#why are all the old wrestle guys suddenly going off like this

[lyranova]

Hi guys! So this is my first Fire Force Oneshot in well over a year, I apologize for that. I’m still not 100% back into my old fandoms yet, but I’m getting there! I’ve been working on this oneshot off and on for about…a year think 😅. So I hope you all enjoy and I apologize if it’s a bit OOC. Also this oneshot is based off THESE headcanons 🥰!

Word Count: 1,749

Warnings: None

———

“ I’m not doing it.”

“ Please Beni, it’s only for a couple of hours. Please!”

“ No, I’m not doing-.” Beni started as he suddenly watched his wife grab her bag and walk towards the door.

“ Thanks dear! I’ll see you two in a few hours!” She shouted over her shoulder before she walked out of the house, Benimaru was suddenly left standing there, in the doorway, with his mouth partially open in disbelief.

Earlier this morning his wife had asked him to watch their daughter, Natsuki, while she went to the market for a few hours. Of course he refused, not because he didn’t want to spend time with his daughter, but because he had never spent time alone with her. Even though Benimaru looked calm on the outside, on the inside he was almost uncharacteristically nervous!

He looked over at his daughter, who looked right back at him with an almost curious gaze. She was probably wondering why her mother was leaving her with someone with little experience. He almost chuckled at the thought, if he were Natsuki he wouldn’t trust him either.

Benimaru walked over to her, picked her up out of her highchair, and gently held her in his arms.

“ Alright, looks like it’s just you and me today, kid.” He told her with a sigh, he looked down and saw what appeared to be a look of skepticism on his daughter's face. “ What? It’ll be fine.” He added with a shrug, but just in case things happened to go awry, he walked over to his house phone and decided to give Konro a call.

When Konro answered he knew exactly what this call was going to be about. Beni’s wife had informed him a few hours ago that she would be leaving the two alone and that he wasn’t allowed to help Beni unless it was an emergency.

“ I’m not coming to help you if that’s what this call is about.” Konro said with a small chuckle, he heard Beni make a weird noise as he had been caught.

“ I need your help Konro. I-, Natsuki stop squirming, I-, please Natsuki I don’t want to drop you!” Benimaru muttered as he wrestled the squirming child, Konro chuckled again as he listened to the father argue with his daughter.

“ Beni, you don’t need my help, you don’t even need your wife’s help with this.” Konro said as Benimaru scoffed on the other end of the line.

“ Of all the people in Asakusa I didn’t expect you to be the one to lie to me Konro.” He muttered, of course Konro had told small white lies in the past, but not blatant ones like this.

“ I’m not lying. I don’t think you realize how good you are with Natsuki. Wasn’t it you who was the first person to tell what her different cries meant? And not to mention you’re pretty much a pro when it comes to feeding her.” He pointed out.

“ Those things were just luck.” Benimaru muttered, Konro sighed.

“ If that were true do you really think your wife would have left you two alone, and for hours at that?” Konro asked, they both knew he had a point, if Beni’s wife really thought he wouldn’t be able to handle it she would have asked Konro to go over there, or she just would have taken Natsuki with her.

“ You…have a point.” Benimaru muttered, he glared slightly as the older man chuckled.

“ Listen Beni, you can do this. I know you’re nervous since this is something different and something you have very little experience in, but do you really think you’re the first and only parent who's ever felt like this when they were left alone with their kid for the first time? I bet if you ask any parent in Asakusa they’d tell you what I just did.” Konro could just see Benimaru looking away and rubbing his neck nervously. Konro chuckled, he probably knew Beni better than Beni knew himself.

“ You’ll be alright, besides, it’s only for a couple of hours right? You can do this.” Konro reassured him, and Beni just sighed.

“ Fine…but if something goes wrong, then I’m going to tell my wife it was all your fault because you didn’t help me.” Beni told him, to which Konro chuckled in response.

“ Alright, that sounds pretty fair to me.”

The men hung up and Benimaru looked at the now settled baby in his arms and gave her a slightly strained smile. He could do this, it wasn’t like he was fighting a hundred infernal’s right? He could do this.

At least that’s what he thought.

Things started off great after Benimaru had gotten off the phone with Konro, he and Natsuki had lunch and he had hoped that maybe she would try to take a nap.

But that didn’t happen.

Actually the complete opposite happened, instead of getting tired like he thought she would, she got a burst of energy. She began to crawl around and reach for things even though he would try to stop her, she accidentally knocked things over and broke them, and at one point had somehow locked herself in Benimaru and his wife’s closet! Benimaru sighed as he finally found Natsuki just sitting on the floor of the closet, playing in her parents clothes.

“ Natsuki, you’ve been crawling around for nearly an hour. Aren’t you tired yet?” Benimaru asked as he picked his daughter up and held her in his arms, she suddenly giggled and tried to squirm around in his arms which told him that no, she wasn’t tired yet.

“ Captain! Captain!” Benimaru suddenly heard someone shout as they went running through his house, the dark haired man turned and looked, it was one of his brigade members.

“ What’s going on?” Benimaru asked as Natsuki finally stopped squirming and looked at the man who was trying to catch his breath.

“ Captain, there’s two Infernal’s in the marketplace! I think it’s the old fisherman and his wife!” The man said quickly after he caught his breath, Benimaru nodded seriously before following the young man out of his house.

Benimaru knew he couldn’t bring his daughter with him as he went to take care of the Infernals, but as he looked at the younger members of his brigade, he didn’t trust them with his daughter. They were slightly nervous, sweat was collecting on their brows and their hands were trembling slightly.

“ Beni! Have you heard about the Infernals already?” Konro asked as he ran up to the younger man, Benimaru suddenly turned and handed Natsuki off to Konro.

“ I did and I’ll take care of it. While you take care of Natsuki.” He told him quickly before following behind the younger members of the brigade towards the market.

“ W-Wait Beni! Beni!” Konro shouted after his younger friend, but sighed as he was ignored. He looked down at Natsuki with a small smile. “ Looks like it’ll be just us for a bit huh?”

———

After Benimaru and his brigade took care of the Infrenals they began to rebuild what they had destroyed during the conflict. Benimaru had wanted to stay and help out, but his brigade members insisted he go home and be with Natsuki, that they could handle it and he could help out tomorrow.

Benimaru eventually gave in and slowly began to walk back to his home. It always took a toll on him whenever he had to put down an Infernal, especially when it was someone he saw on a regular basis such as the fisherman and his wife. He hoped that there would come a day where he would no longer have to do this, that he and his friends and family could all just live in peace without the worry of Infernals and Spontaneous Human Combustion.

As Benimaru finally made it to his home he was pulled out of his thoughts by a near whining noise, and as he looked up he saw Natsuki struggling against Konro’s grip.

“ Are you alright?” Konro asked as he stood up and walked over to his young friend. Benimaru reached out and took his daughter from him and held her tightly in his arms, which she reciprocated.

“ No. But I will be.” Benimaru muttered as his daughter wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, he almost wanted to laugh, it was as though she knew he needed a hug.

As he and Konro parted ways and Benimaru walked into his house with his daughter in his arms, he silently hoped that the day of peace would come sooner rather than later. For his daughter’s sake at least.

Another hour passed before his wife came home, she quietly announced herself before slipping her shoes off at the door. She silently walked into the house and saw her husband and daughter sitting together on the floor. Benimaru was holding Natsuki gently in his arms as he read her a story, and the two laughed at one of the passages he just finished reading.

“ You two look like you’ve had a productive day.” His wife said softly as she entered the living room, Benimaru smiled softly at his wife.

“ Yeah, it started out pretty rough, but we finally found our footing.” He told her as he glanced down at his daughter, who began to rest her head against his chest tiredly.

“ I heard about the Infernals…are you okay?” His wife asked as she crouched down beside him and gently moved some of his dark hair out of his face. She knew that he probably wouldn’t be okay for a long time, he always took these things harder than he would ever let anyone know.

“ I’m…I’m getting there, Natsuki’s been a big help.” Benimaru admitted quietly as the young girl in question closed her eyes and began to drift off into sleep.

“ I’m glad she was able to help,” His wife kissed the top of his head before reaching out towards Natsuki. “ Here I’ll take her to bed.”

As his wife reached out towards their daughter Benimaru moved her away and shook his head.

“ No, I'll take her to bed.”

“ But-.”

“ I’ll do it. Just sit down and relax, I’ll be right back.” Benimaru insisted as he stood up and carried their daughter towards her room as his wife watched them walk away with a fond smile on her face.

The two seemed to have bonded even more while she was away, which is exactly what she had hoped for.

———

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you have a good day 🥰!

#fire force #enn enn no shouboutai #fire force fanfiction #fire force x reader #benimaru shinmon #shinmon benimaru #benimaru x reader #shinmon benimaru x reader #enn enn no shouboutai fanfiction #fire force benimaru #benimaru fire force

[soft-persephone]

An Easily Avoidable Accident (But I Needed it so Bad)

Sub!Nick Miller x Black!Fem!Reader

I do write with Black Women in mind, but my fics can be read by any woman.

AN: Thank you to my friends that helped me with this fic! It means so much to me and I am so grateful for your generosity! I truly hope you all enjoy this final product!

MDNI // Rating: Explicit // WC 3.8k // Warnings: light Sub!Dom vibes, mild exhibition kink, biting, marking, thing for sounds, extra light hand kink // masterlist

Nick and You had the entire loft to yourselves.

That meant you two had time for anything. No prying eyes and no need to be quiet or fear of being caught by anyone.

Naturally, that meant they had a no pants day.

Nick could free ball it in his boxers and you could wear that little tank top you liked to sleep in and walk around in your underwear.

“I’m pretty sure you were a man in your past life.” Nick joked as you excitedly shimmied out of your sweats and threw them on the other side of the couch.

“There is nothing wrong with me wanting to do this as bad as you! This is normal for all human beings!” You defended yourself with a huff.

“Yes, lots of people enjoy wearing less clothes at home, but you are excited about it in a man way. I can’t explain how, I’m just saying. . . It takes one to know one.”

You smushed his face with a hand and walked past him to the kitchen.

“Fuck you,” you playfully scoffed, “what do you want for breakfast?”

The rest of the day was pleasantly uneventful. As the day went by and the evening wined down, Nick had put his loose sweats back on.

They were old, thin, and ratty. He definitely could not wear them in public anymore.

“You might as well just not wear any pants.” You smiled at him, more out of shock than anything else. You weren’t sure what to think about such a horrible piece of clothing.

“They’re house pants!”

“Your dick is right there!” You yelled back. “It’s like if boxers came in pants size!”

He threw a pillow at you and you threw one back before he wrestled you onto the couch.

Excitement aside.

He was in his favorite spot on the couch, but in an even better way! He could prop his legs up and lean back as comfortable as he wanted to be.

He was a fucking king on his throne and he couldn’t be happier.

You were still walking around in your skimpy underwear and tank top.

He would have wanted you to go throw some pants before the guys come back, but hopefully it was one of those nights where they all found some women to hook up with and stay the night, or just fuck off somewhere.

