#I really didn't want to gif any dialogue scenes today so

[pixlerelish]

It's a piece of cake!

[pandorasprongs]

JAMIE TARTT | i'd be better armed if you agreed to take it.

PAIRING: jamie tartt x fem!reader

WORD COUNT: 5.0k

SUMMARY: higgins' new assistant happens to be an old friend of the reader's, and their reunion hits jamie with major feelings of jealousy. when the team thinks that the pair of them are going on a date soon, jamie decides enough is enough.

WARNINGS: language

A/N: i actually like this story a lot better especially the dialogue! + jealous!jamie was really fun to write HAHAHA i hope that all of you enjoy this and title is from the song '(you) on my arm' by leith ross :) also i apologize in advance i'm not the best at writing kissing scenes

You loved your job, truly. This was the first time you've had a decent, no, fucking amazing boss that didn't make you want to pull your hair out every time they called you into the office. 

But being Rebecca's assistant also meant that you sometimes had to help Higgins out with... well, whatever the Director of Football Operations does. It was fine in the beginning, just scheduling appointments and keeping track of ticket sales, but once Richmond got promoted, it felt like your work doubled.

It only took two weeks before you begged Rebecca to get Higgins an assistant of his own. Luckily, she obliged and asked Higgins to start interviewing possible candidates for the job. 

You hoped that whatever extra load you got due to Higgins occupying himself with selecting an assistant would be worth it from how much would be lifted off you when he did. So when you got the message from Rebecca to help delegate your duties to the new assistant, you practically ran to the clubhouse that morning.

You were too excited messaging your boss that you'd be there soon that you ended up bumping into someone near the entrance.

"Shit!" You exclaim as you almost lose your balance, but are steadied by the other person who turned out to be Jamie.

"Ay, watch where you're going, yeah?" Jamie warned casually, as he let go of your arms once you recovered.

"Sorry, Jamie." You straighten up and walk in with him. "I'm just really excited. Higgins finally picked an assistant and they're here today."

"Oh yeah, you were fucking drowning in work a few weeks ago." And by drowning, he meant it literally. The football player recalled seeing you walking past the locker room carrying a stack of papers taller than you were. You refused any help from the team, partly because they had to get to training and mainly because you didn't want them to see how the tear stains on some of the pages.

"Yeah," you chuckle at the memory. "But, after a few days of helping the new kid out, I'll finally be free." You stretch your arms up in the air and cheer. You were too busy celebrating to notice how soft Jamie's expression had become. 

He loved seeing you act yourself around him, a big jump from when you used to glare at him around the office. He had denied it for a while, but Jamie started to like you around the time he'd gotten back from Man City. 

You knew him before then, when he was a massive prick who stepped over — even literally at times, — his teammates. But after he returned, you felt bad for the guy for how the rest of the team was treating him, no matter if he deserved it. Ted had told you about what they talked about when Jamie approached him about joining the team again, and a part of you felt like he needed at least some kind of welcoming presence in the building. 

You started greeting him more often when you ran into each other in the halls and sometimes offered him the candies you keep in your desk drawer whenever he passed your desk, just small things. Jamie would usually just end up hanging out with you during his breaks because he didn’t have anyone else to spend it with. The first few times, he would just sit there in silence while you worked, but one “How’s your day going?” from you, and he was more than willing to chat.

Then, of course, he gradually regained the team’s trust and started hanging out with them, but even then, your little interactions with him didn't stop. He'd invite you whenever the team had a get-together and would sometimes drop bags of candies at your desk to "re-stock" your drawer. You just thought it was his way of returning your kindness. But what you didn't realize was that the star football player was starting to fall for you. 

Jamie tried to ignore it, saying to himself that he just felt indebted to you, but then it started to manifest in different ways. How he would try and come up with reasons to approach you the next day, how he'd get distracted whenever you had to visit the pitch during practice, and how your awkward habits became something he looked forward to. It's been a while since he felt like this about anyone and was more anxious about rejection than he's felt about any of his games, so he didn't make any obvious pass at you.

So now, as you asked the receptionist where the Director of Football Operations was, Jamie decided to wait for you to spend as much time with you as possible. 

You notice Jamie staying back and relayed the information to him. "Higgins is introducing them to the team, so I guess I'll be going with you to the locker room." You nudge him with your shoulder as you continue to walk through the building. You've always tried your best to ask casual with Jamie, possibly in an effort to make yourself feel normal around him and not constantly blushing every time he looked at you.

As you approach the room, you hear Higgins explaining what the new assistant would be doing for the players. "So if ever you need help with anything I've listed, you can go to Anthony Perez here, instead."

Anthony Perez. No fucking way. You and Jamie enter the locker room and are instantly greeted by the sight of an old friend.

"Anthony, you fucking bastard!" You scream enthusiastically, causing everyone in the room to turn to you, including Anthony. It takes him a second before registering who you were. The moment he does, he raises his arms and you practically leap into him for a hug.

"Oh my god!" Anthony exclaims, as he lets go of you and puts you down.

"I didn't know you were the new assistant!" You lightly smack his arm.

"I didn't know you even worked here!" He defends himself as the two of you turn to find the entire team's eyes on you, including Jamie's.

"Shit, sorry," You laugh as you make some distance between you and Anthony. "Didn't mean to make our reunion so dramatic."

"I assume you two know each other?" Higgins asks and you both nod.

"Anthony and I went to school together," You quickly explain. "From sixth form to uni. Of course, I haven't heard from him in two years." You jokingly glare, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Sorry, I got busy, okay?" He whispers an apology before you both chuckle again.

"Well, I hope your friendship will make it easier to help him get accustomed to the job." You smile at Higgins before the three of you excuse yourself to let the players get ready for training. 

You're so engrossed in catching up with Anthony that you didn't even notice the look Jamie was giving him. 

"They seem close!" Dani innocently says as he puts his shoes on.

"You don't think something is going on with them, do you?" Colin chimes in.

"Well, she's never even mentioned him before, so I doubt it," Sam argues, but Isaac shakes his head. "Nah bruv, that hug was way too intimate for just friends."

"I've seen her hug Keeley and Rebecca like that, too. That might just be how she greets her friends." Jan offers and the team continues to debate it, but at that point, Jamie has had enough. It was already shit having to watch that interaction, but having your teammates talk about it as you pretend not to care? It could not get any worse.

Jamie pulls out a can of body spray from his locker and slams it closed, before turning to everyone. "Can everyone just stop talking about it and get ready?" 

The room goes quiet, as the football player turns around and starts getting changed. The rest of the team exchange looks, before getting ready themselves. Most of them had a hunch that something was going on between the two of you but didn't have any proof, until now. They just hoped they were wrong about you and Anthony, in an attempt to stop Mt. Jamie from erupting.

——

For most players, if something happened right before training that put them in a sour mood, it would mess up their performance on the pitch. Of course, Jamie wasn't like most players. He might be playing even better during that training period. The coaches didn't even have to give him the signal; he was already in 'prick' mode. 

Maybe it was the appearance of Anthony or the fact that you had never been that excited to see him even though he thought you guys were becoming close, but he was playing aggressively and was much more focused than he needed to be for a practice game. The coaches started to take notice after he viciously tackled one of the second teams. 

"Whistle!" Roy shouts, pausing their game. Ted takes a step forward and shouts, "Hey Jamie! Love the passion, but those are still your teammates. Ya'll have a game next week, so better save that attitude for the real one."

"Okay, coach!" Jamie replies through gritted teeth. He takes a deep breath as they continue to play, trying to calm himself down. Ted was right; there was no point in taking out his anger here. Not when the source of said anger was just inside the building.

Once the morning session was over and they were off for lunch, Jamie headed over to Rebecca's office, expecting to see you waiting at the desk outside like you usually were, but instead, he almost runs into the owner of the football club.

"Jamie!" Rebecca exclaims, backing away from the football player to avoid a collision. "What brings you here?" He only needed to glance at the empty table for her to know what was going on. "Oh, well, if you're looking for her, better head to Mr. Higgins' office. She's helping his new assistant get used to the system." 

This causes the player's jaw to clench. Jamie mutters a quick thanks before heading to the Director of Football Operations' office, where he found you hunched over a chair and directing something on the laptop to Anthony.

You had spent the first hour of the day basically catching up with Anthony about what you've been doing the past few years. Once you ran out of stories though, you were forced to actually start teaching him what to do.

You started with the simple things like how to organize the emails, fixing the schedule, and what information to take note of, so you could ask your bosses' about it. Anthony's a quick learner, so you guys were making good progress. Once he practically mastered the routine, the two of you went to the clubhouse cafe to get some early lunch. Most of the food there was pre-packed and they’d usually just microwave it, but over the years, you've developed a fondness for them. You bring back the food to Higgins' office and continue to work on it till you hear someone clearing their throat.

You perk up when you realize who it came from. "Jamie! Hi, what're you doing here?"

Jamie's eyes bounce between the two of you, before settling on your own. "Well, I checked your desk but you weren't there, and Rebecca said you'd probably be here, so I went over here. And now I'm wondering if you wanted to get lunch?"

You move to say yes, but quickly back out when you remember the wrappers on the desk. "Oh, sorry Jamie, Anthony and I just ate something from the cafe cause we wanted to spend the lunchtime working on some emails. Maybe another time?" You try and hide the disappointment in your voice by giving Jamie a small smile.

Jamie's expression falters, but he quickly bounces back. "Sure, no problem. Bye," The football player waves at you — and just you, — before heading back downstairs. He shouldn't be acting like this. Feeling this dejected someone saying she can't have lunch with him?

You weren't fairing that well, either. Your shoulders slump once he disappears from view, then you turn back to Anthony who seems to be holding back a laugh. "What's with you?"

"Nothing, just amused at how even two years later, you still don't know how to talk to the guys you like."

You scoff at his response and hit his shoulder. "What do you mean? I do not like Jamie." You protest, which only causes Anthony to roll his eyes.

"Oh please, it's like you transformed back to a seventeen-year-old the way you got excited when he asked you to get lunch with him." You shake your head, but he continues. "It's clear as day that you have a crush on him."

“That word makes us sound like we're seventeen again," You retort, before redirecting the topic back to the task at hand.

But you knew he was right. Even back in the early days of working here, you couldn't deny that you found Jamie attractive. Anyone with eyes could see it, but he was dating Keeley and was a massive prick, so nothing ever came about from it.

Then, he started spending more time with you, checking up on you and stopping you in the halls just to chat. You realized that he was actually pretty sweet when he was off the pitch and you started to realize that you wanted to spend time with him, not just out of pity like before. Plus, you don't think he's seen anyone in a while, so there really was no reason for you to deny your feelings any longer.

Except, of course, the fear of getting rejected by him and ruining the steady and comfortable relationship you currently have. Which is a good reason, you think. You shake your head and try and continue your work in peace.

After spending your lunch writing up reports, it only took another hour to finish up both your and Anthony's duties, so the two of you update Higgins on your progress and ask if you could observe practice for a bit. He scans through your work, before happily letting the two of you go. The moment you get to the pitch, your eyes instantly look for Jamie who is doing pretty well, to no one's surprise. You join the coaches where they’re standing.

Anthony was already a big football fan, so he was able to recognize almost all of the players on the pitch. In fact, he was even saying things that you weren't aware of, despite your three years of working for the owner of a football club. He bends down to whisper a joke in your ear, but the amusement never hits because soon after, you hear O'Brien groaning in pain. You both look up to see Jamie already helping the goalkeeper up after kicking the ball right into his stomach. 

"Whistle! Tartt, stop fucking injuring your teammates!" Roy shouts, to which Jamie quickly apologizes. The practice game continues, but not without you leaning to ask Beard something.

"Coach, is Jamie okay? He seemed fine when I was with him earlier," You turn your head, as Beard continues to watch the practice.

"He's been playing like that all day. Something must've pissed him off." You open your mouth to say something, but Beard reads your mind. "No, we did not give him the signal." You nod before turning back to the game.

You meet Jamie's eyes as he runs across the pitch, and you take the opportunity to give him a smile and a thumbs up, hoping it encourages him somehow. He only nods his head in acknowledgment before continuing, but you can tell in the next few plays that he seems to be calming down. After a while, you and Anthony decide to head back to the office after Rebecca asks you to send some emails on her behalf.

Jamie watched the two of you head back to the building and tried to ignore that growing feeling when Anthony leaned down and rested his arm on your shoulders. He tries and shakes himself right before continuing the game, ignoring all the possibilities of why he’d do that.

The real reason was that Anthony had decided to tease you, whispering close, "Somebody likes you," in a sing-songy voice. "And his name is Jamie Tartt doo-doo-do-doo—"

That exact remark makes you jab his side. "Shut the fuck up, Anthony. He does not." Anthony lets it go as the two of you reach your desk and he leaves you to do your work, though you can't help but feel warm inside at the thought of it being true.

—

Once he gets changed after training, Jamie practically ran upstairs to find you. Usually, he'd offer to drive you home and before Anthony, you'd be too tired to be polite and say no. He stopped himself from sending a message to you once he realized that you had already left. Maybe she's with Anthony, but Jamie shakes his head because fuck that. Jamie Tartt does not get hung over a girl. At least, the old him didn't.

New Jamie had been starting to hope that you stayed in the office longer just so he could see you again, even if you would be busy doing work. He sighs as he decides to leave the building when someone jumps in front to scare him. "Boo!"

"Jesus fucking Christ," he exclaims and steps back before seeing you losing your mind over his reaction. "What'd you do that for?"

"I'm sorry," You apologize in between your laughing fits. "I didn't realize how easily startled you were." After a few more seconds, you finally straighten up and lift two plastic bags.

Jamie gives you a confused look, before you explain, "When we went to watch training, Coach Beard said you've been playing like that the whole day which can only mean one thing; you're in a shit mood. And you don't have to tell me why, but,"

You hand him one of the bags and one whiff tells Jamie it's from that Indian restaurant he loves. "I thought some dinner would cheer you up," Jamie gives you a genuine smile, one you got used to seeing but always love when it shows up. “Because there’s nothing rich people love more than free food.” You add, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Plus, I wanted to make up for not having lunch with you, and celebrate the fact that I now actually have the time to do this again." You continue as the two of you walk over to Jamie's car.

You get in the passenger seat as Jamie turns the car on. The two of you have shared dinner there multiple times before, so you practically had a system for it, and Jamie always "pays you back" by giving you a ride home. You open all the dishes and Jamie quickly starts to devour it.

The two of you enjoy the dinner in silence, — except for the occasional "Pass the pita," or something of the sort — till Jamie decides to ask the burning question that’s been on his mind. "So, how did you and Anthony get so close?" It was an innocent question, but one whose answer could either ease Jamie's thoughts or amplify them ten-fold.

You look up at him, mid-bite, and quickly swallow the food, before replying, "Well, you already know we went to school together, but we were actually seated next to each other for a whole semester, so naturally we became close since we saw each other every day."

Jamie starts to clean up the empty containers but signals you to continue. "To be honest, I kinda liked him back then." Oblivious to how tense Jamie just got, you laugh. "But the crush didn't last long honestly, cause I realized that he wasn't really my type." 

Jamie takes the opportunity. "What is your type, then?"

"Oh, hot footballers, naturally." You decide to give a somewhat honest answer, but cloak it in a layer of sarcasm to hopefully throw Jamie off. "Like Richard," You try and convince Jamie with your tone, but you can barely hold in your laughter afterward.

"Oh fuck off," Jamie rolls his eyes, causing you to laugh even harder. "I'm telling him that tomorrow."

"Jamie Tartt, you fucking wouldn't!" You spend the rest of the ride to your flat trying to get him to promise to say nothing, which ends with a pinky promise to secrecy.

—

The next few days are a mix of hanging out with Anthony, eating meals with Jamie, and finishing up work so you can spend the rest of the day chilling at your desk. You almost forgot what it felt like to have free time and actually relax during work breaks.

You arrive at the clubhouse and immediately head to the Coach's office as per Rebecca's instructions to deliver some documents for the season. There, you meet up with Anthony who also had to bring something to Ted.

When you realize the coach hasn't arrived yet, you decide to wait outside the locker room. Anthony turns to you. "Hey, I forgot to tell you yesterday, but Mina's visiting!" Mina was Anthony's girlfriend and also your former classmate, who once again, you haven't seen in two years. You perk up and ask when you’d get the chance to see her.

