#dad rock tournament

[dadrock-tournament]

[raynavan]

i doodled some things for the au tournament (@ultimate-submas-tournament ) the aus are really interesting and cool! while i couldn't actually do proper drawings for all of them, i did wanna do something.

so, without further adieu: the Ingo Bracket!

and the Emmet Bracket!

you probably noticed they got worse! that is because i did them all in one night hgriephgvpbnp

silly doodles aside, i am hopping to do some proper drawings of them later on! i plan to do this for all future brackets, but i cant really make any promises on account that there are. 24.

good luck to everyone participating (vote for Table Ingo!!!) and! have a lovely day/night =]

(small edit- turns out i forgot to save some of them as a PNG and didn't notice they wern't there orz)

[rock-swag-tournament]

Rock Swag Tournament Round 1: Igneous Rocks Part 1

Pink or White?

Both of these rocks are GRANITE which means they are coarse-grained (phaneritic) rocks that contain at least 20% quartz and no more than 10% mafic minerals. The rest is some kind of feldspar. Mafic minerals are the black grains you see in the samples above and are most likely the minerals pyroxene, amphibole, or biotite.

(Want to learn more about igneous rocks and how we classify them? Click here for an igneous rocks introduction)

The distinction between these two granites comes with the type of feldspar contained in the rock.

The feldspar content in alkali granite is almost entirely orthoclase (aka k-spar or potassium feldspar). The pink grains in this rock are orthoclase crystals. Fun fact, my dad's headstone is an alkali granite and the specific variety used is called "North American Pink."

Other alkali granite samples.

The feldspars that make up plagiogranite (also known as tonalite) are almost entirely plagioclase feldspar, which contain calcium or sodium instead of potassium. These are typically dark grey to white in color. In this particular sample, the white grains are sodium feldspar (aka albite).

More tonalite/plagiogranite samples.

[tomfrogisblue]

But it would be hilarious for Wilbur to pop in to his team, Team Bolas, and just be flashbanged with Everything that has been driving everyone insane for the last week and the sheer craziness of all the members that were pretty normal (in comparison, like no one was okay then either) when he left them last

Not least the fact that his Dadza has once again joined a new server and adopted like 12 children simply by existing near them

[hoperays-song]

Johnny’s Clothes

Can we just quickly talk about what Johnny wears throughout the two movies? Because it’s really insightful character design and actually was one of the first things that hinted to me why the gang might be stealing in the first place: they’re all hand-me-downs. 

They all fit weird, sleeves too long, legs too long, sitting off the shoulders, and visibly worn. It also shows his transformation between movie a bit as his clothes seem to be in better condition in the second movie, like he could now afford to repair or replace them. The only clothes that fit him perfectly being his costumes however could also symbolize how he feels more at home and like he fits in there as well, if we’re looking at it symbolically as well. 

Anyway! Why do I think they’re hand-me-downs? Well...

Johnny’s Jacket

The most obvious hand-me-down as a lot of the fandom even headcanons it as his dad’s old jacket and I’m inclined to believe this as well. While this jacket is arguably the only piece of Johnny’s wardrobe that fits somewhat well with only the shoulders being to big, it is so worn down and clearly well loved that I doubt it was just a thrift store find. Johnny clearly treasures that jacket and takes care of it, even seeming to repair it a bit in between movies. This indicates to me that it has sentimental value and being a hand-me-down from his dad, a jacket his mother might have worn once as well, would definitely make it sentimental.

Johnny’s Jeans

Johnny’s jeans are more obviously ill-fitting in the first movie. They’re cuffed, but not stylishly, more out of necessity. And since he doesn’t wear his clothes to sag on purpose, this indicates that the jeans originally belonged to someone much taller than him, say any member of his family, or he might have even thrifted them. And as someone who’s worn jeans literally their whole life, I can tell you that the wear on the knees of the jeans from the first movie are not from stylistic choices. In fact, due to the light wash of the actual jeans themself, I can tell you that those jeans are seconds from falling apart at the knees, and can only be fixed with a patch. They are that worn down. However, in the second movie, they do look a bit worn, they are clearly newer and in much better shape, judging by how you can see that bronze side seam that is really prevalent on new jeans. He got a new pair but since they’re still too long, I’m gonna go with they were bought hastily and on sale.

Johnny’s Shirts

Johnny’s shirts are way too big for him. The sleeves end at the center of his hands, and while all mine do too, that’s because I deliberately buy 1 to 2 sizes up. That means that those shirts aren’t Johnny’s size and if he had thrifted them, you would think he would have gotten the correct size if he could. That implies to me that they might be hand-me-downs from his dad and uncles from when they were teenagers, explaining why they’re too big but why Johnny’s never altered them like he has other clothing items.

Johnny’s Shoes

So I’ll admit, I’ve never owned a pair of converse high tops in my life, however, I did some asking around and some googling and my report is that converse last around, on average 1-3 years. Now, it’s important to take into consideration here that Johnny’s primary mode of transportation is his skateboard, therefore apparently decreasing their lifespans to 2-8 months. However, since these shoes cost between $40-$65, I’m less than inclined to believe that the family that has turned to committing felonies has that amount of money laying around. So those are almost definitely the same shoes a year later in Sing 2, and since they didn’t look brand new at the start of Sing 1, they are probably much older that 2-3 years old and almost definitely being held together with duct tape.

Johnny’s Tank Top

So this has literally bugged me since I first saw it to be honest. I might not be an expert seamster or tailor, but a quick google search did confirm that there is not usually a giant seam across the chest of almost all clothing. That, along with the strange looseness we can see in the sides of the shirt when he moves stood out to me, so I did some research to confirm my suspicions. That kind of seam is used to shorten clothing. And why it might be that high up would be potentially due to that area not fitting correctly, and judging by how un-formfitting the sides of the tank top is, it probably was too loose. Besides, we’ve literally only seen Johnny wear long sleeves, like every shirt and costume has long sleeves. The only member of Johnny’s family we’ve seen wear a tank top is Marcus, who we see wear them to work out. And as we can clearly see that none of Marcus’s clothes would fit Johnny, he’s easily twice his size. Therefore, it’s likely one of his dad’s old tank tops they altered to actually fit him.

Johnny’s Watch

To be completely honest, I forgot that Johnny wore a watch in the first movie entirely. However, upon some research, the closest look alike i found cost $80. ...Yeah, I don’t think the guy who has hand me down shirts is gonna prioritize getting a watch. Besides, it looks really old judging by how worn the band appears. That leads me to believe it’s a hand-me-down/ family heirloom, or he thrifted it awhile ago.

Johnny’s Dance Shoes

Just look at how spotless and perfect those shoes are. Those are absolutely a loan from the troupe. Besides, those are not sneakers, those are shoes especially made for dancing. Not only has Johnny not ever had a reason to have them before, but as a former dancer, I can attest to how they can cost anywhere from $25 to $150 a pair. Johnny definitely did not just happen to have a pair laying around and neither did the theatre troupe, so those would have been a loaner pair from Klaus’s group. 

