#i will forever be salty about the fact that ethan was let down by the people he loved and they were the reason he suffered so much

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

ethan desrved so much betterrr ususghhshshsdaaaa

#ethan winters #rose winters #rosemary winters #resident evil 8 #resident evil village #re8 #rebhfun #resident evil #resident evil fanart #he would have been the best dad ever :( #he really went through all of that just to kill himself in the end #the last time he ever held rose was when he had to give her away to someone else #this is why i draw ethan in so many domestic scenarios #im trying to cope #he needs a nap #someone tuck him in #hed have nightmares nvm #why did this normal guy have to suffer so muchhhh 😭 #software engineer kills like 15+ bioweapons BSAA soldiers left flaberghasted #i will forever be salty about the fact that ethan was let down by the people he loved and they were the reason he suffered so much #mia and chris had their intentions but it doesnt matter because their executions got ethan killed anyways #ITS TRUE! #u can say mia loved him and chris was just worried but it wont change the end result #ethan still dies in the end #(not to say that they didnt care about ethan #they just sucked at handling things) #long tags #ooops

[vinylhazza]

Morgan, i NEED a blurb about e not being able to stop playing with your pussy. Like imagine it’s late at night and your reading or something and he’s just under the covers kitten licking you and just non stop touching you, poking his finger in your hole every so often and you tell him “come on e i wanna sleep” and he just comes up, lies on your chest and is like “but i wanna...” and starts to finger you while kissing your neck making you give in to him😫🥺

irresistible | ethan dolan

oh my God he literally would.not.leave.you.alone.

this could be when you’re at dinner, reading your book like you said, watching a show, on your laptop, just laying out by the pool, on the phone, he’s fucking always touching you. hands always roaming. he never stops. and it makes you feel powerful because - are you that irresistible? and the answer is yes. to ethan, you are just that irresistible.

it was your favorite book in the whole world and even if it was your thousandth time reading it, it still got you so enraptured every single time. you had always been such a heavy reader all your life, and when you had those pages open in front of you - not much else caught your attention. you were gone. that is - until you met ethan and noticed just how much he craved your attention and got a little jealous when you were so engrossed in other tasks besides loving up on him. it didn’t matter if it was laundry or dishes, making the bed, watering the flowers, or other mundane tasks that a human needs to do. you soon realized just how clingy the man actually was for you.

it wasn’t in a negative “you can’t love anything else besides me” way. it was really just this innocent need he had that he got a little carried away with sometimes. nothing spiteful or truly vendictive. it was just that ethan loved to see you so happy, and he almost couldn’t help himself when he noticed the joy radiating off of you - and he couldn’t come and make it even better for you. he always crept in to bring that happiness to the next level, that’s why you never minded about his subtle dose of clinginess.

it started out as innocent little whines while he’s laying next to you in bed, little pecks on the cheek, tracing patterns into the soft skin of your arms and down to your thighs. it was always “pay attention to me now” with a soft whisper that made goosebumps pop up all over your body.

but none of that was as distracting as his new habit. ethan has become obsessed with playing with your pussy at all times of the day. that meant he was either down on his knees, worshipping you with his tongue, slurping and stroking and sucking, slapping his lips against your folds and moaning into you with this verbato that - fuck - sends shudders down to the tips of your fingers. or he was rubbing slow deliberate circles on her clit with his fingers. maybe sometimes both. the sensations shoot through you like a zap of electricity. it’s maddening, just so incredibly distracting you’re surprised you get anything done at all.

you used to wish for an alternative for his touchiness, but you’re not sure this is what you were thinking. but you can’t say you’re complaining. he was just so damn good with his tongue too. the days he decided to bury his head between your thighs really sent you over a wild ledge. had you thinking thoughts that would forbid you from the holy land forever. made you crave him when he wasn’t there, miss his tongue, but just seeing his face made you tired somewhere inside, you knew a bone shaking orgasm would ensue soon.

your reading time was your save haven. that dedicated time had saved you from many mental breakdowns over the years, and having ethan flicking and mumbling and moaning into your folds had your eyes scanning the same meaningless paragraph for at least ten minutes straight. your sighs didn’t stop him, he was far too focused on your slick heat in front of him.

he rushed to her bedside. he rushed to her bedside. he rushed to her bedside. he rushed to her bedside. he rushed to her bedside. he rushed to her bed-

oh for christ’s sake.

“e...c’mon baby i really need to focus on this. it’s getting to a good part,” you whine, wiggling your hips in an attempt to detach his lips from your core.

no such luck, he was hungry and when he needed you, he needed you. which happened to be all the time, but he just couldn’t stop.

“you can read to me if that helps,” he mumbled against you, laying his tongue flat and licking a long strip up the center of you - your hips jerking in his hands.

“fuck- i can’t do that e, you’re distracting me i don’t even know what i’m reading anymore,” you gasp, trying to not give into him, your body exhausted from the long day anyhow, “can you please just come up here and lay down with me? we can go to sleep and continue this in the morning.”

at last, ethan is pulling away with a smack of his lips and a pout, only to begrudgingly let go of your plush hips and crawl up your body to lay on your chest, nuzzling into your breasts the best he can. the book you were reading being propped open by nothing but your left thumb, hanging in the air before you doggy ear the corner of the page (something your teachers always yelled at you for growing up) and set it halfway hanging off on the nightstand with a sigh. he’s grumbling about you tasting so delicious and it’s ‘not his fault you look hot all the time’, something that finally gets you to crack a fond smile and rub a hand through his hair to soothe him. you know he’s coming from a place of want and kindness. but it’s still hilarious for him to be upset that you said no one time to him eating you out. he forgets that you even let him play with your pussy during a family dinner at your mothers house. now that, is a story you’d never tell a soul. your cheeks burn up just thinking about it.

“you really know how to woo a girl,” you giggle softly, rolling your eyes and smiling just a bit wider when he snuggles down, smoothing a hand across the expanse of your ribs, running his thumb over the skin just under your left breast.

before it could turn into a bittersweet moment to file away in the “cherish forever” part of your brain, his hand is sliding slowly back drown your torso and to your mound again, rubbing away once again.

“seriously sweetie i’m so tired i wanna sleep,” you coo to him, knowing he’s only calming himself down and distracting himself from whatever thoughts haunted him like they always did during the night.

“but i wanna...” he whimpers, trailing off and raising his head just enough to tuck right into your neck, kissing at the soft silky skin under his lips, smoothing his tongue over sore spots he starts to suck and bite right in the middle, then peppering down next to your collarbone. and it’s hard, it really is, to resist when he sounds so helpless and desperate for you. made you feel so wanted.

then you feel it, his finger slowly entering you down below, the wet sound of his entry making him smile into your neck. he moves slowly, in case you get mad and try to slap his hand away - which you’d never dream of doing. even though you are exhausted out of your mind, slightly irritated from being interrupted from your book...you couldn’t deny the power he held over you and how convincing he was when he touched you like he did.

you really don’t know what to say, not when he’s sneaking yet another finger inside of your clenching hole, humming that you’re a “good girl” and feel “so wet” and “so tight” around his fingers. he’s a charmer, you much say, even when performing such a dirty act. he really got you going more than any man you had ever been with. he knew just how to twist you and bring you right to your knees...or rather...he knew exactly how to get those pretty little legs to spread right open for him to feast as he rightfully should.

with a huff you’re grabbing onto his wrist and grabbing at his chin at the same time, making him look at you and really understand what you’re about to say. you want him to knew the urgency of the situation. you want to waste no time. no foolery. no dilly dallying. no nonsense. pleasure then sleep.

“you better make this good, because i promise you i am no stranger to cruel and petty punishment. you want to interrupt me that’s fine, but you better make it worth my while.”

and it’s the look of pure filth in his eyes that comes after, it shocks the sleep right out of you. has his fingers pumping faster, tongue peaking from his mouth to wet his lips. he curls at the knuckle, digging up into you with a force unlike any other, ramming his fingers into you with incredible speed.

with your full submission, ethan leans into kiss you, really kiss you. a slow, deep, passionate kiss that knocks the air right from your lungs. normally you would cringe at the taste of yourself on his lips, but with the pleasure lighting up every nerve in your body, you couldn’t seem to give two fucks about the sweet but salty taste on the cushiony pink that had turned into your safe place. in fact, it turned you on even more that he ravaged you like a wild animal, that you were tasting your own arousal on his lips...and he gave it to you like a gift. he dipped his tongue in to slide against your own while his fingers pumped into you faster, harder, deeper. the wet sounds of your cunt - so delicious - bounced off the walls of his room, getting you dangerously close to the surely heavenly ending you know was coming.

your hips rock and roll against his hand, matching his thrusts, fist grabbing tight to his white t-shirt, pulling him impossibly closer and letting out that moan you’d been holding in since he started tonguing at your whole a half hour ago.

“that’s it baby, let me here you...” he praises you, smiling while he leans back to look down at his fingers plunging in and out of you at an impressive speed, “i knew you wanted this.”

with his praise, the volume of your whimpers and moans turn to louder whines and squeals - the hand wrapped around his fist now digging crescent shaped nail marks into the tanned skin. he hissed at the pain of your assault, but it only made his blackened pupils grow larger.

“i’m so close e- fuck i can feel it,” you wince at the small sound of your voice, knowing you must look so gone and blissed out with your eyes shut tight, lip trapped between your teeth. this only causes him to speed up further, pumping and kissing you deeper. giving you pleasure is what gave him pleasure, and he’s loving every minute of it.

you cum with a scream, the kind of scream that honestly shocked both you and ethan - the sheer blind pleasure coursing through you had your thighs shaking from underneath the covers- the hand on his wrist tightening like a vice - the walls of your push constricting and fluttering rapidly around both of his fingers still pressed deep into you. he pumps you through your orgasm, peppering kisses across your face, whispering terms of endearment over and over after every peck to your skin. i love you, i need you, i adore you, beautiful angel, there we go princess, so sweet for me always, doing so good. he pulls his fingers from you slowly, smiling when you whine at the sudden feeling of being so empty. you loved being filled by him. you indulged on the pleasant feeling and bonding that cockwarming provided on many nights. it’s something that soothed you right to sleep.

when you’ve finally calmed down enough to flutter your eyes back open, you see that he had tucked both fingers into his mouth, and was then sucking around them eagerly, pulling them from his mouth with a lazy smile. without another word you’re pulling him down by the back of his neck for another kiss, a kiss that is then slow paced and pacient, sliding your tongue into his mouth to taste once more. smiling into the kiss, you pull back with a satisfied sigh, holding his hazle eyes captive with yours.

“better?” you grin, pecking right against the rosy red of his blushing cheek, holding him there while you wait for his tired little nod.

“much better.”

#asks #e!concepts #ethan!concepts

[baby-grayson]

Kind Stranger|GBD|Part 10

Parts 1-9 word count: 6k 

tw: anxiety, angst, fluff, mature themes tags: @dolanpornhub @styles-dolan @evergreendolan @someonetogray @vintagedolan @prettyboydolan​ @dolansficsandpics​ @graysavant​ @baby-turtles​

Kathleen Monica Walker would cock her head to the side and lose herself in confused thoughts when the other little girls in her class would snicker and giggle about boys on the playground. Once, her childhood best friend, Tabby, pretended to marry her next-door neighbor while dressed in a Cinderella Halloween costume with a pillow-case veil. Kathleen was the maid of honor, donned in a yellow Easter dress with her short, black bob freshly brushed. Kathleen beamed at her best friend, soaking in the happiness of the moment, during their second-grade backyard wedding.

After a nervous, giggly kiss and a make-believe tea party, Tabby came to Kathleen. “Thank you for being here on my special day,” Tabby pushed her nose up as she talked, thinking it made her look more grown up.

