to mush. A bright pink, violet, and green aura followed the woman. Celina could feel her heart racing in her chest, something about this woman was different.

As Grey starts his debriefing, he pausing looking at you with a grin,

“This is officer Y/l/n, transferring from SDPD.” Grey introduced before continuing his speech.

The whole meeting, Celina’s face grew red. Her eyes kept stealing glances at Y/n. She was awestruck by this beautiful woman. Y/n was ethereal to Celina.

After a few minutes after the meeting ended, Celina still sat there. Her mind trying to rationalize how a woman could be that gorgeous and have such a sweet aura.

“Celina!” John called out, drawing her away from her daydream.

“Oh! I- uh, haha, hey!” Celina stuttered out, her eyes widen after seeing Bradford, Lopez, Chen, and Harper watching their interaction.

“You doin’ okay?” Concern coating John’s tone like honey.

“I- I um- Yeah, I’ll go get the war bag.” Celina said, her eyes focused on her shoes to hide her reddening cheeks from the nosy officers.

Celina quickly walked off, having felt embarrassed. The four other officers call John back over to them.

“Okay, you can definitely set Y/n and Celina up.” Lucy stated with a goofy grin on her lips.

“What?” John asked, confusion overtaking his features.

“Did you not see how Celina looked at her?” Nyla deadpanned, her hand falling to the table dumbfounded.

John shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing. His cluelessness even has Bradford dumbstruck.

“It’s obvious that Celina finds Y/n attractive. She was practically drooling when she saw her.” Bradford explained before shaking his head and walking off to his desk.

Angela laughed teasingly at John.

“Geez, aren’t you supposed to be an insightful cop?” Nyla harped with a playful smile.

“I was paying attention to Grey, not my rookie’s crush.” He defended with a small smile, his hands raised in surrender.

“The real question is how do we get them together?” Nyla inquired with a raised brow, she lifted her coffee to her lips taking a long sip.

“I could try to talk Y/n today. Get some intel and then we can text and try to plan things from there,” Angela suggested with a mischievous smile.

With that, they all started going their separate ways to start their jobs.

———————-----------------------------------

“Okay! So maybe I think she’s pretty.” Celina confessed after being grilled by Aaron and Lucy all lunch.

“See! I knew it!” Lucy cheered while holding out her hand towards Aaron.

Aaron scoffed and grabbed his wallet from his pocket, dropping a crisp bill into Lucy’s awaiting hand.

“I’m sorry, did you place a bet on that?” Celina’s eyes widen and she bites back an annoyed scoff. But secretly loving that they could see just how much of an affect you had on her.

“Oh absolutely. After I saw you gawking at her in the bullpen, I bet Aaron 10 bucks that you like her.” Lucy explained while flexing the bill between her fingers.

“Uh- I- I wasn’t gawking!” Celina defended, her cheeks glowing red at the embarrassment of being caught.

“Oh I saw it, you were totally gawking.” Lucy stated with a cheeky grin.

“I- whatever.” Celina turned away from them, trying to hide her red cheeks.

“Hey is that her?” Aaron teased while glancing over Celina’s shoulder.

Celina whips her head around trying to see what he saw. Only to hear the two laughing at her oblivion.

“This is why I normally sit with Nolan.” Celina mumbles as she takes a sip of her coffee.

Lucy and Aaron laugh at her words, Aaron nudges Celina’s shoulder.

“C’mon, you know you love us.” Aaron teases with a grin.

Celina shakes her head as her brown eyes wander their surroundings. Eyes catching on Y/n eating lunch with Angela and Nyla. The women laugh and crack jokes, but Celina can only focus on how radiant Y/n looks. Celina finds herself admiring the soft look on the new officer’s face. The way her hair sits so perfectly, the soft slope of her nose, and her smiling lips. Imagining how sweet they would feel against hers, how delicate the woman’s touch would feel. God, Celina was swooning for the woman and she hadn’t even talked to her yet.

“Earth to Celina- Finally!” Lucy laughs as she finally catches the woman’s attention.

“We’re about to head out, we’ll see you later.” Lucy smiles as she and Aaron get up from the table to get back to work.

Celina nods and sits at the table waiting for Nolan to finish his lunch. But she notices that Angela and Nyla are leaving their table, leaving you at the table by yourself….

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#the rookie #celina juarez #celina juarez x reader #Lucy chen x platonic reader #Angela Lopez x platonic reader #Nyla Harper x platonic reader

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lukemfhughes · 1 year

Text

‘Bro why are you with my sister?’

Ethan Edwards x Blankenburg! Reader

summary: nicks sister goes to umich after him leaving and she gets close with his old team.

Note: so here it is, i have a feeling that this is gonna disappoint your expectations, and i was to lazy to do the word count

After you graduated from high school. You had one plan, to go to the univ of michigan. The same place where your brother had just left. It was kinda scary to go to college. Knowing that there is two ways how things can go. 1 you get no friends and be alone all the time. 2 you get friends and live that happy college life.

Well for your good, you got way no. 2. It happend cause you met your new volleyball team and also the hockey team. When Nick heard of your new friendship with the guys, he called Steve to keep an eye on you. That also caused you and steve to become best friends.

One saturday night you had your first volleyball game of the season. The guys were in the stands cheering loudly for you. when the game point came you were serving, ‘you got this y/n,’ you said to yourself. You took the ball to your hand, taking couple steps and throwing it low before swinging your arm at it. it floats to the back corner and it’s an ace. You jump in the air as your teammate came to hug you.

After the game you walked out to the arena lobby and seeing your friends there. “y/n! you played so well!” Mark exclaims happily and pulls your for a hug. “Thank you markie.” you say and go to hug everyone else. “So what’s the plan for tonight?” Nolan asks. “I heard there is a party at the frat house.” You say. Everyone agrees to go, and you head to the house.

“Who is gonna stay sober and take care of her?” Steve asks and points at you. You go to protest but eddy agrees. “Eddy you don’t need to.” You plead him. “No y/n i’m gonna stay with you.” He says and you groan and head to the kitchen for a drink. He follows you not looking away of you when you slip past other people. ”How do you have this much energy after that game?” He asks. You just shurg your shoulders and take a sip of your beer.

The night goes on and every where you go eddy is following you closly. ”Lets dance!” You say and grab his hand. His hands find their way to your hips as you swing them from side to side. Ethan looks at with an admiring look. ”Why r u looking at me like that.” You ask. ”You are pretty.” He mumbles. You blush at his words. He glances down at your lips. He leans closer for a kiss. ”Eddy!” Someone yells causing him to pull away. ’Was that actually about to happen’ eddy thinks in his head as duker walks towards to him.

”I think it’s time to take this lady back to her dorm.” Ethan says to the other boys. Ethan guides you towards his car and drives to the campus. ”I’m gonna make sure you get there safetly.” He says and guides you into the dorm building. Once you get to your dorm you threw yourself to the bed. ”Thanks for being my security for the night.” You mumble just before sleep takes over.

When ethan drives back home he thinks ’what if i would have gotten to kiss her’. ’Damn i prob ruined my chance now’

The next week when nick is visiting detroit cause of an roadie he comes to the campus before going back to columbus. You and the guys were in detroit watching his game. Tonight nick made an comeback to college partying as you brought him with you for a party.

”Lets go grab drinks.” You say and walk to the kitchen. Nick and the other boys follow you and you grab drinks and stay in the kitchen as you talk. Ethan is standing next to you and nick on your other side. When nick excauses himself and leaves for toilet, the same song what was played at the same place a week ago, started. You looked up to ethan and he just nodded. ”We are gonna dance, just a sec we will be back.” You said to the others.

You pulled ethan to the dance floor. ”So mr. Edwards, i think a week ago there was something bothering us so we couldn’t do this.” You whisper to his ear and grab his face and kiss him. He kisses you back.

”What the hell!” You hear nick yell. This causes you to pull away from eddy. Nick is there, standing and looking at you two. ”Bro why are you with my sister when there are so many other ladies.” Nick says. You look down at your feet. ”There is many other ladies, but none of them are as pretty, smart, perfect as she is.” Ethan says. Nick looks at between you. ”Fine but if you hurt her you’re dead, and no babies, yet.” He says and hugs you. ”Thank you.” You mumble.

The rest of the night you spent under eddys arm. Safe

#umich hockey #nj devils #ethan edwards #mark estapa #dylan duke #nick blankenburg #steve holtz #ethan edwards imagine #ethan edwards fic

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greazyfloz · 1 year

Text

You Don't Love Me Anymore Pt.1

Posting this again because someone noticed I made a mistake and added a random name oops

Warning: Angst, Swearing, Alcohol

Word Count: 1.9k

My Saturday nights typically go one of two ways during the hockey season. 1 I either sit at home with some of my friends or some for the other sophomore’s girlfriends that I have grown close to and watch movies or Mark’s games while he is away or 2 I am at Yost and then immediately after drinking my liver away with the team at one of their big Saturday night parties. Tonight was the 2nd option.

After the game, we headed to the sophomore house to drop off the car, then Mark, Eddy and I along with the rest of the house all walked to Nolan’s so we could all enjoy our nights.

After about an hour, I was really starting to feel it. Mark looks down at me under his shoulder, “Stay here, I will be right back. Do you want another?” he asks looking down at my almost empty cooler. “Of course” I say “actually, can you mix me something with the new tequila Nolan just got?””Babe, that stuff is strong” mark protests, “I can handle it, pleeeease” i say giving my boyfriend sad puppy eyes. Mark leans down and pecks my lips “I’ll be back” he says in a tone that signals I am getting what I want.

As I am talking to Luke and Mackie waiting for Mark to return with my drink, music finally starts to play loudly through the house. Mark finally returns, handing me my drink and joining the conversation.

“Hello Estapa, would you mind if I stole your girlfriend for a second”, Mark and I turn around and laugh when we see Jay standing there with a stupid smile on his face, “I am in need of a new pong partner, and Grano is just awful” Jay continues. “Wait I’ll play!” Luke yells over the music “No no no, I want to win hughesy. If I wanted to lose I would have asked one of you three” Jay says pointing at the three boys, “plus Y/N kicked all of our ass’ last time!” Jay continues. I look up at Mark and stuck out my tongue before looking back at Jay, “alright let’s go jbone” I say before chugging the full cup in my hands. I follow Jay to the table and Mark, Luke and Mackie follow behind us to watch with Luke yelling behind us “I’m not that bad you know!!”.

It really wasn’t weird for me to be playing beer pong with Jay because of how close I got with the team. I became one of the boys really quick into my and Mark’s relationship. Once we got to the table Jay looks over at Jacob and his girlfriend and yelled, “I BROUGHT OUT MY SECRET WEAPON!!!”, “NO FAIR, WHERE IS GRANO?! YOU CAN’T SWITCH NOW” Jacob yells back. Jay and I were losing until I started getting one in after the other. “GO BABE!!” Mark chants.

After my streak ends, Jay and I are jumping up and down, hugging eachother out of excitement. The game ended after I sunk the final cup after getting redemption, everyone cheered again and I jumped into Jay’s arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as he jumped up and down not even realizing how we may have looked. Jay was just as drunk as me at this point and it clearly showed.

[Mark POV]

I watch Y/N wrap her legs around Jay and I immediately see red. “Wooo!! Go Y/N” Mackie yells out. I roll my eyes and Luke notices “hey man, you good?”. Why is everyone acting like the way Y/N is acting is normal?! I can’t watch this anymore. I walk to the staircase and go up halfway before sitting down, away from her.

“What’s going on?”eddy asks, plopping himself down next to me, handing me another can of beer. I take the can opening it and than taking a slip. I look over at eddy before looking back straight ahead. “Alright then, where is Y/N at?”,“Probably hooking up with her new boyfriend” I say gripping tighter on the can as I start thinking of the scene I just witnessed. “Oh shit, you good?” eddy replies, “fine.” “come on estapa , maybe you guys should call it a night” he says after he notices my jaw harden as I grit my teeth together. I say nothing.

Eddy is sitting beside me continuing to talk about whatever happened to him and Mackie a couple days ago, but I was too angry to care. I did not catch a single word he was saying I just nodded my head and continued to think about my girlfriend and my teammate. My friend. That’s when my phone started buzzing.

Y/N <3 : babvy whred u go>?

Y/N <3 : cpme hree plx

“So than we wer-”, “You were right earlier, Y/N needs to go home” I say to eddy as I get up and walk away. “Well I think I will join ya” eddy says, but I quickly reply with “no, I am taking Y/N home”. I get up with eddy closing following behind to find Y/N. I am pushing through people in the crowded house when I see holtzy and phil outside the kitchen. “Where is she?” I say to them trying to sound normal but failing with anger ripping through my voice. They both didn’t say anything but hesitantly pointed towards inside the kitchen.

I was greeted by the sight of my drunk girlfriend hanging off of my drunk teammate's neck dancing around the kitchen, I look around to see a bunch of freshmans looking at me with an expression on their faces that read ‘oh shit’. Oh shit was right. Y/N turned around and looked at me smiling trying to stand on her own.

