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heavyhitterheaux · 11 months

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Meet Me Halfway Part 3 (NSFW)

AN: Let’s do this 🥰

Synopsis: You want to give Jack another chance, but when you go to surprise him in Louisville before NPLH, you're left wondering if you made a mistake. But maybe, just maybe everything will work itself out in the end.

Pairing: Jack Harlow x Reader

Read Part 1 and Part 2 first

Jack Harlow Masterlist

Special thank you to my girls @hoodharlow and @nattinatalia for helping 💖

DO NOT ENGAGE IF YOU ARE UNDERAGE

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

It was dark in the house as you suspected once you stepped in and closed the front door softly behind you. You made your way over to the stairs and once you began to climb them and the closer you got to the top, you were able to hear Jack’s soft snores indicating that he was asleep.

His bedroom door was open and you saw him sprawled out on the king sized bed and couldn’t help but to have your breathing increase as you fully made your way into the bedroom. You walked over to the nightstand attempting to set down your phone next to his in order to be able to put it on the charger while his phone went off indicating a text from "Baby" and your eyes went wide before they immediately started to water. Curiosity got the best of you so your eyes peered down to see what the message said.

Baby- So excited for the show! Can't wait to see you! Love you 💕

He had some fucking nerve

You wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but from the outside looking in it seemed as if he had moved on already and didn’t want to have anything to do with you.

Doubts were now creeping into your mind and the last thing you were going to do is be played like a fool.

Or were you jumping to conclusions?

But why in the world would he put someone’s name as ‘baby’ in his phone if it wasn’t something serious happening between the two of them?

What if he simply told you that he wanted to still be with you and go about it in the right way just for him to keep you close to him for his own benefit?

You were now in a panicked state and quickly grabbed your phone that was placed next to his and turned around to make your way back down the steps and out the door.

The thought occurred to you that you were still in possession of the house key that he gave you and it should’ve been left there right next to his phone along with a note, but at this point that was more than he even deserved.

You opened up your heart to someone who you believed would take care of it, when he had done the complete opposite and had hurt you in the process. However, he wasn’t the only one completely at fault. From the beginning you did know what the expectations of the relationship were, you just didn’t anticipate falling in love with him at the same time.

The tears that you had been trying to hold in were now cascading down your cheeks at an uncontrollable speed as you got in your rental car, and you were trying your best to regulate your breathing in the hopes of not sending yourself into a panic attack. Now would be the perfect time to use your inhaler, but for some reason you didn’t have the slightest clue where it was.

"I can't do this." You quietly spoke to yourself as you pressed the push start and began making your way to the 21C/Delta hotel.

But in the back of your mind, you already knew that it was only a matter of time before Jack found out where you were.

NPLH came and went and even though you had told Jack that Alicia would be bringing the outfits for him to wear, he still couldn't help but to still have a sliver of hope that it would be you instead.

That night he sent you a text to thank you not knowing that you were in fact in Louisville and scared shitless of running into him. You would have to stay a few more days to close some business deals and then you would be heading back home leaving Louisville as well as Jack behind you. Hopefully for good, but truth be told, you were doing a bad job of convincing yourself that that happening would ever become a reality.

You obviously knew that he was going to come look for you if you kept ignoring him, but you decided to deal with those consequences later when the time came not wanting to give yourself a headache making up fake scenarios in your head.

Meanwhile, Jack was at home simply relaxing by himself when something told him to check his security cameras and when he did, he had to do a double take when he spotted you on it.

Three days ago.

December 17th, 2022

Jack kept rewatching the footage over and over and couldn't wrap his mind around as to why you came and suddenly left without even saying one word to him. Granted, he was sleeping, but still.

You had been in the house for less than ten minutes before the footage showed you leaving back out.

He deserved an explanation as to why you did what you did and immediately picked up his phone to call you but became frustrated when you didn’t answer, the next thing he did was blow up your phone with multiple text messages.

Jack- Babe, I know you’re in Louisville or at least you were

Jack- Why did you suddenly just come to the house and leave?

Jack- Did something happen?

Jack- Baby girl answer me. I need to know if you’re okay. I can see that you’re reading the texts.

It’s true that you were reading his texts, but you had no idea what to say to him and quite frankly you didn’t feel like dealing with him at the moment because once again you felt that he was playing with your feelings just like he had done before. You had to focus on closing this deal and would worry about Jack later.

You got dressed quickly and made your way to the restaurant where you would meet one of your clients and were thankful for the table being in the back and being secluded in the corner. Your client’s name was Javier and he represented Versace and they reached out to you in the hopes of collaborating so of course you jumped at the opportunity. You were thankful and grateful that your fashion was starting to be recognized all over the world. You explained to him how you were in Louisville and he immediately flew out to meet you.

Everything had been going well as you and Javier were about to get ready to go your separate ways until you were interrupted by the very last person that you wanted to see.

“Oh, so you can’t answer my texts and my calls but yet you can go on dates with other men? Does he know that you were at my house at 3 am the other night?” Jack said and your eyes immediately went wide as Javier simply looked around confused.

“Jackman, not now. We’ll talk about it later.”

“When is later? Because it seems as if you’ve been dodging me left and right. I admit that I deserve you wanting space from me, but I promise you that it's going to be different. Do you not want to be with me anymore?”

“Will you stop making a fucking scene and shut the hell up? I said that we’ll talk about it later.” You said through gritted teeth as people were starting to stare.

“So, you honestly thought that you could come to Louisville and you could dodge me? Seriously?”

“I will come to your house when I am done, now please leave.” You said fighting back tears of pure anger. If Jack had caused you to lose this deal, you couldn’t even begin to think about what would happen between the two of you.

“Don’t take too long.” Was all Jack said before leaving the table and you then turned back to Javier and started apologizing profusely.

“I am so sorry about him.”

“Who knew Jack Harlow was a jealous ex?” He said as he let out a small laugh.

“If I can even call him that.”

“I know we just met, but can I give you some advice?” Javier asked you and you felt like at this point that you honestly had nothing to lose.

“Sure, I’m all ears.”

“Look, he definitely did not go about that in the right way, however, just simply looking at his demeanor, he has it bad for you and you have it bad for him. I could simply tell by the body language. Now he didn’t have to put on a show, but if I were you I would go and talk to him and see what he wants.”

“I just don’t want to open up my heart and get hurt again because I think… no I know that my heart won't be able to take it. I love him with my entire being, and he promised me that things would be different this time around, but I don’t know if I believe him.”

“Sometimes, we just have to take a leap of faith and see what happens. But you’re never going to know unless you try, right?”

—

After you finished dinner with Javier, you found your way to the highway in order to go into the direction of Jack’s house. You weren’t even sure what you were expecting at this point, but he for damn sure owed you an apology for the scene that he caused earlier in the restaurant. The music was on a low volume as you drummed your fingers against the steering wheel to the beat. You had finally pulled onto his street and as you were pulling up to Jack’s house, you saw him standing in the driveway hugging someone with a much smaller frame and you could only assume that it was a woman. You saw him place a kiss on her cheek and all you could think was that this was the person who had been texting him the other night.

So, he made a scene for what?

Without making it obvious, you were able to turn the car around to head back towards your hotel and simply shook your head. At this point did he even deserve for you to hear him out?

Jack was in the driveway of his house greeting his mother while he was waiting for you to show up and of course she was teasing him about you. All it took was for him to tell her that you were in Louisville and she came right over, not having seen you in a few months.

"Do we have a wedding date yet?" She curiously asked while looking up at him.

"Mom! Well, I have to get her to forgive me first." He muttered and Maggie immediately gave him a look.

"Forgive you for what!? What did you do to my daughter?" Maggie asked before finally pulling away from Jack. She was just as excited to see you as he was.

"It's moreso what I didn't do."

"Jackman, you better not let her get away." All Jack simply did was sigh and scratch the back of his neck because truth be told at this point he didn't know what was happening between the two of you. He also bet his outburst when he saw you out with another man didn't help either.

“All I can do is hope that she wants to talk to me.”

Jack had now been waiting for you for close to two hours and was growing not only frustrated, but worried as well.

What if you were seriously done with him?

He didn’t know if he could take the thought of that.

Maggie still had a few errands to run and last minute gift shopping to do so she told Jack whenever you showed up to let her know and that she would make her way back over.

The last thing Jack wanted to do was blow up your phone, but at this point he needed an answer for his peace of mind.

He needed to know if you would be willing to move past this or simply move on from him so he could attempt to start his healing process no matter how much he knew that it was going to hurt.

Jack- Baby, it’s been close to two hours, are you on your way?

Jack- I’m sorry for my outburst earlier, that was uncalled for. I just care about you so much and I cannot deal with the thought of possibly losing you if I haven’t already

Jack- I understand your hesitations because of what happened before, but I will continue to tell you and eventually show you if you give me the chance how things are going to be different this time around

Jack- If anything, I just want to talk to you face to face and then whatever you decide, I’ll respect it

You- I’ll be there in thirty minutes

Curiosity had gotten the best of you and after you had gone back to your hotel and taken a quick shower and got comfortable in bed with Netflix, the texts from Jack started coming in. You kept reading them over and over again having an internal battle with yourself on what you should do.

One, go and see him and get closure. It’s was up to you to decide if you wanted to give him a second chance or not

Two, completely ignore him and fly back home and block him on every possible social media site and include blocking his number

Number two would probably end up with him sending the FBI to come and find you, so you were thinking that going with the first one was the better option. Besides, you could always say no.

But those blue eyes pulled you in every damn time and knew in your heart of hearts that more than likely, you weren’t going to tell him no.

With a deep sigh, you began to get dressed, not noticing that you in fact had pulled on one of Jack’s hoodies that you seemed to be traveling with wherever you went along with a pair of your leggings and New Balance 550’s. You were currently rocking a straight bundle sew-in and took it out of the braids you had it in and lightly brushed through it making it look presentable.

You grabbed your phone along with the keys to the rental car and made your way downstairs to the parking garage.

The car ride to Jack’s house was silent as you tried to go over your thoughts on what you were going to say to him when you actually did see him.

But was it bad that the main thing you wanted to do when you saw him was hug him and never let go?

You were now putting the car in park in front of his house and reached into your bag in order to get the key to open the door.

This was either going to end with you giving him back the key or keeping it for the long run.

A deep sigh was let out before you got out of the car and made your way to the front door. At this point, it was close to midnight, but you could see that Jack’s living room light was on indicating that he had been waiting for you.

Jack heard the key turning in the door and his breath immediately hitched in his throat. He got up from the couch in order to make his way over to the foyer in order to greet you properly. When you finally stepped in the house and the two of you locked eyes, Jack immediately wanted to pull you into a hug, but he was hesitant remembering his outburst from earlier. He wanted you to initiate it first.

“Hi.” Was all you quietly said and Jack gave you a small smile.

“Hi.”

You were hesitant as you walked closer to him, but found yourself wrapping your arms around his waist and him pulling you into the hug tighter and kissing the top of your head.

Jack’s sigh of relief could be heard as he felt you relax in his arms.

This was the moment that he had been waiting to have for months.

Once the two of you finally broke apart, Jack held onto your hand to lead the two of you to the couch and broke the silence.

“Why’d you come here and then leave?” Jack quietly asked while playing with one of your rings that graced your finger.

“Because I saw something that made me think that you weren’t being serious about what you had told me.” You responded while shrugging.

“And what was it?”

“Who do you have in your phone with the contact name ‘Baby’?”

“Wait, what? That’s why you left?”

“Answer my question. I saw where they had sent you a text and it was saying how they loved you and they couldn’t wait to see you at your show so I thought that you were done with me.”

“Sweetheart, will you please look at me?” Jack asked and when you finally did all he did was simply smile at you.

“Baby is my cousin Britney. That’s what we all call her. I had actually told her about you too and she’s been excited to meet you whenever that time comes or if it does for that matter.”

“Oh.”

Now you felt silly.

“I was serious when I said that I was all in and wanted to be with you and only you and if you gave me another chance, it wouldn’t be like it was before. Came entirely too close to losing you before, and in a way I did lose you but, I wasn’t going to let that happen a second time. I was dead serious when I said that I wanted to marry you.”

“I wanted to surprise you and be at your show since I had left Dubai early, but when I saw that flash across your phone I honestly didn’t know what to think. So me being me, I panicked and I left.”

“And hid out in Louisville knowing that someone was bound to see you and tell me?” Jack questioned and you just shrugged.

“Not the brightest idea, but I just didn’t know what to do and had to get my thoughts together first. Besides, it was already too late since I had told Javier that this was where I was.”

“And who was that dude that I saw you with?! Javier?!”

“Why? Are you jealous?” You asked while raising your eyebrows and all Jack did was roll his eyes.

“Yes, and I can admit it. He was entirely too close to my girl for my liking.”

“He works for Versace.”

“Oh.”

Now it was Jack’s turn to feel silly.

“Mmm hmm.”

“Did I….?”

“No, you didn’t mess anything up for me even though you did piss me off.”

“I apologize for that. I just thought she’s not answering my calls or texts so I need to ask her and get this over with.”

“And who were you hugging in your driveway? Because I most definitely did leave the restaurant and come here just like I said I was but…”

“Seriously? That was my mom! She was actually waiting to see you!”

“Damn, now I have to go and see her before I leave. So, all of this could have been avoided this entire time?” You quietly asked and Jack simply nodded.

“If only we had just talked to each other.”

“Okay, from this point forward, if we have a question about anything concerning one another, we simply ask, deal?”