Kathleen laughed heartedly, seeing through her friend’s ruse at age seven. “You look so pretty,” she gushed, admiring the tin foil twinkles under the netting of the Cinderella costume. “I do.” Tabby decided haughtily. Tabby wasn’t very good at making friends, they all found her theatrical; but Kathleen understood that Tabby was constantly performing the most climatic scene in the movie that was her life. “And one day, you’ll get married and I’ll be there for your special day” Tabby posed with her hands on her hips. Kathleen laughed, scrunching her nose into her face. She matched Tabby’s pose: putting her hands on her hips and angling her upper body, “Me? Married?” Kathleen put a mocking hand in front of her mouth, “I’ll get married when I run out of books to read.” Kathleen nodded her head in certainty.

At the time of that conversation, Kathleen was proudly working her way through the Ramona and Beezus series. A few years later, she promoted her collection to Harry Potter. Not soon after that, she plunged into the classics: Moby Dick, Little Women, Tom Sawyer, and Jane Eyre. Her love of pleasure reading transformed into deep dive into engineering textbooks and academic journals.

Staying true to her words at age seven, Kate kept herself busy with intellectual pursuits when over girls her age were obsessing over passing notes in class, kissing boys under the bleachers, and picking prom dresses.  She convinced herself frivolous relationships were not a natural part of her being: she was a creature of logic who had a deep appreciation for contemplative thought. In truth, her commitment to academic topics turned her into a late bloomer when it came to social situations. In her lack of development, she often fell inward: trusting her own intuition, facts, and reasoning above all else.

In the present moment, logic failed Kate. There was nothing logical about the look in Grayson’s eyes. There was nothing logical about the feeling his skin sparked against her fingers as she cupped his face. There was absolutely nothing logical about Grayson Dolan professing his love for her on the beach where they met as the sunset on a picturesque LA behind them.

Kate inhaled softly, never breaking Grayson’s gaze. Why did his eyes look so beautiful when they were a little wet? The gold flecks in his eyes twinkled like small reminders of the sunset behind them. His eyes played every word he ever said to her and every moment they ever shared. Out of all the beautiful things Grayson said to her, Kate had never fully expressed her appreciation for him.

She was awkward, not a natural people person. She was petite and disabled in a large, bustling world that was not made for her. She was hyper logical, in a world where emotions ran rampant around her. Grayson Dolan made her forget all of that. Grayson Dolan’s gold-flecked eyes felt like home.

A small sob got caught in Kate’s inhale when she tried to speak. Her eyes lashes fluttered, begging to hold onto Grayson’s gaze forever. She squeezed his one hand tightly, never wanting to let it go. She thumbed his cheekbone gently. With a breaking voice, she drew out, “I love you too.” They moved at the same time, crashing their lips together. Grayson grabbed her, pulling her small body close to his. Kate’s hand moved up to his hair, tugging gently at the locks that framed his face. Grayson’s heart beat made dauntless bounds; Kate recognized the rhythmic pattern against her chest. Grayson’s lips tasted like honey as his mouth moved gingerly against hers. Her sweet, citrus scent intoxicated his nostrils. She fit perfectly inside of his arms, made for him to just peer his head down and meet her lips. Grayson’s heart nearly leaped out of his chest. Every wound up emotion inside of him disintegrated as he channeled ever last ounce of energy into cherishing her. Grayson melted into the moment. He hands moved over her curves, wanting to commit every detail of his moment to memory. The shadows of her face were so close to his that he could breathe in her fragarance, and then her tongue was in his mouth. In truth, Grayson was not expecting her tongue: he only wanted to get drunk on the delight of feeling her plush mouth rest on his. But Grayson did not catch even a glimpse of her face, while Kate’s tongue made daring movements. She reached for him with every part of her being. Her tongue swept across Grayson’s mouth while his grip on her tightened, bringing her in as a part of him.

Grayson’s heart beat faster and faster, growing more intoxicated by her with each passing second. Together, their lips blossomed like a flower. Kate pulled away first, delicately moving her lips off of his. Grayson nestled his head lower, brushing the tip of his nose against hers: silently asking her for more. Grayson’s breathing slowed while the sound of the waves crashing on the shore slowly brought him back to reality.

Kate pulled back further, but keeping herself in Grayson’s arms. From her small stature, she tilted her face to look up at him. The gold flecks in his eyes reflected the sunset next to them. Kate exhaled slowly before drawing out, “But—”

Grayson’s heart fell. His eyes widened. He swallowed a large gulp in his throat. But? But what? There were not buts when you were in love. He loved her. She loved him. They loved each other. They were in love. There were no buts in love.

“We do need to talk,” Kate thumbed his shoulder slowly, “About how to make me a part of your life.”

Grayson nodded, more quickly than he intended to, “I want you to be a part of my life”.

“You were right, privacy is important to you,” she started, “But celebrating us is important to me. So let me tell my mom and my friends, just like you tell yours. “Grayson shifted his head to the side, a dubious shadow forming underneath his cheekbone. “We keep it off social media, the internet. Until you make the call that you’re ready for that.”  

Grayson nodded slowly, swallowing hard. His grip on her tightened as he found words. Although not a novice with women, Grayson was practically a virgin in the realm of conducting quality conversation to better a relationship. “I like that. But—” Was that the word of the day? “Can we just tell close friends? Both of us, not just you.” He licked his lips, “Trust is an important thing. But I think you’re right. Celebrating us is important to me too.” He brushed gently swept some of her hair behind her ear, “I want to celebrate you every day.” She smiled in a thin line up at him, her cheeks lifting. Grayson pulled her in again, kissing her sweetly. Kate left the smooch, with a wide smile and bright eyes. Grayson’s heart swelled. He could look at this scene forever: the woman he loved, dark tendrils swaying in the wind, bright smile, shiny eyes, surrounded by a beautiful California sunset on the beach.

Grayson’s heart swelled throughout the night. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, and she was sitting on the other side of a beach towel eating a lettuce wrap. Grayson’s soul felt rejuvenated, better than it had felt in so long. Only a few weeks earlier, Grayson sat on that exact beach and wallowed in growing anxieties about his future, family, and the past. That evening, he sat on the beach with a wide smile and full heart.

He looked over his shoulder, admiring the way the waves hit the shore. He was reminded of the image of his mother, sister, and brother relaxing on that beach that came to him a few weeks ago. But this time, he saw a fourth figure in his imagination. In his mind’s eye, he pictured Kate’s dainty frame on the sand, helping Ethan build a sandcastle. Grayson would saunter back from the waves, board in hand, and place a quick, salty kiss on her lips before starting to dry himself off. In his heart, he placed her beside his most important people.

They were in love. With their picnic put away, the moon rose over their heads as the start of night fell over LA. Kate laid back on their towel, Grayson’s figure hovering over her. He kissed her sweetly, stopping every few minutes to run a hand through her hair. He kissed her again, mumbling something about how she was beautiful.

Kate kissed the tip of his nose sweetly. Grayson’s eyes closed in a peaceful state. She slipped a hand through his hair. Her body absorbed the warmth emanating from him. “I love you,” her voice was just above a whisper. Grayson’s eyes opened gently, to meet her adoring gaze. Grayson’s voice held a emphatic sureness, “I love you too.”

Grayson’s head bent down to meet her lips with his plush ones. He deepened their embrace when she pulled his body closer to her. Kate’s tongue gently slid across Grayson’s bottom lip, asking for permission. He opened for her and began to run his hands along her body. She clutched his back, dragging her fingers along the fabric of his shirt. Grayson fingered the hem of her skirt while he softly bit her bottom lip. She let out a small moan and drew in a breath. His hand slipped up her skirt and grabbed at her thighs.

Kate trapped his bottom lip between hers. One of her hands clutched a part of his shirt, crinkling the fabric against his back; while the hand got lost in his hair. Kate sucked on his bottom lip gently while Grayson’s hand climbed up her thighs before his thumb looped through the waist band of her panties. Grayson pulled back suddenly, realizing where he was.

He exhaled lowly and licked his lips, “Do you...I mean..would you?” Kate nodded softly, not needing him to finish, “Let’s go back to your place.”

Grayson had never packed a picnic so fast in his life. The second Kate finished her sentence, Grayson lifted off of her and began putting plates and cups back in the cooler they came from. He kept an arm around her as they walked up the beach, bending down occasionally to place stray kisses on her temple.

Kate wondered if her outward smile would ever match her inward one. Grayson made her want to wear a Cinderella costume and dance around in her backyard, like Taddy had done when they were seven. Grayson made her ever emotion leap in a whimsical euphoria.

Kate’s brow furrowed, not seeing Grayson’s van. She looked up at him curiously, “Did you drive here?” Grayson nodded and pulled a set of keys from his pocket, “Yeah.” He clicked a button on the keys and a black Porsche lit up from across the parking lot. Kate chucked to herself softly, “What happened to the van?” Grayson shrugged, blushing slightly, “I sold it” Kate shook her head softly, assuming fancy cars must be one of the perks of dating a guy like Grayson.

Grayson nearly broke the speed limit. The car ride back to his rental was spent with one hand firmly on Kate’s thigh, as he raced through the LA freeway, with Kid Cudi playing through his speakers. They shared the car ride: drunk and high off love and happiness.

Their love and happiness carried them across the threshold of Grayson’s rental. The white, beachy décor didn’t phase Kate this time because her focus was exacted on Grayson’s kiss. Somewhere between the living room and kitchen, Grayson fixed an arm under Kate’s knees and swept her off her feet. Kate giggled and let out a small “oop” but kept her lips on his. He reveled in carrying her to his bedroom: he adored how her small frame fit perfectly in his arms.

In a gentle movement, he laid her on his bed. It was there, in his bed, on that warm August night, that Grayson Dolan made love to Kathleen Walker for the first time.

**

Grayson’s eyes flickered open. He quickly shut them, afraid of the sting of the morning light. His mind was hazy from sleep and partially still drunk from the emotional high of last night. He tightened his grip, pulling his sleeping partner closer to him. He breathed in Kate’s sweet, citrus scent, slightly diluted in the smell of his sheets. With his eyes closed, he smiled wide. Kate let out a small snore and curled up inside of his arms.

Grayson kissed the top of her head, “I love you” he whispered. He loved her. Completely, utterly, and with all of his being. She was the soft to his tough. She was the smart to his dumb. She was everything he had ever hoped to find and more. To Grayson, love was waking up in his bed and smelling her sweet scent, hearing her gentle snores, feeling her body curled against him, tasting last night’s kisses mixed with sleep, and seeing her serene, angelic face dreaming next to him. To Grayson, this moment defined love. 

On that early morning, with just a few rays of light peering through the window, Grayson imagined what his mother would say she met Kate. He thought about what his father would like if he were still alive; the thought settled in Grayson’s mind as he squeezed his sleeping girlfriend once more.

This second squeeze unearthed a groan from Kate, who’s eyes were beginning to flutter open. Half asleep, she found Grayson’s smile before snuggling into his chest and wrapping her legs around his waist, “G’Morning.” How was her sleepy voice this cute? Grayson chucked and placed another kiss on the top of her head, “Good Morning Angel.” He stroked her bare shoulder with his rough hand. Kate removed her head from the crook of his neck and shook it softly, “No, not that one.” Grayson’s brows furrowed in confusion, his head tilted to the side. Kate explained, “Too religious. Not good for sexy time. But nice try.” She shrugged softly.

Grayson chucked and licked his lips, “I’ll keep trying.” He kissed her gently, hovering over her lips before pulling back. A wide smirk found his face, “I did like what you were calling me last night”

Kate’s face turned a humorous shade of red. She let out an exasperated giggle and shook her head. She bit her lip softly, suddenly aware of how intertwined her naked body was with Grayson’s. The heat from his chest emanated onto her skin.