“We are leaving” I grind through my teeth. “I’m staying” Y/N replies “Come on, let’s go. I am tired” I say rolling my eyes at Bone. “Okay, wellll you have a good sleep *hiccup* see you in the mor- *hiccup* nin’”, “Y/N I SAID LET’S GO” I yelled causing everyone to watch. “Hey hey heyyy stop sign, calmer down buddy. Me and Y/N are just having some fun” Bone ruthlessly interrupts. I really didn’t want to cause a scene but the anger took control “Like fuck you are” I say pushing Bone down to the ground. Before I could even throw one punch, I was being held back by holtzy and phil. “Woah, woah. Calm down” holtzy is says while he holds me back. “Bro he is your friend” phil adds.

[Y/N POV]

I know I am too intoxicated to think straight right now. I look down to see Jay getting back up off the ground. “Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” I say ignoring the burning gaze from Mark. “Save it for the ice there stop sign” Jay chuckles over at Mark, gaining a chuckle out of me. Jay reaches over to the fridge and grabs a beer and tosses it to Mark before getting another for himself. “I don’t want this” Mark says handing it to holtzy. “I’ll have it” I say. Mark walks over to me and says “I am going home” quietly before turning around. “Whatz your problem Mark?!” I yell to his back as he is facing the way to the door, he continues walking out the front door and I follow him out to the front of the house. He is a lot steadier than i am right now so by the time I am outside he is already at the sidewalk. “Excuseeee meee, Mark. I asked a question. Where ya think yer goin?!” I yell across the yard to him. Suddenly Mark stops giving me some time to catch up. He turns when I am almost close enough to touch him when I stumble in his arms. “Hehe oopsies” i giggle in his arms. But he takes a step back and says “we are over”.

After he said that I suddenly stopped giggling and just stared at him. I was in disbelief “b-but w-why?” I say “y-you don’t love m-me anymore?’. Mark takes a hard breath, I can tell his next words he wants to yell, I can sence his anger. “I can’t love a whore”, “I am not a whore!” I yell back at him quickly, getting on the same level of anger as him. “I watched you practically fuck my friend in front of everyone tonight Y/N, you were all over him. You are just a disgusting whore”. That hurt. “Why are you being so jealous?”, “Jealous? Ppfftt, I came to have a good time with my friends and my girlfriend and she’s too busy hanging off my friends and wrapping her legs around him in front of me. You are embarrassing me!”, “Fine if that is how you really feel, than I guess we are over” I retort before turning towards the front door. “You going back in to fuck J-bone?!” Mark yells behind me, I turn to say “maybe I will! After all, I am single now!” before stumbling back into the party.

I stumble all the way to the kitchen to grab the bottle of tequila. After grabbing the bottle off the shelf, I turn to find myself somewhere to be alone, as I turn I run into Nolan’s chest falling back, good thing the wall was there to catch me. “Where do you think your going with that?” Nolan asks. Without saying anything I slide past Nolan putting the bottle to my lips before taking a large swig straight from the bottle. I raised my eyebrows at him before opening the back door to the back porch and sitting on the lawn chairs. I was wearing nothing but a short sleeve crop top but I wasn’t cold even in the February weather.

Nolan followed me outside sitting on the chair beside me followed by Mackie and eddy joining too. “Go inside Y/N, you are going to freeze” Nolan says again. Again with the same response as last time he said something to me I put the bottle up to my lips again. Nolan rolled his eyes and looking at the boys he says “Alright go get Estapa”. “He gone” eddy answers, “Well-” Nolan starts,“We broke up” I quietly interrupt with no expression, taking another slip from the bottle.

They’re all just looking around awkward, before I speak up “yunno I came out here to be alone”. They just sat there still, staring at me sadly until I whispered out almost breathlessly “please”. They all got up, each giving me a shoulder squeeze or a sad facial expression on the way back in. I pull out my phone to see if maybe there would be a text or call or something from Mark, but there was nothing. I miss him already. Maybe he was right and I am embarrassing.

I sit outside for what felt like maybe an hour, sipping on the bottle of tequila straight. I let a tear fall from my eye before looking down and seeing it is 3:30 in the morning. I get up from the chair, and bring the bottle of tequila with me on my way to the door. “Where do you think you are going?” I turn to see Nolan. “Home” I say, “by myself, all alone” i continue followed by tears threatening to fall as I turn back towards the door. “Nah, you’re staying here”, “Why do you care?”,”Because it’s dark, and Estapa would kill me if he knew I let you go”. The tears that threaten to fall are now flowing down my cheeks. “He doesn’t care about me anymore”. Stumbling even worse than before I took a seat on the couch.

I start to get tired and slowly pass out on the couch.

#umich hockey #umich imagine #umich hockey imagine #mark estapa #mark estapa x reader

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bronx-bomber87 · 11 months

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Happy 4th to all those who celebrate it in the states. If not then just happy Tuesday to you haha

We are onto s2! I’m excited this season has a plethora of goodies. Let’s get started on said goodness hehe

2x01 Impact

The episode starts off with a bang. Lucy is riding in the ambulance with Tim. I'm sure the paramedics didn’t fight her at all with joining him. Not like they could’ve stopped her anyway haha

Just when Lucy thought she could breathe Tim collapses. The amount of worry on her face as she watches him have a seizure…. Luckily it’s a reaction to vaccine and not the infection. It’s severe reaction though and he goes into anaphylactic shock. Lucy trying to keep it together as they rush him to the hospital.

They make it to the hospital when they find out there is one more terrorist waiting in the wings for them. The minute they pull in they start to shoot up the ambulance. Just like Lucy did for her dad in 1x17 not a second passes before Lucy is covering his body with her own. Willing to take bullets for him in order to protect him. God I love her. Doesn't hesitate for one second to be a human shield for Tim. My heart.

They’re all pinned down by this woman with her assault rifle. It's then Tim comes barreling out of the ambulance like the BAMF he is. Tim takes her ass out single handled. He asks Nolan if he is ok. Nolan says yeah he shouldn't have reloaded on the go. John asks him the same thing and his reply to Nolan is hilarious. 'Should've taken yesterday off' LOL I love it. Little humor to start the season.

We surge two weeks into the future after this. They’ve all taken their exams and Tim has had time to recover from his ordeal. They're all in roll call waiting for Grey. Lucy is asking how Tim is feeling. You can tell by his body posture how guarded he is with his answers. Just telling her he's ready to get back out there. Very reminiscent of early s1 Tim with her. We find out Lucy sent him food. (Of course she did. She’s an empathetic nurturing soul.) She cares about him so she’s going to take the steps to show that. Make him feel cared for. It's something that is very foreign to Tim and it shows.

For Tim he’s so used to carrying burdens alone, having to be second place no matter the relationship, being the protector not the protected, and being the one to take care of everyone and everything. He’s most definitely isn’t used to being taken care of. In walks Lucy Chen. Someone who lifts him up and wants to take care of him when he’s down. Like Lucy not knowing how to handle Tim’s compliments, Tim doesn’t know how to handle someone putting him first. Caring, protecting him etc.

Lucy is just so happy he is back you can see it on her face. She was hoping/expecting more of a nice reaction from him. Considering what they both just went through together. Throws her off when he doesn’t respond positively. He's currently doing a throwback to early closed off Tim and she isn't quite sure why.

Grey interrupts before Tim can reply and be any colder to her. He writes up their scores on the board. 97. 91. 81. Tells them they all passed but the 81 is ugly. Wants them to self reflect on which one is theirs. He will tell them by end of shift. He says good news is they all get to be out of long sleeves now.

They’re all discussing the scores naturally. Angela says he looks worried. Tim says he’s never had a rookie score as low as 81. She says first time for everything ha. Tim defends Lucy and says she’s a natural born test taker. No way she scored that low. He is sure it’s Nolan lmao Oh Tim your dislike of him amuses me so.

Lucy joins them in her short sleeves. Tim asks her what she’s doing? She seems so perplexed why he’s angry with her. She says Grey said they could switch over. Tim goes off on her and says she will wear her long sleeves and tie till end of probation. That he gets full discretion over her uniform cause she’s his boot. She walks away so sad and defeated. S1 Tim viscously rearing his head. The boys ask where she’s going when they pass her. She replies so sadly ‘To change back…’

They pull up to a park and get out of their shop. Tim tells her to stop pouting. Lucy bites back and says she isn’t. She then asks what they’re even doing here? Tim goes on to say if she thought it was going to get it easier after the exam she was wrong. Lucy is snarky in her reply ‘Awesome…’ She is already over his reversion back to early s1 hard ass. It's written all over her face.

He clearly heard her but asks what was that? She says nothing….Lucy knows its like poking an angry bear right now. So she avoids the conflict. (For now..) Tim asks her what the most important thing she needs on the street as a cop? Lucy runs through a list of things Tim doesn’t want as her answer haha Then settles on her judgement and Tim says no it’s her cop eyes. They're at this park for a Tim test. Clear he’s gonna be surly af for this one.

Tim asks her if she studied explosives in the academy? She says a little. Tells her he’s hidden a fake IED in the park for her to find. She has ten minutes to find it or he’s adding the duty hat to her uniform. Legit torturing her today with this test. Lucy starts to panic look through out the park.

She finds it in a barrel. Lucy is so proud of herself with this one. Tim is being an extra pain in the ass today. She’s so ready to prove him wrong. That him turning the heat extra high doesn’t affect her. She turns around and is all cocky saying she found it. Even those he's an absolute ass in this scene just like in the van scene in 1x14 looking fine as hell have to say. Especially way he puts his leg on that table. Its criminal you are this attractive Eric LOL

Tim pretends he can’t hear her. So she falls into his trap and uses her radio to tell him when the ‘bomb’ explodes on her. She is mortified and covered in flour. Tim continues the hard ass theme. Saying radios energy can set off a bomb. Ask her 'If she’s going to forget that lesson boot?' She replies No….Sigh poor Lucy. In his warpath this episode. She just can't figure out why.

Their next call brings them to a husband reporting his wife missing. Lucy feels bad for the guy and Tim doesn’t. Tells her Cop eyes again. Saying it’s always the husband who did it. Lucy once again snarky back asking if this is his first rule of domestics lol Tim is unchanging in his hard demeanor. Tells her it’s not a joke. That she’s too new to properly assess people yet. She should be showing suspicion not compassion as her default. Lucy looks annoyed as hell. Getting to her boiling point with his sour attitude.

Lucy’s irritation comes to a head when they return to the station. She asks him what he’s doing? Tim states the obvious and says clocking out and going home. She is more direct and asks why he is treating her like it’s day 1 all over again? He says because it is day one for her with phase 2 of her training. Lucy is further agitated. Asking if she’s lost all the respect she’s earned since then? Then Tim finally shows his hand on why he’s so angry. Tells her she lost that when she lied on a report.

It all comes together for Lucy. This is why he’s been such a grumpy bear all day. She finally understands why he’s been such a hard ass. Her reaction is incredulous. She’s honestly shocked he’s reacting this way. Lucy thought it was pretty obvious her actions were to protect him. Tim rattles on about procedure and code. How she should’ve reported him. She truly doesn’t understand why he’s mad at her for protecting him.

The look on Tim’s face in the second gif. He looks in shock Lucy did that for him. He’s so caught up on her lying on a report he didn’t stop to think she was doing it to protect him. Oh my broken baby. As I stated earlier he’s not used to being the protected. It was Lucy’s first and only instinct to edit that part out to safeguard him. To me this is the most tragic part of it all. Is he NEVER expected this from her. When he read that report all he saw was her not following procedure. Instead of what it really was...Which was her shielding him. Deep down I think part of him knew this but he couldn't accept it hence him lashing out like he is.

Lucy goes on to explain why she protected him. Because Tim clearly isn't understanding why she did it. How she knew Tim wasn’t really suicidal. He just needed to vent his stress and anxiety to her in that moment. That she didn’t want him to have to go through unnecessary therapy. To lose him as her T.O. over something that could hurt his career and their time together. Tim regains some of his composure and goes back to the company line BS. Saying how it wasn’t her call to make. That everyone should be reported consequences or not. Now here comes the best part of this entire scene. Of the episode really IMO.

Lucy destroys him with her reply. This is one of the reasons Tim falls so hard for her. The fact that she calls him on his shit. Not only does that but pulls his head out of his ass. Then promptly hands it back to him on a silver platter with her Isabel retort. She owns this scene after this. What's so damn impressive is Lucy can go toe to toe with him and win. She challenges him in a way no one has before and puts him in place when he needs it.

And he very much needs it in this moment. That final gif is his realization of that. Lucy delivers her K.O. punch and leaves him standing there with regrets about his behavior. He has no leg to stand on after she eviscerates him with her comments. Telling him not to hang his anger on his ‘code’ when it’s clearly not about that. Her calling him out and rightfully so like she did back in 1x03. When he was putting her in harms way as his therapy about Isabel.