Johnny’s Sweatpants

These are clearly the newest of Johnny’s clothes and at first I thought they might actually fit him perfectly. That was until I actual dug into the standard fitting of joggers and realized that they also were the smallest bit big on him. But since they seem to be in such good condition, I’m more inclined to believe these were a gift that was estimated in terms of sizing. Another reason I think these might have been a gift is that we only see Johnny wearing dark and cool colours, bright red joggers, even if they are a bit ombre at the bottom, don’t seem to be within his typical style range. Also, the closest pair of joggers that looked similar to his that I found cost $70, an amount of money Johnny clearly doesn’t have to spend on clothes so, they were definitely a gift.

[geddyqueer]

that dad rock tournament blog is going to give me an aneurysm. oh my god.

[dumbass-duo-showdown]

BEST DAD BATTLE: APPLE BRACKET

ROUND 1 GROUP 2 PART 1

[quinnmorgendorffer]

‘80s music tournament part six!

So far the winners are “Under Pressure” by Queen & David Bowie, “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears”, and “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds.

Well, I know supposed “dad rock” is a thing nowadays for tumblrinas, so here’s a round dedicated to that genre/songs from dad rock artists I think for the genre best.

Disclaimer: my dad was born in the 1940s, so anything past the 1970s is not my definition of dad rock, but I have seen all of these categorized as so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Please reblog and feel free to add any other ‘80s favorites, dad rock or not, in the tags!

Also check out the other poll out right now for ‘80s ladies!

[xx-emowarz-xx]

Honestly I could try to run these polls without revealing my bias but it's probably much more entertaining if I impotently reblog propaganda for the bands that I like while you all vote for a band that qualified for the dad rock bracket, justly or otherwise.

It's just funnier if I piss and shit myself when my favs lose

[syyskirjat]

Sueños de piedra (ch1)

Okay, I promised (to myself) to check out whatever media won the ultimate obscure blorbo tournament ( @who-do-i-know-this-man (I wasn't sure whether to tag you or not but in the end I figured I might as well, hope you don't mind I guess))

Turns out that it's a guy from a 2015 Spanish YA fantasy book

And turns out there's a free sample available! Which is lucky for me because I'm currently very broke

Sueños de piedra by Iria G. Parente and Selene M. Pascual

I don't speak Spanish so I'm gonna rely on the translator quite a lot lmao (well I understand some Spanish actually, but definitely not enough to read a whole book)

The title translates to something like "Dreams of Stone" I think?

Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far away, a prince rewarded a wizard for helping rescue a young girl in trouble. Charming. Too bad none of this is true. In reality, the prince dreams of glory and revenge; the magician, with her spells not always being a disaster and the young woman in trouble, with fleeing from a past that torments her... and from the memory of the man she has killed. Once upon a time...

(Yes this is just Google Translate, sorry)

Okay so, prince, magician and a damsel in distress? Prince wants revenge for something, who knows what, magician is having trouble doing the magic, and the damsel is in fact a killer? Ok ok

The dedication goes as follows:

To all those who embark on a direct journey towards their dreams every day. May you always reach your destination.

Okay so Marabilia is a place? That's apparently also the name of this book series. Is this like the kingdom then? So it consists of three islands, two small ones and one big? Or is it supposed to be a continent? It definitely seems too small to be a continent

I know the blorbo is called Arthmael de Silfos so I'm guessing he's from the Silfos area in the north of the big island then. I can see what's probably a city called Duan and a forest called "Merlon Forest". We also have different towers around the big island, one of which seems to be called the Tower of Black Magic. (I didn't even need to use the translator for those yay xD)

Okay the first chapter is called Arthmael so I guess we're meeting our blorbo already, which is nice

— Let me make it clear: are you going to give my crown to a bastard?

Okay..... the very first line and I already think Arthmael might be a bit of a spoiled brat (I assume he's in fact the prince)

Apparently Arthmael just found out that he has an illegitimate older brother but I guess this brother's mother is noble anyway so it's legit? I dunno yet. Arthmael thinks this guy is blackmailing his father somehow and is already considering poison as a solution

And anyway, what kind of a name is Jacques for a king?

lmao, so much shade to all the kings called Jacques

Okay so Jacques's family is very powerful and loved by the people of Silfos and the king fears a civil war if he disrespects his claim to the throne. Alright. Kinda weird since based on Arthmael's thoughts, this society has a similar attitude to bastards as in European history, but okay then. I wonder if Jacques is even actually the king's son or is this some kind of a ruse?

Arthmael is very cheeky and even references his dad's love life directly to his face, his dad is not very happy

The king tells him to just be a good boy and hopefully they'll find him some crown princess to marry so he'll get a kingdom that way

I guess these different areas on the map are kingdoms then, that makes sense. They look like very small kingdoms but this is a small place in general.

Arthmael doesn't seem to mind this idea except that there's only one possible princess like that in Marabilia and that's Ivy de Dione. Not sure what's wrong with her.

Well, who knows? Maybe, if I wait a few moons, some other bastard, in Verves or Idyll, will come out from under a rock and come offer me her hand.

Somebody's very snarky, that's cute

Arthmael is very haughty about how the people have always known him as the crown prince and accepted him as such, Jacques laughs and asks what has he even done for the people. He's like well he hasn't really done much yet because he was planning to do things once he became king, but he's been supporting the local business (taverns) and employing servants (lmao). Also apparently there are some girls he's seeing...

Apparently Jacques's family are big traders and business people (despite being noblemen) and create lots of jobs, and also big on charity, so everybody loves them

Arthmael is jealous of how proud his dad looks when Jacques says this, and how he's never looked at him like that

Well, I guess you're kind of a little shit so it makes sense, Arthmael

— If the smartest thing is to become the idol of a few starving people in order to be king, I can do it too.

Oh my god, this little brat

He declares that he's going to be a hero, to overshadow the charity of Jacques' family, because heroes are remembered by history while philanthropist aren't

So he plans to become a storybook Prince Charming, saving damsels in distress etc.

Jacques finds this understandably hilarious, the king is not amused

Once Jacques leaves, the king again offers to arrange a marriage to Arthmael, specifically with the princess of Dione

I'm almost tempted. I have never been to Dione, but they say that their ships are the lightest and fastest, and that sailors come to their shores from the other side of the sea, speaking strange languages that only they understand. Who come from lands where women wear short dresses, if they wear anything at all. Places where war is so normal that, as soon as a child is strong enough to pick up a sword, they push him to the front lines.

Alright then, I see what he fixates on

Was there anything wrong with the princess then or?

Barbarians. I remove the thought from my mind.

Oh okay. What a charming young man /s

Dione is like right next to Silfos according to the map btw, is this like one of those neighbourly feuds?

