#it’s ok it’ll make when he laughs for the first time in the story more special

[skkpaws]

asagiri rlly dropped that tecchou hasn’t laughed since he was a baby and that he is 6’1 in the same page. it’s like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole like he’s tall but WHAT DO YOU MEANNNN HE HASNT LAUGHED SINCE HE WAS A BABY?

[discordantwritings]

Guiding Star (Jinbe x Reader)

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, gn afab! reader, monsterfucking, Jinbe has two dicks, oral sex (m receiving), double penetration, belly bulge, Jinbe talks you through it

WC: 4.6k

Summary: You have a big, giant, fat crush on your newest crew mate, Jinbe. You don’t hold out any hope that he likes you back but you’ve been convinced you should at least give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe he does like you back.

Notes: if jinbe is OOC I’m sorry but I watched every clip and video I could get my hands on. I just had to write some monsterfucking ok? Ok.

It’s embarrassing how much you’ve been staring at the newest crew member. But how could you not?

Jinbe, former warlord and knight of the sea was now the helmsman for the Thousand Sunny and you found him occupying your thoughts quite frequently. At first you were intimidated by him- incredibly tall stature and his battle prowess left nothing to the imagination of what he could do to anyone who got in his way. But as you saw him around the ship and his interactions with your fellow straw hats you saw a different side of him.

He was kind, he was polite, and the way his laugh boomed through the decks always made you smile. It was like he’d been a crew member for years now, fitting right into everyone’s routine effortlessly. You hadn’t talked to him one on one a lot but every time you did it was a wonderful conversation. If he let you you could probably sit and listen to his stories for hours on end.

And there was… well…

He was hot.

Sure, maybe he wasn’t everyone’s taste but you honestly couldn’t wrap your head around why more people weren’t swooning over him. He was at least three feet taller than you and almost entirely muscle. Not that he looked it but when he easily hefted barrels over his shoulder like it was nothing you could only imagine what it would be like to be picked up and maneuvered around so easily. And when he lets his kimono fall past his shoulders and simply knot around his waist letting his broad shoulders and wide chest out-

God.

You were spending too much time around Sanji.

You honestly don’t mean to be a pervert. You spend a lot of time kicking yourself internally for how far your brain has traveled into the gutter. Most days you try not to spend too much time around the fishman, worrying that he will catch you staring or pick up on your feelings. That would just ruin everything- you might like him but chances are he wouldn’t return the emotions.

“You’re thinking about him again.” Robin’s voice startles you out of your thoughts and you whip around to see her standing there, arms crossed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You try to play it off, but Robin is clearly not having it.

“You have that love struck yet sad look on your face.” Robin states as she sits down next to you. “You’re thinking about a certain helmsman.”

You sigh. Robin had picked up on your crush probably before you did. It was nice to have someone to confide in but it was still embarrassing. “Maybe I am…”

“How many times do I have to tell you to just go talk to him?”

“See it sounds easy when you say it like that but you know it’s more complicated.” You sink back into the bench, arms folded.

“And avoiding a fellow crew member and constantly moping around isn’t making things complicated?” You cringe because of course she is right.

“But…” You lean onto Robin’s shoulder. “What if he doesn’t like me. I mean- it’s more likely that he doesn’t like me than he does really considering…” The whole human and fishman thing.

“You don’t know that. And even if he turns you down he’s a kind and understanding individual. He would never hold it against you.”

“You’re so smart…” You mumble into her shoulder.

“Yes, yes.” Robin pats your head. “Now what do you think about talking to him tonight.”

You shoot upright. “Tonight? That’s so soon I don’t-“

“He’s going to be up late redirecting our course so you can approach him when no one else is around. And it’ll be on deck so you can run away if anything happens.”

You think it over. Of course that seems like a good plan. But could you actually go through with it?

“Fine.” You relent, sagging back into the bench. “Tonight.”

“Good.” Robin claps her hands together. “This will be great. Trust me.”

And you do trust her. Enough to let the anxiety stir in your stomach for the rest of the day as you waited for the hours to pass by. Dinner was awkward for you, Robin shooting you looks as you tried not to make eye contact with anyone, afraid people will see how nervous you were. But dinner was over fast enough and everyone slowly made their way to bed. All except you and Jinbe. Slowly making your way up to the helm under the light of the stars you saw him.

Seeing him at the wheel sent a wave of calm over you. He was always so capable and you know that your crew and the Thousand Sunny were safe in his capable hands. Jinbe must have sensed you hovering as he glances over your way. A large smile comes over his face when he realizes it’s you.

“You’re up late.” He comments, not fully turning away from his duty but keeping an eye on you.

“Oh, yeah, just…” You walk the final strides to be next to him- not close by any means but average conversation distance. Hopefully. “Wanted to talk.”

“Oh?” Jinbe drops one hand from the helm to face you properly. When his attention is on you you feel your heartbeat quicken and your nerves rise.

“I uh… I’m really not sure how to say this…” You can’t make eye contact with him, eyes glued to the planks of the deck.

“If I’ve done something to offend you-“ Jinbe sounds concerned and that sends a pant of guilt through you.

“No! Nothing like that actually-“ You take a deep breath. You just had to rip off the bandaid. “I like you. In a romantic capacity.”

You want to fling yourself off the deck and let the ocean take you for how awkward that just sounded. Still unable to look at him you’re left wondering what is going through his head as silence hangs in the air.

“Ah. I understand.” Finally comes Jinbe’s response. It’s just what you’re expecting, something small and polite that hints that you should drop it. Of course. At least it’s over now and you-

“I feel the same way.”

What?

Your eyes dart up from the deck to Jinbe’s face and you see him smiling wide, all teeth. You search for some hint of a joke or deception but can’t find it. He turns his attention back to the helm, turning it ever so slightly and leaving you to flounder.

“Oh. Okay then.” Was all you could think to say, standing there wondering what the hell just happened.

The sound of the water lapping against the boat was barley audible over your own heartbeat thrumming in your ears. Do you go now? Do you stand here? Are you supposed to be saying something?

“Do you want to see something?” Jinbe’s deep voice grabs you out of your thoughts to see him looking down at you. You nod, and he steps back from the helm and motions for you to take his place.

With slight hesitation you step behind the wheel. You feel him move behind you and you realize when you hear his voice next to your ear that he’s kneeled down.

“So if you look up here…” His hand travels past your shoulder, pointing. “Do you see that bright star?”

He’s so close you can feel the warmth of his breath on your neck and you have to purposefully slow your breathing. You follow his finger and look up into the night sky. It takes you a second to find it amongst the hundreds of brilliant lights but eventually you do- one shining just a bit brighter than the rest.

“I think I do.” You whisper, not trusting yourself to speak louder.

“That’s the star that navigators use to anchor everything. Nami and I split the job of directing the ship but she always gives me directions in relation to that star. Almost every single person on this world uses that star to guide them.”

You’ve heard mention of this star before, being on the sea for as long as you had, but the way he explains it to you and how he’s practically surrounding you while he does so is a whole new experience. “Wow.”

“It’s one of those things I remember when we all get so caught up in our differences. We all have more in common than we might think. We all have the same stars.” His hand falls and it skims your side as it does so and you shiver.

“That’s beautiful.” You say, still staring up at the stars.

“Not quite as beautiful as you.” His voice had dropped an octave and the way it reverberated through your chest made your breath hitch.

“You can’t just say things like that.” You know your face is completely flushed from his words and how damn close he was to you.

“Why not? I thought you liked me.” His tone was teasing and you huffed.

“Yes- but- this is all so embarrassing.” You bury your hands in your face, mortified about how poorly you were handling everything.

You felt large hands gently turn you around and you wanted to retract further out of sheer embarrassment. Even though you have your eyes screwed shut under your hands you still feel his gaze on you.

“You’re going to have to look at me at some point.” You can hear the humor in his voice and you suck in a breath and drop your hands.

He’s on one knee in front of you but his face is still a bit higher than yours. It’s closer than it’s ever been before and you find yourself scanning his face and taking in every detail. The way his fangs shine in the moonlight, his smooth blue skin, and the deep scar across his right eye. You can even see a faint blush creep over his cheeks, a deep purple against light blue.

“If I didn’t know any better I would think you’d never seen a fishman before.” He says, taking you out of your trance.

“I just- you’re so handsome.” You admit, finally able to lock eyes with him.

“It’s not often people say that to me.” It’s his turn to break away from your gaze.

“I don’t understand that at all. But maybe I am glad no one snatched you up before I could.” You feel emboldened by seeing his reaction to your compliment.

“Just maybe?” Jinbe’s eyes find yours again as his hand finds your shoulder. You lean into the touch as his thumb rubs small circles into your skin.

“I’m really glad no one snatched you up before I could. And also that you like me as well.”

“You really thought I wouldn’t?” His motions don’t cease and you feel your nerves leaving you.

“I really did. I mean I was terrified you would think I was some pervert or something.” You admit.

“Pervert? Why?” He sounds genuinely confused.

“Well- I mean-“ You shift on your feet slightly. “I might have been staring at you. A lot.”

“Hm? Really now?” A finger comes up to your face and brushes across your cheek. “And while you were staring… what would you think about.”

His words make your stomach twist in anticipation and your breath quickens as you debate what to say. You could play it off, say something that would leave him thinking you were more put together than you were but with the way he’s looking at you…

“A lot of things. Mostly about how big and strong you are. How it would feel to touch you- be touched by you.” Once you started speaking the words just tumbled out. You searched Jinbe’s face for a reaction and are relieved to see him break into a huge smile.

“This might be too forward of me- and tell me if it is- but I could touch you. If you’d like.” He was so polite and so kind.

You lean into his hand, still on your face. “I would really love that.”

“Perfect!” His voice followed by a booming laugh makes you giggle. He stands up and you remember just how tall he is, butterflies fluttering in your stomach. “Hold on.”

You’re confused for a second before Jinbe easily scoops you up and throws you over his shoulder. You let out a small yelp that devolves into more giggles as you’re carried off. Even though you’re facing backwards you can tell where he’s going pretty fast- taking the ladder up to the crow’s nest. Typically unoccupied at this time of night it’s the one place on the ship you two could get some privacy.

He slides you off his shoulder gently and you have to take a second to reorient yourself. While you balance, Jinbe sits down on one of the benches and waits patiently for you. Once you collect yourself you take the few steps over to Jinbe, slotting yourself between his wide legs so you can get as close to him as possible. You pause, face hovering only inches from his as your eyes scan his face.

“You sure?” He asks softly, a finger moving a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Yes.”

He looks at you for a moment more before finally moving in to kiss you.

It was unlike any other kiss you’d had before. His lips were surprisingly soft and smooth as they pressed against yours gently. He moved slowly and he was able to keep his tusks from scraping you. You felt their presence though, cool and hard on the sides of your mouth. The kiss was was everything you thought it would be and more.

You found yourself leaning into him, supporting yourself on his shoulders as large hands came to gently hold you at your sides. His hands encompass your waist and heat pools in your stomach at that fact.

You loose track of time kissing him as your hands and his explore each others bodies. His skin is smooth and cool under your touch, different but not unwelcome. Rough fingertips find your skin just under your shirt, raising it up a few inches just so he can feel you. The two of your drift like this for what feels like hours until the heat under your skin builds up and you need more.

“Jinbe-“ You whine as you break away from the kiss.

“Hm? What do you need?” He asks, his thumb rubbing circles into your hip.

“Can I-“ You fight through the embarrassment and sink down to your knees in front of him. Your hands smooth over his thighs as you look up at him. His eyes are wide in surprise and lust and you see his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

“You don’t have to. It’s…” He trails off but your hands are at the knot in his kimono, slowly untying.

“I want to. Please?” You bat your eyes and he’s gone. He nods and you finish your work on the knot and gently part the fabric.

Of course you had thought about what he would look like. Rumors about what fishmen genitalia looked like always hung around but you never met anyone with first hand experience, no one you would trust to actually have a real story. You had ideas, hopes maybe, but what was sitting in front of you was beyond what you imagined.

Mostly because there was two of them.

Two smooth members were erect and flush against Jinbe’s stomach. Starting off thinner and tapering to impossibly thick at the base they look like they could have been one larger cock before being split down the middle. Just one of them was far larger than anything you’ve ever seen and both of them together? Well you know there’s no possible way all of him will fit inside you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t want whatever your body could possibly take.

“Like I said- you don’t have to-“ Jinbe’s slightly nervous voice sounds above you and you realize you’ve probably been staring for a while.

“No!” You answer, embarrassingly eager. “This is-“

You can’t find the proper words so you decide to show him.