Lucy tells him the hard stuff when he needs to hear it most. You know I love my Tim but hot damn did he need this Lucy knockdown. He admires her for it even when it’s hard for him to swallow. The way he just stands there it’s hitting him he took this reaction way too far. He’s forgetting how stressful that entire situation was for her as well. This ass chewing he just got is a stark realization of that. Also you know part of that chemistry of theirs is scenes like this. That fire and passion between them both. Ooh lord I love it.

Grey reveals their scores. We find out Lucy got a 91. She is immensely relieved and Tim is smiling ear to ear. Tim is good at burying a lot of things, being proud of Lucy has never been one of them. Look at this man beaming for her. He knew she would get a high score. He couldn’t be happier about it. Written all over his body language I love it sfm. I keep saying Eric is amazing with expressing so much with just a look. Its because he is look at that man. Pride x1000 in his girl.

The cute proud husband theme continues. Lucy spots a fake cop in the parking garage stealing a radio. She chases him out of there and jumps a wall in order to pursue him. I LOVE Tim asking if she’s okay first thing. It’s the softness in his voice that gets me. She is smiling and says yeah. Lucy is first beaming cause Grey seems impressed with her.

Then more so when Tim does his version of being proud of her. She rolls her eyes a bit but you know she’s happy to have him singing her praises. He could not be prouder of her if he tried in his scene. Anytime she does exactly what he knows she capable of he is elated. Also being proud in front of Grey is even better for Lucy. This is big brag for Tim about her. ❤️

Later on they figure out one of the fake cops leads them to the wife that went missing. Lucy asks if Nolan needs backup they say no. Lucy can’t help herself and takes a little dig at Tim. She has the high ground atm and knows it. Throwing the husband comment back at him. Tim doesn’t even reply. Just has a small smirk on his face. You know he loves her pushing his buttons and giving him crap. They aren’t at the point of apologies just yet. This is as close as we’re getting for them right now. It’s pretty cute.

Their final scene is them working in harmony like they do. Taking down the fake cops for the most part on their own. I love watching them work in the field. They’re so fluid and move without issue. That silent communication and such. Poetry in motion I would say.

