#I have to say I prefer the versions that don’t scream in your face that he’s in hell

[24601orwhatever]

JUDAS’ SUPERSTAR COSTUME

(across multiple productions)

god bless this musical for having one bajillion different versions

[kawowoa]

Hey! I just read your latest Toji drabble, I love it. Can you please do smth like this with Sukuna (modern version) and blind reader? Preferably fem, but gn is okay too, up to you!

Hope you having a good day 🩵

info : implied fem. reader, established relationship, sukuna being sukuna honestly but he’s kinda nice, blind!reader, extreme fluff, modern!au, literally just a word dump

a/n : tysm!! i hope ur day is good too anon :33 !!

sukuna who is typically an impatient person but with you? he can wait all day. struggling to read the braille on menu when ordering? he’ll wait patiently for you while glaring at he waiter to do the same.

not to say he still isn’t a menace, it’s sukuna for heavens sake. he knows you memorized the layout of the apartment you two shared, some times he would shift all the furniture just to see you bump into everything with a smug smirk on his face.

sukuna who does anything and everything for you. his favorite thing to do was your hair, he would always put your hair up in pretty styles, describing each one so you can get some sort of idea of what they look like.

“it’s like braids, with bows on the end”

“bows?”

“c’mere, feel them”

speaking of that, he always has you feeling something you’re curious about. whenever it’s a hairstyle or an item he’s talking about or even something on him—emphasis on something on him, he would never admit it out loud, but he loves lying to you that he gotten something new done on his body just as an excuse for you to touch him.

(on many occasions he convinced you to touch a bug with a shit eating grin, laughing loud as hell as you scream at him.)

sukuna who understands you have a sensitivity towards light. always taking you out shopping to add to your collection of sunglasses. he’d lead you into expensive stores under the false guise of it being the cheap store you used to go to before the two of you started dating.

“sukuna! i like these, how much are they?”

“don’t worry about it, put them on. lemme see”

he loves taking pictures of you in your glasses, especially when you couldn’t locate it to stop him. his favorite was the .5 pictures where your forehead and eyes look bigger looking in the general direction of the phone.

sukuna who, no matter how many times you tell him “i have my stick, i can walk on my own y’know?” will always have you holding onto his arm. in public or even when you’re just going to the kitchen.

sukuna who never lets you walk out the house looking crazy. he always picks your outfits out, even secretly making his outfits match with yours .. but he wouldn’t tell you that.

you trust sukuna with his judgement on style. even with how irritating or annoying he can be, he knows you care too much about you’re appearance—he’ll never know why, you can’t even see yourself—sukuna will always make sure you look like the center of attention.

“done. go look in the mirror”

“…sukuna”

“oh right, pfft”

[beenbaanbuun]

Mug w/ Jung Wooyoung

this has been in my drafts for months and i’ve always wondered whether or not i should release it since the material could be triggering to some people. i guess i’ve finally settled on putting it out there, so please heed the warnings before reading it. i don’t want this to affect anyone negatively.

warnings: mentions of past abusive relationships, self doubt, slight dissociation, panic attacks, blood, self harm in the form of skin picking. i think that’s it but please let me know if it’s there’s anything i forgot to mention

——————————————————————————

“I’m not mad,” Wooyoung said, as if that made anything better. The tension was still there, eating you alive from the inside out. So was the guilt.

“But you’re disappointed, right?” You countered, knowing how this sort of thing goes. They tell you they’re not mad, but you have to face the consequences anyway. And there were always consequences.

Wooyoung just stared at you with unreadable eyes. They looked almost pitiful in a way, but why would he pity you for what you’d done? He should be screaming at you, throwing things around just to prove his point. Just to make you submit to him once more. That’s how it normally went for you.

But Wooyoung had been kind up until now. He was a gentle soul who preferred to steer you in the right direction if you ever misstepped. There was never any shouting within the four walls of your relationship, nor was there any placing the blame on you being ‘useless’ or any other such word. He was just… nice.

But there had to be a day when that ended, right? You’d fucked up big time this time and he must’ve realised that his kindness isn’t working by now. He had to know that the only way to get you to learn was by putting you in your place.

“Baby, what’s going on?” You were desperate to answer, fumbling over your words trying to find a suitable answer that would reduce your punishment. Perhaps you could tell him you were sick! That always worked when your last partner was mad at you. It would at least postpone whatever was going to happen for a few days. Wooyoung, just frowned. “Calm down, sweetheart.”

But you couldn’t. You knew this was the breaking point so how could you be calm about such a thing? No matter how gentle Wooyoung had been up until this point, you knew it wouldn’t always stay that way. If you’d been taught anything it’s that you were a bad girlfriend, and the only way to make you good was to hurt you. Fear was a powerful teacher, afterall. Fear wouldn’t let you be so careless about your actions.

It would hurt to say goodbye to this version of Wooyoung, you had to admit, but you always knew it was coming. He couldn’t stay his annoyingly loving self forever because you couldn’t stay well behaved forever. You only had yourself to blame for what was to come, really. Did you even have the right for it to hurt?

No, you decided rather quickly.

Wooyoung stared at you, unsure of what to do as you seemed to completely depart from reality. Your eyes were glazed over as you stared off into the distance, and your fingers picked at one another so bad that it fetched blood. You didn’t flinch as the crimson liquid beaded up on your fingers, though, almost as if it didn’t hurt you at all.

Your breathing was heavy and ragged and Wooyoung could tell you were barely staving off a panic attack. He’d done it often enough himself to know exactly how to recognise it, but for some reason, he didn’t know how to help. Something told him you didn’t want to be touched, but he wasn’t sure of how else to get your attention. He’d been calling your name with no success, but the last thing he wanted was to raise his voice. If he was in the slightest bit angry with you, perhaps he would’ve, but he wasn’t. Not at all.

He spared a quick glance towards the trash can, his favourite mug resting at the top in shards. It was really the only one he used, the weight of it just feeling… right. You’d bought it for him when you first started dating a few months ago and although the saying on it made him cringe a little, he’d learnt to love it. Of course, he was sad to see it go, but it was only a mug. He could always get another one. It wouldn’t be the same, but then again, was anything ever the same as the thing it replaced? And you never know, maybe he’d end up preferring whatever mug he got to replace it.

With a sigh, he turned back to you. There were bigger issues to deal with than a mug. You were still barely keeping away a panic attack and your blood from your fingers starting to smear grotesquely across your hands. He briefly wondered where he kept his first aid kit before realising that too was a problem for later.

“Sweetheart,” he mumbled as he walked closer. He didn’t lay a hand on you but instead spread his arms as if he were herding a scared animal. He felt stupid doing it, but you started to back up and eventually landed upon his sofa. He tried to ignore the pang of pain that shot through his chest when he thought too deep about the implications of the situation, but it was hard when you were backing away from him like he was going to hurt you.

Oh.

His stomach lurched and for a moment he was sure he was going to throw up. He begged for it not to be true, but it fit way too perfectly not to be.

Someone had hurt his baby.

Wooyoung couldn’t help the rage that filled him from head to toe.

He wanted to scream, and throw things, just to get his rage out, but he couldn’t. To risk scaring you even more would be a cruel thing for him to do. Even if he were sure it would make him feel just a little more calm, he couldn’t bear to think of doing anything that would make you afraid of him. He simply had to hope that his anger would eventually peter out, and he wouldn’t be reminded of it every time he looked at you.

Deep breaths, he told himself as he took himself over to the sofa to sit beside you. One in, he shuffled closer so he was almost pressed up against you. You shuddered and Wooyoung frowned, but he didn’t move away. He couldn’t move away.

One out, he said your name in the softest voice he could muster, finally bringing you out of the trance you’d found yourself trapped in. He wondered why this time it worked when all of the other times you ignored him. Perhaps it was his proximity. It was a long shot, but perhaps you felt a little safer with him so close.

One in, he asked if you could hold you in his arms.

One out, you gave him a shaky nod and crawled into his lap. He hated to think that you were only doing it because you thought he’d be mad otherwise, so he let you know that you didn’t have to.

You did it anyway.

“Sweetheart, I need you to tell me that you understand that I’m not angry,” he whispered into your ear, wrapping his arms around you tightly. When he was fresh out of a panic attack, he always liked pressure. With the way you seemed to go limp, he assumed you felt the same. “Not disappointed either. It’s a mug, baby.”

“Your mug,” you replied as if that made your reaction seem any more normal, “I broke your favourite mug.”

Wooyoung sighed. Whilst it was the truth, it was nothing to be angry over. He wondered how many times he’d have to clarify that to you before you understood? Whatever. It didn't matter. He’d tell you as many times as you needed to hear it, just as long as you knew you were safe.

“We’ll it’s only my favourite because my favourite person got it for me,” not a complete lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either. For some reason, though, he felt as though ‘it was a nice weight in my hands’ wouldn’t have been so effective in trying to get you to calm down.

“But I bought you that mug?” His heart broke a little, but he couldn't let that show. He refused to give you another reason to throw mental punches at yourself.

“Well then, I guess that makes you my favourite person.”

There was silence for a few seconds as you considered his words. There was no trace of a lie in his voice, but you still found it hard to believe that he was telling the truth. He was surrounded by so many wonderful people who didn’t fuck up nearly as often as you did, and yet he still chose you to be his favourite? You doubted it, but you would never call Wooyoung a liar.

“And I want my favourite person to know that I would never do anything to hurt them,” he continued, voice suddenly a little more solemn, “because why would I ever want to hurt someone as lovely and precious as you?”

“I’m not lovely,” you hid your face in his neck, partially to cover the blush, partially because you were afraid of what may come at the inadvertent accusation. He merely chuckled, bringing a hand to cup the back of your head.

“Yes you are, you little liar,” a kiss, warm and chaste, was placed to your temple, “and I don’t know how anyone could ever tell you you’re anything less than the most wonderful person to ever walk this planet. You’re so kind and thoughtful and even if you do mess up sometimes, that’s okay because you’re human.”

You just nodded into his neck, no longer wanting to deny his compliments. Even if they were just being used to butter you up, you let them sink in. As long as they came from Wooyoung’s mouth, you told yourself you would believe them, for his sake. He’d yet to prove himself to be anything but a good boyfriend, the least you could do was believe him.

“I love you,” he mumbled into your hair, “so incredibly much.”

“I love you too, Woo.”

“Will you let me patch you up?” He asked, pointing at your fingers but placing his hand over your chest where your heart was beating deep within. You couldn’t know for certain that this relationship would be different, but the look in Wooyoung’s eyes made you feel like you could trust him. It would be a long process, you knew that, but you knew he would put in the work.

You knew that he could make you feel safe.

[jamespotterismydaddy]

A Proper Lesson

teacher!daemon x student!reader

A/N: This was a request for a fic similar to short skirts and lacy panties just changed up a bit. This is the version for people who prefer reader fics, the rhae x daemon version is here!

TW: MOJOR DUBCON, SMUT!!, choking, lots of spanking, bondage, dacryphilia, throat fucking

word count: 1,488 words

It’s filthy, the way he thinks about you, the way he looks at you. It’s a small class, Valyrian History 101, you are always right front in centre. Daemon can hardly understand why. The brat never pays attention, but is perhaps looking for it? It could be why you never turn assignments in on time or why you spend more time putting on lipgloss rather than completing you homework. You're just a little spoiled rich girl and he knows it. Daemon knows your father and it makes him realize how you gets away with everything, but he won’t let your behaviour slide any longer.

“Miss (l/n), you will stay after class.” Daemon calls out to you as the other students file out.

“Is there a problem, professor?” You asksinnocently. 

He wants to say that the fact that he can see your nipples through your top is a problem. Instead he says, “Your assignment was meant to be turned in at the start of class.”

“I need an extension.”

“I hardly believe that.”

“My father donates a lot of money to this school.”

Daemon sighs and decides that he will at least give her one last chance. Your father is an old friend after all. “You have until tomorrow morning.”

“I need a three day extension.” You give him a condescending little smirk.

“It will be turned in tomorrow before class begins or you will have real consequences.” He says seriously.

“I’m sure I will.” You smirk before flouncing out of the room without a care in the world.

The next day, nothing is turned in before the start of class and you walk in without placing a physical copy on his desk. You're dressed even sluttier today, tits poking through the dress that barely covers your ass. He’s infuriated by it, by you.

“Miss (l/n), I need to see you after class… again.” He doesn’t make his anger as clear on his face. He wants you to feel nervous. When all the other students are gone, he locks the door. “Where’s your paper?”

“It’ll be ready Thursday.”

“I said you had to have it in today.”

“And I said it would be ready on Thursday.” you smooth out the ruffles on your dress before checking your nails. “Can I go now?” You ask in a bored tone.

“Can you go now?” He scoffs at the question. “Bend over the fucking desk.” His voice is cold, authoritative. 

“Excuse me?” You say with the audacity to look insulted.

“Oh fuck this. You’ll never listen.” He walks over quickly and grabs your arm, pulling you to the desk. 

“W-What in the seven hells are you doing!” You screech before letting out a huff as you're forced over the desk. Daemon reaches into his bag for the thing he knew he would probably need, handcuffs. Only fun ones but you'll hardly be able to break them.

“Shut up before I gag you.” He warns as he cuffs your wrists behind your back.

“I’ll scream if you don’t let me go right now!”

Daemon sighs before taking off his tie and tying it around your mouth to gag you. He keeps one hand on your upper back as he lifts your skirt. 

“No underwear? I bet half the school has seen your bare cunt today with how short this fucking dress is.” He runs his fingers through your folds. Not quite wet yet.

He uses his free hand to pull off his belt. He chuckles at how your eyes widen in fear. Does she think i'm going to fuck her? Poor dumb girl. It’ll be much worse than that. He folds the belt in half and lifts it high in the air before bringing it down hard on your ass. You yelp through the gag but aren't even close to being loud enough for somebody to hear you. He spanks you again with the belt, enjoying the red stripe it leaves on your cheeks. He won’t be stopping until your whole ass is red. He spanks you again, and again, until your yelps turn to moans. Daemon knew you would like this treatment. Such a little brat needs to be put into her place.

“If you scream, i’ll make you do more than regret it.” He warns as he pulls off the gag. You look back at him with tears glistening in your eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, sir.” You say softly.

“Are you?” He smacks you hard with the belt and you arch your back. “Don’t you think you deserve this?” You take too long to respond and he belts you again. Your poor bum is crimson now, but the slickness between your thighs tells him you needed it. “Answer me.”

“I do! I do deserve it.” He chuckles and tosses the belt on the table. He uses his hand to give you a few more harsh smacks. You whimper at each one.

He pulls you by your hair back up to your feet. “Get on your knees and show me how sorry you are.”

You obey quickly, practically falling to your knees in front of him. Daemon pulls his own cock out because you're still cuffed and puts it to your lips. You suck like your life depends on it. And Daemon can’t help but think that the whore clearly likes having a cock in her mouth. He grips the back of your hair and starts fucking your mouth ruthlessly. He enjoys how the tears start to fall from your eyes as you gag around him.

“You’re going to swallow everything I give you, princess.” He commands before spilling on your tongue. You nearly choke on it but swallow everything.

He pulls you up by your hair again and slaps your ass hard before pushing you back on the table.

“W-Wait, i’m a virgin.” You breathe out.

“If you don’t want it then get up and get out.” He gives you a few seconds and you don't move so Daemon shoves his cock into your tight cunt. You nearly scream but he grips you around your throat so it’s barely more than a squeak. “Keep your voice down, baby. That’s my good girl.” He says as he begins to pound himself into you.