Okay he says it's because he doesn't want a foreign kingdom, he wants to keep his home, which is fair I guess

The king is like what do you want me to do, kill Jacques and his pregnant wife? And Arthmael is just like yeah great idea, because he's a dumbass. The king is like wtf

Apparently Jacques' family is from that Duan city that I noted earlier, and his mother died a few days ago and apparently "her loss is greatly felt"

The king regrets spoiling Arthmael too much, and talks about how Arthmael doesn't understand anything about suffering or anything and only cares about girls

Arthmael is already considering faking his death to make them all feel sorry, because of course he is, he's exactly that kind of guy

He says he doesn't want to go try to charm the princess, he'd rather just go off on his own (also there's a whole bit about how only a man can rule Dione or something and the king of Dione won't accept his daughter to become a ruler)

His dad tells him no, just stay here and be a good boy, don't make everybody gossip about drama in the royal family

Arthmael is like hey you managed to hide your bastard son for years, you can hide my disappearance

They fight a bit more but then Arthmael just storms out, grabs a few things from his room and leaves

a change of clothes, a bag of coins, my sword, and my favourite cloak. I do not need anything else.

Okay then, good luck I guess

To be a hero you only need a brave heart. Or so they say.

I feel like you also need to not be a selfish prick but maybe that's optional

Okay end of first chapter!

Our blorbo seems like a real brat!

But I guess the point is probably that he needs to learn some lessons along the way, or something like that, idk. I'm sure there's a reason for why whoever entered him into the tournament likes him so much

I'm guessing the damsel in distress is not the princess? Probably? She wasn't called a princess anyway. TBH she's the character I'm currently the most curious about. The next chapter is from the point of view of someone called Lynne and I hope that's her. Could be the magician too though I guess? No wait, I think the magician is a guy. Altho idk maybe Lynne could be a guy's name, I don't fucking know.

I'm guessing that Arthmael will try to rescue the damsel so he can be a hero, because that's what heroes are supposed to do, but then it'll go wrong somehow? And then the magician will get involved somehow, I have no clue.

That's all my predictions I suppose. Altho I'm guessing that Jacques might turn out to be a villain somehow, I didn't get the vibe that he was particularly great either, just not as much of a brat as Arthmael, and it would then be something for Arthmael to do when he gets back home. Then again maybe the book will surprise me, who knows. To be honest, it would feel a bit like a cop out if it turns out that the guy he hates actually is evil, but it could be handled well, and it's not like I like Jacques either so far. He seems extremely sus too

No guesses as to what the title refers to yet, it could be anything

Idk, like I said, the damsel's storyline is the one that interests me the most rn, it might actually get me to read further (good job, blurb, you got me)

I still have a surprisingly good amount of the free sample left, there's actually nine chapters here, so idk, maybe I'll keep going? We'll see

I'm pretty happy with how much I was able to follow the text even on my own, altho I definitely had to rely on the translator. I would not have had the patience to try to translate all of this myself. But I definitely understood multiple full sentences! Yaaay xD

Apologies to fans of this book series, I hope I didn't seem too rude

[gemini-sensei]

This became longer than I thought it would, so CW for light choking, getting caught, threescore, bully x bullied smut, unprotected sex, spit roasting, rough sex and probably more (unedited)

Thinking about Cobra!Bully!Hawk fucking the daylights out of sweet!LaRusso!Reader in the locker room at a tournament. She's supposed to be out there cheering on her sis and dad's dojo, but instead she's getting her shit rocked while Hawk has her laid out over a bench, his hands around her neck while her pussy gushes and squelches around his fat cock.

"Look at you, my secret little play thing," he taunts, lightly squeezing her neck. "Bet your dad would be disappointed if he caught you getting fucked by a Cobra, am I right?"

She nods but barely, too lost in the roughness and the pleasure it gives her. All she can do is lay there and take it, squirming as his cock slams into her poor little cervix each time.

Suddenly the door opens and slams shut, and Hawk doesn't stop. He doesn't care that her pussy is echoing through through the once empty locker room, doesn't care that she's a moaning mess. He wants people to know what he can do to her, he wants then to know the sweet LaRusso isn't as innocent as most think.

Girlcock!Tory tlrounds the corner just to see Hawk with his gi pants just hanging off his ankle, his cock buried in the fat pussy of the LaRusso, and Reader's eyes rolling up at getting caught. It stirs her own dick in her pants and she lightly rubs herself over the fabric as she watches.

"Wow, who would have thought," she scoffs, feeling mean. She saunters up to stand over Reader, looking down at her with scornful eyes purely for the fact that Reader is Sam's sister. "Little Miss 'Stop the fighting!' likes getting her guts rearranged."

"I know right," Hawk grunts, smirking at the cutie under him as she wiggles and squirms. "Watch this."

He squeezes her neck again and Reader moans, then gasps. She reaches up to grab onto his hands, as if wanting to pull them off, but she doesn't. It's a game to her as much as it is to him. She loves it, but will never say it. Not as though she has to. Her body speaks enough for her mouth.

"Fuuuck," Tory groans.

Before long, she's shoving her own pants down and fisting her hard cock. Reader's eyes widen at the sight, mouth watering. Tory wastes no time feeding the LaRusso her cock and shoves it down her throat, uncaring in her heavy balls are pressed against Reader's face. Hawk squeezes her neck again, feeling the bulge of Tory's cock and making both ladies moan.

Then Tory is roughly fucking Reader's throat, pulling her to the edge of the bench so her head hangs off at just the right angle. She's rough and unapologetic, merciless.

At the same time, she's getting pounded by Hawk, who's muttering to himself about just how close he is. "So fucking tight for me. A fucking LaRusso all tight around my cock. Feels so fucking good, 'm gonna flood your guts. Gonna fill you up. Make You walk back out there to your dad with my load deep in your tight, fat cunt."

Reader moans and kicks her feet, unable to do much else as she lay between them, split open on their cocks from both ends. She's climbing up to her own orgasm but has no way of showing it other than kicking and flailing. Until she finally comes around his thick, fat cock as her velvet walls start squeezing him. Her back bows, her limbs fall limp, and she moans heavily around Tory's cock.

"Fuck, you want that? Fuck, I know you do. Your cunt is milking me, so I'm gonna give it to you. I'm gonna give it all to you," he grunts and slightly shifts his angle to pound into her harder. It's all wet slapping and harsh grunting. "Here it comes, LaRusso slut."

His cock throbs and his balls draw up. He slams into her a final time and starts grinding his hips against hers as he fills her cunt with torrents of cum. It's hot, spreading warmth throughout her as she feels him do it. Her walls coax every drop put of his cock and she loves it, but will never say it out loud. It isn't the first time he's utterly flooded her pussy and it certainly won't be the last.

Tory watches, grunting deeply as she watches. She's so pent up, has gone so long without a warm, wet hole to shove her dick in, she isnt far behind them. She shoves herself as far down Reader's throat as she can and comes, giving her a belly full of cum. She moans, shuts her eyes, and just let's it happen.