Anthony pulls out his phone before responding, "I can make a reservation for us somewhere at, 7 pm?" You quickly scan your mental to-do list and once you realize your schedule is free, you nod.

"Yeah, that works! We'll both be done with work, anyway." 

The two of you are busy planning out your meeting with Mina that you don't notice Isaac and Colin eavesdropping as they make their way to the locker room. From the snippet that they heard, it sounded like the two of you were planning a night out, confirming their suspicions that there was something going on between the two of you.

They share this with Sam, who tries to reason with them. "Friends can go out to dinner without it meaning anything!"

But as they continue discussing it, the more it becomes harder to deny. I mean, the two of you were always together and not to mention, your shared history. They try and hide this from Jamie, — partly to save themselves from the football player's wrath during training, — but once the morning session was over, they crowd him and quickly explain the situation.

At this moment, Jamie didn't even protest their assumption of his feelings — he had accepted that he wasn’t the best at hiding it from them, — and simply stayed silent, which was incredibly worrying. They decide to leave him be and walk back to their lockers, trying to figure out a game plan. They thought you and Jamie would be great together and a guy from your past was not going to stand in the way of their teammate finding someone, not if they have anything to do with it.

Soon after, Anthony enters the locker room and calls out to Sam. The pair walk away to talk and Anthony starts, "Do you happen to have an open table at Ola's tonight? I'm planning to take someone special there and I know how great the food is."

"Well," Sam considers saying that they're fully booked — which big chance, they are, — and there's nothing he could do, but his guilt at even the thought of lying takes over. "Sure, don't worry." Anthony smiles and thanked the player before heading out, but not before promising that he'd send him the proper details later.

Sam heads back to his two teammates and explains what happened, to which Isaac suggests booking the whole restaurant for the team, crashing their date, and making sure they have no alone time together. Colin adds that they can possibly put something in Anthony's food to force him to go home earlier, which Sam quickly shuts down. They turn to Jamie to get his input, only to find an empty bench instead.

Said teammate was already making his way to your desk to talk. Maybe it was the adrenaline from practice or the fact that he drank three cups of coffee this morning after Roy's training session, but he wasn't going to let you go on that date without saying something.

Jamie makes it up the stairs and finds you typing away at your computer. You meet his eyes for a second, before warning, "Hold on, I'm just finishing this email."

The football player decidedly ignores that statement and exclaims, "Don't go on that date." That gets you to save the email as a draft and look up from your screen. Jamie walks closer to you and you stand up, and steer him to a remote corner. If this was what you thought it was, you’d rather not have the entire office witness it go down.

"I'm sorry, what?" You try and clarify.

"Look, some of the boys told me that you and Anthony are going out tonight and I," Jamie takes a breath, "I couldn't let you go through with it. At least, without admitting that I like you. I have liked you for a while now. I didn’t realize that someone could be so sweet and funny and attractive. It’s fucking insane actually, which is why if you haven’t noticed, I’ve been trying to spend as much time with you as I can. And I know it’s stupid of me to not have admitted it till it’s too late, but if by chance you feel the same, then please do not go on that date and instead, maybe go on one with me?”

You take a step back. The guy who you've secretly been pining over for how many months at this point is now trying to stop you from going on a "date,” and so the only thing you can do is stare at him. You stay like that for a second before regaining your senses and taking his hand into yours and giving him a small smile. "Jamie…"

If there was any right time to admit your feelings, this would be it. You open your mouth to continue, but hear Anthony call out to you. You peek over the corner and when Anthony spots you, he quickly shouts, "Look who stopped by!" and moves to reveal Mina.

"Oh my god, you're here!" You exclaim, but turn back to Jamie who has stopped in his tracks and is still holding your hand. You quickly excuse yourself, "It's so nice to see you, but could you actually give me a minute?"

The couple gives you a curious look before Jamie peeks his head over the corner and Anthony immediately understands. The two of them go back downstairs, and you assume Anthony uses the time to explain to Mina what’s going on.

You turn back to Jamie, hoping that the moment isn't ruined, and find the football player still looking at you intently. You decide to get on with it. "Jamie, I don't know why the team thought we were going on a date, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. The girl you just saw is Anthony's girlfriend, Mina, who we also went to school with." Jamie makes an 'o' with his mouth in realization and you lightly chuckle at his expression.

"She's visiting him for the weekend and we're planning to go out to dinner, the three of us, to catch up. I'm basically going to be a third-wheel all night." At this point, Jamie's expression is a cross of embarrassment and anger, likely directed at his gossiping teammates.

Your mind replays Jamie’s confession earlier. "Jamie, did you mean what you said?" Your voice is practically a whisper, but you just have to be sure. "Like right before we got interrupted?"

Instead of giving you a solid answer, Jamie lets go of your hand and cups your face before connecting your lips. It was a soft and gentle kiss as if the football player was still hesitant, but once you reciprocated it, Jamie's confidence came right back. Fuck, and he had every right to be as cocky as he was. He was an amazing kisser.

You're pressed up against the wall, almost getting lost in it, but you break apart to stop it from escalating further when you feel Jamie's hand travel to your thigh.

"Is that enough of an answer for you?" He asks, resting his forehead against yours as you take hold of his forearms. You simply roll your eyes at how easily Jamie returns to his usual self.

You peak down the corridor and thank the universe that no one passed by during this. The two of you separate and decide to head back downstairs — with Jamie never letting go of your hand, — so you could properly greet Mina.

As you walked, you decide to jokingly question, "Were you really that worried about me going on a date that you had to go all rom-com and tell me not to go?" 

Jamie protests, "Well, it's more of the boys' fault, isn't it? They're the ones who got in my head." He pauses for a second. "And don't act like you never wanted something like that to happen to you."

You jab his side and Jamie pretends to be in pain, before laughing it off and slinging his arm on your shoulders. You wrap your arm around his torso. "Only if it's 'one in a million' Jamie Tartt doing it."

You finally find Anthony and Mina in the locker room, with the former introducing her to the players there as his girlfriend. Jamie enters to find the three culprits, looking guiltily at the couple. Minutes after Jamie left, Sam had gotten a text from Anthony saying that their reservation was for three and explained that you were coming along for a reunion dinner with his girlfriend.

The moment they see the two of you enter the room though, Colin, Isaac, and Sam can't help but share a satisfied look, only to be ruined by the glare Jamie sends their way. You laugh at the exchange and only remove yourself from Jamie to greet Mina. You give her a tight hug, confirming Jan's observation that you did greet most of your friends like that.

You pull Jamie towards you and introduce him to Mina, who shares the same teasing look as Anthony. The couple waves at the team to leave and get lunch together. They invite you to join them which you accept, but not before grabbing and squeezing Jamie's hand as a goodbye. The three of you walk away, discussing nearby cafes and restaurants. You hear some cheering from the locker room and you can't help but laugh at how easily the boys reconcile.

Once there's enough distance between yourself and the room, Anthony leans down. "Guess you finally figured out how to talk to boys."

"Who knew it would be Jamie fucking Tartt that managed to get you out of your shell?" Mina adds and you roll your eyes at the pair. They really were made for each other.

[kittsyspaw]

✦ ❝ 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭? ❞

𝑆YNO ✦ .ᐟ AcademicRival!Jay jo makes you do a favor after catching you cheating on an important exam in exchange of him not telling on you

WARNINGS !¡ Blowjob no actual sex scene but its implied, kinda descriptive blowie, SHELLY AND JAY AREN'T TOGETHER IN THIS, collage au ig??? Cheating on exam and getting caught by Jay, degrading, OOC JAY BTW him calling you slut or whore, you faking your personality, One-shot,

Panicked students rushed to their seats, some prayed, others took looks on their notes or books while some practiced with each other for the last but not least exam. Well, except the two smartest students in the class, who sat at the back, one had his attention out of the window while the other sat right beside him, a smile plastered on your 'calm' face.

While in reality, you were panicking, your palms were oily from the sweat emitting from them. You were so busy the past two weeks, you didn't have the time to even grasp any learning material. But...the reason you were nervous wasn't just because you didn't study but because of the small ink writings that covered your whole wrist like tattoos. You have to pass this exam, or your frame will be ruined.

Jay hadn't paid you any mind, he would never confess to it but you angered him, always getting first place, just a few, a little nudge of more points than him. It made him jealous, it made his mother angry and his friends confused. The girl who always sat in the back, people feared to befriend you, hell, they even were too terrified to ask you for homework because you were on a totally different hierarchy level of intelligence.

You were what people registered as a rare breed of genius, many schools, projects and other companies begged to hire you, to meet with you or have you in one of their projects. You were a raw mystery. Nobody really knew you or who you really were, only a speck of an image spat about you from one gossiping ear to another.

Jay didn't care. At first, he didn't. He had ignored all the scandals and warnings, they told him not to compete with you, they challenged his smarts. Right away, the stoic male noticed the sheer difference in your presence, he lost, the person who bet on you winning a huge sum of money when you passed the last exam effortlessly, scoring 0.5 points more, winning the golden podium.

Ever since, he had been concealing the bitter resentment he had for you, why were you better? How come? Why did you have to be exactly in his class like a fucking curse, Jay jo kept up his monotone act, it was hard. You greeted him everyday, only him. As if the others didn't exist or never even did. You didn't even remember their names, or jay thought so.

He had a little... pride, you didn't acknowledge others to the point where people just started treating you like a goddess, one that just serves her brains and beauty, not allowing anyone in her little circle. Classmates feared you. Jay jo didn't, that's what made you start liking him, you just always had an eye on him.

But today, something was off, Jay had scraped off every little detail about you, he learned it by heart now, your whole dialogue started by you greeting him, organizing your books and pencil case, looking out the window before flashing him a smile then sitting up–straight, there was no dirt to dig up on you...always so...perfect. The other jealous people made up rumors that were hard to believe because you never revealed anything about yourself.

'I want to become a skilled surgeon.'

You had once told the black haired male and it never left his head since, on repeat like a mantra. The one, minuscule you exposed, you trusted Jay with it and boy did he gatekeep that information. He didn't question you any further, scared that you'll pull out of the small connection you two made because he's too pushy.

Yet...today, it was off, a fraud smile, no look out the window, your pencil case not set in a perfect 180° angle, you water bottle sluggishly standing on your desk and the constant jitters of your clenched palms, your posture shrinking. Your little jump when the teacher placed the last exam paper on your desk. "Eyes on your papers, you have two hours and forty minutes, breaks are not allowed, start."

Jay held his black pen between his thumb, pointer and middle finger, his name drawn on the papers before he viewed over the questions, starting with the hardest before continuing his way to the easiest one. Jay had done the sin to glance over at your desk, his glasses reflected the light on the ceiling as he progressed what he was seeing.

The fury that stirred in the male made his fingers clench around the pen, almost twisting it around. All this time? Fucking 'intellectual' his ass, he was gawking at the cheat sheet on your wrist with a clenched jaw, a vein popping on Jaye forehead. All the arguments he got into with his mother, the days he spent praying that you'll change schools for his own good, all of that frustration came from the fact that you cheated? Did you do this with every exam?

He wanted to yell at you right away, rat you out to the teacher right away instead of that...he was quiet. Jay could use this to his advantage, it was a huge piece of blackmail, a dust that he scratched off, that could ruin your life if you wanted to pass this year. And Jay wasn't an asshole either...but it was a win-win situation.

The time flew past your presence and just as you wrote the last answer, ending it with a period, the end-coming alarm went off and the teacher started collecting the exam sheets, you let out a huge sigh, the previous state of you being nervous finally subsided to a normal flow again. "How did you do?"

You shrank at the question, the guilt from being deceitful made you bite down on your bottom lip, chewing on it. "Good, i think." Jay narrowed his eyes at you, his teeth screeching against each other painfully, how dare you? And now you're lying? Looks like that neat persona of yours was faked too.

"oh I bet you did."

The reply you gave was perplexed but Jay shrugged it off so you copied him, not reasoning much with it, just being glad that you didn't get caught in the middle– "I saw you, you know that, Right?" The whisper in your ear made your bit hunched back straighten up immediately, looking at Jay with horrified eyes.

Jay readied himself to cool down from your defensive come-back, cold eyes not separating from his distant, black hues. "So what? Ya' gonna rat out on me? Awh! finally you got some tales to tattle about to teachers about me?" he was bewildered, absolutely taken aback, Jay got whiplash from the switch of tone...you had suddenly become someone else.

"What are you talking abou–" you tried brushing it off as a joke, your smile faltering when you caught on, you were unshielded from the comfort of thinking that nobody had an idea you were cheating on the exam, your fists clenching at Jays solid face. "Yeah? Did you?" Your lips puckered out in a whiny, sarcastic way.

The shock rotated to Jay who was buckling up in the change of identity, your bitchy and sassy side was seeping through the cracks of the collapsing walls in the perfect person facade.

"And if i do? You can smooch your future of being a surgeon goodbye."

Oh now he did it. He touched the most sensitive and easily angered nerve in your body, pushing you to your limits. "Don't you fuckin' dare." You hissed through your teeth, the little smirk that showed Jays canines made you frustrated, your painted fingernails digging into the wood of your desk, you two were the only ones in the empty classroom that was just filled with conversations, papers being flipped, zippers opened and keys jingled.

"Or what? What are you gonna do?"

Your bottom lip trembled, your eyes glossy and when Jay caught sight of that, his ego faded...did he feel good making you almost cry? You trusted him with sour dream job and he used something that wasn't even bad-gossip as a weapon "Don't cry. I'm not an asshole.... we're gonna make a deal, yeah?"

"What...is it?" You stuttered out, afraid to ask for what the agreement was going to be. Jay looked you deep in the eyes, turning his body so it was in your direction before speaking with no hesitation at all.

"Get down on your knees."

The request left you speechless, your mouth agape, scoffing right after. "Excuse me?" The male tilted his head, as if you had said something wrong, you had no right to question this, your future was on the line. "What is it? You don't understand? It's our deal."

The bold letters of humiliation were printing inside your head as you slowly pushed the chair and got down on your legging covered legs, folding your hands in your lap, refusing to look Jay in the eyes. He taunted you by chuckling, placing his veiny hand over your head, patting the hairs enough for his fingers to get between the spaces of your hair.

Pulling harshly, you yelped at the sting, hands clawing at Jays wrist violently, your face scrunching up as he made you look up at him towering over you, the grip withered, he stroked your head again, was this revenge? "Don't act coy, I bet you've done this multiple times before, didn't you, cheating slut?"

Your ego was hurt by the insult and you were distracted by the sound of a zipper after that, gulping in anticipation...you were gonna do this. For your surgeon future. Well, a hidden part in your tummy was thrilled, finally the eunuch with no desire for any girls touch that you were crushing on was making a move... although this was the wrong situation.

"Go on..."

Batting your lashes a few times, you took out Jays cock...oh it was huge, to your shocker,...it didn't fit in your hand completely, licking your lipglossed lips at the pearly pre-cum collected on his reddish tip. Jays dick was perfect...he was well groomed, two veins on it, one longer than the other and it throbbed teasingly at your cold touch.

Giving it a few kitten licks, Jay groaned, glaring at you through his thick eyelashes, his entire mood changed to a humid one, anyone could walk in at you two and that feeling made his breathing heavier. His hips bucked up after you finally made a 'o' shape, welcoming him in your mouth, only the tip ...your tongue flicking at the slit, licking away the salty drops while your hand twisted up and down his shaft.

Fuck, it definitely wasn't the first time you did this....fucking whore Jays mind was snatched away from him when your real gig started, you bobbed your head up and down, saliva coating up his dick where all the blood in his body had rushed too.

Jay jo was so turned on by you, so painfully. Your alluring eyes that only sirens would behold, your sinful mouth and the way you worked yourself to pleasure him, through his dim vision, Jay caught your wrist sneaking beneath your pencil skirt, rubbing yourself even when a thin layer of leggings covered your heat. You gagged at the penetration against the center of the back of your mouth, Jays hips working together with you.

Did he just get bigger in your mouth or was it your imagination? It was getting harder to breathe with your nose solely, it wasn't going to be any easier with Jay down your throat. Sultriness was pulling Jay in, his mind was turning into mush, the liquid in your mouth, the warmth of your throat and the way your cold hand fisted the rest of his dick.

