#this has been a part of my life since 2002

[banquetwriter]

୨୧ distant love pt: 2 ୨୧

pairing: Rick Grimes ♡︎ fem!Reader

warnings: ୭̥⋆*｡ canon typical violence, Rick is low-key a cheater (not on reader tho), not beta read we die like Carl

summary: ʚ basically a filler chapter from the CDC to the prison post-Woodburyɞ

Words: 2002

An: hey babies I wrote this on my phone again 😔 also i haven’t seen the earlier seasons in a very long time so mb if it’s not exactly accurate 😔😔

Part 1 Part 3

You and Rick had kept your distance most of the morning. Looking at Shane’s black eye. “Dad, are you hungover? Mom said you would be.” Carl asks as Rick sits down at the table. You let yourself stifle a giggle at the kids' antics. Rick being drunk last night would explain his forward-ness.

You followed the group after breakfast as Jenner explained what exactly was happening to everyone. Why would the dead rise?

You watched as the x-ray video’s corpse re-animated. God that was scary. What was scarier was Jenner locking the doors. You covered your mouth as tears streamed down your face. “Oh my god.” you whimpered out.

You were going to die. You of course found yourself turning to Rick. Who was holding his wife and child? Your heart sinks.

Of course, he would be with them. You were a sidepiece. Why would he protect you? Care for you? He made his choice. It was one that you're going to have to be ok with. Even if you weren't going to live very long.

That's when the doors opened and Rick screamed for everyone else to get their stuff. You ran as fast as you could to escape. Avoiding the shards of glass that spilled everywhere Rick threw the explosive at the glass.

Your eyes rest on Lori and Rick as they sit in the front of the camper. You weren't sure how you could have ever found a real relationship with him. You think back to Lori’s words. Trying to push the two of you together. Your heart burned for her.

How low was she that she wanted her husband to sleep with another woman? You suppose she felt guilty for her and Shane being together. This was a different thought, wasn't it? Rick said he loved you. You weren't sure how much of that you believed.

It was you who saw the way Rick was after Otis accidentally shot Carl. It was you who hugged him, feeling his arms search for a sign that his boy was still alive. It was Rick who begged you to stay with him.

You wanted to, you really did. But that would have been inappropriate and unfair to Carl. This could very well be his last night alive. He shouldn't be confused about why you were there.

You see the color leave his face as he donates more and more blood to his son. Trying to comfort his wife but his eyes linger on your figure unfaithfully. Your curves would comfort him. Your soft skin and happy smiles. That's what he fell for.

He wished this wasn't the way it was. He wished he had met you instead of Lori. Marrying the first girl he could. I mean he did love Lori. As the mother of his children, he would always hold a place for her. She just wasn't you, was she?

You on the other hand shoved your feelings down, deeper than the Mariana trench. Trying to help keep the camp outside on Hershel's Farm going. Doing menial tasks like laundry or cooking. Offering to clean any weapons the group needed youto.

Trying to comfort Lori at every turn, silently becoming almost like a best friend to her. Holding her shoulders as if to say you're sorry for screwing her husband.

You used to help go on runs with Glenn and Maggie until you found them shaking up in the convenience store. It was cute to see young love budding, but seeing them naked was not something you were down to see again.

It made you jealous to see them so in love. You wished you and Rick could be that way. But alas, that's not what life has in store for you. Love. What a joke. A nimbly fickle thing.

You kept a good amount of distance between you and Shane. Not daring to go near him. One night you sat around the campfire with lori and carol. It had been a long day of playing catch-up with chores since Lori had been helping Carl rehabilitate.

“Alright girls, I'm off to bed,” Carol says with a tight-lipped smile. You and Lori talked a little bit about Glenn and Maggie.

“Y/n?” she asks looking up at you. Her gaunt and skinny face looks more and more malnourished these days. “Mm?” you ask, looking at her. “I-I know how he looks at you.” her voice barely above a whisper. You lick your lips, shaking your head.

“Lori, stop,” you ask her. Pleading almost. “You can't keep doing this to yourself, he loves you-” You try to keep your voice down but your heart breaks. “Y/n I'm pregnant,” she says.

For a second your world stops. The fires crackles keeping you grounded. You opened your mouth, unable to say anything. The amount of possible words dying in your throat. “I want it to be Rick’s. I need it to be Rick's,” she says, tears spilling down her face.

Your hands slip up to your face covering it. You let out a low breath. This wasn't about you. This was about her. You think over and over again trying to calm down all the raging emotions going through you.

“Does anyone else know?” you ask slowly, she must be feeling a whirlwind of things none of which you were entitled to have an opinion on. “Glenn does, I needed him to go out n get the tests,” she whispers straightening out her shirt, raising her hand up to her mouth and biting her nails.

Lori is absolutely exhausted, and you know more than ever she should be resting. You stay silent noting that neither potential fathers know she is pregnant. “I don't know what I'm going to do, Glenn has been trying to take care of me.” She gives a pitiful smile.

Her face was tear-stained, the streaks illuminated by the fire. “Well you need prenatal care no doubt.” you said scooting closer to her, grabbing her hands. “I think telling everyone will be the best course of action, when…” you said, pulling her into a hug.

“When you're ready,” you mumble against her shoulder. She thanked you with a sad smile standing up. You didn't sleep well that night. Not that you ever did now. You thought about the women in the next tent over probably also not sleeping.

You thought about the baby that was currently draining her of her energy. You thought of Carl. Recovering from a gunshot wound at such a young age, probably confused and scared most of the time.

And of course you thought of the man also sleeping in that tent. The one that seemed to consume your every thought. You thought of him always. It was a shame. You wished you were Lori sometimes. Sleeping in his arms pregnant with a baby.

You physically shake your head to rid yourself of your selfish thoughts. You were scared of Shane, scared of your feelings for Rick, and scared for Lori.

You were scared of the way your heart wanted to leap out of your chest every time Rick tried to talk to you. The way his rough hands would touch the soft skin of your arms. “Rick…” you breathe out trying to shy away from the older man.

The way he would beg you to stay close to him, his hot breath tickling your neck at his closeness. “This isn't the right time Rick.” you would whisper, eyes flicking up to see his teary ones.

Dark almost permanent circles surrounded his eyes. You pull away from his grasp and run out of the Greene’s house. You stood by Daryl's side as you read him shitty books you found on runs trying to provide him an ounce of comfort as he recovers from the bullet wound that Andrea gave him.

And be would try and provide an ounce of that comfort to you as the barn full of walkers is discovered. Taking all of your willpower not to vomit at the smell. Turning away from the group. Allowing yourself a moment, just a moment of selfish comfort.

As Rick’s arms wrap around you. Breathing in his musky scent. The sounds of the guns firing off still ring in your head. “It's ok, you're going to be ok,” Rick mumbles in your ear. His hand clasped gently in the back of your neck.

As soon as the moment is here it's gone as you see Shane’s angry face peering at the both of you from a few feet away. Your face fills with embarrassment, you rip away from his embrace instead choosing to hug Carol who was sobbing over the loss of her daughter.

You spent the next few days in a constant state of dissasostivate numbness. Unable to feel anything other than fear. Seeing Rick and Shane keep a man locked up in the barn for fear of what he could do.

Even though your group was the one keeping him held, handcuffed, and bound. As soon as he goes missing it seems to bring you out of your state as Shane comes running with a broken nose claiming that the prisoner ran away.

You ran into the house with all the women. Fearing for what was next. Trying to hide in case he came back with his group. Seeing all the panic spread through the group as the barn is set on fire. The horde of walkers attacking your slice of peace.

You barely make it out with your lives. Reconnecting with your group on the highway with everyone. Once again seeing Rick’s eyes falling on you as he hugs you with his family. You turn away from him, finding comfort in Daryl's embrace.

You watched as Rick distended into madness and anger after killing Shane. Demanding that whatever he said went. This was not the man you fell in love with. This was not the human your body craved comfort from.

Revealing how his son had to be the one to put his best friend down after he turned into a walker. Which was bizzare you never took him for type to get bit or even scratched.

That's when Rick reveals the delicate information that you all carry the virus. A crucial piece of information that sends the group into a frenzy of anger. You felt very sick. How could he keep that from you? From the group?

It only went downhill from there. Rick and Lori are always fighting as she grows more and more pregnant. The sheriff was unable to hide his anger towards her. Constantly on the run, even once you find and fortify the prison, the Governor and all of his bullshit wreaks havoc on the group.

It's been 6 months since Woodbury fell, you had a big group. Full of amazing people. A decent farm and garden. Life was decent. Judith was a beautiful baby girl.

You sighed setting your pencil down in the crease of your sketchbook. You had picked it up on a run not too long ago, at first mostly making a few sketches and doodles to entertain Carl.

Although lately, you have been trying to work through your feelings through the pages of the book. Unfortunately, most of them were about Rick. You always observed him when he was working in the fields.

You could almost see the heat radiating off of him. His t-shirt is clinging to his sweaty body. To his strong sculpted muscles. Fuck. He was so hot.

It brought you back to those nights in the quarry. His rough hands gripped your soft flesh. Back arching as you slammed into him. Tongues slipping into each other's throats.

You lick your lips slightly admiring your drawing. It was of a man who looked suspiciously like Rick. His tired haunted face and sculpted body were barely covered. “Hey.” a southern voice took you away from your explicit drawing.

You look up to see the man in your drawing staring right back at you.

#rick grimes #rick grimes x original female character #rick grimes x reader #rick grimes x y/n #rick grimes x you #the walking dead #the walking dead rick #distant love

[ginnsbaker]

In Flames I Sleep Soundly (1/2)

Summary: What do you do when you find out that person you trust the most is a liar? Or the Unfaithful AU that I've been wanting to read for a while.

Word Count: 9k+

Warnings: Angst, Smut (18+), Cheating/Adultery, Implied Het Sexual Content

Author’s Note: I was thinking about making a separate tumblr for fics (since I primarily post fanarts), but I’m too scatterbrained two maintain more than one account. I recently saw Unfaithful (2002) again and thought about doing an AU based on that movie. The title of this fic are lyrics from "Wedding Song" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs. No betas. And I won't apologize for how imperfect this monster is. I haven't written in more than a decade, so let's all suck it up.  

AO3 / Part Two / Masterlist

--

Part One

Summer arrives in Westview, New Jersey in a fairly conspicuous manner. Its parks have been repainted with various shades of green, and the oversized trench coats on the streets that its residents are so fond of during the cold months are nowhere to be found.

Despite these observations, Westview remains a sleepy town. At least it is to you, but that's probably because you’ve spent half of your life in Manhattan. You and Wanda moved to New Jersey a few months ago after you were promoted to branch manager. The salary that came with it was enough to pay off your student loans including Wanda's, so it was easy to accept the offer despite the trade-off of having to move to a relatively unknown and rural town.

"It's only temporary," you told Wanda when you broke the news. "My supervisor said that if I can prove myself there, I can come back as a regional manager."

Wanda had assured you that you had her full support. At the time, she was working part-time at a small gallery for up-and-coming artists in the state, and while she needed to start somewhere to realize her dream of becoming an art dealer, she figured it wouldn't derail her career so much if she could learn art trading online.

Everything happened in a blur after that. In two weeks, you were driving to Westview with nothing but two suitcases and your dog, Sparky, on Wanda's lap. You held her hand while she slept throughout the entire trip and you faced the unknown roads that led to your new life.

The house they picked for you and your family exceeded your expectations. Granted, you had to subsidize a percentage of the move-in fee, it was a small price to pay to have so much space. The bathroom alone is larger than the guestroom of your previous two-bedroom apartment in Yorkville. On the first day, Wanda had explored the house with a childlike wonder, while Sparky tried to cover every inch of its ostensibly boundless backyard. That night, with only a blanket laid out on the floor, you made love to Wanda and then some more on the kitchen counter and the bathtub upstairs, inside the master's bedroom.

You've been married to her for five years, but a fresh start gave you two the sexual appetite of newly weds. It didn’t take 48 hours to christen every room in the house.

By now, a routine has been established: you wake up at five in the morning to go out for a run, back at home by six, and then showered and dressed for work before seven. Wanda, on the other hand, would try to get up before you're done with your ceremonies to prepare breakfast. She's not always successful–sometimes waking up long after you've gone to work.

"You want some coffee?" Wanda wakes you out of your stupor. She's still in her nightgown, holding two cups of freshly brewed coffee. Her auburn hair is up in a messy bun and she is, after all these years, a sight to behold.

You look at her and then at your left wrist to check the time on the Rolex she gave you as a wedding gift. You still have a few minutes, but there's an urgent staff meeting that you're a little anxious about.

"And maybe some omelet?" Wanda suggests when you don't answer, already cracking some eggs in a bowl.

"Sorry, babe, got to run." You shake your head apologetically before walking over to her and kissing the back of her head. Wanda merely continues whisking the eggs for a while before commenting, "Until when are you going to have these early meetings?"

"I don't know. Maybe the end of the month?"

"You're the boss. Can't you just call them off? Maybe schedule them during actual office hours?"

You shrug and say nothing, unwilling to engage in an argument so early in the day. Wanda exhales heavily at your lack of reaction, which compels you to reach for her hand and stroke it. Seeing how she’s not pulling away from your touch, you move to hug her from behind.

"I'll try to be home early tonight, okay? I miss you too." You say softly and kiss her cheek.

"I didn't say I miss you." Wanda deadpans, but she's already turning around in your arms for a proper embrace. You kiss her forehead and let her hold you for a few beats. She buries her nose in your neck and inhales deeply. “I told you to stop wearing this perfume. It makes you unbearably enticing.” Wanda admonishes you with a hungry look.

It’s embarrassing how easily your wife can turn you into a bashful teenager with a little flirting.

“Well, maybe you should do something about it.” You playfully taunt her.

“Maybe I will.” Wanda says in a low voice, and she’s close enough for you to notice the total lack of green in her eyes.

As much as you want to rip her silky lingerie and take her right then and there, the fact is you are already going to miss the first few minutes of the meeting–and then maybe a quarter of it if you don’t leave soon.

"I really have to go. But first things first," You grab one of the two cups of joe and Wanda starts giggling when you drink from it in one go. "Best coffee in the world. Maybe you should start a cafe business."

"Idiot." Wanda taps your nose affectionately, before shoving you towards the door.

Later, you arrive home just a few minutes shy of midnight. The house is deathly silent, even your dog could not be bothered greeting you at the door. You go straight to the bedroom, making as little sound as possible, to find Wanda asleep on her side, facing away from you. You get rid of your clothes and climb into bed. You carefully inch towards her and press your front against her back, spooning her. You hear her breath hitch, but before you can start thinking of an apology, you fall fast into a dreamless sleep.

***

It’s two months later and on a lazy Sunday afternoon, when Wanda breaks the news that she’s been offered a temporary position at Westview Institute of Arts and Sciences. You’ve watched your wife gradually grow restless each week, having a difficult time adjusting to life in the suburbs. Wanda interviewing for a job wasn’t as forthcoming as her asking you to move back to the city. Taking the job would mean integrating with the community in a semi-permanent way. So it’s a surprise that Wanda would even consider it.

"Assistant professor?" you ask distractedly, not looking up from the Jonathan Tropper novel on your lap. Wanda’s perched on one of the barstools of the breakfast counter, waiting for her banana bread to be done in the oven. Sparky lays at her feet, also waiting for the banana bread.

"What do you think?" Wanda muses and drums her fingers on the table.

You regard your restless wife for a moment, before closing the book and tapping the spot next to you on the couch. “C’mere.”

Wanda does as she’s told and Sparky follows after her.

"I think it’s a great opportunity and experience to have. But I thought you're getting a lot of projects from Upwork."

You try not to sound too partial to the idea of her working in the university. However, if you’re being totally honest, it would essentially solve the problem of your wife’s mild existential crisis– and your guilt of probably causing it.

"It’s just a side-hustle,” Wanda argues. “Besides, they’re going to need me only three times a week and they offered me a full-time pay.”

“Sounds too perfect to be true.”

Wanda shakes her head. “I don’t think so. It’s not unheard of that there’s a huge demand for educators in small-town institutions.”

“So you’ll take it?”

Wanda nods with a smile and then says, “Only if you’ll drive me in the morning.”

“Of course, baby.” You say almost instantly and give her a quick peck on the lips. It doesn’t even matter that Wanda has her own car since she hates driving with a passion.

"Professor Maximoff." Her potential designation rolls off your tongue coolly. You’ve never really pictured Wanda in academe before, and now you can’t get rid of the image of her in a perfectly tailored suit.

The corners of Wanda’s mouth quirk up in a dreamy smile. "Kinda has a ring to it, huh?"

"A very sexy ring to it, professor."

Wanda giggles as you go ahead and think of ways to sneak into one of her classes some time in the near future.

"I'd tell you I've gotten a job at Baskin' Robbins and you'd say I look hot in their uniform." she points out.

"I bet you're hotter with all your clothes off."

Suddenly, the oven dings and Sparky starts barking at Wanda.

“And you’ve got a one-track mind,” she mutters with an undercurrent of mirth, before getting up to return to her baking. “Ten points from Hufflepuff!”

You burst into a fit of laughter. “Can’t blame me for having a hot wife. Also, I’m a Gryffindor you vexing Slytherin!”

Wanda can be the biggest dork at times, and it only makes you fall for her a little harder in these moments.

She sticks her tongue out at you. “Dream on, Badger Queen.”

***

It’s some kind of Hollywood domestic bliss.

You still wake up at five to go out for a run, but now Wanda’s your running buddy and you’re always trying to catch up with her pace.

“I can’t believe this gives you more energy than coffee.” she said the first time she laced up and she finished her run a minute faster than you. You thought it’s ludicrous that Wanda was a natural athlete on top of her good looks, but you figured it was an organic truth given that her brother played professional soccer for a couple of years before he got into the business side of sports.

Most days, you’d let Wanda clean up first while you cook breakfast. On one occasion that you joined her in the shower, Wanda turned up so late in class some of the students were already preparing to leave.

“That can’t happen again.” Wanda told you.

“Whatever you say, babe.”

You’d been married to her long enough to know that Wanda often broke her own rules. Historically, you’d watch her do so with satisfaction just because it’s usually an unspoken challenge between married people. And maybe because it reminded you that she’s human. Imperfect as much as you were.

“Just be careful, Y/N,” your best friend, Natasha, told you a month into dating Wanda Maximoff. “Mistakes and disappointments are inevitable. Hell, even I will let you down at some point in the future.”

“You have. Many times.” you said jokingly.

“Is that right? Look, all I’m saying is it’s also not fair to Wanda if you put her on such a high pedestal.”

Natasha was right. However, it wasn’t like you could change who you were and how you loved. The night you met Wanda at freshman orientation, you knew she was the one. You loved her through college as her closest friend as much as you did when she began to see you in a new light thereafter.

And even now, as you stare at her sneaking a nap on the drive to her workplace, nothing has changed. It’s a cherished moment, no matter how mundane.

Your hopeless crush on Wanda never really went away.

You feel very lucky that she feels the same way.

