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At home with Ben and Jen

Lopez and Affleck sit down for their first-ever primetime interview together, an exclusive from Pat O’Brien of “Access Hollywood.”

July 18, 2003, 8:12 AM EDT / Source: NBC News

Audiences have always been captivated by the great Hollywood romances, the classic couples whose chemistry on the wide screen and in real life is electric and enduring. And who could forget Bogey and Bacall, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, or Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor? This summer, another charismatic couple is in the spotlight — Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, two big stars who met on the set and made headlines worldwide after a whirlwind romance. Do they have the stuff and the staying power to become another classic couple? Lopez and Affleck sit down for their first-ever primetime interview together, an exclusive from Pat O’Brien of “Access Hollywood.”

Forget what your astronomy teacher told you. This is what happens when stars collide. In this case when Ben met Jen. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were of course famous in their own right before the film “Gigli” brought them together on-screen and off. He, the leading man with brawn and brains, only 25 when he won an Oscar for writing the script “Goodwill Hunting” along with childhood buddy Matt Damon; she, the triple threat known as J. Lo., a singer, dancer, and actress with a personal life as Technicolor as her movies.

But their romance has propelled them to a whole new level of fame. Every move they make, from the red carpet to a Red Sox game is photographed and talked about again and again. And all that buzz has made Ben and Jen a very formidable duo.

Pat O’Brien: “So you are dating, huh?”

Jennifer Lopez: “Uh, uh.”

Ben Affleck: “I guess we just found out, it seems.”

O’Brien: “This is your first interview together. What does it feel like? You’re finally doing this.”

Affleck: “Good, pretty good, I gather. It is like being stoned apparently. [laughter] No!”

The future Mr. and Mrs. Affleck invited us into a rental house he’s staying in, in Vancouver. It’s more modest than one might expect. Both are shooting films in Canada. And this is where they’ve spent most of their summer weekends — a waterfront haven, away from the relentless attention they’ve received since becoming a couple.

O’Brien: “Do you realize how fascinated America is by you? I mean, do you ever say, ‘What happened here?’”

Lopez: “It’s so weird to even hear you say that.”

Affleck: “Yeah.”

Lopez: “It’s like such a strange thing. No we don’t sit around here and think about that.”

Affleck: “I don’t know what’s the fascination. It seems strange to me. I don’t know what to tell you. I think you can really make yourself crazy if you start thinking about who is paying attention to me, who is interested in me.”

Okay, so another couple may have briefly stolen their thunder.

O’Brien: “How happy were you when Ashton Kutcher and Demi started dating?”

Affleck: “Elated. I tried to drum that up. I’m constantly calling the tabloids, like have you guys heard about Kirk Douglas and Mandy Moore? You know I sort of anticipated that, like, there would be a certain amount of attention this would get and then something else would come along that would be more tabloid fodder.”

Wishful thinking Ben. Expect a whole new round of buzz when the two walk the red carpet as co-stars for the first time, when “Gigli” has its world premiere next week. Since becoming what some have labeled, “The Bennifer Show,” Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have seen their already impressive status and earning power rise even more.

This year, both cracked the top ten list of Forbes celebrity hottest 100. Ben was at number seven and Jennifer was ahead at number five. Although, according to the magazine he out earned his fiancé last year, $36 million to her $29 million — and that can buy a lot of bling-bling.

But Ben says don’t believe those stories you’ve read about his lavish spending habits, though there’s no denying he went all out on that 6.1 carat, pink diamond engagement ring.

O’Brien: “What’s the most extravagant thing you bought her? You bought the ring?”

Affleck: “I would say engagement ring’s probably a thing that men spend the most money on and they’re right.”

O’Brien: “What about car rumors that you’re like —”

Affleck: “Yeah, because I somehow have like 8,000 cars. I wish. Where are all of these cars? [laughter] I want the cars. I’m sure I’m number one carjack target. Carjackers are so disappointed. They’re staking out my house like, where are all the cars?”

In fact, these two super-rich superstars say it’s their middle class background that brought them together. At heart, he’s just a kid from bean town and she’s, well, you know.

O’Brien: “You and Ben are kind of from the same background. Does that work for you?”

Lopez: “We really connect on that level. You know I could say this is how we spent Christmas or this is how we did New Year’s and blah blah, and he’s like yeah, that’s exactly what we did, too.”

Their drive is another thing they have in common. Both have put in years of hard work to get to where they are now. Affleck grew up in a working-class neighborhood outside of Boston. His father was a part-time actor who worked odd jobs to make ends meet. His mother was a school teacher. They split up when he was 11.

By then he was already in show business, landing a role at age eight in the PBS series, “The Voyage of the Mimi.” The child actor eventually graduated to adult parts in independent films like “Dazed and Confused” and “Chasing Amy.”

And then, in 1998, came the big break that’s become legend in Hollywood: that Oscar for “Good Will Hunting” and the clout that goes with it. Within a few years, Ben Affleck was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. The former Indy guy was now the heroic leading man in films like “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor,” and “Daredevil.” And the 30-year-old actor says it’s those blockbuster movies that allow him to do other films like “Gigli,” for which he is earning a cool $12.5 million.

Affleck: “The pattern in terms of doing one kind of movie to afford myself the opportunity to do another more interesting, sort of less obvious kind of move, the kind of movie people typically don’t want to take chances on unless they feel like they have some one who was just in a hit movie, you know what I mean?”

Jennifer Lopez entered show business a little later in life than her fiancé. She grew up middle class, one of three sisters. Her dad is a computer programmer and her mom, just like her fiancé’s, is a schoolteacher. Jennifer trained as a dancer and was a Bronx girl barely out of her teens when she got her first big break in 1990, selected to be one of the Fly Girls on the television show, “In Living Color.”

She broke into the movies at age 25, with a luminous debut in “Mi Familia.” But it was the lead role in the 1997 film, “Selena,” that really got her noticed. She’s been working steadily in films ever since, proving she can play everything from an abused wife in “Enough,” to a real-life Cinderella in “Maid in Manhattan.”

Movies, it seems, were just part of the plan. Lopez, who says she always wanted a career like Barbra Streisand’s, is also a top-selling recording artist.

Lopez: “Barbara Streisand. I don’t know if I would like my career just to be just like anybody’s. I want to, you know, make my own way and make my own path.”

O’Brien: “I think you’re doing that.”

Lopez: “You know, blaze my own trail.”

This girl from the Bronx accomplished something that girl from Brooklyn never did. Lopez is the only woman to have a number one movie, “The Wedding Planner,” and a number one record, “J. Lo,” all in the same week. And it was that drive and talent that got Ben Affleck’s attention, long before they even met.

Affleck: “One of the things I was most struck by was how she was able to do the sort of rock star thing and be an actress as well. A lot of people have tried to do it and it’s a really hard thing to both at a high level.”

It would take one of those Hollywood twists of fate to bring them together on the set of “Gigli.” Jennifer Lopez was in only after another famous actress bowed out.

O’Brien: “Have you thanked Halle Berry for dropping out of the movie?”

Lopez: “I should. I could write a little note now that I think about it.”

O’Brien: “That was a twist of fate, right?”

Lopez “Yeah, that was, you know, a funny thing, how things happen.”

A MATCH MADE ON THE SET

It’s a bit of movie history, when Affleck and Lopez are on screen together for the first time. The film is called “Gigli,” and Ben plays the title character, Larry Gigli. He’s a mobster wanna-be — with a soft side. Jennifer is Ricky, a tough, take-no-prisoners female enforcer — who also happens to be a lesbian. Believe it or not, it’s a love story.

Before “Gigli,” these two superstars were virtual strangers to each other.

O’Brien: “When did you meet?”

Lopez: “We met at a couple of the parties. You know we barely paid any attention to each other at all...”

Affleck: “Yeah. [laughter] That’s a nice way of saying, so you iced me?

Lopez: “No. You iced me.”

But both stars came to the set with their own expectations about the movie and about each other.

O’Brien: “When you found out that you were going to work with her on this movie, what were your first thoughts?”

Lopez: “For real...

Affleck: “I thought, I actually wanted Jen to do the movie. l thought that it was important. I wanted to have somebody who was well-known, a big star, and then I was a little bit kind of thinking, well is she going to be, you know, what’s that going to be like? You know, I’m sure it’s the same for you, that you go in, you kind of want to see what people are going to be like.”

Lopez: [makes a face]

Affleck: “No, not the same for you?”

Lopez: “I go into a movie with an open mind.”

Affleck: “Do you really?”

Lopez: “I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t worried at all. I worry more that the people are going to like me!”

O’Brien: “So did you call your girlfriends and say, I’m working with Ben Affleck, he’s the sexiest man alive.”

Lopez: “He wasn’t the sexiest man alive then, no.”

Affleck: “He wasn’t even remotely appealing, really, to tell you the truth, he was so far from the sexiest man alive I thought he was kind of homely.”

Lopez: “No, I didn’t mention it. Actually I was excited to work—”

Affleck: “Don’t lie, you called your girlfriends up and were like, hey I’ve been working with Ben Affleck.”

Lopez: “He’s so fine... No, I didn’t... It felt like we had good chemistry. You know what I mean? He likes to improv. I could improv back. He’s the best person to improv in the whole entire business, he’s so funny.”

Affleck: “Don’t be like my mom. [laughter]

Lopez: “I’m your mom now!”

Affleck: “Don’t do that thing where you’re like, he’s the best.”

Lopez: “He is though. I’m not the only one who says it.”

One Gigli scene that’s sure to get talked about has Jennifer striking yoga poses. With some not-ready-for-primetime dialogue, the studio is keeping it tightly under wraps.

O’Brien: “The yoga scene, which is sensational, — you’re smiling! We can’t even say that word here.”

Lopez: “You can’t say yoga? No, no, I know what you’re talking about, but you have to go see the movie to know what we’re talking about.”

O’Brien: “When people see this movie, they’re going to see that first time when you see each other in the movie...and it looks like you’ve fallen in love right there when that door opens.”

Affleck: “Acting. We should get Academy Awards for that right there, is all I can tell you. Golden Globes at least.”

Lopez: “For chrissake.”

Affleck: “Sag. People’s Choice. Blockbuster.”

Lopez: “Ha, Blockbuster!”

Remember, when Ben and Jen were filming “Gigli,” she was a newlywed, married to her backup dancer Chris Judd. And she was, in Ben’s words, “off-limits.”

Lopez: “I think people will inevitably wonder. The truth is that when we did start working together we got along great. I mean, we really did become friends, really good friends.”

O’Brien: “How good?”

Lopez: “Really good friends. You know what I mean. We talked a lot and that’s the thing. There was no kind of idea that we would be together in the future, so it was one of those things where you kind of like say too much.”

O’Brien: “What did you tell him that you don’t want him to know?”

Lopez: “We talked about past relationships and how you are and...we gave out too much real quick, you know, but it was fun.”

And with hours and hours of filming together, the costars say the intimate details flowed.

Affleck: “Because you know when you aren’t trying to impress someone cause you don’t think that you’re going to be dating them its like, oh this doesn’t matter, I don’t have to impress her. You’ll kind of admit to things.”

Lopez: “He told me all about his ex-girlfriends.”

Affleck: “Ah, turn the volume down on that. So anyways, you know how you like put out a representative, like Chris Rock says, and the representatives meet.”

Lopez: “He wasn’t trying to impress me.”

Affleck: “We could get to know the real person.”

Lopez: “He’s real person, he wasn’t trying to rap to me.”

Affleck: “I haven’t forgotten all that sh*t either.”

Lopez: “Ha, luckily I had nothing bad to tell. Him, on the other hand.” [rolls eyes]

O’Brien: “And when did you realize something was happening here? When did you fall in love?”

Lopez: “You keep asking that. I told you.”

O’Brien: “America needs to know this.”

Lopez: “You can’t pinpoint it. It was like we became friends first, that is the honest-to-god truth.”

The two remained friends after the movie wrapped. Ben even joined Mr. and Mrs. Judd at the opening of her Pasadena restaurant “Madre’s” in April 2002. Just three months later, Jennifer and Judd split, her second divorce. Within another three months, she and Ben were engaged.

O’Brien: “How did you pop the question to her? Traditional way?”

Affleck: “You know there’s some of it that I would like that the details of it are private.”

Lopez: “It’s not private anymore because I told everybody.”

Affleck: “No you didn’t.”

Lopez: “I know I’m terrible. I’m a girl. What do you want from me? I like to talk about these things.”

O’Brien: “I want to know.”

Affleck: “You know, we took the ring out and I asked her to marry, I took the traditional approach.”

It was the proposal heard round the world. And neither Ben nor Jen was ready for the fallout, even though both had been down the road of high profile romances before.

Three years ago, she had Versace draped on her body and Sean “Puffy” Combs on her arm. Their romance was a match made in tabloid heaven, complete with that now infamous nightclub shooting, his arrest, acquittal and their breakup on of all days, Valentine’s Day. But even all that didn’t prepare her for “The Bennifer Show” hype

O’Brien: “Boy you’d think you had enough rehearsal for that with Puffy.”

Lopez: “Well, me and Puffy were in the paper a lot and there was a kind of fascination with that relationship, too, but this was a different level. I felt like I had been in the press enough that I could handle it, but even I felt a little uncomfortable with so many eyes on you watching all your steps and wondering if you’re going to break up or stay and you’ve only been together a few weeks and you’re like whoa!”

And Ben also had his own dress rehearsal five years ago when he dated an Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow.

Affleck: “I went through a lot, a similar type of thing with Gwyneth, not to this degree, but it was something I was the first time, like news about a relationship I was in was on CNN. I thought this world has gone mad now.”

But Ben says his relationship with Jennifer has earned him some major props, not only with his school teacher mom’s sixth graders, but with some old buddies from his hometown.

O’Brien: “What did they say when you started dating Jennifer? Who was the first to call?”

Affleck: [in Boston accent] “‘I got you bro. Listen I don’t mean to get in your business or nothing, but are you really with J.Lo? Tell the truth? Did you have sex with her? Did you tell me the truth? Don’t lie to me.’ I got a couple of guys that haven’t heard from, you know, 10 years from Boston. You were never impressed with anything I’ve ever done in my life until they were like, no sir, Affleck. It can’t be true.”

O’Brien: “Did you have sex with her.”

Affleck: “That’s the question, ‘did you have sex with her? You did? No sir, for real? I can’t believe it, man. I love this. Mom remember Affleck, that skinny kid from down the block?’ So I made good in Boston. That was my crowning achievement.”

LONG ROAD FROM ‘THE BLOCK’

Jennifer Lopez has come a long way from that block in the Bronx, surpassing even her own dreams of stardom. Six years ago, when she broke ground with the film “Selena,” her million dollar salary was a record for a Latina actress. Now, a week shy of her thirty-third birthday, Jennifer Lopez is one of Hollywood’s highest paid actresses period, earning $12 million for her role in “Gigli.”

And all this has made her something of an icon in the Latino community. So it was some homecoming when Jenny came back to the block to do a “Today Show” concert for the kids in her old Bronx neighborhood.

Lopez: “I think it’s important for the Latin community and just for people in general to have all different kinds of people to look up to and to be able to see yourself as a little girl and look up at a screen and say, oh that person’s just like me. That means I can do that, too, or I can do anything I want to do.”

She’s the American dream in spandex and stilettos — or as her proud finance puts it, a symbol that you can make something of yourself no matter where you come from.

Affleck: “This is somebody who nobody ever said like, hey kid, you’re going to be a star. You’ve got what it takes. She didn’t look like how people were supposed to look, she didn’t have the body shape that women were supposed to have, and rather than changing herself or trying to be something else, she said, this is who I am and she believed in herself. It’s a real Horatio Alger story.”

Jennifer Lopez: singer, dancer, actress, and she is also an entrepreneur. She has her own clothing line, accessories and even her own perfume. Being the face of J-Lo, Inc. has landed Ms. Lopez a prestigious spot on Crain’s list of the 100 most powerful minority business leaders in New York. But with power and success comes something else: a reputation. Jennifer Lopez has been branded, she says unfairly, with the dreaded big “D” for diva, who reportedly demands white flowers and candles in her dressing room, a certain thread count on her sheets, and a specific water temperature for her Evian. Hey, even Ben admits he was concerned.

Affleck: “I probably secretly thought like, you know, this is going to be a pain in the ass working with this woman. I’ll try to get through this thing and just, you know. And then it still wasn’t that way, and then at a certain point, I thought that’s a shame, you know what I mean? This woman kind of has a bad rap.”

Lopez: “All I do is really you know go to work and try to be professional and be on time and be prepared. And then you hear all this stuff that people say about you, and yeah, it can be hurtful.”

O’Brien: “Because it gets laughable — the white candles, the thread counts on the sheets, the entourage, right?”

Lopez: “And it’s funny the ones that don’t die, like I’m always...yeah, I think people are always surprised. Like when I go work on a movie or do something, when I show up and it’s just me and my cousin, my assistant and the driver, and they’re like, well, where is everybody else? This is it. It’s just me.”

Jennifer’s defenders say it’s Benny Medina who helped create that J.Lo diva image. Medina was more than a manager. In her last album notes she called him her “man on the front lines, her right hand man.” But last month they had an ugly professional breakup. She not only fired Medina, but is suing him for millions in back commissions, claiming Medina unlawfully acted as her agent on certain deals.

O’Brien: “Why did you erase all that part of your life.”

Lopez: “You know that part of my life is being settled right now and I feel like it’s been a hard situation, but I think in the end it will resolve itself in a good way because Benny and I do care about each other.”

Benny Medina issued a statement to the press in response to the lawsuit filed by his former star client, calling the charges “lies” and added: “Jennifer Lopez, by making false allegations against me, is now trying to add me to the long list of people whom she has used and discarded after she took from them all she could get... I look forward to the opportunity to have the world come to know the real Jennifer Lopez.”

O’Brien: “He said some harsh things about you.”

Lopez: “You know it’s not nice.”

O’Brien: “Not a subject you love.”

Lopez: “No I don’t love the subject because I don’t feel like you have to explain or talk about personal things or business even so much. You know what I mean? I think it’s a lot more simple than everybody makes it out to be.”

As for talk that the other Ben, Mr. Affleck, is behind the Medina firing, he insists he and Jennifer keep their professional lives separate.

Affleck: “It’s not as though I say, you should do this, that or the other thing or she says, you should do this that and the other thing, because I think it’s dangerous in any relationship if you let too much of the professional life intrude.”

These two high powered superstars try to leave the business at the office, Jennifer says they’re homebodies at heart.

O’Brien: “I read this quote.”

Lopez: “Uh oh.”

O’Brien: “Curled under Ben’s arm is where you want to be, ‘those are my favorite places,’ That’s great.”

Lopez: “You’re embarrassing me. Why did I say that? That was girl talk.”

O’Brien: “You like that though.”

Lopez: “I do, that’s my favorite place, you know. But at the end of the day, I really enjoy the safety, security, serenity of family and home. That’s what I love and I’m glad I found somebody who appreciates it just as much. And we are able to enjoy together.”

LIFE OF STARS AT HOME

They’re on screen lovers in “Gigli,” larger than life co-stars, who say even love scenes are work.

Affleck: “Even when we were doing a love scene it was about trying to make it work. I hope that once you get in there and start watching the movie that actually we’re playing two people very different from ourselves. We spent a lot of time being in character on the set.”

Ben and Jen insist working together and living together are two very different productions. When they walk through the front door, they leave all the action behind. This is how Ben and Jen say they really live: It’s Sunday afternoon at the Affleck-Lopez house and like a lot of couples, they like hanging out in sweats, just enjoying each other’s company.

You can catch Ben on the court. He’s not only a die hard sport fan. Don’t get him started on his beloved Celtics and Red Sox. But he’s pretty good playing hoops as well. Yes, the sexiest man alive’s got game.

O’Brien: “Who does wear the pants by the way in this house?”

Lopez: “Ben wears the pants. He definitely wears the pants. [laughter] ... We respect each other.”

Affleck: “I don’t think there’s any — I don’t think anybody has any like interchangeable...”

Lopez: “But I’m traditional in the way that.”

Affleck: “Yes.”

Lopez: “I take on the woman roles in certain things.”

Affleck: “She’s much more traditional than I anticipated she would be kind of when I first met her.”

Lopez: “I like to cook. And I like to make sure he has things. I’m a caretaker.”

O’Brien: “You like make him toast in the morning.”

Lopez: “Whatever. Whatever he’d like.”

And I got a treat: a cooking lesson from Jennifer herself. A Lopez family recipe for Puerto Rican fried chicken cutlets, red beans and rice.

Lopez: “I don’t even think Ben likes me to cook as much as I do. [laughter]”

O’Brien: “No, I’m sure he appreciates it.”

Lopez: “No, he does love it actually. That’s a lie. He does love it. He loves it. He really loves it... he likes everything I make.

O’Brien: “Of course he does.”

Lopez: “I don’t know what his favorite is. I’ve never asked him.”

O’Brien: “The week after your marriage, what will your name be?”

Lopez: “What do you think my name will be? Am I going change it professionally you mean? No. I think I’m going stay with Jennifer Lopez. But my name will be Jennifer Affleck obviously.”

O’Brien: “So what will your stationary say?”

Lopez: “Jennifer Affleck.”

O’Brien: “J.A. That’s J-Aff.”

Lopez: “It doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. but you gotta make sacrifices. [laughter]”

O’Brien: “Actually Jennifer Affleck’s a good name.”

Lopez: “It’s not bad. It’s not bad. I’ll take it.”

O’Brien: “where’s Ben?

Lopez: “Where he always is when I’m cooking. Watching the Red Sox, I’m sure. Ben?”

Affleck: “Yeah... is this is the domestic goddess part of the program?”

O’Brien: “We’ve put this little dinner together for you.”

Lopez: “We?”

Affleck: “Pat, I appreciate that.”

O’Brien: “Yes, we have.”

Affleck: “What is this? Fried fish or chicken? Chicken.”

Lopez: “Chicken.”

Affleck: “Well, I couldn’t see.”

Lopez: “It’s always fried. [laughs]”

O’Brien: “You do dishes Ben?”

Affleck: “When duty calls, yeah. It’s not my favorite thing in the world to do. So now I’m happy if I don’t have to do them. I do do them though.”

Lopez: “I’ve never seen you do them though!”

Affleck: “I don’t like to wash dishes. It’s not my favorite thing, no.”

THE BIG EVENT

O’Brien: “When is your wedding?”

Lopez: “Come on, Pat.”