He brings his free hand down to pinch your clit while the hand around your throat prevents you from making any noises. When you finally calm down enough to be quiet, he lets go of your neck so he can use both hands to push your legs down into a mating press. You let out a squeak at the new position. He hits her deeper and deeper with each thrust. 

“Fuck your pussy is so tight but I think i’ll be cumming in that ass.”

“No you can’t!” You squeal out as he pulls out. You begin to squirm so he flips you onto your tummy.

“I can fuck whatever hole I want.” 

He spanks your thighs a few times to punish you for complaining but it doesn’t stop your squirming so he just rolls his eyes and rubs some of your slick over your puckered hole. He slips a finger in to begin stretching you out as you kick your feet and whine.

“Fine, you don’t want to be prepped? Then I won’t prep you.” You're lucky you are all lubed up because Daemon shoves his thick cock right into your ass, bottoming out right away.

“Ahh, ahh.” You whimper as he thrusts into you. You hate how quickly the pain fades into pleasure as he distracts you by rubbing your clit.

“There you go. Just had to get it in and now you’re a happy girl.” He coos as he fucks into you deeper.

“I-m gonna… cu-m.” You manage to get out as he rubs you faster.

“I know you are, baby. Cum for me and i’ll fill up that ass.” 

That triggers you instantly as you reach your peak, squeezing around nothing. Daemon thrusts a few more times before spilling inside you once again. He pulls out only seconds later, starting to fix himself right away.

“I have another class starting in less than 10 minutes.” He uncuffs you but you can barely stand. “You need to leave.”

You straighten out your dress but you have nothing to wipe the cum from between your legs. “But I need-” You start.

“Panties? Maybe you should have worn them instead of choosing to be a little slut. Get to your next class. Let’s see if you can go the whole day keeping my cum in your ass.” He says before giving you a wolfish grin. “And if your paper isn’t in tomorrow, you’re getting a paddling along with another dose of the belt.”

You gulp and nod before picking up your things. Daemon gets the door for you and you nearly stumble out of the room as he sends you off with one more smack on the ass.

A/N: just changed every 'she' to 'you'. never doing that shit again

taglist (comment to be added):General: @valeskafics @urmomsgirlfriend1 @girlwith-thepearlearring @darylandbethfanforever9 @lovellies @juhdoche @papichulo120627 @watercolorskyy @ophelialaufey @aerangi

[gojos-fr-bae]

The Altar Alternate Ending

Pairing: Gojo x fem!reader

Warnings: Itty Bitty Angsty but There's light at the end of the tunnel this time. Cussing and heavy emotions as well so proceed with caution

Word Count: 1.2K

A/N: Surprise Surprise. SURPRISE SURPRISEEEE. Ok so I wrote the original with a sad ending but honestly I can't bear it. I wanted write a part two were the had a happy ending (well not really happy, but hopeful that it will get better) but I just wrote this so you guys can have both options for those who prefer a happy ending aka me😤😤 If you haven't read the first version, You realy don't need to, but feel free😉 Also, I'm so sorry for being gone for so long, I have been hella sick the past two months I couldn't write, better now tho so yay😌😌

(Requests Open)

Today was the day. Your wedding day. The day you had been dreaming of since you found out what weddings were. As much as you knew that weddings technically weren’t a necessity, you wanted the whole world to know that you were marrying the love of your life. But the more you sat in your dressing room in your elegant white dress, looking up at the clock as seconds ticked by terror and dread began to sink in.

It was an hour since you were meant to be called out to walk down the aisle and you couldn’t take it anymore. You burst open the double door and ran halfway up the parted crowd of people before you noticed how everyone was looking up at you in pity.

Your breathing began to pick up and you began to feel dizzy, turning around and being met with his best man, Suguru, looking at you, face coated with pity and anger.

“I’m so, sorry Y/N” he whispered.

“Suguru what the hell is going on”

He just looked down at his feet, apologizing again In an almost inaudible tone, fists gripped around his phone so tightly they were shaking.

“SUGURU WHERE THE FUCK IS HE!” you shouted no longer caring about all your family and friends looking at you with worry.

“A mission came up in Tokyo and he said he’d be quick but-” You didn’t hear the rest of his sentence as your ears began ringing, and tears began to cloud your vision. Sobs wreaked through your body as you ran away. Ran away from Suguru, your parents, and the altar.

You ran from it all, and you never turned back.

~

“Y/N! Y/N PLEASE! MY LOVE WHERE ARE YOU!! PLEASE!!”

You heard your now ex-fiancé shouting at the top of his lungs, stumbling his way around the apartment frantically looking for you. His heart stopped as he looked down at you, no longer wearing your stunning wedding dress nor your engagement ring which sat on the ground next to the suitcase you were frantically packing.

“Y/N STOP! SWEETHEART WHAT’S GOING ON!” he sobbed, running towards you and desperately trying to pull you away from the suitcase but you were too heartbroken and angry to be stopped.

“My love please! Don’t do this! I’m sorry!”

“Sorry!? FUCKING SORRY?! THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF AFTER FUCKING ABONDONING ME ON OUR WEDDING DAY YOU JACKASS?!” You screamed, slapping him clean across the face, but he seemed completely unfazed as he picked up your engagement ring before trying to pull you into his arms as you zipped up your suitcase. 

“Y/N please, stop! Let's talk about th-”

“No! I’m done fucking talking Satoru!,You always do this!, missing a date or anniversary I can forgive! BUT OUR FUCKING WEDDING DAY!?!? I CAN’T FUCKING DO THIS ANYMORE! YOU ALWAYS DO THIS, ALWAYS BREAK MY HEART AND I FORGIVE YOU OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND I'M TIRED! I’m so fucking tired Satoru. I can’t- I just, can’t. I’m sorry.”

You ran to the front door and tried to reach for the door but Satoru squeezed himself between you and said door. His back was pressed to it with one of his hands back to clutch the handle, preventing you from leaving.(Imagine that one scene from the kdrama My name where the dad is trying to stop the killer)

“Satoru please move” you begged, voice cracking as you pleaded with him. You no longer had the energy to shout and fight anymore. You were mentally, emotionally, and physically fatigued. All you wanted to do was to collapse onto your knees and sob till you had no tears left to cry. But you knew you couldn’t stay. No longer could you force yourself to be in a relationship where you were no more than an afterthought.

“Baby p-please, please don’t-don’t leave. I promise I can fix this, please. You can punch me, kick me, stab me a thousand times. Rip me apart if you need to j-j-just don’t leave.” He begged, Tears streaming endlessly down his face. His entire body was shaking as he tried to convince you not to leave.

The weight on your shoulders finally became too much to bear as you fell to the ground and began to cry painfully. Satoru knelt down before you and wrapped his hands around you. Together, you spent the better of 6 hours in shambles, finally letting all the emotions out at all once.

***

You two were still sitting on the floor, breaths finally steady. Satoru still had his arms around you, rubbing soothing circles on your back. Neither of you had the energy to even stand up, as you both basked in the silence.

“They were gonna kill you,” he murmured, voice barely above a whisper. If the room hadn’t been so quiet, you likely wouldn’t have heard him.

You pulled away from him, despite his attempts to prevent it. You tried to meet his eyes but he had his eyes trained on the ground.

“What?” you questioned, thinking you just heard your own things.

“They wanted to kill you…the higher ups…they were going to kill you.” he repeated, tone pained and somber.

“Satoru, what on  Earth are you talking about?” you pressed trying to understand what on earth he was on about.

He finally raised his eyes to meet yours. Your chest tightened as you saw all the pain he held behind them.

“The higher ups didn’t want me to marry you. They had even planned for me to marry some zen’in girl. They told me that if I married you, they would kill you. At first I thought they were bluffing. They couldn’t possibly try to kill you under my watch, buta few weeks ago, while I was on a mission, they sent a curse-user after you. By the time I got back, It was almost too late. If I had gotten there even a second later I-I-” he choked up, stopping to take a deep breath before he continued.

“I knew that they wouldn’t give up until you were gone, so I went to try talk them out of it-”

“And that’s why you ditched me at the altar?”

“I s-swear I didn’t mean to! I went yesterday and they sealed me in some prison realm thing. I barely even managed to escape! By the time I did get out, got dressed and reached the venue-”

“I was already gone?” you whispered, looking up at him., suddenly feeling slightly shitty.

He nodded slowly before speaking up again “P-Please don’t blame yourself" he quickly said, before pulling you back into his arms,”Everything you said was true. I have been a horrible partner and I don’t deserve to have you as my fiancé, let alone my wife, but please don’t leave. I’m so so so sorry for ruining our special day but I mean It when I say I would rather cease living then have to spend the rest of my life without you by my side. Please, my love. Please”

You were at a loss for words at what had just transpired. Of Course you didn’t wanna leave him, you LOVE him. But at what cost?

Finally, can restt. Also, for anyone that previously asked to be on the taglist, I got mixed between you and the tags for Liar so if you still want to be on the taglist pls lmk.

© gojos-fr-bae

[disasterarea-podcast]

So given the writer’s strike, some people are concerned about their shows and movies being postponed or canceled, and aside from the fact networks have already BEEN canceling shows for no reason for years (I still maintain a healthy anger about what Netflix did to Sense8), I thought I would suggest some books on disasters you might want to read if you’re into that sort of history. Which you are if you’re here, I imagine.

Note: I’m suggesting these books because most books on disasters don’t get a huge audience, and so I recommend them because this sort of writing can be hard on the writer and requires a bunch of research. We throw so much money at true crime, we can spare a few bucks for the stories of people who died in disasters.

Also, please check with these with your local small bookstore or library. Amazon can be great, but let’s lend a hand to those who need us more.

Recommended books:

“The Circus Fire,” by Stewart O’Nan - This is one my favorite books on a disaster, because the whole thing creates a very vivid image of the circus prior to the fire in Hartford in July of 1944. There’s one specific line in the book which always makes me pause because it’s so affecting, about how everyone who escaped being able to hear the sounds of the animals screaming as they died - except all of the animals were out of the tent by then.

“The Only Plane in the Sky,” by Garrett Graff - This, I highly recommend you get on audiobook. It’s an oral history of the events of 9/11 with a full cast, and it’s incredibly affecting to listen to.

“Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic,” by Jennifer Niven - Ada Blackjack was a badass: flawed and weak at times, but hardy and steady when necessary. Half of her story is how she survived, but half is how she was exploited following her rescue. Both stories need to be known.

“Alive,” by Piers Paul Read - If you’re watching “Yellowjackets,” this should be required reading. If you’ve seen the movie adaptation from the 90s, there is WAY more you don’t know. The story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 is a tough read, but a worthy one.

“A Night to Remember,” by Walter Lord - This is to disaster nonfiction what “In Cold Blood” is to true crime. It’s not a long read, but it’s a great one. Lord had the advantage of writing the book while many of the Titanic survivors were still alive and could give a very good description of what they went through.

“Dying to Cross,” by Jorge Ramos - I recommend this not just because it is good, but because it is timely. Nineteen people died in an un-air-conditioned truck as they were attempting to make their way into the states from over the Mexican border. It’s a horrific story, and one that humanizes an issue for whom some people need to be faced with the humans involved and what they go through.

“Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing,” by Arnie Bernstein - Harold Schecter also wrote a very good book on the Bath school massacre called “Maniac,” but I have a preference for this version. It’s a good reminder that schools in the U.S. didn’t just become targets in the last twenty years or so.

“Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer - I feel like this is a gimme, but it’s a fantastic book from someone who was actually on Mount Everest during the 1996 disaster and knew those involved very well. I happen to like Krakauer’s work anyway - I even like “Into the Wild” despite my feelings about McCandless and his legacy - but it’s understandably my favorite.

“And the Band Played On,” by Randy Shilts - The one thing I will say is that Shilts’ treatment of Gaetan Dugas is *rough* to say the least and outright wrong on some points, God knows. But it’s still an amazing book, and if you come out of it not wanting to dig up Reagan and punch him a bunch I’m impressed at your restraint.

“Triangle: The Fire That Changed America,” by David von Drehle - The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is one of the disasters I am most interested in, and I would argue this is the definitive book on the subject. Also, if this book introduces you to both Clara Lemlich and Frances Perkins … I mean, talk about badass women.

“The Radium Girls,” by Kate Moore - Look, I’ll say this. If you know of the Radium Girls, this is a great book on their story. If you don’t know, go in blind and prepared to be horrified.

“Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine,” by Anne Applebaum - Ukraine has always been a target. During the Holodomor, they were victims of one of the worst genocides in history.

“Midnight in Chernobyl,” by Adam Higginbotham - Like the miniseries? This is a great source for more information for what happened at Chernobyl and all of the ass-covering involved.

"Boston Strong: A City's Triumph Over Tragedy," by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge - If you’re interested in the Boston marathon bombing, I really thought this book did a good job of connecting the stories of the victims, the authorities searching for the killers, and the killers themselves.

“Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Tower,” by Peter Apps - As I understand it, Apps did a lot of covering the Grenfell Tower fire for the British press, and it shows. He provides a mountain of information, and you will come out of reading this book absolutely LIVID about what authorities allowed to happen in Grenfell and so many other council estates in the UK.

“Dark Tide: The Great Molasses Flood of 1919,” by Stephen Puleo - I feel as though the molasses flood gets treated like a joke a lot of the time, but y’all, twenty people died. That area of Boston was *wrecked*. The photos of the devastation are terrifying. Puleo treats all of this with the proper respect it deserves.

“In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,” by Nathaniel Philbrick - Forget the movie. Read the book.

“The Great Influenza,” by John M. Barry - Want to read about the 1918 flu epidemic? Want to be mad that a hundred years later we didn’t learn a damn thing?

Now, that’s just a start. If anyone wants, I can always post photos of my disaster book collection on Kindle and next to my recording desk. Or if there’s a specific disaster you’re interested in, I may know of a good book about it you can read.

But just remember if SAG and the directors’ guild joins the strike too - there is so much out there to occupy your time until they come back. Entertainment work is work, and it deserves to be supported financially and fairly as such. Rock on, WGA. ✊

[sweatyracoon]

Skz With A Goth Friend/Partner! Reactions!

A/n: As a goth person, I really like this trope, but it’s extremely rare. Hope I don’t disappoint!

Summary: How they treat you as a person during their time with you.

Warnings: Language. I think that’s it. Enjoy! <3

Bangchan:

He treated you no different than he did anyone else. Underneath all of the makeup and accessories, you were human, too. He barely noticed it, honestly. He just saw you. He had that charm, making you fall for him. He bought you snacks and coffee, always being sure to also get you small goth keychains or charms for your bracelets. He didn’t mind it as much as strangers did.

When you first met him, it was by accident. You were auditioning at JYP, only to be turned down because you refused to abandon your style. Leaving, you ran into him, waiting to be judged with his gaze. Instead, you found a worried, warm gaze looking down at you, offering you a hand.

“Hey? You alright?”

Ever since then, you have been attached to his side. He became your support, and he was happy to claim that title. (#gothprotectorchan)

The first time he saw you without the makeup, he didn’t know who you were. And you let him reintroduced himself, and you finally told him, making him blush.

“Why would you do that, y/n!” He was so embarrassed. You reassured him that it didn’t bother you before you hugged him, getting ready to watch a movie.

Lee know:

He found it extremely attractive. He was all for people being real, and the way you presented yourself was screaming, ‘I am me, fuckers’.

He loved that he has never seen your bare face, because he knows that that isn’t your strongest version of you. If you could, he knew that you would tattoo your makeup permanently. He always stood by you, knowing the looks that you get. Fans even dared to ask him if you were his girlfriend, their faces disapproving, which upset him.