"F-fuck...you chea– Ahck!" His words were abducted from continuing when you sucked fiercer, moving your head around and your tongue swirling and whipping at him. Just as he was about to cum, you spat him out of your mouth, a bubble of saliva mixed with cum popping with an embarrassingly loud noise that echoed. You coughed a few times before speaking up,

The knot in his stomach was long gone, just seconds before it was gonna go off like fireworks and make his vision darken, eyes roll back as the muscles of his eyebrows pulled them up in pleasure. His glasses almost slid off his nose, they sat crooked there, his cheeks were reddish and it definitely wasn't a fever, the sweat glistened.

"still calling me that? Oh poor baby, couldn't cum?"

You stroked his thigh, resting your head on it as you looked up at the dishevelled Jay who was taking long, big gasps. Your painted pointer finger placed itself on top of his slit, playing with his dick, moving it back and forth, allowing the mess to slide around freely. "Fuckin' Hell... don't do that or I'll cum, yeah?" Jay stared at you with vulnerable, glossy eyes, not even mad that you cut him from his ecstasy.

The male found a grip on your head as you gave him doe eyes, purposefully making him even more feral than he was. "It's okay, i understand....you want to be fucked, right? Fucked so good...you won't even remember your name..." Your puffy, slick lips curled up seductively, running your tongue over them slowly for Jays gaze, you nodded, giving him a pleading look.

His eye twitched, he was gonna fuck that stupid face off, for humiliating him earlier and making him so chaotic at the fact that you were smarter than him. Jay knew that you were anyways, but this time, this was for his own good. He was gonna use this for a while, maybe even have you teach him a few things.

Yay, im kinda on fire lol, but i want the webtoon windbreaker tag to be about the webtoon cuz the anime has taken over lol

The last part was rushed again but im practicing to write smut so yeah

[drconstellation]

Inside the Dirty Donkey

**Warning! This meta contains spoilers and speculation for S3. Do NOT tag Neil!**

Time to get comfy, folks. Get your drink of choice, be it a cupperty, coffee, or nip of sherry, and find a seat. You’ll definitely want to be sitting down for this one. We’re going to the pub!

The name is apparently a favorite of NG’s, used in his short story “We Can Get Them For You Wholesale.” And it also appears in the Sandman AU.

In the short story above the protagonist is a jilted lover who tries to organize an assassin for his fiancé who is having an affair with another man at their shared workplace. He meets the ‘salesman’ of the firm he contacts at a pub called the Dirty Donkey, and it escalates from there. The story is freely available online, so you can search it up if you really want to read it, it won’t take long. It mentions a pale horse, which is usually what Death rides in on, and is appropriate in the context of that story.

The question we need to ask is how does the name The Dirty Donkey apply to the Good Omens AU? Are there any context to the name at all?

There are several meanings for a dirty donkey:

Its a slang or joke name for a black horse (not particularly a dark horse, that has a different meaning altogether)

A cocktail

A sex position (I’ll let you look that one up yourself…)

Probably the first thing we need to talk about, though is an actual donkey itself, in relation to Jesus, as S2 is full of Jesus references and hints to the Second Coming in S3. Yep, it was all there in front of us, but we were too focused on other things. If you remember your Bible teachings, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, because he came in peace. In ancient times leaders rode horses if they went to war, or if they came in conquest. But arriving by donkey meant you came with peaceful intentions.

But Jesus didn't turn up in S2, you say. And certainly not on any hairy beast. Ah, but he did - metaphorically. Gabriel as Jim turned up - he came up the street, by (the Dirty) Donkey, walking through spilled blood tomatoes, then mentioned his arms were no longer sore (because he had been taken off the cross.) MrPeriod talks more about how Jim represents Jesus here, and it might be worth revisiting it at length another time, as there is quite a bit to unpack there.

There are also the two big golden lions perched on either end of the bar inside the pub, that look rather ominous. The lions are strongly connected to Jesus and his resurrection, representing his return. (I'm still planning to have a better look for more lions in both S1 and S2, but that is still a WIP at the moment.)

There is also the scene in 1941 where the Nazi zombies stagger into the Dirty Donkey and spy on Aziraphale and Crowley through the windows through to the book shop, but all they manage to get is “Banana, fish, gorilla, shoe lace with a dash of nutmeg.” It sounds a bit like a cocktail reference – well, the nutmeg is definitely a GO ref to a certain cocktail – but the cocktail called a Dirty Donkey has cinnamon in it, in the form of cinnamon schnapps, not nutmeg – plus chocolate liqueur and rum. So maybe not.

But perhaps the most important thing we have to examine is the conversation about Jane Austin that Aziraphale and Crowley have in the pub, in S2E2. Because its got so many levels you just about need a break for extra oxygen half way down. Ha! And you thought it was a couple of funny throw-away lines about how Aziraphale saw human romance...

OK, this is the section of dialogue we are going to look at:

AZIRAPHALE: If you're going to invoke fiction, you might as well do it properly. CROWLEY: Properly? AZIRAPHALE: You remember Jane Austen? CROWLEY: Yeah. I'm not gonna forget her in a hurry, am I? The brains behind the 1810 Clerkenwell Diamond Robbery. Brandy smuggler. Master spy. What a piece of work. AZIRAPHALE: She wrote books. Novels. CROWLEY: Jane? Austen? AZIRAPHALE: Yes! CROWLEY: Whoa, bit of a dark horse. Novels, eh? AZIRAPHALE: Yes. They were very good. CROWLEY: Well. No, I'm just surprised, that's all. You think you know someone. AZIRAPHALE: She had balls. CROWLEY: Well.... AZIRAPHALE: Cotillion balls. People would gather and do some formal dancing and then realize they had misunderstood each other and were actually deeply in love.

Ready to dive into the levels on the Jane Austen conversation? Let's go...

Level 1: It’s a conversation about the novelist Jane Austen, and it sounds like they both met her, but they remember her in different ways – and Crowley’s memory is rather surprising!

Level 2: There is a mention of a robbery. This makes the parallel with the 1967 scene in S1E3 Hard Times, where Crowley has a secret meeting in the Dirty Donkey to plan a robbery to steal holy water from a church. The robbery in the above conversation involves diamonds (are you taking note/s? This is important!) from Clerkenwell, a district of London of some notoriety. It was famous for it watchmakers and jewelers, but it was also the home of Oliver Cromwell, who has a link to the 1650 date mentioned in S2E1 and the Eccles cakes, to Charles Dickens (author of A Tale of Two Cities, a book of note for GO) Oh, and both times Crowley is wearing a "Tactical Turtleneck", which others have noted he wears when he is doing his own master spy work, such planning or discussing robberies, or sneaking into Heaven to rob them of information!

Level 3: There is Aziraphale’s idea about how a romance should be conducted, by hosting a cotillion ball with formal dancing, because he's read all those romantic novels by Austen. And we get to see that played out in S2E5 in the eldritch ball. Crowley's idea of a romance was to get caught in the rain and kiss, then - vavoom!

Level 4: Why mention this apparently fictional side to an author of fictional romance? Well, on one hand, it’s an interesting but dark set-up for a joke later at the beginning of S2E6. I ended up discussing it at length here, but the short of it is that it is our usual human custom not to speak ill of the dead, and this is a form of extreme black-and-white thinking. Here, Aziraphale speaks of the good/white side of Jane Austen, that is well known, but Crowley speaks of the black/supposedly forgotten or unspoken bad side of Austen.

Level 5: Here’s the S3 information. Have you been paying attention? Did you take note? The parallels were the robberies between a church, and diamonds? That she was a brandy smuggler? Do you know where they smuggled brandy from? And do you know where Austen actually lived? On the South Downs, overlooking the Channel to France…

Whew. I think I need a drink after that. Cheers!

[Edit: I've recently finished a meta on the Bentley and how that relates to black horses, and it's occurred to me why the ethereal lift, or "hellevator," is in the entrance to the Dirty Donkey. Black horses are symbolic spirit guides between the worlds of the living and the dead, so this makes the perfect place to put the lift!]

[yurizinmaster]

My Review Of The Movie "Red, White Royal blue".

Hello, how are you? So today I came to give my honest opinion of the movie, Red white Royal blue. And the reason I'm talking Only now is because I'll just watch the movie one of these days (🤡) I'll talk about the positives and negatives and I thought of the movie at the end.

____________________________________________

First Impressions 💜

I saw this movie for the first time through reviews on youtube, I admit I didn't find it that interesting at first I haven't seen any of these videos so I didn't get any spoilers for the movie.

but when I was browsing Prime Video I found this movie and thought "I have nothing to do I'll watch it, maybe I'll like it". So this is where my new obsession started.

To start the film is amazing! I know there will be people who don't like it. But I can't forget to mention that (Taylor and Nick) did an amazing job as (Alex and Henry).

I'll be real I don't like romance. But this movie in particular made me like it. Everything about this movie works and works so well. Everything is so incredible I will protect this movie until I die.

In short, I started the film in disbelief and ended up converted. the movie is really fun to watch the couple besides having chemistry They are wonderful. The cutscenes are magical when watched for the first time.The note I will give at the end.

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Positive Points 💖

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this movie is perfect, obviously it's in my top 3 best movies ever. But now I will talk about the points that pleased me most in the movie.

The personalities of the protagonists.

The mood of the movie.

The motivation of the characters.

The Kissing Scenes.

the hot scenes.

the comedy scenes

The soundtrack.

The chemistry that the protagonists have.

the dialogues are very good.

Romance works awesome (better than many movies)

The way they approach sensitive topics

The evolution that the main characters have with the passage of the movie

the movie is long.

The actors are amazing at their job.

The scenes are simply to thrill anyone, they are so good.

The support that the characters have.

the entire movie is great on its own.

Despite being based on the book, the movie has its own story.

The movie manages to convey exactly the emotion it wants to convey.

The references!

Protagonists aren't Boring (they're the best I've ever seen)

They don't romanticize crime (as many romance movies do (365 Days specifically))

The main points that I found most relevant From the movie I liked the most (I liked several others too but I only put my favorites).

____________________________________________

Negative Points 💔

This session is going to be pretty vague and quick as I didn't find anything relevant enough to post here (and the movie doesn't have any really significant negatives) but I will mention here the most relevant and important ones that I found.

Henry's mother is unimportant in the movie although in the book she is quite important.

June is not present in the movie.

Miguel Ramos (I just hate the character in a way you have no idea)

Didn't have the wedding of the protagonists 😭

Well, it was just three negative points that I found really relevant,And also because I didn't find any other errors Meaningful to put in this topic. So it's going to be really short (which won't be the case for the next one)

____________________________________________

My Favorite Scenes 💜💖

1 - New year party 💖

What could I say about this scene? Is so perfect in so many layers that I don't even know where to start.. The way in which the other guests fall to the ground as the two protagonists stare at each other is so gratifying. an eye candy. When I saw it for the first time I thought to myself "This is it! This is my favorite movie ever" You can see the chemistry! I was like "Fuck, what a freakout I'm having" my heart was going to stop and I didn't know what to do, Just.

The way they look at each other, the music playing in the background, you can see it and something so magical and magnificent that I can't find words to describe this cinematic wonder. Amazon prime You hottie! You did the best job you could.And the director of that movie was the best.I can't look at this scene without feeling happiness leaping into my eyes.

2 - They First Kiss 💘

I already knew that at some point this scene was going to happen, but when it happens it's so good but so good that it took me by surprise.and as amazing as all this happens, I sometimes wonder how they managed to make something as amazing as amazing as the book.

The way Alex is slow to understand things makes me identify with him, And the way Henry is impatient just makes me think they were really meant for each other.

3 - Museum Scene 💗

for anyone who watched the movie knows how symbolic this scene really is.I think it's so cool to see them dancing among the statues, the music makes the scene even better. just facts.

What made me like this scene the most is how romantic it is. This is one of the many scenes in the movie that made me feel Good, the way the scene is Serene, Calm, smooth and silent You hear nothing but the music.And this scene where we also have the famous "history, Huh?" it's just so amazing to me.

____________________________________________

Final Notes 💟

well, there are many scenes that I loved in the movie, I only put three because they were the ones that I found most symbolic. now The movie in general is great Because in addition to having such good Scenes the actors did a great job.

Random Opinion 💖

- Zahra It's the best character Change my mind.

- Miguel is the character I hate the most in history.

the movie is amazing i will protect it until my death as i mentioned earlier.If there are a thousand movies I will watch a thousand movies no matter what! That's it kisses.

Note I give for the Movie : 10/10

____________________________________________

[cyxnidx]

Heyaaa~ I hope you're doing great today. I just recently read your works and you instantly became one of my favorite writers 🌻 I'm new here in Tumblr so I don't know if I'm requesting the right way here so you can ignore this if I'm going against the rules. Anyway, may I kindly request an angst/comfort about close friends Itto and gn reader?

Reader was in a dark alley and encountered some creeps who wanted to harass them. The creeps asked if the reader has a partner or someone they like and they said yes. Unbeknownst to the reader's knowledge, Itto was just nearby and ready to jump in the scene but stopped when he heard their friend's answer to the creepy guys. He was confused why he suddenly felt heavy about you liking some possibly another guy and became curious about who is it.

On the other hand, the creepy guys are slowly getting closer to the reader and they said "He's an oni so don't come any closer or you'll regret it!" something like that lmao. The creeps didn't believe it for some reason (either they came from another nation or etc. You can insert your own idea 💓)

I'm sorry if this is a bit long TT_TT coz this scenario is a courtesy of my dream this morning 🙈 I woke up on the last part so I didn't get to know Itto's reaction upon that statement and how it will end. I desperately want a closure 😭 Anyway thank you for your time reading this 🌻 Again if I'm going against some rules you can ignore this 💛

SECRETS TO TELL..?

character pairing: itto x gn!reader

genre: angst -> fluff & comfort

summary: having taken a detour to your home, you run into some interesting treasure hoarders.

a/n: you’re doing it correctly :)) & i took this idea and ran with it..hope i did your dream justice, my love <3 (this came out fairly large..) i also switched a dialogue around slightly. not too much !!

“ha! i’ve won again.” you grinned, watching itto throw his head back in despair. you had quite the winning streak in this game of cards you and itto were playing.

“one more round! i’ll beat you, i swear!” the oni protested, warranting a rematch. you could only chuckle at his eagerness. “i would, but it’s getting late out, itto..” you sighed, picking up your bag and jacket.

you watched as he looked up. it did look pretty dark out. probably already past 8. “you have a point..” he said, standing himself. “perhaps we could play tomorrow?” you suggested, watching a smile perk up on his face at the opportunity to spend his time with you.

it almost made you feel a certain kind of special. almost.

“well that’s that. we’ll meet back up here tomorrow afternoon!” he agreed. the two of you hugged, and he watched as you began walking off to take your usual walk back home.

he couldn’t help but fall further in love with you as your skin and the moon made the most graceful combination. he felt like he was blessed to see such a sight.

it almost made him wish you were his already. he’s not quite ready to confess yet. too early, he’d say.

looking down at the ground to pick up the cards, he realized something — they were yours.

“shit.” he mumbled, picking them up hastily and following where he thinks you went, come to find there was a detour due to the overwhelming population of hilichurls and samachurls.

he would’ve offered to help, but he really wanted to get your cards back. he’d hate for you to come out in the cold again. the detour to your home was a bit sketchy though. a dark alleyway, filled with a bunch of junk.

not only that, but he heard your faint yelling in the distance. disappearing into the darkness, he followed your voice.

once he found you, he saw quite average looking treasure hoarders. the type he’d occasionally see roaming inazuma. however, the event transpiring was anything but average..

listening quietly, he watched the scene go down, careful to be ready to shut the situation down if anything gets out of hand.

“what’s someone like you doing out this late? hmm?” one of the men asked, circling around you.

“trying to get home. now would you please-“ you said, walking to leave them there, though being stopped.

“c’mon. we just wanna talk a bit, yeah? let’s get to know one another.” one of them said, smiling with a false sense of innocence.

“mhmm, have anyone you like? eyes on anybody particular?” another asked, hands on his hips. hesitantly nodding, you decided to simply entertain them until they either got bored of you or left an opening for you to escape.

from the sidelines, itto could feel his heart weighing down on him. he almost felt played, if he hadn’t remembered you were best friends., despite the fact that he always winced internally at that label.