Affleck: “Bring in the priest.”

Lopez: “Well...”

O’Brien: “Is it this summer, next summer?”

Affleck: “What do you think?”

Lopez: “When should we do it?”

Affleck: “Yeah. I’d say...”

O’Brien: “Do you have a date?”

Lopez: “Yeah, kind of.”

Affleck: “We’re working on something. But we’ll let you know when the time is appropriate.”

O’Brien: “Okay.”

Affleck: “We’ll give you a call.”

O’Brien: “One wedding matter.”

Affleck: “I told you, you can’t come, Pat. I’m not going to go through with you. [laughter] It’s a very small list. It’s very narrow. You’re just on the cusp, you’re a bubble.”

O’Brien: “Can I possibly— can I make that list?”

Affleck: “You could crash.”

O’Brien: “Okay.”

Lopez: “It’s not going to be a thing where we’re trying to hide or anything like that. We’re just— we’re not sure. We don’t feel the need to let people in because it’s boring.”

THE DRESS

O’Brien: “You’re famous for your dresses. Obviously one of the most famous dresses ever at the Grammy’s. What about your wedding dress? Do you remember that dress you wore at the Grammys?”

Affleck: “I’m not— this was the titty dress!”

O’Brien: “What’s wrong with you?”

Affleck: “I knew if I said it that way—”

Lopez: “The titty dress?”

Affleck: “—they can’t put that in the show.”

O’Brien: “It’s like you really wanted to say that.”

Lopez: “They’ll bleep it and put it in, baby. Just to have you saying that on TV.”

Affleck: “The green dress. It was a lovely dress. Beautiful dress. Very nice. Very gorgeous.”

Lopez: “Thank you.”

O’Brien: “So you have to outdo that one.”

Affleck: “Oh, no.”

Lopez: ” No. No. No. It’s not that. No, but I’m having something made.:

Affleck: “Is it green?”

Lopez: “It’s not green.”

Affleck: “It’s not green? Is it— is there a lot of cleavage?”

Lopez: “I don’t really have a lot of cleavage, baby.”

Affleck: “you got the green dress. [laughter]”

THE PAPARAZZI

O’Brien: “Well, how are you going do that though? Seriously, I mean, think about you two guys getting married with the helicopters and the paparazzi and the pictures, the scramble?”

Affleck: “Yeah, because it seems like it’d be so loud. I’ve never been to a—”

Lopez: “I think they do the helicopters when you’re trying to hide and nobody can get close or anything. And I think one of the things that we’re not going do — or maybe I should have discussed this with you? [laughter] Is that —”

Affleck: “We’re always this way.”

Lopez: “No, I think a smart thing to do would be to not make it—”

Affleck: “Invite the paparazzi?”

Lopez: “No. Is not to make it the biggest secret in the world, you know what I mean? If people want to be outside and they want to take our picture, then okay. You know, we’re not going to, you know, be with 24 million security guards that are right there. We want to just be like— have a nice wedding. We want to have it be a beautiful day about what it’s about. And if there happen to be cameras outside then that’s fine, you know. We’re not going to obsess over them.”

Affleck: “Well, I guess we’ve established that then. Guess we worked that out. No, I think the truth is to not change your life one way or another, conform to the dictates of other people. And how that’s perceived, what people might say, what good or bad. Whether there are going to be photographers or not. If I want to go to the movies or get a slice of pizza or whatever, we do that. And if somebody takes a picture and we look just ridiculous slightly then, you know, we do... that why Jennifer keeps me around. She always will look good compared to me, you know what I’m saying? She’s always a glamorous thing and I’m —

Lopez: “There are things obviously that we would keep private. We want to keep the day about our family and about us and about what we’re doing and about the commitment we’re making. That’s what it’s about that day.”

Affleck: “A wonderful little window of domestic tranquility. Isn’t it nice?”

Uh, good luck keeping that wedding private. When “Dateline” was filming right there in their own backyard...

Lopez: “Oh, that’s the paparazzi right there.”

Affleck: “That’s the real fu**ing window in the day of our lives.”

Lopez: “This is crazy. This is private property.”

Affleck: “shh...shh....”

Lopez: “Oh my God, I can’t believe this. The paparazzi right here.”

THE TOAST

O’Brien: “Do you think Matt [Damon] will break down when he makes the toast at the rehearsal dinner?”

Affleck: “He’s a very weepy, weepy man. [laughter]”

Lopez: “Well, actually the best man does the toast.”

Affleck: “The best man does do the toast. That’s true. But it’ll probably be my brother as opposed to Matt. Although—”

Lopez: “Matt can make a toast if he likes, though. [laughter]”

Affleck: “He’s welcome. He’s made many.”

THE FUTURE

O’Brien: “And the most important question: Will this be a Red Sox family or New York Yankees family?”

Affleck: “Yankees? Tell me that’s not a Red Sox family. You know what I’m saying?”

Lopez: “You can’t be involved.”

Affleck: ” I draw a line.”

O’Brien: “How are—”

Lopez: “Well, you should go now.”

Affleck: “You know, you’re not even really a Yankees fan.”

Lopez: “What do you mean?”

Affleck: “You’re father’s a Mets fan—”

Lopez: “My father’s a Mets fan.”

Affleck: “The Mets is fine. I could put up with the Mets. The Mets I could live with. I can’t— pinstripes can’t be in the house.”

O’Brien: “Right.”

Affleck: “Can’t abide it. I can’t.”

O’Brien: “But you—”

Lopez: “Our child will pick whether he wants to be a Yankee or a Red Sock.”

Affleck: “I don’t see— not if he wants to have a father he won’t. [laughter]”

So that’s a scoop. They plan on having kids, and that’s one co-production we can’t wait to see. Until then, for Ben and Jen’s short term plans, they’ll be co-stars once again in “Jersey Girl.” And in just two weeks, on July 30, there is the opening of “Gigli,” where it all began. Whether on-screen or off-screen, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, we’ll be watching. So, will their chemistry on the set morph into magic at the movies? Or end up mixed into the sale bin at Blockbuster? No doubt their fans will be rooting for Jen and Ben and “Gigli,” when it opens later this month. Because as everyone in Hollywood knows, we all love a happy ending.

#jennifer lopez #jlo #ben affleck #bennifer #access hollywood #pat o'brien #press/interviews

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jula483 · 2 years

Text

#soooo...#what do we think about r&l not saying much about latest abortion ''news'' in america on their personal twitter accounts?#they both only retweeted and liked some tweets #and some mbs on twitter are fuming #and saying how disappointed in link they are #and i just wanted to know what others think #without people on twitter hating me #because i know it would end up like that #mythical put out what thry think on twitter and instagram and those accounts still have r&l names in it #so i thought it was pretty safe to assume that we know where they stand #and sure it might be bare minimum i get that #and link stated few times in the last year that he's not much of a social media guy and he's just gonna use it professionally #aka to promote himself or stuff he creates #thats why he only tweets about podcasts/mythicon/gmm guests etc #i'm gonna agree tho those instagram stories with charles yesterday could have wait a bit #and one more thing - link is literally talking and walking anxiety #i'm not even slightly suprised he doesn't want to put himself out there and then get bunch of angry people arguing in his mentions #but yeah this whole ''say something!!!'' at celebrities every time something big happens in america is kinda strange to me?#i did not see that movement with polish celebrities when we lost abortion rights 2 years ago in poland

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marauderundercover · 3 years

Text

Taking Chances Ch. 19: Lack of Communication (Wayne Gala)

AO3

The shrill ringing of her phone tugs Marinette from her sewing machine. Glancing at the caller ID, she grins widely.

“Hey Uncle Jagged.” She says, pushing her chair away from her desk. It’d been a couple weeks since she last heard from the man as his tour had really picked up at the end. It was practically back to back concerts, so that didn’t leave a lot of time for phone calls or face times.

“Little Rocker! Glad I caught you. I have an event next week and I was hoping I could drop by the bakery so you could fix a tear in one of my suits.” He says. Marinette winces. That’s what she was supposed to do. Tell Uncle Jagged about...well, everything.

“Yeah, about that…” She trails off, wishing she’d thought to tell him about the whole ‘adopted’ thing the last time she’d seen him in person. “I’m actually not in Paris right now. I’m in Gotham spending the summer with my birth father.” She says, deciding to just rip the bandaid off. There’s silence for a minute. Then two. She looks down at the phone, frowning. Did he hang up?

“You’re in Gotham?” He finally says.

“Yup.” She says, sighing. “I’m really sorry I won’t be able to fix your suit.”

“What, no, this is great! See the event is in Gotham! It’s just a bunch of rich people and- hold on. Penny!” He yells. She catches bits and pieces of their conversation, Penny agreeing wholeheartedly with whatever it is Jagged has suddenly decided. “I have a rocking idea.” He adds.

“Okay? I’m listening.” She says, glancing at the new dress she’d started that was pinned on her dress form. She was having trouble with the shape and was quickly getting frustrated with her struggles.

“You could come with! As MDC, of course. You could wear one of your designs and get known in Gotham. The event is supposed to be highly publicized. Penny thinks it’d be a good way to get known in the US. So, whatdya say?” Jagged asks, and Marinette can just tell that he’s grinning widely, can hear it in his voice. She thinks for a minute, glancing at the dress form with a new sense of determination.

“I’ll have to double check with my dad.” She says, trying to think if they had any plans for next week.

“Of course! Let me know soon, okay? Penny says she wants to start publicizing MDC’s appearance if you’re gonna come.” Jagged says. Marinette agrees before hanging up, thinking. Would her dad let her go alone? Or would he insist on coming with? She knew Gotham was dangerous, it’s why she hadn’t gone anywhere by herself despite being a hero herself. She didn’t want to risk her Miraculous falling into the wrong hands, even if the person didn’t realize what they had. Making up her mind, she sets off to find her dad and ask about the event. She still wasn’t quite sure what it was, just that there would be plenty of big names and plenty of journalists- the perfect opportunity to build up a clientele outside of France. Checking his study first, she’s unsurprised to see he’s not there. Knowing chances were good that he was in the cave, she pulls a domino mask out of her purse. Her dad had asked her a couple days ago to wear one in the cave just in case they had unexpected visitors. Kinda like how her and Chat Noir had shown up unexpectedly that one time. Complete accident. Changing the time on the clock, she presses the button that opens the entrance, sliding in and walking through the passage. Glancing into the cave, she grins when she sees her dad, in costume, sitting at the computer.

“Hey B!” She says, knowing not to call him Dad while he was in the cowl. Something about it making him seem less intimidating, or something.

“Ladybird.” He nods. She frowns, glancing at the computer screen and wincing when she sees Superman on screen.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were busy.” She apologizes, waving awkwardly at the man on the screen. He quirks an eyebrow.

“Hello. Ladybird, was it?” He asks and she nods.

“Er, yeah. Ladybird. Nice to meet you.” She says, rocking back and forth on her heels, eyes darting around the cave. Maybe she should just leave and ask later.

“Is everything alright?” Her dad asks, obviously confused at her presence in the cave. Not that she wasn’t allowed, she just didn’t spend a lot of time there.

“I was just wondering if I could go to an event next week with my Uncle.” She says, trying to stay vague. He’s silent for a moment before nodding.

“We can discuss details later, but that should be fine.” He says. Marinette grins, bouncing up and down in excitement.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She cheers, resisting the urge to hug him. “Bye Mr. Superman!” She adds, waving before running back through the passage to work on her dress some more. This was going to be amazing!

---

Penny had picked Marinette up early the morning of the Gala. She still wasn’t sure what it was for, but that didn’t bother her. She was just excited that she had finally finished her newest dress in time for the Gala. Penny had insisted on her coming over early so that she could help Marinette do her hair and makeup, which she was thankful for. Selina apparently had something to do tonight and couldn’t help her, and she would’ve definitely been her first choice. Smiling down at her dress, Marinette looks at Penny with a grin.

“Could you take a picture for me without my face covering so I can show my parents later?” She asks. Penny nods, smiling back.

“That dress is amazing, Marinette. Truly one of your best designs.” She says. Marinette blushes at the compliment before smiling at the camera. She thanks Penny and takes her phone back, sending the picture to her Maman and Papa as well as her dad and Selina. She was extremely proud of the dress and wanted them to see her in it before she added her ‘disguise’ to protect her identity.

“Hey, Aunt Penny?” Marinette says, looking up at the woman. Penny hums, putting on lipstick. “What is the event for? All Jagged said was that it’s a Gala.” She says, Penny huffs.

“Of course that man didn’t give you any other information. Honestly, sometimes- you agreed without knowing what the event was?” She says, eyebrows raised. Marinette shrugs.

“Uncle Jagged said that it’d be fun. I trust him.” She says. Penny sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Remind me to read any contracts before you sign them, okay sweetie?” She says. Marinette nods and Penny smiles. “Good. Anyway, it’s a Wayne Gala. The family hosts several every year to help raise money for the Wayne foundation.” Penny says and Marinette freezes. Wayne Gala? As in, her father? Her family? Were they really having a Gala tonight without telling her? Or inviting her? Were they….were they embarrassed by her?

“Like, Bruce Wayne?” Marinette manages to ask, trying hard to ignore the way her heart breaks when Penny nods. That was why Selina couldn’t help her. She had to get ready for the Gala. And if she had to guess, the rest of her family was also going. What would they have done with her if she hadn’t had plans? Would they have told her then? Or would they have acted like nothing was happening. Where even was the Gala? Oh my god. It was at the Manor, wasn’t it. The thought strikes her and she winces, giving Penny a small, tense smile.

“Are you okay?” She asks, obviously concerned. Marinette nods sharply.

“Yes, one last question. Where is it?” She asks. Penny frowns, obviously not believing that Marinette was okay, but luckily not pushing it.

“Wayne Manor. The Galas are the only time the manor is opened to other celebrities. The family is usually very private.” Penny says. Marinette huffs out a puff of air, working hard to ignore the hurt in her chest. The feeling that she wasn’t enough. That they didn’t need her. Suddenly, she wasn’t excited anymore. She really wished she would have asked Jagged for more details last week, because now she was stuck going. And it was going to suck.

---

Feeling confident in her design and disguise, Marinette walks through the wall of journalists with Penny and Jagged at her sides. She was working hard to push down the intrusive thoughts that were threatening to take over. Instead, she tried to focus on the questions being called out by the journalists.

“Jagged! Jagged Stone, is this really MDC?” One of them asks. Jagged immediately stopping and shooting the reporter a wide smile.

“Of course it is! She designed all three of these outfits.” He says, gesturing between the trio. “Isn’t she rocking!”

“MDC, why did you pick the Wayne gala to make your first public appearance?” Another journalist asks. Marinette turns to Penny, trusting her to answer the question. They’d agreed before leaving the car that it was best if Marinette didn’t speak directly to any journalists. It would make it easier for them to place her age and where she’s from, given her accent.

“She was in the area and Mr. Stone insisted his favorite designer needed a chance to flaunt her skills in America.” Penny says, flashing the journalist a wide smile before gently pushing Marinette along down the line of journalists. Marinette nods to the man who’d asked the question before following Jagged and Penny closely, her stomach churning as they walk up the front steps of the manor. Of the place she’d been living since summer started. Where apparently they didn’t care to tell her about one of the biggest family events of the year. No big deal. She thought they were accepting her, that they were all getting closer. But maybe not. Her dad not telling her didn’t hurt nearly as much as her brothers not telling her. That felt like a knife in her chest. Trying hard to move gracefully instead of tensely, she follows Jagged into the manor and into the ballroom. Her jaw clenches as she spots her family across the room.

“Mr. Stone, I’m Clark Kent. Nice to meet you.” A man with a notebook and camera says, walking over and extending a hand. Marinette narrows her eyes. She thought the journalists were supposed to stay outside. And this man looked oddly familiar….

“Rocking meeting you man! You a journalist?” He asks, his calculating look hidden by a wide grin. Mr. Kent chuckles.

“Yes, sorry for being so forward. Mr. Wayne and I are friends, so he lets my wife and I have an exclusive pass to come inside the Galas.” He says, glancing at Marinette over his glasses. She watches as his eyes widen slightly before he schools his features back into a neutral expression.

“That’s pretty rock n roll of him!” Jagged says, clapping Mr. Kent on the shoulder.

“It is. Pardon me, but are you MDC?” He asks, turning to look at Marinette once again. She glances at Penny, shaking her head to let her know that she’ll speak for herself for this one. As upset as she was with her dad, he obviously trusted this man. So she would as well.

“I am. Pleasure to meet you, Monsieur Kent.” She says, extending her hand. He smiles, shaking her hand.

“And you, ma’am. I must say, I was not expecting to see you here. I was under the impression that in person events weren’t your forte.” He says, clearly fishing for something. She knew how journalists worked, she’d seen Alya at work enough times to understand that the man in front of her was looking for a story. One she wouldn’t be giving, no matter how much her father trusted the man.

“I like to occasionally surprise people.” She says, waving her hand in a noncommittal way. “Keep them on their toes.”

“I can respect that. Well, I’ll let you all get back to your evening. Nice to meet you all.” He says. She nods back at him, not missing the way he immediately darts off to her dad. She watches as the two start talking, a surprised look on her dad’s face before he turns and sees her. She knows he recognizes the dress. Knows that he knows as well who is underneath the veil. She turns, deciding to ignore him. He didn’t want her here, fine. She’d make sure she stayed out of his way.

---

Clark Kent was confused. He’d known that Bruce must have another kid, adopted in some way. He didn’t just work with random vigilantes, especially not in his city. So knowing that Gotham had a new vigilante named Ladybird, he put two and two together. Didn’t take the world’s greatest detective. But what was confusing was the fact that no new faces showed up with the Waynes as they walked into the ballroom for the Gala. Making a note to ask him about it later, Clark makes his way around the room, talking to familiar faces and names, writing things down that would help the story he was being forced to write on the Gala. These events were not his favorite to cover, hardly anything ever happened. Until he heard the commotion outside, other journalists calling out to MDC. He blinks in surprise. MDC had never made a public appearance before. This was an odd one to choose. Preparing himself to confront the designer, he’s surprised as she walks in behind Jagged Stone. He’s even more surprised when he realizes she had to be a teenager. He chats with the girl and Jagged, glancing down at her over the top of his glasses, shock immediately flooding him. The girl had injuries. Hundreds of them. Bones fused back together haphazardly. Quickly excusing himself, he rushes over to Bruce.

“Do you know who MDC is? Because that girl is definitely younger than Tim. And she has hundreds of injuries, Bruce. Hundreds.” He says quietly, watching as Bruce turns and glances at the girl, his eyes widening slightly.

“Shit.” He mutters.

“What?” Clark asks, trying to figure out if he should also be concerned. Bruce smiles, but it's tense.

“That is my daughter.” He says. Clark blinks.

“That’s the new one? Why didn’t she show up with the rest of the family?” He asks.

“I knew she had plans for tonight, so I didn’t tell her about the Gala. I was going to warn her about it, if she didn’t have plans. So she knew to stay in her room.” Bruce explains. Clark frowns.

“You were going to keep her locked up?” He asks incredulously. Not even the least social Wayne was kept locked away for the Galas.

“Of course not. It’s just- she hasn’t said she wants to be announced yet. She hasn’t even said anything about being MDC because she hates the spotlight. I couldn’t just throw her to the sharks. I’m just trying to do what’s best for her.” Bruce says, standing up straighter. Clark sighs.

“Did you actually talk to her about it? Or did you just assume?” He asks, Bruce huffs.

“I think I know my daughter a little more than you do, Kent.” He says.

“Really? Because from here it sounds like she’s about two breaths away from a panic attack. And Penny Rolling keeps reassuring her that they don’t have to stay long. Oh- and now she’s apologizing for not telling her it was a Wayne Gala until today, but she’s also clearly confused as to why it’s upsetting her. And now-”

“Okay, I get it.” Bruce snaps, cutting him off. Clark raises an eyebrow.

“I’m not sure what happened, but you should fix this.” He says with a pointed look before walking away. God knows the Bats all need a push in the right direction every now and again.

---

Jason frowns as he looks around the room for Marinette. He knew that she hadn’t come with the family, B hadn’t explained that one. But he had heard that MDC was there. And he wanted to talk to her, make sure she was doing okay. These things were annoying as hell and he knew he wouldn’t get through it if he didn’t have his brothers (even if they were little shits). He finally spots her near a wall, clearly trying to disappear. He grins widely, walking over and grinning at her.

“Well, MDC, fancy seeing you here.” He teases with a wink. He watches her for some kind of reaction, frowning when he doesn’t get one. “Pix?” He says, softer this time as he looks at his baby sister.

“Oh, that’s right, I wasn’t supposed to be here, was I? Well, sorry to disappoint.” She snaps bitterly. Jason flinches back, surprised at her tone.

“What’re you talking about?” He asks, eyebrows furrowed. Why did she sound so hurt? Why did she think they didn’t want her there?

“Clearly I’m not as much of the family as I thought I was.” She hisses under her breath. He starts to deny that, but she cuts him off with a humorless laugh. “Bruce didn’t even tell me that there was a Gala. None of you did either. A Wayne family Gala and I wasn’t told. I should’ve known better.” She says, turning to walk away. He grabs her wrist gently, stopping her.

“I promise you, we want you here. Dick, Damian, Tim, me- we all want you here. I can’t speak for B, I’ll definitely be having words with the son of a bitch later, but we want you here.” He says, frowning as he listens to her sniffle under her veil. “Pixie, we thought you knew. He told us you weren’t ready to come to this. I swear to you, we would have told you if we knew. I swear.” He adds. His heart breaks as he hears a hiccupped sob break free from her. He wants nothing more than to wrap his baby sister in a hug, but he knows he can’t. Media’d have a field day.

“Really?” She asks in a small voice. Jason nods.

“Hell yeah Pix. Tell ya what, I’m gonna go get the others and then we’re all gonna sneak out. Take one of the old man’s cars and get some garbage fast food. Who needs this lameass party anyway.” He says, hoping she’ll agree. He’ll let himself be mad at Bruce later. And boy was he gonna be mad. The old man had really fucked up this time. It was one thing to ask Mari to not go to the Gala, or to think she wasn’t ready for it. It was a completely other thing to not even give her the chance to decide, or tell her at all. Cause now she was hurt and thinking everyone hated her. Well, he wasn’t gonna let that happen. Not on his watch.

“Lemme just go tell Jagged and Penny real quick.” She agrees, scurrying off. The second she walks away Jason lets his smile drop into a scowl. That son of a bitch. Storming over to his brothers, he tugs them over to the wall. Better not to let B get word of where they’re going.