Taking the right one into your hand you press a kiss to the very base, enjoying the way he shuddered under your touch. You continued upward, pressing sloppy kisses and leaving his cock slick with your saliva. After thorough attention you repeated your actions on the other. You watch as Jinbe’s hands fist in the fabric pool around his thighs, relishing in the small grunts and groans you are able to get out of him.

Satisfied with your preparation you bring both your hands around both his members, pushing them together as you slowly pump down and then back up. You hold your hands there and take both tips into your mouth. Above you Jinbe hisses and you feel one of his hands shoot up to the back of your head. He just holds it there, fingers weaving into your hair but you know he’s holding himself back.

Your tongue swirls around the tips as you take more into your mouth. You don’t get far but that doesn’t seem to matter to Jinbe as you feel his fingers grip your hair tighter as you work. Pulling off you stop holding the two together and instead gently maneuver them apart, running your tongue down through the gap as your hands gently worked up and down.

“Fuck-“ You don’t think you’d ever heard Jinbe swear before but the husk in his voice sends a fresh wave of heat to your core. “You feel so good.”

His encouragement is all you need. You take just one of his cocks in your mouth this time and you’re able to take him farther down. Flattening out your tongue and relaxing your throat you’re able to take almost half of him down your throat. His hand grips your hair tighter but doesn’t hold you down and the slightly pain of having your hair pulled keeps you grounded. You keep him there as long as you can until you have to pull yourself off, saliva running down your chin as you pant for air. As you catch your breath Jinbe’s hand smooths over your hair and you hear Jinbe whispering soft praises to you. Finally ready, you take a deep breath and repeat your motions to the other cock as you slowly pump the one covered in your saliva. When you go to switch back the hand at your head stops you, gently directing your gaze up.

“Get back up here.” The soft but firm command has you standing up immediately and he pulls you into a kiss.

There’s more heat in it this time as his hands move from your waist, over your ass, and to your thighs. With little effort he lifts you up and onto his lap, never breaking the kiss. You feel his hands come up and around to the waistband of your pants and you get the message. Reaching down you quickly unbutton and shove them down along with your underwear, maneuvering yourself so you can get them off and fling them to the side somewhere. You hover over his lap and with your knees on his thighs you remain face to face with him.

One of Jinbe’s hands stays at your waist, holding you in place while the other finally dips down between the two of you to where you need him most. Cool calloused fingers find your folds and he hums appreciatively.

“Soaking wet just from pleasuring me?” He smiles and you bury your face into his shoulder, embarrassed.

You feel his fingers part your folds and you feel the press of one large finger at your entrance. It has no trouble sliding in with how soaked you are. You moan into his shoulder and your arms come up to latch around his thick neck. The finger gently pushes in and out of you, the slick sounds filling the space.

“I have to ask.” His voice reverberates in your chest. “Do you want me inside you?”

“Please Jinbe.” You’re surprised at how needy you sound, practically whining.

“Then I’ll need to work you open.” Even just that promise has your breaths coming heavier.

A second finger finds its way to your entrance, gently sliding in next to the first. You already feel full and wonder what exactly you’ve gotten yourself into. But when he slowly scissors his fingers open you forget everything.

“Jinbe-“ Your fingernails can’t dig into his thick skin but that doesn’t stop you from trying.

“I know, I know.” He presses a kiss to your cheek. “You’re taking my fingers so well.”

You moan at his words as he continues to slowly work you open. It’s not too much longer before you feel a third finger threatening to join the other two.

“You can take it, just relax.” You do your best, taking deep breaths as a third thick finger enters you, making you feel impossibly full. His words, the slow but calculated actions, the feeling of fullness, it’s all too much.

“Jinbe- I’m- fuck-“ You stutter out unable to fully form a sentence.

“It’s ok, just let go. It’s alright just relax.” The hand on your hip runs gently over your side and you fall apart.

“That’s it. So good for me.” Jinbe whispers into your ear, his fingers still slowly working in and out of you through your orgasm. You press kisses to his shoulder as he keeps moving inside you, continuing to stretch you out.

“I need-“ You’re cut off by your own moan as Jinbe’s fingers hit that spot deep inside you.

“Tell me what you need love.”

You groan in frustration and pleasure. “You- I need you inside me please.”

“Anything you want.” His fingers pull out of you and you whine at the loss.

You look down between your bodies and see him take both of his dicks into his hand, using your slick to coat them. Mesmerized and a bit intimidated you stare down as both tips get aligned with your entrance.

“You don’t have to do this, it’s ok if we stop here.” His thoughtful words make you look into his eyes and you shake your head.

“No, I want this, as much as I can take.” You press a kiss to his mouth that he eagerly takes.

You have to pull away from his mouth as he enters you, one hand guiding himself and the other hand on your hip slowly pushing you down. Your mouth hangs open as you feel him enter you, stretching you out already. Focusing on your breathing you rest your forehead on Jinbe’s shoulder as you slowly sink further down.

“That’s it just breathe. You’re taking me so well.” You can hear a strain in his voice signaling that this is effecting him just as much as it is you.

“You’re- fuck-“ You swear loudly as you feel him gently touch your cervix. “That’s-“

“I feel it, it’s alright, I’ve got you.” Jinbe holds you up with one hand, allowing you to take the strain off your legs. You know you aren’t taking all of him in you, still a few inches away from his base.

The stretch feels impossible- like you’re about to split down the middle. You would be lying if you said it didn’t hurt, but you breathed through that pain and with soothing words from Jinbe in your ear you slowly begin to relax. Face still buried in Jinbe’s shoulder, you feel the hand not holding you come around to your front and a calloused finger presses against your clit. You try to say something, but you can’t form words, only moans and whines into the smooth skin of his shoulder.

“It’s okay love just let go.” He rubs slow circles into your clit.

“I don’t-“ You whine, embarrassed how fast you are already at your edge again.

“I want you to let go. Come apart on me. Just for me.” His words are like honey and you can’t help but grind on his finger pushing yourself over the edge.

“That’s it that’s-“ Jinbe groans as he feels your walls flutter around him. “You feel so good around me- so good.”

You push yourself up a bit so you can look at Jinbe. His face is just as flushed as yours, stormy eyes dilated with lust. “‘m ready.”

Jinbe nods and slowly lifts you up and you feel every inch dragging out of you before he lowers you back down. You watch Jinbe’s jaw go slack and you feel a a tinge of pride knowing he’s just as effected as you are. Watching his face you see his gaze go down between the two of you. The hand not moving you skates up over your stomach and you look down.

Underneath Jinbe’s palm you see your stomach bulge out with every thrust. His palm presses down against the bulge and it’s a sensation you’ve never felt before and both you and Jinbe moan loud.

“See me filling you up? You’re taking me so well watch-“ His voice is breathier and faster and you know he is getting closer to falling apart.

You’re mesmerized, watching him go in and out of you, seeing and feeling the stretch. You don’t know how your body will ever be the same after this, how anyone else could ever compare when you’ve been pushed to impossible limits by Jinbe.

“You like that don’t you?” Jinbe says, feeling the way your walls flutter as you watch him. “Are you close? I’m almost there-“

“Yes- shit I’m close-“ You tangle your hands in Jinbe’s hair, gripping right to ground yourself.

“You feel so good falling apart around me- need to feel that again- can you do that? Just for me love?” He moves you faster up and down as he pleads with you and for the third time tonight you cum.

Almost completely out of your body you still feel Jinbe moving in and out of you, still chasing his end. His careful movements stutter and you know he’s almost there.

“Jinbe- I want you to finish inside me- please-“ You whine, overstimulated but still needy.

That seems to be all he needed and you feel him thrust up into you one last time before releasing inside you. You feel him filling you up an impossible amount, his cum already spilling out of you and dripping down below.

He gently pulls you off of him and holds you close, a hand smoothing your hair as he whispers praises to you as you regain your senses. It’s not long before he’s standing up with you still in his arms and before you know it you’re in the showers and Jinbe is carefully washing you off in the warm water.

By the time you’re cleaned up you feel alright to stand, wrapping yourself in a bathrobe as you cling to Jinbe’s side. You know he has to go back to his watch but you don’t want to leave him and he senses that.

“You can stay with me, if you’d like.” He offers as the two of you walk out of the showers. You nod and he immediately picks you up again, carrying you back to the helm.

He sits on the bench of the deck, leaning back as you curl up and get comfortable in his arms. Under the stars and in the arms of your new lover you fall asleep, excited for what your new relationship will hold.

[musings-ofthe-unamused]

Comfort (Genshin Impact)

Characters: Diluc, Itto, Tighnari, Zhongli

Warnings: None

Diluc:

We all know Diluc has a giant soft side that he shows with a cool face and even tone

When you’re having trouble, whether it’s stress, anxiety, or having a fight with someone, he will dole out comfort in the way he knows best

His voice is gentle, his eyes stay on you, and he will check in on you to make sure you’re ok

“I just…I don’t know what to do! I’m already so stressed, and they keep piling more and more onto me!”

Diluc hummed, sliding in the seat next to you. He set a glass in front of you. You took it and chugged it down. After you did, you slammed the cup down and sighed.

“Grape juice? I think I would prefer alcohol in this situation.”

“Don’t rely on that to make you feel better. You can rely on me instead.”

Diluc’s arm wrapped around your shoulder and you leaned your head on his shoulder. He was warm and his hand massaged your skin. 

Itto:

Itto is the type to try and distract you as much as possible

You’ll play games, hang out with the gang, and Itto will even get himself in trouble just to see you smile

Physical affection is also a go to. If you’re ok with it’ll, he’ll cling onto you and won’t let go until every ounce of bad emotions are gone from your body

You squinted as Itto placed down a card, a confident smirk on his face. You tried not to laugh as you placed down your own cards, effectively defeating him in one blow. TCG was a recent hobby of Itto’s that he had gotten you into. Too bad that he seemed to suck.

“I win!” You cheered, raising your arms in the air.

Itto groaned. “Damn it! How are you so good at this?”

“Hehehe,” You straightened your back, a proud smile on your face. “I’m just a natural.”

“Teach me, Master.”

Itto crawled over to you and clung to you. You giggled and tried pushing him away. Instead of letting you go, he dragged you down and wrapped his arms around you. His grip was iron tight as you struggled to break free.

“Let me go!” You laughed.

“Nope!”

“Why??”

“Are you feelin better? He murmured into your ear.

“Yes. Now will you let me go?”

Tighnari:

can you tell I’m obsessed with him Tighnari is the type to give you well meaning advice 

His tone is always positive and there’s something about the way he talks that easily calms you down

Tighnari will talk the problem out with you. Once it’s all done he’ll say something along the lines of

“There you go! You didn’t need me at all.”

Tears streamed down your face as you sniffled, turning away from Tighnari. It was embarrassing to me seen like this. When you first came to him, you just wanted some advice, but somehow found yourself breaking out crying.

“I’m sorry,” You sniveled. “I didn’t mean to cry.”

He used this thumb to gently wipe away the tears. “It’s alright. Are you feeling ok?”

You shook your head and held back the urge to cry harder.

“That’s alright. Let’s take a deep breath. With me now.”

Tighnari grabbed your hands as the two of you slowly breathed together. Your breaths were shaky, but eventually, the tears came to a stop. He gave you a soft smile.

Zhongli:

Zhongli, my beloved, has two ways to comfort you

The first is being introspective. It can get overwhelming, but he means well

The second way is inviting you over for some tea. He’ll tell you some stories and by the time he’s done, you’ve completely forgotten what you were upset about

You set your now empty cup down on the table and leaned back on the couch, humming happily. Zhongli sat next to you, his cup still full and steaming.

“Did you enjoy the tea?”

You nodded. “It was delicious. Thank you.”

“I’m glad,” He cleared his throat. “Tea is good for relaxation and emptying natural stressor from the body. There was a tale that I recall, about the discovery of the effects of tea.”

As Zhongli dived into the story, you felt your eyes growing heavy. You didn’t find the story boring. But the mixture of the warm tea, the softness of the couch, and the deep tones of his voice, you found yourself falling asleep. Zhongli didn’t mind. His voice got softer and softer until you were finally asleep. He picked you up, holding you securely. It had seemed like you hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in ages, so he chose a tea specifically for insomnia. It was what you needed.

“Sleep well.”

