#...and maybe because I also find George Harrison a bit cute

[violethursday]

How did I suddenly switch from listening to My Chemical Romance 24/7 to The Beatles within a 5 day break 💀

[tiarasandteacups]

Teacup’s Name Opinions: The Prince of Wales and his family

I am a Name Nerd. Seriously. I have a two page list of my favourite names that I want to give my eventual children, so I have OPINIONS.

These are my opinions, you are totally allowed and even encouraged to disagree and tell me what you are thinking.

Oh and I am also gonna offer up my own alternate names, because that’s kinda fun. Or at least it will be fun for me 😂

So welcome to Part 2, ecompassing Charles, Diana, Camilla, William and Kate and their kids and Harry and Meghan and their kids

Charles Philip Arthur George

From all the boys name from him and his brothers, Charles’ name is actually my favourite. It flows really, really well. Though for fun:

Teacup’s version: Albert Philip William George

I really like the idea of the Queen naming her firstborn after the name her father preferred. Also the UK would finally get their King Albert. Queen Victoria would be delighted.

Diana Frances Spencer

Stuff that drives me nuts: Give siblings not the same number of middle names: Elizabeth Sarah Lavinia McCorquodale, Cynthia Jane Fellowes, Charles Edward Maurice Spencer and Diana Frances Spencer. Am I the only one who thinks that these name sound like they all belong to a different Family? (Bolded name are the ones they are actually called). Sarah and Jane are like two of them most common names you can go with and then there’s Diana, which is not common at all.

So how about..Emma. And I’ll give her another middle name.

Teacup’s version: Emma Georgiana Frances

Emma is a whole lot more common than Diana, and it has some of that…old school elegance that Sarah and Jane have. Georgiana is after the Duchess of Devonshire who was a Spencer by birth, and we’ll keep Frances after her mother.

Camilla Rosemary

Wow, her parents really bought into the whole Flower name thing, didn’t they? She also has two siblings, Sonia Annabel Elliot and Mark Roland Shand. At least they all have two middle names. But again…how can you name your daughter Camilla and then come up with Mark for a son? These are like…so different. I do love Annabel though. But how about something shorter?

Teacup’s version: Iris Veronica

Iris is a lot shorter than Camilla and matched Sonia and Mark much better in my opinion. And Veronica keep the double flower thing alive, but is prettier than Rosemary.

Albert and Emma with their sons, Arthur and George

William Arthur Philip Louis

William the Conqueror. I bet I can find some tabloid newspaper with that headline. I like the name for a future King. The Arthur throws me off to this day tbh, because the other two have obvious family connotations, but Arthur doesn’t as far as I am aware (Though if you know better, please educate me. I once read that Charles wanted to name William and Harry, Arthur and Albert.)

Teacup’s version: Arthur Albert Philip Louis

Charles gets his Arthur and names him after himself, Philip and Louis Mountbatten.

Catherine Elizabeth

I mean, I guess it’s classic? (Btw, does anybody have any idea why her nickname is Kate and not Cate? Wouldn’t it make much more sense to write it with C, if her name also starts with C?) It’s kinda boring though. But Carole and Mike get two thumbs up for managing to actually create a sibling pairing that works: Catherine Elizabeth, Philippa Charlotte and James William.

Teacup’s version: Victoria Elizabeth

If I needed to rename her, I would go for Victoria, with the nickname Tori, because I feel that’s just as snazzy as Pippa is for Philippa. Elizabeth can stay the same.

George Alexander Louis

Alexander is and will always be one of my favorite names. George is…well, classic and kinda boring, but he’s the future King, so that was kinda to be expected.

Teacup’s version: Alexander Arthur Philip Francis

Alexander is gonna be the first name, Arthur after his father and Philip after the great-grandfather, with a nod to Kate’s side of the family with the middle name Francis, which is also Michael Middleton’s middle name.

Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

Another thing that drives me nuts: masculine and feminine forms of the same name in the same family. Did they really not come up with anything other than Charlotte and Charles? WHY? The Diana honorific was expected, though I always feel like using Frances would have been a much better pick, but they probably did not want the whole connection to Diana’s mother who was a bit…let’s say flighty. But there still must have been some other option right?

I feel like Diana is such a huge name to grow into and even when it’s meant to honor their grandmother, it just feels like such a immense burden to put on a little girl.

Teacup’s version: Helena Georgiana Charlotte Alice

Helena was a daughter of Queen Victoria, Georgiana is a middle name of Teacup!Diana, Charlotte after Teacup!Queen and Pippa and Alice as a nod to Philip’s mother

Louis Arthur Charles

Did Kate and Will run out of names? Is that the reason why he’s left with George’s middle name? I mean it’s a lot less regal sounding than his older siblings. Though I do like Louis as a first name.

Teacup’s version: William James Albert Louis

Alexander, Helena and William are all longer, multiple syllable names, Albert is after his grandfather, James is after Kate’s brother, and Louis after Louis Mountbatten.

Arthur and Victoria, with their kids, Alexander, Helena, and William.

Henry “Harry” Charles Albert David

The whole, give your child one name and then use another exclusively is something that I will never, ever understand. Seriously. Why? Also his name is now stolen by Teacup!Andrew, so he needs another one. With William being Arthur, I think I like George for Harry.

Teacup’s version: George William Richard John

George works well with Arthur and is also a nod to Teacup!Diana, Richard and John are nods to Teacup!Charles brothers and William is another classic name to fill the void.

Rachel Meghan

Her name is fine, nothing is wrong with it per se, I just dislike the name Meghan/Megan/Meagan/whatever other spelling variation there is of that name. It was no. 33 on the US popularity list in 1981 though, so it fits perfectly with the time period in which she was born. If I need to stay with the M.M. thing I do like Melissa.

Teacup’s version: Melissa Loyce

Doria Ragland’s middle name is Loyce and it would have been cute to bring that into her daughter’s name.

Archie Harrison

I also have a thing about nicknames as first names, because I just thing it sounds like something is missing. Maybe Archibald? Though that would have been kinda old-fashioned.

Teacup’s version: Oliver Philip George

Oliver, because I like that cool, laid-back vibe from it and then Teacup!Harry’s name and Philip as middle names.

Lilibet “Lili” Diana

Fun Fact: I guessed Charlotte’s name correctly, but I was totally off with Lili’s name. My last guess was Artemis. Though I also had Poppy and Myosotis. Also Allegra, which was said to have been Diana’s favorite girls name.

Again, the same thing about naming a kid one name and then calling it another. I dislike the spelling of Lili because it just looks less elegant to me than Lily. And I could also get on a soapbox about them using an individual private family nickname, but I won’t. So I think I’ll go with Poppy.

Teacup’s version: Poppy Charlotte Loyce

Poppy with it’s connotation of it being the Californian state flower and also the Remembrance Day flower, Charlotte for Teacup!Queen and then Loyce which Doria, Teacup!Meghan and her all share.

George and Melissa, with their kids, Oliver and Poppy

[shhh-no-ones-home]

on beat vinny mauro x reader

+++++++++

Request from @ohnoooooooooo : "Can you write one for vinny where he teaches the reader how to start playing drums and for some reason he finds it attractive and he starts getting touchy with them,, I live for all your writing btw you're a blessing"

I know nothing about drumming lol. I did Google a few tutorials for this so I'm hoping that helped. If you do know something about drums or drumming and I got anything wrong sorry in advance 😂

Thank you again for requesting and being patient with me I hope you like it (also sorry if formating is different than usual I had to post via mobile because my desktop wouldn't work so that's why)

Song: my sweet Lord by George Harrison

Tag list: @ryansitkowskiswifey @svintsandghosts @alilpunkrock @cynic-spirit @theoneandonlykymberlee @thisplace-ishaunted @joeybarber @musicsexandpizza69

+++++++++

"I don't know vin, I don't think I'll be very good at it."

I frowned at the thought of embarrassing myself in front of him, especially at something he is so good at. He scoffed at me.

"Only way to find out is to try y/n. Now come on, I'm gonna teach you how to play."

I reluctantly followed him to the kit in the corner of the room. He had set  two stools out, the one that was usually there when he practiced and another one behind, but very close to, it in the small space. I watched him intently as he moved to sit on the one in the back, him tapping the regular with his hand for me to take a seat. I sighed and did as asked. It was weird, not only was he watching me from behind but I was also technically sat between his legs, and we were very close. I could feel his one leg against mine.

"Weapon of choice?"

I asked, turning to him and realizing just how close we really were. He looked over my face before handing me two drum sticks. His chest was almost grazing my back.

"Locked n loaded."

I took them quickly and turned back around.

"Thanks."

I felt him lean into me and my eyes went wide. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I knew for a fact he didn't learn like this but I guess this was what we were getting.

"Okay so we're gonna start off small. Tap the hi-hat."

I looked at him and raised a brow. He laughed for a second before taking my right arm and tapping the symbol to the left of me. I let out a nervous laugh and tapped it in time with his bouncing leg, feeling it rub against mine lightly. He mumbled 'one and two and three and four and' moving my arm.

"That's good. Now on beats two and four hit the snare drum."

I moved my left hand to the small drum in front of me and looked to him for confirmation. He nodded and I did as told, tapping out the beat.

"Great!"

He exclaimed as I did it. I smiled widely to myself and looked over at him. He had an equally big smile on his face.

"Wanna add the kick drum now?"

He asked excited. I wasn't so sure yet.

"Uh, maybe we should keep doing hands, I'm not sure I'm ready to add another limb."

I said nervously. He nodded.

"That's okay, we can keep this up for a little longer. But I'm gonna tap your leg when you should be hitting the kick drum. That way you know what beat it is and what it will feel like."

I took a deep breath and nodded slowly in understanding.

"Okay."

I began counting in my head 'one and two and three and four and' and starting over at one. He tapped my leg on 'one and' and 'three and' giving two quick taps each as I played on the hi-hat and snare. I stopped after two sets.

"Is everything alright? You were doing really good."

He said, resting his hand on my thigh. I brought my arms into myself.

"Uh yeah, I'm just not used to it."

He sent me a reassuring smile.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get it in no time. Wanna keep trying? Maybe with the kick drum now?"

I sighed quietly, unsure of my ability to do all three at once.

"Sure."

He tapped my thigh again.

"Great!"

I began tapping the hi-hat on each half beat, joining in on two and four with the snare. Vinny began tapping my leg again and after two sets I started on the kick drum, stepping on the pedal at beat one and three. I smiled to myself as I kept playing. I didn't think I'd be able to do it but it sounded pretty good. I laughed a little bit as I played but stopped when he moved his other hand to hold my waist. He cleared his throat and took his left hand away from my body.

"You're doing fantastic y/n. You're a natural."

He said, beaming with pride. I smiled at him, feeling his hand move a little further up my thigh.

"Thanks vin. Id say i have a pretty good teacher."

I could see a small blush making its way to his face as he smiled, his eyes getting all squinty. It was cute. I felt him replace his other hand, this time at the small of my back, his other leg touching me now too.

"I think it suits you. You look mighty fine sitting behind the kit."

I laughed a little bit but when I turned to look at him he had a smirk on his face.

"That'd better not be a kink thing."

I said nudging him and making him laugh at me. He moved to tickle me lightly.

"And what if it were huh? What're you gonna do about it?"

He said, making me giggle and try to get away from him as he continued to tickle me. When I tried to stand he wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me into his chest. I tapped his hand lightly, calming down.

"I'd say maybe you were trying to get me to play for a reason then."

He squeezed me a little bit and when I turned to look at him he was staring down at me admiringly.

"Maybe some sort of motive?"

He said unsure.

"Are you saying I'm hot?"

He smiled widely at me.

"I'm not saying you're not."

I felt him lower his hands a bit, dangerously low.

"And?"

I asked, lacing our fingers together so he couldnt move anymore.

"And I kinda wanna kiss you."

He said softly. I dropped my gaze to his lips for a split second. As soon as our eyes were locked again he pushed forward, connecting our lips. As much I hate to say it I completely got lost in the moment, bringing my hand up to hold his face. He pulled away slowly, smiling down at me.

"You're really good."

He said making me laugh. I hit his chest playfully and turned back around.

"Come on vin, let's finish this session and then you can kiss me all you want."

I heard him inhale sharply. When I looked back at him he looked surprised but also outrageously elated.

"All I want?"

He asked. I just shook my head at him.

"All you want."

I grabbed the sticks off the snare drum, yelping when he leaned forward and buried his face into my neck.

"Let's get to it then."

He joked, running his hand across my arm. I laughed and shook my head at him.

"Goof ball."

[benisasoftboi]

In Which I Explain The Entirety of Star Wars, Despite Being Very Much Unqualified To Do So

I have only seen one Star Wars movie - it was The Last Jedi. I saw it, with no context, two years ago in theatres when it first came out. I was very surprised to find out that it made a lot of people very angry, because I quite liked it, as did the friends I saw it with. I can’t say I remember much though.

All the rest of my Star Wars knowledge comes from its generally inescapable nature in the pop cultural zeitgeist. I might have seen a bit of Episode 6, which I don’t know the name of, when I was round a friend’s house once, but I was very tired, and it was about a decade ago anyway.

That’s just some context for my lack of qualifications to do this. My friend said I should still do it anyway. I will not be looking anything up as I write this, so all spelling mistakes and other general errors are mine. 

So anyway - The Entirety of Star Wars:

Original Trilogy 

There is a guy called Luke. He is played by Mark Hamill and he is George Lucas’s self insert. He lives on a planet where there is only sand, because in this universe all planets have only one terrain, I think. He drinks milk. The milk might be blue.

A guy played by Liam Neeson finds Luke. I think this guy’s name is probably Obi Wan Kenobi, but I might have that wrong. At some point he will die tragically and it will be formative for Luke, but then he will also come back as a ghost. Ghosts exist in this universe. 

Possibly Luke has known this guy for a long time or possibly he is a stranger, I am not sure. Somehow they end up on a spaceship.

Luke needs to learn how to use magic powers called the Force, which seems to be mostly telekinesis, and also lets him use a really fancy but probably impractical sword called a lightsaber that shoots blue or sometimes green or sometimes red light. This is called Jedi training. Jedi Knight is a religion. You can claim to be one on the census in the real world. They seem to be really serious people despite having a silly name.

Everyone also has guns that go ‘pew pew pew’ and nerds get really mad when you make fun of that.

