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berberriescorner · 2 years

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"Are You Listening?"

Part Two: "The Breakdown"

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader.

Summary: It's part two, so I’m not tellin’🙈😏!

Warnings: You’re about to experience a plethora of emotions. Profanity, you all know I got a mouthpiece on me, especially when I’m passionate 😂. There is a brief mention of fertility troubles.

Word Count: 5,000+.

A/N: I just wanted to thank my lovelies again for showing this story so much love. I had no idea people would love it this much. Thank you for all the sweet, hilarious comments and asks💓. I hope you all enjoy the roller coaster you’re about to take a ride on 😂😏😈.

Read Part One Here.

Inspired By:

“Listen, no more talkin’. That clown had enough time to come up with all of it. Find his ass, let him know all my money better be ready by the close of business tomorrow. If not, he’ll be a dead man walking.”

Mick took his orders and turned to leave. Rio stopped him before he could turn the knob on his office door.

“Take those other two useless idiots with you. Everybody else can get back to work. I’m not paying them to stand around looking stupid,” Rio snapped.

Waiting for Mick to leave, he swaggered back to his chair. He plopped down, plucking his glass off the table, gulping the amber-colored liquid. Rio was on his third drink of the night. Slamming the empty whiskey tumbler on his desk, he leaned his head back, running his hand down his face. Alone in his office, wallowing in self-pity. Rio stared at his phone as he contemplated sending another text or calling you again. Thinking about how you had left him on read and sent him to voicemail was eating at him.

“Can’t Keep On Loving You One Foot Outside The Door.”

-Brandy.

Glancing at his iPhone, he mumbled, “fuck it.” Snatching up the cell phone, he tried your number. Ringing twice, it went straight to voicemail. With the sound of the beep, he pleaded his case.

“Come on, ma. Answer my call. Y/N, hear me out. You got this all wrong. Please talk to me. I’m worried about you, baby. I need to know you’re safe. Call me back.”

“Can’t Keep On Trying If You’re Looking For More.”

-Brandy.

He’d started to tell you that he missed and loved you. The thought quickly pushed out of his mind. He closed off his feelings and left the message as is. Ending the call, Rio Tossed the phone down, making his way to the liquor cabinet. Pouring another drink, he made his way back to his seat. Elbows propped on the oak desk, Rio placed his head in his hands. Trying to rub the stress and tension away, he massaged his temples as the last conversation between you two replayed in his mind.

Four Days Ago

Rio had called your phone twice, but it went unanswered. He figured he had stayed out too late, and you had turned in for the night. His mind kept replaying images of him taking you apart. In all honesty, he was hoping that he could wake you once he made it home. Rio was in the mood for another round. He had been missing the feeling of you, tightly wrapped around him. He mentally cursed himself for being so busy that both of your needs had gone unsatisfied for so long. Taking a break just hadn't been in the cards lately. All his rivals had been itching to take over his business. One wrong move and everything he worked so hard for could be gone. They were starting to play dirty, going as far as to try and harm you. He had spent the past several months sending warnings throughout other territories. The warning? Touch my wife, and I’ll make your whole family feel it. He brushed all that from his mind as he pulled into the driveway. Having been up for nearly two days, Rio didn’t bother parking in the garage. All he wanted to do was shower and lay up under you.

“Every Time You Build Me Up, You Only Let Me Down.”

-Brandy.

Entering the house, he quickly keyed the code into the security system. He noticed that there were still dishes on the dining room floor. Flipping the lights on, he strolled into the kitchen to retrieve a broom and dustpan from the pantry. An envelope lying atop the counter caught his eye.

“I left a note in the hallway. By the time you read it, I’ll be far away.”

-Beyoncé.

“Christopher” was written in bold letters in your handwriting. The words “Hope it was worth it” were printed underneath. Next to it, we’re your engagement ring and wedding band. Rio's eyebrows furrowed, and it felt like his heart stopped beating. He convinced himself that this had to be some kind of joke. He snatched the envelope from the marbled countertop, spinning on heels. He made his way through the house and bolted up the stairs, climbing them two at a time. He froze halfway in the middle of the hallway leading to your bedroom. With the door wide open, he could see broken glass on the floor. He forced himself to make the rest of the journey. Rio entered the room. Hangers were strewn all over the place. Your drawers were left open, and the comforter was slung backward on the king-sized bed.

“What the fuck?”

He knew you weren’t there, but Rio called out for you, hoping he was wrong.

“Y/N?”

Left unanswered, he stepped over all the broken picture frames that once housed your wedding photos. All those memories were mixed in the broken glass on the floor. Dropping down onto the foot of the bed, he instructed Alexa to turn on the remaining lights. Ripping open the Manila envelope, he pulled out several large print photos and a note. His eyes scanned the message.

“Almost Convinced Me Your Gonna Stick Around, But Everybody Knows Almost Doesn’t Count.”

-Brandy.

“May you regret every single fucking time you decided to play with my heart. I must say, I have to applaud you for such a great performance. Here a bitch thought you were committed and holding me down. Come to find out, you been lying this whole time. It was all just a great fucking performance. Why not lie and pretend? You were living it up, having your cake and eating it too. Congratulations, by the way. Tell red she might want to keep her day job. I plan to empty your fucking pockets before the ink can dry on the divorce papers. I never wanted to be this kind of woman. Since you want to play with my heart, I’m going to play with the thing that matters most to you, money. I hope you liked the photos. They sure did shock the fuck out of me. They're the only thing saving you and your bitch from getting lit up like a damn Christmas tree. Haven’t I always told you not to play with me? Bitch, I am not one of them dusty ass hoes you used to fuck with.”

-your heartbroken, savage, and soon-to-be ex-wife.

Rio sat there with anger and confusion written on his face. What the fuck is going on? He thought to himself. Rio tossed the note aside and snatched up the photos you mentioned. His face fell, and it became clear why you left in the middle of the night. You had printed out copies of the text and photos you received earlier that night. He couldn’t make out whose number it was. There was no way you were sticking around after seeing these.

“Fuck,” he shouted, flinging the photos across the room. He bent forward, resting his elbows on his lap. His hands crossed and settled under his chin as he sat there furious.

“How the fuck…who the fuck?” Quickly realizing who might be capable of sending you such bullshit, he growled, “I’ma kill this bitch. Better count her fucking days. As if I didn’t have enough reason to take her out already.”

Rio dug his cell out of his pocket and frantically dialed your number. His calls went to voicemail several times before you finally gave in and answered.

“What, Rio,” you barked.

“Where are you? Come home so we can talk-.”

“Talk? Now you want to talk? Fuck that and fuck you, Rio,” you retorted as your voice started to crack.

His heart ached to hear the pain in your voice. He sensed that you had been crying.

“Y/N, please. You don’t understand. Please, ma. Come back to the house.”

“No! I’m not coming home, don’t look for me.”

“Don’t look for you? You’re my wife! What the fuck do you think this is? You can’t just up and walk out on me.”

“Don’t even try to play the proud husband card. You don’t care about me. Do you even understand the damage you’ve caused? You broke me, Christopher. My heart feels like it’s in a million pieces. I loved you more than my own life,” you sobbed.

“Baby, please don’t cry. Can you please just pull over and talk to me? I don’t want anything to happen to you. Just please pull over.”

“I’m pulling over. Hear me loud and clear I’m not coming back to that house. I’m done with you, Rio. The last thing you should want me to do is to come home. Did you forget that I have a gun?”

“No! Come home, damn it! Hear what I have to say. If you still want to leave after, I won’t stop you. Tell me where you are. I’ll come to you, mama, please.”

“This isn’t going to be fixed. You’ve ruined this for good now. I’m beginning to wonder if any of it was real. Thinking of how many lies you’ve told sends chills throughout my body. Who are you? You’re not the man I thought you were. Ain’t no coming back from this,” you cried.

“I’m trying to get you to understand that it’s not what you think it is. Fuck, mama! Just listen to me.”

“What can you possibly say to justify those pictures? You were super fucking cozy with that red-headed bitch! How can you explain the damn ultrasound pictures, Rio? Those photos are the only thing saving your lives right now! That baby won’t be inside her forever, though. I’ma catch that bitch when the baby drops. It’s one thing to cheat on me, but you knocked this desperate housewife-looking-ass bitch up! You gave her the one thing I’d been hoping and praying on. Tell me, is it because of the miscarriage last year? Is that why you stepped outside the marriage? Am I not good enough? Was I not a good wife? A good bonus-mom to Marcus? Tell me what I did to deserve this foul-ass shit,” you questioned as your voice continued to crack.

At this point, you were bawling so hard it made it difficult to breathe. Rio hung his head as he pleaded with you to take a moment to catch your breath. The only thing he could do was apologize, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, mama.” Over and over again. “I wish you would believe me when I tell you things aren’t what they appear to be, but I know all the odds stacked against me. Not with these photos. Nothing I say is going to change your mind. All I can do is tell you I’m sorry this is happening.” For the first time since Marcus was born, his eyes became glossy as he fought the urge to shed a tear.

The line went quiet for the longest fifteen minutes. Rio was relieved to hear you finally take a deep breath. Your voice was scratchy and raw. You no longer wanted to listen to his broken promises and lies as you spoke with finality.

“I hope you know just how much I loved you. I pray that you know how much I’ll always love you, but this is something I can’t get past,” you whispered. “Never did I think I could hate and love you this much.”

Not interested in giving Rio another moment to waste your time, you ended the call. Knowing how his mind worked, you turned off the location on your phone. You knew he wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Taking a few moments to pull yourself together, you dried your eyes and continued your journey. You headed to the place you hoped he wouldn’t think to look for you.

Having no control of the situation, Rio was becoming more desperate to find you. You were out there, all by yourself. No one was watching over and keeping you safe. He had no one to blame but himself. All this was happening on account of his actions. If only he could find you and get you to listen. Even if that were to occur, how could he get you to understand what was happening? In all honesty, even if he were to explain it, there would still be repercussions. Sadly, in a twisted way, he had fucked up.

Rio had checked your location before the call had ended that night. He spent hours trying to find you, but even with the help of his crew, the search was unsuccessful. It was back to the grind that morning, resuming the search after wrapping up any urgent business matters. Rio tried everything he could think to do. He had one of his men trying to track the GPS on your truck. Only you were a step ahead of him. They had found your vehicle parked at your best friend's house. Y/B/N came stomping outside, lashing out at Rio for breaking your heart. The two of them had exchanged a few harsh words. He bit the bullet and called his mother-in-law. The only thing that had come of that experience was a heated exchange between Rio, your father, and two older brothers. Realizing no one wanted to give him any information, Rio focused on your checking activity. He looked to see if you had used your bank or credit cards. He damn near blew a vein when he saw you’d made a large cash withdrawal. It was enough money to keep from having to use your cards. He had no idea if you’d hopped on a plane. If you had gotten a rental and we’re driving across the country. Three of your close friends each lived in a different state. You could’ve been anywhere by now.

The past four days consisted of long sleepless nights and endless searching. Not knowing how else to find you, Rio decided to deal with something else that needed handling. Pushing away from his workspace, he threw back the rest of his drink. Setting the empty glass on the table, he exited his office. Mick had returned from his errand and met up with Rio in the parking lot. He could tell that his boss was running off very little sleep. Mick could sense that Rio had been drinking dark liquor and knew it was on an empty stomach. Pure anger and rage were evident on Rio’s face and in his eyes. Which only meant one thing. Rio pulled out his weapon, checking the weight and safety.

“I think you should let me drive, boss. I’ll keep an eye on things from the car.”

The gesture was one of the many reasons Mick was his go-to. He never had to explain anything, and Mick was a certified trained-to-go shooter. They hopped into the car and sped off towards their destination. It was time for Rio to get some answers. Someone was going to pay for being dumb enough to send that text and those photos. There was only one person he could think of that would be that damn stupid. Surely she knew this little stunt would be the end of her. He just wanted to know what exactly she was trying to prove.

Rio was halfway out of the car before Mick could finish parking. She had mentioned some sob stories about her husband taking the kids out of town, which meant she was home alone. He had found her lights out on the couch with an empty tequila bottle sprawled out on the coffee table. Seeing her sleep so peacefully pissed him off. Here she was getting a nice rest while he had gone the last four days without sleep on account of her, or so he thought. His anger bubbled to the surface. Rio lunged toward her, yanking her by the hair and pulling her into a seated position.

“We need to have a little chat, Elizabeth,” his voice was cold and calculated.

Still not fully awake and a little drunk, Beth blinked a few times. Her eyes were like giant saucers when her brain fully registered what was happening.

“R-Rio, what are you doing here? What is happening? You’re hurting me.”

“Trust me. It’s going to hurt a lot more, Elizabeth. You’ve been pretty busy, haven’t you?”

“I have? W-what are you talking about?”

“You seriously want to play stupid? Come on, ma. That’s only going to make it worse. Why’d you send it?”

“Send what, Rio?”

He pressed the gun into her chin harder. His eyes were dark as his jaw ticked.

“The text? The pictures of the ultrasound? You’re lucky you got pregnant just in time to spare your life. I’m confused as to why you took it upon yourself to share this information with my wife. What’s it to do with her?”

Rio's face fell at the sight of the confusion in Elizabeth’s eyes. She was telling the truth. Beth was clueless about the entire ordeal. If she wasn’t the one that sent them, who did? Her eyes filled with tears as she was shaking. He could see her playing their conversation back in her mind, trying to comprehend what he was saying. He removed the gun from under her chin, putting it back on safety.

“I can see from your reaction that it wasn’t you. You’re still not completely off the hook. There’s a chance that one of your ditzy friends is responsible, maybe that bitter husband of yours. Someone that knows you did it. When I find out, and trust me, I will. We’ll circle back to this moment, yeah?” Rio’s signature crooked smile played on his lips as he tapped her cheek with the barrel of his gun. You're going to help me figure this shit out. Better find a way to get that beautiful wife of mine to return to me safe and sound. If you don't, all three of you bitches gon’ feel it. Get some rest, ma. You got a lot of work to get to tomorrow, yeah?” He stood straightening his shirt and tucking his gun in his jeans. Beth hadn’t said another word and continued to stare at him in fear. Rio brushed the hair from her face and eerily stated, “sweet dreams, darlin’.” With that, he made his departure.

Rio had Mick take him home. Not sleeping and running off of alcohol had taken its toll. He managed to eat half a bowl of ramen before dumping the rest. After taking a quick shower, he got into bed. Though his eyes were heavy, sleep evaded him. Rio’s brain was preoccupied with thoughts of you. He wondered where you were and If you were doing okay. He was also racking his brain, trying to figure out who outside Beth would be ignorant enough to blow up his life. Reaching for his mobile device, he made one last attempt to call you for the night. It went straight to voicemail, and Rio slammed his phone on the nightstand. Almost immediately, a notification came through. It was a text from Marcus’ mom reminding him to pick him up from practice. Guilt and stress coursed through his body. Rio had to prepare for the sadness your absence would cause in his son's life. How could he explain that he was the reason behind your abrupt departure? Marcus loved you just as much as Rio. Unable to fight the exhaustion, his thoughts led him into a slumber.

The conversation about your absence had been difficult, and Marcus handled it as best he could. Rio had explained to his baby boy that although you left, it had nothing to do with him. He clarified that it wouldn’t change the love you two had for him.

“So is she never coming back, dad?”

The sadness in Marcus' voice nearly gutted Rio.

“I honestly can’t say, but this is all on me. I should’ve handled ma’s heart better. I could’ve tried harder to protect her from outside influences. I just want you to know that she didn’t leave you. She needs time apart from me to think. I’m doing my best to fix it, little man.”

“Do you still love her, dad?”

“Of course I do. Always will.”

Marcus smiled at his father and walked over to him. He gave Rio a tight hug.

“Hope that makes you feel better.”

Rio hugged his son back, kissing the top of his head, “it does, baby boy. Thank you.”

“Hey, dad, would it be okay to call mama Y/N sometime?”

That very question had been like a spark of hope for Rio. You had been ignoring his calls, but he knew you would never refuse Marcus’ precious face. Rio knew it would only make you angrier, but it was the only way he could get you to talk to him.

“She wouldn’t mind at all. She’d probably love to hear from you right now.”

Marcus sped off to retrieve the phone Rio and Rhea (his mom) had gifted him on his last birthday. He ran to the couch, phone in hand, and bounced onto the cushions. Marcus excitedly sent you a FaceTime request. As it rang, the sweet boy crawled onto his dad’s lap to wait for an answer. Only letting it ring twice, you accepted. Your eyes focused on Marcus, and you completely ignored Rio.

“Hi, my sweet baby! I miss you so much, bud! How’s school and soccer going for you?”

“Pretty good. I scored two goals in practice today!”

“That’s awesome. Listen, sweetie pie, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to kiss that cute handsome face goodbye. Hope you’re not too upset with me, my little love.”

You were doing your best to mask the pain in your voice, but Rio heard it as it made his stomach twist.

“That’s okay, ma. Dad told me you had to take some time to yourself. I’m going to miss you. I hope I see you soon.”

Marcus was on the same page as his father. He sneakily finished saying what he wanted and handed the phone to Rio. You could hear Marcus shout, “love you, ma! Gotta go do my homework. You should talk to daddy for a bit, please,” he begged. With that, the adorable little devil made his exit.

“I don’t have shit to say to you. That’s pretty fucked up for you to use Marcus to force me to speak with you. What the actual fuck is wrong with you?”

“You left me no choice, mama. When are you going to stop playing games and come home love?”

“You’re such a narcissist. Get the fuck off my line, Rio.”

“You can’t even take ten minutes to hear what I have to say?”

“He only want me when I’m not there. He better call Becky with the good hair.”

-Beyoncé.

“No, I cannot. It’s funny that you suddenly have so much time for me. Now that I’m not sitting around waiting on you and believing your lies. You’ve got all the time in the world. Fucking ass. Stop calling me,” you growled, ending the call.