Instead, he was too comfortable with your ass on his lap and you laying the opposite way on top of him, on your stomach, typing away on your laptop and shifting a hoard of papers to and fro, taking the moment of spare time to get ahead on some work while he lazily watched the game.

Or at least tied to.

God bless them, but he didn’t give a fuck about the Lions and who they were playing.

On any other given day he would have, but it’s hard to remember his love for sports when your hips keep sliding back and forth on him whenever you sit up real quick to get a better look at a paper, your hips pushed forward, right over his dick. Once you finally highlight or read whatever you were trying to read carefully, your hips moved back toward his chest and over his dick once again, leaving him to think of nothing but of how sexy you were.

It wasn’t hard to imagine a more intimate setting.

Hell, even at this moment.

You two in this loft alone, on this very couch in this very moment, naked for no one but God to see, you riding him just like this giving him no choice but to take whatever you gave him.

He brought a hand to his mouth and bit his finger, hard. Willing himself to stay still and not thrust his hips up onto your clothed pussy.

He needed a distraction, but football wasn’t working. You moving your hips and shuffling every five minutes wasn’t working either. Why were you suddenly moving your hips up and down on him like that?.

You slid your hips forward before sighing in frustration and moving them back until his dick was crushed under the weight of your stomach.

Were you trying to kill him? Did you somehow not notice his growing erection?

You sat up, quickly dragging your hips forward, again! But this time it wasn’t where he needed it. This time he needed you on his cock, desperately at that.

“Nick, you okay?” You turned your head back, putting down a paper. The movement causes you to push your glasses back on your nose.

Fuck, you were cute. He hoped you ran out of your contacts forever.

He cleared his throat and rubbed at his chest to hide the sound of his moan.

“Nick?”

“Y—yeah.. yeah I’m good. . “ he managed to mumble out.

Solid cover dumbass.

He couldn’t help going back to the thought of you both naked. You turning around to look at him with a different look on your face.

“You got so tense all of a sudden.” You continued before turning around back to your work. “And I know you don’t care about the Lions losing, so I wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything serious.”

“N…no.”

Oh, he was just making it worse, but you were a bigger dumbass than him, apparently. He says it lovingly, but how did you not know?!?!? Were you that into your work?

“Well, just let me know if anything changes.”

You give a quick wink before you turn around, and he moans.

His hips cant up with such force you bounce up and back down on him, and he couldn’t stop the whimper in time.

He covered his face, letting the sounds come out.

“Nick?” Your voice was in a fucking panic and it was embarrassing to say the least.

You try to move but he quickly grasps your hips. His nails are almost digging into your skin.

“Nonodontmove!” He slurs, his voice rising at a higher octave that makes you throb. “Stay,” he was panting now, his chest rising and falling as you put your hands over his,” please,” he openly whined, not holding back or caring anymore,” stay.”

Oh fuck…

You licked your lips and fought against the panic. “Yeah?”

“Can you just wait a little bit longer for me? I Promise to do something as soon as i'm done.”

“Okay,” he licked his lips, his eyes growing full and watery in such a way you wanted to hold your breath.

He looked at you with such adoration and emotion you swore you would die if you didn't look away. They were softer now, much softer. He looked more calm. A stranger to how desperate and wild they were seconds ago, but you weren't fooled.

No, there was a deeper, more sinister side to this yearning gaze.

While he saved putting his heart on his sleeve for rare tender moments, it was also a fucking weapon. A weapon created for your own demise. You fought the urge to give in, to throw her papers aside and everything she’s been working on to give him whatever he wanted.

But you couldn't. No matter how bad you needed it, you couldn’t.

You were emailing back and forth with a client and Xaiviar was cc’d on it as well. He was the lead lawyer on a case and you were helping him with it. The client was about to drop the case altogether, but you managed to find some evidence that would ensure the jury was siding in her favor.

If she was patient and held out, she would get everything she deserved and the bastard that hurt her could pay.

You just needed some fucking time!

Nick found a documentary about gorillas.

Nice!

As much as he loved them and tried to bring up the essay he wrote on them one morning after doing a bunch of mystery pills that he took one night, he could care less about them right now. He loved you just a tiny bit more.

He bit his lip and tried to let his better nature take hold of him.

Nick's hands were gliding across your skin. Smoothing and kneading the plump flesh of your thighs before coming up to rest at your hips for while, but it didn’t last. He soon became antsy, needing to touch you.

Hoping that just the feel of you in his hands would be enough to distract him from how hard he was. That it wouldn’t make anything worse for him.

But it was making it worse for you.

You could hardly concentrate.

After rediscovering every curve and dip of your body. Every scar, bump, and blemish of your smooth supple skin. It always held a subtle glow, bringing attention to your more than lovely over and undertones. He wanted to put you on display so everyone could see this much of your skin.

The world deserve to know how beautiful your skin was. How beautiful you were.

He decided to test puting his hands on your thighs to see if that would help. His fingers gently graze against your inner thighs. Going up and up until he was too close to your center, daring not to get too close, and moving them back towards your knee. He couldn't stop.

It was mindless action, hypnotizing even.

“Nick,” your tone was bitter in your mouth, sounding harsh to your owne ears, “stop it.”

You snapped around to face him with a glare.

Where these emotions were coming from was a mystery to you, but the foreign feeling twisted your stomach with anticipation.

Nick's eyes were half lidded and struggling to stay open. He gurgled out a moan, the action making him cover his face with his hands.

“Nick. . .” You absentmindedly licked your lips, “let me see your face.”

Nick's chest had been moving up and down erratically since you turned around. His soft pants spurred you on.

Your mind was racing with what to possibly say or do next.

Nick slowly placed his hands on his chest, rubbing at it in circles with his left hand. A sign that usually meant he was anxious.

Every part of him was strained in concentration towards you as if the mere thought of looking away would hurt too much. His eyes were dark, wet, and needy.

Your mouth fell open in a silent o, and you ground your hips down in one fluid motion causing you both to moan.

You both were so fucked.

A wave of something was washing over you. It crashed and crashed against your entire being and the anxiety bubbled in fear of it taking you under, whatever this was. The foreign lightning of it all cracked and crackled in your veins.

Your laptop quipped out a short sound. Then, and only then, you notice how quiet the room was.

You momentarily turned, checking the message in your email.

Dear Ms, I am sorry for getting so indecisive at such a crucial time in the case. Everything has just been so stressful. I wanted it all to be over as quickly as possible, adn i got in the way of you adn your firm doing the job that I, myself hired you to do. I am so terribly sorry. I would liek to see this man put behind bars for good or worse.

Thank you again for everything. I leave my fate in your hands.

Thank, God!

You said a quick prayer, and emailed your client back, making sure to cc Xaiviar.

You closed your laptop and shuffled your papers back into a bifold, tossing them along the further end of the couch, but not so far that they’d fall.

Keeping your position, you turned slightly, moving Nicks shirt up as high as it could go. You eyed his chest, the wide expanse of hair there you’ve obsessed over from time to time, the happy trail that was also a favorite of yours.

Nick’s body moved with the flow of your hand.

“Please,” his voice was higher and strained as stuttered the words out, “please, I’ll be so good please. Just please.”

You ground your hips on his, masking are you were positioned in just the right spot. The feeling of him through your underwear just felt to good. Your movements were slow and steady. Just enough to drive you both crazy, but not nearly enough for either of you.

The anticipation of it was thrilling. Your heads grew headier and headier with each sound he made. With every stutter, pant, and moan he made

The door clicked and you both froze.

“What pray tell is going on in here?” A voice boomed.

Nick cleared his throat and put his hands in a more casual position at your waist. Squeezing lightly just to keep you still.

“Hey, Coach.” It came out gravely but natural.

You were surprised, thinking about how he sounded like he was going to explode just a few moments earlier.

“Don’t, “hey Coach me. You weirdo.” He scoffed. “Go have sex in your room like the rest of us! Just because you're having sex with the same girl every night doesn’t make it okay to play exhibitionist!”

“Nick and his girl is doing what!” Winston slammed the door. “That’s disgusting!”

“Mhmm.” Coach sassily added.

“Oh. My. God.” Nick covered his face with his hands.

Needless to say. All the sexual tension was sucked out of the room. Sitting like this on Nick‘’a lap was starting to make you feel overexposed and awkward.

He reached over and stretched to pull the blanket usually strown accross the couch to cover your body with. You silently thanked him, and avoided looking Coach or Winston in the eye.

“You,” Coach pointed at you,” I am very disappointed in.”

“But, Ernie—“ you pouted.

“—No!” He interrupted. “No Earnie! From now on you call me Coach just like everyone else!”

“Bu—“

“No buts! You have to earn your way back up to calling me my name! “ he shook his head at you with so much disgust it felt absurd.

He was really mad at you. . .

“Now you two go to your room and think about what you did!”

“Mh mh mh.” Winston shook his head with an equal amount of distaste.

Needless to say you both retreated into Nick's room for a very awkward and short walk of shame.

-

“Please. . . Oh, wait. . . Fuck.” Nick moaned before whimpering out your name.

You made him cum with your hand twice, then three times with your mouth, and one more time after that because you just couldn’t help yourself.

His hands were gripping the sheets so tight his knuckles were white.

You had your hands braced against his chest and you slowly sat on his cock. He was stretching you wide with how thick he was. In this new position, it felt even thicker, making it harder than normal.

“Please,” his voice several octaves higher, letting you know just how close he was. “Let me help. Let me touch you.” He strained out before gritting his teeth.

“I.. got it.” You had to fight your instinct to tense your whole body once you had finally taken all of him in. He was so big and thick you could just feel him pressing against your spot already, making you breathless in the process.

You massaged his chest. Starting with his shoulders, and moving down to his pecs. You squeezed them, reveling in the feeling of his pliant flesh in your hands. In another time or setting you would have liked to bend down and suck on one. Biting and relishing the feeling is him in your mouth, so hard he’d bruise for weeks, fading until stray marks of your teeth were implanted into his skin.

Keeping your hands there for balance, you slowly rose up until only his tip was inside before grinding down slowly until all of him was inside of you again.

“Your doing so good baby.”

His cock twitched inside of you at the praise, making your mouth fall open in a silent moan.

You quickened your pace ever so lightly. Nick’s hands fisting the sheets. Each one spurred you on further, filling you with an unbearable heat. It seers through every pore of your body. Opening up every space of your skin, consuming every part of Nick as possible.

His whines, his pants, and his moans. The way his skin turned an angry red all over. Proudly displaying the evidence that you both were on fire.

“Touch me” You moaned softly.

He was on you in an instant. He pushed himself up by his elbows. His hands, his massive warm hands roamed every inch of your skin. Burning you in their haste to feel your waist, the expense of your back, and the peaks of your breast. He pulled, squeezed, and tweaked them until you had to push his hands away.

“Not nice is it?” He huffed in your face with a short laugh. The warmth of his breath mingled with yours. Where his began and yours stopped was indistinguishable as you both panted in the sliver of space between one another.

He leaned in for a kiss, and you pulled your head back slightly out of his reach with similar amusement.