Luke will meet many colourful and interesting people on his journey. These include:

A woman played by Carrie Fisher who is also his twin sister but he doesn’t know that until after they kiss. Her name is Leia or maybe Laia. She has silly hair. At one point she wears a slave bikini because she’s enslaved to a gelatinous blob because that’s just how it goes when you’re the woman in a 70s sci-fi movie

A guy called Han Solo because he is Edgy and Does Things Solo. He and Leia have a romance and it’s Drama. He also has a spaceship that people will build very impressive lego replicas of. He dresses like a cowboy. I’m 90% that he is played by Harrison Ford

A bunch of walking teddy bears called Ewoks who can kill you and live in a jungle

A guy called Lando Calrissian who I think wears fancy clothes and that’s all I know about him, he might actually be a villain I’m not sure. He might die?

A little blue robot who hid behind some rocks one time and then in the re-release he hid behind more rocks than before and the fans got Mad

A big gold robot who is nervous and gay and might be gay for the little blue robot, like they might be married but that also might be a meme I’m not certain

A weird green goblin thing called Yoda who makes Luke carry him around and speaks in broken English that annoying people have spent the last thirty years imitating. He dies, but then is a ghost so it doesn’t matter really

A guy called Boba Fett who is a bounty hunter. I genuinely have no clue how he fits in to all of this. He might not actually be from Star Wars, maybe I’m mixing him up with something else. 

Luke is also trying to fight the Evil Darth Vader who works for an Evil CGI Emperor of the Evil Empire. They live on a big spaceship called the Death Star and it looks like a moon but isn’t and people think it’s funny when you point that out for some reason. They are the Dark Side, which makes them easy to root against because they’re just cartoonishly evil I guess. I think they are also bureaucrats. They have Stormtroopers, who might be brainwashed people or might just be robots, or might even be clones. They all wear identical white armour with helmets so people don’t care when they get shot. Kinda like fencers.

Darth Vader is actually Luke’s father and this is a twist except not anymore. This means he is also Leia’s father, I’m not sure if she knew. Also Luke loses his arm. Darth Vader gets redeemed and then dies but also takes down the Evil CGI Emperor with him.

I don’t know what happens in any of the movies, but I know that the first one ends with them getting plans for or from Leia, not sure, the second one has the dad twist, and the third one has ghosts. Also they blow up the Death Star by shooting a garbage chute really hard. 

Prequels

These movies are widely disliked. The first one has too much bureaucracy. They are about Darth Vader’s backstory. He used to be a guy called Anakin. He will Become Evil. He will also meet many colourful characters. They include:

His love interest, who is called Padme. She wears a silly hat and dies of a combination of Childbirth and Sadness. I saw this bit happen one time when I was a kid and I was stuck round my mum’s friend’s house and her son was playing through this part in the LEGO game. It was sad

A guy with a red face whose name might be Maul and has robot legs? 

A guy called Jar Jar Binks who everyone seems to simultaneously hate and feel a desperate need to make sex jokes about 

Angry Jedi People

Probably some robots

Anakin hates sand and is pretty but grumpy. His hatred of sand is what will prevent him from finding Luke in the original movies. He falls in a volcano and gets turned into a robot man and it’s very dramatic. He has an angry red lightsaber. He murders a bunch of children by executing Order 66. Or maybe that was in the first set of movies I don’t know. I’m not sure how they made three of these movies, there doesn’t seem to be much to them.

Also there is something called ‘mitoclorians’ and I don’t know what they are but they make nerds Very Mad.

Expanded Universe

There was an expanded universe, but Disney said it wasn’t canon when they bought the rights, so now it isn’t. If I were a Star Wars fan, I would not take this lying down, because what right does Disney have to say what’s canon? Why is it up to the copyright holders? They are a corporation, not a writer. Expanded universes are always really fun and full of wacky nonsense that would never get put in the mainline stuff. I don’t like it when people try to dismiss them. 

Stand Alone Movies

When the new trilogy started, they also made some stand alone films. They were called Rogue One and Solo. Rogue One is about a woman named Gin or Jinn or Jin or Ginne or - I wish I hadn’t restricted myself to not looking anything up - Urso. The spelling doesn’t matter because she dies. So does everyone else. Then Darth Vader shows up.

Solo is about Han Solo and his friends and they have an adventure and there’s a robot who wants robot rights but she dies so no one has to address the slavery thing. Also apparently it was going to be a comedy but got reshot as a drama. I hope I never watch it because that sounds terrible, even as much as I like Donald Glover who I think is in it probably. I think his character might have been in love with the dead robot.

Sequel Trilogy

These movies are about a girl called Rey. She makes nerds mad by existing and being the protagonist. She is Space British. She is a scavenger and is friends with a really cute little orange robot. Somehow she ends up in space. She starts hanging out with Older Leia’s crew, which include a pilot named Poe Dameron and a guy called Finn, but I don’t know why he’s there. People ship them with each other, and also with Rey. 

The other person people ship Rey with is Kylo Ren, who I call Space Zuko because when I saw The Last Jedi, he showed up and I was like ‘oh, it’s Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender but in space’, because he has bad hair and is angry about his Daddy Issues. I hope in the next movie he gets better hair and fewer Daddy Issues like Real Zuko did. A lot of people get really angry about Rey and Space Zuko being shipped together, but they’re still the most popular ship on AO3. So no matter what happens in the next one, nerds are going to be mad about it, and I am not looking forward to it.

Kylo Ren killed his dad, Han Solo, because he was radicalised to be evil for reasons I don’t know. The guy who runs the New Evil Group, which is called the First Order, is an ugly CGI guy called Snoke. It was apparently a Big Twist that Kylo kills him Last Jedi, and it made nerds really mad. I don’t understand why people were surprised, because when I saw the movie, I saw that guy and was like ‘oh he’s gonna get killed by Space Zuko because that would be Drama and also from a production standpoint having a guy who needs lots of special effects is much more difficult than just having Adam Driver wear a scary mask’ and then I was right so maybe I’m smarter than all the nerds. 

There is also a guy called Hux and he is a ginger. I think he is evil.

The other thing people got really mad about was that Rey’s parents were not established characters. People wanted her dad to be Luke, I think, who is in Last Jedi. I was happy about this because I like Mark Hamill. He spent the movie teaching her about the force while they hang out on an island with a race of merchandising opportunities called Porgs. He dies at the end but he might be in the next one as a ghost anyway. 

Also there was a girl called Rose and people decided that not liking the character meant they could be mean to the actress, which is not true and everyone who was mean to her should be ashamed. There was another woman as well, but I don’t remember her name, she had purple hair and was serious and I have no idea if she was good or evil. 

Kylo Ren’s real name is Ben which is not very sci-fi. Maybe that’s why he changed it.

Though come to think, Luke isn’t a very sci-fi name either. 

Anyway, that’s everything I know about Star Wars.

Feel free to ask me questions about Star Wars and have me try to answer.

Do not, under any circumstances, try to actually explain Star Wars to me. I’m much happier as is, thank you very much

[queensdivas]

Otters Part 1

I’ve been cooking this up for a little while and figured why not! Hope y’all enjoy because this has been really really cute to write so far. And this is part one out of..god knows how many. Enjoy!!!! 

P.s. If you wanna be added to the taglist hmu!!!!!! And if you got request also HMU!!!!

Masterlist

Part 1

Bevvie came walking out with her blanket and stuffed sea turtle as Joe put the last suitcase in front of the doorway while you were packing roadtrip snacks in the tote. Rubbing her eyes then noticing she had on two different pairs of shoes on with her shirt on inside out. 

“I’m all ready for grandmas.” Yawning in front of us and Joe fast walking to her and scooping her up in his arms. 

“I can see that Bevs. Why don’t we pick out something that’s gonna be way more comfortable and shoes that you can easily slip on and off.” She nodded as he carried her back into her bedroom as you figured it was time to dress Joey for the car ride. 

You turned the light on into a dim phase then walking over to Joey who was entangled with his blankets and t-rex stuffy was tucked into his chest. You brushed his hair back to leave a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Joey. It’s time to wake up.” Whispering as he rubbed his eyes then pulling his blankets over his face. If it’s one thing Joey got him his dad besides his looks, it was definitely his personality because you had the same struggle of trying to wake Joe up for work. 

“If you don’t get up, no grandma and you know how much grandma loves to make you those cheesy potatoes.” Bribing him as his head shot up and practically leaping out of bed. Running to his closet then trying to find his clothes. 

“Sweety here. You can wear your overalls and blue striped shirt since we’re going to be in the car for a few hours. Now get over here so I can help you get ready.” You grabbed his overalls from the floor as he put himself in them, then grabbing his striped shirt and helping him with the sleeves. His head popped through the top of his shirt and your finger booping his nose. 

Joey grabbed his stuffed dinosaur from his bed to then walk out of his room with you following behind him. Joe had Bevvie ready to go with our suitcase in one hand and her passed out on his shoulder. 

“We ready?” You asked as Joey grabbed his tiny suitcase that was sitting by the door as you grabbed the snacks off the table. 

“I think so. Let’s get this show on the road everyone!” Joe sung as he opened the apartment door with Joey following behind them as I turned off the light of the apartment. Double checking to make sure you had your car keys in your pocket as you looked at your apartment door. You put the snack bag on top of suitcase to take from Joe since he was holding knocked out Bevvie in his arms. 

Clipping down Joey into her car seat while playing with his dinosaur as Joe clipped the seat belt for Bevvie who had a tight grip on her stuffed animal. Thanksgiving was in two days and you had a very long ride to Charleston Sout Carolina since Joe's mom is out in California with her hippie community. So going to your family's house in Charleston was a better option for the kids at least. If you didn’t have those two little rascals you maybe would’ve gone out to her and partied hard on Thanksgiving. 

Closing the car door on my side then climbing into the passenger side of the S.U.V. since Joe is planning on taking the first two or three hours of the trip. Joe climbed into the drivers side then we both looked back into the car to see our two little joys were knocked out cold. Grabbing each other hand then leaning into a light kiss. 

Connecting your phone to the bluetooth of the car so you could softly play Chopin the background so it could keep the kids asleep. It was Chopin, Debussy or even Hess that would keep your kids nice and knocked out for a few hours. Which was quite lovely for car rides such as this since you had to wait in traffic since living in Manhattan was as the world knows. Horrible with traffic. 

He pulled out of the parking garage onto traffic swiftly so we could get ahead start of that awful traffic. Pulling out your tablet and pen to start doodling on your current art project for you're next art show. You happened to met Joe a few years back as a street artist and were living outside of Brooklyn with a tiny apartment and three of people living in that apartment. Who you still remain in contact with since sharing an apartment with three other people make you very close. 

Shaking it off, and beating the devil out of it! Bob Ross’ words couldn’t be more true when it came to painting. Picking up your thing liner brush to then dab it into the light green paint to begin tracing the leafs. Putting the handle part of the brush into your mouth so you could look back at the weeping willows that was flowing in the wind for you. 

The next song on your speaker began playing which was Sweet Lord by George Harrison allowed a different kind of vibe in your little space so that you could be more light with your strokes with the paint. Humming the song softly to yourself as you dip your brush into the paint again then following your trace gently. 

“I really wanna see ya” 

“I really wanna be with ya” 

“I really wanna see ya lord” 

“But it takes so long my lord” 

You began to sing to yourself to reach down to grab the wet towel from the tiny bucket of water you had next to you. You’ve been wanting to paint this tree for weeks now, and it now being the right cooler and right weather outside. You weren’t going to miss this opportunity. 

Joe took a walk around central park every time when he gets a new role so he could sort of take a walk with his character. If that makes any sort of sense to a regular person. Usually this is the time for him to get ready so that he nailed each role that is given to him. 

Walking over the bridge to see everyone playing in the grass then his eyes halting right in your general direction. It caught him off guard for a moment as he watched your strokes and a soft smile you gave to yourself. He couldn’t help but wonder what you were painting then wanting to get a closer look at it. Without seeming way too stalkerish. 

He got closer then turning to walk behind so he could act like he was getting caught off guard by your work. Leaning in to see how detailed one of the leafs were, down to the point you could see the morning dew on the leaf.

“Holy shit!” Blurting out to her as she stopped her music to turn her head so she could get a better look of who was behind him. That damn smile was enticing him already and he hadn’t even gotten the chance to ask her name. 

“I”m sorry. I was walking by to cut across and your work..holy shit. It’s gorgeous, breathtaking, I’m running out of words here.” Joe laughed to himself as she gave him little nods then taking a step back so she could see from his angle. 

“You’re fine. Thank you and it’s definitely a work in progress and I only have so much daylight before another day like this comes.” She chuckled with tilting her head so that she could see the morning dew on the leaf. 

“Joe.” He held out his hand to her then she shook but took back when she realized that her hands were covered in paint. 

“I’m so sorry! Oh my god I’m so so sorry!” She began to panic then grabbing the wet cloth so he could wash his hands. 

“Dah you’re fine. Shouldn’t have tried to shake hands with an artist in the middle of their work. Silly me. Say um..where do you sell your art at so once this is done I can buy it from ya.” Joe tucked his hands into his front pockets as her smile grew a little more. 

“A tiny shop in Brooklyn called The Undergo. Not to far from 36 Avenue if that helps in any sort of way.” Grabbing a card from her book bag to then hand him one of the cards. (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N) was being read by Joe over and over again. 

“Well (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). Can’t wait to come by once that’s up and ready for sale. I’m Joe by the way. And I’ll see ya around.” 

“See ya around Joe.” 

“Should I go with the pine green or the more army green?” You asked quickly showing Joe your doodle as you were stuck on the bridge. Squinting his eyes at your doodle then giving you a slow nod. 

“I’ve got absolutely no idea. Go with the pine green.” You playfully smacked his arm then began working on the doodle. 

“Mommy..how much longer?” Turning your head to see Joey rubbing his eyes a little bit as you gave him a soft smile. 

“Sweety we just got on the road. I promise once we’re out of the city were gonna stop at your favorite breakfast place!” 

“The one with the smiley pancakes?” He asked while you gave him a small nod. He was about to say something but fell back asleep. Then looking over to check on Bevvie who was still sleeping soundly. 

“Do you think your mom would want to watch the kids one week for our anniversary?” He blurted out as you went back to work on your doodle. 

“I don’t see why not. That’s coming up isn’t it.” If it’s one thing you were great at, it was constantly forgetting important dates. The time you had your first date with Joe, your own wedding rehearsal, and almost all of your wedding itself. You had to write on your hand, put a string on your finger, and even placed sticky notes all over for your meeting with the small shop owner. 