“What’s it matter if she Is? She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” He’d say before gazing at you with heart eyes.

He’d always stick up for you, and loved that you let him.

He also loved how feline your features were, the makeup only highlighting them more. You even had the attitude of one, making him smirk whenever you’d start chewing out one of his members for no reason.

He also loved the dramatic outfits. It made him feel the need to match you, making sure to look his best for you as you do for yourself.

Changbin:

He thought the look looked perfect on you, but preferred seeing your face without the makeup. He thought that the natural glow of your skin was gorgeous, but you assured him that with the makeup was when you were your true self.

He was your best friend because he was so supportive. He always made sure to get you things that reminded him of you, and your collection grew perhaps a bit too large.

Nearly everything reminded him of you.

You even tried battling him with rap and lost. A lot. But you didn’t mind. It was fun.

Whenever you walked past him, you made sure to point out how your healed boots made you taller than him, making him respond by stepping on the toe of your shoes, both of you laughing as Hyunjin watched the interaction with a confused expression.

You both had matching rings, black (of course), that you wore on your pinkies. He had never taken his off, even during performances. You took your off before bed, but putting it on was the first thing you did when you woke up.

Hyunjin:

When he first saw you, it was when he first debuted, not fully grown, and slightly awkward. The first thing he thought was, ‘fashion icon’. He saw how comfortable you were in your own skin, how your gaze pushed past the judgmental eyes glaring at you. He needed to befriend you immediately. Now, him being the king at Versace, he became a model alongside you after some convincing, and did duo shoots together.

He was known for being clingy when it came to you, and you both did everything together. He learned a lot fashion wise from you, and loved that you were still the same goth girl he met (hotter, now). Now, any picture he takes has you in it, whether it’s in the background, in the front, or not in the picture at least and he just tagged you.

You were his everything, and he even wants to be you. You were iconic. Your attitude towards the world was so different from his, and he loved that.

He would paint anything you asked for, no matter how disturbing, his mind not questioning it once. He loved and adored you, and would do anything to make you happy.

He even bought you a black rose bouquet, thinking of you when he saw them. Naturally, you loved them.

Han:

He would put a lot of focus on it, and even make jokes about it.

“Going to go brood at the edge of a swamp or something?”

“Jo Jo Siwa? Is that you?”

“Presenting…Emona Lisa!”

It didn’t bother you, though. You found it cute. He put a lot of focus on who you were, making sure people never forgot. He even went as far as to write a song about you, and the color of your soul. It touched your heart.

He would play with the fringe at some of your outfits when you sat next to each other, and loved to talk to you about your jewelry. You would even share at some points. He wore your cherry earrings for a performance, wanting you to see that he could be goth too (hA!). He wanted to show you that you and him were meant to be besties.

During sleepovers, he would see your bare face and call you beautiful, but commented that he liked you with the makeup, making your heart melt. You would paint each other’s nails, him asking you to paint his black. You even do goth makeup on him during those nights, both falling for the look on him.

“I’d fuck myself,” he said, making you choke on air before laughing your lungs out.

“Oh yeah? You into the goth scene, Han?”

“Yeah… I’m also into you,”

Felix:

He watched as danced alongside Minho. He challenged you to dance some difficult dances while wearing your dramatic outfit that had lots of tufts and fluff, but it didn’t stop you from accepting. You were the main dancer o your own group, so it was just natural to you, much to everyone’s surprise.

Felix over when you visited. You were a part of a pastel k-pop group, so you were an obvious contrast to your members. But it never seemed to bother you, which attracted him. He loved how confident you were, and how proud you seemed to be when explaining your style.

He jumped in next to you, dancing with you and Minho. You were all now just having a good time, forgetting about the stupid bet. You proved that it wasn’t difficult. When Minho asked how, all you said was,

“How can I struggle when I’m most comfortable?”

Felix fell in love with the snap of a finger, and in that moment, he was invested.

You both often got coffee together before head in to your respective dance rooms, often talking about childhood and how you got there. One of the things he asked about often was your style and other things related to it. He loved seeing you talking animatedly about something you loved, because it made him love it too.

One day he got shocked by his accidental confidence. You grabbed his hand, asking about one of his rings. He told you about it, and as you went to pull your hand back, he, instead, pulled it closer to his, interlocking his fingers with yours. You didn’t pull away. You walked together hand in hand until you finally had to split.

“Hey,” Felix said, gaining your attention. “Wanna hang later?”

Your eyes lit up.

“Always, Felix!”

Seungmin:

When you asked him to cover hard rock song, he halted his movements, looking at you. You had told him once that his voice would sound amazing in the rock genre, and he accepted the compliment. He didn’t expect you to request something.

So that night he stayed up recording his version of the song. Two days later it was ready, and he sent it to you through bubble.

He was right next to you. Instead of talking, he texted, embarrassed. He watched your expressions, and, unsurprisingly, there wasn’t any. He guessed it had to do with being goth, how you never expressed emotions on the outside. After it was finally done, you pulled the ear buds from your ears, turning to your best friend.

“That was fucking sick, Seungmin,” you told him, smiling. “Sure you don’t want to go solo? I’ll be your manager,” you joked, elbowing him.

His ears were hot, a clear sigh they were red. He looked away from your beautiful pale face, trying to compose himself before speaking. His voice cracked despite his attempt.

“Never going solo., but thanks. It was actually really fun. I’ve never done that with my voice,” he explained, rubbing his nape nervously.

“You did great, love. And thank you…you didn’t have to do this, you know?”

Before he could respond, you kissed him on the cheek, making him freeze.

“Would you be opposed to another request?”

Jeonjin:

You had known each other since childhood, so when your style started changing rapidly, he became confused. But it didn’t shock him. Your personality proved to match your new style well, and it was like he was seeing you for the first time. The true you.

He accepted it quickly, never questioning you once about it. He knew that this was who you were, and who you were meant to be.

He even used some of your fashion advice, just throwing in different colors. You two were so close that when he debuted, they offered you a staff position so you two would still be together. You accepted after hearing the proposal, Jeonjin ecstatic and happy. He couldn’t imagine being without you.

As the years went on, your style became more dramatic and seductive, heavier makeup that highlighted your features, and skintight clothes showing a bit of skin rather than baggy dark clothes. The same thing happened with Jeonjin. No longer the teenage baby bread, now muscular, sexy toast.

You two were the visual duo. He even made sure that some of your outfits matched, even if the colors were too dark for his personal taste, making your heart flutter. He was so thoughtful to you.

He even let you do his makeup for some of the performances, because he knew you knew how to do more than goth styles. You pointed his nails, and did a nightly skin routine too.

[zaimta]

I TOTALLY FELT YOU WHEN YOU SAID DR STONE IS LIKE A DRUG OMG its like my lifeline at this point

i was wondering if i could request a small drabble or headcanons for ryusui !! i keep having this repeating idea of him with a reader who’s like his childhood friend and ever since they were young, ryusui always tried to pursue them romantically but reader would always just laugh it off, thinking he was joking. but ryusui never gave up on his love for the reader!!

(spoilers for the treasure island arc)

but once everyone on the perseus gets petrified, leaving the reader (who had gone with the recon team to scout the area), reader starts to realize just how much they were worried for him, and especially when he comes back to them in fragments after kohaku smashed him. and the second that he gets revived, the reader is all over him and telling him how worried they were, and the second that the two of them are alone (maybe the team recognized that they were having a moment and let them have it?) reader confesses that they return his feelings and the possibility of possibly losing him helped them realize that? O:

male reader would be preferred (ryusui bi icon frfr), but i dont mind gender neutral!! :D

thank you so much for your time in advance, and remember to stay hydrated!! (expect more interactions from me, im literally obsessed with your works ❤️❤️)

彡zai says- the brain rot this gave me was insane back on my dr stone grind!! he really is a bi icon i'll never forget what he said to tsukasa (ngl i read it a year ago so i spitballed the lore lol)

paring: ryusui x male reader

warnings: SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

ˏˋ«────── « 𓆩♡𓆪 » ──────»

ever since you were kids you were always the main thing on his mind. he was constantly teasing you and clinging to your side. as you got older it turned into him flirting with you and seeing how far he could push your buttons until you got flustered.

when senku broke him from the stone he was more focused on you than himself, he knew you had an impressive skill set and he used that to his advantage. even if they didn’t have enough revival fluid he brought you along anyways, dressing your statue so when they could revive you, you were ready to go.

when you came to you immediately fell into someone’s arms. their hold on you was firm but also familiar, and their scent was familiar too it was almost comforting. you pulled back to look back at them, and you were met with ryusui smiling down at you “i missed you.”

you laughed and gently removed yourself from his hold “i’m sure you did.” you didn’t notice it but his face slightly faltered.

his flirting was no better when the two of you were alone, as a matter of fact, it was only worse. the two of you sat alone staring at the moon, he spent most of the time staring at you instead of the sky “you’re so handsome, the way you shine in the moonlight is amazing.” you laughed again and rolled your eyes. you always assumed his flirting was just empty words, he was the human version of greed after all he craves everything the world has to offer and he does this to everyone.

“you don’t have to keep saying those things ryusui. i know you don’t mean them.”

he stared at you, no matter how many times he tells you he adores you or how many times he admits how he wants nothing more in the world than you, you never believed him.

at least not until the incident.

when you first laid eyes on his stone body you wanted to scream but you couldn't, the scream was barely louder than a whisper hardly a scream at all. it only got harder when kohaku brought him and the others back as fragments.

the second he was revied the team cleared out and kohaku sent you a knowing glance.

one the two of you were alone you immediately wrapped your arms around him pulling him into a hug "i was so worried about you, i thought i lost you." he returned your embrace and rested a hand on the back of your head pulling you closer to him "you could never lose me." he pressed a gentle kiss to your temple, and for the first time instead of backing away from his affection you accepted it.

you gently pull back from his hug to look at him face to face "i've realized some things."

he raises a brow "and what would that be?"

"how much i care for you, and how much you care for me." his hand moves to gently cup your cheek while his thumb gently caressed your cheek "oh? and how much do i care for you?"

"you've basically spent most of our lives trying to win me over, and every time i never really responded to them or gave you any straight answer. so why did you never give up?"

he smiled at you "that's easy. because i'm the greediest guy there is." your face slightly fell which caused him to chuckle "you didn't let me finish. because i'm the greediest guy there is i know there's no greater treasure than your heart. i'd stop at nothing to make you my boyfriend and to be yours."

[nhl-stories]

Rue – Clayton Keller

Summary: Ines has a bit of a dilemma, marry her ex-boyfriend or get deported

Author’s Note: I don't even go here but an anon suggested Clayton and I ran with it and loved every moment. This is obviously a dramatized version of immigration in America, while I tried to keep aspects as authentic as possible, I also took creative liberties to fit the story.

Also his mom's name is Kelley Keller and that is just so insane to me

Word Count: 9.2k

Album Series Masterlist

Don't wanna make it worse I'm gonna make it work

“What if you married Clayton?”

“You think marrying my ex-boyfriend for a green card is the answer?”

Ines doesn’t mean to raise her voice; Kat is just trying to help. But it’s been a long 24 hours and she can’t really control her emotions anymore.

“I think there should be reformed paths to citizenship. But that’s not going to happen in the immediate future, so I’m spit balling here.”

Ines flops face down on couch cushion and screams.

“I don’t hear you coming up with any better solutions,” Kat adds.

She lifts her head in shock, “You’re being serious?”

“Kat’s serious about what?” Nick comes back with drinks, his solution for comforting Ines.

“Nez should marry Kells for a green card,” Kat keeps saying it like it’s realistic.

Nick ponders the idea for a moment and shrugs, “It’s not the worst idea.”

“I’m just in a hellish nightmare, I’ll wake up and everything will be normal and everyone will be sane,” Ines rubs her temples.

Kat rubs her shoulder and nudges the drink closer to her.

Ines downs the drink and Schmaltzy passes his own drink before retreating for refills.

“I know it just happened, but have you thought at all what you’re going to do?”

“I mean, I’ve spent my whole life thinking about what I would need to do, it’s just never been so real.”

Ines feels a fresh batch of tears coming, she takes another drink to push them back. Nick comes back with a pitcher of drinks this time, clearly sensing where this night is headed.

“Didn’t one of your sisters have immigration problems?” Nick asks as he pours her a refill.

“Sort of, but it only came up because she was getting married and applying for a green card.”

Kat opens her mouth and Ines shoot hers a glare, “to the man she loves who happened to be an American citizen.”

 “Yeah, well, you kind of still love Clayton,” Kat mumbles, “I mean you guys still have pretty regular sex right, Nick?”

Ines turns her boiling anger towards Schmaltzy, “Oh my god, he told you we were having sex?!”

“No, you told her,” he points towards Kat, “and she told me, Kells hasn’t said anything.”

“We don’t do it that often.”

She huffs defensively before squeezing her eyes shut, hoping to return from whatever alternative universe she stumbled into.

“I know the idea sounds insane but think about it, you have all these pictures of you two together, you never made some big breakup announcement or anything, and you still live with him.”

“I mean it would be pretty hard to prove that you aren’t together,” Nick adds.

“From what you’ve told me about this babe, marrying someone is the easiest way for you to get on the right track for citizenship without having to go back to Mexico, where you might not be allowed back.”

She knows Kat is right, that she’s making an excellent case, but that doesn’t make the idea any easier to swallow.

“There’s not enough alcohol in the world.”

Ines spends the next couple hours putting that theory to the test; she doesn’t process much, too busy preserving her brain in alcohol. She loses track of time, of what she should be feeling.

The alcohol makes her feel warm and giddy, but her brain is screaming at her to feels anxious and alert. The mix of the emotion just leaves her a sobbing mess, curled up in Kat’s arms.

Then she hears a shuffle at the door followed by Clayton’s voice.

“You told him?! Oh my god,” she buries herself further into Kat.

“We called him to take you home, we thought you’d prefer to wake up in your own bed.”

Nick is speaking to him in hushed tones and Ines is immediately suspicious.

“I don’t need you to marry me, arcilla, I’ll be fine in Mexico,” her filter is non-existent at this point but somehow, she can still talk this much through her tears and inebriation.

“What is she talking about?” Schmaltzy clearly didn’t spill the beans.

Kat sits up, cradling Ines off to the side, like she’s a child who’s not supposed to hear an adult conversation. Even one this pertinent to her.

“Someone found out she doesn’t have legal citizenship and he’s probably going to report her.”

“What the fuck,” Clayton feels every muscle in his body tense.

“And these two idiots think you should marry me so I can get a green card.”

“Oh.”

Clayton’s never been great with big emotions, and Ines’ tears mixed with her words has his brain frazzled. He came thinking he was just being the DD for Ines, not DD for Ines in distress.

“Nez, babe, why don’t we table this for tonight. Let Kells take you back to your own bed and sleep it off. We’ll start fresh tomorrow,” Kat gently moves some hair behind Ines’ hear.

Ines doesn’t respond, just stands up and follows Clayton to his car on wobbly legs.

The drive isn’t far, but Clayton still feels like he has to say something, anything. He can’t find the words; they aren’t his strong suit. So instead, he wordlessly reaches across the console and grabs Ines’ hand.

⁄⁄⁄

The sun pours through her curtains with a vengeance; telling her it’s pretty late in the morning without even needing to open her eyes. Normally, she would hate wasting most of her day away in bed, but sleeping is a nice escape; not just from reality but from the pounding headache she feels behind her eyes.

Ines flips onto her back and throws an arm over her eyes, debating whether getting up and eating something is better than sleeping more.