At this point, Rio was starting to become agitated. He understood that he’d fucked up, but you weren’t even trying to have one final discussion about it all. Don’t bitches crave closure? There was so much more to the situation that you didn’t know. He wanted to explain everything, but you wouldn’t allow him to have even an ounce of your time. Rio took a moment to gather himself. Scooping his phone from the end table, he FaceTimed Mick.

“Yo?”

“She answered a FaceTime call from Marcus. We managed to get her to stay on long enough to take screen grabs. Find out if the screenshots can give any information on where the fuck my wife is. I’m not playing this cat and mouse shit anymore. Find her by any means necessary.”

“Got you. I’m on it, boss.”

Ending his call with Mick, he was startled by the doorbell. Glancing at the security camera left him confused. Rio approached the door, his hand behind his back, settling on the base of his gun. He opened the door, and his eyes fixated on a man dressed in slacks and a button-up. The stranger addressed Rio by his full name. He eyed the man cautiously, replying, “who wants to know? Do we know each other?” The man smiled, giving Rio a quick head nod. “You’ve been served.”

Rio barely had time to process what was happening. The papers were in his hand, and the process server was already in his vehicle, leaving by the time it clicked. He didn’t even have to look at them to know they were divorce papers. Not wanting to scare or upset Marcus, he closed the door softly. He did the only thing he could to release his anger with his son present. He went to his workout room and took all his frustrations out on his punching bag. Half an hour later and he was still so full of emotion. He took a swig of water before snapping and launching it across the room. Alone in his thoughts, he pressed his back against the wall and slid down. Burying his head in his hands, he tried his hardest not to spiral, but it was unsuccessful. Rio’s emotions bubbled over as he called you again. It rang once, going to voicemail.

“You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m giving up that easily. You can keep ignoring my calls but check this out. I’ll never stop looking for you. I can promise you that. Do us both a favor and just bring your beautiful ass home, ma. Sending me papers, I am not Usher, sweetheart, I ain’t ready to sign shit. Never will be. You are my wife. We in this thing for life, baby. I thought you knew. I know it’s hard for you to believe right now, but I fucking love you, mama. How you groan and complain about my lack of communication, yet here you are doing exactly that. Get your head on straight. As soon as daddy can figure it out, I’m coming to get you, darlin’.” Ending the call, he went to do a little searching of his own.

You had only been at your destination for a few hours. Not only had it been a long drive, but being an emotional mess made it impossible to focus on the road. You had to stop to rest and force yourself to eat something. Every hotel you slept in was as low-key as you could get. Your last conversation with Rio had you constantly looking over your shoulder. The desperation and determination in his voice were too hard to ignore. You knew that he was on a mission to find you. That’s why you had spent longer than expected at the stop before. Your mind flickered back to the previous night.

Holed up in the quaint little hotel room, you drowned your sorrows in a bottle of Casamigos. You Swallowed a copious amount of alcohol as your face scrunched at the burning sensation in your chest. You sat on the bed, legs folded with your MacBook in your lap. Fingertips furiously pecked at the keys as you filed for separation. Summer Walker’s “Throw It Away” flowed through the speakers. Earlier, your best friend had called you while driving to check in on you. She had done a little research after you had adamantly declared you wanted to end your marriage. Your friend felt that you were being impulsive. She had taken it upon herself to explain that you could file online. Halfway through the conversation, Y/B/N convinced you to file for a separation. She argued that you didn’t know the whole story, and you agreed. Filling out the proper documents lasted a while. Having completed your task, you took one last swig of liquor and curled into a ball, crying yourself to sleep.

Sitting at the counter of a cute little diner, you listened to the last message your soon-to-be ex-husband left you. Rio’s voicemail made you so angry that your mouth formed a scowl. He was begging for a response, and that’s just what you gave him. Not giving him the satisfaction of calling him back, you opted to shoot him a biting text.

“If you had bothered to open the damn envelope, you’d know they’re separation papers. I was going to take time to clear my head and make a proper decision. Judging by your stalkerish, obsessive, possessive attitude, ain’t shit I need to think over. The papers you’re bitching about now? Go ahead and tear them up. New documents are on the way, my boy! Save us both the hassle and sign them whenever you fucking get them. No need to send a response. I won’t be responding to anything else you have to say. Let this be the LAST time we have to contact each other.”

Rio responded to your text with a photo. It was an image of the papers burning in the kitchen sink. “Did this as soon as I received them. Any other papers coming to this address will meet the same fate, my love.” You thought about responding but were interrupted by someone sliding into the stool next to you. Ignoring the unwanted lunch companion, you tried turning your focus back to your phone. Only the sound of the lunch companion’s voice sent a chill down your spine.

“I must say it’s odd bumping into you so far from home. What are you doing in California? Are you hiding from someone, darlin’?”

Yes, another cliffhanger. Sorry my babies, but I got to keep the suspense going 😜. I know, I ain’t shit 😆😈. Part three is in progress, but I’m working on several different WIP. Be patient with your girl. I hope this lived up to your expectations. It was a struggle to post part two. I tend to be overly critical of my work. Comments and reblogs are very much appreciated. Ask box is open as well💓.

Divider Credit: @firefly-graphics

Prompt Credit: @a-cure-for-writers-block

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#berberriescorner #are you listening?#series #part two #the breakdown #rio x black!reader #rio x woc!reader #rio x reader #rio x y/n #rio fanfiction #rio fanfic #rio good girls #good girls rio #manny montana #black writer #Spotify

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favennnnn · 5 months

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"The Mini Green Notebook"

-Project Loki AU

-Lorelei x Augustus

A bead of sweat formed in Lorelei's temple. She is panting like she has done a suspicious act. In every room, she's looking for her lost mini green notebook. Nervousness is rushing through her blood. Lorelei can't afford to lose it because the content of the front page is about the codes in her investigation, while the back page contains dark secrets that only she is allowed to read. A suggestion popped up in her mind. She decided to rest first on the long white bench to be calm and remember where she left it. She's concerned that if she is shivering while having a train of thought, she won't find it.

Augustus was busy fixing his activity sheets in his office when something caught his attention. A mini green notebook.

"A green apple notebook? I don't remember having this one. I only have black notebooks. Maybe this is from my assistant, and she accidentally left it."

Augustus put it on his table near his lampshade. He was about to leave his office, but something inside him wanted to stay. Augustus averted his gaze at the green apple notebook on the table. He returned to his working area and sat down on his swivel chair.

"But my assistant's mini-notebook is always blue. I don't think this is her possession."

In his curiosity, he opened the notebook. His mind went blank after seeing the first page. It's full of codes that he can't understand.

"What the heck is this? Is this from Moriarty? Moriarty knows that I'm not into codes as a means of secret communication. Is he playing with me?"

He threw the mini-notebook on the floor due to annoyance. He fixed his glasses and brushed up his hair. Augustus frowned at what he saw on the floor. The notebook that was thrown is currently in an open position, revealing the back page. It piqued his curiosity. He picked it up, and read it silently. "How to tie a necktie properly?" by Lorelei Rios. Augustus is wondering how Lorelei's notebook ended up in his office.

"Anyways, I'll read this. The title looks interesting."

Mixed emotions covered his face. It seems like he's reading a roller coaster story. He laughs like a psycho while reading, then after a few seconds he'll blush, then he'll react "What the f*ck?!" His eyes keep opening wide in disbelief.

He can't believe that Lorelei wrote them.

"I pulled his necktie towards me until our lips met."

"I initiated the tongue to tongue movement, and I circled my tongue inside his mouth."

"I pulled his hair hard."

"My nails remained deep at his back."

"He covered my globes with his huge hands."

Lorelei's eyes went wide. She suddenly remembered that she went yesterday night to Augustus' office to investigate. She thinks that she might accidentally drop it there. Adrenaline rush hit her to the point that she was running quickly toward his office and she didn't realize that she sat on a fresh paint bench, giving big white spots on her skirt and the back of her thighs.

Lorelei opened the door silently, but it was too late. She saw Augustus holding her green notebook, and he was focused on the back page. Augustus is reading the ending of the story, "This is your punishment for not eating my breakfast, Thoren."

Lorelei froze at her position like she couldn't move an inch. Augustus looks so drowned in the story that he doesn't even realize Lorelei is at his door.

"Gus, give it back to me." Lorelei walked slowly towards him.

"Oh, you're here, Lori. Didn't know that there's a wild version of you hiding in that innocent face." Augustus looks unbothered.

"You've read it all, didn't you?" Lorelei asked in a panicking way.

"Wait, what's with the white spots scattered on your inner thighs?" Making Augustus gulped.

"Geez, maybe it's from the white bench I've...wait, answer my question first! Did you read it?" Lorelei raised her voice.

"I would be lying if I said no." Gus stands up and teases Lorelei by raising his right hand and holding the notebook.

She kept on jumping, she couldn't get it from him because he was too tall.

Augustus changed the position of his hand, he put his hands on his back to confuse Lorelei, but Lorelei took it as a big opportunity since his hands weren't above anymore, she tried to get it at his back, but she didn't realize that she's on a hugging position with him. *awkward*

Lorelei felt a hard bulge on her stomach. "What's this feeling?" She whispered.

"I didn't know that you are this soft" Augustus replied while he was blushing.

Lorelei grabbed the notebook at his back and stepped away from Gus like she was disgusted.

"I've read it all. It's detailed." Augustus complimented.

"Really? Do I have a lot of grammatical errors?" Lorelei asked with pleading eyes.

Augustus laughed, "What? So you're not embarrassed about your story, but you're embarrassed because you might have wrong grammar?" He continued laughing.

Lorelei's cheeks turned red like tomatoes.

"Please, don't use it against me. Don't write an article about this. I don't want to ruin the QED's reputation." She pleaded.

Augustus walks towards her, making Lorelei walk backward until she's cornered at the wall. He put his two hands on the wall, making it look like he jailed Lorelei.

"I won't unless you'll agree to my conditions." He smirked at her.

_________________________________________________

This is only a fan-fiction story.

Characters were from akosiibarra’s “Project Loki” on Wattpad.

#Project Loki #PL #akosiibarra #wattpad #au #lorelei #augustus #loki #luthor #LoTus

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freezethebeez · 6 months

Text

All I Wanted

Maybe then we’ll remember to slow down . Hinata stops, standing stock still on the pavement, eyes trained on the court with the fifteen year-old. At all of our favourite parts . It’s been five years since Hinata was fifteen. Five years, two national tournaments, and one incredibly long overseas-plane ride later and he was here, standing at the cusp of the beach, observing. (Observing, not playing— staring at the TV, observing, not playing.)

in which the 2016 summer Olympics have finally arrived in Rio, and Hinata finds a piece of familiarity amidst an unfamiliar crowd. Cue to one late-night run along the beach, an acai bowl, and a phone call with an old friend later, Hinata learns that the only way to grow is by leaving the familiarity behind.

info: ambiguous relationships/ending, character/relationship study, emotional roller coasters, feelings realization (to the best of my aroace capabilities) amongst other epiphanies!

#my bad ideas #haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #kagehina fanfiction #kagehina #i love those guys #again. sorry to the catalyst enjoyers. the haikyuu brainrot has been perpetual #we'll be back to out regularly scheduled programming at... some point...

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sdktrs12 · 2 years

Note

If you wouldn't mind, would you share your top/fav fics that you've written? like the ones you've written that you like the most/are the most proud of 👀💞

Oooh anon, favorite questions are always so hard, especially when it comes to my own fic! I'm proud of all my fic really, but here's a quick top 5 (in no particular order) -

Criminology 101 series - QuikGrove University was my first foray into fanfiction and this series is still my baby! Writing this fic was so cathartic when I started and I've learned so much and grown so much as a writer since I started this series. I will always be so grateful to all the people who read/kudos/commented and were so supportive and encouraging with me when I began my (sometimes very rocky) writing journey.

Off The Record - I love the enemies to lovers trope because that is just...brio by definition haha and it's been so incredibly fun to play around with that dynamic in this fic. Plus I've really enjoyed exploring the flashback aspect of this particular story.

The Nanny - This fic will probably always be a top 5 for me just from the sheer amount of responses and love that has been shown for it by others. There was such a roller coaster of emotion that went into writing this fic, from the agonizingly slow breakdown of Dean and Beth's marriage, to exploring Beth's family background and her connection to Dean's family, and finally giving Beth and Rio a happily ever after.

Touch (without leaving a trace) - This fic was a triple first for me - my first ever prompt fill, kink fic, and Rio POV all rolled into one! I am particularly proud of myself for not only branching out of my comfort zone and challenging myself to write and finish this fic, but also for actually sharing it and not immediately deleting it right after.

Fade Into You - I'm the Angst Queen so soft brio is not something I normally do, but this prompt fill I gifted really inspired me to step outside my norm and write a gentler brio that I actually loved. I also reallyyyy love a lot of the Rio POV I wrote here.

Thanks so much for stopping by to chat! This was a very lovely ask 💕💕💕

#Asks #Anon #GG fanfic #Fanfiction #Writing

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just-some-fiction · 3 years

Text

Just You and Me Part 20

Pregnancy Snippets Part 1

Before her bump was too restrictive and after Rio put Mike and Mick as her security detail, she got them to let her tag along to work one day. Feigning innocence and saying she just wanted to tag along for the drive, when in reality she wanted to jump her man. Her sex drive was on high lately and all she wanted to do was climb her husband like a tree whenever she saw him. Arriving at the bar, the boys got out and headed towards the entrance, only to turn and watch her walk in with them.

"Uh," Mike looked at Mick, "he's gonna shoot us."

"No he won't," she laughed as she opened the door and stepped in, "he's old school, he'll never kill you two in the presence of his unborn child."

Rio was sitting at the bar with Jakes, Cisco and one of the new underlings, Eddie, who was tending the bar. It was just the four of them in the building. They were currently waiting on Mike and Mick to have a meeting. When he heard the door open, he assumed it was them so didn't turn around, his attention on his phone, sending Lucia a text message.

"Who's the pregnant lady?" Eddie asked.

As Eddie spoke, a phone went off behind them and his head whipped up. Looking behind him, he saw his pregnant wife stroll towards them, with Mick and Mike trailing in the back, looking a bit skittish.

"Hey Lucia," Jakes greeted her with a wave.

"Hi Jakes," she smiled, before turning to her husband, “hey babe,” who raised an eyebrow, sending his two right hand men a look. Oh god, she loved that look, grabbing his hand, she pulled him towards the back office.

"Bye guys," she smirked as she pulled her husband along.

"Did she really just use us to get some?" Mike looked at Mick.

"She's a genius," Mick shook his head, "at least he ain't gonna shoot us now."

"Just glad the boss didn't assign the two of us as her security," Cisco said to Jakes who simply laughed.

As the office door closed Rio turned, ready to interrogate her as to why she was here, but was interrupted by her pulling him in for a kiss. Her hands were everywhere, his shoulders, torso, neck and arms. Not allowing him to pull away just yet, Lucia sucked on his bottom lip as her hands travelled down to his crotch, cupping him through the denim.

Slightly pulling away he almost laughed, "Are you for real right now?"

"Mhm," she nodded before pulling him back to her.

Who was he to deny her? He hoisted her onto his desk, kissing her neck while sliding her tights off and sliding his hands under her knitted jersey, groaning at the absence of panties. Her hands worked to loosen his belt and unzip his jeans, before shoving it down along with his boxers. Working her hand over him, he was soon hard and sliding into her.

Biting his shoulder as he moved in and out of her. Rio was placing kisses all over her neck. He loved how she felt since falling pregnant, it was tighter and wetter than before, her skin sensitive and responsive to everything he did. With the way she was clenching around him, neither one was gonna last long.

He held her as she shuddered, her face buried into his neck, "That's it mama," his grip in her hips tightened, "take it all in," he felt his balls tighten, "fuck Lucia," he pushed as deep as he could, emptying his load inside of her.

Helping her straighten up he looked at her, a smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes pulling him towards her.

"Don't," she warned, "I already feel bad for using those two just to get some."

He laughed, "I ain't say nothing mama," wrapping his arms around her, "I just got this meeting then I'm done for the day aight?"

"Mhm," nodding, she kissed him before hopping off of the desk and following him out into the open area.

"I'm gonna just be over there," pointing to one of the booths, not making eye contact with anyone and refusing to acknowledge the amused looks on Jakes or Cisco's faces. However halfway to the booth she stopped and turned around looking at Eddie.

"Hey," she called, "could you make me a milkshake please, there's vanilla ice cream in the deep freezer at the back and in the office there's microwave popcorn and caramel sauce," the others, including Rio sent her incredulous looks, "what, who do you think makes sure ya’ll munchies stash doesn’t run out?"

"I've never seen anyone go from horny to hungry so fast," Mick mumbled to Mike, who choked on his drink, as Rio sent them both a look.

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

A few days later at the warehouse, Mick and Mike strolled in. Walking over to Rio, who was dealing with one of their associates, Mike cleared his throat. If their boss was surprised to see them, he hid it. They were supposed to be at the apartment with Lucia until he got home. The associate was currently tied to a chair, gag in his mouth and looking alarmed.

"Scuse me man," he said to the guy, smiling that hollow smile of his before turning to his two most trusted men.

"Boss," Mike spoke, he never called him anything else when they were working, leaning closer so the tied up man couldn't hear. Rio sighed before turning to him.

"I'll be back, gotta deal with something quick, these two will take care of you," he said, patting the frightened guy on his shoulder, before walking out.

He made his way to the car and climbed into the back, sending his wife an exasperated look. Leaning his head against the headrest he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Lucia," he pulled the hood of his hoodie down, "you can't be forcing those two to drive you to wherever I am when you thirsty."

"Yes I can," she said, sounding indignant, "I'm pregnant."

"I'm handling a rotten egg mami," he sighed, looking out the window. Glancing over at her, he pursed his lips, he saw her clenching her thighs together. Of course him being the crime boss dealing with shit would turn her on right now, he thought.