You deleted the picture you were working on when a new idea popped into your head. You’ve yet to do something with your family. If you remember correctly, Mother otters tend to hold their babies on their chest when they’re sleeping. Not to mention they link arms in their sleep so they don’t end up drifting away from each other when they’re sleeping. It was perfect. 

“Your lucky I love you because you forget almost every single important date in your history. Except for the kids!” Joe laughed and you did because it was the truth. When it came to Joey and Bevvie. It was an instant click and you remembered the times and dates for everything. It wasn’t on purpose because you always tried your best. Just happened to be a little forgetful with dates. 

_____

Taglist: 

@mexifangorl @i-live-for-queen @leah-halliwell92 @rawyld

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Little Sadie, part IV - The Mondo Bongo, prison and a man (Sam Drake x reader)

Description: The only man who left you broken and destroyed, the one who was your whole life fifteen years ago and the one who was constantly on your mind lately, is back. Samuel Drake has risen from the dead and you bet your ass that the night wasn’t the last time you saw him.

A/N: Ok, so we should be in the last part - I guess. Thank @missdictatorme for being such a supportive sweetie and @samdrakeftw for being an amazing part of this fandom. 

Mood for this chapter: Well after a long reconsideration, it will be the song I named this chapter after - Joe Strummer’s Mondo Bongo. But to be honest, I ended up a playlist on Spotify named Sexy as folk and Winter Acoustics. 

Part one  Part two   Part three

Word count: 5 975

Warnings: Well go ahead and just see for yourself??? I guess? Jesus, I'm still terrible at this. Just kidding. Smut ahead! Yeah, finally.

And you hung up the phone, looking through the window to the distance and didn't believe to what have you done. You just seriously told your ex, someone, who completely forgave about you for fifteen years to come over? Did you just start to apologizing him in your eyes like he was some sick kind of a saint, or what was going on in your head?

Were you going crazy? Most probably you were. But Samuel was on his way to your apartment and since he knew where you lived, you had to be quick. 

There wasn't a place for your old football t-shirt or a messy hair bun, which was kind of cute but messier than the thoughts inside your head. You just dressed up into a tight yoga top, leggings and a crop top which was like three sizes bigger than you. You still looked tired, you had black and deep circles under your eyes, your skin was unnaturally pale and you definitely lost some weight in last ten days because of being in work almost all the time. 

Then you started to chaotically run and tried to clean up your whole flat. Just before you washed the last glass that you found next to your bed, a loud bell noise traveled through your apartment. 

You gave yourself a moment to get mentally ready, yet you didn’t even breathe properly and opened up the door for him. And you stood there, just looking at each other. 

He was smiling, slicking his heavy sweated hair the back of his head. To be exact, the sweat covered him up completely and yet he didn't look like a disgusting psycho and let's be real, it wasn't his bad that there was like a million degrees outside. It made him look like an even bigger man than he was before if it could. And thanks to that, you could see everything through that light t-shirt because it showed literally every muscle, that's how sweaty he was. Every single one you could name and imagine? Yup, you could see it. 

When you've seen him before and you didn't hold your emotions back then, it wasn't as bad as you imagined it for now; just standing right in front him and looking him in the eyes. You could even feel yourself smiling at him. You wanted to punch yourself because you were acting like a little girl. 

He was just a man, yet a very attractive man who reminded you of your old Sam, and you were just a woman. There was nothing to be nervous about. 

“I'm glad you invited me to come over,” Samuel said, when you stepped outside from the doorframe, suggesting him to come over. 

“Something to drink? Water, lemonade or tea? Whatever you want, Sam,” you left him wandering through your flat, looking at every single detail with a facial expression of a five-year-old boy.

“Some alcohol would do the trick, thank you.”

“Come on. It’s not rational to drink when it’s like a million degrees outside.” You answered loudly enough for him to hear it through the whole flat, boiling water and his playlist playing.

“You're acting like my mother.” Samuel laughed and appeared right next to you. You freaked out a little, putting a wrist over your thorax to make it easier for you to breathe. 

“Somebody of our trio has to be the clever one,” you laughed quietly. “It's not my fault that I’m the smartest, motorcycle boy.” You looked at him with raised eyebrows, but your eyes were starting to shine playfully. 

"This is the girl I missed," Samuel whispered and started to open cupboards in order to find glasses. You laughed quietly and step in front of him, getting on the top of your feet, opening the right one.

"We have a lot of things that we have to talk about." You reminded him in the tone of a businessman who came in for an appointment. He chuckled quietly and get two mugs and glasses down on your sector.

"A bossy tone means you are deadly serious," Samuel said from searching the cupboards for a tea.

"Hey, I would rather pour down you a drink than listen to this bickering." You opened your fridge and get him and an old bottle of rum and a bottle of Cola.

"Don't be mad," Samuel walked in front of you with slow, precise steps, swaying his sides in the rhythm of one of the songs. He took both bottles and he smoothed the top of your nose. "I don't really mind when you're bossy. Quite enjoying it actually, if I have to be honest." He joked and you gave him his well-deserved punch to the shoulder.

"Stop playing around and let's talk." You went to sit on a chair with a cup of coffee and a glass of cold water. He was almost immediately after you with a glass of rum with cola in his hand.

"Would you mind..?" Samuel sat down the table next to you and took out cigarettes from the pocket of his trousers. You stood up and went on to give him an ashtray. Then you opened a window and hot, unbreathable air just hugged you tightly. You were sweating immediately.

"Go on. I don't mind." You smiled at him a lowered the sound a bit because you wanted to hear every word, every syllable he's going to make.

"So start talking, Samuel. I'm curious and listening." You took a sip of your coffee and looked at him from under your lashes.

"Well, I’m going to talk then you should ask me some questions you want to know the answers for. I promise, that every answer will be the truth." Samuel licked lips in a quick, soft gesture almost as if it was a subconscious action and then he lighted up his cigarette.

It smelled exactly the way you remembered. It was a smell that you couldn't ignore, so poignant and disgusting on one side and seriously attractive on the other side. His gestures were still the same, he left his leg nervously jumping around, so his whole body was moving in a quick rhythm, he still could curl up his wrist in a hugely elegant way and he was still closing his eyes and enjoyed the cigarette like it's going to be his last.

He wasn't that sweaty now and maybe that made his hazel so eyes intensely not overlooking. He was looking like a fine man in his best years, reminding you of younger Harrison Ford, George Clooney or Patrick Swayze - not by his looks, but by the vibe he was sending all around him.

"So a basic one. Where the hell have you been? Why did you left me here all alone, brokenhearted and crying every single night waiting for you to come home?" You asked with a hint of sadness in your voice, feeling how it cracked with every letter you spoke.

And he started to tell you the story of meeting Raphael Adler, whom he called Rafe, and venturing out to Panama with him and Nathan. He told you about the prison guard named Vargas and the deal between all of them, with Sam being the one who knows everything about that thing they were after, Nathan was the muscle of the whole plan and that Rafe has paid everything. And when they were about to leave the prison, Rafe got a huge rage quit during the whole escape and killed that Vargas guy.

And when Samuel didn't manage to escape along with his brother and his ally, he got stuck in that prison for long thirteen years. He couldn't write to you nor his brother, it just felt like disappearing from the surface of the world.

And he was rotting there for a quite some time until Raphael found out that he's actually alive and managed to get Samuel out of the prison. Then it got pretty interesting and intense because he started to describe his little trip with Sully and Nate to Italy, Scotland and Madagascar which almost cost his, Nate's, Elena's and Sully's lives.

You were really mesmerized. It sounded like a plot of a movie, but as you were assured, he was speaking the truth.

"Look, Y/N." He stood up and started to take off his shirt, stopping near his ribs. "These are the wounds from Panama." He smiled at you and sat down, drinking his second drink.

"So I wanted to come home for Nathan, for Victor and mostly for you. I really wanted to pick up my phone and call you about what happened. But it was like a hellhole out there and word civilization was more like a curse word. I was dying there alive until Adler found me, and after we finished that thing in Madagascar, I rushed back here. And I couldn't find you for two months. Clearly, you changed the address and phone number, so I asked Nathan. And that's how the thing ten days ago happened." He laughed sadly, lighten up another cigarette and drank almost half of his glass in one try. "I now know that I should call you first, just say that I'm alive and here and give you the time to arrange the thing inside your head, but I was too eager to see you." Samuel smiled and it was like a hormonal slap right into your face. He still had his firm, small lips and oh boy, you started to remember how those lips tasted like. He definitely looked older and more tired than before, he had a much longer forehead and deeper wrinkles, but that were the details that helped him aged like surely fine wine.

But besides that, he was still smiling like that young, eighteen-year-old boy. His eyes were still a little bit closed because of those lips curling up. He was also a lot bigger than you remembered; not that he got taller, but definitely he got more muscular in the meantime he was in prison. And then, of course, there was his new tattoo. You always knew that Samuel was a rebel at all costs, but you couldn't personally decide if you like that change or not.

"Moving on," you sat back, trying to get the picture of his half-naked body out of your head. "Who you even are now?"

"I'm still the Sam that you used to know. That incompetent idiot without sense for discretion. The motorcycle boy. I haven't matured much since the day you saw me for the last time, darling. Just got a bit tougher and not so open about myself. That's all." Samuel smiled at you and you couldn't keep your eyes on your mug.

He told you so many things about his past and yet it everything added up to the last detail. Somehow you felt that he's not messing with you, maybe it was the calm and slow tone of his voice, maybe it was that expression in his eyes, you didn't know the reason why you felt so calm and cheered up by him being him so close next to you. You missed him a lot since he left you carried a deep black hole in your thorax near your heart. And no one could heal the tear in you, even though many men tried. No one was like him and no one knew the thing he knew.

And now you felt how that tear disappearing just like that. It was almost like coming home, feeling complete and alive.

“I’m glad you’re back. I really am.” You whispered and for a moment, you both shut up, listening to the playing song. After a minute or two, he jumped out of the chair, stood up and looked at you.

“Its a really stupid idea, but haven't you kept my old guitar, just in case I'm coming back?” He looked at you and finally looked like a human being and not a chicken which is being grilled. 

“You are so extremely lucky, Sam. It’s still here.” You got up and went into your bedroom. His old acoustic guitar was hidden next to your cabinet. You kept the guitar in its old leather case which Sam bought one day on a flea market and since that day, his guitar wasn't anywhere else.

You also took it to your friend, a musician, who had changed the strums, because you wanted to give the guitar to one of your friend's child. But thanks God you didn't do that. 

“Here it is,” you gave it to him. It was the only thing you kept from his belongings. You gave the rest to Nathan, to a nearby charity or simply threw out of your flat. But the guitar was something different. You fell in love with her, because it was a part of Samuel. The first year when he was gone, you just sat on the of the rooftop where Sam used to took you on hot summer nights, smoothing the strums with your fingers because you couldn't play a single chord.  But you sat there with your eyes closed and with a weak smile you whispered the lyrics of songs he used to sang on that rooftop. You still hoped he’ll come back to you. But he didn't. 

Not much longer after that, you have just hidden the guitar in your flat like a reminder of him. 

“You can still play?” You asked concerned, sitting back on the chair. You watched Samuel’s smile widened much more when opened the clinches and took his loved guitar out of the case. He hugged the body of his instrument by his big hands and witch the grace of queens, his left arm started to play chords. He wasn't even looking at his hands, he had his eyes closed and he was really quietly humming to the song.

You didn't know that one, you just saw moving his finger from the seventh to tenth fret, sometimes he wandered to the fifth one. You put your face in your hands, watching him quietly with a firm smile. The music from his playlist was muted and the only sound traveling by the stuffy air were the high notes played by the strums. 

“Yeah, almost forgot it back in there,” Samuel said all of the sudden, waking you up from the trance. “But the guys out there were huge music lovers. They taught me again to play and they even taught me new serenades and songs to play. I had thirteen years to memorize every last one of them and my only wish was to play them for you.” He smiled firmly and you felt, how are your cheeks getting hotter.

“Don't take this personally, Sam,” you breathed out. “I'm really glad that you’re back and somewhere near, I really am. But it's not the best idea to mix my life with yours and the other way around. But I would love to be your friend.” You smiled him, watching his eyes twitched and looking at his lips smiling even more firmly.

“I get it. I would never do anything you're not feeling like.” He smiled and then he started singing. It was slow, full of emotions and passions, as you could say. Suddenly, you recognize that music from one of the older spy movies.

“I know that song!” You pointed at him and smiled. You know that tune, but not the words, so you started humming as he did before. His fingers moved along the frets slowly, pushing the strums to them when he should. There wasn't no hurried moves or a bad fingering, not once. 

“Where do you know it from?” He looked at you meanwhile he played the break without looking back to the guitar. 

“It’s one old spy movie, Angelina Jolie played in this movie before Tomb Raider.” You stated, not even thinking that he wouldn't know her. She was a worldwide famous actress.

“Before who played where?” He asked amused. That hit you hard. He really had to be without connection to civilization for a fair amount of time. Just there you noticed, that he’s prolonging the break because he didn't feel like singing or moving the song forward. 

“Yeah, guess you're not only motorcycle boy or an idiot without the sense for discretion,” you stood up and poured yourself another glass of water. It was almost one p.m. Why did the time flew so fast with him? “You're a cultural primitive now.” You laughed and Samuel opened his mouth, then smiling and leaving your comment without a word.

“But we can manage that. I’ll help you with the last technical achievements and after that, you will be like a normal human being living in the 21st century. Even Sully knows Angelina Jolie!” You smiled at him and he finally broke the long break and started to sing another part of the song. 

“What will be your repayment?” Samuel put the guitar away, curled his body until he was sitting directly facing you and smiled when he saw your opened mouth. The two of you could play this game.

“Well, it'll be some physical work for sure,” you heeled over to him with a smile on your lips. His smile started to fade slowly and his breathing was louder at that moment. “You’ll be like really sweaty after that.” Your fingers put some of your hair behind your ear and your eyes widened.

“I'm listening, my love.” He stated with the breath stuck in his throat. 

“I need to help with some pretty heavy boxes to the top of my cabinet. You up to that?” You whispered. Well, Samuel was expecting something different coming out of your sweet lips, but this really amused him. He laughed loudly and you joined him in that, being all red and unintentionally cute.

“And that's all, you one bossy lady?” He got up, waiting for you to show him where to start. You got up next to him and led him to your bedroom. 