“I never gave you permission to kiss me.”

His eyes grew wide and blown out. His brown irises drowned in the pools of his pupils as he looked at you with such reverence.

He quickly pivoted and moved to mouthing at your neck, biting you hard as he whined into your flesh.

“You're such a good boy Nick,” his hips thrust up into yours, hard. “Oh, you're so so good.” He did it again this time before squeezing his fingers into you. His nails were sure to leave little moons into your skin for weeks.

You laughed. It was breath, trained, and cruel.

“Ah, ah, ah,” You grabbed his hair tightly, pulling his mouth off of you. “I wanna hear you baby. I thought you were my good boy?”

“I am! I am, please!” He whimpered into your skin, keeping his head underneath your chin, his mouth open and close to you. Because if he couldn’t keep his mouth on you, he’d find a way to get as close to it as possible without disobeying you.

“You gotta let me hear every sound that comes out of your mouth baby, okay?”

His fingers adjusted their grip on your hips, pulling and stretching at your skin as tight as it could go, making hissed in response. Even when his brain was fuzzy with arousal and he was overwhelmed with praise or reprimand from you, he could still do the little things that drove you wild. Whether he was in control or not, he could bite, mark, and rough you up in all the ways you loved.

He’s going to drive you mad. You're sure of it now.

“I need your help baby?” You moved so you both would be eye to eye with one another. “I need you fuck me now.” You cupped both sides of his face. “I can’t get us both where we need to be.” You kissed him all over. His cheeks, his forehead, up and down his neck, before you bit down in several places, sucking harder than you ever had. He let out a soft meek sound you didn’t think was possible. Almost gentle if his voice wasn’t such a low raspy thing. Almost gravely sometimes when it wasn’t smooth and addicting.

The closest thing you could describe it as would be a mewl of some kind. It was a sound only you could pull out of him. A side of him only you were privy to. No one else.

Your walls clenched around him at the sound. He did it again.

“Fuck, baby.” Your chest heaved. “I’m not gonna last much longer, I need you to fuck me, now.” You pulled his hair for emphasis.

He didn’t need to be told twice.

He rutted his hips into yours at a hard, brutal pace. And with every high pitched murmur of good boy, your so good, your so perfect for me, he thrust up into you harder.

“Love you baby,” you nibbled into his ear, “love how good you feel inside me. It's like you were made for me.” You kissed him as hard as you could without getting lost of how he was sliding in and out of you. The loud wet slaps of his hips hitting yours were filling the room, driving you both crazy. “You're mine. My baby boy, so good for me.”

He whimpered again, mewling into your ear as he cradled your neck with one final grip as he came. Filling you up. It was so so much. Your legs grew tight, your muscles squeezing past their limit before you followed him soon after.

He pulled out laying you down on your back. Peppering your skin with soft kisses.

“You're amazing!” His eyes sparkled.

“Was that really your first time doing something like that?” You grabbed at the sheets to hide your face. It was hot and burning even more so after the sex you just had. You did not want to talk about it.

“Hey, hey,” he uncovered your face and moved to straddle your lap. He grabbed your hands and put them over your head. “Please,” he looked into your eyes again,. “Don’t hide from me. I really want to know.”

It was what you two did.

When things were too tough to talk about. . . Or weird and embarrassing. Eye contact just worked. It made you both feel safer and calmer to see the other person wasn’t judging you. That they were genuine in whatever way they wanted to support you.

You nodded weakly. Not trusting your words.

“Well you're a natural.”

“Nick we gotta—“

“—Don’t worry. I will buy a planb for you tomorrow. We got a little carried away and forgot about condoms.” He waved his free hand in dismissal before smiling. “It’s okay. I got it handled.”

“I was going to ask if you could let me go now.”

“Let you go.” He tightened his grip on your hands. He still wore his charming smile, but his eyes were growing dark and cloudy, pooling with desire. “Now why would I let you go when I have to pay you back for every time you wouldn’t let me kiss or touch you.”

He suddenly thrust his thick very hard cock into you, still wet from both of you.

“I'm not done with you yet.”

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[carlos-in-glasses]

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Thank you for the tag @freneticfloetry @lemonlyman-dotcom @bonheur-cafe

@literateowl @ladytessa74 @liminalmemories21 🧡 And for giving me a reason to create a banner for non-WIP tag games.

Rules: Post your favourite line or passage from as many of your published works as you’d like. Let yourself feel proud of your creations! Tag as many people as you post snippets, so your fellow fic friends can be proud, too.

I've opted to share from three fics- Suddenly in the Silence, Where All This Love Comes From, and Wrestling Angels:

Suddenly, in the Silence:

"I think the closet is haunted," TK says, fumbling the buttons of his lapelled pajama shirt. Carlos faces the opposite side of the room. "But it's from Ikea." "Not that one." TK throws an arm towards the white pre-fab nothingy unit that had housed their pajamas. "I mean the old Reyes relic." "My dad's tatarabuelo built that," Carlos says defensively. And occupies it now, TK thinks but does not say. Instead, he opts for, "It might be fun to sleep in your old bedroom like we did that time before. Snuggled up in that creaky twin with your adorable horse comforter over us." "My old room," Carlos breathes a laugh, "Is the most haunted in this house." "With memories, though, not ghosts."

Where All This Love Comes From

A single tear slips from Carlos' eye. Years ago, there was a young man in New York City called TK Strand and he had no idea that in Austin, Texas, a stranger called Carlos Reyes was aching, yearning, pining for exactly him. He had no idea how loved he was going to be by someone he had yet to meet. He had no idea how wonderful he was as a person with or without a partner – but he was about to find out. That's why you have to keep living, Carlos thinks, so you can find out.

Wrestling Angels

But love is going to come into his life, and it won’t be what he’ll expect, because it’s going to be TK Strand, a firefighter who shows up in Austin from Manhattan following a relapse. He’s a little fierce and rough and moody and funny. He’ll bring disorder to the orderly life he’s about to work so hard to create for himself and himself alone. TK will cause him pain, and he’ll push TK’s buttons, and then it’s going to work out, and he’s going to marry him. And TK is going to be the one to ask. Love is going to be powerful, runaway, gutting, enormous – yet weirdly and utterly defined by the small moments as much as the major events. It’s going to feel physical and invisible, like storm winds that take his breath and knock him off his feet. He’s going to have sex. He’ll have it with a few guys before TK, and every time with each of those guys, it will be somewhere on a sliding scale of outright bad, awkward, embarrassing, mediocre, good, better, great, fantastic. With TK it will be different. Supercharged, mind-blowing, right from the start, and it will also be gentle, romantic, connective in a new way. It will always be a deeper experience than with anyone else. It’s going to mean something real every time, even from the beginning when TK insists that it’s not going to, and Carlos will pretend as much as he can that he doesn’t mind.

I know I'm late so might have missed things but open tag and tags below:

@reyesstrand @paperstorm @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @heartstringsduet

@vineofroses @theghostofashton @lightningboltreader @chaotictarlos

@goodways @welcometololaland @orchidscript @rmd-writes

@strandnreyes @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @chicgeekgirl89

@sznofthesticks @nancygillianmvp @safeaswrites @my-little-tilly

@sugdenlovesdingle @carlos-tk @honeybee-taskforce @sanjuwrites

@alrightbuckaroo @never-blooms

@fallout-mars - If you want to share/haven't already! No pressure ever! ❤️🩷🧡💛💚💙🩵💜

#Fic Pride Friday #cig tagged #cig fic #my fic #Wrestling Angels #Where All This Love Comes From #Suddenly in the Silence #Tarlos fic #tarlos fanfic

[rollingaroundin-bread]

Hi 🥺 what if they- 👉👈 what if they got mawwied???? 💕💕💕

Okay hi I’ve been working on these on and off all month (mostly off I got really busy whoops) and I have A LOT of thoughts about a Legbone wedding (ft. the drawtectives cause they really are my blorbos) 

Anyways here’s a list of headcannons that I didn’t get to draw:

So right off the bat let’s talk OUTFITS

To me Legzi and Ryjinah had gone looking for dresses but Legzi wasn’t really pumped about any of them 

So maybe they went on a road trip (because ladies bookclub road trips my beloved) to either go look in a different boutique or to do other wedding related shenanigans 

And on the side of the road Legzi spots this rag 

And of course it’s a torn up wedding dress and suddenly she has a Vision^TM

Just Legzi being more excited about fixing up this dress than anything she could have just bought up to that point 

Because to me Legzi is someone who loves to feel like a part of the process and having all her random skills she picked up from Darkmouth 

Then design wise I wanted something puffy so I could hide how much taller I made her 

Because personally I think her using the leg stilts on her wedding day is not only very Legzi^TM but I also made myself laugh with the concept :) 

And florals because those are fun, green, and easy to make by hand (as someone who’s made a lot of ribbon flowers)!! The vines were places where the dress was really torn and needed more structural stitching 

Ryjinahs dress on the other hand I wanted to take some inspiration from her season 1 design (even though I haven’t seen it) 

Also I love a chance to draw some boob 

so anyways York’s invitation

I’ve said it before but “artists draw fan art of each other’s art” where Karina drew Ryjinah, York, Rowan, and Jacob horse all hanging out is CANON TO ME

Which is why all of those characters were invited!! :)

Anyways I imagine all the invitations had your standard stuff- names, dates, rsvp section

But where it would’ve said +1 I think Ryjinah scribbled that out and hand wrote “+2 ;)” 

Which of course Grandma would be slightly flustered by meanwhile York is like “AWESOME you guys can come!!!” 

I believe in drawtectives polycule supremacy and also York is aroace

Which also lead to my miniature leg wrestling joke :)

Oh but the second York and Rah’ōxah lock eyes they’re going to leg wrestle (Pokémon rules) 

Then they can become friends too and we can make Julia’s drawing in “pro artists redraw their old OCs” canon!!! 

Rah’ōxah is both Legzi and Ryjinahs maid of honor :) 

She’s awesome of course she can do both!!!!!!

I wish I had drawn this but to me Parker the cat officiated :)

Maybe while standing on top of Parker the horse 

Ryjinah was not pleased with this but also couldn’t say no to the combined force of Legzi and Rah’ōxah’s puppy dog eyes 

Plus Parker the cat is the only person (cat) they know who’s ordained

Oh last thing I wanted to but didn’t draw was a Rosé & Rowan interaction 

Or not even so much of an interaction but they catch each other’s gaze from across the room and freeze 

Oh more headcannons but they’re siblings to me 

I mean dyed hair? Knives? Mysterious pasts? Color schemes?? Attracted to himbos??? 

Anyways they both have moved on from their family in different directions 

So to suddenly meet again even from across the room 

Then York or Gramdma calls for Rosé and she looks away and they’re gone

But I digress 

Tbh for everyone’s outfits I kinda just went “you know what would be cute???” 