“is that so?” he mused, hands behind his back, the other standing beside you. “he anybody important? or rather, wealthy at all? what’s his life like.” the other pressed.

thinking about it, you could somewhat see through the little plan they had. seeing as though they were treasure hoarders, they most likely planned to rob whoever you described.

with the questions you were asked, it was quite easy to tell. ask anybody about anyone they had eyes on, get them to talk about them a bit and have a general idea of their life or habits. once that’s done, they just have to go look for the matching appearance and do their so-called ‘job’.

you couldn’t help but feel his angsty tone press down on you, pressure growing. what if you’d told too much? would it even be right to answer? thinking about it, itto would be able to handle his own. he’s told you many stories before.

“an oni,” you said briefly. “can i go now?” you asked impatiently. you didn’t feel like fighting, not in this cold.

they shook their heads. “not yet. oni’s don’t exist, don’t you know?” the one on the right sighed. “an urban myth at most.”

you were confused until you realized. the use of oni’s would be in scary stories to tell children, and merely considered child’s play. something used to keep kids from going out late.

however, never exactly recognized as an actual creature, let alone being.

the one on your left chuckled. “I’m sure you’ve already caught onto our plan, or so it seems. so, im only gonna say it once,” he sighed, removing his hands from behind his back. grabbing your arm harshly, he pulled you close to whisper in your ear. “give me a name or you’ll regret it.”

pushing him away, you began running only to be tripped and pulled back. hand wrapping around your throat, you struggled as you were held up. “tell me a name.”

falling down, you choked as you saw the man who was once holding you by your throat on the ground, holding his head.

with itto standing over him, broken bottle shards on the ground. the other man came from behind him, though to little to no avail after being backhanded to the floor as well.

looking back at the man on the ground, he’d passed out from what you’d like to think, a concussion. the next thing you saw was the once aggressive oni meeting you eye-to-eye.

he couldn’t help but give you a silly grin. he could never think to be the least bit of aggressive with you.

“itto?” you asked, confused. when did he get here? how long was he there, and what exactly did he hear?

“heya..” he said shyly, what was once silly turned shy and hesitant in an instant. he held the cards up beside his face. “you..left it.” he told you, sliding them beside you. “so uh..” he began, ready to ask the question he’s been so eager to find an answer to. “i’d like to think..you have somethin’ to tell me?”

the two of you sat silently, not knowing how to communicate at the moment.

one second passed.

two.

three.

squeezing your eyes shut you kissed him quickly and turned from him, sitting criss crossed.

you felt yourself blush once you heard him chuckle silently, only to find arms wrap around you lovingly. “i love you too.”

[sarndonic]

My ramblings on RE: Death Island

Y'all RE: Death Island opened in PH cinemas today and here are my thoughts on some of the scenes. Leaks have been going around on TW since this morning, so I'm dividing my ramblings into four sections.

WARNING: HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD

Can confirm:

-Definitely Jill's time to shine. Everyone was like..."If there's Jill, there's hope..."

-She even has a big ass plasma rifle scene (probably a tribute to re3r)

-Movie more or less confirms that Jill has met Leon and Claire before. Their first scenes with Jill were like "hey, how's it going?" situations.

-Chris and Claire sibling interactions! We haven't been blessed with those since Code Veronica, nice.

Want to clear out:

-Pertaining to an early leak which caused quite a ruckus on TW: Maria was climbing over Leon like a koala to a tree during their fight scenes, but never once did he flirt with her or anyone else for that matter. He even called Maria "Arias' bitch" who could finally be with her Dad again after she died by Leon's hands. Kinda brutal coming from Leon if you ask me.

-This Leon came in with a luggage-ful of cringey but kinda funny one-liners. He reminds me of Damnation!Leon and I didn't sense any undertones of depression in him! Though he still hates his job (he refers to it as just a "living"), Leon seems to be in a much better place this time around. This scene literally happened:

Leon blurts out a one liner

Jill musters up an Oscar-worthy "Ugh...really?" reaction

Jill, probably:

Want to add:

-Movie was about how people respond to trauma differently. Dylan practically experienced the same sh*t as the main cast in RC, but he had chosen to side with the villains.

-Really nice to see this new model of Leon in action, doing re4r-esque stunts. That was kinda missing in ID, tbh. Also Leon and bikes look hot together, but can never be good news.

-Other character relationships in a nutshell, for those who are interested.

Jill and Leon -> This was definitely their buddy cop movie. I know people like to bully Leon for being "dumb" or for whatever reason, but Jill clearly respects his skills the same way Leon respects hers.

Jill and Chris -> Movie makes it clear that Chris absolutely cares about Jill. You can interpret it as both platonic and romantic (not very much so on the latter, though). I love Chris' "Welcome back!" line to Jill in the end and their little fist bump.

Chris and Leon -> I'd say they're like old co-workers who definitely know how to defeat BOWs. That's about it. They are mostly in action scenes together, with very little dialogue.

Rebecca and Claire -> Had great moments of nerdiness together (I mean that in an affectionate way), but very few action scenes compared to the other 3 mains. 

Can't say much about the other character combos, tbh. There was no mention of the ID conflict bet Leon and Claire. They have very little interactions in the film, probably less than a min. of dialogue? Just Leon saying Claire's name when they saw each other for the first time in the film (not even sure if that was Chris or him even), and then a scene where he ordered her and Rebecca to go mess around with the computers (ala ID).

-That character with a special mention in the early leaks -> It was Chris talking about Piers from re6. Unfortunately, there were no surprise appearances from other fan-fave characters. 

-The ending was your classic "heroes staring into the sunset after one hella fight" cliche, but t'was nice nonetheless haha

Overall:

It's everything you expect from a Resident Evil movie. Campy and with a weak plot, but gets redeemed by featuring a sh*t ton of welcome fan service (both good and bad). I like it better than Vendetta. 

Supposedly a 10/10, but that licker scene was a disservice to Jill, so 9/10.

[zalrb]

hi! I'm the puberty blues anon. thanks for giving it a go! what did you think of the first season? what are you thoughts on the chemistry in the show and everything? i rewatched the show recently myself for the first time since it came out. it was my euphoria back in the day lmao and going back to it after euphoria's made waves, i would take it over euphoria any day lol.

Yes, as I was watching it, I was like, this covers the ground that Euphoria covers and does it way more successfully and then I mourned television of the 2000s and 2010s for the umpteenth time.

I quite enjoyed the way the show got steadily darker with the themes that they were exploring, like the first episode I was kind of like, well, this is for the most part innocuous teen stuff where they're stealing cigarettes and they're trying to get Cheryl and Vicki etc. to notice them and they're talking about boys and they put themselves in the same proximity as their goal group but there is also a sense of unease and you see glimpses of things like the casual racism among the adults, the casual sexism with the insults the teens throw at each other and and then the show hints at something darker with that scene in the parking lot and Sue and Debbie are basically like well that girl had it coming if she's hanging out with Straccy so *shrugs* and then the second episode builds upon that especially with the way it ends on the beach and then of course once they're in the group, the show pulls no punches and it's just presenting what this world is, which is not glamorous by any means and pretty disturbing.

And I mean, this wasn't exactly my high school experience but it did remind me of a few things, like when the girls sit on the beach and watch the boys surf and they have the food and they can't eat until the boys come in, I remember my first year of high school, we girls would spend our lunch hour in the gallery watching the senior boys basketball team practice and we weren't allowed to eat in the gym so we had to choose whether or not we wanted lunch or we wanted to be in the gallery in the off chance one of the older boys would notice us being there and then I remember one time I was like fuck this, I'm hungry, I'm not going to the gallery today and my friend group was like W H A T. So it definitely brought me back to uncomfortable things about high school and even junior high --- like in grade eight we would spend our lunch hour going over to the high school to see if the guys would notice us --- in a way Euphoria absolutely didn't. Like this is the most high school dialogue ever, and Euphoria would never

And I thought there was a lot of care in showing how this social circle works, how the girls are exploited, in a way that was unapologetic without being exploitative itself.

The heart of the show is absolutely Sue and Debbie and their chemistry was fantastic,

their friendship was really beautiful to watch

and also reminded me of being a teenager and spending like 4 hours on the phone with my best friend and then talking online and then talking at school and just wanting to do everything with each other and my mom being like, GET OFF. THE PHONE.

My favourite scene of the show was also the one I found to be the most heartbreaking, which is them holding hands before pairing off with Danny and Bruce

and Frieda watching the connection the two of them have while she's enduring the van

(which is also why my second favourite scene is the finale when Sue and Debbie rescue Frieda from the van)

Gary and Debbie also had great chemistry and a lot of sweet moments and showing how their relationship was in comparison to Sue and Danny or in comparison to any of the other relationships on the show definitely heightened what was unique about them

though I didn't root for them because Gary was the best of the boys but he wasn't exactly great and I understood that he was going through stuff at home, though his home life, while sad, still had me in a very

mindset, which again, I understood part of his arc was him confronting whether or not he was exactly like his father but still.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 2/14/23

oops! all friend recs edition. this post brought to you by viewers like you. thank you!

listening

green day's last ride in, courtesy of @dying-suffering-french-stalkers. this DOES belong on a daisuke jigen lupinthethird playlist ur correct. not quote four minutes of a laid back, surf rock instrumental. above all this is the american genre of music that Wants you to think it sounds effortlessly cool, and jigen is one of very few fictional characters who puts that much work into looking effortlessly cool.

ran across some apocryphal reddit posts that are like "yeah they came up with this riff during a sound check and liked it so much they decided it didn't need lyrics". sure i'll buy that!

-

reading

The Skylark of Space by E.E. "Doc" Smith, courtesy of @believerindaydreams. restarting this audiobook available through my library, which is apparently the 1946 hardcover edition that differs wildly from editions before and after. what are those differences? who can say! i cannot easily find a breakdown!

critical reception of this book was mixed. i think the criticisms about scientific plausibility (even by 1919 standards) and dialogue are warranted. doc smith was a chemical engineer, who are certainly. types of guys. most of the fun of this book (for me) comes in recognizing the building blocks of the space opera. i like peeling up the seams and following this novel's construction decisions. i don't fully agree that this is where space operas started, but arguments about how it's the most imitated space opera are convincing.

it's quite rare i listen to an audiobook bc my ears are not friends with my brain, and it's easier to listen to chattier podcasts where if i tune out for a moment i don't miss much. the reader? performer? reed mccolm has a voice i do better with (neutral american accent in the baritenor range). i don't really know if i'd find the paper version easier or harder to follow, bc mr mccolm is doing his absolute fucking best with the voicework but doc smith does not seem overly fond of dialogue tags. it is occasionally difficult to figure out who's speaking.

a line that made me stop folding laundry and yell HELLO??? out loud: "Each girl looked at the other, and liked what she saw." unfortunately no gay shit seems to be going on, but we spend a fuck of a lot of time in this chapter going over how the spaceship works, so it's very possible they're engaging in quiet bisexualism in the background and doc smith has simply not noticed. gay shit going on in the background is not critical to our understanding of how the spaceship works.

-

watching

What's Up Doc? (1972, dir. Bogdanovich) courtesy of @nikkifromtabs. i had a fucking marvelous time with this screwball comedy. i could not give you any of the finer details of the plot or who has what bag when but i enjoyed every goddamn minute. as i write this on monday night it is singlehandedly responsible for improving a miserable day. MANY short sharp barks of laughter

i love screwballs but they tend to stress me the fuck out-- bringing up baby is verging on a horror movie for me. even though streisand's character would be the very best of friends with hepburn's character in bringing up baby, this movies stresses me the fuck out WAY less. perhaps its bc it feels more like a stage play, or more deliberately humorous, or just that the stakes feel way lower. the mile a minute dialogue is best appreciated with subtitles

can we go back to the halycon days when dudes were not waxed bare and dangerously dehydrated in order to have a shirtless scene? ryan o'neal is a handsome if slightly bland man and he looks like Just Some Guy with his shirt off. great! love it! give me more!

i was going to write a whole little thing about "everyone is beautiful and no one is horny" but we can boil it down to "seventies beauty standards are wildly different from today's" and "everyone in this movie is almost always too busy sliding in and out of various scrapes to be horny"

kung fu hustle, arsenic & old lace, and this movie are now in a three-way tie for my favorite comedy.

-

playing

Dead Man's Rest courtesy of @jaimehwatson who recced this nearly three years ago and @pasta-pardner who gifted it to me last week. i have played it for three hours got three different routes and none of them are "happy". are any of them happy? is this a commentary on the inherent tragedy of revenge and the inherent tragedy of the american western, never able to escape stolen dreams on stolen land? the tyranny of the small business/farm owner only able to exist on a mountain of skeletons and heavy subsidies from the government? i am rotating this game in my mind at helicopter speeds.

also chase i agree with you this sheriff is definitely supposed to be lee van cleef

storytelling: it is uneven at best. the native american love interest's route is a particular weakness. as a review on steam said, it reads very much like the only media the devs consumed researching this was disney's pocahontas. there are some very moralistic and defensive statements throughout other routes as well that read like the devs trying to get ahead of any accusations, which makes this game much weaker as now it is neither a product of its time or ours. the mystery does unfold in a way that surprised me, and you have to go through multiple different routes with multiple people in order to get more of the solution. this is very hard to pull off and i liked this murder mystery/tragedy aspect of the game very much. i am not a mlm so i can't really comment on whether or not these romances are fulfilling, although they are straight up gay and there isn't a bisexual reading that can be applied. i, noted bisexual cowboy enjoyer, was a little disappointed that the MC cannot have a bisexual reading applied to him, he does seem very firmly at one end of the kinsey scale.

construction: there are four different ways of presenting dialogue. there are SO many routes in this thing and i feel like standardizing the text boxes would have made their lives easier? i do appreciate the vibes-based subtitles for the music and sfx. this is startlingly good caption work for a tiny idie studio.

is it "good"? did i have a "good time" playing it? fuck if i know. compels me tho.

-

making

this one is For a friend but it fits the theme. baby blanket progress, about a repeat and a half in. the tentative baby date is march 5th and the tentative blanket date is uhhh probably end of may? at this pace?

[fivegaze]

3.31

mm heres what i did today- i added the combo system (where you have to follow the key sequence on screen to add damage to your attack), fixed what was wrong with it (i kept trying to access the scene variables not realizing that with an additive scene there would be two science variables objects and it was trying to pull from the wrong one.) when that stopped being broken (aka i just plopped the whole thing into the same scene which felt like an anticlimactic solution but hey) i finally fit it into the state machine. it's not fully functional yet, but when i sat down they weren't even connected at all

there she is! my incredibly janky combo system. please ignore the way everything just stacks on top of each other that's not. staying there i am going to animate it. none of these ui graphics aside from the menu buttons and text choices are final btw i am not leaving those govt street sign ass arrows in there.

this is what the state machine looks like for the combo system :] i called it combo crusher <3 i always worry that my state machines look really janky and cluttered but i guess that doesn't matter as much as if it's working lol. ummm one day i'll learn C# (and html because god lmao) but for now it's just me and my little visual scripting machines against Da World.

the second pic here is how i'm currently detecting input which feels silly to me but there's no event block for "any key down" just this one so that's what i'm doing for now. my blatant abuse of on update is what got me into such a Freaking pickle with something's on the station. fun fact that game is Not built with fungus like space case and the VN scenes for soul squad. i wanted to do it myself and i spent so long building a prototype for UI that i didn't even end up using at all that by the time it was time to plug in the dialogue i didnt really have a lot of time to work the system out. so it's just the world's worst dialogue system. do you wanna see it it's SO bad

i can't even fit it into one screenshot. every time you click the "advance dialogue" button it checks to see if you're on the last line and if not it's like okay what line ARE you on then. at which point it pulls from a list of every voice line (unlabeled and barely organized btw) and corresponding dialogue line which is, like, fine, okay, whatever, and ALSO,

IT'S CHECKING WHAT LINE YOU'RE ON EVERY FRAME and just going through a giant if/else chain to make sure the right characters are active. also on every frame it's updating the text color, just in case. also sometimes more than one character is active and it just completely breaks the color coded character text. like okay this could definitely be worse but it sure could be better. i'm being overly self-critical bc i'm an annoying perfectionist (to the incredible detriment of my wellbeing and productivity, obviously) so the fact that it was all completed during a semester gives me SO much room to self-crit. i'm still really proud of it even though i ran out of time to bugfix and i didn't have time to level any of the audio or clean up any of the voice lines. (seriously though this is me being proud of something i make i just don't know how to not like pick my work apart. /neutral.)

anyway this is supposed to be a soul squad update so let's move on from that

this is the turn system btw! combo crusher is brand new. i already have a (time consuming) move selection set up which is irritating bc i'm gonna have to go in and undo everything so i can add a new movelist but i'm moving that out of the priority spotlight(tm) because um my (writing) scripts are NOT done and i need them to be done. cheers and light and love this is gonna be such a meaty github upload im pumped. i love writing myself little devlogs for me and me only. like a little treat

anyway that's all i did today besides go to an extremely short job interview which was cool. i really hope i get the job because i would like to be able to afford rent :D

[shaguagua]

瓦罐難免井上破，將軍終究陣前亡

The pot cannot be broken except leaving the well, a general is meant to die at the battlefield.