“Deal. That caused me a whole lot of unnecessary stress. I really thought that something had happened when it showed you leaving so fast. I was seriously panicking.” Jack said being completely honest with you and you simply nodded instantly feeling bad.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you….”

“It’s over and done with now. But, you still haven’t given me an answer. I’ve done what you asked and I’ve been patient and gave you your space. I want to eventually be able to change your last name.”

"And thank you for doing that. I definitely needed it." This was the moment that Jack had been waiting for and no matter what answer you gave him, he was going to be at peace with it even if it took him a long time to do so.

"You know I'll do anything for you. That's a given. That’s been known since day one."

All you did was sigh before opening your mouth to speak again and this time you felt tears brimming at the corners of your eyes but quickly wiped them away hoping that Jack didn’t see them.

"Jack, are you all in? And I mean it. Be serious because I… if this ends badly…."

"Okay, first let me stop you right there. It's not going to end badly and it's not about to end at all. You have to trust me to take care of your heart and I have to trust you to take care of mine. You already know that I love you and I'm going to show you that every single day. I'm sorry that it took me so long to admit it outloud. There’s no excuse for that."

"Okay." You quietly said while looking back down and playing with your ring that Jack had been playing with earlier.

“Okay, as in we’re doing this and you forgive me?”

“Yes, I’ve had enough time to think about it and I deserve to be happy. You just happen to be one of those things that bring me happiness.”

"I missed you so much and you don't even know how big of a relief it is to hear you say that." Jack said while sliding you onto his lap and attempting to kiss your cheek. You had turned your head so that he caught you in a full blown kiss and you eagerly kissed him back.

"I missed you too." You replied as the two of you finally broke apart and your head went to rest on his shoulder.

"How about you let me show you how much I missed you?" Jack whispered in your ear as you eagerly nodded and moved off of his lap so that the both of you could stand up.

He placed your hand with his and both of you began to make your way up the long staircase. When you finally reached his room, you were suddenly hesitant and had no idea why, or was it just simply nerves seeing as the two of you hadn't been together like this in months.

You began to slip off your shoes, but hearing Jack's voice made you stop.

"Come here for a second."

You followed him to his walk-in closet to see that only one side of it contained his clothes and shoes while the other side contained yours and even outfits that you had never seen before indicating that he had bought them for you.

"You…."

"I figured that I would have this waiting for you once you came back. I meant what I said."

You proceeded to slip off your shoes and set them next to the other New Balances that were gracing the shelf before turning back to Jack.

"That's fine, but this hoodie is going on my side of the closet."

Jack let out a small laugh before pulling you closer to lean down and kiss you.

"But for now, it's going on the floor."

Jack took the bottom of the hoodie in his hands to begin to get you out of it and as promised threw it on the floor along with your shirt which left your top half bare and exposed to him.

"I need you on the bed… now."

You smirked and followed directions and as you were making your way back to the bedroom, you suddenly stopped and took this as an opportunity to slide your leggings off leaving you completely bare in front of him. You couldn't see the look on his face since you were now crawling to the top of the bed. It was only when you finally made yourself comfortable and turned around to see that Jack too had lost all of his clothes and was simply stroking himself as he peered down at you.

"Literally a sight that I never get tired of seeing."

You crawled over to him in an attempt for you to take him in your mouth, but he gently pushed you back and shook his head no.

"Not right now, baby. It's all about you. Lay back for me."

Once you made yourself comfortable again, Jack hovered over top of you and placed a soft kiss to your lips before moving down to your neck and beginning to leave hickies all across your chest. He took one of your nipples in his mouth while beginning to roll the other one between his fingers and you couldn’t help but to let out a small moan.

A few minutes had passed by before he switched to the other one, but you were aching to feel his tongue elsewhere. However, you wanted for him to take his time and come through on the promise of showing you how much he missed you.

While still giving attention to the right nipple, he reached down to insert his fingers into you. As his fingers began to move back and forth out of you, he sucked on your nipple harder wanting you to reach your peak faster.

Jack heard your soft whimpers and knew that you were close, but he didn't like how you were holding back.

"Come on my sweet baby, let me hear you. I wanna know how good I'm making you feel." Jack said before placing his mouth back on your chest and you quickly granted him his wish.

"Mmm, babe. Right there, fuckkk!"

Not even two minutes later, you hit your peak and as Jack slid his fingers out of you, he immediately placed them in his mouth.

"Shit, I forgot how good you taste. What do you want me to do next, baby?"

"You already know what I want." You said in response and he simply smirked.

"Use your words and tell me where you want me."

"Underneath me so I can ride your face." You quietly said and Jack bit his lip before nodding at you.

"My favorite meal. Come on then."

You moved to the side as Jack went to lay down and motioned for you to sit above his face. Once you were in a comfortable position, Jack simply held onto your thighs to keep you in place and quickly dove into your folds but not before placing kisses along both of them.

You reached up to hold onto the headboard as you quickly sped up your pace and Jack quickly began to bring all of his attention to your clit.

Jack hearing your moans continued his motions as you began to play with your nipples.

"Baby, I'm… fuck…."

All Jack did was nod and hold onto you even tighter if that was possible in order to keep you still as he brought you to an orgasm for the second time that night.

As you rode out your high, Jack didn't stop his motions making your legs grow weak and didn't until you were softly pleading for mercy.

"Jack, baby I can't."

"Yes you can. You've been without me for how many months? We're not leaving this bed all week and I'm just getting started."

Once Jack finally released his hold on you, you swung your legs over to the left side so that you were laying next to him when he rolled on top of you.

He peered down at you and you began to grow shy under his gaze and all he simply did was lean down to kiss you.

"I love you so much. You know that?"

You quickly nodded before giving him a response and all you could do was smile.

"And I love you too." You whispered back as the two of your noses were touching and you let out a gasp when you noticed Jack had slipped into you.

"Relax for me, baby. Fuck you feel so good around me."

In the time that you had been away from each other, neither of you could bring yourself to be with anyone else.

"I got you, I got you." Jack said as he placed kisses all over your body and felt you slowly becoming at ease.

Jack finally felt your body relax and the two of you got into a comfortable rhythm and it seriously dawned on you how much you missed him.

Not just the sex part, but him as a whole.

Your arms wrapped around his neck to bring him closer as his thrusts began to get faster, but by placing your hand on his chest let him know to slow it back down.

You wanted to take every moment of this in.

It wasn't long before the two of you hit your peak with Jack collapsing on top of you on your chest as your fingers played in his curls.

The two of you were quiet before Jack finally spoke.

"Thank you."

"For what, babe?"

"Giving me a chance to prove that I deserve being able to call you my girlfriend."

Over the next day and a half since it was the week of Christmas, and every year you switched off from spending it with Jack in Kentucky and spending it at home with your parents. This year was Jack’s turn, but wanting to drop your parents gifts off to them, you flew home for a day on December 22 and returned December 23. The two of you were currently in the living room wrapping gifts and Jack was so focused on wrapping something for Clay, but it wasn’t going very well when you decided to intervene.

“Umm, babe, do you need some help over there?” You asked and Jack suddenly looked startled as he turned towards you before answering.

“I think I got it.”

“Baby, you’re going to use up all the tape we have. Here let me help.” You then went over to sit next to him and took the gift that he was wrapping from his hands and started over with a fresh sheet of wrapping paper. In a matter of two minutes you were finished and set the gift aside.

“What else do you have to wrap so I can help?”

“Your gifts so you definitely aren’t helping with that. No sneak peeks.”

“Can I at least know how many there are?” You curiously asked knowing that Jack was probably going to tell you no.

“Let’s just say that while on tour, I went a little overboard and whenever I saw something that I knew you would like, I bought it. I just didn’t know what I was going to do with them if you decided not to forgive me. More than likely I would have given them to you anyway.”

“Umm, you went to a lot of places this year.”

“I know and I hope you like everything that I got for you.”

“Jack, you have literally bought me a car, you didn’t have to get me anything else.”

“Yes I did! We’re official now so expect even more gifts than before. I’ll just wait for you to go to sleep so I can wrap them or…. Attempt to that is. I bought you a car, so next is probably a yacht?”

“Jackman! Absolutely NOT!”

“I’m going to pretend that you just told me yes. Or your wedding ring for that matter is probably next.”

Jack just said it so casually when your heart was literally skipping beats and increased in pace. When you didn’t say anything, he simply looked at you and smirked.

“Rose gold always looked so good on you.” He said as he met your lips with his and you immediately smiled.

“Princess cut or else!”

“Who’s to say that I don’t already have it designed?” Jack asked and you looked at him with wide eyes.

“Well do you!?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

The two of you spent the rest of the day watching Christmas movies and Jack made a horrible attempt to help you make cookies which ended in him burning one of the batches. He pouted when you told him to leave the kitchen and eventually let him sit at the island while you made dessert to take with you on Christmas day for when you saw his family.

“Jackman Thomas, if you don’t stop eating everything that I make, there will literally be none left for us to take to your parents’ house!”

“I’m just so hungry! I mean I’d rather eat you instead, but you keep brushing me off and saying how much you need to get all of this done.”

“What am I going to do with you?”

“You know you missed me and you know that you’re my favorite meal. Why don’t we take a little break?” Jack asked as he got up from the chair and made his way over to you as you were decorating the cookies to wrap his arms around your waist and lean down to kiss you.

“I’m literally almost done, babe. Go back and sit down and be patient.”

“What if I don’t want to be patient?” Jack whispered in your ear and slowly slipped his hand in your shorts.

“Babe….”

“Hmm?”

“Turn the stove off.”

It was now Christmas afternoon and the two of you were making your way over to Jack’s parents house as promised. He didn’t let them know that you would be coming or that the two of you were together wanting for it to be a surprise.

As soon as Maggie caught sight of you as Jack had opened the door and the two of you were walking in, she immediately went to you and hugged you.

“My favorite daughter! I’ve missed you! How have you been? Tell me everything. Jack go put this in the kitchen and leave us be. I see you’re still around that big headed son of mine so obviously everything worked out?”

“Hi Mama Maggie!”

“Well damn, just push me to the side.” Jack muttered while rolling his eyes at his mom.

“Jackman, I’ve been looking at you for 24 years, one day of not getting my attention won’t hurt. Now back to Y/N.”

Jack simply took everything in the kitchen as the two of you sat down in the living room near the window.

“Everything worked out how it was supposed to although it was looking bleak there for a second.” You said being completely honest.

“Did he FINALLY ask you to be his girlfriend?! I swear he’s smart, but could use some help when it comes to talking and pursuing women.”

“MOM, I HEARD THAT!”

“Good! I should have told you sooner!”

“He did and I got this bracelet when he asked me too.”

The bracelet that you had originally thrown at him in Paris the night you left him was now gracing your left wrist again and all Maggie did was squeal.

“We took some time from each other and then realized that we had to meet each other halfway for this to work. And I couldn’t be happier.”

“JACK! COME HERE!” Maggie yelled for him and when he came and sat down on the opposite side of you, he immediately took your hand in his and all Maggie did was smile.

“So, when’s the wedding? I already have my outfit picked out.” Even though you two had talked about it, Jack immediately turned red and all you did was laugh.

“Well I need to propose first!”

“Well what are you waiting for?!”

“Yeah, Jack, what are you waiting for?” You asked teasing him while turning to look at him.

He simply sighed before reaching into his back pocket and your eyes as well as Maggie’s went wide and suddenly all eyes in the room were on the two of you.

“Babe, I wasn’t being serious.” You whispered as he got down on one knee in front of you.

“Well, I was. When I had first told you when I came to see you in Atlanta that I wanted to marry you, I started designing your ring when I got back home hoping and praying that you would forgive me for what I did. And when you say that you did forgive me a few days ago, I figured why wait? Your dream girl is in front of you and there is no way that I’m about to lose her for a second time. You came into my life when I least expected it and have been there for me ever since. You’re the first person that I would go to for everything and you would constantly be there for me when I needed you the most. I had to take time to think about how I was going to give you that same treatment in return and I want to be able to show you for the rest of our lives. So, with all that being said, Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Oh shit, you were serious the other day when you said that you may have already designed the ring.” You said through tears and Jack immediately laughed.

“You know that you will never have to want for anything being with me and if I said that I’m going to do something for you that I’m going to do it. So, I need an answer.”

“Yes, my answer is definitely yes.” You said as Jack slipped the ring on your finger and once he stood up, you immediately went to hug him and he placed several kisses on your lips which you gladly accepted.

When you heard Maggie laughing, both of you turned to look at her.

“Urban, Sunni, and Cope owe me 100 dollars.”

“For what?” Both of you asked while looking at her confused.

“I said by the end of the year that the two of you would be engaged and I was right.”

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#jack harlow #jack harlow fic #jack harlow fanfic #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow fluff #jack harlow smut #jack harlow angst #jack harlow fanfiction #jackman thomas #jackman thomas harlow

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hallowpen · 4 months

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Last Twilight has me conflicted...

I've had some time to sit with the ending for a while and I just cannot find myself definitively deciding whether or not I'm okay with it. And I think the reason for that is because there are valid opinions for both sides of the argument.

From a narrative standpoint, Last Twilight should have been given the room to fully flesh out its story. After episode 10, things began to feel a little rushed and overlooked. This tends to happen too often in Thai QL dramas, that are limited by their amount of episodes, when the meat of their stories are left toward the end of the series.