Thus ends the Chenford portion of the S2 premiere.

~~~

Side notes non Chenford

The opening scene for Wopez always cracks me up. Wes seeing a side of Angela he hasn’t before. Her messy side. Him finding the sandwich in the shower LOL His face kills me he’s so grossed out and she thinks it’s natural af hahaha They cute.

#Caitlin rewatches The Rookie #chenford #chenford hiatus #summer rewatch #s2 #2x01 Impact #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #tim x lucy #eric winter #melissa o’neil #lucy x tim #otp: you know me so well. too well.#otp: doing my job #tim bradford x lucy chen #waiting on s6

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lousirs · 8 months

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Hi!

It’s me again and I was wondering what is the solution for Lou’s situation?

Like he was alone for who knows how long (with short amount of time with Ox, but that ended terribly) teaching these dolls. Of course that time he was probably isolated from the rest of the doll’s. And in the end of the movie he is basically degraded to janitor so he lost his purpose (train dolls) and I guess to identity (he isn’t perfect anymore, everyone hates him) is basically unneeded. And of course he still can’t go to the Big world.

Like I know he should face punishment for what he did. But still what do you think they should do with him? (They can’t just leave him to do the janitor job, at least I don’t think that’s the solution.)

Thank you for your answer and have a good day:)

hello again :)

yeah, lou's situation is literal hell.

he's stuck in doll purgatory, he's lost his purpose as a mentor and teacher, he's forced to clean up after everyone (which must suck because i'm guessing the prettydolls and uglydolls are going wild with messiness)(lydia literally covered her face in green paint for the hell of it so)...

my solution? MAKE HIS SITUATION LESS UNBEARABLE. he'll never be able to leave, so why not at least make him feel welcome? he did wrong, of course, but in the end he was probably following protocol. because who would want a doll that is below standard? not the factory, that's for sure. that'll ruin their reputation.

i want lou to have a friend so bad. like, someone that isn't concerned about the big world as much as everyone else, who reaches out to lou despite how others treat him, and show genuine kindess to him, which allows him to become a better doll because of it. i want someone to stick up for him, realise that what he did was wrong, but also realise that constantly humiliating him and isolating him isn't going to help anything. i want lou to open up to this friend, about the years of lonliness and pain he's suffered through being a prototype, having to watch endless dolls leave him to gain the love he will never obtain.

the friend could be anyone, really. my personal take is that it's nolan. yes, i know that lou called him ugly and left him to the dog, but lou called loads of prettydolls (and the uglydolls) ugly (so it wasn't really targeted)(nolan was just one example out of many) and he left his own henchmen (tuesday) to take the bullet for him during the gauntlet, not just nolan. lou only cared about the uglydolls failing, he didn't care at the time about anything else. nolan sending lou to the washer was karma for lou sending the uglydolls (and perhaps the prettydolls) to the washer as well. and besides, the other dolls were wanting lou dead with his stuffing teared out. nolan basically saved him there. also, lou being captured by the dog is additional karma for not saving nolan (and stopping tuesday from saving him) earlier.

anywho, i think nolan would be the best option for pre-existing characters (since nolan seemed to like lou despite lou's insults)(and nolan seems like an empathetic sweetheart)...

i may be slightly biased as a nolou shipper and nolan and lou being my favourites, but i've always thought that they would become friends. not instantly though, lou would probably still be hostile to everyone (because of trust issues and general anger) and get mad at nolan for throwing him in the washer, but ya know. it's a slow-cooked friendship.

moxy or ox or mandy are also decent options, though i think with them, they have more history with lou, and were treated worse (just my opinion though)(but he did try to recycle all three of them at some point). they could work, but it would need for lou to realise his mistakes, and for the other doll to forgive him (either after he apologises or they do some reflecting idk).

a totally new character could also work.

but i want in the end for lou to apologise to the dolls he's hurt, and for them to eventually forgive him (or at least tolerate him) and allow him to feel included. to feel loved. that would be nice.

...or just do what the doll jail AU is doing. send that silly doll to jail why not--

#uglydolls #ask #asks #not art #LOU. REDEMPTION. ARC. WHEN?!?!#lou uglydolls #lou literally broke down about being a prototype and no one cared. that hurt my soul to watch.#GIVE HIM A FRIEND!!! SOMEONE WHO WILL LOVE HIM DESPITE HIS MISTAKES!!!#DO IT STX!! YOU COWARDS!!#anyways thank you! i hope you have a good day as well :)

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starseneyes · 1 year

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Chenford REWIND- Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 2 Ep 10, 11, & 12

This feels like a lot to put into one Meta. But, since I'm chunking these out and taking requests, it makes sense to me. Yes, "Day of Death" is a defining Chenford episode. But I feel like you need the context of what lead up to it and the fallout on the other side to fully understand its impact and discuss it.

SPOILER ALERT: If you don't want to be spoiled, you don't want to read this. While I do write these as though I'm watching the episodes for the first time and try not to let fore-knowledge come into play, I will be spoiling these episodes in their entirety and everything that came before.

All squared away? Alright, lets dive in.

The Dark Side

"The single men in LA suck. Every time I go out on a date, and they find out that I'm a cop, they just get scared off." ... "Look, those aren't men. Those are boys, okay? Real men are not afraid of strong women."

Heck, yeah, they aren't! Lucy, honey, I get that it's tough out there for you, right now. But someday there will be a single man in LA who doesn't suck and isn't afraid of strong women. You'll see.

But right now, you're looking for anyone who isn't a total dud, and I get that.

"...dating a civilian is a bad idea." "I was told dating cops was a mistake. What am I supposed to do, join a nunnery? Sister Office Lucy Chen?"

I'm so glad I wasn't drinking anything the first time I heard this line because there would have been soda everywhere. My husband heard the line over my shoulder and cracked up, too.

And you might be thinking, "Why is she going into all this? Tim and Lucy are nowhere near ready for romance". Welp, I want to show Lucy's mentality in this episode and will explain once we get to 2x11 how it feeds into the situation and the mis-read from Tim.

"Look, no, I'm saying that right now end of shift means leaving the job behind when you go home. But in success, each one of you is gonna catch cases that kick your ass, that consume your every waking thought. And non-cops won't be able to identify. Worse, they're gonna resent you for caring more about the dead than the living."

It's an interesting thought, and for those of us in Season 5, there's a lot to consider, here. I mean, Lucy was cautioned against dating cops, but Isabel and Tim were Rookies and nobody gave him crap about it, from what we know.

Look, I'm not sorry Lucy and Nolan broke up. But, I do think Lucy should consider dating another cop down the line. *cough* Tim *cough*

"Caleb." "Lucy."

It's a chance meeting at the right time. Lucy is on the hunt for a non-mutant man in Los Angeles, and she ends up at the bar with someone who seems semi-safe.

After the conversation she just had with her friends, we can see she really wants to be with someone.

"I was in college when they found the first victims. It was all anyone talked about. That, and how could a woman be so barbaric." "I worked one of the scenes, fourth victim, Lisa Cruz. Homicide detectives warned me not to look at the body. Should've listened."

I love how they're speaking to one another so openly about the whole thing. There's an ease to how they're walking side-by-side that feels lived-in. Yes, he's still her TO, but this is a glimpse at the other side of him—the one that knows how to have a conversation without screaming or scheming.

"Caleb, from the bar last night... I hope this isn't weird, but you left with your perp before I had a chance to ask for your number."

Tim is giving this guy the side-eye. Look, we are nowhere near romance for this pair, but Tim has come to care about Lucy. He wouldn't call her a friend, yet, but they're definitely on their way.

And Lucy's picking up on Tim's hovering, but I don't think either of them could pick up on the why. My husband swooped in to offer his opinion that Tim picked up bad vibes, but wrote it off because it made him look jealous. I don't think he's far off.

I think Tim was being a little protective. Not necessarily because of romance (everything with Isabelle is very fresh at this point). But, while Lucy is still his "Boot", she is crossing that line more and more towards "friend". Tim cares about what happens with Lucy.

He's trying to watch out for her, but she doesn't want a chaperone. For goodness sake, she's a grown woman, right?

"We don't call them perps." "Right, sorry. Anyway, this is my number. If you ever feel like waiting in vain for a drink, give me a call."

Tim Bradford with the save!! He snatches that tiny piece of paper so fast the camera barely catches it. That's a super hero, my friends.

"You got a last name, Caleb?" "Yes sir. Wright with a W." "What do you do? If you say screenwriter, you're going in a cell."

Lucy's horrified. This might be the worst thing Tim has ever done, in her mind.

Remember, at this point everything with Tim is a test. Everything could be used as subterfuge, and she can't trust what's he's going to do with the information he's gathering.

"I manage a medical supply company downtown." "I'm sorry about him. Things are a little crazy right now." "No problem. It was nice meeting you. Officer."

Tim gives her a "can you believe that guy" look, but she has that same energy directed at him. Tim's surprised by that. He really thought she'd appreciate him looking out for her.

She holds out her hand for her piece of paper, and Tim hands it over as she mouths, "Oh my god".

"Ten bucks that isn't even his dog." "It's been an awful day. Can't I just enjoy a cute puppy?"

Tim's getting a look into how Lucy unwinds and relaxes. All day, she's been sneaking glimpses at Caleb's socials to get a feel for him, and it's helping distract her from the no-good day.

Tim of this era hasn't yet learned how to help Lucy talk through things. But he has learned that Lucy and distractions work well for moderating her panic.

Think of the episode with the nuclear bomb and how they spent the whole episode talking about how to sabotage her ex's wedding. Distraction helps her.

"If I can be wheels up in the next 10 minutes, I might beat the afternoon traffic which means I will be in bed in the next hour."

I love how conversational they're being here. You can already tell the lines of TO and friend are starting to blur.

"That's a mistake." "What? Why?" "Look, after working a hardcore assignment like this, you need to go blow off some steam after shift. You know, give your brain a different focus. It's the only way you have a fighting chance of actually sleeping."

This isn't a Tim Test. He's trying to give her advice. Keep this in mind, my friends. It'll come back.

"As my Training Officer, are you saying that I should go get a drink?" "A strong one. Maybe even with another human."

Tim is really trying to do the right thing, here. He snatched away Caleb's phone number earlier, but Lucy's been cyber-stalking him all day and she looks interested.

"Well, I am here to distract you."

I swear I didn't remember that line when I wrote the part above about Lucy needing a distraction.

And we all know that what started as a distracting night led to a nightmare for Lucy.

Before we move on, I want to talk a little bit about Season 2 Tim and Lucy. I know a lot of people love what DOD does for Chenford in terms of progression. But I argue it doesn't cause the shift, but only expedites it.

Look at Tim in this episode, for example. He's downright conversational and friendly with Lucy. Yes, he tells her to get her head in the game instead of looking at Caleb. Yes, he teases her about her first Decomp, but that's the extent of it.

He talks with her openly and honestly about Rosalind. He tries to protect her from Caleb when he thinks the guy's just an unworthy suitor. He tries to give her advice at the end that isn't attached to any "lesson" but simply sharing what he's learned.

Frankly, I think that's what Lucy expected in a TO—someone to talk her through and give her sage advice. And then she got Tim.

Tim doesn't hand out advice willy-nilly. He's a "show" guy, right? Same thing with how he teaches. He's not much of a "talker" with Lucy when it comes to her training. He's trying to get her to think for herself by putting her through her paces.

But this whole episode, he's talking to her. Heck, he's talking with her. Tim doesn't make friends with his Boots, but Lucy is becoming the exception. They aren't there, yet, but they're on their way.

If we look at this episode separated from DOD (if we can), you can see that Tim and Lucy are already moving towards friends. The events of DOD expedites it, I argue, but they would have eventually gotten there on their own. Tim and Lucy are inevitable.

Day of Death

"My day of death."

The pain of a tattoo. The hangover of whatever drugs he gave her. The inability to move her limbs or fight back. Trying to take note of her surroundings, of anything that might be helpful if she can get away.

And that horrible fear that she won't.

"Sergeant."

It takes Harper two seconds to clock the conversation between the men, and she's the first to jump on it. Why? We'll get to that next episode.

"Lucy did not come home last night. She's not responding to texts or calls." "Did she go out with that guy? The one she met at the bar. Caleb Wright with a W."

He remembers it clearly, but he's trying not to panic. After all, his first date with Rachel was *ahem* memorable. Maybe Lucy moves at that same pace?

"Lucy doesn't do one-night stands." "And she's never late."

Her friends know her well, and Grey's smart enough to run with it. Let's be real, there are scenarios where a Sergeant might not listen, might not take it seriously, might not actually do anything.

This is television, and we're not going to let Lucy Chen go quietly into that good night. But it hits me so hard that there are so many cases where alarm bells are rung and left unanswered.

"Why are you doing this?"

Lucy's trying to keep her head in the game. That's what Tim told her to do last episode, right? Keep your head in the game.

"It's for you. To force you to face the truth of your death. It's the gift of something we rarely get in life—clarity."

Fuck you. I'm sorry. Lucy's thinking it and it needed to be said.

"... we believe Caleb is Rosalind's protege, and he took Officer Chen."

The news slams into Tim. And nobody else in the room sees it or knows why. He doesn't even wait to be dismissed. He rushes out of the room, phone dialing before he makes it through the door.

Because this is too much for him to handle. Tim has tried to handle a lot of things on his own. He's famous for isolating himself and trying to pretend he's fine. But this time he calls his best friend. Because he can't do this alone.

"Lucy's been taken. I need you." "On my way."

"Lucy". Not "Chen". Because in his mind, Lucy is already becoming more than a Boot. No, we're not talking romance, here. We're talking friendship. Kinship. Someone he cares about.

Tim Bradford has a very short list, so the fact that his Rookie is close to making the list is significant. But I'm not one who thinks Tim's romantically interested in her all the way back in Season 2. This thing's grown organically over time, though I'd argue DOD gave it a push, as did certain other episodes covered in Future Metas.

"Look, I know I haven't known Lucy as long as the rest of you, but I do know that she's a fighter."

Hell, yeah, our queen is!

"She's gonna do everything she can to stay alive until we save her."

And she does. She fights like hell and does everything she can to survive. But she's weak. She's lethargic. She's drugged. And she's isolated. Utterly alone.

Imagine that moment of fighting your way out, hoping that there'll be someone to hear your voice, to come to your aid, to get the help you so desperately need... and there's no one.

How much of the fight can you keep alive when you realize how little chance you have of surviving?

"... I can't just sit here."

Here's more of a "show" guy. And there's nobody to show.

"I'm fine. Just blowing off steam."

What he told Lucy to do. What he thought would be safe. What he thought would be relaxing. What he thought would be distracting. What he thought would be fun.

He's not blowing off steam. He's a pressurized gasket ready to explode.

"I get it, but you gotta get your head in the game." "I don't need a pep talk." "Then why'd you call me? Clearly you need to get something off your chest."

Tim forgets the power of words, sometimes. We see it a lot through the season. Maybe it's because he never learned how to use them growing up.

FAST FORWARD: We're a ways away from Season 4 and Tim's backstory episodes that help illuminate just how bad it was for him. Tim's father didn't use words. He used his fists. His mother likely didn't use words, either. They didn't talk about what he went through. He never learned to express himself that way. It takes someone coaxing it out of him, and right now that's his best friend.

"She wanted to go home. Okay? Go to bed. I told her that she should focus on something else. She went out with Caleb because I told her to."

And he's carrying the weight of that guilt. It's too heavy for him to bear. Tim Bradford has carried too many weights, and this one is too much. Did he doom his Rookie to die?

"You couldn't have known."

Angela's whole attitude shifts (how could it not?) because Tim Bradford is expressing emotions with his best friend. And that is huge and this whole thing is horrible.

"But I should have. I'm a cop. I was standing this close to the guy, okay? Right across from him and I never saw him coming. But she did, though. She... Some part of her didn't feel right about this whole thing. She hesitated. And I pushed her right at him."

He's wrong. It has to be said that Lucy might not have gone out with Caleb that night, but it could have been another night. Tim only thinks this because of his own guilt, his own pain, his own frustrations with himself for not being Super Cop.

Lucy wanted to go out with this guy. Maybe she wouldn't have gone out that night without the push. But Caleb was a serial killer, and would've put her on his list sooner or later... and more women would have died in the meantime. It's not Tim's fault any more than it's Lucy's.

He thinks he failed Lucy, but this isn't a situation where you can predict every move. We're not going to victim-blame here. We're not going to point fingers.

Because minus the serial killer plot, this shit happens every day. Around the world, there are people whose drinks are spiked, people who are abducted, people who have their choice and consent ripped from them.

And it's not the victim's fault in any way. And it's not the fault of a friend who suggested they have a fun night out. It's no one's fault but the asshole who perpetrated the crime.

Getting off my soap box, here, now, to get back to the Meta. But watching Tim go through this reminds me of how I still struggle with blaming myself for a friend of mine OD'ing because I didn't reach out to them that night.

What if I'd reached out? What if I hadn't ignored their vague Facebook post thinking that I'd only be adding to their frustrations and that they needed the night to cool off? Would they still be here if I'd commented? Or sent them a message? I'm a state away, so I couldn't reasonably drive... but could I have done something that would have meant they'd still be here?

I know I can't blame myself. But there are some days I still struggle with it. Because she's gone. And I'll never ever know if I could have helped. Cognitively, I know it's not my fault. I couldn't have done anything, but there's that part of you that still thinks... you made the wrong call, and if you'd called it the other way, it might be different, now.

"If I get that away from you, it's going right in your brain."

She kept her head in the game. She's up against life and death, here, and she's at the disadvantage. But she's a fucking fighter. Look, we know that Lucy is tough. This is something else entirely. She's staring down the murderer who wants to hear her scream, who wants to soak up her agony, who wants to get her to crumble.