It's from 水滸傳(shuǐ hǔ zhuán; Water Margin) by 施耐庵(Shī nài ān), in 明朝(ming dynasty). It's a story of 108 outlaws in 梁山泊(Liáng Shān pō) which is a part china now it's 濟寧(Jĭ níng), Southern part of china. The story is about how a group of 108 outlaws gather at Mount Liang(梁山) to rabel against the government. Later they are granted amnesty and enlisted by the government to resist the nomadic conquest of the Liao dynasty and other rebels. I have read this when I was young but I don't recall the phrase, as it's not that common phrase where I live. The actual line is,

瓦罐不離井上破，將軍必在陣中亡

A water pot cannot be broken around the well, a general must die in battlefront.

It means, the water pot is used to go to a well, so during it's used around the well it cannot be broken because it's in use, then when a person carries to somewhere the possibility of breaking rise. So Qin wang is saying that the water pot is 秦九霄(Qin jiuxiao), and the well is 晉州(Jin zhou). Qin jiuxiao was meant to die at battlefield.

天子之怒，流血漂櫓；布衣之怒，血濺五步，卻令天下縞素。

The emperor's wrath causes rowing on the blood, The scholar's wrath, the blood flows in five steps. Therefore, the taching was, making the world carefree.

This line is from 唐雎不辱使命(táng jū bù rǔ shǐ mìng; An achievement of embassador 唐雎) by 劉向 撰(liú xiàng zhuàn) in 兩韓(liang jhan)era . It's a dialogue of 秦王(King of Qin) and 唐雎(an embassador of 魏; wei). 唐雎 went to 秦 for negotiate territorial dispute between 秦(qin) and 魏(wei). The actual sentence is, Therefore, make the world carefree.

秦王曰：天子之怒，伏尸百万，流血千里。

Qin wang said: the emperor's wrath, countless bodies cover the land, the blood runs like a river.

唐雎曰：此庸夫之怒也，非士之怒也。若士必怒，伏尸二人，流血五步，天下���素，今日是也。

Tang ju said: The wrath of normal people and talented people may differ. If a scholar with talent is persecuted, he will surely get angry. Then there will be two bodies and the blood would be five steps long, and every commoner will be mourning. Today, let it be.

The behind story here is that Qin wang wanted to have very wide territory to stop the war, when Wei were already in ruin. So Tang ju was actually on death mission that if he loose any territory of Wei, in anyways he would die by Qin wang either Wei wang. At the end Qin and Wei agreed on a treaty.

I love the time of Qin era which is BC. of Asian history, as my favourite chinese historical great human is 宣太后(Queen Dowager Xuan), So I remember him, 唐雎 is a textbook figure for diplomats for very long time as he didn't loose any territory only with a conversation. Even though Wei didn't last long for that.

晉王(Jin wang) is keep saying his retainers are peices on the chessboard(here it must be 碁;go board). Like whatever he does, there will be death bodies as far as it's not himself, those death doesn't really matter. Then for Zhou zishu is saying if a king doesn't think about the commoners, what meaning is there to be a king? This scene has many metaphorical meanings which can be found in historical drama. Look at thoese quoted sentences, it is definitely a conversation of a king and a noble man.

Jin wang is only thinking about himself, I'm not so sure even what he wants is Zhou zishu. Why he was angry at Zhou zishu is that Zhou zishu didn't say and ask him first to leave. When Zhou zishu had left, he said he just let him go for awhile, Jin wang had never let Zhou zishu go.

It's really shame, Wen kexing never knew Jin wang, I can't even imagine what would he do to Jin wang if he knows all these fiascos.

+ Oopsi daisy, it was (晉王)Jin wang not (欽王)qin wang (˵ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°˵)

[sweetesthaaze]

24 Days of TVWLM // Day 5

March 5th: Chapter 4

Note: So obviously it is not March 5th. I saw the Batman that day and just didn't have time and then I got sick and so I'm 2 days behind now. But that's okay, this way I got to enjoy the Batman and also read 3 chapters all in a row! I'll still dedicate one post per chapter though, just to keep things organized (though I might just do two today and then two tomorrow. I am tired).

Edit: they've definitely changed this chapter a bit and I AM ALL FOR IT! Anthony getting full on submerged in the lake instead of Edwina? YES! Both sisters eyeing Anthony getting out and then Edwina noticing her sister eyeing Anthony?? YES!!

Thoughts:

Although I still loved this chapter, any chapter with Kate and Anthony is amazing, not much actually happens? Like sure you have the usual bantering between the love birds and the whole chasing Newton and Edwina falling into the Serpentine, but if you really think about it, none of that really hold any significance. It mostly just sets up for the next chapter to be honest. There is one thing that could be a bigger deal, but that honestly is just a theory of mine and never actually fleshed out in the book. Nonetheless, there's still some great dialogue and inner thoughts going on of course!

So does Mary see that Anthony and Kate are much better suited than Edwina and Anthony?? It's certainly hinted at that she's trying to play matchmaker for them and I can't for the life of me remember if JQ ever actually addressed that in the rest of the book? Like maybe the night before Anthony and Kate get married, but I seriously don't remember. Someone tell me if that happens. Or I guess I'll see once we finish the book. If I remember that I had this question.

Show scenes:

Honestly there's nothing in this chapter that I absolutely really want/need to see in the show? Again they have some great dialogue and scenes, but I honestly wouldn't be disappointed if this whole chapter was missing from the show. It was hilarious that Kate and Anthony were chasing after Newton, but honestly Anthony was a massive dick at the end of the chapter.

Especially thinking that Kate somehow orchestrated the whole thing because what? She was jealous of Edwina? This man's head must have filled up with water rescuing Edwina because clearly he had no brain if that's what he thought. And why was he so mad? I never got why that whole situation made him so angry. Sure okay Edwina fell in some water, but she was literally fine and it was an accident. I dunno, that whole end scene kind of ruined the chapter for me tbh.

Favorite parts/scenes:

I do love the part where Kate tilts her head to the sun and suddenly Anthony is like oh shit. And then he tries to help her with her bonnet so she can feel the sun more clearly?? It's so adorable and a much softer side to Anthony than we've scene so far. And it makes Kate get all flustered which is cute too.

Favorite quotes:

"'They don't,' Kate replied. 'Well, they do. Well they don't and they do.' 'That clears things up immeasurably,' he murmured." - I love sarcastic Anthony

"'You could never bore me, Mrs. Sheffield,' the viscount said, debonair rake that he was.'"

"Her sister was still young and impressionable. What if she couldn't resist one of his smiles? or his glib tongue?" - you mean like you can't seem to do Kate????

"'I'd be delighted,' he said with a wicked smile, and Kate had the distinct impression he was agreeing to go for the sole purpose of vexing her." - oh he so was, I love it

"'You,' Anthony said forcefully to the dog. 'Sit down and be quiet.' Much to Kate's surprise, Newton obeyed, settling his plump bottom onto the rug with almost comical alacrity." - okay I lied I definitely need Anthony talking to Newton and ordering him around. This is so funny.

"'Clearly.' he shot back, keeping his voice low to that Mary could not hear, 'they are not so very different from women. Both breeds hang on my every word.' Kate stepped on his hand as he knelt to fasten the lead to Newton's collar. 'Oops,' she said, rather insincerely. 'I'm so sorry.'" - as you should Kate! he was being a proper asshole

"She had her face tipped up to the sun and was basking in its warmth. And for one extremely disconcerting moment, Anthony felt a sharp stab of ... something." - oh Anthony you poor child. You never stood a chance

"She let out a little sigh, and a look of longing crossed her face, so intense that Anthony almost ached for her." - AHHHHHHH!!

"Her entire face lit up at the prospect, and that strange stab of something pierced his gut again.

"Kate held still, just as he'd gently ordered, but when his fingers accidentally brushed the skin on her temple she stopped breathing as well. He was so very close, and there was something very odd about it. She could feel the heat of his body, and smell the clean, soapy scent of him. And it sent a prickle of awareness straight through her." - Kate, you also never stood a chance.

"'Can you feel the sun any better?' he asked." - this line was so simple, but that's why I love it. I can almost see him moving her bonnet and then whispering this to her because he's just overwhelmed of her presence.

"'Sarcasm doesn't become you, Miss Sheffield.' 'Nothing becomes you, Lord Bridgerton.'" - seriously, put him in his place, he's being so annoying at the moment.

"'Shake, Newton.' Newton looked up at her finger, pointed right at Anthony, and obediently trotted a few steps closer to him before allowing himself a full-body shake, spraying pond water everywhere." - as you should. This is why we love Newton.

So while I loved their banter, this chapter really has no significance (I know Edwina gets sick, but I don't think that really impacts anything to be honest) and not something I absolutely need to see in the show. Great dialogue, but that's about it.

Use the tag or drop a comment/ask in my inbox to talk about it!

[anime-onlys]

Spring '21 anime list: What I tried, what I'm watching, and first impressions!

Shaman King (2021)

I hadn't heard about this show until the reboot was announced, and it seems neat so I'll give it a shot! Hesitation isn't quite the right word, but I am watching cautiously because there's a lot about early 2000's anime that should stay in the early 2000's. I'm prepared to take a certain amount of product-of-its-time-ness, but only so much.

I really like its unique visual style. It feels like it's got a similar vibe to Soul Eater and TWEWY with its chunky proportions and face design, and the squash-and-stretch animation really lends itself to comedic moments. I feel like there are some eminently cosplayable designs in my future.

Character-wise, it's only been one episode but I'm taking a liking to Yoh. Based on the OP I hope that Ryuu will be an early-antagonist-turned-loudmouth-friend like JJBA's Okuyasu or Sk8's Shadow. That's one of my favorite character tropes.

The World Ends With You the Animation

My friend is a huge TWEWY fan, so our group was really looking forward to this anime. I saw a little of the gameplay when the Switch version was released, up to the end of episode 1's plot. I know it's going to be excellent story wise, and I already may be planning on making cosplay of that Reaper with the skeleton hoodie.

I love a unique visual style and an awesome soundtrack, of course TWEWY already had that coming in. The CGI Noise are a little clunky, but allow for some really great fight sequences. The characters' CGI models are nearly seamless with the 2D. It feels like the plot is moving fast, but according to my friend they just skipped some fetch quests and puzzle solving that wouldn't have been interesting to animate.

I'm really looking forward to this one each week!

Dragon Goes House-Hunting

One of those "eh, we'll give it a shot" shows. A bunch of us have been eyeing real estate lately, so at the very least it's topical. If done right, the concept could be fun!

We spent most of the episode HATING the dragon's character design. Its proportions are just...awkward in every way. The neck is extremely short and thick and leads into a human-muscled torso, the arms are tiny twigs, and the legs are a little too human and a little too thick to be anything but unnerving. It's bad.

Oddly, except for the dragon, the rest of the creature designs are pretty great! In contrast to a lot of anime, they let them be really non-human and had a good design sense. The humor was solid, the Monster Hunter references were on point, and the character interactions were fun. The OP is GREAT, too!

We'll be continuing this one! If you can make your eyes stop hating you for forcing them to look at the Monster Factory reject of a dragon, I'd say give it a shot.

You Can Make A Mug Too

Now that Yuru Camp is over, we wanted another lighthearted anime that might teach us something while it's at it. You Can Make A Mug Too was one of our picks to sample because one member of anime night has recently acquired a kiln.

My impression is an approving but unenthusiastic "Fine, really." You can definitely tell it's an anime made to bring in tourism to the town it's based in. The characters don't really grab me, but they set up a solid emotional backbone for the story. The production quality isn't stunning, I was hoping for some nice pottery wheel animation but didn't get any.

It's probably a decent show, but we won't watch any more because of the next one on the list.

Supercub

Going straight from You Can Make A Mug to Supercub was like going from store-brand ice pops to fresh gelato. I can already tell this is my favorite anime of the season, hands down.

First, the production quality is excellent. The backgrounds are beautiful, the score is understated but well done to the point that Debussey's Clair de Lune felt like it had been made for the scene it was used for.

More than the production quality alone, this anime's direction is exceptional. It takes 'show don't tell' and uses it perfectly, using body language and soundtrack and shot composition to communicate as much or more than the sparse dialogue. Like, they made my heart skip a beat with nothing but color grading. THAT kind of exceptional.

I haven't spoken much about the plot because I really have no idea where it's going to go. Will we fill in why Koguma is so alone, or will we only move forward to seeing her connect? Will the past of that Supercub come back to haunt her? This feels like an anime that can and will absolutely wreck me, but at the starting line all I can say is I'm READY.

If you only watch one thing this season, watch Supercub.

Continuing anime:

My Hero Academia Season 5:

This season is interesting because for the first time, I think I'm going into it with almost zero spoilers (Dabi's real name is the only one I have). The only plot spoiler I thought I had, that Hawks was somehow working with the League of Villains, was revealed at the end of episode 1. I really enjoy going into things blind so I'm looking forward to this season!

However, the OP is the most disappointing thing out there. Nothing about the song, animation or composition is memorable or even noteworthy. Bones and MHA have access to all the money and talent in the industry and they best they can do is "Fine, I guess".

Yuukoku no Moriarty season 2 (Split cour):

I really enjoyed Moriarty's first season, but the second part of a split-cour always has the risk of running off the rails. What I enjoyed most about the first cour was the reverse-whodunit formula: Here's a terrible noble and the people they hurt, how does Moriarty get rid of them while making it look like an accident? The end of cour 1 started to focus heavily on Sherlock and I don't want the show's namesake to end up sidelined.

Knowing Irene was coming, I was really hoping for a Scandal in Belgravia that follows the books...at all, where the end of the story is that Irene escapes with the photo (except this time aided by the Moriarty brothers). Few or no Sherlock adaptations actually want to engage with the sexism of the era or today's, and just want to paint her as a blackmailer or temptress instead of a woman holding onto the power to protect herself. The beginning was extremely promising, but that went off the rails pretty quick. I still haven't yet seen an adaptation of Irene Adler that I like.

Zombieland Saga: Revenge

I watch this show because it's fun and ridiculous, and I get to hear Mamoru Miyano having the time of his life in the recording booth. I love this show because it always ends up surprising me with its solid emotional backbone. It looks like this season is shaping up to be more of the same!

What blew me away was this episode was the first time I saw a CGI dance sequence that I LIKED. Ever. The characters used different mocap so they weren't eerily in sync, the song and dance itself was well made and supported by excellent camera direction and shot composition, there were 2D cuts to closeups of the dancers as well as audience, and they actually pushed facial expression!

It's a good time. Give it a shot.

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 25

Make some dentist appointments after this chapter. (I'm not sure it applies to all)

Sorry for being late. It's my little sister's birthday today and I opted to eat food.

Table of Contents

Off the Grid

"Alex"

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow, Scotland

The worst part of being stomped on the face is that at the end of the day, your girlfriend would end up seeing it. This was what Alex was worried about the moment he heard the helicopter approached their location. But a part of him wanted to just lay down by the bed under Samantha's care. 

Alex expected Soap to be the first one greeting the women, but he wasn't around. He guessed that after all the chasing and the climbing, he opted to take a rest instead of facing them tired. The house was very accommodating on it's own. He didn't need to worry about entertaining everyone else.

Just as he expected, he already saw the frown on Samantha's face as soon as her eyes met his. The same frown from his imagination was manifested before him.

"Alex, Are you okay?" she ran towards him and touched his bruised cheek. Alex tried to look okay but he couldn't help but hiss at the pain.