“What is the meaning of this?” Damian asks with a scowl.

“Pixie’s gonna tell her Aunt and Uncle that she’s leaving and then we’re stealing one of B’s cars to go to McDonalds.” He says simply. Tim frowns.

“And we’re doing this because?” He prompts.

“Because B apparently didn’t tell the kid about the Gala. And she assumed we knew, and that we all hate her.” Jason explains with a frown.

“Father said she didn’t want to attend.” Damian says, and Jason huffs.

“Yeah, well apparently he lied. She had no clue that the event she was going to as MDC was a Wayne Gala.” He says.

“I’ll go get the car and pull it up front.” Dick says, a determined look on his face. Sometimes his ‘we’re a family and we stick together’ shit annoyed the hell outta Jason, but he was thankful for it today.

“I’m gonna go grab Selina’s coat for her to put on. I saw her dress, and if any MDC fan sees her leaving with us it’s gonna start a media circus.” Tim says, walking away to the coat room. Jason sighs, watching Marinette from across the room. A cleared throat beside him tugs his attention back to his youngest brother.

“What?” He asks, pushing his frustration down. He’d go shoot something later, but right now he was determined to not take his frustration at Bruce out on his siblings.

“Why would Father intentionally keep her from the Gala? She is far more adept at social interaction than I am.” Damian says with a frown. Jason sighs, shrugging.

“No clue. But I’m not about to let her push herself away from the rest of us just because B fucked up.” He says, watching as she walks over to the wall, almost disappearing in the shadows. He nods towards her, making sure Damian follows. The second Tim has Selina’s coat, their small group is off, sneaking out one of the side doors and walking past the journalists, sprinting to Dick and the waiting car. They all jump in and she tears the veil off her face, making Jason wince slightly at her red, puffy eyes. Dick slams on the gas, eliciting a curse from Jason and a squeal of surprise from Marinette.

“So! We broke out of that stuffy party. Where are we headed?” Dick asks, glancing in the rearview mirror to make eye contact with Jason. Jason grins.

“We go get a shit ton of junk food from McDonalds and eat it in the car. Give it the old, fast food smell that B loves oh so much.” He says. Marinette snorts, and Jason grins at her. He’d give B hell later, but for now, he was going to enjoy spending time with his siblings.

---

Bruce frowns as he glances around the Gala, not seeing his daughter. Or any of his other children. He made a mental note to talk to them later. Perhaps keeping the Gala from Marinette wasn’t his best decision.

Tag list: @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @jayjayspixiepop @jjmjjktth @mizzy-pop @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @waiting247 @laurcad123 @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82

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studyvibes · 3 years

Text

Another new translation of Maneskin interview

I planned on translating the interview last week, but the day I was free the whole area where I lived had an issue with the WiFi, so through out the week, when I had a bit of free time I translated the interviewer piece by piece.

The translation is of this video: https://youtu.be/4Meslb_X9Fg

youtube

I thought it was best to include the video of the interview because there are videos and images relevant to their answers.

So this interview is by the VK which is basically like Russian Facebook.

In the original video the host speaks in Russian and Maneskin reply in Italian with Russian subtitles shown.

(Text which is bold and in brackets during the translation are some notes I added, to add come context)

Interviewer: For the first time, Maneskin is visiting Moscow, who are the winners of Eurovision. And today we are welcoming them in our studio. Guys, hello. (If you translate exact its: Guys, big hello to you)

Maneskin: Thank you very much

[0:17] Interviewer: The site Kontakte is one of the biggest sites in Russia and also one of the biggest music platforms in Russia, where people listen to your music. In our top charts of most listened songs you are one of the very few international musicians/bands that are included in the chart. In general the chart includes mostly songs in Russian language, so this shows how very popular you are in our country.

Maneskin: That’s very nice!

Interviewer: Please tell me - your international success just happened in 3 months: charts in Russia, charts in Billboard, I think this is the first time ever since ABBA that a musician/band became famous even in America after Eurovision. How did your life change in this span of 3 months?

Damiano: yeah there was a big difference/change.

Damiano: We could say that it was sudden and how we saw everything explode after Eurovision, but we are very happy

Damiano: Ofcourse this means a lot of work is expected because everything that we did before for Italy, we do now around the world. But we are very happy: this what we wanted and why we worked so hard -we are very, very happy/lucky.

[1:30]Interviewer: Going back to Eurovision, I was present at backstage and at the final, sharing happiness about your winning. I’d like to ask, did you know and how did you react to the fact that all artist for the past two weeks were saying that you were the obvious winners, even though the genre of your performance is a complete contrast to most competitor’s songs. How confident were you.

Interviewer: To solidify my words (about being at Eurovision) I have a photo *shows a photo on iPad of Interviewer and Maneskin on the night they won Eurovision*

Maneskin: oh it was you!

Victoria: We weren’t exactly confident. When we went to Eurovision, we thought only about being able to carry our music to a very wide auditorium, but we didn’t expect that we would be able to win - especially with the type of genre we play and sing in Italian - it is not something that appears often in this competition

Thomas: Yeah, that’s true, it was very unexpected and even the people - in Eurovision - were saying “You will win, you will win” - of course to us it was nice, but we completely didn’t expect it. And same with what happened after.

Ethan: (he said something, but they didn’t add a translation to what he said)

[2:45] Interviewer: I’d like to say a few words about our Manizha - Russian Woman (she represented Russia in Eurovision 2021) - were you able to meet her and chat with her? And are you planning to see her in Moscow

Victoria: yes yes, she even sang an Italian song

Damiano: it was something “Ti amo, ti amo”

Thomas: No, no, no, not that one!

Damiano: “Felicità”?

Thomas: No, no. I don’t remember.

Interviewer: (I didn’t hear him but I think he agreed with Damiano)

Maneskin: “Felicità”, yes, “Felicità”!

Damiano: They even sang in multiple voices! (Manizha had back singers with her, who joined her for Eurovision)

Interviewer: So after you won Eurovision, you were congratulated by Eros Ramazzotti, Royal Blood, and Franz Ferdinand. Which congratulation towards you was unusual and unexpected? And what did it mean to you

Victoria: Probably the big groups, which we always listen to, which always inspired us. It was also really nice, already the fact, that they talk about us - it was unbelievable. And because, of course, for us it was very important, that they liked us/valued us. And what most wild/unusual out of is that we got to collaborate with Iggy Pop.

Rest of Maneskin: *agreeing with Victoria’s answer*

Victoria: He is one of our main idols, he is one of the people who created/established punk-rock.

Thomas: Yes, of course, support from big musicians, from people who we listened to from the very start - it’s really wonderful and important/valuable recognition

Interviewer: tell us about your work with Iggy Pop. How did it happen, did he contact you or you were able to reach out to him?

Victoria: We were always huge fans of him. And when everything so well, he saw who we were and what type of music we have, and we asked him, if he would’ve want to produce something together. He said, that he really likes the song “I wanna be your slave.” and wanted to make a collaboration.

Interviewer: I saw that Miley Cyrus made a repost video of where you are performing a cover of her song and said you are her friends. Is there a possible collab with Miley?

Maneskin: Anything is possible.

Damiano: (in English) Who knows

Interviewer: with who would you want to collab?

Victoria: with many, with many! Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, I don’t know.. with so many!

Interviewer: An interesting thing - the group BTS became the symbol of South Korea, making kpop genre popular. You are becoming...you became, the symbol of Italy. Do you feel any responsibility and are you planning on promoting Italian language/ making Italian language popular?

Damiano: We are thinking about making our music, and if our country will choose us to be their representatives, we would be happy. But no, we don’t feel this responsibility, we are thinking of own work/ business.

Interviewer: I can’t not ask very important question which is interesting for the fans - are you preparing an album, can you share some hints/ secrets? Because everyone is waiting for it. And the fact that in one of your songs which was released years back reached the top world wide charts, now we all can’t wait.

Victoria: Its all secret!

Damiano: We can say, that we are preparing new music - this is the secret which we can reveal.

Thomas: Yeah, and we are trying to find time, to write, to work on music. Certainly/undoubtedly, you can expect multiple surprises.

Interviewer: you are a unique group - from the point that your centre/focus is towards all of the members, which is different to other bands where bands are seen as the frontman and the rest of musicians. But each member of your group is seen a big celebrity. Did this happen accidentally or is this the concept you made, and how does your friendship help you with you work?

Damiano: We always tries to avoid the stereotypes of bands/groups, where only the vocalist is recognized/known. We always tried to push not only the group as whole, but also the 4 individuals of the group. And this is probably also happens because of our close friendship. Luckily, nobody feels like they are in the shadows pushed by others.

[7:38] Interviewer: It’s really cool that you change/ remove the stereotypes and create new trends.

Maneskin: We try, We try. We carry our little contribution.

Interviewer: Damiano, I would like to ask you personally a question - from what I am aware of, at the start, the band didn’t accept you into the band, something didn’t work out, could you please tell us in more detail?

*Maneskin laughing at Damiano*

Victoria: He became older, and his voice became magically/suddenly different!

Interviewer: what I understood was that it happened was because you originally sang more pop music, not rock with the band.

Damiano: In reality/to be honest, nothing changed, I stayed pop. Let’s say, I grew, and my voice changed, and I started to sound more earnest/persuasive.

[8:22] Interviewer: How did the band form? You first place of performance was at the street of Rome?

Maneskin: Yes, we started to play in school

Victoria: and since then everything went with the flow. We started to play on the streets, at small establishments, at school - anywhere where we could have an opportunity to perform

Interviewer: what was the hardest in those performances?

Thomas: To find a place where we can perform

Victoria: Yes, exactly, where to perform. And later, it was very small establishments and the audience at the start didn’t take us too seriously. But together as a band we supported each other - in the end, it was our dream, we even liked to perform in front of just a few people, which is why we continued.

Thomas: Exactly, yes. At the start we sometimes performed to an auditorium with a few people, but even then you had to stay convincing/conclusive. Over some period of time, in the crowd, people start to appear who valued our music, what we did. But for me, it was probably, the main challenge was to see, play, perform well and stay yourself in front of 2 or 3 people.

Ethan: Yes, there were times when we performed in front of an audience in which there were only parents. We gave out the same level and the same energy.

Interviewer: I think it is common thing to happen when a musician/ band performs at private party, where Russian musicians performed for one person in the hall.

Maneskin: oh this is something very very private

Interviewer: I think I’ll get in trouble for telling you this, but Little Big told me this story.

*Maneskin recognizing the bands name*

Maneskin: Aaa, Yes!

Interviewer: Ed Sheehan, in his time, took a challenge, he also started from street performing, to make 300 performance in a year. Are you ready to start your world tour and to perform nearly every day?

Thomas: Of course, definitely. The other way it won’t happen.

[10:25] Interviewer: I’d also like to know/ask, if you often spend your time together, as friends, if you have any common hobbies, and what do you do as a break/rest?

Victoria: We practically don’t have any life outside the frame of music, we spend all our time in work. But when we do find spare time, we just go somewhere to relax and have fun.

Interviewer: What simple tip/advise would you give to young musicians which at the moment are street performing but dream to perform in big stadiums?

Victoria: I think, you should continued with your journey and don’t change due to other people’s opinions.

Ethan: Yes, that right. Be always yourself.

Interviewer: your time of fame happened in Italy a few years ago from the show X Factor when you performed the cover from the band the Four seasons on their song “Beggin”. Did you expect that your cover would become a world hit in a few years? And a lot of people associate the song more with you (like more than the original band)

Ethan: Yeah. It’s.... weird!

[11:33] Interviewer: I’d like to show you an interesting photo. The photo illustrates when it was the last time Russia saw Italians. It’s a movie from the year 1974 which is called “the unbelievable journey of Italians in Russsia” do you see any similarity?

*at [11:48] you can see the image of four people: on the left two men happily hugging each other, in the centre a woman, and on the right a tired looking man*

Maneskin: Nooooo *laughing*

Ethan: Wow (the exact words that were written in subtitles were “Да ты что!” Which in Russian is used as an expression of surprise )

Ethan and Thomas point at which person they think they are in the left

Ethan: I am the one in the left

Interviewer: This is actually a very popular Soviet comedy and the movie is about Italians which travelled to Russia in search of treasure, which left was by one of the main character’s grandmother. I would like to know after which treasure did you go after in Russia?

Victoria: I think, our fans, possibly perform, and play in concerts. All the love and affection.

Interviewer: It would be nice if you could watch the movie, maybe during your flight, and share your opinion on social media.

Ethan: ok, will do.

Interviewer: I’d also like to show you a very popular video which was spreading in Russia. Where it was comparing your lyrics from “I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE” and lyrics from a Russian musician Alla Pugacheva. Both songs have same repeating words: “master” and “gangster”

Maneskin: (idk who said it) I saw it in Tiktok

Interviewer: just in case, I’ll show you the video

*[11:58] shows the video which interviewer talked about*

Thomas: You already saw it.

Interviewer: Your Russian fans, went further, started to look for famous Russian performers who wore similar outfits that you wear. But it turned out that all the similar outfits were worn by on person, his name is Valery Leontiev. I’d like to show you the pictures to show you just how similar his outfits are.

*[13:35] you can see the image comparisons, in the background you can hear Damiano laughing and say “no no”*

Thomas or Ethan: Unbelievable! This is crazy, this isn’t possible.

Interviewer: Yes the similarities are on point/ are exact.

Interviewer: I’d like to conclude the interviewer with genuine admiration because for the past 3 months you exploded the whole music industry, which didn’t happen for ages. And to be honest, it is true what you said about saving your authenticity and believe in yourself. We are very proud of you, Russians love Italians (ik that a lot of old Italian movies and songs are very popular in Russia). Please continue to grow and make wonderful music.

Maneskin: Thank, thank you very much.

————————————-

Hopefully you enjoyed the interview and the translations made sense

#my post #my translation #Maneskin #maneskin victoria #maneskin ethan #maneskin thomas #maneskin damiano #victoria de angelis #thomas raggi #ethan torchio #damiano david #Youtube

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justaredheadf1fan · 3 years

Text

F1 journalists or how some reporters are so biased it sucks to watch sports

Masterlist

So, today I’m writing about the topic I left aside last week to write about Mercedes’ statement. This time I’m talking about the Spanish sports’ journalists and their commonly biased broadcasts when it comes to watching a Formula 1 race and qualifications in this case, or sports in general even.

Let me clarify this: I’m only talking about Spanish reporters because those are the ones I know (I think I said this before? I’m Spanish 😂), therefore I can’t speak about other countries’ commentators, at least in regards to F1. Watching football for instance, I have seen different broadcasts from Germany, Latin America, England… And so far, none of them have been as biased as the Spanish commentators, in my opinion at least, and that says plenty on its own.

Back on track, that last race in Abu Dhabi was the last straw and showed pretty clearly that these people shouldn’t be allowed to comment so openly on television, whether it’s public or private TV, if they don’t care to act more professionally at the very least. I felt so sick listening to them without alternatives, it was just making me angrier by the minute, as if the race alone wasn’t doing enough.

During the race, I remember Antonio Lobato, head commentator in DAZN Spain, talking about Hamilton retiring like it was his duty to do so and let the younger drivers do their thing without him interfering. Excuse me? Did he say that about Michael Schumacher, 7-time champion, same as Hamilton, back then? No, he did not. How about his beloved Fernando Alonso (nothing against Alonso btw), who’s now around 41 years old or so? Nope, didn’t think so, not once. And what about any other driver? Nothing, not a word. Then why would he say that about Hamilton in particular? Could it be the same reason as any other moron who wants to cover up their lack of a better idea of what they’re talking about? Kinda rings a bell.

And can we talk about how they hate on Sebastian too? I mean, yeah, I get that you love Fernando and he’s your friend and all or whatever, but just because both Vettel and Hamilton “stole” the championship away from Alonso back in the day (how many years ago now!?) doesn’t mean you’re entitled to talk shit ever so slightly about any of them. And they do it so blatantly, it’s sickening. There’s no impartial journalism to be found on any of the races. I don’t remember a fair comment up to this day if I’m being completely honest.

Moving on to something related, I’m the first one that has favorites, like everyone does, but if I were commenting live on TV, I would do my very best to not show it so much or so clearly at least. Am I the only one? I believe that’s just plain unprofessionalism.

I get that you might really like Max Verstappen and that’s totally okay, in fact, it’s even understandable, but you can’t just disregard that the FIA crushed every single rule they came across to hand Max the win, while celebrating him passing Hamilton after Masi’s decision to break the rules, on air. The worst part is that they’ve acted the same way when more serious things have taken place during races, such as Jeddah Corniche among other races.

In Spain (at least) all of this happens too while watching a football match. Depending on the channel, the commentators clearly root for one team or the other, but instead of focusing on commenting properly, they end up showing who they’re supporting. Some of this bias is also clear while watching Sports’ news, they usually only talk about the big teams, barely giving the smaller ones any attention. Which sucks, honestly. That’s the reason I stopped watching them altogether, I’m an Athletic de Bilbao fan, always have been, and I could barely get a glimpse of any news from the team because reporters were all too busy talking for the most part about Barcelona and Real Madrid alone. How can you call it serious journalism if you only talk about 20% of the whole Spanish competition?

I’m sorry, but you have to be impartial, it’s your job to be fair to both the drivers and the rules themselves equally; and this applies to every sport also. Whoever is doing the job, regardless of your favorites or preferences, as professional journalists you should be fair to all of them no matter what. Sports’ fans deserve fairness as well, regardless of who we like or support, and we’re not idiots, so we can tell whether someone’s biased or not.

It’s sad to me that this has only gotten worse over the years, and it obviously won’t get better. How is it possible that this is allowed nowadays? I bet there are people capable of doing a much better job than these people looking for their chance.

Should I suggest to DAZN they fire their current team and hire younger people because they should clear the way for new generations to do their job better? Maybe I should, huh? 🤷🏻‍♀️

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straybreeze · 3 years

Text

GX MONTH 2021

Day 1: “Hero Signal”

We’re kicking things off with everyone’s favorite hero Judai/Jaden Yuki’s birthday! Show the fluffy boi some love!

Yay, this is my very first time participating in a Tumblr event! Thank you @gxmonth for making this, I'm so excited!

I tried my best to include my OC as well, I hope it won't be too cringe lol.

Also, I would like to remark here, that I'm not a native English speaker, so if I made any grammatical errors or other mistakes, please let me know!

Word count: 2475

Pairing: implied spiritshipping

Warnings: slight angst

Happy, happy birthday Judai.

The sun was already high on the endless blue sky, showering the small apartment room in golden light when a big, orange and round thing pushed the door open with its head. The cat made his way through the mess and straight to the bed, where his owner was still sleeping. Confuting his own respectable weight, he jumped easily into the bed and snuggled up to the sleeping boy’s side, purring loudly. The quiet snoring suddenly stopped as the boy slowly opened his deep brown eyes, his hand automatically searching for the cat’s fluffy head.

“Let me sleep, Pharaoh! Just five more minutes!” Judai pleaded and covered his eyes with his free hand.

But it had been proven to be an unacceptable answer to Pharaoh. If he was hungry, nothing was an excuse for being late for breakfast. And in fact, it was almost lunchtime.

“Meow!”

However, Judai still didn’t seem willing to move, so he had to try harder.

“Ouch! Pharaoh, I know you are hungry, but I’m not your food! Don’t eat me!” Judai moaned as he sat up reluctantly. He squinted in the vivid lights, reaching the phone on the nightstand. The screen was showing 11 AM and the date below: 31th August.

31st August. The last day of summer. And his birthday.

Judai almost forgot about his nineteenth birthday. But to be honest, this day is going to be just like any other of the past week. He had nothing to do besides sitting at home and feeding Pharaoh occasionally. There was no real difference from what he did ever since he arrived from his last journey.

In fact, he was stuck in Domino City and had to stay there until he would eventually get a phone call from Chancellor Samejima. In the past one year of his life, an incoming call from his ex-headmaster meant one thing: a new job is on the sight. Not that Judai minded that. He loved travelling around the world and solving intriguing cases with his dueling skills. He didn’t continue his studies in a college, nor joined the Pro Leagues like his other friends. No, he just did the same as in his Academia years: slacking and occasionally saving the day. That is the duty of the heroes after all.

…And at least he could be useful in something as well.

Judai spent the last two weeks in this apartment, which he and Johan were renting together. In the first days, it wasn’t so hard to stay put, but Johan went on a holiday to his family in Sweden more than a week ago. He promised that he will get home before the end of summer, yet he messaged his roommate that he had to stay for a few more days. So in the end, Judai was left alone for his birthday.

Okay, not completely alone. At least Pharaoh was there for him, he thought as he strolled out to the kitchen to find some breakfast for his hungry cat. And for himself.

One year had already passed since they graduated from Duel Academia. A lot of things happened to everyone and it appeared that nobody had the time to greet Judai on his birthday. At least none of his friends told him that they would like to see him today. No missed calls, no unread messages yet.

Have they already forgotten him?

No, that was nonsense. They might be just… busy.

Sho and Manjoume have joined the Pro Leagues right after their graduation, so they were already living their restless life just like his other pro friends, Edo and Kaiser. Well, in his Academia years Judai already got used to that Edo is as much unavailable as the Emperor of Japan himself, but it appeared that Kaiser is that kind of celebrity too. Since he more or less recovered from his heart condition, he started a Cyber Pro League along with Sho and they both attended various events actively in the country and lately overseas too. Of course, Kaiser was told that he must not overstrain himself and stress too much in general, but Judai would bet that he disregarded all of those rules anyway. Especially because he hadn’t talked to him in months, so he must be busy as hell as always.

On the other hand, as far as Judai knew the Tenjoin siblings still lived in North America – Asuka was still studying in Duel College for sure while her brother, Fubuki-san was… doing something too, he assumed? Judai hadn’t heard much of them lately, but he knew that Fubuki-san followed his younger sister to chase his dreams and become an idol abroad. Judai didn’t know much about the school system of America, so Asuka might have classes at this very moment, maybe that’s why she hasn’t called him yet.

For his younger friends, Kenzan graduated from Duel Academia this summer, while Rei is going to start her last year in October. Maybe they are both on a vacation right now, enjoying themselves on a beach or something. It was still summer anyway, Judai couldn’t blame them for that.

And oh, there was Aurora, too. She was the roommate of Edo (and maybe his stepsister as well? Or something more? Who knows. She was a mystery anyway), who befriended him less than a year ago. Judai supposed she doesn’t even know that this day is his birthday.