Clayton makes the decision for her with a knock on the door, he sheepishly pokes his head in before coming to sit at the end of the bed. Offering up a bag of food, which Ines greedily takes knowing it contains her favorite breakfast sandwich.

“You’re a lifesaver,” she moans after taking a bite, digging into the bag to grab the extra hot sauce she knows Clayton didn’t forget.

She looks up and chokes on her sandwich.

Clayton is holding open a ring box with a diamond ring.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I talked to Schmaltzy and Kat this morning and you know, I think they’re right. Getting married to me is gonna be the easiest way for you stay in the country.”

“And ruin your life.”

“How will being married to you be that much different than it is now?”

He makes a good point. They broke up before the last off-season and he had offered to let her stay in his house since he would be traveling for a big chunk of the summer. Not worry about finding a new place while she got back on her feet. That was months ago and she’s still here, cooking him meals, cleaning up around the house, having sex with him.

The only real difference is she has her own room now.

“I don’t know, legal paperwork, maybe me being detained by ICE, you being shackled to me for god knows how long, probably two years at least. What if you meet someone?”

“I’m a professional athlete, I don’t think people would be to shocked if I cheated on you.”

Ines isn’t impressed by his attempt at a joke.

“This isn’t fair to you.”

“And it’s fair that you have to move back to a country you barely remember living in?”

He has a single-mindedness that no amount argument will sway. Especially while Ines is in this hungover state.

“Okay, Mr. Machismo, where’d you get the ring?”

“I– um– got it this morning, Kat helped pick it out. You know, need some proof this is real. And before you freak, I bought it with cash so there’s no paper trail or whatever.”

“Christ, you really thought this through?”

“You always told me it could be a possibility, so you know, I thought about what I’d do, especially when we were actually together.”

The look on his face makes her want to cry. He’s so sure; certain that she’s worth the effort, was worth having an escape plan for her.

“I know it’s crazy, but I’d hate to just sit by and watch you get torn away from your life when I could do something.”

“Okay,” Ines’ voice cracks, wet through the tears she can’t hold in anymore, “If you’re sure.”

Clayton nods, plucks the ring out of the box and holds it out on his palm for her; it seems too intimate or too sacrilegious for him to slip it on for her.

“I’ll call my immigration lawyer,” she twists the ring on her finger.

⁄⁄⁄

“Hola Ines!” Sierra, her immigration lawyer squeezes her tightly.

“And this must be the famous tonelada de arcilla,” Sierra grins at Clayton and shakes his hand.

“I can’t believe she told you that,” Ines grumbles as she takes a seat.

“Soledad couldn’t keep her big mouth shut if she tried,” Sierra moves to the other side of her desk, “besides I love your mom’s inability to understand American names, like Ashton.”

“Oh yeah, tonelada de ceniza,” Ines giggles.

“You’re saying I’m not special?” Clayton smirks.

“You’re very special mi arcilla,” she bumps his knee with her own.

“So, we’re here to talk about a marriage green card?” Sierra gets to business.

“We got engaged right before this, but now some asshole is threatening to report Nez’ status to immigration. So it sounds fishy, but we just want to start the process before anything happens.”

Ines nods with a tight smile. She was expecting Clayton to be here for moral support, not for him to take the lead.

“Okay, so we don’t know if he’s reported anything or if ICE will even investigate you. But since you work for a political organization that isn’t exactly beloved in Arizona, we’ll prepare for the worst.”

Instinctively, Clayton reaches out to hold Ines’ hand, stop her from fidgeting before she even starts.

Sierra looks at her watch, “we probably don’t have time to get you married today, but definitely can get your license today. It’s probably for the best, since this is kind of rush job you’ll probably want to dress up, have some friends as witnesses, make it clear this is above the board.”

Ines squeezes Clayton’s hand. Sierra is too busy shuffling through papers to notice any nerves, or maybe she’s just used to it.

“How’s that sound? Married by tomorrow, try to finish the paperwork in the next couple weeks?”

“Um- what about signing a pre-nup?” Clayton snaps his head towards Ines, “I mean I know it’s best if we have like joint accounts to show it’s legit or that I won’t end up on welfare immediately, but most people aren’t marrying millionaires.”

“You don’t need to sign a pre-nup,” Clayton sounds almost hurt at her suggestion.

Ines slips her hand out of his, “Don’t be stupid, we’re only moving this fast because of me, I don’t want you to be at any legal risk just because I need a green card.”

“I haven’t worked with a case quite like this, but a pre-nup might help your case that this is for the right reasons and not just for a green card.”

Ines starts chewing on her thumbnail, Clayton grabs her hand to stop her.

“I’m not your agent, but we can probably draft a quick contract of sorts that will say she will sign a post-nuptial and you can sort that out after with your people.”

Sierra then goes on a spiel about what to expect, what documents they’ll need, forms they need to fill out, the medical exam Ines will need. Clayton is trying to pay attention, but his eyes are glazing over. She hooks her foot around his ankle and tries to give him her most grateful smile, she hopes it doesn’t look too much like a grimace.

They find themselves at the courthouse the next day. Kat had insists they don’t see each other before the wedding, so they go in separate cars. It makes no sense since the foursome all knows this isn’t real, it’s all an act.

Kat stops her on the steps of the courthouse,

“You have your something old with the dress,” she gestures to the huipil her abuela had made for her mother, it was the only mostly white thing she owned, though it was mostly covered in bright colored flowers.

“And your something new with that rock on your finger, so here’s your something borrowed and blue,” she digs through her purse for a box with a pair of simple sapphire earring.

“You know it’s not–“

“This may not be your dream wedding, but let’s no fuck around with good luck.”

Kat looks like she wants to say more, but that’s not something Ines wants to dissect at the moment. She pulls her into a tight embrace instead.

Clayton and Nick are already waiting inside. Ines makes a silly scrunched up face that Clayton returns.

“Don’t be gross,” Kat nudges her, it’s when Ines realizes she’s filming.

“I honestly thought you were gonna wear a Gucci t-shirt,” Ines grins when they stop in front of the guys.

“I made him put on something with a collar,” Nick gives Clayton a playful shove.

“Aww he could have been your something blue,” Kat coos as Ines fixes the collar of Clayton’s steel blue shirt.

“But I still would have needed something borrowed,” she laughs until she remembers she’s borrowing Clayton, she drops her hands to her sides like they caught on fire.

Thankfully, the clerk calls their names, saving them from dwelling too long on that truth.

The ceremony takes all of 15 minutes. Ines all too aware of her hands sweating in Clayton’s as they hold hands in front of the judge. Picture perfect.

“By the power vested in my by the state of Arizona, I know pronounce you married!”

When neither react right away the judge speaks up again and winks, “now would be a lovely time to kiss.”

An awkward giggle bubbles out of Ines, but then Clayton is cupping her face and kissing her. She kisses back, and what should probably be a more chaste kiss gets a little heated. Ines likes kissing Clayton, sue her.

They’re broken a part by the obnoxious cheers from Kat and Schmaltzy. Both are flushed when they pull away, neither quite sure if it’s from lust or embarrassment.

“Now that’s how you start off a marriage, congratulations,” the judge smiles.

⁄⁄⁄

Ines is fidgeting with everything. She’s moved a vase of flower about twenty times, though it’s only moved about 1 inch away from its original place.

Clayton grabs her arms and pins them to her sides, “relax, it’s just your family.”

“Oh yeah, my totally calm, quiet, chill family. Nothing to worry about.”

“Your family loves me, we’ll be fine,” he lets her arms go and she immediately moves the vase again.

“Where’s your ring?”

She reaches into the pocket of her dress, “My mom will notice it immediately, I’ll put it on after we tell them,” she starts to turn before wheeling back around, “that we’re engaged they don’t need to know we’re actually married, I don’t want them worrying about immigration.”

Clayton nods.

“And where’s your ring?” she instinctively grabs his hand to look.

“You just said they shouldn’t know we got married,” he laughs at her pinballing thoughts.

Ines opens her mouth to say something but he cuts her off by pulling out one of his chains, the silver ring hanging off of it.

“Okay,” she lets out a sigh, “keep it in your shirt, arcilla.”

Ines moves over to straighten an already pristine tablecloth; all the deception is making her ill. She doesn’t want to tell anyone, but she knows the news will get out somehow, and her mother will never forgive her. She might not forgive her if she learned she’s already married.

“When are we gonna tell your family? We can’t just be ‘engaged’ for two years or so without them knowing.

“We can call them after probably,” he shrugs, his confidence over this decision clearly wavering a bit. Ines feels secretly happy about that, they’re on a level playing field.

The doorbell rings, the commotion of her immediate family barely muffled through the door.

“Showtime,” Ines plasters on a big smile.

The family stumbles in, a cacophony of Spanish follows as they all speak over each other to greet Ines and pass off food.

“Clayton, mi amor,” Ines’ mom cups his face and kisses him all over before pulling him into a tight embrace, “I knew you two would figure it out.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we did.”

He takes some food and follows Ines to the kitchen as she gives directions to her family in Spanish. They’ve been together long enough he recognizes some of it, but he feels bad for never trying to learn Spanish in earnest.

One of her sisters, Teresa, is pouring shots of tequila. Ines smirks at him and is about to comment when a small body rams into him.

“Clayton! Look I lost a tooth at hockey,” Ines’ niece, Marisol smiles to show off the gap.

“She didn’t lose it during a game, she lost it shooting in our driveway,” her twin brother Mateo sneers.

“You’re just mad you have all your teeth still,” she sticks her tongue out.

“You know when you get adult teeth you want to keep them all, even as a hockey player,” Ines butts in.

“Whatever tia,” the little girl rolls her eyes and gets a scoff back from her aunt.

“The new season just started, how’s the new gear?” Clayton changes the subject.

“I don’t have to wear three pairs of socks in my skates anymore, and the sticks are so nice.” Mateo’s eyes gleam with excitement.

“Maybe later we can shoot around a bit,” Clayton smiles back.

The twins cheer at the idea before running off to tell their mom.

“You bought them gear for their new season?” Ines furrows her brows.

“Yeah, I have my connections,” he tries to play it off.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, but last season they had all that hand-me-down gear, it was literally the least I could do for getting them into the sport in the first place.

Ines nods.

“Lovebirds, we’re taking shots in your honor,” Teresa calls them over to the rest of the adults and hands them cups.

“¡Arriba, abajo, al centro y pa’dentro!”

The tequila goes down smooth, relaxing her enough to rip off the band aid.

“Well, we have something else for you to cheers,” Ines leans into Clayton’s side before reaching into her pocket and putting on the ring, “we’re engaged.”

There are screams, hugs, kisses, and even some tears. Ines feels the alcohol going to her head far faster than it should. Another glass being thrust into hand and another toast.

“Felicidades mija,” Ines’ dad brings her in close.

He’s a man of few words, partially because he never really learned the language of his new country. Those two simple words and the joy in his eyes makes Ines want to weep. He turns to Clayton, placing a strong hand on his shoulder and holding his other hand out.

“Bienvenido a nuestro familia.”

“Uh, gracias Hector, soy muy um–“ he leans over to Ines “how do I say I’m very excited?”

“Está muy emocionado, papi.”

“¡Más tequila!” He shouts and the family cheers.

“He’s happy for us, right? Not trying to kill me?” Clayton ribs Ines.

“I think this might be a test, if you die you wouldn’t have fit in anyway,” she smiles back.

“So, when are you going to get pregnant, mija?”

“Jesucristo mamí,” Ines furiously blushes, “couldn’t you have at least asked that in Spanish?”

“It takes both of you, I thought he should understand too.”

Her family is a little less embarrassing the rest of the party, they genuinely seem excited for Clayton to join the family. Her niece and nephew ask if Clayton is finally their real tio while she watches them pass around a ball on the sport court in the backyard.

Her heart aches with the truth.

It’s keeping her up in her bed. Usually, after that much tequila she’d be asleep within minutes, but there’s too much going on in her brain.

Her door creaks open and Clayton creeps into the room.

“How drunk are you still?” Ines tries to suppress the smile in her voice as Clayton clumsily crawls into the bed.

He merely grunts in response and moves around to get comfy.

“And you’re in here why?”

“I think the air conditioner isn’t getting into my room,” he mumbles and drapes an arm over Ines, burrowing his head into neck.

He can’t see her epic eye roll; she knows the air conditioner is probably fine and there are two other guest rooms he could use.

“You don’t have to lie, I know you like to cuddle when you’re drunk, babe.”

She winces at her casual use of a pet name, feels Clayton freeze for a second too.

She runs a hand through his hair until he relaxes again, “since my family tried to poison you, I’ll make you a hangover-approved breakfast before practice tomorrow.”

He hums in response, breath evening out until he’s asleep.

Ines is quick to follow, the weight of his arm a grounding comfort.

⁄⁄⁄

A month into the regular season and Ines still hasn’t been to a game. Kat warned her some of the significant others were starting to talk. Rumors of her breaking up with Clayton before the off-season had been swirling around. Sure, those rumors were true, but there was no concrete reason to believe them until her recent absence.

From what Ines heard about other teams, this group wasn’t particularly cliquey or gossipy. But sometimes that meant when there was something to talk about, they were hyper-focused. And that seems to be the situation now.

So being the girlfriend/fiancée/wife/whatever the hell she is to a member of team leadership, she invited the group over for dinner and drinks to watch an away game.

In actuality, it comes at the perfect time. Ines likes planning and organizing and it’s the perfect way to keep her mind off everything else. The most pressing being that Clayton is in St. Louis and made her promise to Facetime with him and his parents after the game. Keeping up appearances when she didn’t travel for the first game with her future in-laws.

Coming in at a close second is the fact the Blues are playing in town the day before Thanksgiving, so his mom thought it was a great time to visit for the holiday. Especially since Ines couldn’t make it out to Missouri this trip.

She’s already nauseous at the thought of moving her stuff back into the master bedroom, hiding all evidence of the truth. For now, the door is locked, so no nosy and/or drunk women pop in tonight.

“Pour yourself a drink and sit the fuck down Nez, the game is about to start,” Kat warns from her spot on the couch.

Ines stops organizing the growing pile of mail and rolls her shoulders back. She grabs a new bottle wine, knowing this group has already emptied the ones on the table before the anthem is even finished. She settles in the middle of the couch and cuddles into Kat’s side.

It’s nice to be back with a group of friends. Ines always gets lonely in the summer when most of them go back home and she’s stuck here, but this summer had been especially brutal.

“Ines, what the hell is that?” Claire shouts moments after puck drop.

Ines’ eyes dart around the room, looking for a scorpion or something that made it into the house.

“The ring on your finger!” Claire is grabbing her hand; the game is quickly forgotten in favor of this.

“Clayton proposed,” she feels her mouth attempt to smile, but it feels all wrong.

“Finally!” Someone cheers from behind her and the rest of the group seems to concur.

She didn’t mean to leave the ring on, it still feels so bulky and foreign. But she’s trying to at least wear it to work, so it doesn’t seem like some secret green card relationship. Though maybe keeping it from the WAGs makes it seem like a dirty secret.

In her mind it’s easier to cut and run from work acquaintances if this all blows up in her face. Clayton is stuck with most of these people, and Ines can’t imagine hurting him when he’s being so kind.

“Look how red she’s turning, no wonder she was staying away from us, Nez hates the spotlight,” Claire laughs.

“How did it happen?”

Ines wants to melt into the couch.

“Nothing special, he just brought me my favorite hangover breakfast and proposed while I was still in bed,” she shrugs, not wanting to lie more than necessary.

“Makes it convenient if you’re already in bed,” Kat waggles her eyebrows and Ines punches her arm.

