#sorry I have a LOT of feelings about Roland okay?

[kisarastrife]

I read the newest chapter of paper roses and I loved it! Well done! What I adored most was that Isonso/Roland was included in the museum part cause he's Kaiba's confidant so it made perfect sense.

Yasssss!!!!

Thanks soooooo much for this message my dear!

That was what I was aiming for. See, I reckon Roland is Seto's father's figure. He's been the one truly steadfast and immovable person in his life for so long. A moral compass, if you will.

In my own headcanon, I believe that Roland would try to tell Seto when he thinks his employer is being unreasonable or doing something dangerous. Roland cares about this kid he saw Gozaburo abuse for so long. In Paper Roses I've alluded to it numerous times, but I don't know if my own entire backstory will ever be explained plainly in-fic, so here it is for anyone who's interested.

Seto underwent physical abuse from his stepfather and it was an amalgamation of mansion's staff who tried mitigate it. Kiku and Izumi (the one with the green jade dragon hair-slide), the two longest-serving of the maids, would quickly get little-Mokuba away from Gozaburo when he was in a foul mood or when he was taking it out on Mokuba. And they would distract the child and help keep him safe. Kiku would distract little-Mokuba and Izumi would try her best to calm Gozaburo; she had been close friends with his wife before their divorce.

It was Roland who tried to help Seto. He and Rin saw the abuse in plain view. Roland taught Seto how to defend himself and he once intervened between Gozaburo and young-Seto, which resulted in Gozaburo removing him from the mansion and posting him permanently to the KaibaCorp building. During one fit of rage, Gozaburo struck Seto, which resulted in him falling down the stairs and broke his collarbone. This is the scare that Kisara asks him about. Rin wants to call an ambulance, but Gozaburo refuses, which results in a stand-off of sorts. The fiery woman threatens to call the police if the child isn't brought for medical attention. Gozaburo gives in all of it quietened of course, but Rin is fired. Seto uses the skills Roland taught him to gain the upper hand in an altercation and sends Gozaburo sprawling on the ground; Roland is the one who ignited a love of Judo in Seto. (In the Kaiba Grand Prix arc, the screen of Zigfried's laptop shows that Seto was trialed by soccer scouts and was a world Judo champion).

When Gozaburo decides to jump out the window (the option I choose to believe for Paper Roses), Roland is the first to get to Seto and protects the teenager. He's with him throughout Death-T and never once holds a grudge against him. If you look at the ages of his children in Paper Roses, he and his wife have children only when Gozaburo has died. He could only devote himself to his own family when he knew Seto was safe.

Roland was there throughout all of the arcs, never balking even once. Fuguta too, but just not as visible as Roland.

So it made sense for Roland to be there for this oh so important moment for Seto. It's a huge moment for Kisara too, but it's more important that she's there on her own two feet and deciding to venture into the truth. Whereas Seto is the opposite; he's learning how to not be there alone, to allow someone else into the truth he's known and hidden for too long.

This moment is equally important for Roland who has stood by Seto for so long; the chance for him to realise his charge/employer has learned to allow people beside Mokuba in, but to also understand the happening beyond his control and understanding in terms of Egypt. That Kisara and Seto were always supposed to find each other. That this small kernel of a family need him to protect them as best he can.

Anyways ... /end rant lecture.

[vettelsvee]

THIS IS ALL MY FAULT | Sebastian Vettel

f1 masterlist | wattpad | ao3 | requests or let's talk!

sebastian vettel x platonic!photographer!reader

based on this request: Okay! So after watching the run Sebastian organized at Imola, I has the idea of reader being someone that works for him (not sure what for though) maybe getting really sick for running in the rain that day, which ends up with Sebastian feeling guilty over it. It’s a silly idea, really, but I think it has a lot of potential to vibes similar to what Sebastian seems to have with the drivers, kind of playing dad to the grid 🥺.

summary: you work as a photographer during the forever senna tribute seb prepared, but you end up being sick

word count: 1618

warnings: none of them really! seb feeling guilty because he thinks reader got sick because of him.

a/n: I'm finally back! sorry for not posting at all during all this past month, university has had me really stressed but I'm finally free from it until september! idk if this is actually something well written because i haven't written anything for a month! also, hope you anon like this even it's definitely crap 😭

© VETTELSVEE (2024). please, do not steal, copy or translate my works. thanks for reading!

The rain kept falling on the circuit, but that wasn't such an excuse for Sebastian and his team to cancel what they had been working on for months.

The run that the retired driver had decided to organize on Thursday not only with Formula 1 drivers, but also with those from Formula 2 and 3, and even other members of the sport, in honor of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, was more than perfect. It was an absolute success. And Sunday, when Vettel would drive the car that once belonged to the Brazilian pilot who died 30 years ago on that same circuit, hadn't even arrived yet.

You had been busy taking photos of everything, as you were Sebastian's official photographer. Now, you were gathering all the equipment you had used because the cold you were enduring was barely bearable. You had been out in the rain all day, following Seb wherever he went, which had made you feel increasingly worse. Now, your hands couldn't stop shaking, and you felt like you were about to faint at any moment.

"Y/N, are you okay?" one of the team members asked.

"Yes, of course," you replied with a weak smile. "I'm just a bit cold. I'll be back to be the same me as soon as we get back to the hotel."

The man nodded, not wanting to press you further despite not being very convinced by your words after seeing your completely pale face.

You decided to continue with your work, ignoring anyone who approached you to exchange even the slightest word. You tried to ignore the growing headache, the fatigue, and the tightness in your chest, which seemed to be worsening. Although the rain had stopped and you were in one of the garages, the sky remained dark.

You were surprised to see Sebastian, still wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, just a few meters away from you. You shook your head, trying not to pay attention, and certainly not to worry. He was just your "boss," so to speak, and he was old enough to know what he needed to do to avoid getting sick. Well, he also had Britta, who was like a second mother to him.

A sharp pain pierced your temples. You staggered slightly, and if it hadn't been for your momentum making you lean your back against the wall behind you, you would have fallen to the ground.

"For God's sake, Y/N, you look terrible," he said as calmly as he could, though you could sense his nerves in his tone of voice. "You should go and have a rest. Like… now."

"Seb, we still have a lot to do. It's not just packing up the equipment, but also transferring the photos to the computer, editing them, then preparing the posts for you Instagram account..."

"Y/N, I love your work, but you've done more than enough for today," he interrupted, putting a hand on your shoulder, running his fingers carefully over it. "Now, I'll talk to Britta and we'll assign it to someone who knows what they're doing, okay?"

For a moment, you considered protesting, reproaching him that this was your job, and that's why he wanted you on his team since shortly before leaving Aston Martin, but the way he looked at you made you stop. He seemed worried, very worried. That's why you ended up not only reluctantly accepting but also letting him guide you to a nearby chair.

"Stay here. I'll bring you something warm."

As you watched Seb walk away, you sighed, managing to relax somehow. You saw him enter the Red Bull hospitality, and you assumed it was where he felt most comfortable. A few minutes later, you saw the blonde with two small steaming cardboard cups. As he reached your height, he offered you one of them.

"Thank you," you murmured, wrapping your hands around the cup and taking a sip. Chocolate, something you loved, and Seb knew it perfectly.

"Do you promise you'll go back to the hotel as soon as you finish your hot chocolate?"

"I promise," you assured him. "But I can't promise that..."

"Y/N, just no work for today," he cut in, seeing that you weren't going to fulfill what you had promised. "I want you to spend today and tomorrow resting. Sunday will be a tough day for us. You can do it, at least for me, or am I wrong?"

You nodded your head as if you were seven years old again. You knew you were going to rest as much as you could in your hotel room, but that didn't mean you weren't going to do anything. As you had already planned, you were obviously going to continue with your work. You couldn't disappoint Sebastian, not on such an important weekend like this.

[...]

Sebastian accompanied you to the door of your room, and despite having exchanged a couple of messages with you on Friday, having let you rest all afternoon and part of Saturday morning, and having agreed that you would come to a meeting room in the hotel at 12pm on Saturday to finalize the details of tomorrow's tribute, he didn't see you there.

"Have you seen Y/N?" he asked Britta directly, a little distressed. "She told me she would come with no doubt."

"And she did come," the ex-pilot's PR commented, "but I sent her back to her room as soon as I saw her shivering. Her forehead was burning, and she said she had a slight fever. It wasn’t just a slight fever, Seb," Britta assured him.

The man nodded but became even more worried. Quickly bidding farewell to Roeske, he headed towards your room. He saw the door slightly ajar, possibly your mistake. He knocked softly before entering, and the sight that greeted his eyes made him feel bad instantly.

You were curled up in bed, trembling uncontrollably. You had a small towel on your forehead with cold water to see if you could control your body temperature since you couldn't take your medicine again until the corresponding hours had passed, which was already the next day.

Your face was completely flushed, and your breathing was labored.

As soon as you realized Seb's presence, your eyes welled up with tears. You tried to force a smile, but all that came out were tears from how bad you felt not only for Seb to see you like this but also for ruining something so important.

"Seb... You didn't have to come," you stammered, your voice barely audible.

"Of course, I did! Don't be ridiculous!" he responded quickly, sitting beside you. He placed a hand on your forehead and realized Britta was right. "My God, Y/N, you're burning up. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling so bad?"

"I... didn't want to worry you," you admitted between tears of frustration and exhaustion. "Tomorrow is an important day. You need to be resting to give your best tomorrow. There are people who have come just for you, Seb, you can't let them down."

You noticed him tense a bit at the mention. His lips curved, and his jaw tightened. He took a deep breath and took your hand almost without thinking.

"This is my fault..." he whispered softly. He seemed overwhelmed with guilt, and much of it. You cursed yourself for making him think that when it was all really your fault. "Nothing is more important than your health, Y/N. I'm so sorry, really..."

"Seb, it's okay, really. These things happen; it's completely normal. There's probably someone else like me..."

His silence was the response you partly expected, but it didn't hurt until you saw him shake his head.

"I just wanted to give my best so that the photos would turn out perfect and you would have content worthy of all the work you've put into this..." was all you could say.

"You're already the best, Y/N," he said softly, tucking a strand of hair away from your face. "In fact, you're so perfect that you should stop being so perfect to start worrying more about yourself. And since you don't worry about yourself... let me do it for you, okay?"

Although you didn't agree with him and didn't believe you deserved his praise, you were too weak to argue.

Sebastian stayed with you all day, including the night. He made sure you were as comfortable as possible, brought you water, and soaked the cold cloth in water to lower your fever as soon as possible, miraculously something that worked. He didn't leave your side, not even when you had a coughing fit or sneezed without covering your mouth.

Your fever began to lower in the late hours of that day. Your breath calmed down, and the color seemed to return to your cheeks. Seb sighed with relief, quickly hugging you while continuously placing small kisses on your face and playing with your hair, making you laugh incessantly.

After ordering room service for dinner, since your appetite seemed to have returned, you fell asleep, at least apparently. To avoid disturbing you, Seb went from lying down next to you to reclining on a sofa next to the bed. His eyes were heavy with tiredness, but that didn't stop him from staying alert in case you needed his help.

"Rest, Y/N," he whispered, leaving a soft kiss on your forehead before caressing it. "I guess I'll have to take you out to dinner for the damages I caused."

You smiled at the last thing Seb had said, grateful that every time you got sick, you didn't fall into a deep sleep, and wishing that what Seb had said was true.

[suzie-shooter]

Screaming Meals - Le Mans commentary highlights 10.06.23

 J: It's quarter to three, race is due to start at three o'clock. Obviously, you know, told Marcus to get here at two. C: Still not here.

J: I think the Cadillacs should have a good race. I mean it broke down in qualifying yesterday, it couldn't manage to do 45 minutes and now it's got to do 24 hours.

C: Roland Garros, women's finals, at the moment. J: Who's in that? C: Swiatek and [...] I don't know the other person. J: I went to school with someone called Swiatek. [...] But he was called Matthew so it's probably not him.

C: Why am I eating? Bit of a rough morning really. J: To say the least. Clem's parked up on struggle street.

C: Hoping for a moist affair.

C: Damn, my ramen's going to go everywhere. J: Ramen's going to be great ASMR as well, slopping and slurping everywhere like some kind of deranged ignoramus.

J: "What were Marcus' thoughts on James' last stream?" I think he quite liked it - I don't think he watched it 'cause he was racing so I don't know if he has too many thoughts on that stream. Nothing really happened, and yeah from his point of view he was a bit busy, so...

C: "Did Marcus like the Detroit track?" J: He loved it actually. C: D'you know what, you can ask him when he arrives, but, fucking, probably won't arrive. J: He's not officially late for another seven minutes.

C: So James is doing a 24 hour stream. J: I'm not.

C: Great mouthfeel. If I could paint a picture with words for ya,  it's ah, it's really good. J: I've said it before and I'll say it again, you have a real career waiting for you in food blogs.

C: I'm gonna take a couple of the old chillies out there. J: What an absolute - front cartilage. C: No, listen, I'm a backbone. Oh! Front cartilage, that's the opposite of a backbone. J: There you go, well done.

C: Loving the shorts too. J: Thank you. They were on sale. In 2014. C: Where'd you get those? J: I believe these are Billabong actually? C: Billabong? I didnt take you for a surfer. J: Yeah, I actually, I thought about learning surfing in September of 2017 and then quite quickly had the realisation that I was due to move to London in 2 months and it would be absolutely pointless.

J: [Marcus has] let us down, he's let himself down,  but more importantly - C: He's shaving his legs. J: He's let you guys down.

J: Let's see if Bourdais fucks it. C: That's not very nice James.

J: I'd love to see a replay of it, 'cause it was actually quite funny [...] oh it'd really tear your undies, on lap one of Le Mans, to put it in the wall like that.

C: Yeah, no, Dyson Airwrap, allows me to really straighten my hair in the mornings there and, er, allow me to have a bit more of a - bit more control.   J: Control's important. Just tell that to Jack Aitken.  

C: We've just got a slight issue really, getting new guests on. J: Yeah, no one seems to be keen. C: No one seems to be keen  these days. J: I'm not sure what's happened...

J: I left for Monaco, and I packed two hats and I returned with four. And I didn't even buy one.

C: Not only is it absolutely massive but it's also bent. (Alain Prost's nose)

C: Shall we give Marcus a call, see what he's up to? [...] Yes mate, you've got 750 people waiting for you to arrive, but you seem to be 40 minutes late [...] ah, fuck him. *hangs up*

C: Thing is, we promised Marcus and he's just not quite delivered. J: Yeah...I feel sorry for the woman who ends up with him.

C: A lot of people asking whether I should be sitting their Business A Levels - I actually participated - partake - ah - partook in the business exam a couple of years ago. J: Must have done well in your English one as well.

J: As an organisation, two thirds of us - well, three quarters with Rory - do care about you, the fans. Marcus is a scoundrel and a traitor. C: He's a sort of a Han Solo character. J: What, he gets it on with his sister? C: Yes James. J: I'm not accusing anyone of anything there. I regret I said that actually, but I've said it now.  Okay, so they're saying I was wrong there. C: You've fucked it up again.

J: I'm thinking that we're gonna need to reach out to the Serbian star and maybe start some kind of merch line: Novalak Djokovic.

J: So hot as well. Turned himself into a real DILF actually, Dan Carter. C: Absolute DILF. Dan Carter. Who's the biggest DILF for you? J: Ah what, just full stop, or in a certain area, or field? C: Full stop. J: It's probably got to be, um, Ryan Reynolds. C: Yeah, I was going to go with Ryan Reynolds. J: Yeah, he's a total DILF. C: Toto Wolff, in the comments. J: I feel like he'd be pretty boring in the sack. Patrick Dempsey, I mean you want to talk about hot old dudes and Le Mans, he's obviously got this team racing here.

J: Kimi Raikkonen there getting an honourable mention for, I'm assuming the DILF chat. C: Ah Kimi - pretty -  I mean -  probably not a - I wouldn't say he's a very vocal lover. J: Nah , he'd be a very silent lover. He'd be - I mean similar to Formula 1 media he'd communicate only in grunts and groans I believe. Very monotonous in his delivery of his love.

C: "Josef Newgarden qualifies as a DILF now." J: He does technically qualify as a DILF if - if he floats your boat, and you know, just speaking for myself there he's certainly floating mine.

J: I'm sure somebody knows what's going on here but it's not us. C: I've got no fucking idea.