When she pulls out, Reader's makeup is messy. She's covered in spit and the last few drops of Tory's load. She tries to sit up, but Hawk has to ultimately hold her up, even though he's still bored in her hot, sensitive pussy. Before she can get a word out, he shushes her and she nods submissively.

"Damn, she's got a good mouth on her," Tory chuckles. She inspects the way Hawk holds Reader, like a glass doll even though he might as well have torn her to shreds; she's shaking under him, but not complaining. "I could get used to having her hang around."

At thay, Hawk glares harshly. "Feel lucky I even let you fuck her mouth. She's mine. Now go find your own girl."

Tory sneers at him as he stares her down, his venomous, brutal glare holding a promise that this was a one time thing. Reader LaRusso may have been under him, taking the pounding like a bitch, but Hawk gave it to her in a way only he could because they were a lot closer than what appeared on the surface. Out in the streets, to everyone else, they were natural enemies - he teased and taunted her after all; but in private it was a Shakespearian tale as old as time.

A LaRusso and a Cobra. Tory scoffs at the idea. In their world, it would never work.

She turns and leaves them to their own devices, as Hawk kisses Reader hard. He shows her his passion through action rather than words, because a snake can spit vemon all day long, but his heart beat solely for her. Whether her admitted it or not, she knew.

[dadrock-tournament]

[bogleech]

well, you made a fighting roster for one of your favorite things, bugs, so why not do your second favorite? HALLOWEEN.....but you don't have to if you want.

I actually did that of my own accord with concept sketches once but it was two years ago so a lot of people haven't seen it.

It started when I made up a Darkstalkers fan character; a "scream queen" (type of horror movie actress in the 50's) and Bug Eyed Monster duo, with some more move ideas:

But then I decided to just make a dozen monster fighter characters of my own like it was its own distinct game and not Darkstalkers:

Mermaid who was partially eaten by people who thought it would make them immortal, instead it killed them because she was poisonous but she doesn't know that so her ghost is stuck on a revenge killing spree that can never be satisfied

Cartoon werewolf in a zoot suit and punk rock vampire with boombox coffin, I didn't come up with storyline for them, I just needed a werewolf and a vampire

Frankenstein's daughter who put her brain into her own monster in order to defend humanity against her dad's creations and other supernatural threats, I decided on this partly because I'm not really into superheroes but they're one of the top most common Halloween costumes so I tried to make a Halloweeny one that I'd like

Nurse who accidentally transfused herself with cursed mummy blood. I made this one because there's a picture I drew when I was real little of a bleeding mummy with the words "MUMMY BLOOD" on it that child-me thought was the scariest picture ever, and also because I love the (mostly Japanese) trope of medical themed mummies. Also based on the fact that "sexy nurses" are a top selling Halloween costume and then that easily ties into a Silent Hill reference. This all felt creepypasta-like so she's also like a slendersman

Old fashioned Halloween mascot pumpkin man with a vegetable ghost gang, actually the ultimate villain of the setting and a monster that eats children

"Bogeyman" fighter inspired by edgy 90's comic books, a ragdoll scarecrow grim reaper clown. She's a manifestation of the fears of children, but in the sense that she exists to destroy whatever threatens them so her main goal is to kill all other monsters and especially the pumpkin guy

Entire zombie outbreak as one fighter, represented by a cute little fungus mascot, but every fighting move is performed by zombies coming and going from the ground

shapeshifting space alien disguised as a generic housewife, the human disguise would animate like a doll being played with by invisible hands

Ideas for extra-weird, secret unlockable fighters:

Photorealistic giant insect

Vincent Price parody and all his moves are obvious special effects performed by a film crew in the background the whole time

Mysterious entity in a "morph suit" because that's become such a staple of Halloween costumes. Changes into all manner of colors and printed textures for different moves or is the token "mimic" character.

Completely normal middle aged office worker who was on his way to work when he was accidentally caught in the monster brawl, battles on the power of pure blind panic. The tournament put his name down as "I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE"

[rock-swag-tournament]

Updates!!

Well, the (first) Fun/Fictional Rock Tournament has ended, and our winner is..........THE ROCK VERSION OF EVELYN WANG IN EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE!! Sokka may have taken down the tungsten cube with his meteorite sword, but in the end, he fell to Evelyn in one of the most emotional and moving (at least to me) scenes in that whole beautiful movie.

Second update: I've been slacking on the mineral polls! Changing your anxiety medication, dropping out of your current grad program to apply for another one and also looking for jobs to do in the meantime is uhhhh stressful? But fear not, the mineral poll will resume TOMORROW! Feel free to yell at me if I don't post them :)

Third update that isn't actually an update: Seriously, submit more things to the second fun/fictional/just plain funky rock tournament! Tell your friends to fill it out. Ask your parents for suggestions. Every suggestion so far is a fantastic one and I love reading them so far. Here is the link.

[tazzertopia]

phantom troupe: do they snore?

this idea for phantom troupe hcs came to me randomly at 2:00am last night so enjoy xoxo

chrollo

-probably not unexpected but not really

-he’s generally a super quiet sleeper

-the loudest he ever is in his sleep is breathing loudly on occasion

-his lack of snoring is most likely attributed by the fact he’s a very light sleeper

-he’s one of those bitches who will wake up because the whistling of the wind was slightly louder than usual

uvogin

-his ass sounds like a heavy metal concert when he sleeps

-his snores are earth-shaking. ear-splitting. pain-inducing.

-his snores single handedly contribute to noise pollution

-think of how loud your dad snores and x1000

-if the troupe members have to share a room at any point during a mission, they will throw a whole rock paper scissors tournament to see who’s taking one for the team and sacrificing their sleep (it’s usually nobunaga)

-because covering his mouth with a sock doesn’t stop the snoring, the troupe have an emergency weighted blanket on standby

-the complete opposite of chrollo, this man could sleep in an active war zone and and not budge an inch (in other words you cannot wake his ass up by force to get him to stop snoring so the only option is to wait it out or sleep somewhere else)

pakunoda

-the most silent sleeper ever

-not even a peep from miss pakunoda

-the ideal person to share a bed with. she doesn’t snore, her breathing is inaudible and she’s extremely still

-almost unnerving in a way bc she looks dead when she sleeps

-if you were to share a bed with her you’d probably spend most of the night checking her pulse to ensure she is actually alive and breathing

phinks

-he’s one of those people who when he snores the buildup is super loud but he exhales quietly (i hope that makes sense)

-ljke the buildup is super dragged out like hhhHhhhhhhUUUHHHUUUH but the exhale is just hoooooooo !!