And Lucy Chen's standing up to that asshole with the ultimate, "Fuck You" by not giving in.

She must want to cry. She must want to scream. But Lucy Chen is a fighter, and she's not going down easy.

Lucy Leaves a Clue

It's a long shot. It's such a bloody long shot. But she has to try. Lucy truly believes that she will be found, long shot as it is.

And that hope can be a powerful thing. Caleb tried to wield it against her, but he's no match for her.

"Any last words?" "Yeah. You're gonna be dead long before I am."

Damn right, Lucy Chen. Damn right.

"Now, I am responsible for a life that is in jeopardy, and I will do whatever I have to to save her."

And he means it. Watch Jackson's surprise to see Tim Bradford slam a guy's head against the horn. Because Tim's unhinged, here. Someone he cares about has been taken, and he doesn't give a damn what happens to him or his career.

He'll let it all fall if it means Lucy survives.

FAST FORWARD: We talk a lot about how Tim makes sacrifices for Lucy where his career is concerned. And while in later seasons it becomes their thing, I think in this case he'd have done it for any of his few friends. We later see him risk it all for Angela when she's kidnapped, too. Tim has a separate code for his friends. And Lucy's falling more under it over time. Again not romantic... yet.

"There can be charges in here that lead us to Caleb."

Did you clock that brief smile? Before Jackson walks up, Tim thinks they're at a dead end. Lucy's lost. She's gone. And he'll never get to atone for his mistake.

Jackson brings a sliver of light and hope, and it's enough that Tim actually briefly grins. It's not over, yet.

"Stars shining bright above you..."

The song. Lucy's song to keep herself calm and regulate her breathing. Yes, not talking would have been better, but she needs this. She needs light and life and love. Something bright to pierce the darkness.

Her oxygen is running low, and she's having more trouble breathing, more trouble seeing a way out. The last thing she's going to give that bastard is the satisfaction of watching her scream.

And Melissa O'Neil is breaking my heart. Acting-wise, she is literally in a barrel. There's no one to react off of. There's no one feeding her lines.

It's just Lucy in a barrel, and it's up to the actress to make us feel. No cool camera angles. No sweeping score. Melissa O'Neil had to carry us through this and she did it masterfully.

Yes, the Writers decided to have her singing this song. The script, or a Director or Editor decided to strip the rest of the sound from the overlapping visuals (there's a lot of playing with sound and its impact in this episode that's jaw-droppingly beautiful).

But Melissa O'Neil is the one who has to make us believe it. And we do.

A Glint of Light

Tim's eyes scan the miles of land, looking for some sign of disturbance to clue him in on Lucy's location. But it's something that doesn't belong that grabs his attention—something that literally catches the light of the sun and draws Tim in. Her ring.

He picks it up, still uncertain, but following the clue. A few kicks and... a thunk.

"I've got her! I've got her!"

Tim starts digging in the ground with his bare hands, the grit getting under his fingernails, the dust getting into his lungs. He registers the others, but only barely. He has to get to Lucy.

The ground gives way enough to reach the lid. Tim's hands are all over it, Nyla on one side and Jackson on the other. When they can finally see her, Tim asks for help as they pull her out. But he hovers, staying close, being certain he is the one to make sure she's alive.

Because if she's dead, it's on him.

Look, we know Tim didn't do anything wrong. But Tim Bradford carries a lot of scars and blames himself for a lot of things he shouldn't. And if he can't get to her in time, if he pulls her out and she's truly gone... he can never atone for this.

She's not breathing. Tim blows into her mouth and starts pumping on her chest. The sound drains from the world... just the discordant notes sounding off and echoing like the dying hope of Lucy surviving.

Lucy gasps, and the sound returns to the world. Each person takes a breath of relief. But then the sound zeroes in only on two people—Lucy and Tim.

"You're so strong," he murmurs, soft enough for her to hear, but no one else. But she doesn't hear anything. It's too much. It's all too fucking much. The sobs she'd held in before finally spill out as Tim pulls her close, holding her tight.

He thought he'd lost her. And, again, there's no romance here. But she matters, damnit. She matters to Tim more than he thought she would when they first met. He presses a hand to her hair, pushing his face next to hers.

It screams "I'm here. I'm here." Because in his mind, he is the one who failed her and it had to be him to save her. He owed it to her. He was responsible for her. He fucked up.

And it almost cost her her life.

Again, I don't think that. But Tim does. He truly believes he's the one who failed her. And when you have very few people in your life who care about you (and Lucy has demonstrated many times that she does care about Tim), you don't want to do anything to lose that.

But Tim believes he almost lost Lucy because he wasn't good enough. It plays so much into his childhood trauma, his trauma with his ex-wife, and everything else. Tim thinks he failed.

She doesn't cling to him, no. Her hands shake and her body convulses from the pain. But she lets him hold her there, back in the air, out of her barrel.

Tim isn't her person, yet. But she cares about him, and she knows deep down that he cares about her. She even told Rachel about his good heart.

But her not holding him is completely appropriate to the moment. It's not about him. This is about her. Her trauma. Her survival. Lucy's breaking in this moment. She spent so much time keeping her head in the game, and now she's finally releasing all the anguish she refused to show Caleb.

And she is safe in Tim's arms to fall apart.

I knew from the Pilot that Eric Winter was a tour-de-force. But in this episode we see so many damn layers. And Tim's relief at holding her in his arms at the end instead of cradling her corpse is palpable.

The way this scene is shot and performed and the sound... it all puts us in the moment. We are right there with them, and it's one of my favorite scenes of the entire series.

Here in the barren waste of sand and silence... there's life.

"Hmm. What are you reading, Teen Rebel?"

She wakes up to see Tim there, waiting. He hasn't slept. He hasn't left. We know that. He's spent the past 24 hours feeling completely responsible for Lucy, and it's not easy to leave the side of the person who you pushed yourself to save.

And the first thing she says to him isn't about what she's survived, or even about him finding her. It's about the damn magazine. And it's perfect.

After what she's survived, Lucy needs something familiar. And Tim is pretty damn familiar in her life.

Before we get too much further... I want to call out the lengths Tim went to save Lucy.

FAST FORWARD: We haven't yet reached, "Some things matter more". But Tim's already showing that in action. He's a "show" guy, remember?

Tim was willing to do whatever it took to save her. He would put it all on the line, and that's because he cares about her. No, they're not ripping one another's clothes off. It's Season 2, she's his Boot, and he doesn't even acknowledge friendship with her, yet.

But she is becoming his friend. She's becoming one of the very few people that Tim Bradford will upend the world for.

"They actually have some really insightful political articles."

Watch how fast that man wheeled his little chair over to her side. It makes me giggle with glee.

"Oh, which BTS member is your soulmate. Gotta be Suga, right?" "Totally. What's a BTS?"

Lucy laughs. Probably her first good laugh in days. And it's with Tim. Hardass, Tim Test, never-lets-up Tim.

"Have you been here all night?" "No. Mmhm. No." "Mmhmm."

Because TO Tim can't show that he cares. Not yet. I mean, he's never felt this friendly toward a Boot, and he can't go soft on her when she still has so far to go before crossing the finish line.

Remember, Tim likes rules and staying within them—whether they're the rules set out for him by a superior or the ones he's created for himself. Counting Lucy a friend is outside the lines. But much as he might try to deny it, he's showing it.

He's used to giving his Rookies what he thinks they need, and with Lucy, it's most often tough love and some manipulative tests. For him to break through his own wall of separating personal life from professional life is too much. So, he lies.

But Lucy can see right through him. Strangely, she's always had that power.

"How did you find me?"

Nolan interrupts the moment. Damnit, Nolan! But we'll all get to that later... next episode.

There's a reason I wanted to do these three together. Look, this show is still basically a Procedural at its heart with some continuous story lines. But these three episodes feel more serial than a lot of the show, and because of that, I think the whole picture is required to ascertain its meaning.

"He is a she and she is going to sleep in my bed since I am clearly never going on a date, again."

We started this whole trilogy with Lucy considering a nunnery. And, again, I think this calls attention to what it's like to be a single woman in the world. Yes, assaults can happen to anyone.

But as a woman, I can tell you I never get anything to drink but water when I'm out with my friends. I never leave my drink unattended. And a male friend always walks me to my car. Theater kids go out a lot to bars (like, after every rehearsal), so there was a season in my life where this was a nightly ritual. Trying to stay safe out there.

So, if Lucy doesn't want to ever date again after her ordeal, I don't bloody blame her, and neither do her best friend, past fling, and future husband.

"You hungry?"

Sometimes I swear this man is part Jewish mother. If you Fast Forward in the series, you see he's always trying to feed this woman.

And, yes, I'm saying this from experience. There was an old saying that if you wanted a lot more food from my Great-Aunt Mary, you said you wanted a little. If you wanted a little, you said you wanted none. And if you wanted none, you hid your plate.

"Yeah. I'm starving. You know what I really wanna eat right now?" "Veggie burger and fries. Extra pickles."

Awwwww! Remember in 2x01 when she sent him food? "You shouldn't have done that." "Well, I wanted to. And eating well is crucial to a fast recovery."

He's using the lessons he learned from her as an act of love. Again, not romantic love. But love, nonetheless.

"You know me so well." "Too well."

Look at those smiles. Alright, y'all, I'll admit those smiles put butterflies in my stomach, too.

And the fact that the director chose to take us off of the wide shot so we only saw Tim and Lucy for these last few lines. Because this is about them.

Tim is caring about Lucy far more than he should. And he's growing aware of that. But the nature of this episode makes it impossible for him to shove it down entirely. He writes it off as concern and guilt, and doesn't realize he's been slowly letting Lucy into his circle of friends.

But if we talk about who really knows Lucy in this scene? It's Tim.

Jackson brought pretty flowers, which are nice, but will die. Nolan brought the most giant, pink bear. She's cute, but eventually she'll disappear from Lucy's life because her next boyfriend's not going to want to share the bed with a pink stuffy (unless he's into that... no judgment).

Tim. Brought. Her. Food. Yes, it'll be gone pretty quickly. But I can tell you after not being allowed to eat for both my deliveries of my three kids, I was famished. Lucy hasn't eaten in days, and she wants something filling and comforting. Tim brought her the exact order she wanted without her having to ask.

As much as he tries to separate professional and personal, Lucy's blurring those lines. To me, the Season 1 finale was really the start of that. And Tim bites back against that as much as he can in Season 2 (even treating Lucy like shit because she didn't report him for suicidal ideation).

But this trilogy of episodes breaks down that wall further. Yes, he's still her TO and he's still not going to think of her as a friend. But S2-3 is where that really comes together. They were already on their way, but with these events, he softens towards her in a way he never anticipated.

We get to see him soft throughout the series with "his people". But at this point, he's not yet ready to admit Lucy is one of them. It's outside his standard operating procedure for Rookies.

But, despite his protests, he's making a friend. The kind of friend that sticks. The kind of friend that doesn't leave. The kind of friend that loves with abandon.

And someday, someday, she might become more than that. But right now, he's not even ready to admit she's a friend... but, damn, our "show" guy really showed it.

I really want to call out the coloration and choices of this episode. When Lucy first wakes up on the table (with no establishing shot, so we're as clueless to how isolated she is, just as she is), everything i s tripped back. Melissa O'Neil's makeup is stripped down and we can see her pores.

The first time I watched that scene I thought, "Wow, they really stripped out all the color". There's something about the harshness of yellows, beiges, and browns on their own that evoke old Westerns. That sense of isolation, famine, and drought.

Lucy's world is often so vibrant that the stark shift helps us feel the anxiety with her. There's nothing bright or beautiful about this world. Only de-saturated hopelessness.

Now and Then

Lucy In The Mirror

Lucy's wounds have healed. Her wrists are free of the tie marks. Her face is free of the cuts and bruises. But the tattoo remains. She can hear the sound of the tattoo gun in her mind.

Yes, Lucy has many tattoos, but those were of her choosing. This was another violation—something inflicted upon her. Lucy tries covering up, but the foundation sticks to her shirt.

And, yes, there are makeups out there that can cover up tattoos. Being the daughter of a makeup artist, I know way too much about it and have seen mother in action covering an entire chest full of tattoos for a shoot. That's not the point.

The point of this scene is to remind us (and Lucy) that this can't be covered up. It's on her. It's permanent unless she has it burned off.

"When can she have it removed?" "Four weeks. Two days. Nine hours."

Her mind is on it all the time. She knows it down to the hour. Doesn't sound like someone who's healed to me. But, duh. That's the whole point of the episode.

"Hey, so what's your plan?" "For what?" "Officer Chen. I'm sure you've got some Alpha strategy to get her back on the horse, so, what is it?"

Let's be real. Tim would be Tim, but he wasn't going to be his harshest self on her first day back. He wouldn't be capable of it. But Nyla doesn't know that.

"So basically get her into as many fights as possible." "I'm gonna remind her that she's a cop, not a victim." "She knows that she's not a victim. Look, Chen doesn't need to fight. She needs to make peace with the voice inside of her head telling her she's never gonna be safe again."

I wish someone had asked Lucy. Looking at this situation, they're both coming at it from the wrong angle for Lucy. Tim's going for how he processes and Nyla's going for how she does. Neither of them asks Lucy what she needs.

Look, these are characters who are going to do what's in-character. For the scene and the arc, this has to go this way. But as a person who has had a lifetime of people thinking they know what I need and making it a thousand times worse, I have a personal response to this.

But in character? Both Tim and Nyla want what's best for Lucy and think they're the one to give it to her.

"Okay, I've been training Rookies a lot longer than you. I know what she needs." "That's ego talking. What happened to Chen is every woman's worst fear." "I'm aware of that." But you have never lived that fear."

That stops Tim. Because she's right. Part of Tim's arc in Season 1 and 2 with Lucy by his side is discovering his subconscious biases. She forces him to think beyond what he thinks he knows.

And here, he's facing that even without Lucy present. Because she's opening up his mind to seeing past his own limited perspective.

"It's clear that you have her best interests at heart. I am just asking you to consider whether she might be better served by someone who has been through what she has been through."

This is a lot for Nyla to offer. A woman's experiences are not owed to anyone. But she chooses to give him this insight into why she really believes she's the best person to help Lucy through.

And Tim's listening. He's really listening to what she's saying.

"And that someone's you." *nods* "Okay. I'll tell Grey to make the switch."

I love Eric Winter's choices on this. He's reacting not only to the information that Nyla just shared, knowing that she doesn't want apologies or empty words from him. He didn't do it. But he's sorry it happened. He's face to face with someone in uniform who, like Lucy, thought they were safe with someone when they weren't.

And he's thinking of Lucy. The last thing he wants to do is hurt her, to make this harder, to set her back.

Lucy At Roll Call

She pauses outside the room. Much as she wants to get back at it, this is a point-of-no-return morning. She doesn't want special treatment. She doesn't want weird glances. She doesn't want whispered words.

She doesn't want the damn applause.

"Congratulations you survived but you're branded by a serial killer and still processing the emotional trauma and we want you know that we are all talking about you, and looking at you, and thinking about you."

Damn it.

"Welcome back, Officer Chen. How're you feeling? Can't wait to get on the streets, sir, just get back to normal." "We're going to mix things up a bit. You're going to be riding with Harper this week."

What. The. Fuck!? Lucy just said that she wants to go back to normal. Riding with Nyla is not normal.

Lucy looks back to Tim for confirmation and he nods. But she's still confused. She's on-edge. She didn't expect to come back to work straight into a Tim Test, and that's what this feels like.

Everything that she wanted for transitioning back to work is going wrong.

"I'm not interested in chasing tame calls today."

Because Tim needs to process his way. Look, he in no way went through what Lucy did. Not at all. But he's still carrying his guilt and frustrating, and he needs to channel that into something he can do.

Tim is a man of action, and since he can't take action to help Lucy through her re-acclimation, he's going to do what he needs to do to distract him from worrying about her—his job.

"So why the switch?" "Tim felt you'd be better served riding with me." "Yeah, right. This has to be some kind of elaborate Tim Test that he roped you into." "Do I strike you as someone who could get roped into anything? Especially by Bradford?"

Note the switch from "Tim" to "Bradford". Nyla was trying to keep it conversational at the beginning, but the second Lucy calls out perceived pliability, Nyla snaps back to put Lucy in her place.

"Fair enough. So, I'll ask you again, why the switch?" "I convinced him that I would have more insight into what you were going through and could therefore be more helpful to your re-integration onto the streets."

Look how Lucy recoils. Much as Lucy loves talking things out, she doesn't want to talk about this. She doesn't want to have to think about what she's been through while she's out here. She wants normal.

"Did you go on a date with a serial killer, too?" "Uh, no." "Well, then I'm not sure how much help you'd be. But it's fine, 'cause I don't need any help. I've already worked through the trauma using both cognitive and exposure therapy combined with mindful breathing and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. So, it's, it's fine."

Of course, we know Lucy's far from fine. But this isn't what she wanted. She didn't want to have special treatment. She didn't want to be pulled from working with Tim. Frustrating as he is, he's familiar. That's normal.

And Lucy's gone through all the Psychological steps she thinks will help her be fine. It's her blind spot, truly. Because she seems to think there's a point where you're just "fine" and don't need to process anymore.

No, that trauma will come up, again, we know. But right now she doesn't want to face it. She's trying to pretend her way to being fine.

"Need backup for a felony car stop." "You sure?" "Hell, yeah."

Everyone's surprised to hear her voice. But she wants to get back at it. She doesn't want to feel different. It's bad enough what she has to deal with in her head. At the Station, she's a Rookie, yeah, but she's a cop.

And the more I look at this episode the more it feels like Lucy and Tim have traded spots for a day. Normally, Tim's the one who doesn't want to talk and would rather bury himself in the job. And Lucy's usually the one second-guessing.

But Tim second-guessed himself this morning and let Nyla have Lucy. And everyone wants Lucy to talk, but she'd rather get in the action.