Being who he was, he groaned and moved towards her, placing his one hand on her thigh and the other pushing her hair out of her face, “That really got you clenching round nothing mami?” Soon she was on his lap, kissing him as she sank down onto his length.

"Fuck," she moaned as she came, looking at him as her ogasm ripped through her. He came soon after, burying his head on her neck. Kissing him soundly she climbed off of him, straightening her dress.

"Fuck mami," he tucked himself back in to his pants. She pulled him towards her, kissing him again.

"'m sleepy," she mumbled, he stroked her hair for a few minutes as she dozed off.

A few minutes later he walked back into the warehouse, as calm as ever and nodded at the three men. Their associate was sporting a few bruises and gashes.

"We were just finishing up," Mike explained, smirking at Mike, "you can head out if you want boss."

"Nah imma handle this but if you two could do clean up that'd be great."

Lucia was napping on the backseat of the car, having tired herself out while riding him. Part of him wanted to just drive her home and run her a bath, but he had shit to deal with inside. So here he was, finishing off his rotten egg before hopping into his car and driving his wife home to pamper her.

"Sure thing," Mike nodded.

"Thanks boys," he smiled coldly before picking up a crowbar from the table.

Later, Lucia woke up as they pulled into one of their car washes. Sitting up on the backseat, expecting to see Mike and Mick, she let out a surprised huff when she saw her husband's face in the rear view mirror, a bored expression on his face.

"Have a good nap?" he asked, glancing at her through the mirror. His hoodie was zipped up straight to the top, covering his tattoo. She nodded, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek.

"I did," she whispered, "but now mama and Bean are hungry."

He turned his head and stroked her cheek, "Ok mami."

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

During her pregnancy she felt a range of emotions. Some days she'd be horny and hungry, jumping Rio every chance she got, not that her husband would ever complain. Other days she'd be extremely emotional.

Rio was busy with a meeting when he felt his phone vibrate. Sighing he knew exactly who it was, but as much as he wanted to answer it, he couldn't. Later that evening when he got home, he found Lucia alone in the apartment, having told Mike and Mick that they could call it a night. When she saw him, she pushed herself off the couch and went to the bedroom.

"Hey mama," he greeted her as he walked into the bedroom. She ignored him and went about getting ready for bed.

"How was your day?" he asked, but she continued to ignore him, "Cia?"

Suddenly she burst into tears. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. He came to sit next to her on the bed.

"Mami," he tried again, "what's wrong?"

"You don't love me," she said between sobs.

"What?"

"You ignored my text message," she sniffed, "and you came home late and the other day with the boys you forgot our smoothies and this morning you didn't kiss me before you went to work and last night you raised your voice at me-"

Pregnancy was a roller-coaster he decided. Sighing he ran his hand over his face, which probably wasn't the best thing to do because his wife started sobbing harder.

"And now you're getting annoyed with me," her sobbing started again.

"No baby," he tried pulling her closer but she pushed him away, causing him to rock his jaw, which set her off even more. That's how he ended up on the couch for the night.

Sometime during the night he felt a presence next to him and the sensation of being poked. It was followed by something heavy climbing on top of him. His eyes shot open, his survival mode kicking in, only to realize that it was Lucia who was trying her hardest to get comfortable on top of him.

"Nah," he said, turning on the reading lamp on the table by his head, "we ain't sleeping here Lucia," no way was he going to be a preggy pillow on a fucking couch.

With that, he pulled her to their bedroom and settled in. He didn't say anything about the shit eating grin on her face.

"I love you," she whispered into his chest.

"Love you too," he replied, "you psycho," she kicked him in the shin.

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

One day, Mike came into the warehouse, looking very sheepish, "Uh," he just pointed to the door and Rio knew.

Climbing into the backseat he found Lucia sipping on her milkshake. As soon as she saw him she launched herself into his arms.

"Mami," he sighed.

"I was feeling sad and wanted to cuddle and Mike said no so I told him to drive me here," she explained, "he didn't wanna cuddle cos I'm fat."

"Nah ma," he chuckled, "he ain't wanna cuddle cos I would probably cap his ass."

She said nothing, just cuddled. Calling Mike he decided he'd take her home and spend the rest of the day with her. His boys would handle business for the day.

"Want me to take you home mami?" he toyed with a strand of hair, "Run you a bath," he slid his hands down her back, squeezing her ass, "make you feel good, haven't fucked in a while."

"We fucked yesterday morning," she said into his chest.

"Exactly," he shrugged, "that's more than twenty four hours ago."

She laughed kissing him as he untangled himself from her to get the keys from Mike.

"She ok?" Mike looked a little worried.

"Said you didn't wanna cuddle with her," Rio looked amused more than anything.

"She didn't ask me to," Mike scratched his head, "she just said you broke her pregnant pillow."

"Preggy pillow," Rio automatically corrected him, rocking his jaw in annoyance that he knew the right terminology, holding his hand out he snapped, "not a word, gimme the keys."

Mike just laughed. They drove home and cuddled on the bed for the rest of the day. He'd answer a few work emails and take a few calls, while Lucia napped on his chest. Every few minutes she’d move, or stretch, placing a kiss on any part of him and then doze off again. When he was done with work, Rio pulled the blanket a bit higher, covering her shoulders. Resting his hand on her swollen abdomen, he felt the baby kick.

"Hey pop," he whispered, smiling as the baby kicked again, looking at his wife whose face was squished against his chest, fast asleep, "can't wait to meet you," he kissed her head, "three of us are gonna have so much fun together."

"And I thought pregnancy made me sentimental," Lucia mumbled into his chest.

Rio chuckled, "Nah it just made you horny as fuck baby," he kissed her nose as she looked up, "not that I'm complaining."

Lucia sat up, rolling her eyes, her hand rubbing her little bump, "I'm gonna go lay in the tub for a bit, wanna join me?"

A few minutes later the couple were submerged in bubbles and warm water. Rio pressed her shoulders and kissed along her neck, before slipping his hand between her legs.

"Papi," she moaned as he fingered her, "so good."

"Come for me baby," he whispered, smirking when he felt her clench around his fingers, her orgasm hitting her, "good girl," he kissed the side of her head, "my good girl."

Later he made them lunch and they watched a movie. Lucia cuddled deeper into his warmth under the blankets, enjoying the time with her husband. Rio held onto her, rubbing her back and placing random kisses on her head.

"Baby's kicking," she took his hand and placed it under the blanket to feel.

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

One day Lucia woke up from a nap to the sound of a gun being cocked and her two security details jumping up.

"Boss no," Mick pleaded.

"The fuck is this?" Rio did not look pleased. A few minutes ago he strolled into a quiet apartment, annoyed that none of them were answering their phones. Only to find his two right hand men and wife napping on the couch.

An hour earlier Lucia was complaining of back pain and how she can't sleep because of it, "Rio fucked up my preggy pillow, so I usually nap on him," she said as she stretched.

Mike looked at Mick then at her, "Oh hell no," when Lucia looked at them.

"Come on you guys," she sighed, "we're family and it's not like we haven't shared a sleeping area before, remember the camping trip."

"Yeah," Mick spoke up, dipping a chip into the salsa he was currently having, "also remember homeboy was there and he almost shot me for stretching too close to you."

She rolled her eyes, "Please guys," she pleaded. That's how they ended up on her couch, sandwiched together, one supporting her back and the other as her preggy pillow. What they didn't account for was all three of them falling asleep and being discovered by a very annoyed gangster.

"Baby, seriously," she sighed, sitting up straight , sending her husband a look.

"Rio, man," Mike wanted to laugh but he knew as soon as he did, he'd be dead.

"The fuck you two still doing on the couch?"

"For fuck sake babe," Lucia was annoyed now.

"Lucia," he warned.

"You fucked up my preggy pillow and you weren't here so I had to improvise,"she huffed, "so either you get out or shut up and come be my preggy pillow."

By now Mick and Mike were slowly edging out of the lounge, their eyes glued to the gun. Rio pursed his lips, his free hand twitching as him and his wife had a stare off.

"It's like you want me to kill someone," he mumbled into her hair a while later, both out of breath and naked. Mick and Mike somehow made it out of the apartment unscathed.

She sighed, resting her chin on his shoulder, "Next time don't fuck up my preggy pillow," she replied, her arm tightening around his middle, "mmm I missed you," she chuckled, "Mike's body is too skinny to do this comfortably," he made a sound at the back of his throat, "next time I'll try Mick as the pillow and Mike as the back rest."

"Nah," he cut her off, "there ain't gonna be a next time, cos from now on, imma be here the whole time," he looked down at her, "gonna be working from home and whatnot."

She smiled, "If I knew using Mike as a pillow would get you to stay, I would have done it a long time ago."

"Whatever you psycho," he wrapped his arm around her, "still not sorry about the preggy pillow."

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

The preggy pillow met its end five months into her pregnancy. Rio walked into their home one day to find the monstrosity of a pillow in the middle of his bed, with his wife napping around it. At first it was adorable, she sat with it everywhere and it helped her sleep, especially when he wasn't there.

Slowly it went from being cute to being annoying, especially when Rio wanted some quality time with his wife. Lucia had that pillow with her everywhere, when they were in bed, when they were chilling in the lounge, just everywhere.

The breaking point came one night when he woke up to movement. Only to look over at his wife and see her pleasuring herself with the pillow, nestled between her legs. Just before bed, he slid his hand up her night shirt and bit his lip suggestively, only for her to say no. Now she was laying her getting herself off on this fucking pillow. To make it worse, the pillow was situated between them.

"See how it is," he drawled, as her eyes shot open in the dark, "why fuck your husband when you got a pillow."

She had the decency to look guilty, "Hey baby," she lifted her head off of the pillow. Before she could do anything, the pillow was pulled from her and the next thing she knew, Rio was slicing it with the knife he kept in his bedside drawer.

"Rio!"

Walking over to the window, he wrenched the curtains open and tossed it out the window. Turning around, he shrugged his shoulders before getting back into bed.

"My pillow," was all she could say.

"Nah mama," he growled, rolling them over, "from now on imma be your pillow," with that he kissed her, moving his hands under her sleep shirt. She just sighed into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Later on, when they were done Lucia was nestled into his side, drawing circled on his chest, "Can't believe you got jealous over a pillow," she laughed.

He made an unimpressed sound, "Can't believe you thought it was aight to pleasure yourself with a pillow when I'm right fucking next to you."

"You were sleeping papi," she reasoned.

"When that ever stopped you before?"

That seemed to keep her quiet, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

She laughed, "My silly man," kissing his neck and wrapping her arm tightly around him. Her silly man who saved her all those years ago and who's loved her regardless of where she came from. The baby started kicking as Rio drew patterns on her belly.

------

Pregnancy also seemed to affect Rio. The next morning Lucia woke up to her husband's head resting on her belly, it would have been adorable, if only he wasn't explaining what to look for in a gun.

"You want something that's easy to conceal yeah," he whispered, "you also need a silencer, your uncle Mick can show you his collection one day."

"Can we not explain the intricacies of gun use to a 20 week old foetus?" Lucia looked down at her husband.

"We already went through the intricacies of gang law the other morning," he shrugged.

"Of course you did," she laughed, laying back against her pillows.

"What you wanna do today?" he rested his head against hers, "Boys are handling business today," he kissed her neck, "could run us a bath, with all those salts and shit you like," he kissed his way down her neck to her collar bone, "watch movies," pulling her nightie down slightly he sucked on a nipple, "or we could stay in bed all day and I could fuck you sensless?" his hand skimmed up her thighs and between her legs, "Fuck you wet already mami," pushing a finger inside of her.

"I want all those things," she moaned as she pulled his head towards hers and kissed him.

Another time she found him watching videos on breastfeeding and the different ways for the baby to latch. There was something extremely comical about watching a gangbanger learning about breastfeeding, especially when said gang leader just came home from dealing with a few men who tried to encroach on his territory.

“Baby what are you doing?” she frowned, trying to hide the amusement in her voice.

“Did you know that breast milk can be stored in a freezer for three months?” he looked at her, his eyes wide in amazement.

“I do now,” she laughed.

“And that you can use breast milk to clear up a blocked nose, ear infections an cracked nipples?”

“I did actually know that,” she leaned into him as he continued to scroll through videos on his phone, “thinking of becoming a lactation consultant or something?”

He huffed, “Was curious,” he looked at her, “don’t really want my kid drinking that formula shit you know,” he shrugged. They spoke about this when they found out they were expecting and decided they both wanted the baby to be breastfed.

“I know baby,” she kissed his cheek, “so what else did you learn?” she peered at the phone screen.

“Dads can do that kangaroo care thing too and they can cup or bottle feed the baby breast milk,” he showed her a video showing a man holding his child on his bare chest, practising skin to skin contact.

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

Lucia woke up one morning and cuddled into Rio’s warmth. She felt his arms tighten around her, causing her to smile. Since Rio decided to work from home, they fell into a routine. They’d wake up and lay in bed until she’d need to use the bathroom, then they’d make breakfast and shower together and he’d do some work, while she went through their books and by the afternoon they’d be lounging on the couch watching something.

Evenings consisted of him running them a bath. She’d lay against him, while stroking his stubble and placing kisses on his neck.

“You good?” he mumbled, head tilted back, enjoying the warm water and feeling her, naked and wet skin against his. She nodded into his neck, lips sucking on the skin, her hands roaming over his muscular shoulders, before taking his one hand that was resting on the outer edges of the tub and moved it under the water, placing it on her bump.

“He’s kicking,” she smiled into his neck, “our baby papi,” she smiled.

“Ours Cia,” he sighed, tilting her head and kissing her.

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

With her second pregnancy, came an added feature - possessiveness. During her first pregnancy, they didn’t have to deal with the likes of Beth Boland. However, now, she was a fixture in their lives, something Lucia was not handling well since falling pregnant. It didn’t help that Rio wanted her nowhere near Beth , worried she’d see Lucia’s pregnancy as an opportunity.

“Lucia,” Mike sighed, seeing her walk towards the G-Wagon, “we had strict instructions, he will shoot me on sight.”

“No he won’t,” she rolled her eyes, “I will, because I’m pregnant and horny and you are preventing me from scratching that itch,” she smirked, “unless,” sending him a suggestive wink.

“Get in,” he ground out.

“Thanks Mikey.”

They pulled up to the warehouse and Lucia grimaced when she saw the minivan. Mike glanced at her and sighed. He’s known her for long enough to know when her insecurities were coming through and this was one of those moments.

Rio rocked his jaw in annoyance. These ladies were testing his patience today, especially Elizabeth. He respected the fact that she was trying to be a boss, but she still didn’t understand the consequences of her actions. The added annoyance came with the fact that she was still trying to seduce him - something that was getting old and something that may lead his wife to commit murder.

They were almost done with their meeting when the door to the warehouse opened - as usual he assumed it was one of his boys or Mike, so he didn’t turn around. However, when Elizabeth’s attention was focused behind him, it grated further on his nerves and he glanced behind him. Suppressing a groan as he saw his wife walk towards them, her little bump barely visible, but still there and that all too familiar look on her face.

“Hey boss,” Mike greeted, sheepishly, “ladies,” he nodded at them, avoiding eye contact with Rio, “you all know Lucia, right?” he tried lightening the tension.

Lucia rolled her eyes as she walked alongside him, not sparing the ladies a glance and beelined for her husband, grabbing his hand and hauling him towards the back office, not even bothering to make an excuse. He decided, these ladies were wasting his time today so he didn’t mind taking his time with his wife either - might as well send a message to Elizabeth. As she came to wrap her arms around him he sighed, pulling her closer as she kissed him gently. Soon she was sucking on his neck, her hands trailing down his hard torso, over the fabric of his shirt. His hands grabbed her ass, as he pulled her in for a kiss, groaning when she rubbed against him.

“You not supposed to be here Lucia,” he said, pulling away, his hand on her neck, making her look at him.

“Papi,” she sighed, trying to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped her.

“I don’t wanna give that woman anything to use as ammo,” he glanced down at her bump.

“She’s a mother Rio,” she sighed.

“Don’t matter,” he growled, “she was willing to leave our son without a father.”

He had a point, but at that moment, she couldn’t care, all she cared about was having him fill her very empty body. Cupping him through his pants she pulled him closer. A few minutes later he had her bent over the desk, fucking her from behind.

“Love how this pussy feels when you’re pregnant mami,” he groaned, “should keep you knocked up all the time,” Lucia couldn’t respond, too lost in the feeling of him filling her. Everytime he pulled out, she felt the veins along his dick, creating delicious friction against her sensitive walls.

“So good mami,” he huffed, as his thrusts became harder and deeper. Gripping her hips until his knuckles turned white, he held her in place as he came, groaning into the back of her hair. Her walls clenched around him as she came. Pulling out, he slid her panties back in place and helped her get dressed.

"You good mami?"

She nodded, pulling him close and wrapping her arms around him, "Yeah I am."

He kissed her roughly, holding her flush against him, "I won't be long yeah," he squeezed her sides, "gonna deal with them and then I'll be home," he kissed her cheek as she trailed her hands down his chest, "pick up something to eat too."

"Can't you come home now?" she pouted as she played with his chain, causing her husband to laugh at her behavior, both of them aware that she was being silly.

"Mami," he laughed, his hands resting on her little bump, "your mama is having a moment," he rubbed the bump earning him a whack against the shoulder, "she likes hitting me too but you gonna protect me when you're here yeah," Lucia rolled her eyes.

Outside Mick and Mike looked at the ladies, a bit sheepishly. Beth had a murderous look on her face and both Annie and Ruby looked around a bit awkwardly.

“This happen often?” Annie broke the silence, Beth sending her an annoyed look.

“Pretty much,” Mick shrugged. They all cringed as they heard the thud of the desk behind the office door.