After he gave some salmon flavored cat food and fresh water to Pharaoh, he decided to grab a bowl of cereal for breakfast and lunch at once.

As much he wanted to act like his birthday was nothing, if it was just like any other day, it made him hurt deep inside that nobody, even his closest friends haven’t paid attention to him on his day. He already got used to that his parents don’t care about him, but he thought he found a new family in his friends.

Maybe he was wrong.

But hey, it was him who abandoned them in the first place, Judai reminded himself. He was the one who left the Academia without saying goodbye and ran away from them straight to another country. He shouldn’t feel sad, because he knew that their friends would be estranged from him sooner or later. And he was the only one to blame.

Judai was so lost deep in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize that the milk was long overflowed the bowl and it was already spilling down the table. Pharaoh didn’t waste a single second: he leapt to the white liquid dripping from the edge of the table and licked it with such joy as if he had never tasted it before in his entire life.

“Dammit!” Judai moaned, then hastily wiped the milk off from the table and the parquet.

Oh well. He hadn’t been awake for ten whole minutes yet, but he already knew, birthday or no birthday, this was not going to be his day.

As the day continued, Judai climbed back to the bed and chose to do nothing today besides watching silly TV shows. He could have gone out at least for a walk, that’s true. He lived in Domino City after all, the city he loved the most. If you are a duelist, this is the best place for you in the entire world, especially if you live in downtown. The coast was not too far, Kaiba Land and other fun places were within easy reach too. But nothing was entertaining enough if you had no friends around.

“I feel like you’ve forgotten something,” Judai heard a familiar voice from all of a sudden. Slowly, the television screen became blurry as he was still staring at it, and a demonic shadow appeared at the end of his bed.

“Yubel,” he spoke their name aloud as he closed his eyes. “What did I forget?”

“Me,” came the obvious answer. “Why do you feel so lonely?”

“I’m not lonely. I’m just…” Judai began but then realized that the sentence had no continuation. “No, Yubel, everything’s good.”

“You sure?”

“Uh, yeah! I’m glad you’re here. It is enough for me.”

“You are a bad liar, Judai. You know that?”

“Hey, I mean it! I’m glad you are here, Yubel.”

“… I know.” Yubel smiled, gentler than it was imaginable from them. As they took a short break, their heterochromatic eyes curiously scanned the boy who was bound to them for an eternity. “But I still don’t understand, what is the matter with you?”

Judai didn’t answer their question. At least with words. He thought it was enough for an answer that he checked his phone every five minutes if someone messaged him already. But sadly, nobody had searched him so far.

It was already late afternoon when he finally heard the standard ringtone of his phone. He almost fell asleep again, and the vibrating sound made his heart pound in excitement. He immediately grabbed his phone, but when he checked the screen, he had mixed feelings.

The caller was Aurora, Edo’s roommate. And the last one who Judai thought would call him on his birthday.

“Hello, Rory! What up?” he greeted her, a soft smile unintentionally crossed his lips. But it had soon vanished when Aurora didn’t answer immediately. “Rory? Is something wrong?”

“Judai,” she spoke finally. Her usual melodic voice was trembling somewhat as if she was nervous. “I’m glad I could reach you!”

“Yeah, I mean, you could have totally called me all day! I had nothing to do, you know.” Maybe he shouldn’t have hinted things like these, but still.

“I see. Sorry, Judai, but may I ask you something?” Aurora’s voice still didn’t sound too firm.

“Sure, anytime!” Judai’s eyes sparkled at thought of the adventure. “But you’re fine, aren’t you?”

“Y-Yeah. I just… need to talk with someone. With you.”

“Really? Well, I’d gladly chat with you, but if you wanna talk about some… girlish thing, you know I’m not your man.”

“You will be completely fine. I wanna talk about something else, not girlish things.”

“Something happened with Edo maybe?” Judai guessed.

“Not at all! Ahw Judai, stop asking questions! I will tell you everything if I see you in person. So get ready and come!”

“Come where?”

“I’ll be waiting for you at the entrance of Kaiba Land in fifteen minutes.”

“Why there? You’re not even a duelist—„

“See you later, Judai!”

Before Judai could remark that he may not be there in fifteen minutes, Aurora had already hung up the phone. Surely, she became weirder and weirder. Maybe it was Edo who was a bad influence on her.

When Judai arrived at the said place, he was nearly jumping out of his skin. He was curious about what Aurora wanted to talk to him about, and at the same time, he was glad that he finally had a reason to leave the apartment.

Though it was still a bit unexpected that he would spend his birthday with Aurora, but why not? They were friends after all. He should have thought about her sooner.

“Judai!” Aurora shouted and waved him from the distance.

As he came closer, Aurora silently turned around and headed into the Park. It was almost sunset, the monstrous structures of Kaiba Land were glowing in orange.

“Okay, would you tell me now what are we doing here?” Judai asked while he barely could keep up with her.

“You will see, I promise!”

“Come on, Rory!”

“No worries, we are almost there!”

And that was all she told him, no matter how hard he tried to get more information. But the sparkle of hope ignited in his heart, that something bigger was standing behind this weird invitation.

Kaiba Land was slowly emptied out as the closing hour was coming, so they didn’t meet too many people. Especially as they got deeper and deeper into the amusement park.

They were nearby the rollercoaster when they finally stopped.

“Judai,” Aurora turned to him. “I know that this whole thing came from all of a sudden, and I’m so happy that you followed me without a question anyway.”

“Well, actually—”

“I hope you know that it means a lot to me. Not just me. To all of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Judai, you have amazing friends. And you are the best among the best for all of them.”

“Rory, I’m not sure I understa—„

“SURPRISE!!”

Shouts were coming from everywhere, and suddenly a shadow of a whole crowd appeared in the dim lights of the setting sun. Before Judai could have the time to react, a short figure stood out from them and started running towards him.

“Happy birthday, Aniki!” Sho shrieked as he bumped into Judai and embraced him closely. Shortly after, he found himself surrounded by people. Surrounded by his friends.

“Happy birthday, Judai!”

“Judai-sama! I wish the bestest birthday in the world to you!”

“Nice to see you, loser! Where the hell have you been for this long?”

“Yeah, Judai, we were all waiting for you!”

“Happy birthday, Aniki-don!”

“Damn, I missed you so much!”

Everyone was there. Asuka and Rei. Manjoume, Fubuki-san and Kenzan. Sho was still holding onto him, almost crying.

“Hehe, surprise! I came back from Sweden today just because of your big day!”

Even Johan was there. He came home finally! Judai couldn’t help, but sudden warmth flowed through his body as Johan hugged him along with everyone else. Even Manjoume was in the crew.

“Hey guys, you flatter me…”

“See, Edo? We almost missed the group hug because of you.” Another familiar voice came from the distance, and when Judai glanced up, he saw Kaiser Ryo and Edo Phoenix’s silhouettes were approaching them.

“Don’t blame me because Kaiba Seto himself wanted to talk with me. But I assume you can still join the group hug if you’re really that desperate.”

When the pros reached the crew, they greeted Judai in unison.

“Happy birthday, Judai!”

“You two…”

“In fact, these two were the masterminds for this plan,” Aurora joined the celebration too. “Happiest birthday for you!”

With suppressed tears in his eyes, Judai looked around his friends. Yeah, Aurora had right. He had the best friends in the world and now he felt terrible guilt that he had ever questioned them. Yubel were right after all, for not understanding what was his problem. Now he didn’t understand too.

“Okay, who wants some cake?”

“WAIT, we have cake?” Judai asked in shock. How the hell did they bring it to here?

“Of course! I mean you have it, Judai,” Asuka corrected him.

Before Judai could shout in happiness, his phone started ringing again. To his surprise, Chancellor Samejima called him.

“Happy birthday, Judai! Are you ready for your next adventure?”

Judai couldn’t help but smile again.

“Ready as I’ll ever be!”

#gxmonth2021 #yugioh gx #ygo gx #yuki judai #jaden yuki #fanfiction tag

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ancientwastedlores · 4 years

Text

Undone by “Darling”

REQUEST (from @november-solarstorms): Celebrating another year of this earth being braced by Tom Hiddleston's presence! Lol. Might I make a prompt request? I feel as though it would be interesting to read from Loki's POV to explore the dynamics between him and a human female who is just as intelligent as he. She has a sharp wit and even sharper tongue. Her sarcastic and clever nature enable her to out-banter Tony Stark, the king of snark himself (may he rest in peace). But she is also just as flirtatious and salacious. She never blushes, never falters, and is incredibly clever. You can decide the nature of their encounter. Really im just in it for a good game of cat and mouse.

A/N: Okay, I had SO MUCH FUN writing this!! And yeah, this will run a bit longer than my usual fics lol. Also, there IS a Loki POV, just keep reading thaaanks <3

WARNINGS: none.

WORD COUNT: 1,932

____________________________________________________________________

Undone by “Darling”

17 hours and 6 white chocolate mochas later, it was finally ready - an upgraded version of Corvus Glaive’s glaive, this one spec-ed out to your fancies and requirements. It was a beast, and definitely not something Nick Fury would ever let you play around with, even if you made it.

Satisfied with your work, you remove your safety goggles and grin at Stark, who is working on his own weapon he scavenged from the Black Order.

‘I’m done!’ you say triumphantly, causing him to look up and groan. ‘How did you finish before me!?’ he lowers his glasses and looks at your weapon. ‘I’m smarter’ you say. ‘I went to MIT’ ‘And I didn’t, yet here we are, both in the same lab’.

He shakes his head, not unlike a petulant child, causing you to laugh.

‘How far along are you?’ you ask. ‘Still running diagnostics’. ‘Still!?’ ‘Have you seen the size of his hammer?’ he gestures to Cull Obsidian’s chain hammer on his work table, but the innuendo doesn’t escape you and you grin at him. He facepalms. ‘Y/n, for god’s sake...’ ‘You’re just tired, or you’d appreciate the joke too’.

You stretch your weary body and let out a deep breath. You’d test the weapon out tomorrow, but for now, you need a nap.

‘Take a load off, Stark. Hammer’ll be there tomorrow’. ‘Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you...’ he puts his goggles back on and get to work.

Loki’s POV:

Humans are surprising, but I always knew that. I never thought them boring, even if my brother says I do. Humans are of so little power but such incredible resilience that it’s frankly astonishing. I am inclined to believe that sometimes resilience is just stupidity... in most cases, I am right. But that’s not to say I haven’t come across some truly brave people.

Take the Avengers Tower, for example.

Just in here, you have Y/n, a brave soldier with the mind of an intergalactic scavenger, and I do mean that as a compliment. She’s awfully clever, she can build better than Stark, and has a track record of finishing every mission to perfection and before time. And then you have the Super Soldier Steve Rogers, a big muscled, big hearted idiot who often mistakes challenging our enemies for bravery and morality.

The two couldn’t be more different, but they get along like siblings. Not siblings like Thor and I... better adjusted, perhaps.

They sit in front of me, talking about some mission while they play Chess. Her moves are quick but calculated, his take more time because he’s more interested in telling his story than playing the game.

‘...so there I am, no weapons, no shield, bang in the middle of the Serpent Citadel...’

He’s a good storyteller, I’ll give him that. But not as good as Y/n. She paints quite a picture, full of delicious gory details and horribly dark jokes.

‘Steve, you have to pay attention, you’re losing’ she says. ‘Yeah, I don’t actually know how to play chess, I just wanted you to listen to my story’.

She looks up at him, almost offended. ‘STEVE...’ ‘Cool, I’m gonna go wrap Stark into a game of Battleships and tell him about my fight with Copperhead’.

She laughs as he leaves the room, and she puts the chess pieces away.

‘We could play?’ I ask her. ‘Is the God in a mood to lose?’ ‘Over confidence isn’t attractive in anybody’. ‘Oh darling, neither is telling someone what is and isn’t attractive’.

She’s never called me that before, and in the context it should seem cutting, but it isn’t. ‘Darling?’ ‘Problem?’ ‘It’s quite a term of endearment to set someone straight’.

She says nothing.

‘Cat got your tongue?’ I tease her. She only smiles and continues putting the pieces away neatly. Stark’s chess set is gold and black, all individually carved pieces. The pawns are all Iron Man suits, but that’s to be expected. She handles them with the care Stark would.

‘I mean...’ I continue, ‘honestly, if someone heard, they’d never let you live it down’.

And she carries on, unbothered.

‘Y/n!’ ‘Oh dear, look at you come completely undone with just one term of endearment’ she comments, shutting the chess set. ‘Whatever would happen if I held your hand?’

The very thought of it seemed to drain my brain of blood. I unwillingly glanced at her hands, working the lock mechanism of the box, her blue veins prominent.

‘Cat got your tongue?’ she asked.

I stood up, the human emotion of embarrassment becoming too familiar for me. ‘I’ll have to see you at lunch’. ‘Sure, darling’.

Oh, I hate how she’s enjoying this.

----------

The next day, Y/n booked a training room to test out the Glaive, and Stark had a rusty but working chain hammer. Steve insists on trying it out anyway, and now our breakfast is being spent on discouraging him from doing that.

‘Guys... if nothing else, I’ll still have my shield. Let me test it out!’ ‘Y/n’s glaive cuts through Vibranium, you know that, right?’ Stark says. ‘Y/n wouldn’t do that’. ‘Oh yes she would’ Y/n says nonchalantly as she sinks her teeth into a bacon and egg sandwich.

As she does, the yolk runs down her fingers. She makes a sound at the inconvenience and sets the sandwich down, then grabs a napkin. I’m hardly ever crude, but the energy it took not to take her hand and lick off the yolk myself could burn every star in the galaxy.

Captain America scrunches his nose at her remark, severely offended.

‘In any case, that shield barely covers your giant body. It will force Stark to make you a new one’. ‘What do you care about his giant body’ Stark says. ‘It’s America’s ass, Tony’ she takes a sip of her iced coffee. Steve blushes, and Tony rolls his eyes.

----------

The training facility is magic, of course, somewhere between a mirror dimension and Wanda’s reality powers creating a safe cocoon inside the building so no one can be harmed. Y/n hardly trusted anybody to fight with her except Thor, but given the nature of Corvus’ Glaive, she knew magic would be required.

And so she called me.

After getting into my battle armour, I stepped into the facility, equipped with my sceptre and the teachings of the witches of Asgard.

She whistles as I walk in. ‘Trying to distract me from killing you?’ ‘Are you?’ I ask. She’s dressed in a black bodysuit, details of purple in her belt and weapon harnesses. ‘Why yes, I am. Glad you noticed’.

The glaive is on the floor, and she stomps her foot on one part of it so it swivels up and neatly places itself in her hand. She smiles.

‘Try to keep up. I’m not just looking for eye candy in a training partner, darling’ she says, getting into battle stance.

With nothing left to say for the second time this week, I aim the sceptre at her and the stone at the end glows.

She charges and I shoot at her, but she spins the glaive and creates a shield which absorbs the energy.

She continues to charge at me. I shoot again, and again the glaive takes the hit. Not a scratch on her.

Once she comes closer, she simply places the flat end of the weapon against my chest, sending me hurtling back into a wall.

She spins the glaive and laughs.

‘Compliments of Wakanda. It absorbs any hits and charges up with kinetic energy’.

I get up on my feet. This is far from over. I create multiple illusions to surround her, all of them brandishing knives, Chitauri tech, and sceptres.

‘Damn, suddenly my whole evening has opened up’ she says, looking around.

Even my clones look around at each other puzzled.

‘Come on then, who’s up?’ she spins the glaive around. ‘One at a time or all at once, baby’.

They charge at her, and I expected her to fight them off at once... instead she plants the staff on the ground and ducks, and a semi-circle shell grows from the top of the staff, down to the floor... like a mini fortress, completely impenetrable. It could, no doubt, continue to take hits and build up kinetic energy, so I call off the clones.

She gets up and retracts the shell. ‘Nanotech’ she grins at me. ‘The whole shell sits in a disk. It can withstand bombs and even a moon’. ‘Is there any tech you haven’t adopted?’ ‘I’m an intergalactic scavenger, aren’t I?’

I stare at her, horrified. Can she read minds?

‘Maybe I can. Or maybe I heard you tell Stark when he was complaining about me finishing my weapon first’.

Silence.

‘Also, darling, you’re awfully predictable in your fighting’.

She picks up every trick and tech she sees, so beating her is less about weapons and more about cunning.

No problem. Cunning is my specialty.

‘Ready now?’ she asks. ‘Mhm’.

She takes a deep breath to ready herself, her eyes shutting slightly. Once they open back up, she stares in shock.

In my Jotun form, I give her my most menacing smile.

She cocks her head to the side, studying my icy blue skin.

The illusion I cast of myself approaches behind her, dagger in hand. Once it’s close enough and I can almost taste my victory, she raises the glaive and in one swift motion, sticks it into its abdomen.

The illusion disappears into green light.

‘Cute’ she remarks. She points the glaive at me. ‘What else you got for me?’ I shift back to my Asgardian form and sigh. ‘You win’.

Y/n laughs and lowers her weapon. ‘Oh darling, I won the second you walked in wearing all that leather’. She winks at me, then walks out of the facility. I feel a blush creep to my face, much against my will.

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

‘Maybe you should stick to your guns, Tony’ Y/n says, ‘Fancy suits is it for you, chain hammers may be overshooting it’. ‘Is that what they taught you in the back alley you learnt ironmongery from?’ ‘Yes! Do you want their number, I’m sure they’ll have a spot on the waiting list for you’.

Ah. Y/n’s relationship with Stark seemed more like mine with Thor. While they banter, Steve and Natasha tear up from laughing. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this domestic, but it certainly is comfortable.

‘Come on, the glaive can’t be that good, right Loki?’ Stark asks.

The company looks at me expectantly. ‘To say her weapon isn’t good enough means to insult your own tech, Stark. Everything about it is founded on your theories’.

‘So technically, it’s my brain that made the glaive so cool’ he tells Y/n. ‘Yeah, you could say that. The glaive comes from the same mind that manufactured Captain America’s dinner plate’.

Steve doesn’t find that one funny, but Natasha does, sending her into peals of laughter.

‘Oh whatever’ Tony huffs. ‘I’m going back to the lab’.

He stands up and Y/n grabs his arm. ‘Aww Tony, I’m just kidding!’ she pats his hand, ‘Look, you’re a brilliant inventor, we all have our slow days’.

He sighs and nods, and holds her hand. ‘Thanks... I guess I’m just not in my element, you know?’ ‘Yeah...’ she keeps patting his hand.

And the feeling of domesticity creeps in. We really are all a family. Y/n smiles encouragingly at Tony, and Tony seems more relaxed.

‘So, you want me to get you the number of that ironmongery, or...?’ ‘OH FOR...’ he snatches his arm away and storms out of the room, with Steve and Nat losing it all over again.

___________________________________________________________

Ah this was so fun!!!!!!!! I hope you guys liked it <3

MASTERLIST HERE

ASK BOX OPEN FOR FIC REQUESTS. Find GUIDELINES HERE.

#loki x you #loki pov #loki x reader #loki marvel #Marvel Avengers #avengers tower #avengers fluff #tony stark #loki fanfic #loki fluff #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston birthday #fic prompts

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ofcowardiceandkings · 3 years

Note

I think you mentioned listening to podcasts? Do you have any favorites to reccommend? I've run out of content :(

that i do !

im not entirely sure what kind of podcast you'd be interested in but i'll throw out a few of the goodies in my huge library of stuff , i'll miss out a few of the HUGE podcasts that have been all over tumblr though

a LOT of it is true crime or human interest stuff , or history because im nerd ,, and a few of these dont have nearly enough attention so [shrug] i'll try to keep this short i guess lol this isnt EVERYTHING ive got in my library or listened series' by any measure

i AM gonna pop a shout to both Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff You Should Know from iHeartRadio because their HUGE archives have kept me from losing my mind many times over , and they cover a wide range of both important and wacky topics

BomBARDed (ongoing) this is the only fiction podcast i have happening right now really but its DAMN GOOD ONE .... it's an actual-play D&D 5E podcast in the DMs own musically-inspired world, focussed on a group of multiclass bards going to music school !! and all players (+DM) are members of the Texas band Lindby !! and they actually use and play music in the show with one original song an episode !! Kyle's worldbuilding and storycraft are truly incredible, and (Nick) Goodrich, (also Nick) Spurrier, and Ali's characters are in depth and interesting as well as an absolute powerhouse :') i actually made a piece for its first fanzine, Bardic Dreaming, which published earlier this year and is free to view now, all the players and the community are super wholesome its just very good overall 💙

History & Humans;

Fall of Civilisations (ongoing) legit one of my favourite podcast finds, im so glad my youtube autoplayed one of these ... it took me like 2 hours to realise it was 1) not the same as what was playing before and 2) had been on for 2 hours and wasnt near finished lmao. anyway, this is a series by historical fiction writer Paul Cooper, and is honest to all thats good one of the best documentary series ive encountered in years - and ive consumed a LOT of documentaries. it covered the downfall of various civilisations through history, and the episodes run from an hour to FOUR hours depending on the topic. its so chill to listen to and just get done, but over the pandemic all of the episodes have been given full movie-quality video versions too on youtube if youre more of a visual person.

Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast (on series break) yeah that says that lol ... its a SUPER niche topic but its very interesting and treated very well despite being kind of comical at times, the hosts are just naturally funny lol ... it delves around from the history of cannibalism in whole regions to specific incidents as recently as the 1970s, and of course the first episode is about the Donner Party, and it covers things ive never heard of despite being kind of important ?? anyway Alix and Carmella are good eggs

Sawbones (ongoing) i probably dont need to mention much here other than say that Justin and Sydnee saved me from being SO BORED sooo often, the history of medicine is wacky as hell and its what most of my history GCSE was on so [shrugs]

Cautionary Tales (on series break) this was a wild-card find lol ... it's by Tim Harford "the undercover economist" who writes for the Financial Times, and its topics kind of weave modern topics and science with how to learn from historical errors ... its a bit weird but well worth a go, also each series has a few celebrity guest voice actors which is pretty awesome

Ephemeral (ongoing) this is a very strange but thought provoking series about sounds and other things just barely saved. topics include the last castrato, the hello girls, hand-stamped records, the spread of kīkā kila music, and acoustic fossils of wild places.