“Yeah, I guess I don't really need anything else right now,” you smiled at him and showed him the mountain of boxes you had next to your bed. His eyes widened. 

“You like killed somebody, or where did you get like... Twenty boxes of something?” Samuel asked in a quiet but playful voice. His face was acting like he was shocked and scared. 

“It’s clothes for a charity, which is like seven months away. And I haven't got the time to move them into the cabinet. Are you up or not?” You raised your eyebrows, putting your palms on your sides. 

“Well, I guess I don't want to be a cultural primitive anymore.” Samuel breathed out loud a caressed his own face with his palm. “Do I have another option?” He asked himself and went to lift the first one of the boxes.

It was a really fun afternoon, slowly turning into the evening. You spent like four hour moving the boxes to the cabinet, and you had to figure out how to Tetris them in, because there was a serious load of them. Sam got his breaks during that, smoking in front of the cabinet and watching it like it should move any time soon. Well, he was expecting it to break up, but that huge cabinet just kept standing. 

He was telling you a lot of jokes, some of his hilarious prison stories and you found your satisfaction in watching him standing in front the opened cabinet, sweated at places where he should be and messing his hair with fingers. He looked like an antique statue with these ridiculously perceptible muscles. 

If prison left him something, it had to be the ability to take care of himself and a body of a god. And at one moment, when you laid on your bed and watched how he smokes when the sun was slowly getting low, you found yourself wondering how that body feels like under the touch of your fingers.

You left those fantasies in a moment he turned to face you with a wide smile on his lip. 

“Well, boss, I think it's done. It was tough work, but your boxes are in your cabinet, as you asked.” He sat next to you and you smiled, lazily laid down on your bed.

“Good job, my slave.” You joked and Samuel laughed.

“I guess it’s time to be on my way. I will call you and we will discuss when we see each other for a class of cultural tutoring.” He stood up and some feeling hit you in the spot next to your heart. Why does he have to go? Why can't he stay a little longer?

“Actually, I wouldn't mind some playing on guitar if you’re not in a hurry.” You sat quickly with the sheets in your palms. You held them tightly. Samuel, who stood in the doorframe, slowly turned around with a playful flame in his eyes.

“I would love to play something for you, Y/N,” he whispered and disappeared on a moment. When he came back, he was holding his guitar and slowly sitting down on your bed. “What would like to hear?” He asked, playing with the strings and slowly pulling them out, making them do a high-noted sound.

“That song you played before was really nice. Can I hear it again?” You asked, lying a bit closer, curling up to the leg which was supporting the guitar. 

“I will play it every time you ask, angel.” He whispered and started to do make the guitar sound. It was angelic - his deep, husky voice singing such wispy words like a prayer, and you loved that. You loved that except for one thing. Just an itsy-bitsy tiny thing. 

You forget how big turn on his singing voice was. You felt pretty badly. You asked him to play for you like two minutes ago and it would be pretty weird asking him to stop. So you let him play that song, whispering those words as tenderly as how he would whisper them to your ear, and you were starting to breathe loudly. 

“Hey, boss?” He stopped all of a sudden, putting the guitar away and caressing your hair slowly. “You okay?” 

You looked at him. The hair of the Litlle Mermaid was nothing against your cheeks. You were on fire, looking at him from the bottom and lying on your back. It was so fucking hard not to do anything too unpremeditated. 

“I guess so.” You whispered and watched him, as he lowered himself on his elbow, watching you with those hungry eyes. 

“You guess you're alright or you know that? Come on, Y/N, stop playing around. We waited for this for fifteen years, why should we keep running when we're both here now?”  He asked, but didn't waited for you to give him a proper answer. He just did take your face in his hands and kissed you on the lips; first time gently as if he was waiting for a permit, then he started to be more eager. Not like he held you so tight it hurt, no way. His body just started to banging into yours more than before. 

You found yourself amazed, sitting on him and not knowing what the fuck are you doing. Where was your I would love to be your friend from before? Yeah, sure, you want to be his friend, but with benefits, as it seemed. You practically confirmed him that you lied about being friends with him, but the lust in you was just too strong.

“What are we doing?” You said from tearing that insanely tight t-shirt down. It smelled like a bunch of cigarettes and sweat of a man. It smelled like heaven. Both of you stopped for a second, looking at each other, just your loud breathing could be heard in the room. 

Yeah, good question. What the hell were you doing? You said yourself like two hours ago, that you want to be his friend for now and nothing more. Where did this come from? You straddling his lap with your hair being a mess, hot rosy cheeks, and a total shut down brain from being horny? Maybe it was his fingers on the guitar or him ordering that help with the heavy boxes and then, how he sweated even more than before? But that husky voice was a total panties destroyer.

You didn't know - and he didn't either.

You had to laugh quietly when you recalled the nickname you and Nate gave him when attended to go to university with the help of Sully and your parents. Mister Samuel “I will charm your panties off” Morgan-Drake. That's how you both called him. 

“I don't know, baby,” Samuel answered quickly and pulled that yoga top of your body. You were so much beautiful than he remembered. It was like the age gave you more and more beautiful each year. And having your breasts directly in front of his eyes was more than he ever needed. “But don't let me stop.”

“I would die if you stop, Sammy.” You swore under your breath, unable to look away from his face. You felt like he was about to cry, when his fingers slowly traveled down on your fair shoulders, slowly caressing every inch of your skin. It was like a setting on fire, those touches were so light and warm that you were still afraid that you're dreaming and he still isn't there after all. 

“Is there anything wrong, Sam?” You lowered yourself when he hugged your back and slowly hid his face between your breasts as if he was hiding before the whole world. You felt him kissing the little piece of your skin between your breasts and your neck, but you closed your eyes and held him quietly.

“No. But now is everything how it should be from the start.” Samuel whispered and raised his face, so his forehead was gently leaning back to yours. You were pressed one on each other, skin on skin and you could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest. Well, your heartbeat was as rough as his. “I should be here the whole fifteen years for you, by your side and helping you to carry those boxes to your cabinet every year.” He joked and you smiled, breathing hot air into his face. Your eyes were firmly closed, why he was watching every curl of your hair and a happy smile on your lips. “I just know that I'm finally where I should have the whole time. Inside arms of the woman, who was the only one occupying my head all that time, you know, princess?” Samuel kissed you again, slowly with a smile.  

You know what he was saying although his words may seem to be huge nonsense. He told you that he was home, that the huge tear in his thorax was now cured just like yours. And God, you know what peace he felt in that exact moment because you felt the same relief. 

“Then kiss me before I'll change my mind, big guy.” You whispered back with your eyes closed firmly. You didn't have to ask twice, he fulfilled your wish as if it was his own. You held each other tight, you were the safe harbors to each other, a place where your boats were destined to dock in. 

You became one soul separated into two bodies almost sixteen years ago and now it felt like coming together, the world started to make sense at once. He was not a man and with a woman in his arms, you weren't even two human beings hugging each other; you were just the lost and found souls. 

You didn't even notice yourself making a move, but when you opened up your eyes again, you lied on your back and he was laying on his elbow, watching you without a world by his tender eyes. Samuel looked like a masterpiece drawn by Michelangelo and you know, he should be exposed at the museum. The sun was drawing circles on his body, highlighting some of his contours and making him look so young, so innocent and fascinated. He looked exactly like the man who left. You smiled and caressed his hair with a sentimental smile, making him look rebellious. 

“What?” Samuel stopped whatever he was doing and just bounced on his elbows with an amused look on his face. 

“Nothing,” you shook your head and blinked twice. “I just missed you.” You hold up your arms around his neck and letting your legs hug his sides by a tight hug.

“I'm glad you did.” Samuel smiled and took the advantage of you raising that pretty little ass of yours to his flanks. Meanwhile kissing you, he started to rock himself against your lap. You got his point and started to pull your pants off. 

“Did. You. Missed. Me?” You got out of yourself between the passionate kisses, mourning into his lips. Then Samuel almost made you explode with the huskiest, erotic laugh in the whole world. “I did, my love, and you know that I did.” 

“You might need to show me how much you did miss me in that prison.” You let your legs out of his sides and scooped a little to get those stupid leggings down. 

“How much time do we have?” Samuel looked at your naked body with a pleased look on his face. You weren't the only one burning with desire and lust, he felt his body trembling with the overtook of the feelings inside him. He wanted to have your body right in the exact moment, he wanted to be all over you like a river, caressing every inch of the skin which tasted like salt and sun. 

“I have a shift starting at five a.m.” You whispered and the smile on his face widened. 

“That's enough time to show you three to four times. Maybe five, what do you say, my dove?” He started to climb down the bed with spit coming themselves to his mouth after seeing your legs so naughty opened apart, just welcoming him in that sweet valley of yours. You felt his hands everywhere around your thighs and his body moving down under the bed, kneeling on his knees. You closed your eyes, letting your hands lay down on your belly. 

“Think that five seems,” you wanted to joke, but a scream of pleasure just came of your lips. Your back arched themselves, his tongue making wonders on the most sensitive piece of your body let your mouth wide open and your lungs gasping for some air. Yeah, it was some time since you let somebody touch you and it was a while since you met someone who understood what you wanted, but this was a whole new level of skills. Well, not new, but you didn't feel that for so long time, you actually forgot how that tongue of his felt between your legs. “Alright...” 

You let him do the wonders with your pussy, letting him suck on that sweet little spot meanwhile his fingers send chills down your spine and showing you the edge of paradise. Whatever move he made, it felt just so fucking right. There was no need for words when you made those high-pitched erotic noises, music for his ears, yet you couldn't stop yourself from talking. You haven't say much, just thing like ”That's a way to go, Sammy,”, “That makes me feel so fucking good” and when he pushed you to the top but didn't let fall down, you mumbled “You’ll kill me if you stop, Samuel.”. You begged him to continue by moving your hips a little, but he didn't react to that. 

Instead, he just traveled to one of your nipples with his hand, squeezing it firmly, still working with fingers inside you and slowly blowing that ice cold breath directly to your weak spot. 

“What’s... The... Deal?” You panted heavily, unable to concentrate on your own words and stumbling on them, while he continued to blow. 

“There isn't any sort of deal, love. I just want to hear as much of these beautiful noises as you can make.” Samuel answered with amusement and then he pushed you over the top with that face worth riding your orgasms against, actually making you scream his name out loud when you lost yourself in the waves of orgasm. It was a pretty good one - not the best you had, but still a really good one. He stayed until the last contraction of your pussy with his lips sucked to that spot and with his hand holding to your breast.

“Everything ok up there?” He asked when you have shut up for a minute or longer, just breathing out that beautiful experience. You chuckled, looking down to him and smoothing his jaw tenderly covered in a short stubble. 

“Maybe I need another proof, dear mister Morgan.” You whispered and his eyes widened of pure joy meanwhile his palms started to take off his jeans. You were a small, irresistibly lovely demon in angles body worth the waiting in prison, definitely worth the slaps and arguments. Your look gave him more joy than any amount of money in this world. “I will gladly show you more than one proof, dear miss Y/N L/N.” He answered in a pure raspy voice. 

Making you feel so good had left marks on him too. His lips were slightly swollen, his cheeks were as rosy as yours and his eyes shine like the distant stars. Both of you were equally covered in each other’s sweat and it just felt so goddamn great. 

It wasn’t a tender lovemaking session as you would expect. He got into his element and practically tried to destroy your bed, broke it into two pieces with the rough motion of your bodies. He was trying to kiss you, hold his forearm against yours, but it was hard when you constantly bent your head backward with eyes closed and saying those curse word like holly praise. You only knew that your hands were tightly entwined and that your knees were high on his waist, holding him close firmly. 

It was a rough and animally raw act of showing you everything he kept inside of him and what he couldn't say out loud in words. Yet, or rather because of it, it was so damn rough, it felt perfect. You were just like two energies meeting and bumping into one another with a beautifully brutal force, changing each other forever.

When it was over, when the small infinity between you disappeared, both of you lied entwined together like two pieces of rope, without a single move. You just breathed and felt how Samuel kissed that small place under your jaw that he fell in love with a long time ago. You didn't want it to end, you were too afraid to let him go and lose him again. You closed your eyes, hugging him tightly and trying to calm yourself down.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked, nuzzling his face into your neck with a satisfied expression. 

“That I’ll not survive if you leave me again.” You answered, closing your eyes and cuddling more into his warm body. 

“You wish,” Samuel chuckled, caressing your hip slowly. “You will speak differently after a month or two.”

“Maybe you don’t have to rush?” You smiled, completely changing the subject. He looked surprised, tilting his head over to you. 

“What?” 

“Next time you'll come to see me, bring yourself a toothbrush and some clothes. We’ll find you a place in my cabinet.” You giggled, letting his lips carefully caressing your face with soft kisses.

“Does it mean I have to rearrange those boxes with those dead bodies?” He looked at your cabinet as if it was his worst enemy. 

“I guess so...” You laughed, when he crushed his head into the pillow, leaving noises of pure suffering and a quiet “Oh God, please no.” 

[zoeykaytesmom]

What Is Life?

Description: I am taking my OC from A03, and putting her and Rafael Barba in a different universe of how they meet. I’m new to posting on here so it might take me a little bit to figure this out lol. The title comes from a George Harrison song; it’ll make more sense the longer the story goes.

@xemopeachx @sweetsummertime99 @lyssa1385 @tropes-and-tales @esparza-army @jramirezblogs @thatesparzacrush

September 1989

“Ma why do we have to switch schools for our Freshman year?” Anthony Rossetti Jr, or Tony as he was called, practically whined while his mother, Stella fixed breakfast.

“Stop whining, Junior,” his twin sister, Elizabeth or Izzy, said as she came in the kitchen, holding her blue and white plaid tie. “Ma a little help?”

“You two are going to have to learn to tie these yourselves,” Stella laughed as she took the tie from her daughter.

Stella Rossetti had accepted a position as the guidance counselor at a Catholic school in the South Bronx, after spending many years teaching high school English at a public school in their Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst.

“And to answer your question, Junior, the schools in this neighborhood are getting worse. Plus, since I work there, your dad and I don’t have to pay tuition. Also, you two have basically went to school with the same people all your lives and it wouldn’t hurt you to make some new friends.”

“Isn’t that what college is for?” Tony asked with a mouth full of eggs.

“Could you be anymore disgusting?”

“Come on, sis, you like seafood.”

“Junior, stop being gross,” their father said as he came in for breakfast.

FDNY Lieutenant Anthony Rossetti Sr. had come in from his shift around 6 am. He wanted to see his kids off to their first day of their freshman year and to wish his wife of 17 years luck on her first day of her new position.