-idk how to express snoring via text so you may have to act it out to know what i mean

-honestly this type of snoring is arguably worse than uvogin’s bc at least his is consistent whereas phinks will give you hope that he’s finally stopped snoring until it starts up again ☹️☹️😢

-he will forever deny he snores tho

feitan

-comedic ass snore

-probably snores like mimimimimimimimi zzzzzzzzz 😴💤😴💤😴💤

-he sleeps like he should be wearing a night cap and a long night gown with a candle on his bedside table

-trying not to piss yourself laughing while he’s snoring if you’re still awake is an olympic level sport

-one time shalnark recorded him while he was snoring and showed it to him (when he was down with him, he ensured the recording was eradicated from his phone)

-ik realistically he would probably be a silent sleeper but the idea of him sounding like a whole cartoon character is actually hilarious to me

shalnark

-sleep? WHAT’S THAT? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 (get it because he’s the tech whiz so he probably stays up all night gaming lololololol XDD)

-probably a loud ass mouth breather

-like he sounds like a broken ventilator sometimes

-he sounds like he ran a lap around mt everest before bed why is he so loud

-if you pissed him off during the day he would probably amp up the volume on his breathing to prevent you from sleeping well (now we’re both mad xx)

shizuku

-for the most part very quiet

-occasionally she will jumpscare you awake by randomly snoring out of no where

-like you’ll wake up to this loud ass noise only to realise it was just shizuku

-sometimes she’ll wake up aswell and accuse you of snoring

-aside from that pretty quiet- not as ideal to share a bed with as pakunoda but fine for the most part as long as you don’t mind surprises

nobunaga

-i feel like he’d have one of those super low growly snores ???????

-like those low, shaky ones

-the ones that kinda sound like grunts

-idk if i’m making sense so i pray i am 🙏

-they’re not that bad tho bc they’re quiet enough to not keep you awake and are low-key kinda relaxing

-if you’re gonna share a bed with anyone who snores, it’s nobunaga

machi

-another generally quiet sleeper except for occasionally sighing in her sleep

-from time to time she’ll just go like huhhhhhhhh :// and then will go back to being quiet again

-don’t bring it up the next day tho bc she WILL deny it and seem embarrassed

-you can tell when she’s having a nice dream based on how often she sighs

franklin

-surprisingly quiet

-you wouldn’t expect his oversized enormous ass to be quiet but he is

-similar to chrollo, the most you’re getting out of him is some occasionally loud breathing

-aside from that he’s a quiet sleeper

bonolenov

-i feel like bc of the holes in his body he’d probably make a whistling sound in his sleep

-like a pan flute

-not the worst tho bc like nobunaga it’s low high key relaxing

-free asmr what could be better xxx

kortopi

-quiet as hell

-are we really surprised

-sorry to the two kortopi fans out there but i can’t be bothered to think of anything to add on he’s just quiet

another tazzertopia classic 💯💯💯💯 if you like these hc posts pls give me requests (idk if the ask box is visible on my profile but do it through here or via the comments) bc these are super fun, i can also do other characters too !!! if i do more i might start doing them for other shows anyways bye xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet

Chapter Twenty-Six: Busted

Summary- 5.3k. Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. Everyone is getting together for a dart tournament at Paulie's when everything is derailed before the night even starts.

Warnings- Unwanted attention from drunken men, vicious comments and name calling, fighting, police not taking the situation seriously, talk about Curtis's past and his mental health.

A/N- Thank you so much! Everyone who takes the time to like, share, comment, leave me messages and asks. Especially those who just feel seen in this storyline. You all have all my gratitude and appreciation. (let's be honest, I totally tear up and get all emotional) You all honestly are part of the reason I continue writing and sharing. Special shout out to @what-is-your-plan-today for editing. Dividers made by the talented @firefly-graphics

A/N 2- Is there an award for terrible titles? Cause I should have that trophey.

Chapter Twenty-Five / Masterlist

You, Claude and Yona drove together after getting done at the school for the week, heading straight for Paulie's. The three of you were getting ready in Yona’s car, laughing amongst yourselves as makeup was applied in the car's vanity mirrors and someone played lookout while the other changed in the backseat. While you were doing the finishing last touches on your outfit, Claude was filling you and Yona in about having her first official weekend with Sophia present. You were finishing up your lipstick while in the backseat Yona helped Claude do her hair. “How are you feeling about this weekend?” 

“I’m excited. I have a bunch of games and stuff to do with her. I just… want her to like me being around when she's with her dad?” Claude fretted a bit, glancing out the window while Yona calmly braided her long hair in an intricate pattern. 

“You don’t have much to worry about. Sophia likes just about everyone. Ella and Grey are pretty good co-parents.” You assured her. “What are you doing this weekend Yona?” 

The woman whipped a couple of ties in Claude’s hair, patting on the braids to make sure none of them were loose. “Tomorrow I’m taking Edgar to do some indoor rock climbing.” She grinned in excitement. “He claims he isn't scared of heights and it's something I love doing, so we will see.” 

“Okay, that sounds pretty cool and Yona, are you like a professional stylist?!” Claude was leaning between the seats to look in the rear view mirror at the tight curls of braids Yona made in her hair, her head tilting left and right to check them out. “I would have paid a small fortune for this at a salon.” 

Yona shrugged as if it was no big deal. “I used to do my friend's hair all the time at home. What about you?” 

“Oh, I think tomorrow we are gonna have a game night with Tanya, Timmy, Ella and I think Grey was coming around too with you and Soph?” You asked Claude and she gave a nod confirming it. “Okay, I’m ready to get inside. Are you guys?” Another glance out the window made you catch sight of Curtis’s truck in its usual place as well as quite a few other regulars and out-of-state plates, meaning it was going to be a busy night.

Which you didn’t mind, that meant Curtis would spend some of the time helping Paulie at the bar making great tips and giving you a chance to shamelessly check him out while he was working. It always made some fun flirting and usually sneaking off together much to Paulie's dismay. Claiming his place of business was reputable. 

“I'm ready,” Claude said as she pushed the door open and the three of you piled out of the car to make your way to the front door, where a group of men were just stepping out and headed back to the cars that had out-of-state plates on them. None of you paid any attention to passing the loud boisterous group till one reached out to grasp your arm, stopping you in your tracks with surprise. 

“Where you running off to sweetheart?” He flashed a grin that was supposed to be flirtatious but came off more leering than anything. It made your heart tighten, reminding you so much of Jake’s grin that he flashed whenever he had you cornered. Your eyes widened in alarm as you pulled your arm from the stranger's grasp. 

“No thank you, not interested.” You said to brush him off, going to sidestep around him to re-join Claude and Yona who just noticed that you were no longer with them. You weren’t allowed to leave though, he stepped back in front of you, blocking your way. 

“Come on, I’m just trying to be nice. You could at least give me a smile.” His gaze fell down your body. You felt sick at his gaze, taking in your figure as if he was contemplating how easy you might be. From the gleam in his eyes, he wasn’t thinking you would pass him up. 

“Let me go.” You said calmly, good at hiding the flutter of unease building. 

“Y/N… You all good?” Claude re-joined you, glaring at the man in your path as she hooked her arm through yours, making you both a joint team. 

He sneered at the two of you, his circle of friends coming to enclose the space further cutting you and Claude now off from the door. There were a few cold snickers and the heavy smell of alcohol coming off of them. 