***

You’re about ten feet from the door of your house when you hear scratches from behind it, followed by Sparky’s incessant barking. Quickly, you fish out your keys from your backpack and open the door.

Sparky jumps at you as soon as the door swings open, and then starts licking at your pants.

“What’s up?” you say, scratching behind his ears until he calms down.

You look around the empty living room and notice for the first time that Wanda’s not home.

You send a text to her asking where she is. Sparky is making whiny noises, while pushing his empty bowl towards you with his tiny paw.

“Sorry, bud. Let’s get you your dinner.” You say, picking up the bowl and bringing it to where you store his food. You open the cupboard to find a mostly empty bag of Merrick. Sparky patiently waits for you, wagging his tail. Wanda was supposed to get some groceries this afternoon.

You check your phone and find no new messages.

“Looks like you’re coming with me for a quick run to the grocery store.” You tell Sparky with a sigh.

Sparky tilts his head at you in confusion. You send another text to Wanda telling her you went out and ask if she’s already eaten, before heading out to your car once again.  

You don’t hear back from Wanda long after you’ve had dinner by yourself and it’s almost midnight. Your anxiety levels are at an all-time high, and you’re about to call the cops when you hear her car approaching the garage.

You’re waiting by the door, so at the very second she slips inside the house, you hoist her into a desperate embrace like a mad woman.

“Where were you?” You exclaim as you pull away and clasp her shoulder blades hard. “I’ve been worried sick and you went dark on me.”

Wanda winces at you, gently prying your fingers from her. “My phone died and I forgot to bring my charger. I was writing the final exam that I have to turn in by tomorrow, and got carried away. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t do that again. You couldn’t have borrowed someone’s cell or call from the school?”

“Like I said, I was working,” Wanda rolls her eyes, just a tad snidely. “It’s Westview. What’s the worst that could happen to me? Please let it go, I’m so fucking exhausted.”

It’s not that you’ve never heard your wife curse before, but you can’t help but flinch given the context at which she’s said it.

“Fine,” You clench your jaw, stepping out of her way. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.”

“Sure.” Wanda says stoically.

You don't talk about it in the morning. Or at all.

***

The forecast is you’re not going to hit this quarter’s targets. You’ll be two to three percent short, and everyone is telling you there’s not enough time to pull off a new campaign and drum up enough business to meet the numbers.

Your stubborn nature beseeches you to try anyway. It is, of course, at the cost of being stuck in front of your laptop in the dead of night.

Wanda approaches you to see if you need anything before she goes to bed without you. You smile at the sweet gesture but shake your head no.

“I’m good,” you say.

“Are you sure? I’ve got us fresh tea bags.”

“Positive.”

“Okay, good night.” she offers you a faint smile and starts to leave the room.

“Wands?” you utter abruptly.

She pauses and leans against the door frame. “Yeah?”

“Do you love me?”

“Of course, I love you,” Wanda drags her feet back to you. “What a silly question.”

“I guess I’m just feeling silly. We’ve been working hard, and when we’re together,” You let out a mirthless laugh. “We’re still working.”

Wanda nods solemnly but doesn’t speak. You can’t see her eyes with just a lamp lit on your desk and you're oddly grateful for that.

“I just miss you.”

“Me too.”

“Okay, uhm,” you fidget, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Good night.”

“Good night.”

***

You wake up to wet kisses all over your face, only to be sorely disappointed to find out it's just Sparky, while Wanda looks at you softly as she waits for you to shake off the residues of sleep.

“Baby, I need a favor.” Wanda says.

"Good morning to you too." You reply good-naturedly.

Wanda ducks her head sheepishly. "Sorry, I've been waiting for you to wake up. I've said ‘good morning’ in my head, like, a hundred times." she tells you.

You silently brush a lock of hair from her face, before scooting closer to her and pressing a small kiss on her forehead.

"How can I be of service, m'lady?" you ask.

Wanda gets to it immediately. “There’s this painting I need from where I used to work. I need to bring it tomorrow, but I can’t take the day off. There’s no substitute because, well, I’m supposedly the substitute.”

“Sure, I’ll drop by there after work.”

Wanda makes a bashful noise of disapproval. “They’re only open until three-thirty.”

It’s a bad time to be missing work these days, but Wanda rarely asks for your help with anything. She’d sooner ask a stranger than her partner. There's one ex-boyfriend of hers you actually got to talk to in the past long before you and Wanda happened. The conversation was short, with mostly him talking–or rather ranting about how Wanda never made him feel needed. He went as far as claiming that she emasculated him in many ways. You never agreed with his insinuations of it being Wanda's flaw, and that it contributed to the downfall of their relationship. You like that Wanda is not a damsel in distress and that she carries herself with an air of confidence that only a truly independent woman can exude.

Although it does feel good to be needed sometimes.

“I’ll take care of it.” You assure her.

“Thank you,” Wanda says, and then proceeds to give you a tight but fleeting hug. "Alright, I'm gonna go get ready."  

You plop back on the bed with a huff. You haven't gone out on a proper date with Wanda for months, and you don't know how much longer you can survive this routine of late nights and rush hours. Maybe a vacation isn't too improbable by the end of August. Wanda's always wanted to visit Maui and, but you've kept deferring it until next year. A year has turned into two, three, and you don't realize it until just now that she's stopped mentioning it to you.

You make a mental note to search for discount flights later. Or maybe you can start with something more feasible like, say, lunch?

"Wands?"

The noise of the running shower drowns out your call, so you lumber from the bed and towards the bathroom.

Your mouth goes dry at the view of Wanda's soaked body, nostrils flaring at her stupid rule of no sex before work.

Wanda turns around and your eyes drop lower.

"Jesus, Y/N!" she gasps, then lets out a breathy laugh.

"Sorry," you lie, smirking at her nakedness. "Should we go out for lunch later?"

"I'd love to," Wanda says. "But I've got a lunch meeting with the dean."

"I see." you say and linger by the door. The crestfallen look on your face doesn't go unnoticed by your wife.

"We can have dinner," Wanda proposes tentatively. "Maybe drive to the city for some steaks and a dive bar after?"

Your eyes light up at her suggestion, heart brimming with repose.

"I'll pick you up at seven," you say. "It's a date."

Wanda throws a wink in your direction before turning back around to lather herself with your favorite soap.

-

Finding a parking space in Soho is almost next to impossible. You've only been living out of Manhattan for a couple of months, but it already feels like the population has doubled since. You're thinking about just leaving the car somewhere near the island and using the subway, when a woman enters your view and you step on the break as fast as you could. There's a loud screeching sound to be heard before the woman is rushing to your door with every intent to pulverize you on the spot.

As soon as you roll your window half-way through, a string of profanities welcome your ears like a gunshot. What you don't count on is hearing them from a spectacularly familiar voice.

"You almost got me killed you fucking asshole –"

You tilt your head towards your assailant. There's no mistaking that pair of green eyes.

“Yelena?"

Natasha's younger sister stares at you wide-eyed before her face breaks into the brightest smile.

"Y/N?"

"I almost didn't recognize you. I'm glad you still remember my name." you say. The last time you saw each other was right before Yelena went to an English university that you’ve forgotten the name of(it rhymes with ‘weed’) and you were a freshman in college. Yelena was a brunette then; she used to wear thick-rimmed glasses and her hair was always up in a low ponytail. The Yelena in front of you has blonde hair, a nose-piercing, and a cherry blossom tattoo on her chest that trails down and disappears into the collar of her blouse.

"How could I forget the only friend of my sister who was ever nice to me?" she quips with a toothy grin.

You blush at the fond memory of tutoring Yelena and treating her often to street shawarma.

"That's not true. Bruce was friendly with you as well."

"That's because he was dating my sister and wanted to get on my good side. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Looking for somewhere to park. Do you happen to know any in the area?"

"I've got one if you want. It's just down the street, second corner to your right."

"You're renting a parking space in Manhattan? I'm absolutely impressed."

“Oh, no!” she exclaims. Then adds, "It's my roommate, Kate's. She's loaded."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

Yelena nods and you thank her as she lets herself in your car.

The parking turns out to be too narrow, and so Yelena has to get out before you slot your car in the spot securely. Afterwards, she asks you where you’re off to, and you tell her that you’re picking up a painting for your wife. You ask her to come with you when she expresses an interest in the gallery.

You reacquaint yourselves with each other on the long walk to Wanda’s previous workplace. The conversation is, for lack of a better term, enjoyable. Yelena has always been an easy person to talk to–a remarkable contrast to Wanda who is often a challenge.

“When did you come home?” you ask suddenly after a while of talking about your work and recent settlement at Westview.

“Two years ago.”

You’re taken aback by her answer, feeling a bit hurt as you process the new information. Yelena’s been here all this time. Why didn’t she try to contact you?

“My cell didn’t ring either, you know.” Yelena tells you as if she can read your mind.

“Nat didn’t mention anything. I assumed you were still in London.”

“Leeds. The British are right about us not knowing any other city in the UK.” Yelena chuckles. “I told Nat to keep her mouth shut about my affairs.”

Before you could reply, Wanda’s ex-colleague, Agatha, comes out with the painting in hand. Yelena saunters off to observe the artworks on display.

“Thank you, Ms. Harkness.” you say, accepting the piece that was about the size of Mona Lisa.

“Welcome, dear. Whoever bought this must be made with money.”

The painting is wrapped in manila paper and it makes you curious who it is for. It must be someone who held a high position at Wanda’s university.

You excuse yourself with a polite nod, unaware of the look of suspicion she directs at Yelena, as your companion trails behind you on the way outside.

“Someone’s got a crush on you.” Yelena bumps your shoulder with hers.

“Wanda seems to think so too. Though I bet she’s just a nice old lady.”

Yelena laughs and slaps your arm this time. “Dude, she’s not old, old !”

“Someone’s got a crush,” you tease her back. Then, as if on cue, a reckless motorist speeds through a puddle, causing a wave of wastewater to splash all over your shirt.

“Shit,” you hiss, frowning at the ruined fabric of your white button-down. Yelena takes out her handkerchief and proceeds to wipe the specks of grease from your neck and face.

“Come on, we have a washer in the apartment.”

-

"Sorry I couldn't come to your wedding."

The hot coffee you just sipped refuses to come down your throat.

Yelena snickers at the dumb look on your face and says, "I'm just messing with you."

Your veins pulse in your temple as you force yourself to swallow. Yelena’s having a field day with you, poking fun at you on every opportunity.

"I'm so sorry for not extending an invite. It happened pretty quick. It was just your sister and Clint, and then Wanda's brother, Pietro. Our reception was at a pub in Brooklyn, and just getting absolutely shitfaced." you rush out, toying with the sleeves of Yelena’s sweater you borrowed. It’s cozy despite the hot weather. And undeniably smells like her.

"I know, Nat told me. Hey, I'm not offended. Besides, getting a wedding invitation from you would've been weird because,” Yelena pauses, and then sadly says, “We haven't connected in a long time."

"Yeah," you agree with a rueful smile. You haven't spoken to or thought about Yelena since you met Wanda.

“What’s she like?”

“Wanda? She’s…” It dawns on you that it’s not easy to translate your regular daydreams of her into a description you’d share with someone else.

“Exquisite,” you say, after going over various adjectives in your head. “And driven and smart. A glass half-empty to my glass half-full.”  

“I’m happy for you,” Yelena mutters over her glass of Merlot.

“And Kate? How did you meet her?”

“We’re just friends.”

“Who are living together,” you point out.

“Best friends then.” Yelena says, unperturbed.

You smirk. “If you say so.”

“I’ve dated around, but I never really found someone who could replace–” Yelena bites her lower lip to stop herself.

Except, she didn’t have to because you know.

You’re both quiet for a while, before you break the silence with, “Anyway, thanks for the parking and saving my shirt.”

"You did take my virginity. That's something I can never repay you for."

You’re too shocked to react–she is too, at her brazenness–that for a while you just stare at her with your mouth agape.

Placing the coffee mug on the table, you get up on shaky feet.

“Sorry, that was a bad joke. I–”

“You know what, I should go."

"Oh," Yelena gets on her feet as well. "But your shirt?” she asks weakly.  

"I'll just continue drying it at home. And then," you look down at the sweater you borrowed from her. "I'll mail this to you."

"Don't worry about that, I haven't worn that in ages."

"I promise to return it."

"Okay."

"Alright, so," Not quite knowing how to say good-bye, you jerk your thumb towards the door. "I'm gonna head out now."  

Yelena closes the distance to give you a hug, which she keeps short when you go rigid at the proximity of her body and yours.

"Bye, Y/N."

***

Wanda cancels dinner at the last minute. You’re surprisingly amenable and just text her when she’ll be home. You decide to cook for Wanda and try to convince yourself it’s not because you just need to keep busy and not think about what happened earlier with Yelena.

***

It’s Wanda’s day-off and she’s overslept. You watch your wife sleep soundly on her stomach, without a care in the world. Like this, the years fall away from her face and she looks like the girl you strongly want to protect for the rest of your days. Your eyes scan the room, until they fall onto the chair beside the bed. Hanging over it is a newly-bought lingerie with its tags still attached to it.

“Can you stop being a morning person just for today?”

You avert your gaze from the piece of clothing upon hearing Wanda’s voice still thick with sleep.

“Hi,” you greet your wife, twisting your wedding ring on your finger.

“Hi.” Wanda greets back, peeking at you from the comforter.

“I made breakfast, who’d you like to join me?”

“Sure, just give me a minute.”

You think about telling her you’ll wait until she’s ready and you can go together, but there’s an air of unfamiliarity and awkwardness hanging over your head–even worse is you don’t know where these feelings are coming from.

You don’t mean to count but it takes Wanda roughly twenty minutes to meet you at the breakfast table. It’s easy to force down your irritation when she looks immaculate and very put together.

Together, you eat in silence. You try to make conversation but in the end, Wanda’s responses are clipped and unfocused, so you just concentrate on finishing your oatmeal.

"You and I had a pretty crazy schedule recently, so I thought I'd take the day off and do something together." you say after waiting for Wanda to finish her meal.

"That's great, baby," Wanda smiles at you, before getting up to take the dishes to the sink.

Sneaking up behind her, you gently place your hands on the curve of her waist, and your lips just beside her left ear. For a while, you massage the flesh beneath your palms, feeling firm muscles instead of softness you're used to. Wanda's body has transformed right under your nose, and while you appreciate her more toned figure, you hope she's not being too restrictive with her diet.

"Leave them, baby. I'll do the dishes later..." You press an open-mouthed kiss to the skin just beneath her lobe. "...after I do you."

She squirms in your embrace, and you interpret it as a sign that she's getting turned on from your advances.

"Y/N–" Wanda doesn't get to finish her sentence as you twist her around and gently capture her lips. While she kisses you back with her hand coming up to wrap around your neck, she doesn't make a move to deepen it, seemingly satisfied with lazy pecks that end sooner than you'd like.

"Can I take you back to bed?" You inhale her scent soundly as you nose the length of her stupidly perfect jawline.

"I actually have to uhm–the laundry won't take care of itself." Wanda reasons, but doesn't really pull away from your hold. You take this opportunity to slide your hands up her back, beneath her shirt, and you can feel her goosebumps from your eager ministrations. Only now, being this close to her, have you realized how much you missed your wife.

Ignoring her excuses to thwart your affections, your fingers find the hook of her bra with ease. You snap it free and hastily move to grab both of her breasts, squeezing them tightly. "God, the things they do to me." You groan. She gasps at that, and by now, she should be pushing her chest towards you for more, but she remains slack as ever, like an obedient ragdoll under your whims.

Something's not right, you thought to yourself. You pull back just enough to check, and what you find has you swiftly stepping back to give her some space.

The expression alone on your wife's face could send you to jail.

"Shit, are you alright?" You rasp, overwhelmed with self-disgust at the thought of causing Wanda the slightest discomfort. Were you just about to take advantage of your wife without her consent?

Wanda looks at you with regret that you couldn't quite understand.

"D-Did I hurt you?" You dread the possible answer, tears pooling at the corners of your eyes.

Wanda quickly closes the distance between the two of you and envelops you into a hug.

"Oh, baby, no you didn't. I'm so sorry I made you think that." She coos, rubbing your back in soothing circles. You sigh against her shoulder, carefully keeping your hold on her hips loose.

"I just missed you so bad these past few weeks, and I thought you wanted to… it's okay if you don’t. I'm sorry."

It breaks Wanda's heart that you're taking the blame for this. She feels annoyed and guilty at the same time, at how apologetic and sensitive you are to her feelings, as if they matter more than yours do.

"It's not your fault. There's just so much to do and I can't get in the mood until I tick off everything on my to-do list."

"I know. I’m sorry."

"Stop apologizing," Wanda chastises and it comes out harsher than she intended. "You're perfect. I'm sorry. I miss you too. So bad."

"I love you." You tell her, burying your face into her hair to seek more of the lavender scent of her shampoo. It used to frighten you how much the little details about Wanda affects you in big ways. But that fear has turned into comfort, and you've grown to trust her enough to be happily vulnerable around her.

It doesn't worry you at all when she says she loves you back after a long, mysterious pause.

***

Wanda starts driving herself to work and attributes it to her inconsistent hours at the university for the rest of the term. Sparky’s in the dog daycare now more frequently than he is at home.

***

Wanda has gone up to take a shower before bedtime.

You just finished scrubbing the kitchen clean after having dinner together, and you're buzzing with the prospect of getting laid tonight. Your tactic to get your wife to sleep with you is to offer her a massage after witnessing firsthand how hard she's been working lately. In a way, you also want to show your appreciation for everything she still continues to do in the household. And although she accidentally burned the lasagna, she outdone herself with the roasted chicken.

It still amazes you to this day that you’re married to Wanda Maximoff.

Making as little sound as possible, you climb the stairs and towards the bathroom. You can hear the sound of water hitting the floor, and you can't help but imagine Wanda's naked body, lathered in soap, her brunette hair sticking to her clavicle. Your mouth waters at the prospect of taking her, pressing her against the wall and reminding her what you've both been missing for weeks. And just like that, your earlier tactic is out the window.

With practiced ease, you wrap your hand around the doorknob and twist it as gently as you can.

But something unexpected happens.

Wanda's locked the door. "That's odd." You mumble to yourself.

You decide to knock instead. "Baby?" You call out.

No reply comes for several seconds, and as you were going to leave, thinking she didn't hear you, Wanda's breathless response echoes through, "I'll just be a minute! Did you need something?"

"Hey! Uh, no. I was just going to–" You suddenly feel like an idiot wanting to sneak in for some surprise sex. "Never mind. You locked the door?"

"Oh, did I?"

"Yeah! It's fine, I'll just use the toilet downstairs."

She doesn't say anything else to that and you awkwardly turn on your heel to actually use the toilet downstairs.

***

You google ‘ how busy are part-time assistant professors’ on the second straight-week Wanda’s been going home later than The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon.