“Come on, kids. Hurry up and finish your breakfast. We don’t want to be late,” Stella told her twins.

“God, we’re gonna look like such nerd riding to school with our Mom,” Tony muttered. “Well, you more than me, sis.”

Izzy had braces and Tony had teased her non-stop since she got them in the summer.

“Leave your sister alone, Junior,” Anthony instructed his namesake as he loaded his plates with the scrambled eggs and bacon his wife had made.

*****

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Izzy said after she bumped into a guy, whose locker was next to hers, causing her books to fall into the floor.

“It’s okay,” he told her with a kind tone. “Hey, weren’t you in my 4th period AP Biology class?”

“Uh…yeah,” she sort of stammered as she looked into the guys green eyes. “Izzy…”

“Rossetti. I remember. You’re the daughter of our new guidance counselor.”

“That’s me,” she sort of chuckled as she took a book from his hand.

“I’m Rafael. Rafael Barba.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Rafael.”

“You, too,” he smiled as he helped her to her feet.

“Hey, Ra-ffi.”

“Hey, Eddie, Alex. This is Izzy Rossetti.”

“Hi,” she said as she sort of waved at them.

“Rossetti? Uh-oh. You’re the counselor’s daughter,” Eddie teased.

“Yeah, that’s me,” she repeated.

“Well, welcome to Monsignor Scanlan High School,” Alex said with smarmy smile that Izzy uncomfortable.

“So, what’s your next class?” Rafael asked her.

“Uh, lunch, actually.”

“Us too. You want to join us?”

“Maybe another time, Rafael. I need to find my brother.”

“I’m gonna hold you to it,” he smiled.

“It was nice to meet you guys,” she told Alex and Eddie before heading to the cafeteria.

“That girl is hot,” Eddie told Rafael.

“I don’t know about the braces,” Alex mentioned.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Rafi. You don’t want that amount of metal near your dick if she’s giving you head.”

“Seriously, man?!”

“I’m just saying. I mean, yeah, she is hot but those braces are scary.”

“I think they’re cute,” Rafael added.

“Uh-oh. Our boy has a crush,” Eddie laughed.

“Come on. I’m hungry,” Rafael told them as they headed to the cafeteria.

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

“Baby girl why are you eating lunch in my office?” Stella asked her daughter.

“I don’t fit in here, Ma.”

“It’s been a half a day. Have you met anyone?”

“Well…I met a guy,” Izzy said with a small smile.

“Really? Is he cute?”

“Unbelievably so, Mom. His name is Rafael Barba.”

“Barba…Barba? I wonder if he’s Lucia’s son?”

“Who?”

“You remember Lucia Barba. She taught with me at PS 128.”

“Sort of,” Izzy shrugged as she picked at the cheeseburger she had got from the cafeteria.

“What happened to my daughter that didn’t meet a stranger?”

“I don’t know.”

“She’s still there,” Stella chuckled as she took a bite of her own cheeseburger.

“Why are me and Tony on different schedules?”

“Because I thought it would be best. You two have been joined at the hip since before you were born. You need to make new friends, meet new people.”

“I guess.”

The first bell rang, signaling to the 11:30 lunchers that they had 10 minutes to get to their 6th period class.

“I gotta go, Ma. Thanks for letting me have lunch with you.”

“Of course, baby girl. I know this is different from public school but you’re gonna do great.”

“Thanks.”

Izzy headed to her AP American History class.

“Ah, yes, Miss Rossetti. There is an empty desk next to Mr. Barba. Rafael, raise your hand so Elizabeth can find her desk.”

“It’s Izzy,” she told her teacher as she made her way to the desk next to Rafael.

She opened her book to the page Mr. Cervantes had said and was doing her best to concentrate but her attention was mainly on Rafael. He had his hand up to answer any question that was asked.

“Miss Rossetti?”

“Huh?”

“What started World War I?”

“The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand from Austria,” she answered without missing a beat.

“Just making sure you were paying attention to something other than Mr. Barba.”

Some of the kids in the class giggled as she wanted to die in her seat.

***********

“Don’t let Cervantes get under your skin,” Rafael told her as they walked out of class.

“I was just amazed at your knowledge,” she lied.

“I like to read,” he shrugged as they walked down the hall. “Speaking of…did I see a copy of ‘Less Than Zero’ in your hand earlier?”

“You did. Bret Easton Ellis is one of my favorite authors.”

“I saw the movie…”

“Oh no. The movie and the book are so different. Julian, Robert Downey Jr’s character, doesn’t die in the book.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“Have you ever read anything by Kurt Vonnegut?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“You should. ‘Slaughterhouse Five’ is really good. I think you’d like it.”

“Well, I might have to check it out.”

“So, my friend Alex thinks you’re hot.”

“Yeah?” She asked, even though she didn’t want Alex to be one of the three to think she was hot.

“Yeah. You think you might be interested…”

“Not really. I mean, no offense but I have basketball try-outs next week and honestly, he doesn’t seem like my type.”

“I understand,” Rafael chuckled. “So, you’re an athlete, huh?”

“I’ve been playing basketball since I was 10. You?”

“The only thing I play is Chess…and Nintendo.”

“I could give you a run for your money.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve beat Super Mario Brothers 1 & 2 several times.”

He laughed at her joke.

“I could probably kick your ass at Chess, too, though.”

“Challenge accepted, Rossetti,” he told her with a smirk.

*********

“Hey, you’re Izzy, right?” A girl with brown hair asked as she opened the other locker next to Izzy’s.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Erin Harris. We have History together.”

“Right, yeah. You sit in the back.”

“So Mr. Cervantes will leave me alone. How do you like it here so far?”

“It’s been a week,” Izzy shrugged. “It’s not so bad, I guess. I’ve just been used to public school all my life.”

“I know the feeling. My parents made me transfer here to the junior high last year because I kept ‘getting in trouble’,” Erin laughed.

“I see.”

“I’m not that bad. Honestly. Just hung around with the wrong crowd. Dying my hair pink was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

“Wow.”

“So, uh, you like Rafael?”

Izzy was a little taken aback by Erin’s blunt question. “Wha-what do you mean?”

“I sit behind you and see the way you stare at him during class.”

“I mean…he’s cute,” she shrugged.

“Well, he’s in love with Yelina Ortiz so, don’t get your hopes up.”

“Who’s she?”

“Come on. She has the same lunch we do. I’ll show her to you.”

After Izzy and Erin sat down with their diet cokes and nachos they had gotten from the a la carte table, Erin pointed out Yelina to Izzy. She was tall, long dark hair, and very beautiful dark skin. Izzy gave up any hope of dating Rafael in that instance. She saw the way he practically fawned over her; Alex did, too, though.

“Are they dating?”

“No. That’s the thing. He follows her everywhere but she only dates older guys.”

“How do you know this?”

“It was like that last year in eighth grade even. It’s kinda sad cause he’s a very nice guy. Really sweet.”

Just then, across the lunch room, Rafael looked up to see Izzy looking at him. He sort of smiled, causing her to blush and look back to Erin.

“He’s coming over here.”

“No, he’s not.”

“If you’re gonna make the basketball team, shouldn’t you be eating better?” Rafael teased as he took a seat at their table. “Hey, Erin.”

“What’s up?”

“It doesn’t hurt to cheat once in a while,” Izzy giggled. “Hey! Don’t you have your own lunch?”

“I already ate it,” he smiled as he popped the cheese drenched chip in his mouth.

Izzy couldn’t help but laugh at the cheese that had dripped onto his chin.

“What?”

“You got…you…here,” she told him as she wiped his chin.

“Oops,” he laughed. Erin nudged Izzy and discreetly motioned toward Yelina, who was burning a hole through Izzy at that very moment.

“I think you’re…uh…friend is getting a little jealous.”

“She’ll be fine,” Rafael told her as he continued to sit with Erin and Izzy for the remainder of lunch before their history class.

The three of them walked down the hall after lunch to their class. Erin took the desk directly behind Izzy instead of her normal seat in the very back.

“You’re in my seat, Erin,” Bradley Walker told her.

“Now it’s mine. There’s a few other empty ones.”

“Ugh, whatever.”

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

“You’re not going to the winter formal?”

“No, Ma,” Izzy answered as they worked on dinner one night in November.

“Why not. We could get you a beautiful dress, get your hair done…”

“No one’s asked me,” she shrugged.

“I thought Alex Munoz asked you. That’s what your brother said.”

“I can’t stand Alex, Ma. And he didn’t ask me. He told me I was gonna go with him more or less. I don’t need someone making decisions for me.”

“He was probably just playing around.”

“Still…there is nothing attractive about him whatsoever.”

“Well, you and Erin could always go with each other. Surely guys would ask you to dance.”

“Maybe.”

“Do you know this girl your brother is taking?”

“Heather? A little, not well though. She seems nice enough.”

“How’s my two favorite girls?” Anthony asked as he kissed his wife on the cheek.

“Good. How’d you sleep?”

“Decent enough. Uh, Izz, there’s someone in the living room to see you.”

“Me? Who?”

“That boy that hangs out with your brother.”

“That could be anybody, Pop.”

“I can’t keep all his friend’s straight. Just go see. I can finish helping your mother.”

“Okay.”

She opened the kitchen door and found Rafael, still in his school uniform.

“Hey, Raf,” she smiled. “My dad did tell you Tony was…”

“Yeah, I know. I came to see you, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You know the winter formal is in a few weeks?”

“I’m aware,” she laughed.

“Your brother said you didn’t have a date and I was wondering if you’d like to come with me?”

“Uh…uh…”

“It’s just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” he said with a smirk.

“I just thought maybe you’d go with Yelina.”

“Yelina?” He laughed. “Please. She wouldn’t go to the dance with a nerd like me.”

“You’re not a nerd,” she told him as she tilted her head. “And yes, I’d like to go with you.”

“Are you saying that out of pity or because you really want to go with me?”

“I’d really like to go with you.”

“Then it’s a date. I’ll see you school at tomorrow.”

“Rafael what brings you by?” Stella asked after she came out of the kitchen.

“I…uh…I just asked your daughter if she’d like to escort me to the winter formal.”

“Is that right? And what did you say, Elizabeth Machelle?”

“Well, of course, she said ‘yes’, Mrs. Rossetti.”

“Jeez, Rafael,” Izzy said as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, I am finishing up manicotti that my son asked for but he can’t keep himself at home so you’re more than welcome to stay for dinner.”

“I should probably get home.”

“Nonsense. I’ll call your mom.”

“Oh, okay. Sure, thanks.”

Stella called Lucia who said it was fine if Rafael stayed for dinner and Anthony said he would make sure he got home instead of taking the subway back to the Bronx.

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

Izzy had found a simple, strapless black mid-length dress with sequins but not too flashy at all.

Rafael showed up in a black 3-piece suit with a red tie. Izzy was impressed to say the least. She had only seen him in his school uniform, other than the few times he had come over on the weekends in jeans and t-shirts.

“You look beautiful,” he smiled at his date when she came down stairs. Her blond hair was done in ringlets which had given her a headache as they were being done but a couple of Advil later, she was fine and ready to go.

“Thanks, Raf. You look…pretty good, too.”

“And we all know, I look great,” Tony laughed.

“Okay, Tony. Where’s your date?”

“We’re picking her up on the way, Dad. Thanks again for getting us the car.”

“Well, I thought it was better than you guys taking a cab or the subway.”

“Yeah, thanks, Mr. Rossetti.”

“Not a problem, Rafael. I want my daughter home by 11.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If there’s one hair on her head out of place…”

“Dad!!!”

“I’m just kidding, princess. You guys have fun.”

They let Stella take a few pictures before they left. They sat in the town car, Rafael’s legs bouncing as he nervously ran his hands on his knees.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine, Izz,” he smiled to which Tony just sort of laughed, earning a nudge in his ribs from his sister.

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

They finally arrived at the “Winter Wonderland” formal dance. It was basically a prom for the Freshman and Sophomores.

“There you are!!” Erin exclaimed when she saw Izzy walk in with Rafael.

“I told you I’d be here,” Izzy laughed at her now best friend.

“You look amazing. Doesn’t she, Rafael?”

“Yes, Erin. I already told her she looked great.”

“Come on, let’s dance.”

“Erin…”

“It’s okay, cariño. Go have fun. I’ll get us something to drink,” Rafael told her. She didn’t know what “cariño” meant but it didn’t sound bad.

Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” blasted over the speakers as Izzy and Erin danced while they laughed and sang along.

She noticed Rafael sitting at a table with Eddie and Alex as he watched her.

Erin had actually went to the dance with Eddie so they went to sit with their dates.

Soon Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Enough” started playing.

“Dance with me, Raf?”

“I don’t really like to dance.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun,” Izzy told him.

“What the hell?” He shrugged as he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. She didn’t understand why he didn’t like to dance because the boy sure knew how to move. Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible” came on next so the two of them continued to dance.

“How about a break? Some food maybe?”

“Uh, sure, Raf,” Izzy agreed as she was working up an appetite after dancing.

After a few snacks and a couple more glasses of punch, Erin grabbed Izzy as The Romantics “Talking in Your Sleep” started playing.

“So, uh, what’s up with you and Rossetti?” Alex asked.

“We’re friends,” Rafael told them. “She didn’t have a date and neither did I so I asked her…”

“Rafi?”

“Uh…hey, Yelina.”

“Your date seems to be more into her best friend than you.”

“She’s just having fun,” he shrugged. “We’re just friends. It’s not like she has to be by my side the whole time.”

“Hey, Yelina, you want to dance?” Alex asked.

“No thanks, Alex. My date is getting us something to drink,” she said as she motioned to the Senior that she had been dating, Riley Watkins.

Izzy noticed Yelina and immediately grabbed Erin and headed back to the table. She promptly took her seat next to Rafael, pushing Yelina out of the way with her butt.

“Izzy. I wondered why you were leaving this poor guy all alone,” Yelina snarked.

“Hey, Raf, you want to join me for another dance?” She asked as Billy Idol’s “Hot in the City” started playing.

“You bet,” he smiled.

They continued to dance. They were even warned by one of the teachers that was chaperoning that they were a little too close. Izzy wanted to make a move on him so bad.

“You know, I really like the red and green rubber bands you have on your braces,” he told her as they danced to Journey’s “Open Arms”.

“Uh, thanks,” she said as she felt her face get hot. She was so glad it was dark enough that he couldn’t see her blush.