So floral dress for grandma (obviously) 

Jumpsuit + long gloves for Rosé because vibes 

Unbuttoned shirt and double breasted vest for York so he doesn’t have sleeves 

Similar thought process for Rah’ōxah because they give off similar vibes BUT I made Rah’ōxah’s the same colors as Ryjinah and Legzi so she could match both :)

Then a demon Johnny button on her outer vest kinda like the pin/broach she has in Julia’s drawing in pro artists redraw old OCs 

Rowan I just wanted to look swanky and what’s more swanky than a tailcoat? 

And for everyone but Rah’ōxah I tried to keep to their normal color schemes!! :) 

Are all these outfits practical for what I made a beach wedding on a whim? Absolutely not 

I gave pretty much all of them some sort of heels even if they are technically wedges which is better but STILL 

Beaches are fun and easy ish to draw and I never do backgrounds anyways give me a break lol 

But anyways I think that’s all my thoughts!!!

So Legzi & Ryjinah ride into the sunset on their noble steed Jacob Horse :)

#a shit ton of headcanons + a bonus image under the keep reading #meant to post during June for optimal Gay but hey it didn’t quite work out so here’s this today!! #drawga #drawtectives #drawfee #legbone #legbone drawga #legzi x ryjinah #ryjinah x legzi #legzi shortstakk #ryjinah drawga #rah'ōxah #rah'ōxah drawga #rosé drawtectives #york rogdul #gyorik rogdul #grendan highforge #rowan drawfee #jacob horse #my art stuff #I think thats all!! bye! :)

[ladykissingfish]

*Hidan and Deidara, sitting on Deidara’s bed, sharing a pizza and watching scary movies together *

Hidan: Oi, blondie?

Deidara: Yeah?

Hidan: Can I ask you something?

Deidara: *pushes the pizza box to him* You can have the last piece, hm.

Hidan: Not that! So, you’re fuckin’ with puppet-dick, right? And I’m practically married to the old bastard.

Deidara: Yeah, so?

Hidan: So, what if both of us weren’t with those guys … d’ya think we coulda ended up with each other?

Deidara: What the hell? Why are you thinking about this, hm?

Hidan: ‘Cause, okay, me and you are both young, we’re both hot as shit, and we probably got a lot more in common with each other than we do with either of the old farts …

Deidara: I mean … all of that makes sense, hm. But, and you can go ahead and call me gay for saying this, I literally couldn’t picture myself with anyone but Danna, hm. I actually think that guys my soulmate.

Hidan, chuckling: You’re right, that IS fuckin’ gay.  But I guess I’m gay too then because I feel the same way about ‘Kuzu. *reaches out and playfully flicks Deidara’s arm* Too bad for me though, ‘cuz you woulda made a helluva trophy wife.

Deidara: … wife? Why would I be your wife, asshole? If anything, you’d be mine.

Hidan: *laughs* You shittin’ me? You’re born to be a bottom, Dei. You don’t know the first thing about being “the husband”!

Deidara: Oh and you do?! Like you’ve ever done anything but lay on your back for Kakuzu??

Hidan: With him it’s different! But with you I’d one thousand percent be the man.

Deidara: Fuck you! I think you’re just —

*Itachi comes in the room*

Itachi: Good lord, I can hear you guys fighting from all the way across the house. And you know what? You both make valid points.

Hidan: So who the fuck is right then?!

Itachi: Really, there’s only one way to solve it: fight. Whoever wins is the top.

Deidara: Oi, that’s stupid, Uchiha! We’re not gonna —

*Hidan suddenly kicks him off the bed with both feet*

Deidara: Oh you mother f—

*Deidara pulls Hidan to the floor, and the two roll around wrestling and punching each other*

Kisame, in the doorway: Itachi, was it really necessary to have them do this?

Itachi: Not at all. But — *grabs the pizza box off the bed* I kinda wanted this last piece, and now that they’re distracted …

Kisame:

#hidadei #hidan x deidara #brotp #hidan x deidara x itachi #🤍💛 #🤍💛🍡 #the last piece of pizza will make a man do drastic things #hidan #deidara #itachi uchiha #kisame hoshigaki #the akatsuki #sasodei #kakuhida

[chaos-and-recover]

Here's a silly ask. I'm in my 30s now but I was once young dumb and full of cum like any other teen boy. I got tall and bearded early looked old as fuck tbh thought it was great then but less great when I go in to buy cigarettes nowadays and some guy says thank you for serving in Vietnam and I have to say bro. Bro. I was born in 1992 and went bald at 21. Anyway that's not the point. So I'm this 15 year old former fat boy with the rage of being bullied for being fat stuck suddenly in a 6'2 body. Wrestling and free weights were all I cared about. I'd been in so many street and school fights and won all of them. Because I was kicking the shit out of bullies teachers kinda turned a blind eye. Also because I was undefeated in wrestling and got my school gold in nationals I knew I can handle my shit. So there was a door greeter at Walmart who at the time I thought was old as balls cuz I was fifteen right but the dude was probably like. Forty. Some short Mexican guy. And he caught me shoplifting and I said wtf you getting mad at bro you ain't gonna touch me door greets can't do shit. And he says boy I ever see you steal shit again I'll teach you manners when I see you off the clock. Guy also worked at the bar and thought I was older than 21 cuz I looked older. Like full ass Brigham Young beard and a receeding hairline, couldn't even drive yet, so he never ID me. Bold as hell I steal shit in front of him again. I knew I could take his old ass, I was in my prime. So I see him at the bar later that night and he meets me outside both of us sober. He says you really gonna get your ass beat over a Snickers? in front of the bar crowd and I go someone's about to and charged him. To say he beat my ass would be a lie. He didn't beat it. He obliterated my ego and body and soul there in front of everybody I fucking knew. Had me spinning around his 5'2 head like one of bruce lee's bo staffs and bapping me against the walls and sidewalk. My dumb ass kept standing up and he kept going you sure son? and I was like shit yeah. Well eventually I just kept my ass on the ground and he helps me up, asks what my name is, says he'll take me home since I walked there. Goes why did you walk? I say oh I'm not sixteen yet. And that's how I got permanently 86'd from every bar in my hometown.

This is top tier, excellent pacing and character development. The drama of a Wal Mart greeter who cares way too much about his job vs the kid who definitely needed to be taken down a peg (I mean. You did. Sorry. <3). A+.

[fallout-lou-begas]

okay so here's the thing for all of my non-wrestling followers.

if you want to understand why i've been posting so much about CM Punk and MJF and how it's over and we'll never get it again and i can still hear you saying you will never break the chain never break the chain, then. then. you have to understand. here's how to understand. here's the path i took to understanding it myself.

this. this is a very excellent forty-five minute documentary that covers the entirety of the feud between CM Punk and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. it is art. the feud itself is art. it's one of the best things ever done. it's about a very sick, sad, desperate, angry child who grew up to lash out against everything that's ever tried to love him before it could hurt him first, because his childhood hero was the one thing that he could count on but that hero walked out on him--and what happens when he meets that hero again. yes it's extraordinarily psychosexual and homoerotic. of course it is. it's wrestling.

but then. then you have to understand that some time after the events of the feud covered in that documentary, this happened

(MJF appeared to go completely off the rails during a live taping, insulting everything and everybody including his own boss while begging to be fired, before his microphone got cut off, and after this he basically wasn't seen again)

and then some time after that, this happened

(Punk defeated Jon Moxley to become the AEW world champion, only to be immediately confronted by a suddenly returning MJF, who had won the rights to a championship match with a masked identity earlier that night)

and then immediately after that, this happened

(CM Punk, while his tricep was torn from his match, shit-talked multiple people in the company while sitting directly next to his boss during the post-event media scrum, resulting in a legitimate backstage fight and several suspensions for all involved, and after that Punk was stripped of the championship and basically wasn't seen again, but it least it gave us the iconic line "i'm old, i'm hurt, and i'm tired, and i work with fucking children")

and then some time after that, this happened

(MJF became the new AEW world champion by also defeating Jon Moxley, who had become champion again after Punk's suspension and injury)

and then some time after that, this happened

(the premiere of a new weekly wrestling show on Saturdays, AEW Collision, which was created with CM Punk as a centerpiece and premiered with his 'second coming' and an angry, triumphant promo in which he claims he has something in a red bag that is rightfully his: it's not in the video, but as he leaves, he glares into the camera and asks: "what's in the bag, Max?")

and then some time after that, this happened

(Punk reveals that his red bag does indeed contain the "real" world championship, which he claims is his because no one has taken it from him by pinfall or submission)

and as that's all going on, this is happening

(MJF is becoming best friends with Adam Cole, another hero from his past, in a way that is playing out like the most wholesome alternative possible to the sick and twisted fixation he had on Punk, while (suspiciously?) not acknowledging Punk's return actions literally at all)

and so as you can see we were perfectly, and i do mean perfectly positioned, for a second CM Punk and MJF feud in which the roles are reversed, where Punk is the vengeful and obsessive one and MJF is the good guy on the upswing completely oblivious to the other guy's one-sided obsession, or something like that, or anything. and after Punk did two title defenses of his "real" world championship, we just may have been right about to see it. so you have to understand. and once you understand that, then you'll understand what it means to understand that we'll never get it now. that it's actually completely over. that he's gone again. and you will understand why this feels so bad.

fuck!

#i don't think i missed anything too important but this is just the broad strokes #cm punk #mjf #cmjf #the second leaving #and obviously punk essentially being possibly forced into retirement by this termination sucks for a lot more reasons #and obviously both wrestler's careers (especially punk's longer one) and time in AEW is much more than just this one specific feud but #this feud was really really really really good and it feels like it just got cancelled on a cliffhanger lol #wrstlng

[leggerefiore]

Another parenting question for Ingo, Emmet, and let’s add Cyrus into the mix:

What do they do when it’s bedtime and the little ones don’t want to go to sleep? Maybe it’s a common occurrence, or perhaps this is one of those rare moments where they want to stay up late, but either way they refuse to go to bed.

How do the dads tackle this situation, and how successful are they?

Thanks!

▲Ingo▼

Erin was such a good sport about bedtime. Simply tell him it was, and he agreed to go lay down. Of course, the issue was, for the longest time he was terrified of sleeping alone. This meant Ingo and you had to deal with a little guy wedged between you as he refused to sleep on any other side of you two. It was not so bad when he was a toddler – expected, even. His neediness as an infant made having his crib being in the bedroom with you two easier to care for him. Now, however, he was approaching seven and still doing it.

Erin refuses bedtime in his bedroom, much to Ingo's shock. When Ingo began to lead him towards the door, he shook his head and tried to run for your shared bedroom. Catching him was surprisingly hard. He then proceeded to cry and beg against it. The situation was heartbreaking to Ingo. Eventually, he negotiates that you two will sleep in his room with him but plans to actually leave after he goes to bed. It works. Until it does not. The next morning, you both wake up to Erin sleeping in between the two of you again.

Erin now hates bedtime and refuses it. Ingo's existence is suffering. Though he does not really mind, but he understands this is important in Erin's development. He truly gets it, however. He used to struggle to sleep without sharing a room with Emmet. Admittedly, he kind of replaced Emmet with you. That then gives him a revelation.