***

Your best friend finally comes around and visits you in Westview. Although you wish it weren't on pitiful circumstances that warranted her special skills of exposing people and their secrets. Even to this second, you're still unsure if you really want her help. You can't even be sure of your own sanity. The only thing you know is that you feel more like yourself now that Natasha's here with you. You've made new friends in your new neighborhood and at work, been invited to weekend barbeques and the local cycling community. But the sense of being alone has never been this strong as when you were living in the city, barely keeping any sort of acquaintanceship and let alone a meaningful friendship.

“You know I don’t do this anymore.” Natasha claims with a huff. "And typically, consultation alone will cost you a grand."

“And I never thought I’d ever ask you to do this.” You shake your head apologetically as you help her deposit her luggage in the trunk of your old Mercedes Coupe.

“I still think you’re just overreacting.” Natasha says as she settles in the passenger seat. It's what you want to hear, but instead of pacifying you, they urge you more to dig for the truth of it all.

"Weren't you always telling me in college that Wanda's too boy-crazy to really be with me?"

Natasha rolls her eyes. "Yup. But then she married you, and I lost ten bucks to a wager with Clint."

"You wagered on the most important event of my life?" It's the first time you're hearing that two of your closest friends gambled on your critical life choices. You're not exactly surprised per se, but it makes you curious about what made them choose which side of the coin.

"Well, no," she answers nonchalantly. "We wagered on almost everything. Like who would you lose your virginity to: Carol or Maria. Two beautiful women who had been throwing themselves at you for a whole semester."

"Who won that bet then?"

"Nobody. Remember when we bought you drinks after you finally slept with Wanda? That's where all the stakes went. We both lost."

"So after my marriage, what else did you put your money on?"

Natasha smiles. "None. That was the last of it. It's not right to give odds beyond a happy ever-after."

If she notices your deathly grip on the steering wheel, she doesn't comment on it.

***

Wanda's serving you the cold-shoulder for not giving her a heads-up about Natasha. You try to ask her why it's such a big deal, and she begins ranting about dinner portions and the “chaos” in the living room: some skewed pillows and a bundle of her students' reaction papers on the center table. Natasha is outside, waiting, so you try to help Wanda straighten the room but she merely dismisses you and asks you to drive for take-out.

"If it's too much trouble for you, we'll just get dinner somewhere." you say.

Wanda narrows her eyes at you murderously, as if you've just made things much worse.

"Fine," Wanda says with finality as she walks up the stairs. "Give my regards to Nat."

And then she's gone, but not before slamming the door of the guest bedroom shut.

You're absolutely fuming when you go back to the car and Natasha peers at you questioningly from the passenger’s seat.

"You in the mood for pizza?" you ask instead of explaining why you can’t still invite her in.

Natasha scrunches her nose in disgust. "Pizza in New Jersey? No, thanks. How about Chinese?"

"Sure." you nod in agreement, having already lost your appetite anyway. You toss the car keys at her. "You drive."

-

You're laying on your back, staring at the ceiling. Wanda hasn't uttered a single word to you ever since you got home from dinner with Natasha.

"She used to spend the night every week at our apartment." you whisper in the darkness.

"What?" Wanda mumbles and shifts onto her back as well with an arm draped over her eyes.

"Natasha," You clarify. "So it didn't cross my mind to inform you that she's visiting. It's just how it's always been."

Beside you, Wanda is mute as a statue. She does this sometimes–tune you out. Wanda claims it's her way of circumventing her anger and saying something she might regret.

For all you know, she could be telling the truth. But to you, it just feels like you're being punished.  

"Wands?" you try. She rolls to her side with her back to you.

You're in hell every time you fight with Wanda. Returning to normal is not an option unless you fix it. You wonder if it's the same for her, or if it's something as trivial as running out of toilet paper or an expired carton of milk left in the fridge.

"Baby?" you try again. It seems like it's all you ever do these days. "Please?"

You hear Wanda release a ragged sigh.

"We're fine, Y/N. Let's just go to sleep."

You nod to yourself and finally let go of the tears you've been holding back. Subsequently, Wanda's cold hand reaches for yours and locks your fingers together. It makes you cry harder, but you can't let her know.

***

Natasha is still radio silent a week after you’ve asked her to spy on your wife.

It's not like her to be slow with the results. You take the lack of news as good news.

***

You wake up in the middle of the night to find Wanda's side of the bed empty.

"Wanda?"

"Hey, baby."

You rub the sleepiness off your eyes at the sight of Wanda’s puffy eyes.

“Are you crying?"

Wanda chuckles, shaking her head. "Sorry, I was watching this movie. You know how I get."

You grin at that. "My big crybaby." You sit beside her on the couch and she snuggles to you.

For a while you stay that way, your fingers playing with her hair, and Wanda, palming your cheek affectionately. It brings you back to years before, when she was merely a close friend who would lay her head on your shoulder while she cried about some guy who didn’t deserve her. Like this, Wanda seems so small and vulnerable. You’ve come to realize a long time ago that whatever she’s done, or is to do, you will always feel the need to protect her at all cost. That was the last strip of armor you had given up when you decided to love her until the end.

Then all of a sudden, you see a flash of brown and you end up on your back as Wanda straddles your hips, her eyes darker than you've ever seen them.

"Take off your shorts." She commands in a rush, her own hips already starting a rhythm. You do as she says, but you only manage to move down your shorts and underwear past your ass, when you feel a finger swipe at your wet slit.

"Fuck. Patience, baby." you moan, feeling yourself get slicker.

"Don't have any," Wanda rasps and she sucks the very same finger into her mouth before taking over your undergarments and sliding them all the way down to your ankles. You've barely kicked them off before she spreads your legs and doesn't waste any time tracing your intimacy with her tongue. Her patience comes back eventually, but you're about to lose yours when she doesn't do anything else other than softly brush the tip of her tongue from your tight hole to the underside of your clit. She does this over and over and over, until your legs begin to tremble from being spread out like an eagle for what seems like an eternity.

You clench your core and try to come just from what she's doing, but it's not enough.

"Please, I need more." You manage a whisper although you're unsure if Wanda heard you.

"I've missed you so much, Y/N." You feel her say against your pussy. "I've missed making you feel good. Missed feeling this way with you..."

What way? You want to ask, but your brain is too muddled with lust to care.

You could only grunt in reply, before Wanda is pulling away in order to arrange your position on the sofa. You've almost forgotten how physically strong she is, and it turns you on so much, you nearly peak. Wanda grabs both of your ankles and pushes them back, until they're on either side of your head, near your ears. Heat spreads across your face and down to your neck for being exposed like this. Wanda takes a moment to appreciate the mess she's made between your legs, her teeth digging at her lower lip. You can't bring yourself to watch her watch you, and you stare at the same spot before you feel her lift your chin to kiss you in the most delicate way.

"I love you." She murmurs against your lips. Every fiber of your being is ablaze as you take in the smallest details of this moment: your taste that you two shared in a kiss, the mingling scent of your arousal and hers, the endearing sweat on Wanda's brow that's making her more desirable than any lingerie could ever. You'd never admit it to Wanda, but sex was something you only learned to want and need when you fell in love with her.

You smile up at her. "I love you. More than you could ever know."

Her face crumples in an aching manner, but before you can register what that means, Wanda has crawled back to the source of your pleasure and takes your clit in between her lips. She starts sucking at it gently, while her hands work their way to your buttocks and then spread your ass cheeks. In this way, both of your holes are exposed to the air, sending a chill down your spine and threatening to make you come any time soon.

A finger experimentally prods at your other entrance, making you whimper as your slick continues to brim in your cunt hole.

"Wands, gonna cum," you moan as you hold onto the edge of the sofa for dear life. Wanda ignores your warning and continues rubbing at your crimp hole, while her tongue quickens its laps against your clit. It doesn't take a few more seconds before you're bursting, and Wanda plunges her tongue into your pussy at precisely the second you start to come so you don't clench around nothing.

Soon enough, the tremors subside and Wanda wipes her mouth before she gives you a searing kiss.

You're still catching your breath when Wanda lays her head on your chest so innocently, as if she hasn't just given you the best orgasm of your life. You wait a few more seconds for your heart rate to go back to normal, and once they do, it’s only then that you notice that Wanda's still in her pajamas, fully clothed.

That needs to be rectified. Immediately.

Without a word, you get up with Wanda still on top of you. You make her wrap her arms tighter around your shoulders as you bring yourself into a standing position while she clings to you like a koala. Wanda laughs at your attempt to hold her up steadily, simultaneously impressed that you actually can.

"I've been going to the gym whenever my lovely wife's stuck at professoring ." You snicker at your own terrible wordplay, as you plant your feet firmly on the floor.

You miss the shadow of guilt that passes over her fleetingly. "I can see that," she says, biting her lip as she feels your straining biceps. You grin up at her, before carrying her upstairs as steadily as you can while she distracts you with kittenish nibs at your earlobe.

Once in the bedroom, you lay Wanda gently on the bed, your movements slow and delicate as if one wrong move could ruin everything. You start to undo the buttons of her silky top, holding her gaze with a look of adoration typically reserved to deities. It's only fitting because Wanda Maximoff is your religion.

"Wait, can you–" she glances at the night table to your right, and you understand right away what she wants. You quickly retrieve the flesh-colored strap-on at the bottom most drawer. And as you start putting on the harness, Wanda leans forward to capture a dusky nipple, effectively sidetracking you from the task at hand.

"Baby, just a sec..." You chuckle at her apparent neediness. Between the two of you, it's Wanda that's been more in-touch and expressive with her carnal needs. More exciting. More daring. More adventurous. She's always been more in everything, and you sometimes wonder if she's weary of leading the wallflower to the dancefloor all these years.

"Hurry." Wanda whines, her teeth nipping hard enough to play the line between pain and pleasure.

As soon as the harness is secured around your hips, you push Wanda back onto the mattress. You hook one of her creamy thighs over your shoulder, holding it firmly while your other hand aligns the tip of the toy to her slit. Pressing a languid kiss to her knee, you start moving your hips to brush your cock along the length of her drenched sex. Wanda moans lowly and unabashedly, and you feel yourself getting wet again.

"Fuck, baby, inside..." Wanda mewls, her hands traveling downwards to massage her own clit. You grunt in protest and seize her hand, interlacing your fingers together to prevent her from touching herself. Increasing the rhythm of your hips but still not entering her, you give her a warning, “ I make you cum.” It’s not like you to engage in any sort of powerplay in the bedroom, and yet you couldn’t help but let out some of the resentment that has built over the last few weeks through the sex you’re having with her now.

Besides, Wanda seems to love it. You look down just in time to see her wetness trickle down to the sheets. You groan loudly from the visual and roughly position her to lie sideways. You keep the thigh over your shoulder secured, while you straddle the other one. Moisture begins to form at the back of your neck, muscles straining to hold this position. Wanda’s face reddens as you stare at her weeping cunt, before her eyes roll to the back of her head as you unceremoniously enter her in one, powerful thrust.

“Fuck!” Wanda cries through gritted teeth, her French-manicured nails digging painfully between your knuckles. Unlacing your bruised fingers from her, you then wrap them around her throat. You’ve never done anything like this in bed before, and you watch in twisted satisfaction as Wanda’s lust-filled eyes widen in shock and slight panic. The way you're grinding into her is viciously savage, callously chasing your own high. Wanda tips her head back as far as she could, her chin pointing to the heavens as she experiences an other-worldly kind of pleasure.  Your thighs grow slicker from your shared arousal, the stench from it filling your nostrils. Her hips try to match your tempo and an animalistic sound rips from your throat as your movements become more and more frantic.

"Shit, baby, I think I'm gonna–"

"No." You lightly squeeze around her neck.

"Please," Wanda sobs in frustration, staving off her impending release. You pay no heed to her request as you slow down your motion to keep her on the edge.

"Say it again." You demand.

"W-what?"

"Say you love me."

"L-love you..." The length of your spine curves as you bend forwards, pushing Wanda's thigh back in the process and opening her up even further.

Wanda whimpers at the new angle you're fucking her with wild abandon. "Jesus, Y/N. I can't-"

"One more time. Say it." You plead against her mouth, increasing the speed of your thrusts again, but this time you’re determined to finish her off.

With a sharp cry, Wanda clenches around your cock and comes, screaming those three fated words that are simultaneously your salvation and your undoing. You try to prolong her orgasm, alternately pausing and then jogging your hips, studiously watching her facial reactions and loving the subtle twitch of muscle in her jaw. A couple of tears run down her cheeks, and you lick them gently from her face. Letting go of her delicate neck, you run a free hand across her back, gathering beads of sweat along the way. Without pulling out of her, you drop her thigh on your shoulder with great care, before pressing your lower body down so that your pelvis is snug against hers. Wanda grabs your face with both hands and pulls you down for a searing kiss.

You release her lower lip with a wet pop and then like an eager puppy, starts peppering her face with featherlight kisses, making Wanda laugh and squirm in your arms. "You're cute," You tell her. "And so damn hot. How is that possible?"

Wanda blushes, overwhelmed by the ferocity in your words and in your eyes. She starts jogging her hips as your kisses become more insistent, but then an idea hits you. Embarrassingly, you've never done this with Wanda before, but this time feels as good as any to finally try it. Wanda shivers as you unsheathe your cock from her pussy, leaving a thread of wetness across her inner thighs. Afterwards, you remove the harness and place the drenched toy somewhere on the floor. Wanda pulls you back on top of her, a sleepy and satisfied grin on her face. She's prepared to call it a night when she feels your hand wandering back to the still feverish spot between her legs.

"What are you doing?" She asks coyly.

Instead of replying, you merely continue to trail south until your fingers find her slippery nub. Wanda gasps, back arching and eager for more. "Lie on your stomach and stick your ass up in the air for me." You whisper in her ear, and she obeys without a second thought. Abandoning her clit for a second, you crawl towards the foot of the bed, until your nose is a trifling inch from your wife's firm buttocks.

"Are you ready?" You husk, planting your chin at the base of her spine.

Wanda is almost convulsing in anticipation, and barely manages a nod. Heart beating wildly in your chest, you spread Wanda's cheeks with your thumb to reveal her puckered entrance. When Wanda finally understands what you’re about to do, her head whips over to look at you, but she doesn’t quite meet your eyes.

“Y/N?” Her voice is muffled by the pillow, small and unsure. You massage the back of her thighs to calm her down.

“I want to if you do.” You tell her sincerely. Wanda appreciates your touches staying in safe zones, making her feel safe and secured.

“It’s just… it’s been hours ago since I showered, it's dirty and I don't want to gross you out-”

“That’ll never happen,” You promise. “Whenever you were snotty from crying over your exes, all I could think about then was kissing you. I'd never not want you, Wanda.”

“Okay.” Wanda murmurs softly, shifting back closer to you. “I’m ready.”

“Good girl.”

You place a pillow beneath her stomach so she can comfortably prop herself up. Wanda’s breathing picks up when you part her cheeks again. This time, there’s no hesitation or wasted second as you lick a stripe from the entrance of her cunt to the rim of her backdoor.

“Да, да, детка!” Wanda yelps in her native language, impossibly turning you on even more. You could count on one hand the few occasions you’d been able to reduce her to a Sokovian mess, making her feel so good she forgets her English. Wanda's flavor there is different, more pungent and oh-so delectable.

"детка, I need-"

Wanda doesn't get to finish her sentence. Knowing exactly what she needs, you plunge your middle and ring fingers inside her wet heat. You feel her anus contract against your tongue, and you take it as a cue to enter her with it. Wanda thrashes violently on the bed and tries to move away from the intense pleasure that's bordering on pain. Eventually, you find the perfect cadence of plunging your tongue into her tight crevice every time you withdraw your finger from her pussy and vice-versa. Wanda, on the other hand, finds herself wantonly humping the pillow, practically grazing her tumescent nub.

All of it lasts a few more seconds before you feel Wanda's imminent little death. You stop moving your fingers to allow her to take over her own release, until finally, Wanda collapses on her stomach. You lick your fingers clean before wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. You pull the blankets up to cover both of your aching bodies, before settling beside your wife. Wanda automatically lays her head on your breast and throws an arm over your stomach. You kiss her sweaty forehead, and right before you are about to close your eyes, something wet hits your flushed skin.

"Wanda, hey," You search her face, your eyebrows creasing in worry. "Are you alright?"

She smiles through her tears, nodding. “I am now.”

Your own eyes glisten, a wave of relief passing over you. Right now, with the way Wanda's looking at you, it's like you're finally waking up from a long, terrible dream.

***

When Natasha finally calls, you’ve practically forgotten about hiring her to investigate Wanda.

You’ve had a perfect week with your wife. Things weren’t just back to normal, they were even better not only in the sexual aspect of things (though insatiable doesn’t even begin to describe Wanda nowadays), but you’ve been talking and doing things together more than ever.

“Hey, Y/N,” Natasha’s rough voice comes through.

“New phone, who’s this?” You try to joke.

“Hilarious, Y/N,” you hear her try to lighten up her tone, but for someone who used to work for the secret service, she’s terrible at hiding her emotions from you. “Listen, I’ve been meaning to call you since early this week. I just didn’t have the time…”

You’ve known Natasha longer than anyone in your life who’s not your parents. Wanda’s the love of your life, but Natasha’s your person. You understand each other beyond words and actions.

“Nat, what’s going on?” you ask.

“I saw them, Y/N. T-Two days after you asked me to… they went for a movie at a worn-down theater 3 miles from the university. I waited for them to leave and when they did–” Natasha hesitates to tell you how she’s seen them together. “I can’t tell if there’s–if she’s… I can just show you the photos.”

You don’t say anything for almost a minute, and Natasha waits for you quietly.

And then, “Is that all?”

Natasha draws in a long breath. “No.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose, feeling a headache coming. And then, like a man on trial waiting for their verdict, you nod to yourself and square your shoulders.

“Alright. Tell me everything.”

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x you #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x vision #category: angst #category: smut #natasha romanoff #yelena belova #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maxmoff x y/n #my writing #marvel

[annieqattheperipheral]

for reference here's michael nylander's hockeydb

for my willy babes💕 here u go:

- - - - - - -

STOCKHOLM — About 35 minutes outside Stockholm sits the place that always felt most like home for William Nylander.

It is the long-time offseason home of former NHLer Michael Nylander, and it’s where the Nylander family has been congregating every summer since William Nylander was a boy.

There’s the main house, the guest house and the barn where William practically lived from the time he was old enough to hold a hockey stick. It isn’t the kind of barn where you might house cows, horses and piles of hay. It’s nicer than that, William says. There are wooden floors and, as you might expect in a household of hockey players, two hockey nets.

William and his younger brother Alex would be holed up there for hours, day after day, every summer when they were kids.

Alex would play goalie and William would fire shots. Sticks would be thrown. Fights would ensue.

“But then after the fight, no matter what happened,” Alex said, “we would be best friends again.”

Then they might step and fire pucks on the shooting ramp Michael built in the yard by the soccer nets. After that, zip the 30 seconds it took to the nearby dock for a jump in the lake. Then, a visit to the sauna.

As boys, William and Alex would often make their way over to their father’s gym, where they would watch Dad go through his offseason workouts in preparation for another NHL season.