Grayson seemingly became aware of this fact at the exact same moment, because one of his arms reached down to fondle her ass while the other reached into her hair, pulling her closer for a deep kiss. Kate responded by burying her fingers in his hair while wrapping a leg across his waist. Grayson gave her sleepy, sloppy kisses while his hands roamed her figure: memories from last night flooding his brain.

What happened next would go down in history as problematic.

Without looking, Grayson shuffled a condom off of his nightstand. He made quick work of putting it on and ravishing her. It wasn’t until he had finished that Kate felt an unfamiliar stream hit her body. She looked down, and Grayson followed her gaze to see his orgasm spilling out of her, onto his bed, and off of their broken condom.

They were still for a moment processing this. Kate moved first, shimmying herself away from him and picking up a pair of his sweatpants from the floor. “We need to go,” she grumbled looking for a shirt, “take care of this.” Grayson nodded and began finding his underwear from the floor. He always wanted to be a father, but not like this.

***

The CVS fluorescent lights beckoned the young couple in, like a treacherous refuge for their current dilemma. Kate moved swiftly, Grayson following right behind her. As they stepped over the pharmacy threshold, Grayson reached for Kate’s hand. Her supple skin felt clammy to his touch. A far part of Grayson’s mind called back to the silky, tender feeling of her skin under his last night. His memories of this morning were already tainted in wicked stains.

His heart hurt. His heart called out to her. His heart hung heavy in his chest with the weight of the morning. He eyed her figure, hurrying across the CVS entrance. Her usual confident stride was replaced with slump shoulders and a tense spine: something in this posture eventuated her limp. Her hair fell onto her shoulders in hectic, unruly mess. Grayson’s mouth pulled into a tight line; he couldn’t bare to see her this way. He wanted to do something for her. He wanted, so desperately, to make this better for her.

Grayson squeezed her hand gently and pulled her back toward him. He stopped her from continuing her furious saunter across the CVS. Kate looked up at him, her brows furrowed to the middle of her forward as she gave him a hard stare. He nodded at the display in front of him, his words came out slowly and softly “Do you want a snack or something? You didn’t eat breakfast..”

Kate’s eyes drooped at the sides. The jaw she hadn’t realized she had been clenching unwound and softened. She brushed a gentle thumb across the back of Grayson’s hand. He was sweet. At his core, he was sweet. And that’s why she fell in love with him. Kate nodded, “Yeah that’s a good idea.” Her words were an amalgamation of low breaths. She bit her lip softly while she reached out a hesitant hand to choose a bag of pretzel sticks. She held out the package, tentatively to Grayson. Grayson nodded softly and took the bag from her. He gave her a soft smile that shattered her in that moment. Kate felt tears well into her eyes as the gravity of the morning dug a stake in her heart. Grayson’s instinctively wrapped his arms around her, he buried his face in her hair. Her petite shape fit perfectly into his large frame.  He placed a few gentle kisses onto the top of her head. “It’ll be okay,” he squeezed her gently from within his embrace. He placed another kiss on the top of her and mumbled, “I promise it’ll be okay.”

Kate’s breathing steadied as she slowly pulled away from Grayson. She nodded and looked up at him, the gold flecks of his eyes still holding all the warmth of his hug. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by an ear shattering screech.

From the other side of the aisle, a girl no older than 14 was invoking a jarring, piercing, harsh noise from within the depths of her throat. The uproar lacked the low bawl of pain, but embodied every trait of a frenzied, shrill call of adoration. The second Grayson recognized his own name in the girl’s scream was the same second Kate retreated from his personal space. She took a large step backward, nearly knocking her head on a Chapstick display.

Kate did not stick around. Grayson lingered in front of the snack aisle, trying to kindly, but quickly, appease his fan. Kate took large strides towards her desired aisle, not stopping to look for Grayson’s head. She frantically scanned different pill boxes, swallowing hard between breaths. She swiped a box from the shelf and bolted for the register.

From the other side of the store, Grayson surveyed his surroundings. The fan strolled along, elated with a picture and a conversation. Grayson’s eyes darted between ends of the store before locking on a scurrying mess of black hair.

Kate slammed her credit card down on the counter and tangled her hands in her hair. The girl at the register didn’t comment on her purchase. Kate exhaled and slightly thanked her for it. She reached into a cooler next to the register and picked up the top bottle of Gatorade, “Add this too” Kate remarked.

Grayson reached the registered as Kate crossed the threshold for the second time, hurrying into the parking lot. Even with her limp, Grayson struggled to catch up to her. He jogged slightly, trying to reach her side in the parking lot. As she approached his Porsche, he clicked his keys to open the door: still trailing her.

Kate swung the passenger door of Grayson’s Porshe open, without even thinking to tell him to unlock it. She heavily landed in the seat and began to fumble with the plastic bag. The bag erupted in a shrill raucous of noise while Grayson entered through the driver’s side of the car. He gulped hard: his teeth shook as uneasy streams of air passed between them. He should help her. He should say something. He should know what to do right now. Be a man Grayson, be a man.

Kate didn’t pay him any attention, having already torn through the plastic bag and in the process of frantically ripping the packaging open. The heat safe plastic broke into fragmented shards, piercing the back of her hand and inviting the smallest drip of blood. Kate let out rapid exhalations, using her teeth to get through the cardboard box and reveal a single, tiny white pill. She placed it in her hand, the stinging from the cut of the box fading into the background of her mind.

She felt faint. All of her blood rushed to her head. Her rapid exhalations gave way to shallow breaths.

Grayson stared: his eyes flickering between her and the pill.

Kate threw her head back. She cupped her mouth in her hand. She slipped the pill between her lips.

Kate’s head rested against the headrest while she spun the cap on the Gatorade bottle and flooded her mouth. She poured it into her mouth, letting it wash over every piece of her insides. She tried to feel for the pill in her mouth, but decided drowning it in Gatorade until it dived into her throat.

She lunched forward, coughing violently and spewing a gentle layer of Gatorade onto the dashboard of Grayson’s Porsche.  

She leaned back again, still reaching for breathes. The Gatorade bottle fell into Grayson’s cup holder as Kate’s small fingers relinquished it. She sat in a pile of plastic shreds, a broken cardboard box, a plastic CVS bag, and a bunch of splashed Gatorade in her boyfriend’s Porsche.

“I’m sorry,” Grayson’s voice escaped his lips as a frightful mew. He looked at Kate, her gaze staring off in the distance. He noticed the heavy way her chest heaved to pull in small breaths. His mind flashed back to some of his most trying moments. A younger Grayson didn’t believe in anxiety attacks: the current one knew them much too well. His lips pulled tight into his face, “I’m so sorry.” Kate’s pupils reached the edge of her eyes as she looked over at him. “Just-“ she heaved, “get us-“ she puffed our an exhalation-“home.”

The ride back to Grayson’s rental was fraught with a heavy, tense silence. Grayson longed for the feelings last night brought him: racing through the LA freeway with the radio playing and his hand firmly on Kate’s thigh. He glanced over at her; Kate’s small frame appeared be shrinking into his car seat. Grayson’s sweatpants and t-shirt draped over her body, and her unbrushed hair fell in messy tangles on her shoulders. She was still beautiful though; she was always beautiful. Grayson’s heart begged to see her round cheeks bounce into a wide smile for him.

Kate collapsed on Grayson’s couch soon after arriving. Grayson stood hesitantly in front of her, licking his lips and exhaling softly. Kate closed her eyes back and took her face in her hands, letting out a small groan. Grayson leaned against the arm of the couch, looking down at her, “I’m sorry for this morning.” He moved his hands outwardly while he talked, “I don’t know how it happened. It won’t—” “It’s fine Grayson,” Kate let out a small groan while she finished his name. She sat up slight, propping herself up to look at him. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Grayson’s heart stammered when he saw her eyes fill with tears. He leaned down on the couch, trying to put an arm around her. She swatted it away. He sat straight up, alarmed and going dry at the mouth.

Kate swung her legs around, sitting up before taking in a breath and standing. “I can’t do this Gray.” She looked at her feet, biting her lip and shaking her head. Grayson gnawed at his bottom lip, “Do what?” Kate let out a loud exhale and shook her head, still not looking him in the eye. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, “Us” her voice was barely a whisper, “I can’t do us Gray.” Grayson’s face fell. His eyes darted around the room: trying to find an answer where there wasn’t one. His tongue felt heavy and thick. He opened his mouth to speak and dragged it around his lips, “This scared me too…but …let’s not …do anything…” he bit his lip sharply between his teeth, “drastic.” His statement nearly sounded like a question. Kate shook her head quickly and furiously: as if she was trying to shake off a thousand spiders. “Did you see her in there?” She looked up at him now; Grayson’s mind went blank at the sight of large, dewy tears teasing the corners of her eyes. “That girl? Did you see her?” Grayson’s jaw clenched. He swallowed hard, suddenly becoming aware of the tightness in his chest. “What about her?” His voice was low, but steady.

This was clearly not the response Kate was looking for because she pulled her face into her hands and abruptly turned to face the door. She shook her head and let out an exasperated sound. She looked back at Grayson, tears flowing down her cheeks. “You don’t get it,” her throat played with chokes and sobs while she spoke, “It’s so easy to love you but so hard to love your world.”

“Being yours means submitting myself to being,” something like a depressed chuckle left her lips while she used air quotes “’Grayson Dolan’s girlfriend.”  She sat down on the coffee table, tugging at the hem of Grayson’s shirt. Her tears had become a steady river across her face, “You can’t go anywhere without being recognized, because you’ll always belong to millions of people: even when you belong to me. How can I be my own woman when I’ll be an extension of you purely because of what you do for a living?” Grayson chest constricted. His heart left his body, escaping the terrible moment. He held in breaths, keeping his jaw clenched. He wanted so desperately hold her and tell her he loved her.

Kate must have known what he was thinking because she continued with, “And I love you Grayson, I really do. But you’re asking me to be something that’s not myself. I’ve worked hard to get where I am! What?! Do you want me to throw it away?! You couldn’t be there for me this morning!” Her voice escalated to the point of screaming, “You couldn’t be there for me at all! And if you can’t spare a half hour to get me Plan B! What can I expect out of you!” A tear balled up on the side of Grayson’s eyes. “You can expect me to love you,” he was speaking without thinking now, “You can expect me to be proud of you. You can expect me to do everything I can when we’re together—” “Don’t give me that bullshit” Kate shook her head, his words drawing a knife through Grayson’s chest. “I know you think you can solve this with romance and affection, but this isn’t that kind of problem Grayson.” “THEN WHAT KIND OF PROBLEM IS IT?” Grayson held out his palms from where he sat on the couch. His eyes went wide, the single tear had evaporated into a stare of tumultuous pain.

Kate shook her head, “Your world wasn’t made for someone like me. Even though you were made for me.” Her voice wavered between crests of anger and troughs of sadness.

“You can’t give up on me the day after you tell me you love me.” Grayson’s body was stoic, his shoulders were square while he hands fell in his lap, but his voice held metric tons of sadness. His heart wanted to grow arms and hold her close.

“I do love you Gray,” Kate reached a handout to his, “I really love you.” Her voice was soft but exhausted. All of her energy had been depleted by screaming at him a few minutes earlier, “It’s just…” she searched for words in what must have been the longest thirty seconds Grayson ever experienced, “I’m being selfish because I’ve been in a relationship with myself for 22 years, and that comes before my relationship with you.” She squeezed his hands before pulling away from him, brushing tears from her eyes, “I wouldn’t like myself if millions of people saw me as an object” she said it like a cuss word “attached to you….I’m not giving up on you Grayson, I’m just choosing the person I want to be over the person I would hate to become.”