Ingo has Excadrill sleep with Erin, and suddenly, he seems more able to sleep alone. Problem partially solved.

▽Emmet△

Emma is good about bedtime. Emmet tucks her in after reading her a story, and she went to sleep presumably reasonably after. Inka, however… Inka refuses it. She hates being told she has to stop playing whatever she was playing and go lay down for eight hours. He has to wrestle her into the room and sometimes lay down with her to prove he was not going to go play without. She soon drifted off like her twin, which let Emmet creep out of the room.

Of course, Emma's refusal sometimes came when she was wanting to stay up to watch a show. Though, she was quick to relent when Emmet picked her up and carried her to bed. She soon found herself comforted in her routine and sleeping soundly. Her sister almost kicked poor Emmet when he tried to pick her up and take her to bed. She apparently was in the middle of playing Leap Frog with her Joltik and he was interrupting.

He eventually learns to tire her out before bed, so she was too exhausted to say no. Thus, his suffering was over.

🌌Cyrus🛰

Cyllene liked her schedule. Cyrus understood this. She was quite like him in that way. Both followed a routine and stuck to it. That meant she was tucked in bed by a certain time, and he saw to it that she was. A small kiss to her forehead and the clicking of her lamp had her falling asleep soon after. Cyrus usually took one last glance at his sleeping daughter, snuggled up with a Rotom plush toy, before departing for his own evening activities.

Tonight, however, she refused. Cyrus stood silently stunned by his five-year-old. Her arms were crossed, and she looked away from him. Why was she refusing to sleep? She did not give him an answer and only pouted. This had never happened before. For a moment, he left her there to consult with his partner about what to do. You did not know either, surprised as well. When you both returned to check on her, she was playing around with a familiar toy robot. Cyrus instantly knew.

Cyllene was then easy to convince, with reassurances she could bring her new friend into bed with her, so long they did not keep her up all night. The little girl seemed happy to agree, rubbing her eyes finally and admitting that she was sleepy. After she was tucked in and asleep for the night, Cyrus felt strangely emotional. For the first time ever, he felt her hide something from him and refuse him.

Cyrus then decided that he needed to prove himself trustworthy to Cyllene soon as possible. She also never had bedtime troubles again.

#ingo.ima #emmet.ima #cyrus.ima

[codyrhodey]

Wrestling is stupid.

cody rhodes x gender neutral reader fic!

no smut, fluff and teasing, au

———————————————————

“drew can you and your stupid ass friend shut the fuck up!” you yelled from your room at your brother. “you’re literally 20 years old and still watching grown men fight eachother half naked”

He didn’t answer and didn’t quiet down either.

You groaned and pulled yourself out of bed pulling your door open hastily.

“These basement walls are made of literal fucking paper” you started as you walked toward your brother and his friend. “i don’t want to hear you giggling like little girls over-“

you stopped making eye contact with your brothers blue eyed friend. Your mouth immediately went dry, now unsure of what to say and the silence filled the air and the tension was palpable as neither of you looked away.

Until, “you’re one to talk” drew piped up pausing the match that was on the tv, “did i not walk in on you watching twilight the other day?” he laughed to himself getting up off couch.

The tension was sliced with a rusty saw.

“twilight is a beautiful love story, better than titanic, better than romeo and juliet” you went off. “but incredibly besides the point. And now i have a new issue.”

“hmm?” drew asked shuffling stuff around in the mini fridge, before finally pulling out a baja blast.

“who dis?” you asked pointing at the blue eyed boy who was flipping through a star wars comic book.

“oh, that’s joe” he responded and the boy chuckled.

“joe mama” the blue eyed boy mumbled in between giggles.

You rolled your eyes, “okay so another one of your virgin friends got it.” you nodded to yourself turning to walk away.

“‘m cody!” the blue eyed boy piped up. “i went along with the joke because i thought you were kidding, ya know asking who i am”

“have you ever been in this house before?” you questioned, he shook his head in response.

“then why, on gods green beautiful earth, would i know? hmm?”

Cody finally put down his comic looking up at you from his spot on a bean bag. “I-“ Drew cut him off.

“They genuinely don’t know who you are codes, they have never watched wrestling with me a day in their life.” Drew spoke plopping back down and opening his soda.

“Untrue, i watched that one um match where the big guy in all black like killed the dude with the mask on his face” You retorted, “but other than that he’s right. Don’t tell me you’re a wrestling lover too.”

The two of them started giggling both shaking their heads.

“i guess you could call me a wrestling lover” cody said in a mocking tone.

You just shrugged no longer interested in the conversation.

You began to walk away and Drew pressed play on the tv again.

“Dude i said to turn that shit down,” you turned around now facing them again.

“AND STILL YOUR INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION, CODY RHODES” The tv blared.

You stood there, staring, eyes darting between the screen and your brothers friend.

“Like i said, could call me a wrestling lover.�� Cody said turning to look at you, a stupid smile on his face.

—————————————————————

It had been a month since the first time you saw cody, and if it wasn’t a Thursday or Friday he was usually over.

You hated it at first because the two of them never shut up about wrestling, constantly keeping a match on the TV, playing way too loud.

But as time went on you found yourself sneaking out into the living room more and more. Standing behind the 2 boys, making fun of whatever was on the screen and asking cody way too many questions about what it was like.

“So like do you know who wins before you go into it? If yes do you know like a month beforehand or like 2 hours before? or do they tell you right before you go out?”

Cody laughed and shrugged, “it all depends things change all of the time. storylines aren’t always linear, ya know?”

You nodded stuffing your face with popcorn. “Doesn’t this shit like hurt?”

“No darling, it feels amazing” He said causing drew to laugh.

“Oh cool fun, i show the slightest bit of interest and suddenly it’s the bully y/n show” you waved your hands in the air in an over dramatic fashion.

Drew groaned getting up from his spot, “gonna go pick up some pizzas, you coming codes?” he asked grabbing his keys off the hook.

Cody’s eyes quickly darted between you and drew, “m no, i think i’m gonna stay, gotta answer this one’s question.”

“Suit yourself” drew shrugged pulling on his hoodie and running up the stairs.

“GET BREADSTICKS!” You yelled up at him, only hearing a faint “go fuck your self” in response.

You and cody sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, and again a strange tension filled the air.

“So” cody cleared his throat breaking the never ending silence, “what other questions do you have?”

You shrugged, tapping your chin in a comedic way, “do the ‘submissions’ actually like hurt? i know it’s a dumb question, but i feel like there has to be a way to do that stuff without it feeling like you’re actually gonna die”

He just smirked at you, “if you’re wrestling the right person it won’t hurt.” he stopped adjusting in his seat, “i can show you.” he stood up, motioning for you to stand up as well.

You squinted your eyes at him, slowing standing up, “people know i’m down here, if i die they’re gonna know it’s you and-“

“I’m a professional” He cut you off, cracking his fingers, “and i’d never dream of hurting you.”

He made eye contact with you, he looked so soft and you somehow knew you could trust him.

You nodded, “okay what do i do?”

He stepped toward you, keeping eye contact, “okay um turn around so your back is facing me”

You nodded again doing as you were told.

“You trust me?” He asked softly.

“Mhm! now do it before i regret this”

“okay okay,” he put his hands up in defense. “Alright so this is a sleeper hold”

He wrapped his left arm around your neck pulling your body against his.

“You can feel that there’s a little pressure but not enough for it to actually hurt you. It’s all in the acting.” He spoke slowly, “see now if i take my other hand and grab my arm, i can make it look like i’m straining to hold you,” He did so, “and then you’d struggle and wiggle and try and get out”

Which you started doing catching cody off guard.

“wow wow wow” he quickly said losing his balance, falling back onto the bean bag, taking you with him.

“I’m so so sorry y/n” He blurted out adjusting his grip on you so he wasn’t still choking you out, “are you okay?”

You turned to look at him, gazing into his eyes, “yea, yea ‘m fine” you mumbled out, not looking away.

The two of you stayed there, you on top of him, both so entranced in each others presence.

“I um” you started beginning to stand up.

Before you could finish, he pulled you back down onto him.

“you are incredibly mesmerizing” he whispered, stroking your cheek with his thumb.

You felt your cheeks heat up as you watched him glance down at your lips and then back up to your eyes again.

“you gonna kiss me or what mr. intercontinental champion?” you sassed at him.

he chuckled pulling you down further, pressing his lips against yours.

It was a soft kiss, like one you see in movies, where the 2 main characters are standing in the rain under a street light. Like when there’s fireworks going off for some weird reason even though it’s raining.

You pulled away from him, “cody rhodes, you are dashing”

he rolled his eyes pulling you into kiss him again.

“PIZZAS HERE BITCHES!”

#cody rhodes #cody rhodes x reader #wwe x reader #wwe #dashing cody rhodes #x reader

[heavensbeehall]

More about the other victors & chapter 16

They're a little strange, but I'm pretty sure neither of them is going to try to make me uncomfortable by stripping naked.

Again, Katniss is not a sexual being yet. She is most comfortable with Beetee, Wiress and Mags because she understands those type of relationships. Also the three of them are awsome.

I glance around the Training Center. Peeta is at the center of a ribald circle of knife throwers. The morphlings from District 6 are in the camouflage station, painting each other's faces with bright pink swirls. The male tribute from District 5 is vomiting wine on the swordfighting floor. Finnick and the old woman from his district are using the archery station. Johanna Mason is naked again and oiling her skin down for a wrestling lesson. I decide to stay put.

Peeta is much better with people, all kinds of people. Katniss doesn't know what to do with naked people. So she stays with the nerds.

I want to know what Finnick and Mags talk about at the archery station.

I feel bad, knowing that their district must have suffered much worse than ours. I feel I need to defend my people.

Here's a chicken or the egg question. Are the victors from 3 and 4 rebels because their districts are rebellious. Or are the districts rebellious because their victors are?

Plutarch Heavensbee in the magnificent purple robe with the fur-trimmed collar that designates him as Head Gamemaker. He's eating a turkey leg.

I don't know why I find it hilarious that he's eating a turkey leg, but I do. I am imagining one of those rlly big ones from fairs and stuff.

When we make our way into the dining area, I see some of Peeta's gang have other ideas. They're dragging all the smaller tables to form one large table so that we all have to eat together. Now I don't know what to do. Even at school I used to avoid eating at a crowded table. Frankly, I'd probably have sat alone if Madge hadn't made a habit of joining me.

I wonder whose idea this was. I suspect Chaff. But we can see some of the school versions of Katniss and Peeta. He was always with a group from the town kids. She prefers to be alone.

Chaff doesn't seem as bad at lunch. He's sober, and while he talks too loud and makes bad jokes a lot, most of them are at his own expense. I can see why he would be good for Haymitch, whose thoughts run so darkly. But I'm still not sure I'm ready to team up with him.

This description of Chaff reminds me of my dad. He's a people-person and feels the need to entertain everyone all the time. (It can be exhausting and I can see why someone as introverted and inhibited as Katniss would be put off.) But the fact that he makes an effort to seek out Haymitch--who pushes everyone away--makes me love him. You know Haymitch says mean stuff to him and he just laughs it off.