(Screaming Meals technical gremlins make an appearance, giving us a brief glimpse of their kitchen)

J: Fixed! Fixed! How good! Just like the Formula 2 championship. C: I'm distancing myself so far away from that comment.

J: Where were we? I think we were talking about DILFs? C: Tom Hardy. DILF? J: Yeah, he's actually not my flavour of crisps to be honest, actually, Tom Hardy. He's quite short. I mean, you know, I'm not on the market, I'm just saying. C: You never cease to amaze me.

C: "Marcus being a male bimbo again." J: That would imply that at some stage he's actually stoppped being - 'cause you've said again - that implies that he's stopped being a male bimbo, whereas he's not.

J: "Marcus is Ken coded" - do you know what that means? C: Nope.

J: Clem's shades not quite dark enough to hide the fact that his eyes are now closed.

*Clem keels over sideways* J: Seem to have momentarily lost Clement Novalak, but I'm sure he will return.

J: 4.09 arrival predicted from Marcus Armstrong. C: Which is currently another 15 minutes. J: That's actually bang on 69 minutes late from Marcus Armstrong, you'd expect nothing less to be perfectly frank.

C: "Take a shot each time Clem yawns" - you're gonna be dead.

C: You're looking pretty moist.

C: Max Fewtrell. Doing the cooking. Probably doing a stream on cooking. J: Caged in his gimp suit on a leash.

J: I've been getting vastly mixed reviews on my long locks. C: It sort of looks a bit pubey at the back. J: Ally hates it. Ally fucking hates it. Which is why I'm keeping it.

C: First time he's actually text me since - hold on hold on - 17th May. J: There's a text string of Clem - I hope you don't mind me exposing this - there's three texts in a row from Clem to Fewtrell going - "Brother, I have an idea, a good one too" and he's just blanked him, he's not replied. Wise man. When Clement Novalak texts you to say he's got a good idea, don't fuckin' respond.

J: It really gets deep inside my goat. C: You do have a nice goat.

J [talking about buzzcuts]: Do you think it has like the same effect as like your downstairs, where it makes it look much bigger? C: I wouldn't want to have a massive head. J: Yeah exactly, that's what I'm thinking. C: 'Cause then it would make my massive honker look even larger. J: Yeah, no you don't want that. I can't afford my honker to look much bigger. I'm talking about my nose.

J: You do a good impression of a whipcrack actually. C: I just spat all over myself. J: Tune into Screaming Meals and watch two guys spit all over each other.

C: If I get a Pret [coffee] I'm gonna throw my phone out the window. J: Actually no you shouldn't do that it might kill someone. We're 28 floors up.

J: Actually I'm going to put the shot glasses in the freezer. Do you think I should put one in for his - his friend as well - do you think she's with him?

J: Yes it is a massive bottle of Corona, your eyes aren't deceiving you, Clem's not actually that small.

J: Is that our doorbell? I've never heard that before.

J: I had dinner with Marcus and a friend of his yesterday - can't remember her name - and he was still trying to insist that he's 6 ft tall.

J: "James show us the snazzy shorts you're wearing"

M: How are ya? C: You're three minutes late so that's  three shots. J: No, no, no you're an hour and thirteen minutes late.

M: How are you feeling? C: Pretty rooted. Where are we going tonight?

M: I'm not having any shots. I'm not drinking today. I've got to do some stuff later.

C: You disappoint me. M: I know. C: Every day. M: Yeah, I know.

J: My back is absolutely destroyed from carrying this shit. C: Yeah James, you do carry.

C: Marcus? M: Yo. J: Where do you stand on DILFs?

J: Up in the hypercar field it's been real bumper to bumper. C: C&B, bumper to bumper. J: Is C&B meaning what I think it means?

J: I hate to be fussy but could you two bastards move over a bit? C: I need to lie back and have a wee sleep.

M: Did you tell them we did a pod yesterday? J: No. M: Were we keeping that a secret? J: Yeah, we were.

M: Is this slaving away? I can't think of anything better than sitting back, watching the race, feet up on the table. C: No, get your grippers out! M: Oh the grippers are out by the way everyone. C: Disgusting, piece of filth. J: [...] five minutes, and it's underwear off, shoes off, grease in the hair.

J: "Marcus is raw-dogging his shoes" - yes!

M: By the way I have actually - I've started washing my hair everyone. You'll find out in the pod. C: And wearing deoderant. M: And wearing deoderant as well. C: And do you know what, you look better and I'm starting to think that - M: I am better. J: You might even just taste better. C: Pfffff what the fuck?? J: I was just going with the senses there. You said look, the obvious next choice was taste.

M: When we went to Long Beach weren't we meant to do an intro video? J: We wanted to do something like that, but we did run out of time because we were being cancelled and you had an indycar race to do.

M: Do you still have this as your background? J: HoyteyJ and Minougey? Hoytey. C: You've taken Hoytey off yours M: I've had to change mine. C: Yeah, I know why. J: What is it now? M: It's a dog. J: Well that's a bit rude. C: That's a bit rude. *James screams* M: It's literally like - no - it's a labrador, it's literally a little baby labrador, no! C: Oh shit yeah [chat's] just gone off. M: Come on!

C: I don't have a CV. I arrive, I say - Clement Novalak, enchante.

J: What? M: Heart rate J: Is 34? M: Yes. J: Are you alive? M: When I'm sleeping it dips down. J: When you're asleep your heart rate is 34? M: Yes. My Oura ring stops counting when it goes under 33. J: Does it assume you're dead?

C: It was the first night I had redbull vodka in about six months [...] I was doing a long distance run mate, in my bed. J: Don't need to know any more details than that.

C: Can you fucking - leave your grippers away from my grippers? J: Yeah, that's quite aggressive. C: With that fucking massive toenail. M: I just wanna play footsie [...] yeah, we're playing footsies everybody.

J: Imagine having the audacity to leave people waiting an hour and a quarter, and then just being on your phone.

M: Clem are you okay mate? Good.

J: Fuckin' hell, you selling tickets there mate? M: Gun show there. J: Watch Marcus now get competitive and not be able to resist getting his guns out.

J: What's going to run out first, our countdown to 22 hours, or the iPad battery? That might be the most interesting battle we've got going on here.

J: Thanks so much for sticking with us for the last couple of hours [...] we don't know anything that's going on in the race and we've made almost no effort to find out.

[angelst4re]

the idea for this fic came from the lovely @mikqls0n!! i'm sorry it took so long to write but i hope you like it <33

Happy Birthday- Jamie Campbell Bower x Reader

summary: basically just birthday sex with some plot :) (and the best friend's brother trope...) (and i unintentionally wrote for counterfeit!jamie!)

warnings: NSFW!! contains smut!! don't read if this makes you uncomfortable my loves <3

notes: look who's back... again!! i really need to make a posting schedule or something... but that's not the point because the other day i hit 800 followers?!?!?!?!!! that's crazy i can't believe it!! i love you all so much!!! <33

You had been spending the week with some of your friends for Jamie’s birthday. Sam had decided to surprise him with a trip to one of his favourite places for his birthday, and as you and Sam had been best friends for years, he let you get involved with the planning too. Tristan, Jimmy and Roland were coming along too, two of them bringing their girlfriends as well. You were very happy about the whole situation, especially as you were in control of booking hotel rooms. 

“So there’s going to be 8 of us and I can only get five rooms?” You frown, spinning your laptop so that Sam could see. “Should I look for another place, or-”

“No, the five rooms should be okay!” Sam explained, “Jamie, you and I can have our own rooms, then Tristan and Jimmy can share with their girlfriends- fuck then what about Roland?”

“It’s okay, I’ll look for another hotel. I’m sure they’ll be one.” You chuckle, searching on google for more hotels in that area. 

“But this is the one we’ve always stayed at, I’m sure we’ll work something out. What are the beds like?”

“They’re all double beds. And I can’t imagine you and Roland sharing a bed!” You laugh, leaving Sam shaking his head beside you. 

“You’d be surprised, y’know. What happens on tour stays on tour.” 

“So should I book the five rooms?” You ask, desperately trying to get the image of whatever Sam was referring to out of your head. 

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll give you my card to pay-”

“No, it’s okay, I’ve got it. I haven’t managed to get Jamie a birthday present yet so he can think of this as my gift.” You smirk, thinking about what you’re actually giving him for his birthday. 

You have known Sam and Jamie for around 6 years now, and in that time you had witnessed Jamie go in and out of different relationships, he barely ever stayed single for long (but no man who looks that good would, right?). You’ve tried and tried to repress your feelings for him over the years, but what was once a small crush on your best friend’s brother had led to a 6 year long friendzone. 

However, in the last few months you have realised Jamie had been acting a little different around you. He had broken up with his ex last year, and has remained single ever since. Yet he would give you mixed signals, or so you thought. He had begun teasing you a lot more, you would catch him looking at you from across the room, and you were pretty certain he had flirted with you a few times this week. 

Naturally, you decided to go with what your heart was telling you, that he liked you too. Even just a little, and so you had planned out his birthday present weeks ahead of the 22nd of November. You visited various lingerie stores, both online and in store, you had also picked up various supplies from a few sex toy stores, wanting to give this man the best birthday present he could ever think of. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

It was the final night of the trip, which also happened to be Jamie’s birthday, and you were out at a restaurant for dinner. Everyone was finishing their drinks, and the bill had just been handed to Jimmy who had offered to pay for the night’s meal. You were glad to have sat next to Sam at the table, opposite Jamie, as you moved your foot slightly, meeting Jamie’s as the others were having a conversation about something that wasn’t of interest to the two of you. 

“I haven’t forgotten about your birthday gift, just so you.” You say, quietly enough so the others wouldn’t divert their attention to you. 

“I didn’t think you would.” Jamie smiled, a smug look on his face as his eyes met yours. 

Before you could say anymore, Tristan yawned, announcing that he would be heading back to the hotel soon as it was already quite late, and everyone else agreed. 

You all went back to your rooms, Jimmy and his girlfriend, Tristan and his girlfriend, Sam and Roland all shared rooms with each other, leaving you and Jamie to have your own rooms, which you were so grateful for, otherwise tonight's plans would’ve been almost impossible. 

As soon as you got back to your room, you had a shower, changed into the lingerie set you had chosen specifically for tonight (mostly consisting of black lace), and covered it up with the matching black silk robe, topping it all off with your favourite perfume. 

When you were ready, you picked up your phone, feeling your heart pounding in your chest as you were filled with a sudden anxiety. What if he doesn't like you the way you like him? What if he’s already met someone else? What if-

All your doubts washed away as your phone lit up with a notification from him. 

Still waiting on that birthday gift, sweetheart x

Suddenly, instead of fear, you felt excitement flowing through your veins. You were truly going to find out the truth tonight, about the way he felt and how he thought of you. 

You quickly typed out your reply, which read:

I’ll be there in a minute x

And with that, you left your room, and made your way to his. 

*knock, knock, knock*

You patiently waited for Jamie to open the door, and when he did you were overcome with a sudden confidence. 

“Happy birthday, love.” You smiled, looking up at him through your lashes, “can I come in?”

Jamie stepped to the side to let you in. He was wearing nothing but a pair of black joggers, revealing his bare chest, decorated with various tattoos, which made your tummy flood with butterflies. God, you had never felt so turned on. 

“Do I get to open my gift?” He asked, sitting on the edge of his bed, his arms placed behind him for support, which only made his muscles more prominent. 

“If you would like to…” You teased, stepping closer to him. 

He leaned forwards, pulling at the tie of your robe before you shrugged it off your body. 

You wasted no time, straddling him so your knees were either side of his hips. You leaned down and he caught your lips with his, in a gentle yet needy kiss. You adjusted yourself on his lap, grinding your core down against his growing bulge, you could immediately tell he wasn’t wearing any boxers beneath his joggers. 

“You filthy little thing,” he whispered against your lips as you pulled back for air, his hand on your waist moved closer and closer to your clothed cunt, “all I’ve done is kiss you and you’re already so wet.” 

“Jamie…” 

“Shh, I know.” His hands were placed back on your hips as he helped you up, “show me, sweetheart. Show me what that pretty mouth can do.” 

You pretty much fell to your knees as he stood up, allowing you to slide what was left of his clothes down his body, revealing the v-line you had drooled over for years. Finally, you were doing what you should have done years ago. 

His cock was much bigger than anything you had taken before, your mouth was almost watering at the size as you wrapped your hand around him, smearing the bead of precum across his tip before you began pumping the length of his cock. 

“Mmm, that’s it, good girl.” His voice dropped several octaves due to the lust that had taken over his body. His hand stroked through your hair, praising you as you placed gentle kisses on the tip of his dick, causing him to let out a groan and throw his head back. 

Happy with his reaction, you wanted to give him more, you wanted him to feel better than ever before. You began with just taking the tip into your mouth, swirling your tongue around it as you made eye contact with him. You then tried taking more of him, however you found this quite difficult and your jaw began to ache. But he stroked your cheek, telling you how well you were doing, how pretty you look with his cock in his mouth, and you decided to try again. You managed to take more and more of him down your throat with each attempt, and his hand, now tangled in your hair, held your face in place as he gently moved his hips in time with the bobbing of your head. 

“Darling,” Jamie gasped, breathless as his mind was clouded by the pleasure, “touch yourself… between your thighs, I want you to feel good too.” He ordered, and you obeyed, one hand coming down to give your aching cunt the attention it was begging for, whilst the other remained on Jamie’s thigh. 

You traced your fingers over your clit as your mouth continued to take Jamie’s cock. Your eyes flickered up to look at him and the sight alone could’ve made you cum. His eyes were shut, his head thrown back, his hand running through his hair. 

“Sweetheart, I don’t want to… finish too quickly…” He said, “get on the bed.” 

You push yourself away, his cock slipping from your mouth with a ‘pop’, the corners of your mouth covered in your own drool. You quickly wiped your mouth as you stood up, and he took you by the waist, his lips crashing into yours as he spun you around, pushing you down onto the bed. 

‘Shit’, you thought, you’d forgotten to bring the bag of toys you had bought for this moment.

However, as Jamie takes your wrists and pins them above your head, you realise there was really no need for the handcuffs you bought. 

“Keep them there for me, sweetheart. Can you do that?” He asks as he removes his hand, and they begin to roam your body. “I asked you a question, love.” 

“Yes…” You gasped, his fingers teasing your nipples through the lace bra you wore. 

Jamie smiled, his lips coming back to yours, wanting to feel as close to you as possible and his hands moved once more, this time they had gone lower… and lower… until he had taken off your panties, throwing them to the side before his fingers grazed your clit. 

“You’ve always been so needy for me, haven’t you, love?” He broke the kiss to whisper as his finger pressed into you, and your breathing became a lot heavier, “I’ve watched you try to hide it over the years, it was quite cute that you thought I wouldn’t have noticed.” 

You tried to focus on his words, but they were only adding to the pleasure he gave you from his fingers as a second joined the first. You quickly moved your left arm, your hand grasping on to his shoulder, needing to ground yourself. 

“Didn’t I tell you to keep your arms there, darling?” He questioned, stopping his movements, his fingers drilled inside you. “I would punish you for that, but we don’t have all night, sweetheart.” 

He moved, readjusting his position above you so he was kneeling between your thighs. He took you by your hips, lifting your lower body up so your cunt was at the same level as his cock. 

You couldn’t help but let out a moan as you felt his cock rub against your folds, you tried to move your hips in hopes that he’d slip inside, but he held you in place once more. 

“Oh, sweetheart…” he cooed, “be patient, I know your needy cunt is aching for me, but you’ll have to wait, darling.” 

Your eyes fell shut as you nodded your head, your hands still above your head as his hands had a hold of your hips. 

When his cock finally split you apart, burying deep inside of you, a loud, pornographic moan slipped from your lips, as your walls tightened around him. 

As he began to fuck you, his hips moving at a pace that made your head begin to spin, your mind clouded with pleasure as his fingers found your clit, playing lazily with the sensitive nub, there was a knock at his door. 

You panicked, your eyes shooting open and looking at Jamie with an expression that read ‘what do we do?!’ However, Jamie seemed to have an idea. He gave you a teasing look before placing a finger over his lips, motioning for you to be quiet, all whilst he kept the same pace of his thrusts. 

“Jamie? Are you still awake?” It was Roland? 