“Yeah, let's get inside, I’m sure Grey and Curtis are expecting us.” You went to lead Claude through an opening between the strangers but that too was cut off. Over their shoulder, you saw Yona take a few steps as if to join you but then dart inside. You were sure she was going for some help. 

In the few seconds all this took place, you felt helpless. It would take too long to grab the pepper spray from the keychain in your jeans pocket and Claude was gearing up to swing a punch, you felt her practically vibrating with anger next to you. “What the fuck is wrong with you guys? Fucking dickheads, MOVE.” She snapped, pushing against one's chest to back them up a step.

He was bigger though, an unmoveable force who she bounced off.

The original prick barked out as he waved a hand towards you. “That’s the problem with the girls around here, ungrateful bitches.” He stepped in closer to you, brushing against you momentarily to make you stumble back, his hands once more catching you to pull you aggressively in while you yelled with alarm, slapping at him while losing contact with Claude. “You should be thanking me for being willing to fuck someone like you.” 

You could have sworn you felt bile roll up your stomach while his liquored breath soured the air you were breathing, panic starting to set in. 

“Let her the fuck go.” Claude yanked at you once more into her hold and you lifted your arm, throwing a punch at the drunk stranger. Your aim fell wildly off its mark but it was enough for Claude to pull you out of his reach and then a sharp roar came up behind them. You only saw a flash of Curtis’s dark face, enraged before he struck. His fist landed firmly against the back of someone's head, pitching them against one of their drunk friends. 

“Get your fucking hands off those girls.” His voice was deep with anger, while he shoved his way between you and them, his fist landing in someone's gut, making them keel over and throw up the liquor. Grey came up to block you and Claude, sending you out of the mayhem while Edgar barrelled out of the bar to help Curtis. Yona followed out right behind him to get you guys inside. 

“Someone has to help them.” You rushed, ready to go right back out but Grey caught you to pull you back into the bar. Paulie was coming out with a bat in his hands muttering to himself as he went to go outside and from the distance, police sirens could be heard. “Curtis and Edgar are outnumbered, Grey.” You said in a panic and he shook his head at letting you go back outside. Claude and Yona went around the back of the bar to search for a first aid kit. 

“Trust me, it won’t last long. Curtis and Edgar are fine.” Grey assured you, catching you from slipping around him. “This isn’t either of their first fights. Just stay, okay? Curtis would ring my neck if I let you back out there. ” He let you go and moved to slip back outside. 

“Fuck, fuck fuck.” You swore, waiting all of ten seconds to burst out of the door following Grey. Several cop's cars were flashing lights and scattered around the parking lot. Officers were dragging both Curtis and Edgar into the back of one of the cars. “Hey!” You dashed down the steps to yet again be blocked by another man. 

A sober cop this time. You glared up at him while pointing to the car you just saw Curtis and Edgar piled into. “Miss, go back inside.” 

“Why the hell are you arresting them!?” Your voice raised in question. “They saved me and my friend from being harassed and assaulted.” 

“By who?” The officer stepped aside to show the majority of the men from before bloodied and being helped up. 

“Them obviously.” You snapped. “That one blocked me from going to the bar and the rest joined in him taunting us. Fuck, he even grabbed me.” 

“Okay Miss, we can take you down to the station if you want to put in a formal statement against them.” 

“You still didn’t answer why you arrested Curtis and Edgar. Why not those men?” 

You could see the flash of irritation at you, another officer coming up to join him. “Miss, please calm down.” 

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down.” Your arms folded defensively against your chest as you kept pushing for an answer. “Why?” 

“Because Everett and Bell assaulted those men and…” He waved his hands at Paulie’s “Intoxicated.” 

“That is utter fucking bullshit.” You spat out and they narrowed their eyes at you. “Claude and I were attacked first and they haven’t been here long enough to be intoxicated. The guys who grabbed me, they’re the ones that are intoxicated!”

“That’s not your call to make Miss… What is your name?” 

“Y/N.” You snapped out. “When can they be picked up then?” You were raging now at the utter unfairness of what was going on. The men who harassed you were being treated by a few EMTs for what looked like bloody, possibly broken noses. They had all miraculously sobered up enough to put on a decent act. “Yes, I will be putting in a report on them.” You were shaking while you leaned enough to look around the cops. “THOSE ASSHOLES HARRASSED ME.” You flipped them the bird while behind you Paulie came up, bat still in hand. 

“She’s right, I just kicked them out for trying to start a fight.” 

“Yes, we are being told it was more like the other way around. That Edgar and Curtis were trying to start something inside with them and they left.” 

Paulie snorted in disgust while you rolled your eyes at them. “Bullshit, Curtis, and Edgar weren’t doing anything but hanging out at the dartboards waiting on the girls for a game. It’s a tournament night here. This lot took up the slot next to them and started in on them looking for a fight. Kicked 'em out, we all look out for each other here. It was my mistake not checking outside to see who was in the parking lot.” Paulie gave you an apologetic look. “I’m sorry Y/N, if I just followed them out, and made sure they left...” 

You put a hand on your friend's arm, smiling at him to assure him you weren’t upset. “Don’t, you had no idea they would mess with us too.”  

“Well, we will look into it, if you got cameras set up or anything.” One officer offered a way to a solution, the other looked like he wanted to be doing anything other than dealing with you and Paulie. 

“Yeah, I have some covering the front door, it should see everything that happened out here.” He motioned to go inside, the officer following him. That left you with the one who seemed to not give a shit. 

“So, I just have to go to the station to get Curtis and Edgar?” 

“We will still be keeping them overnight.” 

You wanted to continue about how ridiculous it was, but it was clear that was the most you were going to get. Turning away, you went back into the bar to grab your stuff. “They are not letting Curtis or Edgar out tonight.” You informed the group, Yona immediately grabbed her jacket to slip back on. 

“I can drive us over.” She informed. “They were arrested?” 

“Yeah, supposedly for being publicly intoxicated. And possibly assault.” Claude handed you your purse you had ditched earlier. 

“Do you want me and Grey to go?” She questioned worriedly while Grey went to dig out his car keys. 

“No, Grey you probably shouldn’t go if you have had anything to drink or else they will find some bullshit to charge you with.” You sighed in aggravation. 

He hesitated before pulling you aside. “Listen, I don’t know what Curtis has told you, but they might give you a bit of a hard time.” 

“Why?” You frowned while listening. 

“It isn’t the first time he has been arrested for fighting and it’s been quite a while but they don't let shit go.”

“Of course.” You pinched the space between your forehead and nose. “Okay, thanks. I will drop you guys a message later about what's going on.” You waved at Grey, Claude, and Paulie on your way out with Yona. 

That little dark thought lodged in your brain, wondering if Curtis was hiding his previous arrest from you all along, or was it something he simply never thought to bring up? 

Edgar paced back and forth in the cell while Curtis leaned back against the wall, one leg stretched out ahead of him and the other folded closer to him, bouncing now and then with anxious energy. They hated this, both of them but all they could do was wait it out. The likelihood they would be let go tonight was slim. Not with his previous track record. 