  A/N: If you’re one of the people who has been keeping up with all ten parts, I can not thank you enough! I love seeing your reactions after you post! I know this part had a lot, so please tell me what you loved and hated! 

#grayson dolan #fanfic #dolan twins #youtuber #romance #fluffy #angst #fanfiction #writing #story

[fantasyoverreality98]

Weather the Storm

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Casey Valentine)

Summary: Bryce and Casey go on a vacation to Hawaii a few months after the attack on the Senator.

Author’s Note: It took me a while, but here it is. This will probably be one of my last fics for the next little while, since I recently started my fourth year of university and things are just overall not very fun. Sorry for any potential typos! I’ll try my best to write a little bit, but can’t make any promises, unfortunately. Hope anyone who takes the time to read it enjoys!

Taglist: @anotherbeingsworld @aylamreads

Word Count: 1,260

---

Water lapped against the shore, soaking the sand beneath her feet.

Casey stood by the ocean, arms crossed over her chest, trying her best to ignore the dread that settled deep in the pit of her stomach. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she listened to the sound of the waves.

Sienna’s sobs echoed in her mind. The image of Rafael laying down in a hospital bed burned into her memory forever.

Danny…

The tears started before she had a chance to stop them, and she covered her mouth with one hand to muffle the sobs. It was too much. The wound too fresh.

“Case? Are you okay?” Bryce stood behind her, the knowledge of his presence enough to calm her, even if just a bit. “What’s wrong?” He stepped forward, resting a hand on the small of her back.

She shook her head, not trusting her voice to remain steady. Instead, she looked up at the water once more, trying to focus on the fact that she was alive. Despite all odds, she had survived.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.” Casey glanced at Bryce for a moment, his face blurry through the salty tears. “I just—” She sighed, shaking her head before looking back at the waves.

Bryce wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. His warmth reminded her that she wasn’t alone, releasing some of the tension in her body as she leaned against him.

Casey shifted, sniffling as she turned to face Bryce. He looked down at her, brushing some hair out of her face when they made eye contact. She pressed her lips together for a moment, letting out a shaky breath before she wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him against her.

“I love you,” she whispered, her lips brushing against his neck.

He shivered at the touch, hugging her tighter. “I love you, too. So, so much.”

Never, not in a million years, would she grow tired of hearing him say those words. They filled her with hope every time he said them.

She leaned back, pausing for just a moment before placing her hands on his face, pulling him down for a kiss.

“Why don’t we go swimming for a bit? I can even teach you how to surf,” Bryce said once he’d broken off the kiss, looking down at her with a grin. “It’ll be really fun. I have a feeling you’ll be a pro in no time.”

Casey laughed, gripping his arms as she pulled away to look up at him. “That seems very unlikely, but a swim sounds great right now.”

The first few weeks after the incident at the hospital had left Casey terrified to step into any hospital rooms. Ethan advised her to take a break for a while, and after a while, she finally managed to set foot in the room of her first patient in weeks.

Now, three months later, it was finally time to get a proper break. She missed working, but also felt tremendous relief that she’d been granted time for a little vacation.

“Come over here, there’s something I want to show you!” Bryce’s voice echoed over the water, his excited grin enough to pull her out of the past again. “You can use my board!”

Smiling, Casey walked into the ocean, swimming out to where Bryce was sitting on his surfboard. He helped her up and pointed back to the beach.

“This used to be my favorite place to come when I was in high school. The beach was always a way to escape from everything that happened back at home.” His breath was warm on her neck, and she sighed as she leaned back against him.

Bryce wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Were it not for his support the past few months, Casey wasn’t entirely sure she would have been able to cope. The two of them had been sleeping in the same bed since the night after she was free to leave the hospital. At this point, they practically lived together.

“Thank you for showing me,” Casey whispered, shifting to look up at him as she rested her head on his chest.

With a grin, Bryce looked down at her, brushing some wet strands of hair from her face. “I’ve been dreaming of taking you here for a while. Do you like it?”

“I love it.” She glanced back at the beach again before turning her head to peer at the water.

It wouldn’t be long before the sun set. Bryce tried to encourage her to try out surfing, but she decided to head back to the shore and watch him instead. Casey laughed when he wiped out on a wave after a few minutes, disappearing under the water a moment before his head surfaced within seconds.

When Bryce got back to shore, the sun was starting to set, the sky growing darker. He pulled Casey to his side as he plopped down beside her in the sand. The two of them were quiet for a while, watching as a kaleidoscope of colors reflected over the water.

“I really appreciate you showing me your favorite beach,” Casey whispered once the sun had set. She turned to face Bryce, hating that he would see the unshed tears shining in her eyes. “I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Memories of the night of the funeral plagued her mind. Seeing Bryce break like that had marked a shift in their relationship. It seemed both of them had decided that after that, there was no point in wasting time anymore. Casey told him that she loved him a few days later, and he’d immediately said it back.

Bryce tugged her even closer when she shivered, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “You have no idea how much you mean to, Casey.” She felt him shaking, and turned to see that he looked at her with tears in his eyes.

Neither of them spoke, instead leaning in until their lips brushed. Tears started to stream down her face as she thought about Danny and Bobby again. Every time it seemed like the wound had healed over, thoughts of that day sliced even deeper than before.

Some of the tears trailed down to their lips, the salt laced with an unspoken bitterness. Casey took a deep breath, tugging Bryce closer, holding onto him as if he would disappear if she let go. His warm hands on her body was enough to keep her grounded, to remind her that she was still alive.

“Come on, we should head back to the hotel.” Bryce pulled away, grinning at her through the tears that still shone in his eyes. “I’m taking you back here in the morning, and you’re going to learn how to surf.”

Casey laughed when he stood up and reached down to grab her hands, pulling her to her feet. “That’s going to end in disaster. I can tell you that much right now.”

“I’ll be right there beside you, it’ll be great.” Bryce winked, quickly wiping away the few remaining tears from both of their faces before he took her hand in his and started to walk.

As the two of them made their way back to the hotel, Casey thought about the events that had led up to this moment. She wished more than anything that none of it had happened. But right now, with Bryce by her side, she knew that, somehow, everything would be okay.

#choices fanfiction #bryce lahela #bryce x mc #bryce lahela x mc #open heart #open heart 2 #choices: stories you play #play choices

[bajuuuu]

The Spiral- a short #UnusAnnus stor

Endless spiral all around me. It must have been just a few hours but it feels like eternity. Does time even work the same around here? Who knows… maybe not even a day passed above- above, in the real world. Huh real world, is that what I am calling it? I guess, but if that is real where am I now? I am not dreaming, I can’t be dead- I think- and this definitely isn’t the same place where I was a few hours ago. Where am I? In the machine! That’s where I am, that is certain, but that still doesn’t mean I can’t be somewhere else as well. For all I know the stupid coffin can work just as an entrance to another universe which we naively call “The Machine”. Where am I? I would love to say I am in the middle of nowhere but even that isn’t true! I am not in the middle! I am just nowhere! Absolutely nowhere! 

How could it all go so bad? We had everything in control didn’t we? Didn’t we? Sure we did! At the beginning! But then it all went to hell! How could I let that happen? The worst part is I could have prevented this! I could have, god damn it! And if nothing else I could have prevented Ethan from paying for my mistakes! I keep waking towards the nonexistent middle. A fun little channel! It was supposed to be just a fun little channel! But nah! I must always go just a little further! Always just a little more! Always further beyond! And look where that got me! Look! And sure I was tricked- tricked into the machine- but it is till my fault! All of this! My fault! Oh Ethan will never forgive me for this! I wouldn’t if I was at his place- Wherever that even is… 

No! You are not taking my friend you stupid piece of machinery! No matter what you try to do to me! I am still Mark Fishbach! And if nothing else I am going to get Ethan out of here! Somehow… 

...somehow...

Ah what am I kidding… it would be a miracle if I even found him let alone found a way to get us out of here! All of this! It is just me trying to keep my head above the water. Just a sad and lonely Mark trying to keep myself sane by assigning myself a probably pointless task without any assurance it is fulfillable! Am I doing this just because I don’t want to believe I have failed again? Probably! Have I already failed? Definitely! Can I make this right? Who the hell knows?!

 I should be hungry and thirsty but the only thing I am is tired- tired and so incredibly stupid! Why did I ever think making a deal with two death gods was a good idea? I want to slow down! I want to stop for a moment and get some sleep but I am afraid that once I slow down for even a single moment I won’t be able to get back up. I have to keep going! I have to, or else I have failed yet again. And so I continue on, into the nothing in front of me, getting forever further from the nothing behind me. I wonder how Amy is doing. Does she know? Does she have a suspicion? Or is she still blissfully oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend and his friend have been replaced by dangerous entities from another dimension? What do the editors think? I hope they are not in danger too! That’s the last thing I need now- more people I put in the harm’s way! 

How long did I already walk? Who knows?! I don’t! That’s certain! How ironic I am inside of a clock! I can even hear it! Each and every second of it! I hear it! Tic. Tac. Tic. Tac. Over and over it ticks away my time. Yet I don’t know how much time I have. All I hear is the constant ticking! I feel like I am going crazy! Who knows, maybe I already am! Even if I was, there isn’t anyone to tell me is there?!

W-way- Wait a minute! Do I-? Is-is that-? No way! I gathered all the last bits of strength I had and started to run. Don’t let your hopes up Mark! Maybe you really are going crazy. You know what this place does. But it has to be! Who else would it be? Breathing heavily I ran right to the silhouette that emerged from the spiral in front of me. The closer I got the clearer it was- I found him! Against all odds I did it! I found Ethan! Still panting I stopped just a few meters in front of him. “Ethan?!” I spoke in between my breaths. But I got no answer, Ethan was sitting right in front of me, curled into a ball with his head hidden by his legs. “Ethan?” I asked this time more carefully, his behavior startled me. No answer. “Ethan it’s me, Mark!” I repeated once again. “Sure and the voice you sent last time was also you right?!” Ethan finally spoke, still not looking at me, his voice was tired, exhausted and quiet. “What? What voice?” I asked. The initial excitement was now replaced by confusion. “Oh don’t play dumb with me! Why do you keep thinking this will work?! You tried so many times before, why do you think this time I’ll believe you?” “B-but it is me, Mark! Please just look! I am right here in front of you!” I started to fear for Ethan’s sanity. “Don’t let your hopes up! Don’t let your hopes up! Don’t let your hopes up!” Ethan whispered to himself as he started to tremble. “Ethan! Please! I am right here!” I said once more but with each word Ethan just trembled more and more. Alright whatever I am doing, it is not working. I need to try this differently… but how? Damn it Ethan I am supposed to be the crying bitch baby! “Ethan just tell me what can I do to make you believe I am really here if you don’t want to look for yourself?” I asked. “Shut up!” Ethan shouted. “Just shut up and leave me alone!” Do I want to touch him and make him look? No, no I can’t, if anything I would just make him even more afraid. Startled, I accepted my defeat and sat quietly down a few meters away from Ethan, waiting for him to do something first. What happened to him? Should I be afraid for his sanity? I-I mean I already am, but should I be?! I don’t know how long we sat there like this but we did. Just the two of us… in the literal embodiment of nowhere. Finally Ethan moved his head and gave me one quick look before flinching and looking away again. I wanted to do or say something but I feared that any movement might scare him even more. Just a moment- that’s how long it took Ethan to avert his eyes back to me, he was still trembling in what I imagine was fear but in his eyes I saw disbelief and surprise. “M-Mark?” He asked shyly. “Yes! Yes, it is me Ethan! It is really me.” I spoke as calmly as I could. “What are you doing here?” He continued with the questioning. “We opened the coffin, remember?” I said. “And since then?” “I tried to find you.” I answered not fully understanding why would Ethan ask that question. “It really is you?” Ethan asked once again. “Yes! Here in the flesh.” Silence.