[holdinbacksecrets]

seventeen: i don’t understand but i luv u (he loves you)

seungcheol: the table is set for dinner. you forgot the bottle of wine— does wine go with pizza? check the fridge for beer. ok, better. watch the length of his neck while he tips his head back for the first, long-awaited swig. laugh because it’s so clear he needed that and ask what happened today. but nothing has happened yet. it’s what he’s about to say… wine goes with everything, especially hard to swallow love.

soonyoung: hold your breath. close your eyes. count to ten. exhale. apologize. please, don’t cry. wait. let the elevator doors close first. hide the breakdown from his view. keep his memory in the dark so he believes the lie.

seokmin: you feel the energy shift in the room. the way his face falls pierces your heart, and you want to take it all back. you want to rewind time for a moment, just a moment, and collect your shared rejection because fear and anxiety win sometimes. this isn’t about love not existing in you for him. it’s about you and a shameful talent you’ve acquired: not allowing yourself to take the chance. a chance that could bring joy and passion, love and peace. you’d rather want what you can’t have than yearn for what’s been lost.

mingyu: he’s holding your hand. he parked the car, but the headlights continue to shine. you lean over to twist them off, mumbling something about your neighbors and the late hour the night has reached. he mumbles an apology. you rest your head against the window. you should leave now. rejection feels uncomfortably sticky immediately, and you can imagine this is far from enjoyable for him. but you want to stay in the space that holds his love because you can’t help but think it’ll never embrace you again. it will never hold you delicately, be smoothed against the back of your hand in the soft act his thumb performs. once you pull your hand away, that’s it. once you open the passenger door, the charge that only arrives with love will be swept away into the late hour’s breeze. you’ll meet his gaze through the window and share a look with too many emotions existing in each other’s eyes to possibly unravel before you head inside.

seungkwan: when a man tells you you remind him of the moon, know that means he’s in love with you. when a man sprinkles his feelings at your feet like breadcrumbs, know the destination he wants to reach is you. when a man wraps the cold stories that hurt his heart around you because you make them warmer, know he’s never felt safer. when you admire a man beyond what words can explain, you have to tell him the truth. out with it, darling.

chan: you wish he would have waited. a week. a month. until tomorrow morning. maybe you would have become a different person if he waited because you want it to be right— feel that it is. you want your body to glow, your spirit to fly. you want his lips to look divine. damn it, why didn’t he just wait? you could have met him in the love, made more together… god dammit.

[moon-sang]

Could you add a little more to your 3AM prompt? I feel like it could be a gooooood one shot! :)

36 Days

Din Djarin x GN!Reader

Ok, you guys win, I’ll write my idea :>

Please tell me if there are any gender indications, so. I can change it to gender neutral

SUMMARY: You and Mando have a huge fight. (Happy ending)

WARNINGS: Fighting, angst, nightmares, mature language, pls tell me if I miss anything!

~~~~~~~~~

How did this start again?

Oh that’s right! You had walked outside of the Crest for the first time in exactly 5 weeks, 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 6 seconds.

And Din had the nerve to tell you off about it!

The story was Gideon had managed to get his hands on you when you were a few years old. From there you had been his lab rat up until the age of 20, that’s when Mando rescued you, and brought you along on his ship with his tiny green son.

You were forever grateful that he let you stay with him, but at the same time you were slowly losing your sanity, piece by piece. Exactly 36 days of being trapped in a dull silver cold ship, with a baby…how did Din not see it?! The frustrations!

Whenever you brought it up he would always turn you down by saying

“There are millions of bounty hunters and imperials looking for you, I can’t protect you as well as I protect the kid, keeping you out of sight is just a safety precaution.”

Fair enough…

BUT 36 DAYS

You weren’t even allowed to open any windows for kriffing sake!

~~~~~~~~ “You were reckless.” Scowled Din, fists clenched tightly by his side.

“No! I was tired of being trapped in this ship! 36 days, Din! 36 days since I last felt the sun!” You exclaimed.

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I am NOT! You might as well send me back to Gideon! I was more free even with him!” You yell, voice turning hoarse.

Din seemed to be taken back by your statement, because he is silent for a moment. “You wanna go back to Gideon? Be my guest, I’ll drop you off right now if you want me to, it’ll be easier on me, without you here.” He says in the most intimidating voice you’ve ever heard.

Tears formed at the corners of your eyes and he’s about to say something, perhaps and apology for his harsh words, but he doesn’t get a chance to, because your shoving past him, and making your way out of the cockpit.

Din doesn’t follow, he crossed the line and now he just needed to give you some space.

He had regretted the words the moment they came out, but he couldn’t stop them from toppling off of his tongue, pure anger and venom overriding any of his common sense.

~~~~~~~~

You cried for what seemed like hours in Din’s your cot. 

It wasn’t just from the fear of Din’s words being true, but from the fight itself. Everything just got so overwhelming, especially with Din being so tall and just- intimidating! 

An ugly, heavy sob wracked your body as you tried to curl up impossibly tighter on yourself. 

Eventually you felt the familiar pull of your eyelids, and the haze of your tired mind. It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep, with old tears falling onto the dense pillow. 

~~~~~~~~

“You have made the right choice Din Djarin.” Gideon’s voice booms through what you could only assume was a imperial cell. 

Gideon had his familiar victory smile etched into his face, whilst Din stood beside him watching you struggle against your cuffs. 

“Din? What’s going on?” You croak out. 

Gideon let’s out a sinister laugh

“You wanted to come back, right?” Din says, followed by a dry chuckle. 

Tears stream down your face, as you strain against your chains. “Din! Please don’t do this, I’m sorry!” You scream in broken sobs. 

Din says nothing as he turns away from you, and begins his decent to the Razor Crest in the distance. 

“Din!” You scream as loud as you can, hoping the desperation in your voice would magically change his mind. 

Gideon smirked once more. 

“Din!” You yell again, but to no avail. 

Distantly you knew you were having a nightmare, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to wake up. 

So you settle for screaming for Din, because right now, it’s the only thing you can do. 

~~~~~~~~

Suddenly you felt hands tug at your waist, and your dream shifted, eventually disappearing into thin air, as you were welcomed back to your reality, in the Razor Crest, alone, crying in Din’s bunk, covered in your own sweat. 

Usually Din would comfort you right about now. But he wouldn’t do that now, not after fighting. Maker you would be lucky if he ever spoke to you again! 

An unexpected sob rips through your body, leaving you quivering against the wall. You could distinctly hear something hushing you gently, but you had to remind yourself that you were alone...and probably just paranoid from the nightmare. 

That is until you hear it again. 

“Din?” You sob out, hands travelling up his breastplate to confirm it’s really him. 

“Shh, I’m here, meshurok.” 

Just hearing him speak makes you cry even harder, which seemed impossible for you. 

As the tears began to flow more freely your sobs became harder, until you were gasping for air. Din held you through it all, rocking you gently, bodies swaying together. “I-I’m so-sorry” You cough up, gripping his cowl tightly between your sweaty palms, trying to ground yourself. “I’m so-so sor-sorry.” You whimper. Din hushes you quickly, running his hands through your hair. “It’s ok ner’karta, relax.” 

~~

You don’t remember much of that night, you can’t remember how many hours Din held you securely against his chest, strong arms keeping you safe, and close to him, but it opened up a new path for the two of you. One where you wouldn’t lose your tempers and actually try to understand each other. 

~~~~~~

You followed Din over to the hatch, ready to wave him off for yet another hunt. 

You had come to terms with staying on the ship

Din couldn’t lose you. 

Which is why.. you couldn’t understand why Din handed you an oversized cloak and said;

“No, Mesh’la, we’re going to go out”

Din had never seen you smile so brightly in his whole life. 

[wanderingblindly]

PLEASE give me rules of engagement director’s cut. i need it biblically

AAAAAH thank you!!!! I haven't gotten to talk about this fic before, I think, so let us commence the info dump <33333

The Origins

I've always been a fake dating trope fan, but I've never had an idea that made it feel like my story, you know? But I've always wanted to try!

While I was procrastinating on cleaning my apartment, I randomly thought of this dialogue, directly copied from my planning document:

“If we do this, we need to make some rules” “Max we live together, I’m sure it’ll be fine�� “WE NEED RULES CHARLES”

My brain immediately latched on to it, and the fic was born like... two hours later hahah

My Favorite Bits

Ok so this is one of my favorite lines for the DUMBEST reason:

“Are women not…? Is it these women, or?” His voice sounded tight. They hadn’t discussed Max’s sexuality before. Actually, if Max thought about it, they never really discussed Charles’s, either. He was pretty sure Charles stayed the night at a few different women's’ flats during uni, but that was little more than speculation.  ... “That’s fine, of course. Anything is. Fine, I mean.” Charles stuttered, his cheeks still slightly pink.  “Doesn’t solve the problem though, does it?”

Was it vaguely inspired by BBC's Sherlock? Yes it was. Would anyone have noticed if I didn't confess to my sins? No.

More seriously, I also really enjoyed this little scene:

They always ate breakfast together.  Max always woke up first to get started on washing the fruit, and Charles always stumbled out of his bedroom in a state of total disarray about fifteen minutes later – hair sticking up, sweatshirt off one shoulder, pajama pants low across his hips, glasses nearly askew. They would eat breakfast together, Max happily talking about his to-dos and Charles diligently humming and nodding along as necessary. They’d get dressed, they’d walk out the door together. Max always locked it, Charles always lost his keys in the depths of his bag before he left the house.   It was easy and understandable. It was theirs. 

While the rest of the story, up until this point, has hinted at the routines baked into this domesticity, I loved how this scene used that to highlight why Max found the situation so alarming. They have a distinct rhythm -- an easy cadence that I tried to mimic in the very basic structure of the paragraph -- that's so noticeable when it's disturbed.

It also shows how much Max notices about Charles, even before he realizes why. To know someone well enough that even the slightest change in timing throws a red flag is just hmmmm I love it lol

And finally, one of my last favorite scenes:

“You’re still wearing your ring,” Max pointed out rather unhelpfully. Charles let out a bleak laugh, devoid of his usual eye-crinkling warmth.  “You picked it out for me,” He shrugged, leaving something unspoken in the air. Max didn’t do well with unspoken, with reading between the lines. He tried to breathe it into his lungs, find the meaning Charles left out. Speak it. 

The confession was just so full of "Max is trying his best and he doesn't entirely understand what he's done wrong but he'll do absolutely anything for him and Charles to just go back to the way it was before please please please". This line in particular highlights how much of this is Max desperately trying to understand what Charles really needs from him -- even though the answer ends up being nothing he expected.

Random Fun Lore

As always, this fic is full of random things from my actual life (for no real reason other than I'm unoriginal and boring). Some examples are:

Max's MD's summer party in the countryside: YES I have to go to this every year, YES I do get splashed by my coworkers, and YES there is far too much alcohol lol (although I do not partake like Max did but hey)

Full Recovery Mode: the very specific mug and the very specific tea that Max puts together for Charles is absolutely based on my real life (liter sized Japanese mug my beloved)

[canirove]

I don’t like you, Mason Mount | Chapter 14

Author’s note: And we’ve made it to the end! ☹️ Hope you like this last chapter and how everything wraps up, and as always, thank you very much to everyone who has been reading and supporting this story. It means a lot! 💜

Previous chapter

Masterlist

"Hi there, Daniela."

"Hello, Benjamin."

"You can start calling me Chilly, you know?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because that's a stupid nickname."

"Ok" he laughs. "And to think that this is one of the things Mase likes the most about you…"

"That I am honest?"

"Brutally honest."

"He's a weirdo" I shrug.

"Yes, he is" Ben chuckles. "Anyway, how does it feel to be back at Cobham?"

"Odd."

I hadn't been here since the day I met Mason, and now, two years later, I was coming back as his... girlfriend? We hadn't discussed it yet.

"He is really excited about it."

"Yeah... Where is he, tho? He said he would meet me on the lobby after training, but he hasn't showed up yet and most of your teammates have already left."

"I'm the last one, so now it'll be just the two of you. Enjoy" he says, giving me an envelope.

"What is this?"

"Open it and you'll find out. Merry Christmas, Daniela" Ben says as he leaves the building.

"Merry Christmas" I reply, opening the envelope. Inside it, there is a handwritten note.

"Welcome to the Mason Mount Cobham tour! I know you probably are rolling your eyes right now, dreading the thought of having me as your tour guide. But it'll be worth it, I promise. First stop, where we first met."

"And how am I supposed to get there, uh? Last time I was following someone and I didn’t pay much attention" I say to myself. But as I'm about to put the note back on the envelope, I notice that there is something else on the other side. A map.

"Thought I wouldn't give you a little help? I am the best tour guide ;)"

"Idiot" I chuckle as I follow his directions.