Then, the summer would come to an end and young William, and the rest of the family, would follow Dad back to North America. Somewhere in North America.

William Nylander’s life has been forever split between two worlds and two homes.

- - - - - - -

Almost every fall, it seemed, Dad’s NHL jersey changed.

Which meant a new city, new school, new friends, new home, new minor hockey team and new hockey heroes for William (outside of Dad, of course).

William Nylander was born in Calgary while his dad was playing for the Flames. Michael was traded there from Hartford. He spent parts of five seasons with the Flames before they dealt him to Tampa Bay. Michael played only 35 games for the Lightning before another deal sent him — and the family — to Chicago.

Trades weren’t talked about in the singular, but rather, the “we.” Michael Nylander wasn’t getting traded. The Nylanders were.

William was just starting the first grade when the Blackhawks traded his dad yet again, after only nine games in the fall of 2002, to Washington. The Capitals flipped Michael to Boston not long before the 2004 trade deadline.

Michael signed with the New York Rangers not long before the 2004-05 lockout. After two seasons there, the family trekked back to Washington, where Michael signed as a free agent.

Over 17 years, Michael Nylander played for seven teams – none lasting longer than a 239-game run with the Blackhawks. He also suited up in Sweden, Switzerland, Russia and Finland, as well as minor league outposts in Rochester and Grand Rapids.

“Moving around – it’s been like that since I was born,” William said. “It’s just the way it was. And actually, every time we moved somewhere, we thought it was fun.”

Moving came to feel normal. The first week at a new school was nerve-wracking, but also familiar. So was making new friends in Chicago, Washington, and New York, the three spots that occupied most of William’s childhood.

It helped that William and Alex always had each other, along with four sisters. Alex was born in Calgary two years after William. They did everything together.

“Willy and Alex, they’re like stuck,” said Rasmus Sandin, the former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman and a close friend of the Nylander family. “They’re together all the time.”

Alex says William is a little quieter than he is, a little less goofy, and more similar to their dad.

Thommy Nylander, Michael’s younger brother and William’s uncle, thinks William inherited his father’s mentality, among other things. Thommy trains William every summer (he’s also a chiropractor and often treats William) and said his thoroughness in preparation is very much like Michael’s.

“He’s so warm and a nice guy, but when you get to the gym, he’s very serious about working,” Thommy said. “He’s probably the best player, but he’s still doing the hours and he’s serious. He doesn’t want to waste time.”

Anders Sorensen, who coached William when he was a kid in Chicago, saw him do things that seemed beyond the comprehension for someone his age. Like the time William dropped the puck behind his own net and took off.

“What are you doing?” Sorensen asked.

“Well, we’re breaking out!” Nylander responded. “It’s a power play!”

He was unmistakably the son of an NHLer.

Michael would bring William and Alex around to the rink often. They thought it was the coolest thing imaginable, being there with Dad where actual NHL hockey was being played.

William would hop onto the ice with Alex and shoot pucks before practice. Then he would retreat, on Dad’s orders, to the ping-pong lounge. From there, they would amble over to the dressing room and inspect the sticks of their father’s teammates – stars like Tony Amonte and Doug Gilmour in Chicago or Jaromir Jagr and Peter Bondra in Washington.

When Michael played for the Rangers, the Nylanders lived for a time in Greenwich Village — about a half-hour’s walk from Madison Square Garden. William’s mother, Camilla, would walk the kids around midtown Manhattan before Michael’s games and then walk up the stairs into the arena.

The “green room” at MSG was particularly special.

“I guess it’s called a family room,” William said. “But me and my brother called it the green room. ‘We’re going to the green room!’ Go smash a Coke every period and watch the game.”

In the green room, they could sip as much Coca-Cola as they wanted.

“It’s like ‘Mom, can I have a Coke?’ ‘No. Today’s not Saturday.’ There you don’t even have to ask mom,” William said.

Their mini sticks were with them always. William and Alex didn’t need much to create a playing ground. A doorway for a goal was all it took.

That’s what made their house in Washington so thrilling: It had a big basement that was perfect for hockey. And because their dad just happened to play in the NHL, those games grew to include actual NHL players.

Fellow Swede Nicklas Backstrom visited the Nylander home for dinner frequently. Backstrom says he felt like another one of Michael’s kids. For William and Alex, Backstrom was their dad’s work colleague and also an honourary sibling.

At one Thanksgiving dinner, the Nylanders — with chef Michael doing the cooking — hosted Backstrom and his even starrier Capitals teammate, Alex Ovechkin.

Life amongst the stars was just part of the deal for William growing up. There was that one time he looked up in the elevator at MSG and saw Mario Lemieux standing across from him.

- - - - - - -

Michael taught William the game. At first, he just let William and Alex play for fun. But as they grew older and more serious about the sport, he would instruct them on how to shoot, how to skate, how to do everything on the ice. They would watch, take notes and try to do it all the same.

“Growing up, we would follow him around and stuff, but it wasn’t like he was pushing us or anything,” William said. “But once we decided that we wanted to play, he helped us out a lot and pushed us in the right way.”

Dan Houck, who coached William when he lived in Washington, saw the same thing in him that he did with all the sons of the Capitals he coached. They all seemed to come fully stocked with a certain hockey intelligence.

William saw the ice just like his dad, Thommy Nylander says.

“William was front-row to some of the most dynamic offensive talents in the NHL,” Houck said. “I think that was formidable for him in his development as a player.”

Backstrom remembers watching William and Alex both play for a local youth team. “I knew they were special players, for sure,” he said. “They were dominant.”

“I always looked up to my dad and wanted to be like my dad,” William said.

But William never played much like his dad. Michael was a pure setup man. He didn’t have William’s power as a skater or shooter.

Sorensen wonders if William, raised on all those North American rinks, had more of a shooter’s mentality than his dad, who came up in Europe, where most players think pass first.

Sorensen coached William and his dad together for Södertälje in the Swedish Hockey League when William was 16 and Michael was almost 40. They would all chuckle at signs in the rink that said explicitly: “No parents allowed on the bench.”

Not only were they on the same bench, but often the same line, with William at right wing and Michael in the middle. During one game, William pleaded with his dad: “Pass me the puck instead of hanging onto it!”

Michael wasn’t an overbearing hockey dad. He even pushed his boys to explore other sports. He did like to ask lots of questions though.

“I call him ‘Wallander’ sometimes,” Sorensen said, referring to the fictional Swedish detective, “He’s always like, ‘Why is that? What do you think about that? Why did you do it this way? Why did you do it that way?’ He’s a smart man. He’s a very smart man. He cares for his family, he cares for people around him so I’ve always got along with him great.”

As Sorensen noted, it was usually Camilla who handled a large chunk of the duties when it came to getting William to the rink.

- - - - - - -

Even as a youngster, the skill always popped with William.

Houck remembers the first time he faced William, when he was 10 and playing for the Greenwich Jr. Blues. Houck’s squad was a year older, but they still trailed by a goal late and pulled their goalie. The puck popped up and hit the stick of the “wrong” player — William Nylander. He calmly shot it down the ice into the empty net.

“Not many kids at age 10 would have the wherewithal [to do that],” Houck says. “If you miss that and it’s an icing, then the puck’s pinned in your end again.”

Sorensen remembers a select tournament in Toronto when William faced off against future NHLers like Connor McDavid, Josh Ho-Sang and Robby Fabbri. Someone came up to Sorensen and said: “This Nylander kid, he’s right up there with all those other guys.”

Michael was a little surprised when he heard about it: “They really think he’s that good?”

Houck’s primary objective when he coached Nylander was to ensure he didn’t stifle that skill. He wanted to let those gifts shine as brightly as possible, especially in key spots with the game on the line.

What sticks out most in Houck’s memory of William is how he loved the game. This wasn’t a kid who played because of his dad. It was the opposite with William, who would even sneak onto the ice with Alex’s team whenever he could.

“We always just loved hockey from the first time we ever played it,” Alex said.

- - - - - - -

William still retreats to Sweden every offseason.

“Mostly what you miss about Sweden is the family,” he said.

The Nylanders are an especially tight bunch. Michael is one of seven siblings himself. It’s not uncommon for the Nylanders to make their way to Toronto. Thommy and his older brother, Peter, came to watch in April.

In his early years with the Leafs, William was announced at home games as hailing from Calgary. That changed a couple of seasons ago. Now, when he’s introduced, it’s “from Stockholm, Sweden.”

Stockholm became home on a more permanent basis at 14 when Michael’s NHL days came to an end and when William, with Canadian and Swedish citizenship, had to decide where he would play his hockey internationally. He and Alex both opted for Sweden. That’s when he and Alex could begin to enjoy the outdoor rinks in and around Stockholm and “play and play and play and never go home” as Alex remembered it.

For a long time, William stayed with his parents when he returned to Sweden in the summer. He’s since bought an apartment in Stockholm and invited Alex to live with him in the offseason. They take William’s two dogs for walks down by the water. They hit Ciccios for dinner or Brasserie Astoria next door, or Restaurant AG for a quality steak.

William will golf five days a week with Sandin during the offseason, forever finding space for a daily nap. William and Alex might have friends over and still William will dip out for his daily nap. “We both nap a lot,” Alex said, “but you’ll never see somebody who naps more than my brother. He’ll nap 365 days of the year.”

William is still trained at home by his dad through his Playmaker92 agency.

William and Alex will usually hit the gym around 8 a.m. By 10, it’s over to the ice with a much larger group that includes Sandin and his brother, Linus, for on-ice sessions lasting an hour and a half led by Michael.

Few, if any, NHL players are trained by their former NHL-playing fathers. Michael is known to be a master of the details, creating the kind of skill drills that only a former player of his calibre could.

Another bonus of returning home to Sweden for William is the chance to eat his dad’s cooking.

Michael has been something of a foodie dating back to his playing days. He prepares “gourmet” meals with a starter, main, and dessert. (Unprompted, Backstrom mentioned Michael’s excellent food.)

Sandin remembers a particularly delicious potato pancake and says the experience of eating a Michael Nylander meal is “like you’re going to a Michelin-star restaurant.”

That’s the thing about Sweden for William. It’s home. It’s family. It’s the place he could, and can still, always come back to. It’s the place where he’s able to find some distance from his hockey-playing life.

The days of hopscotching around North America have long been over. William has played the entirety of his career with the Leafs. Toronto has become his adopted second home. He rides the TTC to most home games these days.

He feels settled in Toronto, though, he adds with a big laugh, “With every year having a trade rumor.”

Two worlds. Two homes. Forever the life of William Nylander.

It’s how he was made.

#scooch over hughes & tkachuks. imma place the nylanders right up there with you🥹 #this might be my most favourite willy article ever💕 #william nylander #toronto maple leafs #team sweden #nhl global series: sweden #alex nylander #pittsburgh penguins #wbs penguins #michael nylander #hartford whalers #calgary flames #tampa bay lightning #chicago blackhawks #washington capitals #new york rangers #rasmus sandin #nicklas backstrom #alexander ovechkin #mario lemieux #i had a similar childhood moving around sm for dad's job. then fully settled in toronto as an adult. feeling real close to my bbgirl here🫶

[mirai-e-jump]

Hero Vision Vol.7 (2002/Summer) ft. Kamen Rider Ryuki Cast Members with Ryohei & Hidekazu Ichinose (translations below)

Takamasa Suga (Kido Shinji) Interview (page 6-7)

"At the time of this interview, the double filming for both the movie and TV series were underway, and it appears to be a real nightmare."

Suga: I'm already overwhelmed. I don't have time to sleep or even memorize the script. "What am I suppose to do?!" is the current state of things (laughs). My body is starting to get used to it, but it's still very difficult.

"Despite the demanding schedule, he always has such a sweet smile on his face. It's been six months since he started playing the role of Shinji Kido, the main character of Kamen Rider Ryuki. He says that his image of Shinji, which at first felt like a blur, has recently become more defined."

Suga: In the begining, I was so preoccupied with filming, that I honestly wasn't thinking about Shinji. I hadn't seen "Kamen Rider Kuuga" or "Agito," so I didn't know about the whole Rider process. However, when someone said to me, "Producer Shirakura said that after the transformations in Episodes 1 and 2, that was Ryuki's Shinji," I thought I had a better grasp of what was going on. I thought it was the movements of suit actor Seiji Takaiwa in the Mirror World, so I though, "Alright, I'll do that." At first, I thought Shinji was a pretty pathetic guy, but he's actually a strong leader, and always does what he thinks is right. I've recently realized how cool it is that Shinji's charm has the power to envelope everyone around.

"Not the coolness of a dependable hero, but rather, humane and tasteful coolness. He and Takaiwa-san had a close meeting to better express Shinji's emotions before and after transforming. Whether it's how Shinji sleeps, or how Shinji goes about his day after waking up."

Suga: Even in my private life, I notice I'll say, "Eh!?," or some other Shinji like reaction. Sometimes, I get caught up in a strange emotion where I can't tell who is the original, myself or Shinji.

"Suga-kun, who is now a huge part of Shinji's life, had never seen "Kamen Rider" until he was given the chance to audition. Although he had always been interested in the entertainment industry, he was unsure of his career path after high school. It wasn't untill he saw the movie "Swallowtail," directed by Shunji Iwai, where he decided to become an actor."

Suga: It felt as though I had watched that movie with my whole body. I saw it with my eyes, heard the sounds with my ears, and even felt like I smelt the movie. After watching, I was still in a mix of emotions and thought, "What is this feeling?" Then I realized, "Oh, I know! I want to be on the screen!" It was a real Shinji moment (laughs).

"After working on TV dramas and gaining some experience, he auditioned for Ryuki a few years later, but with the feeling that he was "grasping at straws."

Suga: When I went into the second round of judging, all the models around me were on the same level as Ryohei-san, so I thought this was definitely not going to work out. Even after making it to the final round, I was so nervous that at one point I said something unintelligible like, "I love beer!" When I received the news two weeks later that I got the role, I didn't believe it right away and was cautious, saying, "I don't believe this."

"When you went to the costume fitting with high expectations of what kind of cool Kamen Rider you'd see, when seeing Ryuki for the first time, you though……."Kendo?!" You were very surprised.

Suga: When I first saw it, I thought it was a really strange design that I had never seen before. Now, I'm very attached to it, and think it's the coolest out of all the riders. I love it so much.

"Of all the episodes that have been filmed so far, episodes 13 and 14 are the ones that you value the most. It's the episodes where he was distressed by the thought that he had killed Zolda."

Suga: It was then, that I once again found myself thinking about my sense of responsibility as a Rider. It was like I had just shed a layer of skin. But, even though he grows little by little this way, I would like to keep Shinji's "roots" planted as they are. Everyone around Shinji is carrying something on their shoulders, except for Shinji himself. He's quick to say, "I'll protect people," while having nothing to back up his words. No one to protect, and no past. I once thought about it deeply, and asked the producer, "Does Shinji have a past?" I was told, "No, Shinji is just a young man who had a normal upbringing." I think that's when my mind began to wander. I don't have anything to prove it, but I'm not sure that's something Shinji would say. What I am sure of, is that his emotions are straight and pure like a child, which I like. I also cherish the bad and idiotic parts of Shinji as well.

"You get along well with your co-stars, Matsuda-kun and Ryohei-kun, who are of the same generation."

Suga: We'll talk about upcoming scenes and say things like, "Ren, how do you feel about this part?" and "Ok then, let's do that part like this." We'll work through this process by trial and error. Everyone has a strong character, so I hope we can create relationships on screen that brings out the best in all of us.

Suga-kun talks about Shinji and Ryuki with more enthusiasm than usual. Everything in his life is all about Ryuki now, and he seems to be enjoying it very much. _

Satoshi Matsuda (Akiyama Ren) Interview (page 8-9)

Matsuda-kun was dressed in a black tank top, with black leather pants, and short black boots. Just like Ren, black seems to be his main image color. We asked, "Are you trying to convey Ren's image?" He responded with, "I think Ren is trying to convey me." If a normal man said those words, you'd think he was being sarcastic, but when Matsuda-kun says them, they sound natural.

"Matsuda, a native of Osaka Prefecture, still occasionally speaks with the Kansai dialect."

Matsuda: Recently, I've been able to play the role of a Ren naturally. Ren's a really cool guy, isn't he? Before, I worked hard on creating the "extreme" part of him. You don't normally see people like him in real life (laughs). People who have known me for a long time will say, "You and I are exact opposites." Usually I'm just messing around while speaking nonsense.

"Ren (Kamen Rider Knight) is a complex character, being neither right nor wrong. Therefore, when acting, Matsuda says, "I try to give weight to each word instead of saying too little." He also said, "If I move too fast, I'll look weak, so I try not to move too fast except for when I run at full speed. Like when I'm chasing after Shinji, you know?"

"He won the role of Ren through an audition, but even before doing the audition, he "debated for a week whether or not he would accept the role." According to his manager, who is Toei's producer for Ryuki, Shinichiro Shirakura, he had been paying attention to Matsuda-kun since his debut work in "Natural Girl Next ~ 100 Nights in Yokohama". Matsuda-kun, who never heard that before, shyly said, "This is the first I'm hearing of that!! I'm so embarrassed (laughs)."

Matsuda: Before the audition, I had some hesitation due to the fact that Ryuki was a children's show. So I worked with the manager, faxing each other back and forth, talking about all kinds of things, like what kind of fans the franchise had, the kind of material we had, who would watch us, and so on. In the end I decided, "Okay, I'll accept!! After all, I went through all this trouble of research, so I'll definitely have to do it now!"

"Oooh, so cool Matsuda-kun!!"

Matsuda: Afterall, I would look like a complete idiot if I failed the audition because I said, "I don't want to be associated with tokusatsu" (laughs). That's what I thought, so I didn't push back at all when I entered the production.

"Ren plays the "Secondary Rider" role in the show, and while Shinji is the main character, according to Matsuda-kun, "It's probably better than having the lead role (laughs). The camera follows Shinji, and Ren follows him in order to make the story more interesting." He goes onto say that Shinji and Ren have a bad relationship."

Matsuda: Rather than liking, disliking or having a friendship with him, I feel it's more like, "It's stupid to even hate this guy" (laughs). When he says to Shinji, "I owe you one," he says it as if embarrassed, and I think it's Ren's way of dealing with Shinji that he'll carry through to the end.

"There are rumors (!!) on the internet that you're on bad terms with Takamasa Suga, who plays the role of Shinji."

Matsuda: I'm often asked by magazine reporters if we don't get along (laughs). But, it's actually really surprising to be asked such a question. Sugacchi (Suga-kun's nickname on set), is a good friend and co-worker, who I usually go home together with, or out on the town together. So, I'm trying to figure out what else I should do to emphasize how well we get along with each other.

"It's been said that you're also on good terms with Hassei Takano, who plays Tezuka Miyuki (Kamen Rider Raia)."