A few minutes later Lucia walked out, Rio trailing behind her, rolling his shoulders as he watched her hips. Elizabeth had an annoyed look on her face, while Annie looked amused. Regardless of her dislike for Beth Boland, Lucia didn’t have anything against Annie and Ruby, finding them entertaining.

“Can we get on with it please,” Beth rolled her eyes.

Lucia ignored her and turned to Rio, who smirked, “See you at home mami.”

“Let’s go Mikey,” she walked past them towards the door.

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

During her first pregnancy, Lucia became a bit self conscious regarding her weight. Rio noticed after one of his mother's block parties, when Jenny looked his wife up and down, a smirk on her face. So when he woke up the next morning alone in bed, to find his wife staring at herself in the mirror with a look on her face, he threw the covers off and stood behind her. She immediately lowered her top when she saw him. Raising an eyebrow, he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her flush against him. Burying his nose in her hair he sighed.

"Why you let bitches like Jenny Valdez get to you?" she tensed up at the question and when she didn't answer he lifted his head, looking at her in the mirror.

He huffed, rubbing her bump, feeling their baby kick against his hand, "Feel that yeah, that's ours," moving her hair to one side he placed a kiss against her neck, "our little bean, we made that," turning her head, he kissed her, "you gotten so far baby,” he held onto her, swaying them slightly, “accomplished so much over the years,” he smirked against her skin, “probably the only person out there who can put up with my shit,” she scoffed, “girls like Jenny stay in their bubble, living in the past and scavenge off other’s leftovers,” his hand trailed under her top, lifting it off of her, baring her to him, “fuck mami,” he groaned, his eyes roaming down her body, before lifting her bridal style and onto the bed, “the hell do I want anyone else but you Lucia?” he growled before devouring her lips.

At the next block party, Rio made a point of paying close attention to the looks people decided to send Lucia. When he noticed Jenny eyeballing her he smirked, before walking over to his wife and running his hands along her body.

“Looking good mama,” he rasped, tilting her head towards his and kissing her, “so fucking good,” he said through clenched teeth.

“Easy there papi,” she laughed, “public remember.”

“Don’t care,” he growled, “you ma girl, carrying my kid,” he whispered, “anyone got a problem with me being handsy they can fuck right off.”

She shook her head and kissed him, before looking down at her bump and shaking her head, “Daddy is silly.”

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

Rio was watching her out of the corner of his eye, waiting for the right moment to get up and help her. For the past ten minutes Lucia has been trying to pick up a book that fell out of her hand, however due to her belly she was having some difficulty bending down. Knowing better than to immediately get up and help her, Rio waited for the right moment to get off the couch and pick the book up. He heard her huff as she tried using a pair of grilling tongs to reach the book, however due to her height she wasn’t able to. Instead of her calling him though, he heard her throw the tongs down in frustration.

“Baby you a’right?” he looked over at her feigning surprise at the sight of her struggling.

“I dropped my book and my baby bump is in the way so I can’t bend down,” she rambled as he walked towards her, picking up the book, as she took it from him, she looked him up and down, “you did this to me.”

He grinned in amusement, it’s been a regular occurrence lately for her to say that whenever she was having a bad day, most of the time he’d leave her and not saying anything, however today it was rather amusing, “You weren’t complaining when I was doing it to you,” he stepped closer to her, resting his hands on her stomach, “pretty much the opposite,” his voice went deep and rough, “you were praising me more than anything,” he chuckled, “was creaming on me while I fucked you, remember?”

She just rolled her eyes, but he could see the flush start building up along her neck, “You’re an idiot,” he smirked and pulled her towards their bedroom.

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

The worst part about her pregnancies weren’t the cravings, unstable bladder or mood swings, no, it was the knowledge that her husband might not come home. Lucia realised her pregnancy didn’t exempt them from the reality of their world when there was an attempted hostile take over from the Arrabuenas.

That morning she kissed him before she went to work for one of her last shifts before going on maternity leave. It was an uneventful day, her colleagues threw her a mini baby shower in the breakroom and the rest of the day the trauma unit was quiet, until just thirty minutes before her shift ended. The paramedics wheeled in a man with a badly beaten face and several stab wounds to the abdomen. Lucia froze when she recognised him as one of Rio’s underlings, the attending doctor, someone who was part of RIo’s gang, looked at her and nodded. In a matter of minutes, she got her things and went home. When she walked into the apartment she was met with the sight of Charlie dabbing a cut on Rio’s face.

“Fuck,” Rio cursed when he saw her, “babe I’m fine,” he winced a bit and that’s when she noticed that he was shirtless and sporting a bandage along his side and one wrapped around his bicep.

By now Charlie moved out of the way and was collecting her things, “I’ll keep you updated on the situation,” with that she left.

“What the hell is going on?” Lucia turned to her husband, “My shift ended with a few of your boys coming in sporting some serious damage.”

“Jarvi Arrabuena decided to make a move on my territory,” he winced as she started cleaning up his cuts, “turns out those kids were working for him the entire time,” Rio sighed, “motherfucker decided to strike on his own without the rest of his posse there to help,” he shook his head.

Lucia just looked at him, he saw the apprehension in her eyes, “Hey,” pulling her close, “come on mami, I’m fine baby,” he held her chin so she wouldn't turn her head, “just a few scratches, I ain’t leaving you or our kid aight,” she said nothing, just leaned into him and held onto him.

They got rid of Jarvi and his people a week later, when the power hungry gangster decided it was a good idea to try and kidnap Lucia. She was on her way to her car, when she felt a presence behind her, unfortunately, due to the extra weight, she wasn’t as quick on her feet as she usually was, before she could do anything, she lost consciousness. When she woke up she found herself in her own bed and Chuck laying next to her.

Somewhere in town Rio was staring down at Jarvi and his men, lined up in their own warehouse, hands bound and on their knees. This wasn’t going to be a quick execution, no, he needed to send a message to whoever thought it was ok to target his pregnant wife.

“Jarvi,” Rio crouched down in front of the other man, “you’ve tried a lot of risky shit in the past,” he paused, “but this, has to be at the top of the list,” his eyes were cold as he spoke to the other man, “the fuck you thought this was gonna end huh,” he pulled out a blade from his pocket, “targetting my wife and unborn child,” he looked his old schoolmate dead in the eye, “you know what I gotta do now yeah?”

It was a long process, however the message sent was clear and to the point. They sent pieces of Jarvi and his men to the different areas in the city. That night he walked into his home, washed the blood off his body and crawled into bed. Lucia woke up immediately, pulling him close to her.

“You okay?” she whispered in the dark, her face buried into his neck.

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice just as soft as hers, “fuck Lucia, thought I lost you,” he kissed her head.

"I'm right here," she felt the baby kick, "we're both right here papi," she placed his hand on her tummy so he could feel.

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

Marcus was unsure what to make of his mother’s pregnancy. The little boy was intrigued and kept asking questions whenever he could. He’d ask if it hurt to carry a baby in her tummy and whether the baby could hear them on the inside. One day the question that both Lucia and Rio were avoiding came up.

“So what did daddy have to do?” he asked looking at his parents. Rio who was sipping on a bottle had to stop himself from choking.

“What you mean papi?” Lucia asked, feigning confusion.

“Why do you tell daddy that he did this to you sometimes?”

This time Rio did choke on his water and had to hide his laughter behind his hand, Lucia glared at her husband before turning back to her son.

“And why does daddy say you liked what he did?”

If looks could kill, RIo would be dead right now, he cleared his throat and got his son’s attention, “Pop there’s some stuff you’ll only get when you’re older,” Marcus made to protest but Rio the ever patient one stopped him, “I know it’s frustrating to hear that but it’s true aight,” the little boy nodded.

“I just thought you gave mommy the seed to eat that makes the baby grow,” he shrugged his shoulders. Both his parents burst out laughing at that.

#rio x lucia #marcus #good girls nbc #lucia solano #mick and mike #mike graceland #mick good girls

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birthdaysentiment · 4 years

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The music in wtFOCK season 3 - Song #33

Dinsdag 12.12 // "Young Gods" - Gabriel Rios

Episode 9 was a tough one to get through, because it seemed like there was no light in the darkness, no happiness, no smiles or laughter, only tears running down your cheeks as well as a broken and bleeding heart. Every clip was emotional difficult to watch (in their own way), as they were filled with heavy feelings and an atmosphere that created a sadness and a sorrow you couldn't help but get influenced by, and this clip was definitely no exception. This is properly one of the hardest scenes for me to watch, because it hurts so much to see Robbe breaking down, to see him come crashing down while he's letting all of his emotions out.

At this point in the episode, it had already been a roller-coaster of emotions, where the biggest drop had been Robbe sending a message to Sander, with the heart-breaking words "because there is no us". And even though I knew they would find their way back to each other, I couldn't help but feel lost in some ways, and so extremely sad for both Robbe and Sander. That's why I couldn't help but smile when Robbe send a new message to Sander, asking him to ignore the last one, because in the meantime Robbe had realized that he wanted Sander, that he only wanted him and that it was always going to be him. And I can't help but wonder if Robbe thought back to the promise they made to each other, that it's always going to be the two of them in every universe, and if that promise also had something to do with his decision about reaching out to Sander.

Robbe is waiting for Sander's respond, updating their conversation almost every second to see if there's any reply, but he suddenly gets pulled back to reality when his father calls him. And just by looking at Robbe's body language, you can see that this is a conversation he doesn't want or need to have, but as he walks to his room, he takes the call and that's when the pain begins; not only for Robbe, but also for us watching.

His father asks him if everything is still on for Friday, and at the same time a sadness runs through Robbe's body as he's being remined of it, not because he forgot about it, but because the dinner is not going to be the way it was supposed to be. And when his father makes a comment about booking a table for three people, it seems like Robbe has to take a moment to collect himself before answering the question, as his emotions feels overwhelming. Because the truth is that Sander isn't coming, and all the sadness and pain is just too much for Robbe to handle in that moment, especially the thought of them not being together in this universe.

Robbe has never been the person to openly talk about his feelings, but in that moment, he had to. After Robbe tells his father, that him having a boyfriend was a prank, he realizes that he can't do it, that he can't do it to himself or to Sander, pretending everything was a joke, when it was everything opposite of that. Everything he and Sander had was real and he couldn't just go back and erase that, delete every moment, every kiss and every touch they ever shared. Because ever since Robbe meet Sander, he's been feeling alive, and for the first time Robbe feels like he has found his place in the world, a place with Sander by his side. He can't pretend everything is a joke, because that would not only mean that everything between him and Sander has been a joke, but also the journey he's been on, how he went from hating himself to actually accept and embrace the person that he is. So when he tells his father that they broke up, it hurt Robbe more than he thought it would, because then he realized everything he had lost, that he might had lost Sander for good, the only person, who had made him feel real and loved, and that was just to many emotions all at once.

But when his father asks him, if he's okay, Robbe breaks down, since that was the final push he needed in order for him to let all of his emotions out, and in that same moment, the song starts playing in the background, where the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar fills the pace around Robbe. The melody adds another layer of pain and hurt to the scene, as the instrumental part of the song is filled with sadness and sorrow, making the whole scene almost impossible to watch. And once again the editing is spot on, because the song and its lyrics seems to follow Robbe's emotions, almost functioning as a symbol of them. For example, when the song begins, Robbe is on the verge of breaking down, and as soon as the lyrics gets mixed with the melody, he breaks down, crying and weeping, because in that moment it all became too much, every feeling just came to him at once.

It's one of my favourite scenes with Robbe, and even though it was heart-breaking to watch, I think it was a very needed clip, to actually see Robbe break down, so see that reaction from him. During season 3 we have seen Robbe in similar situations, were we have seen him broken, lost, sad and hurt, but we have never seen him like this, with tears running down his face, weeping, holding onto himself while he was unable to control his breathing and everything that was happening around him. This was a new reaction from Robbe, since we had been used to see him hold everything inside, but he couldn't do that anymore, it had all become too much, the weight of his emotions was pushing him down, overwhelming him, so in that moment he needed to get it all out, he needed to deal with every emotion, every thought he had been hiding and avoiding for so long.

I think there's a lot of reasons why Robbe broke down. Not only did he get affected by all of the emotions that came to him at once, when his father asked if he was okay, but I also think Robbe was holding back, that he wasn't really dealing with everything that happened after he found out Sander was bipolar. But the conversation with his father started a reaction within Robbe, because I think, somehow, in that moment, Robbe realized (or acknowledged) what had happened between him and Sander, that things between them might be over, or that he had hurt him by breaking the promise they made to each other. And I think the simple thought of losing Sander was enough for Robbe to break down, because that meant, that he had also lost a piece of himself.

It didn't come as a surprise that wtFOCK chose a song, that would highlight the sadness, the sorrow and pain in the clip, that the song would emphasize all of Robbe's emotions, making it impossible not to get influenced by them. Some might think that almost every sad song could be used in a situation like this, but there is something about this song, that makes the whole atmosphere feel quite different. Maybe it's the acoustic notes and the fact that the guitar is the only instrument you can hear, maybe it's the soft and quite beginning where small pauses of silence gets mixed with Robbe's crying, or maybe it's the soothing and calming voice that makes the moment even harder to watch, because it creates a contrast with Robbe, who's nothing but calm and in control.

No matter the reason, I think this song was a very good choice, especially since it connected so well with the scene. For example, how Robbe's crying seems to get worse as some of the calmness leaves the song, how he's pulling his hair and looking down while he's trying to control his emotions, as the melody seems to come down from its high. But also, how the song seems to get calmer and quieter as we leave a crying Robbe alone in his room. And even thought it was heart-breaking to leave Robbe while he was feeling so down, the song gave a small hope that the worst part was over, but that didn't change the fact that the image of a crying Robbe, with no one by his side, was a sight that would be hard to forget, a sight that would, once again, leave you in pain.

This was an intense clip to watch, because it made you feel everything Robbe felt, every emotion got passed on to you and there was no way of escaping them. After the clip ended, I think a lot of us felt a bit lost, not really knowing how or when some of the darkness was going to disappear, but as we all know the light came, we just had to wait a little longer for it. As I said in the beginning, episode 9 was a tough one to get through, and this clip was definitely one of the hardest, but somehow it also seemed like a breaking point, something that needed to happen in order for the light to come through, but the pain and suffering wasn't over, as we would learn a couple of days after, when wtFOCK managed to surprise us once again.

#wtfock #wtfam #music in wtfock #wtfocksoundtrack #robbe ijzermans #sorry for the long post

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon

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If you haven’t tuned into Money Heist yet, you’ve been missing one of the hottest series on Netflix right now. It’s sexy, absurdist fun, an action soap opera like no other, so addictively bingeable that it has stolen the hearts of a worldwide audience. But it’s more than escapist fare. Money Heist has also become a rallying cry of resistance that is changing the world.

It almost didn’t happen. Netflix picked up Money Heist entirely by chance. If they hadn’t, the original series might have easily vanished into obscurity for English-speaking audiences. Once Netflix got it, it blew up and became their most watched non-English series.

Money Heist was originally broadcast on Spain’s Antena 3 channel in 2017 under its native title La Casa de Papel (The House of Paper). The first season was 15 episodes, told in two parts. The initial part garnered a healthy 45 million viewers but viewership plummeted when the second part was broadcast. With only half the audience remaining and the story complete, the show seemed at its end. Netflix acquired the series as part of an international catalog of titles, re-edited it into 22 shorter episodes, re-released it internationally later that year. The streamer didn’t even bother to promote it when they added to their queue. Nevertheless, it found a huge audience outside of Spain and viewership skyrocketed.

Season 1 is about a meticulously planned heist of the Royal Mint of Spain. The Professor (Álvaro Morte) is a criminal mastermind who assembles a gang of thieves. Each thief adopts the name of a city to conceal their true identities from each other, akin to the robbers in Reservoir Dogs. The story is told from the perspective of Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), a brazen spitfire femme fatale who steals every scene she’s in. The thieves capture the Mint, taking dozens of hostages. Their plan is to print millions in unmarked bills. Meanwhile, the Professor plays a cat-and-mouse game with Inspector Murillo (Itziar Ituño) who is hot on his trail.

Don’t Fall in Love During a Heist

Through Tokyo’s narration and copious flashbacks to the planning of the crime, Money Heist tells a gripping story of the ultimate anti-heroes. As tensions mount, the gang is at one another’s throats while navigating the Professor’s deceptive instructions. The Mint is surrounded by cops and time is running out. Gratuitous shots of ticking clocks increase the pressure, the same device deployed by original Mission: Impossible TV series to heighten suspense. Stockholm syndrome takes hold as the hostages fall for their captors. In classic Money Heist style, the main hostage who joins the gang adopts the name “Stockholm (Esther Acebo)”. The Professor and the Inspector engage in a deliciously dysfunctional romance. It’s all exceedingly sexy with the beautiful actors often scantily clad, and has a subversively sharp sense of humor.

Despite its ludicrousness, Money Heist is so addictive in many ways. First off, it masters the cliffhanger. The suspense is relentlessly palpable and no matter how ridiculous some of the deus ex machina resolutions are, they’re still great fun to watch. Just like Game of Thrones, this show is merciless. Beloved main characters die in shockingly poignant death scenes. This keeps the suspense very real. You never know if your favorite character is going to make it. Of the seven thieves that enter the Mint with Tokyo – Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Denver (Jaime Lorente), Helsinki (Darko Perić), Moscow (Paco Tous), Nairobi (Alba Flores), Oslo (Roberto Garcia Ruiz) and Rio (Miguel Herrán) – three don’t make it out.

Secondly, it’s about those characters. The ensemble cast delivers great performances across the board. Every role is rich, complex, and well-developed. Everyone has his or her strengths, weaknesses, and back stories and their emotional journeys resonate deeply. No one is entirely innocent. You can’t help yourself from rooting for them, even the villains.