When I make it to the room where we first met, it is empty except for one thing: a life size cardboard of Mason standing in the middle of it.

"What the fuck" I laugh as I get closer, another envelope pinned on his chest.

"Two years ago, I saw you walking into this room, and couldn't keep my eyes of you. And it wasn't because you were joined by the girl with the orangest hair ever (Yes, I probably just made up that word.) You are gonna make fun of me, but I couldn't stop looking at you because you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Even if you were looking at me like you wanted to cut my balls. What I didn't know that day, was that you looked even more beautiful when you smile. Especially when I manage to make you smile and it is an honest one. On those moments, the sun pales in comparison."

"The sun pales in comparison? Yikes" I say. Is it the cheesiest thing he has ever said to me? It is. But somehow, it has put a stupid smile on my face.

"And because that day we didn't get a photo together, I thought we could recreate it today. I even chose a photo of myself where you can see my dimple ;) There is a Polaroid camera behind the other me. Grab it and take a photo. And don't give me a fake smile, give the one you currently have."

"How does he know?" I chuckle, doing as he says and picking the camera, another envelope next to it that says "do not open until you've taken the photo. No cheating."

After making sure there is no one around, I do as he said and take a photo with his cardboard version, smiling like he wanted. And because I can't help myself, I take another one kissing his cheek. Do I feel stupid? Yes. Very. But I know he will love it.

"Pick your photo, don't leave it there. The camera too. Next stop, the changing room" the other note says, another map drawn behind it.

"Mason?" I call when I walk in. But there is no answer. The room is empty except for a big box on a table, and envelope next to it.

"Here is your outfit for the rest of the tour. You MUST wear it, I'm serious. And take a selfie wearing it. You can put your clothes on the box, next instructions on my locker."

"You got to be kidding me!" I laugh after opening the box and I find one of his ugly tracksuits inside it. The “Frozen” one as I call it. It has the same colours as Elsa's dress, and the glittery blades on it look like snowflakes. But this one is my size. He bought me a freaking ugly tracksuit so we can match. "Why are you so cringy, Mason?" I say to myself while I start getting changed, not being able to stop smiling.

"I truly hope you are wearing your tracksuit. The tour can't continue without it. Next stop, the gym. Don't forget your photos and the camera!"

"Wait a minute" I say, stopping at the changing room's door. The room where we first me, the changing room, now the gym... Is he taking me through all the places where we were together that first day?

As expected, he isn't at the gym either. The only thing that looks out of place, is one of those basketball games you see at arcades, another envelope pinned on it.

"It's time to show your skills! You have a minute to get as many shoots as I did. Once you do it, take a photo and facetime me."

"This is easy" I say, putting down everything I'm carrying and picking a ball.

"Three, two, one... Shoot!" the machine says. When the minute is over, I've managed to get five more shoots than Mason.

"Hello you" he says when I call him.

"Hello."

"Let me see that outfit."

"I look ridiculous" I reply, moving the phone so he can see me.

"You look gorgeous. And we are matching!" he says, moving his phone to let me see that he is also wearing his. "Anyway, how many shoots did you get?"

"More than you did" I smile, showing him the machine.

"Nah, you are too good. Do you want your surprise?"

"Another ugly tracksuit?"

"There are clothes involved... Check the box under the machine."

"There was a box there?" I say, bending down. "I didn't see it."

"That's why I put it there" he smiles. "I'll leave you alone to open it. Meet you in a bit, ok?"

"Ok" I say, hanging up.

"Clothes first, tablet later" the note inside the box says.

Again, I do as Masons says and check the clothes. It is another tracksuit, also blue, but ten times nicer.

"No way!" I say when I see the logo on it. It is one of the tracksuits from Ricciardo's merch, the one I've been in love with for ages. How did he know about it? I never told him, did I? "Monica..." I chuckle when I realize who did know about it. Did they plan this together?

After admiring the tracksuit and how soft and cosy it is, I turn on the tablet. There only is a video on it.

"Merry Christmas, Daniela! Or Dani. Am I allowed to call you that? We almost are name twins, I think I'm allowed to call you Dani."

"Holy fucking shit!" I yell. That's Daniel Ricciardo. And he is talking to me. Me! He knows who I am!

"So, Dani. Mason has told me that Formula 1 is your favourite sport and that I am your favourite driver. First of all, thank you very much, it is an honour. Second, I'm sorry" he laughs. "I believe he got you one of my tracksuits as a little present? I'm sure you look amazing on it. Everyone does, to be honest, that's how good they are. And speaking of good things... Mason is one of the good ones. Not a thing, a person. So girl, Dani, my dear twin. If I may give you a piece of advice... Don't let him go, that boy is a catch. And no, I'm not saying this because he is a fellow big nose or because he has asked me to say it. This is all me after knowing everything he has planned for you today. He is crazy about you, you know? So don't be silly, ok? That's all I had to say. No, wait. I almost forgot. You must take a photo of your face right now, I believe you have a camera with yourself. And also send me one wearing the tracksuit! Yes, that was all. Merry Christmas, Dani!"

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Merry Christmas, Dani."

"I hate you."

"Then why are you smiling from ear to ear?" Mason asks.

"Because," I say, leaving all the stuff I've been carrying and leaving it on a table. "You also happen to be really cute."

"Am I?"

"Yep" I say, moving to where he is standing and putting my arms around his neck. "Very cheesy and cringy, but cute."

"Does that mean that you've liked your surprise?" he asks, hugging me back.

"I've loved it."

"It isn't over yet, tho. We still have dinner left" he says, nodding towards his right.

"Dinner will have to wait."

"Why?"

"Because now, all I want to do is kiss you. Is that ok or will it ruin your plans?"

"I'll survive" he says with a cheeky smile that shows his dimple.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"What was your favourite part?"

"Ricciardo's message, obviously. How did you manage to get him to film it?" I ask Mason while we have dinner. The cantine was the last stop of his tour, just like on the day we met. And like that day, we are eating together, the super duper healthy food nowhere to be found.

"I told you I knew Lando. They were teammates, so I ask him for a favour and..." he shrugs.

"Thank you. Seriously. Best gift ever."

"Even more than the Frozen tracksuit?" he chuckles.

"Anything could be a better gift than this" I say, looking down at my clothes. Though I must admit they are very comfy.

"What did he say?"

"Who?"

"Ricciardo. What did he say on the video?"

"You don't know?"

"Nope. Landon told me not to watch it, so I made Chilly watch it just in case, and he didn't let me watch it either. Was he naked or something?"

"What? No" I laugh.

"Then what did he say?"

"That's between my name twin and I" I smile.

"Yeah... Anyway, are you ready for your last surprise?"

"There is more?"

"The most important bit" he says, getting up from his chair and offering me a hand. "Come."

"Is it gonna be super cheesy?"

"The cheesiest."

"I will hate it, won't I?"

"Hopefully not" he says, stopping in front of the Christmas tree that they have at the cantine. "That present is for you."

"Another shirt like two years ago?"

"Maybe."

"A photo album?" I say after unwrapping it.

"Yes. One where you can put the photos you took today, and hopefully all the photos we will take together or of each other from now on. Dani, I..." he says, biting his lower lip and making me want to do the same.

"You...? C'mon Mount, spill it."

"I... God. I had rehearsed this part many times, and now I can't find the words" he chuckles. "Let's make it simple. Dani, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? You don't have any doubts?"

"I don't, no. I'm done with that. With having doubts and being too afraid to accept my feelings for you."

"You have feelings for me?" he asks with a teasing smile. "I thought I was a weirdo with horrible style, too cheesy, definitely not as charming or handsome as I think myself to be, an idiot, overrated as a football player... Am I missing anything?"

"Just a few things. Like the fact that you can be super cute like today has proven, that you care a lot about people and especially those you love, that you are always lovely with the fans, have a dimple, are an amazing lover..."

"An amazing lover, uh?" he says, hugging me by the waist.

"It is what it is" I shrug.

"Is it official, then? Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"I do, Mason. I want to be your girlfriend."

"Even if you hate me?"

"Even if I hate you" I laugh.

"Merry Christmas, Dani."

"Merry Christmas, Mason" I say before he kisses me, hugging the photo album against my chest and already thinking about all the memories we will be putting there.

Because turns out that the stupid football player I met two years ago, wasn't that bad after all. In fact, he was the best of them all.

I like you, Mason Mount.

━━━━❃━━━━ FIN ━━━━━❃━━━━

[liauditore]

Pssst if you’re still doing the shipping bingo, how would team rancher/solidaritek fill your bingo board?

OFC. RANCHERSSS ALWAYS AND FOREVER 😭😭

ok but.. real talk i think ranchers is like. my number two "I actually ship this no strings or footnotes attached" ship right after ethubs.

I am usually not one to be moved by ships that are just "they are fun and healthy together and love eachother" but oh GOD the ranchers. See I think the thing is they just.. make sense for eachother even if you don't expect it until the point they realise they're soulmates.

Jimmy's situation has been talked about to hell and back at this point but Tango is also very out of his element in the life series. He says himself that pvp is not his specialty and he doesn't have the time or resources to make his skill set shine. So he ends up either somewhat ignored or outcasted for most of the games. (<-- fyi fun fact this is where the whole 'mech pilot tango' idea came from lol. i feel like he'd have a dva-style mech outside of the life series)

In particular i LOVE his relationship with team BEST and I NEED desperately to talk abt it more. the way he's constantly talked over by his own teammates, intimidated, asked to sacrifice his own lives for their sake, "tango's Easy", etc. etc.

‘Cause inside, nothing’s fine It should be clear to prying eyes But I won’t let the feelings See the light So tell me, why should I even try? I’m frozen away in time

(Koala, Will Stetson)

They both have this habit of hiding their own insecurities behind a facade of boisterousness, but no matter how much either of them puff out their chests and raise their voices, their message of "please take me seriously" never seems to get through.

The Ranchers are just.. two losers against the world. and they inspire confidence within the other that they can't find in themselves. and yes the world forces them apart but you can Feel that influence they've had on one another in the background.

Guess I went and caved I wonder, is there another way? Because I want to believe That one day I’ll be okay So now, I’ll give it another try I can finally see with a clearer mind Even if the bumps in the road Might try to stop me, Still it’ll be alright Keeping it inside Isn’t clearing up the sky So you tighten your hand in mine Following the light like a cute Koala Laughing in stride

Plus I, uh... Unhinged but I have this thing with the life smp where there's this running theme throughout the story about how it doesn't really matter who wins or who dies first.

Because for every epic battle and every tear-jerking death there was fun and laughter and stupid, trivial drama before and in between and those little moments may not be as memorable or written down in history but they're what makes the series enjoyable. Yes, we're all gonna die, but isn't it cool that we laughed with eachother and made dumb jokes and adopted a frog and said "I love you" on the way there?

j-just like real life. life smp. evangelion moment im sorry

Though both of us will die one day Though this life is useless anyway When you’re here by my side, you make me feel like it’ll be okay And yet we laughed despite it all At this life which has no meaning at all Two lonely and broken souls leaning on each other’s sides I’m glad that you’re you, that I’m me, and for us two I’m kinda glad that you’re evil too When the day starts anew, hope I spend it with you I’m glad that I fell in love with you

(I'm Glad You're Evil Too, Rachie/Anthong translyrics)

The Ranchers epitomize that.

They are doomed. They both know this, I think. Neither of them can fight, they're left begging for scraps by session 2, no one on the server takes either of them seriously and they lost a life literally like 10 minutes into the first episode.

But they built a home together, raised livestock, stood up for eachother. and they were happy together.

and isn't that what really matters?

and neither of them are even aware of how much they really meant to the other one. the game ends. tango tells jimmy to go home. go. they certainly don't break up to the extent of Some Other Pairings In This Series but i like to think tango distances himself, thinking jimmy would be happier with his friends and not stuck with him. jimmy thinks the same. but they still wave hi and call eachother rancher and now they're running a salad restaurant together or something i guess.

It's just.. everything that gets the two of them condemned and made fun of in their other relationships is what's Celebrated in theirs. They can just be themselves, mistakes and silliness and imperfections at all, with no pressure to perform amazing feats and make amazing stuff and I think that's great.

um yeah i like ranchers.

[lorcandidlucienwill]

@impossibelle this is part 13 for you, sorry for how it ends, I realized I'd need two more parts to resolve these mfs 😭😭😭😭😭

Elain smiled as Lucien laughed about human whims Elain explained to him, enraptured by him, the lands.

But his smile soon faded, replaced by something infinitely more serious. “Why did you come here, Elain?”