"You want me to do the paperwork?" "Oh, nope."

Tim always has Lucy do the paperwork. She wants to do what's familiar, what's natural, what's practiced. "Please let me be normal".

"That was a nice job out there." "Thanks." "So you're just not gonna let me help you at all." "I don't need any help."

Look, we all know that she does, but not like this. Nyla wants so badly to help Lucy, but if Lucy isn't ready, trying to push her like this isn't going to change anything. It's going to push her further inward.

"Did you get the flowers we sent?" "And the basket. Thank you."

Lucy really has some lovely people in her life. And look at her genuine appreciation for Abigail, here. Baskets are one of Lucy's love languages, and she nailed it.

"What the hell is this? I let you run around with Harper for half the day and you start hugging people on duty?" "Don't listen to him. He's all bark."

Tim is being his grumpy-ass self and Lucy's smiling like the sunshine that she is. This is what she thought she'd have today. This rhythm to which she's already grown accustomed.

Yes, Tim gets under her skin and pisses her off. But she knows him. She's used to him. The Tim Tests come when she least expects it, but she knows to expect that.

While there are many mysteries left to this man, he's been her biggest constant during her Rookie year. And it's nice to get to talk to him.

"All bark? She is not buying what you're selling." "Because I don't hold her fate in my hands."

They're teasing. We're to the point in their relationship where they can tease one another, and you can see how comfortable Lucy is in this.

Apart from the action, this is the most comfortable we've seen her all episode.

"Heard you dodged some bullets." "Yeah, a few. What, are you keeping tabs on me?"

The discomfort is back. Because even Tim Fucking Bradford is acting different around her. There's a softness to him that she's never seen before directed at her. Yes, she's seen it... but not with those eyes directed her way.

"Look, if you need anything, you let me know."

Finally, someone asks what she needs. All day, people (including Tim) have been making assumptions about what she needs. But here Tim is truly putting her first and trying to see if there's anything he can really do.

"You got a time machine?" "I wish I did."

Because he'd go back and take back the decision that fed her to the lion. Yes, we all know it's not Tim's fault. But he still feels like it is. And this is what Lucy really wishes she had—not some remedy or quick fix... that it never happened.

"You're not gonna shower?" "Uh, I'm gonna do it a home."

Because she doesn't want the stares. She doesn't want the questions. She doesn't want the reminder.

She's wearing concealer under her shirt because she doesn't want to see the thing. And she's tired of the comments and special treatment. Lucy wants to go back to normal.

Now, we can already see from this episode that "normal" isn't really possible. Relationships have shifted. Lucy is not the same woman she was before. Yes, she'll open up parts of her that shut down over time, but she'll never be who she was before that night of carefree drinks gone wrong.

But that's what Lucy wants in this moment. Normalcy.

"Oh, but you're not going home."

The hell?! She was just abducted and now you won't let her go home? Sorry, but that was my gut reaction watching this.

"We have plans. Girls' Night." "Oh, I get it. You've seen that I'm find on the job, but you're still not convinced." "We just thought it would be fun." ... "It's... you guys have just never asked me out before."

Think of how happy Lucy was that she was getting invited to something normal!? And with these two bad-ass women!

Lucy spends so much of her time in the first two seasons with Jackson and Nolan that we rarely get to see her with the other women of the Station.

She was going to get to have a night out with two women she trusts—something safe. And she had just relaxed into that when they pulled this shit.

Look, I'm salty at these two. I love Nyla and Angela's my number three on the show. But this was a terrible idea. Nyla was critical of Tim throwing her into work, but she's throwing her into the dating pool.

And it's no wonder Lucy was triggered. She isn't ready to date, again. And that's fine. She should be able to get out there when she is ready.

But we all experience the world through out unique lenses and experiences. And a very real mistake we make is assuming because I need it this way, you do, too.

I have twin sons. When they were 9 months old, a friend handed down a toy to us. You throw a ball into the toy and it makes a noise. Ta-da! One child giggled uncontrollable. They other screamed and broke down in sobs.

Different people react differently. They need different coping mechanisms. They need different healing paths. When we try too hard to homogenize treatment, we miss the opportunity for true healing.

And part of the problem here is the utter lack of communication. Nyla has hinted to Tim what she went through, but she hasn't given Lucy any indication.

Now, Nyla doesn't owe Lucy her story. But she has chosen to help Lucy, and it would be a helluva lot easier to get through to Lucy if she communicated with her.

"Hey, Lucy had a bit of a moment last night when we were out."

Tim. Is. Pissed. Angela can tell that's all it took for him to be ready to go into Tim-Mode on someone's ass.

"It's not a big deal. She's fine." "What the hell is Harper doing?" "Helping. Don't get all 'Tim' on me. I just thought you should know." "Lucy's okay?" "She will be." "Alright. Thanks for letting me know."

Angela is the only one who knows about Tim's guilt. She's the only one who knows the weight he's been carrying, blaming himself for what happened to Lucy. She's the only one to know he has a growing soft spot for her.

So she does the right thing and gives him a heads-up.

And note how it's always "Lucy" when he's talking with Angela in these episodes. With Nolan, it's "Chen" because Nolan is not Tim's friend. But Angela's his best friend, and he can let his guard down a little when it comes to her.

Nyla Shares Her Tale

We already said that Nyla doesn't owe anyone her story. But by keeping it from Lucy, Lucy was pushing her away. She truly thought it was another outsider with outside opinions trying to force her to be okay.

Hearing Nyla's story, she is finally able to see her differently. There's a beat right after Lucy says, "I'm so sorry," where Melissa O'Neil shifts her gaze from cynical to sisterly—Lucy sees herself in Nyla.

For the first time since she's gotten out of that barrel, there's someone who isn't an outsider who truly wants to help.

"I shut down. I didn't even tell my husband. I kept telling myself that I would deal with it when I was ready." "But with every passing week it just got worse." "Maybe I pushed you too hard last night. But I know what it is like when you do not face things head-on."

Look how Lucy has shifted. Because Nyla can relate. Lucy was pushing so hard against her from the get-go that she missed the signs on this.

She was so focused on pushing everyone away and keeping everyone out that she missed that Nyla wasn't another outsider looking in with "expert" opinions on something they know nothing about. Nyla really does know.

"You and Chen are close, right?"

"I used to be inside her on the regular, so, yeah." I'm sorry. I had to. It was the first thing that popped into my head when I watched the scene.

"How's she doing? I mean, really doing?"

Because Tim is in his phase of needing to know how Lucy is, but not being the one "in the know". He's still her TO, and going directly to her for information is outside his code. But he can't help worrying. Lucy matters to him.

"She's good. Really. I think she'll be better once she gets that tattoo removed. Can you imagine that? Walking around every day branding by the worst thing that's ever happened to you? " "You think because it's physical, it's worse? Tragedies always leave scars. Only some of them you can see."

Again, this is about perspective. Some people are visual learners. Some are auditory. Some learn by doing.

I have a weird quirk of my brain that a memory is stronger for me if I can see a photo of it. Yes, I have other memories, but I can almost transport back to the moments in my photo albums since I've had decent memory. Visuals are important for me.

To Tim, it doesn't matter if it's visual or not. But Lucy might be different. Seeing that every day might mean more to her than it does to him. He's not considering that.

Seriously, as a former Communications student (two degrees in it), this episode is a masterclass in personal bias and intrapersonal vs interpersonal communication. In the moments of actual connection there's communication that's clear and concise.

Throughout the episode, everyone is making choices that are complicating matters. They're trying to do what's right, but they're doing it without clarity.

Nyla gets through to Lucy best when she talks to the woman in an open and honest manner. Same with Tim, later.

But, I'm skipping ahead...

A Punching Bag

Remember how I said Tim and Lucy have switched places this episode? In the same place where Lucy once offered Tim perspective (on his learning disability) and a gift (the book on tape), Tim will have his moment.

Lucy wipes her face without thinking, and Tim gets a glimpse of the tattoo. It flusters Lucy as she turns. She doesn't want to talk about it.

He's come down here for a reason. After spending all day asking others about her, he needs to see her for himself.

He wants to say something, too, but he's second-guessing. Ever since he pushed her toward a serial killer, he's been second-guessing where she's concerned.

"You got no quit in you, do you, Boot?" "No, sir. I get that from you." "I don't think so. You walked in the door this way. It's what makes you so aggravating."

He's teasing her. This is their rhythm. They've found it and they've earned it, and she's been stripped from it when she really wanted something familiar.

"I'm taking that as a compliment." "It was meant to be. You have a good night." "Yeah, you, too."

Tim turns to go, shoving his hands in his pockets. As he does, his fingers graze the ring... her ring. The ring he's been carrying around because it's tangible. It's something he can hold onto and remind himself that it's true—Lucy lived.

He turns around, no longer second-guessing. He has something to say, and he can only hope she hears him.

"You know, I got half a dozen scars. Bullet wounds, knife wounds, broken bottle. Then there's the ones you can't see, Isabel's addiction, a dad who would tune me up on the regular. And whether I like it or not, they're a part of me."

I can't remember him talking this openly about the trauma of Isabel's addiction before. But, he's in the Lucy role, today. He's talking things out while she's taking it out on a punching bag.

"I know what you're trying to do. And I appreciate it, but this is different. I was tattooed by a sadist who etched my day of death into my skin." "Okay, but you didn't die. Okay? You lived. And now he's the one in the ground."

Lucy sighs, because here's another outsider telling her what to do and how to feel.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do with it. Okay? Burn it off, keep it, whatever gives you peace."

That's a little better. Lucy starts listening at that. Because, everyone's trying to push her in a direction, and he makes it clear that that's not his intention. He's not trying to push her to do or be anything.

"All I'm trying to do is give you some hard-won perspective."

If this was Pee Wee's Playhouse, we'd all have to scream because "Perspective" is the word of the day. Because each person's perspective has been an obstacle, today. Each person's perspective has been a roadblock.

But Tim's being very clear that he's offering only that—his Perspective. And, remember, Lucy cares very much what Tim thinks of her. She cares how he sees her. She doesn't want to let him down.

"You can choose to see that tattoo as your greatest failure. But I see it as proof that you're a survivor."

"You're so strong," he'd whispered when she started breathing, again. She might have been too overwhelmed at the moment to ever remember that, but we do. He recognized her strength and ability to survive right then.

This isn't lip-service. This is Tim Bradford being completely honest about how he sees Lucy.

"It wasn't your day of death, Officer Chen. It was the first day of the rest of your life. And no one can take that away from you."

There it is. No, this isn't going to "fix" the pain that Lucy's feeling. It's not going to make the trauma disappear. It's not going to erase the memories. But this mind-flip of that tattoo is powerful.

Because Caleb made her say aloud what that tattoo meant. He told her that it was for her, for her perspective, for her to own up to what he said it meant.

And here's Tim Bradford, a man who Lucy respects and trusts, helping her look at it from a different angle.

And isn't that what Tim does so well? Lucy even calls him out on it later in the show... He's the king at coming at things sideways and seeing another angle.

What he's saying is, "YOU, Lucy, get to decide how you look at that tattoo." She's spent so much time looking at it from Caleb's perspective that she didn't consider there was an alternative.

"Thanks." "Yeah. You're welcome."

Tim shoves his hands back in his pocket, and they both let the moment pass, easily. He said what he needed to say, and she heard him. Now, they can move forward.

"You riding with me tomorrow?" "Yes sir." "Good. Get in early. War bags need restocking." "Okay."

Tim pulls the ring from his pocket and tosses it to Lucy before she can register what it is. As she opens her hands, she sees it—her ring.

The ring she tossed off her hand in hopes that someone would find it. And Tim did. He found it. He found her.

"How did you find me?" Lucy asked from her hospital bed. Now, she has the answer.

Lucy looks up at Tim in awe and surprise. He smiles at the ring at her hand, and then back at her. He'd been carrying it around for a while because he didn't yet have Lucy back. Yes, she was at work, but not riding with him.

Tim once talked to Lucy about finding something tangible to focus on instead of the intangibility of nuclear disaster. Yes, he was being figurative, but I don't put it past him to take it literal. Lucy is back, but not back with him, yet.

Tomorrow, she'll be in his Shop. And now he doesn't need something tangible to hold onto to remind him that she is coming back, because she'll be there. By his side.

This is theirs. Tim told no one how he found her. She told no one that she'd dropped the ring. Only Tim and Lucy know this part of her story... of their story.

*phew* this one was emotionally exhausting. It took a week of work. But, I hope you enjoy it. It's heavier than most, but I think it's earned.

I would argue that Tim and Lucy are already on their way to friendship at the beginning of this trilogy, but the events that happen expedite it, and also solidify their trust of one another.

Tim respects the hell out of her. He knows what she's capable of, and now he's seen it for himself. Yes, he's going to be tough on her, again, when he's ready. And, yes, she's going to be pissed at him, when she's ready.

But only Tim and Lucy know who they are in the in-betweens. When the cameras aren't rolling on their chests and nobody else is listening in—like this ending scene. This is theirs.

And as they move forward in their relationship, there are all these touchstones, these pillars that shifted things that they can look back on as guide posts or stepping stones that at the time seemed small, but proved essential to their journey.

And, oh, I can't wait to see where it takes them next.

As always, thanks for reading.

#Chenford #Lucy Chen #Tim Bradford #Melissa O'Neil #Eric Winter #The Rookie #Meta #tw abuse #tw assault #tw rape

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ask-missparker · 3 months

Text

Familiar additions / AU series

Pairing: Charming!Nikolai x Snow!Amelia, Liane x Ethan, Cole x Jeremy

Characters mentioned/shown: Joshua Nolan, Belladonna St. James, The Twins, Cinderella!Rochelle, Mal!Liane, Rumple!Cole and etc

Summary: What happens if a glimpse of hope starts to become truly foreign to the touch? In other world, the pages aren’t as they seem to be.

———

It’s been a short while since the young brunette moved into the cozy loft of the man who offered him a place to live. Not just that, due to him being rather young he was forced to stay out of trouble and go to the school in Fighter-Town. It wasn’t so bad because his newfound friends were there and he was able to go to Riley’s grandfather’s diner afterwards.

School day wasn’t so bad. Belladonna and him got to be in the same English class with Professor Charles Xavier teaching them about William Shakespeare’s books, it was rather nice. Professor Xavier was pretty noble and gentle with his students young and old, speaking every single of them with such a nice voice. Lunch was okay being able to hang out with everyone, usually he was the loner kid in the hallways at school or in the library eating his meal, never really got a chance to socialize properly. The twins, Georgia and George, were silly enough to talk about bicker on and on about a which superhero was better, Riley shared her chips with Belladonna and he brought everyone extra water bottles.

He didn’t know why he felt so comfortable within this little Scooby-Doo gang but he just did.

Once all the class would ended, he would sit outside of the steps with Belladonna watching the teachers and students leave. Rick would come over with Riley to speak with Belladonna about going straight home if possible after school as she would nod, Riley would giggle knowing the young latina wanted to roll her eyes at her father but didn’t. Rick would suspiciously eye Joshua giving him a once over and a hint of snarl at the boy’s demeanor but something about him felt calming, he couldn’t place his finger on it.

Rick would go over to Rochelle, his co-teacher, for a quick talk as their children chatted. Rochelle would listen to Rick’s theories and thoughts every now and then on things that came to mind. With Rick being always more intense about things, he tends to be suspicious about any harm that might come to their children, such as thinking Joshua was a pot-head or something, in which Rochelle would shake her head and chuckle at his ideas.

Yes, the boy seemed nice by all accounts but his gut feeling says that there is something fishy about this new teen boy hanging out with the other kids. But he guessed since Riley seemed to like him, maybe wasn’t so bad per say.

Rochelle has heard about the boy from her twins and even come across him at the park once in a while, to find him harmless in her eyes. But a part of her felt familiar wave of fairness and nice dose of spunk when she came across Joshua, a go with the flow attitude that sometimes reminded her of Nikolai. She assumed it was because they were living together their personalities clashed.

Rochelle would pick her kids up from the park, along with Riley, where she would find the young brunette reading a notes in a book and scrolling on his phone. She smile and lean over the bench, “Hi.”

“Hey.” He replied with a soft smile, putting his book down getting a sense of sweetness from the redhead.

“I couldn’t help but notice your now living with Nikolai. How’s that working out for you?”

“H-how did you..”

“He’s does my ear piercings and we tend to chat a lot. It’s surprising how he let you stay with him, he’s not one to have too much company.”

“Yeah, he offered to help me out and after his little rescue a while back, he seemed in need of some company..it just feels right, you know? I’ve never had someone do that for me…”

“Why’d you say that? You seem like a nice kid, at least where I’m staying.”

“I’ve been alone for a few years now, no one to ever give me a chance..and my parents, I never found them..”

“Maybe you might find them one day.”

Joshua glanced at his notebook with ripped pages inside muttering, “Maybe closer than I think..”

Rochelle placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled, “Keep hoping, kiddo.”

——

———

Ethan clearing his head after a hangover when suddenly there was a knock on his door, as in walked his daughter who exclaimed in a killer tone of attack how this is a minor bug in her plan.

“Uh what?” He asked.

She groaned, “I got you here. Brought Nolan here to see his parents and you met mom, the sheriff kinda doesn’t like you very much…yet something is missing.”

“You’re talking about your book again?”

“What else would I be talking me?”

“I don’t know? Your a teen girl, shouldn’t you be focused on parties, texting your friends and boys?”

She made a face in disgust at his comment, “No. I’m not my mother, focusing on my social life and work. I got bigger things on my plate.”

He deadpanned and sighed, “Right. Because that would be ridiculous, I’ll play your little game, since I don’t want trouble with your mother.”