And third, Money Heist has style. Its passionate soundtrack has captured the ears of the world. The use of color, particularly red against darkly composed frames, is exquisitely captivating. Money Heist is a thrilling roller coaster ride that just has to be experienced.

Enjoy It Until the Party is Over

The global following shocked the cast and crew. After season 1 wrapped, the show seemed finished. As the cast watched their social media following grow exponentially (an experience catalogued in Netflix’s documentary, Money Heist: The Phenomenon), they knew something was up. By 2018, Money Heist garnered several nominations and wins across the European awards circuit and even won the coveted Best Drama Series at the 46th International Emmys.

Consequently, Netflix reassembled the cast and crew for a second season, this time with a much bigger budget. Even though season 1 was self-contained, the show’s creator Álex Pina dreamed up a second season, one that was on a much grander scale, thanks to Netflix’s backing.

The second heist is in four parts. That may sound confusing because the upcoming season 5 will be split into two parts as well. Season 5 is actually parts 3 and 4 of the second heist story arc. “Heist 2” is already 16 episodes deep and it’s only the halfway point.

For the second heist, the gang must reassemble to rescue one of their own after Tokyo makes another grievous mistake. And that rescue hinges upon robbing the Bank of Spain. New gang members join the survivors of the first robbery, and another more ruthless adversary, the pregnant Inspector Sierra (Najwa Nimri). Sierra is a more ruthless opponent than Murillo was for the first heist. When it comes to the Professor’s psychological chess game, Sierra flips the chess board upside down. Season 3 (Part 1 of the Bank of Spain heist) debuted exclusively on Netflix in the summer of 2019. Season 4 (Part 2) was released almost a year later in April 2020, and it was seen by 65 million households. That’s a million more viewers than watched Tiger King when it ran around the same time.

Realizing they had a bankable hit, Netflix released Money Heist: The Phenomenon. The documentary showcases the astonishment of the cast and crew as they navigate their new found popularity from a show they thought was done. A season 2 opening scene, filmed in front of the historic Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence, Italy, was almost ruined when rabid fans rushed the crew. However, do not watch Money Heist: The Phenomenon before seeing the show because it drops some major spoilers.

We Are Dali

To hide their identities, the gang wears masks based on the famous Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, replete with a red hooded jumpsuit. They force their hostages to wear the same costume to confuse the police. This Dali mask has become a new symbol of international rebellion, supplanting the Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta on a global scale. Beyond Comic-Con cosplaying, the Dali mask has been appearing on protestors and in effigies around the world. Footage from these real life demonstrations appear in the show.

Money Heist has had a profound effect on international football (“soccer” for we Yanks). Massive displays of Dali mask banners appeared at Saudi Arabia soccer stadiums. At the Karaiskaki Stadium, Greek soccer fans unfurled a huge Dali banner too. After their team won, they rushed the field wearing Money Heist costumes. Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar de Silva even makes a cameo in season 3 as a monk who wryly comments about his disdain for soccer. Silva claims Money Heist is his favorite show.

There were even real life copycat heists. France fell victim to a shop hold-up and a hotel robbery where the perpetrators wore Dali masks. A 2019 daylight heist of the Mexican Mint was thought to have been inspired by the show. Perhaps the best one was when Justin Bieber’s five-billion-view music video ‘Despacito’ was hacked on YouTube. The hackers replaced it with an image of Money Heist in full Dali regalia with guns pointing out, accompanied by a call to ‘Free Palestine.’

Consequently, there has been some backlash. Cyprus banned Dali costumes for Carnival. Turkish journalists and politicians have admonished the show, describing it as rebel propaganda. The Professor describes it best in season 3. “The mask has become a symbol throughout the world of resistance, of indignations, of skepticism. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it has inspired many people.”

Ironically, Money Heist pilfered Dali’s image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation never gave the show its blessing for the use of the artist’s likeness. There’s no doubt that Dali is spinning in his grave for not getting paid royalties, but he must appreciate the surrealism here.

Bella Ciao!

Beyond the now iconic Dali mask, Money Heist also revived a rebel ballad, the Italian protest song Bella Ciao. Bella Ciao means ‘Goodbye Beautiful’ and it was the anthem of anti-fascists of the Italian Resistance during WWII. Originally about toiling in rice fields under an oppressive boss, the lyrics evolved to describe the Resistance’s commitment to the cause with their lives. When translated from Italian, the lyrics end with “This is the flower of the partisan who died for freedom.”

The Professor’s grandfather fought in the Italian resistance so he sings it with Berlin, his older brother, and teaches it to the gang. The song is frequently reprised throughout the series, most tellingly during the season 1 part 1 finale end credits. A montage of black-and-white footage decrying the evils of money fades to red as Bella Ciao plays.

Since Money Heist, over a dozen new versions of Bella Ciao have climbed the charts across Europe, with the Professor’s rendition placing first in Austria, second in Germany, and in the top twenty in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. It’s been covered by several EDM DJs like Steve Aoki and Hardwell. Bella Ciao has become a common chant at soccer matches, and was heard at the 2019 World Cup. When Open Arms rescued a boatload of fleeing immigrants docked in Lampedusa, the refugees sang Bella Ciao to celebrate their newfound freedom.

The Last Times are Beyond Comparison

What might the finale hold? When we last left the gang, they were reunited in the Bank of Spain and determined to win ‘the war’ in honor of their latest fallen comrade. But Inspector Sierra got the drop on the Professor. With a gun to his head, she declared “Checkmate, son of a bitch.” Anyone who knows the show understands that it is volatile and unpredictable so it’s anyone’s guess what happens next.

It’s clear that this is the end. When production wrapped on May 14th, Netflix tweeted “Thank you to all the fans for being part of La Resistencia! We can’t wait to show you how this story ends.” However, Netflix is never one to kill a goose that lays golden eggs.

Money Heist creator Álex Pina already launched another Netflix series, Sky Rojo. Season 1 premiered back in March 2021 and season 2 is slated for July. It’s the story of three women on the run, somewhat reminiscent of Thelma and Louise, only the threesome are prostitutes. It’s stylish and sexy, and received some critical acclaim. But it has nowhere near the impact of Money Heist.

A Korean adaptation of Money Heist is in the works with Kim Hong-sun directing. Cast as the Professor is Yoo Ji Tae, who is most remembered for his mastermind role in Oldboy, and also had a part in a Korean TV adaptation of The Good Wife. Playing Tokyo will be Jeon Jong Seo, aka Rachel Jun, a newcomer with two feature films under her belt.

This summer, an immersive event “Money Heist: The Experience” is set to tour London, Miami, Mexico City, New York, and Paris. Each city will get a different version of the experience, adapted to the venue, and the venues won’t be announced until just prior to the events open. This is another collaboration between Netflix and Fever, who previously staged “Stranger Things: The Drive Into Experience” in Los Angeles.

Most of the cast of Money Heist were too engaged with filming the final season under pandemic restrictions to take on any new projects. The notable exception of Úrsula Corberó. Corberó is cast as the Baroness in the upcoming G.I. Joe Origins film, Snake Eyes.

Money Heist held the title of Netflix’s most watched non-English series until a French show, ironically also about a heist, stole the crown. Lupin robbed Money Heist of the title in January 2021 racking up 76 million views. Lupin Part 2 debuted on June 11. When Money Heist returns, will it steal back Netflix’s most watched non-English series crown? Hopefully so. For Nairobi!

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Money Heist, Parts 1-4, are available on Netflix now. Season 5 Volume 1 debuts on September 3, Volume 2 arrives on December 3, 2021.

The post Money Heist: What to Know About the International TV Phenomenon appeared first on Den of Geek.

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britesparc · 4 years

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Weekend Top Ten #450

Top Ten Characters with the Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

As I’m writing this, it’s officially Star Trek: Discovery day; the first episode of the new season is up on Netflix and ready to watch. Given how little time I manage to find for watching anything that I want to watch, I’m cautiously optimistic that I can get to see it this weekend, but we’ll see; my lovely wife might want to finally catch up with Star Trek: Picard first, which for some reason she never finished. Regardless, I’m excited, and I wanted to write about Star Trek again.

The new Star Trek series have been a bit of a roller coaster, because whilst they’ve both generally been very good, they’ve certainly had their odder and more controversial moments, and neither of them has consistently felt like classic Trek. If I had to be critical, I’d argue that there are plenty of darker adult-tinged sci-fi shows at the moment, including ones set in space, but not that many that follow the day-to-day travails of a starship crew, which as always been Trek’s raison d'être. However, both shows have succeeded in giving us some compelling stories and – especially in the case of Discovery – a fantastic cast of new characters to celebrate. Great characterisation has been the cornerstone of Trek since the beginning, and no doubt one of the reasons why it still resonates to this day, from the “Holy Trinity” of Kirk, McCoy, and Spock, through to the wonderful and insanely empathetic Saru in Discovery and Captain Sexpot Rios in Picard. The fact that we’re now in a new time period, with no established history to try to tie the narrative to, means Discovery 3 is in a great place to give us some great new stories.

Anyway, to celebrate all of this – the new season of Discovery and my overall love of Star Trek characters – I’ve decided to go back to the Next Generation well and talk about just that: characters. TNG famously hit its stride when it started focusing each story through the lens of the different characters on the show, so that we tended to get a “Worf episode” or a “Riker episode”; even the best eps, the biggest and most epic, really had a tendency to hone in on one or two characters specifically, such as the all-time classic “The Best of Both Worlds” really being about Picard and Riker, or “Yesterday’s Enterprise” being a much-belated Tasha Yar episode.

But which characters have the best episodes? That is, if you know an episode is focused on a particular character, how likely is it that it’s going to be a belter? Can you reasonably say one character was better served than another in terms of the quality of “their” episodes? Well, yes. Yes you can. That’s this list. That’s the whole thing.

So this list is basically which characters have the best episodes, or are more likely to. It’s not a list of my favourite characters, or even really a list of the best episodes overall; it’s just, well, who got to chew scenery the most on the bridge, basically. Now, I really feel like I should end this blurb with an appropriate Star Trek quote, but I must have used “Make it so” and “Engage” before, so I’m not sure what else to say.

May the Force be with you, I guess.

Picard: Yes, of course; he’s the star, he’s the stand-out actor of the bunch, he gets the best episodes. If it focuses on the captain, you can rest assured you’re in for a treat. Whether it’s an epic mythology-enhancing saga or – even better – a slower, sadder meditation on life, Picard’s episodes are engaging. Chortle. Also if there’s room for a classic Picard Monologue, all the better; I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about Patrick Stewart, but the guy can chew scenery. Key episodes: The Best of Both Worlds, The Drumhead, The Hidden Light

Worf: Worf’s complex backstory offers a lot of opportunities for great stories, with the caveat that pretty much all of them focus on Klingon history or the contrast between his heritage and his place in Starfleet. Issues of familial loyalty rub up against quasi-Shakespearean dynastic dramas, often with high adventure. You can assume a Worf ep is a good one, despite the fact that quite a few of them are also about Alexander. Key episodes: Sins of the Fathers, Redemption, Birthright

Data: everyone’s second-favourite emotionless nerd on Star Trek, Data’s eps are almost uniformly great, and often poke at what it means to be alive. There may be a bit of ground retrod as we examine the notion of humanity, or sentience, or emotion, but his episodes are always interesting, and often very funny, and Brent Spiner is a continuing delight. Key episodes: The Measure of a Man, The Offspring, Brothers

Q: is it cheating to include a recurring guest star? Maybe, but I don’t care. John de Lancy is just phenomenal as Q, one of the best Trek characters, and so good he became a My Little Pony. He’s arch, he’s hilarious, he can take the show into new directions; he raises questions of fate, or of the concept of divinity; and underneath it all there’s a malevolent streak, a genuine sense of danger exemplified in his first appearance. Pairs very well with Picard, naturally. I didn’t like the Robin Hood episode, though. Key episodes: Deja Q, Encounter at Farpoint, Q Who

Riker: he’s a Kirk-esque horn-dog ragamuffin with a heart of gold and a fist of steel, so there’s always a lot to love when William T. takes the helm (see what I did there?). Often issues of loyalty, or duty versus personal wishes, arise; he’s frequently putting his life on the Enterprise above his career. But he’s also a very moralistic character, so quite often he’ll be trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances. Key episodes: The Pegasus, Future Imperfect, Frame of Mind

Crusher: always a stand-out supporting character, Crusher has some great episodes focused on her too; usually quite a self-righteous sort who puts the immediate moral obligation above her own safety or duty to Starfleet, which raises lots of interesting, thorny questions. She’s a smart cookie, exemplified in the astounding Remember Me; her relationships with her son and with Picard are good to explore too. She also shagged a ghost, but let’s try to forget about that. Key episodes: Remember Me, Attached, Suspicions

Wesley: pigeonholed somewhat unfairly due to a few ropey first-season episodes, Wesley Crusher is actually an interesting character whose stand-out storylines offer a good deal of nuance and intrigue, as well as exciting hi-jinks, insights into the Federation, and – should you go that far – weird magic Jedi stuff. He gets a nice romance with Ashley Judd, we unpeel his relationship with Picard over multiple episodes, and the bloom comes off the rose in spectacular fashion when he gets to Starfleet Academy. Wil Wheaton was a good young actor and was sadly underserved by the show, but at least we get these eps. Key episodes: The Game, Final Mission, The First Duty

Pulaski: say whaaat? Yes, she’s only in the show for five minutes, but Doctor Pulaski gets a few crackers under her belt in that time. A bit like Crusher would later, she often excels when standing up to authority and presenting herself as a moral arbiter. Interestingly, she’s not always right, and it’s a fun dance to watch. She’s also been round the block a bit, adding facets to her relationships with other characters, particularly Riker. And, of course, she flirts with a bunch of polygons when Geordi and Data cock up the Holodeck. Key episodes: Elementary, Dear Data, Unnatural Selection, The Icarus Factor

Troi: sadly suffering in the face of a bunch of soppy romances and storylines involving her mother that are, shall we say, an acquired taste, Troi still gets some good stuff, mostly later in the series’ run. Taking her out of her comfort zone, making her a spy or an investigator, or giving her some proper dramatic meat, works wonders. Also once she was a cake. Key episodes: Face of the Enemy, Eye of the Beholder, Dark Page

LaForge: oh, Geordi. I love Georgi, but he kinda got done dirty a little bit. Always an interesting and dependable secondary character, unfortunately the bulk of his episodes as a primary character tend to revolve around him being a bit of a jerk or a bit of a creep. Obviously the most heinous sin is making a computer program based on a real person and then, well, trying to shag it, but he also has a tendency to be a dick to anyone new in Engineering. He’s even a bit of a dick to Scotty! I sometimes think the writers never quite had a handle on Geordi’s character; is he a young tech genius with poor social skills? Is he supposed to be arrogant? A wannabe lothario who’s just really unlucky? Anyway, like I say, I still love the guy to bits, and LeVar Burton is fantastic, but of all the main ensemble, his are the flakiest solo episodes. That said, the three listed here are all belters. Key episodes: The Next Phase, The Enemy, Relics

Anyway. There we are. I’ve still, as of going “to press”, not watched Discovery season 3, and my wife’s still not watched the end of season 1 of Picard. Any day now…!

#top ten #star trek #picard #discovery #the next generation #star trek discovery #star trek tng

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ao3feedberlermo · 4 years

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by multifandom_fam

After the first heist, Andrés finally realises his mistake and wants Martin back. But, will just an apologie make Martin forget how he abandoned him? How will the first and second heist influence their relationship? How many times do you need to love, to realise that everyone in this world betrays you- one way or another?

Words: 1348, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Relationships: Berlin | Andrés de Fonollosa/Palermo | Martín Berrote, Berlin | Andrés de Fonollosa & Palermo | Martín Berrote

Additional Tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Romance, Love Confessions, Love, Friendship/Love, Tragic Romance, Major Character Injury, Possible Character Death, Childhood Memories, Memories, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Roller Coaster, Heist, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, References to Depression, Blood and Violence, Grief/Mourning, Sex, Anxiety Attacks, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Please Don't Hate Me, Please Don't Kill Me, I Love You, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tags Are Hard

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #berlermo #lcdp

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berberriescorner · 1 year

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I posted 8,853 times in 2022

That's 1,173 more posts than 2021!

304 posts created (3%)

8,549 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sheabuttahwrites

@phoenixhalliwell

@bakarilennox

@breanime

@dreamgirlvibes

I tagged 658 of my posts in 2022

#berberriescorner - 174 posts

#spotify - 96 posts

#i love my mutuals😍 - 60 posts

#mayans mc spoilers - 51 posts

#asks open - 48 posts

#chris evans - 48 posts

#berberries asks - 46 posts

#are you listening? - 35 posts

#fic inspo - 31 posts

#beyoncé - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 113 characters

#he’s literally me! christopher let’s get married and adopt 1000 puppies 😭 omg this made me fall in love with him

My Top Posts in 2022:

"Keep Me Posted"

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader.

Summary: Oh, you know, just Rio being an attentive, caring, flirty, and nurturing boyfriend😍.

Warnings: The reader has a chronic illness. There are brief descriptions of what it’s like dealing with an autoimmune disease. If you have knowledge of or can relate to the topic it may or may not make you a little sad. Being the emotional ass gangsta I am, a thug tear was definitely shed in the making of this😆.

Word Count: 900+.

Personal Note: This drabble (not even sure what to call it) is very near and dear to me. Yes, it’s self-indulgent AF, but I had a disappointing doctor’s visit earlier this week😔 (which inspired me to put my feelings into my writing). I figured why not write something for not only myself but other beautiful readers who deal with the struggles of having a chronic illness? Even if you don’t personally know what it’s like, I hope you still read it and enjoy the fluffiness that Rio’s dishing.

See the full post

443 notes - Posted August 12, 2022

Gang Friend and a Gentleman

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader x Black!OC (older woman of color).

Summary: Not even gon’ hold you, this is random AF. That’s what happens when my imagination runs wild and free. It’s cute, fluffy, and funny. Hope you all enjoy it. Reblogs and feedback would be greatly appreciated💖.