"A little. I couldn't lie to you now, can't I?" he managed a chuckle. Samantha held his hair and that signaled Alex to lower himself a little so she could kiss him on the forehead.

"Let's get you healed up." She muttered.

"Not until I'm done helping unload these." He suggested. Samantha wanted him to skip out on helping but Alex's face was eager and she didn't want to argue with that.

"Fine."

"My room is the third door by the stairs… that is if you want us to stay in one room together."

"Of course I do, Alex." She smiled and blew a kiss on the air as his lip was too bruised to receive it.

Alex couldn't help but smile. He could feel his insides do a little dance of joy while he's carrying luggage to the second floor, placing both their bags beside each other. Inside their room, that they're going to share.

He knew they'd done this before, but the idea of getting the room all to themselves was different. They are able to move freely without worrying what they might do. And he wanted to hug her, kiss her and whisper soft words in her ear without making everyone else around them all judgy.

Dinner flew by and Roach took the girls out for a tour, Alex took this time to shower before Samantha would come nurse his wounds. He stood in front of the sprinkling hot water, his face looked up, letting the warm shower revitalize his tired muscles. It was no doubt relaxing as he closed his eyes, cleared his thoughts and let his mind ease a bit.

They're safe, Samantha's got her memories back, and they're together now. The New York attacks were over and both Shepherd and Nero were off the grid. They're planning something big and all they could do was prepare for the worst. He doesn't have to shoulder anything as of now and he should rest and recover.

After a few minutes of meditation, Alex was interrupted by a smooth touch that embraced him from behind. He could feel her skin sink against his as she tightly held him, her cheek leaned on his back.

"Alex." Samantha whispered, he couldn't barely hear it against the sound of the shower.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" she sobbed. Alex raised an eyebrow and held her hand, turning around to meet her beautiful face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the question echoed against the glass walls and bounced to the rest of the bathroom.

"On the ride here. I took a nap… then I remembered something. Before I even got to that Russian hotel I…" she sobbed. Alex pulled her closer and hugged her, she didn't have to worry. They're going to fix this together.

"I gave them the I.P. Address…" she cried. Her tears mixed with the sprinkle of the shower. Despite being already wet, Alex still wiped it off with his thumbs.

"You didn't do anything wrong… You didn't give it away… They forcibly took it from you." Alex told her, his face was angry toward Shepherd. One day he'll finally get his revenge.

"B-but…" she tried to retort, but Alex cut her off by kissing her soft lips, his tongue immediately entered her mouth as soon as she gave him permission. He kissed her hoping it would soothe her worries away, making her feel that he was there no matter what. Her moans made him comfortable that he's doing the right thing, that he's telling her that he's going to be there. So he pushed her toward the cold bathroom wall, tilted his head and showed her what he really felt towards her.

The next morning Alex and Samantha were tasked to fly Nikolai back home. The guy was missing the colder environment and since they didn't have anything at the moment, it'd be best to let him go for now. The team still owed him a cargo plane which was left back at the S.A.S. base. They'll have to deal with that after all of this is over.

Alex didn't have anything to do regarding this task, Samantha just made a few special calls and the next thing they knew, they were already waving goodbye to the Russian.

"Glad we have him on our side." Alex chuckled, hovering his arm as it reached her farther shoulder. Samantha leaned toward him as soon as she caught him doing the gesture, as they took short steps, Alex's leg clumped against the cement.

"You okay with that leg?" Samantha wondered, looking down then back to Alex.

"I got used to it, really. It's not much of a bother once you get used to it." He smiled, wiggling the fake leg, almost showing off at how good he was using it. 

"Is there something wrong with it?" He asked. Samantha's cheeks started to blush red and Alex had no actual idea what was going on in her mind.

"No no. I'm just curious. That's all… Still… it must be hard walking like an incomplete part of a whole." She consoled to which Alex replied with a laugh.

"What's funny?" She asked as Alex used his already clinging hand on her shoulder to pull her closer for a kiss.

"You already complete me, Samantha." He said. His face was too serious to be joking and yet Samantha laughed.

"You know what?! All these corny and cheesy dialogue is my thing. You complete me too, Alex. I…" she paused, staring at Alex's eyes. Alex quickly saw through her gaze, there was a particular sparkle in her eyes. The same sparkle he'd been noticing every time they got intimate. It made his heart beat so fast that he could almost predict what she's going to say next.

He placed a finger on her mouth to stop her from talking. He wanted to say it first. He wanted to be the one whose life changed because of her and not the other way around.

"I love you, Samantha Coleman." he said. Tears. Tears were the first thing he saw once he let out those words. 

"How dare you… finish my sentence." she croaked. She had the idea of cracking a joke between the sweetest of moments. He really liked that about her.

"I wanted to say it first." He whispered, inching his face closer once again. Samantha's eyes were already half closed and Alex knew what he needed to do. He planted another chaste kiss on her soft lips, but this time, Samantha surprised him by gently biting his lip, making the former CIA flinch. He chuckled and kissed back once again, pushing her toward the gazebo until they found her pinned on one of its tougher beams.

"Oh." She giggled as Alex's hand trailed on her side, squeezing her soft skin gently. Alex's smile beamed wide as he knew her reaction. 

"Are we really going to cause a scene here? Mr. Alex-?" She teased, her train of thought paused after not knowing his last name.

He chuckled in a lower register, low enough that he could feel Samantha react to it.

"It's Alexander Collins. But please, just call me Alex." he muttered, planting a kiss on her neck, Samantha moaned inappropriately, sending Alex on an excited rush.

"All right Mr. Collins. I think we should stop now. Our audiences are feeling a little uncomfortable right now." she turned to France, Maxine and Roach, who were watching 'respectfully'.

Alex waved and smiled apologetically, noting the almost embarrassed expression on Maxine's face, the slightly smirking Francine and Roach's hidden thumbs up.

"I'm sorry guys. We'll be off now." he said, escorting Samantha back to the house.

The day went by and Alex was more than happy that he got to spend the rest of the day with Samantha. Hell, even the thought of waking up spooning her was more than heavenly. 

Now, he lay gently on his bed while Samantha was out to cleanse his bruises.

"Ow. Careful nurse, I'm quite vulnerable..." he winced playfully.

"Now, now, my little patient. This will just hurt a little." She played along, wiping a soft cotton ball on his bruised cheek.

"Will there be any sort of injection? I hate injections." he groaned, fake sobbing.

"Oh? You hate injections? I personally thought you were amazing administering them?" She teased, slightly blushing at her green joke.

Alex quickly caught wind of her joke about injecting and immediately burst out laughing.

"I can't believe you said that." he said, laughing in between his words, almost choking.

"Kidding aside… I almost forgot something…" She said, setting aside her medical tools. She got up and gently straddling on his body, making Alex groan a little and hold on to her waist.

"What could you have possibly forgotten?" he asked, his face full of curiosity.

She leaned in closer to him and whispered three words that made Alex smile in delight.

"I love you." she whispered and a kiss followed. Alex knew from that moment on that he was more than willing and ready to spend the rest of his life.

Next Chapter : What's Behind Door Number Two?

Notification Squad my Beloved

@samatedeansbroccoli @smokeywhalee @enderio @whimsywispsblog @ricinbach @beemybee

[goldenmazzello]

Lay all your love on me | Part 3

(I don't own this gif. Credits to the owner)

Warning: Language, angst, cheating, stress, innuendo?, mention of songs. 

W/C: 5.6k.

MASTERLIST

~

Friday. It was finally friday, the day for the audition. You spent the last four days rehearsing for the audition, maybe the biggest and most important one you've ever had. You were so nervous that you could barely close your eyes and sleep. Now, you couldn't remember how many times you watched Grease on Netflix or how many times you watched videos on YouTube in such little time.

Now, you were with Joe in his living room. You asked him for help since you felt a bit mousy to ask Aaron to practice with you because you've just met him. However, he sent you some messages giving you some tips to remember during your audition. You were so glad he told you that because he had experience in Broadway, it wasn't his first time there. And for the same reason, you wondered if you were really going to get the role or if you were going to make a dog's dinner of it again as the last one.

You put Grease on his tv and rapidly pause it at the very beginning where Danny and Sandy were at the beach, the place they met vacationing, holding each other's waist and looking at each other with love and angst at the same time as they were going separate ways due to the end of the summer and Sandy had to come back to Australia.

"Okay so, now, come here please." You grabbed Joe's arm and made him get up from the sofa. Joe chuckled. You indicated him how to pose his hands on you and posed yours on him. "You remember this line, don't you?" You asked raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, we've watched this the whole morning!" He laughed and you shrugged.

"Yeah, but remember they changed the original story and some dialogues a bit to make it more interesting. She's from Utah now. Let's start." You closed your eyes and sighed. "Danny I don't want the summer to be over, I may never seen you again." You said Sandy's first lines in the musical, while staring at Joe.

"Sandy, don't talk that way." Joe replied as Danny and you interrupted him.

"But it's true, I've just had the best summer of my life and now I have to go back to Salt Lake, it isn't fair." You said complaining as you moved your eyes to the floor. Joe put his hand on your chin and lifted your head gently, so his eyes could meet yours again.

And Joe got lost in your eyes. He felt waves of running feelings on his body. For him, time stopped, the whole wolrd stopped and it was only you and him.

He thought about what was next in the script, the kiss. What if he kissed you now? Of course it would be part of acting, it wouldn't mean anything at all, but for him, oh, he didn't know how he would feel if he kissed you right now. He didn't want your frienship to be at stake, but he had to do it anyway.

Joe moved his hand on your cheek, you kept staring at him and when he was a few inches away from you, your phone started ringing and you both jumped.

"Fuck, it scared the shit out of me." You said taking a breath with a hand on your chest and moved to take your phone. Aaron is calling.

As you answered the call, Joe went to the kitchen. He rested his back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was so close to finally kiss you and he couldn't believe it. He was so close to your face, to your lips.

When you finished talking with Aaron, you went to the kitchen and found Joe there, in silence.

"Joey, are you okay?" You asked as you walked towards him. He opened his eyes and nodded. "Are you sure?" You weren't very convinced at all.

"Yes, I was just thinking about a few things I have to do with my agent." Hi moved his hand on the nape of his neck.

"Okay. Aaron just called and offered to take me to the theater with him but I turned it down." You said and Joe furrowed his eyebrows. "I want to go with you, I need you by my side." You beamed. So did he. "We should leave now,  or we won't have enought time."

The car ride was full of laughter, Joe knew absolutely well how to make you laugh and forget about everything. He was trying to make you feel relaxed and it seemed that his attempts were working out. You really appreciated it.

As you realized you were near the theater’s street, your face was pale.  Al Hirschfeld Theatre. You were there.

Joe noticed your expression had changed and squeezed your hand. You closed your eyes. He parked a few feet away from the theater and you both got out of the car.

“Listen (y/n).” He looked into your eyes while holding your shoulders. “No matter what happens today, don’t ever hesitate how talented you are, please never forget that.” He gave you a tender smile and you hugged him.

“Thank you Joey, you don’t have an idea of how much I appreciate and love you.” You closed your eyes and rubbed his back.

“I know you do, and I love you too. Good luck.”

Joe stayed inside his car, waiting for the audition to end. He knew he would be there for a long time so he brought with him his notebook where he kept writing ideas for his future directing projects.

When you entered the theater, you saw Aaron reading the script. He was really focused on it.

“Hey, how you doing?” You asked and sat beside him.

He lifted his head and kissed your cheek. “I’m great, and you? Nervous?”

“You’re absolutely right.” You sighed.

“Remember what I told you, just be yourself and imagine you are dancing alone in your room in front of your mirror.” He chuckled.

“I’ll try.” You looked at his script. “Which role are you auditioning for?”

"I'm going for Danny Zuko, your lover, Miss Sandy." He blinked.

You? Starring opposite him? At first it seemed absolutely crazy, because he had a lot of experience. That's when you remembered what Joe had said Don't ever hesitate how talented you are, and you couldn't help but beamed happily. You were so lucky to have him in your life, such a tender and loyal friend.

You were still confused about your feelings. Perhaps, you were feeling like this because you've been single for almost a year and the need of being loved was taking over you. You didn't truly believe you were falling for him.

As soon as the casting crew called you, Aaron wished you good luck and you went to the scenario. You introduced yourself to the casting crew who was waiting for the music to start. The instrumental music of You're the one that I want was playing loudly at the background while you gracely moved your body to the rhythm of the music and started to sing. Your hips were loose and your feet seemed to never touch the ground. Your movements were fluent, they were done without any effort and the lightly way you were dancing could have been seen from every little part of the theater. 

When you finished your audition, they asked you to wait outside. A few minutes later, a tall woman in her 20s holding some papers showed up.

"Are you (y/n) (y/s/n)?" You nodded. "I'm the director's assistant, he wants to see you."

You walked towards the scenario again and found Aaron in there. He smiled as you stood beside him.

"We want you to perform the opening scene, where Danny and Sandy are saying goodbye at the beach. We'll give you thirty minutes to prepare it and then you'll be called to do it." The director expossed as he and the casting crew left you alone.

"Do you know what that means? It's 80% probable that we got the role." He said excitedly.

"Oh my..." You moved your hand to your mouth. "I really hope so."

"So, let's prepeare the scene." He started reading the script. "What about the kiss? Do you want to practice it or just let it happen?"

"Hmm...I prefer practicing it at least once, just to be sure that everything will be perfect."

"That's a good point." He left the script on the floor, so did you.

"Danny I don't want the summer to be over, I may never seen you again." You said Sandy's first lines while staring at Aaron. He was holding your waist. You placed your hands on his toned arms.

"Sandy, don't talk that way." He nodded.

"But it's true, I've just had the best summer of my life and now I have to go back to Salt Lake, it isn't fair." You moved your eyes to the floor. Aaron put his hand on your chin and lifted your head, you looked at him again.

It felt completely different from when you did it in the morning with Joe. You felt you were really acting now, doing your job, but with Joe, it was difficult to focuse on the lines and everything, but why? You were so close to each other that you almost kissed if it wasn't for Aaron's call.

And that's when you felt Aaron's lips on yours. You closed your eyes, trying to examine the situation. His lips were rough because of the windy winter and his hands moved softly on your skin. You followed the kiss and he held you closer, embracing you, but you quickly moved him away.

"Danny don't spoil it." You fixed your eyes on his.

"It's not spoiling. It's only making better."

"Is this the end?" You asked sadly. He held your hands again.

"Don't think about that, just be here on the moment. All that matters is what's happening right now." As he spoke, you posed your hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply. He did the same and followed your kiss.

"That was fantastic, I have no doubt that we got the role!" Aaron said, cutting off the kiss. You were still close to him.

"I really hope so."

"You are a great actress and a great kisser as well." You moved your eyes to the floor and Aaron giggled. "I'm telling you the truth."

You looked at him again and his lips mashed against yours again, you hungrily pushed back. It wasn't like one of those close-mouthed kisses you had when you were at elementary school, it was full on, open-mouthed, with pure lust. He nearly knocked all wind from your lungs. His hands drifted to your hips, pulling you closer. You inhaled, sharply. It's been so long since you last kissed someone like that and you couldn't deny it felt so good. When you heard the director and the casting crew coming back, you pulled apart and acted as if nothing happened.

They sat in the front row and asked you to start. You repeated what you did before, but this time, everything went on more naturally. It seemed like Aaron and you had known each other for years. You really had chemistry.

When you finished the audition, the director and the casting crew discussed about it and finally decided that both of you got the role. You were thrilled to bits when they said they couldn't praise you enough and you did an brilliant job.

You ran out of the theater happily and when you saw Joe waiting for you inside his car, you called his name and he got out, leaving his notebook there.

"I got the role!" You yelled and jumped into his arms. There was nothing in the world that's gonna kill this mood.

~

The next day, you and Joe were walking in the city. Joe was holding his phone, checking his To do list to see your plans for the day. He was very excited, you could see it on his face.

“Are you going to tell me where are we going to or not?” You asked while crossing the street.

“Hmm...I see you are very impatient.” He chuckled and you rolled your eyes.

A few minutes later, he stopped walking. You moved your sunglasses and gave a glance at the familiar tram station. “Are we going to Roosevelt Island?”

“Yes, I haven’t gone there in ages and I thought It was a good idea.” He said happily.  