After lunch I do the edible-insect station with the District 8 tributes--Cecelia, who's got three kids at home, and Woof, a really old guy who's hard of hearing and doesn't seem to know what's going on since he keeps trying to stuff poisonous bugs in his mouth.

I think Woof knows exactly what he's doing when he puts poisonous bugs in his mouth.

Finnick appears again when I'm picking up fishing tips, but mostly just to introduce me to Mags, the elderly woman who's also from District 4. Between her district accent and her garbled speech--possibly she's had a stroke-- I can't make out more than one in four words. But I swear she can make a decent fishhook out of anything--a thorn, a wishbone, an earring. After a while I tune out the trainer and simply try to copy whatever Mags does. When I make a pretty good hook out of a bent nail and fasten it to some strands of my hair, she gives me a toothless smile and an unintelligible comment I think might be praise. Suddenly I remember how she volunteered to replace the young, hysterical woman in her district. It couldn't be because she thought she had any chance of winning. She did it to save the girl, just like I volunteered last year to save Prim. And I decide I want her on my team.

Do we thinks Mags did have a stroke? I have a headcanon that she's had a speech impediment her whole life but that's just in the imaginary Mags story I write in my head.

In fact, I feel as if I've somehow been initiated into the victors' circle. During the next two days, I spend time with almost everybody headed for the arena. Even the morphlings, who, with Peeta's help, paint me into a field of yellow flowers.

Yellow flowers again.

Mags, who I can understand a little better now, decides she's just going to take a nap.

Queen shit. I love Mags.

#mags flanagan #finnick odair #beetee latier #wiress #johanna mason #the morphlings #woof #haymitch abernathy

[serfergs]

Jaehee: a good distraction -- until she wasn't

As I read the first part of LITBC, I found it interesting to analyze Jaehee and the narrator’s relationship and ask the question: what did they get out of their friendship and was it healthy? Without saying it explicitly, the first several pages describe the narrator as profoundly lonely before he met Jaehee. He tried socializing with other people in his major but found them intolerable (same). And it seemed he used nightly hook-ups in place of genuine friendship and intimacy.

“The only thing that mattered was I existed with someone, there in those dark streets of the city, and that was why I was wrestling tongues with a stranger” (p. 3).

Then Jaehee entered his life. Suddenly he had someone to connect with over more than just sex. She wasn’t judgmental about his life as a gay man. They both had a lot of casual sex. They both engaged in (excessive) drinking. They both had a similar flippant approach to university and their studies. Much like in Only Friends, they lived as if their actions had little consequences and laughed about it.

Through out the first part we also get little snippets of the narrator’s mental health, seemingly mentioned as a passing thought, almost callously: “[k3 and I] both had low self-esteem, regularly felt suicidal compulsions, were bullied as kids...”. I wonder did he ever talk about these things with Jaehee? How vulnerable were they with each other? Did he ever talk about his desires for a committed relationship? Did he even allow himself to acknowledge those desires and dreams? Or was it all too much so he needed Jaehee to be...Jaehee.

A great distraction – until she wasn’t. Because Jaehee, as much as she cared about and for the narrator, she did not understand him as a gay man. She tells her fiancée “So, oppa, he’s basically a girl. It’s just like I’m living with Jieun”. I think this line is telling because if she really saw the narrator as a gay man and considered all the struggles that come from that in society, she would have thought better than to out him. She lacked this understanding, this self awareness because although she didn't judge the narrator she also didn't really see his queerness. "An excess of self awareness is a disease in itself." Oof as a genderqueer 30 year old with generalized anxiety; I FELT THAT. And this is where the deep disappointment lay – it likely wasn't as easy to move on from and laugh off like the dicks at the clinic calling him slurs. Because this wasn't just some asshole in the street that didn't understand him. It was his best friend. Queer people need to be in community with other queer people because sometimes it isn't just enough to have people that don't judge you. You need to have people that understand you as a queer person.

I think this exhibits the emotional and intimate limits their friendship had. They could go out drinking, shoot the shit about guys, and care for each other in the small things; but the narrator needs a companion not for the sake of distraction, but for emotional support and healing. This isn’t to disparage Jaehee and the friendship they shared. It was important and necessary connection, but ultimately also became enabling and co-dependent. The narrator’s focus on Jaehee mirrors the last text K3 sent him

If obsession isn’t love, I have never loved.

I hope in part two, the narrator can find someone not to obsess over or distract from, but to deeply understand him in a way Jaehee couldn’t.

*note* I feel a little silly referring to the speaker as "the narrator", but I'm not sure he is named in the chapter? did I miss something or does he not have a name?

#litbc book club

[corvidcrowned]

a pierrot inspired by an old Drabble from a few months ago (under the cut)

Pierrot closed their tome with a thud. 

That was everyone… right? The jester was completely alone, and the dead silence confirmed it. They breathed out a sigh of relief. At last, it was done. No more blood would have to be shed this time. Pierrot ran a scarred hand over the pages of sun’s book, feeling the soft, time-worn paper. It was unclear where it had come from- simply some odd affect of the Sage card- and yet they had grown genuinely attached to this weapon. Opening the covers would prove they used it extensively for note-taking, on the simulations, flashes of memories, even the odd poem or scrap of writing sun had thought of. 

Ah, but now was not the time for idling. Pierrot was off to the winner’s room, they were sure of it. As many a run had proved, the winner is always transported to that file once the game is done.

…and yet, here they were… that was odd. Very very odd.

Pierrot stood in the dark room and waited, but still, nothing happened, when suddenly, there was the noise of little slippers padding into the room ”mya! Big sis Anzu, there you are, woof! I haven’t seen anyone all day!”

Pierrot’s heart dropped.

One left…and of course, it had to be little Gin.

Pierrot turned to face the small boy, though sun didn’t need to to see him. Gin wore his typical mask- yellow, with a cat’s nose and whiskers painted on in blue. From the ears of the hood to the patches on the tail, Gin’s costume was a labor of love, it was clear for anyone to see… oh, how Pierrot wished it was the time to be speaking of costumes and the like. But not now. Not when he was the only one between Pierrot and victory.

“Woof!! I tried to find stripy guy to help with arm wrestling, but I couldn’t find him… it’s like everyone disappeared, woof!” At that, he spread his arms dramatically, as if to signify the others going ‘poof’. pierrot’s breath halted.

To think.. the last one would be.. ”…go back to bed, gin.”

The small boy squinted, tilting his head to the side. ”big sis… why do you smell like blood, meow? Are you hurt, woof?”

He took a step closer, and once again, Pierrot spoke. ”go back to bed, gin.”

Golden pages levitated, forming a halo around their head. Though even the thought of it hurt, they knew what they must do.

#yttd #anzu yttd #anzu kinashi #Gin yttd #gin ibushi #ai test idiots #eli’s art #Pierrot

[talesfrommedinastation]

In Defense of Tech's Hairline

It breaks my heart when I see fan art of Tech with a full head of hair. 

While I don’t mind seeing different versions of him (darker skin and different features to better resemble Temuera Morrison is awesome, and I love it!), it does seem as if fans are trying to override a critical part of aging for many adults. 

After all, 50% of biological men will lose their hair before 50, 25% of them before the age of 21. 21! 

So, when people change Tech’s hairline, it makes me feel quite sad. It’s something that many people go through, and it’s as if the message is: “If you’re balding, you’re not handsome enough. I need to fix that.”  

(Tech's skin, bone structure, and puppy dog eyes prove that statement is wrong, as seen above).

Which is far from the truth. There’s plenty of incredibly handsome folks with less hair, but even so, it’s a part of aging that many people are incredibly insecure and embarrassed about, because society sees thick hair as beautiful, and receding or balding as old or silly. 

Look, I’m a lady with long blond hair in real life. So why am I worked up about this? 

Well, let me tell a quick story, namely, of a guy I know who reminds me so much of Tech. 

That guy is my husband of almost a decade. 

A chief systems engineer with a graduate degree in science, my husband is an adrenaline junkie, an Eagle Scout, a gaming geek, and an absolute loving papa bear to our daughters. He’s Tech IRL, and it’s part of the reason I fell head over heels in love with that member of Clone Force 99. 

(Above: Tech, but I'm sure my spouse has said that to me when I've asked when we're finally going on vacation to Hawai'i).

My husband and I met in graduate school, when he was 23 and  I was 24. He wrestled in high school, and did competitive jiu-jitsu throughout undergrad and graduate school as well. As a result, his fair hair was always buzzed, making it impossible to grab during a grapple. But there was another reason he kept his hair very short.

My then-boyfriend was already going bald, in his early 20’s. 

He could have been sensitive about it, but, ever the stoic cowboy type (I married a Texan, what can I say?) he just shrugged it off, and kept his hair barely above stubble, so few noticed. Eventually, he grew it out, but his receding hairline still bothered him.

He made up for it by growing a magnificently sculpted beard, but snarky remarks from friends and strangers still came through, ranging from how he looked older than me, to asking who he was cursed by to have so much facial hair but none on his head. 

Finally, the inevitable ‘halo’ happened, shortly after our wedding. You know what I’m talking about:

 My husband was not even 30. When he noticed the inevitable full loss of his hair, because of a friend’s unflattering picture of him on Facebook, the clippers came out, and he’s had a fully buzzed and shaved head (a la Captain Picard) ever since. 

Once in a while, he lets his hair grow back…and that hairline comes out, along with the halo on his crown. And guess who happened to be on the screen when my toddler and I were scrolling through Disney + one fine day? 

Sure enough, my almost two year old actually pointed at the screen and screamed, “DADA!” when Tech appeared. The fact that it was a scene where Tech was happily ignoring everyone and tapping away on his data pad was pure kismet--that was my husband on the screen!

My youngest and I got hooked on the show ever since. 

My husband is a dashing, handsome, confident guy who knows he’s smart and that he’s loved.

Just like Tech. 

Seeing the internet go donkey bonkers for him and that hairline of his makes me grin nonstop. (We will not discuss the finale on season 2 here and no, I have not let my toddler watch it either) I like knowing that a ton of people are absolutely simping and crushing on a guy with a receding hairline.

It gives me hope that many who are not feeling confident due to hair loss can see someone like Tech, and suddenly think: “The man is self-assured as all heck, and he has hair like me. Maybe I should be more like him!”

We do not talk as much about hair loss, because, ironically enough, Tech has a quote about it: "It is a fundamental part of life."

So, when I see Tech redrawn with a full head of hair, I just think of the heartache my poor honey went through as a young guy in his 20’s, already facing an inevitable part of aging the vast majority do not look forward to. 

It's inevitable, but there's plenty of handsome dudes with little to no hair, ranging from Picard to Jason Statham and now, our animated neurodivergent prince of the Marauder. I love his hairline.

 Besides, we all can’t be Howzer, dang it, with his flawless fade and mop of glorious hair.