“He knows I wouldn’t have accepted anything that wasn’t lowkey.”

“Yeah, except that gorgeous diamond, good work Kells,” Claire adds, giving the ring one last look before the action onscreen grabs back their attention.

Ines is a little wine drunk by the time the ladies clear out. Her face feels flushed and warm as she tries to clean up wine glasses and plates.

 There’s one bottle with a little wine left and she pours herself another glass while she waits for Clayton to call.  She starts to go through the mail she tossed aside before the game. A reminder for a dentist appointment, a credit card statement, a letter asking to go paperless for billing.

Her phone starts to buzz against the kitchen island, she answers the Facetime wishing it were a phone call instead.

“Hi arcilla, you played well tonight,” she’s actually not positive he played well, she mostly drank and caught up with her friends.

She looks down to the mail again, an official looking envelope addressed to her stares back at her.

“You, okay?”

“Yeah, sorry I’m a little tipsy,” she holds up her glass of wine for him to see.

“You had fun then?”

His dimple is on full display when he smiles and it reminds her of when they used to do this all the time; a call before either went to bed just to say hello or see each other’s faces. Ines knows what every hotel wall and headboard looks like in the NHL.

She plays with the corners of the envelope, “This is great and all, but I thought this was so I could say hi to your parents.”

Clayton starts to move, “they wanted to give us some privacy first.”

“Did they think we were gonna have quick phone se-ehh,” Ines peters off when his parents appear on screen.

Clayton is trying to hold back a laugh while Ines feels her flush grow brighter, “Hi Kelley, hi Bryan.”

“Hi honey, when are we gonna get you out here?” His mom asks.

“Sorry ,work never seems to be in my favor.”

She lies, it’s easier than saying she hasn’t been on a plane in 20 years because she’s afraid she’ll get deported. She’s never seen Clayton’s family outside of Arizona or somewhere within driving distance. They haven’t seemed too bothered, but she’s always worried they’re just good at hiding their true thoughts.

“One day,” she smiles, “we’re excited to see you in a couple weeks, is there anything you want us to make special for Thanksgiving?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? You’re coming to our house.”

“Let me be a mom and take care of it” she scoffs, “you are my first daughter.”

Ines just nods because her voice might crack if she speaks.

“We’re getting a late dinner, so we’ll let you go. But can’t wait to see you, Ines,” Bryan says and gives a wave.

“Yeah, should be fun, enjoy dinner,” she waves back.

“Bye babe, love you,” Clayton waves, his eyes go wide before the call ends.

She’d give the moment more thought if she wasn’t itching to rip open the envelope in her hands.

Notice to Appear.

December 11th.

Suddenly the walls feel like they’re closing in.

⁄⁄⁄

When Clayton gets home from the road trip Ines is in the hot tub. Her muscles having felt wound tight for the last week.

“Saw you’re all moved in,” he says as he dangles his legs into the tub.

Ines doesn’t open her eyes to look at him, just nods.

“And you have your immigration hearing in December.”

She nods again, she left the letter out by the table where they put their keys. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she had to tell him.

“I’ll be in Buffalo that day, but I­–“

Ines opens her eyes, gives him an exasperated look, “You’ll play a hockey game and I’ll be fine on my own.”

“It’s not–“

She moves closer, almost to the space between his legs, “you’re doing so much for me, please don’t fight me on this. Just go play hockey.”

“Okay,” he nearly whispers.

Ines thinks about how easy it would be to give him a blow job right now, let her mind go blank for a bit. Shut up Clayton for a bit.

Before she can actually act on those thoughts, he places a hand on her cheek, running his thumb across her cheek bone.

“And you’re doing, okay?”

She honestly doesn’t know, but she does know she doesn’t want to talk about it.

So, she grabs Clayton’s wrist and pulls him in closer. She doesn’t wait for him to catch up, smashing their lips together and pushing her tongue into his mouth before he even starts kissing back.

He’s quick to catch up to her. Pulling her flush against him, filling the space between his legs. It’s the first time they’ve done this since they got married, it feels like all the building tension is finally exploding. Ines feels molten.

Clayton unties the back her bikini top and tosses it somewhere behind him with a wet splat. His hands cover her chest and she can’t help but shiver, maybe from the cold air but probably not.

She grabs his hair and pulls him away from her, “we should take this inside.”

Without second thought he pulls her out of the hot tub and towards the house, the strings of her bottoms undone and left outside as well. Ines paws at his shirt, trying to get her own fill of skin.

He pulls it over his head in one fluid motion as he maneuvers Ines towards the bedroom. Her back hits the mattress before she realizes they’re in the master bedroom.

They haven’t done this here since the break up six months ago, like it’s too intimate, too full of the past.

Clayton is hovering over her, the chain with the wedding ring dangling. The room is filled with her belongings again and she feels like she’s in some alternate universe. A world where they never broke up, where marriage was a logical step in the future.

She tries to clear her mind again, pulling Clayton down for a kiss because she wants this.

⁄⁄⁄

An alarm starts to blare and she feels the other side of the bed move.

“Sorry, that’s mine,” Ines apologizes and turns it off.

She lays back and stares at the ceiling for a bit. It feels too familiar to wake up in here, naked in the softest sheets she’s ever felt. But nothing has actually shifted, she’ll get out of bed and everything will be as it was.

She rubs the sleep from her eyes and gets out of bed to take a shower. Clayton is getting ready for practice when she gets out of the bathroom.

“I forgot how nice that shower is, you should redo the one guest bathroom, it could have better water pressure,” she jokes, though it doesn’t really land.

She wanders into the walk-in closet where she’s haphazardly put away some of her clothes, she feels Clayton follow her in, even though he’s mostly dressed.

“My parents get in today; do you want to go to the game with them tonight?” He sounds like he’s asking out a girl for the first time.

“The twins have a music recital or play or something I said I’d go to, but they can take my car to the arena so you don’t have to worry about that.”

She drops the towel on the floor and starts getting dressed for work, stopping before she zips up her dress, reading between the lines of Clayton’s question.

“But I’ll be at the game with them on Wednesday, I mean if you can get me a ticket,” she turns to flash a smile at Clayton to find that’s he’s only a step away.

“I think I can manage that,” he turns Ines around, moving her hair out of the way and zipping up the dress for her, fingers lingering at her neck for a second too long.

Ines stops herself from shivering and turns around, “I have to leave, but see you after the game.”

She gives him a quick peck against her better judgement, “good luck.”

The casual touches don’t disappear in the following days. Ines can’t tell if they’re putting a show on for his parents or not. The touches seem too instinctive to just be a spectacle, but maybe that’s because they’re sharing a bed again and can’t seem to keep their hands off each other behind closed doors.

Though that seems to be seeping outside of the bedroom, too.

The morning after his parents arrive, Kelley is in the kitchen making coffee and gives them a knowing look when they come out of the bedroom, as if to tell them they were too loud even from the other side of the house. Ines decides to pick up breakfast on her way to work rather than sit through breakfast at home.

That night Ines is laid out on the couch not paying attention to the football game playing on TV. Clayton lifts her head up and then places her back down on his lap when he sits.

She groans as she tries to get more comfortable, “You make a terrible pillow, you’re too bony.”

“I think it’s the titanium rod in my leg,” he says back, squirming underneath her to make her more frustrated.

“You were bony before then too,” she rolls her eyes and pretends to focus on the game and ignore Clayton’s fingers brushing under her shirt.

Wednesday is a half day for Ines, she gets home to a surprisingly empty house and enjoys drinking a beer and mindlessly watching Tiktoks in peace.

“Hey, wasn’t expecting you home,” Ines jumps when Clayton comes up behind her.

“Wasn’t expecting to find an empty house,” she shrugs.

“My parents are picking up Jake from the airport,” he wraps his arms around Ines’ waist, “I was about to take my pre-game nap, but I wouldn’t say no to some company.”

He presses a couple kisses into her neck, “an afternoon nap sounds nice.”

She barely finishes the sentence before he’s walking her to the bedroom. Clayton is a little handsy as Ines crawls into the bed.

“I’m serious about an actual nap, I won’t be held responsible if you have a bad game.”

Clayton rolls away, hands up in surrender.

Ines rolls towards him wrapping an arm around his middle, “For all your suffering, I’ll give you a blow job if you win tonight.”

“A victory blow job? You didn’t even do that when we were dating,” he chuckles, the sound amplified with her ear on his chest.

“What can I say, I’m in a giving mood,” she kisses his pec and closes her eyes.

Clayton’s alarm goes off and Ines groans.

“You can sleep longer,” he runs a hand through her hair before slipping out from under her.

“Nah, I’ll just be more tired later,” she rolls over but doesn’t get out of the bed, watches Clayton go into the closet.

“You should wear the green suit from the awards, it’s a special request from Marisol.”

“Oh yeah?”

“She thinks I have a say over what you wear and she told me it’s her favorite,” she watches Clayton start to get undressed, “you did look hot in it,” she smirks when he fumbles with a hanger in response.

When he comes out dressed, he still has bedhead. Ines gets up to fix it, he jokingly bats her hands away as they leave the room.

“Just let me fix this one piece arcilla, you look like we just fucked,” she stops in her tracks at the sight of Clayton’s family, “Hi Jake, good to see you.”

Jake nods in her direction, not particularly friendly, but she can pretend it’s because of the awkward conversation they just heard.

Ines knows Clayton told his brother everything, or more than Ines would like. She’s not sure exactly what he told his parents about the break up, but they seem to have forgiven anything pretty quickly. She knows Jake is a little weary of her now, and maybe her motives.

Clayton is either oblivious or just trying to play it off and gives him a bro-hug before he heads off to the game

The awkward air between Jake and Ines remains, not that they were ever specifically close, but this feels extra icy. She tries to avoid sitting next to him, but the two get caught between the parents. And she’s not even in her usual seats near Kat to have a buffer.

The game is a bit messy, passes aren’t connecting, the power play might as well be missing, but the crowd is into it. Mullett is small enough to feel like you’re always in the game, which helps Ines because before Clayton she knew next to nothing about hockey. Being this up close means she’s 99% sure she understands the rules, except goalie interference.

The second period ends with the Blues up by one, which isn’t too bad considering how the game is looking.

“Have you two talked about any wedding plans?” Kelley turns to Ines,

On her other side she hears Jake snort on his drink, she makes a mental note to double check how much Clayton has told his brother.

“Not really, I had a quinceañera so I already had my big party and fancy-dress moment,” it’s the truth, her 15th birthday fulfilled a lot of princess dreams she may have had.

“You’re both still young, you can have long engagement to figure it out if you want.”

Ines feels the anxiety seep out of her bones.

“You two could even get married at a courthouse if that’s that you wanted.”

The tension comes back so quickly it almost gives her whiplash.

Jake shoots up and mumbles something about food. Ines would follow him, but she’s not sure a public confrontation is the best idea.

Thankfully there’s some more hockey to distract her, the Coyotes end up clawing back but lose in OT on a poorly timed line change.

There’s not a great place to wait for the boys at Mullett, so they sit in their seats for a while before meandering down.

Kat jumps on Ines the moment she sees her.

“Look who’s gracing us with her presence,” Kat kisses her cheek and slides off her back before she can accidentally knock them to the ground.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, bad WAG alert,” Ines swats her away.

She hears Jake mumble something, but can’t quite make it out. That’s when Kat actually seems to comprehend that Clayton’s family is here.

“The two lovebirds have been busy being cooped up, we haven’t seen them both in the flesh for a while,” she gives a cheeky smile and winks at the Kellers.

“We’re in the same house and they’re having a hard time keeping it in the bedroom, so consider yourself lucky,” Bryan laughs with Kat while Ines cheeks burn.

“Oooh la la Nez, loving this pre-honeymoon phase for you,” she gives Ines a meaningful pinch on the side, a warning they will be talking about this later.

“Speak of the devil,” Kelley laughs and pulls her son into hug.

“Kells show me some of this PDA everyone is talking about,” Kat is clearly not above egging this on despite the sharp look Ines gives.

Clayton pulls her in tight, ducking his head so he can whisper to her.

“Sorry, I didn’t live up to our end of the bargain. No prize for me,” he fake pouts.

“Cause I’m still in a giving mood, here’s a consolation prize for a one-point night,” Ines pulls Clayton in for a kiss, ignoring the catcall from Kat.

“That’s it?” Clayton her pulls her in tightly to his side.

“Don’t push it,” she elbows him in the side, ignores the knowing look Kat is directing her way.

Ines manages to convince everyone the brothers should ride home together, since they don’t see each other enough. Partially, to prove to Kat that there’s nothing going on; partially hoping that Clayton and Jake will talk through whatever weirdness is going on.

⁄⁄⁄

“Do you have to go golfing and leave me alone with your mom?” Ines complains before stuffing her face in the pillow

“You like my mom,” Clayton rolls back onto the bed and rubs her back.

“Yeah, but preparing Thanksgiving is like serious mother-daughter shit, I’d love some backup.”

“You could come golfing.”

“Cause I’d love to get made fun of instead.”

“Those are kind of your two options,” he kisses her shoulder.

“Fine, staying home it is,” she flips over onto her back, “can you at least make sure Jake won’t be weird when you guys come back.”

“He’s just looking out for me, doesn’t want you taking advantage of me,” Clayton absentmindedly traces up and down her arm.

“Did you tell him this was your suggestion? And that I signed a pre-nup? I won’t take advantage and steal your money if that’s what he’s worried about.”

His hand stills for a moment, “I’ll talk to him again, don’t worry about it.”

He stands up again, “have fun cooking.”

“I hope you lose!” Ines calls back.

Ines wanders into the kitchen an hour later, Kelley already deep in prep.

“Sorry, I went back to sleep. Though I’ve never cooked Thanksgiving so I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“You’re a great cook, I think you’ll be fine,” Kelley laughs before instructing her on how to finish prepping the stuffing.

Ines takes off the engagement ring and places it in the middle of the island, out of reach. She rubs the naked finger and notices there’s already a faint tan line. She flexes the fingers, like that will give her some answers. Like why taking it off doesn’t feel like unhooking an anchor that’s pulling her under anymore.

She looks up to see she’s been caught by Kelley. If she has some thoughts, she doesn’t share them with Ines.

They work mostly in quiet, the Thanksgiving Parade playing on the TV in the other room. Kelley stopping every once in a while, to watch or tell Ines about watching the parade growing up. How Clayton used to worry the balloons were going to eat the people holding them when he was a toddler.

“This is your first turkey?” Kelley says as Ines puts the bird in the oven

“Yeah, I spent most of my Thanksgivings helping my mom with housekeeping, so can’t do this but ask me to make a bed, I got you,” Ines laughs.

“This calls for a toast then,” Kelley finds some Bailey’s and pours it into their coffees, “To sharing my secrets with my new daughter.”

She clinks her mug against Ines, the sound scrambles something in Ines’ heart, “You know Clay and I broke up right?”

Kelley takes a long sip of her coffee and hums.

“He told us you needed some time apart. Because of all the uncertainty around the team and some things he didn’t really get into,” Kelley trails off.

“It’s understandable you’re both so young and had to go through some really intense things together. I think it was really mature what you two decided, but I’m really glad you worked it out, you make Clayton so happy. I think happier than hockey, if that’s possible.”

Ines lip starts to wobble, she tries to stop the tears. But how can she when even Clayton’s mom believes their lie? How can she break her heart down the line?

“Oh darling,” Kelley pulls her into a tight embrace that only a mom can give, “love is never easy, and if down the road it’s not right anymore, that will be okay too. It’s privilege to find love at all.”

That sends Ines into another wave of sobs. She buries her face into Kelley’s shoulder as she gently rubs Ines’ back and sways them side to side.