“It’s not a little game. Theses tales are real, just not as realistic as you may think. Why do you think you’ve felt like a idiotic loner for so long? You keep drinking and drowning yourself in the question of where your family is all this time? A part of you knows something is wrong here. You were suspicious of the Mayor like I am, he is up to no good.”

“Bella, honey, the mayor is playing his own business here. Yes it was suspicious he and your mother were Ms. Spencer’s emergency contact, but there has to be a good reason for that.”

“A very good reason. I asked mom if she had any actual paperwork on her years prior and she said no. That it was sorta odd for her. Ethan, I’m not one to believe in many things but in this, I am. I’m just asking for a bit of knowledge on your part, even if you don’t remember anything yourself.”

The man sighed, taking in her information and repeatedly telling himself that his daughter might be onto something here despite his own thoughts. She was right about him being a huge drink and a slight lowlife. He wasn’t quite convinced of the whole truth about this town or the tales she is tell, her face meant that she was serious.

He bite his inner cheek and groaned, “Fine. What is it that you meant me to do?”

“Get a job. Make yourself known around here and possibly go out on a date with my mother, if you can get your head out of your ass.” She said with blueness in her tone, but a hint of a smirk on her face.

With that, the girl left. Went out of his small room at the diner, Ethan asked around for paperwork knowing the Mayor might have his head for hearing that fact about him somewhat jobless. He was recommended to ask certain accents shop, so he stepped into a vintage looking store only to be met with a brunette behind the counter.

The brunette, Cole, was sipping on a glass putting away to meet his eyes. He half smiled, leaning against the counter to find his brother entering his store. Both men have crossed paths before briefly on the street but he has never been in here til now, which meant something happened. Like always his idiot older brother needed something from him and he sighed knowing he was relentlessly provide it.

Ethan looked at Cole, asking what can be done get a job around here that won’t draw much attention and give me some kind of respect. Cole smirked telling him to be one of the sheriffs around town, but he would have to prove to Erik he is worth the time and enough, that not just a save for a missing persons case would help his act. Ethan took a few seconds to take in what he meant and left the store, not without a slight glare at the Mayor who entered the moment he left to the station.

Alexander walked inside the store, glancing over at Cole with a glare, “I need you to do something for me.”

“And why would I do that? I’m a busy man, I got a date within a hour at the library. But what would you know your lonely and single?” Cole replied sipping his drink with glee.

“Zip it! I have two new town members here and one of them is Belladonna’s father. And my sources tell me that he is a alcoholic who has been in jail more than once. I don’t need a day drinker here.”

“I’m the town’s day drinker, mister mayor. So your out of luck, Ethan is just some normal guy who is here to be with his child.”

“He solved a case with my brother some time ago and dragged everyone down with him. I want him gone, or at least something worse.”

“Like what? Jail? Alexander, please, your working yourself up over nothing. Your just bitter your brother is having a decent day and Ethan is being liked around the townsfolk.”

“What do you know?”

“Nothing of the sort, just that he is not leaving anytime soon.”

Alexander turned around to leave but stopped short when Cole said, “And he will be getting a job as sheriff here very soon.” That seemed to turn the mayor’s attention bright red as he stormed out calling Liane to file down and order whatever paperwork to be printed by noon on Ethan. Liane with a deep breath did as told going to have the mall sent out about the handsome brunette despite her best wishes, a little saddened by the information as well.

Cole snickered to himself loving the idea of Alexander fuming over things not being in his control, he went to prepare for his date with Jeremy. A part of him wished he could tell his man the truth and hoped to figure out a way soon to tell him, for now it was sorta nice having a chiller version of his husband. Once he returned to the front desk, leaving his shop and closed the door he noticed his old friend walking past him with a small smile wearing a jacket.

Amelia looked calm yet nervous, fluttering her hands a bit as she nodded at him. She may not remember him since she just got out of a coma with foggy memories, it was pretty nice to see her out of a hospital bed. From his sources, he heard she has been wondering around town trying to get back to the swing of things and even met some familiar faces at the diner. Sadly due to the false memories everyone had, it was like they forgot Amelia existed and never went looking for her, to even claim her as their own at the hospital. But the moment she woke up from the coma, some of the townsfolk were reminded of her existence again.

It was odd.

He noticed she walked into the tattoo parlor that was nearby his store, as a small grin appeared on Cole’s lips. He knew why. Knowing that information, he stumbling in the library to find Jeremy waiting for him holding two bottles of champagne and take out from the diner, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Cole rolled his eyes and winked, sighing softly at the sight loving the thought of his husband out of all black leather and in lighter colored outfits, wearing a prosthetic hand that suit his well. Even though he liked the hook more.

——————-

Amelia walked into the tattoo parlor, in awe of the placement inside. The prints of different types of designs on the wall, the display cases of earrings, the big comfy chairs, the accented details and even the lighting was cool toned. The rooms seemed to be occupied by clients, so she awkwardly waited sitting in one of the chairs. She saw men and women walk in and out of the rooms, chatter could be heard and sounds of tools ringing her ears. She winced hearing a small scream that seemed that a women that calmed down shortly afterwards, then said women walked out thanking the person in the room.

The said women, who she recognized as pink haired lady from the record store, being Luna, paid at the front desk, giving Amelia a small smile then walked out. Then in came from behind one of the double doors was the man was waiting to see, dressed in a gray hoodie, boots, a couple of tattoos himself and a baseball cap that suited him very well.

His eyes seemed to stutter for a moment the second he noticed she was there and held back a little cocky grin. But his grin couldn’t help but shine across his entire face. He remembers that night he saved her and not having the full blown courage to see her again properly despite crossing with each other at the diner more than once. He didn’t know why he never came up with a good reason to talk with her but here she was.

“Hey.” He said, walking up to her having the grin laced softly across his face.

She returned the soft grin, “Hey. I um..”

“It’s okay, take your time. Are you here for a tattoo or piercing?”

“I don’t think I’m brave enough for one, yet. I actually came in here to thank you for the save earlier. You found me.”

He nods taking a soft bow, “I guess it’s all in a days work, m’lady. Anyone would’ve done the same, I’m just glad it was me who uh, did it.”

“You were brave enough to be the one to break me back. I don’t know how to repay you. And honestly I wish I could tell you more about myself but my mind is still fuzzy from being asleep..sorry.” She replies with a soft smile.

“How about a date?”

“A date?”

“If you’ll have me, I can take you on a little tour and have dinner later.”

“I’ll like that.”

He wanted to see if she was playing with him but the innocent look on her face said otherwise. He smiled telling her that he will pick her up near the flower shop a few stores down from his shop. She smiled at that, waving at him as she walked out just as another customer walked in. Nikolai waited for her to walked out to fist pump himself for scoring a date that fact, he wasn’t expecting it but he did it!

——//—-

Meanwhile, the word spread about Ethan being a slight alcoholic and someone who has been in trail more than once for past mistakes, resulting in a few surprises being his daughter. Belladonna sound out as the newspaper dropped on her lap that afternoon when she was at the diner, shown to her by George who sighed stealing two fries from her plate.

She groaned about to say something when Ethan slip into the booth and quietly exclaimed, “You weren’t supposed to know half of it.”

“I bet. It must’ve been my mother, he made her to do.” Belladonna added with a sigh, “What are you gonna do about it?”

“I need to get the town to see me not as a asshat..but first I thought of evening the playing field.”

“Like how?” Said a voice, that belonged to Riley who was standing in front of them with a curious tone.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, “How long were you standing there?”

“Long enough. I’m silent like a wolf.”

“Okay? I was thinking of cutting down the man’s bushes.”

“Yes!”

“No!” Belladonna yelled over them, knowing Riley can be a little insane and will definitely go for an idea like that, “As much as I would like to do that myself, or better burn his house down, it’s too early for that.”

“That’s plan B then! I wanna cut down a tree.” Riley said with a smirk nodding.

“Yeah but..we gotta think smart here. Ethan has to prove himself a hero.”

“But how?”

“I’m working on it..”

But it seemed like a certain shop owner had an similar idea to the long haired Latina…

At Town Hall, Rick and Liane were discussing with Alexander on the topic of the school tax rates along with activities that could be done for students. Rick was on about more field trips and after school activities he would like to be such as expanding on the greenery of the area. Liane was surprised by his suggestions, wondering on how they can bunk that up with any legal issues, possibly even adding a larger playground at the school.

Alexander was half listening, taking down notes and reading over the files on how all of this can contribute to the overall development budget of the town. There were bustling across the building but few people here today.

Ethan was in the building himself waiting to speak with whoever could be help him with the current situation surrounding him. He was in the hallways of the second floor getting impressively impatient about to walk into the room when he smelled it, slight noise of smoke.

He ran down the hallway trying to slam open the door until it swung open as he yelled, “Sorry to intercept but there is more pressing matters.”

Liane scoffed, “Uh excuse you, Ethan, but we are in a meeting!”

“She’s right. I’ll have to ask you to leave now or I’ll get have get someone to escort you out.” Alexander spat standing up from the desk.

Ethan glared, “Escort me out, go ahead and do it some other time, mister mayor. But we have to go now.”

Rick was deeply confused barking a few things to Ethan until the smell reached his nose and entered his lungs. Fire. He gasped, “No he’s right! We gotta leave now, like right now. Come on Liane.”

Liane was suddenly pushed out of the door by Rick as Ethan ushered Alexander who elbowed him past the double doors, leading everyone down the stairs carefully. Ethan and Rick escorted all four of them down the stairs as the fire on the first floor grew. Liane screamed loudly grabbing Ethan’s hand quickly as Rick tried to search for an way out meanwhile Alexander shouted over them, climbing down the stairs first opening the door.

Rick yelled, “Wait!”

The moment the door open, the fire behind them caused an exploding blast that pushed all of them back. Rick mustered all the strength he had standing up, sharing a glance with Ethan as they both helped the others up. Alexander hit his shoulder from the blast laying in the staircase as Liane landed nearby a gray wall. Rick helped the blonde up from the ground, who yelled how didn’t she expect this to happen today as Ethan held out his hand for Alexander to take.

“Dude come on!” He yelled.

Alexander scoffed not saying a word taking his hand and groaned in annoyance, asking, “What’s your genius plan now?”

Once he was pulled up the ground, Ethan and Rick jumped in front of them, coughing and shouting as they did. Rick noticed a fire extinguisher and an axe lifting the red objects from the wall and tossing one to Ethan. Both men smirked nodding to one another. Ethan used the fire extinguisher as white foamy smoke filled the air, dying down the fire as much as possible but still grew and Rick grinned swinging the axe with all his might breaking down the doors as they all walked across from the entrance.

As they got outside, coughing and sneezing stumbling out the way, Erik and others came in to finish the job. The fire department and ambulance arrived behind him just as quickly. Liane coughed and squeezed her eyes shut hearing a voice that belonged to her daughter along with a couple of kids.

Ethan was holding Liane when Belladonna came rushing asking if they were okay, sharing looks with one another.

“What happened?” She asked her parents with concern in her eyes, a true moment of event feeling.

“There was a fire, someone must’ve forgot to turn something off or something.” Liane said, trying to figure out what happened, “B-but we’re alright..yeah.”

“That was oddly dramatic. Glad you’re both doing well. Uh, I guess you got a savior, mom.”

Liane glanced up at Ethan who tiredly smiled as she muttered, “Yeah..yeah i guess so.”

Erik rushed over to make sure they were doing alright, bringing over two nurse practitioner with him.

Rick was laying Alexander down gently as he heard his own daughter’s voice followed by a couple of adults. It seemed like Belladonna and Joshua were hanging out with the youngest member of their crew, when they saw the fire department and ambulance coming across Town Hall.

Joshua was holding Riley’s hand leading her carefully to her father, as Rick picked up his daughter mumbling in her ear, “Shh, shh I’m here. It’s okay.”

Riley lay her head on his shoulder, “You were brave out there..”

“Yeah. Yeah, you can say that was. I sensed the fire as soon as it hit my nose.”

“Of course you did!”

Riley gasped seeing the axe next to her dad and grinned, “Cool!”

Rick chuckled softly then looked down at Joshua who stood there awkwardly and sighed, “T-thank you for watching over her, i guess..”

The young brunette shrugged with a half smile, “It was nothing, we were all worried about what happened..”

When Rochelle arrived with Cassie, she gasped wanting to go see if her friends were alright, apparently Nikolai and Amelia weren’t far behind since all four of them saw the fire department and ambulance from the flower shop.

Nikolai rushed over to his brother who was sitting on a chair with a nurse who was checking his shoulder for any hard damage, Alexander brushed his brother off saying he was fine. Nikolai was trying to be nice and see if he needed any help but his big brother wasn’t having it, scoffed saying he just needed to ice his shoulder tonight. He’ll be fine in the morning, if he wanted to help he would’ve been there in the beginning.

Nikolai rolled his eyes at his brother’s soft outburst and walked away from him going to check on the others. He found Amelia with the Rochelle’s twins talking to the others about the accident.

No one was badly injured or anything, just needed to ice themselves, rest and most importantly get cleaned up, which wasn’t half bad. As well as file any paperwork if needed.

—//—

The next day couple of days were busy with soft noise. Some newspapers about Ethan’s time in jail were forgotten as he was seen in a better light. The students in class had something new to talk about, which resulted in poor Professor Xavier along with Rochelle to quiet down the children and return back to their textbooks instead.

Rick and Liane went to have their meeting at her house instead, without Alexander around, due to the man wanting to deal with fixing the Town Hall building instead. Especially since Rick busted down a couple of doors with a freaking axe, which Riley was bragging about later on, finding it very cool.

Ethan was seen as a good man after that, Erik even though about it and offered him a job as co-sheriff after seeing his bravery. He took the offer but couldn’t help but stay curious as to how the fire starters in the first place. He has been racking his brain about it for a long period of time until it hit him.

He left his desk at the station and rolled up to the shop, opening the door with a small lined smile. The small bell rang alerting his attention.

The man in question had his back turn and sighs, “I guess when i brought that ‘We’re closed’ sign, i was just wasting my money.”

“I guess so.” Replied the older man with his arms crossed watching the younger one turn around, “I know what you did.”

Cole leaned against the counter and shook his head. The stance in front of him reminded him of his younger days in wonderland where him and his sister got into some chaotic fun, then his older brother would show up with some questions.

He decided to play coy and said, “Did what? Oh! You mean the fact that i used the roof of the library to watch the stars last night? Yeah i did.”

His brother rolled his eyes sighing, “No. You set up the fire.”

“I did that? Ah can’t remember.”

“You did it to make me look in front of everyone.”

“Someone had to do it. What were you gonna do? Fight fire with fire this early in the game?”

“Hmmm. I could have handled it myself! I could have you arrested for that.”

Cole hummed and smirked, “But you won’t do that, would you? I did you favor, you don’t look bad in front of the townsfolk and now you get to play hero. Isn’t that what everyone want?”

Ethan looked down for a moment and bit the inside of his cheek, “Okay, I’ll let it slide, for now! Don’t try to pull that shit again, I’m letting you off with a warning.”

“Feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t lie. Your kid seems to have a smile on her face, her mother possibly likes you, Mr. Banner and his friends were saved. Oh and my favorite, the blast gave the mayor a little boo boo! All is right in the world.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

“Let’s just say I like to see the heroes come out on top. And, now that I made you look good, when the time comes that I ever need a small favor from you, I’m betting you will help me with that.”

“Sure. Whatever. As for you using the roof for stargazing, I know about that too. Why am I so important to you?”

The young brother just shrugged, “Because you just are, sadly, you are. Now go off, enjoy your day! I heard the diner is having a special on half priced pancakes this morning, and I know how much you love to eat.”

Ethan didn’t say a word and just rolled his eyes walking out, realizing that he needed to get himself a better apartment soon but first, he wanted some breakfast. Well, a second helping of breakfast.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other side of town, after visiting his brother because the man wanted to talk with him about the tax rate of his tattoo parlor, in which he remarked how his business was doing fine and how his clients seemed fine with his prices. The tattooed brunette found himself stumbling at the park side, to find a certain young brunette wearing a uniform and jacket that he recognized all too well.

He stifled back a laugh shaking his head and slide onto the park bench beside her saying, “Hi.”

The girl looked up from her fingernail to face him with a nod, “Hey.”

“You got a job I see?”

“Oh yeah, the town’s redhead..Rochelle? She recommend me to work at the coffee place for a while.”

“Funny. I used to work there myself, it’s not a bad place and it’s right next to my shop. You’ll love the cafe, I promise.”

“Loving it already.”

The two chuckled, as cheesy their dialogue seemed, it sounded pretty nice. The brunette winced as he remembered the last couple of day and said, “I’m sorry by the way..”

“About what?” She asked, title her head a bit rubbing her eyes.

“Our date was cut off by the fire attack at Town Hall. We barely got a chance to grab a coffee or dinner..”

“Oh no it’s fine! I get it, I would’ve done the same.”

He thought for a moment and hummed, “How about I make it up to you? Right now. You and me, head back to my place, I’ll make up a early lunch, or we can get food from the diner, whichever you prefer.”

She chuckled at his forwardness, “Already inviting a girl over? I haven’t been asked out yet.”

“Well I move kinda fast, it’s my whole thing. And technically, I already did ask you out I just didn’t precede with my intentions! So what do you say?”

“I say, you got yourself a deal.”

He stood up as he held out his hand for her to take, as she took it with a light grip following him to the apartment. The two chatted and chuckled, as the man gave her a small tour of the town while leading her home. He honestly didn’t know what came over him to be so forward with his decision but he liked it, a lot. They ordered a small lunch from Bruce’s diner as they did so, her giggles were promptly stated the whole way home.