("Howzer deserves his own issue of Tiger Beat," - Reddit)

#thebadbatch #cloneforce99 #techthebadbatch #tech #star wars #star wars clone troopers #star wars tbb #tbb #tbb tech #hair #balding #male pattern baldness #i love my husband #my husband is tech lol #we did meet at a university with 'tech' in the name so idk

[juliaxhart]

hi can you write something about MJF and reader being married and reader brings reader and MJF son or daughter to an AEW show or Paper view. Since it will be their kids first time watching MJF wrestle in person.

Of course! I typically avoid writing things that have to do with children, but this request was way too cute to not write. Thank you for your request! I also found like the perfect gif lol

I had the time of my life with you

“Cody, are you ready?” Y/n walked into her son’s bedroom. He was four years old, his birthday was a few weeks ago, and as a gift they would be going to Dynamite that week. She didn’t tell Max, her husband and also Cody’s father. He knew she would be there but usually Cody would stay with Y/n’s parents.

Y/n opened Cody’s bedroom door, her son was dressed in his MJF t-shirt, some AEW shorts, and a tiny Burberry scarf. She picked up her son, putting him in the car and they headed to the arena. Max called her when she was about halfway to the arena. “Cody, honey, your daddy is calling me, can you be quiet for a few minutes? I want you to be his little surprise tonight.” Cody agreed and she answered the call.

“Hey, babe. I was just wondering when you were going to get here, I wanted to see you before the show.”

“Max, I’m so sorry. I lost track of time and I left late, I won’t be there in time to see you before the show. I’m really sorry.” Y/n lied.

“It’s all right, baby. I’ll still see you after the show, I have to go, Adam needs me. Bye Y/n, I love you.”

“I love you too, Bye Max.”

Y/n hung up, smiling as she saw Cody in the mirror. She could tell he was excited. He had never been to a wrestling show, let alone see his dad wrestle. She played some music as they kept driving.

To avoid fans, they waited until about halfway through the first match before heading into the arena, heading through security and getting to their seats. They had front row seats, right by the ring. She texted Max once they got to their seats, telling him that they were there. Y/n and Cody watched the show, it was easily the most fun either of them had ever had.

It was main event time, MJF vs Adam Cole. Adam made his entrance first, smirking slightly at Y/n and Cody. He had known their plan, Y/n had only told him. Adam was in the ring, waiting for Max.

Max’s music hit and Cody went wild, he was cheering louder than anyone. Max did his typical entrance, not noticing his wife and son at first. He finally saw them when he was about halfway down the ramp, he suddenly got the biggest smile on his face.

Max walked over and picked up Cody, kissing him on the forehead. “Buddy, what are you doing here? I was told you would be at home tonight!” Max smiled at his son, ruffling his hair as Cody hugged him. Max handed Cody back to Y/n, giving her a quick kiss before getting in the ring.

The match lasted almost forty minutes. Max won, Adam left after hugging Y/n and Cody. Max grabbed a mic and went over to Y/n and Cody. They were now off the air, so this wouldn’t be on TV.

“So, for those of you who don’t know, this is my beautiful wife, Y/n.” He paused as there was a loud applause for Y/n. “And this is my four year old son, Cody.” There was even more cheering. Max helped both of them over the barricade, getting into the ring with them.

“Now guys, this was a surprise for me, I’m assuming it was lovely Y/n’s idea. But, I have a feeling why they chose this Dynamite, other than that he’ll of a match I just put on against my good friend Adam. You see, it was recently my son’s birthday, and this is also his first ever wrestling show. Could we please get everyone to sing happy birthday to him?”

And that they did, everyone sang happy birthday to Cody, making this a night none of them would ever forget. Max thanked the crowd. He helped Y/n and Cody out of the ring, carrying Cody and holding Y/n’s hand as they all walk backstage together.

“That was the best surprise ever.” Max smiled at them as they reached his locker room.

#wrestling fanfiction #aew fanfiction #mjf fanfiction

[tobns]

all the lights went down in hollywood

from the writer’s desk: so, just right off the bat, for the full ~experience~ i recommend you read on ao3, as this is a multimedia fic and everything is formatted for that platform. but i know tumblr fics are slowly becoming a thing again, that’s where i came from and it’s who i’ll always be + i had some people asking, so here you guys go! disclaimer that there is adult material in this fic, so read at your own discretion. happy reading :’)

CHAPTER ONE: FEEL SO UNSTABLE, FUCKING HATE MY LABEL

"Gale is officially not coming back."

Clove wishes she could say this comes as a surprise, but it does not. If anything, it is a dull ringing in her ears, like someone's phone is bleating and they're just pretending to ignore it. The noise is akin to a nail-grating whine that digs underneath her skin.

Except the phone has been ringing for four weeks, and she is ready to rip her flesh off her body.

The suit sitting on the opposite side of the board table plows ahead, adjusting the lapels of his jacket as he speaks. "His team has finalized the paperwork, and as of tomorrow, March 13th, for all legal purposes, he will no longer be attached to The SeventyFourth."

Beside her, Glimmer rolls her eyes. "So why the hell did someone post the Twelve cover this morning to our Instagram?"

"Roxanne is contractually obligated to post to the band's Instagram at minimum once per month."

"Well why couldn't Foxy post that picture of Gale's bare ass? It's the least he deserves after he ditched us."

Across the table, the suit lowers his wire-rimmed glasses. "Ms. Dillon, Mr. Hawthorne provided you all with a formal resignation letter upon his entry into rehab. I'd hardly call that ditching."

Glimmer falls silent.

A formal resignation letter is pushing the envelope considerably. Emmett's still of the belief that Gale doesn't know how to form more than two complete sentences.

Really, they'd forced his hand. They couldn't keep pushing back tour rehearsals to accommodate for his broken heart. At some point, something had to give, and Clove would go to her grave with the truth if anyone decided to ask questions about her call history.

"You're drunk," Foxy warns as Clove starts fumbling with her phone, trying to get the face identification to do its singular job and recognize her as the owner. Apparently, when she's drunk, Apple tells too much of a difference between freckles and specks of glitter and deems her as another person entirely.

"Yeah, no shit."

Foxy's fingers start trying to pry the phone gently from Clove's grip, but Clove immediately swats her hand away, all but clocking her in the face with the point of her elbow as she wrestles herself out of Foxy's proximity. "Stop it," she spits venomously. "If no one else in this fuckin' group is gonna tell him the truth, then I will."

"Clove..."

Clove's face draws up into a tight line. "Foxy," she mimics. "It's bullshit."

"I'm not disagreeing with you, but—"

"But what?" Clove snaps. Her face falls, come on scrolling in her irises as she glares at her publicist. "Rox, this is shit and you know it. Katniss didn't do anything to him, he's a pussy who can't accept that he has always been and never will be anywhere but her friend zone. And now he's making the band suffer because he's suddenly twelve?" She huffs. "We named the album after the number of songs, not how old our fuckin' guitarist acts."

Foxy is silent, lips pressing together in an attempt to suppress the riot act she's dying to read Clove, but knows that ultimately, she cannot. As long as it doesn't grace the top searches of Google, it's out of her hands. Clove's always been a fish in her hands, slipping and darting from her grasp. Every time she thinks she's got Clove, there's a narrow escape back into the pond.

Clove manages to unlock her phone and gets into her contacts, finding Gale's name and violently pressing the call button. Every drone of the phone ringing only heightens her blood pressure.

"What the fuck do you want, Clove?" Gale answers on the third ring, his words slurred together. "'M not hashing this out with you."

"Oh, the hell you are," Clove snarls into the receiver. Beside her, Foxy is now physically biting down on her fist. "You're going to stop acting like a little bitch, you're going to pull your head out of your ass and you're going to be at rehearsal tomorrow. We are not waiting around on you to get over yourself."

"Fuck you," he groans.

"Know who else I fucked? Kat." The silence on the other end is so profound, she wonders if he hung up on her, but she knows she's got him by the throat. She almost wishes he could see the smug grin that so effortlessly drapes over her lips. "While you were whining after every show about whether or not she'd ever give you the time of day, I was with her in all those hotel rooms—"

"Shut up—"

"—and tour bunks, between her legs, making her say my name—"

"God, you are an insufferable cunt—"

"—and guess what? She didn't think about you once! Not one mention of you, ever!" Clove sneers into the receiver, a low laugh rumbling from her chest. "C'mon, Hawthorne, you didn't seriously think she and I wrote honey because we'd caught a marathon of the fuckin' L Word one night and thought it'd be a cute idea for a song."

There's more silence on Gale's end, so Clove takes that as her invitation to keep prattling on. "So if you're gonna be mad at anyone in the band, don't you dare be mad at Katniss for going out on dates with someone that is perfectly kind and normal and sane like she's got every right to. Be mad at the person who was fucking her behind your back for eight months knowing full well how you felt about her. I didn't give a shit about bro code, I don't regret it, and I'd fucking do it again."

"I can't believe you."

"Believe it." Clove switches hands, pulling the phone away from her ear and putting the receiver directly up to her mouth. "You better fucking be at rehearsal tomorrow morning, or you are out." Gale doesn't have an opportunity to protest; she forcefully ends the call and then throws the phone haphazardly over her shoulder. She hears the soft bounce it makes when it lands somewhere on the couch behind her.

Clove bends down, reaching for the shot glass she'd discarded and tossing it back. Foxy just stares at her with wide eyes, wordless. "What?" Clove asks calmly as the tequila carves a neat path down her throat. "I'm expediting the process."

"Yeah," is Foxy's hollow intonation, unsure of what the fuck to say. It's a good thing she said enough for the both of them, then.

Gale was never the favorite in the band. Once upon a time, he'd been tolerable. Those were the days when Madge was on keys, of few but meaningful words and they were opening for nobodies, when it didn't matter the way it does now. And then she left, and Emmett recommended they give one of his sister's friends a listen to see if she'd be a good fit. Katniss was, of course, and everyone loved her. Gale loved her the most, in a way that he was stuffing napalm into all of their cracks that he all but promised to come back and ignite later.

Clove knows she probably put more than just a toe or her neck out, telling Gale the truth, but it was just that: the truth. He never bothered to do anything about his insufferable crush on her, and that was far from Clove's problem. It became her problem when he dialed the dramatics up to an eleven and let the band get in the crosshairs. Twelve was their most successful record to date, got them nominated for three Grammys, and the Twelve tour sold out in minutes.

So, yes, it very much mattered when Gale started saying he couldn't be in the same room as Katniss and pushed tour rehearsals back. And then it really was her problem when he broke his hand after punching a wall, a direct result of their phone conversation, and pretended to go to rehab just so he could punish her by making everything screech to a grinding halt.

She really, really hated him.

"Furthermore—" Clove's never heard anyone use the word furthermore in a conversation that was not scripted by Shakespeare — "Within the terms of his release, Mr. Hawthorne would not be officially released from his contract within the band until a suitable replacement was lined up with the approval of the label."

"Yeah, what about the band's approval?" Marvel says, the steady rap of his fingers against the wooden table never faltering. "Imagine the label's still mad at me for that time I wrecked that golf cart—"

"—they probably are," Katniss chimes in.