“Yeah,” Jamie answered, continuing to pound into you, his fingers still on your clit, “what’s up?” 

You screwed your eyes shut once again, you felt the pleasure begin to build up as a knot formed in your belly. You were getting close, so so close. Jamie seemed to notice this as he pressed his big hand over your mouth, he looked down at you and whispered ‘don’t. make. a. sound.’ 

You nodded your head, tears beginning to form in your eyes from all the pleasure. It was almost too much. 

“My chargers broke, I went to ask y/n if I could borrow one but I didn't get an answer. And I think everyone else is asleep.”

“Ah, sorry mate, I'm using mine at the moment.” He said, as if this situation was the most normal thing in the world.

Your cunt began to pulse as you were getting closer to edge, ready to let go at any moment, but Jamie whispered once more, ‘hold it.’

“Shit, okay.” Roland replied, “I guess I’ll have to go out and buy a new one… do you need anything from the shop?” 

“Maybe some cigarettes, if they have them…” Jamie's pace began to slow down, he was clearly getting close too. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

The next morning…

Everyone was already having breakfast when you and Jamie finally woke up. You had fallen asleep in his room after another two rounds, the second was interrupted by Roland again, bringing Jamie the cigarettes he had requested. 

You left the room first, not wanting it to seem like you had both spent the night together, but it was obvious enough, as Jimmy’s girlfriend giggled, asking you why you were wearing Jamie’s t-shirt. 

“There he is!” Sam exclaimed when Jamie finally arrived, “how does it feel to be another year older?”

“Feels great,” Jamie smiled, sitting down opposite you again, “definitely a birthday to remember.”

“Oh it sounded like it,” Jimmy chuckled, “we all heard you, mate… who was the lucky girl?”

You suddenly froze, feeling your heart almost stop as your cheeks reddened. 

“What?” Jamie scoffed, trying to play it off. 

“Come on, man, we all heard it. ‘Oh, Jamie! Don’t stop! I love your cock!’” 

Jamie didn’t know what to say, he just laughed it off, telling them how he had met someone when he went out for a smoke, but his friends all knew that was a lie. They knew exactly who was in his room last night.

[boiwcndr]

grayson vs taylor (blockbuster's final confrontation.)

grayson (2004)

blockbuster: nightwing. i'm so glad you're here. nightwing: what did you do? blockbuster: i'm just tidying up loose ends, but this gives me a perfect opportunity to talk to you about your future... which, as it happens, is going to look a lot like this. nightwing: she's dead. give me one good reason why i shouldn't kill you. blockbuster: there isn't one, nightwing. not one. that's the best part. nor is there a single good reason for me to harm a hair on your head. so you're dick grayson by day, who cares? it's a useful piece of information, but it's not the real secret. nightwing: if you go near any of them, i swear to god, i'll -- blockbuster: oh, yes, i know, i know. that's the secret, the essential truth of your nature. you could take every beating i could dish out. you might even enjoy them. you have absolutely no regard for your personal safety. but the people around you--well! that's a different matter. isn't it? i'll take out the people you care about--hell, even strangers you stand next to on the street--you won't be able to shake someone's hand without marking them for death! do you like being alone, dick? nightwing: shut up, rolly, just shut up! blockbuster: i'll make sure you can't save any of them. i'll make sure you relive, over and over, your failure to save my mother! which has now become your failure to save your relationship--your circus--the residents of your building--ms. michaels-- tarantula: get out of the way, nightwing. all you have to do is get out of my way. blockbuster: but he won't. don't you see, you stupid girl? this very moment, he's thinking of how to save me from you! even my life is more important to him than his own! and that's how i'll take him apart. loved one by loved one, innocent by innocent. it will never stop. nightwing: [internal: he's right.] blockbuster: it's never going to stop. nightwing: [internal: it's never gonna stop.] blockbuster: i can keep this up forever. [nightwing, internal: it's never gonna stop.] every loved one, every stranger... [nightwing, internal: every mistake i make, every life i risk... it's never gonna stop... ...never gonna stop. never... stop it... STOP.] tarantula: [shoots blockbuster dead.]

vs

taylor #96 (2022)

blockbuster: nightwing is dick grayson. all this time fighting the city's most frustrating rat, and there was another pest behind the mask. like a russian nesting doll on vermin. still, at least i only have to kill one man to be rid of two problems. nightwing: you think i'll go down easy? blockbuster: perhaps not. electrocutioner. brutale. merge on my location. bring more soldiers. nightwing: [internal: that sounds like it will take a few minutes...and that's all i need] batgirl: can you hear me, nightwing? what's happening? your heart rate is elevated and i've lost visuals. nightwing: yeah. sorry. my mask took a hit. batigirl: what? nightwing: it's blockbuster. batgirl: he's there? i'll divert some of the people in the field to-- nightwing: no. haven needs to be evacuated and we're running four separated anti-crime operations. everyone is needed elsewhere. and, honestly, i'm okay with taking him down alone. i feel like i've put this off long enough. i am so sick of men like you. men who could do anything and choose to hurt people. men who have everything and still want to take more. this city deserves so much better-- blockbuster: i am this city. nightwing: ugh. i bet you practise that little catchphrase at home. it probably sounds convincing when you get out of the shower and say it to the mirror, roland, but it doesn't make it true. the truth is, this city is done with you. [...] nightwing: sounds like bludhaven is putting out your fires, blockbuster. the city is fighting you. and we know everything. your arms deal on the docks is done. your people there are in custody. whatever poison you were bringing in on that truck won't ever see the streets. the flash has seen to that. the people being trafficked by cargo plane will be safely on the ground now, thanks to the titans. even boss maroni walked straight into a trap. and weren't you waiting on backup? [...] blockbuster: you're not the first in this city to try to stand against me. those who've crossed me are still out there. they're ringing the city. weighted down in the harbour. but your punishment won't end when your lungs fill with the sea because i know who you are now. and after you're gone, i will break everyone who's ever helped you, dick. the mayor. bruce wayne. your precious titans. everyone you've ever known. everyone you've ever loved. i will find them. all of them. and they will hurt before they die. nightwing: you think you... you think you know who i am? you don't know nightwing, you don't know dick grayson. or you'd know that there's no way in hell either one of us... would let you hurt our friends!

[serve-cunt]

HELLO HOW DO I GET INTO TENNIS HOW DOES IT WORK

context: i read your landoscar tennis fic and thought “oh. OH. This is GREAT. now i wanna get into tennis but oh fuck, new interest scary.” and now im conflicted because i have been scrolling through your blog and this seems like a very fun and sexy sport to be a fan of but also How the Fuck does it work? like what’s the main objective, what’s everyone trying to do? im already a huge f1 fan, and i know the point there is to win grand prix’s and eventually a world championship, but is there a tennis equivalent to that? is it to win Wimbledon? or the Australian Open? Or the US open? WHAT EVEN IS A OPEN. I AM LOSING MY MIND. and like how do you play tennis? how to be a good tennis player, what are the defining characteristics? what the fuck is a drop shot and why is a man named jannik not allowed to do them or else you will get a heart attack? speaking of which, jannik sinner has floofy hair and baby girl vibes and a friendship with slightly homosexual undertones with Carlos altracatz and i WANT to know more about them but like AAAA and i also feel like tennis is harder to understand because it’s not as easily categorised as f1? idk if it makes sense but there’s only 20 f1 drivers and one championship and one aim, but i feel like tennis is SO much wider and there are so many levels and it’s HARD TO UNDERSTAND…… so if someone could give me a basic breakdown of how tennis works and how to be a tennis fan? that would be great? or like… point me in the direction of something that will explain it? because i can feel a new obsession coming on but also AAA CONFUSION?.?. PLEASE I AM BEGGING SOMEONE HELP, please explain the basics. i am so sorry about the rant. have a good day <3. i am in tears of confusion

ANON my GOD I think this is the best ask I've ever received ... you have SO many questions and I have SO many thoughts, thank you so much for trusting me with this I will do my best & then I'll link some tennis blogs

"What's everyone trying to do"

LMAOOO okay this is actually such a fun question and multi-layered

— so if you asked a tennis player I think most of them would give a small-ish goal (relative to their experience. lol)  like some of them are sooOOOoo boring and would just say "I take it one match at a time" blah blah, some players (ons jabeur my beloved) are transparent about wanting to win big tournaments, some players are close enough to being number one in the world that they are allowed to say "I want to be number one in the world" lmao. Being #1 is determined by ranking points btw!! which you earn by winning matches at tournaments on the ATP (men's) or WTA (women's) tour. Each round at a tournament earns you more points, i.e. if you get to the semi-finals you earn more ranking points than if you only get to the round of 16.

— wow that was too many words for a bullet point but basically: if you're good enough, you want to be #1 in the world by ranking points. There are also other goals like: win all majors in a single year (a "grand slam"), win the MOST majors compared to anyone else (djokovic holds the record currently at 24), etc.

"okay so what is a major??"

(sorry slightly rephrasing your q: what is an open — we'll get there — also sorry it's getting jargony)

— ATP/WTA tournaments happen at different levels, which affects how many ranking points are earned and how much money you get in prizes. At an ATP 250 you win 250 points for winning the final, at an ATP 500 you get 500, etc. At the Grand Slam tournaments you get 2000 (!!) points and, like, SOOooooo much money for winning. 

— There are four Grand Slam tournaments: in chronological order you've got the Australian Open (January), the French Open (also called Roland-Garros, it happens in May/June), Wimbledon (July), and the US Open (August/September). 

— "Open" means that the competition is open to professionals and amateurs, so a lot of the tournaments are called [name of city] open or [name of sponsor] open

AO and USO happen on hard court

Wimbledon is on grass

French is on clay

okay that's all boring facts but here's where it gets fun (2 meeee)

^ Wimbledon is ✨ SACRED✨. it has a bunch of strange/archaic rules that are taken very seriously (players have to wear white, silence during play is ENFORCED in capital letters, etc) and its history is vaunted & special ! as a result there is a lot of weight to winning wimbledon for a lot of people, like wimbledon is special even amongst tennis players. it's the only grass major and the grass season is SHORT so you have to find your feet real damn fast. of course there's some backlash to the weird mystical atmosphere of wimbledon which is also fun to watch .. kyrgios being an smarmy asshole about it and (maybe?) getting fined for example .. but honestly it's rightfully criticised for being a stick in the proverbial mud,,  speaking of mud ... 

^ the French Open is ✨BEAUTIFUL✨. it's a clay tournament, which means play is slower, and just .. the look of clay ... idk it punches me in the chest tbh not sure why. players slide around and get dirty and it's all so fun & lovely & GORG . clay season is my personal favorite season

^ the US Open is ✨FUN✨. it's in New York City (ayyyyyyooo) and the crowd is ROWDY in a way that is truly unparalleled, you can't beat the atmosphere for party-esque but some players (a lot of players) haaaaaAAaate it. Some people love it tho, Serena always loved it, Coco fricken adored it (helps if you're american LOL)

^ the Australian Open is .. uh, hm. Happy? tbh I miss most of the AO every year because it's in an exactly opposite time zone from me. it's like a warm-up slam. LOL SORRY. somebody can correct me if they feel strongly ... >.>  it's also called the happy slam, it has a huge turn out every year so it must be fun!! play is very quick. jannik won this year :)))))))))))

"What's a drop shot"

— SooooOOO now we're getting into actual play jargon ... basically different shots have different names, forehand is when you hit a ball with the palm of your dominant hand facing forward, backhand is when your palm faces your chest ... I won't describe every shot because probs a video is more helpful for that? but:

— a drop shot is a ball hit so that it drops very close to the net on your opponent's side. basically if your opponent is waaaaay at the back of the court (maybe you've been rallying for a while and they got comfy) you can try and hit a ball short so that they can't get to it before it bounces twice. it's risky!!! if you attempt a drop shot you're probably pretty close to the net: if your opponent DOES get to it and hit it back, they're probably going to hit it behind you, and you won't have time to run behind it to get a racket under it.

"what are the defining characteristics of a good player"

— WOOF. okay. speed, for sure. but fast-twitch speed: can you get to the ball quickly? can you react to where it lands on the court and how it pops up? once you've hit it, can you get back into position before it comes back to you two seconds later? if you're up close to the net because you attempted a drop shot and your opponent gets to the ball & hits it behind you, can you back up real fast and attempt a "tweener" (when you hit a ball backwards through your legs) ? etc. You have to do a lot of movement around a small-ish space quickly, tennis players do a lot of short, high-intensity practices to prepare — athleticism!! tennis is an all-body sport:  do you have the lungs to keep running for a three hour match? do you have the leg strength to keep you jumping around that long? do you have the shoulders for a strong serve, arms for big ground-strokes?  (tennis players are fucking HOT lmao)

— creativity ! you can have the best arms ever and still lose because you play the same shot over and over and over and over and over and your opponent learns this and hits something that throws you off your rhythm. The best players (and most interesting to watch) can play far from or close to the net, are trying new things, are HAVING FUN (carlos alcaraz e.g.) 

— elegance ... idk some players just float .. they do all of the above but make it look so EASY

"there are only 20 drivers in f1 and there are so many tennis players HOW"

— no, valid. basically this tumblr post about how every so often there's a new tennis guy and I'm like "wait, who?" . I think everyone on tennisblr picks their faves and follows them closely, and then depending on your level of interest you pick up other faves along the way??  I got into tennis in the federer/nadal era so I'm a federer girl, in the WTA I'm smitten for serena (who isn't) with almost equal soft spots for Naomi Osaka and Ash Barty. Nowadays I follow jannik sinner like i'm a dog who's found a weird lanky carrot-flavored bone. i follow alcaraz because he's beautiful to watch, truuuuuly beautiful. i follow daniil medvedev because he's inSANE and a cunt but fun about it. I follow iga sviatek (my love) and coco gauff (my love [american]) because they're incredible and fun, ostapenko because she's ridic, muchova because she hits so pretty, daria because I want her to marry me <3 

^ one more obligatory jannik picture lol

— just on the subject of relating things to f1: the one thing that I really miss in tennis now that I've been following f1 for a bit is how the idea of a "team" just doesn't really exist. tennis players play doubles sometimes but even on a doubles team you're really playing for yourself, you don't get team support, that's not really a thing?? if you're a really good singles player you prioritize singles play, and often you play across the net from your doubles partner and obviously in that case you want them to lose??? like to a greater extent than f1 drivers want their teammate to lose, because tennis is truly zero-sum in a way that f1 isn't, quite.  this makes all tennis players feel kinda lonely and anti-social LOL and uhhh sometimes they actually are I think, like a lot of tennis players are super introverted and strange. i'm sure you see this in other sports this is just me comparing my two obsessions

woof ok idk if you're still reading but if you are!! some tennis blogs i can recommend off the absolute top of my head are: @sincaraz @tennis-shenanigans @mythicalpoolnoodle @scarletwitch1918 @fritzes @zhengqinwen @mayor-amor @vilebodiess @advantage-sinner (sorry this will catapult you into sinner tumblr) and they can probs rec more !! they can also correct me if i got something wrong!

as for basics, I think just watching some matches to start ! with commentary on so you know what's happening, also if you ever feel like sliding into my DMs ... they are SO open (heh) for new tennis fans :))

[bunchashapes]

any music recs?

i could have made this very short or entirely too long. i opted for the latter:

HAVE YOU LOOKED FOR SOME NEW MUSIC TO LISTEN TO? LOOK NO FURTHER, FOR HERE IS

I know. There's a lot of music out there. Well have no fear, because I've selected, organized AND categorized a fine number of music selections, just for you! I tried to keep it to just stuff you probably haven't heard of before, but I make no promises. Hopefully you'll find at least one new thing you can take with you into 2023.

MAKE YOUR SELECTION:

1 - MIKE, I'M LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO GROOVE TO. SOMETHING I CAN GET DOWN AND VIBE WITH OR PERHAPS LISTEN TO WHILE I WORK:

Sounds good! Let's start with a few of those:

Vulfpeck - Okay you may already know about Vulfpeck. Sorry. If you HAVEN'T, they're a wonderful group of dudes from Michigan that are all insanely talented. They have a wide-range of styles they cover and pretty much every member has gone on to do other solo stuff, which may also suit your interests. They also have a spin-off band called The Fearless Flyers that I'll cover a little further down.