Elain hesitated. “I…don’t know.”

“You don’t know? How can you not know?” Lucien roared. There were tears in his eyes. “You’re unbelievable. Do you even know what you do to me? I spent months not knowing if you were being tortured or enslaved, or what. I come to find you and find you a shell of what you once were, and it broke me. I tried to help you as much as I could with the Inner Circle breathing down my neck. Then you needed space, so I left. Then I came back, and you told me to come to Velaris. Then you spend the rest of the time ignoring me. You spend your time flirting with that shadowsinger, yet you came here with me now. But you don’t know what you want? Tell me, Elain! Do you want to break the bond or not?!”

Elain said nothing, eyes widening.

“Do you think this is easy for me? I spent decades thinking someone else was my mate. Only to find out it was somebody else, somebody who doesn’t even want me.”

Elain glared at him. “You think it’s easy for me? I poured my heart to another man. I was to be married. Only to be ripped from my human life, brought over to this court of big bats, forced to pretend to be ok while I got visions periodically. I went back to him with hope, and he ripped my heart out. Your love may be dead, but at least you knew she loved you. My love threw me away like I was trash. I’m perfectly alive, yet I might as well be dead to him. And on top of that, I become Fae, and first thing out of the bathtub, I get a mate! Yay! Did you expect me to weep with joy at the chance to be wed from the legendary Fae from our childhood stories?”

“Yes, because I practically begged the Cauldron to be shackled to a human-turned-Fae who didn’t have the guts to help her youngest sister provide for her family, a girl who neither knew me nor wanted me, who could not tolerate two minutes in the same room as me.”

“And what did you do for Feyre, when Tamlin locked her in that house?”

Lucien’s eyes flashed. “You have no idea what happened then. None.”

“Enlighten me then, Oh High Lord of the Spring Court.”

“You’re not the only one who was ripped from your home. It happened to me. Twice.” Lucien laughed bitterly. “Did Feyre really tell you I did nothing?” He snorted. “I wonder if she ever considered me a friend.”

Elain could’ve sworn the sun burned hotter as Lucien walked away without looking back. Nesta’s POV “What am I supposed to do?” Nesta demanded. “I have no idea how to rule a court. How am I supposed to rule, just like that? I have no training, no nothing.”

Eris shrugged. “That is how it is. You think every High Lord in existence was prepared to rule when it was their time?”

Nesta snorted. “That’s a terrible system. The position should go to the best qualified person, not the most powerful.”

Eris chuckled. “If that was so, my father would’ve never come to rule.”

“And the world would’ve been better for it.”

Eris sighed. “I know you find this hard to believe, but I believe you’re ready for this. Truly. You’re so strong, and I’m not referring to your death magic.” Nesta opened her mouth to argue, but Eris said, “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll help you.”

Nesta blinked. “Truly?”

Eris smirked. “Is it really so hard to believe?”

“For a male like you? Yes.”

His eyes sparkled. “Perhaps I just want to be close to the crown.”

Nesta smacked his shoulder. “Court-trained bastard.”

“I’m afraid so. Tough habit to break.”

Nesta rolled her eyes, but she was relieved. Not just because he would be essential to help her settle into her reign and legitimize her reign, but of course, he would be staying near her. She could not deny the feelings in her heart when she looked at him. So, she wouldn’t fight it. There was no need. There was no need to tell him either, however. She’d bottle everything up and hide it away in that secret space in her mind where no person could ever reach.

[cookstorys]

Can you write Harlan and male reader where Harlan is sensitive but still a little guarded and reader says something he shouldn’t and has to apologize?

𝙰𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚎𝚜

_____________

Character- Harlan Briggs

Show/Movie- Wolf Pack

Warning- Soft! Harlan

Females Dni

_____________

You hated seeing Harlan cry, you truly did. He’s hard on the outside and acts all tough and mighty but on the inside, he’s just a big softy. He was like a super big egg that needed comforting and You genuinely didn’t mind giving it to him. However, when you slipped up this once you knew it was over.

Waking up in your bed felt different today. As if something was going to happen. This turned out to be proven correct when you got a call from your boyfriend to come to pick up him and his troublesome friends from the police station. After picking up and dropping off Everett and Blake. You pulled up the Brigg’s residence driveway and came to a stop.

An uncomfortable silence filled the car. Luna took a deep breath breaking the silence then spoke. “Thank you for doing that. Dad would have killed us.” Luna awkwardly laughed trying to make the tension a little less unbearable. “No problem.” Then silence fell between the teens again. Luna could feel the tension rise more between the couple so she thought it’ll be best if she removed herself. “I have to go do..stuff, thanks again.” She spoke opening the door and leaving the two boys alone.

“What were you thinking Harlan.” You scoffed. Harlan hadn’t been acting the same lately and you had thoughts it was probably deep but you thought it would’ve been best to give him space. Getting arrested, however, was crossing the line. “Look, I’m sorry. I wanted to hang out with some friends and with my dad going missing I thought a good smoke session would be great.” Harlan defended hating the fact he had to lie to his boyfriend. It’s not that Harlan didn’t trust [name], he trusted him with his life if it came down to it. Harlan just wasn’t ready to take that big of a leap.

“Harlan, you can’t keep using that bullshit as an excuse that you did it to ‘feel better about your missing father’. Why can’t u just be a normal human being and get fucking therapy? Or hell talk to me, your fucking boyfriend!” Harlan was speechless after that. Is that all [name] thought he was doing? Using his dad as an excuse to ‘act out’, that he was too close off for [name]’s liking, that Harlan wasn’t ‘normal’?

Streams of tears started to fall from the boy's eyes. His lip started to quiver under [name] sight and words. He was vulnerable in front of the other boy. He was vulnerable because of the other boy. “ You’re an ass [last name].” He cried and Exit the car leaving his, now regretful, boyfriend with his thoughts.

_________Time Skip_________

The two twins sat in silence as one slept on the other's lap. Luna hated seeing her brother like this and she wanted the story but first, she wanted to know if her brother will be ok. When the time came for her to ask questions, she realized her twin was far too asleep to answer anything. A knock at the door brought Luna out of her thoughts. She looked towards the wooden door to see who dared to interrupt such a peaceful moment. When her eyes landed on you she just rolled them.

She moved Harlan’s head so it could be laid on his pillow and practically ran towards the door, pulling you by you’re ear with her. “Ow, what the fuck Luna.” You whispered trying not to wake your sleeping boyfriend that’s 3feet away. “ Don’t ‘what the fuck’ me. I should be ‘what the fuck’ing you. What the fuck did you do my brother.” She yelled back trying to keep her voice down along with you. Both teens knew to never awaken the other teen from his sleep, life it death situations included.

“Wait, I kinda got lost in all the ‘what the fuck’ing. What were we talking about again.” You confessed. Luna rolled her eyes heavily. “You know what, I don’t care what happened. Just fix it.” She stated sternly walking away with a huff.

Each step towards the door felt heavy. You always were scared of confrontation but seeing your boyfriend sleeping peacefully on his bed made everything a lot less stressful. You turned the lights off, left your shoes by the headboard, and climbed in bed behind him, wrapping your arm across his torso. “I’m sorry, I’m an asshole, Harlan.” You apologized then kissed the crook of his neck and buried yourself in it. Little to your knowledge Harlan was wide awake and when he knew you were asleep, he got deeper into your embrace with a smile.

[sarahrogersevans]

Uncle Thor’s First Time Babysitting xreader Headcanon Feat. loki Fan fic

Summary: Y/N & Loki have a busy day ahead and need their child’s uncle Thor to come baby sit & what would happen

Warnings: not a lot, just a lot of fluff and funny cute moments, a bit of angst just slightly and Thor feeling overwhelmed at times

. Y/N and Loki have Loki’s brother Thor come watch their daughter Ella for the day while Y/N goes out to run errands & Loki has a meeting at home and Thor is excited to babysit but Y/N is nervous about leaving her daughter but Loki says “Y/N, darling it’ll be alright Thor will be here and will take care of her I promise.” Y/N nods and kisses Loki and grabs her bag and says goodbye to Thor and Ella on her way out

. Thor tries to tell Ella jokes and stories of Asgard but struggles to entertain Lilly and feels a bit stressed and goes to find Loki for help and says “brother, how do you get a baby to laugh? She seems so bored of me.” Loki sighs and stops his meeting for a moment to help Thor and Loki says “oh brother just try and do something funny like make funny faces or something.” Loki shows him an example and Ella laughs when loki does something funny and Thor says “ah right ok, thank you brother.”

. Thor picks up Ella and says “hello Ella, hello love how are you?” Loki waves at Ella and says “Ella darling here watch me!” Loki uses his magic to help keep her busy and Ella smiles liking the magic and then remembered he had a meeting and goes back to it

. Thor carefully feeds Ella her food and smells the food that’s on her spoon and says “hmm this smells kinda good” then later on notices she needs changing and Y/N left written directions on how to do it and Thor makes faces not liking the stench and says “dear goodness Ella.” Thor is proud of himself when he puts the diaper on right

. An hour later Loki comes to check up on Thor and see how he’s doing with his daughter and sees Thor and Ella asleep on the couch with Ella sleeping on Thor and Loki smiles conjuring a blanket on both of them and Y/N walks in on Loki reading in the kitchen and says “hey honey where’s Thor?” Loki looks up at Y/N and says “hello love, he’s resting with Ella & Y/N goes to find Ella but Thor walks in with Ella before she could and says “hello lady Y/N, how did everything go?” Y/N smiles and says “my errands went well thank you! How did we do?” Thor carefully hands Ella to Y/N and says “oh we did great, I loved spending time with my niece thank you for asking me to babysit, I was nervous at first I will admit”

. Loki hugs Thor and says “I hope you will come over again to see us brother, we would love it and I know Ella here would love to see her uncle more.” Thor nods and says “I would love to babysit more as well, Ella is such a sweetie I hope I’ll have a child one day.” Loki pats Thor on the shoulder and says “oh brother you will I know it, you always believed I would be a good dad, as will you.”

. Thor walks over to say goodbye to Ella and says “Ella can you say Uncle? Hmm?” Ella just stares at him and he shrugs but when be turns around he heard Ella say “cle” and everyone gets excited and Y/N says “oh my gosh!! That was so cute!! Ella I’m so proud of you sweetie!!” Thor says “good job maiden Ella! Well sadly I have to go now but I will see you all again soon.” Loki and Y/N take Ella to walk Thor out and Y/N says “Ella wave bye to your Uncle!” Y/N helps Ella wave at Thor and Thor smiled and waved back at her once more Thor & then teleports back to Asgard and Ella wonders what she saw

Hey lovelies!! Ok so this is my first time writing a Thor fan fic 😁😅.. I hope I did ok on this one, I hope you all might enjoy this 💚💚xx

Taglist:

@lokiandbuckysdoll

@jessybarnes @nana1000night

@precious1610

@sunshine-on-my-mind

@writersblog20

@delicatecoffeepeanut

@imyourbratzdoll

@marvelstarker-mha98

@vrittivsanghavi

@anotherfuckingmarvelfanaccount

@iamlokisgloriouspurpose

[tastybluesprite]

OK SO FUNNY STORY IM INCREDIBLY INDECISIVE.

I couldn’t decide between the two so I’m leaving your genius writing brain to it if you’re up for it of course

72 “Never underestimate the power of these hands." With Ler Mikey and Lee literally anyone- this little critter is a vicious ler.

84 “You’re not gonna like where that sass is gonna take you” with Ler Raph and Lee Leo

I LOVE YOUR WORK SO MUCH AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A DAY AS AMAZING AS YOU MUAH💗💗💗💗

Spar

Ahhh thank you for sending!!! I’m so glad I could write this. Sorry it took a while lol I got quite a lot of asks so it’ll probably take a bit of time to get to all of them as well as this one did lol. Anyway hope you like it!

72. “Never underestimate the power of these hands.”

Prompt list

The turtles were in the dojo sparring. Leo and Raph went up against one another, with Leo ending up on his ass. Now Donnie and Mikey were up.

“Don’t worry little brother. I’ll make sure to go nice and easy on you.” Donnie told his brotherly opponent with a smirk.

Mikey grinned right back at him. “Oh don’t worry. You won’t have to.”

Donnie had to admit Mikey was getting better at smack talking. Well, he was never really bad anyway. He just never hit down with his words as hard as the rest being the youngest and all. But for once, Donnie could swear he felt some level of being intimidated (only a LITTLE ok? Donnie was still tougher. Definitely.)