“What did you mean when you spoke about the voice?” Now was my time to ask questions. I disn'r want to break the silence but the tension in the east was unbearable. “From time to time I hear a voice- your voice and it keeps calling to me. Telling me that you are here but no matter how hard I look around, you are never there.” Ethan’s voice started to crack. “No matter what I do, and no matter where I go you are never there!” His voice finally broke as Ethan started to tear up. “Never there! So I decided to just close my eyes and hope it disappears soon!” He spoke between sobbs. “I don't know if it is this place messing with my head or if I am just crazy but in the end it doesn’t matter. In the end nothing really matters in here apart from your own sanity fading away slowly in front of your eyes.” “I am here now, okay? I am here and I am not going anywhere.” I tried to comfort him. “Can you please hug me?” Ethan asked suddenly, tears still filling his eyes. I stood up and walked closer to him, carefully, as if I risked breaking something in the process, he was almost still, his eyes looking at me through the layer of the salty tears. I closed the gap between us and finally embraced Ethan in a long and tight hug. I really cannot tell who needed it more. Was it the trembling Ethan or the exhausted me? I don’t know but at the moment it didn’t matter.

“Are we going to die here?” Ethan broke the silence, he was still terrified. “No-“ I tried to console him but he cut me off. “Don’t lie to me Mark! Are we going to die here?” Ethan saw right through me. He broke free from the hug. “I-I don’t know.” I said, now truthfully even though the sentence was breaking my heart. It was me who caused this! And it was my place to find a way out of here, not Ethan’s! Heck he wasn’t even supposed to end up here in the first place! “B-but we have a whole year to figure something out! I promise I will do anything in my power to get you out of here!” “A year? What are you talking about? We have a week at best! We have one day, if that annoying prick occupying my body is telling the truth!” Ethan raised his voice both in anger and confusion. “No- No, that can’t be right! A day?!” I too was confused and fear quickly made its way back into my head. This can’t be right! “This place- it plays tricks on you Mark… time and space lose meaning here. Left can be right, right can be left, down can be up and up can be down. There is no floor under us nor a ceiling above us. There is just the never ending spiral and nothing more… and on top of that, it literally sucks energy out of you probably to fuel the machine- you probably experiwnced that. I have been here for a long time- probably way longer than you. And if Unus is telling the truth then in our actual world we have a day before the timer hits zero-” How long have you been here Ethan?! How long have I been here? Do we really have just one day? No! No, No, No, No, No! That can’t be! I still have to make things right! “What to you is a day, to me is a month and all of it is completely different from the outside world anyways so it doesn’t matter!” Ethan’s voice was just a little too calm given the situation. I must say it scared me. “And for every real-world day that flies by, that stupid idiot above comes down and tells me ‘Hey! You wasted another day!’ In the most uplifting way possible so it makes you go even more crazy!” Here Ethan’s voice finally revealed the full power of his despair and fear that until now I could just guess was still inside of him. This however wasn’t really time for in-depth analysis of Ethan’s feelings. “Wait… wait… wait… by the stupid idiot you mean Unus? He has visited you?” If anything this was time to get the hell out of here and even for that it was probably too late. Time… funny that time is what we need. We are in a place that doesn’t follow the rules of physics and yet we are fighting for time! We are in a place that literally screams ‘Time is a social construct!’ on top of its lungs yet time is the only thing we need right now. I want to laugh at the irony of it but my mouth is sealed shut unable to say a word. “Of course he has visited me! Always with his black little suit, and a body that belongs to ME!” A short pause. “Do you want to tell me that mister Annus up there didn’t come to you at least once to remind you just how much time you have until you DIE?!” Ethan asked, spitting the name Annus in a mocking tone from his mouth. What he said must have been a rethorical question because he didn’t even give me time to answer. Of course he didn’t… Of course! Or else you would’ve known that we don’t have a whole year but one mere day!” Ethan said almost in one breath. “I-I-“ I wanted to say something- anything- but there was nothing I could say to make the situation better. There was noth I could do! And this feeling of hopelessness enveloped me until I couldn’t think about anything else. 

Something suddenly caught Ethan’s eye as he stopped in his angry rant and looked behind me. “Speak of the devils!” He shouted angrily, waking me from my despair and making me look his way. Indeed I immediately saw and recognized two figures standing in front of us. Unus in black, Annus in white, both with bodies that once belonged to me and Ethan. In fact they would be exact copies of us if it wasn’t for the skulls sitting where the head should be. Perfectly still, they stood there, in their classic postures and with their palms forming the notorious triangle. “Come-” Annus said, his voice identical to mine. “-the livestream is about to begin.” Unus added.

I hope you liked my short story. It would mean an incredible amount to me if you told me what you think and if you upvoted it! I secretly hope Mark and Ethan will notice this and read it on the livestream so if you could upvote it would mean the world to me.

Momento Mori my friends

#UnusAnnus

#unus annus #unusannus #UnusAnnusEndParty #unus annus fanart #unusannusisoverparty #unus annus is over party

[takaraphoenix]

Let’s talk about character death for a moment.

Because I’ve been thinking about One Piece all day long. And for me, personally, One Piece will always be king of character death.

But before we go into that, let me clarify some things about character death.

I’m not a fan of character death. I don’t want to see characters I love die. That being said, The Thing (show/movie/book/whatever) does not exist to please and make every viewer happy and feel fuzzy. Especially when it features heavy action elements, character death is kind of a very important element and tool.

Nowadays, character death is kind of... a joke.

No one stays dead anymore. When a character dies, the viewer very often isn’t even under the illusion that this character might be dead in the sense of “gone forever”, which death kind of should imply. Instead it’s more of a “Well, how/when are they going to bring them back?”.

In Shadowhunters, for example, Jace dies for a full three minutes of screen-time before being brought back from death. They could have milked this for some suspense and feelings by killing him off in a cliffhanger for the season - not EVERYBODY has read the books before watching the show, you know. You could have pretended that he stays dead by killing him off in the season finale and waiting with the “Oh, I’d like to have him back, please” for episode one of the next season, to keep the viewers on their toes as to how and when the character will be brought back.

Sebastian. Killed off, immediately summons his mom who promises to bring him back.

And even on the slim off-chance that a character is killed and actually stays dead - Jocelyn Fray - it is not really... handled.

She’s been dead for a little more than a month now. That is no time at all. Yet when Clary had the angel summoned, bringing back her mother and only good relative doesn’t even cross her mind. It’s not like Jocelyn’s death has been years ago and she is well-settled with never seeing her again. It’s only been a handful of weeks now. I find it highly unrealistic that she got over losing her mother that quickly.

Luke too. The supposed love of his life died a bit over a month ago but he’s already flirting up the next woman. Like. Where’s the grief-period...? I’m not saying he ought to wear black and mourn for the rest of his life, but... more than two months, maybe?? You spent twenty years loving this woman. Somehow, I feel like that should have a longer grief-period and a harder impact than chatting up a woman after not even two months.

Not to mention the part where the show just opted to completely ellipse the grief-sharing between father and daughter. Luke and Clary addressed Jocelyn’s death in passing.

And it was mainly just used to fuel a tiny bit of Alec angst - but really only a tiny bit because he literally completely stopped being guilty about it right after he tried to kill himself over it. And while the suicide attempt was mainly the demon, it still rooted from his deeply seated guilt for having killed Jocelyn. But after that, it was kind of just... done.

Jocelyn’s death was all in all completely horrendously handled.

And horrendously handled death is kind of what brought me to this topic, as I had just recently ranted about Kevin Can Wait and how they just fridged the female lead because they didn’t know how to further the plotline but also added a time-skip of a year to assure no grieving will happen and we can move on to the “fun part” again.

That’s the two big bad Hollywood ways of handling character death.

Either you avoid handling it by just... bringing the character back to life.

Or you avoid handling it by simply not having the characters grief and deal with the death.

Both of those are awful options.

Look at Marvel. Avengers was kind of a movie you walked into expecting no real major stakes - there was just NO WAY they would actually kill off an Avenger during the very first team-up movie.

But they killed off a secondary character very effectively.

And by Coulson not actually being a character anyone was close to, you got to avoid the grieving process. Yet still the movie made that death impactful, gave it meaning and an appropriate reaction.

...I am still intensely salty that they fucking retconned it out of existence by whatever the fuck they did to justify that TV show. Like. I genuinely don’t care for it and it absolutely ruins the rewatchability of the movie for me because now when Fury goes drama queen over Coulson’s death, I just shrug and go “Meh”, knowing full-well he is still alive.

Prior to the retconning bullshit, it was a really good and effective way of adding stakes and feelings.

And that is what character death should be.

It adds stakes to a situation. Knowing that your protagonists are not invincible. That something can actually happen to them. The “no one is safe”-principle.

It’s why I absolutely adore the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

It had stakes. I spent hours crying over the final book, because Rick Riordan put the effort into making you grow attached to characters like Ethan, Charles, Silena and Luke. You cared about them, their deaths were not throwaway lines, they were impactful on the reader, the story and the characters in the universe.

He gained a shit-ton of respect from me for that book. Genuinely.

Granted, he lost all that respect with the sequel-series where he did the literal opposite and just did not kill anyone. Oh, yeah, nameless, never-before-appeared characters in throwaway line-mentions, a failed comic-relief death for Octavian and the “No worries, we spent the whole entire fucking book setting up the Death Cure”-death of Leo. It was pathetic and insanely boring.

There was absolute emotional detachment toward the final battle, while in the original series, I could not put that book down reaching with bated breath as some of my favorite characters died or risked their lives respectively.

After Beckendorf blew up, when Silena sacrificed her life, all bets were off. I could not stop reading. I had to know. Had to know if Nico and Clarisse and Thalia and Percy would make it out alive of this series. What other twists would come. It was incredibly engaging, both plot-wise and emotional.

That is what character death should do. Make a situation feel real. Make it feel emotional.

It’s one of the many, many reasons why I love and always will love Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Oh yeah, sure, this show is like the OG sinner of “Oopsie daisy, brought back from the death”-protagonist and it was ridiculous on that behalf.

But even Buffy’s death had impact.

Dawn, who started stealing and acting up because she did not know how to deal with her feelings and her frustrations. The utter... loss.

Spike fucking a robot, because the woman he loved was gone. But also Spike working with the Scoobies, Spike being an anchor for Dawn and being there for Buffy’s orphaned sister.

The utter despair of Willow trying to bring Buffy back.

Literally the only plotline of an entire season is them dealing with Buffy’s death. Buffy included. It’s not just “Oops, dead - aaand we’re back online!”. There is grief, heartbreak, confusion, the... “What now?”.

Even as real consequences as how to pay the fucking rent with the “woman of the house” dead.

And it’s not even just this “We will literally dedicate a whole entire season to this character death and it will ACTUALLY work and be brilliant”.

The Body remains one of the best episodes in TV history to me, as it deals with the death of Buffy’s mother, because it is... mundane. It’s a normal, human death and it’s... normal, human griefing.

Or... even smaller things. Kendra. She was only in literally three episodes. She wasn’t a big character. Yet even seasons later, Buffy still had Kendra’s stake, the stake that meant so much to Kendra and you were reminded that Buffy is still thinking of this dead friend. It wasn’t just a one-off character who was shrugged off and discarded.

That’s how you should handle character death. That’s how you make it work.

And now back to where all of this started.

One Piece.