This is all meant to say that Last Twilight could have benefited from some breathing room: (I'm only touching on three story points because these seem to be the biggest cause for contention among watchers...and I don't want this post to ramble on forever)

The Breakup - I remain firmly in the camp that the breakup was inevitable and not 'unnecessary'. Had it been executed properly and given the deeper conversation it warranted between the two involved characters, it would have absolutely landed a lot better. Mhok and Day are incredibly young and both are still on their journey to find/accept themselves. When your self discovery becomes intertwined in someone else's, stuff can become misconstrued and messy. Mhok and Day each had to stand on their own two feet and realize that they did not need to have the other in their life in order to do so. It was important for the characters to SAY that they did not want to be an anchor in each other's lives. (I personally don't think a solution as simple as 'long distance relationship' would have worked here. LDR's are hard work and it would have detracted from the focus they needed to have on themselves as individuals). After time apart, they could always come back together and re-evaluate. (Blocking someone's number and completely writing them out of your life after one bump in the road may not have been the way to go about this either). In a healthy adult relationship, Mhok and Day would TALK about what each of them want out of a reconciliation and take culpability for what went wrong in the past. IT'S NOT ALL JUST ON MHOK...

Mhok - Which brings me to my next point... I've come to the conclusion that I have to accept Last Twilight as Day's story and Day's point of view. Mhok was, unfortunately, left by the wayside. There was so much to unpack there and the writers really could have delved deeper into Mhok's background and trauma...but they chose not to. Mhok's characterization felt as if it were an untapped well with incredible narrative potential. The added bonus of seeing Jimmy truly bringing this character to full realization would have been glorious, but alas... I digress. Mhok's journey exists only in the land of time jumps.

Day's Vision - The ending is what I struggle the most to find peace with. I think I remain somewhere in the middle where I can see the series working in either direction had the narrative been aligned properly. Whether or not Day's vision was restored does not take away from his journey, yet it still feels like its 'message' got lost in the crossfire. Without getting too personal, how the ending was presented just felt so ableist. There were uses of the word "normal" that I did not like and it felt like a scramble to wrap everything up in a nice, neat, little bow. I think there needed to be a deeper conversation woven within the story as to why Day chose to have the surgery and how, while that choice was available to and worked for him, it is not a universally shared experience/reality amongst the disabled community. Maybe I just selfishly expect too much from these kinds of series, I don't know.

All in all, time skips can be a useful tool... but what happens in the in between is sometimes too important to overlook, especially in a show that is so character driven. I will end this by saying that JimmySea absolutely acted their butts off, and as someone who had never seen them act together before, I consider myself to be a newly instated fan. I look forward to whatever other projects they should have together.

#last twilight #mhokday #jimmysea #i absolutely loved the series #and what it tried to do #but i think it's a one watch only kind of show for me #would for sure recommend #just keep a *very* open mind #that's it #i'm ready to move on #koda watches bl

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barmadumet · 9 months

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Ahsoka Episode 5 Spoilers Below!

Okay, I’m going to do something I never do, and I don’t think ever have done – I’m going to do the “take” thing – put my opinion online. I don’t like to do this, because I feel like there is ALWAYS someone opposed, and I just don’t want any bad energy revolving around my beloved escape from reality.

For the last twenty-two hours, I have been profusely hitting the ❤️s on other posts, jumping up and down and hugging people, and basically just doing the equivalent of shouting, “ANAKIN!!!” but I’ve yet to really try to discuss Episode 5, because, quite frankly, it’s just been too freaking emotional for me! I have all these feelings that I don’t know how to sort out, and I've honestly felt like I could burst into tears at any given moment, all day long. I went through this with the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and I remember I felt literally insane for a WHILE. Perhaps, I should’ve written something like this back then – writing is my outlet, after all.

So, here we go. . . I don’t have many followers, and I know many people won’t read this, but I just need to get it out!

A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend, Wibz asked me, “What kind of story do you like? What kind of fic do you like to read?” I replied sappy, mushy, hurt/comfort, of course. I told her I like dialogue – dealing with emotional ups and downs - HEALING. I told her I liked fix-its and time travel, and I specifically said I like seeing into ‘what could’ve been’ scenarios, and I mentioned by name the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life.” And the thing I really love about that movie is the ability to visit the past. I like stories that take us back – and not just as a flashback, but a present character being able to look at their past and reflect. You probably know where this is going by now, but the way we finally got our long-awaited Clone Wars ‘flashback’ couldn’t have been more perfect in my opinion.

And the thing that has made me the most emotional through all of this was simply seeing that first battle in live action. I will admit, upon viewing the first two episodes of Ahsoka, I felt the show might’ve been better presented in Rebels animation. Well, I can now, happily admit I was wrong.

We saw the brutal beginnings of the Clone Wars at the Battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones, and we see the heart-breaking conclusion and the end of the war in Revenge of the Sith. My personal opinion is that we have been very fortunate to get a great show about the time in between, however; being short, animated (directed at a younger audience) episodes, there are emotional aspects that are rushed through and not fully explored. If you’ve read my insanely long fix-it fic, then you know that it carries through these Clone Wars episodes that I love so very much, BUT in writing it my own way, I was able to put in all the drama I wanted to see – the breakdowns, the tears, a deeper look into the trauma of fighting in a war. And yes, there have been some amazing Star Wars novels that do this, but again, seeing it in live action. . . seeing just how young Ahsoka really was, seeing her mourn the injured and deceased clones. Having her and Anakin address the fragility of life and getting to hear that conversation about it. . . Now the viewing audience has a grasp on just how bleak this time period was. I didn’t know how bad I needed to see this – a human turned Togruta actor conveying those destroyed expressions and defeated body language. The impact was more than I expected, and it wouldn’t have been the same in animation.

The other super tear-jerky part for me was the theme of ‘Live or Die’ ‘Fight or Die’ . . .I can’t let myself get into too much detail about this, but if you know me, and you know my story, then you know. Great. I’m crying again 🤷🏻‍♀️ This was just such a powerful message for ANYONE struggling in any aspect of their life, and it sincerely helped me to rise another day, and will be a continued reminder, probably for a while.

You all know how much I love Anakin (and Obi-Wan), and so much of the hype is revolved around his character right now, but this personal journey we find Ahsoka on is truly beautiful to me. I was honestly uneasy about the way Ahsoka was portrayed, thus far, in our other series. She didn’t feel like Ahsoka to me. I accepted and understood that her character had been through much in her short life, and that much time had passed since we last saw her and she would've evolved, but overall, I honestly (😬) didn’t much enjoy what we got of her in live action. I kept my expectations for this show at the minimum. I try not to predict what might happen in canon Star Wars, because I never want to set myself up for disappointment. I strive to go in with an open mind and a clear head and just enjoy the show. But I’ll admit, I was hopeful for Ahsoka’s character development in this. . . and so far, I find myself satisfied. It has now been acknowledged how severely Anakin’s turn impacted her – that was a necessity in my opinion, because of course it did. And it’s still unfathomable to me, but I feel like we got to witness her getting her closure with Anakin 😭 At the end of episode 5, I was finally getting the Ahsoka vibes I was longing for. And let’s not ignore just how ’Ahsoka’ she was in the past scenes with Anakin! I was in awe of how her different animated fighting stances over the years translated into live action. It was her! And this is probably a great time to also mention: that was Anakin, too! In the beginning, we saw him on that World Between Worlds walkway training Ahsoka – the orchestrated footwork, the lack of aggression . . . It felt like the Anakin we see in the lightsaber kata training video Ahsoka watches in Rebels! We have not seen this in live action! We have not seen Anakin as a Master to an apprentice! 🥹 And again, I didn’t know how bad I needed that. Later, when we are taken back onto that WBW walkway, we see him fighting like we’ve seen in Revenge of the Sith. It’s Vader! And he’s so pissed and intends to kill! I won’t spend too much time gushing the way most already have – the Sith eyes, the flawless ROTS attire we already loved given back to us, and the Clone Wars look brought to life. . . the hair 😍 Just seeing him, Hayden Anakin, fight in a Clone Wars battle in live action! So strong and mighty 💪🏻 with such determination and sensitivity. . . with just the right amount of cockiness 😉 He’s perfection. And I think this is noncontroversial opinion everyone would agree with lol.

And maybe you do or don’t agree with this part, but I feel Anakin’s appearance was 💯 open to interpretation, and I think that’s GREAT. This character means so much to so many people, and there is never a way to satisfy everyone when it comes to storytelling. Everyone had/has different opinions of how this should’ve been handled. Was Anakin a Force ghost? Was the entire encounter all in Ahsoka’s head? Was Anakin something else entirely? Was he Vader? Maybe you have an answer to this question and you are certain in your theory – that’s awesome. I think that’s the way it should be. We get to “make things the way we want them to be” WITH CANON! 👏🏻 I am not yet certain of what my own theory is. I’ve watched it four times, and I am still processing it all. One thing for sure, I’m glad the WBW was involved. Again, if you know of my preferred way to ‘fix-it’ then you know what that means to me 🥰

I think I’m done 🫣 I just needed to release these feelings! And I feel we are so blessed. I still can’t believe this really happened. And I am so thankful to get to share in the joy with all of you 💖 Okay! I think I’m ready to talk now if y’all want to talk! 🤭

#ahsoka spoilers #a barma take?#that hasn't been done in the history of tumblr #hope you aren't insulted #this is basically a review I guess?#ANAKIN!#FEELINGS!#AHHH!#I love the feelings

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bookishtheaterlover7 · 5 months

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You are a weirdo. GET MENTAL HELP. You are obsessed and stalking a man who DOESNT know you. //

HELLO anon, Megan and team, and most importantly CHRIS. Hi.

This is the hatred YOU all are pushing towards the only real fans CE has left.

People who believe your brainwash Narrative and support the racist duo, telling fans to get mental health help for seeing your shitshow for the reality it is.

IRONIC, considering one side of your couple used to be such an activist for anxiety and mental health. Guess nothing matters when money is involved, GOT IT. WE understand who he is now. Successful PR campaign.

How does it feel? That money in your pockets feel good right now? It will never be fuller than the guilt your consciences will give you for the way you've treated and forcibly INVOLVED a whole fandom of innocent people to YOUR OWN mental games, to SELL a fuckshit show, who are now being blamed for everything, being told they are mentally ill, and gaslighting what is the TRUTH anyway.

Y'all are NASTY. Beyond nasty. I hope all your businesses rot. I hope your projects fail. I hope none of you get recognized for anything other than the abusers you are.

I hope 2024, the year of Karma, treats you accordingly.

I'm sharing this one, because there are WAY too many blogs on here, calling every PR blog and Mod insane, because we choose to believe something different...

Okay, fine. Whatever. The thing is, I don't really care about what you have to say, anymore. I'm saying my part, the GP sees what y'all clearly don't, so I'll take that as a win.

I won't stoop as low as you all do, because honestly it's sad how you're all the same. Resorting to insulting words, using the same words everytime.

And one thing I learned in life, you can't change minds, or force your beliefs on anyone, so it's best for you to adjust instead. And that means not giving any fucks about those other blogs.

And P.S. you can call me all those vile things, because like I said, I've had way worse. And I've got a life outside of y'all, not that any of you care, since y'all see one post and then jump to the conclusion of us being insane 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 . And that's not something I need to prove.

Besides, I'm going to answer all the different asks that's against her, and by extension, him. Because one thing none of y'all could ever understand is the catharsis that comes with screaming and venting out frustrations, something I'm sick of explaining to you close minded people.

Anyway, respect to the person who's actually not a coward to hide behind anon, but respectfully, as I can to someone who supports and condones her actions. Get off my blog.

As for this An🫶n, they're so right. This Fandom is so fucked up over this. And Hate Anons don't bother sending in your hate messages, because so much energy is wasted on y'all. And if y'all are going to continue sending hate, maybe y'all should be the ones getting professional help 🤔

Until next time!

🫶Booky

P.P.S. I don't really care if you miss out on my fics. You're blocked, because I don't want to be drained by your toxicity. I've done that to evil Mods, and I will do it to children, who resort to school yard taunts, instead of growing a pair and acting like an adult. ❤️

#An🫶n asks #booky reacts #booky answers #An🫶n to evil anon #booky to evil mod #brave but y'all are blocked #chris evans #chris evans fandom #alba baptista #so tired of the fact we can't believe one thing and express opinions anymore #well isn't that ironic😆#they support someone who loves the idea of oppressing people and their supporters are oppressing free speech 👏#match made in heaven #oh well y'all deserve each other #Imma go write now a fic you'll never get to read because you'll be blocked 🫶❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️#This Fandom used to be so fun and sometimes it still is but the toxicity... oh boy...

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hoodharlow · 2 years

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Moviestar | Part1

AN: so I decided to split chapter 5 in two parts bc they all happen in the same week so expect part 2 in the next few weeks. This also an El Novio crossover so if you read that that's why you're tagged lol

Requested? No

Warnings: general fluff, slight angst from a non main char

The things Jack did for Miriam. He sat at eight in the morning in the private parking in LAX where celebrities and other rich people would get their cars from if they didn't want to get bombarded by paps. Her plane was landing from JFK since she was in New York for the 'In the Heights' world premiere and doing late night tv interviews to promote it. She was in LA for two weeks doing promotion for the movie. Since Jack had a day off, he jokingly volunteered to be her assistant for the day.

They were finally on good terms. After he sent her the song and called her, they had a long talk. Miriam heard Jack's side and how he only texted her because he thought her sister would be able to help him get close to her. But after realizing that all he had to do was to talk to her and get close to her, he basically cut off contact with her sister. She'd occasionally text him but he'd ignore them. He even insisted on sending her screenshots of the messages, but she didn't need to see them.