“Would it be okay if I…” he asked as he moved in closer to her, making her heart skip a beat.

“Can I cut in?” Yelina had the audacity to ask.

Izzy knew Rafael was in love with her and actually let her.

She went to the bathroom with Erin following close behind.

“What the hell was that?”

“What?”

“You let Yelina dance with him? Are you crazy?!”

“What was I gonna say?”

“How about, ‘fuck no! He’s here with me,’?”

“We’re just friends.”

“He was about to kiss you.”

“No, he wasn’t.”

“Are you that fucking oblivious?!”

“Erin…”

“Her date left. She’s here alone now. She’s trying to swoop in on your guy.”

“He’s not my guy.”

“I’m just trying to help you, here.”

“I’m fine, Erin. Really.”

Rafael had went looking for Izzy after sharing half a dance with Yelina and found her coming from the bathroom of their school’s gym.

“Hey, you want another dance?”

“Actually, I think I’d like to go home.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’m getting tired. Erin has been wearing me out,” she lied.

“Oh. Okay. Do you want me to find Tony and Heather?”

“They still have an hour before curfew. I can catch a cab.”

“No, you can’t. You came with me and I’m going to make sure you get home safely.”

“I’ve got her,” Erin said with a glare.

“Erin I can get her home. It’s fine.”

“I’m going with you then.”

“Whatever.”

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

Erin told Eddie she was ready to leave so he decided he’d go, too, even though she told him he didn’t have to.

Tony told his twin that he had enough money to get a cab for him and Heather and for her to take the car their dad had gotten for them.

The ride to Bensonhurst was a quiet one. Once the driver pulled up to Izzy’s house, she and Erin got out but Rafael insisted on walking Izzy to the door.

“I had a good time tonight with you.”

“Yeah, me too,” she smiled.

Erin leaned against the porch wall with her arms crossed, her eyes shooting daggers into Rafael.

“Erin can you give us a minute?”

“Uh no,” Erin replied to Rafael.

“Here’s my key, Erin. Just go up to my room.”

“If you say so, Izz,” she scoffed as she took the key chain from her best friend and unlocked the door.

“So, I guess I’ll see you Monday?”

“Yeah, Rafael,” Izzy nodded.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight.”

“I had a good time.”

“I’m glad. Well, I guess I should be going.”

“Okay.”

He started to move closer to her but the kiss landed on her cheek instead of her lips like she had hoped.

They said one last good-bye before she went inside.

[jennifersylvesters]

on the air ( prologue )

Synopsis: Your radio program receives its first ever caller...only to complain about a certain segment. Little do you know that he’s not going to stop bothering you both on the air and off. Pairing: uni!Harrison Osterfield x reader Word Count: 3.1k~ A/N: i’ve got absolutely no knowledge about radio stations so i’m so sorry if anything’s wrong. also - laying all the foundation for this - probably will start to pick up in part one. as always, i appreciate any - if at all - feedback. aka please give me feedback.

There were certain aspects that made autumn reign the supreme season in your mind. From the colorful leaves that swirled around to coziness of the sweater weather, you lived for the moment the air turned crisp and autumn came to visit. While others considered January the start of a new change, your heart said that fall season signaled new beginnings. After all, autumn meant the start of a new school year which had just as many resolutions as a new year did. 

You knew it wasn’t a popular opinion, but you loved coming back to campus after break. Summer was great, but there was something comforting about returning back to the quad. Yes, of course lugging up all your belongings into your new dorm room was always a pain. Yet there was a satisfaction when you finally tidied up your room making it feel like a home away from home, a small victory that you relished.

And nothing excited you more about arriving back on campus than getting to see your uni friends. Even though it had only been a couple months, you would break into a sprint and crash into all your closest friends with a hug when you spotted them; the reunion may have been a bit dramatic, but text messages and FaceTiming didn’t have quite the same effect as seeing someone in person.

Coming back to campus also meant another year of being a radio host. What started off as a fun proposition during your university’s activities fair turned into one of your favorite activities. 

The concept seemed simple enough. The station managers explained that all you needed to do was submit a radio proposal on what you planned on broadcasting. They would show you how to work the equipment and because it wasn’t a particularly popular activity, the station accepted just about every proposal thrown their way. 

In the couple of years that you broadcasted, you mostly kept to yourself. Of course you politely smiled at passing DJs, but you didn’t branch out fully with them. It wasn’t as if you viewed them as competition so much as you weren’t sure what to say to them. The only people you really spoke with were the station manager and the engineers.

Most of the engineers who worked at the station were students, taking the job in order to enhance their resume. It also helped that the position was an easy gig. Rarely did things go wrong and if it did, they were tiny blunders that engineers could quickly fix.

Which is how you came to work with George. For the most part he kept to himself, occasionally commenting a one word response. You were well aware of how he tended to tune out your broadcast, focusing on homework. Yet he was a reliable fellow, quick to fix whatever mistakes arose without being asked and never casting blame on you. 

About a year into knowing George, you suggested the idea of interviewing him which he surprisingly agreed to. It shouldn’t have surprised you how poorly the interview went. The struggle to have interesting questions combined with his stoic personality made for a terrible segment. The only positive outcome of the broadcast was that you learned three odd yet interesting facts about George: he typically had terrible luck with the exception of technology, he hated his roommates, and he was Greek. 

By now you and George mutually understood one another. He got the gist of your programming, knowing that you still struggled with cues and always lent a helping hand during those difficult moments. You understood he was friendlier to you on the days when his roommates weren’t being as annoying as usual.

Unlike some radio presenters that attempted to broadcast new, fun and exciting concepts, you kept your proposal simple: half of your program would be a talk show while the other half would play whatever music interested you at the moment. “So basically like a regular radio show?” the managers confirmed when you pitched, to which you slowly nodded your head. Your proposal wasn’t extravagant, and they could work with that. You requested if at all possible to you go by a pseudonym which they had no problem with. The station managers understood you weren’t trying to be ambitious; it was the presenters who wanted multiple sound effects and crowded the booth worried them more than your show. 

You settled for taking the nine to midnight slot on Thursdays, not wanting to fight for prime times the way other presenters did. This meant you couldn’t party with your friends that day, and you secretly loved using it as an excuse. You assumed no one except your group of friends actually listened to your show when they weren’t going out, and you didn’t mind. At least someone was listening. 

The music aspect of your show came naturally to you. Every week you would decide on a genre and let whatever music peaked your interest play freely. While you knew it was expected to make a set playlist, you found the managers let you skate by on that expectation because it wasn’t particularly busy that late at night. 

You found the talk show aspect was more difficult than you expected. Speaking about different subjects for an hour and a half took more work than you realized. Still, you always managed to find a couple of topics that peaked your interest to discuss on your show. 

Your favorite segment that you always included was something you dubbed “Romance Report” where you discussed the adorable romances you noticed on campus. You gushed about the cute couples, vividly describing certain people and the gestures that made you believe how in love they seemed to be. While you didn’t personally know any of the couples, you chose to give them the benefit of the doubt that their relationships were going strong.  

After a month and a half of being back on campus, you finally found your rhythm once more with programming. As you gently bopped along to the beat of Kehlani’s “Distraction”, you situated yourself to start “Romance Report” once the song ended. 

This week you spoke about a certain couple you saw where the boyfriend lovingly tucked a dandelion behind his girlfriend’s ear before kissing her on the forehead. The two of them laced their fingers together as they walked away from your vision, but the interaction left you full of butterflies in your heart. As you jabbered on about how adorable the gestures were, the phone line lit up. You stared quizzically at the blinking button, almost unsure if it was truly happening. The phone line only lit up when it was just your friends wanting to chat with you, but they normally texted before actually calling the station. It took you by surprise when you answered and an unfamiliar voice spoke. 

“Hey. Uh, yeah, would you please just shut up about the couples on campus?” the voice berated you, irritation laced in their tone. Naturally you were taken back. The first actual caller you got was upset with your programming? 

“I-I’m sorry?” you stuttered, unsure of what was occurring. You looked up to see George looking up at you. Like always, he rarely had an expression on his face but it was odd for him to pay attention unless something interesting was happening.

“Listen” the unknown voice sighed. “I’m not trying to be that person, but hearing this whole “romance report”...Honestly, it’s idiotic.”

The caller certainly wasn’t one to mince words. The comment stung, but you tried your best to remain civil. “Well, you don’t have to listen if you don’t want to?” you slowly responded, not wanting to offend the caller. 

“Yeah, but my mate says the music you usually play is pretty good. Which, yeah, you do have good music taste. So can you just stick to that?” It sounded more like an order than advice, and you could feel yourself becoming vexed. 

“No. You know what? I think I’ll keep talking about this couple” you decided promptly. You heard the caller on the line groan. “Listen pal, just change the station if you’re really that upset.”

“Or maybe just stop doing this segment in general.”

“This is my radio show” you snapped. “I’ve literally been doing this since I started.”

“So I’ve heard” the voice grunted. “And some of the couples you choose are ridiculous, you know that? Absolutely ridiculous.”

“How are they ridiculous? You don’t know what you’re talking about” you scoffed. 

“A couple weeks ago you talked about some couple sharing a croissant near the library’s coffee shop. You went on and on about how they must share everything. Pretty sure he’s not sharing the fact that he’s cheating on her.”

Your eyes widened at this statement. “What are you talking about?”

“Not to call him out on the radio, but he’s probably not listening anyways. So the guy you were talking about: his name’s Marcus. Saw him hooking up with some girl that was definitely not his girlfriend last week at that bar, Checkers.”

You exchanged glances with George. Even for someone so stoic, you noticed how he raised an eyebrow at that statement. Clearly this wasn’t what he expected during his shift. 

“Y-You don’t know that” you stammered out. 

“But I do” the voice insisted. “Love’s a joke. People like you think that it’s this everlasting magical feeling when it’s not. It’s work and when people realize that, they leave.”

“You’re being cynical” you retorted. 

“And you’re getting played by the biggest con job of them all.”

“N-No, I’m not” you defended yourself, but you heard how weak your response sounded. 

“Stop living in a fantasy world, romanticizing couples like that. It’s not real.” The comment cut deep, triggering something in you that you weren’t particularly sure you liked. 

“I think that’s all for now” you dismissed as you cut the line. You didn’t wait for the caller to respond, done with his attitude. 

You fumbled around with the controls before playing something - anything - to buy you some time. Somehow you managed to start up Mahalia’s “Never Change”, letting her song kill three minutes so you could formulate what to do for your remaining air time.

Glancing up, you noticed George still looking at you. You swallowed nervously, unsure if you wanted him to say anything or not. 

“Christ. Thought that’d be one of your friends” he finally commented before taking a sip of his coffee and returning back to his studies. 

“So did I” you agreed, leaning back in your chair. A loud sigh escaped your lips before you sat back up and began queueing up songs, at least long enough for you to compose yourself once more. The caller’s comments rang in your mind as you tried to process what just happened.

Despite your consistent praising of love, you hadn’t truly experienced it yourself. While some of your friends had significant others in high school, you only had a handful of crushes that eventually fizzled out. You never bothered to get a boyfriend, believing you would eventually get one in uni. Yet somehow that expectation never came true. 

The last thing you wanted to focus on was searching for someone to date. The majority of your time was spent hanging out with your friends or studying anyways. Occasionally your friends dragged you out to parties and bars, but you believed that no serious relationship could start at these locations. So you politely declined the idea of hook ups or handing your numbers out to strangers who offered to buy you drinks. 

You found solace in your radio show, just enjoying the idea of love rather than putting yourself out there. Because you wanted something cute, something real. But it didn’t seem likely on your campus. 

Still, you enjoyed the fantasy loves in your life. They were attractive guys whose small acts of kindness fueled your fantasies of what love could be. 

There was Kendall, the barista whose eyes always crinkled happily when you thanked him for your drink. During freshman year you generously tipped and politely thanked him after a huge rush, never once pestering him about how long he took to make the drinks. From discussing the different types of roasts to asking about his day, you always made polite small talk with him. At this point he memorized your usual order and always had it prepared by the time you finished paying. 

There was Logan, one of the student librarians who always let you eat in the biography section of the library despite no food being allowed near the bookshelves. You suspected it was because you consistently visited the place that he gave you a free pass. But you liked to believe it was due to you helping him shelve books during a particularly awful finals week. Whenever you passed him on campus, he would nod in your direction and the two of you would share an understanding smile of the secret that you both kept.

And then there was Harrison, one of the students in your art history class. If there was one thing that made an eight in the morning course more bearable, it was getting to see him. You couldn’t help but steal glances at the boy whose disheveled hair somehow looked so perfect.

Two weeks into the class you curiously watched as he fumbled through his pockets before letting out a low groan. You were caught off guard when he turned towards you asking to borrow a pen. After a brief moment of rummaging around your backpack, you pulled a pen from the front pouch. As you began to hand the pen over, you spotted bagel crumbs scattered on his shirt. 

You held out the pen to him, nervously silent. But something told you to let the cute boy know about the crumbs. “Don’t mean to be rude, but you have a little mess going on there” you whispered, leaning in towards him. 

Looking down, he spotted the little bits of his breakfast scattered on his shirt. He lightly blushed before mumbling a thanks, wiping the crumbs to the floor. 

A week later as you studied on a bench in the quad, you felt a light tapping on your shoulder. You looked up to see Harrison smiling down at you. He made brief small talk before asking to borrow your notes after missing the previous class. You pretended that you hadn’t realized he hadn’t shown when in reality you glumly spent the first couple of minutes of that class staring at the empty seat besides yours.

You handed over your notes as he thanked you. Harrison paused, opening his mouth to say something but stopped upon hearing someone call his name. Both of you glanced around only to spot a boy a couple feet away waving his arm excitedly. Harrison nodded towards whom you assumed was one of his friends. “Well, I’ll see you in class” he said as he headed towards the cheerful fellow.

As the next week rolled around and you tiredly staggered in to the art history class, you were caught off guard by something you weren’t expecting to see: on top of your usual desk were your notes along with the pen Harrison borrowed weeks before and an iced coffee with two sugar packs on top of the lid. The kind gesture touched you, especially since you hadn’t been able to stop by your usual cafe and were in desperate need of caffeine. You tore the sugar packets into the coffee before stirring, thoughts swirling of how Harrison must’ve noticed your preference of coffee. You gratefully sipped on the beverage before the professor walked in and began the lecture.