Neat! The Boozecast (ongoing) history and bartending whats not to like lol ... hosted by Teylor Smirl and now their dad Tommy, they're just digging around in how important booze is to human culture

True Crime (white collar and weirdness);

Swindled (ongoing) this is an amazing show full stop. A Concerned Citizen details some of the most impactful and unruly things to happen in white collar and corporate crime. very factually accurate but given the sheer bullshit of the topics the deadpan snarking is [chefs kiss] absolutely warranted ..

American Scandal (on series break) this one is a series within a series type, and spends a few episodes at a time poking holes in some of America's biggest scandals, from a dramatised but fact-based point of view. such as what the hell was going on with Enron, how big tobacco was forced to own up to covering its own ass, how Iran-Contra happened, etc. it also now has a sister show called British Scandal, which does the same thing for British cases but with a slightly different format.

Missing in Alaska (finished) this was a fascinating series, a deep dive into what happened to two US government officials who disappeared on a small chartered flight in Alaska in 1972. it goes some really strange places, but it actually turned up a lot of previously unknown information through the audience. John Walczak's new series in a new feed is Missing on 9/11 which looks into what happened to Dr Sneha Philip.

Pretend (ongoing) Host Javier Leiva holds interviews with anyone living a lie, or who have been touched by them. con artists, snake oil salesmen, former cult members, catfishing victims, anyone and everyone.

Power: The Maxwells (finished) hosted by journalist Tara Palmeri, the story of media tycoon Robert Maxwell from nothing to empire to mysterious death and the scandals uncovered after he was gone.

Lets Talk About Sects (ongoing) Sarah Steele covering cults from around the world, in particular those in Australia - where she is from. She often has former members on the show to share their stories, and share knowledge of how they left. each story has the relevant content warnings at the start of each episode.

Brainwashed (finished) investigation of the CIA's covert mind control experiments, centred on the experiments performed at a hospital in Montreal, and its cultural impact.

Dr Death (2 series finished) two series investigating huge cases of fraud and medical malpractice, and how they were brought to a stop. series 1 covers Dr Duntsch and his horribly butchered neurosurgery, series 2 covers Dr Fata and his fraudulent cancer clinic

The Immaculate Deception (finished) untangling the weird and disturbing fertility fraud of Dr Jan Karbaat, who fathered children himself through his fertility clinic, and the impact of his deception. later episodes also touch on other similar cases.

True Crime (Violent/General);

The Casual Criminalist (ongoing) Simon Whistler of-the-many-youtube-channels cold reads a script about the case of the day, with some of his daft commentary thrown in.

Southern Fried True Crime (ongoing) Crimes from the American South hosted by Erica Kelley, she puts all the facts out there but refreshingly for true crime she doesnt hesitate to tell you if she thinks someone is human garbage lol

They Walk Among Us (ongoing) probably one of the most popular UK crime podcasts, very measured and well put together, not weird or annoying about it either.

All Crime No Cattle (ongoing, feed slowed down for now) specifically about crimes from Texas, hosted by Erin and Shay, they're very sensitive hosts and a lot of the cases they cover shed light on why the Texas criminal system is how it is or show an impact at a national level

Canadian True Crime (ongoing) Canadian crime from an Aussie who's lived there for a decade, Kristi is again a sensitive and measured host covering some important topics

True Crime (Violent/Deep Dive);

Hitman (finished) journalist Jasmyn Morris digs around in the sticky tangle around a book published by fringe publisher Paladin Press, and its apparent use as a blueprint in the killing of a mother, her friend and her 8 year old boy for financial gain.

Camp Hell: Anneewakee (ongoing) this series is exploring how a wilderness camp "correctional facility" was endorsed by the Georgia care and juvenile reform system, despite widespread abuses and shady practices the whole time. warning for csa and child cruelty throughout.

True Crime Bullshit (on series break) this one is a huge huge rabbithole but a very interesting one where the host Josh Hallmark has spent years digging into the life and potential crimes of Israel Keyes. Keyes is often mentioned as a serial killer with no pattern, but in picking it apart thats not quite true, and has sparked some re-evaluations of missing persons cases and stumbling upon information the FBI has redacted organically. there's also a series in the middle looking into the crimes of Kelly Cochran

Forgotten: Women of Juárez (finished) this series looks into the huge numbers of missing women of Ciudad Juárez, the strange circumstances surrounding them, and the potential cover-ups and corruptions on both sides of the border, trying to give a voice to all of the forgotten women and girls and their families without answers. the series itself is finished, but a spanish language edition is being released every week now.

aaaaaand i'll call it there before i list everything lol, i hope you find something to plug your boredom hole with !!

#audio #rory's ramblings #podcasts #asks #anon #long post

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kvj-novels · 3 years

Text

Senku x fem named!reader

Rating: this chapter is A for Adults ONLY

Warnings: this fic has elements of smut and a mention of eating disorders THIS CHAPTER DOES CONTAIN SOME CONTENT WITH THESE WARNINGS - check tags - TW: mention of eating disorder.

Summary: Imogen has been awakened from petrification but she suffers from amnesia upon waking up. Senku and Taiju - her lover and childhood friend (respectively) before the petrification - must do their best to help her recall her past life.

Smut summary: soft sex, first time, no warnings but very NSFW.

Authors Note: If you choose to not read this chapter, please see the tags for a summary of missed relevant topics.

Chapter Six

Morning streamed in through the window. I rolled over to see Senku was gone. I half expected it considering he probably didn’t like to waste daylight. A note, however, was on his pillow. I picked it up.

“Breakfast will be soon. Wake up and get dressed, come to the village square. Take the road this time.”

-Senku

I got up and tossed on one of Senku’s tunics. My previous dress was all ripped up after the tussle with the bear. I never even remembered once we got back to the village to ask for a new dress. Senku was taller than me though, and it was summer so I felt I could get away with just his tunic coming down past my butt. I grabbed one of his rope belts and tied it around my waist. My feet were still bandaged up and they hurt a bit this morning. I told myself I would ask Senku to look at the cuts after breakfast. I climbed down the stairs and walked the road to the village. People were bustling about and the smell of fresh cooked eggs was wafting through the houses in the breeze. Chatter and laughter soon reached my ears as I approached the square. It was interesting to see a whole village eat breakfast together. People were sitting on blankets on the ground, at the tables and benches from last night, the steps up to the house at the top of the hill. Taiju called out my name and waved me over. I hurried over and sat down next to him. “Here,” he said, handing me a plate of food. Eggs, ham and potatoes filled the plate. “These look grilled.” I mused. “They are. Senku helped make a grill last week.” Taiju grinned. “Dig in.” “Thank you.” I picked up my fork and chowed down on the food. “Where’s Senku at?” I asked after a bit. “Oh he’s over there at the grill having fun. Everyone is almost fed, he’ll be over in a minute.” “He cooks for everyone?” “Just today.” Taiju said. “Why today?” “Oh! I’m sorry, I forget you don’t know the traditions. Today is July 4th. In America, they celebrate their independence on this day. Senku honors the countries who are still stuck in petrification by celebrating their unique holidays. On these occasions he cooks for the whole village.” “That’s very thoughtful of him.” I smiled. “Do you have any plans today?” Taiju asked after a while. “My only plan is to hang out with you. I have a lot of questions.” “Good! I know just the spot we can go to get away from the bustle of the village. But only after you finish your whole plate.” He said in a brotherly tone. I laughed. “Oh you bet I will.” Senku came over with a full plate of his own and sat down at the table next to me. “Morning.” He said. “Good morning.” I smiled. I finished off my plate. “Damn, done already?” He chuckled. “I’ll have to scarf this down to catch up.” He then leaned over and whispered into my ear. “My shirt looks damn hot on you.” I tried to hide my blush but failed. “Oh shut up.” I said with a giggle. He winked and took a bite of his food. “I’m gonna hang out with Taiju after breakfast. Get some questions answered.” “Mm, of course. Take all the time you need. I need to get some work done so I won’t be very enteraining today.” Senku said in an apologetic tone. Then he looked over at Taiju next me. “I trust you’ll take care of her today.” “Of course, Senku.” He grinned, fist in the air. “Shall we go?” He asked me. “We shall.” I leaned over and kissed Senku’s cheek real quick without even thinking. I froze afraid I must’ve done too much. He only smiled and winked at me. “Have fun. I’ll catch up with you when I’m done with my work.” I smiled and took Taiju’s hand which he had out for me. We walked out of the village and hiked up a small mountain to a look out with a small fire pit. “Here we are.” Taiju announced. He sat on the edge of the cliff and beaconed me to join. When I sat next to him and looked out I realized I could see the village from here. “Damn.” I said. He leaned back on his hands. “So, what do you remember?” He asked. “Last night I got two memories. The first one when you introduced Senku and I. The second was at the fight. When I tried the beer. It was when we all three got together that last summer. We were at the pool and I tried a beer for the first time.” He chuckled. “That was a good day.” “Will you tell me about us? Senku says I didn’t have a family...that I grew up with you.” His expression fell flat a bit. “You had a family. But they made some pretty bad choices and went to jail. Next to Senku, you were my best friend. So I begged my dad to adopt you and I didn’t stop until he agreed.” “How old was I?” “You were 5 when your parents went to jail and 7 when the papers finally went through.” “Really? How come Senku and I never met until high school?” “That would be dad's fault...he really wanted you to...be a girl. As he put it. He thought that if you hung out with Senku you’d end up like him and he didn’t think science was a good career for a girl.” “But...Senku said I was studying computer science.” “You did. So, the way it went down was like this. From 8-11 dad enrolled you in every type of after school activity until you found something you liked that he approved of. You guys settled on dance and put you in ballet. You hated every single minute of it.” We both laughed. “I can imagine I did. Dancing doesn’t even interest me now.” “Yeah dad wasn’t too happy about that. You came to me one day and told me that whole you had been looking up computer science. You said you did this often when you should’ve been sleeping. Then you asked me what kind of science Senku did. To be honest, you really looked up to him. The boy you could never meet.” “Why could it never happen?” “Dad went to extreme lengths to make sure you never hung out with Senku. You couldn’t stop talking about computers and science and he knew if you hung out with Senku it would only get worse—in his eyes.” I frowned. “Now please, don’t hate him. Even back then you never hated dad for putting you through all that. You desperately wanted to make him proud and you bent over backwards for years to do that. But from 11-15 you really started to decline. Ballet forced you to eat less, and you never had any energy. You started to get sick. I had an argument with dad because he was completely blind to it. Still he didn’t take you out because he was convinced that you liked it. That’s when I talked with you and told you that you needed to tell dad that you hated it.” He paused and sighed. “Things didn’t go extremely well. You and dad argued and then you dropped out of ballet on your own by faking dad’s signature. When you came home from school that day you said that high school was just around the corner and there was a computer science course you wanted to take at the high school me and Senku were enrolling in. You and dad came to an agreement that if you got straight A’s your first year, he would consider allowing you to do it. And you surpassed that. You got straight A’s, you made top of your class, and you won the science fair.” “Against Senku?” “No. Unfortunately not. Senku didn’t join the science fair the first year.” “Aw...damn.” I chuckled. “So what happened at the end of the year?” “Dad said that if you could keep that up for one more year, he’d let you graduate and pay your tuition for any college you wanted. But...that’s when things went wrong.” “How so?” “You were still struggling with eating. And on top of that you were working overtime to prove this to dad. You ended up in the hospital after Christmas.” “What for...” I was scared of the answer. “Anorexia. You were barely 100 pounds. I was so scared for you.” He sat up and crossed his legs under him. “I remember I sat down with you and had a heart to heart. You told me that the girls at ballet bullied you from eating and the pressure to look a certain way remained even after you left. You started to get depressed because you immediately assumed that dad wouldn’t let you finish because you were in the hospital. So I helped you.” “Oh? How?” “I brought in your homework every night and I text Senku for any help. I helped you make your projects and I even stood in for you at the second science fair. To which of course, Senku won.” He laughed. “But my only condition for you was gain weight and eat your food. By March you gained 50 pounds and was no longer considered underweight. Dad let you finish out the school at home under a watchful eye when you ate and when your report came back as straight A’s, dad made good on his promise.” “And that’s when I got to meet Senku?” “Mhmm. Things were looking up for you and I know you never forgot about him. I never expected things to turn out the way it did for you two but I’m happy it did.” Said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Senku is an amazing man. You guys were meant for each other. My only regret is not introducing you sooner to be honest.” I smiled. “Thank you, Taiju. You were there for me during some pretty dark times and if I never got a chance to say it back then; thank you. I hope I can remember the bond we shared and I hope we can continue to be close.” He pulled me into his side, enveloping me with his arms. “If there’s anything you need, please keep coming to your big brother for help.” “I will.” I said, hugging him back. “Can you tell me more? What did you and I do for fun?” He chuckled and laid down on the cool rock, taking me down with him. I rested my head on his chest. “Man you were wild for a while. Despite working so hard in school you occasionally woke me up to sneak out of the house and go to a party or a club.” “Did I really??” “Ohhh yeah,” he laughed. “That memory you said you got, at pool with me and Senku? Yeah that wasn’t your first time trying beer.” “What? It wasn’t?” “Nope. That was your first time trying a beer and rum combo. You weren’t an alcoholic but you enjoyed a drink occasionally - you were just very adventurous with it.” I smiled. “Did Senku ever talk to you about me?” “Oh all the time.” Taiju said. “What would he say?” “I remember his top comment about you was, ‘she’s amazing and smart and I never thought I’d be this lucky.’” “Pfffft you’re lying. That doesn’t sound like Senku.” He laughed. “Damn it, you caught me.” “Hey!” I Smacked his chest. “You cheek!” He belly laughed. “I’m sorry, I had to at least see if you’d believe it. But for real, Senku couldn’t shut up about you. He honestly was amazed with your smarts. He was impressed by all your accomplishments. He tried to keep with you, you know.” “How so?” “When we were young. He saw you always watching or asking to hang out. And then whenever you had a question or a theory I’d remember it and ask him and he’d give me the best advice to give you so you could work it out on your own. Often he would text me late at night to ask if you had figured it out.” “Really?” He shook his head. “Really. You may have looked up to him a lot, but he also was very keen on watching you grow.” “I wish I could remember how it felt...” I mumbled. “How what felt?” “Falling in love for the first time.” He squeezed my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help.” “Tell me more. Anything that comes to your mind.” “Hmm...I think my favorite thing we did when we were younger was you would sneak into my room and we made a fort and played pretend in space. You pretended to be a valiant hero and I was an alien.” He chuckled. “That’s a fun memory.” I closed my eyes and listened to him talk. “I do have to confess, I may have read your journal after you enrolled in high school. I wanted to know if you wrote anything about Senku so I could have a better idea.” “Did I?” “One entry. It was the newest one.” “What did it say?” “I honestly can’t remember fully. I remember the sentence, ‘Senku will be there, I can’t wait to see him. I wonder if he’ll think I’m weird.’ I went to school for the next week and did nothing but pick his brain about his thoughts for you.” “He probably caught on quick.” “Nah, Senku’s an idiot with things like that. He didn’t catch on in the slightest.” I laughed. “Thank you for telling me all this. I hope I get these memories back soon.”

“Me too.” He smiled.

********

Tag list: @viskafrer @bee-cakes @potatochic2003 @gxldenhunny @cheesey-fox @guijh103 Please DM me if you would like to be added to the tag list!

#tw: anorexia #senku x reader #senku x fem #ishigami senku #taiju oki #dr stone #fanfic #dr stone fanfic #MRT: Imogen was adopted by Taiju's fam #MRT: Taiju tells Imogen she had anorexia because of taking ballet #MRT: Taiju is an awesome adopted brother and sets Imogen up with Senku #one shots

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natromanxoff · 3 years

Text

Mercury Roadrunner's Interview about Freddie Mercury with Peter Freestone – Part III

Thanks very much to Mercury Roadrunner (Pavel Strashnyy) for letting me share his amazing interviews! Originally shared here. Check the tag "MR interview with Phoebe" to see the other parts.

Here are the 6 main topics of this interview, beginning of each topic is written in bold:

1. Freddie's clothes and beliefs, drugging story

2. Freddie's family

3. South American tour

4. Memories about Brian, Roger and John

5. Books, plays and opera

6. Before and after concerts, Michael Jackson, first memory about Freddie, what how would it be if he was still alive?

PS: So, here is our third part, and the first topic is about Freddie’s clothes for concerts. On the Hot Space tour, we can see arrows in Freddie’s clothes. What was so special for Freddie about these arrows?

PF: I don’t know. It’s just something that got into his mind. They are also in the video for “Body Language.” I think it’s just something that fascinated him at the time. He just decided he liked arrows.

PS: I see. And where exactly did you source all those arrowed vests and jackets for him, for concerts?

PF: They were actually all made in America, they were made for him. They bought the T-shirts and painted them on. And with the leather jackets and the other jackets, they just made them. There was that one big jacket he had. He only wore it, I think, once or twice. With the actual arrows sewn onto it. He literally wore it two times, I think. The reason he didn’t use it was because he couldn’t take it off on stage, because as soon as he started sweating it stuck to him. So, there was no way he could just take it off. That’s why he stopped using it. But it was just a phase he went through.

PS: Speaking about Freddie’s T-shirts, Freddie used to wear quite a few T-shirts with logos of different gay establishments, different gay clubs, such as Haven, The Works. And the question is, how exactly did he usually obtain such T-shirts? Were they given to him as presents or did he buy them?

PF: Most of them were. I mean, obviously, we offered to pay, but then the manager says, “No, no, no. Take it, take it.” Because, of course, it’s going to be good advertising for them, isn’t it?

PS: With such a superstar wearing their T-shirts. Speaking of clubs, have you ever visited the famous Studio 54 in New York?

PF: Yes, we were there quite often. Usually on the Sunday night. And, it was fine, it was good. It was the Sunday, because he went to The Saint on Saturday. It was fun, it was good. It was so very, very different because of the history that was attached to it. But it was good, it was big enough for people to hide in. If you wanted to be seen in a photograph – yes, fine, well and good. But if you didn’t, then there were plenty of places where you could just stand or sit, or whatever.

PS: In what ways was it different?

PF: I mean, the feeling of the place. Because they spent a lot of money on the interior. With all the different lighting, stage, everything was there. It had that, sort of, bit of glamour.

PS: Actually, as we mentioned the holiday of Easter at the beginning of our talk, I would like to ask you, in your understanding, was Freddie any kind of spiritual person? Maybe not religious but sort of a believer, as we can see a lot of lyrics for his songs where he mentions God.

PF: He didn’t follow any organised religion, because it’s something that he never really spoke about, because he felt that and politics were, in fact, very private to a person. But I do believe he had a faith, he did have his belief, but not in any way that we would recognise.

PS: Coming back to our topic about clubs, could you please try to remember the story about Freddie meeting one of the members of Village People in one of the clubs?

PF: I’m trying to remember which club we were in. It could actually have been The Works where we met him, because I know it was just a chance meeting. We then went to some promotion thing that the Village People were doing. And we were there, we met up with David Hodo; he was the construction worker. They became good friends, and they would meet up quite often in clubs whenever Freddie was in New York. But it was just a chance meeting.

PS: There were some kind of rumours that some accident happened to Freddie when he met one of the Village People members in a club. Do you remember anything like this?

PF: Accident, no. There was that time in one of the clubs, there was a group of us and David was there with us. I went to the toilet and told Freddie, “Just stay here.” And he says, “Yes, yes, yes.” And then I went to the toilet and when I came back, of course, he wasn’t there where he was supposed to be. And then David came and found me and said, “You better come and give Freddie a hand,” I said, “Why? What?” He said, “You have to see it.” We went round the corner and there was Freddie jumping in a big, sort of, net container where there were all the plastic cups from the drinks you just threw away. He was just jumping up and down in it, because someone had actually put something into one of his drinks, and he just had gone… happy. [laughs] So, between David and myself, we just lifted him out, took him and stood him by the bar and wouldn’t let him go anywhere.

PS: Coming back to the Hot Space times, you can be actually seen in the backstage footage of the Milton Keynes Bowl show, and you are walking together with Freddie to the stage. Can you please share any special memories about this show?

PF: The show itself, no. But the night before the show, he was bitten on his hand by his boyfriend at the time, Bill Reid. He bit him and drew blood between his thumb and his forefinger. So, Freddie was having a bit of a problem playing the piano at that show. As far as the music goes, it was another big outdoor Queen show.

PS: Speaking about the Hot Space tour, in general, what was the most specific moment or, maybe, your personal memory of it?

PF: No, not really. One tour blends into the next tour, whether it was Europe or America. When you are actually on tour, it’s basically the same every evening – soundcheck, show, out, hotel, travel to the next place. It became very much routine.

PS: As a viewer, you have seen only one Queen show, right?

PF: Yes, the show I have seen was one of the Wembley shows in 1986. It was the Friday night. He had friends over from America and he wanted me to look after them. And then Joe actually took care of him for the show.

PS: And you saw it not from the stage but as a viewer?

PF: Yeah. We were all sat in the royal box, which was, sort of, the VIP area. You don’t get any good view or anything, and this is in any show. It’s either right at the side or whatever. You don’t really see anything. It’s really a place where celebrities can go and sit so that the audience can go and see them. That’s what it was about, really.

PS: What are your memories about Freddie’s family? This is our second topic. What are your memories about Bomi and Jer.

PF: I probably saw them five times in my entire life. He tried very much to keep his music life totally separate from his family. The music side of him did not really fit with their strict Zoroastrian faith. He didn’t want to push their noses in it. He would bring them to one show each tour of Europe when they [Queen] were in London, and that would be it.

PS: Even if you saw his parents five times or something, could you remember, in general, your impression of his father? As we can see his mother, Jer, in some documentaries. But what was his father like?

PF: His father was just quiet, very, very quiet. Which was unusual in that sort of family, because normally it was the male who was dominant, and the females were submissive. But it was very much the other way round with this family. The mother did a lot more talking. I probably had more to do with them after Freddie died than when he was alive, because I talked to them to find out what they needed for the service and everything. The whole world had had him for twenty odd years, he was owned by the world, so I felt it was only right particularly at this time that his parents got what they needed. They should never be burying their son. That’s not supposed to happen. So, for them to be able to deal with the whole thing I felt it was only right to actually accommodate them with the funeral service and everything. So that’s why I say that I probably spoke more with them then than at any time before.

PS: Do you have, maybe, any kind of memories of Freddie spending time together with his sister, Kashmira?

PF: She came to Garden Lodge not even as much as his parents did, because she lived in a different city, she lived in Nottingham. If their parents came to Garden Lodge, maybe, six times, she would have been there, maybe, three. They spoke on the phone every now and then, probably not even quite as much as with his mother. It wasn’t a close, close family like so many people believe families should be, but then I fully understood it, I fully understood his feelings there.