Miriam believed him and apologized. She felt like an idiot for jumping to conclusions. Jack isn't like him. Jack was kind and honest with her. She now knew that he wouldn't treat her the way he did.

There was a soft knock from the passenger window. He looked up and saw Miriam waving. Jack got out of the car and opened the back door for her. He made a face only seeing her place a few garment bags and her backpack in the backseat. When they flew out to New York, she had two large suitcases, a duffle bag, her backpack and her bag, so he knew she never traveled that light.

"Where's the rest of your stuff?" He asked as he held the door for her. His eyes lingered on her ass, admiring how it looked in her teal leggings as she climbed in the car.

"Beto has them. Those are just outfit changes for the day." She said, undoing her french braid and twisting her hair into a bun.

"What time do you have to be at the studio?" He asked, scrolling through his music.

"Twelve. Are you down to get Roscoe's for breakfast? I'm starving." She asked, rubbing her stomach.

"If you want, I have never been." He shrugged.

Miriam's eyes widened in disbelief when she turned to look at him. "What do you mean you've never been? It's Roscoe's."

"What do you want me to say, I've never been. When I'm here, I'm usually eating out at work dinners or dinners before heading out to events. I don't really have a chance to go explore, but it's been on my bucket list."

"I guess this means I'm taking your virginity."

"You're six years too late." Jack said, smirking. He grinned watching her get flustered.

"That's now what I meant."

"Miriam you straight up said, 'I'm taking your virginity.'" He said, imitating her in a valley girl accent.

"Whatever, and I don't sound like that." Miriam rolled her eyes. She smacked his thigh. "Move, I'm driving, the one at Long Beach is the best." She climbed over the center console. Jack obediently got out of the car and went to the passenger side. He bit back a comment as he watched her pull the car seat closer to the steering wheel. In a few minutes she was getting on the 105.

After playing a 00s hip hop playlist, Jack asked, "So you know how to go from the airport to Roscoe's in Long Beach but not your house to Nobu?"

"It was nighttime." She argued. She pointed a finger at him. "And before you say anything, my mom's parents live in Long Beach. When I was little, if my team won our game, my grandparents would take me to Roscoe's for a celebratory lunch. Plus, I rarely go to Nobu."

For the next half hour, Jack and Miriam talked about the interview with Jimmy Fallon she did the day before. In reality it was her getting embarrassed for ten minutes. She started her interview talking about how she couldn't stop quoting '10 Things I Hate About You' to Joseph Gordon Levitt, who was the other artist being interviewed when she was backstage. After that she finally talked about 'In the Heights' and how excited she was that it was finally coming out.

She was asked how she got the role. So went on explaining that when she was in Berkeley, she was the costume director for a community theater in Oakland. They haven't cast Vanessa and the musical director overheard her singing when she was backstage sorting out costumes and asked her to audition. She got cast and on opening night they were told that Lin Manuel Miranda was in the audience. After their performance, Lin Manuel Miranda went up to her and mentioned that she looks a lot like Isabela Miller. She told him that she was her mom. He apologized then started talking about they were looking for someone to replace Melissa Barrera and that she should send a tape because he was impressed with her performance.

Jimmy later brought up how she recreated her look from when she watched the musical on Broadway with her family for the red-carpet premiere. She even recreated the picture she took with Karen Olivo, the actor who played Vanessa in the Broadway musical. Then they played a clip of her character helping Anthony Ramos' character get a stain off his shirt while arranging a date with him through her cousin. To add the embarrassment, Miriam found out her parents sent out a clip of her performance in the musical so of course Jimmy had to play it. Luckily for her people were impressed with her singing.

Miriam finished her story with how she played a musical genre game with Jimmy and Joseph Gordon Levitt, similar to the one game Ariana Grande played where she sang 'Humble' like she was Evanescence. Though Miriam had to sing a version of 'What's Poppin' in 90s Rock. She asked what they meant by 90s Rock and Joseph Gordon Levitt said 'angry girl music of the indie rock persuasion' which was one of his lines from '10 Things I Hate About You'. To which Miriam got flustered because he quoted the movie.

Miriam pulled up to the parking lot just as she was telling Jack that her and Joseph Gordon Levitt did a few tiktoks recreating some of her favorite lines from the movie. She gave Jack his keys and led him to the street light so they could cross.

While they waited to be seated, Jack noticed an older couple sitting in the back glancing over to Miriam.

"There's a couple that keeps looking at you." He said in a low voice.

Miriam looked behind him and cursed. "Those are my grandparents." She mumbled.

Jack looked over to the couple, noticing her grandfather had similar physical features as him. "Yo, your grandpa is white?" He whispered incredulously.

"Yeah?" Miriam nodded. "Why do you think my mom's last name is Miller?"

"Damn, you got me there. That means you're what…25% white?"

"C'mon we have to say hi." She said, dismissing his comment. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him to her grandparents. Her face lit up when they neared the table. She hugged and kissed them on the cheek. Then turned to Jack. "This is my friend, Jack."

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Jack Harlow." He said, extending his hand out to them.

Her grandparents shook his hand and called a server to bring them two more menus for Jack and Miriam. They insisted that they join them instead of waiting to be seated.

"¿Es tu amigo o tu amiguito?" Abuela Marisa asked Miriam when Jack pulled her chair out before he sat down.

"Abuela." She playfully rolled her eyes.

"What do you do?" Grandpa Joseph asked Jack.

"I make music," He said nervously. He wiped his hands against his pants and cleared his throat. "I actually performed on SNL the same night Miriam's mom–er your daughter hosted."

A server came by and took their orders. Jack placed his arm on the back of Miriam's chair, but brought it to his side, feeling her grandfather's eyes on him. Throughout their meal her grandfather kept looking over to him to make sure he had his hands to himself. Jack was afraid to even reach for his water. When it was time to pay, Miriam's grandfather pulled out his card before Jack could reach for his wallet, so he left a generous tip.

"I think your grandpa hates me." Jack said as they drove off to the studio where Miriam was going to do interviews.

"Nah, he's just jealous because he's not only the token white guy in my life." She said, reaching behind her seat for her HydroFlask.

Now that it was 10:30 in the morning, traffic picked up. What should have been a half hour drive now took an hour. Not that Jack and Miriam minded, they spent the whole drive talking. Jack was telling her that he and Lil Nas X finally filmed the music for their song. Miriam smiled listening to him talk about how privileged he felt being able to have a song with him and how he was able to get a genuine friendship out of the collab. He went on telling her that he had an inkling that the song was going to be a hit.

"You want Starbucks?" Jack asked her, getting on the ramp to get off the 101.

"Sure," she said.

He nodded and switched lanes, so he could make a u-turn. He knew a Starbucks a few blocks away. It was near a studio he sometimes worked at. What he liked about it was that it had a drive-thru. Fortunately there wasn't a line in the drive-thru.

"Hi, welcome to Starbucks, what I can get started this morning." The barista greeted them when he pulled up to order.

"Mornin'," he greeted the barista back. He leaned into the car door so he could read off the screen to make sure they got their orders right. "Can I get a venti iced coffee with light ice, oatmilk, vanilla and a pump of cinnamon dolce. Then can I also get a venti extra hot honey citrus tea and two water bottles."

Miriam sat dumbfoundedly. She didn't think that he still remembered her coffee order. When he spent the week with her in New York, he'd go every morning to the Starbucks down the block from her parents' place and bring her iced coffee. She scrambled to get cash out as he pulled up to the window, but Jack had his phone ready.

"Put that away." He told her, gently pushing her hand away. He paid and handed her her drink.

Ten minutes later they arrived at the studio where Miriam was doing her interviews. Jack helped her carry her garment bags and backpack. Despite it being 70° he pulled on his hoodie, not wanting to draw attention to him.

Hours had gone by, Miriam did an impromptu photoshoot for Teen Vogue and finished most of her interviews. She had one more interview left, Elle's Song Association. She was changing out of one of the outfits from the photoshoot while Jack sat on the sofa, reading emails to distract himself from making small talk with Miriam. He got a text from his stylist letting him know that his suit was ready for Zach and Stassie's party. He replied that he'll pick it up in the morning of the party.

"Hey, Miriam?" he called to her.

"Yeah?" She answered, walking out of the makeshift divider she used to change in in a powder pink, knitted but corseted Vivienne Westwood dress she took from her mom's closet that she knew she was going to get lectured for.

"Are you going to Zack's party?" He asked.

His eyes trailed down how the dress hugged her figure perfectly and really accentuated her ass. He also admired how the light color made her tan skin glow.

"No," she shook head. She went over to sit in front of the vanity and wiped off the exaggerated eyeshadow from the photoshoot. "I got a small part in this show during my two week break. And the night of the party, I have a night shoot. Are you going?"

"Yeah, my team is making me go." He sighed dramatically. He was looking forward to going but now that he knew that she wasn't going, he wanted to get out of going.

"Ay, pobrecito, your team is making you go to an exclusive party full of models and rich people." She said in a sarcastic tone to him.

At the same time Jack opened his mouth, Miriam's mom, Isabela, entered the dressing room.

"Miriam, are you ready?" She asked. She was helping her with her interviews since she was Miriam's manager and agent.

"Yeah," Miriam nodded, hopping off the makeup chair.

Isabela nodded and exited the dressing room. Miriam touched up the rest of her makeup and motioned Jack to follow her out to where she was filming.

The producer came by and explained to Miriam that she was going to have a teleprompter in front of her with the intro and that it will show the word she had with a timer. The director yelled out action and began filming.

"Hi, I'm Miriam Dominguez. I'm going to play 'Song Association' with Elle. I'll be given a word in English or Spanish and I'm going to have fifteen seconds to sing or rap that word in the song." She read off the teleprompter. After that it showed her thirty seconds to add a tidbit about the game. "I love this series so much. That being said, I don't have high expectations but my goal is to beat my friend who did this last year."

She quickly glanced at Jack, letting him know she'd seen him in that ridiculously ugly green leopard print hoodie. "But before we get started, don't forget to watch 'In the Heights' in theaters or stream it on HBOMax."

Miriam glanced down at the teleprompter, reading her first word. "'Back'...Oh this is from my college days! 'She made that back move (damn) she made the tiddies move (goddamn)'. That was 'Moves' by Big Sean. Him, JCole, and Kendrick really shaped 2017 musically for me. And it's a fun song to dance to."

The following word was head. "Head. 'In your head, in your head, they are fighting. With their tanks, and their bombs. And their bombs, and their guns.' Zombie by The Cranberries."

"Town. 'I'll be downtown, get a nice studio, get out of the barrio.' 96000 from In theHeights. That song took us like a month to get right because the weather was not agreeing with us. It rained every other day so we had to film sporadically. But I think it was executed well. It's actually my favorite song from the musical because of how everyone's verses are all intertwined."

The next word was ask. "Ask? Ask…ask…wait!" Miriam clapped her hands, remembering, "'Ask about me, Ask about me, something something.' Creme by Jack Harlow."

She avoided Jack's cocky grin and read the next word, fly. "Fly… 'one day I'm walking to JFK and I'm gonna fly'" Miriam held the note for a few more seconds. "That was 'It Won't be Long Now.' That's my character's solo song where we get to know her a little more than just the girl that works at the salon that Usnavi has a crush on. I sang that one while we filmed. Jon Chu, our amazing director, and Lin thought we'd get more rawness and vulnerability from my character if I didn't lip sync."

Fire was the next word. "'We burned too bright, now the fire's gone, watch it all fall down, Babylon.' That's Babylon by 5sos," Miriam leaned forward and looked directly into the camera. "And for the millionth time, Babylon is not about me. Cal and I are good friends and y'all need to stop being weird when me and his girlfriend hang out. We're all adults and talk–"

"Miriam," Isabela said to her to remind her to focus on the task at hand.

"Sorry," she said, embarrassed. She leaned back and read the next word. "Kiss, oh easy. 'I wanna be missed like every night. I wanna be kissed like it's the last time, say you can't eat, can't sleep, can't breathe without me.' 'Wanna be Missed' by Hayley Kiyoko aka Lesbian Jesus. I used to have the hugest crush on her when I was in high school. Like I've seen 'Lemonade Mouth' and 'Gem and the Holograms' an embarrassing amount of times."

Miriam reached down for her water and took a sip. "Okay, the next word is 'loco'… oh duh, 'Ella y yo, dos locos viviendo una aventura castigada por Dios,' 'Ella y Yo' by Aventura and Don Omar. That song is so messy. It's about this guy trying to tell his best friend that he's fucking his wife, but he's being vague about it and the best friend is encouraging him to get the girl. A wholeass mess, but when I was little I just danced to it so much. Until I was older and let the lyrics marinate in my brain."

She left out an uncomfortable laugh and took another sip of her water. "Maybe." She looked over to Jack and smiled innocently. She cleared her throat and sang, "'Maybe I'm a fool, maybe I'm a fool for you,' 'Cherry Hill' by Russ."

Jack lifted his hand discreetly, flipping her off since her mom was sitting next to him. Miriam knew better than to sing Russ in his presence. She's watched his Crew League game and she joked that he should have put her in his team. She's not afraid of getting scrappy.

"Anyways, the next word is taste. 'Yikes, might get spooky, scary hours but we ain't afraid to do it. Tastes like candy, yeah, I might chew it. Tastes like candy, yeah, I might lose it.' That's 'Yikes' from the Scooby-Doo soundtrack."

"Who sings it?" Jack found himself asking her because she didn't mention that it was his song.