Once her cries seem to calmed down to sniffles, Kelley moves away enough to see Ines’ face. She wipes away the few stray tears, “I see the way you two look at each other when you think no one’s watching, I think you’ll happy together for a very long time.”

Kelley smiles, her eyes a little glossy like she might cry too. And with a shaky breath Ines tries to give her a smile back.

They hear the door open and the boys start to come into the house.

“Who won?” Kelley calls out as they come around the corner.

Ines tries to busy herself by rolling out the pie crust they had forgotten.

“Jake squeaked one out,” Bryan comes around the island and kisses Kelley, “smells great ladies, you need any help?”

“Not right now, we were gonna take a break soon,” Kelley winks at Ines.

Clayton comes and leans into Ines from behind, his hands boxing Ines in. He kisses her cheek before he notices her eyes rimmed red.

“You, okay?” He whispers, kissing below her ear.

“Yeah, whatever onions we bought were like tear gas,” she cracks a smile and leans back into him.

“We had to evacuate for a while, I think we just got it under control before you guys came home,” Kelley smiles and pulls Bryan out of the kitchen, following the sounds of a football game Jake put on.

Ines turns around, still boxed in by Clayton. She wraps her arms around his shoulders and hangs her weight on him, feeling a bit tired. He moves his hands to her hips, giving them a gentle squeeze.

“Was it rough morning alone with my mom?”

“No, it was really nice, actually.”

She pulls back to give him a genuine smile, plays with the ends of his hair, “And did you talk to Jake?”

“Yeah, and I let him win so I think he’ll be in a good mood.”

“Wow, you did that for me?”

“Yeah, of course,” he smirks before dipping down to kiss her.

“Why can’t you let me win?” Ines pouts when the pull a part.

“I can’t act that well,” he’s biting back a mischievous grin, “but if you ask nicely, I can help you improve your back swing.”

He’s gently moving her hips side to side when Ines gives him a playful shove, “Keep it in your pants Keller, your family is in the other room.”

“Hasn’t stopped you much this week,” he pulls her flush against his chest, his hands wandering to her ass.

“Oh my god, there’s not gonna be that kind of giving today.”

Clayton’s about to respond, “Is it safe to come into the kitchen or are you two fondling each other?”

Ines moves Clayton’s hands off her butt and to his sides, “All clear Jake, your brother was just leaving to take a shower, a cold one,” she whispers the last part.

Jake makes a gagging sound, “you two are gross.”

“One day you’ll have someone to fondle other than yourself,” Clayton punches his brother in the arm on the way out of the kitchen.

⁄⁄⁄

Ines and Kat are sitting on the steps of the courthouse, finishing their coffees. The coffee was probably a mistake, it’s sitting acidic and heavy in her stomach.

At least the universe wasn’t cruel enough to have her hearing at the same courthouse as she got married. She doesn’t think her heart could take the irony.

Kat is jittery, her knee bouncing erratically. Caffeine doesn’t have that kind of effect on her, so Ines knows it must be something else.

“I think I’m supposed to be the nervous one.”

“I still don’t understand why you broke up with Clayton in the first place.”

Ines whips her head around like there’s someone waiting around the corner to record this kind of damning evidence.

“You said you’d explain, but you never did. And it’s clear you still have feelings for him.”

Ines scoffs.

“Fine, you don’t love him, then tell me why you broke up and why you never moved out? You had plenty of time to find a new place, Nick and I would have let you move in.”

“I was tired of holding him back.”

Ines gulps down the cold remnants of her drink.

“It was so exhausting telling him no. No, I can’t go home with you to meet your parents. No, I can’t go to the All-Star Game in Florida cause it’s not in driving distance. I can’t be your date to a wedding because I can’t get on a plane. I can’t have bye week with all our friends in the fucking country I was born in because I may not get to come home!”

She tries to take even-keeled breaths; she doesn’t want to start crying before her hearing even starts.

“And he couldn’t tell people because what if someone slipped up and I got deported, or worse they found my parents or Soledad. She has kids!”

Kat puts a gentle hand on her knee.

“And he shouldn’t have to deal with that, he could find someone less complicated and someone who could actually be there for him.”

“Did he ever tell you those things were a problem?”

“No, but I could see how frustrating all those little things were becoming; how upset he’d get with every new thing I couldn’t do.”

“Yeah, he’s upset because you couldn’t live a full life without worry. Because he loves you, Ines! He’s still in love with you.”

“No, he isn’t. He’s just nice. He would have said something by now, not just married me and suffered in silence.”

“Oh, he should have said something? Like you’re saying something because you clearly still love him, too?”

Ines just blinks at Kat, like her brain can’t possibly comprehend what her friend is saying. She doesn’t even get the chance to argue because her alarm goes off.

“You have a court hearing, but don’t think justice will stop us from talking about this later,” Kat says sternly.

In the court room, Ines sits between her lawyer and Kat. Her brain feels too fried to keep up with the basics the judge opens up with.

“Now it says the couple was wed on September 14th of this year. Just a few days before the official report was filed about Ms. Ruiz’ status. You’ll understand why this seems a little convenient.”

“Yes, your honor,” Sierra stands up holding a file, “but the couple was engaged before any officially filings were made. And you can see in the documents we have a receipt from when Mr. Keller bought the engagement ring back in March of this year. If you need to see Ms. Ruiz’ ring for confirmation she can approach the bench.”

“That won’t be necessary. Seeing as all the applications are going through the appropriate channels, I see no reason to hold Ms. Ruiz in custody while she waits for her green card interview.”

The gavel bang echoes in Ines’ head, but the judge is already moving on to the next case. Sierra and Kat help lead her out of the courtroom. They’re excitedly chattering, and Ines knows she should join in, knows this is good news, but she hasn’t quite caught up.

She sends Clayton a text: Hearing went well, won’t be going to prison, then promptly turns off her phone.

⁄⁄⁄

Ines gets two days to stew before Clayton comes home.

He picks her up and spins her around in excitement the instant he sees her. His smile falters when he sets her down and sees the borderline grim look on Ines’ face.

“You bought the ring in March?”

Clayton doesn’t know what to say, shocked by the realization.

“They brought up the receipt during the hearing, to help prove that it wasn’t just a last-minute wedding.”

Ines bites at her thumb nail, the ring catching the light. Clayton feels some relief that she hasn’t taken it off.

“You wanted to marry me before we broke up?”

“You breaking up with me kind of ruined my plans,” Clayton shrugs, not sure the direction this conversation is taking.

Ines laughs in spite herself.

“There were all those weddings you couldn’t come to and I thought you needed a chance to think without any pressure from my life, I didn’t expect it to be permanent.”

Ines audibly swallows, they’re walking around the heart of the issue, both too scared to be the first to show all their cards.

“I still got to marry you, not in the way I wanted. But I don’t regret that, no matter what you think.”

Ines moves to take off the ring, Clayton holds his breath while his heart clenches painfully.

“Ask me again.”

“What?”

Ines hands him the ring, her voice wavers a bit, “ask me again.”

He fumbles with the ring for a second before dropping down to one knee.

“I- uh don’t have anything romantic to say. But I love you Ines and I want to be with you as long as you’ll have me. So will you marry me?”

Ines lets out a small sob before covering her face, “Oh my god I can’t believe I’m a girl who cries when she gets proposed to.”

“Is that a yes? Cause otherwise this is really fucking mean.”

“Shit, sorry, yes. That’s a yes,“ she clambers to get Clayton standing again and kisses him desperately.

“I love you arcilla, I’m sorry it took me a while to realize I never stopped,” she says between kisses, not wanting to stop now.

Clayton laughs and pulls away enough to put the ring back on, “it was worth the wait.”

This time Clayton pulls her into a kiss, savoring the moment he imagined for months and months.

[busted-glowstick]

Can you please write some Pikeman x reader hcs?

-❄️

I absolutely adore this request, and i love that a fellow Pikeman lover asked for it ❤️ Also i don’t know if you wanted it like this, but i’ll make it gn- I also ended up writing a kinda partial story along with this, simply because i am just obsessed- aka I’m definitely posting a part 2 of a more detailed version of the story half-

Pikeman x Reader HCs!

You met the Woodscout boys when they first tried to invade the camp, taking a small liking to the ginger teen.

After a few more run-ins with him, you two snuck out of your respective camps at least 3 times a week to meet eachother in the woods between your camps, finding yourselves losing track of time as you two talked about anything and everything you could think of

He realized he liked you when he next invaded Camp Campbell, attempting to flirt with Gwen like he usually did. But something in his flirting seemed off. Like he was putting less effort to try to impress the tall woman. He didn’t get that same rush in his chest anymore.

At least, not until he saw you. The way you smiled at him from behind the defensive stares of the rest of the campers made his heart flutter. He called for a “tactical retreat” to his other troops, when in all reality he just didn’t want to be seen blushing the way you made him blush.

During your next meet-up, Pikeman seemed a little more.. Nervous, than usual. He avoided looking at you practically the entire time, and when you could catch a glimpse of his face under the moonlight, he had a faint blush.

You laughed softly, turning his face to you as you jokingly asked him if he had a crush on you.

Somehow, his face got brighter-

“Wh-what?! H-how did you know!? I thought i was good at hiding it..”

If the poor guy wasn’t a flustered mess before, he definitely was when you kissed his cheek, telling him you had a crush on him aswell.

The rest of that night was spent in eachothers arms, sharing laughs, kisses, and occasional flirts.

After you two got together, your meet-ups were practically every night. Some nights would be soft and romantic, others would be fun and childlike as if you were just best friends.

Until one night he showed up late, crying.

You immediately grew worried, Your Pikeman never liked to let you see him cry, so it had to be bad.

After asking him a few times he spilled his guts, telling you how he felt like he wasn’t enough for you and that he’s afraid of you finding someone “better” and “more attractive” than him.

You sighed softly, pulling him close as you told him that he was more than enough for you, that he was all you would ever want, and that to you, he was perfect in every way.

You lovingly wiped his tears away before kissing him softly

When you both parted he shakily spoke.

“I.. i love you (y/n).. so fucking much..”

You smiled and told him that you loved him just as much as he did you, making him well up with tears once again.

You both ended up staying there until sunrise, only realizing what had happened when you could head Davids scared girly scream from across the woods.

You cursed lowly, giving your loving redheaded boyfriend a kiss before rushing off, leaving him with a light feeling in his heart and a lovesick smile on his face as he walked back to the Woodscouts camp

What part of you does Pikeman love the most? He would say your smile every time. If you ever asked why he would go on about how your smile makes him feel like he is actually cared for, and how you have a faint smile played onto your lips when you two kiss. If he couldn’t say lips, he would say hands. He just loves the way you and his hands fit so perfectly together.

His petnames for you would include Darling, Sweetheart, My light, and beautiful/handsome/gorgeous. His favorite though would be My Gem, because to him, you are more stunning than any gem in the world.

When you two cuddle, he prefers to be the big spoon, no matter your size compared to him. He loves feeling like he can protect you and just keep you close and safe

He has absolutely z e r o experience when it comes to love, so when you start to show him said love, he will get clingy and needy for your attention. He doesn’t intentionally try to take you away from people, he’s just scared of you leaving him.

He also gets jealous extremely easily, so if he can’t be around you alot, there will be some kind of marking on you to tell anyone and everyone that you are taken, whether that be hickeys, his jacket, a fucking diamond ring. He doesn’t care what it is as long as it lets people know you’re HIS.

His favorite things to do with you is relax in bed with you after a long day of training, watching baking shows as you both cuddle each other closely.

When he has downtime without you, he imagines your guys wedding. He knows it would be absolutely stunning, with everyone you and him care about there, celebrating your love for one another.

On your 4th or 5th anniversary, he didn’t do anything too special. Not because he didn’t care, because he didn’t know what to do before the main event. He got your favorite flowers and made you dinner, watching romcoms with you.

Eventually he sighed shakily, pausing the movie and getting down on one knee, pulling out a small velvet box and opening it. It held a stunning diamond ring/band. He looked up at you with a loving smile, speaking softly

“Darling, you have made me the happiest I have ever been since you appeared in my life. I want to make you feel the same way you have made me feel. So i ask you now, will you allow me to take your hand in marriage and give you the best life i can as I love you with my entire heart, body, mind, and soul.”

When you said yes, he felt nothing but pure bliss. He loved you so much and he wanted to give you the life of your dreams.

I genuinely loved this request so much, thank you snowie <3

[nicolesainz]

Message In A Bottle (BC 21)

Ben Chilwell x reader

Warnings: fluff, in its extreme version

Summary: She’s feeling like a face in the crowd. But she’s reaching for him, terrified

“If he scores, you go down an kiss him!” Mason told me watching his team play against Arsenal at their home Stadium.

“No way! Can’t do that” I shook my head disapprovingly to his request or more appropriately, demand.

“But why? It will be the perfect moment. It’s now or never” he’s nudging me playfully

“Don’t do this to me Mase. You know I’m too scared. Plus, what if he gets mad and pushes me away in front of a thousand people?”

"Have I ever let you down?" the Chelsea midfielder raised his eyebrows at me

Its true. Whatever Mason says, happens. But what if this time things changed? What if Ben prefers only my friendship, rather than something more. I would hate myself if our relationship and what we've built all those years broke down, because of my pure stupidity.

"It's different this time. Things don't always go as planned. If I do it and then Ben stops talking to me, it will be my final straw. And I will blame you forever."

"You won't blame me, because nothing bad will happen. Plus, you love me too much to hate me, Y/N. I need you to trust me one last time."

I have always looked up to Ben. I don't often believe that the 'perfect people' exist, but when it comes to him, I fully support that. In all my living years, I have never met a more special man and human besides Chilly.

Since we were little kids, my heart would flutter, every time I was around his presence. I enjoyed being surrounded by him and get to spend time. Even if it was a few minutes.Sadly, during high school I kept some distance. Due to his relationships and football career starting, I didn't want to be a burden. He knew I always rooted for him quietly and was his biggest supporter.

I respected his partners and time away from me, even if that hurt me deeply. Moving on was extremely difficult, but my heart kept saying that I needed to stay. Although what if this time never arrived? What if I kept on loving him until my very last breath?

"You aren't there to see the look on his face when you can't make it to the games. You don't see how happy he is, preparing new celebrations, in case of possible goals, wanting to be dedicated to you?" Mason looks me deeply in the eyes, and I know that the words coming out of his mouth are more than honest.

"They don't mean anything more than pure friendly love. I do believe what you're saying Mase, but I think you've misinterpreted the signs."

"I will let you see for yourself. Just have faith in my words."

Second half is almost done. Ben has assisted in the two goals the blues have scored. It's currently 2-2 and Stamford Bridge is handing by a thin thread. They all crave a final goal against the gunners.

My eyes fall on the clock which says 89. Only one more minute. All are looking between the ball, the clock and the head Chelsea coach. This win is a necessity now.

The ball shockingly falls once more to Ben's feet, immediately running towards the Arsenal net, whilst all the players are chanting him. Nothing is an obstacle. A small scream escapes his mouth as the ball touches the back of the net, escaping Ramsdale's embrace.

"AND THE THREE POINTS ARE AWARED TO THE BLUES OF LONDON, WITH CHILWELL HANDING THE CROWN! WHAT A THRILLING GOAL" the commentators scream out of happiness!

Me and Mason get up to hug each other, still smiling at all the players on the pitch. Mount turns my head to Ben's direction, only to witness my favourite person, looking at me, celebrating by shaping the letter of my first name with his fingers.