Matsuda: He and I are strangely compatible. On my way to the studio, we meet up at a convenience store near the train station and make the 10 minuet walk while goofing around. That's what we like about each other (laughs)

"He says that working as an actor is difficult, but also enjoyable. He says that tokusatsu programs are particularly appealing because he can play a role over the span of a year. However, he also has his complaints."

Matsuda: I've begged the staff to do more action! Riders fight after transforming, so there's not much action before the transformation. And since Ren is supposed to be a strong fighter, he can knock out his opponents with a single punch. Well, that's not exactly what I mean, I just wanted to make a big statement. The other day, there was a scene where Takashi Hagino, who plays Takeshi Asakura (Ouja), filmed a scene that I really liked, and I watched admiringly while also being jealous (laughs).

"Matsuda-kun was originally scheduled to work for a fashion related company, but after his debut, understood "the depth of the industry," and chose to be an actor."

Matsuda: Ryuki is a battle between 13 Riders, but in reality, it's also a war between the Riders to see who can survive and who will be eliminated. That's why I myself, feel like I'm in a very serious competition as Akiyama Ren. There's no end to how difficult it is to be an actor, and the fact that there is no answer, not a single one, is fascinating. It's perfect for a arts major like myself.

Ren (Knight), wasn't the only one who continues to fight without an answer. Actor Satoshi Matsuda's battle has only just begun. _

Hassei Takano (Tezuka Miyuki) Interview (page 10-11)

Two years ago, Takano-kun gained popularity for his cool acting as Hiroya Fujimiya (Ultraman Agul) in "Ultraman Gaia." He didn't expect that he would also appear in Kamen Rider Ryuki as the fifth Rider, "Raia." As expected, no one else has appeared in both productions but him.

Takano: At the time I overheard from a friend of mine that, "There are going to be 13 Kamen Riders this time around." "Eh? That many?," we talked about it so normally. Then he said, "My friends are going to be in it." It turned out to be Matsuda-kun (Akiyama Ren) and Yuge-kun (Yura Goro). So, while I had heard stories, it was a surprise that I was also going to appear in the show. It felt almost like fate (laughs).

He had no hesitations about appearing in a tokusatsu program for a second time, as he thought to himself, "I want to do it."

Takano: If I had been the me from a little while ago, I might have been a little put off, but this time, I'm enjoying the challenge of how to play the hero and making them look good.

"The days of Ultraman Gaia were the dawn of a new era for tokusatsu. This was followed by "Kamen Rider Kuuga," which marked the new wave of tokusatsu, as these series of works have made the public recognize tokusatsu programs more and more in recent years."

Takano: I felt this phenomenon firsthand. The quality of "Gaia" was high, and I felt that the range of people watching the show was expanding, but since filming Ryuki, I've realized how popular these shows are.

"This is a comment only a performer of two works can make. What did you feel was the different between Ultraman and Ryuki when you actually played the role?"

Takano: The difference in enemy size (laughs). In Ultraman, alot of the performance is looking up and imagining the enemy in the blue background. Furthermore, for Ultraman, the SFX team would split up my shots in two directions, whereas in Ryuki's case, I would just keep saying, "Ok, I going to transform," so I really felt that I was transforming. I'm actually really fond of it. Uh…But, when I was shown a picture of Raia's image for the first time, I honestly thought, "Eh-?!" (laughs). The color is kind of mediocre, like it's pink metallic with some orange. Personally, I love blues and black, so I thought, "It must be nice being Knight~." Everyone else has a clear motif, like a bat or dragon, but Raia is a stingray? Can't I be a shark or maybe a whale? Furthermore, I'm a fortune telling stingray? eh? (laughs). At first, I was surprised by the world view of Ryuki. "A net for grilling meat?", "Transforming with a card?" things like that (laughs).

"That was a very honest yet blunt comment by Takano-kun. But now, he loves playing the role of Raia. As for the character of Miyuki Tezuka…"

Takano: I liked him from the very beginning. Tezuka wanted to change his Rider's fate. The desire to push back against something that's already been decided is a natural trait inherent in humans, isn't it? "If I can decide my future, then this wasn't it!," and I think everyone wants to change something. I think Tezuka, who says that he creates his own future, is a very charming and passionate character to play.

"Takano-kun says that he also admires Tezuka. In the show, there is a scene where Tezuka asks Shinji, "Have you ever felt so lost that you feel you could die?"

Takano: I've never been that unsure. I am indecisive, so when I'm in doubt, I'll ask someone else to decide for me (laughs). Even when I'm hanging out with friends, they'll say, 'Where do you want to go?" I'll say, "You decide. I'll follow you." I admire Tezuka's way of life, but it seems so extreme that I'd rather not live like him.

"By dying, Tezuka proved to Shinji that he could "change his future" with his own hands."

Takano: For Tezuka, when I read the script about him becoming a Rider because of what happened to his friend, I cried a little.

"At first, Takano-kun heard that Tezuka's friend (Saito Yuichi) was initially suppose to be a racer. The story was originally about him being unable to use his legs due to an accident, then, it was changed to him being a pianist that lost the ability to use his hands due to an incident caused by Ouja (Takeshi Asakura). This is what caused Tezuka to become more agitated before the battle with Ouja."

Takano: What's most sad to think about, is that I'll no longer have a role in the show after I die. In Ultraman Gaia, I was always out of sync with everyone else and was often alone, but this time we were always together.

"As their senior in tokusatsu, he gave advice to Suga-kun and Matsuda-kun, and in return, they taught him about Ryuki. On one occasion, when filming for the day finished early, the three of them went out for drinks in Shinjuku"

Takano: At that time, there was a counter across from the table where we were sitting, and there was a young woman reading a copy of Hero Vision. I noticed and went, "Ah-!," and all three of us were exposed immediately. I thought to myself at the time that the popularity of tokusatsu programs were reaching new heights (laughs).

Kamen Rider Ryuki, which was made with the help of people of his generation, will likely be a very memorable work for Takano-san. _

(partial translations for the rest below)

Kamen Rider Ryuki - Film Site Report (Page 12) (top, 1st photo): "Between takes, they made friendly conversation. They were constantly surrounded by the neighborhood children, but only Matsuda-kun kept his distance from them (laughs)." (bottom, last photo): "In his hand is Dragreder. Hidden away in his bag is a Ryuki Plushie." _

Satoshi Ichijou (Shibaura Jun) Interview (page 14)

"The sixth Kamen Rider, Gai (Shibaura Jun), is a smart, game freak, and coldhearted college student, while Ichijou-kun, who played Jun, is also an active college student."

Ichijou: During filming, I had to ask my friends to help me with various things like, "I’m sorry! I lost my attendance card somewhere" (laughs).

"When Ichijo appeared in Kamen Rider, his friends reaction were, "We can't watch it because it airs tooooo early in the morning!" The reaction of his friends are very natural."

Ichijou: On my days off, I hang out with my friends in my hometown. I also play street futsal with the guys from my high school soccer team, as well as those from the baseball and basketball teams who liked to play soccer. There's a place behind Meiji University in Ochanomizu, where we play all the time and always win, plus, it's free to get into (laughs).

"At first he wondered how he was going to fit in, but it turned out "they were all nice people" and he settled in easily."

Ichijou: I was aware from the beginning that Gai would be gone in five weeks, so it wasn't a shock to me that he died. But, I had been wondering how he was going to die. I really didn't think he would die in an explosion (laughs). Furthermore, what's inside the suit of a Rider whose been bombed to death with such incredible force? I wonder.

Ichijo-kun is an active university student with a flexible attitude. I wonder where we'll see him next?

_

Yasuko Kobayashi (Main Writer) Interview (page 15)

"When the production of Kamen Rider Ryuki was announced, we were surprised at how ambitious the setting was."

Kobayashi: I think that 13 riders were chosen in part because Bandai was going to produce alot of toys. Rather than having just one rider with multiple forms changes, Bandai said, "Let's have a lot of Riders." We planed to use this as a strategy to create an impact in terms of the number of participants. At first, we wanted to say, "Let's send out 50 Riders!," and I think Bandai was also interested in the number of people who would be involved in the project. Bandai also requested that we integrate cards in and to fight in a different universe. That's why Producer (Shinichiro) Shirakura-san must have thought a lot about it, until he decided on what we now call the "Mirror World." We wanted it to look like there was a "story" first, and not the "setting" first.

"In certain situations, only the main character, Shinji, "Has no reason to fight", which we think is very original."

Kobayashi: I think it's important to sometimes say "It can't be helped," because other people are carrying a variety of burdens. Because he's not carrying anything on his back, he's able to look at the battle from a "pure" perspective, which is what makes him the main character. I think the strength of not carrying anything on one's back comes out in the genuine strength of a person. Because, even though there is nothing of interest at stake, it's usually impossible to do something dangerous or foolish like risking lives, especially for today's generation. That's why Shinji is the strongest of them all……is what I think.

"However, Shinji watches and fights for Ren and his friends suffering, and in the end, Shinji too is able to grow.

Kobayashi: But, I don't think it's a good idea for him to grow based on circumstances of the people around him, due to them being so grave. However, how we move Shinji forward is an issue for the future. What will happen to the relationship between Ren and Shinji is the most important thing now. _

Ryohei & Hidekazu Ichinose: The Secret Records Vol.1 (page 17)

"How did you two get to know each other?"

Ichinose: I went into the office because I wanted to ask for some advice. Goro-chan immediately stopped me at the entrance (laughs).

Ryohei: Goro-chan is a bodyguard, you know (laughs). Actually, we had a mutual acquaintance. The first time we met was before I got the role in Ryuki. It was after I had auditioned, so it must have been last fall.

…

"Recently Ichinose-san has completed filming for "Ultraman Cosmos."

Ichinose: "The question now is how can I make the most of what I have gained during the past year? The other day, I was in Myanmar to live on a lake as part of the filming for "Sekai Ururun Taizaiki," where I had a great time, and I hope everyone enjoys the broadcast! I slept soundly every night, and even drank tea made from boiled river water without getting sick or having an upset stomach. After this I hope everyone will continue to look out for me.

Ryohei: I'm currently putting all my energy into Ryuki. I'm happy that I'm popular among adult women, but what I really want is for children to focus on me. I would be happy to receive fan letters from children. I really don't understand them at all (laughs). I like kids, but they're all afraid of Kitaoka, so when they see me on the streets, they back away, and, I'm pretty sure won't look me in the eyes?

Ichinose: The children become frozen.

Ryohei: It's strange, isn't it?

"It may seem unconvincing, but we're rooting for you to become popular with the children!"

#LONG POST #suga🤝takano: crying when reading the script #kamen rider ryuki #kamen rider #my scans #kido shinji #shinji kido #akiyama ren #ren akiyama #tezuka miyuki #miyuki tezuka #takamasa suga #satoshi matsuda #toku cast #tokusatsu #hero vision #kamen rider knight #kamen rider raia #kamen rider zolda #kamen rider gai #my translation #do not repost #ryuki spoilers

[consistentsquash]

What are your top 10 snarry favorite fics?

Hiya! I feel like my top 10 changes depending on my mood. Snarry fandom has a lot of great fics. Sorry for slowness but life was kind of crazy.

I like fics with a lot of magic/whimsy/darker vibes. A big fan of canon divergence because Snape needs to live! Dubcon with bittersweet ending but also they need to be in love.

My super subjective top 12 which is going to change in like 5 minutes because I am a flake. It's going to be in two parts for reasons... also chronological because why not!

first part

A Bittersweet Potion by alchemia and bugland. This is like the only oldschool Snarry that works for me now because my reading tastes changed a lot. I got lots of bookmarked chapters I reread. Just love the fic. So crazy creative. Also crazy. This started in 2002 iirc.. So really, really old. WIP!

In Between Days by atrata. I really like this. A lot of things won't work for new readers because it was written before the books finished. But it's peak Snape before the big canon reveals and has a lot of ambiguity in his characterization. This is 2005 so you can kind of see their dynamic developing like the middle books.

Morior Animus by Vain. OMG. I read MCD but I don't normally reread it a lot. This fic though. It's got MCD but it's super beautiful and the premise of the fic is just incredible. snarry games fic. A lot of my favs are from that collection. A lot of fics in that time get super creative because the books were still going on. 2006 before DH iirc.

This Boy's Life by pir8fancier. This is my fav fic from the author. The fic is just ultra intense. So we get to see the whole Lily situation. I reread this one a lot. 2007.

When the Rose and the Fire Are One by @perverse-idyll. So this fic burned me out on Snarry. Especially on Snape characterization. Sometimes you just read a fic which says literally everything you wanted about the characters and you don't feel like reading that pairing again? So that was me with this fic. I just didn't read a lot of Snarry after this. also Snarry games. 2008

second part

part two of my favs are from more recent years after I got over that fic…

6. a certain optimism by @hippocrates460. The fic which got me back into Snarry bigtime! Love the Snape POV so much! It's kind of not that common in Snarry fics to get Snape POV. This one is brilliant. It feels like something from a different life, more now than when it had been decades since he’d last heard it. 2019

7. The Measure of A Man by @ac1d6urn. Gosh the intensity. I just. But also really healing and love the feels. Super cathartic vibes. I reread this fic a lot. It's got a great Harry characterization. One of the best honestly. A lot of Snarry fics don't really go into Harry. This fic is Harry's fic! <;3 2019

8. Close Encounters by @likelightinglass and bleedcolor - I am a big sucker for mysterious identity slow build and this is 100% that fic. Lots of classic tropes with ultra perfect execution! Kind of a comfort read for me honestly. 2019

9. Green Grow the Rushes, O by eldritcher - I am a big fan of magical worlds and imagery. Omg this fic! It's like a fever dream. Really lucid, really intense but also like a Van Gogh painting. Somehow plays it straight and also gets mythological at the same time. The fic that made me fall in love with reading aloud. Musical like whoa. There is only the moon and bright Venus to greet them. Severus heals Harry with song and spell. He fucks Harry until he is drained of fear and fury. 2021

10. Suspiria by @ripeteeth - A big fan of the 2nd person POV! Also unicorn rare. But omg I love it in this fic. It adds insane levels of intense for a pretty intense premise. You can really feel the mental spirals. Snape POV! Super ambitious and really, really delivers on that. Why does he look at you? Perhaps it’s in penance. 2021

11. Realisations by @titconao3 - A big fan of 1st person POV but it's like unicorn level rare now. This fic rocks the 1st person POV. Also Harry POV. I mean that's like 2x levels of ambitious :D But it works great. I really love this postwar setting and the pacing. Feels really organic. Oh, since then, I’ve had the biggest, most doomed crush on the most unlikely, the most unreachable man. 2022

12. Contempt by @danpuff-ao3 - Gosh. This is like Old school Snarry but like with really tight pacing. It sucks you in and you just have to go with it. It goes to some crazy places. Which is what I want from Snarry! They need to be crazy :D. Also the summary is literally Snarry ship manifesto Harry hates Snape, and he always will. (He will, won’t he?) 2022

#snarry #top tens #i am a flake so this is going to change #in five min #but love these fics #snarry fic recs #hp #asks #fic recs

[galaxy98]

Favorites Meme

Tagged by:@matt0044

Favorite Color: N/A

Currently Reading: Treasure Island by Robert Luis Stevenson. For most of my life, I was mostly familiar with it through the 2002 Disney adaptation of the story, which was completely different from the original. Heck I didn't even know that it was an actual story until my mid-teens. So in combination of wanting to expand my media literacy and Dr. Livesey memes, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the book. So far, I've been pretty engaged with it. I had know no idea that it was told through Jim Hawkins's POV.

Last Song: Hajanga by Jacob Collier. About a year ago(?) I found this interesting Youtube channel that uploads videos of miscellaneous performances by musicians and puts a music sheet on the bottom to show the notes they're singing or playing. Also they put funny titles up to entice viewers. What I didn't know was that Jacob has a music career and I got the chance to listen to one of his songs. Highly recommend listening to the live MIT performance of Hajanga.

Last Series: King Of The Hill. I mainly put that on for background noise since I've seen it a hundred times. There are some other shows that I want to watch but I want to commit to it without any distractions.

Last Movie: Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One. While this is the 7th installment in the series, it's actually my 2nd viewing--last one being the first movie I rented from the library. So far my impressions is that this is a series full of twists and turns. You can never be so sure of who you can trust the first time around.

Currently Working On: Nothing concrete at the moment. I've mostly have ideas that are swarming around in my head that may or may not come to fruition. Last thing I ever uploaded to AO3 back in January was a Deltarune fanfic called Winter Wonderland (AKA What's Eating Noelle Holiday?), a sorta post Chapter 2 story were Noelle experiences a nightmare involving her missing/possibly dead sister and how she comes to grips with that with most of the Kris and Susie Darkworld stuff being in the background. I had original plans for a short story involving Dess and Asriel but that's scrapped as of right now. Also, I'm currently hyperfixated on Elemental and it's still very likely that some ideas I have for THAT may never come to life. Probably the most vicious cycle of any given writer.

I'll leave a link for the aforementioned story but be warned, I was mostly press for time trying to get that out so it may be not be my 100%. So if I ever go back and revise it, you'll know why. https://archiveofourown.org/works/44080062/chapters/110833800

Tags: @gojira007 @magpie-allosaurus @nrwynter @fenth-eiria @adrian-shepard @shybi-n-ready2cry @paperbagedhead

#meme post #personal

[d3d9]

Official Akira Pre-movie Timeline

Character childhoods, historical events etc.

hiiii Akira tumblr, I haven't been around here much but here's a translation I did. I've never seen this full timeline translated anywhere, so maybe it'll be of interest !😳

(I did a condensed version on Twitter a while ago, but I figure it's easier to follow in its original format .)

(Long post under the cut)

Source is the book Poster & Graphic Akira released in 1988. Also a special thank you to my old friend Shina-san for the photos from the book, I don't yet own a copy myself !!

1970

Nezu's birth - Born in Chiba as the third son of farmers.

1976

Colonel's birth - Has an older sister and an older brother. His father served in the Japan Defense Agency, JGSDF major.

1977

Nezu age 7 - Started elementary school.

1982

Nezu age 12 - Started middle school. Excellent grades.

1985

Nezu age 15 - Started high school.

1988

Nezu age 18 - Started law school. The disaster of Akira’s awakening occurred. In the chaos of the next 3 years, he studied life as a black marketeer. During that time he became acquainted with the people of this underworld.

Colonel age 12 - His father died to Akira’s first awakening. (He was on a special mission, suspected to be related to the Akira Project). After the world war (which ended after 3 weeks), until he was 15 he spent the next years of chaos with his mother and siblings. These events would profoundly shape his later development. (Until 1991, Japan lacked a governing body and was controlled by the US)

1992

Colonel age 16 - Started night school. Studied while working.

1993

Colonel age 17 - Having regained autonomy, Japan emulates the US and establishes an American-style military.

1994

Nezu age 24 - As university resumed operation, he returned to school.

1995

Nezu age 25 - Graduated. Passed the bar exam, and became a lawyer.

1996

Colonel age 20 - Graduated night school. Enrolled in the newly established military academy (National Defense Academy).

1999

Colonel age 23 - Graduated military academy with excellent grades. Admitted to Officer Candidate School on recommendation.