The Roosevelt Island Tramway is an aerial tramway that brings you from Manhattan to Roosevelt Island in less than five minutes. There are some amanzing views of the city. It’s a very attractive option for people who want to get away from the crowds in Manhattan and enjoy the peace and quiet of the beautiful island. And you can enjoy it at night too, that was one of your favorite activities to do when you moved there a few years ago, admiring the wonderful skycrapers through the window.

After waiting for like fifteen minutes, you finally took the tram. Joe suggested going to a café and you agreed. It was a friendly place with a few tables outside. The peculiar smell of coffee made you feel hungry, especially because it was 10:00 am, so you ordered and sat outside the shop. It was a perfect sunny day to be outside.

As soon as you started having breakfast, Joe’s phone buzzed and when he saw his notifications, his expression changed, now, he looked haunted.

“Joey, what happened?”  You leaned forward.

“Nothing.” He said tautly. He blocked his phone and had a sip of his coffee. You knew he wasn’t telling you the truth.

“That’s a lie. You know you can trust me.”

Joe sighed. “I’ve never told you about my ex...she sent me a message saying she wants to see me to talk about something, but I blocked her.”

“What happened with her?”

“We’ve been together for so long, seven years to be exactly. Everything seemed to be fine. We lived in Los Angeles, that’s where I met her. One day, I was on my way to the airport, I was going to visit my family because it was Christmas season and I realized I had forgotten my passport, so I quickly came back home and when I opened the door...” He stopped and moved his gaze. “A friend of ours was...he was fucking her in our couch, our house...” He sighed again. “The excuse she had for not going to visit my family was that she had to work and obviously, it wasn’t true. Whatsmore, she had been cheating on me with him for over a year.”

Your jaw dropped. How could someone be so cruel? Nobody deserved that, especially Joe, he had a heart of gold. He was a person that believed real happiness lay on doing good for others, for him there wasn't anything that made him feel better than it.

He always seemed so happy but you could feel that behind that beautiful smile he had, he was in pain.

You moved and hugged him. “I’m so sorry Joey, you don’t deserve this.” He held you tight, in silent. “Someday, you’ll find somebody who will care about you.”

Joe wanted that person to be you. It was as if he had built his walls up high and didn’t let anyone enter his heart, but now, they were falling and you were the reason why. His heart has been locked away since that day he found out his girlfriend betrayed him. He was afraid of being in the same situation again. He supossed you were waiting too, to fall in love with someone who was worth the wait, after some failed relationships. He wanted to tell you that you were the person he was waiting for, that he had been searching so long for a feeling like this, but he was afraid, not only about being hurt again but also because he was convinced that feeling wasn’t mutual.

“I hope so.” You heard him say. “After that, I moved back to New York and all my dates failed, so I think I’m staying alone for a long time.”

“Don’t say that, I bet you have a lot of girls behind.” You moved you eyebrows and he giggled.

"And what about you? Have you had a date recently?"

"No, I haven't gone out with someone in six months." You replied as you finished your coffee. Joe almost choke. "What?"

"You have to be kidding me."

"Why?" You laughed.

"You are telling me that you haven't been with someone in six months, for real? Not even a kiss?" He was amazed.

"Well, I kissed yesterday but..." He interrupted.

"But that doesn't count, you were acting!"

"Actually, we kissed more than once." You blushed and Joe raised an eyebrow. He had to pretend he wasn't jealous of his friend for doing what he wanted the most, to kiss you.

"So, you like him."

"No."

"Yes, you do." He insisted.

"No, well, I'm not sure, okay?"

Joe nodded and took another sip of coffee. Inside, his heart was breaking. But outside, he seemed he didn't really care, he was a good actor.

If you change your mind

I'm the first in line

Honey, I'm still free

Take a chance on me.

~

Six weeks passed since the audition. The last days of winter were almost gone and spring's arrival meant that the musical was about to be released.

But things started to get pretty hectic, especially with Joe.

Rehearsals had taken over your life that you could barely have time to relax. The To do list that Joe had planned on set while filming Bohemian Rhapsody in january was practically forgotten, the only activities you did was going to the Central Park and going to a Yankees' game. You knew Joe wasn't mad at you for not having enought time, he knew that theater involved a lot ot rehearsals for a perfect performance but the fact that you hanged out with Aaron and not with him made him feel replaced.

The worst happened two weeks ago. It was friday and Joe was waiting impatiently for you at the Sky Room Rooftop in Manhattan. He was excited to catch up with you after seeing you like three times the last month, but you were late, you both agreed to meet there at 10:00 p.m and thirty minutes later, you haven't showep up yet. Two, four, six calls and you didn't anwer.

You weren't in New York. You were staying in California for the weekend since you and Aaron had been invited to a promoting event for Grease in Los Angeles and you forgot that you had made plans with your friend. When you saw his missed calls, you almost pass out. There was a message saying he was going home and asking where the hell were you, you explained him everything. You had a horrible sinking feeling when you saw he left you on read. You deserved that although you didn't do it on purpose, you had totally forgotten about it.

He felt so dejected by your behaviour. And it upset him even more because he loved you, he really did.

Saturday. You were at another event but this time there was a surprise for you, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John showed up at the place and sang You are the one that I want with you and Aaron, you were over the moon.

Meanwhile in New York, Lucy was staying the weekend in Manhattan to attend to an event she had been invited to. Rami couldn't make it there, although he was in the same city, he was filming Mr. Robot's last season and not only he played the main role, he was also one of the producers, so Lucy asked Joe to go with him and have fun, especially after the bad night he had waiting for you.

What Joe didn't know was that Lucy invited a friend of her too. Her name was Julia, she was a blonde blue-eyed girl that was around Lucy's age and she lived in New York too. She was a new friend, they met on set filming The Politician, a new Netflix series that will be launched by next year's end.

Joe and Julia got on really well.They exchanged intense glares the whole night and laughed at each other's jokes. They even followed each other on Instagram and posted some stories together. When the event finished, they went to a bar and had some drinks. This time, Joe was sober.

He and Julia went to dance. He kept his hands on her hips to guide her. At one point, everything started to get hot. Joe kept her tight to him with his hands on her waist while dancing and she began to feel hot and tingly when she felt his breath near her ear. He asked her if she wanted to do something after the bar and she said yes.

So when Lucy decided to call it a night, Julia invited Joe to her appartment.

When they entered the building, she didn’t even say a word, she just led him to the elevator and kissed him. His hands continued to explore her body, almost slipping under her dress a few times.

And they spent the night together. But Joe didn't sleep, insomnia took over him. He kept thinking about you and how you were slowly falling for Aaron and forgetting about your friendship with him.

I wasn't jealous before we met

Now every man I see is a potential threat

And I'm possessive, it isn't nice

You've heard me saying that acting was my only vice

You and Aaron have been on a few dates but nothing too serious. You were convinced that the chemestry you had on stage was making you confused and you didn't want to be direspecful so agreed going out with him. You felt you were behaving like a fifteen-year-old girl.

On monday, when everybody was at their respective places, Gwilym organized a group video call to catch up with the six of you. You placed your phone on your kitchen counter while you prepare your kettle for a cup of tea after a tough day.

You couldn't stop looking at Joe and he tried to avoid you. The tension between you both could be felt. You were sure your friends noticed it.

"How was the event, Luc?" Ben asked while lighting a cigarette in his garden.

"It was great, I had so much fun with Joe and Julia! And I'm glad they got on very well." Lucy was lying on her couch, resting after an exhausting weekend.

"Yeah, we all know that." Gwilym giggled while cleaning his glasses.

Wait, what did they know? Did you miss anything?

You kept your gaze on Joe, waiting for his next words while your hands grabbed the kettle that just boiled. He was lying on his bed.

"Have you heard about it, Lu?" Ben asked mischievously.

"Shut up, Benjamin Jones." Joe warned him, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon! We all know, Joe." Rami's eyebrows were bobbing up and down while walking to his hotel room. Lucy didn't have an idea of what was going on. So did you.

"What did I miss, hmm?" Lucy wondered. Joe's face blused.

"Mss. Lucy Boynton, your friends slept together." Ben confessed, entuthiastically. Joe rolled his eyes again. He was annoyed.

"Oh my god!" Lucy yelled in surprise, moving a hand to her mouth.

As soon as you heard Ben, you felt your heart dropped to your stomach. The kettle that was on your hands was now on the floor and an amount of countless swearing were heard from your mouth. Your skin was burning like hell.

"(y/n), what happened? Are you okay?" Gwilym asked worried and all eyes were on you.

"I've just dropped my kettle, call you later guys." You left the video call and run to your bathroom. You could hardly walk. You let the cool running water to cool your burning foot for like 20 minutes and covered the burn with a moist bandage. It wasn't that bad so you didn't need to go to hospital and in a matter of days it will be gone.

You were cleaning the kitchen when phone rang and you knew it was one of your friends, wondering what happened to you on the kitchen.

Lucy is calling.

You spent the next two hours talking with her. She kept telling you that you were in love with Joe, she knew it, it was obvious. You told her that you weren't sure about it and explained everything that had been happening the last weeks was making you feel out of your head. She said that it would be better if you talked about last friday with Joe and tried to apologize again.

You couldn't stop thinking about him, he's been stuck on your mind for the last weeks.

~

8:00 a.m, rehearsals again. You were sat on the floor, yawning. You haven't been sleeping properly, waking up every two hours or getting only 3 hours of sleep. Your head was aching so hard that you could scarcely open your eyes.

Aaron showed up, holding two cups of coffee. "Hey, good morning, here you have." He extended his arm so you could grab a coffee but you didn't.

"Sorry, I don't feel like having breakfast today." You sighed.

"Today, yesterday and the day before yesterday, what's going on?" He sat by your side.

You knew that your situation with Joe didn't leave you in peace and the stress you had for the countless hours of rehearsals a week was making it worse. Fault was the only thing that you could feel.

"I don't know, I haven't been sleeping well and I'm not hungry. I'm worn out." Your eyes were closed by now. He was listening carefully. "But, let's dance anyway." You put your hand on the wall and got up.

"Are you sure? I don't think you.. " you interrupted him.

"Aaron, I wanna do this. Let me try, at least." You insisted.

As the music started playing, the choreographer indicated your dance moves. Your body moved lazily, muscles aching as if you've been hit by a truck. Your sight was numb, so you stopped, moving your gaze to the floor. Your knees started shaking. There was no way you could finish even a song.

"I've told you it wasn't a good idea." Aaron grabbed you by your waist and placed your arm around his neck. He guided you to a chair and left you there. "Do you have your phone here?"

"I don't even know if it has battery. It's in my jacket." You massaged your forehead trying to calm the ache but it was helpless.

Aaron talked with the director and then grabbed your phone, he called your emergency number. "Hi, is anybody there?" He could hear someone breathing but it was silent.

"Aaron?" Joe spoke, his voice was husky, he must have been sleeping because it was pretty early.

You'd chosen Joe, he was the only person who could help you if you found yourself in times of trouble since your family lived in another state and it would take them ages to get there. But if you had to call him now, you weren't going to do it.

"Joe? It's me, listen. (y/n) isn't doing good so I've just called her emergency number and here we are. I didn't know it was your number. Can you pick her up? I asked the director to give her a break and he agreed. She looks terrible."

Joe was still mad at you, but he wasn't going to let those feelings interfere with the situation. He was a kind person and he loved you, so the only thing he was going to do was to leave you home and continue with his day.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes."

Aaron came back with you. "You're leaving in a few minutes, here you have." He gave you your phone.

"What? Are you going to leave with me?" You frowned.

"Actually, no. I asked the director and he wants me to stay but he said you could go home. Joe is coming."

Your eyes bugged out, you hadn't seen Joe in weeks and you felt it wasn't the right moment to do it.

Aaron was holding his phone. "Joe sent me a message, he's out."

He helped you to get to the front door of the theater. Joe didn't say anything, he opened the door of his car and helped you get in. You couldn't see his eyes because he was wearing sunglasses. And he was glad, because when he saw you like that, his heart broke. He wanted to hold you in his arms and take care of you, kissing every little part of your face and telling you everything was gonna be alright.

Once you were in your appartment, he helped you to get in bed and prepeared a cup of tea. When he came back, he sat on the edge of your bed. He didn't say a word, you knew he was hurt.

"Thank you." You took a sip of tea.

He looked at you and pursed his lips, as if he was going to say something but he didn't.

"Please, say something. Don't be like that, I know I was wrong, I'm sorry." You pouted.

"Okay, I forgive you, are you happy?" He said expressionless.

"Joe." You left your cup on your nightstand and moved closer to him. "Don't say it because that's what I want to hear, say it because you feel it."

"I'm feeling this, but you're too busy with your new friend that you don't seem to know me anymore." He gave you a glowering look and you sighed.

"Joey, please, look at me." You took his hand and rubbed it softly. He looked at your hands and then moved his eyes to meet yours. "Forgive me, please. You don't have an idea of how much I miss you." You were already in tears. He sighed.

"I miss you too." He opened his arms wide and pulled you in for a warm hug. You let out a small sigh while sobbing and hid your face in his neck, you could smell his scent, it's been so long.

You both stood there for a few minutes while Joe caressed your back. "We have to talk about it."

"I know." You wipped your tears with your thumb. "But please, can we do it later? I feel my head is going to explode at any moment."

"Okay but just tell me something, what's going on with you?"

"I'm tired, that's all." You assured him.

Joe hesitated a few seconds until he decided to ask something he was afraid to.

"Are you pregnant?" Joe murmured.

You burst out laughing. "Are you kidding me?"

"What? I don't know about your dating life." He shrugged.

"No Joe, I'm not pregnant."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I need to sleep, that's all."

He stole a glance at his watch. "I better go, I have a meeting." He moved from your bed.

"Will I see you soon?" You asked hoping he would say yes.