I have never felt my smile growing bigger than this. It feels very surreal. What if Mason was right? What if Ben felt the same way towards me too?

"Sophia is going to Kai. I think this is your cue to go to someone that may be waiting for you" Mason winks at me, eyeing at his fellow teammate.

I take a deep breath and run down to the pitch behind Sophia. She was the second person who encouraged me to go and express my feelings to Ben. Before stoping at Kai's direction she turns around and hugs me tightly.

"Everything will be more than great honey! I believe in you! Both of you"

I give her a soft smile and repay the hug. I wave at Kai and give him a thumbs up, as he was also one of today's scorers. He nods playfully as he mouth at me

"He is waiting for you"

Nervousness increases and my legs are trembling. I want to run away but at the same time I wanna run towards Ben. My heart takes over and so I run at the direction of my best friend, whose arms are wide open, waiting for me to jump into him.

I climb on his body and wrap myself around him. This hug feels homely and heartwarming. Ben never misses to make me happy. The happiest woman on earth. I wouldn't change his embrace for anything in the world. Nothing and no one can ever change how I feel about Ben. Like I said, he is the perfect man.

"My favourite goalscorer back on the sheet! I am immensely proud of you" I whisper in his ear.

My legs are still around his wait. He refuses to let me go. And I don't want him to either.

"It means the world to me that you came and saw this goal. Because it's for you" his sparkly green eyes are smiling at me, as his lips are too.

"Ben" is all I manage to say before words stop coming out of my mouth. I can hear my heart thumping so loud, it would surely come out of my chest any time soon.

I waste little time and pull his lower my face closer to his, connecting our lips into a kiss, in which I express every single feeling I have towards Ben. Love, adoration, admiration.

He seems taken aback at first but doesn't shy out and kisses me back, without tearing us apart a single second. I will say that I was surprised but surely extremely thankful.

"I think this kiss was a greater gift than my goal. Another dream that came true today"

I smile flatly, caressing his reddened cheeks and slightly sweaty messy hair. No matter how Ben looked or was, I only cared about the man which was hiding inside him. The kid I grew up with and fell for.

"I love you to the moon and back and to Saturn and Venus and the whole galaxy." the words escaping his lips were few I was dying to hear my entire life. And it was like I died and came back to life.

"You just granted my biggest Benjamin. I love you for infinity. Whether you score goals or not. Thank you"

[welcome-to-maniac]

MANIAC – Recon

tw for; murder, strangling, arson, cage-fighting ig, severe injury, Minho is unconscious

“Don’t return until the hybrid has been retrieved and that venue is burned to the ground.” Their Boss’ words are clear as they hand out weaponry and earpieces to the five men standing outside the now shut doors of MANIAC. The plan was simple in theory; grab AJ, destroy the underground fighting ring. But nothing surrounding the bar, the owner and its staff was ever simple.

“Stay alive, you lot.” A promising smile, and an outstretched hand. For all their mystery, the owner has their own reasons for staging a recon for Jeongin’s boyfriend, rather than ignoring it in favour of running the – very successful – bar. And Jeongin is well aware.

“You got it Boss; thank you.”

The minivan is largely quiet, par the radio, the five all occupied with one thing or the other; Jisung resting his feet on the dashboard of the vehicle while he stares outside the window, Felix keeping an eye on the supplies they were going to be using to get in (namely, passes for the ‘event’ and vials of poisons) and watching the road from behind Minho’s spot in the driver’s seat. The other two are in their own world much the same, Hyunjin listening to Jeongin’s plans to douse the venue in question in gasoline. He’s done it before, with promising results, and his usual dealer promised to drop off several barrels of the stuff.

It’s approaching sunset, and Jeongin wants to paint the sky in oranges and reds.

The vehicle comes to a sudden stop and laughs echo when Jisung all but screams in shock, a pout of feigned hurt on his face as he gets himself upright. Seconds later, Jisung now sitting upright like a regular human being, in Hyunjin’s humble opinion, Felix hands out the passes and four other vials he had been protecting.

“What are we playing with this time Lix~?” Hyunjin hums, turning the vial in his hand and pocketing it. Felix has changed so much from the beacon of innocence he first saw him as, and something in Hyunjin’s heart warms as he listens to Felix talk about what they all do with a fire in his eyes.

He was Dr Frankenstein, and Felix was his perfect little monster.

“Tetrodotoxin~ I put them in syringe vials, and this is some expensive shit, so only use it when you really have to, aight?” Felix instructs, the Australian accent peeking through the end of his sentence. He’s shelled out a few grand for each vial, and if it gets wasted Felix can’t say who he’s going to hurt (Jisung) in compensation. It was his money on the line, after all.

Jeongin and Hyunjin are the first to split up and set themselves up; Hyunjin finding a vantage point on an abandoned building opposite the venue, a perfect line of sight for his first few targets. With some well-placed shots, the ‘bartender’ could be in and out with plenty of time to scout the building before the youngest ultimately sends it all up in smoke. Watching Jeongin slip inside from his spot, Hyunjin sets his sights on the first of the many organisers and official looking people on his hitlist tonight.

That’s it, turn around so I can see that pretty face.

A push on the trigger.  The effect is immediate, and the smirk grows on Hyunjin’s face like it was always meant to be there. Too easy. Clean up will come later, preferably from the fire that already has Hyunjin warming up at the thought. They could even make some twisted version of campfire roasted marshmallows if they find a convenience store open at this time. The hum of thanks from Jisung rings in his ear and Hyunjin watches as the vandal starts making his way into the back rooms. A helpful little source gave them a floorplan, and the five have committed it to memory lest they get lost.

“Your turn darling~” A sigh. A loving sigh.

“I’m boutta start calling you Sam again if you call me darling one more time Jin-ah…” Felix chuckles, putting his phone to his ear to mask the earpiece sitting just behind it.

“You should. I like hearing you call me Sam.” Another sigh. Hyunjin knows he’s pushing it, but his English name just sounded that much better coming from Felix. Everything sounds so much better coming from Felix.

“Fine; but just this once,” the Aussie knows it won’t be the last time. It never is. “You see the guy taking our passes, Sam? Take him out the second I get inside. We need some chaos to distract the audiences.”

Fire once Lix is inside; easy enough.

“Oh Bbokkie, I could listen to you talk like that for ever – fuck, you’re my perfect little monster.”

The conversation dies after that, and Hyunjin gets into position, his mind running with more than just the sightline his rifle is giving him of the bouncer checking the passes. Felix isn’t too far behind, a handful of people ahead of the raven. The line keeps moving, and the movie reel in Hyunjin’s head gets louder, more vivid, and Hyunjin can remember that night perfectly.

Four people left.

Sam waits at the top of the building. Yongbok’s been the best thing this messed up world has blessed him with. A ray of sunshine in a world of sin. Ready to be corrupted. Ready to be moulded.

Three people left.

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it Yongbokkie? The world at your feet.” Sam hums, leaning against the wall as Yongbok stares at Gangnam’s night view. He could show Yongbok the world; give him the world. All he needs is for Yongbok to do this one thing for him.

“Beautiful, Sam…You just want to fall right in.”

Two people left.

“Would you fall? Fall for me?” Sam’s voice was sin; dripping with honey and hidden promises of something more if Yongbok just gives in. Gives in to the warm touch on his cheek that the Australian is subconsciously leaning into. His back is to the edge of the roof. He’d fall if he took a step backwards. Fall twenty-five feet to the concrete below.

Maybe it won’t be so bad. “I’d fall for you, Sam. I’d fall of this building for you.”

One more.

A hand on his chest. Sam stares at him with an intensity he’s never seen before and maybe Yongbok doesn’t hate it. Doesn’t hate that his life is now in the Devil’s hands.

The Devil always was God’s favourite.

“I’ll tell you a secret, Yongbokkie, do you want to hear it?” Fuck, the way Sam says his name…there isn’t a breath in his throat anymore. So he nods; eager and desperate.

“Yes— please…” Sam leans in and Yongbok listens intently. His chest is tight with anticipation.

“My name is Hyunjin.”

And Yongbok falls. He falls all twenty-five feet to the ground below, and Hyunjin is there, falling after him.

The shot is clean; right between the eyes just like Boss taught him. He hears Felix’s laugh at the commotion happening below and that’s the sniper’s cue to get off the roof and pick his second position.  The roof was grimy anyway – what a waste of architecture that never gets to see the light of completion.

Minho’s the last one to go in, pocketing the pass in his hand and sliding in through the panic. If someone asks to the see the pass, he’ll have it on hand; for now, it’s useless. The venue is somewhere he’s never been before, but everything is all too familiar. Too real now that he’s inside and can hear the sounds of fighters getting ready. Even without the map committed to memory, Minho will probably be able to find the arena with little difficulty.

This was his life too, at one point. Fighting to earn a coin before retreating to your room – or worse, some place on the streets – to lick your wounds if you made it out alive.

His chest seizes as he hears the sound of the MC, the stars in his pocket glowing warmth in the coldness of his environment. The former fighter palms over the pendent; reminders. Reminders that his family – his new one – are waiting for him to come home safe. His surroundings start to slip away, however, as he looks down at his hands and sees eighteen-year-old Minho’s hands staring right back at him.

He's back there.

His hands are bloody now, shaking as he looks up and sees a dead man laying across from him. Minho doesn’t mean to kill him, but he’s young and they promised to give him an extra portion of food and few extra bills of cash if he wins tonight. It’s someone’s brother, his mind remembers; Kim Jun-something. A twenty-two year old with enough luxury to live in the venue with his younger brother.

He killed him. He’s a murderer, at eighteen. He’s not even an adult yet.

The ringing in his head gets louder. And louder. And louder—

“What’s this, everyone? The ace himself, Lee Know has returned!” Blinking, Minho’s confused; how do they know the alias he used? And then he sees it; he’s in the cage, and the doors are shut. Felix is in the corner of his eye, and Minho can hear him saying that Sung is gonna cut the lights, distract them for a bit. Sorry hyung, but we gotta improvise.

“I don’t fight any—” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence when pain blooms against his ribs, his opponent intent on causing as much damage as possible right off the bat. It stings, and Minho feels several shards. He checks his jacket, ducking from his opponent and his face falls.

They’re broken.

There’s nothing left to lose, and Minho throws his jacket to the side and lunges. If playing along and cage-fighting will give the kids enough time to get stuff done, then so be it. Cage-fighting is dirty, so he plays dirty; the butterfly-knife he keeps in his boot is brought out and Minho wastes no time in dealing with opponent after opponent, the rhythm returning to him much like bike riding.

He’s winded by the time the lights finally go out, only just managing to find his jacket and run out as the cage door is no longer electronically sealed.

Never again.

“Hello again, Lee Know hyung.”

Jeongin has been running ever since he set foot inside the arena, searching and searching for any sign of AJ in the halls of dorm rooms. He sticks out like a sore thumb; skin unmarred and well-fitting clothes. He’s heard stories from Minho about what his hyung used to do to earn money, and as much as he’s glad Minho isn’t in that position, that position is exactly where AJ has been forced into.

Using the wall to stop his momentum, Jeongin freezes. He hears whimpers, and he swears he saw something familiar in the corner of his eye. His heart drops. Kicking the door out of the way and ignoring the looks from the other people in the room.

AJ wasn’t…were they? No, no, they couldn’t have been.

The lights go out as he’s searching AJ for any injuries and he curses, bringing out a lighter to continue when he’s pulled onto his feet and spun around so fast he nearly gets whiplash. It’s a tough-looking thug, someone who would have easily scared Jeongin if he wasn’t hellbent on saving his boyfriend.

“The hybrid’s mine kid, fuck off before I beat you with your own ribs.” Jeongin laughs. He laughs, switching on his earpiece and letting his hyungs in on the conversation he’s having. It’s Jisung who picks up, and Jeongin knows he can stall for at least a good five minutes.

He’ll have to sacrifice one of his good lighters, Jeongin realises, as he watches the beefy thug walk up to him; the height difference isn’t too substantial, and the arsonist bites back a crafty grin as he spots a cotton thread. A necklace.

“Take one more step big boy and I’ll make a barbeque out of your neck.” Jeongin hums, yanking the bigger man to eye level and flicking the lighter dangerously close to his ear, the roar of the flame that much louder grazing the thug’s ear. There’s a look in Jeongin’s eyes as the words leave his mouth – he knows this – and it screams of a crazed sincerity.

It’s unnerving.

“Fuck man, I’ll leave you and the— sorry, your boyfriend alone. Just get out before the guards see you.” Just to reiterate his point, Jeongin sears the cotton thread off, singing the thug’s neck and leaving a grown man yowling in pain as he works on picking his boyfriend up, sneaking him out of the building.

He throws the minivan door open and bundles his boyfriend in thick coats and a blanket, kissing their forehead and sighing in relief. AJ was safe now.

“Hyungs, I’ve got him. Ransack it before I send it up in smoke.”

Jisung chuckles as he approaches the room Jeongin was in not that long ago, the same look in his eye. What he lacks in physical height he makes up for in strength and force of presence, however, as he ransacks the room and aims his bat at anything worth smashing. Pocketing anything of value to pawn off later, he does the same to any other open rooms he comes across, leaving a trail of Jisung-shaped destruction in his wake.

He meets Felix and Hyunjin at the offices, both men beat up with guards lying dead at their feet. There’s a few bruises on the pair of them, but it looks like Hyunjin got the worse deal – a gash on the taller man’s arm.

“Did I seriously miss the fun, again?!” He whines, much to the amusement of the other two as he kicks in the door and nearly screams because, yes the door is open, but fuck did he just snap his ankle doing it? Either way, the door is open, and the trio spend little time going through every safe and computer they can see, stealing an unused duffle bag to stash any wrapped up bills of cash.

“Has anyone heard from Minho hyung?” Jeongin asks.

The room freezes. Three pairs of eyes ask silent questions as Jisung dashes out of the room, swearing under his breath as he tries to remember the last time they collectively heard Minho say anything since he mentioned heading into the arena.

The arena. Minho is at the arena.

Minho can faintly smell gasoline as the hand on his throat squeezes tighter, his head spinning. Jeongin must have start spraying the gasoline, his mind tries to tell him, but all he can focus on is that he’s currently being strangled against the wall of the arena, and his assailant knows him enough to call him hyung.

“Look I— fuck, I don’t know how you know me, but you’ve got to let go.” Bad idea. The hand gets tighter, and through the white noise in his ears, Minho hears it.

“You remember Kim Junseok, don’t you hyung? My brother?”

His ribs are already battered and bruised, and Minho’s sure he’s sprained something, but the name brings back years of suppressed memories and suddenly the bartender can recognise who’s hellbent on killing him. It’s Junhyeong. His first victim’s younger brother. The look of recognition on his face must shine like a neon sign, because Junhyeong laughs. He laughs and tightens the grip on Minho’s neck even more. It’s going to leave bruises – if he makes it out alive, that is.

Minho’s phone isn’t in his pocket, likely dropped somewhere he can’t remember as he flails to try and pry the fingers away from his neck, black spots dancing in the corners of his vision. He needs to get Junhyeong’s hands off of him soon, or he’s going to be out cold. Permanently, if the expression on Junhyeong’s face is anything to go by.

Then he hears plastic. Plastic zip-ties.

“Let’s get this fucking thing off first hyung…” Junhyeong reaches for the necklace, and Minho panics. His pleads fall on deaf ears as the pendant is crushed under Junhyeong’s boot, the bartender’s heart breaking along with it. It spurs on the last of his adrenaline, however, as Minho reaches for the tetrodotoxin syringe in his back pocket, silently grateful that it’s remained intact.