2000

Nezu age 30 - From around this time he begins to appear in politics.

Colonel age 24 - Graduates from Officer Candidate School. Enlists in the Army as a First Lieutenant.

2001

Colonel age 25 - Studies abroad at the US Department of Defense.

2002

Nezu age 32 - Hears about Miyako-sama, and becomes a devoted believer.

Colonel age 26 - Returns to Japan. Establishes the Army Special Forces. Becomes its commander. Promoted to Major.  Dispatched in the Soviet-DPRK War, which had been ongoing since 1996. He is awarded a decoration for his service.  

2003

Colonel age 27 - Through matchmaking by his superior officer, he gets married.

Kei - Born in April. Her father, born 1967 (age 36), is a teacher. She has an older brother. They're 14 years apart.

2004

Kaneda - born in September (at this time, schools would have September enrollment and August graduation). His father born 1977 (age 27). His mother born 1978 (age 26).

Yamagata - born in November. His father is a Yakuza.

Colonel age 28 - By creating a new unification of land, sea, and air defense systems, he successfully allows Japan to gain independence from the US protective defense system.

2005

Nezu age 35 - He trains diligently under Miyako, and establishes himself. From around this time he separates under a new sect of Miyako's religion, and starts a political organization, becoming its president. Behind the scenes he is backing anti-government activists at the same time.

Kai - Born in January. His father works in the construction industry. He is blessed with a good home environment.

Tetsuo - Born in July. His father born 1980 (age 25). His mother born 1981 (age 24). In 1984, as part of the Akira Project, experiments were conducted on children around the age of 10, and genetic manipulation was (secretly) performed on newly born children. The effects of this skipped a generation and manifested in Tetsuo… and are gradually beginning to show in other children.(His grandfather was a genetic engineer. He participated in the Project. He died during Akira's awakening in 1988)

Colonel age 29 - He and his wife separate. They have no children.

2006

Yamagata age 2 - His father is arrested. He will serve 25 years. His mother makes a living as a hostess.

2008

Kaneda age 4 - His little brother is born. His parents open a laundry service. His little brother is born with a disability, and goes between home and treatment centers since the time he's 2 years old.

Yamagata age 4 - His mother gets a boyfriend. A little brother is born.

Kei age 5 - Her father dies. (Illness)

Tetsuo age 3 - His father (a graduate student), who's been sickly since birth, develops pneumonia from the common cold, and dies. His parents were never officially married, so as his father's child born out of wedlock, he's poorly received by his mother's side of the family.

Colonel age 32 - He is appointed commander of the nation's top secret 'Akira Plan' as Colonel. (The 'Akira Plan' began 3 years after Akira's awakening in 1988, when the US began investigating, and in 1996 it was turned over to the Japanese government. Since then, despite organization of records and repeated experiments, there hasn't been much progress. This may be why the US let go of it….) The heads of government began to feel threatened by the Colonel's excessively growing power, so even though it was a top national secret, they appointed him to this do-nothing position to force him to withdraw from the front lines, as a means of dismissal. …As for why the Colonel resigned himself to this sinecure, perhaps it's because he was seeking answers about his father's death, or trying to fulfill his father's dying wish, or maybe he himself saw potential in this investigation…. There are various possibilities, but one can only speculate.

2009

Yamagata age 5 - His mother gets another boyfriend. A little sister is born.

Kei age 6 - Starts elementary school. Her older brother is 21. He's already a student activist while also supporting the family.

Tetsuo age 4 - His mother remarries. Tetsuo is adopted by another family. But he can't get used to his new home and is gradually shunned as a gloomy child.

2010

Kaneda age 6 - Starts elementary school. Due to the fatigue of nursing his younger brother, his father collapses.

Yamagata age 6 - Starts elementary school. Another little brother is born.

2011

Kai age 7 - Starts private elementary school. Gets excellent grades.

Tetsuo age 6 - Starts elementary school. At this time he starts repeatedly running away from home.

2012

Kaneda age 8 - Changes schools due to his little brother changing treatment centers. His mother runs off. They live off of government assistance. His father shows a distinct turn towards alcoholism. 

2013

Kaneda age 9 - His father is deemed unfit to take care of the children, so Kaneda is sent to an orphanage. His little brother is kept at a hospital. Half a year later, Tetsuo comes to the orphanage.

Tetsuo age 8 - His parents try to return him, but his birth mother won't accept him, so he's sent to an orphanage. He then meets Kaneda.

2014

Kei age 11 - Starts middle school.

2015

Kaneda age 11 - Graduates from the orphanage and goes to a boarding middle school. He's separated from Tetsuo.

Yamagata age 11 - Starts middle school. His mother continues to have children, both boys and girls. She also keeps changing boyfriends.

Kei age 12 - Her older brother is arrested as a suspect in a major incident. (Something like the Mikawashima train crash). There are rumors that it was a US plot against the organization her older brother was connected to. Following this, Kei's family was supported by donations from her brother's group, organized by her brother's junior, Ryusaku.

2016

Kaneda age 12 - His defiant attitude stands out in school.

Yamagata age 12 - Caught by the police for shoplifting. He was stealing sweets for his little siblings.

Kai age 12 - Goes to the same private academy for middle school.

Tetsuo age 11 - He's adopted again by another family. He then starts middle school.

2017

Nezu age 46 - He may be doing it to spread the religion's ideals, or he may be using the religion for his own desires, or perhaps both….?

Kaneda age 13 - A complete juvenile delinquent. His grades are above average.

Yamagata age 13 - His mother joins a new religion. He leaves home.

Kei age 14 - Her older brother dies in prison. The authorities claim it was a suicide, but it's suspected that he was tortured. Kei leaves home and asks Ryusaku if she can become an activist too.

Tetsuo age 12 - Becomes truant. Frequently runs away from home.

Colonel age 41

2018

Kaneda age 14 - Expelled after a brush with the law. Starts at vocational school.

Yamagata age 14 - Starts at vocational school.

Kai age 13 - His father runs away from home. They find him. His father confesses: "I'm gay, and have been deceiving our family this whole time…." 

Kei age 15

Tetsuo age 13 - Due to misconduct with an elementary school student, he gets in trouble with the police. From this point forward he stops going to school.

2019

Kaneda age 15 - Forms a motorcycle team at the vocational school.

Tetsuo enrolls.

Kai age 14 - As junior representative, he reads an essay titled 'Is Life A Joke' to the graduating seniors, and is suspended. One week later, he turns in his notice to withdraw, and enrolls in vocational school himself.

Tetsuo age 14 - His parents convince him to go to vocational school. He reunites with Kaneda, and is admitted. There, he joins the motorcycle team.

#akira 1988 #AKIRA #translation #nezu #colonel shikishima #kei #kaneda #yamagata #kai #tetsuo #ryusaku #kaneda shotaro #tetsuo shima

[y2klostandfound]

Space Channel 5 Part 2 on Dorimaga Magazine Vol.1 (2002-01) (Video game Magazine) (11-25/01/2002)

Translation in English:

(Page 66)

Dorimaga Special Report - DC PS2:

Video Game Consoles : Dreamcast / Playstation 2

Scheduled to be released: February 14th

Completely: 100%

Price:

Dreamcast: 6,120 Yen Dreamcast(Special Edition Pack): 9,900 Yen Playstation 2: 6,800 Yen

Genre - ETC (Musical Action Adventure) Manufacturer:Sega/United Game Artists Players: 1-2 Number of discs: 1 URL: http://www.u-ga.com/ Controllers/Memory Cards PS2: DualShock 2, trance vibrator compatible, memory card 161KB. DC: 5 blocks of memory used (VMU), Purupuru pack support

Online Shop:The DC version is exclusive to D-DIRECT.

Is there something wrong in the galactic universe!?

After seeing this screen, "Mexican Flyer" came to my head! Are you ready to dance? "Space Channel 5 Part 2" scheduled to air on two platforms has finally started! Let's all enjoy the full polygon SHOW together!

Greetings to the 30 million "Channel 5" viewers nationwide, it's finally here! "Space Channel 5 Part 2" from UGA, which has been silent since the Tokyo Game Show in autumn, is finally on air!The memorable day is February 14, 2002, Valentine's Day.and it will be broadcast simultaneously on DC and PS2 as planned! I can't wait to see how Ulala, who has crossed the century, will come back!

Popular characters from the previous show, as well as new characters, will appear one after another! They will make the program even more exciting!

The basic rules seem to be the same, but new elements have been added, such as singing and playing! I have a hunch that it will be fun!

The next enemy is the "Dancing Troupe(Rhythm Rouges)"! ?

The next enemy is the "Dancing Troupe(Rhythm Rouges)" who appeared out of nowhere. Innocent people are made to dance one after another, just like the Morolians last time! Their purpose is completely unknown. Ulala will report on their true identity!

The mysterious dance group "Dancing Troupe (Rhythm Rouges)" has arrived! A person who looks like a captain and robots attack people one after another!

(Page 67)

What happened to the Jaguar! ?

An evil hand approaches Jaguar who has discovered something somewhere in the universe...! ! Meanwhile, the "Space Symphony," a ship cruising around Neo-Pluto, is attacked by a mysterious group! "Space Channel 5" quickly caught the information and sent Ulala to the scene to report the incident. The spirit of Director Fuse enters. "Come on, let's start!!"

I'll charm you, Ulala Seven Changes

This time Ulala will be reporting in even cuter and cooler outfit! There will be a "Ulala's Costume Room," so stay tuned!

ULALA

A reporter for Space Channel 5, she was born on May 30 and her blood type is B. The other day, she tried to save the galaxy  with great energy, but she's still a newcomer and spends her days being yelled at by her boss Fuse. Her goal is to become a galactic reporter.She is the only person who can fight back against the "mysterious dancing group" that has appeared.

Prologue

The time is the 25th century.

The "Morolian" suddenly invaded, causing people to dance one after another with their "Dancing Beam"! The space broadcasting station "Space Channel 5", which caught this catastrophe, dispatched a new reporter "Ulala" who is good at dancing, selected by the director "Fuse", and report the incident. She fully opens her mysterious dancing puff, sometimes fights and cooperates with Channel 42's "Pudding" and the Space Pirate Broadcasting Station's "Jaguar" to uncover the true nature of the evil that hides behind the Morolians' intentions. Thus, this ascension case was resolved.........

In this galaxy where the memory is fresh in our minds, a new evil is rising.......

Although "Ulala" had solved the "Morolians Attack Case" by dancing with her miraculous performance, there was no change in her role as a reporter, and she is cheered on by a director "Fuse" every day.

Such a daily life suddenly changes with a report from "Chief Space Michael ". A "mysterious dancing group" has appeared, making people dance and taking them away one after another!

Now, Ulala's dancing report begins again.

Come on, Let's start!

SPACE CHANNEL 5 Part 2 - First Implession!

A little impression of the sample unveiled at the recent PS Party! The game is very busy with more things to do such as singing and playing, not to mention the increased power of the graphics and presentation. Compared to the previous game, which was a bit monotonous, this one is even more fun. The storyline is also very exciting!

#space channel 5 #Space Channel 5 part 2 #ulala #sega #dreamcast #PlayStation 2

[saltygilmores]

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING GILMORE GIRLS: S3/EP4/ONE’S GOT CLASS THE OTHER ONE DYES (PART 2)

Luke and Lorelai both have "unique" approaches to conducting business, I'll give them that. This chapter was rough for me to write for some reason and then I LOST my draft partway through and had to rewrite everything! Some things that are happening:

-Lane attempts to initiate a conversation with Mrs Kim about her new band. She loses her courage before Mrs. Kim presents her with applications to strict Christian colleges. -Michel suggests that the honor of being named a Successful Person in Business is a low bar to clear when Lorelai's only business competitor in Stars Hollow is a presumably homeless and/or mentally ill fellow who scours the streets for change with a metal detector. I mean, yeah, he has more ambition and a better work ethic than Lorelai does.

-Luke is reluctant about the speaking gig and Lorelai threatens to embarrass him by singing badly in public if he does not comply. He may as well refuse since she's going to embarrass him on a daily basis no matter what he does anyway? -Luke says he went to Stars Hollow High for three years. Huh? I thought he's lived in The Hollow his entire life? High school is four years long. Did he move, drop out or graduate early? No explanation was given at this point in time.

-Luke has "no good memories" of high school. Join the club. -Luke asks Lorelai if she's ever been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. No, the answer you're looking for is no. She is unmedicated and dangerous.

My beloved Tomatos Sign is missing! You'd think it was because after 3 years the prop department noticed the spelling error and took it down to fix it. You would be wrong. It'll return shortly to be Tomatos for several more years. Should I ask that Valerie Campbell lady (as "key set designer" is her title, I believe) why it took 5+ years for someone to notice one of the most visible props for the entire run of the series had a spelling error?

Lane is interesting. Yes, she is naive in many ways, that's a given with her upbringing. But she is also painfully self aware and highly intelligent. She is definitely not stupid. She fully realizes how desperately boxed in she is by her neurotic mother. She makes the effort and takes risks to live life on her own terms even though it usually seems futile and AmyShermanPalladino is always lurking around a corner waiting to shatter all her hopes and dreams. Rory on the other hand is such a pathetic people pleaser and so desperate to keep her mother happy that I think she's blind to the fact that she's actually in a similar situation, Lorelai just masks it under the veneer of being a "cool young mom" and Rory is content to remain more stagnant. I have more thoughts on this subject but let's not make this into a rambly mess. On with the ShitCircus.

I can't believe it looks there's another fucking festival going on in the background. I am grateful some of these seasonal events exist because it helps me keep track of where we are in the year. There's pumpkins, it's fall, the Thanksgiving episode is still a ways away so I can assume it’s early October and Rory would have just had her 18th birthday.

Lane and Rory on their way to harrass Queen Shane at her place of employment. Minimum wage in 2002 was $5.15, by the way. Look at that Rory, someone your age has a JOB that makes MONEY.

Stars Hollow, the land where nobody has seen a tv show produced after 1975 but the references to modern pop and rock music flow like wine.

Alexis really does have some spectacular defeated/fed up with everything facial expressions in her acting playbook.

Sure her customer service skills aren't the greatest, but if Lorelai Gilmore is allowed to leave work in the middle of the day to shop for coffins then Shane should be allowed to read a Seventeen behind the counter and ignore Rory. Her manager, Cynthia, is pretty chill and will look the other way if Shane slacks off. Reminder that while Rory knows who Shane is, Rory has barely been a glint in the corner of Shane's eye. Any time that Shane and Rory have shared the same space, it's been when Shane runs into the diner, makes out with Jess, and doesn't look back. Because she is a god damn superhero.

It's unlikely Jess and Shane ever use their tongue for talking either so I doubt Jess has told her who Rory is. So to Shane Rory is just some random customer who is staring at her weirdly like she's trying to melt her with her eye-beams.

Look at that exemplary customer service. Better crown her Employee of the Month now, before Jess offs her and throws her in the lake next month.

Dirty white aprons with tomato can accessories are the newest sensation on the 2002 Paris Runways. Luke Danes, fashion icon. Time to go to class. Lorelai is there to play Fashion Fairy Godmother. Upstairs we go to get him out of that sweaty flannell.

That's so filthy. L&L barge into the apartment without knocking to find Jess in the middle of pulling up his pants. Walking into any room that a teenage boy might occupy is a risky game, but Interruption seems to be Lorelai's biggest kink.

I know Jess is just a poor little street urchin but can we get him some clothes that fit for once? In 2002 Milo was so smol a stiff breeze could have blown him away. He's wearing a belt and it's not working. Those pants are so baggy they could fit 3 Milos in them. Not that I would mind if his pants fell down. Looks we're on Gilmore Girls Time today, where down is up and right is left as Luke and Lorelai are about to give speeches at Stars Hollow High in the middle of the school day but Shane, Lane, Rory and Jess are not in school and no one cares, so it's Who The Fuck Knows O'Clock.

Stars Hollow High: Jess is not graduating because he never went to class. Luke: How could I possibly know that? Jess settles into a chair with a chemistry textbook. Our Child Labor Kingpin here Luke Danes tells him to go help Cesar downstairs. Jess says his education is more important than Luke's desire to use his nephew for cheap child labor. Luke disagrees. Luke goes to change in his bedroom leaving Lorelai, Jess, and a cloud of awkard silence to mingle in the other room. Luke has a book on his shelf called "Forty Days" but i can't find anything with that title. It sounds kinda erotic, tbh. Lorelai says she's gone swimming with Luke and has seen him shirtless before. Que? Jess: Have you seen him with his shirt off lately? He's really let himself go. Lorelai: *Sneers and ignores him. (to Luke): And lose the baseball hat! Jess: I think his head will fall off without it. Lorelai (snarkily): I think he'll be okay. You wanted Jess to talk, right? You're going to continue bitching to everyone you know that Jess Mariano only speaks in grunts like a caveman unlike your little fucking English scholar there Dean Forrester, right? He just lobbed you two funny quips in a row (and you love funny quips!) but now you're silent and giving him a dirty look and a nasty attitude. WHAT DO YOU EVEN WANT, WOMAN? MAKE UP YOUR MIND! WHY SO SILENT QUIPPY! WHAT DID THIS CHILD EVER DO TO YOU!

I'm just gonna sit here and read my little Chemistry book, and one day I'm gonna make 40 kajillion dollars when my books are made into blockbuster movies, and I will own you, Aunt Lorelai. I will own you.

Lorelai doing the Fry squint at Jess when he asked if something was wrong, because she refused to make conversation with him.

Speaking of Gilmore Girls Time. Let's stop the clock for a minute here. Moments ago, Shane was at work. She rang up Rory and Lane, and they left immediately. The scene then cuts to Lorelai entering the diner and then after he gets a brief lecture about his clothing choices, Lorelai and Luke start to head upstairs so he can change. In order for Closet Girl to be Shane, her shift would have ended seconds after she finished with Rory and Lane, and then she would have to immediately run down the street, sneak upstairs to Luke's apartment without him noticing and would only be seconds into servicing Jess as Luke and Lorelai are about to walk in PLUS he would need time to hide her in the closet and pull up his pants and appear cool calm and collected. I know Shane is a slutty superhero but could she really put that off in just a few minutes? Conclusion? It wasn't actually Shane in that closet and Jess has a rotation of girls who skip school with him to service him in his uncle's closet.

#gilmore girls #denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 3 #OGCTOOD #jess mariano #rory gilmore #shane #queen shane #luke danes

[a-queer-seminarian]

*deeeeep breath* so. (cw church hurt, religious queerphobia)

another Thing has happened in the unfortunately still-ongoing saga of The Pentecost Incident (see my tag if you don't know, but basically, i visited my childhood church back in late May, my priest gave a queerphobic sermon, i got up and said something, got kicked out and verbally harassed by a dude, it went a little bit viral, ugh). (Oh btw i also discuss it a bit near the end of my latest podcast ep over here).

the priest in question, who's been at this same parish since 2002, has now been reassigned to a different church elsewhere in the Cleveland area.

naturally the same Cleveland journalist who's been covering this story since it started published a fresh article that questions whether the move is related to what happened back in May. The official diocese statement is that the events are unrelated, which. Sure. i could see. I definitely don't think it's "punitive" like the article suggests — apparently this other church is in a more conservative area / the parishioners are more conservative. So i could believe this is either a coincidence, or the bishop decided he'd be a better fit for this other church...or hell, that father tim is the one who requested the transfer to get out of the spotlight or something

which just. really bums me out. because unless he's really changed that much since i knew him better in high school (so a good decade ago), Father Tim isn't like, a Mega Conservative?? Like, relatively speaking, for a Catholic priest.