Warnings: Tiny bit of expletives. I’m trying to be a better me, but I just can’t stop cursing 😆. Y’all knew that was coming 😂. Oh, also, if you are a “Karen” please don’t take it personally, it’s just a damn story. That’s about it for the warnings.

Word Count: 1,400+.

See the full post

605 notes - Posted January 4, 2022

“Here We Go”

Characters: Chris Evans x Black!Reader.

Summary: Chris lands himself in a bit of hot water on his birthday. How can one little interview question spark a heated exchange between him and his lady?

Warnings: Profanity, daddy kink (when is there not), angst, fluff, and a smidge of the smut. My usual recipe.

Word Count: 3,200+.

A/N: There will probably be a part two to this. Not sure when though. Listennn, it may seem a bit lengthy, but I had ‘thots’ running through my head over this man, that interview, and it being his birthday🥰. I had to get these random thots out😂.

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693 notes - Posted June 18, 2022

"Are You Listening?"

Part Two: "The Breakdown"

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader.

Summary: It's part two, so I’m not tellin’🙈😏!

Warnings: You’re about to experience a plethora of emotions. Profanity, you all know I got a mouthpiece on me, especially when I’m passionate 😂. There is a brief mention of fertility troubles.

Word Count: 5,000+.

Read Part One Here.

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969 notes - Posted August 23, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Are You Listening?"

Characters: Rio x Black!Reader

Summary: After months of being neglected, your anger reaches its boiling point. Time is money, and you know that Rio is all about his bread. If you want to be the king, you gotta stay busy. What’s more important, love or money? Can you have both? Is it possible to be both a cold-hearted businessman and a loving partner? Showing emotion can be a sign of weakness in Rio’s world. How does that work in a marriage? At the same time, you chose to be with him. Shouldn’t you be used to it?

Warnings: Profanity (are you surprised😂). A smidge of daddy kink, with a tiny spot of degradation (again, no surprise there🤣). Angst (quite a bit). A little fluff…it’s there I promise. Sprinkled it with some smut, too (it’s giving a bit of praise kink and dom vibes😈).

Word Count: 3,800+.

A/N: Italicized sentences are the reader's thoughts (in case you were confused and/or curious). It’s kind of lengthy, but the reader had to pop her shit…and Rio popped right TF back👏🏾😆. Part two, yeah can’t tell you when it’s coming, but I’m working on it.

Inspired By:

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1,547 notes - Posted July 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #Spotify

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acandrewswriter · 2 years

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An LGBTQ+ Epic Fantasy

An epic fantasy tale with gods, vampires, ghosts, magic, and more:

Gay, transmasc, and non-binary protagonists

MM romance

Dark fantasy

Vibrant worldbuilding and intense action!

Available in Kindle Unlimited!

Books I and II available now!

Descent of Ravens (Book I of Bel’s War)

The old covenant of the gods is broken. Will the world break, too? When an army of vampires invades the island of Trosika, Rio and Turi must fight for their future. Rio is a healer and a priest of Astara who suffers severe self-doubt and a growing crisis of faith; even his goddess cannot stop the forces arrayed against them. Turi has long buried a secret about himself that he fears could upend everything.

When Rio unseals a centuries-old tomb, releasing the night-cursed prince Philip, he discovers that he has a bond with Philip that stretches across lifetimes. As Turi grapples with his secrets, he is recruited by the terrifying goddess Mormo and gifted with necromancy for reasons he does not understand.

Rio and Turi must contend with bloodthirsty mages, battle an endless army of vampires, and confront the truth of who Turi truly is; most of all, they must rely on their unshakable friendship to survive. As they struggle to protect each other, their religion, and their island home, the fate of an empire hangs in the balance.

To get Descent of Ravens:

US: https://amzn.to/3BI0j8Y

UK: https://amzn.to/3zJtkR0

AU: https://amzn.to/3tpBcVt

CA: https://amzn.to/3tktZ8Z

Will of Dragons (Book II of Bel’s War)

About Book II:

Evil hides beneath armor of gleaming white.

The new civil war has cracked the empire apart as Turi and Rio race to gather allies against Clan Ishima’s brutality. The enemy is ten steps ahead, and Turi is pushed to his limit to stop the evil a corrupted paladin order has unleashed.

Demari, finally fulfilling a lifelong dream at sea with his brother, finds himself recruited into the designs of a goddess and soul-bound to a man he barely knows. In the fight for supremacy in the empire’s waters, Demari’s newfound power and connection will alter the course of the war and change his life forever.

Meanwhile, back on Trosika the new empress, Sarina Marias, faces betrayal, ancient magic, and intrigue as Ishima agents make their next move to control the island. When fate brings her face to face with the God of War, can she match her will to his?

What readers are saying about Book I, Descent of Ravens:

"A veritable buffet of the paranormal, and I haven't even started on the MCs yet. Suffice as to say that I've given the story five hearts - I loved them too." - Reviewed by Taylin Clavelli for Love Bytes

"Descent of Ravens is a sweeping epic fantasy that is a roller coaster of emotion. ...The sweeping tale embraces high fantasy and runs with it, creating a richly detailed world in which a reader can immerse themselves." - Reviewed by Kris for Joyfully Jay LGBTQ Romance Reviews

"An exhilarating tale . . . set in a richly imagined world."—Independent Book Review

"Andrews crafts a sleek series opener bolstered by consistent action, a straightforward magic system, and strong LGBTQ+ representation. . . .A crafty, well-paced LGBTQ+ fantasy series opener."—Kirkus Reviews

"AC Andrews' DESCENT OF RAVENS is skillful, splendid storytelling. ...a near-perfect fantasy featuring superb world-building and excellent storytelling that will be compelling for any audience that enjoys epic fantasy. "—Ellen Graham for IndieReader

"An original and identity-affirming tale, Descent of Ravens is a dark and masterful YA novel. The combination of classic fantasy elements and contemporary cultural themes results in a thought-provoking and norm-challenging story that is both deeply intimate and broadly appealing." —Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½

"The holy grail of fantasy for the m/m /lgbtq sub-genre. ... this one is in my top 5 books for the year." - Boyslove, Goodreads Reviewer

"One of the best fantasy reads I have encountered in ages." - Charneen, Goodreads Reviewer

"Exciting, fast flowing and extremely well written. A.C. Andrews has created a world and mythology infused with a rich history." - Mark Lucas-Taylor, Goodreads Reviewer

Cover Art: Sleepy Fox Studio

#lgbt fantasy #lgbtq books #LGBTQIA #LGBT books #lgbtqbooks #lgbtqreads #lgbtq representation #lgbtq reads #bookblr #transgender #transmasc #nonbinary #Gay books #mmbooks #mm books #mm romance #lgbtq+#trans #trans fantasy

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nuclearblastuk · 4 years

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MARKO HIETALA | RELEASE LIVE VIDEO FOR 'WAR PIGS' (BLACK SABBATH COVER)

Recently, Finnish singer/ bassist Marko Hietala released his solo album 'Pyre Of The Black Heart' via Nuclear Blast. The album has entered the charts and reached #48 in Germany, #25 in Switzerland and #10/#2(physical) in Finland and today, the band release a live video for their cover version of BLACK SABBATH's 'War Pigs', that was recently recorded in Prague. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/T7geuBf-ofc "Here’s a nice little live video from Roxy, Prague. We’re doing SABs’ 'War Pigs' because it’s a true classic and, frankly, both these right & left-wingers everywhere should examine their bull vs. history and learn. Liars are transparent. The vibe with the band & audience was and will be just great!!! Thank you and see you at the shows!!!", comments Marko Hietala Get your copies of 'Pyre Of The Black Heart' here: https://nblast.de/MarkoHietala-POTBH About the goal behind his solo album, Marko Hietala comments, "Well, let's put it this way: NIGHTWISH is without any doubt my main band, and thanks to income from that direction, I don't have to be that commercially aware...what I mean is that when I was coming up with the musical thoughts for this solo record, I was able to do simply anything without limits. So if I had a goal, it was to not have any kind of limits, but to prepare an unpredictable, spontaneous, adventurous, ferocious and intimate solo record. And now when I am listening to the final album by myself, I can say with my hand on my heart that I – or rather we – pulled it off...The record is a really diverse musical roller coaster ride that takes eager listeners into a world of strong emotions and deep feelings!" Hietala's voice has barely faded away, and he is already honouring his skilful bandmates. "Even if 'Pyre Of The Black Heart' is definitely my solo album, I didn't compose everything on my own. When the songwriting process was really in full swing, I kept sending all the ideas to my long-time collaborators Tuomas Wäinölä [guitar] and Vili Ollila [keyboards], and this ingenious two-some came up with great additions and arrangements, one after another. Drummer Anssi Nykänen – who is simply a wizard behind his set – completed the line-up like no other." More about "Pyre Of The Black Heart": 'Stones' (OFFICIAL VIDEO): https://youtu.be/ifc3gBsM6B0 Get the single digitally here: https://nblast.de/MarkoHietala-Stones 'The Voice of my Father' (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO): https://youtu.be/dwvqpRRCDdE Get the single digitally here: https://nblast.de/HietalaVoiceOfMyFather 'Runner Of The Railways' (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO): https://youtu.be/0j3j4dfKel8 'Pyre Of The Black Heart' tracklist: 01. Stones 02. The Voice Of My Father 03. Star, Sand And Shadow 04. Dead God’s Son 05. For You 06. I Am The Way 07. Runner Of The Railways 08. Death March For Freedom 09. I Dream 10. Truth Shall Set You Free Marko Hietala is currently on his solo tour to support the new album. "Come February...we simply can't wait to get out on the road! It will be amazing to perform these solo songs for all those multinational friends of my music", Hietala says and continues: "I strongly recommend coming out to see my band during this run, entitled 'Tour of the Black Heart' as this will be my first and last European solo tour in a long time – or ever!" See him live on one of the following shows: 'Tour Of The Black Heart 2020' w/ OCEANHOARSE 13.02. D Stuttgart - Im Wizemann 14.02. CH Pratteln - Z7 16.02. D Oberhausen - Turbinenhalle 17.02. NL Amsterdam - Melkweg 18.02. F Paris - La Machine du Moulin Rouge w/ NIGHTWISH 05.05. RCH Santiago - Teatro Caupolicán 07.05. RA Buenos Aires - Luna Park (w/ BOUDIKA) 09.05. BR São Paulo - Espaço das Américas 10.05. BR Rio de Janeiro - Vivo Rio ---

www.facebook.com/markohietalaofficial/

www.nuclearblast.de/markohietala

#Marko Hietala #war pigs #black sabbath #pyre of the black heart #nuclear blast records

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ofbeauisms · 5 years

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✧･ﾟ( poseidon + miguel bernardeau + cismale ) 𝒎𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒂!! have you seen ( beau marin ) around ? ( he ) have/has been in kaos for ( five months ). the ( twenty-five year old ) is a/an ( olympic swimmer ) from ( barcelona, spain ). people say they can be ( moody ) but maybe that’s not too bad ‘cause they can also be ( loyal ). whenever i think of them, i can’t help but think of ( freckled skin, blue polo tees, and the sound of rain ). ･ﾟ✧ ( penned by b, 21, est, she/her )

*Hello my loves! I’m B, aka your neighborhood EST bean, here with my trash child Beau. I’m super excited to plot and rp with y’all so please head under the cut if you’d like to read his (messy) intro.* ➘

—> BASICS

Full name: Beau Alfonso Marin

Birthday: March 20

Zodiac Sign: Pisces ♓️

Age: 25

Gender: Cis-male (he/him)

Sexuality: Pansexual

Place of birth: Barcelona, Spain 🇪🇸

Occupation: Olympic Swimmer (on hiatus)

Positive Traits: Hardworking, empathetic, articulate, sincere, and ambitious.

Negative Traits: Stubborn, demanding, emotionally driven, unfaithful, and detached.

Archetype: The Fallen

—> BIO

Beau is my irl hottie Lamottie with the swimmers body.

Born in Barcelona, Spain, he’s an Olympic level swimmer that’s currently on hiatus due to ongoing issues with a shoulder injury

During his childhood, he developed a passion for swimming during quarterly visits to the beach with his family. Once his parents took note of his skill and passion for the water, they enlisted him in more advanced swimming classes that later led him into joining an actual competitive swim team.

Beau loved the sport and completely dominated at it, winning medal after medal, and by high school he was already being eyed to fulfill his dream as a recruit for the national Olympic team. The then teenager didn’t even hesitate to jump on board once the time came.

After he qualified for the national team by age eighteen, Beau competed in the Olympics for the first time in London 2012. He won bronze and silver for his country in two different categories and only gradually improved from there. By Rio 2016, he was winning gold medals left and right (Micheal Phelps? Don’t know her).

This event was what really skyrocketed him into fame and fortune, and for a while all was bliss for our dear ‘ol Beau. That is, until a sudden jet ski accident left him with one sprained wrist and a gravely broken shoulder.

The slow recovery time was the most agonizing part of all for him. Not as a result of the physical pain, but because the injury prevented him from being in the water. It took a few months for his shoulder to heal, but even after that it never really recovered to its entirety. He could still swim at this point, but not to the same capacity as before.

Beau sought out treatment after treatment to recover the use of his shoulder back to it’s previous state to no avail. This sent the poor boy into a deep depression as his whole light of his existence was suddenly no longer satisfying.

Now that he could no longer be number one, the joy he felt from excelling at what he loved was suddenly yanked from him. In this point of despair, he no longer held motivation to seek out new treatments or continue training. Even with encouragement from friends and family, he kept making excuses to put it all off, as to not worry them with his current state of depression.

Instead, he chose to take this time to travel the world to clear his head. That’s actually how he ended up on the island. During his ventures through the Mediterranean, he stopped in Greece and feel in love with the island of Kaos. The slower pace of life and scenery has been like therapy for his state of mind. It has also served as a good hiding place to escape the limelight, so much that he hasn’t left since setting foot on the island.

—> PERSONALITY

Beau is an extremely emotionally driven person. He tends to sink into whatever emotion is the most prominent in a way that makes him seem quite moody. On a good day, he’s calm and confident to the point where others will either admire him or think he’s cocky. On a bad day, all hell could break loose with his ill temper. Still, he isn’t easily set off, but once he is it’s hard to control his temper, especially in situations where he might feel threatened. Hence, Beau is just one wild roller coaster ride. His highs are extremely high and his lows are extremely low. At his best, he feels unstoppable, but at his worst, there’s no getting through to him. Another important aspect of his personality is his ambition. Beau is ambitious to a fault. He’s never satisfied with anything less than the best in all aspects of life. He always wants more and more, which can make him seem fairly greedy to others.

—> WANTED CONNECTIONS

Anything and everything!! (bc I forgot to make an actual page 😭)

—> EXTRA

Playlist

Insta

#kaos:intro #[»»—— i am the tides and the storm : about ——««]#it’s 2019 and i still can’t write an intro for my life #but please love me and my boi

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dodowahla · 5 years

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Ummmmm

Did anyone else follow the range of emotions in Rio's 20 questions game?

It started off threatening, became a chess match with a tinge of humor, followed by nervous energy, then there was sexual tension and finally a sigh of "relief"?

Name another pairing who could put your ass on a roller-coaster the way Beth and Rio do, go on, I dare you.

#beth x rio #brio #chess

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wonderlandmind4 · 6 years

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Delicate Stages: Epilogue

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x OFC Ana Rios

Warnings: Language, mild PTSD. Explicit Sexual Content 18+. Mentions of Nightmares, Minor Character Death

Summary: Bucky Barnes agrees to participate in Deprogramming Sessions. What he gets is not anything like he expected.

Sometimes I wonder when you sleep Are you ever dreaming of me....cause I know this is delicate...

Words: 7.5k+ @justreadingfics @nerdyandproud9 @buffy-morgendorffer-01 @kat-lives

A/N: Here we are. This is the end of Delicate Stages. First, thank you to everyone who read, liked and commented on this monster of a story! I seriously can not thank you all enough. Thank you for being patient with me as I dealt with my loss, so I also really appreciate that. Thank you to my friend who allowed me to text her all sorts of silly little things and for helping me get my head straight when I needed it. I can't tell you the amount of sleepless nights and down time at work I had to write this story. This has become my baby, and I'm really proud of it and I'm baffled by the attention and praise it's received. With all that said, please enjoy, the final chapter of Delicate Stages.

10 months later:

The past ten months have been a fucked up roller coaster ride.

It starts only three days after Bucky drove out of Ana’s life. Max finds her, pulling her outside on the patio and carefully wrapping his arms around her in one of the longest hugs she’s ever received. He sits her down, then solemnly tells her the bad news.

Jared Sharp has passed away.

Although Ana has already heard a summary of what happened, Max divulges his side of the story. Jared was the one to realize what was happening, how he ran along with Max to help them out, and when they got there, Jared tried stopping it. He was critically shot and Max tried everything he could to keep him from bleeding out.

She’s heard this up until that point. Max continues, tells her that Jared asked if he saved her, and for some reason, he lied. It made Jared smile, said that Alex would be happy, and that was the last thing he said before he passed out. His body couldn’t come back from the trauma of the wound and gave out.

Ana had been peering out into the distance while Max talked. Her eyes sting, she blinks once, twice. Something wet falls onto her cheek and she realizes then that she’s crying. Her and Jared never got along while working, and he may have hated and blamed her for the wrong reasons, but he was trying to make up for it. They were beginning to get to know one another, understand each other. Her brother loved him for plenty of reasons, and Ana is disheartened that they could have been friends for more than a few weeks.

In the end, Jared wanted to protect Alex’s sister. He wanted to prevent anything further, he wanted to save her and Bucky, and it earned him a bullet to his chest. Ana leans forward, allowing Max to gather her in his arms as she cries quietly against his chest. She mourns the loss of Jared Sharp.