"So the next word is paso." She said, ignoring his question. "Oh that's easy, La Carcacha by Selena. 'Carcacha, paso a pasito, no dejes de tambalear. Carcacha, poco a poquito, no nos vayas a dejar.' It's my second favorite song of hers. Not that anyone is asking but 'Amor Prohibido' is my favorite."

She shifted in her seat, her back was starting to hurt from sitting too long. "Pretty…'All the pretty girls in the world, but I'm in this space with you. Colored out the lines, I came to find, my fire was fate with you.' Honey by my fave Kehlani. 2018 was a good year for music, especially for, like, women making music about openly loving other women. As someone who likes women, it's nice to have that representation."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Did he miss something in all the times he hung out with her? He glanced at Isabela and she seemed unphased by Miriam's comment about liking women.

"Bailar," Miriam said, making Jack focus back on the game. She swayed her shoulders dancing to the beat she was making. "'Salió a la disco a bailar una diva virtual, Chequea cómo se menea. Chequea cómo se menea. Chequea cómo se menea.' That was 'Diva Virtual' by Don Omar. It was in the fourth Fast and Furious movie at that one scene where Brian and Dom were at the underground club. Truthfully, this is the second best movie of the franchise, the first one is obviously the best one. The fourth one truly encapsulates the 'family over everything' speech Dom preaches in all the movies. My friend Claudia agrees with me. Like we had long conversations about this. Not to mention, Mia and Brian were everything to me. They really got the friends to lovers to ex-lover to lovers trope down in that movie. Though I did listen to the new Fast and Furious 9 soundtrack. I like listening to movie soundtracks and I really like the song with Ty Dolla $ign. Actually I was asked to play young Lety, but I was filming "In the Heights.'...hold on…the first Fast and Furious is basically Point Break but with cars. Like an FBI agent is asked to infiltrate a group that allegedly is involved in some type of robberies and other illegal activities. Then–"

"Mija focus." Her mom reminded her.

Miriam felt her cheeks warm up. She pushed back her curls. She glanced over to Jack to see if he got the reference to his song with Ty Dolla $ign, but he had a pensive face, not paying attention to her or the game. She pushed back her curls and went back to the game.

"Right, what's the next word?" She asked. She read the teleprompter and snorted. "The next word is next. Hm, ooh, I got another one from ‘In the Heights’, 'Vanessa, let me get the next one! Vanessa, let me interject some!'. I don't remember the song title but it was the scene where Vanessa and Usnavi go to a salsa club. When we were learning the choreography for that song, Karen Olivo, who played Vanessa in the Broadway production, came to visit the set. I was so nervous to meet her but she was so nice and gave me a few pointers. A few days ago at the movie premiere she was there and made me cry by saying that I did a good job."

"Last one." The director announced.

Miriam nodded and read the word. She made a face "Gente? Gente…gente? I don't think I have–wait yes I do, I'm so stupid. 'Delante de la gente no me mires. No suspires, no me llames, aunque me ames.' It's that Joan Sebastian song from the telenovela my abuela Marisa used to watch when I was younger. I don't recall anything about the telenovela but I remember the theme song."

The director pulled up another script on the teleprompter for Miriam to read. "That was me playing 'Song Association'. Thank you for watching and don't forget to watch 'In the Heights' in theaters or on HBOMAX."

The director yelled out cut. A crew member turned off the teleprompter. Miriam stood up and stretched, cracking her back.

"I totally beat your score." She said smugly when she approached Jack.

"Yeah, you did." He hummed unenthusiastically.

Admittedly, Jack didn't pay attention to the rest of the game. He spent the rest of the recording thinking about her comment about liking women when she did the Kehlani song. He felt out of the loop and quite frankly embarrassed that he was trying to make a move on her when she wasn't attracted to him. Which confused him a bit since they almost hooked up.

Miriam's mom approached them after talking to the director. "Okay, that's a wrap. I'm gonna head out once I finish with the crew, so I'll be here for another half hour, but you guys can leave whenever."

Miriam nodded. "That's cool. I'm gonna change then."

Isabela locked her iPad and went to where the crew was taking down the backdrop. Jack followed Miriam to her dressing room and sat on the couch, trying to process. He watched her take a garment bag with her.

"Amá!" Miriam called a few seconds later from the divider she was changing at.

"She's still outside with the crew." Jack said, clearing his throat.

"Shit…wait can you help me?" She asked, popping her head out.

"Sure?" He said hesitantly.

"Can you unclip the hook? I can't reach it." She said, making her way to him. She took advantage that he sat with his legs spread out and squatted in front of him, gripping the middle of his thighs so she wouldn't lose balance. "The hook is on the back this time."

"Haha," he said sarcastically, earning a snort from her.

She was referring to when he was struggling to take off her dress back in New York. He pushed her hair over her shoulder. He swiftly unhooked it. He placed a hand on her ribs and slowly dragged down the zipper of the dress.

"So, uh, remember when you were doing the Song Association video." Jack found himself saying.

"Yeah, it was like five minutes ago." Miriam nodded.

She internally cringed. He was probably gonna tease her for mentioning two of his songs.

"Well, you…okay… I don't want to sound invasive or nosy because it's not my business. But I wanted to clear something up with you." Jack mumbled, rubbing his face.

"What's up?" She asked, pushing herself up and sitting on his knee to look at him.

"You said you like girls." He said.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" She was now confused with what he was asking.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if that means you're a les…" Jack trailed off at the end so she could fill in.

Miriam snorted. "No it means I'm bi, Jack. I like whoever." She shrugged.

"Okay, I was just making sure I still had a shot." He said quietly, but still loud enough for her to hear him. She playfully rolled her eyes at him. Jack placed his hand on her knee and softened his face. "I'm sorry if my asking was rude or intrusive. You didn't have to answer."

Miriam reached for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You're good. If I didn't feel comfortable talking about it, I wouldn't have mentioned it at all when I was making the video."

"Cool," he nodded.

"Well, I'm gonna change, so…"

"Yeah…"

Miriam got up and went behind the divider. She carefully shrugged off the vintage dress. She got dressed in a fitted white long sleeve top and paired it with high waisted boyfriend jeans. She walked out to the vanity and switched out her jewelry. She layered two necklaces with her Virgencita necklace and removed the green diamond and tourmaline earrings from Cartier's cactus collection, replacing them with her hoop earrings.

From the corner of her eye she noticed Jack looking down at his phone with a deep frown. He hung up but seconds later it rang.

He cursed and answered. "What?" He got up and paced around. "Today's my day off, Neelam…Yeah, I'll be there."

Miriam pretended to organize her jewelry while Jack talked more. She didn't hear much, but she could tell he was annoyed.

"Everything okay?" She asked him when he hung up.

She sat on the couch. Jack plopped himself on the couch and rested his head on her lap. One leg was stretched out to the armrest and the other was firmly planted on the floor.

"No, I just got called into the recording studio. One of the sound engineers wanted to try this thing and they can only do it today because they're going to Jamaica to work with someone else for a month." He looked sullen. "We had plans and now I ruined them."

"It's okay. We were just gonna watch the new 'Conjuring' movie and eat pizza back at your rental." She said twirling his curls and gently scratching his scalp. "Unless we were doing something else."

"Maybe you giving me head scratches 'cause, fuck," He moaned in pleasure, melting to her touch. "Forgot how good your hands feel on me."

"You're just like Daisy when I give her belly scratches. I'm surprised you're not thumping one of your legs."

"That's because I'm not a dog." He said as a matter of fact. Miriam pulled her lips together. He sat up. "Hey, take that shit back."

"I didn't say anything." She giggled defensively.

"You didn't have to, your face said enough." He crossed his arms and fake pouted, looking away from her.

"You're so melodramatic." She teased.

A few seconds passed and he didn't budge. His fake pout turned to a real frown. Part of him suspected that she hadn't fully forgiven him for the stuff with her sister. If he was in her shoes he wouldn't have. But he at least expected that she didn't think ill of him.

"Hey, I'm just playing." She said softly. She stood up and pulled his arms apart. She straddled his lap and pulled his face up so he could look at her. "Jack, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. I should have been more aware of what it could have meant. Especially after the hurtful things I said to you when–"

"You're good." He said, cutting off her rambling. He dropped his shoulders. "I let my insecurities get the best of me. I really don't want to fuck this up."

"You're not." She said, scooting closer to him.

"You're a Warriors fan right?" Jack asked Miriam, casually resting his hands on the side of her thighs.

"Yeah, but I mostly like watching their games up in Oakland. I have my own reserved courtside seat and everything." She said. Her hands dropped to his chest and she began playing with the strings of his hoodie.

"Oh, so I guess you wouldn't want to go with me to see them at the Clippers game this weekend then." He shrugged.

She stopped playing with the strings and made a face. "Now hold on. I didn't say that."

"So you do want to go with me?"

"Depends on the seats. I only do courtside."

"Obviously they're courtside. We can't have you sit with the common folk." He said coolly.

"Glad we're on the same page."

"Me too."

There was a shift between them. The animosity they had evaporated into the air when they looked into their eyes. Jack glanced down to her lips then back to soft brown eyes. He tentatively reached for a loose curl and tucked it behind her ear. He gently cupped her cheek and slowly pulled her to him.

"Miriam," her mom said entering the dressing room. Her eyes widened seeing her daughter sitting on Jack's lap. "I'm so sorry for interrupting."

Isabela closed the door, letting the pair scramble off each other. Miriam went to her vanity and went to finish packing up her things while Jack went to the divider to fix the tent in his pants. He grabbed his backpack and his keys.

"Uh, I'll see you later." He said awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I'll see you." Miriam nodded.

"Bye."

Jack exited the dressing room. Miriam rushed over to the door to hear what her mom was telling him. She cursed when she heard her mom's laughter. All she hoped for was that her mom wouldn't say something embarrassing. It was bad enough that she walked in on them almost kissing, the last thing Miriam wanted was for her mom to make it a running joke.

Isabela walked in with her phone glued to her ear. She motioned Miriam if she was ready to go as she listened to whoever was on the other side talking. She nodded yes and grabbed her things.

They didn't talk on the drive home since Isabela was working out her filming schedule with her own agent for an upcoming series, so Miriam spent it on her phone. Both the tiktok of her and Joseph Gordon Levitt recreating a scene from 10 Things I Hate About You and the video of her pretending not to know Jack and his song 'WHAT'S POPPIN' when she was playing the singing game with Joseph Gordon Levitt and Jimmy Fallon were going viral on Twitter. A few of her fans pointed out that she did in fact know who Jack was and retweeted the video of them at the soccer game along with a screenshot of her post with lyrics to his songs. Miriam retweeted them with 'it's called acting lol'.

"I guess I now know what my mom meant when she said that her and my dad had breakfast with you and your amiguito." Isabela said as they waited in line to get through their neighborhood's security gate.

"Abuela talks too much. And Jack is just my friend." Miriam said defensively.

"If you say so." Her mom said with an amused look.

"We are." She insisted.

"Yo no dije nada. If you say you're friends, then you're friends." She shrugged.

They pulled up to the house. The staff came out to help them with their things. Miriam asked the housekeeper to place her things in her room and that she'll arrange them later. She followed her mom to the kitchen. Her brother was in front of the stove stirring a pot.

"What's this?" Isabela asked Joseph, gesturing to the kitchen island.

There was a small money tree and two other plants in slate colored eco pots. In front of the plants was a magnetic gift box with a white envelope on top of it.

"A guy with Tarzan hair dropped this off for Miriam. It's from a certain amiguito as abuela likes to say." He said in a teasing tone. He pointed at the gift box. "Oh and what's inside the box is not chocolate."

"It's illegal to open people's mail." Miriam chastised her older brother, ignoring her mom's knowing smirk.

"It's technically not mail, there was no stamp or return address." Joseph said, going back to the stove.

Miriam ignored him and straight to the envelope. It had her name written in the front and was wax sealed in the back with a butterfly design. She carefully opened the envelope with a butter knife, not wanting to ruin the wax seal. She pulled out a small note card and smiled at the message: ''Congrats on your film, moviestar.' Jack's signature took up most of the space in the note card. She placed it back in its envelope.

She reached for the gift box. Inside was a square-shaped black box with shredded white paper filling the bottom. She grabbed the box and set it on the island.

"Oh my fucking god, Miriam, just open it." Joseph groaned at her for taking a long time to open her presents.

She gave him an annoyed look and went back to the box. She lifted the cover and revealed a necklace. Her eyes widened at the sight. Miriam lifted the necklace off its box to inspect it better. There were six gold butterflies evenly spaced with eight clusters, each cluster consisting four, of what she hoped were fake diamonds.

Miriam looked at her mom and brother and laughed dryly. "Those are definitely not chocolates."

***

Jack's social battery drained out an hour into Zack's party. He did a few rounds and took pictures with people in the photo booth. After taking pictures, he mostly hung out with Lil Nas X. He was with Winnie and her boyfriend, but he felt like a third wheel and the friend Winnie introduced him to was boring him. She was an upcoming rapper/r&b singer. The one thing that interested his team was that she spoke French because she spent half of her upbringing in Paris. His team wanted someone that spoke French to film a video with him to promote his upcoming tour.

'Fuck it' he thought to himself. He pulled out his phone and called Miriam as he made his way to the bathroom for privacy.

"Bueno?" She answered.

"Hey, it's me, Jack." He said.

"I know, I have your number saved."

"Right…" he leaned against the bathroom sink.

"What's up?" Miriam asked him.

"Nothing, I'm bored." He sighed.