...If i really wanted to know, i guess i'd have to like, listen back through a ton of his homilies to see if they have gotten more conservative over time but. obviously i'm not going to do that because that would be The Worst thing i could do for my mental and spiritual health lol but. part of me is tempted just so i can Know.

i did what i did primarily as a message to anyone in the pews feeling as alienated and betrayed as i did; and secondarily in hopes that Father Tim would see how what he preached was so hurtful. i sent him a loooong email afterward to explain my feelings more (he replied with a quick sentence about not wanting to talk right now but i'm hoping he at least read it).

and now i can't stop thinking about like. what if what i did instead pushed him further right?? fed his persecution complex???

despite the fact that people on the left don't tend to pose any real physical threat to those we protest, and that i was the one who ended up verbally threatened in this situation, i was never surprised when conservative Catholics by-and-large responded to this incident by being like "see! Catholic-phobia is real!" ...But i hate to think that someone like Father Tim, who's known me for most of my life, would feel like i threatened him or whatever.

part of me knows that wouldn't really be on me if that's the case. most of me knows i would have felt the need to get up and say something regardless of how it's all shaken out — as gut-wrenching as it feels to have so little control over the narrative, i still couldn't have just sat there and said nothing. And i've had enough people from the broader St. Raphael community reach out to thank me and say what I did was encouraging or even healing to stand by my decision.

and yet. it still feels really painful. and this added bit about him being transferred to a new church just makes my stomach hurt. i bet there are people within the parish who now blame me and loathe me for like, tearing their community apart or whatever. and i bet the new church will welcome father tim in like a hero, maybe even expect him to preach more things like what he did that day, which will only push him farther right...

all of this is out of my control. i keep trying to center myself and remind myself of that. but God, it's just painful.

#pentecost incident

[apprenticestanheight]

Sixties Era Horror Film- Chainshipping x afab! reader

the people have SPOKEN and the motivation has let me do what I do best, so a little more than two weeks after my original post about it, I present to the audience who cared about the concept: chainshipping x reader with a free use kink! This has been on my mental rotation of smut concepts since I posted about it and so having the will to write it was actually a nice change of pace. I adore poly! chainshipping as a concept and so this was naturally fun to write and I hope that it's fun to read.

if the anon who asked about it a little after christmas is reading, I hope you like it and it is for some reason detriemental to me that you know it was your ask that spurred me on to write this rather than just think about it.

This fic is for audiences of 18+! Minors, do not interact.

Fic type - this is just--it's shameless, kinky smut bc I am a shameless kinky writer

Warnings - kink gets discussed so there are a couple mentions of somno, pegging, breath play, petplay (as per usual, in use of nickname only bc I was looking for gn petnames and I, as always, used puppy before I remembered nicknames outside of my go-to) being tied up, hickeys, fear but in a like,, horny way and of course the big one and the center of the fic: free use! I did go with a gn reader for all intents and purposes but the reader is afab as that anatomy is the kind I know the best.

Some days, you were almost a little grateful for the bastard known as Jigsaw by the general public.

Not for too many aspects of the trap nor it's aftermath--being chained by the foot to a pipe close to what you'd at the time presumed to be a dead body despite it being the very alive body of Jigsaw, for one, was not something you were grateful for.

You weren't grateful for the bullets Lawrence had shot into your chest and stomach, nor the one Adam had shot into your leg. You were not grateful for the fact that Adam had been left for one week where you'd been left for three, nor for the trauma you'd endured and somehow managed to come out the other end of.

But, a year post escape and ten months into a relationship with Adam and Lawrence both, you could at a minimum say you were grateful for the fact that being in the trap had allowed you to meet the loves of your life.

You all lived in an apartment that you split the rent on, and living in an apartment in Jersey in 2002 as a group of three was easy enough.

Adam had been working as a gallery participant, having been approached in mid October by someone who'd heard he was a photographer and wanted to see how decent he was at the whole photography thing. Since then, he'd made a deal that guaranteed him at least half a decade of employment. Two individual collections a year plus collections done by him and three additional photographers that were focused around either a specific season or the holidays that made up that season, and when that was combined the take home money was $2000 a month after taxes, with a one thousand dollar bonus at the beginning of every season to compensate for his part in the seasonal collections.

Lawrence still worked as an oncologist, though he'd at least tried to schedule his hours so that they were more structured and so that he could have time during his day to take a breath for a minute or two, and even post-divorce, he made damn good money.

You, however? You worked as a hotel receptionist post-trap making $3200 a month. You'd worked in charity and marketing before the trap but post-trap you'd searched for consistency, which you couldn't find in a day job that was completely and structurally commission based, so you switched career paths. Maybe one day you'd get promoted until you ran the hotel at which you were working as a receptionist, but at twenty-eight and nine months into working there, you were in no rush to climb up the corporate ladder.

You, Adam, and Lawrence had all used up your PTO to take three weeks off in the new year, and so you were all home pretty much all the time.

It had opened up a lot of conversation opportunities and the night of your first day off, you'd all had a bit to drink and kinks that you'd not already discussed came up.

Lawrence, a little unsurprisingly given a loveless marriage and a sexless bedroom, was pretty vanilla, which you already knew as you'd had sex before that discussion. He liked being dominant, liked giving you and Adam practically endless praise, but in a more shocking turn of events, didn't hate the ideas of breath play or very dark hickeys in very visible spots. He also had a thing for seeing you and Adam wearing his work shirts, apparently, and you and Adam had exchanged a nod while you both noted doing that more often.

Adam, also unsurprisingly, adored pegging and was definitely a switch. He mentioned somewhat enjoying breathplay and liking the way that the baggier sweatpants he'd owned managed to hug Lawrences ass and how you looked in the white and black shirts he wore under his flannels. He also liked being tied up and didn't totally hate the idea of somno, which you bit your lip about while Lawrence nodded, clearly thinking the same thing.

You, in a surprising turn of events, were really big on free use, somno, and fear in the right context. Adam had laughed a little, asked if you'd ever gotten off while in one of those stupid haunted house pop-ups during Halloween, and you'd brushed it off, explaining free use to them instead of thinking about just how much you would've sold your soul for in the name of being fucked by Mickey Alteri in 1997.

"It's--it's like--either of you can pretty much use me whenever you want," you laughed nervously, a little scared of being shamed for the idea. "Like, if I'm doing dishes or just watching tv or something, all you need to do is kiss me and maybe undo one of the buttons on my shirt and I'm all yours. It's not something I've ever really told anyone about because I know that not everyone likes that kind of thing and I don't need to be kinkshamed by someone I've gone on two dates with. I honestly never expected it to come up."

"Use you?" Adam asked, a sultry smirk playing on his lips.

"Whenever?" Lawrence at least had the decency to bite his bottom lip to keep from smirking. "That has been noted."

"Noted," Adam nodded, kissing your neck softly.

After that, the kinks you'd discussed that night rarely came up. Two weeks into the time you all had off and you were starting to think Lawrence and Adam had completely forgotten, not really caring about it much as Adam had gone to grab a couple of groceries and Lawrence was reading while he relaxed in the bed that you shared where you were on the couch, knee deep into some sixties-era horror movie about a group of college seniors who were being picked off one by one.

And then Lawrence came into the living room, hummed when he saw you and tilted your head back to press a kiss against your lips.

"You said whenever, mm?" Lawrence asks as he pulls away, face only milimeters from yours.

You shudder a deep breath in as you hear the sound of keys followed by the door opening.

"I did," you nod.

"Now's a good time, I take it? You're watching a horror movie so it must be."

You laugh, embarrassed, nodding again. Lawrence rounds the couch and pulls you close, presses a kiss to your forehead briefly.

And then Lawrences lips are on your neck and you hear Adam putting the things he'd grabbed into their rightful spots in the kitchen before he joins you, pressing a kiss to the side of your head as you lean it back and press it against the back of the couch.

"Lawrence is using you, yeah puppy?"

You nod, letting Lawrences hands slip under the shirt you'd stolen from Adam.

"Mhm," you hum, hand reaching up to Adams neck. Lawrences lips trail down your neck, moving past the hurdle created by the shirt that he's hiked up to your collarbones. Adam holds it in place and Lawrence kisses your chest softly, drawing out softened moans of pleasure.

"Well, we don't want to interrupt your movie, baby," Adam whispers, lightly nipping at your clothed shoulder. "Gonna watch it for us, yeah?"

You turn your eyes to the screen, letting Adam take your shirt off your torso as Lawrences kisses move down your navel.

Watching the movie becomes difficult as all you can focus on are the feelings of Lawrences and Adams lips, Lawrence kissing, sucking and biting at the skin of your stomach and hips while Adam kisses relentlessly against your neck, hands sliding to your nipples to roll them between deft fingers.

Your moans are quiet, buried in your throat for the fear of being too loud, but as Lawrences lips trail back up your chest, hands finding your hips and Adams lips move back up your neck until he's kissing your jawline and beside your head, they get just a bit louder.

"Lift your hips for Lawrence, baby," Adam whispers. "I think he wants to fuck you. Wants to use you and leave you full of him."

You moan, doing as Adam instructs. Lawrence laughs against the skin of your shoulder, pressing a kiss there as he gets the boxers and sweatpants you'd worn pulled off your legs, exposing your wet cunt to the cold air of the living room.

"You're such a good puppy for Adam and I," he whispers. "Don't come while I'm inside you, all right? I know Adam loves eating you out and I can imagine he'd want to eat you out while you're full of my cum so that, once he's done enjoying what I've left behind, his face ends up drenched in you."

You tilt your head back in search of Adams lips. He laughs into the kiss, pulling away only enough to talk so that he can call you insatiable before you continue.

Lawrence thrusts into you slowly, kneeling on the hard wood and pulling your legs to rest on his hips. He kisses Adam languidly while he waits for you to adjust, one of Adams hands relocating to your nipples while Lawrences hand is on his face.

Eventually, when you start rutting against Lawrence, the kiss he shares with Adam ends and he starts thrusting to you at exactly the pace he knows will have you releasing around him the quickest, though the adage of Adams hands and lips anywhere they can reach on your torso certainly doesn't make doing what Lawrence had asked of you any easier.

Lawrence is pulling out right as you're teetering on the edge, leaving you breathless and full of his cum without having met your own release.

"Gonna let Adam have a taste?" Lawrence asks, kissing your lips gently. You look completely and totally blissed out from all the touching but you feel infinitely eager to have Adams lips against you so you nod, let Lawrence help you get to a kneeling position while Adam slips around the couch, slipping his head in between the space between your pussy and the back of the couch.

His hands find your hips with ease and he pulls you down onto him, moaning into you when he tastes Lawrences cum on your folds.

"Fuck, baby," Adam whispers. "Oh, this is perfect."

His lips attach themselves to your clit as Lawrences hands go to unzip the zipper on Adams jeans. He frees Adams cock and spits on his hand, giving Adam a hand job while Adam eats you out like he's never eaten a day in his life.

You watch Lawrence get Adam off, thrusting against Adams face after a few minutes have passed. The action makes Adam laugh, gently probe your waiting hole with his tongue as Lawrences hand keeps going with the ministrations he's started.

"Fuck," you moan, eyes about ready to roll into the back of your head. Adam swaps his tongue for his fingers, letting his tongue and his lips move back to your clit as you keep thrusting. "Lawrence, Adam--oh, fucking hell."

Lawrence laughs. "I love how you sound when Adams doing what he does best," he says. "I think Adam would argue that he better likes the way you sound when I finger you, though."

Adam hums confirmation and it reverberates against you, making you quicken the pace and drawing another laugh from Adam.

"Gonna come over him, baby?" Lawrence asks teasingly. "Gonna get Adams face drenched in your cum? I think he wants that--I know he'd die happily so long as a dick or a pussy was in his mouth when he went."

You laugh a little, leaning forward and pressing your forehead against Lawrences shoulder.

"So good," you moan. "So fucking amazing."

Adam presses his tongue flat against your clit, and Lawrences lips move to kiss across your chest, tongue and teeth taking care of your nipples as Adams lips and hands make careful but quick work of your pussy and your hips.

"I'm so--I--" is all you can get out as far as words go before you're coming against Adams face, clenching haplessly around his fingers.

Adam releases from Lawrences ministrations at the same time as you release as a result of his, moaning breathlessly as he slips his face out from under you.

He'd come over Lawrences hand and as you sit down on the couch, not bothering to calm your legs or the way that they jitter from the aftershocks, Lawrence presses his fingers against your bottom lip.

You lick Adams cum from Lawrences hand while Adam watches, and Adam kisses Lawrence, the taste of you on his tongue and your wetness pretty much covering his chin, while you watch.

Carefully you all go to the bathroom, showering amidst kisses and random bickering sessions. Adam lends you a pair of his sweatpants and Lawrence lends one of his work shirts, and you end up deciding to go to your bedroom.

"Think we're due in for some pad Thai," Adam whispers, pressing a kiss against your forehead. "It's six o'clock, and dinner can't be a bad idea right now, can it?"

Your arms are around Adams waist while Lawrences are around yours, and Adam has one arm draped across your shoulder and Lawrences.

"Pad Thai doesn't sound terrible," you nod. "But--if I fall asleep before it gets here, I am not to be judged."

"We would never," Adam says teasingly. "And I mean, if you do fall asleep, we're the ones to blame, right? We chose to fuck you, even if you're the one with the free use kink."

"Did we do it right?" Lawrence asks, pressing a kiss against your shoulder. "I mean--based off how you described it, there's no wrong way to do it but both Adam and I were kind of unsure. I'm not a very kinky person and even though Adam is kinkier than I, free use isn't something either of us have really heard of."

"Scott talked about it a bit when he was in college and I was discovering all the glories of weed when I was in my early 20s," Adam admits. "That's the extent, though. I'll call Meis in half an hour, have it delivered. Don't wanna leave this bed, if I'm honest."

You laugh. "Neither do I," you press a kiss against Adams shoulder before turning around to face Lawrence.

"I love you guys," you whisper.

"We love you too," Adam presses his lips against your neck. "Grateful for the fact that the bathroom lead to us meeting, if I'm completely honest."

"I am too, sometimes," Lawrence agrees, pressing his lips against the center of your collarbones.

You laugh a little, enjoying the feeling of their lips as a comfortable, loving silence begins to occupy the room.

#chainshipping #chainshipping x reader #poly! chainshipping x reader #adam stanheight x lawrence gordon #adam stanheight x lawrence gordon x reader

[thesinglesjukebox]

SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR - "MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR" (2001) (2024)

23 years on and this groove's still got some life in it...

[7.11]

Thomas Inskeep: Sophie Ellis-Bextor should've been the next Kylie — and for a couple years, almost was. Her 2001 debut album Read My Lips spun off a trio of top 3 singles in the UK, including this one, which has over time become her true classic. Dua Lipa's entire career was birthed in this single, the dictionary definition of ebullient dance-pop. (It's fitting that Lipa's "Houdini" is currently the most-played song on UK radio as this single is re-ascendant.) SEB has never gone anywhere: she's still making music, touring (based on her 2022 Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Kitchen Disco (Live at the London Palladium), she still sounds great), and is now a DJ on BBC Radio 2. She just didn't become the massive pop star she deserved to be. Now, thanks to its placement in a climactic scene in Saltburn, her greatest single is getting its flowers, climbing back up to #2 in the UK (so far — my fingers are crossed it can make it that final notch higher). "Dancefloor" still sounds fresh, certainly fresher than the glut of '90s-sampling dance-pop dominating the UK charts. This single sparkles, SEB giving a knowing wink as she sings, especially on the line "gonna burn this goddamn house right down." She knows what she's doing here: making magic.   [10]

Edward Okulicz: I bought this on single back in 2002, which tells you something (other than that I am old): it was an irresistible bit of sparkly disco radio pop back in the day. Move it forward or backwards a few years and it might have been an indie rock song for someone else, a filter house record, or (gulp) a Ronan Keating record. Fortunately that never occurred, and it's a delight to see a classic gain new fans from age groups and territories that didn't get it on saturation rotation. Part of it's the solid song by Gregg Alexander, who at his best was a master craftsman of a much-maligned form. Another part of it's the much nimbler, slinky production compared to the rest of his soft-rock oeuvre. And a very, very large part of it is the Debbie-Harry-but-English pose of Ellis-Bextor, too cool to do anything but be filmed dancing from the waist up while she stomps her heel into your eardrums. "Murder" really has everything — a catchy chorus, the tinniest guitar solo ever, hooks that fall as much off the words as the melody — and so is perfect for every occasion, even a movie I am never, ever going to see.  [10]

Alfred Soto: Like the Pet Shop Boys' "Rent," waaayyyy too good for Saltburn — perhaps Emerald Fennell thought their incandescence would rub off on her as if it were glitter. Part of a vanished climate of French house-inspired crossover pop like Kylie Minogue's "Love at First Sight," Sophie Ellis-Bextor presages Katy B's regular-person anonymity: she surveys the strings and rhythm guitar licks like a party hostess keeping an eye on the band while sipping her prosecco. [8]

Alex Clifton: I haven't seen Saltburn and frankly have no interest in it, but this film has led to the Sophie Ellis-Bextor renaissance which is a net good for society. "Murder on the Dancefloor" is just brilliantly composed and produced; it feels as fresh today as it did twenty years ago. There are so many thrilling little moments from Ellis-Bextor's vocal delivery: the way her voice curves into "about your kiiiiiind," the little rasp in "there may be others," the little trill of "dancefloor" in the bridge. I feel so biased writing this review because I've literally been listening to this song since I was a kid, but I'm so jazzed about "Murder" finally receiving the love it deserves.  [10]

Ian Mathers: How can you not love pop music when it'll randomly do things like this, suddenly giving us a song to review from before the earliest days of the Jukebox, that is here purely because of its use in a movie that I have not seen but am informed was probably picked on the basis of Ellis-Bextor's plot arc in the music video. And if I'm not willing to go to bat for it quite as hard as I would for "Running Up That Hill," I did love "Murder on the Dancefloor" in 2001 and it still sounds great now. I don't find myself having any reaction more complicated than happiness at hearing it again and that particular joy of people liking something you like. [8]

Nortey Dowuona: If you told me this came out in 2021 and Emerald Fennell asked Sophie to use it in her movie set in 2001 because it was just that on point in depicting the time, I would agree. Then after taking out my phone, I'd be punched in the face and meekly give up my phone. Then, after watching you sprint into a nightclub, I'd immediately thank goodness you didn't ask for the passcode and run like hell for the closest subway. I am three stops from home before I remember this did not actually come out in 2021; there are other Sophie Ellis-Bextor songs and jailbreaking is a thing now. [10]