PS: Do you find any similarities between Kashmira and Freddie? Are they in some ways like each other?

PF: I think so. But I found out a lot more in the more recent years than while Freddie was alive. She enjoys her life with what Freddie has given her. And the way she honours Freddie because Freddie gave her 25% of his money. And she’s buying these really classy, good quality jewellery and cigarette cases and everything, and then she lends them to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Freddie’s name. So, she’s enjoying the money but letting the world know that it’s only through Freddie. I admire her for that. If Freddie was to actually be seeing what she’s doing, he would be over the moon because she’s enjoying the money. So many people just cannot, but she is, she is definitely enjoying it.

PS: She has a total right to do so.

PF: Yes, very much so, because she’s doing what, I believe, Freddie would have wished her to do. Because he enjoyed his money, so that’s why he gave it to her so that she could enjoy her life, enjoy things. And, as I say, the things that she buys she lends to museums in Freddie’s name. So, he’s still there, he’s still represented. I think that’s perfect.

PS: Our third topic is about Queen’s first tour in South America, as it was a very special one. What are your favourite memories about this one, if you can try to remember?

PF: The memory that sticks in the mind was the police escort that we had going back from the first show in Argentina. There are photographs all over the place, with John Deacon playing with the gun and them travelling in an armoured truck and that sort of stuff. That was something incredible. It’s something that you could tell your grandchildren you were there, it’s one of those things. The shows themselves were wonderful because Freddie was playing to the biggest audiences that he’d ever played to at that point. And he loved it, he loved being on the stage. The memories I have are more offstage than onstage. There was the very, very quick drive from the hotel to the airport after the show in Venezuela, because the president died that day and they were going to close the country down to go into state mourning. If the band and the set and everything were still there, we would never have been allowed to leave. There were no flights, there was nothing. So, we drove so, so fast through to get out before the lockdown happened there. It was amazing. And then, of course, there was Mexico, in Puebla where there was this old, old stadium. And the backstage, you just wouldn’t believe what was there. It was just broken down, old cement and concrete. No locks on doors. There was one toilet that we had to create a sign for, so when you went in you put “Engaged”, and when you came out you put “Vacant”. There was no lock on the door. And then, of course, that was where there was the problem with the crowd. The band didn’t know anything about, none of us did until afterwards. The reason that batteries and everything were thrown at them on the stage was because, apparently, before the fans could go in, the police took all the batteries out of recorders, cameras and everything, so none of the show could be recorded or filmed. But then when they were inside, the crowd could buy their batteries back. And the crowd thought that this was part of a deal with Queen and that’s why they started throwing stuff at them.

PS: Very extreme concerts, right?

PF: But when Freddie was on stage, he thoroughly enjoyed it. It really fulfilled his dreams.

PS: The fourth topic is: A lot of people ask you about Freddie, but we must remember that actually you were quite close with all Queen members. My question is about each of them. What are your special memories or stories? Let’s start with Brian.

PF: There’s a photograph. There was Brian, myself and Brian’s security. We were down by the pool. I cannot remember which hotel. I was lying on the grass in the sun and Brian was there and we were chatting. And then his bodyguard came and just sat on me. There’s a photograph of it on the internet. And Brian just sat there laughing. He just laughed and laughed and laughed, and didn’t do anything to help me.

PS: Any special memory about Roger in all those years with Queen?

PF: Again, this was in South America where he and I had a go-kart race, there was this amazing go-kart track near one of the cities. I was out there with Roger, there was a group of us out there. We had this amazing race. Because he loves cars, he’s always driving cars. He decided he was going to be champion go-kart driver. That was fun. All the things are fun that we did. John had the family with him [in South America] some of the time. I used to babysit his children. I think there were three boys at the time. There’s photographs round and about of me with John’s children playing around at the airport. I was there to make sure to keep an eye on them. The off-duty times were really good memories.

PS: The fifth topic. Freddie, in one of his interviews, said that he considered reading books not a very interesting activity. Could you please try to remember whether there was some certain book or books that had an important meaning for Freddie?

PF: In the twelve years I knew him, I never saw a book in his hand. He would read magazines, like Architectural Digest, because he just loved furnishing things inside the house, on the properties he owned. But I never really saw him reading a book. But, saying that, with the intelligence that he had, he must have read books. I think probably they are things that he learnt at school. He was very clever. I finished the boarding school at eleven, and he carried on until he was seventeen, so he probably would have learnt so much more that I did. But I never saw him with a book in his hand.

PS: In that case, could you please try to remember any theatre play or opera libretto that he liked because of the storyline or the characters?

PF: It started off as a play but then it was made into a film. He saw the play in London when they put it on. And it was called “The Women”. He found that fascinating. It was a comedy film about how women dealt with divorce and separation and love, and all that sort of thing. It was just very quick-witted. He loved everything. You had to listen carefully to understand the joke. In so many of these films, they do short, quick sentences. He would pay attention to those sort of things. That one he went to because he wanted to see the play. Most of the time, he went to see plays because of the people who were in it. His friends would invite him to a show. I bought the tickets and took him to see the play “Little Foxes” in New York, and not because he would be interested in the play or what’s going on, it was purely because Elizabeth Taylor was the star. A lot of the time, he went to these things because of who was in it rather than what it was.

PS: Was there any opera libretto that he liked the most because of the story or characters?

PF: Not specifically for story and characters, because anything that Montserrat could sing, he just loved listening to her voice. He didn’t have to know the story behind it. It’s just as well because in most operas you don’t understand the story, because this mother lost this son, he was taken away by someone else, or she stole another one, and then this son falls in love with this person but that’s his sister. You know, you really do not want to know the stories of operas, you just want to listen to them.

PS: Speaking about you, what are your favourite books and writers?

PF: It really depends on my mood at the time. Actually, I do quite like Stephen King, but not everything that he’s done. I mean, I like the general style of his writing, of his books. Operas, I have about 1,500 operas in mp3’s and on physical CD’s. And I will listen to one every day. It just really depends on the mood. Mainly things written by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. The storyline is almost always the same, except if it’s based on a historic fact. It’s always a love story, sometimes it ends happily and other times she dies of consumption or she dies of something else. As I say, generally, you don’t pay attention to the words. I ask so many people, when they listen to a song for the first time, do they listen to the music or do they listen to the words? The vast majority of people listen to the music first. It’s the same with opera. He had to be able to read music, although he might say he couldn’t because he did those piano exams. You have to read music. But I don’t think he was so interested to actually pick up a school. He would not sit at the piano and play something from notes. That he couldn’t do, he just would create it himself.

PS: Speaking about Stephen King, as you mentioned him, do you like his book “The Shining” and the film with Jack Nicholson?

PF: Very good. That one I like very much. I like “The Shining”. I thought the book adaptation was actually very, very good. Another one that I like of his was “Salem’s Lot”; there is a miniseries made of that which actually reflected the book very, very well. Because Stephen King is involved with the films of his books most of the time, they tend to be much better versions of the books than so many films. So many films are supposed to be based on a book than have all of the director’s own ideas and what it should be like and everything else. So, when you look at the film, you actually wonder if you’re looking at the right film.

PS: Must agree with this. As a close friend of Freddie, as a writer yourself and as a book lover, here’s a special question: With whom could you compare Freddie amongst fictional characters from books?

PF: [laughs] Oh brother! There isn’t one. [laughs] Not in anything I’ve read that Freddie could compare with. I mean, maybe, there’s a little bit of Freddie in so many different characters. For example, Sir John Falstaff. I don’t remember which Shakespeare play he’s in, but he’s in a couple of operas. And just that character, I can see a bit of Freddie in there. Anything passionate I can see Freddie in. Anything with a love story in it, because that’s what he was always looking for. Anyone specific, no, I don’t think that exists. So, a book would have to be written around him.

PS: The next topic is: What was Freddie’s excitement like right before going on stage? Was he mostly visibly excited or otherwise calm and deep inside himself before the show?

PF: Really, most of the time when I was there with him getting ready for the show, there was always a rule that everybody, all friends and family had to be out of the dressing room at least half an hour before the show. They would have to sit in the guest room, so the band could, sort of, concentrate. In Freddie’s mind, there was no reason to panic because the show was going to happen whether he panicked or not. He was actually quite calm going into a show. He would pump himself up but on his own. He would just move his arms around and jump a little bit. And it wasn’t the excitement, it was just to get the body moving because he knew what he’d appear on the stage. His body would not stop moving for an hour and a half, two hours. He had to basically warm the body up a bit. Vocally, he would do a little bit of vocal exercises, but not specific exercises, he would just hit notes to try and place his voice, so he had some idea of what he was going to do that night. But there was no visible excitement. I suppose, perhaps, there was more excitement in South America than any other show that I was at, because of the size of the audience and because it was a first. Any of the shows they did in South America were a first, they’d never been done before. There was a bit of excitement because he didn’t know what was going to happen. When he was touring the normal America, Europe, it was things he’d done before, so he knew what to expect.

PS: Speaking about backstage before the concert, we can actually see you walking with Freddie in Los Angeles, and there we can also see Michael Jackson. Do you remember this show and Michael backstage with Freddie?

PF: Again, there’s pictures of it. That was more after the show where Freddie went into the guest room. They actually started in the dressing room, because nobody was allowed in the dressing room half an hour before and half an hour after while they got changed. But once they had come down from the show, a few special guests would be allowed into the dressing room, but then the band would go into the green room where all the artists and guests were. I remember seeing Freddie talking with Michael. It was just interesting for me to see these two who were at the peak of their performances, although they were so different but they were so similar. I know it sounds stupid, but that’s what I felt.

PS: What is your favourite memory of you and Freddie visiting Michael?

PF: There’s too many, I suppose. For me, it’s playing video games with Michael Jackson, because he had this big room where he had the arcade versions of video games. He just picked one and called Freddie and me over, and we were playing. There was this old-fashioned tennis thing. An oblong screen and on each side, you had a pedal that you moved up and down to hit the ball. We were playing that. It was wonderful. It was actually in Encino, the house before Neverland, the house that his mother lives in now. But, I suppose, the thing that I took away with me from that day was purely the fact that Michael didn’t treat me any differently than how he treated Freddie. Whatever happened in his life, whatever the truth is, the way that man treated me will stay with me all of my life because, as I say, it was no different at all from how he treated Freddie.

PS: He was very open to you, right?

PF: Yes.

PS: Speaking about the opposite of the before stage time, what was Freddie like after the concert? What was his mood mostly like?

PF: Mostly, he was up. In the dressing room, immediately after the show, there would be shouting and screaming for anything that went wrong. They always wanted to give a perfect show, and when they couldn’t it was hard. They would really get it out of their system. But once that had been done, he was generally always in a good mood. He just couldn’t wait to get out. I understand why he was out every night, because you cannot go to bed after a show like that, you’re just so full of adrenaline it just wouldn’t work.

PS: It’s like the second wave coming?

PF: Yeah. All the adrenaline that appeared during the stage show had to go somewhere, it doesn’t drain off in five minutes. That’s why he was out until four or five in the morning.

PS: At what time did Freddie usually go to sleep?

PF: It depends on what we were doing. I would think that average time would be between three and four.

PS: Three and four in the morning, right?

PF: Yeah. Sometimes he might go at two, and if he was in the studio, sometimes he might go to bed at six.

PS: How many hours did he usually sleep?

PF: He was usually awake by nine o’clock, so he would normally sleep for six or seven hours.

PS: Did he have any kind of repeated night dreams that he, maybe, told you about?

PF: No, nothing like that. He never told me anything. He would say he had a good night or a bad night but wouldn’t really go into description of dreams.

PS: You mentioned many times that your favourite Freddie song is “My Melancholy Blues.” Could you please try to describe why it is your favourite song?

PF: Yeah, because it’s so very, very different, because as soon as you mention the name Queen you automatically think of big harmonies, multilayered guitars, just huge songs. And this was just the total opposite. It’s just got a piano, a bass, a bit of drums and a voice. It’s all so partly autobiographical of Freddie’s party. He used to have so many parties, but in the end the party’s over, he would find someone else. The party doesn’t have to be a party with drinks and all the rest of it, it could just be a good time he had with someone. It’s just the total opposite of your classic Queen song. It’s just so quiet, it’s so personal.

PS: Could you please quote your favourite line from the lyrics?

PF: I suppose it has to be the opening line. “Another party’s over and I’m left stone cold sober.” It’s just Freddie, it sums up Freddie.

PS: Was he really a bit sentimental and sad when the real parties were over?

PF: Sentimental, maybe, but not sad, because most parties that he had were usually a success, so he would be happy and sentimental. The thing is, if that one’s over, there can always be a next one. There’s no need to be sad.

PS: What is your very, very first memory and image of Freddie when you first met him?

PF: Oh, that’s easy, I know exactly. He’s not very tall, is he? He was 175 cm and I was 187 cm. I looked down at him. You look, everybody imagines Freddie to be a giant because of the videos, because of the way he is on stage. He just looks huge. So many videos are shot from just a little bit looking upwards which makes him look taller. It was great, just looking at him and thinking, “He’s not tall.” His personality, his aura certainly made up for that, because he could walk into a room and every head would turn. They could feel Freddie Mercury had walked into the room.

PS: The very first moment you saw him, did he walk into the room or did you walk into the room where he already was?

PF: I walked into the room because he was already there talking with some friends. This was after the Royal Ballet Gala. And then he, sort of, looked, he wasn’t talking and looking around, and I just went to him and I just had to tell him how wonderful I thought the whole evening was. It wasn’t like he was this massive great superstar who I was scared of, because I’d been dealing with stars for the last four years and people who he considered were real big stars. He often used to say how proud he was of the fact that he took me away from the opera house where real big stars performed.

PS: What was his response to your comments about his show? What was your first conversation like?

PF: It was strange because I expected it to be rock’n’roll, rough, the way he talked on stage, but he was polite, he was a gentleman. That was all totally unexpected, because you expect a rock’n’roll star just to have the words ready on the end of his tongue for this and that. And the only reason that he spoke with me, because normally he would not speak to a total stranger, was because his friends were around him. One of them could easily have taken him away if he wasn’t happy. That’s all he needed. But then we started talking and it was it. I mean, it was just a three- or four-minute conversation, not a lot. As I say, from the very start, I could not be over how polite he was.

PS: So it was enough for him to spend, like, four or five minutes with you to later contact you and ask you to work with him on tour?

PF: Yes. As I say, whatever happened in those four or five minutes obviously worked because of that phone call a week later. I can imagine, he would be talking with Paul Prenter because they were going out on tour and they didn’t have anybody looking after their costumes because Dane had walked out. I can imagine him, “Look, I was talking to someone, he does costumes at the opera house for the ballet. Why don’t we try and call him?” I can imagine how it was because I know him and what he was like.

PS: As you mentioned Paul Prenter, was there anything good in Freddie’s relationship with him? Do you remember any good moments with Paul Prenter?

PF: He kept Freddie happy for a lot of the time. He kept Freddie company. Freddie was never alone when he was around. Paul was always there. But he’s got that bad reputation and all the rest of it, which sort of he’s deserved. He did care about Freddie.

PS: Concluding our final part, Freddie Mercury would have been 75 years old this year, but if we imagine Freddie was born, let’s say, in 1986 and if he was only 35 years old today in the year 2021, in our modern times, what do you think he would be like today?

PF: That’s so hard to say because life is so different. At that age, he would have grown up with computers. If things still carried on like they have done, I don’t think he would be happy because people don’t buy albums anymore, they don’t buy CD’s, they don’t buy physical, everything is “download.” Part of the joy for him was designing the album covers. He hated working at home, he refused to work at home. But nowadays you have to work at home and then take your music into the studio to get it mixed. I don’t think he would be really comfortable in this time. Because there’s no music like Queen have done, that doesn’t exist anymore. There are no bands who do things like that anymore. Or the bands that do, they are all in their 70s. His music would go nowhere. I also personally believe we are all here where we’re supposed to be. I think, if Freddie had a real big choice, he would have been born fifty years earlier because he was that sort of Victorian, Edwardian gentleman. He was a real gentleman. And that sort of existence wasn’t around when Freddie would have been able to enjoy it. But then, how many rock stars do you know that have had at one point the largest private collection of antique Japanese woodblock prints? That just isn’t rock’n’roll, is it?

PS: And if he was 75 this year, in his 70s, what would he be like today?

PF: He would be miserable because he never ever wanted to be old. As you get older, you cannot physically do what you used to do. A 70-year-old cannot, in the very, very best of health, do what a 30-year-old can do. It’s just physically impossible. That deterioration would have upset him so much.

PS: If Freddie could talk to the new generation, our present teenagers and young people of today, what would his message to them have been?

PF: The thing I always got from him was that he cared for others just as much as he cared for himself. He did not put himself first, above anybody else. He just wanted to treat everybody nicely. That’s what he was like. And I think that’s what he would try and tell people nowadays because that doesn’t exist very much either anymore. Because this now is a world of “me, me, me.”

PS: So his message, in general, would be something like “You should take care of each other more”?

PF: Take care of each other, yeah.

PS: And if he could talk to exactly Queen fans, what would his message be today?

PF: “Well, just carry on and enjoy the music.” Because that’s something that all the Queens fans did. They loved the music. They’re the ones who are keeping it going now and creating new fans. So many students say to me, “My mother and father were huge Queen fans.” It’s going through the generations. Freddie has been gone thirty years, but people are still listening to his music as much now as they ever did.

PS: And we all hope that people will continue to listen to his music.

PF: No reason why not. We still listen to Rimsky-Korsakov, we still listen to Mozart. And they’re long gone.

PS: And he will be remembered for thirty, fifty and more years.

PF: I remember, this was a few years ago, when it was Mozart’s 250th birthday or something. And I did an interview and I said it would not surprise me at all that if in two hundred years people would still listening to Queen music, as they were still listening to Mozart. Because good music carries on.

PS: Let it be this way in years to come.

SPECIAL THANKS TO VALUREX FOR CONTRIBUTION AND ASSISTENCE

#MR interview with Phoebe #queen #queen band #freddie mercury #roger taylor #brian may #john deacon #peter freestone

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sturchling · 4 years

Note

A new girl shows up and takes Lila's spot but instead of lying she's actually does them but she's two face and tries Lila worse than Lila treats Marinette and Lila looses her followers whenever she tries the same tactics and up like Nettie(who switched classes) Lila for the first time is genuinely miserable like Mari for real ( will give u an idea 4 a sequel after this)

Here you go! Sorry it took longer than I would have like, but I had sudden job interview. Now that it is over, I had some time to write! :)

Hope you like it!

Lila was happy with how things were going in her life right now. The class was completely under her spell. They believed anything that she says and look at her like she hung the moon. She had succeeded in making that pathetic Marinette miserable. Marinette was so miserable she even switched classes. Sure, Adrien knows she is a liar. But Adrien can’t say anything, since Mr. Agreste has forbidden it. Yeah, life was going well for Lila. That was, until, Sadie arrived

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It had been a normal weekend for Lila, she had been coming up with new stories to tell the class on Monday. She was sure these new stories would keep the class singing her praises for a while. As she walked towards class, she heard the class already chatting excitedly. It is common knowledge that Lila doesn’t like attention not being on her. So, she got ready to tell another story, to get the focus back on her where it belonged. Not like the class was talking about anything important, probably just talking about whatever stupid thing they had done that weekend. But just as Lila entered the classroom, a new lie on her tongue, when she noticed someone new.

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

The class was surrounding a girl that Lila didn’t recognize, and this girl was sitting in Lila’s seat. This girl had long black hair that reached to the base of her spine, and blue eyes. She was wearing a yellow floral sundress, with a black cardigan and black flats. Lila was furious seeing this strange girl sitting in her seat. Lila had worked hard to manipulate her way into that seat by Adrien, and she wasn’t just going to let it go. She sauntered up to the group, “Well, hello. Are you new?” Alya turned, now realizing that her bestie had arrived, “Oh, Lila! Good morning. This is Sadie, she just transferred here from America. Her dad is a marine and has been stationed to guard the American embassy here in Paris. She was just telling us about some of her adventures. Can you believe it, it sounds like you two have been running in the same circles!” That confused Lila, what did Alya mean by that? “What do you mean Alya?” “Well, Sadie was saying how she has also worked for several go-green organizations, and has also helped out a bunch of celebrities. She also knows a bunch of Hollywood actors, from when her dad was stationed in San Diego. She even has tinnitus like you, she and her dad were visiting a friend at an air force base and she got lost. She wandered to close to a plane and nobody noticed her so her hearing was damaged. That is why she is sitting up front too. You guys can be desk mates!” Lila paled at that. She had worked so hard to get a seat next to Adrien. “But Alya, what about Adrien? Where will he sit?” “Don’t worry Lila, Adrien was fine with the seat change since another student needed to sit up front. He will sit where Marinette used to, near Nathaniel.” Lila was fuming, but she couldn’t exactly do anything about it without looking bad. So, she just smiled and played along, sitting down in Adrien’s old spot.

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

The rest of the morning hadn’t gone any better for Lila. She had tried several times to get the attention back on her, but no matter what she did, the class only wanted to talk to and about Sadie. It was infuriating. Not even Lila’s new stories were enough to capture the class’ attention. Anytime Lila mentioned something she had done, Sadie had done it too, but bigger and better. Worse yet, is that Sadie appeared to be telling the truth. The go-green charities that she claimed to help start, all had official websites and awards and Sadie was always listed on those websites as a founding member. There were even videos of her at some of the award ceremonies. Sadie also had pictures with every single celebrity that Lila had also claimed to know. And not just one picture, like they had just happened to meet by chance, but several pictures. Some looked like they had even been taken at parties. And when Mrs. Bustier had finally arrived, Sadie had an actual doctor’s note for the tinnitus. The little brat had been telling the truth all morning.