Because there is actually a third option available on the “Death doesn’t matter” scale, aside from bringing them back from the dead and just not having characters deal with the death.

Simply not killing anyone off to begin with.

It’s usually the anime go-to thing, but also typical for cartoons. Generally, the animated medium where violence is hilarious and did you see how this Normal Human just walked straight through a wall and should technically now be dead? Hahaha.

Yeah. That.

One Piece used to be one of those.

In fact, One Piece went out of its way to show you just how ridiculously many characters survive ridiculously deadly situations in the Impel Down arc. We were reunited with so many characters that I genuinely had thought had just died an off-screen death in conclusion to the prior battles.

And then my favorite character died.

Died and stayed dead.

In conclusion to a story-arc that literally reintroduced a handful of characters I thought had died, making me feel even surer that this all would be fine. That Luffy would be on time to save his brother’s life, that they would leave, together, reunited.

And then they killed Ace off. Actually, on-screen, fully. Dead.

I cried for months over this death. It was intensely impactful.

For one, due to the world-building so far that has set it up that no one really dies. All actual character deaths laid in the past - being shown in flashbacks. But no one ever actually died from a battle-wound. Crushed by an entire fucking building? Shrug it off, dude.

This... inversion of an “avoiding death”-trope can make a character death intensely effective, because it really does hit you out of left field then.

But it wasn’t just that.

Luffy’s reaction to it was so intense and real and deep and argh, I cried so much. So, so much. And I was so angry about this. Stopped watching/reading for a solid two years of grieving period for myself.

I’m not good when you kill off my favorite character.

And I gotta admit, I have never really managed to get back into it since Ace’s death. I think that’s less due to the death and more due to the time-skip. I didn’t like that at all.

But yeah, it was hella effective and well-written.

So, in overall conclusion, what I want is for them to stop with the cop-out deaths.

If you don’t have the balls to actually kill your characters off, then don’t fake it either, because it’s uncreative, uneffective, boring and annoying.

Kill them off or don’t, there can’t be an in-between, the in-between has become an overused trope at this point.

And when you kill them off, fucking deal with it and have your characters deal with it too.

#Character Death #Phoe's Random Show Rants #Writing

[ninjadurtles]

Please, Don’t Do This- Ethan Imagine

Requested- “can you do 33 and 5 for ethan please?”

Word Count- 1629

Author’s note- Hi! So this is number 33 from the prompt list. Thank you so much for requesting this! Any other requests are always welcome!

Masterlist

“Please, don’t do this.”

You froze at the voice behind you, handful of popcorn halfway to your mouth.

No. You couldn’t do this. This couldn’t be happening. Not after all this time.

“Please.”

Your fingers tightened and you felt popcorn being crushed under the pressure as you tried to calm your racing heart. You took a deep breath, forcing yourself to release the handful back into the bowl before you placed the bowl on the floor in front of you with slow, deliberate movements. Maybe if you moved slowly enough, he’d disappear and you’d realise that your brain had temporarily succumbed to all the recent stress and lack of sleep and had resorted to hallucinating.

All you’d wanted was a chill evening watching some mindless romcom with your best friend. The last thing you’d expected was him showing up here after all these years. You closed your eyes, trying to hold back tears as you felt the tell-tale sting.

“Y/N. Please.”

Damn it. Just turn around and get it over with, Y/N. It’s not like you’d honestly thought you could avoid him forever.

Composing yourself, you stood from the couch. You turned to face the doorway and your breath hitched as your eyes landed on his face.

If you’d thought all the time that had passed would make it easier, would make it hurt less, you were wrong.

He looked different than he had two years ago. Scruff lined his face now and he’d cut his hair shorter but he was still so familiar. Still beautiful enough to make your heart hurt. Still your Ethan.

No. You reminded yourself. Not my Ethan anymore.

“How are you here?” you asked wearily.

“Y/F/N let me in.”

You snorted, unamused. “Of course, she did.”

“Don’t do it.” His hand thrust out towards you, clenching a piece of paper tightly. You only had to look for a second to recognise what the offending object was was, even at such a distance. After all, you’d spent many long and stressful days trying to pick the perfect design for your wedding invitation.

You sighed in resignation. “I’m guessing that’s Cameron’s?”

He let out a laugh and you couldn’t help but cringe at how cold and alien the sound was. “Well, it’s not like you invited Gray or I, is it?”

“Did you honestly expect me to?”

“Did you honestly expect Cameron not to tell me?” he shot back.

“No. I just expected you to let it go when she did.”

His eyebrows shot up as he shook the card wildly. “Are you kidding me? You honestly expected me to not say anything? You’ve been kidding yourself if you actually thought that.”

You swallowed hard, trying to push the lump in your throat down. All these years later, and you still hated seeing Ethan hurt. And you hated yourself for it.

“I wasn’t trying to upset you. All I wanted to do was invite my former best friend to my wedding,” you managed quietly and you watched the anger drain from him at the reminder of just how tragically it had all ended.

You hadn’t just lost Ethan when you guys had broken up three years ago. You and Cameron had been close friends for years after meeting at college. It was through Cameron that you’d met Ethan and it was through Ethan that you’d lost Cameron.

You’d tried hard after to stay in contact with her but everything was still too painful and seeing her just kept all your raw wounds wide open, frozen in a state of not healing. And then you’d bumped into Ethan at a party, almost a year after it all had happened and that had been it. You’d packed everything up and moved to a different state as quickly as you could and left behind everything that even remotely reminded you of Ethan Dolan. It’d taken time but you’d finally gathered the strength to call her several months ago, almost crying with relief when she’d picked up after you practically ignoring her for the better part of two years. It wasn’t the same as it was but you were both trying.

“Your wedding,” he repeated softly, eyes suddenly looking a little bit too bright. “You’re getting married.”

“Ethan.”

“I mean, fuck. You’re getting married and it’s not to me and-“ He laughed, looking at the card with disbelief before staring at you again. “How the fuck did that happen? How the fuck did we manage to screw it up that bad?”

“We weren’t right, Ethan.” You tried to sooth him but the words were hardly out of your mouth before he was shaking his head vehemently, mouth set in determination.

“Bullshit. We were young and we panicked but being with you was the most right I’ve ever felt and don’t you dare say you didn’t feel the same. Don’t you dare say being with him feels like even a fraction of what we felt like.”

“He’s a good guy, Ethan.”

He groaned in frustration, glaring at you like you were completely ignorant to his point. “He could be a god damn saint but you know he’s not right for you! Everyone knows it. Cameron’s hardly spoken to you and she can tell. Your best friend looked up flight times for me to come here and then arranged this whole thing so I could finally talk to you without you running away like you did two years ago!”

You felt your lip wobble before you could stop it and you squeezed your eyes shut but it was too late. You could feel hot tears finally escape, making their way down your cheek.

“Hey, hey.” You jumped at his voice suddenly so close to you, eyes opening to see him standing right in front of you, hands reaching hesitantly towards you. You tilted your head towards him and you could audibly hear his sigh of relief at the subtle gesture before he tangled a hand in your hair, pulling you into his chest. “Hey, don’t cry.”

Your hand came up to grab his shirt as you relaxed into him, taking in the feel of him. The hard planes of his chest, the heat he seemed to always radiate and the salty smell of his skin that reminded you of summers on the beach. You couldn’t believe that after all this time, you had Ethan’s arms around you again. You could feel the frantic thumping of your heart start to slow as he ran a soothing hand down your back, the other one cradling the back of your head as he murmured words of comfort to stop your tears.

This was what coming home felt like.

All this time, you’d assumed that your restlessness had been due to the new city. You’d been waiting to settle down into your new life and for the homesickness to fade. But it wasn’t Jersey you were missing and the realisation didn’t scare you. Instead, it just settled in you- a comforting fact that a part of you had always known to be true.

Ethan was your home.

“I’m sorry.” You pulled back when the pressure on your chest eased. His hands trailed down to brush your forearms, reluctant to break contact with you. “For running away that night. We were drunk and we slept together and I was scared that in the morning, you were going to tell me you still didn’t want to be with me.”

His eyebrows furrowed and you resisted the urge to smooth them out as you watched him try to put his thoughts into words.

“It didn’t take me long after we broke up to realise it was the worst decision we’d ever made. But I just didn’t know how to talk to you. And then I saw you at that party and I thought ‘this is it.’ Except I woke up and you weren’t there. And I kinda just thought you weren’t ready yet and that was okay because one day, you would be and I could wait.” He shrugged, offering a shaky smile. “And then Cameron told me you had wedding invitations and a fiancé. Up until then, I’d never really thought we were over but suddenly it felt like we were ending. For real. And I just couldn’t say nothing.”

He pressed his forehead against yours and your eyes fluttered shut.

“Y/N.” A gentle squeeze on your wrists and you looked at him. “You know he isn’t for you. And I don’t believe in fate but it’s us, Y/N. It’s always been us. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are or who you’re with, it will always be us.”

You felt another tear escape, rolling down your cheek. His thumb was quick to chase it, brushing it away with unbelievable gentleness. Your hand wrapped around his, taking a moment to savour being so close to him before you pulled away. His head jerked as his eyes widened in panic, hands reaching towards you again.

“Y/N-“

“I can’t just-“ You stared up at the ceiling, trying to gather your thoughts. “We have a date picked. There’s a venue and a photographer. And guests! How do you cancel a whole wedding?”

You watched as his lips started to spread in a slow, beautiful smile. “We’ll figure it out.”

“What about deposits? I didn’t even listen when they read out the terms and conditions, Ethan.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath before you fixed him with a worried stare. “And what about us, Ethan?”

His hand came down to intertwine his fingers with yours as he grinned down at you. “That’s the easy part. We’ve had that figured out for a long time. Just been too stupid and young to realise it.”

Thank you so much for reading!

Requests are open. Click here for the prompt list or just request something of your own choice!

#my writing #ethan dolan #ethan dolan imagine #dolan twins #dolan twins imagine #grayson dolan #ethan dolan one shot #dolan twins one shot

[lydias--stiles]

Thoughts on the final episode of Teen Wolf

So. It ended. Teen Wolf has officially ended. It will not come back next week, nor will there be a new season. It’s finished. After crying with my friend for 45 minutes over FaceTime, here are my final thoughts on the final episode of Teen Wolf: 

- I can’t lie. I’m slightly bitter about the whole Jackson x Lydia x Stiles debacle. I get Lydia is relieved he’s still alive. He was an important person in her life after all. But he was toxic to her. Their relationship was toxic and he had treated her poorly. I think the “jumping into his arms, hugging” was a tad too much, BUT we did get Possessive!Stiles out of it. Sadly, Jackson didn’t react to that. I was hoping there would be a conversation about Stiles and Lydia’s relationship, yet it was only about Ethan and Jackson and the fact Lydia always knew he was bi. I don’t know. It was a good scene, but I expected more. 

- I never liked Gabe, and I’m sure none of you liked him either. But I felt compassion for him. He was a brainwashed kid, perhaps even with mental issues. Over the past seasons kids have been killed, but always the supernatural way. Never by the shots of guns. I almost cried when the light went out in the fifteen year old’s eyes. 

- I loved the way Theo redeemed himself. I was afrAid it’d be cheesy, but it wasn’t. This was perfect. 

- Oh yeah, Thiam is endgame for sure. 

- I can’t express how much I loved Scott’s grand scene. He started off afraid, hiding in the library, haunted by the Nogitsune. (I’m also bitter the Nogistune had more screentime than actual Stiles) Then by an Oni, a berserker, a dread doctor, his pack mates. All the villains from his past. But the Nogitsune stood out the most. He was most afraid of his best friend turning villainous, seeing his best friend succumb to an evil spirit. I loved that. We may have not gotten much sciles, but we did get that symbolism.