His eyes were closed as he pictured the look on your face as you looked up at that asshole blocking your way on purpose. You looked calm at that moment, but he could see how wide your eyes were, shining way too brightly with alarm. He had been intent on just approaching and standing the guy down, already knowing he would back down the second he saw him.

But then the bastard had stepped into your space, purposely making you stumble back in an attempt to keep yourself out of his reach, laid a hand on you and that’s when Curtis was ready to rip the man’s head off. 

Curtis did manage to lay the man flat out with the promise that if he ever laid a hand on you or any woman again, Curtis was going to rip him apart. That was when the cops showed up. Familiar faces from years ago dragging him off and slapping cuffs on him. 

‘Bout time we brought you in again.’

He ground his teeth in aggravation at the memories it dragged up, his eyes slitting to open, watching Edgar pace back and forth muttering about asshole cops. Curtis worried about how you were dealing, were you okay? He knew Claude, Grey, Yona, and Paulie would make sure you were fine, but he just kept picturing your face. Hearing you afterward calling his name as the door slammed on him. 

You looked pissed at that moment and he couldn’t help smiling at that. 

“What are you grinning at?” Edgar stopped pacing and slouched on the bench next to him, still a ball of nervous energy. 

“Just thinking about Y/N giving those officers hell.” 

Edgar laughed then, leaning back much like Curtis was. “I saw out the back window, she was mad. Not like it do us any good, but she looked like she was ready to deck him.” 

“Yeah, she did.” Curtis barked a laugh. “I don’t think I have ever seen her mad like that before.” 

“When do you think they will let us out?” 

“They won’t, not till morning at least. Public intoxication and all that.” 

“Bullshit charge, we hadn’t even finished a beer yet,” Edgar muttered in outrage, glancing around the empty cell. “I hate this.” 

“So do I.” Curtis pushed up to stretch himself out, the bench a hard unrelenting place. He would much rather be in his bed with you, soft, and warm in his arms. “Probably those bastards will just get a slap on their hand and let go too.” 

“Fuck I hope not.”

It was hours later when they were finally let go, served with papers for fines they needed to pay. Charges were dropped against them for assault, much to Curtis’surprise. You and Yona were sitting out in the lobby, both of you huddled in the uncomfortable seats, heads leaning against one another in what must have been an unrestful sleep. Edgar was gentle when he touched Yona, his hand brushing along the side of her face, whispering her name. Curtis squatted in front of your seat, letting his hands slide over yours till your eyes slipped open and you gave him a sleepy smile, sliding forward to hug around his neck. 

“Hey, I didn’t think they were ever going to let you out.” You muttered into the crook of his neck

He squeezed you back assuringly, rubbing at your back. “They like to drag ass over this stuff. You ready to go home?” 

“Please.” You pulled back to let him go and Curtis held you against him a second longer before letting you ease off the seat, pulling himself back up to a stand. In the parking lot, you said goodbye to Edgar and Yona, who were quick to promise to call later to reschedule the missed triple date at the bar but you could tell they just wanted to head home. Neither had gotten a lot of sleep that night. Curtis was relieved to see his truck already there. 

“Grey?” 

“Yeah, he said he had a spare to your house and grabbed your extra keys.” You dug them from your purse to hand over to Curtis. 

Getting in, the drive back to the house was quiet. But not the typical comfortable kind that happened between you two, more like you had something on your mind and it was worrying you, causing unspoken tension. “Did you stay there all night Honey?”

“Hmm?” You turned back towards him just as he was pulling into the driveway, next to your car. “Oh yeah, Yona was set on staying till she at least saw Edgar, and good luck getting me to leave after what happened. Every time we asked to see either of you, they had an excuse not to let us talk to you.” You paused as if collecting your thoughts. “They seemed to not like you. At all.” 

“Mmhh, yeah,” Curtis said, he wasn’t ready to elaborate and you let it die there for now. Instead, you both made your way into the house, yawning loudly as you looked at the time. 

“Good morning, about the time I typically wake up.” You chuckle and Curtis rubbed at his face, making himself go cross-eyed a bit. 

“How about today we nap in bed instead, take a real lazy day?” 

“I could really go for that.” You shrugged out of your jacket and hung it up, offering to take his. 

“Deal, you wanna go get comfy upstairs and I will be up with some snacks?” Curtis offered. 

“I can make you something if you want?” You hesitated at the foot of the stairs, thinking out loud. “I have those veggies diced up and you got eggs, I saw them in there yesterday. I could make us western omelets.”

Curtis shook his head, directing you back towards the stairs. “Nope, I got it. Go shower if you want and get comfy… wear that tee of mine I love so much?” 

You went up a few steps, twisting to face him while still inching up the steps, grinning. “That and what else?” 

“Absolutely fucking nothing.” He gave a feral grin, even as tired as he was and you laughed while finishing going up the stairs. Curtis heard the house's old pipes groan, signaling you started your shower. It gave him plenty of time to get some of the quick easy snacks he had in the house. Grabbing some of Sophia’s granola bars, a bag of your favorite goldfish, his stash of Oreo cookies, and some other randoms he found in the pantry. Then he was sure to make you a cup of your favorite tea with generous dollops of honey to sweeten it to your liking. He took a quick sip, making sure it was how you liked it. 

Curtis finally made it upstairs where his bed never looked so good. Especially with a few of your clothes littered on it from where you undressed to shower. Dropping the snacks at the foot of the bed, he heard you turn the water off, steam flowing from out of the shower. Yanking off his shirt and pants, he walked into the bathroom in his boxers, preparing the tub for himself while you stood at the mirror doing a few last-minute things. 

“There’s a cup of tea on your nightstand Honey.” He brushed a kiss to your still bare shoulder, the towel firmly wrapped around you while you rubbed some of your lotion on your face and down your neck. 

“Thanks Curtis, water should be plenty hot. I was quick.” You smiled at him in the mirror while he shed the last of his clothes and slipped in behind the curtain. 

You finished what you were doing, sure to clean the sink off while listening to the water splash around Curtis, now and then the curtain would move with his movements. You retreated from the bathroom before he finished, crawling up on the bed and letting yourself lean back into the pillows. 

There was a lot to take in over the past several hours. Something you hadn’t let yourself ponder on till now when it was all said and done. You hated the doubt that crept in, the way Curtis had gone after all those men without any hesitation or fear, then Grey making mention that Curtis had been in trouble before. It wasn’t that you thought of Curtis as being violent, not towards you in the least and you had only heard him lose his temper with Edgar at Halloween. But Jake was always such a nice guy until he wasn’t and you never would have guessed that from him. You knew him your whole life, your father and his were partners in their consultation firm. 

But then one day it started and you always allowed it to continue while lying to yourself to be okay with it. As much as you loved Curtis, more than you ever felt for Jake, you couldn’t be that way with someone again. 