"Of course, when you'll get better."

~~~

It was 08:00 p.m when Joe came back home. He lay on his couch and watched tv. Two hours later, he was sleeping when he heard the doorbell riging. He was so sleepy that he didn't remember falling sleep.

When he opened the door, he frowned. Aaron and you were standing there, beaming cheerfully. You looked better than you did in the morning.

"Surprise! Are you going to make us wait any longer? This pizza is waiting for us!" Aaron had a pizza box in his hands.

"We wanted to visit our dear friend." You confessed. Joe let you in and told you to sit on the couch. But before, you hugged him. "I know we've seen each other in the morning but I missed you."

He smiled. "How do you feel? You definetely look better."

"I do!" You kissed his cheek and took a seat beside Aaron.

"I'm glad. I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

He disappeared for a minute and when he was walking down the hall, he heard some noises. He leaned against the wall, hiding himself and peeped. He couldn't believe his eyes. A pang of jealousy ran through his veins. He gulped, his heart was racing so fast that he swore it would jump out of his chest now. His stomach was sick. "It's all in my head" he thought, trying to convince himself but it was helpless.

You were sat on Aaron's thights, your hands playing with his hair as he held you. His strong arms were around your waist and his hands placed on your ass.

Warm lips pressed against yours. You were kissing as if you were the only people in the world, as if you weren't in your friend's house. You didn't care about anything except that kiss.

He pressed your body against his and a soft moan scaped your lips. He giggled and told you to be quiet so as not to be caught. Then, he continued devouring your mouth.

Joe was perplex, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to stop looking at you, but he couldn't.

When Aaron put his hands on your breasts, Joe knew it was enough. He couldn't look, it was killing him.

He came back to the bathroom, waiting for things to cool down a bit. "It started out with a kiss, they were acting. How did it end up like this?" He thought. This has gone too far.

[80s-roger]

Not On My Watch (pt 8:finale)

Pairing: Dad!Roger x Mum!Reader

summary: you’re divorced with queen’s roger taylor due to constant cheating and irrational behaviour towards you. but u have one person in common: your daughter, Laura aka your favourite human on earth. Your marriage with Roger had its ups and downs but Laura was the happiness in it. Now that she’s 8 and starts to realise how your terms with roger are, you finally tell her that you’re seeing another man except her father and she took it really warmly. She seemed excited to meet the new man unlikely your ex husband who accidentally learns about it by Laura, the weekend you would leave her at his place: on weekends you had some cute getaways with R/N because the court decided that Laura could stay or visit her dad on weekends and stay with him for five days each Christmas and easter vacations. Roger now, fights to get Laura and you back. R/N isn't as it seems and Roger helps you to keep him away from you.

catch up: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7

masterlist //dialogue prompts

taglist: @madeinheavxn @namelesslosers @stacymaytaylor @drwse @cherries-n-rocknroll

words: 3.505

warnings: FLUFF IM GONNA CRY

You were on your car, following Roger for about a quarter until the paps lost you. It was a crazy moment you don't want to relive again. As you parked outside the pub, he opened the door for you to walk in. Always a gentleman. You noticed his bandmates' figures from a corner and walked closer with Roger behind you.

"Oh hello Y/n!" Brian greeted you and made some space for you to sit.

"Hi Brian, Fred, John." You smiled at them and waited for Roger to bring an extra chair to sit next to you.

"We didn't expect you here, how are you, darling?" Freddie asked.

"I'm a little upset." You were straightforward, Roger was aware and he placed his hand on your thigh, trying to calm you down. Brian noticed his move and understood something was wrong.

"You want to talk about it?" Brian asked.

"The man she was seeing appeared at her work and embarrassed her to death. I was there at half of the scene and intervened." Roger started.

"Oh, fuck." Freddie gasped.

"I'm afraid he saw us last night." You turned to Roger, referring to him fucking you at his cabinet.

"Yeah, you're right. Well, at least he's staying at the police's cell tonight. He was acting irrationally in public. He caused trouble." Roger spoke to his bandmates too.

The waiter came to your place, took yours and Roger's order and left. "Y/n, where did you find this man? He's such a troublemaker!" Freddie said.

"It doesn't matter where I met him, he just won't accept the fact I want to get back with Rog." You admitted and felt your heart beating fast. Roger wrapped his arm around you, feeling extremely happy of your declaration.

"So, you also want to get back with him?" Freddie asked surprised.

"I'd give it one more chance..." you sighed and stared at Roger, wishing he'd be different this time.

"Wow, that's big news!" Freddie said.

"What are you going to do with R/N? He won't give up this easy." Roger asked.

"I have no idea. I'll come up with something." You sighed.

The beers arrived and so on, you spent these couple of hours with the Queen members, drinking and having fun. They always liked your company but most of them, Roger. He enjoyed watching you having fun with his bandmates. He liked seeing you laughing and joking around. Later, you drove off to your own apartment, knowing it's safe to walk in to get more clothes and personal stuff including your daughter's. You were about to move out soon and didn't want to tire Laura anymore with all these movings and rides. You had to talk with your landlord about moving out so you didn't waste time.

Time passed fast and you drove at Roger's place again, with your suitcase hanging on your hand. He saw you coming closer to his door and there he was, standing happy at your presence.

"Hi." He smiled and leaned in to kiss your lips. "Come on in." He made way for you to walk in and suddenly Laura's cheering voice echoed to your ears.

"Mummy!" She cajoled.

"Hello, my little baby!" You knelt down to kiss her. "How was your day? I missed you!"

"I got an A in maths!" She jumped showing her excitement.

"Wow, that's amazing sweetheart! Well done!" You praised your blonde little girl and kissed her again.

"Women of my life," Roger started and Laura and you turned your gazes to him. "I have an announcement to make," he cleared his throat trying to make it funny for Laura.

"What is it, dad?" She asked.

"Tonight we are going out, the three of us. Diner at nine, how's it?" He asked waiting to hear your affirm.

"That's great!" You said with a huge smile on your face.

"Wow, dad! Yes! I'm so happy! I'm just gonna rush to my room and finish my homework!" She was as excited as you and maybe a little more because she barely remembers Roger and you being lovebirds.

"Don't rush it, love, your answers might be wrong! I'll come and check you!" He joked and laughed. He then came closer to you. "You brought a suitcase?" He asked as he checked it.

"Yes, I talked with the landlord, he has no issue with me moving out. I can leave at any moment. Are you surely okay about it?" You asked him trying to hide any possible doubts turning around your heads.

"I'm more than sure about it. To get things straight, I was never okay with the divorce-" he started.

"Me neither, it was your behaviour towards me." You stopped him.

"Let me finish." He gestured his hands on you and let him speak. "I know, I was unfaithful and an asshole, but this time I do want to settle down with you.". His eyes spoke the truth to you and wanted to believe him. You were questioning again what if he becomes what he was like before? What if he cheats on you again?

"Okay." You nodded with your eyes on the floor and then you looked at him again. "This is the last chance. You know it didn't work back then." You whispered and he agreed with you. But now, he wants to fight to gain your trust back.

"What about the rest of your clothes and stuff back at the flat?" He asked.

"I called the furniture mover company. They are willing to move our stuff here on Friday." You answered.

"Oh the sooner the better. Can't wait to live with you again." He pulled you in arms, hugging you tight. "Oh," he pulled away for a second.

"What is it?" You asked confused.

"I didn't have the time to tell you how sexy you look on this tight shirt, did I?" He winked, trying to flirt with you.

"No, you didn't." You laughed at his compliment. "Guess it's your kink?" You asked.

"You are my kink." He winked and kissed you softly. "Now go to my bedroom. Tonight, I want you to wear that dress hanging on my closet." He bit his lip and that feeling again got you again. He always bought you dresses you never asked for. But you gotta admit, this man has taste. In everything.

"You didn't have to, Rog." You said with a soft smile on your lips.

"I chose it for you. I want you to wear it. It's a gift." He said back, trying to not hear any other discourage from you.

"Thank you..." your eyes sparkled and kissed him again before going upstairs to see it. He was spoiling you and he liked that.

Later-----

You dressed in the dress Roger bought you: a blue sapphire satin dress, with a smooth cut on your leg, and your torso. It was flattering your waist, your visible leg and your breasts. It fit you like it was made just for you. Roger knew you really well, he knew your body size and type. He could choose the ideal dress for you without worrying if it's not your colour or the fabric that could flatter you less. You couldn't stop looking yourself at the mirror, it was a dreamy dress, one of the best you've ever worn.

A gentle knock on the door awakened your daydreaming. "May I come in?" It was Roger who obviously wanted to get into his bedroom.

"Sure." You coughed after stepping back from the mirror.

"Holy shit." Roger gasped when he walked in the room. His eyes couldn't be taken away from you. "You are stunning." He came closer to you, checking the dress out. "It looks more beautiful on you than I thought." He smiled at you and twisted you around with his hand.

"You think so?" You asked with a giggle.

"I'm certain." He stared at you for a few seconds before returning back to reality. "So, I dressed Laura for tonight, she's ready. I just have to wear my suit and fix my hair a bit and we're leaving." He walked through his closet to grab one of his thousand ironed tuxedos.

You carefully sat on his desk's chair, crossing your legs and actually noticing you have no shoes to wear. You only had the heels you wear at work. They don't match your dress. "Uh, Roger?" You asked.

"Yes?" He replied while he was taking his clothes off to wear his black tuxedo.

"I, um, only have one pair of shoes here. You know, the heels I wore today." You stood up going closer to him, helping him with buttoning his suit after he wore the pair of trousers. He was carefully watching your movements and then your exposed torso, he was absorbed by your hands and then your pink lips.

"I have a surprise for you Cinderella." He joked around and grabbed his blue tie, ready to wear it around his neck.

"Again?" You looked surprised. "At least let me fix your tie." You tied the tiny fabric carefully as if it was made of porcelain. Moments such as, remind you of some award shows he occasionally took you with. It felt nice fixing each other's clothes and details. It was all so magical, even your thoughts travelled together.

"Y/n?" He asked.

"Mmm?" You absentmindedly returned.

"Remember when we went to the Brits nine years ago? I think it was the first time I asked you to attend an award show with me." He smiled.

"Yes, of course, I do. I was at my first trimester at the time, I was throwing up at the toilet." You laughed.

"You did?" He was shocked at your confession as if he doesn't remember.

"Don't you remember? I was leaving our table all the time." You reminded him.

"I guess I was too focused on winning the best single. I'm sorry in delay." He laughed and his hands found your waist, hugging you warmly.

"Apology accepted. But it didn't matter, I was so happy for you. You were winning the one award after the other, you impregnated me..." you giggled after remembering that night.

"It was planned though." He joked. And now that his tie is fixed, he wore his black suit jacket around and made you sit on the chair you were before. "You think I didn't think of your shoes, Cinderella?" His fingertips teased your leg, after grabbing a box from the drawer.

"Oh don't tell me!" You awed.

He opened the box and inside of it, there was a beautiful pair of black heels, special for a night out. He gently wore the pair on your feet and helped you stand up on your feet. They were really comfortable and easy-to-walk heels. "Thank you!" You kissed him.

"Your welcome." He approached the door and waited for you to go downstairs.

You walked down the stairs and Laura was taken aback by your total figure, she hasn't seen you glowing in happiness. "Wow mum, you're beautiful!" She gasped.

"Thank you! Shall we go?" You asked her and she came closer to you, grabbing your hand.

"Wait for me at my car outside, I'm coming," Roger stated and you did as he said.

-----------------

The car drive was silent, not awkward though. You could feel Roger feeling apprehensive about the diner. He was trying to change all this time. You just didn't let him, until the last two days when you saw him trying to reach you for real and R/N showed red flag signs. Laura knew nothing about him but she'd obviously prefer her father than him.

"Here we are..." Roger broke the long-lasting silence and reduced speed when the fancy restaurant was right opposite you. Flashing lights hurt your eyes when paps noticed Roger's car slowing speed. At least, the windows were non-transparent so Laura couldn't get too distracted.

"Baby, don't look at the flash, it's cameras everywhere." Roger turned to Laura to warn her about the paps. She is aware of having a dad celebrity but thankfully never talks about it to her classmates, let alone brag. "Let me park the car and we're getting out. I'll keep you on my arms until we get at the foyer." He drove a little closer to the parking before you were ready to get out. You haven't felt yourself be taken photos for a long time. It frustrated Roger and you but mostly him because he disliked being papped at his personal moments, let alone when his child is with him. Many were the times when Roger and Laura were papped whenever he was with her on weekends or vacations. "Y/N, cover your eyes as you walk to the entrance door." He advised and then you both opened the car's doors to walk inside. You started walking to get some paps with you so Laura and Roger could walk with ease to the restaurant.

"Y/N, are you getting back with Roger?" Paps started questioning you but you knew you had to stay silent. You never spoke to them. You let Roger do the negotiations. He's the public figure, not you. "What are your statements about today's event at the place you work?" Of course, they'd reported it.

You reached the entrance door and waited for Roger to come to you. He carried Laura on his arms and her face was buried on his neck, trying to not be seen by the cameras. He looked at you with the are you okay look and you nodded until the receptionist opened the glass door for you.

"Have you made a reservation, sir?" The receptionist asked checking the list.

"Yes, it's Taylor." He put Laura down and you all patiently waited.

"Nice, table for three, follow me." He smiled and followed him to the table the reservation was. Next to the window, great. Paps could see you now so you told Laura to sit behind the window so her face couldn't be seen.

"That was crazy out there." He sighed as you all sat down.

"Yes, I internally panicked. Laura are you okay?" You asked your kid when she drank some of the water, the waiter served her.

"Yes, I am." She assured with a smile.

"What will you drink sir?" The waiter turned to Roger.

"A bottle of Chardonnay, we'll need it." He laughed and checked on you.

"Right away, sir." He left and now all three of you started talking.

"So Laura what do you think of tonight's diner?" Roger asked her.

"I didn't expect that. I thought you weren't together anymore..." She declared. "Mum, didn't we expect R/N for diner tonight? What happened," she asked confused.

"Laura um.." You cleared your throat before starting to talk. "I talked with your dad and we thought we should get back together." You started. "How does that sound to you?" You hoped she would be positive about it.

"Really?" She asked and looked both at Roger and you. "Mum, dad, that's wonderful!" She gasped.

"You think so?" Roger asked.

"Yes! I was sad when you were arguing all this time. I just hope it won't be the same anymore. It's lovely when we are under the same roof, I feel we're a family but when you argue, I can't stand it..." She admitted and a wave of guilt took you over. She was witnessing your Homeric arguments all this time, neither said a word, nor burst out crying. She was silent and never complained regardless of how much she missed her dad.

"This time's, going to be alright. We discussed it with your mum and it feels right to be back again. Because hands-off, but we missed each other. That's a fact we can't argue over." Roger laughed at Laura and she was happy to hear it.

"So mum, we're leaving our home?" She asked.

"Yes, we're going to dad's." You smiled at her.

You drank and ate like a proper family. It was a worthy diner and definitely full of surprises. You had no idea. Roger excused himself and stood up from his chair and got down on his knees next to you. Laura lost it at the sight of her dad kneeling to you. Your mouth was wide opened at his body position. People around the restaurant were looking at you now. They probably knew who Roger was and they were all awed at the sight of the hot drummer of Queen getting on knees for you. "Roger, what are you doing?" You gasped with your hands on your mouth.

"Y/N..." He started and took out from his pocket a small red box. You were ready to tear. Laura came closer to you, she had to enjoy the scene. "You're the love of my life." He added and that sent you to heaven and back. "When we were apart, I couldn't find love." His eyes found yours. He was honest and that blue colour of his irises sent you shivers. "That divorce awakened my love for you; I was unfaithful, I know. I was dishonest, I know that too. What I didn't know was that I couldn't live without you. So..." He took a deep breath and revealed a platinum ring with three diamonds on heart shapes. It was beautiful but not as beautiful as Roger's statement. "Y/N, will you marry me again?" His eyes were glowing as his fingers carefully grabbed the ring and wore it around your fourth finger. You stared at him as if he was the most special thing in the world. You then looked at Laura who was crying from happiness.

"Yes, I'll marry you again." You tore as you accepted his proposal and now he let out a relieving smile. Roger stood on his feet again and picked you up, asking for a loving kiss. "I love you." You whispered in his ear, not letting go of his hug.

"I love you too." His hand hugged your entire body, your back was covered by his arms and hands. His eyes caught Laura's who was the happiest kid on earth. She has the chance to see her parents getting married. Again. "I promise I won't be the asshole I was." He confessed to your ear. People at the restaurant couldn't stop applauding and congratulating you two. It was a delirious moment.

3 MONTHS LATER

You and Roger got married two weeks after his proposal at the city's town hall with Freddie and John being witnesses. A little later, The Magic Tour started and your husband had the bright idea to take Laura and you on tour since she was done with school priorities due to summer break. You were hanging out with Queen members and the two other wives. It was a great experience, probably the greatest tour of the band. Laura was the happiest you've ever seen her. You all had some spare time to explore the cities, enjoy each other's company and so on. Needless to say that Roger and you had sex at the early dates of the tour and now you have your period delay for a couple of months. In this time, you vomited a lot and felt dizzy, so a pregnancy test was the answer to all your symptoms. And yes, you were pregnant again on Roger's kid. You felt extremely happy about it and now that you know about your pregnancy, you wanted to share it with him, with your husband.

You were at your hotel room, in Madrid, eating at the balcony some junk food you bought earlier. You heard Roger entering the room, probably alone because Laura was with the other Queen kids.

"Y/N?" He searched for your figure until you answered from out there. "Oh, there you are." He smiled and leaned closer to kiss you. "I thought you were at the pool."

"Well, yeah, I was hungry." You smiled and took another bite.

"Again?" He smirked because he was suspicious about your condition. He has noticed your irregular sleeping and eating schedules and definitely saw you feeling disgusted. "Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked and sat next to you.

"Like what?" You raised your brow, playing around

"Well, I don't know," he moved his shoulders in confusion. "Something personal?" He tried to check you out but you couldn't be seen behind the table you were sitting.

"Come with me." You stood up and caught his hand to follow you inside.

You removed your robe and stayed at your bikini, letting him notice anything different on you. He was way too focused at your belly, trying to notice the tiniest.

"I'm pregnant!" You announced with a huge smile on your face and Roger needed a few seconds to process it.

"P-pregnant?" He asked ready to explode from happiness. "Oh God, I'm gonna be a dad again?" He tore and ran to you hugging you and kissing you.

"Yes! It's been two months, already..." You tore with him and felt happier than ever.

-----1987-----

And somehow, Roger and you stayed together after getting married again. Nine months later, you'd give birth to another blonde baby girl and now that Roger focused on his solo projects, he had more spare time to spend it with his beloved family.