Jacob Mann (As well as his Big Band) - Jacob's solo stuff has a nice laid-back feel to it, while his big band stuff is slightly more bombastic, but all of it is fun and groovy. Great example of a musician effectively switching between different toolsets, whether its a whole group of talented musicians at his disposal or just a bunch of nice Roland presets.

EMEFE - They haven't been very active lately but EMEFE is an incredible ensemble with plenty of amazing music for you to listen to. Their live album from 2017 makes me wish i could go back in time and watch it live.

Louis Cole - Louis Cole's also pretty popular, but maybe you haven't heard of him! Originally hailing from Knower, he's collaborated with a ton of musicians (including Vulfpeck AND Jacob Mann Big Band, mentioned above) as well as produced an impressive array of solo music. I can't understate how much I love this guy.

Thundercat - Know who else he's collaborated with? Thundercat. Have you listened to Thundercat? You should really do yourself a favor and listen to Thundercat.

Sammy Rae and The Friends - Only learned about Sammy Rae very recently but The Feeling (linked) was an earworm that lodged itself in my brain for months. Infectiously positive vibes, a great ensemble and really brilliant singing.

Silk Sonic - Okay they played at the Grammys so it definitely doesn't count as a deep cut but listen to Silk Sonic anyway okay? Okay.

2- MIKE I NEED SOMETHING THAT WHIPS ASS. SOMETHING TO COMPLETELY KNOCK MY SOCKS OFF.

Can do. Your metric of kickass may vary but at least one of these should work for you:

King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard - King Gizz has put out such an unbelievable volume of music that it's hard to just recommend ONE thing from them. I've linked Nonagon Infinity, a great little album with the fun gimmick of seamlessly looping front to back. They really haven't put out a single bad album, so just go wild.

Royal Blood - Royal blood's bassist plays through an octave pedal, giving their stuff this fuckin' beefy sound that's well-rounded enough you'd never guess the band is just a bassist and a dummer. Their style has gotten poppier lately but it's still all worth listening to.

Tricot - Tricot's been around for around 10 years now and their stuff has only gotten better over time. I feel like Math Rock is kind of an obtuse genre for most people but their recent stuff is absolutely worth checking out even if that's not your usual sort of thing. Makkuro (真っ黒) is my favorite album of theirs by far.

Thank You Scientist - Stranger Heads Prevail is probably one of my favorite prog albums ever and you'll probably like it too. Insanely good ensemble (the amazing triple threat of sax/trumpet/violin is such an integral part of their sound) and really fun vocals.

Nova Collective - Another incredible prog group. As far as I know they've only put out one album but it whips ass.

Ask My Bull - These guys popped out of the woodwork a few years ago and I've been obsessed with them ever since, I can't wait to see what they do next. If you're a horn-loving freak like me you absolutely need to listen to them.

Fearless Flyers - The previously aforementioned Vulfpeck spin-off band, guest starring Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy and the incredible Nate Smith on drums. Their album Tailwinds is easily one of my favorite albums ever, the addition of a sax trio takes their stuff from incredible to legendary.

Daikaiju - Kaiju-themed surf rock. That's really all that needs saying.

3 - MIKE I NEED SOMETHING THAT'LL MAKE ME SAY "DAMN THAT'S COOL"

Well you're in luck! A wide range of things fit the bill:

Snarky Puppy - A powerhouse jazz/funk/rock ensemble full of insanely talented musicians. Just give this song a listen, you won't regret it.

The Dear Hunter - Dear Hunter (not Deerhunter. Different band) has remained my favorite band since high school. The band has a number of different projects, A collection of EPs for each color of the rainbow, a 5-part rock opera/narrative concept album (with a 6th part that may be a movie??) and other more straightforward albums that still cover a broad range of genres and styles. I think they're great and hopefully you will too.

Hiromi Uehara - Hiromi's probably my favorite pianist ever. Just watch that video. She's ridiculous. She also plays in an incredible trio and guest stars on my favorite Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra song! Preposterously talented and insanely fun to watch. I love her.

The Bad Plus - Speaking of great trios, you can't go wrong with The Bad Plus! Really vibrant arrangements and generally incredible musicianship throughout their work.

Esperanza Spalding - Obscenely talented bassist AND singer AND songwriter. As someone who sings and plays bass (not at the same time, of course) watching her do effortlessly do both at the same time is mesmerizing. I love her.

Chon - Chon's also pretty big now but I want you to imagine you're me at a Dear Hunter (see above) concert back in 2015 and one of the opening bands walks onstage and you're like "well okay what's these guys' deal" and then they start playing these fucking insane picking solos in perfect unison. I literally couldn't believe what I was seeing. I wish everyone could experience Chon through those eyes.

4 - MIKE THOSE ARE COOL AND ALL BUT WHAT I'M REALLY LOOKING FOR IS SOME MUSIC TO GET BUNDLED UP AND GO TO SLEEP TO

You need ambient? I got your ambient right here.

Hiroshi Yoshimura - I was first exposed to the wide, wide world of Japanese ambient music back in college and in all my years since then, few things have been able to beat Yoshimura's atmospheric soundscapes. If you need music to shut your brain off (and who doesn't, from time to time), look no further.

Chihei Hatakeyama - Another Japanese ambient powerhouse, Hatakeyama's got a huge discography of music and all of it will knock your lights out (very pleasantly).

Green-House - Very much inspired by Japanese ambient, Green-house is described as "music for plants". I only wish there was more of it.

Joep Beving - Not exactly an ambient artist but a masterful practitioner of minimal, atmospheric piano. His style is understated but filled with emotion, a great mix of more classical elements with a modern cinematic flair. Great to work to!

5- MIKE EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT JAPANESE CITY POP, JAZZ FUSION AND EARLY ELECTRONIC MUSIC BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. GET ME ON THE GROUND FLOOR HERE

You got it boss:

Yellow Magic Orchestra - You've probably heard of these guys by now. I've only known about them for 6-ish years after they had a moderate burst of fame here but I think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say these guys were one of the principle pieces of genetic memory that coalesced into the DNA of modern electronic music. All three of the principle members, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi (rest in peace) have all had really prolific solo careers in a ton of styles of music that are all worth your time.

T Square - An absolute titan of Japanese jazz fusion, their album Adventures is a veritable Rosetta Stone of video game music, directly inspiring a good number of video game songs including the dang mario brothers theme! Their stuff is an absolute joy to listen to.

Tatsuro Yamashita - Yamashita is often called the king of city pop and is (according to wikipedia) credited for pioneering Japanese "soft rock". Having grown up on the pacific coast, there's some ineffable truth in his schmaltzy surf music that touches me deep in my soul. You may not have the same experiences as I do, but I hope listening to him will allow you to tap into that divine spark and enjoy it for yourself.

Masayoshi Takanaka - Perhaps not quite as famous as Yamashita, Takanaka is a brilliant guitarist and musician known for that same schmaltzy pacific rock (just look at that damn guitar. I love him) as well as a number of other styles of rock and jazz fusion. He's got a huge discography and it's all incredible.

Casiopea - I would be remiss if I didn't mention Casiopea. I'm not an expert in Japanese music obviously, but I think it'd be fair to say they and T-Square are the two titans holding the glory of late 70's-early 80's jazz fusion like Atlas shouldering the world. Do yourself a favor and listen to Mint Jams.

Himiko Kikuchi - Truthfully I don't know much of Kikuchi's discography other than Flying Beagle (linked) but she absolutely killed it. Do yourself a favor and listen to that too.

6 - WELL MIKE THAT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD BUT WHAT IF I WANT SOMETHING WEIRD THAT DOESN'T FIT IN ANY OF THOSE CATEGORIES

I'm always happy to recommend unconventional stuff. Here's a few albums that I love to close us out:

Tom Waits - Alice - First of all, you should listen to Tom Waits. I know you know him as the Funny Voice Guy but he's had such an incredible musical career that starts great and only gets more and more amazing over time. Anyway, in the 90's, Tom and his wife (and writing partner since the 80's) Kathleen Brennan were scoring weird experimental musicals in Germany, namely The Black Rider (also worth listening to) and Alice. The musical is a strange extrapolation of Alice in Wonderland, namely inspired by Charles Dodgson's (Lewis Carroll) relationship with Alice Liddell, generally accepted as the real-life inspiration for Alice. Though the actual specifics of their relationship are uncertain, the age discrepancy and Charles' general fixation with Alice leads many to assume....the worst about their relationship, an interpretation the musical runs with. The actual musical is hard to find evidence of (there's some documentary footage from the 90's and I've found the script) but Tom rearranged his music for the show and released it in 2002, which in my eyes is the definitive version of the music. The album is unbelievably melancholic, heart-wrenching, at times deeply uncomfortable, and absolutely filled with beauty. Lost in the Harbor is maybe one of my favorite songs of all time. If ANY of this sounds even slightly interesting to you, I implore you to check it out. It also has Colin Stetson on saxophone and clarinet, which segues quite nicely to the next album.....

Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2 - You may have actually heard Colin's music before, he's scored films like Hereditary, Color Out Of Space and the newest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. New History Warfare is one of his experimental solo projects, most characterized by Stetson recording basically everything in a huge room filled with microphones, creating this incredible impression of scale. It's filled with some of the craziest shit I've ever heard someone do on a saxophone; long, galloping phrases with no pauses for air thanks to circular breathing, mixing in the sound of the valves opening and closing, and an incredible unnatural-sounding delay all achieved with live recording. The Righteous Wrath of An Honorable Man is one of the coolest things I've ever heard in my life (you've probably already heard it before) but the whole album is absolutely captivating.

Caroline Shaw - Partita for 8 Voices - Caroline Shaw is an amazing musician, singer and composer. All of her stuff is really beautiful and worth listening to, but few things stand out as much as this composition, written for and performed by a cappella group Roomful of Teeth (which is probably the sickest possible name for a choral group). I feel like a cappella music has a woefully bland perception among most people (thanks in no small part to Pitch Perfect); all lavish arrangements of pop music with absolutely no soul. If this is what you think all a cappella music is, I urge you to listen to this album. It's a masterful blend of speech, song and energy, filled with a vibrancy and passion I have a difficult time putting into words. You really just have to listen to it.

[eriexplosion]

Vibrating excitedly because it's time for Battle Scars and I am READY.

Obsessed with this opening honestly. Everything is happening at once. Everyone is yelling. Echo is just trying to get the hyperdrive back online. Omega has named the lizard. (Interesting that it IS Ruby and she picked the name... but when we see it with Roland, the name is in fact Ruby. So either she DIVINED THE NAME or Roland hadn't named her yet and somehow the Ruby name got passed to him and he's like. Yeah this is a Ruby. Great instincts kid I will surely never meet!)

Also crawling onto Wrecker's face, he is ALREADY HAVING A BAD TIME. IT'S GONNA GET WORSE.

Successful Cid job tally: 1 failed, 2 successes

Hunter's very doubtful UH-HUH... THE KID. is so cute.... I miss him, season 2 Hunter is SO FUCKING DEPRESSED. LIKE LITERALLY ABOUT TO LAY DOWN AND SLEEP FOR 200 YEARS DEPRESSED.

Cornered introduced them to Money and Bribes, Battle Scars introduces them to CREDIT CARD DEBT.

TWENTY CARTONS OF MANTELL MIX. JUST BEEN PUTTING IT ON CID'S TAB THE WHOLE TIME.

Bolo and Ketch trying to fight Rex is SO fucking funny. Boys you won't win that one. Go sit down.

I'M SORRY I AM NEVER OVER TECH PIPING UP WITH "THAT'S NOT HER UGLY SIDE?" DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF CID. ABSOLUTE LACK OF SHITS TO GIVE. LOOK AT HIS FIELD OF FUCKS AND NOTE THAT IT IS BARREN.

We do love Rex's poncho disguise. Nothing says stealth like having your EXTREMELY DISTINCTIVE ARMS ON DISPLAY.

"Being dead in the Empire's eyes has its advantages" sounds like another line that could come back with Tech.

CUTE SMILES <3

Rex immediately kneeling down to talk to Omega is adorable but when she gets way into his personal space he looks SO NERVOUS AND ANXIOUS. AND THEN SHE TELLS HIM HE HAS WRINKLES.

Tech very casually like OUR INHIBITOR CHIPS DON'T WORK EXCEPT IN CROSSHAIR like yes Wrecker is having migraines, etc, but it's probably fine. Genius that cannot conceive of his family continuing to dwindle so he just assumes Wrecker will be okay probably. He has to be right?

Still seeing Rex go for his blaster for them hurts me.

HUNTER STANDING IN FRONT OF TECH THOUGH WHEN THINGS GET TENSE. HE PROTECT.

I don't want to bury anymore of our brothers.

Listen I do still think it's funny that Rex unlike Cut has Zero Reaction to Crosshair being missing and apparently has not asked, but I do think that it would be interesting to get him talking about the chips with Crosshair. Rex has no reason to lie to make him feel better. You can't resist the chips and Crosshair isn't special in that regard.

Wrecker thinks he's nervous about the surgery now but soon he gets to see that the surgery suite is also a complete wreck!

Obsessed with this shot WHY does Tech looks like he belongs in blurry bigfoot footage?

Rex not mentioning Ahsoka makes so much sense actually he has no idea what might make their chips suddenly activate so best not to mention the help he got from a former Jedi

So Wrecker starts out getting attacked by a lizard, has a horrifying migraine, has to go across a terrifying pit on a cord which immediately breaks, smacks him into a wall, and dangles him upside down by one leg to fish for some sort of horrid creature. AND IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE FOR HIM FROM HERE.

Tech complaining about the cleanliness again like he didn't live in some sort of biohazard train wreck in a bed that looks like this

God the way Omega is already worried about being left all alone in Battle Scars. Baby, I want you to have your whole family back so bad more than I've wanted anything ever. Also Hunter's response here is "You're stuck with us for the long run" and I just feel like it would be exceptionally mean spirited to have that and then have Omega alone at the end like a lot of theories predict.

God the moment that Wrecker grabs Tech is still the most fucking chilling thing. And obviously the chip was already activating but I wonder if it's what Hunter was talking about, saying 'at least we helped the Padawan escape' that finally pushed it over the edge.

THE MUSIC CUTTING OUT WHEN WE ZOOM IN ON WRECKER'S PUPIL EXPANDING.

Someone pointed out ONE TIME that when Wrecker is pinning him to the wall Hunter tries to tap out by tapping his wrists twice and I can never again NOT notice that. Trying to get through to Wrecker but Wrecker's not in right now. It's just the fucking chip.

HE WAS JUST GOING TO MURDER THE FUCKING CHILD.

Chipped Wrecker is terrifying and honestly vital to see before we get to Reunion. The viewer NEEDS to understand just how unbeatable the chips are in order to understand Crosshair's character arc, we need to see it in someone that we know is completely trustworthy and good in order to see how much it Does Not Matter how good you are.

The thing with this show is that I've always felt like it REALLY understands where it's going with its narrative. Whatever else people might think about it, it does understand how to lay the groundwork to support the themes and family dynamics and it does feel completely sketched out.

Omega honey shaking him will not make Wrecker wake up faster please give him some breathing room.

EVERYONE FALLING ASLEEP AROUND WRECKER. MY HEART.

The way Tech pops straight up from being completely conked out in a chair KILLS ME.

They went so far as to shave like a quarter of Tech's head for the surgery but they didn't touch Hunter's at all. He allowed exactly one (1) square inch to be shaved off and he immediately hid it under his fucking bandana.

The animation is so detailed though, they left hair stubble behind even.

Here Wrecker eat Omega's pocket mix that she has been carrying for who knows how long.

Hunter saying he's still figuring out what's best for his squad. End of season two he still doesn't have it yet.

Rex mysteriously fucking vanishing into the fog is so funny, that is exactly how to exit the screen. Just fade into the fog like a mysterious unicorn.

And of course the Doom Ending to lead into Reunion.

[sleepyowlwrites]

Im...sorry it's not original, but now that you brought all these questions up (https://www.tumblr.com/sleepyowlwrites/752120356487168000/you-lot-should-be-quizzing-me-on-my-stories-and?source=share)

Can you please answer them?

I wanted to ask you to share fun(or sad, or funny etc) facts about your stories but didn't wanna pressure you TT

Have a wonderful day regardless!! ♥️♥️♥️

The post with a working link

And the answers to the questions asked:

1. R stands for Roland. He doesn't like his name, so he started going by R, which is like, so dumb, my guy, but R is dumb, so it fits. Eventually it just sounds like his name, which, to him it is.