~~~~~~

Joshua was at home, reading some ripped pages from the text book given to him by Belladonna earlier during class that day. A small part of him choose to possibly believe in the idea of her parents being Snow White & Prince Charming, from the moment they saved one another in the tale to the very night they met in the woods of Fighter Town.

Not just that, Belladonna pointed out how him and Nik loved the smell of dark rich coffee in the late afternoon, along with a nice slice Italian beard. Yes, it was a simple sense of a meal but comforting. Just like George pointed how his mother was Cinderella based on the fact that both tales connect to the sliver lining almost glass like jewelry she wears. Riley, being always the optimistic young blonde, loved to state the obvious to her father’s traits and who her mother seems to be.

To be honest, every single one of the stories seemed to be interesting with the finest details to the larger interconnect ways they lend to the other. His favorite had to Rumple’s way to making a dramatically sparking appearance in every tale, it made him laugh.

Okay? Was he getting invested? Can you blame him? He loves to read and watch movies like any other person on the face of the planet.

He looked up when he heard the front door open and he saw Nik walk in with a guest. He didn’t think he’ll be home yet with a lady friend, he had to bite back a small grin due to it. Nik hoped he didn’t mind if he invited the girl over, in which the young brunette shook his head.

“Nope. Not at all.” He smiling warmly at the young women, “I don’t think we formally met. I’m Joshua Nolan, his roommate.”

She smiled shaking his hand politely, “Amelia.”

Nik smiled unboxing the bag of burgers and fries from the diner, watching the two interact. He didn’t expect them to be rather polite to one another, especially after the fact that he accidentally brought a pretty stranger into his home unannounced.

He noticed their similar eye color being a blue-green but didn’t a word, until Amelia pointed out, “You two got similar, almost identical cheeks and hair, but more rounder? Weird.”

The two guys muttered a soft, “Weird.” Nik just shrugged with a light smile putting the burgers on the plates, asking the young brunette if he wanted to join them but he denied his offer saying he had some homework to get started on. He nodded watching the boy leave.

“What was that about?’ Amelia said with a chuckle.

Nik sighed and smiled, “Honestly? No idea. The kids in this town are plain weird.”

“I like weird, added a sense of..unique factor.”

“Maybe. I can see where your coming from. But normalcy and commonality is sometimes more my style.”

“Says the guy who invited me into his home for dinner?”

“Hey! I never said I was completely normal.”

“Yeah okay, sure, Romeo. Let’s go with that.”

——

Joshua showed up at the St. Jame household that night knocking on the front door, in which Ms. St. James opened the door. The two of them haven’t properly met before so it seemed a little awkward but she looked kinda dressed up. As if she getting ready to go out somewhere.

“Um hi..Ms. St.James. I’m Joshua, a friend of your daughters..” He said with a half smile looking up at the blonde women.

Ms. St.James, Liane, got a sense of urgency but calmness from the boy’s face as if she had seen it before. She shook her head and smiled, “Ah yes, your the kid who Bella said was her Pen Pal, right?”

“You can say that. Yeah. Is she come? I wanted to see her about our English homework.”

“Yeah, she’s upstairs. Glad to see my daughter making some friends her age.”

The blonde let him inside and pointed up the stairs, as the boy nodded thanking her. Once the young teen entered the room, he saw Bella lock eyes with him raising eyebrow wondering what exactly he was doing here. She was sitting on top of her bed about to insult him, but stopped noticing the look on his face.

“Uh, we need to talk..” Is all he muttered.

She closed her computer and hummed, “Go on.”

—-

———-

Welcome back to the town! I hope you liked it, let me know what you think

Tags: @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @meiramel @gcthvile @rickb-chaos @gaminggirlsstuff @wizzzardofoz @thechoooooosenone @sherloquestea @luna-d-marsh @rooster-84 @thecavalrywife @cherrysft and etc

#ask missparker #fantasy au #nikmia #ouat fanfiction #ouat s1 #ouat au #once upon a studio #red riding hood #the savior #the dark one #the dark knight #snow white #malificent #the huntress

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