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

Lila hadn’t been this angry since Marinette had challenged her. This meant that Lila would have to go to war again. This Sadie girl seemed just like Marinette. Kind and sickeningly sweet. Lila thought this meant that Sadie would be just as easy to destroy, but she was very wrong. The next day, Lila cornered Sadie in the bathroom and threatened her. “I don’t like sharing the spotlight newbie. So, you are going to stop trying to hog all the attention. I worked hard to become the queen in this class, so you can either bow down or get out of the way. I already eliminated that Marinette girl and I can do the same to you too. The choice is yours, you can either give me back the attention I deserve or I can destroy you.” Sadie just smiled at Lila, but in a way that felt very threatening. “No, here is what is going to happen. Alya told me all about your stories and it is clear that you are lying. I am the real deal. The rest of the class already thinks I am a saint. You may have been the queen, but your reign is over. I am in charge now. If you tell the class anything about this conversation, or try and ‘destroy’ me I can promise you the only one that will be destroyed is you. I may seem nice, but I am not some push over, and I will not be dictated to by some liar who is so desperate for a cool life that she had to make one up. As far as I am concerned, we are enemies. I am going to make your life hell-” Sadie seemed to want to say more, but just then Rose poked her head into the bathroom and told them it was almost time for class. Sadie quickly wiped the glare from her face and smiled at Rose. “Thanks Rose, I’m coming. See you in a minute Lila.” With that Sadie walked out of the bathroom, chatting happily with Rose. Lila was shocked. She had thought that Sadie was a goodie-two-shoes, she hadn’t expected her to be so cold and hostile. If Sadie wanted to be enemies, then Lila was willing to play that game.

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

Despite Lila’s best efforts, nothing was working. Sadie had quickly become the class darling and everybody loved her, much to Lila’s annoyance. And what was worse was that Sadie had started tormenting Lila. Lila had never gone so far as to physically attack Marinette herself, but Sadie had no problem attacking Lila every time the two were alone together. So far, Sadie had tripped her close to a dozen times, trapped her in two closets, and had even spilled food all over her. But the class never saw any of this happen. Sadie was really good at finding just the right moment to strike. Lila had tried talking to the class several times, but they never believed her. “Oh Lila, Sadie wouldn’t do that.” “It must have been someone else.” “Maybe you just got confused.” Lila was at the end of her rope.

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

What was worse was anytime that Lila tried to talk to the class, Sadie started to poison the class against her. It started small, Sadie started asking the class, “How could Lila say I would do all those mean things? Did I do something wrong?” The class fell all over themselves to tell Sadie she hadn’t done anything. Then the class began to wonder why Lila was so insistent it was Sadie. When Lila didn’t stop trying to convince the class, Sadie continued her assault, both physically and socially. She was playing the long game with turning the class against Lila. It was so gradual it was hardly noticeable.

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

Eventually, when Lila still hadn’t gotten the message, Sadie pulled out the big guns. First, she started fulfilling the promises that Lila had made. She started introducing the class to celebrities in the field they each wanted to go into. She introduced Alya to people at the New York Times, Nathaniel to the editors at Marvel, and even helped Kitty Section get a meeting with some big-time music producer in LA. Then she started wondering aloud to the class why Lila hadn’t already done all this for them. When the grumblings in the class continued to grow, Sadie went for the killing blow. She accused Lila of attacking her. “Lila was so mad. She wanted to be the one to introduce you to all these people. She told me that if I keep doing this then she will make my life hell!” Sadie even threw in some realistic fake tears, not fake sobs like how Lila used to do. Now the whole class had turned against Lila.

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

Lila’s life had become miserable. She was the class outcast, the only time someone talked to her was to make rude comments or tell her off about ‘how she is treating Sadie’. Thankfully, her lies hadn’t been exposed yet, somehow. She was worried though. Sadie kept getting closer to exposing her with each day. In an attempt to stop that from happening, Lila stopped trying to go after Sadie. Sadie stopped going further with her stories about Lila, but she was still making Lila miserable. She kept tripping her and shoving her and now the rest of the class had joined in. Lila’s stuff was routinely destroyed to the point that Lila didn’t even bring anything she didn’t need to class anymore. Right now, Lila was on another ‘trip with her mother’ and skipping school. She had tried switching classes like that loser Marinette had, but her request was denied. All the other classes were full at the moment. She also tried to convince her mom to let her change schools entirely, but her mother didn’t want her to switch schools in the middle of the year. Lila was stuck and had lost all her power. She was no longer the queen of the class, but was treated more like a prisoner. Sadie had won the war.

#ml fic #ml fanfic #ml salt #ml salt fic #ml salt fanfic #ml class salt #lila rossi #lila salt #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #miraculous salt fanfic #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous fic #miraculous salt #miraculous salt fic

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persephonesfill · 4 years

Text

breathe me in

a/n: this is the fic i promised for my 900 follower celebration! i’ve had this blog a for a while and it’s crazy to think that there’s people let alone 900 of them that care about my stupid opinions on stony. thank you guys so much!

summary: Tony tries to have a heart to heart with Steve after their fight on the Helicarrier and gets more than he bargained for. Set during The Avengers.

rating: Explicit, so explicit

warning(s): tony has self confidence issues but what else is new, heavy smut

edit: this fic has a sequel now!

choke on me—chapter one

—————

Almost dying, Tony decides, really puts one's life in perspective. They weren't kidding when they said your life flashed before your eyes, right up until your last breath. His life flashed alright, in a riot of color and noise, camera flashes, cheers, and jeers alike. And when he opens his eyes, he's greeted by Rogers kneeling over him looking distraught.

His almost death aside (he'll deal with that trauma later) Tony does what he does best to break the tension; he cracks a joke. And because today is just chock full of surprises, Rogers laughs. He laughs, and his eyes are as brilliant as the sky above them. Tony swears his heart stops again. It's happened enough for him to recognize the feeling.

Tony knows he can be an asshole. He can be rude and obnoxious and interruptive, all very much asshole behaviors. The majority of the time, it's just an act. People have come to expect a show from him, whether they know it or not, and Tony's never been one to half-ass anything. The public wants a rich, smarmy bastard? He can do rich, smarmy bastard. He's the fucking poster boy for rich, smarmy bastard.

But Rogers, laughing with him, smiling at him after dealing with Tony Stark: Peak Asshole Edition™? It makes Tony pause. The joke isn't that funny (you try coming up with a zinger after sacrificing yourself for the sake of the world), so why is Rogers smiling? It's not that Tony hates himself so much to the point where he immediately distrusts any signs of affection. But Tony's Tony. And Steve is Steve.

"That's why," he tells himself. "This is Steve Rogers. Being kind is in his blood." There's only death in Tony's.

"You're a real piece of work, aren't you, Stark?" Steve says, chuckling to himself. There's no heat to his words.

"You wouldn't like me nearly half as much if I wasn't," Tony says and immediately wants to shovel the words back into his mouth. He and Steve aren't friends. Steve isn't like Rhodey or Happy or hell, even Romanov, who Tony's still not sure what the status of their relationship is.

Instead of rolling his eyes or sighing, that slight smile stays on his face.

"Okay," Tony thinks. "That's new."

***

Tony's got a new perspective on things. Maybe Rogers isn't that bad. That doesn't mean that they're friends, not even close. But, Tony thinks, as he shuffles from foot to foot outside the soldier's makeshift quarters on the Helicarrier, that doesn't mean he doesn't want to at least try.

Tony knows how to be the bigger person when he wants to be.

He knocks on the door, and before he can change his mind and retreat to Stark Tower like a recluse, Steve is opening the door.

Tony must have caught him while he was stripping out of his uniform; Steve's still wearing the bottoms of his suit, utility belt and combat boots in all. Aside from that, Steve is shirtless. Which is fine. Tony isn't going to question why Steve is shirtless, but it is hard to make direct eye contact with him when his abs are right there in front of Tony's face. And it's not like Steve didn't have time to put on a shirt before he answered the door.

"Stark?" Steve says. "I'm surprised to see you up and running."

Right. Near-death experience. "I may have bribed the doctors in the med-bay into letting me leave early," he says.

Steve frowns. Tony's quite familiar with Steve's frowns now. There's the "I can't believe you just said that" frown and the "Captain America is disappointed in you" frown, but this one, Tony can't seem to pinpoint.

"Your heart stopped."

"After the second time, you get used to it," he says with a shrug. "Look, I didn't come to talk about my medical issues."

A muscle works in Steve's jaw. Tony shouldn't find it as attractive as he does. "Why did you come, then?"

"I wanted to apologize."

Steve arches a brow. "For?"

"For being an ass." It comes out sounding like a question. "I...said some hurtful things, and I want to own up to them instead of sweeping them under the rug."

"It wasn't just you," Steve admits. "We both were at each other's throats."

"Still," Tony says. "You're not a lab rat. Not even close."

Steve's lips quirk up. "I'm a step up from rat, now?"

"Yes," Tony says. This is good. Steve is smiling instead of punching him in the face. Tony can handle this.

"You know...what you did today, that took courage."

Oh, God. Tony doesn't want this to be about him. (Despite popular belief, his ego isn't that fucking big.)

"Don't even mention it. Please," Tony says. "If you're not gonna let me apologize to you properly, at least let me do something for you, or buy you something. I'm great at buying things."

Steve frowns again, but his interest is piqued. "Like what?"

"I don't know, like a vintage car or something. A blowjob. Whatever floats your boat." Why did he say blowjob, why did he say blowjob, why the fuck did he say blowjob?

Steve's staring daggers into him. "Did you just offer to blow me?"

Seriously, why the fuck did he say blowjob?

"It was a joke," he says lamely.

"Oh," Steve says, his face dropping and—is Tony crazy, or does Steve actually look disappointed?

"I'm sorry. You don't have to if you don't want to," Steve says. "I thought...you know what, never mind." Steve's retreating back into the safety of his room, a blush flooding his cheeks.

Tony has two options, and he has to pick fast. He can either let this whole thing go and pretend it never happened, as that seems like it's what Steve wants to do. Or...he can roll with it.

"Wait," Tony says, grabbing Steve by the arm. His skin is hot to the touch. "It...it wouldn't be a chore or anything."

Steve swallows, looking Tony up and down. Tony feels oddly naked in front of him like Steve is seeing past every mask he's ever donned. "You mean that?" Steve says.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it," Tony confesses. His stomach twists into knots. During their fight he had thought about Steve pinning him against a wall, wrapping a hand around his throat, kissing his mouth like a savage—

"Yeah?" Steve says, and his tongue darts out, wetting his lips.

"Yeah," Tony breathes. The hallway feels like it's closing in on him.

Their eyes meet, and it's a matter of seconds before Steve's yanking Tony by his arm into the barrack.

Tony barely has any time to close the door and observe the room before Steve's on him.

He's kissing Captain America.

Tony Stark is kissing Captain America.

Steve kisses like he fights; All confidence and barely restrained power. Tony's back is pressed against the wall, but he can't find it in himself to complain as Steve's tongue finds its way into his mouth.

Tony doesn't know if they closed the door or not, and that sends an electric thrill running down his spine. Anybody could walk past and see him ready to fall to his knees and give Captain fucking America the blowjob of his life.

Steve slots his thigh in between Tony's legs, silently prompting him to spread them, and it's no skin off Tony's back to comply.

Steve's tongue is quick and clever, eliciting moans from Tony's mouth. Steve's a practiced kisser, and Tony's not sure if that bothers him or not. He had assumed that Steve was a precious virgin with 1940s sensibilities, but obviously, he had been with somebody. Tony wonders if it was recent and if Steve still thinks about them in his spare time.

The thought of Steve with another lover fills him with jealousy, and Tony finds himself kissing Steve harder. He winds his hands into Steve's hair and grinds his rapidly growing cock down on Steve's thick thigh.

Steve pulls back, chuckling as Tony chases after his lips.

"You're a needy one, huh?" he says, working at the fly of his tac suit.

"Like you're any better," Tony says, marveling at how out of breath he sounds. "You can barely get your pants down, you're so eager."

Steve raises his hands. "Alright, genius, you do it. I'll just stand here and look pretty."

Tony bites back a smile and instead makes quick work of Steve's fly.

"Oh, wow," he says softly when he pulls out Steve's cock, already hard and leaking precome. He's not a poet, but he's never seen a dick that looked so...nice. It's so hot in Tony's hands, like a brand. Steve keeps himself trimmed and neat, which makes sense, given the rest of his appearance.

Tony can hear his heart beating a rapid rhythm in his chest as the gravity of what he's about to do hits him. It's not like he's never given a blowjob before, far from it. But this is Steve. Steve, who lied on registration forms just so he could serve his country. Steve, who freed prisoners of war with little to no help. Steve, who plunged a nuke-laden plane into the ocean without a second thought.

"Hey," Steve said. "I meant it when I said you don't have to do this if you don't want to. Are you still okay with this?"

Something in Tony's heart softens at that, and he silently pushes it down. This is a one time only situation. He can't afford to get feelings involved, so instead, he nods. "Yeah," he says, "You think I'd say no to this?" And with that, Tony fully sinks to his knees.

He takes Steve into his mouth before he can ask any more questions. A sharp intake of breath escapes Steve's mouth. Tony's hands come up to rest on Steve's well-muscled thighs. It's hard to breathe at first—Steve is so big, Tony would bet his fortune that he had been like this before the serum too.

Tony takes his time, and Steve lets him adjust to the foreign weight in his mouth. He breathes through his nose because he's not a goddamn amateur, and settles into a steady rhythm, bobbing his head along the length of Steve's dick.

Tony savors the little gasps and moans that Steve emits whenever he swallows around him or flicks his tongue a certain way. He commits them to his memory like a raven collects shining trinkets.

Steve's hand curls into Tony's hair, not necessarily pushing him down, though. Just a steady, almost comforting weight on Tony's head that makes something in the back of his mind purr in satisfaction.

"You're doing so good," Steve whispers it like it's a secret.

Tony looks up at him, and Steve looks just as wrecked as Tony feels. The blue of his eyes is naught but a thin ring overtaken by a pool of black. His skin is sweaty and flushed, his lips red and swollen from where he had been biting them to stifle his moons. Tony wants to devour him.

Steve's fingers tighten in his hair, and Tony's moaning himself now. Steve's eyes flutter shut, his mouth dropping into a slight 'o'.

"How can someone be so fucking beautiful?" Tony thinks.

His own cock tents his jeans, leaking precome, but Tony will deal with it later. He's not expecting Steve to return the favor. This is an apology, after all. An unconventional one, sure, but an apology all the same.

"I'm close," Steve says. "Do you want me to—"

Instead of answering, Tony hollows out his cheeks and sucks. His teeth ghost over a vein along the length of Steve's cock, and Steve's coming with a muffled shout into Tony's mouth. Tony's careful to swallow it all, not wanting any of Steve's come to go to waste. He tells himself that it's just so that there's less of a mess.

"Jesus, Tony," Steve says, his voice all scratchy like he had been the one on his knees for the past fifteen minutes.

Tony pulls off of Steve and looks up at him with big eyes, his lashes shining with unshed tears. Something primal crosses Steve's face, and he snaps. The next thing Tony knows, he's being hauled to his feet, and Steve's tongue is down his throat like he wants to become a part of Tony. A pang of arousal hits Tony in his stomach like a sucker-punch at the fact that Steve would still kiss him after what he had just done.

Steve unbuttons Tony's jeans with deft fingers and shoves one of his hands down Tony's jeans. He finds his cock with ease. Tony wraps his arms around Steve's neck and digs his fingers into Steve's skin as he jerks him hard and fast like he's trying to punish him.

It should hurt. But a savage part of Tony's brain revels in Steve's loss of control. Steve isn't Captain America right now, America's golden boy. He's Steve fucking Rogers, and he's taking what he wants, consequences be damned. Tony doesn't even bother trying to hide his cry when he comes hot and wet into Steve's hand, pleasure lighting up every single one of his nerves as if he has been struck by lightning. Tony's knees tremble, and if it weren't for Steve pinning him against the wall, he surely would have fallen to the ground.

Steve breaks their kiss and tucks his head into the nape of Tony's neck.

"God," he says, his voice like sandpaper. "God," he repeats as if that says everything that needs to be said. In a way, it does.

"Hell of an apology, huh?" Tony says. He's always known how to ruin a moment.

Steve gives him a breathless chuckle in return. "If that was your apology, I'd kill to see your 'thank you,'" he says.

"Give me something to be thankful for."

"Yeah?" Steve says, lifting his head up to look at him. His eyes are bright, but there's a glint to his gaze that makes Tony feel like he's being hunted.

"Yeah," Tony says. Steve's smile cuts like a knife.

#stony #steve rogers #tony stark #stevetony #steve x tony #superhusbands #marvel #mcu #nsfk #imperialstark fic #imperialstark writing #my fic #my writing #this one isn't too long but i'll still put it under a keep reading #lemons #lemon

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uwua3 · 4 years

Note

hi bunnie! can i first just say that your name and blog are both so dang cute aaaa 🥺 can i request a best friend!izumi hc? 🥺👉👈 thank you so much 💛

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU ARE THE CUTEST PERSON EVER~ i am in Love With You !!! also omg IZUMI ♡u♡ she is the Best Girl ever but #AllGirlsAreBestGirls !!! i love her so much, i’m so glad this was requested!!! i am so happy to write this ♡ PLEASE LOVE IZUMI!

summary: together, you and the currian are unstoppable! watching the cooking channel with your best friend just got even better

author’s note: i hope you love this 🥺 i am genuinely so soft over izumi she deserves the whole world

count how many times i say curry, it isn’t even Funny at this point T___T anyways, i was a bit nervous over this because i hadn’t watched the anime, so i didn’t know izumi well as a character! if all else fails, use the traits you know to the best of your ability! i love our curry queen regardless, though~

word count: 2,001

music: good as hell – lizzo ft. ariana grande

my best friend.

🍛 tachibana izumi

you, funny enough, met izumi at the grocery store in the spices aisle

you were unable to decide between which spices were necessary for the curry recipe you were about to attempt, staring at your phone screen with obvious confusion

what was the difference between each type of curry? which one was better? you scrolled down, reading off the countries,

“india, thailand, malaysia, china, south africa, japan...” you mumbled inaudibly before you heard a very distinct crash in the next aisle over. someone must’ve just hit their cart into a display or—

you saw a girl with long brown hair and pink eyes with... wait... were her pupils heart–shaped? you stumbled back as she approached like she was on a mission, standing a mere few feet from you as she smiled pleasantly at you like the situation wasn’t out of the ordinary at all

(oh no... was she one of those pyramid scheme scammers?)

“are you making curry?!” she questioned, leaning forward to glance at your screen only to squeal in excitement at the confirmation. you gulped, nodding with a tinge of doubtful fear

if you said yes, were you about to be attacked right here and now in the middle of a grocery store? you just wanted some curry...

“i’m so happy for you! do you need help? i know the perfect combination of spices for any type of curry! i can make a different curry for each day of the year!” she offered to help, putting her hands together with a pleading look like she was dying to talk about curry

you nodded again and her entire face lit up again, going off on a rant without taking a moment to breathe

she was so knowledgable on all types of curry! you took notes diligently, deciding on japanese chicken katsu curry as the meal for tonight

when you told her, she clapped her hands and giddily jumped up and down. it was honestly refreshing to see someone so enthusiatic about food!

“i’m sorry for randomly talking to you, but i just love curry! do you need help looking for the rest of the items?” she offered to help, already with an armful of the spices you needed and dumped them into your cart

you pondered, thinking as you looked at the girl. she was nice enough, and clearly wasn’t much of a threat if she was willing to approach a stranger without any discomfort

why not? you smiled, offering your hand out to shake as you introduced yourself. she took it quickly, enthusiatically shaking it up and down as she giggled

“izumi! glad to meet you!”

from that point forward, you two became best friends for life!

izumi was the life of the party and brought happiness wherever she went. not only that, but she was incredibly polite and kind! it wasn’t everyday you met a girl that was full of life and always determined to overcome any obstacle in her path!

izumi would go through anything and everything for her friends despite how busy she was 24/7. she juggled being the mankai director (which was babysitting 20 boys), helping other acting troupes, and cooking at night but still made time to see you at least every week

you weren’t surprised when you were encouraged to come over for a company dinner one night and saw so. many. variations. of curry set up at the table. like the other boys, you attempted to hide your grimace (but very poorly, you weren’t a trained actor like the rest of the entourage was)

“what’s wrong? are you okay?” izumi’s motherly instincts kicked in as she hurried to put her hand against your forehead. you had to pretend like you were coming down with a cold the rest of the week and forced the curry down your throat

(the boys secretly gave you water under the table, whispering advice on how to bear it and grin as they made up fake situations to pass your chair)

(the high schoolers just looked relieved to not be the victim that night)

(seriously... so. many. variations.)