2. R and Mark are fighting because *inhales deeply* R has a mortifying ordeal of being known complex while simultaneously having need to be seen and acknowledged complex, and Mark got invited to the friend group by Daniel but then proceeded to kinda ignore R's existence, which is not okay! And he got all dramatic about it, and then Mark, who lowkey has a self-destructive thing going on due to his healing superpower (oh yeah he has that) so he makes it physical and R is lowkey self-destructive due to his middle child pseudo-parent arrogance thing he's got going on and he also makes it physical and then the friend group is like please stop, this is so stupid, and then they stop being physical about it for their friends but they're still being stupid and being verbally abrasive to each other until gradually they can't find any reasons to keep going with that and then they stop fighting. And then it's awkward! Yay.

3. Rune's ex-fianceè was abusive and controlling and he orchestrated her parents' deaths! Jail, jail for Max for ten thousand years or maybe just like, fall off a bridge or something. ☠️@$%!💀%!#☠️?&!#@💀#!?@ (Asterix cursing, lol)

4. The phantom thieves are after a map that leads to a famous treasure, they hope, and stealing the bride will get them closer to securing it. I invented the idea before I knew anything about one piece but now that I know things I realize the vibes are... well they're similar to the live action show, anyway.

5. Rhea does not know who her father truly is, which is an important plot point but also I feel fairly obvious from certain angles. This is the only thing in this list that I don't want to tell you. I don't even have major ambitions about summon story. I just want to keep this spoiler tucked away until I make myself write the actual plot.

And there you go, here are the answers. I guess I do remember some stuff about my stories.

@akindofmagictoo

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

GODDD YOUR BRAIN. a lot of what you said is stuff ive been thinking about for literal years and esp now with my most recent playthrough of 1 and 2. the video was great and i also found a pdf for orientalism that i will be picking through as i have the time for it. ive had a post in my drafts ive been working on for a few days. specifically about how the crimson raider leadership (excluding moxxi and including the vault hunters) is comprised entirely of corporate settlers and how that still absolutely fuels their ideology when it comes to the bandit clans. tannis, zed, and pierce are all dahl, marcus has been both siding every conflict since the beginning of mankind, and roland and the ENTIRE military force of the crimson raiders (excluding the vhs) are atlas leftovers. and ofc its seen as necessary because there needs to be bodies between them and hyperion so every injustice against the planet is forgiven. its hardly even mentioned. even moxxi, who is pandoran born, profits in just. outright massacring the population with her fighting rings. (the underdome was sponsored by every corporation, including the shield manufacturers.) the desire that the raiders have to protect pandora just feel like protecting the. thirty or so people who live with them because everyone else is seen as not worthy to the point where mass execution and displacement is encouraged. im not going to talk about bl3 because im a bit rustier on it at this point but in FFS thats an issue brought up at the very start of the dlc: the crimson raiders are losing power and arent needed anymore because jack is gone. like they arent doing any great help to the planet. theyre not even wanted by the end of 2. side tangent but the two things that stand out to me the most on first thoughts are: destroying the eridium mine supplying sledges men in one (after already killing him and half the settlement) and doing straight up environmental warfare in 2 when freezing out the bloodshots. its just unnecessary cruelty. im sorry for taking so long to type this out i have. untreated adhd 😔

No no no it's okay speak your mind!!!

Also some additional things I didn't have the place to say in my answer:

One, you could very easily interpret bl1 and particularly bl2 as an extended metaphor for American destabilization and subsequent media treatment of the Middle East. Except Gearbox themselves is parroting the in-universe perception of Pandora as a "barren wasteland where nobody lives", i.e. the myth of terra nullius. Despite all evidence to the contrary.

Two, 2 specifically has an anti-colonialist narrative. Handsome Jack is a colonizer and you oppose him. But within this opposition is a DISTINCT subtext of "yeah he wants to kill off the bandits of Pandora but he also considers the Normal People, like Salvador and your friends to be bandits!", not "bandits are also humans with dignity". I'm not sure if the former is the conclusion the writers want you to arrive at, but it kind of feels like it.

Three, if I remember correctly the first time a tink (xenohuman/mutant) was not presented as part of the subhuman orientalized faction was fucking New Tales. And I think there was one in Debt or Alive as well (including a tongue in cheek joke about how calling your enemies slurs is kinda bad actually). Yet again, either the writers can't comprehend someone disabled in a not-"cool scifi" way being human, or the Borderlands universe has ridiculous amounts of ableism and baseliner supremacist (can you tell I love Rimworld's terminology for this sort of stuff) sentiment. But homophobia isn't real so that's funny haha right guys??????

As for 3... yeah there isn't much there. Ellie tells us that Pandora has been drained of all resources, Tyreen tells us what I already addressed, fucking Vaughn man. I'm sure I could say smth more coherent on all that but I can't rn, brain fried.

Then there's the Looters and Frostbiters and Devil Riders, who for gameplay purposes are reskinned bandits for the DLCs, but they aren't stated to be bandits for... what reason exactly, aside from geographic isolation (all the other bandits across the galaxy are universally homogenized so...)? I mean, frostbiters even associate into clans like bandits do...

And I do highly suggest you read Orientalism, it's a foundational text in post-colonial studies for a reason, but I find that it also applies incredibly well to media analysis :)

[m-jelly]

Bodyguard's touch - Chapter 3

@ladycheesington <3

Pairing: Levi x Fem!Reader

Genre and tags: Modern AU, bodyguard Levi, romance, fluff, falling in love, cute, emotional hurt, comfort, protective Levi.

What's in the chapter: Your family do something without telling you causing things to be complicated. You and Levi reveal some of your feelings, but are still holding back. You encounter Roland and things get messy.

AO3 link

Part 4

You gazed at Levi making him blush hard. “How long for?”

Levi looked at his phone. “A few hours.” He smiled and ruffled your hair when saw how sad you looked. “You’re going to miss me, aren’t you?”

“N-No.”

He held your chin and lifted your head. “Don’t lie to me.”

You sighed. “I’ll miss you.”

“Good kitten.” He kissed your forehead and blushed at his own actions. “Be good for me while I’m gone, okay? If you need anything at all just call me.”

You nodded. “Promise.”

“Good.” He released you and moved to the front door. “See you soon.”

You waved sweetly to him. “See you soon!”

Levi blushed as he left you alone. He couldn’t wait to hear you say welcome home and hug him once he returned. He let out a long sigh. “Cute.”

You let out a long sigh and thought about what you could possibly do. You kept thinking about Levi. You adored Levi and he was your life now, but with him not home it felt so empty. You were going to take advantage of him not being home and set up a present for him. You pulled on your apron and got to baking a selection of small treats for him. You were so proud of everything you made for Levi, but then you realised there was an issue. You had no cute box to put it all in.

You pouted and grabbed your coat and dragged it on. You snatched up your bag with your purse and hurried out of the front door. You shot out the front doors and looked at your phone to see where the nearest place was for you to get a cute box for Levi’s treats. You smiled at the directions and looked up just as people started running over with cameras. You looked behind you expecting to see a celebrity, but you were alone.

You turned back and flinched when they shoved cameras in your face and started asking questions. You were confused and a bit scared. You wanted Levi badly and you knew if he was here he would protect you, or probably tell them to piss off, or pick you up and run off with you. You tried to back up, but they had you surrounded. You gulped hard and listened to what they were asking and it was all to do with your family and being the long-lost daughter. You were confused because no one had consulted you about it.

You looked down at a phone shoved in your face and watched an interview that Chester had done with his two kids and wife. You could see the date and it was done this morning. You felt a pit in your stomach form as if they’d planned this all. Levi was gone and they’d to the interview without you. You heard them talk about them finding you out of the goodness of their hearts and taking you into their home. Joy was praised a lot for accepting you into the family. You and your mother were put in a bad light, but it was like backhanded compliments and comments.

You pushed through the crowd. “I’m sorry, but you have the wrong person. I work in the building and have just finished my shift.”

A woman laughed. “You think we’re going to fall for that? They’ve posted a picture of you and your full name.”

You panicked a little. “Oh…oh! Mr Carter! Hello!” As soon as everyone turned to look at where you were looking, you sprinted away from them and slipped through a few side roads to lose them. You slowed down and panted a bit. “Damn it. I need Levi.” You walked slowly through the streets before noticing the old convenient store you worked at. You slipped inside and smiled at your old boss. “Hi, Dennis.”

Dennis opened his arms wide as he said your name. “It’s so good to see you!”

You hurried over and hugged him. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” He released you. “Last I heard about you, some handsome man handed over your resignation and some money to thank me. What was his name…”

You blushed. “Levi?”

“Yes!”

You smiled. “Levi gave you money?”

He nodded. “Yeah, he said he felt bad about taking a good worker like yourself away. Oh, and for the whole old man pestering you.”

You smiled a little as you thought about Levi. “He’s a good man.”

“What brings you here?”

You walked with him to the counter. “My so-called new family had a meeting and talked about my mother and me. I wasn’t informed of it and I got hounded by paparazzi.”

“Was Levi there to protect you?”

“No, he’d been asked to do something by Mr Carter.” You hugged yourself. “I was alone.”

Dennis shook his head. “I can’t help but think they did this on purpose.”

You crouched down and sat on the floor. “I don’t want to think that, but this kind of…I just…”

He smiled a little. “Maybe you should call Levi.”

“He’s busy.”

“He is your bodyguard.”

You tapped your head against your knees. “I know.”

Dennis smiled. “How about you do a bit of shopping here like normal? I’m sure it’ll take your mind off things.”

You stood up and smiled. “Yes.” You grabbed a basket and went around the shop. “I miss this place.”

“You poor thing.”

You laughed as you walked to the till and paid for everything. “I should head back, I don’t want Levi to worry if he comes home early.”

Dennis smiled. “Do you like him?”

You blushed a little as you thought about Levi. “I do. I really like him. He makes my heart flutter and I just want to kiss him.”

“You should.”

You frowned when your phone went off. “Oh, excuse me.” You pulled your phone out and saw the name of the man you loved. “Levi.”

Dennis smirked. “He’s worried about you and checking on you.”

You blushed and answered. “Hello, Levi.”

Levi said your name. “Where are you? I saw the fucking interview, those shitheads did it without involving you and made you and your mother look like…shit…he probably planned this…I came home early and you’re not here! Where are you? I’m so worried about you.”

“I’m at Dennis’s shop that I used to work at. I was going to the shop, but then I got hounded by the paparazzi and I ran here.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

You gripped the phone. “Well, because you’re working and I didn’t want to be a bother.”

Levi let out a long sigh. “Tch, kitten you are adorable. I’m on my way, don’t leave there.”

“Okay. Sorry, I’m bothering you.”

“You’re not, kitten. I told you, I love taking care of you.”

You blushed. “Levi…”

“I have to end the call as I have to drive, stay put.”

“Promise.” You looked at your phone as the call ended. “Mm, he’s so kind.”

Dennis chuckled. “You’re too harsh on yourself. The man will do anything for you.”

You sighed. “He’s my bodyguard, he’s supposed to help me.”

“It’s more than that.” He winked at you. “I can tell when he came here by himself. The way he talked about you…” He let out a long sigh. “Such beautiful love.”

You walked up to the doors and gazed out. “Love…”

“You and I both know you deserve to be showered in love.”

You sighed. “He certainly needs it. He’s been through so much.”

“You could provide that care and comfort.”

You looked over at Dennis. “I would like to.”

He pointed. “You should tell him.”

You turned to see Levi pull up with a loud skid. You felt your heart race as he launched himself out of the car and sprinted over to you. “Levi.”

Levi tackled you into a hug as he said your name. “You’re safe. I was so worried about you.” He cupped your face and smiled as tears filled his eyes. “Thank goodness you’re okay. When I saw the interview, I went right home and you weren’t there I thought the worst.” He let out a long sigh. “I’m glad you stayed put.”

You welled up and hugged Levi. “I’m glad you came.”

Dennis smiled. “You should reward him with a kiss.”

You went bright red and saw Levi had gone red as well. “D-Dennis!”

He hummed a laugh. “You should go home.”

Levi put his arm around you. “He’s right, let’s get you home.”

You nodded and walked with Levi. “Bye Dennis! Thank you.”

Dennis waved. “Bye.” He tapped his lips and smiled making you blush.

You walked to the car and got in. You watched Levi as he put your bags away and climbed in on his side. You smiled over at him as he drove. “So, how was your job?”

Levi gripped the wheel. “Tch, pointless. I don’t know why I was asked to do it, which is why I’m so pissed off about the interview. I don’t know what they’re playing at.”

You released a heavy sigh. “Maybe this was all a mistake.”

Levi quickly glanced over at you. “Joining the family?”

You nodded and hummed in agreement. “The only thing that wasn’t was meeting you.”

Levi chuckled. “Tch, damn it kitten, you’re going to make me blush.”

“Oh, did you see what was in the kitchen?”

Levi frowned. “Uh…no I didn’t…the penthouse smelt good though.”

You let out a long sigh. “Thank goodness. When we get back, you’re not allowed to look!”

He chuckled. “I promise.” He slowed down and saw people waiting outside the entrance to your home. “Tch, scum.” He drove down into the parking spot. “Come on, this place is secure so we should be okay. I’ll get your bags.”

You got out of the car and smiled at Levi as he walked to the lift. You followed close behind him and into the lift. You kept quiet but you could feel tension in the air. You slowly looked up at Levi to see he was blushing. You gasped when he looked down at you. You quickly looked away as your heart raced. You reached up and touched your lips as you thought about kissing him.

Levi called your name and smiled at your cute wide-eyed look. “This is our floor.”

You hurried out and blushed. “S-Sorry, I was thinking.”

“I could tell, kitten. It was cute.” He opened your door and smiled. “In you go.”

“You normally check if it’s safe.”

He hummed. “Yes, but you said I wasn’t allowed to see what was in the kitchen.”

You squeaked and yanked your bags from his hands. “You’re right! No looking!”

Levi leaned against the door and laughed. “So cute.” He took out a cigarette and popped it in his mouth. “Can I smoke?”

“No! You need a clean palate.”

He smiled and put the cigarette back in its case. “Okay.” He hummed a little before looking into the room. “Can I come in now? It’s getting lonely out here and after I saved your cute behind.”

You ran over and pouted. “Don’t be mean.”

“You’re the mean one for making me stay out here.”

You huffed. “You’re teasing me.”

“I am and it’s working.” He leaned closer to you making you gasp. “Kitten.”

You blushed a little. “You know, I can slap you again.”

“That’d be cute.”

You turned and walked away. “Now I don’t want to give you my gifts.”

He closed the door and followed you. “Gifts?”

You let out a long annoyed sigh. “I spent the day baking these with you in mind. I wanted to gift them to you and tell you how I feel about you. I wanted to tell you that I’m falling hard for you. I went out and got a pretty box to put them in. I baked everything to your taste because I adore you so much.”

Levi walked closer. “That so?”

You nodded. “I know you’re my bodyguard but I like you more than that. I have feelings for you. I want to kiss you and hold you all the time. I want to go on dates. I want a future with you.”

Levi cornered you against the counter. “Really?”

You grabbed his shirt and yanked him closer. “I’ve fallen hard for you. I want you and only you. I don’t want anyone else to have you. Call me bratty and selfish, but you’re the only thing I want from this family. I don’t want money or their last name. I only want you.”

Levi went to speak but you crashed your lips against his. He sighed through his nose at how soft your lips were. He wrapped his arms around you and pressed his body against yours. He smiled when you moaned at feeling all of him. He tugged your bottom lip between his teeth before pushing his tongue into your mouth. You both moaned together as you kissed passionately.

You clung tightly to Levi’s shirt as his hot tongue moved against yours. You couldn’t believe how perfect he was. Your head was mush as his tongue moved perfectly against yours. Your heart was racing in your chest as your body tingled with excitement. You were happy, deeply happy to be kissing a man that you’d adored for weeks now. You wanted Levi and nothing else in your life.

Levi was deeply in love with you and had been for so long. He couldn’t believe he was finally kissing you after thinking about it for so long. You were so soft in his arms and you smelt divine. He thought you were so cute and sweet and your lips were the sweetest thing he’d ever had the pleasure of tasting. Levi couldn’t wait to have more of you. He felt drawn to you. You were so soft and as he pushed his hand under your shirt to caress the skin on your back, he thought you were even softer.