Leah Isobel: RIP Mark Fisher. You would've written a hell of a blog post about Saltburn. [7]

Mark Sinker: Necessary digression 1: heraldry as a science in Europe is roughly 900 years old, a bright and stylised easy-read guide, highly rule-bound and policed, to class and land and title — which is to say to material history (its jargon-field is still mostly words not otherwise used in the UK since the 14th century; even property law is less lousy with extinct Norman French terms). And like many very aged things, it has necessarily also passed through phases and fashions, as technologies of display arrive and depart. In fact the first inkling I had that I wasn’t going to get on with Saltburn was the typeface chosen for the title on-screen at the outset. It’s a font with a fairly specific ill-set ungainliness to it: it wants to have the weight of "pleasingly and weirdly old; not how we do things now," but it might just as well be some off-the-peg super-modern studio confection — or even (though I slightly doubt this) something custom-fashioned purely for the film. There’s no discernible care to the choice. Necessary digression 2: back in the late '70s when Peter Saville was busily and insouciantly borrowing from this or that actual-real document or design, of such-and-such era, part of the point was the severity of the decontextualisation — except there was a rigour to the carelessness. The item was being supplied with an iconicity (the very word) pulling you in towards whatever the item was that Factory Records was then placing on the market. The surface glamour of the original was to be funneled through in such a way that its weight amplified only the new relationship. In fact (in its stylised easy-read way) Saville’s work was ruthlessly the opposite of heraldry, so very good at managing the ambient melancholy that suffuses the wider Factory moment; all the blocks and counterspells necessary to conjure here beyond the end of creative time as the context for the music to have presence. Anyway, long story short (lol) Saltburn – which would love to believe it has accessed the aura, for example, of the cover of New Order’s Technique — is attempting to juggle the same double burden. It wants to conjure a play between the decontextualised pull of 24-hour-party-people hedonism and the real ineluctable unremovable weight of actual history and actual class and actual land and actual title. Except for its story to work it needs both dimensions (hedonism and weight; heraldry and careless scribble) to register, as Saville absolutely didn’t. No block, no counterspells, nothing to dampen the disturbances — so when poor old Sophie EB’s voice and poise are scalpeled out of their 20-year-old chart context and abruptly c/p-ed into whichever late-stage scene it is, well, here they are, as a clumsy synopsis (calculation, side-eye, dancing, death) the structure really shouldn’t require, in a role the song is the wrong mood (a faintly gauche trifle, a chirpy hustle) to deliver. The movie never works out where it gets its deep reveal from, or what shape its politics are (if politics is even a useful word here). Ill-set ungainliness all over again: the carelessness floods back into the borrowed adornment, and breaks it in pieces. I don’t even love this song that much but I hate how it gets what value it has so gracelessly driven out of it.  [2]

Jacob Satter: At the risk of killing the groove, this is a pretty boring choice for a manufactured revival track. Call me back when the kids discover "It's In Our Hands." [4]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: I'm glad everyone's having fun here but the more I try to enjoy this — either on its own terms or as an icon of nostalgia — I get nothing. Unremarkable in any year. [4]

Lauren Gilbert: It was a [10] in 2001, it's still a [10] now. [10]

Katherine St. Asaph: The thing about it being 2024 is that in the intervening 20-plus years since "Murder on the Dancefloor" came out, approximately ninety million more disco-revival tracks came out. Some of them are by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, even. And so many of those tracks are smooth where this is stiff, magisterial where this is timid (and not in a winsome Katy B kind of way; Katy got better arrangements), charged where this is inert and just generally unmurderous. It's actually startling how inessential this sounds by comparison. [3]

Oliver Maier: Even as a youth, before my brain was burdened with indulgent critical vocabulary, I felt like this song just didn't work. I can't pin down whether "Murder" is knowingly a little chintzy (dare I say camp?) or if it's just cheap tat trying sincerely to sound boutique. Benefit of the doubt granted or not, Ellis-Bextor sounds like she's doing karaoke off the sofa. [4]

Michael Hong: When Ellis-Bextor pauses, it's easy, like a quick and graceful end to a conversation rather than the expectant response to her more spirited word choice. She's committed to this casualness, easily slipping away at the hint of a faux pas, which makes the occasional lingering word more charming. "About your kind," she sings, as if looking you up and down, wondering if she's got it wrong this time; the word "others" is trailed as if she's daring you to eliminate the competition. In that way, "you better not kill the groove," delivered with such nonchalance, becomes a fervid instruction. [7]

Will Adams: It's cute, Sophie is ever-charming, but there's real problem when you've got songs in your catalog with titles like "Bittersweet" and "Heartbreak Make Me a Dancer" that offer way more palpable drama than the one with the word "Murder." [5]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Every other line is threatening here. “Stay another song,” “Don’t think you’ll get away,” “You better not kill the groove.” Sophie Ellis-Bextor isn’t demanding fear, though. That’s what makes “Murder on the Dancefloor” so irresistible: she sounds like a friend, albeit one who’s deathly serious about having a good time. When you hear her, you believe it can be this good for you too. [8]

Taylor Alatorre: Wow. They were allowed to make these slick disco-pop reimaginings with actual guitar solos back then? We must retvrn. [8]

Tara Hillegeist: It feels like a time capsule from another era in pop music entirely, because it is. There was a time when Ellis-Bextor's stately, imperial, nigh-inhuman precision of a delivery felt like nothing so much as the edifice within which pop star royalty could be crowned, particularly in the world of UK pop; it's still hard, even now, to deny the simple pleasures of someone who knows what her job is and then executes it flawlessly. But it's been over two decades since this song originally bowed, and it must be said that it was the impact of songs like, yes, "Murder" itself that raised pop music's skill floor high enough that such icy professionalism now feels like the most tiresome part of it — Dua Lipa does this regularly, after all, and with equal anonymity. No, what saves it, and ensures the song remains nothing so much as a delightful diversion (conditions of its resurgence be damned, I say), are the sampled whoops that come in beneath the guitar solo; notwithstanding that such a slice of controlled disco can credit itself with having a guitar solo to begin with, but the canned hype is such a stupendously goofy touch. It humanizes the song instantly, stripping the archness of its artifice aside to reveal the awkward smile underneath. The moment passes, of course. But the smile lingers. [7]

Anna Katrina Lockwood: I've been waiting 20+ years for an opportunity to issue a dissertation on the songwriting genius of Gregg Alexander and by god am I ready. Though it's hard to imagine it in a different form, "Murder on the Dancefloor" was apparently a cast-off single for Alexander's New Radicals debut, replaced by the equally glorious "You Get What You Give" — like, imagine being such a talented songwriter that you can just cast off a song like this, knowing you've got an equally great one to replace it with! "Murder on the Dancefloor" is just perfection in Ellis-Bextor's hands, with a galaxy of terrific choices in its production to go along with the amazing melodic structure. I still can't help but burst out laughing at the initial vocal hit in the intro on occasion, a perfect, delicately harmonized coo of "Murder!," cutting through the disco instrumental setup occurring all around. It's as great a moment of pop songwriting as I'm aware of — setting the expectation of the song's vibe from the outset. Ellis-Bextor's lyrics are outstanding, cleverly arch but not too shiny, in the thick of it yet also gliding past suavely. The song is incredibly detailed, a carefully calibrated piece — it lopes by with a relaxed stride rather than a reckless dash, a well-tailored Savile Row suit as opposed to an H&M tunic, cut to the millimeter. Yet it's also very clearly of the disco, built for singing along, difficult to avoid dancing to when it comes on. It turns on its heel at moments' notice, with layers of melody playing off each other throughout. Matt Rowe's efforts in production also deserve notice — this song sounds great, so distinctive that it is still eminently listenable 23 years on. I honestly have not a single thing to criticize about "Murder on the Dancefloor," and it's been a long time that I've considered it to be one of the truly great pop songs of my lifetime. It feels like incredibly just desserts to see it garnering so much praise now.  [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#sophie ellis-bextor #saltburn #music #pop #pop music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

[obsidiennes]

Tatsuki has Associated Akuma References

So, Tatsuki has always been a bit... extreme... as her relationship advice to Orihime in chapter 4 tells us:

But it goes even further than that. She's a fighting game boss. Specifically, she has several references to Akuma (Gouki) from Street Fighter II Turbo and beyond.

This becomes apparent starting in chapter 15:

Akuma is known for his use of the Satsui no Hado, or Surge of Killing Intent. That is exactly what Tatsuki puts on display here. She then mimics one of one of Akuma's most famous poses:

It's notable that in the Viz translation, Keigo and Mizuiro's thoughts instead class her as a devil. The specific character used in the original Japanese is 鬼. Akuma's original name of Gouki is 豪鬼, which as you can see uses that exact same 鬼. These remarks are reaffirmed by the school principle, and you can see he uses the same character:

Much later, in chapter 411, this will be returned to by Don Kanonji, who in Japanese uses the same 鬼 as well:

Back in chapter 42, while defending Orihime, we get Tatsuki giving boss dialogue:

In Japanese, while laughing maniacally she specifically says, もラと強いの出てこいやア, which means something to the effect of "Please send me a strong one." This is not unlike a lot of Akuma's quotes, especially: "Weaklings! Is there no one worth fighting?"

What is especially interesting is that Akuma came into existence at least in part because of a hoax of a character named Sheng Long. You might know that name from Dragon Ball, and Shenlong is a mythical Chinese dragon. This is pertinent as the "tatsu" part of Tatsuki's name, 竜, specifically means "Chinese dragon", and is often rendered "ryū". While there is obviously also a character of that name, Ryu, who is also an enemy of Akuma and also struggles with the Satsui no Hado in the form of Evil Ryu, Tatsuki's continued association with the "devil" and her other symbolic linkages with dragons make Akuma the more appropriate connection, in my opinion. (This is doubly amusing as she physically resembles Sakura.)

What is most interesting about this connection though, is her mention of Tekken in chapter 424:

This is one of the only named product references in Bleach, if not the only one. But it gets stranger.

We know for a fact that the Xcution/Lost Agent arc is happening in April of 2003. Tekken 4 was released on PS2 in Japan on March 28, 2002. Tekken 5 would not be released until March 31, 2005. Although there is apparently an error in the translation here (it's more like, "The next one's coming out, so if you don't return it soon, I'll have a problem"), there is no actual conceivable reason for her to need it back as the next game wouldn't come out for almost two years.

Maybe this is just another error by Kubo. However, there's another possibility.

This chapter came out on November 8, 2010, after a brief hiatus following the end of the Aizen Saga. Earlier that year, on July 24, Tekken X Street Fighter and Street Fighter X Tekken were announced. And who has continued to appear in Tekken since then (most recently in Tekken 7) and refused to stay in his own universe?

Akuma.

I submit to you that Tatsuki's mention of Tekken, so soon after the real life announcement of a Tekken and Street Fighter crossover, yet so far from the release of a Tekken game in the manga's internal chronology, is a fourth wall-breaking reference to real life events made to draw attention to the jokes associating Tatsuki with Akuma, and not supposed to make us think the Tekken series had a completely different development and release schedule in Bleach's reality.

You are supposed to think of Tatsuki as a fighting game boss. And of course you are, as chapter 68 told us:

The imagined version of her opponent has a similar hairstyle to Karin, rival of Sakura, but a much more monstrous physique. That Tatsuki can compete at all, or do any of this at a meager official weight of 41 kg and such a thin build, let alone a broken arm, comes back to her implicit Satsui no Hado. This then goes a long way toward explaining her durability, as I've covered before.

While you can assuredly plainly see that she is something of a compilation of Street Fighter references, I think that Akuma is the strongest of these for the reasons I've laid out. (Another way of saying this might be that she looks like Sakura, and dresses like Ryu, but is truly most like Akuma.)

#Out Of Character #Bleach #Tatsuki Arisawa #Meta: TATSUKI

[mars101]

Act 5: -> Scene 1: Lee Hyunjae Jaehyun

WRITTEN PART -> (0.8) -> no ss after text

june 10th, 2002.

hey travel diary, it's your favorite girl!! just saw the most hottest boy ever.. ♡♡ ok well i have seen a lot of cute boys while solo traveling but this one is different. this time… we actually talked. he sounds so majestic, a voice so smooth i think im melting as i remember the sound of it

i was feeling brave today and decided to approach him at this cute cafe, i saw him through the front window and i just had to talk to him.

his name is lee jaehyun, but i like to call him hyunjae for fun hehe. we're the same age and he's here for his studies, a semester at the university nearby. said he's deciding to go into business, you know what that means.. rich husband in the future ;)

we're going on a date tomorrow night at this restaurant by his university. the dress code is semi-formal but i'm not sure if i have anything like that in my luggage. he said that it's fine and anything i wear will be beautiful to him..

maybe later that night we'll… dot dot dot :)

July 16th: One day before Yin's Wedding.

The four were now sailing around the island. Juyeon controlling the sails and Younghoon napping on the deck. Leaving Hyunjae and Yin to talk.

“Ah, congratulations on your wedding by the way. I haven't been to one in forever, I'm honestly a little excited”

yin chuckles softly, “im excited too! i haven't been to a wedding since i was a kid”

“It's funny that Y/n now has a grown daughter, I would've loved to have a daughter. I would've spoiled her with anything she wanted.”

“do you have kids?”

“Nope, only a dog, his name's Darong..”

“hmm cute! i've always wanted a pet but i'm always running around doing stuff”

“That's perfect for pets though? Ah wait, how old are you again? I don't think I asked yet.”

“i’m twenty!”

“Oh wow! Twenty, hmm twenty years ago was around the time i met your mother..”

“how did you meet my mom..?”

Hyunjae grins as he thinks about past memories, “It was at a cafe on the mainland, I was there for a semester and honestly I should've stayed for longer if I knew I was going to meet someone like your mother.” Yin smiled softly at the sight of his gleaming eyes while talking about her mom.

“Your mom saw me from outside the window and went inside just to talk to me, the first words she said to me was,” He chuckles while remembering her past words, “hey good-looking, are you single?”

yin's mouth is agape at the idea that her mom was so bold, “no way mom said that” hyunjae smiled while shrugging, “Your mom was very charming when we first met. So charming that I decided to ask her out on a date the next day..”

“you must've really liked her”

“Of course I did. I'm going to be honest. She was the first woman to ever pursue me first. I was always the one chasing after others, which did not work at all, so to have a beautiful woman call me good looking and basically ask me out, I was going to make this a thing."

“and did it become a thing?”

Hyunjae leans back on his hands and looks away from Yin. “Well.. No? We did go on a bunch more dates and were practically stuck together all the time, but sadly, my semester had already ended. I had to go home after meeting the possible love of my life.” Yin frowns at this, “Don't worry, it was years ago, and I'm alright now, came here to possibly become close with your mom again.”

“Oh, not like that Yin, only as friends. I wouldn't want to do that to you when your dad is here. Oh, where is he by the way. I want to see who was the lucky guy to marry Y/n”

“uhm.. i don't know!”

“Oh! Uh.. I'm sorry, what?”

“i don't know who my dad is..”

june 24th, 2002.

no way… he's leaving me :( my hyunjae…

I SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN A GAP YEAR, maybe if i went to college right away i could've been in the same uni as him (if i did what jiwoo did and applied to every place we could think of)

i thought traveling was supposed to be fun, not heartbreaking. why does this happen to me :((

first, that beautiful man walked away after making eye contact with me for 10 seconds and now hyunjae..

what's next..? wait, im not going to say anything just in case i jinx myself

synopsis = a day before her wedding day, Yin decides to find her father so he can walk her down the isle, the problem? There's three candidates: Lee Juyeon, Kim Younghoon, and Lee Hyunjae.

last/next

masterlist

taglist:

@boomhoon , @sanasour , @loonaluvz , @jaerisdiction , @cowsmicwu , @jundundun , @piripurora

#tbz imagines #tbz smau #tbz x reader #the boyz drabbles #the boyz imagines #the boyz smau #the boyz x reader #the boyz scenarios #hyunjae x reader #juyeon x reader #younghoon x reader #younghoon smau #hyunjae smau #juyeon smau

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Richard Wilson.

Born Ian Colquhoun Wilson,July 9th 1936 in Greenock, he went on to study science there before completing his National Service in Singapore with the Royal Medical Army Corps. Wilson was a late convert to acting as he worked as a research scientist in Glasgow until the age of 27. He then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London. Before his most famous role as Victor Meldrew, he participated in theatre productions in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. He also directed several plays.

After several bit parts in TV shows including The Sweeney and Some Mothers Do Have 'Em' in 1978, he portrayed a regular character in the show A Sharp Intake of Breath'with David Jason between 1977 and 1980. This was followed by lead roles in the show High and Dry in 1985, and Hot Metal in 1988. It was in between these two series that I first noticed Richar Wilson in the fantastic BBC Scotland series Tutti Frutti with a host of other Scots, including Robbie Coltrane, Maurice Roëves and Katy Murphy, Richard was Eddie Clockerty, the group's devious and exploitative manager, I remember fondly the scenes he shared with Kate Murphy as his lippy secretary Miss Toner.

Wilson then won his most famous role as Victor Meldrew, although he initially turned down the part as he was younger than the character, in the sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The line 'I Don't Believe It' became the character's catchphrase, the show ran for ten years before they finally bumped him off

After One Foot in the Grave, Wilson enjoyed roles in 'High Stakes' and Life As We Know It' in 2001. Between 2002 and 2004, he appeared in several TV movies including Jeffrey Archer: The Truth and King of Fridges

Wilson returned to a recurring TV show in the form of Born and Bred' between 2004 and 2005 and has since made the transition from a grumpy old man to a wise, old apothecary in Merlin, which debuted in 2008 and finished in 2012. Since then he has been picky with his roles and not appeared in too many shows, however a wee look at Indb tells me he has two projects on the go just now, Everything I Ever Wanted to Tell My Daughter About Men also stars Alan Cummings and How Sweetly it turns.

Richard has devoted his time to working for the gay rights campaign group Stonewall he is also a patron for the Scottish Youth Theatre and has been a long-term supporter of the charity Sense.

Wilson was planning to reprise the iconic character of Victor Meldrew for one night only at The Edinburgh Fringe a few years back but in the run-up to the event the actor suddenly fell ill and had to pull out.

It was later revealed he suffered a heart attack but remembers nothing of it. He told BBC Radio 2′s Graham Norton:

“I had a heart attack and fell off a balcony. I don’t remember a thing about it.The great thing about the accident – I’m going to mention because I’d love to know who it was – the great thing about the accident is that there was a doctor walking by, and if he hadn’t been walking by, I wouldn’t be talking to you now"

The veteran actor is still working, latest roles have been in Around the World in 80 Days in 2021, A new film, Sweetly It Turns is next for Wilson.

#Scotland #scottish #actor #one foot in the grave #happy birhtday #telivision #theatre #cinéma