"Didn't the party just start an hour ago?" She giggled.

"Yeah, that's why I wish you were here." He said truthfully. "You're more fun to be around."

"Obviously I am." She said, making him chuckle. "But I'm at work…unless you wanna come over to set. I came in early, my call time is at 11pm."

"I won't be bothering you?"

"No, I was just gonna order food then watch my friends heckle Bobby Flay on his show while I wait."

Jack nodded. "Okay, send me the address and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Va." She said before hanging up.

His phone lit up seconds later with the address and a picture of a code security had to scan to let him into the set. He exited the bathroom and did his rounds of saying goodbye to the people he knew. He vaguely agreed to meet with people and attend their parties as he bid goodbye to them. He made eye contact with Gigi, the girl who played his love interest in the Luv is Dro video, and who also happened to be a really close friend of Miriam's. She was with her boyfriend, the four members of 5 Seconds of Summer, and the Hunter sisters (Alina and Gia).

He nodded at her, but she waved him over. So he went over to say hi.

"Hey, I'm heading out. I'm sorry I didn't see you earlier." He said, giving her a side hug.

"Bro, I just got here." Gigi giggled.

She motioned to the group and introduced them to Jack. He greeted everyone and made brief small talk. He checked the time and sighed.

"Do you have to be somewhere?" Gigi asked him.

Jack leaned into her. "I'm going over to see Miriam." He pulled back and watched her eyes widened in excitement. He leaned back. "Don't start, we're just friends."

"I'm not gonna say anything!" She exclaimed in a tone where she was most definitely gonna say something. She closed her mouth then opened it, asking, "Do you mind getting in another group picture? The photo booth finally died down."

"I'm down."

Jack followed Gigi's friend group to the photobooth. He awkwardly stood off to the side as Gia, one of the Hunter sisters, arranged the group so they all could fit in the picture. Which was a struggle since all six men (Gigi's boyfriend, 5sos and Jack) were at least six feet tall, but Gia made it work. The photographer took about five pictures and Jack was in his way.

While he waited for the valet to bring in his car, he looked up how far the set was from where he was. He was surprised to find out the set was a fifteen minute drive to Van Nuys. He texted Miriam if she wanted food. She replied seconds later that she was fine with whatever he wanted. Jack decided on In-N-Out.

He pulled up to the drive-thru and ordered a double-double for himself with no tomatoes and one for Miriam but instead of regular fries and a drink, he ordered animal fries and a vanilla shake, but also ordered regular fries and a pink lemonade for her.

The drive to In-N-Out to set took five minutes. He showed security the code Miriam sent him. Security told him to follow the parked golf carts all the way to the end and that would lead him to the guest parking and the trailers. He got lucky and Miriam's trailer was close to the parking lot.

He grabbed their food and knocked on her trailer door. Miriam opened the door. Her eyes widened seeing the food he carried.

"By any chance you haven't seen my Instagram story right?" She asked him, motioning him inside.

"No, why?" He asked her skeptically.

"No reason, let me just delete it." She mumbled under breath, reaching for her phone that was next to their food.

But Jack was closer to her phone. He snatched her phone before she could get it and placed it in his pocket.

"Jack, give me my phone." She said, trying to reach for it.

"No, I wanna see what you posted."

He stood up, lifting his arm up so she couldn't reach it and loaded Instagram. Her story was the first one to appear. He tapped it. It was a mirror selfie of her in her trailer with the caption 'I'm fucking the next person that brings me In-N-Out.' Jack looked over his shoulder to a mortified Miriam.

"I don't have condoms, sorry." He shrugged apologetically, handing her back her phone.

"Funny," she laughed wryly, looking at him. She noticed that he was still wearing his suit from the party. "I have extra clothes if you want to change."

"Oh thank god, 'cause I can't stand this suit."

Miriam snorted at his comment and went to her duffle bag. She grabbed a pair of oversized sweats and hoodie for him. She tossed them to him. "Here, the bathroom is down the hall."

Jack held up the hoodie and pursed his lips. "I've been looking for this hoodie."

"Who said it was yours?"

"The fucking tag. I got my initials stitched on them." He showed her the inside tag, low and behold, JH was stitched in the tag.

"I think it's time you know the truth. My real name is Julia Hernandez. The Dominguez family adopted me when I was fourteen but what they didn't know was that the orphanage I was raised at was an assassin training facility." Miriam said in a somber tone.

Jack was quiet, thinking over what she said. It was obvious that she was lying but the way she executed her little speech had him questioning it.

"Not you thinking it's true." She said, folding over laughing.

"I'm gonna change." He murmured.

Miriam rolled her eyes. She cleaned up the coffee table and placed the food on it. She unlocked her phone and snapped a picture of their food. After making sure there wasn't anything in the picture that can be traced back to Jack, she captioned it '👁👄👁' and posted it on her public account.

She switched to Twitter and the first thing she saw was a picture of Calum and the girl that has been claiming that she's his girlfriend and that Claudia is his fake one for PR purposes. The girl was going the extra mile to buy clothes that looked similar to Calum's to act as if they were his. Miriam cursed in Spanish and facetimed her friend. She knew Claudia wasn't going because she was teaching summer school at a magnet school, so she couldn't stay up late in the middle of the week.

"I know I saw. Mede sent me the picture and Gigi texted me and told me that she was begging for a picture." Claudia answered. She was in Calum's trademark Empathy hoodie.

"I figured. I just wanted to check in." She said, sipping her milk shake.

"I'm fine. I know Cal isn't cheating. I trust him. Plus he's not stupid enough to go out with his alleged amante to an event my cousin and two of my friends are attending. He actually mentioned to me that he was planning on talking to her face to face to sort this shit out because he's even tired of her shit."

"That's good. He needs to set boundaries and–"

Miriam was cut off by Claudia's sniffles.

"It's just so frustrating." Claudia began. She pulled on the hoodie and hugged herself. "Me vale verga what she says because at the end of the day she's rhe one making herself look stupid. But I'm just tired of him not doing anything. A simple tweet would clear the air. Pero no dice nada. Then there's the fucking dumb fans that actually believe her and are in my shit commenting how she suits him more because she’s not too Latina. Which is so fucked up to say and I don't have the energy to get in to it, but you know."

"Who is she? I've only seen her at a brunch thingy with Kat and her model friends." Miriam asked.

"She's some r&b singer. She was pretty popular in France because she was raised there and knows French and incorporates it in her music. Like she's interesting, even from what I heard about her music, which isn't the best lyrically, she can gain a decent following here. So I don't know why she's making up these lies about Cal. It got to the point where I asked him if she used to be one of his groupies from back then. I hate how it makes me look crazy and untrusting."

"Was she?"

"No, but they met when we started talking because Mitchy Collins befriended her during their tour in 2018. Which is probably why your sister knows her. That creep likes to hang out with girls several years younger than him." Claudia huffed. She looked to the side, she smiled softly. "Hi."

"Hey." Calum mumbled, coming into the frame. He leaned down to kiss her and inspected her face. "Have you been crying?"

"She was," Miriam said, making her presence known. "I saw she posted a picture editing her reaction to 'In the Heights' and I called her. She started crying saying how proud of me she was."

She watched Claudia relax, thankful that she made up an excuse as to why she was crying.

"I'm not surprised, half of her video was crying." He joked.

"Cal, you're spoiling the video." Claudia mumbled.

"She was in the movie, she knows what happened." He said, laying down next to her. He looked straight at Miriam. "I met your friend at the party earlier."

"What friend?" Claudia asked, tilting her head with a knowing grin.

"Don't worry about it." Miriam shrugged.

With her luck, Jack walked out of the bathroom and was in the frame.

"Oh shit, I didn't mean to interrupt your call." He said, his cheeks flushing when he realized her friends could see him.

"You're good. I was just hanging up." She said,"Bye."

"Güey–"

Miriam didn't let Claudia finish. She knew she would have said something embarrassing in front of Jack.

"Why am I just noticing your hair?" Jack said, reaching for a blonde strand to twirl with his fingers.

"It's a wig. My character is edgy and not like other girls." She said in a snooty tone. She wore a wig with the same shade of brown hair as hers, but it reached her shoulder blades. It was also straight and the underpart was bleached blonde.

"Oh, I thought you were finally embracing your grandpa's white side." He said dropping the strand. "You look good though."

Miriam burst into a fit of giggles. "I hate you, you know."

"Not even ten minutes ago you wanted to fuck me because I brought you In-N-Out." He said, reaching for his tomato-less burger.

"You're taking my instagram story out of context?"

"Am I?" He asked.

"Yes!"

He shrugged, taking a bite of his burger. "We'll agree to disagree."

An hour or so passed and it was time for Miriam to get her makeup done so she could film her scenes. The makeup artist entered the trailer and spotted a sleeping Jack. It was obvious that the makeup artist knew who he was, but Miriam didn't say anything. Not until she saw the makeup artist position her phone at a weird angle that was pointing directly at Jack after she spent a good ten minutes texting.

"Um, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I have a no phones rule when I have crew members in my trailer. It's late and I think you'll be more efficient if you don't have your phone distracting you." Miriam said.

"Oh, of course." The makeup artist nodded with a tight lipped smile. They took their phone and slipped it inside their bag.

Miriam knew they were probably gonna talk or post about Jack sleeping in her trailer with her thick tiger blanket, but at least they wouldn't have any photographic evidence to support their claims. She knew Jack had an image to protect and a picture of him sleeping in her trailer wouldn't fit the image he and his team created.

The makeup artist finished their job and left the trailer. Miriam went to change into the outfit her character wore. It wasn't different to what she was currently wearing: running shorts and baggy t-shirt. Her character was supposed to wear biker shorts and a baggy t-shirt of the fictional high school's mathletes team. She ripped out a page from the prop notebook that had some of her lines and scribbled that she was in filming for Jack in case he woke up while she was gone. After they ate, he dozed off while she went over her lines. She knew he was exhausted from spending late nights in the studio the past few days. He helped her align her sleep schedule since he was up until the early morning cooped up in the studio.

There was a loud knock coming from her trailer door. "Miss. Dominguez, you're needed on set."

"I'll be there in a minute." She said, grabbing her long 'The North Face' black puffer jacket the production team gave her to wear around the set.

She grabbed her chanclas and scripts. She jumped hearing Jack turning awake. She had hoped that he was out for the night and was finally getting his much needed rest.

"Damn, I wasn't expecting you to be the type to leave while I sleep." Jack said, sitting up and stretching.

"They need me on set. You can stay here and keep sleeping. I'll be down there for a few hours."

"Are you sure?" He said, laying back down.

"Yeah." Miriam nodded. "If you need anything, text me. One of the production assistants will have my phone and they'll come get me."

Jack nodded, pulling her warm blanket over his body. Stifling a yawn, he said. "Go do your thing, moviestar."

Taglist: @cherryxcreme @youngharleezyxo @deannaard @meyocoko

El Novio Taglist: @in-superbloom @hoodhoran @aquarius-hood1996 @suchalonelysunflower @f-mu @another-lonely-heart @sunshinebabycal-deactivated2021 @calumscalm @karajaynetoday @cherryxwildflower @ashtonsunflower @idontneedanyone @findingliam-o @5-secondsofcolor @mulletcal @polycashton-deactivated20220117 @fckingpernico @2fangirl4u @calpops @stickerreds @sensitivecth

#jack harlow one shot #jack harlow fluff #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow imagines #jack harlow fanfiction #jack harlow fan fic #jack harlow #jack and miriam

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hawkp · 8 months

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I can't guarantee anything. But I might write a Kirk Bros fic because of you. Any ideas on what kind of thing would be the most fun and/or heartbreaking with that? (Again, no guarantees. I'm kinda flighty sometimes.) You've made me think more about them than normal, so if you need to yell about them, I may yell with you. (Sorry if this is too random, or annoying, or anything.😅)

So sorry but this answer might not make much sense. I have the stomach flu and just woke up from fourteen hours of sleep because I broke my fever. This is how I feel rn.

So if it doesn’t make sense please ask or message me for clarification. Everything below is just word vomit at this point.

ANYWAYS

NO NOT RANDOM I LOVE PPL YELLING even if it’s something I don’t know about. I just love when people are passionate about stuff.

I have like 30 WIPS sitting in my google drive so I totally understand you. I also started a Kirk Bros fic. It’s just a lengthy outline right now that starts right at the end of 2x10 and would end after the four Enterprise crew members are back on the ship and recovering (because everyone is going to be messed up as hell, especially La’an and I’m sure that someone will be dead in the show).

But these are some things I’ve thought about including in my WIP! Please feel free to run with them. Seriously, take them from me!

Disclaimer, in my fic I’m retconning Sam’s wife and kids from TOS because I haven’t found the SNW mention of her, which is apparently there somewhere, but I didn’t want to have to include the daddy dynamic of Sam’s character into it lol.

So first off, Pike doesn’t end up deciding if they’re pulling out, Una does. They only pull out far enough to not be in immediate danger, which is still against Starfleet orders, so they’d be breaking some regulation already and be in a wacky sort of limbo.

Then, how difficult it would be for Pike to tell Jim. I feel like he’d save him for last after contacting everyone else’s families… which I now realize those four have very little of. Jim would just know that something is wrong off the bat just from Pike’s face. He might even jump to the conclusion that Sam is dead and then the reality of his situation when Pike tells him ends up being so much worse. From there, Jim is dead set on joining them for a rescue mission, even if he has to break some regulations himself. Also at this point Christopher is a freaking mess ofc.