You pulled from Levi’s lips and panted. “Levi.”

His cheeks burned when he realised he had his hand up your shirt. He pulled back and cleared his throat. “Sorry, I got a bit handsy.”

You smiled a little. “It’s okay.”

He pulled you against him and kissed you. “Mm, mine.”

You pressed your face against Levi’s chest as you felt a little flustered. “Mine.”

Levi massaged his fingers in your hair. “I need you to know that I am not doing all this because I take care of you and I’m your bodyguard. I’m doing this because I care deeply about you. I like you more than words can describe.”

You tilted your head and kissed him softly. “Levi.”

Levi growled. “Careful, brat.”

You hummed a laugh. “Maybe we should part before things get too heated.”

He released you. “Yes.” He let out a long sigh to calm himself. “Now, about this gift.”

You ran over to the box and offered it to him. “Here.”

He smiled at the cute box and the note. “Thank you. You didn’t have to make me a thing.”

“Well, I wanted to because I like you so much.”

He opened the box and smiled at all the cute baked things inside. “I can’t believe you made all this for me.”

You grinned. “I made it with all the feelings inside me for you.”

He placed the box on the counter. “So, which one is the sex dreams and thoughts about me?”

“That’d be…” You stopped talking as Levi stared at you. “You!”

Levi moved closer to you. “So, you have had those thoughts and dreams, huh?”

“You’re a pervert.”

He hummed in thought. “You’re right, I am. I’m only a pervert when it comes to you though.” He looked over at the baked goods. “So, which one was it?”

You whimpered and pointed. “The cream-filled bun.”

Levi picked up the bun. “Cream filled? I’m learning new things about you.”

You turned away. “I’m leaving!”

Levi followed you as he ate the bun. “Come back here kitten, we need to talk.”

You squealed and ran to the bedroom. “I’m not telling you anything!”

He popped the last bit into his mouth and licked his fingers. “The bun was divine.” He shoved your door open and gazed at you. “Now, tell me what you’ve been thinking about.”

You shifted up the bed and mewled. “I’m not talking.”

He climbed onto the bed and sighed. “Nothing at all?”

“You’re not talking.”

Levi crawled towards you with his lips inches from yours. “Kitten, I adore you. There are so many things I want to do with you and to you.” He kissed you and purred against your lips. “For now though, I’ll behave and stop teasing you. I have many delicious things to eat that you sweetly made for me with all the love in your heart.”

You looked away and whined. “You’re a big tease.”

“Yes, because your reactions are adorable.” He flopped onto his side and yanked you against his chest. “Let’s lie here for a while as you relax. I have wound you up too much.”

You wrapped your arms around Levi and nuzzled your face against his chest. “Mm.”

Levi held you for a while before looking down at you to see you’d fallen asleep against him. He shifted down the bed a little so he could look at you. He smiled and felt his heart flutter in delight at how adorable you were. He placed a kiss on the corner of your mouth before holding you tightly and falling asleep with you.

You inhaled deeply as your body started waking up. You smiled at hearing the wonderful deep rumbling of Levi’s voice. You sat up and stared over at him as he discussed a hotel room. You frowned a little as you tried to listen in. You blushed when Levi looked over at you. You dropped against the bed and pretended to be asleep. You heard Levi chuckle before ending his call. You held your breath as he moved closer to you. You mewled as the bed dipped and his wonderful scent got closer to you.

Levi nudged his nose against yours. “I know you’re awake. I have to inform you though, sleeping kittens don’t get kisses.”

You opened your eyes and pouted. “I’m awake.”

He kissed you and hummed in happiness. “Good.”

“Is everything okay?”

He sighed. “Yeah, it seems like we need to leave.”

You frowned. “Leave?”

He nodded and lay on his side and propped his head up with his hand. “Mr Carter has called and told me that due to the interview, it backfired on the family and you need to go somewhere to lay low. He said it was Joy’s idea and he’s deeply sorry this has caused a mess for you.”

You lay on your back and stared up at the ceiling. “Mm, okay, but I wanted to work with Erwin to make something for the golden cat snacks.”

“Well, I’m sure you can practice at the hotel.”

You sighed. “I don’t want to run and hide. I want to work.”

“I’m sure I can help you get to and from the tower so you can practice.”

You rolled onto your front and pressed your face against the pillow. “Levi. I don’t know what to do.”

Levi rubbed his hand on your back. “Let’s get to this hotel room set up for us and we’ll go on a date.” He smiled. “Would you like that?”

“Mm.”

Levi got up and packed a bag with a few things. He moved over to you and scooped you up into his arms and carried you. “Hotel time.”

You clung to Levi. “I can walk.”

“I don’t want you to. I like carrying you.”

You sighed. “Okay.”

Levi took you to his car and put you inside. He packed all the bags away and drove out to see a lot of paparazzi outside the building. “Tch, damn scumbags have no life.” He frowned when he saw Roland in a long fashionable trench coat talking to them. He was rather tall compared to them all. “What the fuck is he doing?”

You looked over at Roland to see him look over at your car and hurry straight to you. “He’s coming over.”

Roland knocked on your window and said your name. “Could you give me a ride? This lot won’t let me leave.”

Levi sighed. “I hate this shithead, but it’d look bad if we didn’t.”

You lowered your window a bit. “Hop in, we’ll get you out of here.”

Roland smiled and opened the back door once Levi unlocked it. He climbed in and sighed. “I appreciate it, I really do.”

Levi growled. “Tch, I’m dropping you off somewhere.”

Roland chuckled. “Very protective of your boss, huh?”

“Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see my lovely new sister and talk to her, but it seems that this place is in utter chaos. I didn’t expect an interview my mother wanted to end up like this.”

You glanced back at Roland. “Did you want to talk with me?”

“Yes, I wanted to talk to you about my business and see if we could collab on something.”

You shifted in your seat to allow you to look back. “I’ll be honest, Roland, I know nothing about booze and watches.”

He smiled at you. “What a shame. You know what? Why don’t we go to my office and I’ll show you how it all works.”

Levi gripped the wheel. “I need to get her to the secure location.”

“You can do that later.”

“Roland, she needs to get somewhere safe.”

“Are you talking back to me?”

Levi was getting frustrated. “Your father ordered me to keep her safe, so I am doing just that. I have to take her to the hotel.”

Roland laughed. “She’ll be safe with me. Really, Levi, you’re being so immature.”

You gazed at Levi. “Levi.”

Levi looked over at you. “What do you want to do?”

You gulped hard as your mind went blank. You didn’t know what you wanted to do or what was best for you. You’d never experienced anything like this before. “I don’t know. This is all new to me, this life is. I will do what Levi thinks is best.”

Levi smiled a little before glancing back at Roland. “We’re going to the hotel.”

Roland huffed. “So stupid. Well, we can talk and I can show you a few things I suppose.”

You smiled. “Sure thing.”

Levi rolled his eyes and drove to a nice hotel. “I’ll check you in, wait here for a bit until I know it’s safe.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

Roland waited for Levi to get out and walk off before he stole his seat. He shifted in the seat and smiled at you. “Levi has a nice car, huh?”

You gulped hard. “What are you doing?”

He turned to you a little. “Just sitting.” He looked around. “Damn, he took the keys.”

“Maybe he knew you’d try something.”

He laughed. “Like drive away with you?”

“Why are you so interested in me?”

“Maybe because you’re my dad’s only kid?”

Your eyes widened. “What?”

Roland laughed. “You really think we’re his kids? We look nothing like him. My mother has been having an affair with a rich Swedish man for a while.” He pulled his phone out and showed you the picture. “That’s why Father hunted you down. My sister and I are getting jack shit and you’re getting everything because you’re the real heir. My Mother is frustrated.” He ruffled his blonde hair. “I told her about a plan I have. She should announce the paternity test she had taken on my sister and me. Once we do that, you and I should get married.”

You felt like you were going to vomit. “No, no way. You’re still a brother.”

“Well, my mother can get a divorce.”

You shook your head. “No! You’re my brother still.”

“We are not blood-related.”

You undid your belt. “It’s wrong.”

He sighed. “You’re overreacting.” He leaned over to you. “Let’s just kiss and see how we feel.”

You pushed him back by the shoulders. “Get away from me!”

“Just one kiss, come on!” He laughed. “It’ll be fun.”

“Stop it!”

Levi yanked the door open and dragged Roland out by the back of his coat. He threw him to the floor and punched him. “Keep your fucking hands off her!”

You shivered. “Levi, he tried to kiss me. He said we weren’t related. He wants to marry me.”

Levi flinched. “He told you the Carter secret?”

You stared at Levi. “Wait, he’s not my brother?”

“By blood? No. Heather isn’t your sister by blood either. However, they are still your brother and sister due to marriage.” He glared at Roland. “You sick fuck!”

Roland wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “I was joking.” He got up and sighed. “Like I’d actually marry her and fuck her. Come on.” He clicked his neck. “I’m not into that weird fucking your fake sister shit.”

“A joke?”

“Yeah, it was just a joke.”

“You’re shit at jokes because no one is fucking laughing.”

Roland sighed. “You two are boring, that’s why.”

You got out of the car and stood by Levi. “So, you think attempting to kiss your sister and talk about marriage is funny?”

“My friends would have laughed.”

Levi growled. “You have shit friends.”

Roland let out a long sigh. “I have offended you both.”

“Yeah, you fucking have.”

“Forgive me. I suppose it was in poor taste. You are new to me and I was joking as if we have known each other for years.” He bowed deeply. “Forgive me. I am deeply sorry.”

Levi sighed. “You’re only sorry because people reacted badly. If we would have laughed it would have been all fine. It’s like people being sorry only because they were caught. I am sure as shit if I hadn’t come back yet you would have kissed her.”

“Levi?” All of you looked to see Mr Carter had arrived with two bodyguards. “What is going on and why is Roland bleeding?”

“He’s just told your daughter they’re not related and suggested marriage and kissing.”

Roland put his hands up. “Father, please, I was just joking!”

Chester walked up to Roland and whispered in his ear causing Roland to go white as a sheet. “Now get in my car and I’ll deal with you later.” Chester huffed a sigh before approaching you. “I am sorry for Roland. He is my son because I raised him, but by blood, he isn’t. Now, I would strongly prefer that this information does not get out to the public. If anyone found out that the two children I was supposed to have with Joy are not mine, it could ruin us and open up a can of worms. When one scandal is discovered, others come out. Keep this quiet.”

You nodded. “Yes, sir.”

His serious gaze washed away and was replaced with a kind smile. “Good. Now, I am sorry about that interview. My wife surprised us with it all. She didn’t want to be painted in a bad light. When a rich man has an affair, they’re not painted in a bad light but the wife and the mistress. I was the one who made the bad choice and I should be punished. It was a mistake and I will pay for it.” He sighed. “Anyway, you should be comfy in this hotel with Levi. Do not hesitate in calling me, okay?”

You lowered your head. “Mm, yes.”

He frowned when you walked away to the lift to go to your room. “Is something wrong?”

Levi clenched his fist. “You said you made a bad choice and a mistake. That so-called bad choice and mistake gave her life. It came across as she was bad and she was a mistake.”

Chester stared at you as you waited by the lift for Levi. “Speaking as a company holder that needs to keep a reputation, she is both bad and a mistake. Her mother should have gotten rid of her. However, I am happy that she didn’t. She is my only child.”

Levi was pissed, but he held his tongue. “Yes, sir. Do you need me for anything?”

“No, I just came to check on her. I was planning to have a drink with her, but it seems my idiot son needs to be disciplined.” He turned and sighed. “Take care of her.”

Levi hummed. “Yes, sir.” He watched his boss leave before returning to you. “You okay?”

You pressed the lift button. “No, and yes. It’s fucked up, but I’m not surprised. I saw Roland a lot in the news before I was pulled into the family. He’s nothing but trouble.” You walked into the lift. “I’m also not surprised about what Chester said about me and my mother, but hearing it in person fucking sucks.”

“I don’t think you’re bad or a mistake. I’m fucking glad you were born.”

You cuddled up to Levi. “Me too.”

He smiled and led you out of the lift to the room. He used the card for the door and let you check the room out. “I’ve unpacked everything.”

You flopped on the sofa. “You’re the best.”

He pulled his blazer off and sighed as he relaxed. “You’re too kind.”

You knelt up and sighed. “What did he want?”

“He was going to have a chat with you about everything, but Roland took priority.” He sat on the sofa next to you as he pulled his tie down with one hand. “I think you should focus on what you want to do.”

You nodded. “Like baking and finding things to add to the golden cat snacks.”

He reached over and cupped the back of your head. “And possibly kissing me?”

You leaned over and kissed him. “Yes, and kissing you.”

Levi sat sideways on the sofa and pulled you against him as his tongue pushed into your mouth. He hummed in delight as you clung to him and straddled him. Levi smiled when you pulled from his lips and just hugged him. He rubbed your back and understood very well the emotions you were feeling. He kissed the side of your head and just held you until you were okay. He was going to be there for you no matter what.

[lemoncrushh]

Cubicle // 15) 2 Become 1

STORY PAGE

Word Count: 3766

Saturday // Roni

I awoke before Harry. I lay in bed watching his chest rise and fall with each breath, his lips slightly parted for probably a good twenty minutes before finally deciding to get up.

I stared in the bathroom mirror as I brushed my teeth, my other hand grazing over a purple mark that Harry had left on my collarbone. I spit out my toothpaste, replacing the brush in its holder. I bit my lip, grinning at the extra toothbrush next to mine - the one that Harry had used the previous weekend. I'd left it there for him purposefully.

I was flipping the fried eggs in the pan when I heard the water run in the bathroom. A few seconds later I heard footsteps behind me on the kitchen tile.

"Good morning," I greeted him without turning around.

"Morning, love," I heard him say before his arms slipped around my waist.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked as he kissed my neck.

"Mmhm," he sounded. "Very well."

"Good. Breakfast is almost ready."

Releasing me with a sigh, Harry took a seat at the table. I set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him before grabbing one for myself. Then pouring two cups of coffee, I sat down across from him. With a grin, he shoved a forkful of eggs in his mouth.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head as he chewed.

I shrugged, reaching for my coffee. "Okay then."

"You're just a beautiful sight in the morning," Harry commented after swallowing.

I blushed, sitting back. "That's a nice thing to say."

"And it's true, love."

I bit into my bacon as I watched him watching me. We were quiet for a few moments until he took a sip of coffee, setting down his cup and giving me a wink.

"So," Harry broke the silence, "is it alright to talk about it now?"

"Talk about what?" I asked.

"Your ex. Last night. What did he say to you?"

"Oh," I rolled my eyes. "Nothing really. He just asked what I was doing there. Made some remark about my being out late."

"That's it?" Harry raised his brows.

"Yep. He's a douchebag."

Harry chuckled. I wanted to kiss him. Then he let out a hard breath. "Whew, gotta admit, baby, I didn't like the feeling I got when I saw you talking to him."

"Really?" my eyes widened. "Harry, are you the jealous type? I didn't think you were."

Shaking his head, his dimples dipped in his cheeks. "Not usually, no. But when it comes to you...I dunno..."

My cheeks went pink again as I licked my lips. "Well, I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about. I have absolutely no feelings for Roland anymore."

"So what happened?" Harry inquired, resting his elbow on the table.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It was a lot of little things. That I didn't notice at first, or maybe I did but I just chose to ignore them. Until finally I realised those little things added up to something big. Which was that he didn't feel about me the way I felt about him. And he never had."

"I'm sorry," Harry muttered.

Folding my hands in my lap, I stared at my plate. "He cheated on me," I finally admitted softly. "And he wasn't even sorry about it."

"Idiot!"

Looking up, I could feel the lone tear trickle down my cheek. "I knew about it for a while before I confronted him. He made me feel like it was my fault, and I should just accept it as a part of life. All men cheat, he said. And if I loved him, I should forgive him and get on with it."

Harry stared at me with sad eyes until I finally looked away and wiped my cheek.

"And you did, huh?" I heard Harry say.

"I did what?"

"You loved him."

I shrugged, sucking in my lips. "I hate to think that I did now. Makes me feel foolish. But yeah...I did."

Harry nodded. Scooting back in his chair, he beckoned me. "C'mere, baby," he commanded in a deep, yet soothing voice.

Shyly I rose from my chair and walked around the table to him. He immediately pulled me into his lap where I sat with a small giggle.

"Look at me," he said.