Curtis came back out, this time dressed in his plaid pajama bottoms and a faded old tee, ready to crawl into bed next to you. You took an appreciative sip of the tea that he made, letting the warm liquid calm you down a bit more while Curtis slipped into the bed next to you, making a grab for the snacks he had brought up and deposited them on the nightstand, grabbing a couple of oreo cookies and flipping one into his mouth. 

“Thank you for coming to get me at the station Honey.” He finally said, breaking the silence in the room while offering you his other cookie. 

You took it, nibbling on it a second before setting everything in your hands aside. “As I said, after seeing the way those officers were acting, I wasn’t about to leave you there.” 

“They dropped the charges surprisingly,” Curtis admitted while leaning back against the pillows, his hand coming up to your back and tracing patterns in it while he started to relax for the first time. “I wasn’t expecting that.” 

You let yourself sink into the feeling of his fingers on you, making your body slowly loosen from his touch, you were soon easing back and curling up next to him, your hand sliding against his chest while he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you into his side. “They had to drop them after Yona and I went down to fill out our reports against that group, Claude will be going in later today, she told me to do the same thing. Between us and Paulie pulling up his security videos, they weren't able to make anything solid stick. Keeping you overnight was just a way to hold you and Edgar for a while longer." You frowned with frustration.  

Curtis tilted forward to press an affectionate kiss to your forehead, scooping you in closer to him.

"It should have never fucking happened. You, Yona, and Claude should be able to walk across a parking lot at any time." 

You felt the tip of his fingers lift your chin so you looked up at him, the sheer concern in his expression, the way his eyes were a wide blue boring into you, you yet again felt foolish over your concern that this man would in any way hurt you. “Curtis…” You twisted to your hip to face him, letting there be a bit of space between you so you could comfortably look at him to talk. "Yes, I was scared at the moment, but I knew you were close.” 

“Mmmh, They will probably just get a slap on the wrist and nothing further than that.” He practically growled and you let your hand raise to smooth the worried lines in his forehead. 

“Unfortunately that is probably gonna be the case. I hope that they learned a lesson in what the word ‘No’ means though. You and Edgar left them quite a few reminders” You let your hand drop once his forehead smoothed out. “But Grey said that you were familiar with the cops picking you up?” You hesitated, not wanting to bring up his past like this, but you had to know. 

Curtis nodded a bit to confirm. “I can’t say the local Duluth precinct and I are on the best of terms. Of course, this was many years ago, but bar fights weren’t an uncommon thing for me.

You stayed quiet, intent on letting him continue with whatever he wanted to share. “As a young man… I was angry? Lost and unsure of myself, my grandparents did an amazing job being my parents. But I was still mad at the world for having never gotten to have that time with my mom and dad, I never got to see Tyler grow into the man he should have been. I had so many what-ifs built in me. Lillian and Wilford tried to help me, but you know when you are young you miss what is right in front of you.” 

“So all this anger, it turned into fighting?” 

“It did, I would get into it with other people. Looking for it I guess would be the best way to put it. It was the only thing that made me feel good.” He glanced at you worriedly but you kept your features neutral. “I don’t know if I’m explaining it right, I was an angry young man. I’m glad you didn’t know me then.” 

“Hey, we all have our shit, right?” You said with a gentle smile. “Keep going, what happened?” 

“I hit rock bottom. Had to spend some time at a minimum security prison. Not long, but it was several months. My Gram came to visit me several times, and my grandfather did a couple of times. But it was easy to see how disappointed he was. I hated it, I was ashamed of how low I went with it. The judge released me and I went to Nam for a more permanent job.” His fingers flowed up and down your arm, making pleasured sensations settle in you, retaining that connection even while you two were separated a bit to face each other. “Sent me to training and I started from the bottom up. Grandpa was retired by then so I worked up to his position.” 

“You must have wanted the change to work that hard Curtis.” You wiggled a bit closer. “Did all those feelings, the anger… they stop?” 

“Um, I channeled them in a new way. Grey and I were friends during this time, he was always trying to get me to go with him to his uncle's gym, just beyond the school called Big Jon Boxing.

When I got out, I finally took him up on the offer. Big Jon taught me some boxing, tossed me in the ring to punch and kick out all those feelings.” 

You half pushed up, leaning on an elbow. “You’re just sharing with me that you can box?” 

Curtis laughed, shrugging a shoulder. “Yeah, pretty good at it too, not to brag.” 

“Do you still go?” You eased down again, now back in his side, curling a leg through his. 

“I haven’t in a while, not since last summer. Grey was telling me Big Jon was asking when I’m coming back.” 

“So since you met me?” You huffed out, making Curtis chuckle again. 

“Well, I also have some equipment down in the cellar for when I couldn’t go. But yeah… I haven’t felt the need to.” 

You smiled a bit to yourself, it was hard not to feel a bit of pride that Curtis didn’t need such an outlet. Your hand slipped under his tee, tracing your fingertips on his belly, sinking into your thoughts. “Would you go back?” 

“Of course, it is like another home, much like Paulie’s is. I just… haven’t. Actually, in light of what happened, would you like to go?” 

“Me? To a gym?” You wrinkled your nose, the idea of it making you wildly self-conscious. Gym’s always felt like a nightmare, all those fit people and then there is you. You tried, in the past. You went to Jake’s gym using his membership. Always when he was at work, not that he ever said anything, but you could tell that he was embarrassed to see you struggling with the equipment. 

“Yes you Honey. We can teach you some self-defense moves in case you ever feel unsafe or have to be alone.” His hand was assuring on your side, all while his belly flexed under your fingertips. You felt him grasp at the back of your thighs, easing you over him till you were straddling him, leaning against his chest till you pushed up to a sit, using your knees folded under you to keep from leaning too heavily against him. Underneath you he looked perfectly relaxed and content, waiting on you to sort through your doubts and fears about going to the gym. “You could knock Edgar out next time he pisses you off.” He smirked at you and you couldn’t help the little amused smile you gave at your friend's expense. 

“So tempting, but…” 

“But what Honey.” His hands slipped up the bare part of your thighs to grasp gently on your hips and ease you to relax against him. “Tell me.” 

“It’s the gym, full of beautiful fit people.” 

“Nah, this is a cool gym. It’s for everyone.” Curtis said. His hands flexed against your hips, making him smirk a bit up at you. “I could buy you all those hot leggings too. All the leggings.” His eyes glinted up at you wickedly, making you feel heat flush your face and down your chest, your heart race in excitement and apprehension. 

“I have leggings already Curtis, you don’t have to buy me more.” 

“I know and you are always fucking hot in them.” He slipped a hand up your back to lightly grasp the back of your neck, pulling you in close for his mouth to find yours, drawing you into a heated kiss as he set out to prove just what he felt when seeing you in those leggings. Being tired completely forgotten when he flipped you to your back and hovered over you, chaining kisses down your neck and working your shirt up while you did the same with his to toss it away for the rest of the day.