The long days morph into longer nights- some sleepless, some filled with nightmares of the aftermath- busy days, tear filled showers, bottles of wine, and working non stop. Especially after discovering the little notebooks Bucky left behind just for her. Honestly, Ana thinks it would just have been better if he'd taken those with him, instead of leaving them in a neat pile in her nightstand for her to find. Then, as she goes through them, page after page filled with nothing but his thoughts about her, she thinks, maybe not.

The first time she had gotten the nerve to go through one, she cried. Well, she laughed, then cried, maybe it was a mixture of both. She swears James Buchanan Barns could be a famous poet if he wanted to. It's these words, his words, his thoughts and feelings, that Ana rereads over and over, keeps close to her heart, and under her pillow. She feels slightly pathetic. She just misses him every single day, and Bucky's words just reassure her that no matter how much time passes, no matter how far the distance, no matter where he is, that he still loves her. That he will come back to her like he promised. It's her little bit of home she holds onto.

Home isn't a place, it's a person, it's a feeling; Bucky took that with him.

It's been a week since Ana has cracked open one of the little books, the binding worn by this point. It's not her fault, she's been keeping busy, more than usual. She's been working in the Medical Ward, offering her reports and help to any agents and Avengers coming back from missions.

Ana has absolutely refused to join any new mission and not just because of her knee, to the point of where Tony no longer asks her. She'd rather just sit back, wait anxiously while cuddling Ezra, and do her Empathetic Healing. She tries not to use her Energy Alchemy anymore, at least, not until it stops making her weak.

Sometimes, while she's waiting, or alone in the compound, Ana wonders into Bucky's room. She's already took all his pillows, now piled up on her bed, and a left over shirt or two, but she sits on his mattress, staring at a navy blue hat he left behind. Sometimes, she falls asleep, curled up in the middle of the bed that still smells like him, and sometimes she wakes up to Steve covering her with a blanket. When that happens, he doesn't coax her to get up or move into her room, instead, he sits beside her, pats his lap for her to rest her head on, until she drifts off again. Misery loves company, they say.

The last seven days however, have been crazy. Ana had been dealing with filing reports, even proof reading others, and the team just came back from a four day mission, uncovering yet another HYDRA base.

The mission went smoothly, but Steve still came back pissed off, and it took Ana quite some time to calm him. To be honest, she didn't try that hard, because when Steve becomes angry about the situation, it allows Ana to let her own feelings out because, yes. She is still upset and angry, and fuck, she just misses Bucky.

As does Steve, who takes it out on the punching bag next to her favorite one. When Ana catches him during these times, she challenges him to knock all the bags off the chains, they end up making a game out of it. Ana punches with all her might, until she can no longer control her powers, using energy to blast the bag right off. It always ends with them falling to the mat laughing. It’s cathartic for them both.

Three hundred and twenty-three days later, Ana is banging her head against the island marble top. She hasn't emailed Telly in a long time, both busy with their own lives and projects, but Ana is stuck on a mental health device that Tony has been trying to come up with and inquired her help. The concept being able to replicate what Ana can do, by healing the mind from emotional and psychological trauma. Maybe she if smacks her head hard enough it'll knock her intelligence back into her brain.

“You’re going to give yourself a concussion, and I will not be explaining that to Pepper.”

“Why? Because your fiancé will have your ass if I’m hurt?”

There’s a hand now between her forehead and the counter top, cushioning her blows. Ana narrows her eyes at Tony as he picks her head up.

“Why don’t you take a vacation?” He offers, his dark eyes flashing in concern.

“I agree!” Steve shouts from the couch as he sits up straighter, overly eager.

“Me too!” Wanda pipes in, pulling her attention away from the card game she’s teaching Vision. Those two have been growing closer and closer the past several months.

“I can’t. I’m too busy.” Ana glares at both of them.

Sam, who has been eating his lunch on the patio speaks up. “Not too busy to clean my wings! Four times. They didn’t even need a cleaning.”

Ana rolls her eyes.

“It was entertaining to watch you do that though.” Comes Natasha’s voice from behind her.

Ana spins in her chair not at all hearing her walk in. She snatches the untouched spoon and jar of Nutella that has been sitting next Ana for a while. She hasn’t cracked it open, mainly because it was making her sad. She still has the one Bucky gave her on her bookshelf. No one touches it.

“It wasn’t a suggestion.” Tony asserts, ignoring everyone. “I’m telling you. Start packing and pick a location, anywhere you want to go and I’ll have my jet bring you there.”

She groans.

“Why don’t you visit your friend? That pen pal of yours.” Steve suggests, giving Tony a pointed look over her shoulder.

“Pen pal.” Ana mutters while Natasha leans against the counter, quirking an eyebrow at him.

Tony claps his hands together. “Yes. Besides, Pepper will have my ass for real if she finds out how stressed you’ve been.”

“I am not s-”

“You’re hair has been falling out and FRIDAY clocked your BP at 139 for at least-”

“Okay, I got it, thanks.” Ana snaps.

It’s true, she’s been purposely overworking herself. Jumping from one agent to the next, then the issue with helping Peter Parker’s Aunt May come to terms with finding the truth about his identity as Spider-Man. Which was shocking news to everyone, minus Tony. Not to mention the lack of sleep and still ignoring the Bucky shaped hole in her heart.

“Fine.” She sighs exaggeratedly. “I’ll go visit Telly.”

“Thank god. All this negative energy was making me antsy.” Wanda teases, wiggling her fingers.

“Negative!?” She pauses, then shrugs. “Hush and help me pack.”

***

Wakanda is the most beautiful, stunning place Ana has ever seen in her life. The scenery blooms in front of her eyes, the color of the sky seem more vibrant, as do the plants, the landscape. It's the incredibly advance technology that has her mind reeling. It takes her breath away. She can't help thinking, as she slowly and takes in all the new sights with wonder, that Bucky would adore this place. She ignores the pang of longing in her heart.

Ana arrives to her destination, the ramp of the jet she came in lowers as she goes to grabs her bags. She’s stopped by one of the stunning women who had offered to pick her up in the first place. She introduced herself as Okoye. She politely holds her hand out, her dark skin almost illuminating in the sunlight along with her intricate red and gold uniform. Ana insists she can carry her own bags, that it isn't a problem, until the woman levels her with a stern look.

Once Ana exits the jet, she's led down a beautiful hallway, that leads into a wide, expansive laboratory. Her mouth drops open. The ceilings are high, two entire walls display floor to ceiling windows overlooking the countryside. There’s a plethora of technological advance machines and devices, all futuristic and expensive; Ana is afraid to walk too close to them, lest she break something. Everything in this lab makes the one back home look like a child's play toy. They come to a halt on the left side of the lab, behind someone standing by a table of weapons.

"Princess Shuri," Okoye introduces a tilt of her golden spear. “AnaRosa Rios."

Ana balks at that, because Princess!? Telly sent the Princess of Wakanda to greet her? "Uh-" She squeaks dumbly, blinking in surprise.

The young woman, a teenager, dressed in all white with multiple braided hair wrapped up into a bun, turns. She beams brightly, waving excitedly. Then it clicks. Telly is Princess Shuri of Wakanda, which means she is the sister of T'Challa, the Black Panther. The King of Wakanda. Holy shit.

Shuri rushes to her, Ana automatically opens her arms to greet her with a hug. It isn't awkward or weird, since they've talked for so long, have shared so much, that it feels like a seeing an old friend who's moved away. Once they pull back, they break out into giddy chit chat and laughter, mainly because Ana had no idea who Telly truly was, but Telly- Shuri, knew who Ana was for a while. That is, until Shuri reminded her that she did in fact introduce herself way back in their first message to each other. Ana is just dumb and was overly impressed by her intelligence that she just opted to nickname her Telly.

Shuri pulls back completely, squatting down until she's level with Ana's knee. “How’s your knee holding up in this rusted thing?" She inquires with a beautiful accent. "Brother told me it was damaged again. Stark technology failed?”

Ana shrugs sheepishly. “In his defense, I don’t think he was prepared for a five pronged electrical disk to be shoved into my knee? It somehow countered the rods between the bones and disabled them. That's a lie. It literally yanked them from my bones." She winces like she can still feel the pain from the moment it happened. Her entire knee throbs occasionally, even with the temporary brace she is currently wearing.

Shuri pursues her lips. “Hmmm. It was painful, yes?” She gently taps the brace with her fingers.

“Excruciating.”

“Why did you wait so long to see me?" She stands up, crossing her arms. "I offered to help when you told me about your knee the first time."

Ana waves her hand around. “I was really busy and I was handling the pain the best way I could. I’m here now though.”

Shuri looks like she wants to say something else, but hooks her arm with Ana's own. “Come. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

She steers Ana towards the opposite side of the room, past the little workshops with objects she can’t quite see. She tries taking in the amazing sights of the laboratory, but she's being pulled too quickly. They head towards the Health and Healing area in the back, stopping by the Wakandan version of an MRI machine. Ana’s eyes widen, she drops her arm.

“Oh my god.” She breathes.

Shuri nudges her arm. “I thought you’d like it.”

Ana is amazed. “Shuri, you literally built a knee. This is incredible!”

The artificial knee appears more advanced than anything she has ever seen. It’s navy blue, nearly black in color, clearly made from a material not yet accessible to other countries. A thin piece of what looks like golden cartilage cushions the joints, along with golden tendons and ligaments.

Ana steps up to the table, examining the artificial knee. “It operates like a real one, right? No limited range of motion?”

“Correct. It’s better than a real one. It’s one-hundred percent vibranium. It's kinetic as well, so it’ll absorb any shock impact and converts it into energy.” Shuri explains excitedly. "Goes perfectly with what you can do. The surgery for it isn’t as invasion as a normal, less advanced knee replacement. Your recovery would be days, weeks possbily, rather than months.”

Ana claps her hands, ecstatic. “Does that mean I have my leg strength back?”

Shuri laughs. “Yes! You can land a powerful strike. The best part however, it converts into a positive source of energy throughout your body. I gathered all the information you told me and decided to build it that way to give you more endurance.”

“You're amazing, Shuri.” Ana compliments, focusing back on the knee to take in the details.

“One other thing.”

Ana turns to face her, eager to learn more. Then her heart stops in her chest, air ceasing in her lungs. She can barely feel her expression melt into shock and briefly thinks that she is going into shock. Time seems to stand still, and a warmth begins to spread throughout her bones. The breath she had been holding in without her knowledge leaves her mouth in a quiet huff. It takes her seventeen seconds to breathe again.

Bucky.

Bucky is standing there.

Bucky is standing right there. Bucky is standing several feet behind Shuri, who is probably smiling so wide, but Ana doesn’t see her. She doesn’t see anyone or anything surrounding her other than Bucky. Bucky who has a soft little grin on his lips as he stares back at her. Bucky, who she had been dreaming of standing in front of her for months, is right there.

Ana has to be certain this is real before she truly reacts. She blinks rapidly, but the illusion doesn’t disappear. She twists her injured knee until it hurts, but she isn’t dreaming. Bucky is wearing a white tunic, threaded with intricate designs that look important, royal. His trousers are a gray loose fitting material leading to his bare feet.

Clearly the past ten months has done him good, since he now has a brand new prosthetic arm, sleek and dark blue interlaced with gold. It’s his face though, that kickstarts Ana’s heart up again. He looks serene. His blue eyes are bright and clear as the sky, popping vividly against the color of his shirt. Any cuts and scabs are long gone, and half his hair is twisted back into a bun, the length now just above his shoulders.

“Hi Annie.”

It’s daybreak after the longest period of darkness. That simple nickname, that gentle little greeting finally makes Ana’s feet unglue from the floor. This is real, and Bucky is real and it’s not another heart wrenching dream.

Ana sprints towards him, closing the few feet between them. She jumps, Bucky catching her instantly, wrapping her thighs around his hips. Ana kisses him. Bucky tightens his arms around her waist, pressing her close and kissing her back with fervor.

“Your knee!” Shuri cackles from somewhere behind them. They ignore her. “Love sick colonizers.”

Ana’s hands are in his hair, gripping and pulling his head closer. Their mouths open against each other’s and she has missed the way he tastes. Bucky moves his arm up her back, his own fingers tangling in her hair, kissing her harder. It’s bruising and perfect, ignites a furnace deep within her soul. Ana begins to slip, so she drops her legs, but Bucky holds her tighter to his chest. Unfortunately, they break apart, just barely, grinning wildly against each others mouths. Bucky brings his right hand up to cup her jaw.

“You came back to me.” Ana whispers, tears welling up in her eyes.

Bucky laughs softly, freely, and it’s the best sound she has ever heard. “Promised I would, love.” He kisses her again.

Her hand slips from his long, soft hair, falling onto his left shoulder. She breaks the kiss once more, gazing up into his watery blue eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

“You have no idea.” He exhales, swiping his thumbs along her cheekbones. He peaks her nose. “I have missed your pretty eyes.”

Ana melts into him. “How are you feeling?”

“Good. Better. Brand new.”

Overwhelming relief crashes over. Ana beams, tears escaping her eyes. She’s so happy in this moment.

“I love you.” Bucky conveys strongly, nudging his forehead against hers.

"I love you, too. Oh my god. This is real right? Please, please tell me you're real."

"I'm very real, doll face."

"God." Ana reaches up to tug his hair, only to pull him back down for another long, overdue kiss.

“I��m fixed, Ana, it’s gone.” He mumbles against her mouth.

She pulls back, completely gobsmacked. “What- I mean- how- what?”

Bucky smiles so wide, his eyes squint, those cute crinkles appearing by the corners. “Shuri. She did this thing with-” he breaks off laughing as Ana places quick little pecks all over his face, “-the scientists and the-” Ana kisses his mouth, “-thing."

“Very eloquently put.” Shuri cackles behind them.

Ana grabs either side of his head, slipping her fingers into his thick, long hair, accidentally loosening the bun. She rubs her thumbs against his temples, senses his warm energy seeping into hers.

“Fuck,” She mutters, beaming at him. “I’m so happy for you, baby. How do you feel?” She has to ask again.

“Free.”

The rapidly beating heart swells even more inside her chest. Her stomach flutters, warmth spreading throughout her veins. All she ever wanted was for Bucky to be free from Hydra’s monstrous tentacles. Ana weeps from joy.

Gentle thumbs wipe away her tears, as Bucky tenderly hushes her with sweet little coos. Once she gathers herself, she turns around in his arms, Bucky wrapping them around her chest.

“Shuri, this is incredible. You are incredible!” Ana exclaims. “How were you able to do it?"

"Come! I'll show you!" She chirps excitingly, grabbing Ana's arm, pulling her from Bucky’s hold to dragging her across the lab.

He makes a noise of protest, but Shuri ignores him. They come to a stop by a large holographic digital panel. She taps her fingers swiftly on the screen until images of what must be Bucky's brain pop up.

"We used our most sophisticated bi-scanners to create a one on one digital representation of his brain." The insanely intelligent princess explains, expanding one of the images. "The progress we made was tested and retested again in the digital construct, that way there was no damage to the physical brain tissue."

She turns her attention on Ana. "I was worried about that. If the tissue would be damaged in the process of deprogramming the words, of pulling them apart, since they were basically embedded into his DNA at that point. All interictally woven."

Ans shakes her head in disbelief. She knew how deep HYDRA's brainwashing went, seventy years of wiping his mind and repeating those words made a giant impact. A long term affect.

"As you already knew," Shuri continues, "there was no simple solution to just erase mental programming, especially after 7 decades. There's no delete button, and you were right, Ana. The majority of his programming was linked to the trigger words. The last thing we wanted to do was remove all of who Sergeant Barnes was. All his loves, his hates, his whole personality- when trying to destroy what Hydra made him into.

“The hardest part was rooting out the extent of his memories that had the greatest amount of control over his physical actions. The ones that had been manipulated due to their deep emotional trauma. Which was quite a few."

Ana hums in agreement, surprisingly able to follow along. Shuri goes on.

"I ran an algorithm that was able to flush the influence of the trigger words out, all while retaining the core context of those original memories. Essentially, I was able reboot him."

"Does-" Ana speaks up, her voice raspy, taking all the information in. She clears her throat. "Does that mean, his memories..."

"They're all there." She grins brightly at her. "All his memories, and traits, everything that makes Sergeant Barnes himself, is all there. Old memories, and new ones, important ones."

She places a gentle hand on Ana's shoulder. "I was careful. I made sure to keep all his memories with you intact as well. The healing session you told me about, evidently, helped me out more than expected. By performing that, you essentially tied stronger, newer memories, thoughts, feelings, loves, into his brain.

“It was much easier to separate what Sergeant Barnes felt with those memories, what he began to associate the former trigger words, as good. Even beforehand, the words weren't as deeply rooted as I anticipated. Which is a result from your Deprogramming Sessions as well."

Ana frowns, befuddled. She had been staring at Bucky as he fawned over the vibrainum knee meant for her. Bucky glances up, and she tears her eyes away, locking her gaze back to Shuri. She mulls the words over in her mind for several long moments, her heart picking up speed just a little at the implication.

"So...what you are saying is-"

"You did not fail me." Bucky's voice interrupts her from behind.

Ana turns, blinking. He was just on the other side of the room two seconds ago. He's smiling at her, that one where his mouth is tilted up to right, and the corners of his eyes are soft.

"Precisely." Shuri concurs. "If it weren't for you, our process would have been longer and much more invasive. This took around fourth and a half months. It would have been quicker, but our country briefly had civil disagreements with an outsider."

"Wait. Then I really didn't..." Ana shakes her head again, trying to comprehend all of this information.

Everything she has been beating herself up with, everything she felt immensely guilty of, that weighed on her like 20-ton weights, wasn't true. That she truly did not fail in helping him. All those nights she spent crying into her pillow, all the nights she spent alone in their spot on the roof, driving herself into a nearly depressed tail spin. All that time she spent knowing that she could have done more, that maybe if she did something differently, that none of what happened would have happened.