I turned slightly to gaze into his hypnotic green eyes.

"Roni, you're the most beautiful and amazing woman I've ever met. And if that asshole couldn't see what he had, then that's his loss, okay?"

My face softened as I gave him a smile. "'kay."

"And I guess I actually need to thank him," Harry added, brushing my hair off my shoulder. "'Cause if he had realised that, you wouldn't be mine now."

My breath hitched in my throat at his words. Harry noticed and leant forward.

"I'm assuming you're mine now," he said just above a whisper. "But that's of course only if you wanna be."

I couldn't have stopped the smile on my face if I tried.

"Yes....yes!" I squealed, wrapping my arms around his neck. I kissed his nose and his soft lips. "I'm yours, Harry. All yours."

Harry

Roni and I spent the entire day together. We watched rubbish on television until it was nearly time for lunch. Then we showered together and walked down to the corner cafe for a bite to eat. Afterwards we went for a walk hand in hand, just chatting about everything and nothing at the same time.

Once I stopped in the middle of the pavement, her hand separating from mine for a second until she turned around in question.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"Nothing," I replied, stepping closer to her. "Just wanna kiss you now."

She beamed her gorgeous smile at me as I slipped my hands under her ears. I pressed my mouth to hers gently and I felt her sigh against me, sliding her arms around my waist. There may have been people who had to walk around us, but I didn't notice, nor did I care. All I cared about was Roni, her soft lips and her fingertips traveling up and down my back.

When our mouths finally separated, I could feel that rush again. I wanted to say it. But I was chicken shit. Roni's eyes sparkled as she stared into mine. She almost looked like she was on the verge of saying it too. In fact, her lips parted like she might, but instead she licked them and shut them quickly. Then with a smile, she took my hand again and we continued our walk.

Not sure if it was the light, easy conversation or if I was distracted by the adorable way she was swinging our arms between us, but just as the sun was beginning to set, I started to recognise our surroundings - the newsstand on the corner, the traffic light where a familiar old woman was crossing the street, the aroma coming from the bakery we'd just passed. We were in my neighbourhood.

Once again, I stopped, but this time Roni grinned at me, grabbing my arm. "We're not gonna get very far if we keep snogging."

I side-eyed her with a smirk. "'s not that."

"Oh," her face fell. "What is it then?"

I pulled on her hand, urging her back the way we'd come. "Let's turn back now, yeah?"

"Oh. What for? It's just barely sundown," she said. Then she gave a cute little smile again as she tugged on my hand. "I thought maybe we could go get drunk at that seedy looking pub down the street and then go to a midnight showing at that old cinema."

"It closed," I commented.

"Oh, bugger," she pouted, her bottom lip jutting out. "Well, no worries, we could still go get drunk and take a taxi back to my place."

I considered her proposition for a moment, then shook my head. "Maybe some other time."

I started to walk the other way, Roni keeping up with me. "Harry, is something wrong?"

"No," I replied quickly.

"Yes there is," she pressed. I remained silent as we passed the bakery again. "Harry."

It was only then that I realised she was no longer walking next to me. I turned to look at her, her face solemn like she was about to cry.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Did I do something?"

I dropped my shoulders with a sigh, walking back to her. "No, baby. I'm sorry. It's just...me."

"What..." she swallowed, "what happened in those two minutes?"

I was about to answer when I heard my name being yelled from behind Roni. I looked up to see my neighbour Thomas jogging up the pavement.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath.

"'ey, mate," he greeted when he stopped in front of me. "We gonna see ya later?"

"Don't think so," I shook my head. "Not tonight."

"Oi, we haven't seen ya in ages, been missin' ya at the pub. Where ya been hidin'?"

"Um..." I stumbled.

"Hello," the most angelic voice sounded. My heart beat out of my chest as Thomas turned around to see Roni smiling behind him.

"'ey, love, who might you be?" Thomas inquired.

"I might be Veronica," she said, extending her hand. "But if you're a friend of Harry's then you can call me Roni."

"Pleasure to meet you, Roni, I'm Thomas," he grinned, shaking hands with her. Then he turned back to me. "Jesus, Harry, why didn't you just say so?"

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I merely shrugged.

"Well, I was hoping our lad here would make an appearance at my pub, but I can understand if he doesn't," he winked at Roni. "But if you'd care to join him tonight, you're more than welcome."

"I don't think she-" I began but Roni piped up.

"Oh so you own a pub?"

"Yeah, right there," Thomas pointed across the street. "Tom's. Not very original, I know."

"Do you go there a lot, Harry?" she asked me.

"Well, he used to," Thomas interjected. "Especially since he lives right there next to it. But now I can see what's kept him away."

I didn't know what made my stomach turn more - the way Thomas was looking Roni up and down, or the way she was staring at me. I averted my gaze, focusing on something on the ground next to my shoe.

"I was just suggesting to Harry that we get a drink," I heard Roni tell Thomas. "So you might just see us in a bit."

"Good, good!" exclaimed Thomas. I felt him pat my back and I looked up. "Catch ya later, mate. Nice meeting you, Roni."

"He seems nice," conveyed Roni once Thomas was out of earshot.

I finally looked at her, licking my lips. "Yeah, he's alright."

With a tight-lipped smile, Roni nodded before pointing down the street. "So you live over there?"

I cleared my throat. "Yeah."

"Is that why you turned around and wanted to go back? You don't want me to know where you live?"

"No...it's..." I shook my head. "It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Roni stared at me with her big blue eyes. I felt my heart fall to my feet.

"I guess I...I was embarrassed. It's not really the best neighbourhood."

"Harry," she rolled her eyes, "you think I give a shit where you live?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

"Besides, it doesn't look so bad to me," she gazed around. "And seems like you've got a friend who looks out for you."

"Thomas owns that seedy pub you mentioned," I remarked.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, biting her bottom lip. "I shouldn't have said that."

"No, it's true," I agreed. "It's a shithole. And so is my flat."

"Harry..."

"Let's just go, okay?" I reached for her hand but she didn't budge.

"Harry. Take me to your place."

If anyone had told me a way to resist the look on her face at that moment, I wouldn't have believed them. With a sigh, I nodded, threading my fingers through hers and leading her across the street.

Roni

To say Harry's flat was small would be an understatement. It was TINY. After climbing the stairs, Harry led me down a narrow hallway to a dark door at the end. Fumbling with his keys, he finally managed to get it unlocked and I stepped into something that was not much bigger than a motel room. There was a small living area with a sofa and a telly, a kitchen area in the corner. Standing in the middle of it, I could see a space to the left that looked to be a bedroom that had an open doorway with no actual door. Next to it I assumed was the toilet.

I jumped when I heard the clunk of Harry's keys on the coffee table. Turning to face him, he shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Told ya. This is it. Not much to it."

"It's fine, Harry," I remarked. "All you need, really."

"I suppose."

With a reassuring smile, I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. "Please don't be ashamed," I told him. "Like I said, I don't give a shit where you live."

His expression softened as he gazed into my eyes. Throughout the day I would catch glimpses like this, where I just knew he was gonna say those three words, or at least he was thinking them. This was another one of those moments.

"What's that look for?" I teased.

Harry raised a brow. "I have a look?"

"Yes you do, Mr. Styles," I playfully dragged my fingertip down his forehead, between his eyebrows and down his nose to his lips. "One of these days I'll figure out what it means."

Taking my face in his hands, he kissed me tenderly. I melted into him, wanting to savor every moment, every little spark of electricity between us. Finally when he released me, he had an even more electrifying look on his face.

"Let's go get that drink."

Tom's Pub was a fun place. No, it wasn't necessarily the kind of place I would have chosen to spend my usual Saturday evening, but it was fun, nonetheless. Because I was with Harry. And because everyone there loved and adored him and treated him like a rockstar.

Tom gave us shots when we first walked in, and then Harry quickly guided me to the dartboard in the back corner. After three games, all of which I lost to Harry, as well as a pint of beer, Harry returned from the bar with two more shots.

"So how come we didn't come here that time I met your friends...what were their names...Matt? And Calum?" I asked.

"Caleb," Harry corrected. "I dunno, I guess I just didn't wanna bring you...to this neighbourhood."

"Do they ever come here?"

"Sometimes." Harry threw his dart, missing the bullseye just barely.

"Hmm, I see," I muttered.

Lowering his hand with his next dart, Harry looked over at me. "Roni, please understand, it's nothing against you. It's just the opposite. I knew from the moment I met you that you were out of my league. And that night at the other pub was only...what...our second date?"

"Third if you count lunch," I quipped.

Harry raised a brow before throwing the dart. I giggled, making him completely miss his aim. With a smirk, he walked up to the stool where I sat, grabbing me by the waist and planting an unexpected kiss on my lips.

"For the record," I said when our lips separated. "I am so not out of your league."

"Yeah ya are," argued Harry.

"Mmm mmm," I sounded as I gave him another kiss, leaving a trail across his jaw.

"It's your turn," he mumbled against my ear.

"I don't wanna play anymore," I said.

"If you forfeit, that's an automatic win for me," he breathed as I assaulted his neck.

"No brainer," I whispered as my tongue met his earlobe. "You always win. Now take me home and claim your prize."

Harry

I hadn't realised it was raining until I pushed the door open to allow Roni to step outside ahead of me.

"Guess we'll have to make a run for it," I said.

Roni didn't seem to have any qualms about it as I took her hand, and we ran down the pavement to my building. Just in that short amount of time, the rain had seemed to pick up, and by the time I unlocked the door, we were soaked. Roni shivered as her chest heaved and she crossed her arms to keep warm. Tossing my keys on the coffee table, I quickly took her in my arms and kissed her. However, even our warm mouths were not enough to keep the chill at bay.

"Sorry," she said with chattering teeth. "So cold."

"'s okay," I nodded. "C'mere, let's get these wet clothes off."

Normally a phrase like that would have sent me into overdrive, but I knew how cold she was, and I just wanted to make her comfortable. She followed me into the bedroom where she stripped down and I opened a drawer to find a t-shirt for her to wear.

"This alright?" I asked, tossing it on the bed.

"Sure, thanks," she replied.

I then grabbed myself a new pair of boxers, undressing and putting them on. Then I went to the bathroom and returned with a towel for Roni. She took it with a smile, rubbing it across her wet hair.

"Sorry," she said softly. "Guess I didn't anticipate the rain. We coulda just stayed at the pub."

I shook my head. My God, she was beautiful, standing there in my t-shirt that barely covered her bum, her hair pushed to one side.

"Roni..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Yes?"

I blinked slowly. "Would you like some tea?"

"I'd love some."

"'kay. Be right back."

Once the kettle boiled and I was preparing the tea, I walked back towards the bedroom to ask Roni if she preferred milk or sugar. I watched as she scanned my collection of books on my desk. Choosing an Edgar Allan Poe anthology, she sat on the edge of my bed, delicately turning the pages of the book as the oscillating fan blew her hair around her face, tiny tendrils tickling her cheeks. Her pouty lips silently formed the words she was reading to herself. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. She took my breath away.

Stepping up to the doorway, I leant against the frame. For a split second I considered clearing my throat to let her know I was there, or even asking her which Poe story or poem was her favourite. But I changed my mind and said exactly what I'd been dying to say all day.

"I love you."

Lifting her head, she looked at me, a beautiful smile spreading across her face.

"I love you, too," she said.

I was frozen in my spot. I had no idea why. She'd just declared her love for me. I should've been kissing her within half a second. Instead, I was still stood in the doorway in my pants staring at her like a moron.

Finally Roni shut the book and set it back on the desk. Then she patted the space next to her on the bed.

"Come," she requested.

With a dopey grin on my face, no doubt, I did as she asked. Reaching over, Roni placed the palm of her hand on my stomach and ran it up my chest to my neck until finally taking my chin in her hand.

"Your touch feels so good," I whispered with heavy lids.

Her lips met mine then, gentle and soft before she slid her tongue inside. Despite the chill we'd just experienced from the rain less than ten minutes ago, my body was now on fire. Roni then let her hand travel back down my chest and stomach, stopping at the bulge in my pants. I moaned against her mouth as she caressed me over the thin material.

In one swift motion, her mouth still on mine, Roni swung her leg over my lap and straddled me. I let out another sound from my throat as I quickly remembered she wasn't wearing anything underneath my t-shirt. Grinding against me, I grabbed hold of her hips urging her further.

"Fuck," I groaned as my lips dragged down her neck.

I lifted the t-shirt from her waist and Roni lifted her arms so I could remove it completely.

"God, you're so beautiful," I said before her lips crashed into mine again.

The way her pussy was pushing against my erection was agony. I had to be inside her. Finally, Roni seemed to read my mind as she lifted herself onto her knees and popped my hard cock out of the confinement. When she sat on it, I already felt like I was gonna come. She was so warm and wet, I could hardly stand it.

She rode me slowly at first, looking into my eyes. When she started to pick up speed, I couldn't help but moan.

"Baby, I'm not gonna last," I whined.

"It's okay," she said.

"You feel so fucking good," I groaned, gripping her thighs and bucking up into her harder. "Holy shit."

I emptied myself into her quickly, way more quickly than I would have liked. But God damn, if she wasn't amazing. Flipping her over onto the bed, I wasted no time giving her what she needed. She called my name and God's a few times as her beautiful body trembled beneath my mouth.

I laid beside her for a moment, looking at her in complete bliss. She was spent, and never sexier. After a few minutes, I heard her breaths even out and I knew she was asleep. The tea was long forgotten, but I didn't care.

After a little while longer, I reached to pull the covers over her, moving her body slightly. She stirred, her eyelids opening to look at me.

"Sorry, love," I whispered. "Just wanted to get you comfortable for sleep."

"Thanks," she quietly replied, snuggling beneath the duvet.

Pulling her closer to me, I kissed her soft, warm lips. "I love you, Roni," I declared.

An adorable smile spread across her face. "Oh good," she said. "I was afraid I'd dreamt that."

MASTERLIST | KO-FI | FEEDBACK

[raytorosaurus]

hey! I play acoustic guitar and I wanna start trying out electric but I also reeeally wanna get nerdy about types of guitars and gear and stuff, I find it very cool but I’m not entirely sure where to start. Do you have any book recommendations or anything like that? Also this is unrelated but I would kill to know exactly what gerard has got going on with their pedalboard cuz woah do they love that thing. Thanks and I love ur blog, hope you have a nice day!

hey so sorry this took me a bit to answer!! honestly my recommendation though would be to not go crazy with pedals to start out with. start with an affordable beginner's guitar, a headphone or mini amp, and maybe one effects pedal (i'd go with a simple overdrive or distortion one to start out with, they're your classic rock sound. or try to find a cheap practice amp with built-in effects and then you can forego pedals just to start out with - i have an older roland micro cube i got second hand for pretty cheap and it's really great and pretty versatile) and just get comfortable with playing electric first. first of all, you won't know what to do with the pedals until you're good at playing and they'll be wasted! but mainly, pedals are just really fucking expensive lol. it's not worth it unless you're a really committed player yk

also once again i'm definitely not an expert in any of this - i'm partly answering in this way because i don't have much gear myself and i think that's a better approach to learning that, like, sinking a whole lot of money into pedals when you don't know exactly what you're looking for or what sound/style you want (for reference i have two boss pedals and one digital multi-effects pedal, and that one i use so rarely, all of them second-hand). also learning + getting used to playing with pedals is like...a whole different skill set on top of just playing that should probably come after you get a decent grip on guitar itself. obviously you already play acoustic so you have a big headstart but playing electric is a pretty different approach, especially when you bring pedals into it. if you find yourself getting bored, sure, throw one in there to spice things up! but they're a pretty big investment sadly lol. if you just want to learn about them because you think they're super interesting, there are soooo many youtube channels out there dedicated specifically to that lmao. it's nerd central out there

and okay now if you're just asking about learning electric in general, my advice would be to find an online course that offers you some kind of structure - there's SO many resources out there for learning that it's actually overwhelming and one of the hardest parts is trying to figure out where to start and where to go next. i started out on fender play and it was pretty good (though it's aimed at people who have zero musical background so you may need to skip through some lessons), but i got a subscription when they were doing like. 70% off or something asdfkaljf, so you could keep an eye out to see if they do a new year's special or something relatively soon! otherwise if you can find a youtuber who does structured lessons in a sequential order i think that's your best bet - being dedicated to seeing through the boring parts of practice and not just jumping around and half-learning a bunch of out-of-context skills in any random order is the only way you can really get anywhere unfortunately ajsdkglaj. but honestly even the boring parts of practice are kind of fun especially if you're able to link whatever technique/scale you're learning to a song you enjoy. when i was teaching myself (like before i bit the bullet and started paying for lessons a few months ago lol) i would jump between the fender lessons and going through tabs of my chem songs to see if there were bits i could play with what i knew (playing along to those songs for the first time is the most exciting feeling in the world fr fr). and seeing the bits that i couldn't quite play but that didn't seem too hard really motivated me to keep going yk? anyway oh my god sorry this got so long AGAIN i'm not even sure if i properly answered your question LMAO.

oh but for the last part i will say that a really cool group of people is currently working on a zine showcasing mcr gear (including gerard's vocal pedalboard) over the years! it's a while off yet bc it requires a lot of research but it's gonna be awesome. gerard hasn't said much about his pedalboard yet but people who know way more than me are on it, hang tight B)

[candysharkart]

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT YOUR EVERYBODY RESPAWNS AU VERY BADLY

thank u for your interest :)! sorry this got kinda longwinded i think. i never write stuff down lol…….

okay sooo i basically wanted an excuse to think about jack being alive post-canon, but i figured if u bring back the guy who had it coming its only fair to bring back other characters who should not have beefed it. and so! the best option seemed like the new-U system! i know they're just a game mechanic thats not supposed to be taken literally but if they're not gonna use it i am lol.