(every time you were invited to a meet–up, you texted the groupchat named “stop the currian” to see if izumi was making curry)

(she always was. you still ate it because you loved her too much to say no)

but other than curry, izumi loved cooking! she was subscribed to sooo many culinary and baking channels on youtube. she loved sending you links with a follow–up text that said: “wanna make this tonight? i know you want to eat it! ;)”

(you complained about how it always ended in a minor food fight you had to clean up. you still let her in when she knocked on your front door with bags of groceries)

(after so many visits, izumi was beginning to be proficient at other forms of culinary like baking since you enjoyed it so much)

one time, you even convinced izumi to make her own youtube channel. you had set up a camera omi loaned on a tripod, acting as the best cameraman ever of course

(you had a clapperboard that had the production titled, “izumi is replacing bon appétit’s claire” with take 1 freshly written)

“you got this, izumi!” you encouragedly put a fist in the air, “fighting!”

izumi nodded cutely, wearing her favorite striped shirt with a pastel pink apron. she held a automatic whisk in her right and was already posing with a mixing bowl in her left, ready to demonstrate how to make your favorite dessert

(maybe you suggested the idea because you wanted food, who knows?)

counting down vocally, you watched as your fingers dropped down to a zero and the red light on the camera started blinking. it was go time, and izumi immediately got into action

“hello, everyone! my name is tachibana izumi and today we will be making—”

the camera fell off the stand as izumi’s whisk flew out of her hand and smacked the lense directly in the middle. a sickening thud echoed through the apartment as you two stood in shock, staring at the expensive camera with unease. it didn’t look... uh... functional?

you quickly put your finger on your nose since it was an unspoken rule that touching your nose automatically meant opting out. you were a second earlier than izumi as she gasped like she was offended

“i am not telling omi!” izumi freaked out, running over but the damage was already done. the camera definitely didn’t turn on anymore

(you and izumi bought the same camera that day and switched the memory cards) (omi raised his eyebrows at the sudden newness of his trusty camera, but didn’t say anything as he just took it and thanked you for bringing it back safe)

(yeah... omi definitely knew. but, he wasn’t too bothered to say anything about it)

(“izumi? what did you spend so much money on last month?” sakyo reviewed her financial statement, watching as she nervously sweat and glanced at omi. he just shrugged like he had no idea)

so you two stuck to mindlessly watching the cooking channel on the tv. it was the usual weekend: becoming insecure over the unreal and extremely talented kid bakers who made a whole 3–tier cake in two hours, making fun of america’s worst chefs when they didn’t know how to cut a chicken, and yelling at cheating cooks who were way too competitive on chopped

it was better that way, anyways. maybe going viral on the internet wasn’t meant for everyone. you still got your dessert, much to your satisfaction

(“yeah, yeah. it’s only because you’re my best friend.” izumi laughed, shoving the plate with extra servings as you stuffed your face. she just fondly rolled her eyes as you tried saying thanks with your mouth full)

(“gross!” izumi squealed, throwing the kitchen mitts at you as you fought back, nearly hitting her with one of the pastries. you already know what happens next. izumi stopped baking for you for a long time [a month] as punishment)

speaking of baking, izumi loved making the most ridiculous cakes you’ve ever seen in your entire life

on random days, she’d make the most creative cupcakes ever with individual designs with meticulous attention to detail

(izumi always had to slap masumi’s hands away from the white box she’d set aside specifically for you. he’d pout, hurt, wondering why she didn’t make any food other than curry for him)

(“masumi... you really need to look at other girls.” you remembered advising him, sympathetically patting his back as he angrily accused you of being in love with izumi, too! to this day, it’s still awkward on your end when you see masumi and he thinks you’re his lifelong competitor)

but on important celebrations like your birthday and anniversaries, her cakes were... something. they’d be the most delicious things on earth, but the design would be comically ugly. she’d put the most bare minimum art ever and write the words way too big and it wouldn’t fit. there were always misspellings. maybe it was a curse for being so well–rounded?

another fun fact was you and izumi were the ultimate power duo! whenever you two went to hang out in public, you always made sure some creep wasn’t staring at her and she did the same for you all the time

as friends, it was your job to make sure you two were as safe and sound as possible

(one time, an absolute douchebag tried to wolf whistle her and izumi had to stop you from getting into a fight in broad daylight)

izumi was way too nice. she was such a selfless person and often acted like the big sister you never had. she was always ready with the most agreeable advice and showed up with her arms open. she was so giving, it was easy to see why everyone loved her

but you liked giving back, too! (much to her surprise) you even tried your hand at making some new form of curry by throwing in random spices and calling it a day, but you realized she was the most critical judge ever for any type of curry

(you stopped making curry for her. she would narrow her eyes and push her imaginary glasses up like an anime character. it was terrifying, she always appreciated it but... you shuddered, izumi was scary)

once, you even rented that curry truck to come by for her birthday! you never saw someone look like they were this close to passing out from maximum happiness

(you even bought a director’s chair for her with izumi bedazzled across the back)

(she now sits in it to get that extra confidence boost before a big show)

but the most important gift that kept on giving was spending quality time with izumi when she needed it most

when the anniversary of her father going missing came back around, you were the first person at her room. with curry you knew she liked from that really one obscure place and all the time that day to make sure she way okay

(she was such a big sister! izumi always claimed she was fine and it was just another normal day, but you were always there to provide comfort she didn’t even know she needed)

you took time out of your day to help her with all her mudane tasks after you saw she once physically fainted from tiredness

(it almost gave you a heart attack the first time, but then you noticed tsuzuru also did that too so it must’ve been something in the mankai dorm air)

you then became a well known figure in the theatre community as “izumi’s best friend”

(you were not upset with that title at all, in fact, you hoped it never changed)

who knew you’d meet your best friend forever at a grocery store? over curry nonetheless?

(yes, you’re izumi’s best friend, but it doesn’t mean you’re exempt from the spices rant)

#tachibana izumi #izumi tachibana #a3! act! addict! actors!#a3!#act! addict! actors!#a3! actor training game #a3! headcanons #act! addict! actors! headcanons #mankai a3!#mankai company #a3! x reader #a3 x reader #izumi x reader #a3! izumi #a3 izumi

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hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall · 5 years

Text

Enough is Enough

Steve Rogers x Reader

Chapter Summary: Dating Steve Rogers isn’t as easy as it may seem.

Warning: Angst, Swear words.

A/N: I am on fire! Another late (I’m sorry) challenger, this time for the amazing @captain-kelli and her “Stories about strong women” challenge <3 My propmt was: I am not the girl the guy gets at the end of the movie. I am not a fantasy. If you want me, earn me! Until then, we are done.

GIF not mine! <3

You weren’t the jealous, pissed at everything, type of person. You always tried to listen to two sides of the stories, always wanted to make sure, that if the time comes, you will get angry for a reason. And it didn’t happen that often. You were normally a calm person, trying to avoid the fight. Whether it was at work or your private life.

You always tried to make sure that people that were closest to you felt that. And all you ever asked for was for them to show that they cared. Some simple gestures, something that would make you realise that you were loved.

When Steve Rogers asked you out one time, you weren’t sure if he was being serious. You were nothing but a humble coffee shop owner, who just enjoyed her job and her books. But when he asked, if he could make you coffee one day, you couldn't help but smile and agree. He was so shy and nervous, that you found it adorable.

Your first date was perfect. Everything you would expect from a man from the 40s. He was a gentleman, listened to what you had to say, laughed at the right moments, and even brought you flowers. Of course, he seemed nervous, but he tried to hide it as well as he could. And when he nervously asked you if he will see you again, you didn't hesitate to agree for the second date.

It was a year ago and for the first half a year it was amazing. You both worked great together, he was making you breakfast when you stayed the night, and you always invited him for dinner, when you were able to make one at home. Of course, you had fights, but you were both adult enough to be able to work things out and go on with your lives. After all, your first time together was after one of the biggest fights.

Yes, sex, especially the make-up, angry sex was something amazing. If someone thought that Steve Rogers was a boring vanilla guy, they were totally wrong. Steve knew how to pleasure a woman. He knew what to do and how to do it, for the girl to scream his name. And he was a little cheeky bastard about it. He enjoyed to play with you and hear you beg.

Yes, Steven Grant Rogers was amazing. In every aspect of it. Well, until he wasn’t.

Something shifted after the half-year you both been together. More precisely about a month after his birthday, where you made him his favourite apple pie and rented all of the movies he must have seen back at his days. The day was perfect, really, so was the end of that day. But the longer you two been together the longer it seemed forced. He would come back from the mission, write you a text that he was too tired to come, or would just come to get his frustration off. There was no more talking and getting to know one another, no more dreams about the future, and planning how would your little house in Brooklyn look like.

You wondered so long about what you may have done wrong. You replayed every day spent with him, trying to come up with a reason, why he was getting further away from you. It hurt you so deeply because you loved him and you needed him, Him and his love.

“He got used to you.” Your coworker said once when you spent your entire lunch break in a long monologue about what was wrong with you and your relationship. “It doesn’t matter if he is Captain America or not. He is still a man. He got used to you. To you being there for him and in his life.”

“So what he got tired of me?” You could not believe that your Steve Rogers would be like that.

“No sweety!” She laughed, giving you a warm smile. “He learned to have you around him. He got accustomed to having you, so he doesn't have to do anything for you to stay by his side. He got used to you. As simple as it is.” Your heart froze at that moment, and as much as you hated to admit it, there was a part of you that believed her. “Well, how about we go out tonight and celebrate your birthday?” You smiled and shook your head.

“Sorry, Steve was supposed to get out from work earlier. I think he’s planning something.” She nodded and giving you a kiss on the cheek came back to work.

You followed her some minutes later, trying to get rid of the awful words telling you that Steve really did get used to you.

You were tired. The whole shop was busy almost the whole day, and all you wanted was to go have a long bath and relax. You took a cab home, unable to hide the excitement to see Steve. You weren’t looking for much, just some time alone with him. Something which was missing lately.

You paid the driver and almost run to the doors, hoping to meet him there. But your big smile and cheerful beating of the heart stopped when you walked to the dark house.

“Steve?” You shouted, hoping he would be in the other rooms. But no one answered. No one was there. Just you and your pitiful hope for your friend’s words not to be true. You felt tears in your eyes and a sob escaped your mouth. You took your phone, hoping he would at least call or text you, but nothing was waiting for you. Nothing from you. Texts from his friends. His friends, but not him.

So you did what you were planning to do all day. You got your bath read, with some candles, a book and a glass of wine and relaxed. It was your birthday, no way you would cry on your birthday. Not because of a man. A man you gave your whole heart to.

Steve was tired. Too tired for anything and anyone. He was supposed to get off earlier today and relax for the first time in months. It was Friday and he had to stay this late because some recruits messed up reports. He was pissed and tired.

“Captain Rogers, have a good night.” AI saw him off and closed all the doors behind him. He looked at his phone and sighed seeing the time. No way he is coming to work tomorrow. Even he wanted some free time from time to time.

“What the hell are you doing here, punk?” He turned to see Bucky coming out of a gym. It was his ritual. The gym was normally empty in the evenings so he made the best of it.

“Just finished those stupid reports… Going to take a shower and off to bed.” He sighed and frowned seeing his best friend’s surprise face. “What?”

“Please tell me you remembered?” Steve was starting to get scared at Buck’s tone. “Y/N? It’s her birthday today? Well for the next 3 minutes, I mean.” Steve froze. He has completely forgotten. With all the work that he had in a couple of months, it was a nightmare to get any life outside of the office. He knew he was treating you badly, but he promised himself that when this all will be over he would take out somewhere and pay up for all that lost time. But now he completely fucked up. He looked at his phone once again to check the date and cursed under his nose. “Jesus, Steve!” Bucky hissed visibly pissed at his best friend. “She was already feeling left behind because of your strange behaviour”, Steve frowned, not knowing about that. And since when did you speak to Bucky about your private life. “You better think of something, pal, cause, you’re about to lose her.” Not waiting any longer, Steve went on his bike and drove as fast as he has never driven before. He can’t lose you. No matter what, he can’t.

You jumped when the doors tried to open from the outside. You don’t even remember when you left keys in them, which enabled anyone from opening them from the outside. But yeah, you were really thankful for that now, as you knew very well who it was before his voice boomed.

“Y/N baby please open up!” he sounded broken, scared and so tired. Your first instinct was to open the doors and console him, but you shook your head. No. You had enough. “Sweetheart it’s after midnight, you don’t want me to wake all your neighbours, right?”

“Go away, Steve!” You hated how hurt your voice sounded. You wanted to be strong and shop him how unaffected you were by his ignorance but you wouldn’t. Your own body betrayed you.

“I know you’re angry… Baby I know.” This made you even angrier than you thought it was possible. You stood up and opened the doors with anger, meeting his soft, hurt features.

“You have no fucking clue!” You shouted, not caring about the neighbours anymore. “So don’t give me that bullshit!” You stood there staring at him with so much hatred, so much pain, that the first time every you just didn’t care about his feelings. You turned around and went to your window, trying to relax, not wanting to see his handsome face right now. “You have no idea, so don’t act as you do!” You heard the doors closing and you felt him moving towards you. “Tell me what did I do for you to be so… Jesus Steve! Are you used to me, is that it?!” He frowned not understanding what you mean. “Was I becoming so boring, that you just got used to having me around? I understand Steve… Your job is important, but you promised me so many times that this would not affect us! You would always text me or call to ask how my day went. But it changed. For the past six months, I felt I was here just to feed you and get off your sexual frustration!” His eyes widened and he took a step closer, ignoring your protests.

“Y/N I am so sorry. I never thought this is what you think. I’m sorry for being so distant, for breaking my promise. This job… It’s killing me inside and by mistake, I put on that frustration on you. I’m sorry.”

“It was my birthday today, Steve”, he flinched seeing tears in your eyes. “Even your friends sent me wishes. I would have understood if you’d call me and said that you needed to stay at work. A one stupid phone call. We would do whatever you planned tomorrow. It wouldn't mat…” But you stopped noticing the look on his face. “Oh god, you forgot!” You whispered, your heart, breaking in million pieces.

“Baby please…”

“No… Don’t call me that!” You turned around and looked him deep into those blue eyes. “I had enough Steve. I had enough of being whatever I am to you. We talked so many times about my insecurities with this relationship. We talked about your work and you always promised me to never make me feel like I feel right now. And here we are…”

“Sweetheart, please…”

“No!” You shouted making him stop in tracks. “I don’t know if you really got used to me and decided to not put any effort into that relationship or something else. But right here, right now I am ending it! I have had enough! Enough of loving you with no gestures back. Enough of sleepless nights wondering what I’ve done for you to get tired of me. I am not the girl the guy gets at the end of the movie. I am not a fantasy. If you want me, earn me! Until then, we are done.” You noticed how he stirred at your words.

“No…” He started, tears appearing in his eyes. “No, we are not done. I am not letting you go!”

“I said that Steve. I am tired of this all. If you decide to change and would want me back… Fight for me… Until then I want you to leave!”

“I’m not leaving”, he took a step towards you, but you took one away.

“Fine, then I leave. Just please close the doors behind you!” And with that you shut the doors in his face, ending something you hoped to be forever.

#captainkelli500fam #MCU #MCU fanfiction #Marvel MCU #You #angst #challenge #fanfiction #mcufam #reader #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers fanfic #captain america #steve rogers x you #steve rogers angst

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mypassionsarenysins · 4 years

Text

Not Yours, But His.

Sam Wilson x Reader, Steve Rogers x Reader (One Sided)

Author’s Note: Just something I’d been rattling in my brain.

When Steve Rogers married Sharon Carter he imagined he would eventually be happy, that it was what he needed in his life.

Why had he ask Sharon to marry him?

Steve liked Sharon, don’t get him wrong, but in the core of the marriage it was the pressure.

The pressure that he was old and he needed a companion.

Steve thought he was in love with Peggy, he later realized that it was just a deep infatuation that went away as he settled in the future.

Then he met Sharon and in his desperation and the fear of being alone he gave her his life, and now he regrets it deeply.

It all started when on a Saturday night he had the boys over.

Bucky was talking about how good his relationship with Nat was going and then he heard the name that would be haunting Steve forever.

“I have a girl now,” Sam says as he looks dreamy.

“Makes sense,” Bucky brushes it off.

“What you mean metal man” Sam throws him an angry look while Steve just smiles at his two idiots.

“It’s that stupid face you’ve had for the past couple of months,” Bucky laughs an throws a pillow at his face.

As the start throwing pillows Steve intervenes.

“Okay okay, what’s her name?” Steve asks as Bucky sticks his tounge out.

Sam smiles and sighs.

“Her name is (Y/N), and she’s honestly the best thing thats ever happened to me.

“Well I’m happy for you,” Bucky says as he hugs Sam and they start fighting again.

After that day Steve didn’t make a big deal about Sam’s girlfriend thinking it was just a casual thing, but oh was Steve wrong.

It was Sam’s birthday a couple of months after Sam talked about you and Steve and Sharon where invited to a dinner celebrating the falcon.

It was in a nice upscale restaurant they usually went on special occasions.

The day had been ruined since they got into a big argument that had been happening for a whole year.

Steve wanted kids, Sharon didn’t.

It wasn’t working, Steve should’ve waited for that person that was gonna fill his life, that was going to make him whole.

He was trapped in a hopeless marriage that he didn’t want to keep, still feeling trapped as America’s golden boy the last thing he wanted was to leave his wife, hurt her in any way.

And then he met her.

The girl Sam wouldn’t stop talking about and now he knew why.

He felt like his life was interrupted by a shocking woman walking in with her arm around one of his best friends.

She interrupted his life with her amazing beauty and then he looked at her eyes, so sure, so beautiful, like she was looking through him.

You looked so happy in his arms and Steve wondered, for a brief moment, if you were happy with him or pretending like he was pretending with Sharon.

Then you leaned and kissed him softly smiling at him, and in that moment his heart broke and he didn’t even know it.

“Thank you all for coming,” Sam says loudly as he hugs his girl.

“And I specially want to thank (Y/N) for organizing all of this.” He says as he kisses you and you smile hiding in his neck.

He curses at the way your name slipped lovingly from Sam’s lips.

“We also have to make a special announcement,” you say as you extend your left hand and show your fourth finger decorated with a beautiful, yet simple diamond ring.

Steve’s eyes widen and the pit in his stomach overtakes his feeling confusing him completely.

He’s never met you before and yet here you are taking over every sense in his body making him desire things he’d never desired before.

He felt like he was playing a game pretending to live a life that did not belong to him.

He had everything people assumed he needed, a talented wife, a beautiful home, and a very successful career as the director of the Avengers.

And yet his life was sad and bland.

He had no real spark.

He wasn’t adventurous like Bucky or charming and outgoing like Sam.

He thought that quiet and establish was what he needed.

And now here he is looking at you and Sam on how in love you are.

You where loud and exuding a happiness that he would never know.

As people congratulate you, he and Sharon approach you and Sam.

“Congratulations guys, (Y/N) is really amazing Sam,” Sharon says as she hugs Steve keeping the facade.

“Don’t I know it,” Sam says as he looks at you softly and you smile pecking his lips.

You turn to Steve, “It’s nice to finally meet you Captain Rogers,” you say softly looking at him with a smile.

Steve’s whole body goes rigid dropping his hand from Sharon’s waist.

“It’s Steve and the pleasure is mine,” He says softly taking your much smaller hand into yours.

You smile at him and the only thing he wanted to do was keep your eyes on him when you turned to Sam and smirked at him.

“So, how have you been Sharon?” You ask Sharon and this surprises Steve.

“I’ve been good, you know missions can be tough, but we work them out,” Sharon says as she forces her hand into Steve’s.

“I didn’t know you knew Sharon,” Steve says rejecting Sharon’s wandering hand.

“That’s how we met,” Sam says with pride in his eyes as he winks at you and you giggle cuddling further in his arms.

“(Y/N) is the head of the International Affairs of SHIELD,” Sam says proudly making her hide her face.

“That’s great (Y/N),” Steve says with a small smile.

“It’s okay just talking a lot with foreign intelligence agencies,” You shrug as you turn and see Bucky and Nat arriving and you giggle at the sight of Bucky leaving Nat dramatically.

“We should go say hi,” you smile and turn to Sam to see him rolling his eyes at Bucky.

“Yeah, yeah, see you around guys,” Sam says as he takes your arm and you giggle about something about stealing Nat away from Bucky or something.

Steve just looks lost for a moment and Sharon clears her throat.

“Don’t even think about it, Steve.” Sharon says seriously as she starts to walk away.

Steve frowns and follows his wife.

“What are you talking about?” He questions sternly.

“You know, the way your eyes shined when you met her, don’t get any ideas?” Sharon says sternly.

“Why because she will make me happier than you,” Steve says angrily.

“No you arrogant man. Sam loves her, she loves Sam, they’ve helped each other.” Sharon says with tears in her eyes.

Steve just stands there in shock.

“I know you don’t really love me and it kills me because I did Steve, but this is not gonna work. You keep looking for some soulmate, for this magical person. First you thought it was Aunt Peggy, then you thought maybe Nat could bring you joy, and then you settled for me.” She says in tears.

“You keep living this fantasy that someone else is going to fulfill whatever hole you think you have, but it won’t.” Sharon says as she keeps her distance.

“But (Y/N), she’s such a Wonderfull human being, I love her, the team loves her, but mostly Sam loves her and she loves him. They’ve worked so hard to be this happy.” Sharon says as you wave at her and she starts walking away.

Steve just stands there and looks down at his left hand with the glistening gold band staring at him making his guilt and unhappiness of this situation.

Was Sharon right, was he just after a dream that might never come true.

“What’s up?” Bucky says scaring Steve who deeply lost in thought.

“Nothing,” Steve says seriously, looking down at the floor.

“Steve I think I know you better than that,” Bucky sighs.

“I just think that (Y/N) is beautiful,” Steve says with a sigh finally looking up at his friend.

“That she is, birdbrain is a lucky man.” Bucky says with a smile.

“I feel like she is the one Buck,” Steve sighs his eyes find you who are laughing at something Sam whispers on your ear.

“You don’t really mean that Steve, and even if that where the case she might be the one for you, but you are not the one for her.” Bucky says seriously.

“You don’t mean that,” Steve says with hurt in his voice.

“I mean it Steve. You don’t spend that much time with us anymore, you will always be my friend Steve, but Sam is my partner now and I know how hard he worked to get with (Y/N).” Bucky sighs as he looks at Steve.

“I love you Steve, but believe it or not I also love Sam. After you retired he got my back, and honestly I have his.” Bucky said seriously.

“You know she saved him.” Bucky says as he nods toward you and Sam.

“What you mean?” Steve asks with curiosity ion his voice.

“After the snap we weren’t the same, after Thanos, Steve it was bad. You went and retired, but Sam and I had to keep the world under control. Then comes this wonderful girl that bought light not only to his life, but mine also. She saved our life, helped me find the courage to get with Nat.” Bucky says as he smiles at the end of his little speech.

“I don’t know what to do Buck,” Steve says still looking at you.

“Let it go Steve, you always tend to make up these fantasies in your head that will change your life, sometimes it works like when you did with the army. But you gotta let her be happy with Sam.” Bucky says.

Bucky walks away and in that moment Steve feels heavy like his feet are glued to the floor.

In that moment his fantasies of you die and break like a glass.

“Hey man you okay?” Sam asks and Steve turns to see his friend with a concerned look.

“Yeah just getting over something,” Steve shrugs and smiles.

“You know I never thought she’d fall for someone like,” Sam says as he looks at you laughing with Nat and Buck.

“What you mean?” Steve asks questioning.

“When I met her she was such a bright shine in the middle of this dreary life, that I never thought that she’d look at me,” Sam responds his eyes still on you.

“I thought she’d end up with someone like you, someone more deserving than me,” Sam sighs finally looking over to Steve.

“But then she opened her heart to me, and wether I deserve it or not, she’s mine and I’m hers,” Sam says as he starts walking away.

“You know Sharon really loves you, maybe you guys should talk to a professional, you can be happy with her you know?” Sam asks and smiles walking back to you.

Steve thinks hard about what Sam just said.

He thought about how everyone struggles with love.

He looked at you and Sharon hugging and decided that maybe opening up to his wife would be the way to go, but in the very back of his mind the thought of you never left, and maybe it would never leave.

My Chaos Tag: @honeybucks @honeyvbarnes @stuckonjbbarnes @valkyriesryde @babiiface95 @mrwinterr @buckysmischief @mushyjellybeans @stateoflovinged @sunmoonandbucky @thinkoutsidethebex @poppunkdork @sleepingspacedragon

#sam wilson x reader #sam wilson #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader

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