By next class, you found yourself buying him a breakfast muffin. You knew he only bought the drink as a gesture of showing thanks, but it was too sweet and kind for you not to thank back. It took all your courage not to chicken out, but you placed the pastry on his usual spot before class started. 

Upon seeing Harrison enter the classroom, you whipped your head around and immediately pretended to focus on your notes. The sound of his chair sliding out indicated he was next to you, but you ignored it. It took a brief moment for him to actually take his seat, which you figured meant he saw what you left for him. You could feel his gaze on you, but you continued  to stare down at your notes as your face heated up. It wasn’t until the professor walked in that you finally looked up. 

The first couple of minutes you desperately tried to concentrate on the subject at hand, refusing to look anywhere but straight ahead. But a soft tap on your arm brought you out of your trance, and you turned to Harrison who had halved the muffin and was offering a part to you. 

Your face heated up once more as you politely shook your head and raised a hand to indicate “no thanks”. But there was something about his gentle smile and him gesturing once more for you to take it that you eventually caved in. 

And that was the start of your art history tradition with him. One of you would bring in a breakfast food and split it with the other. No words were exchanged except the occasional thanks. While you couldn’t help but think that it didn’t mean much to Harrison, it only fueled your imagination about the potential of falling in love with him. 

Out of all your fantasy crushes, you enjoyed your thoughts about Harrison the most. Perhaps it was because you spent the most time with him, even if it was during a two hour lecture course filled with silence between the two of you.

You knew about Harrison even before this course. He was one of the many foreign students on campus that people fawned over. Perhaps it was his personality or maybe just his looks, but there was something about him that had girls hooked. You occasionally saw him at parties, but girls always clamored over him that you hadn’t paid mind until recently.

Fantasies now plagued your mind of him being yours, him taking you out to bars not to get drunk but to show you off as his girl. You couldn’t get over the idea of Harrison laughing along with your mates while his arm casually wrapped around your waist. And that at the end of the night, the two of you would go back to his dorm room and cuddle, falling asleep in one another’s arms. When his alarm would go off in the morning, you’d bundle up in his sweater and stroll hand in hand to the art history lecture hall. 

But of course you knew it was just fantasy. Still, you loved the idea of love and scowled at the idea of love being a joke like your caller implied. 

[dontshootmespence]

Shut Your Face

A/N: After doing my Emily x Reader piece in the 20s, I had a request for Spencer in the 60s. That was the only request, so I went with a Spencer x Male!Reader at Woodstock in 1969. :D Some words I use were more 60s slang, like jazzed/excited, bug out/leave, outta sight/awesome, toke/drag of a pot cigarette, shut your face/shut up, etc.

Warnings: Drinking and pot smoking.

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Maybe, just maybe if Spencer squinted hard enough, he could see the stage. There were people as far as the eye could see no matter where he looked. Even behind them, where the crowd started to dissipate some, scattered groups of people still sat in contentment. “You see anything?” Y/N asked.

“Not really,” Spencer replied to his boyfriend. “But as long as I can hear The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker and The Who I’m jazzed.”

The festival was supposed to go for four days and it was barely day too. It stunk to high hell no matter what he tried to do and he wasn’t about to bug out until it was over so it was going to get a whole lot smellier. Leaning back, he giggled at Y/N’s pants. His boyfriend was a hippie. A real one. Spencer was only kind of a hippie. “Are you laughing at my pants again?” Y/N asked with a sleepy smile on his face.

“You’re a square,” Spencer laughed. His boyfriend was wearing very loud, black, red and white printed pants. He was pretty sure he’d seen a picture of George Harrison wearing similar ones. “Only Harrison can wear that.”

“But you’re still making out with me.”

Spencer sighed happily and leaned back into Y/N’s chest. He wasn’t muscular by any means, but he was warm and inviting and that was all he’d ever really wanted in life. “Because you’re outta sight.”

“You talk like I do when you’re stoned,” Y/N replied. “It’s kind of cute.”

“Shut your face.”

“Never.”

Before they’d left Y/N’s parent’s house a few days earlier, they’d packed all the food and water they could, plus one change of clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, some beers and some pot.  They were going to be glued to the same spot for the next three days. The more they smoked, the sillier Spencer got, but he had it coming. After two years of non-stop studying, he deserved to let loose and that meant making out with his boyfriend, listening to music and staying really, really stoned. “Gimme a toke,” he said, reaching upward for the cigarette.

“You sure? You don’t smoke as much as I do,” Y/N laughed, holding the cigarette to Spencer’s lips when he nodded than he was fine. “You’re cute when you’re high.”

“I’m always cute.”

Santana was up and off in the distance they could both hear the soft plucking of the guitar. Very sexy music. Tipping his head upward, Spencer began kissing the underside of Y/N’s chin, small bits of stubble starting to form despite the fact that he’d shaved at his house a couple days earlier. “Are you trying to make out with me during Santana?” Y/N asked as he snaked his hands around Spencer’s waist and underneath the hem of his grungy striped shirt. “Because I would be into that.”

“Yes, I am,” Spencer said, turning around to capture his boyfriend’s lips. “I’m very stoned and my boyfriend is very sexy and I want to make out with him.”

Without a care for who was around them, Y/N leaned back and brought Spencer with him, his hands roaming over soft and sweat slick skin as Spencer tickled the side of his neck. “I gotta get you stoned more often,” he laughed.

Spencer replied. “I wouldn’t mind that. Just not while I’m studying.”

“Square.”

“Shut your face.”

It was one of Spencer’s favorite things to say lately and it was kind of their thing to make fun of each other. Being able to be themselves and touchy with each other was so freeing. No one around them really cared that he was with a man. So different from University where he was surrounded by intolerance at every turn and yet also lucky enough to have friends that didn’t care who shared his bed. There were a few people around them giving them looks, lingering a little too long, but if they were bothered, they were too stoned to care, which was good enough for him. “Did we just make out through all of Santana?” Y/N asked when he listened for the music and didn’t recognize it anymore. 

“I think so,” Spencer laughed. “Shut your face and give some sugar.”

“You’re so blitzed,” Y/N snorted. 

“And stoned. I’m very relaxed right now.”

“I would imagine. Have you seen all the cameras and reporters around here? This is going to be something,” he said, staring off into the distance.

Spencer noticed the wistful tone of his boyfriend’s voice and sat up. “What do you mean? Like it’s going to be something people talk about decades from now?”

Nodding, Y/N pointed all around them. “Look at this. It’s the biggest music festival ever. Plus, people can be themselves here. I’m sure there are some people who are amazingly blitzed and causing trouble, but people are just...free here. It feels like something’s different.”

Spencer ran his forefinger over Y/N’s jawline and leaned in, focusing on the heat behind his slightly tired eyes. “You think we’ll be together to tell people stories about it?”

“You asking if I think we’re going to make the long haul?” 

It was a question in the back of his mind. Granted, he was only 20 and not in a rush a to start that conventional life with a house and kids or pets or anything. He wanted to finish college first and get a job. Hopefully, Y/N would get his auto shop up and running too. “Yea, you want a life with me?”

“I do. We’ll be old men together if I have my way. My hands will be calloused from years of working on cars. Maybe we’ll have a dog. A kid too if we can find someone that will let us adopt,” he said almost dejectedly. “But no matter what, I’ll have you.”

“Good, because that’s what I want,” Spencer replied as his stomach growled. He was pretty sure he’d eaten just a little while ago, but apparently the pot was getting to him. “Do we have any sandwiches? Because I want that too.”

Y/N threw his head back in uproarious laughter which brought some unwanted attention on them, but no one moved. “You’re such a romantic,” he replied, handing Spencer a sandwich he’d packed. “I love you, Spence.”

“I love you too, Y/N. And I’m not just saying that because I’m high.”

Spencer sank into Y/N again and ate his sandwich while Janis Joplin got ready for her set. “You’re going to have to shut your face when she’s up.”

“Can I kiss your neck?”

“If you’re quiet about it,” Spencer laughed, taking a swig of his beer. “And not too distracting.”

“Well...that I don’t know about,” Y/N smirked.

“Eh, it doesn’t matter,” he replied, running his hand up through Y/N’s soft hair. “As long as I’m with you.”

@prettyboyeffect @jamiemelyn @unstoppableangel8 @iammostdefinitelyonfire26 @rmmalta @lukeassmanalvez @kalie-bee @veroinnumera @lookwhatyoumademequeue @cynbx @tippy06 @smolldork @marvelouslyme96 @literallyprentissstwin @adropintheocean1234567 @grace-for-sale @skrrrrrrrrrrt @mysticpansy @tenaciousarcadeexpert @jason-gideon-is-my-dad @dionnaea @hogwarts-konoha @girlscrushes @bucky-smiles @ggyolo17 @chickenstringlights @sebba-hiddles @hellaqueerangelofthelord @shalomnovak @princess-criminal @jae-sch @boywonderspencer @everyday-imfangirling

                                                             ------

[filmista]

Retrospective: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

🤖“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” 🚀

A lot of us either are a Star Wars fan, or we know someone that’s a huge fan. Either way, there’s no real way to avoid coming across it; it’s so ingrained in the collective conscience of the entire cinema frequenting world, that we all are familiar with the basics of its universe. 

I’ve managed to avoid it until now during my 20 years on this planet, but I have a friend whose brother was an enormous fan of the franchise and owned multiple Star Wars sweatshirts that his sister would “borrow” but watch it she never could, because she found the whole world so far out there, that she thought it was hilarious. 

But alas, one day her brother convinced her and she decided to just give it a watch and actually ended up liking it. Ever since she’s been trying to get me to watch it, without much success in her endeavor. 

Until I recently got me curious about it myself, I thought if so many people love it there has to be a reason for it. And my experience was a huge success, I loved it on the second watch that is. 

The very first time, I actually ruined my experience. By really not paying too much attention to it and even talk during…

My problem was the attitude with which I approached it, I was expecting to not connect to it beforehand, I had a preconceived of what Star Wars was, which is a silly blockbuster that later became a money-making machine. 

Alas, I was wrong, and I deprived myself of a fantastically fun experience, because of my own preexisting conceptions. 

I admit to most of the time being inclined towards and maybe respecting, so-called deeper and intellectual films more, films that I can really sink my teeth into. 

I wouldn’t say I had a contempt for blockbusters and big studio films, I just generally don’t like them as much, I tend to find them over the top, too dramatic and sometimes a bit lacking in the emotional department. 

But the longer I’ve been watching films, and my recent experience with Star Wars, really has taught me something, there’s nothing with a film being innocent fun and just an adventure throughout. 

Afterward, I realized how ridiculous it is that I do value Jurrasic Park, which is also a huge blockbuster, but looked down on Star Wars, just because it all overall seems more plausible and is set in a world that’s still recognizable. 

There’s merit in building an engaging fantasy world, and in creating characters that are instantly likable and that the audience can care about. 

Star Wars (the whole franchise) has now become a piece of pop culture, and especially that first film, allows us to travel back in time, to the 70’s a particular period in cinema history, to the time of the first so-called blockbuster. 

My main beef with “blockbusters” is that I’m not talking about each and every single one, there are ones that I enjoy. 

But they’re often so formulaic and so played into what people will automatically like and be attracted to, and sometimes that results in something that I find lackluster, not spontaneous enough and without a fun, beating heart though.

And while Star Wars is the so-called first blockbuster, one of the films that changed film history. My dislike of it was completely unjustified. And the joke was on me because I missed out all those years. 

Whilst it is a big film and expanded into something even bigger over the years: a franchise. No one really knew whether there would be sequels, but George Lucas did set up the possibility for them. 

It really made marketing for these big films into a huge thing, the company in charge of making the action figures for Star Wars (Kenner) initially was unable to keep up with the demand, every kid that saw this at the time wanted one. 

Now that’s something normal, but Star Wars was really the first film to start that. and it’s mostly relatively unknown cast at the time, apart from Harrison Ford (who had previously starred in the George Lucas directed, American Graffiti) were propelled into superstardom and into 70’s icons. 

Everyone knows names like Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, even if they’ve never seen a single Star Wars film. And everyone knows terms from the film, everyone knows what a lightsaber is and has a vague idea of what a Jedi is. 

So aside from all of its technical merits, and there’s quite a few, it’s above all else a historical document almost as well as a darn good piece of entertainment, and that’s more than enough in a film sometimes. 

And unlike some later blockbusters, Star Wars really is a charming and fun film, with a beating heart. You can see and feel the love that went into them, and the fun people involved were having. 

Its dialogue is super cheesy even corny, but it works because of the way the actors deliver them and their enjoyable chemistry with one another, also the cheesy dialogue is quite charming in its own right. 

The film is obviously more about what’s happening visually on screen, than any dialogue. And I think that was my problem initially, I always took it way too seriously… the terms didn’t make sense to me and annoyed me, and the world with all its creatures felt perplexing. 

This time I decided to just sit back, watch and not think too much and allow myself to be absorbed by it, really allow myself to be swept into the world. And it was a radically different experience. 

There are still terms of which I thought wait what is that, or what is that thing supposed to be? The truth is that doesn’t matter for one’s enjoyment of the film at all, once you stop trying to make too much sense of it, and look at it too rationally it becomes incredibly rewarding. It’s not about being realistic. the whole thing takes place in a fantasy world, Star Wars is like a surreal dream come to life. And it’s really a matter of suspending any disbelief and logical questioning and just accept that stuff is called the way it is, looks the way it is, and that it’s a world with giant slugs and rats that look tiny kangaroos. 

I was never before able to just let that element of it slide, and once you do start analyzing it, it can almost become funny. This time I set to myself: you’re gonna watch this, you’re not gonna question anything or laugh at anything. And I’m certainly glad me, myself and I had a stern talk. 

I generally don’t dig stuff set in space all that much or with intricate fantasy worlds. But Star Wars felt different, yes it’s in space. But it doesn’t feel confined to one space, nor does too outrageous… 

There’s something so familiar about that world, something we all instinctively know of how it works and that’s almost comforting and cozy to disappear in. 

It reminded me of when I would dive into comic books when I was younger, and just disappear into them an entire afternoon, Star Wars really brings back some of that childlike wonder and awe, and in that sense, it really is a purely magical film. 

I watched A New Hope, whilst feeling a little under the weather, and the afternoon passed incredibly quickly, which is what good films do: they make you unaware of time and space. It’s over two hours run time, actually felt quite short this time. And I can’t wait to check out the other ones as well. 