(putting all this under a cut)

roland not respawning after jack kills him in bl2 is kinda weird since he defs uses new-Us in bl1, but i could see jack using a jammer or some chump shit to interrupt the process. maya n lilith's deaths happen in ways were i……. get that they wouldnt respawn but their data could be still in the system somewhere. i also think non-vault hunter npc like scooter would have at least fast traveled once (most of the fast travels are also hyperion? i think? they feel like the same tech) so they might also have digistruct data. sometimes the system trips up, or u cant pay the fee ect ect, and u dont respawn, but ur up there! backed up in the damn cloud or some nonsense.

wilhelm, nisha, n aurelia are all perma-killed in canon, but are replayable fights, so TECHNICALLY they kind of are respawning they're just………… stuck. the new-U puts them back together but they cant move on for some reason. some goes for a lot of the other infinitely respawning bosses/enemies.

so the catalyst for this au now that bl3 is out is that post-canon, tannis is training her siren powers by shifting thru hyperion's systems, she decides familiarizing herself with the new-U system might be useful when she uncovers all these backed up and malfunctioning respawns, and realizes that if she just like. refreshes the system, all these people might come back. she consults with the other raiders about her findings, n that she probably COULD pick and choose profiles to revive their friends but not their enemies, but tannis is trying to AVOID playing god these days thank u very much.

ultimately they all want their friends back too much to pass up the opportunity and have tannis go thru with it. everybody respawns!! everybody gets a lot of confused echo-messages!! everybody cries!! the crimson raiders are reunited!!!

(this is the part where i talk abt jack and angel's respawns bc they're. specific.)

jack not respawning at a new-U is kinda weird with the context that he like. owns them? it tracks that he thought he was too good to need them, but hes also very paranoid, so what if he had his set up different? a failsafe in the Very Unlikely Event something happens to him, where instead of the nearest new-U, he's respawned at a station in a saferoom somewhere where he can be in immediate control of the situation again. it also tracks that he was very confident he could keep angel safe, but again. what if the very very worst happens? angel's respawn is set to be something only jack can activate, but he has to do it manually so no one else can get to her first. his ego was too big to see any flaws with this!

he doesnt think about the chance that something happening to angel while she's so deeply ingrained in hyperion's systems might mess stuff up. so when she dies, the saferoom goes dark, and jack's too far gone to notice. he's going to win the day and revive his daughter into the better, safer world he's going to build. this does not happen, he dies and his data has no new-U to go to so it just sits there. until tannis resets the system, which powers his saferoom up and spits him out. a new-U glitch he didnt care enough about to have anyone patch interrupts the reconstruction process and he loses his arm to it. he manages enough first aid to not just die again, and finally respawns angel, hoping she'll help him.

after respawning, once angel is able to get her bearings, she's devastated by the idea that jack won, but quickly realizes he DIDNT and he's very hurt and weak right now and this is her CHANCE. but she cant bring herself to kill him she wants to so badly but she just. cant go through with it. but she sure as shit can pistol whip him, collar him, and march him straight to the crimson raiders. once she finds them.

(there are some other specifics we have about this au, and lots we havent figured out yet but this post is already so long im sorry……..)

[believingispowerfulmagic]

The Christmas Waltz

Summary:  Regina Mills wanted to share the perfect dance at her Christmas wedding and so booked lessons with Robin Locksley. When her wedding plans fall through, will she find happiness and solace in the dance studio…and her rather attractive dance teacher? And will she prove to be exactly who Robin needs in his life as well? OQ AU

Chapter 1: FFN | AO3 | Wattpad

Chapter 3: Just Dance

FFN | AO3 | Wattpad

Excerpt:

"Okay, okay, enough!"

Robin blinked as the music cut out. His partner and ex-wife, Marian, stood in front of him with her arms crossed. She looked more concerned than angry, which he counted as a blessing, as she asked: "What is wrong with you? Your mind is definitely not in the dance. You just missed several steps in a row."

He grimaced, realizing he had zoned out and didn't know where they were in the routine. Sighing, he just gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry?"

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, tossing him his water bottle. "When you get like this, it means something is clearly on your mind."

Robin sighed, sipping his water. "It was a lesson I had today. She had originally signed up for lessons for her wedding but she called the wedding off. I offered to let her continue with the lessons by herself and she came in for the evaluation. She was all over the place which is to be expected from an amateur but she was so hard on herself and left in tears."

"Sounds like she's had a rough week," Marian agreed, sipping her own water. "But you've had messier situations. Why is this one sticking with you so much?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "Maybe I just want to help her feel better?"

She chuckled, setting her water bottle down. "That does sound like you. You have a heart of gold, Robin, but you can't help everyone."

He sighed, rubbing his neck as he nodded. "I know, I know. I think I just need to get a good night's sleep and put her from my mind."

"Sounds like a plan," Marian said, checking her watch. "I need to go relieve the babysitter and put Roland to bed. You'll take him for the weekend?"

"Of course," Robin replied, sitting down to take off his shoes. "I've rearranged my schedule so I can pick him up from school and then he has the children's dance class right after that."

Marian chuckled, sitting next to him. "You don't have to give me your itinerary for the weekend, Robin. I trust you with Roland. You're a great father."

"Just not a good husband," Robin said before cursing himself. Their divorce had been amicable enough but it still had hit his confidence in his ability to be a good partner to anyone. It was one of the reasons he was not yet dating again.

"I think I know why this one is sticking with you," Marian said. "Is this student's situation maybe bringing up some feelings from our divorce?"

He wanted to dispute that but as he thought about it, he realized it could be possible. So Robin just shrugged. "Maybe. This student talked about not doing failure as a hobby and I think she probably isn't used to failure. Now she's had a lot heaped on her."

Marian nodded. "We also had a lot of failure heaped on us."

"Yeah," he agreed, thinking about their long career as ballroom dancers. "We have. But we got through it."

"Because our coach and parents taught us how to cope," she pointed out. "But it doesn't mean we can't relapse from time to time. You having a relapse and letting past failures get to you?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think that's it. I guess I just wished I had been able to help her."

Marian looked him over before smirking. "Is she beautiful?"

"Do you think me that shallow?" he asked her, somewhat insulted that she would think he only cared because of Regina's beauty.

"Of course not," she assured him, rubbing his knee. "But you're a man with eyes. And you do have a weakness for women who are upset over men who are upset."

He leaned back against the wall and shrugged. "Maybe I do. Is that a crime?"

"No," she replied. "But sometimes you tend to White Knight and I don't want you to get hurt again."

"Yeah," he said, knowing what she was talking about. "I have no intention of being Regina's White Knight. I just wish I could show her how to relax and really enjoy dancing because I think it would be a good outlet for her."

Marian nodded, patting his knee. "I understand that. I think dancing would be good for her too. But then again, we're both pretty biased."

He chuckled. "Yes, we are."

"So you feeling better now?" she asked. "Do you want to try again or just call it a night and start over tomorrow?"

"Might as well just call it a night," he replied. "I promise to be in a better headspace."

She patted his knee. "Go home, get some sleep and I'm sure you will be."

They shut off all the lights and Robin made sure the money from their register was locked up in their safe. He then locked the door to his office before he and Marian left the store. Together, they locked up and lowered the security gates before walking to the subway together. It was there they exchanged kisses on the cheek before going their separate ways - he went to the platform marked "Downtown & Brooklyn" while she went to the one marked "Uptown & Queens." When they had been married, they had lived in Manhattan but once they divorced, each had retreated to where their respective support systems lived. It hurt that his son now resided mostly in another borough but Robin saw him enough that it wasn't as painful as it could've been.

Robin boarded the F train, easily finding a spot to sit. It was after rush hour so most people had gone home for the evening. But it was also New York City, which meant that there were always people on the train. There were only a few other people on the train at the moment but he figured that would change as the train continued its journey down Sixth Avenue before turning toward the East River. He closed his eyes, getting a little rest as the train gently rocked back and forth as it traveled between stations.

"This is York Street," the automated voice announced. "Next stop Jay Street MetroTech. Please stand clear of the closing doors."

He opened his eyes and stood, getting ready to get off. Robin hoped either the A or C train was in the station so he didn't have to wait. When the train pulled into the station, he saw his wish was granted and once the doors opened, he crossed the platform and walked onto the A train. It was then only one stop to High Street and he got off, walking one block to the townhome he called home.

Robin shared it with his parents. They lived on one side while he lived on the other. Since they owned both, he just needed to pay utilities and food, which allowed him to save up his money for his dancing school with Marian. He also had plans to find a bigger space here in Brooklyn to build a proper school so that more people could learn to dance, perhaps even expanding to other artistic programs. They could keep the one in Manhattan as a satellite for those who did not want to go to Brooklyn.

Maybe one day, they would have branches in each of the five boroughs.

Anything was possible.

[robotstrategy]

Recalled • Part 1 • 2 - Roland 

Previous • Series Masterlist • Part 1 Masterlist • Next

"He should be awake any moment now. The team is moving on to the next Recalled child, but I need you to stay here with him."

I…

I… I…

I’m…

I’m still… here…

No… something is…

Not wrong… 

Different…

Where am I?…

I have to…

Wake up…

I have to wake up…

I have to.

Roland forcefully opens his eyes to a light turquoise room, he can feel things attached to him, but he can’t move, all he can see are ceiling panels and an industrial light. 

“Heh… ah… euk… hel-…” Roland tries to lift himself off where he lays before he is gently pressed back down. Out of nowhere, a nurse leans slowly into his vision to not scare him. 

“I’m sorry I can’t let you walk right away, you’ll be like a patient trying to learn to walk again, trust me, it’s not fun,”. She gently sits him up and sets a glass of water on the bedside table. “You can have that when you’re ready, don’t swallow it too fast or you’ll hurt yourself.” She goes over to grab a clipboard with paperwork and a pen and sits back down in her chair.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Not. Okay… weird… confused, confused.” Roland says, something feels wrong, Roland feels weak, and that’s not normal for him. He feels constrained, yet, checking his arms and legs there are no cuffs. ‘There should be cuffs’ he thinks, checking once more just in case he realizes that his tattoo is gone. Flipping around his arms frantically in a panic, the nurse realizes what he’s looking for.

“I was told you might freak out about your missing tattoo, Don’t worry you can get a new one soon enough, your mother said she’d pay for a professional one.” 

Roland suddenly tears up, “Mom, wanted, to unwind. My mom wanted me unwound.”

“Yes, and she wanted you back, she told me to tell you that she’s sorry and that she made a terrible decision.” The nurse explains.

Roland takes the glass of water, trying to hide his confused melancholy between gulps. 

“I think we should start with some pictures,” the nurse says, pulling out a stack of photos within the paperwork. She pulls out an older photo of Roland’s sister. “Who do you think this is?”

Roland squints at the photo before coming up with an answer.

“Her, I know her, she’s Lilian Taggart, she got shaken as a baby- Oh! She’s my sister.”

The nurse smiles, “Very good! Let’s try another one.” The nurse shuffles through the photos to find one of Roland’s old school.

“That’s where I went to school, I was on the boxing team, and I beat a guy 'cause I was jealous he was dating my ex-girlfriend.” Roland freezes up and sheds a tear. “I don’t feel good about that, I feel awful about what I did to his girlfriend.”

“We can talk about that later. For now, since you’re so clever, let’s skip to the photo that really matters.” The nurse pulls out a picture of Roland himself. “Now, who is this?”

Roland takes a long hard pause, he’s seen him a lot, yet not a lot at all, he knows who this is, and yet he doesn’t want to; he's disgusted by his actions. “That’s Roland Taggart, he’s Lilian’s brother, but he’s not my brother, uh, he has a shark tattoo like I did and- oh, umm, that’s me, I’m Roland Taggart.” Roland looks solemnly at the floor.

“Wonderful Roland! I’ll be right back, I’ll get you a treat on the way!” The nurse leaves the room, leaving Roland with his thoughts. He tries his best to suck away his emotions with a big sniff, but it doesn’t work, so he hides himself in his hands as he begins to cry. 

‘Why did I do those things? Why am I alive again? I deserve to be unwound, I deserve it, I deserve it, I deserve it.’

When the nurse comes back she’s completely shocked. She sets down the chocolate pudding cup she brought for him and pulls him into a hug. “I don’t want to be Roland Taggart, I’m such a shitty person, why am I alive? Why did she want me back? She wanted me unwound because I protected her, I’ve done so many terrible things, I don’t want to be here, I don’t wanna be alive.” 

“You’re alive because people cared about you, your sister and mother cared about you and wanted you whole again. I know it’s going to be hard, but I can tell that you're going to get better and turn out to be an amazing person!” The nurse tells that to everyone, but to kids who were unwound for more valid reasons, she really means it.

Roland looks around at himself again, noticing he’s slimmer than usual. “What happened to me?” He asks the nurse. He sees her eyes light up like she’s about to talk about her favourite hobby. “You see, when you were first unwound a boy was in a clapper attack and needed a part of your arm, then another boy bought your front temporal lobe. And now with unwinding being over, people are making new life through rewinding. They needed the rest of your arms and legs to complete someone. The new arms and legs that you have now and even parts of your brain, are the second generation of the first ones created by the Rifkin-Skinner Biobuilder.”

Roland sits there, a bit stunned. “Sorry, Unwinding is over? New life through rewinding? Second generation of the first ones? Biobuilder? What is happening?” The nurse realizes all the information she’s left out and starts to explain it. “When the people found out about the Rifkin-Skinner Biobuilder, which used stem cells to create a clone of the body part chosen, unwinding became obsolete and soon illegal. We used your stem cells to rebuild back up your body, you started out as an open head and a torso. Isn’t that funny?” 

Roland tries to visualize it before wincing. “No, I don’t think it is.”

“Oh, um, anyways rewinding is also being done to use up the spare parts of unwinds, they take parts from all these different unwinds and put them together to make a new person.”

“Doesn’t that end up making them look like they have a hodgepodge of different skin tones and completely disproportionate?” He asked her.

“Oh no, surprisingly the newer rewinds look far better than the ones on Molokai, They were the first batch of rewinds ever made, I hear nowadays they just use a Biobuilder to create a torso that perfectly fits all of the parts.” She responds.

“I’ll be gone for a while to check up on another kid, I think you’ve missed a lot while you were gone, pick up a newspaper in the book rack if you’re interested in learning more about what’s going on around you.” The nurse leaves. Roland picks up the pudding cup and spoon, spooning pudding into his mouth he looks over to an almost silent broadcast playing on the TV in his room. 

“In an interesting turn of events, the body of Mason Michael Starkey, a known teenage war criminal, has been found unwound in a box near Sarnia, Canada, scientists say that while some of his body parts are still in okay condition to be rewound, the only parts that they will use are his face panels as they don't retain any harmful muscle memory. As is expected, the public is relieved that he is gone, but are voicing their concerns about any of Mason Starkey being used at all.”

“Huh,” Roland mutters to himself. “I have missed a lot.”