- and then - - - GOD Scott turning himself BLIND! I thought it was perfect. Scott never really had to sacrifice anything tangible of him. He has lost people, but physically he was never at a disadvantage. He gave up one of his senses to save everyone, with the outcome to may be blind forever. But he didn’t care. Didn’t hesitate. He wasn’t afraid anymore. 

-  I did find the mountain ash thing a little anti climactic. I mean, it’s never been shown the ash can actually kill supernatural. It only blocked them. But now, for some reason, Scott knew the ash would kill the Anuk-Ité? An indestructable, evil, two faced spirit? A spirit a hellhound froze himself for it? I don’t know which villainous ending was worse: the one with the ghost riders or this. Also, Stiles looked at the Anuk-Ité before he threw the ash. Wouldn’t it be more suspenseful if while he was freezing up, he threw it? Like, his final heroic deed? I’m really happy they let Stiles do it, or else he’d have no purpose in 6B besides comic relief.  

- Speaking of villains: Monroe? She escaped? Has thousands of followers all over the world? They’re thinking of doing a reboot, so will that follow Monroe’s ark? I don’t think so. In the end, it would be two different shows and it’d be weird if they were connected that way. Gerard... he’s... dead? I assume. We don’t know. Is he just botched up or actually dead? And Kate... like... that’s it? I understand Teen Wolf can’t kill anyone, but I wish we’d have a more clear ending of Kate’s storyline. I mean, she’s been there throughout everything! Season one, season 3A, season four, mentioned in season 6A, season 6B.

- ALLISON WAS MENTIONED I CRIED DON’T JUDGE

- I think Finstock knew all along. Maybe not in the beginning of season one, but he’s smart. He knew. Also, like, he never felt the fear? He was at school after hours in a dark locker room for no said reason other than to fucking slay us all. He’s the example of how everyone would be in the end. They’d know, and would just let it be. 

- Speaking of Finstock, we have a little callback to season one when being co-captains was such a big deal. Now, Nolan and Liam want it! I am still a bit confused about Nolan’s storyline. In the end, he was an important factor, but he was also unnecessary at the same time. I think he was written in for plot device and his sole purpose was to be the mole in the project. How eventually, he got out of his brainwashed state, (probably after he saw Gabe kill Edgar) and thought for himself. It showed, that if you don’t think for yourself, you could end up as Gabe. Hurt. Dead. 

- The hand hold... alright. Fine. I’ll take it. But you bet your ass I will be writing tons of fics about missing scenes and alternate endings. I didn’t realise this at first, but my friend pointed out that Lydia thought back of Stiles’ and hers first kiss, when Scott was having his panic attack. That made the moment a hundred times better, but I still wish we had a cheek kiss. Like, a cutesy, lil’ cheek kiss. Anyways, like I said, I’ll write it myself. 

- Alec. The boy. I don’t know. It’s a good ending, but it also doesn’t make sense. Monroe has been on the loose for a while now, but they specifically track Alec down, and the pack drops everything to get to that parking lot? Do they do that with all the new members they find? And is that Scott’s prfession now? Locating supernatural? I’m a bit confused about the ending, so it should’ve een made clearer, or it needed a different ending in its entirety. Something more lighthearted. 

- Their slo-mo walk was way better than that cheesy, cringy ass slo-mo walk of 2.0 in 6A. God, I was traumatised. I’m also glad Teen Wolf realised it’s better to give more screentime to the OG cast and not to Corey or something. By the way, (!!!) they get an intense kiss but WE DIDN’T GET A CHEEK KISS? I’m getting salty sorry I like Mason and Corey together. 

- I’m uncertain how I should feel about Melissa and Chris. That’s all I can say as there is nothing to be discussed. It just happened. 

- Ending on a good note: Thank you Tyler Posey, Dylan O’Brien, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, Arden Cho, Crystal Reed, Daniel Sharman, Colton Haynes, Tyler Hoechlin, Dylan Sprayberry and all the others for bringing these characters to life. Even if we couldn’t see you because of the terrible lighting, you brought us joy every time we saw you on screen. Thank you for bringing us interesting storylines, even if they weren’t produced that well. Thank you for giving us ships - specifically Stydia - that will go into TV history. Teen Wolf has helped me go through rough times and has learned me some lessons about courage, fear, love and friendship. Thank you for existing when I was feeling blue or euphoric. 

Thank you.  

#teen wolf #tw #tw spoilers #thoughts #6x20 #mccall pack #scott mccall #stiles stilinski #lydia martin #anti jydia #scalia #stydia #malia tate #liam dunbar #mason hewitt #corey #peter hale #chris argent #kate argent #gerard argent #tamara monroe #derek hale #nolan teen wolf #allison argent #kira yukimura #tw cast #anuk-ité

[sweetnestor]

You Look Happier | Chapter 14

university au, teamiplier + jack

platonic/romance/angst/smut <-- read the sin on ao3 ;p

previous chapter

Friday was PAX day one. You would think I’d be the one doing panels and meetups, given the amount of nerves I was feeling. I woke up from a shitty sleep, and the only reason why I got up was because I saw the sun peeking through the curtains. That, and Ethan’s sleeping face was too comical.

Thankfully, things weren’t tense with us after my plane adventure. He was too sweet about it, which made me feel guilty. I really didn’t deserve someone like him. Even while sober, I got emotional over how much better I felt recently. I mean, despite the plane ride. The only difference was that I could push down the unnecessary tears for another time. I had to get ready for the day.

As soon as I started moving around in bed, Ethan stirred in his sleep. His arms went around my waist and pulled me back in before I could make my escape. He held me in a side hug, nosing my neck and humming contently.

“Hi there,” I greeted, amused by his sudden moves.

“Hello,” he sleepily mumbled as he scooted closer to me. “You didn’t let me cuddle last night.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, genuinely confused. I knew I had fallen asleep before him, I just didn’t think I’d push him away. Even in my sleep, I had intimacy issues. “Um… oops.”

He chuckled and kissed my shoulder. Then, he kissed my cheek. “It’s okay.”

Blushing, I turned so I was facing him. “I’m just not used to sleeping next to such a pretty guy.” I smiled as I stroked his cheek, down to his neck, and then his shoulder.

That was when I noticed he was shirtless. I had never seen him shirtless before. It was far more intimate than it should have been. My eyes trailed down his body and well… I was, for lack of a better word, shook.

“Since when do you have abs?” I blurted out, feeling all sorts of things.

“Um…” Ethan laughed nervously. “Since… always? I think?”

I glanced up at him, noticing how red his cheeks had gotten. A smirk etched on my face and I trailed my hand down his body.

“You’re so hot,” I said in a sultry tone, my fingers touching the waistband of his sweatpants. “You know that?”

Ethan didn’t say anything at first. I leaned in closer to him, trailing my fingers from his stomach around to his back.

“A-Am I?” he finally spoke, his voice soft and timid.

Oh my god, it was so endearing.

“Mhm,” I replied as I leaned in to kiss the crook of his neck. I felt him take in a deep breath, so I kept going.

I kissed up and down his neck as I felt up his body. Ethan's breathing got deeper and quicker the more I kissed around his skin. He tightened his grip on my waist, and then trailed his hands to my butt. Just from our bodies pressing together, I knew he was very eager and excited. I wondered if this was what he wanted to happen before I inevitably fell asleep on him.

~

We ended up running a little late to Jack’s panel. I managed to pull off a no foundation look and keep my hair in a high ponytail, fixing some strays along the way. We were practically rushed down to the convention center, where we were even more rushed to the show room where the panel was taking place. Thankfully, it hadn’t started yet, so Ethan and I were relieved once we were seated.

“Where were you guys?” asked Ethan’s friend, Brian, who I had met the day prior. “I was calling you, idiot!” He smacked his friend’s arm.

“I was asleep,” Ethan replied.

“I took forever to get ready,” I said over him.

“Both!” Ethan quickly added.

Someone in the row in front of us laughed. It was Mark, who had turned around. Once he did, so did the people next to him, which were Amy, Kathryn, and Tyler. Mark smirked and put up air quotes. “Yeah. ‘Getting ready.’”

“¡Ayy cochino!” I said as I playfully slapped his hands away and tried not be embarrassed.

Maybe it was the lingering euphoria, but I felt unusually calm sitting in the middle of a row, near the front of the stage. I was able to brush off Mark’s comment and avoid getting flustered and blushy. Maybe it was because it was Jack I was going to see on stage. I also had my boyfriend on my left, and my friends directly in front of me. Jack’s ex-girlfriend was on my right. It was like-

Wait.

My head immediately turned to the girl sitting next to me. I didn’t mean to make a sudden move, but I was surprised, not only at the person, but the fact that she was wearing the exact same black sweater as me. Despite that, I was a little salty that she was here.

She looked back at me, just as surprised. We’ve heard of each other, we had just never met. Honestly, I didn’t think I would meet her like this, when she was blacklisted in my mind.

“Hey Signe!” Ethan happily greeted, and we both jumped.

“Hi!” she replied, quickly composing herself.

That caused Mark, Amy, Kathryn, and Tyler to turn around. They were all happy to see her. She was happy to see them. Or they were all polite and collectively ignoring the elephant in the room. I mean, this group did have a tendency to welcome ex-girlfriends.

“You’re Bella, right?” Signe asked after that wave of greetings. “Sean’s roommate?”

I nodded and pressed on my own fake smile. “Yeah. Um, I didn’t think I’d see you here.”

“I know, it seems… awkward,” she said in a tone that matched her words. “But I wanted to see him… and maybe talk to him later.”

To break his heart again? To have the same conversation and hurt him again?

“Oh, cool.”

Signe looked at me, hesitating. “You don’t like me.” It wasn’t a question.

Still, I was taken aback by that statement. I chuckled nervously. “Um, no. I mean… I don’t know you really, I’m just…”

“She’s great with people,” Ethan sarcastically added as he patted my hand.

I sighed. “Thanks, babe.”

Thankfully, the lights went down, indicating the start of the panel.

~

“I can’t believe you never told me!” I snapped once we were all taken out of the room following the panel. I was so utterly betrayed.

“I thought you knew!” Ethan replied in defense. “Babe, listen-” He tried taking my hand, but I quickly pulled it away.

“No! Do you know what this means?” I asked seriously.

He slowed his steps through the narrow hall. “Baby. Don’t do this. Come on, please. Let’s go back to our room, and-”

“I can’t go back to the room with you!”

“Where are you gonna go, then? With Sean? He can’t help you with this, he’s on my side this time!” Ethan shot back, folding his arms. “You know what? Don’t come back to the room! I was willing to talk this out, but if you’re acting this way-”

“You guys are way too passionate about pizza,” pointed out Signe, who was walking with us.

“I don’t like pineapple!” I justified.

“Oh, why don’t you just rip my heart out?” Ethan said to me.

We were escorted to a secluded corridor by enforcers, which eventually led us backstage where we met up with Jack. Or as I like to call him, the other traiter. I would have let him have it, had he not noticed that his ex was among his group of friends. We all kind of knew to leave them alone, so we did just that, and let the enforcers take us somewhere else.

“Do you think-” Ethan was about to say.

“Wait,” I cut him off as we walked away.

“They’re gonna-”

“Shh!”

I waited until we were all out the exit and near the main floor. I had been holding his hand until now, and I quickly pulled it back to my side as I heard people yell. “I know it’s none of my business, but I don’t like her that much.”

“How come?” Ethan asked, surprised at my words and probably my gesture.

“She hurt him.” I shrugged. “Like, she really, really hurt him. She made him fly back to Ireland only to confirm that they were broken up. She abandoned him.”