And so they began. There were no weapons allowed. Splinter wanted them to learn how to fight in combat instead of relying on their weapons

This also meant Donnie couldn’t wear his battle shell, as that technically counted as a weapon. Donnie was a bit nervous at first, but the brothers assured they’d try and be careful.

Anyway, fighting commenced.

Mikey came at Donnie with full force, punching at every opening he could get.

At one point, Donnie managed to do a sort of maneuver he learned, that had Mikey flat on his back.

“Haha!!! I have bested thee!!!!” Donnie cheered with a proudly evil laugh.

Mikey suddenly grinned evilly. “Never underestimate the power of these hands."

“W-what? But I- gAh!” Donnie yelped as Mikey suddenly jumped up and tackled him to the ground.

Donnie was about to push the smaller and younger one off, when Mikey began scribbling at his sides, making Donnie burst into a bubbly stream of giggles, the tickling immediately weakening him.

“W-wahahitt thihihis ihis cheheheating!” He protested, his hands gripped tightly around Mikey’s wrists.

“Nothings cheating as long as it isn’t our weapons or gear!” Mikey argued with a smirk.

Leo and Raph watched with grins as their younger brother was taking down their scientist brother.

Donnie tried kicking Mikey off but Mikey then settled himself on his older brothers legs.

Mikey tried prying his arms away from his side to pin them, but Donnie put all his strength to keep his arms glued to his sides protectively.

“Raph, Leo, can you guys give me a hand here?” He asked his other brothers with a smirk.

Raph and Leo replied back with their own smirks as they ran to help pin their intellectual brothers arms down.

Donnie felt way more sensitive now that he was in this position.

“G-guys…” Donnie stuttered nervously. “W-we can talk about this…”

“No more talking Don! Only laughing!”

Mikey then descended on his upper ribs and Donnie was immediately thrown into cackles.

“WAHAHAIT DOHOHOHONT!!!”

“Don’t what Donnie? You’ll have to be more specific.” Mikey told him slyly.

“YOHOHOU KNOHOHOW WHAHAHAT!!!”

“Sorry Donald. I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“J-JEHEHERK!!!”

“Excuse me?! Ohhhoho you’ll regret that!” Mikey said menacingly, and he dug hard into his armpits.

“NONONONOHOHOAHAHAHA-“

Donnie’s brain was scrabbled. He couldn’t think.

Soon he was having difficulty breathing. Mikey picked up on this and stopped.

He signaled Raph and Leo to let his arms go and Donnie, still giggling, quickly brought his arms down to protect himself.

Mikey got off him. “I win!” He cheered, high fiving Raph and Leo.

Donnie smiled to himself as his giggles faded. He had to admit he was proud of his little brother.

[evieismol]

Big Bend Chapter Twenty One - Scary Stories

Word count: 2185

Cw: angst, cursing

Chapter Twenty One: Angie

“Penelope, Easton, and I were going to go stargazing. Do you want to come?” I asked as Dave, Penelope, and I walked down the trail. My vampiric friend had arrived to visit earlier that day, and, true to character, had wanted to see Easton again. I had been meaning to invite him to do…something again anyways, so it seemed as good as time as any. Something being the operative word because there weren’t a ton of recreational things to do off work to start with, besides hiking and going to a bar. Neither of those were activities Easton could really join in on, for probably obvious reasons.

Dave paused, then shook his head. “I have to be up early.”

“Ah, c’mon, it’ll be fun,” Penelope said. “You only live once, right?”

“You did not just say YOLO in the year 2023.” Dave laughed.

“It’s practically vintage at this point,” Penelope replied with a shrug. “Like 2010s fashion.”

“That’s not a thing,” I said, frowning as it dawned on me that 2010 was almost 15 years ago.

Penelope shook her head. “It is, I saw it on TikTok. 2010s nostalgia and shit.”

“No. Just…no. Fuck, we’re getting old, aren’t we?” I said, taking that in. It felt like that era had only been a few years ago. Not over a decade ago.

“At least I know I’ll age gracefully,” Penelope replied, giving us a teasing smile. “But, yeah. We’re 24. I guess you’re turning 25 in a few weeks. Wait, Dave, how old are you?”

“25,” Dave replied.

“Dammit. Am I seriously the youngest?” Penelope said, huffing.

“Yeah, I thought vampires were supposed to be old,” I replied.

“Well, it takes a while.” Penelope laughed. “But…back to the original topic…Dave, you should come with us!”

Dave sighed, but smiled. “Alright. Fine. YOLO, or whatever.”

“Yes!” Penelope cheered.

***

When we met Easton later - this time, at the trail, as Penelope and I took my car and Dave arrived in his - the first thing Penelope did was run up to him. Dave lingered back by his car, which I guessed was to be expected at this point.

“Ok, weird question, how old are you?” She asked.

Easton paused, as if considering. “In human years or aphirial years?”

“…yes?” Penelope replied. “Is that like a dog years and human years type of thing?”

“Sort of,” Easton said. “Our days and years are roughly twice as long as yours, and I guess we have ten months, if months are based on the lunar cycle of the main moon but there’s three moons so it gets a little complicated and then we don’t have leap years which probably adds up so based on a human calendar 30-something I think, but I’m bad at math and it would probably make more sense to tell you based on an aphirial calendar anyways because that would match up with the rate we age at and stuff and-I guess you don’t really need to know all of that. Effectively, I’m 21.”

“I honestly did not follow the first part of that,” Penelope admitted. “But what I’m hearing is I’m not the youngest anymore!”

“Unless you go by our years,” I pointed out. “Then he’s the oldest.”

“Just let me have this,” Penelope replied, with faux exasperation. “Besides, from what I did pick up, human years wouldn’t be accurate for his age because it’s like how puppies grow up within like a year but humans don’t except we’re the puppies. Like, okay, Easton, when did you finish school?”

“I graduated college pretty much right before coming here,” he said. “But I did graduate a year early.”

“See? He’s the youngest, from a practical standpoint,” Penelope said.

I rolled my eyes. “Alright, fine. You’re not the youngest.”

“Is she always like this?” Dave asked jokingly.

“I heard that,” Penelope replied. “I just saw a shooting star!”

We all looked up at the sky a fraction of a second too late.

“Man, I missed it. Could have really used a wish,” Dave said, finally walking closer to us. He still stood the furthest from Easton between the three of us, and I saw him glance up at the giant nervously. I once again wondered why he had decided to join us.

“Job that bad?” I joked.

“Oh, more like my whole life,” Dave replied sarcastically.

“You guys know what we should do?” Penelope asked. Not waiting for anyone to reply, she continued. “We should tell scary stories. I mean, dark desert, middle of nowhere, it’s the perfect setting for a horror movie.”

“You have to start, though,” I said. “Mostly because I can’t think of any.”

“I second that,” Dave said.

“Thirded,” Easton added.

“Alright. I have a true one. Y’all ever heard the story of the Whistler?” Penelope lowered her voice, shining her flashlight up towards her face in the picturesque scary story telling manner.

The three of us shook our heads. She grinned. “Perfect.” She took a deep breath, before starting the story.

“There once was this guy who loved camping, so one spring break, he and his friends all decided to go someplace they’d never been before. Big Bend National Park-“

“Oh, come on,” Dave interrupted. “Isn’t that a little too convenient?”

Penelope glared at him. “Don’t interrupt!”

“Okay, sorry,” Dave said.

She continued. “The trip ended up being three of them - let’s call them James, Ben, and Peter. The three planned a camping trip that was supposed to last for a week. They were all experienced backpackers and shit, so this wasn’t something that was out of the norm for them. The trip slowly drew closer, and before they knew it, they were off.

When they got to the park, it was already dark, so they ended up setting up for the first night by flashlight. Nothing really happened that night, and the three of them got up early the next morning to start hiking. They made pretty good time throughout the day, and by the time they set up camp that night, they were all exhausted. James was certain he’d pass out almost as soon as he was in his tent. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, James found himself unable to fall asleep, despite how tired he was from the day’s journey. Something kept nagging out his mind, like some long forgotten instinct warning him of danger. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the sense that something was off. It was then that he noticed the desert had gone silent. No coyotes, no crickets, no toads, nothing.

And then he heard it. It was faint at first, so faint he could barely make it out. As it drew closer, though, he realized what the sound was. Someone was out there, in dark expanses of the desert. Whistling. It was a tune he didnzmt recognize, one that gave him the same feeling of wrongness that had been seeping into his mind all night. The whistling grew steadily louder. James fought to make sense of it. It didn’t make any sense for someone to be out in the desert this far from anything, not in the dead of night. He was certain he would have heard Peter or Ben leaving their tent if it had been them, too. The whistling was close now - whoever it was had to be feet from their campsite. James held his breath, a primal sense of dread washing over him. He somehow knew he couldn’t let the whistler know he was awake…”

As Penelope continued the story, I felt a shiver run down my spine as I stared out at the desert. I felt like I could almost convince myself there was some sort of strange creature lurking out there, whistling an eerie tune. I glanced over at Dave. His expression was neutral. Glancing up at Easton, I couldn’t help but find it a little ironic that he looked the most unsettled about the story. Given that he probably had the least to fear even if the Whistler had been real. It was amusing in the same sort of way that seeing him wearing oversized t-shirts and sweatshirts was, and also an always surreal reminder that he came from a world where he wasn’t a giant.

Penelope finished the story by declaring that the Whistler was said to still lurk out there to this day, looking for more victims. I heard Easton let out a breath.

“Personally, I would simply whistle back at the Whistler.” Dave broke the silence, adding some much appreciated humor back into the evening. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, who’s next?” Penelope asked, looking between the three of us. I wracked my brain for a story that seemed suitable to tell. It dawned on me that there were actually more than a couple of campfire stories about aphirials. I quickly crossed those off as possible options, settling on a somewhat generic ghost story and volunteering. We didn’t actually get to telling another story after that, the conversation instead shifting to whether or not ghosts were real.

Dave glanced down at his phone at some point, announcing that he had to get going to get some sleep. Penelope made a brief attempt to convince him to stay, but he shook his head and wished the remaining three of us a goodnight. He seemed ever so slightly more comfortable around Easton towards the end, which I decided to count as progress. I wondered idly if Penelope had picked up on any of the tension between the two of them as I watched his headlights grow smaller in the darkness.

The three of us continued talking for a bit, watching the stars up above. I eventually felt myself growing tired. A sentiment that Penelope didn’t seem to share - not that she ever did.

“We should probably head back soon,” I told her.

“I guess some of us do need to “sleep occasionally” or whatever,” she replied jokingly. She glanced up at Easton. “Wait, if your days are twice as long, how does that work with sleeping here on Earth? If you even need to sleep - don’t want to assume.”

“I wish I didn’t need to sleep,” Easton replied with a small laugh. “It’s been an adjustment. Which is why I’ll agree with Angie on it getting late. Thank you for inviting me, by the way.”

“Hey, I said we should hang out outside of work more and I meant it,” I replied. I stood up from where I had been sitting. Penelope did the same. She suddenly froze, looking off into the desert, before shrieking,

“Shit! It’s the Whistler!” And jumping back.

Despite it being the most Penelope move ever, I still jumped too, my heart skipping a beat.

As did Easton. He flinched back at Penelope suddenly jumping back towards him, her status as a vampire allowing her to move far faster than any humans and managed to catch even him off guard. His hand landed a bit closer to my car than I would have liked.

“Don’t do that!” His tone was far more abrupt than I’d heard from him before. Enough so that Penelope and I both froze. She stopped laughing, the realization that trying to scare someone the size of a skyscraper was a poor choice finally hitting her.

“I’m sorry.” Easton’s tone immediately softened upon seeing our reaction as even more regret filled his eyes. “I-that-I didn’t mean for that to come out so strongly. Or to move so quickly. I’m so sorry, I was just surprised-“

“It’s fine,” I said, interrupting him. “I think Penelope would agree that that was maybe not the move?” I looked over at her expectantly.

“Yeah. Um, sorry. I didn’t really think that through,” Penelope admitted.

“I still shouldn’t have - I should have been being more careful and I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I’m seriously so sorry, I swear I wasn’t trying to scare you guys or come off as-“

“I can’t speak for Penelope, but I was less scared and more…surprised? I don’t think I’ve ever even heard you sound annoyed before,” I said. That was the truth - I’d only actually seen Easton express an emotion besides “polite friendliness” once, which was when he had been crying after that one man had yelled at him. The whole event was a poignant reminder that he was not, in fact, just some concept of a giant, but also very much a person. Seeing the way he’d tried to backpedal so quickly for something like sounding slightly upset over a prank made me feel a wave of sympathy for him. That same remark, coming from me or Dave, would have probably just gotten a “my bad” in response followed by laughter.