He plunges the needle into Junhyeong’s neck, ripping it out and wincing at the spray of blood as he tries to pry the zip-ties off. Sorry kid…at least you’ll see your brother again.

He can’t get it off in time, and he slumps against the wall as his mind registers the smallest  hints of footsteps.

Jisung nearly cries in relief when he finds Minho, texting on the older man’s phone to Jooheon, rambling as he relays what he’s seeing for himself. And then he sees the zip-ties and Jisung has to scramble to remove them because how long has Minho been without oxygen? He pockets the broken pendant too, hauling Minho into his arms bridal style and booking it as fast as he can out of the venue because they all need to leave now.

“Jisung hyung—! Is— is Minho hyung..?”

“Just about alive!” Jeongin relaxes almost immediately. AJ is safe, and no one is dead. Throwing the rest of the nearly-empty gasoline barrels towards the building, the arsonist stares at his good lighter. A lighter shaped like a deck of cards. There will be others, he reminds himself, as he throws it as hard as he can and watches the flames start to engulf the venue, the inmates and struggling fighters left inside no longer his concern.

It's as beautiful as he imagined it.

Felix nearly passes out as he drives them all back home, dizzy from the after effects of the adrenaline rush and a job well done.

“I can’t wait to get some good fucking sleep.” Hyunjin groans. They laugh, tired, beaten, some unconscious, but alive. They all need sleep after this.

Perhaps a hospital.

[cybersp4c3]

Lavender and Cedarwood (part 1)

Sorry for the long wait, midterms are a pain in the ass. Also, I know you said you preferred a longer version, however I don’t have the patience to write all of it at once. I’ll try to send more during the weekend, but until then, please let me know how I did. I know there isn’t any sex in this part, but I kinda wanted to lay down the foundation before I make the next one pure smut. I’m sorry (if) I disappoint. Have a good day/evening.

Tw; topics of slavery, belittlement, objectification, no porn YET, it/it’s pronouns used for Scaramouche

You sighed as you looked over the file your friend had sent you. Apparently, he had bought new slave from the market that was as beautiful as it was a brat. You’ve been known for your abilities to tame unruly slaves, especially sex slaves, so it wasn’t a surprise when your friend commissioned you to help tame this brat. He was actually a good client, he’d given you three months to break this slave into a compliant maid, and the pay was rather generous. However, from day 1, it was obvious that this wasn’t going to be easy. The very minute the purple-haired slave stepped into your manor (and also on the way there), it was screaming to be released. So you had two of your most trusted servants, Xiao and Dorian, gag it and take the slave to it’s new room. Although you usually start training them from the first day, you were tired and just wanted to relax this evening before working tomorrow. But it seems as if this new slave had other ideas.

You heard the faint sound of glass shattering before sighing again. Putting the file down, you walked down the hall to where the new slave should be located. It was just a few doors down from your office and was all but unfurnished. It was meant as a punishment room, one where new or unruly slaves spend time there in silence with nothing to do. Inside, you heard grunts and heavy shuffling. As you opened the door, you saw Xiao holding down the slave while Dorian was busy working the clasp on a collar around the slave’s neck. With a final ‘click’, the two boys stood up, turned to you and bowed. “Hello Sir” they said as the slave picked itself up, trying to get the collar off.

“I heard glass shatter. What happened?” You asked.

“This slave was being difficult, and used the glass from the vase to scratch Xiao” Dorian spoke up.

You hummed and walked over to Xiao, and lifted his head. Sure enough, there was a scratch right by his eye. “Go get cleaned up, then once you’re done, come to my room so you may be rewarded”. The two boys perked up, bowed again, and left the room, leaving only you and the new slave who stopped trying to get off the collar.

“I don’t appreciate peo-“ you started

“And I don’t appreciate being treated like an animal!” The slave shouted, “I am Scaramouche! Number six of the Fatui Harbingers! I am not some-Gahh!!” The slave collapsed on the ground, holding his neck while you fiddled with a small remote in your hand. You rather liked these Fontaine collars. They allowed you to give the wearer a shock with just a turn of a dial. A perfect training tool. You let the slave writhe on the ground for a moment before backing down the voltage on its’ collar. “Now as I was saying, I don’t appreciate people who harm what belongs to me, especially my servants. Nor do I appreciate people interrupting me. Do you understand, little slave?” You say as you look down upon the writhing being. It just closed his mouth and glared at you. At least it’s not incapable of being quiet.

“I suppose I should introduce myself, you will be staying here for three months after all. You will address me as Sir, once you gain the right to be treated like a human, then I will let you call me by my name. But until such time…” you say as you crouch down to it’s level. You grip it’s chin harshly and bring it’s face close to yours, “you are a pet. You may not be my pet, but your master has given me the right to do to you whatever I see fit. So don’t believe for a second that you have any rights here. Do you understand, little slave?” It looks at you with hatred in it’s eyes, but doesn’t say a word. Unsatisfied, you stand up and kick it in it’s stomach. You then yank it’s hair so it faces you again. “I said. Do you understand? Little slave?” It pauses for a moment, as if deciding what the best decision is. “I understand…sir…” So, it made the right decision.

“Good slave.”

-🌟

I was gonna wait for part 2 before posting it but I didn’t want anon to be scared that the ask didn’t send and I need to build up some anticipation ykyk

Part 2 is gonna be a banger I can tell

[cross-edition-dnd]

Today's DnD Creature, The Gnoll

Editions appeared in: ODnD, DnD B/X, ADnD, ADnD 2e, DnD 3.5e, DnD 4e, & DnD 5e

Consistent Elements:

Although Iconic as a hybrid human/hyena marauder, the history of the Gnoll's development over the years seems to hold procedural changes over the decades. In fact, from ADnD onward, the Gnoll progresses from a simple antagonist that values strength and cooperation and detests menial labor, to a sadistic, hunger-driven, demon-spawned scourge that would sooner bite your face off before any shared words could even be considered.

In a way, the true consistent element for Gnolls is a steady decline from what they used to be. I say this only as an observation rather than a critique, as such a decline can still be interesting from a storytelling standpoint if used effectively.

Notable Differences:

Defined Appearance. While appearing in ODnD, Gnolls don’t get much of a description until DnD B/X and ADnD establishes them as Hyena-like humanoids that operate in bands of loose organizations.

Gnoll Creation. In the begining, Gnolls of ODnD were just labled as a cross between Gnomes and Trolls. Not much is stated about the origins of Gnolls until DnD B/X where gnolls are said to be the magical infusion of Gnomes and Trolls. This detail is omitted in later editions, including ADnD where no clear origin is stated. In DnD 5e, however, gnolls are stated to spawn when hyenas cursed by Yeenoghu overfeed on carrion found in battlefields or places of mass carnage, from which the hyena's guts burst and a gnoll spawns from the bile.

From Slavers to Cannibals. While noted in ADnD to having prisoners stored for slave labor or food, the sadism and savagery of Gnolls begin to be emphasized in ADnD 2e with how they find preference in eating intelligent creatures over animals due to how they “scream better”. In fact, it’s first mentioned in ADnD 2e of how Gnolls may prioritize their hunger over their allegiances with orcs, hobgoblins, bugbears, ogres, and trolls if their strength overpowers their partners’. This trend for hunger and sadism seems to get worse with each edition.

Rising Demon Allegiance. The Gnolls’ worship of Yeenoghu is mentioned under said demon’s monster entry in ADnD, but wouldn't become part of the Gnoll’s entry until DnD 3.5e where he’s mentioned as a being they “serve and revere”. This trend of demon worship continues onto DnD 4e.

Lost Playable Option. Despite being a more sadistic antagonist, DnD 3.5e does make note of Gnolls as a playable character option. Such an option hasn’t appeared in official WotC books since.

Too hungry to be lazy anymore. From ADnD to DnD 4e, Gnolls are stated to be creatures that detest manual labor and will force captive prisoners into slave labor to perform tasks they would rather not do. Such a detail seems to be omitted for the most part in DnD 5e. While such a change is likely due to a change of political climate, I also think this suggests that Gnolls are at a point where they can't even manage their hunger to keep slaves anymore.

Decline in Tactics. From ADnD 2e to DnD 4e, Gnolls are said to prefer ambushing and flanking adversaries over laying out traps. Even this tactical strategy is omitted from DnD 5e, as gnolls would likely just rush in and strike quickly, relying on overwhelming force and taking out as many opponents as possible within quick succession.

Origins: This creature is a Gygax original, initially a cross between gnome and troll inspired by the works of Lord Dunsany [from the man himself, ]. Though how they became hyena/human hybrids in later versions remains a mystery.

[violent-optimism]

Ranking every Ganon/Ganondorf based on Appearance

Hey folks!

Those who know me well know that Ganondorf is one of my all time favourite video game characters and I am SO excited to see him return in “Tears of the Kingdom”. In that spirit, I thought it would be fun to do a personal ranking of every major Ganon or Ganondorf appearance in a Zelda game.

Notice how I said “major”, because quite frankly there are a lot of smaller Zelda games out there and I don’t have time to look into every single one of them to see if the G man had a cameo or not. This won’t be a complete list, just complete in terms of my personal knowledge and the games I am most familiar with. Also, friendly reminder that this list is my opinion and I’m not trying to offend or change anyone’s mind.

Let’s go!

Ganon from the CD-I Zelda games - 1/10

I had to throw this one in here just for fun. It’s no secret that most of the characters in these games look absolutely god awful, not just Ganon himself. He looks like a weird, swamp monster that’s a cross between a dog and an ogre. Whenever I see this image all I can think of were those hilarious Youtube Poops from way back in the day. It is truly a silly design that fails to even remotely represent such an evil and intimidating character.

Calamity Ganon from Breath of the Wild - 3/10

Gosh, I just know I’m gonna piss people off with this one. I’m sorry, but I just don’t like this design at all. Like, what am I even looking at here? He looks like a Christmas tree crossed with a pirate skeleton or something. The only reason why I gave him a 3 is because at least he is somewhat intimidating, unlike the last entry on my list. I know I haven’t actually finished BOTW, but that doesn’t change the fact that I find his design to be pretty uninspired and confusing, at least from what I’ve seen.

Original Ganon from the Legend of Zelda -  5/10

Although I’ve always preferred Ganondorf to Ganon, I will say I actually dig this design quite a bit. It really gets the point across that he is a powerful baddie and will hurt you if he gets the chance. It’s a good look, it’s effective, and oddly cute in a weird way? Especially when you see him in the game as a bundle of sprites that resemble a bright blue pig. Ultimately it’s just not as threatening or aesthetically pleasing as some of his other reincarnations.

Ganondorf from The Wind Waker - 6/10

Now we’re getting somewhere! While this is far from my favourite design of his, you have to admit it goes in a pretty creative and unique art direction. This version of Ganondorf feels rather large and imposing, especially since he towers over the characters of Link and Zelda who are literal children. I love the small details like his brooch and sandals. When I look at this image, I’m left with only one burning question...why did they make him so god damn CHONKY?

Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time - 7/10

Honestly it’s really hard to find anything wrong with this design. This was the first time we ever saw a human version of Ganondorf, and it’s inspired all of the other versions since then to some degree. He’s imposing, he’s threatening, he’s powerful, and it shows. I love the brown tones mixed with the white/blue/red cloth that’s scattered over various points. I think the only problem I have with this is the weird cod-piece situation that’s going on. And why did they make his ears so big and goofy?

Ganondorf from Hyrule Warriors - 8/10

Now THIS is more like it! I never played Hyrule Warriors, but boy do I sure love this design of Ganondorf. The blue and gold tones, the giant boots, the luscious red mane that’s free to blow in the wind. This is a look that just screams power and strength, with a touch of grace added in for good measure. Ganondorf looks delightfully mean here, like he’s thinking about how much he’s going to enjoy smashing your face into the ground.

Ganondorf from Tears of the Kingdom - 8.5/10

This new look hasn’t even been out for a week and I’m already so in love with it. I’m really enjoying the Samurai inspired design, with the man bun, tattoos and more skin shown than any other version I can think of. I know it’s on trend to talk about the thirst factor, but it definitely is there. Ganondorf’s potential for sex appeal is long overdue, and judging by everyone’s reaction I think I’m correct in that. Similar to Link and Zelda’s designs, I feel like this look has taken a bold new turn without straying too far from the original design of the character. I can’t wait to see more of him!

Ganondorf from Twilight Princess - 10/10

Here he is; the man, the myth...the absolute GOAT. In my opinion, Ganondorf’s design PEAKED with Twilight Princess and no other design has even come close to this level of perfection. Part of this might be my nostalgia talking, or the fact that this is my favourite Zelda game. But according to some other folks online, it looks like I’m not the only one who is obsessed with this look. Just looking at this image you can feel the anger, the power, the dominance. I love the colour scheme, the hairstyle, the cape, the fingerless gloves. There was so much thought put into every detail and it really shows. Perhaps 11 year Sam was ahead of her time, but I thought this Ganondorf was sexy as fuck back in the day (and tbh I still kind of do). At the end of the day, this look has everything you’d want for the King of Evil.

Thanks for listening to my ramble, folks. I hope you got something out of it. What’s your favourite version of Ganon/Ganondorf? :)

[theinsanecrayonbox]

Sabretooth War Part 2

Yeah…this is bad folks. The first wasn’t good, but you know first parts have to set up, but the second should properly set the tone. Yeah no…this is bad.

We pick up right where we left off, with the SabreSquad and clone army facing down Logan. It is interesting to play “spot the Sabretooth” in the army shots (booo I see an AoA…maybe it’s the terrible Battle World version) but interestingly enough I can’t seem to see ANY of the female variants. Sure there weren’t many, but there were some. Anyways, torture Logan time

Ok first panel: would have loved to see that happen, too bad the creative team didn’t

Second panel: 1) YOUR friend huh? Did you forget Weapon X-Force too Victor? Even ignoring my shipping preferences, you tangled with him too, OUR would’ve been fine. 2) what earth was that and why couldn’t we have seen that coolness huh??? Btw that’s Arkady’s only “appearance” in this

According to the intro blurb he is Sir Not Appearing. Not sure if should be frowny that he’s ignored, or happy that he’s escaping the death counter…

Anyways, there’s dissent amongst the ranks

Pop Diva VickyVicky has the brain cell it seems, because Victor sure ain’t using it. Yes, just kill him, don’t give him the opportunity to escape (because spoilers he does). But oh no that’s a stupid and not evil enough idea apparently.

Cut to Laura and Domino inside. Bird Boy shows up and we get a clearer shot of him

Ah he no burb but pinecone. Why????? This is dumb.

Fight fight fight. Victor gets to slaughter children; what a compete opposite from him dealing with the exiled captives on that Orchis base huh. CapTooth wakes up Piotr. The visiting Twins save children then go wake up Sage and Tom who are in standby mode for some reason.

Boyband and Savage join Pinecone to gang up on Laura and Dom though

He makes very good points. Maybe the idea that the SabreSquad are the next externalized version of the feral council is ri-

Oh and he’s dead. That’s just brilliant. Pinecone who we just met and know nothing about or care about at all, he totally gets to live. But Pop Diva has to go because he dared to think and question this terrible storyline. Uhg!

Sage and Tom turn on the Greenhouse’s immune system, and it says “destroy all Creeds” and we see Capt get snatched…but I’m not counting him as dead…yet

Logan also had edgelord monologue, rips his joints apart to break free, and rushes inside screaming for Laura because as we all know, she is his favorite child.

It’s once again over the top gore and edgelordy nonsense instead of, you know, an interesting character driven plot. This is bad folks, and we’re only on part 2 of 10. This is gonna get worse…and probably never get better, huh?