My biggest issue with writing the Gorn right now though is figuring out how to not have them immediately kill or do the dermal impregnation thing that’s going on with Batel, to the four of them and the settlers from the planet. I’m toying with the idea that the Gorn have been possessed by another entity. There’s an episode of Enterprise where some crew members contract a “silicone based virus” that was a whole separate species and I was thinking about trying to emulating that somehow.

I have a lot in my brain that happens between the exposition and the rescue but of course my whumpy ass had Sam being in the worst shape out of the group when they get back to the Enterprise. I think if I did go the infected Gorn route then the “virus species” will have been experimenting on Sam and he might be totally catatonic by that point and from there it would be blah, blah, blah recovery blah, blah. <- my brain literally cannot form a better sentence to communicate this rn

The actual first scene I wrote for the fic was Sam telling Jim about how picturing their childhood got him through everything that happened and specifically telling him the story about the first time he held him as a baby. Idk what kind of crack I was on that night but he ends it by telling him that he knew it was his job to take care of him as soon as he set his eyes on him. Did I write that because I’m the oldest sibling? What? No.

So anyways… yeah I have a lot of thoughts on this. And if you’d like to write something together I’m down for that too!

#oh boy #this is a mess #I’m gonna have fun reading this later #Star Trek #star trek strange new worlds #star trek strange new worlds spoilers #James Kirk #james t kirk #george samuel kirk #Sam Kirk #Christopher Pike #pike #captain pike #la’an noonien singh

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ruthlesslistener · 7 months

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I have a question that I'm finding more and more concerning with you that I think you probably don't notice at all, but why is your judgement on what's right and wrong so heavily reliant on what your discord friends say? You made mistakes and as some have pointed it out, but the moment your discord friends say you haven't done anything wrong; then you believe in them completely. One of the things I learned as an autistic person is to listen and learn from others if my behavior is found to be on the bad side, but I'm starting to notice how easily you believe in your friends and ignore others for their sake. I don't wanna say examples here, but as an autistic person to another, its fine to ask friends for advice and judgment but sometimes they aren't always right and we should take note of that more often. Like you, I also have trouble reading between the lines so I also rely on friends to help me understand. But I also know well they aren't always right and try to analyse situations myself more and decide for myself whether I'm the one who is in the right.

Please don't get mad. I know I'm not the only one who pointed this out, but you act like such a jerk when your wrongs are pointed out and frankly I think it's time you ease down too.

(Quick note- my tone here is neutral and contemplative, not mad. This is something I've been thinking about on myself)

The main reason why I ask my friends for feedback is actually BECAUSE I put a lot of thought into social scenarios, but I've got a huge blind spot when it comes to how they actually work and how I'm coming off in them. I tend to treat them like a math problem, but alas, I'm very much not good at math. Because my friends have an outsider pov of not being me while also knowing me well enough to be aware of my flaws and inclinations, they're able to give me perspectives that I simply do not have that I can then factor into my analysis of the situation. The entirety of the misstep was my own, but since I was extremely confused as to how a mild statement from my end (to my eyes) computed to someone thinking that I called them a pedophile because to me that wasn't even CLOSE to what I was saying, I went to others for help.

It's also worth it to point out that my friends were the ones who said I was wrong and that I came off as saying something I didn't mean, but ALSO that the people I wronged were handling it really poorly and jumping to conclusions even after I apologized and clarified it, which is where I wasn't in the wrong. So they're hardly telling me I was innocent, and I don't view them as the end-all-be-all statement of what's right and wrong here. They just get factored into my calculations when I have a missing variable.

That isn't to say that I don't act like a jerk when defensive, but it's not triggered by being wrong, it's triggered by accusations and people not listening to what I have to say. I most certainly was in the wrong to assume malicious intent, but I'm not in the wrong to point out that the people who assumed malicious intent handled it just as poorly as I did, given that they continued to claim that I said something about them that I outright said was an error made in ignorance on my part, and that I had intentions that I really did not have (ie, redtagging them). That's not me refusing to take blame, that's just the reality of the situation. I was wrong, I was speaking from a place of ignorance that I really should have put more thought into, and I DID react defensively and like an absolute ass when I got a slew of aggressive messages about it, but the fact that I continued to get more aggressive messages after it that continued to assume malicious intent after clarification isn't where I fucked up, because I really can't do more than what I already apologized for.

#ik I said that this topic was done but tbf i was just thinking about this last night #this is the main reason why I wish I could have a fandom blog without direct engagement- bc I'm inevitably going to fuck it up #but also the reason why i go into fsndoms is bc i desperately crave getting into discussions and debates so thats impossibl #sucks #anon #reply

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rileygoodssweetsite · 2 months

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The Blair Witch Project (1999)

It was actually quite easy for me to decide what film had a significant impact on me. Pretty surprising, but I knew immediately that I’d have to say The Blair Witch Project (1999). This was such an easy conclusion because of the initial emotional response I had to this film. My first impression of this movie is that it was terrifying. I was very young, probably 7, so that’s the justification I’ll use to defend the fact that I thought it was real. But that’s a huge part of what scares me, and even having the knowledge that it is definitely fictional, it still does unsettle me a bit. From what I’ve seen, the public’s reaction to Blair Witch was similar. It was a complete commercial success, as was almost inevitable due to the film’s low budget of $60,000. It made $248,639,099 worldwide and $140,539,099 domestically, more than enough to cover for its budget as seen on the site Box Office Mojo. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2269611521/rankings/?ref_=bo_rl_tab#tabs However, commercial success didn’t exactly translate into critical success.

While I think that The Blair Witch Project was consistently praised for its originality, the mediocre score of 6.5/10 on IMDb is a good summation of the general consensus of this film. Even around the time, it did have a reputation for being boring or anticlimactic. Without any jump scares or gore or even any special effects, The Blair Witch being an underwhelming horror film is a common opinion that keeps the film from being a critical darling. The intrigue of the innovative execution of found footage, even at the time, could only counter the dwindling interest of audiences and critics alike for so long. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185937/

On the topic of drawing in audiences, The Blair Witch Project’s marketing is a particularly special case of capturing public interest. Like I mentioned, the belief that the events of the film were real was not an uncommon one, as the film’s online marketing blurred the lines or reality in a way that was not really seen prior to this film. Sites showcasing evidence or missing photos related to the three ‘missing’ people seen in the movie definitely confused and reeled people in. Seeing the film for the sole purpose of finding out what happened to the supposed missing people, almost as if you were seeing a documentary, was a fascinating prospect for audiences. Factoring in that found footage was not nearly as common as it would be in the years after this film, as the genre was arguably popularized by The Blair Witch, this was something new. The internet itself was a young thing that was not nearly as prevalent back then, so these sites only held more mystique. https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/3/28/18280988/blair-witch-movie-marketing-1999

Beyond just getting people in seats, actually sustaining any kind of success was a challenge for young directors Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, so the idea to make this film so sparse in production was probably the key to its success. The low budget provided a low risk and high reward for The Blair Witch. In an alternate reality where this film received no attention or money, Myrick and Sánchez likely wouldn’t have been in a financial rut if this movie didn’t deliver. The film, however, was a lucrative one. Even with the unconventional presentation, which is even notorious for making audiences sick from the shaky camera work, and the R rating, The Blair Witch exceeded its low expectations. And while the critical success has remained middle of the road for this film, my opinions of it remain largely positive. I’m not personally bored by any of the scenes in this movie, as the acting and uncomfortable atmosphere purveying the whole movie, almost as you’re being watched makes for an experience that is never dull for me. No matter how many times I watch it, the simple execution of certain scenes, such as Heather’s message to their families and the final scene stick with me more than most films do. This remained true after watching it this week. I watched it late at night, the perfect time to sit in the dark and listen to the low droning mechanical sounds that play over the end credits after the abrupt finale. My opinion remains the same, and despite how many times I watch it, The Blair Witch has not outstayed its welcome for me. I feel I actually appreciate it more now than I used to. For one, with so many movies being too indulgent as far as budget or special effects and removing any subtlety in scares or moments, this film is extremely refreshing. Most major release horror movies are noticeably uninspired and unambitious in my opinion, and falling back on the same stories or scenarios was not a problem I found in The Blair Witch.

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some-witterings · 3 months

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Do I Need to be in a Relationship to be Happy?

Before any conclusions are jumped too I plead you read the post, or if not at least the addendum at the bottom. This whole thing is a tale of irrationality and from experience it is easy to sit on the side like and conflate naive irrationality and idiocy; though at least in my case the two are not always mutually exclusive

Over recent years I've discovered I am incredibly adept at 3rd wheeling. Even to the point of 3rd wheeling 4 couples at once due to the nature of a previous friend group (leading to me often reused joke of "I've 3rd wheeled enough to build a car!").

I, however, have not had the experience of being in a relationship; and being the one single person in that kind of envrionment can feel lonely, despite their best efforts to include me. Everyone kept telling me "Don't worry, you'll find someone in university!", "you'll find your person at some point!" and other such phrases to that effect. They were being kind, I know that. However, it didn't stop me building up a portent in my head of my future. One of my final days being alone in a lab, trying to eke out one last project and passing silently with a funeral not too dissimilar to one the Beetles sung about in "Eleanor Rigby".

This portent is not literal, health and reality prove it to be so; but it is the underlying message of it that stuck with me. That my work and who I am will devour me and I'll never end up having a romantic connection with someone enough to spend time away from my work.

Recently, though I use that term remarkably loosely, I went away to university. I hoped against hope that my portent was wrong, that the people I used to know were right. That I'd find someone in university and everything would be fine. This has proved not to be the case. Instead the prior situation has repeated itself. With me once more being in a group of friends, were I count among the seldom few single. It also turned out all, bar a few, of the people I used to call friends are raging dick heads; so fuck 'em I suppose.

That little tangent aside, I reasoned that once is a true coincidence; twice is the beginning of something that could potentially be a pattern. Though I'm hardly studied enough in the ways of probabilities to start drawing mathematical conclusions on things (read Bernoulli's Fallacy by Aubrey Clayton if you like probability, it is a fascinating read), I am cautious enough to reason that it could also just be me being unlucky twice in in a row. This thought though, one of "what if it is a pattern? What is wrong with me to make it a pattern?" hung around to torment me.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect my self confidence slightly. While all of my friends were going off on dates and enjoying their partners company, I resigned myself to my work once again. I went out with them and hung out with people, partially hoping to find someone though mostly to be with my friends, yet no one ever appeared. I couldn't fathom the reason for my situation. People were constantly asking my friend out on dates, and yet in my whole life I have never once had anyone show interest in me. The question hung like a think miasma in my brain. The question also found an old ally, the portent I mentioned early.

Recently, this time meant more literally that previously, I went to a flat party with a couple of my friends. There I met the most wonderful person, they matched my passion for my subject with passion for their own. They had the most wonderful way of being in a way I can scarcely describe. We talked for 3 and a half hours uninterrupted in the middle of a deafening party, and we talked like I had never talked to someone before. I, foolishly, wondered if this could be my time? Proof the portent was wrong, proof the question could be disproved; both handwaved away by the logical anhillator of random chance!

This did not end up being the case. They still want to be friends and we are going to meet up soon, but nothing more. This is not an awful conclusion, I am still more than happy to have gained a new friend and one that matches me so well; just in my naivety i hoped for more. This partial rejection didn't fair my thought process too well, with it being a very low day after that.

I have another friend, one who predates any of the friends mentioned above. If they ever needed help I'd raise hell and crack open heaven to do whatever was needed for them. Their university isn't too far from mine and they are in fact dating someone at my university. They were stuggling to find friends at their university so I suggested joining a society that has become the high point of my week at my university. They agreed.

They came and it was wonderful. They enjoyed it massively and I got to introduce them to the wonderful people I'd made friends with and it looks like they'll be coming again. I realised that we'd only ever hung out together before and never in a group setting, this being the first time we'd been in a group together. They made friends with all the people I had to know and I'd not seen them that happy in a long while.

Even more to the point another friend from university turned up at the society with someone they were on a date with! It was wonderful to see my friend so happy.

I don't think I've ever been more happy and content than that evening. The portent and the question no longer mattered and I was happy, in a way no birthday, christmas, gift or occasion had managed to do before.

This got me thinking. Do I need to be in a relationship to be happy? I've spent so long wanting one, wanting that deep connection with someone, that the portent and the question consumed me. I'd like to rexamine the portent however. If were burning my last few days alive to eke out a little bit more, I'd have passion! Whatever I was doing would have to be worth the world to me for me to do that. Would I be happy? Probably not, I'd likely be a bit of a git by that point.

Next lets examine the question again. What's wrong with me? I don't know. It's likely I'll never find out, I'm not a psycologist after all. I'm an engineer, which means I know enough to say that I know nothing at all about the answer to it. However, I simply choose now to not let the answer mean anything. I choose to say that whatever is wrong with me, is me. Not some problem to be fixed, just a thing that is. I chose to make peace with the question and let the answer be whatever it is, if there is an answer to begin with.

So where does this uninterrupted stream of conciousness get us to? Back to the title, do I need to be in a relationship to be happy? My answer currently is a 2 fold no

I don't need to be happy. I get to live a life where everyone around me is happy, and I choose for that to be enough for me. To see my old friend find new friends in the group I've joined, for my new friends to find fulfilling relationships and see everyone I know happy is pleasure enough for me. I sincerly hope that they savour every moment of mundane happiness that I may never experience.