But to return to my previous point, part of why it’s so fun to disappear in and probably part of its enduring appeal and popularity is its coziness, the really lived in vibe of it all. The title also helps in this, by adding Episode to its title, it feels like being into introduced to a world that has always been there and that we’re just stumbling into it. 

It also doesn’t present us with any storylines, or conventions that are hard to grasp. You get an instinctive feel of the world and its rules and conventions. When it comes down to it, it really is a simple story of good vs evil, with the classical plot point of saving a princess thrown into the mix. 

The fun thing is that it does subvert some of these classical conventions, in any other story princess Leia would have waited passively for her rescue, whilst here she actually consciously chose to fight and resists until the end. At least in the first one, you don’t exactly find out why the empire is precisely so evil and why they want to rebel against it, but I figured it was just some sort of space equivalent to a fascist regime that wants to rule each and every one of the territories around it. Imperialism in space, heavy… 

The first time watching this, I questioned all of that too much, but this time I was like, okay the empire is run by some evil bastards in space, there are rebels fighting against them and they’ve got plans laid to destroy their massive weapon of mega-destruction. Which is what the empire wants to recover from the rebels, but of course, we all know Leia hid them in R2D2. 

Speaking of the robots, aside from their designs being super cute, as well as all the bleeps and blips. I loved how positively they were portrayed, no the robots are gonna take over and destroy all of us! 

That kind of film can be good, but it would be way too negative for Star Wars. Here they’re really seen as equals by the characters, and even worthy of being friends with. As well as having a personality as defined as the humans, the whole dynamic between R2D2 and 3CPO is both hilarious and heartwarming. 

And that’s again why it works so well, the lightness even the humor and all. There are moments of light bullshit almost that defy logic, like R2D2 and 3CPO talking the stormtrooper into letting them go, with the excuse of R2D2 having to go to maintenance, it’s like an almost ridiculously simple solution to the situation at hand. Lucas knows it’s nonsense, but just doesn’t care. After all, it’s part of the genre. 

If you really want to dig deep (well actually not that deep) but if you insist on an intellectual side to cinema, you’ll have realized that the force is actually one big metaphor for religion, a higher power. And that some believe in it and others don’t. Han Solo literally talks about the force in terms of: “I don’t believe in any of that hokey religious stuff”. 

But essentially it’s a metaphor for believing, for believing in something bigger than ourselves, that helps us overcome obstacles along our way. 

The whole given of The Force is actually incredibly well handled. At first sight, it seems like mumbo-jumbo - "The Force is an energy field that flows everywhere, you have to become passive and let yourself be led by it." In other words: relax and just watch what happens. 

That’s not exactly a very profound philosophy, given that it was apparently used for hundreds of years as a basis for peace and quiet in the Milky Way.

Yet it’s not bad that Lucas keeps it simple (and purposefully vague, you can see whatever you want in it) The Force is just The Force and no further bullshit. Everyone has an instinctive sense of what it is, but there are no long, pretentious monologues needed to make it work and have people grasp the concept. 

Seventies icons Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have the nominal main roles, and don’t do a bad job at all, their friendship comes across as believable and is very enjoyable to watch.

The chemistry between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, also reveals hints of what’s to pass between the two later on in the story. The whole cast overall has fantastic chemistry with each other, you can’t really imagine that any of them got along badly in real life, they seem to be having too much genuine fun. But it is Harrison Ford who steals the show as Han Solo. It is only with his entry into the film, 45 minutes after the beginning, that everything really comes to life. All other characters are quite serious and have serious motivations. 

Princess Leia tries to save her people (although Leia is a really enjoyable character because of her boldness and sassiness), only to see her entire planet explode before her eyes. Heavy. Luke Skywalker, in turn, grew up without parents, with his uncle and aunt, who are also murdered at the beginning of the film. 

And Obi-Wan is of course little more than a wisdom-spouting old man who must stay serene at all times while scratching his beard. Han Solo, on the other hand, has absolutely no melancholy background. 

He is a mercenary, who is only out for money, and that gives him the freedom to spit out one-liners as much as he wants, to put his crooked grin on display and insult the other characters whenever he feels like it. 'Star Wars' is a series that keeps going in the direction of the bombastic.

Perhaps that is inevitable considering the genre film. The function of Han Solo's character is that he pierces through that bombast. Whenever it threatens to go all over the top, you just have to give him a scene, and immediately the atmosphere becomes lighter, more pleasant and enjoyable.

Another thing that can’t be avoided when talking about Star Wars, is just how beautifully worked out and brought onto the screen the whole universe is. While it’s all undeniably a product of its time and feels decidedly 70’s, it still holds up incredibly well and feels really realistic for its time. 

The different locations are all incredibly gorgeous to look at, and the special effects absolutely splendid. The colors and lights of some scenes is an absolute joy.  Whilst John William’s beautiful score, adds grandiosity and epicness as well as emotionally complementing certain scenes. 

Star Wars is undeniably a piece of film history that can’t really be avoided.  I wouldn’t have called it a masterpiece before, rather a very well made piece of entertainment. But now I’d have to change my view: a film can be a masterpiece, precisely for being an incredible piece of entertainment. 

"Someone Has To Save Our Skins. Into The Garbage Chute, Fly Boy."

[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/02/11/the-beatles-us-debut-john-lennons-walkout-plus-paul-mccartney-on-unsettling-moments/

The Beatles US debut: John Lennon's walkout plus Paul McCartney on 'unsettling' moments

It was 57 years ago today that The Beatles performed their first US concert. On February 11, 1964, two days after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the Fab Four’s American gig took place at the Washington Coliseum which had been set up for boxing. This meant that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr had to perform in the unroped ring, which wasn’t ideal as they’d only be facing 25 per cent of the audience at one time.

So in-between songs The Beatles had to stop three times to rearrange the microphones and turn Ringo’s drum kit around.

Over 350 police officers surrounded the stage, with one finding the noise so loud he used two bullets for earplugs.

The 35-minute set saw The Beatles perform: Roll Over Beethoven, From Me to You, I Saw Her Standing There, This Boy, All My Loving, I Wanna Be Your Man.

Also: Please Please Me, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, Twist and Shout, and Long Tall Sally.

READ MORE: The Beatles ‘influential’ first live performance on Ed Sullivan Show

Paul added: “They’re hard. They stung, and we’re playing in the round, and they’re being thrown from everywhere.

“It was very unsettling. After that, we said the time has come for us to tell people we hate these damn things.

“They were only trying to be cute; throw the cute bits at the cute boys, that will be fun. But if you caught one of those in the eye, that was none too pleasant.”

After the concert, The Beatles attended a reception at the British Embassy which Lennon ended up storming out of.

Ringo said in Anthology: “In the early 60s there was still a huge disparity between people from the North of England and ‘people from Embassies’.

“But we went. God knows why. Maybe because we’d suddenly become ambassadors and they wanted to see us, and I think Brian [Epstein] liked the idea that it was big time.”

But when an attendee cut off a lock of Ringo’s hair, Lennon had had enough and just left.

He said: “I walked out, swearing at all of them. I just left in the middle of it.” The ambassador’s wife did her best to apologise for the behaviour of the other guests as The Beatles left the reception.

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[bluezey]

Two Rob theories I stumbled across

I found another reason why I like Rob, and that’s he’s so full of mystery and unknown facts about him that you could accidentally or purposely pick out subtle clues that may lead to some theories and headcanons about him.  And, I dunno why, but theories and headcanons are fun.  Maybe its cause you learn more about the character or it’s just exciting when a show drops more subtle hints or flat out confirms something you thought was possible months or even years ago.

Well, through stop framing through Gumball episodes and poking around in the behind the scenes information, I managed to come up with two more theories about Rob.  And I just wanted to share them so you can see how deep I dig into a show and, who knows, maybe you’ll like them too.

Theory One:  How old is Rob?  Really?

Yes, I’m bringing this up again.  But seriously, before I found out Rob is thirteen, I thought this guy was like a teenager or at most pushing twenty.  But when I found out through fan post that he’s thirteen, I felt very awkward.  I mean you’d be too if you really liked this guy then found out he’s much too young.  

But then I began watching his episodes again and began questioning his age again.  First, in The Nemesis, he’s buying groceries and taking the bus.  I saw that first as a cute way of showing he has a life outside of trying to be the bad guy.  But, he’s alone but able to live on his own.  By my guess, the earliest age someone can live barely comfortably on his own would be about sixteen, fifteen tops.  Though admittedly some people younger than that don’t have that luxury and have to make do with what they can.  But, another thing I want to point out is he’s buying groceries, which means he has money to do so.  But, if he was spit out of the void as literally a nobody with no home, no family and no memory, it’s easy to suggest that he also has no money.  But this buying groceries suggests that he’s now earning income.  The best way I can think of earning an income is that he got some kind of small job, which at my guesstimate, again, someone as young as fifteen can get.  Now it’s also safe to assume that the poor homeless guy is begging on the streets as his income, and while that’s heartbreaking it’s also possible.  Except for later on in the episode it’s confirmed that, as Dr. Wrecker, he rented a wrecking ball!  Now I don’t know the rental price of a wrecking ball, but I do know it costs A LOT MORE than pocket change to rent one of those!

Another thing I want to throw out there does go against cartoon logic, which this show has plenty of, but I wanna throw it out there anyway.  This is in regards to Rob’s voice.  Now in the show a lot of the characters are voiced by adults, with a few exceptions such as Gumball and Darwin who are voiced by kids.  Admittedly, it’s not uncommon for adults to voice kid characters in a kids show.  But, it’s not exactly Rob’s original voice that I want to point out, but his other voices.  In The Nemesis, Gumball actually uses a remote to change the language setting on Rob (which leads to a theory that Gumball accidentally inspired Rob’s evil plan in The Disaster and The Rerun).  And when he changes Rob’s voice to the English setting, Rob’s default English voice sounds fairly feminine (which leads to another theory about Rob).  But it’s when Gumball changes the bass on the English voice that I want to point out.  Rob’s new Dr. Wrecker voice sounds perfect for a villain, but it also sounded familiar to me.  So, I looked up Rob’s voice actors on wikipedia.  The voice actor for the original Rob voice is Hugo Harrison (which may I say is a surprisingly cool name).  Now the voice actor doesn’t have his own wikipedia page, but based on the list of Gumball characters he’s also played other characters on the show such as Tobias, Alan, Idaho, Juke’s English speaking voice and one of the Eggheads.  (Damn, and a surprisingly adaptable voice actor too!).  But Dr. Wrecker’s voice actor, David Warner, does have a wikipedia page.  And first may I mention that damn does he have a long filmography!  Playing parts from Bob Cratchit in George C. Scott’s A Christmas Carol (fun fact, that’s my dad’s favorite Christmas Carol adaptation) to Nergal in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy!  But may I point out that when David Warner voiced Rob’s new voice he was about 70 years old?  70??  I know it’s a kids show and I know that in the show’s logic its a feminine English voice with the bass maxed out, but... why is a 70 year old voicing a thirteen year old’s evil voice??  And why does The Amazing World of Gumball make that a sentence??

So while I will accept the fact that he’s thirteen, I’m still going to question it because these possible hints.

Theory Two:  Rob’s pink hand

Again, why does this show make that a sentence?  Anyway, one thing I like to do, since I found out how to do this while I was a fan of Inside Out, is go frame by frame through YouTube videos for still shots and just for fun.  And of course, I began doing this with videos of Rob.  At first it was for funny stills, but now I just like to go through frame by frame when his body glitches out, cause it can lead to moments that are either hilarious or down right terrifying!

But it’s not the stills I want to talk about, although I will be using them for reference.  It’s Rob’s character design, specifically his pink hands.  So, I knew Rob had two pink hands before the void and one pink hand after.  But while framing through what little I could find of The Nobody (why can’t I find that full episode on YouTube?) I was able to pause and look a little closer at the before and after.

Now I know one is closer and blocked off by the CN logo a bit, but first I want to go off on a quick tangent and ask why does the palm of his pink hands remind me of the palm of a hamster’s paw?  Now back on topic, notice his pink hand afterward is more or less unaltered.  There may be a slight change that I’m still debating over, but other than that it’s basically unchanged.

Then there’s this that I can’t still shot, so I have to explain it.  Again, I like to go frame by frame when Rob’s body glitches out, cause some of the frames are hilarious and some are terrifying!  But while a lot of his body parts usually glitch out, the part I see glitch out rarely, if at all, is his pink hand.  Now, I haven’t seen all of his frame by frames, so I haven’t seen if his hand glitches out more, but when it does it’s rarely and usually it’s from his wrist.  It’s like not only has his hand become more or less unchanged, but it’s also more or less unharmed.

Now maybe I’m looking too deep into this, but we do need some kind of hope for this guy, and I think that’s what we’re getting from his hand here.  While the rest of him has become broken and disfigured, his hand is more or less the same.  It’s almost a subtle sign that he hasn’t completely changed, and maybe, just maybe, in one way or another, he can repair himself or go back to who he was before the void.  Now this is more likely wishful thinking, but remember how The Rerun ended.  Oh, just in case, 

SPOILER ALERT 

Rob was given the role as the bad guy, and it was in The Rerun where he finally got that chance and then some.  But what does he do?  He instead spares Gumball and tries to fix things, even if it means no one would remember this.  But to make things more memorable about that choice, we see Rob lower his evil persona and be nice, perhaps even himself.  Perhaps this was in story form a sign of things to come, that maybe instead of keeping up his role as the bad guy Rob may try to change his role, maybe even try to befriend Gumball as he is the only one who remembers the events of The Rerun so he knows it’s possible.  And before The Rerun, we were given a hint of that in the form of Rob’s design.

Now granted we are not the writers, and especially in this amazing world we don’t know what’s going on inside their heads.  So all we have to go by is what we hypothesize on our own, and how amazed and closer we feel to the show when we get it right.  Or, in the case of Rob, we just want to give this guy a break.  I mean there’s tragic backstories, but, call me overdramatic, but tragic doesn’t even begin to explain it, and we didn’t know anything about this guy before the void except that he was a background character at best.  Also, when you see things that don’t add up, you begin to put pieces together.  But the best part about piecing together a theory, is that it opens the door to more theories   Like, it was a surprising easter egg that Rob actually was in The Void, but why was he just standing there? (outside of it would have been distracting from the episode’s plot).  And why was Rob’s default English voice feminine?  I’ve rambled too long as it is, so I’m just going to leave these two questions for you guys to pick apart.  And if you feel like it, share your theories too.  Who knows, you may find some new friends who believe in it too, and you may find one day that it becomes confirmed in the show.