“Maybe they’ll work it out this time. He looked happy to see her.”

I would have said more, but then we were joined once again by Brian and his girlfriend, Morgan. They were surprisingly easy to talk to, I hadn't felt completely overwhelmed by them just yet.

“Okay, be honest,” Brian said to me, “How much is he paying you to hang out with him?”

“Well, I don't mean to brag,” I replied, “but… four dollars and pudding cup. Like, I don't wanna say I got it made, but…”

Brian looked at Ethan, betrayed. “She gets a pudding cup and I don't?”

It went on like that. It was fun.

We didn't get back to the hotel until nighttime. Once I was alone with Ethan, I was exhausted. It was a fun day, but I could only handle so much interaction. Not only that, Ethan and Brian were approached by fans more often than not, and while most didn't bat an eye at me, I was sure they would speculate online. So that was another thing to worry about. We had never really talked about when we would publicly show our relationship.

“Hey, so are you coming to my signing tomorrow?” Ethan asked me. Even more things to worry about.

I plopped face down onto the bed and sighed. “Do you want me to go?”

“Well, yeah,” he said as he lied down next to me. “But if it's too stressful for you, then you don't have to stay obviously. But I do want you there.”

Everything is already stressful. I'm not dead, but I'm stressed. I wanted to go home already.

“What about your followers?” I asked. “What’ll they think?”

“I'm sure they figured it out already,” he told me. “I already saw some stuff on Twitter. It's mostly positive.”

I scoffed, grumpy. “I literally do not believe you, but I'm too tired to see for myself.”

“Well, it's true. Some things can turn out positive, believe it or not.” He got up and went to the bathroom.

What was that supposed to mean? How could people not hate me? I went from Mark to Ethan in less than a year, and I knew how shady that looked! Mark had never seen the dark parts of his community until I came into the picture. It could be the same with Ethan's. It had to be the same.

I would have brought it up when he got out of the bathroom but then there was a knock on the door. That sound alone gave me enough energy to get up, grab my skincare products and hide in the bathroom.

~

The next day was Mark’s panel with Tyler, Ethan, Bob, and Wade. In other words, there was no time for fun things under the sheets this time, so I couldn’t find it in me to relax or not think of my empty apartment in Los Angeles. I couldn’t really think rationally either, and that probably had to do with the fact that Ethan had to leave beforehand.

“Will you be okay?” he asked while I was getting ready.

“Yeah.” I’ve learned nothing. “Jack is gonna come find me and…” I trailed off as I filled in my eyebrows with a brush.

“And we’ll never know,” Ethan joked with a small laugh.

I looked at him through the reflection in the mirror. He looked so cute and happy in his dark red pants and navy shirt. He even had his glasses on and everything. I double checked to make sure my brows were okay before standing up to face him.

“Good luck,” I told him with a smile. “I’m proud of you, and you look adorable.”

“Oh, stop!” he replied as he dramatically waved it off. “I’ll see you in the audience?”

“I’ll be the pink dot sitting by the green dot.”

Ethan smiled before quickly kissing me goodbye. As soon as he was out the door I dropped my fake happy expression. I wanted to support him, despite that it took all of my energy. I was starting to remember why I always avoided big events like this. Only a couple more days.

By the time I finished doing my makeup, Jack had come by my room. He was alone, but he looked perkier than usual. He looked happy. I envied him.

“I’m almost ready,” I told him, my brain feeling like static.

“Can we talk for a second?” he requested before adding, “it’s about me and Signe.”

“Okay.”

We sat on the foot of the bed. I had a feeling I already knew what he was going to say, but I had to hear it to be sure.

“We got back together last night.” As expected.

I nodded lightly.

“You think I made the wrong choice,” Jack assumed.

Come on, Baller. Use your words.

“No,” I said. “Well - I’m sorry, I’m just… really tired and… drained. It’s not you, sorry.”

“So you’re cool with it? That we’re back together?” he asked hopefully.

That’s when I hesitated. “Let me put it this way: what if I got back with my ex-boyfriend after everything he put me through? After you saw how I acted and what I did because of him. What would you think of that?”

Jack considered my words and then nodded understandingly. “Okay, I get it.”

“But still,” I continued. “It’s your life, and I want you to be happy, and if she still makes you happy, despite everything, then… I’ll welcome her with my open, anxious arms.”

He chuckled. “Okay. Thanks, Bellers. And, just so you know, I was angry at Mark for a while after what he did to you. It takes time for all of that to pass, so I understand if you don’t warm up to Signe right away.”

“I’ll be nice to her, don’t worry.”

“That’s all I ask.”

~

Mark’s panel was as extra as you could expect. He made the audience scream and wave for the first three minutes. Claimed the room wasn’t big enough for his ego. Then he introduced each of his friends in an equally extra manner.

“The one and only… Tyler! The undying smile! Stand please!”

“Ethan…” (“Is that my introduction?” He pulled a dab.) “The crankiest boy in the West… and the East! Watch as he… introduces himself…” (“Hey… it’s me!”)

“Me. Mark. The unbelievable. Mark. The girthy. Shout big words at me!” (The audience booed, myself included.)

“Bob! Who needs no introduction!”

“Tears come to my eyes when I think of this man. The man who has done so much amazing things in my life, and your guys’s…” (Ethan: “Dude are you crying?”) “Shut up. This man who, not only motivated me when I was in the early stages of my channel… Wade!” (“What’s the catch?” He went to hug Mark.)

Then, the show started. Each guy expressed their opening statements. Ethan did a backflip. Then, Mark announced a tour. The five of them. On the road. Four shows in June. Many cities in the fall. Why was it daunting and intimidating? Because Mark started talking about each member of the team individually.

“Bob and Wade have been my friends for a long time, Tyler has been with me since the beginning, Ethan-”

“I mean nothing to you,” he said with a laugh.

“Let me get to it!” Mark replied after some banter. “So, Ethan is a newcomer to the team but he’s been indispensable in everything we’ve been doing. ‘A Date with Markiplier’ wouldn’t have happened without him, or without Tyler. Or without anybody on the team.” He pointed to a section of the audience. “Amy and Kathryn, you guys are unbelievable. Amy, is my inspiration in everything that I do.”

The audience lost it at that moment. But Mark quickly got their attention again.

“And! I lied, Ethan isn’t the newcomer anymore! Bella, our dear friend Bella, she’s part of the team now and she’s going to be helping us with a lot of cool stuff!”

Once again, the audience lost it. Oh no, attention. Jack nudged my side, and I blushed and kept a stiff smile on my face. I kept my eyes firmly on the guys on stage. Luckily, Mark was able to diffuse that uproar and bring the attention back to the tour.

The guys played some improv games and then talked more about the show without giving away anything major. Then they answered some Twitter questions. It was generally very good and fun, I was able to forget about being put on the spot for the duration of the panel.

One question was the deep and inevitable, “What would you tell your younger self?” All the guys had deep, emotional answers but for some reason, Mark admitting that he was very happy where he is now got me. For a minute, that douchebag persona went away and he genuinely said he was happy. It was actually nice to hear. Also, Tyler said to focus on the small bits of joy instead of everything that was going wrong, and I did not need to hear that at all… but I did.

Finally, Mark fucking cried. It was understandable, though. He got so deep and into the moment that it made some tears arise. It made me think back to our early days at YTU, when he would tell me about everything he wanted to do. His mind was all over the place, and his heart was, or still is, in a good place. He wanted to make change, he wanted to do good things.

He changed mine. I wouldn’t be here, alive or dead, if he wasn’t so determined to talk to me back in 2014.

~

After the panel ended, Jack, Signe, Amy, Kathryn, and I were escorted backstage where we met up with the guys. Then, we all ventured out back to the hotel. For some fucking reason, we decided to walk. Outside. Where it was snowing. I was brutally reminded that I was in fact a desert rat. I held Ethan’s hand like it was a lifeline until we made it back to the hotel.

That was when I slowly started to lose it again. I felt exhausted, but my heart and brain were working overtime. I tried to distract myself by looking on my phone when we were in the elevator, only to find a stalker photo of my and my boyfriend on Tumblr. It was taken from behind, our colorful hair sticking out like sore thumbs. We were holding hands, or I was hugging Ethan’s arm and standing awfully close to him while we were surrounded by people. I honestly didn’t remember where in the convention center we were when that was taken, but it made me feel awfully weird. It wasn’t a little secret anymore.

“Now they know for sure,” Ethan said when I showed him. “That means you can go to my signing!”

If I don’t die first.

“Ooh, that’s gonna be fun,” Amy spoke up from behind us. “Everyone is generally really nice, don’t worry.”

I nodded, despite that I wanted to drown myself in the mini bar in our hotel room. That was a bad sign, right? I felt the need to sedate myself somehow. That’s bad.

Thankfully, I was able to get in some resting time. Ethan was super persistent on getting me to stick with him all day, and if I was going to do that, I had to keep to myself for a bit. I had to be a good girlfriend, but I couldn’t do it while I was on edge.

The mini bar was awfully tempting though. It was on top of the mini fridge, which was right next to the desk where I had my makeup laid out. However, Ethan was sat behind me on the bed. Maybe I could just wait until he went to the bathroom or something.

“Are you putting makeup on top of your makeup?” he asked at one point.

“Just on my eyes,” I replied, sounding distant for a multitude of reasons. “Maybe I’ll go nuts and put on false eyelashes.” Or I’ll go nuts in general. Whichever happens first.

At least I had new products to try out. Three hundred dollars’ worth of items. My soft, neutral look from this morning was quickly turned into a glittery cut crease. I was blown away by this liquid eyeshadow, I had to stop myself from reacting the way I did in my videos: an excited squeal and dropping a thousand f-bombs. Oh, and I did add false lashes. I got carried away in the name of distractions. When I finished the look, I turned to Ethan.

“Too much?” I asked.

“Huh?”

I waved around my face. “Do I look okay? Too much glitter? Too much glow?”

Ethan scooted up so he was at the foot of the bed and directly in front of me. He put on a mock thoughtful face and stroked his chin.

“Hmm, turn your head,” he told me, and I obliged. “Yes, very shiny. Very… contour-y. You sacrificed many babies to look this pretty, I can tell.”

I breathed out a laugh and looked him in the eyes again.

“Shiny nose,” he mumbled.

“In an oily way or a glowy way?” I asked as I reached for my compact.

“Glowing,” he quickly replied, grabbing my hand to stop me. “It’s adorable! Ya look gore-gus!”

“Aw, thanks boo!” I said, waving it off. “Now, come here. I have to do a kiss test.”

That caught him by surprise. “Kiss test?”

I pointed to my mouth. “New liquid lipstick. I need to see if it transfers, and it’s boring to kiss the back of my hand.”

He chuckled. “Okay, then.”

We moved closer to each other, I placed a hand on his shoulder, and I kissed him right on the mouth. Yes, this was a ploy to make out with him, but it was also for research! I had to keep it short, though. Too much kissing would obviously make the color transfer. I pulled back and quickly ran my thumb over his lips, doing a quick inspection.

“Alright, cool,” I concluded as I turned back towards the mirror.

“That’s it?” Ethan asked.

“Yup! Thank you, chulo!”

“Tease!”

_______

final chapter

#crankgameplays x oc #ethan nestor x reader #jacksepticeye x oc #markiplier x oc #ylh fic #sweetheart writes #YALL WERE ALMOST AT THE END FUCCKFGK #i really think yall will like the ending #like #we just experienced the jackella ending if u will #those ends got tightened up so we know theyre good #theyre friends forever or something like that lmao #ethella look like theyre in a good place so that feels... final? #theres just a few more bits to wrap up and put a bow on top #and then its over #fuhccfjf