"Annie."

The nickname she once despised pulls her from her thoughts. Bucky is standing a few inches in front of her, placing careful hands on her cheeks, his touch delicate. Ana revels in the contrast of his hands, warm and cool, allowing it to ground her. She's beginning to feel overwhelmed with everything from the past hour. Arriving in a place she had no idea exist until a day ago, thinking she was here to visit for a new knee, then having Bucky surprise her, to the information about how Shuri and her team were able to fully deprogram him. She feels dizzy.

"You with me, darling?" Bucky murmurs, smoothing his thumbs over her cheekbones. His eyes are so incredibly blue, and she is drowning in them. Wants to drown in them forever.

"I didn't fail you?" She breathes, still trying to comprehend it. She brings her hands up, curling her fingers over his wrists.

His eyes crinkle as his expressions turns fond. “No, you didn't. You were a big part in helping me." He leans closer, pressing his forehead against hers. "Between you and I, you were the greatest part. You are the greatest part."

Then he kisses her, gentle and tantalizing, the sensation melting right down to her bones. It causes her knees to buckle, her right one throbbing, but the love of her life wraps his arms around her shoulders and waist, supporting her against his body. Ana can't help it, a few tears escaped once more as she hugs Bucky around his back.

Shuri decides to speak up. "Your broken white boy is fixed!" She exclaims.

Not expecting that at all, Ana pulls away cackling loud and unabashed. She barely hears Bucky sigh, before she turns and launched herself at Shuri, embracing her in a tight hug.

"You are an exceptional genius!" Ana tells her, tears still blurring her vision. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Her friend laughs in her ear before she leans back. "When my brother told me exactly who Sergeant Barnes was-

"Bucky, Shuri." He interjects. He's ignored.

"-I had to help." She goes on as if Bucky hadn't said a word. "Not just for scientific reason, which is a major breakthrough for Wakandan artificial intelligence, but for the both of you as well. You became extremely sad in your emails, Ana, and his most recent memories were just as sad. I knew this would make you both happy. Captain Rogers too."

Ana beams at her, until it clicks in her brain. She takes a step back. "Oh my god, Steve knew this entire time!"

No wonder he was eager to take Ana here. That little fucking punk. When she gets back she's going to smack Steve in the face with his shield, then she’s going to have to thank him in the biggest way possible when she goes back. She looks at Bucky, who is laughing now, his mouth open and head tilted back.

If she goes back.

***

"You've been sitting on a never-ending supply of Winter theme nicknames for him, and I'm only now finding out about it?" Shuri asks, crossing her arms and glaring at Bucky.

It took a while for Ana and Bucky's reunion to die down, even having several of the Wakadans working in the lab clapping for them. It felt physically impossible to pull away from each other, and even now, Ana has her arms around his lower back, her head pressed against his chest over his beating heart. Bucky has his flesh hand in her hair, his left hugging her spine.

"I think you have plenty of your own nicknames for me." Bucky responds flatly. Ana perks up at that. "No. I'm not telling you either, darling. This information is very dangerous in both your hands."

"I'll just tell her later." Shuri winks at her.

"You don't stand a chance, Bucky." Ana simpers. She hears him huff exasperated. "You love me." She leans back to look at him, and he's already peering down at her.

"With every fiber of my being." He tells her with conviction.

Her heart swells. "I've missed you. I love you."

He kisses her deeply, until Shuri clears her throat. Bucky pulls back, shrugging unashamed. "I’ve missed those nine gold dots.” He gently brushes his thumb under her eye. “Would you like to see where I live?"

Ana ignores the little pang in her heart at the words. "That sounds like a line, Buck."

They stare at each other, goofy grins on their faces. Ana feels likw this is her own homecoming, wrapped up in his arms.

"Go, go." Shuri shoos before Bucky can reply. "Enjoy your time, Ana. We can talk knee replacement surgery when you are ready. No rush.”

***

White Wolf.

It's what the Wakandans dubbed Bucky. It's what T'Challa and Shuri named him during his recovery. Ana finds out that the people have essentially adopted Bucky and have accepted him into their society and culture. He explains all of this to her, as she traces her fingers all over his new arm that seems utterly benign.

She can't get over the beauty of the vibranium prosthetic. It's so very different from the other, then again, this new arm was made with careful tenderness from people who genuinely hold Bucky's interest as important. As someone who is indeed a human, with complex thoughts and emotions. Someone who isn't viewed as a weapon, as an asset.

Bucky allows her to play with his fingers, twisting and turning his wrist, pulling his bicep closer to her face. The technology is amazing, beautiful. The design reminds her of the kintsukuroi artwork she has in her room. Ana traces every single line of gold she sees; around his fingers, his knuckles, the lines in his palm, around his wrist, up his forearm, over his bicep.

"To repair with gold." She whispers, accidentally interrupting Bucky.

He stops talking and laces his fingers with hers. Then he lifts her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. Ana smiles at him, before leaning into him, kissing him softly on the lips. As he brings his right hand up to rest against her chest and taps her collarbone, she vaguely remembers never believing in a one true love before. But as they sit alone on the freight train that takes them from the Lab, through the city and into the country side, she thinks maybe she was wrong.

Bucky quite literally pulls Ana along through a small village made up of scattered huts. Animals ranging from chickens, to sheep, dogs and even some cats run around. He shows her around the little farm he works on three days a week. He points out the animals, the little goats and sheep, some chickens and lambs. He points out his favorite little goat, who he named Rosa because she's a stubborn little thing that likes to kick at hay bills. The fact that Ana's full name ends with Rosa doesn't go unnoticed, and Bucky blushes when she mentions. He tells her that moving hay bills and other manual labor makes him feel whole, that he can be helpful.

Bucky admits, his voice quiet as he pets Rosa on the head, that most days he doesn't even use his left arm. Keeping it locked in a case up in the lab and working with just his right arm makes him feel more human; feels more like himself. That during this recovery process, he had begun accepting himself as who he was. It made Bucky feel like he wasn't just a weapon, and his old Soviet made arm was just an everyday reminder that for seventy plus years, that's all he was.

"I think that's why I was always so cautious with it around you." Bucky confesses, voice barely above a whisper. "All I saw was this horrific thing that could hurt you and I couldn't get rid of. I was stuck with it."

Ana understands, and to convey that she does, she presses a light kiss to his temple. As Bucky leads them towards the furthest hut just on the outskirts of a small lake, they're surrounded by children with beautiful dark skin, dressed in traditionally wraps with white and yellow tribal paint on their faces. They're all shouting in their native language, but the kind expression on Bucky's face tells Ana that they're calling his name. Not Bucky; White Wolf.

He drops her hand in favor of picking up one of the smallest boys, swinging him around in the air. The child giggles brightly as the others all eagerly wait their turn, pining for his attention. Ana's heart blooms warmth, her cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so wide. Bucky is so at ease here, content and comfortable, and the little pang gently kicks at her stomach. Ana ignores it once more as she is suddenly being pulled toward the lake by three girls, who then force her to sit on a boulder.

Bucky makes his way over to them after several minutes of throwing each child up into the air. He chuckles under his breath when he sees the braids in Ana's hair. The girls have been chatting excitedly, and although she doesn't understand a word, she's content to sit there and listen, taking in the life of the small village. Some of the older villagers offer her friendly waves and smiles, an elderly woman stopping by once to hand her some beads to give to the girls.

"They're saying you have thick beautiful hair." Bucky translate her as he sits down.

One of the youngers boys from earlier had follow him, and climbs into Ana's lap, taking her hands and playing with her fingers. "I figured." She smiles over at him. "They love you here."

"Yeah, I guess they do." He agrees, pinching one of the tan beads in her hair.

"Umfazi!" The girl behind her giggles. "Umfazi!"

Bucky clears his throat and turns to playfully poke the girl in the arm. His cheeks, Ana notices, are tinted red.

"What did she say?" She questions curiously.

"It's not important. She's just being silly."

Ana narrows her eyes, but lets it go in favor of tickling the little boy in her lap

***

After spending a few hours in the village, Bucky brings Ana to his apartment just on the outskirts of the city. It's an open yet cozy concept, despite modern touches and all types of advanced tech she has never seen before; sleek appliances and even an entertainment center. Bucky lights up while talking about it, a brilliant smile on his face, telling her how cool and amazing the tech is and Stark hasn't even begun to scratch the surface of what this country has and can do.

It's here that Ana finally realizes what that panging in her heart is. It feels like she's being shot all over again, steel bullets twisting her insides around. A bitter taste fills her mouth and she swallows it with the painful flutter of her heart as well.

Bucky has found his place here; recovering, becoming healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally. His excitement and awe of every little piece of aspect hasn't dimmed once, despite living here for months.

"You're happy here." Ana states quietly, interrupting him. "You love it here."

Bucky's smile falls from his mouth, a frown setting in as he takes her hands. "I'm happy you're here with me. I'm happy with you."

He leans down to press his lips to her forehead, then trails his mouth down to her temple, her cheek, to her nose. He traces his fingers up from her own, to her arms, until he is cupping her jaw. Ana gazes up at him, her heart pounding against her chest, her cheeks heating up under his touch. He is looking at her with so much love, so much adoration, that any seed of doubt she was beginning to have fades away.

When Bucky presses his lips against hers, it's tantalizing, nearly burning her bones and melting against his solid body. Ana snakes her arms around his waist, pressing him closer, because at one point she couldn't handle three days away from him, and three hundred and twenty-three days was horrible. She grips his shirt, trying to hold off the sudden emotion swirling in her chest. She must gasp against his lips, for Bucky starts to walk her backwards, his tongue prying her lips open.

Something wet escapes her eyes, and Bucky swipes his thumbs over them. She doesn't know how they got from the kitchen to his room, onto the bed, but she doesn't complain. Ana brings her hands up to tangle her fingers into his long hair, when Bucky takes them both, interlocking their fingers and pressing them on either side of her head. He pulls back to stare into her eyes, and Bucky's own are wet.

Ana gives him a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Bucky. I love you, so much, and I'm incredibly happy to see you, you have no idea. Or you probably do. I just..." She trails off, lip quivering.

"It's alright, Ana." Bucky soothes softly. "I get it. I love you, I missed you." He kisses the tip of her nose, then pulls back. "I was in cryofreeze on and off for decades, and from what I remember, I didn't dream too often. This time was different. I dreamt of you, Annie. Your face, your laugh, your touch. Just being with you, and when I woke up, there was a moment where I thought you there with me. When I realized you weren't-"

He breaks off. Ana untangles her left hand, reaching up to wipe a tear on his cheek away. "It was horrible without, and I know that isn't fair for me to say-"

He kisses her to cease her words, and it's a very Bucky like thing to do. It makes her stomach flip.

"I nearly begged them to put me back to sleep after they fixed everything. Because being awake, knowing how far you were from me..." He shakes his head, his eye glazing over for a moment. He blinks, then smiles down at her. "I want to show you how much I missed you. I want to show you how fucking happy I am right now."

Bucky sits back on his heels, and it should be comical, him sitting there naked with how turned on he is, but it’s not. His hungry gaze pins Ana to the spot on the bed, her heart beating wildly as he continues to stare at her, as if he’s seeing her for the first time. Bucky doesn’t need to show her how much he’s missed her or loves her; Ana can feel the emotional energy radiating off his skin. However, he’s still too far from her.

Ana lifts her right leg, hooking her heel over his shoulder, the vibranium base feels smooth and sleek. She tries pulling him in, however, Bucky wraps his fingers around her ankle, moving her foot so he can kiss the Veni Vidi Vici tattoo on the outside of her foot. He then kisses her ankle, trailing his lips up to her calf. He places feather light kisses over her injured knee, the marks from disk faint against her olive skin; the brace had been carefully place to the side.

He continues kissing up her inner thigh, her stomach swooping as Bucky moves closer to her center. He ignores her there, opting to lean over and kiss the left side of her hip, where the scars from years ago begin. He drags his lips across her navel, his beard tickling her skin and kisses the newest scar left behind by a bullet. Bucky moves up to kiss the tattoo on her ribs, her skin erupting in goosebumps as his breath fans over the words.

He skips over her breasts, slightly heaving with her labored breaths. She has to bite her lip to keep from whimpering as he tenderly kisses the second bullet scar on her shoulder. Bucky grazes his teeth over her collarbone, tapping his thumb twice, before trailing his lips up her neck and behind her ear, kissing the lotus flower tattoo.

“Bucky,” Ana gives in with a whine, her mouth dropping open as his hard chest grazes over her nipples. “Please."

“Shhh, baby.” He murmurs over her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “I’ve got you.”

His hands find hers, lacing their fingers together as he finally kisses her lips. He keeps his mouth soft, delicate, the love he feels for her seeping into her bones. She loves him just as much, but it’s been ten months, and that’s ten fucking months too long. Ana wraps her legs around his waist, tugging him close, until his hard cock is pressed between her legs, sliding against her clit.

They both groan into each other’s mouths at the contact. Bucky brakes their hold from their hands, lining himself up, pressing into Ana. He goes slow, gentle despite how wet she is,. It’s been ten months without this, and the rush to feel each other skipped any foreplay. She breaks away from their kiss, throwing her head back and gasping quietly as he fills her, feeling every inch of him. He slips his left arm under her waist, holding her close and locking her there, as he takes her right hand away from her own, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

A soft nip to her neck makes Ana move her head back, meeting Bucky’s blue-eyed gaze. His eyes are blown wide with lust, nearly hidden with the love that is shinning in them. With shaky fingers, Ana brushes his hair back, bringing him down until their foreheads touch. He smiles down at her before capturing her lips once again.

On the first thrust, Bucky keeps it tantalizingly slow and deep, already hitting that sensitive spot insider her. Ana wraps her arms around his strong back, digging her fingers into his shoulders from a mixture of pleasure and dull fleeting pain from his size. Bucky pauses, allowing them to both catch their breaths and adjust, chuckling into each other’s mouths. Ana moans into a kiss after Bucky starts again, slowly continues to roll his hips, keeping each thrust deep and perfect.

Everything feels like it’s on fire, the air nearly sizzling around them. Warmth seeps into her skin from Bucky, igniting every one of her veins and makes her heart pound against her chest. She vaguely wonders if he can feel just how hard it’s beating for him. Ana feels their energies wrap around each other, comforting, warm; home.

Bucky presses her hips down harder, groaning as her walls flutter around his cock for a moment. At this point, he’s barely pulling back, just keeps grinding deep inside her, her clit brushing against his pubic bone. Their kiss is nothing more than open mouth panting, gasps and whimpers being swallowed down once in a while.

It’s all so overwhelming, especially when Bucky begins to whisper sweet words into her lips, into her neck when he has to duck his head down for a moment. Ana’s nails bite into the skin of his back, holding him closer than ever, their bodies fitting together as if the past ten months never happened. It feels like their first time together, though much more emotional, the distance making everything more passionate.

“Bucky,” Ana whimpers, her eyes fluttering. “Babe, please.”

Bucky kisses her fluttering pulse in her neck before reconnecting their foreheads. “I’ve got you, my love.” He murmurs, keeping his gaze locked on hers.

He pulls back further this time, snapping his hips forward, slow and hard and it’s perfect. With each small thrust, the tip of his cock brushes against that spot, making Ana’s toes curl. Bucky continues the leisurely pace, just opting for longer, harder thrusts. It causes waves of pleasure to roll through her stomach, her walls clenching around him tighter and tighter.

He thrusts once, twice, three more times, before the fire and waves crash together, sending Ana over the edge as she comes hard around his cock. She holds onto Bucky, moaning and mewling into his mouth as he kisses her again, her hand slipping from her shoulder into his damp hair. He gasps into her mouth as her walls constrict around him. He snaps his hips two more times before Bucky follows right after her.

They’re panting side by side, slowly coming down from their passionate love making, skin sweaty and cooling from the air around them. Ana’s heart hasn’t stopped pounding since she turned around and saw Bucky standing the lab. She feels sedated now, a bone deep satisfaction she has come to miss. She could lay in this spot forever, except that she’s still too far from Bucky, so she makes herself move.

She hooks her right leg over his thigh, rolling over to press up against his side. She wiggles around, draping her arm over his lower abs, trying to pull herself up his chest. He wraps his arm around her hips.

"What are you doing?" Bucky chuckles, breathy little sounds that make her heart flutter.

"Trying to get as close to you as possible. Keep you next to me." She says, still wiggling.

"Darling, I'm right here. It's not like I'm just going to disappear into thin air." However, he helps shift her around until she’s comfortable.

Ana shushes him. "You never know, and I need to keep you close to me. Forever."

Bucky kisses her eyebrow. "This is real, right? I'm not dreaming again?"

She taps her thumb against his collarbone twice. "I'm real, Bucky.” She moves her hand down to the middle of his chest. “This is real."

He brushes her hair away from her temple, shifting until he’s looking her in the eyes. "Annie. Stay with me?"

Ana feels her entire body light up like the stars, and she can’t be sure if it’s just a metaphor, or if her energy is doing something to make her feel like that. Either way, she smiles softly at the man she loves with all her heart.

“Of course.”

Bucky smiles brightly at her, crinkles and all.

“My Winter Snowflake.”

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

A/N: Umfazi means wife in Xhosa, which is apparently one of the languages spoken in Wakanda. What Shuri explains is from the upcoming comic, Infinity War Prelude.

**To anyone who wants to continue Bucky and Ana’s story feel free to read the Sequel: Delicate Stages of Life Set Ten months after Delicate Stages. Looking into the life of Bucky and Ana. Life in Wakanda is filled with love, laughs, some tears, all emotions, lazy days, goats, hot springs, a soul connection, and something dark that looms over Bucky’s and Ana’s domestic bliss…

#bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky barns fanfiction #delicate stages #my fic #mcu fanfiction #Bucky Barnes #fanfiction

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