I don't need to be in a relationship. I might end up being a very strange old man some day, but in my isolate tower I will have develop great deal of thoughts on many things. I hope that some day that great deal of thoughts may be enough to help solve some problems, or even help the people I know be happier than they are at the moment.

Only one person I've met at university has used tumblr. They're slightly older than me and have given me advice and time no one else has ever quite been able to get at before, I owe them more than I could ever give them. So if, in the statistically astromical chance, they see this and are able to backsolve from my vagueries, thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you've said. You are one of the kindest and most patient people I've ever met.

All my other friends have never used this place, so they'll never see this. Though I leave this message as a digital mark on the internet. A temporary flash in this unending chromatic abberation we call the chaos of the internet that I hope is somehow remembered. You are all deserving of happiness that can never be matched. You have shown me kindness I am not deserving of and shown me that I am less alone in this world than I thought I was.

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Addendum:

Yes, I am aware a lot of these problems stem from irrationality. The nature of the mind tends towards irrationality in my case despite my best efforts.

I am also aware of the dangers of conflating relationships and happiness, that doesn't change that fact that I still want one and that barring extreme circumstances I think I'd be happier with one.

I am also aware that I am young and inexperienced, but if I stagnate every thought and behaviour I have by saying "this comes from inexperience, I shouldn't do it or think it" then I'll never do or think anything as I'll never be experienced enough to know how to deal with it properly. This whole tale is as much about the question as it is about me growing up.

#thoughts #life #long reads #relationship #happiness #growing up #inexperienced

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beneaththetangles · 1 year

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It literally took a global pandemic to slow down the rapid growth of anime’s popularity. But the industry has surged back, and after a year during which studios were playing catch-up, 2022 felt like it was largely business as usual and maybe better than that, with dozens of new series released each season, new studios jumping into the fray (a trend that will really take off in 2023), and more anime movies than ever making their way to international release.

This diversity and expansiveness are reflected in our Best of 2022 anime list, which includes continuing series—titles that were notable heading into the year—but is mainly filled with anime that unexpectedly delighted. They feature an introverted rocker, an insomniac who wants to become a vampire, a famous figure from the Three Kingdoms reincarnated to become a young woman’s musical advisor, and teenage assassins who run a coffee shop. And yes, these series were every bit as fun as they sound—and for reasons we mention below, even more wildly inventive, deeply engaging, and personally meaningful than they have any right to be.

Here they are, in alphabetical order (because any other order is too hard to decide!):

BELLE • Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War • Bocchi the Rock! • Call of the Night • Chainsaw Man • Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These S3 • Lycoris Recoil • Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun • SPY x FAMILY • Ya Boy Kongming!

– Honorable Mention –

BELLE

What do you do as a parent when you look out at the world and see a harsh reality lying in wait for your painfully shy young child? Well, if you’re Mamoru Hosoda, you make a film to fill her with courage, hope, and the joy of being alive at such a time as this. You make BELLE. This masterful reworking of the classic fairy tale transforms a simple (and unrealistic) romance into a heartrendingly raw, yet gently epiphanic reflection on loss, fear, and coming of age in an unsafe world. At the heart of Hosoda’s redemptive story—the magic that breaks the curse, if you will—is not romantic love but something ever more vital in this current climate: compassion. Through her vocaloid-like online life as fearless songstress Belle, the heroine Suzu learns to extend this vital grace to both others and herself, and to receive it from those closest to her as well. In this way, BELLE celebrates the capacity of social media to do good and not only harm, while modeling how exactly to live with compassion, a valuable message in an era seemingly dominated by cancel culture. This may be a retelling of ‘a tale as old as time,’ but this is the one adaptation that will, in my books at least, truly stand the test of time—and future generations will be better for it. Thank you, Hosoda. ~ claire

Streaming on HBO Max.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Arc

One of the most epic shonen anime series of all time has finally begun its journey to completion. The previous seasons of the anime ended pretty poorly, full of filler that couldn’t compare to the Arrancar and Aizen arcs. Manga readers will not be disappointed with this final arc adaptation, though! Every episode is a fun ride, full of intense battles that push the captains of the Gotei 13 to their limits. Many long-standing questions are finally answered, as the series prepares for what is proving to be a satisfying conclusion. Ichigo and his allies are pitted against some of the most fearsome enemies in the entire run of the franchise, falling short again and again against the insurmountable power that is Yhwach and his crew. Although the heroes pull out all their best attacks, they cannot avoid taking severe injuries, and not everyone will make it to the end of the season, or in some cases, not even past the first few episodes! The animation by Studio Pierrot is up there with the best, though be warned that it is more violent than previous seasons, so keep that in mind if you are watching with little ones or sensitive viewers. Overall, the action and suspense of this final arc make waiting for Mondays a real challenge, which is a very fitting end to such a blockbuster series! ~ Samuru

Streaming on Hulu.

Bocchi the Rock!

The genius of Bocchi the Rock! is the fact that it’s not afraid to defy slice-of-life conventions to tell the story that it wants to tell. A different show about a high school girl with social anxiety joining a band might shy away from the comedy in favor of wholesome friendship moments and satisfying character arcs. But Bocchi! wants to have its cake and eat it too. And it pulls it off. Interspersed with reflective ponderings on anxiety, self-talk, and loneliness are zany sequences where the pressures of social life cause Hitori to morph into famous paintings, lose corporeal form altogether, or just keel over and die. All this works because the authors love Hitori, even as they poke fun at her social anxiety-induced antics. It works because they understand her struggle to connect with others, even as she deeply desires that connection. It works because they track her growth, slow but steady, as she steps out and discovers what life in community looks like. Add on a lovely main cast and some seriously good insert songs, and we have a show that will be treasured long after the curtains fall. Hilarious yet sensitive, imaginative yet grounded, niche yet relatable, Bocchi the Rock! does it all. Producer Shouta Umehara was aiming for “the pinnacle of slice-of-life anime,” and he definitely hit the bullseye. ~ sleepminusminus

Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Call of the Night

Call of the Night is one of those shows that does an excellent job of capturing emotions and sparking a relatable tone with the audience. From the moment where Ko, the insomniac teenage protagonist, steps out into the night, in awe and amazement at the new world that surrounds him, to the moment he meets the vampire girl Nazuna, who represents the allure and enticement of nightlife and the seductive temptation of being in a world normally occupied by adults—the series is evocative and a little nostalgic too. The outstanding animation quality really captures the feel of being on the streets of a major metropolitan area in the twilight hours. Also, the OP, “Daten” is an absolute bop and held the crown of Best Anime OP during its entire run…until a certain show about a certain dude with a hardware issue came along. While it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting a second season of this one, you owe it to yourself to check it out and instantly get transported to that time when, as a youth on the cusp of adulthood, you too first discovered the awe-inspiring sights and sounds of the night. ~ Josh

Streaming on HiDIVE.

Chainsaw Man

One of the most hyped anime of the year, Chainsaw Man is an example of what happens when the powers that be say, “Okay, here’s the source material and the company credit card. Give us a 13-episode series, make it look pretty, and money is no object.” And they succeeded beyond their wildest imagination. What makes this the best anime in 2022? Simple. No really. That’s the answer. It’s simple. The story of a boy who bonds with a demon and produces chainsaws from his body to defeat other demons is simple enough for anyone to comprehend (“simple” when it comes to anime that is). Still, the characters, combined with the fantastic animation, push this narrative into “must-see” territory, especially regarding our saw-tooth bro Denji. It’s downright refreshing to have a protagonist that doesn’t have any grandiose delusions of wanting to be a superhero and fight for something silly like saving the world. Denji wants to be comfortable and live a good life with someone to take care of him, which is something that we can all relate to. I’ll be the first to say that Chainsaw Man has a lot that can turn people away—the levels of violence and sexuality might be too much for some people, but don’t let that turn you away. Every blood splatter and sexually charged moment is not done just for the heck of it—there is a rhyme and reason for it to be there! Finally, let’s talk about this dub. Can we please give Ryan Colt Levy and Sarah Wiedenheft their flowers? Ryan as Denji is so freaking spot on, I seriously can’t hear anyone else in the role. And Sarah as Power is just downright prodigious! This is a show you owe it to yourself to watch in both languages. ~ Josh

Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These S3

The remake of this classic space opera lives up to the high standard set by its revered 1988 predecessor, bringing updated animation and an excellent English dub to help introduce Tanaka Yoshiki’s saga to a new generation. While the LOGH series is not completely flawless, it achieves untouched heights when the story focuses on its complex political drama and meditations on the cyclical nature of human history. This season reaches one of those high points as Admiral Yang Wen-li finds himself struggling with the moral dilemma posed by his incredible naval victories: are they truly defending democracy or simply saving a corrupt government and apathetic citizenry from their own foolishness? This philosophical drama plays out against a backdrop of Death Star VS Death Star battles as the Galactic Empire conducts a major campaign against the most critical defensive strongpoint of the Free Planets Alliance. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the original Legend of the Galactic Heroes or a complete newbie debating whether or not to take the plunge on this famous but intimidating science fiction epic, get in on Die Neue These. ~ WacOtaku

Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Takina being dragged into the Vortex of Chaos Chisato

Lycoris Recoil

LycoReco is the very embodiment of something that shouldn’t work but, in complete contravention of all logic, really, really does. (A bit like black matter, the placebo effect, or bulldogs.) With enough twists and turns to make a corkscrew blush, and a production history that can at best be described as unconventional, this zany combo of workplace slice-of-life and sci-fi spy thriller is fantastically original. And chaotic. Did I mention the chaos? Plot lines duck and weave like a Dempsey roll and loose ends stick out willy-nilly, but all this serves only to heighten the charm, dynamism, and pure delight of watching the adventures of these teenage undercover government assassins dole out justice while forming fast friendships, devising the most mountainous chocolatey desserts known to Instagram, solving mind-boggling conspiracies, and reforming a genius child hacker. Maybe. At first, the cast seems to slot neatly into familiar tropes, yet as the series progresses (ahem, by episode two), they somehow manage to explode such conventions effortlessly. Chisato and Takina, as the cheerful, bubbly extrovert and cool, self-possessed introvert, single-handedly breathe new life into the most predictable pairing formula known to anime—and steal our hearts in the process. If this is what is possible with anime original series, then we need more of it. A lot more. Hats off to A-1 for taking the risk and doing so with such verve! ~ claire

Streaming on Crunchyroll.

I’m DONE with android deaths

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

Surely season two of Made in Abyss couldn’t top the horror and despair of season one and its movie sequel, could it? Yes, actually, it could and it did, in all its face-melting, body-horror glory. But if that’s all Made in Abyss was about, I’d simply file it under “splatter film” and avoid the series for all eternity. No, what makes The Golden City of the Scorching Sun and its predecessors so special, apart from being set in a world wholly unlike anything depicted before, are the glimmers of hope it provides when they are needed most. The series perseveres in finding hope in the most unlikely places: when an impossible choice must be made involving a loved one, when the regrets from past misdeeds threaten to drown, when the road feels too long and difficult to follow. That’s when the series sparkles, as it reminds us that light shines brightest in the darkest of nights—or the deepest of caves. ~ Twwk

Streaming on HiDIVE.

Spy x Family

Voted Japan’s most anticipated anime of 2022 by an absolute landslide, Spy x Family did the impossible and lived up to all the hype. And then some! The series combines action, comedy, spy thriller, and a dash of romance as it follows a fake family where each of the members is hiding a secret—even the dog! They’ve been brought together by circumstances in order to save the world by foiling a war between the East and West in a Cold War-like situation. But as the story progresses, those fake bonds become more and more genuine, as the Forger Family learn to care for one another and no longer hide behind their respective masks. The animation is stunning, while the color design shines brightly and captivates the eye. The production is slick, but captures all the looseness and charm of the original manga, to the point where Anya could rival Bocchi for Best Comedy Faces of 2022. In short, Spy x Family is masterful, creating a fun ride that you never want to end. And here’s the good news: it’s not going to anytime soon! Season 2 has already been announced. Here’s to the continuing journey of Japan’s—and now possibly the entire world’s—favorite fake family! ~ Samuru & claire

Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Ya Boy Kongming!

If there was an award for Most Classy Anime Character, then in 2022, it would have to go to Kongming. Having been a world-leading tactician in his past life, he now uses his flashy intellect and proven stratagems to help young singer Eiko achieve her dreams in modern-day Shibuya. But it’s actually another quieter, hidden ability that makes him such a compelling character, namely, his ability to demonstrate what it means to serve others well, putting them above himself. He more than lives up to the call “to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” In addition to such powerful characterization, this anime also showcases some of the most catchy music of the year! Whether it’s the upbeat and fun opening song “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, the slower-paced and moving “Dreamer,” or the driving rock ballad “Underworld,” there’s something here for every musical taste. Ya Boy Kongming! is genuinely a one-of-a-kind anime that not only offers strong entertainment, but also explores deeper themes in such a way as to leave you thinking well after the final episode has finished. ~ Laura A. Grace & claire

Streaming on HiDIVE.

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Honorable Mention

Our honorable mention anime, perhaps more than even our top ten selections, demonstrate how strong a year it was for the medium. How so? Well, we could have slipped any of a number of these into our top ten without much fuss, don’t you think? And there are a few heralded anime from 2022 that didn’t even make it into our honorable mentions. What a strong year!

Without further ado, in alphabetical order, here are our honorable mention anime of 2022:

Aharen-san was Hakarenai

Birdie Wing

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Drifting Home

Do it Yourself

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss!

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic-

Laid-back Camp Movie

Mob Psycho 100 III

My Dress-up Darling

One Piece Film: RED