I frowned, Penelope’s earlier point about how he was technically the youngest of the four of us coming back to me. Not that 21 wasn’t also an adult, but just that there was some twisted irony in how he also had to be the most mature in spite of that. I glanced back up at him.

“Seriously, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Next chapter

[easily-infatuated23]

Fall in Love for the Night (Barry Allen x Reader)

a/n: hello! i know its been a long time but i just found this story i wrote a while ago and it was too good not to share. based on the song “Lets Fall in Love for the Night” by Finneas. also i definitely stole the Scarlet Witch name from Marvel but i love her name and powers so i don’t care. its also in first person fight me i dare you

pairing: Barry Allen (CW) x Reader 

summary: Finding herself alone on Valentines Day, the reader decides to fall in love with a stranger. Only, is he really a stranger at all? 

warnings: none?, implications of sex

word count: 2,515

It was one of my least favorite days of the year, Valentines Day. Well, that’s not totally true. I have a complicated relationship with Valentines Day. When I have someone, its a great day. When I’m alone, it’s a glaring reminder that I am indeed alone. It has been a trying couple of years leaving little time to focus on building romantic relationships. There was time for a few meaningless hookups or bad first dates but nothing that could have even been considered to be serious. Being a meta-human certainly didn’t help the situation. After the particle accelerator exploded I had been gifted with telekinesis, energy manipulation, telepathy, and more powers than I could have ever desired or hoped to explain. I had been dubbed “The Scarlet Witch” due to the red hue my magic exuded. Not to be mixed up with Central City’s own “Scarlet Speedster” or “The Flash” as he was commonly referred to.

After a few accidental team ups, I was invited to join “Team Flash” and help them keep our city safe. I was tentative to say yes but I am so glad I did. My one rule was that the Flash and I should still keep our secret identities in case one of us was ever captured. Luckily Cisco developed some tech in our masks that would ensure we wouldn’t recognize our voices or looks when we were together. After a few months, I’ve come to love this life and it’s more rewarding than I could have imagined. And yet, here I am, a super hero alone on Valentines day. I decided that instead of moping in my apartment, I’d go to a karaoke bar and laugh at the horrible singing. I walked in and was immediately engulfed in the smell of alcohol and the screeching of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. I sat down at the bar and ordered something equivalent to an alcoholic Shirley Temple. A minute or so later, a tall lanky man slumped into the seat next to me and ordered a ginger ale. “You alright?” I asked him. He nodded and chuckled. “My friends convinced me this would be better than staying home tonight but I think I’m getting permanent ear damage” he joked. I laughed. “Yeah I figured seeing people make a fool of themselves would make me feel better about not having a date on Valentines Day” I replied. “Yeah I don’t have one either”. 

There was a moment of comfortable silence. “I’m Y/N Y/L/N by the way” I said, my hand outstretched. “I’m Barry Allen” he replied shaking my hand. I finished the rest of my drink and turned to face Barry, an idea forming in my head. “I have a proposition for you Barry”. He looked at me and cocked his head to one side. “Shoot”. I smiled. “I propose we get back at the whole concept of today by pretending like we’ve been together for years and just fall in love for the night and go our separate ways in the morning. No holding back, no regrets, just doing the stuff that we feel shitty about usually missing on this day. What do you say?” He smiled slightly and looked around. Damn my ‘no mind reading without consent’ policy. “Ok just think about it this way, we are both total strangers! We will probably never see each other again after tonight and if we do, we will just laugh about it. Besides, it’ll make for one hell of a story”. His smile widened. “Alright Y/N you have got your self a deal. Let’s fall in love for the night”. He looked towards his friends who were not so sneakily sneaking out the door of the bar giving him a thumbs up. We both laughed. “Well at least we don’t have an audience” I said. “So what should we do first?” he asked. “How about a shot for extra courage” I recommended. “Bartender, two vodka shots for me and my-” he paused “girlfriend”. I laughed. “My boyfriend, he knows I’m a vodka girl!” I joked. After the shots I got another idea. I looked behind him at the karaoke stage. He turned his head and then looked back at me. “Oh no no no I don’t think so” he said nervously. “Come on Allen, no holding back!” I said grabbing his hand. I pulled him up to the stage and queued up a song. “Don’t I at least get a say in the song choice?” “Nope!” I said, ruffling his hair. He laughed and looked at the monitor. The lyrics to “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey began to scroll. He scoffed a bit and rolled his eyes, but his smile was a constant. I started the song off. He seemed surprised that I could actually sing. Together we sang and laughed and eventually the whole bar was singing with us. During the musical break he spun me around and we danced until the lyrics came back. When the song finally ended we clung to each other as we left the stage. “That was so much fun!” he remarked. “I think we sounded pretty good to” I added. “Whats next?” he asked me. “Hey I’ve made all the decisions so far so it’s up to you now.” He thought for a moment. “We’re going bowling” he announced. He stretched his hand out. I smiled and accepted. “Lead the way handsome”.

We made our way to the Bowlarama and the game began. “I must warn you, I am an awesome bowler” he bragged. “Oh is that right?” I said. I took a step forward so our chests were nearly touching, purposefully trying to build tension. “I’m an awful bowler” I said finally. He exhaled and laughed, turning away from me. With that, the game was on. As we took turns the in between banter began to heat up. Each time we passed each other we got closer, sometimes so close we would just whisper what we had to say. I used any and every pet name I could think of and he pretended to be wounded whenever I used his real name. He pretended to teach me how to bowl and I pretended to be more clueless after each attempt. And then, completely by accident, I bowled a strike. “Oh my god, I did it!” I exclaimed, jumping up and down. “Yes!” Barry was as excited as I was. We ran to each other and embraced. My legs left the ground and he spun me around. When the spinning stopped and my feet touched the ground, we froze. We were pressed up against each other, our faces only inches from touching. Before either of us could fully process, a voice spoke up. “Uh this is a public place”. We turned to find a somewhat annoyed father shielding his squirming kids’ eyes. We quickly separated and laughed. After a few moments of silence and averted eye contact Barry spoke. “Well, the night is still young, what do you wanna do next?”. I looked at my phone. “Well, it’s only 9 so…” my voice trailed a bit. “Actually, could we head back to my place quickly? I wanna turn my lights on so that it looks like I’m home before we head out to our next location”. “Ok sounds good” he replied. 

We made our way back to my apartment complex, arms linked the whole time. Once we reached the door, he opened it like a gentleman. We entered the elevator and I pushed the button for the 5th floor. As the doors closed I looked at Barry. We were standing a few feet apart. I did an exaggerated side step and grabbed his hand. He looked slightly startled but squeezed my hand, bringing it up and kissing the back. I felt myself blush, trying to contain the goofy grin I knew I was sporting. He did the same. The elevator doors opened and I lead Barry to my little slice of heaven. I unlocked the door and entered, gesturing for him to follow. “This should only take a sec”. He put his hands in his pockets and looked around. “This is a really cool place”. “Thanks!” I said. “Oh cool!” he said, making his way deeper into the loft towards a Doctor Who poster on the wall. “Are you a Doctor Who fan?” I asked. “Yeah I love it”. I smiled and stood next to him. “I take a lot of inspiration from the Doctor in my daily life” I said. “Oh yeah?” he replied. “Hmmn. I strive to be kind and brave while still doing no harm to anyone” I answered, my eyes fixed on the poster of the TARDIS. I looked back at Barry to find he was already staring at me, a sincere smile painting his face. I took a step closer to him, he repeated this action. I felt strange. I’d had butterflies before but this was something different. My heart was actually aching for him, like if we didn’t touch soon my heart would just break from the hope and anticipation. I looked down at his hand and interlaced my fingers with his before looking into his eyes. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on mine, our noses touching. I was afraid to speak or even breathe as the slightest movement would cause our lips to touch. The silence was broken when Barry chuckled and pulled away. 

“What?” I asked, somewhat breathlessly. “When you said we should fall in love for tonight you really weren’t kidding” he said, continuing to chuckle softly as he sat down on my couch. I let out a short laugh and shook my head slightly, joining him on the couch. “It has been fun hasn’t it” I said looking at him. He nodded. “I haven’t felt normal in a long time so I feel like I needed something like this” I finished. “Yeah, I’d say that’s an understatement”. We made eye contact and began to laugh more. “You really are a shit bowler by the way” he said. I scoffed and feigned offense. “How dare you” I exclaimed. I picked up a throw pillow and hit him in the arm, a little harder than I intended. “Oh is that how it is?” he asked cockily. “Yeah that’s how it is” I replied, mimicking his tone. “Its so on” he replied grabbing a pillow next him. I let out a small scream as the pillow fight began. I got in a few hits but Barry was clearly winning. In a last ditch effort to gain control, I tackled him from over the arm of the couch and pinned him down. Again, we froze as we realized the position we put ourselves in. I was on top of him, practically straddling him, and his hands were around my waist. Our noses were nearly touching. My heart ached again. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean-“ I began, sitting up and swinging my leg off of him. “No uh it’s fine I um-“ he stammered, sitting up as well. 

We sat in silence for a moment. Then he spoke. “You know what screw it.” He grabbed my hip and my hand as I swung my leg back over him so I was now straddling his lap facing him, my hands on his shoulders and his hands around my waist. “I’m gonna kiss you” he said. “Please do” I replied urgently, my hands already making their way to his cheeks. Our lips crashed together passionately, the night-long tension finally breaking. My hands moved between his cheeks and hair while his hands wandered from my waist and under my shirt along my back. We finally broke to catch our breath. After a few more pecks on the lips we laughed together. “You know, we did say that we would do all the stuff we usually miss on Valentines Day….” I said between more kisses. “Thats true” he replied, peppering kisses down my neck. We both paused and he cupped my cheeks. “Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asked seriously. “I need to feel all of you” I replied. He smirked. I pushed myself off and offered my hand. He took it and stood up. I pulled him in and kissed him more. “Follow me” I said, leading him to my bed room. 

~the next day~

“The sex was absolutely incredible and then he spent the night! When he left this morning I was actually sad to see him go- I mean the whole night was just so incredible” I said to Caitlin, telling my story about the night before. “And you seriously aren’t going to tell me this guys name?? Did you even get his number?” She replied. “Nope. We decided it would just be a one night thing; a unique shared experience”. “Wow,” Caitlin said sighing. “Well I’m gonna go run the training course, I’ll see ya in 30” I said, walking down the hall. “Morning Scarlet” “Morning Speedy”. The Flash entered the Cortex and greeted Caitlin, a huge grin on his face. “Woah someone is happy this morning”. “Yeah I had the most incredible night of my life last night”. “Really?…” Caitlin questioned, beginning to put the puzzle pieces together. “Yeah I met this amazing girl and it was like we lived an entire relationship in one night”. Cait chuckled. “Let me guess, she made you sing ‘Don’t Stop Believing at the karaoke bar I declined to attend with you last night”. He raised his eyebrow. “Wait yeah how did you know that?” he asked. Caitlin cackled and began to walk out of the room. “I have to find Cisco this is too good!”. He stood in the Cortex puzzled. Then he heard Cisco’s booming laughter followed by loud chatter. “Guys what are you doing I just started the course, what’s going on?” I asked Caitlin and Cisco as they pulled me back into the Cortex. The two stood behind the desk and looked at the two heroes in front of them. “Scarlet how was your Valentines Day?” Cisco asked, a huge smile on his face. “Uh oh yeah it was incredible, I bowled my first strike without bumpers” I replied. I looked at the Flash and his jaw dropped. “Flash, how was yours?” Caitlin asked. “I…fell for a stranger” he replied slowly. My jaw dropped as well. Cisco and Caitlin sat down and waited for what they hoped would happen next. The Flash and I tentatively took off our respective masks. When I looked up, I found the eyes of Barry Allen staring back at me. He sighed and smiled. “Thank god” Barry said, quickly pulling me into a deep kiss. Caitlin and Cisco fist bumped and then left the Cortex. We finally pulled away and looked into each others eyes. “I couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing you again” he said. “You are never gonna get rid of me Speedy” I replied smiling. We kissed again, finally being true to ourselves and to each other. 

masterlist 

[boltupbitches]

Sliding in the DMs - Part III - Joey Bosa

Hints towards 18+ content ahead.

Joey felt his knee shaking as he waited impatiently for the call to come through. After a few weeks talking some more back and forth, he was finally going to get the chance to ask her out on a date. They danced around it for a while now, but he was certain that now would be the time.

Within moments her name popped up along with a pic of her he saved from a week ago. It was her cuddling her cat, Cassiopeia, on her couch. She had originally shared the picture on Instagram and when he commented on it, she had sent it to him as well with the caption, “This could be us but you playing 😉” indicating that it could be him on the couch with her.. except he couldn’t find the nerve to initiate it.

“Hey!” He greeted her.

He heard her shuffling around before coming into view. Her hair was tied up on her head and she was wearing a low cut tank top. 

She smiled at him, “Hey! Sorry I just got out of the shower after working out, so I’m still a bit wet.”

Joey’s eyebrows shot up and he stared back, even more interested, “Oh? How wet are we talking here?”

She stared for a second before slapping her forehead “Oh my god..” She mumbled, embarrassed. “I walked right into that one!”

Joey laughed, mentally thankful his joke wasn’t taken too serious. “That’s me 24/7. I open my mouth, don’t think, and say stupid shit.”

“I know that by now, my dude!” She teased back. “You wouldn’t be Joey Bosa if you didn’t say stupid shit without thinking in the heat of the moment.”

He laughed at the ribbing, knowing it was true. “Well, I can promise I didn’t get on this call to point out my shortcomings as a person.” He joked.

“Nah. Twitter does that well enough.” She quipped back.

“Touche.” He said.

It was quiet for a moment before Joey started speaking again, remembering his reason for having her calling him. “So, I was thinking.. Did you want to get together sometime for dinner? My treat?”

Artemis stared for a moment in shock before answering him.. “Sure!”

“- I mean you don’t have to. I get it if you’re busy or if this is too weird - wait what?” Joey stuttered in shock.

Artemis smiled softly back at him. “I said ‘sure’ as in I’d love to go to dinner with you sometime.”

Joey just smiled happily at her and nodded. “Awesome. Cool. I mean, great!”  ‘Joey, you fucking meatball!’ he thought bitterly at his stuttering. ‘Way to play it cool, you fucking loser!’

Artemis seemed to sense his internal turmoil and cut in, “I was waiting for you to finally ask, you know?”

Joey just stared, unsure of how to respond to that. He wasn’t certain of her tone, so he waited for her to continue.

Which she did with a smirk on her face. “I mean, there are only so many bikini photos you can like, comments you can make, and stories you can view on my Instagram before I start to notice a pattern..”

“And what’s that pattern?” Joey croaked.

“That you got a thing for me. Which is totally fine and I’m absolutely ecstatic over.” She said cheerfully. “Because the truth is that I also have a huge thing for you too.”

“Nose and all?” Joey joked.

“Nose and all.” She confirmed. “I’d still gladly sit on that face any day. You’re my type.” She said simply.

Joey was now sweating bullets for various reasons. One, he was usually the one making the moves and being smooth. Arty just turned that shit on it’s head and took over. And tying into that, what she was doing and saying, the revelation that she too wanted him was a lot to process mentally. Yet, his body was reacting as he could feel the familiar tightness in his groin and the rise of his heart beat. It felt like his body was buzzing with adrenaline. 

“You can’t say that to me on the phone,” He groaned. “Not before I at least take you to dinner first.”

“Dinner, schminner. Grab some take out and come over to hang with me. It’ll be more comfortable anyways.” She insisted.

Joey thought about it for a few moments and then said, “Ok. Drop me your address. You like Chinese?”

“Hell yeah. General Tso’s please.” She said eagerly.

“Alright. I’ll be there in 30 then as soon as I change.” He started looking for his wallet and keys. 

“Wear what you have on.” She said simply. “Not like you’ll wear it the whole time here anyways.”

Joey stopped again and cursed loudly at her blatant flirting. “I swear to God, Arty. If you are doing this to get me worked up and then end up blue-balling me, I’ll block and never talk to you again.” He threatened.

“I’m not!” She laughed. “I swear to God as a Catholic in good standing that I want you to come over and knock boots with me. Butter my bread. The wango tango. Whatever you want to call it.” She said back seriously.

Joey was quiet again, suddenly hoping to god he had condoms in his room. It had been a while. “It might be an hour instead of 30 minutes. Gotta make a stop at the store.” He told her.

She smiled back at him and understood what he meant. “Well I’ll be waiting here. I dropped my location so don’t forget to stop on by soon, Bigbear.” She winked and hung up.

Joey stared at the screen in disbelief as her address popped up. He couldn’t fucking believe it.

All this flirting and shit talking and he was about to go and do what he never thought possible.

Except in every scenario he never imagined Artemis to be the one to pick him up - metaphorically speaking. In every scenario it was him trying to win time with her. Yet, she did what she always did best as he’s learned these last few months. She surprised him, took the lead, and turned his world upside down. It was clear that she was wearing the pants in this relationship - and as someone who never experienced that before, Joey couldn't deny it intrigued him and turned him on.

Never did he think a dinner invitation would lead to sex this soon. Yet, he was about to try and discretely buy some condoms, pick up Chinese food, and make his way over to his crush's house.

Joey suddenly broke out of his periphery and made it for the door thinking to himself, “What the fuck is my life?”

And to think it started with some DM messages after a shittalking session and COD game.

[talesandasksfromthewvba]

Ah hey look! It’s the Bruiser brothers themselves, Rick and Nick!

And, we just so happen to have an origin story for them! Just what are these two hiding from us anyway?

Read below to find out!

((Keep in mind that this is sort of a weird one, but hopefully you’ll get used to it 😭. Also CW for body horror imagery)) -Dex

Ok so, you know that we basically don’t know how old nor where the Bruiser brothers are from right? Why is this such a mystery? It’s been bothering me for years now...

Well I have a proposition... now here me out.... they were created in a lab.

So there were these group of scientist that decided to come together to create the perfect fighter. Through some agreements, they collected DNA samples from all kinds of boxers that were considered the best of the best: the most lean, tall, strong etc.

It took some years to figure out, but they managed to make their first prototype: Rick Bruiser.

The scientist first helped out Rick by teaching him with basic life skills (you know, like talking, eating etc). When he mastered them, they immediately put the gloves on him to start training. The results and analytics were showing up with “alright” scores, but not what the group was looking for. Also not to mention, Rick started to develop his own charming personality, which the scientist were pleased and quite proud of as it makes him more human like, but they also thought that this was hindering his fighting style (for some reason).

So by taking Rick’s DNA and changing up some formations, they made a second version of Rick, and by technicality his brother, Rick Brusier.

Nick was more emotionally detached than Rick, which was done on purpose. As they went through the same learning process with Nick, they tested out his fighting expertise. The testers were much more pleased with Nick’s outcome and decided to focus their testing and work on him, leaving Rick in the dust almost. He sort of grew jealous due to this, but still wanted to at least work out a brotherly bond with his new kin.

As time passed, they applied Nick to all kinds of boxing matches. From left to right, he about won just about every match he was in. It was almost non-stop fighting and match-ups. Due to this however, Nick started to feel a bit... off. But he never reported it nor brought it up because he really didn’t want to mess up his streak.

Then the time came for Nick to work his way up in the W.V.B.A. to get that champion belt. Nick’s first opponent was obviously the glass jaw himself: Glass Joe.

The poor Frenchman thought that this was just another match where he gets horribly beat up by yet another big and burly boxer. So the match starts with a ding, and goes off smoothly at first. Nick is quite the excellent fighter and Joe knows this. But something was about to happen that would shock everyone and the world of boxing in general.

Lots of dodging and punching, the first being done by Nick and Joe unfortunately getting the latter. “Whatever.” He thought to himself. “Let’s get this over with.”.

Keep in mind that this is around the time when Joe was starting to get one of the worse records in W.V.B.A history, so he was a laughing stock to the crowd. And to be honest, most people buy tickets to Glass Joe’s fights now just to see his face get beat in. It’s basically like a sick comedy to them.

But with this in mind, Maybe he can perhaps get at least one punch in? This could not only catch the audience off guard, but also he can at least get some kind of good press for this effort. It’ll at least be a good coffee read in the morning, so why not?

So with a lot of focus and managing to get a split second opening, Joe did the best punch he could.

A big old “POW” if you will.

This catches Nick off guard as well as the crowd. After a few moments of silent the crowd starts to cheer. Joe starts to feel a kick of euphoria in his body after what just happened. He felt like could do it again!

Nick however, after the punch, starts to get that same off feeling from before, but it was more noticeable. His arm... also felt weird. But he brushed it off and continues to fight.

More back and forth arm swinging happens and Joe gets yet another punch in as Nick blocks it. Yet another “POW” could be heard from the impact. The crowd starts to get louder with cheers and jeers going everywhere. But after a few seconds, something oh so horrible happens that will stay in the minds of whoever was attending that faithful night.

Nick’s arm starts to fall apart.

Gasps and screams started to erupt from the stadium. Joe quickly back off after realizing what in the world was happening. He couldn’t believe what was happening in front of him. All he could do his cover his mouth and stare in shock at the absolute horror show he was witnessing.

Nick didn’t even know what to do. What the hell was happening to him? Why didn’t those damn blockheads tell him about this?

The rotting started to get worse as his whole arm was basically gone. It started to now slowly go up his neck and that’s when Nick basically “passed” out. The doctors and ref started rush over Nick Bruiser to try and get him to a hospital. The crowd was trying to get up close to the ring to see the freak accident they just witnessed.

But by default, Joe won the match. His first win. This should be an exciting moment for him, but he’s too distracted and also felt such a painful guilt in his stomach. He probably thought he killed the man. Nobody would survive such a horrible incident like that! He felt like he was about to puke...

This was a dark chapter in the W.V.B.A history books.

This incident was in the year 1985

Weeks have passed since the incident, and Nick wakes up in a bed with a brand new arm attached to his arm. Stitched up of course. Unfortunately, this meant that he also remembered what happened to him that night. Nick didn’t know if he should be grateful that he’s still here, or if he should be mad now that his perfect record is down the drain. “What an embarrassing way to go out” he said in his head. This is what he’s going to be remembered by. The one guy that had his damn arm fall apart.

Great.

However, Rick was so happy that his brother was alive! He watched the match from the tv back in the lab, and was absolutely terrified with what happened. Poor Rick really thought Nick was dead, but who could blame him? He waited oh so patiently for the progress on Nick’s rebuilding.

Nick couldn’t help but feel a bit touched by this. He never felt this way before.

One of the scientist then explained to the still confused Nick that apparently his body was starting to weaken with all the excessive fighting they put him through and that it went completely off their radar. So during the last fight with Glass Joe, his body completely gave up on him. Literally. But after a few alterations to his body along side stitching up his new arm, something like this should never happen again. Hopefully.

Well that explains a lot.

They all decided that they should stay off of boxing for awhile just in case something like this ever happens again. So both Rick and Nick just simply hung around the lab for awhile and used the opportunity to do some catching up.

During this they mainly were assistants for the workers in the lab and did various activities as well.

Time passes by and by unanimous decision, the lab decides to let Rick and Nick Bruiser go to the outside world for themselves. With all the knowledge they learned, they thought that they’re perfectly ready to have their own social lives.

The lab provided them with everything they need. Fake birth certificates, new IDs, social security, lots of money, clothes, and a little apartment they can start off with. The lab will of course will keep them in close contact just in case something haywire happens.

Finally, the brothers can be a part of society.

They started to get use to the average living life. They lived together in the apartment that they were provided with and made do with it. Rick wanted to do more stuff unlike Nick, who was more introverted. But hey siblings will be siblings am I right? Nick was still self conscious about going out because someone might recognize him as that one boxer that... yeah... so even when he does go out, he’s covering his face up with a hoodie.

The year is 1990 and the W.V.B.A. is taking in new and fresh boxers for their second branch that they just established.

Rick saw an advertisement for this and jumped at the opportunity to join. For all of his (short) life, Rick wanted to fight in the ring. But because he was seen as a simple prototype and how Nick got WAY more of the attention, he felt ignored. So this was finally the opportunity for him to possibly join the association. Rick doesn’t care if he doesn’t end up being that great, he just wants to fight his heart out.

Nick took notice of this. At first he thought “Yeah, right. Like I’m going back there.”. But when he really started to contemplate, this could be possible redemption. No longer does he have to hide in the shadows of his past, he can show the country— no, the world that he’s not the same anymore.

That was the old Nick. He’s the new Nick now.

When he told his brother that he’ll join and possibly even try for the belt, pure ecstasy bursted out of Rick. Finally, he and his brother can take on the world and have it in their hands together.

After all, they are The Bruiser Brothers.