"—and they give us someone worse than Gale as a dose of our medicine." He glances around the table at the rest of them, looking for support. "I mean, it's more than just a business arrangement. This is somebody we have to live with, in cramped conditions, for the next seven months. Do you want one of us to become a serial killer?"

"Mr. Dillon," the suit says in a disapproving tone, lowering the wire-rimmed glasses on his nose to glare. Marvel winces, slouching back into his seat; underneath the table, Glimmer has stomped on his foot as hard as she can manage, arms now folded across her chest and a triumphant smirk on her lips that she does her best to water down for appearance's sake. "Considering your own contract and moral clauses, I highly doubt that will be an issue."

"So, what are you saying?" Glimmer asks. "We don't get to pick our new guitarist?"

"It's not just a guitarist, from my understanding. If I'm correct, Mr. Hawthorne also did male lead vocals for the group's latest record."

"That's something Marv or Thresh can do." Clove sits up a little taller in her chair, finding herself nodding along with Katniss's suggestion.

The suit, on the other hand, is skeptical of this. "That may well be true, Ms. Everdeen, but it's of the label's perspective that Mr. Hawthorne's replacement should be able to replace him entirely."

Clove sighs. This is veering on the borderline of asinine and aggravating, and she's got shit to do. Namely, get her band in rehearsal, now that they are apparently back on track. "Okay," she interjects, lifting one of her hands. "So Gale's out, and now we've got to wait on the label to find someone to replace him, and we'll probably figure out who it is once Rox's contract obligates her to post it on the band Instagram. Is tour officially on?"

Suit clears his throat. "Tour is on, yes." He begins ruffling through the stack of papers he has spread out around him. "According to Mr. Abernathy and Ms. Trinket, replacement dates with the venues are in the process of being finalized. The European shows are, I believe, the only ones still up in the air. My understanding is that you will play Amsterdam instead of Po—"

"Okay then," Clove deduces with the clap of her hands. "So when do we start rehearsals? Is the plan still to open in Glendale?"

"Yes, but..."

"And do we have to actually wait for the label to tell us who's joining, or are we allowed to make recommendations and audition people we like?"

"I like that," Marvel nods fervently. "At least gives us some say in the matter."

"And that's how we found Katniss," Glimmer adds, thumb jambing in the direction of their now slightly blushing keyboardist. "She was a perfect fit."

Emmett shrugs. "Told y'all I had good taste."

"That you did, Threshie."

The suit looks visibly uncomfortable where he sits, Clove's sharp eye narrowing in on his body language. It takes only a second to conclude why he's behaving as though his tie is choking him. "We're not going to get to audition anyone, are we?"

Marvel's neck nearly breaks. "What? Why?"

Clove's eyebrows shift upward, and Suit opens his mouth. "Per the terms of his release from his contract, Mr. Hawthorne would not be able to officially leave the band until a replacement was lined up. It's my understanding that we are meeting today because the label signed a new lead guitarist to The SeventyFourth last night, and the paperwork for Mr. Hawthorne's departure was processed and finalized early this morning."

The dull ringing is back in her ears, but this time, everything around her sounds as though it has been plunged into water.

Quite a bit of her disdain for Gale stemmed back to the way that he made Katniss feel (read: like shit, and Clove hated to see her down), but the reason Clove could not stand him, even for the sake of professionalism, was the lack of control she was able to exercise regarding his mere presence. She's always in control, even when others think she's not.

It's why the rest of them throw the baton her way when it comes to leading the charge — and the band — without a complaint. It's because she gets shit done. She doesn't mind making hard decisions that must be made, starting difficult discussions that need to be had. Everyone in The SeventyFourth has always had a fair say, but typically it all boils down to Clove.

She's been doing this twice as long as the rest of them. She's seen shit, and while it doesn't make her better than any of them (she will never be able to play piano like Katniss, or make even the stoniest person crack a laugh like Marvel, or be half the woman Glimmer is or have the rationale Thresh has in any given moment) it incentivizes her to make sure The SeventyFourth is the best it can possibly be. And Gale was the weed that no matter how she tried to rearrange or disguise she simply could not prune. Gale was a force outside of the things she could control. She'd certainly thought about it, but there was no way to physically make him show up for rehearsals. There was no way to quell his broodiness. There was no legal way to be rid of him unless he did it on his own terms.

The only thing that could possibly be worse than having the tour continue to be delayed is hearing that they have already found his replacement, and Clove's got no fucking clue who they could've picked to invade her family.

Slowly, the conversation around her pokes and prods at her bubble.

"I'm calling Haymitch," is the first thing Clove hears clearly, Katniss spinning the chair around so her back is to Suit with her phone already out, unlocked, and mid-dial.

"That's not necessary, Ms. Everdeen, but if you'd like."

Marvel is halfway across the table with how far he is hunched over. "Why weren't we privy to that information? We should have at least been told that the label would be out looking for people; I mean, for fuck's sake, we've all been doing nothing for five weeks. We could've been looking on our own for someone to take his place."

Suit seems to be sweating, even if he's doing a damn fine job with his poker face. "These were terms mentioned in the contract when The SeventyFourth signed with Rose Garden."

"Are you telling me that I don't know how to read?"

"I'm saying that this should not come as a surprise had you read your contracts."

"Those are like the goddamn terms of service," Marvel grumbles. "Nobody reads them!"

"Marvel, shut up," Glimmer says in lieu of smashing his foot underneath her Louboutins for the second time. "You're making it sound like we're stupid."

"Well, we might as well be."

"How far are you from the Garden?" Katniss is saying into the phone, hand cupped around the receiver so Haymitch can hear her. "Did you know that they were finding someone to replace Gale?"

"When do we get to meet them?" Thresh asks, perhaps the calmest of them all. It's why he is the threshold for all of their bullshit: nothing rattles him. "Since they're officially part of the band, we shouldn't be left in the dark. If tour's back on, we need to get into rehearsals."

"I'm glad you asked." The voice does not belong to the suit, but rather a sandy haired man that has burst through the conference room doors with a phone still tucked against his cheek, broad smile across his face. He winks at Katniss, who is staring back at him with her mouth agape. "We wanted to make sure you all were in the same room first," he says, hanging up the call. "And here you all are."

Haymitch.

"What the fuck, Haymitch," are the first words out of Marvel's mouth. "You couldn't have told us?"

Both of Haymitch's hands lift in mock arrest. "Wasn't allowed to." The look he gives Marvel is utterly patronizing. "Can't read the contracts for you, I can only tell you to read 'em carefully." Marvel's eye is now twitching.

"Okay, so who is it?" Clove snaps, already nauseous with the back and forth and stalling. "Who's our new guitarist?"

If it were possible for Haymitch's smile to grow, the upward curve of his lips would be carved in his skin. "So glad you asked." He turns slightly, arms gestured out to the side. "May I introduce — or, for some, reintroduce to you..."

Clove's vision goes red, and she vaguely feels as though she might be sick.

"SeventyFourth's newest guitarist and male lead, Cato Hadley."

#clato #hunger games fanfiction #thg fanfiction #clato fanfiction #hunger games #thg #the hunger games #clove #cato #glimmer #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #foxface #thresh #haymitch abernathy #we r not gale fans here sorry :/ #annie cresta #cloveniss #everlark #fanfic #fanfiction #all the lights went down in hollywood #chapter title from charli xcx's gone #AHHHHHHH WE BACK Y'ALL #not that i ever left but ykwim

[pellelavellan]

The Journals of Pelle Lavellan

14 Justinian, 9:34 Dragon

I'm scared my secret might get out. I don't know what to do. People can't find out. I'm supposed to get married to Finni in the autumn. I know that she knows my secret, but nobody else does. And for good reason too. I'd never live it down. It would be social suicide. What would my parents say? Or worse, Mallas' dad? I know he's not my dad but he really does like make sure I don't forget how much he doesn't like me.

Anyways, Faris scared me today in the woods. Jumped right out of the bushes and shouted at me so loud. I was so scared I fell over. But then he did something weird. He just like...he was just leaning over me with his hands on the grass on both sides of my head staring at me. I don't know why I thought he was going to beat me up, but I just had a bad feeling so I held my breath and waited for it.

He asked me to breathe, and cursed before telling me he wasn't going to hurt me and how jumpy I was. I guess he's right, I could stand to be a bit braver but fuck what was I supposed to think when he came out of the bushes shouting and pinning him to the ground?

He let me sit up, but he was still staring at me and I didn't know why. Because I'm a glutton for punishment I asked him why he'd even pinned me to the ground in the first place if he wasn't trying to hurt me or if there wasn't someone else hiding in the bushes waiting to do something embarrassing to me. He didn't answer me of course, he just gave me another shove and told me not to get any funny ideas.

That was the first instance I started to worry that he knew something. What funny ideas could I possibly get? Okay--a lot. I'm a teenage boy and some guy I've been crushing on just pinned me down and made direct eye contact with me. OF COURSE my mind was going all kinds of places that I would absolutely keep to myself. Faris is too old for me anyways , he's older than Nara, and she's four years older than me.

He's cute sure...and muscular, and cocky, and loud, and really good at sparring he always wins. Sure I like to watch him--for science. But I'm just looking right? What's wrong with watching? I can't believe I'm trying to justify having a crush on one of the hunters to a piece of paper right now. That's kind of weird of me, but I guess it feels like I'm talking to someone that can't answer or tell me how weird I am. Paper's a good listener, I wonder if paper ever feels a way about always being told people's deepest thoughts and just having to keep it a secret?

That doesn't really matter. Anyways, he put his hands back next to my head after he shoved and he accused me of liking him. I denied it of course. He doubled down, 'you're not a fighter Sibs, you don't have any good reason to watch me with the amount of attention that you do.' I wasn't giving in though. I told him I didn't like him, might have even told him to fuck off. What was I supposed to say? Yes, I think about you a lot and I like you a lot? I'm not that stupid.Or I didn't think so because he decided to challenge that answer.

I still can't believe this happened even writing about it, but he leaned down and kissed me, and my stupid fucking ass kissed him back. He laughed at me, not in a nice way, in that mean way people do when they've caught you in a lie and they're going to gloat about it. And he did. It was awful, like all the things that seemed so cool about him were suddenly gone and he was just mean. I don't think I've ever changed my mind about someone so fast. My face got so hot I felt someone was holding a lit match to me and passing it over my cheeks.

As if it couldn't get any worse he asked me 'Are you sure about that?' I'd really had enough of it. I had two options, wrestle him to set myself free or cry, which I was about ready to do but I'd be damned if I cried in front of him because he fucking sucked. So I pounded on his chest until he backed off and I ran home, ignored my mother when she called my name when I walked past her with the sour face I probably had on, and crawled under the covers and hid from the world.

She tried to talk to me. I told her I wasn't feeling well so she advised me to get some rest, said she was always willing to talk if I wanted to. It's been a few hours now. I didn't talk her. I didn't even really talk to Nara when she came home and asked me what was wrong as I'm sure my mum told her I was acting strange.

I haven't really talked to anyone actually all day. I only got up to make dinner for everyone and eat with them, then I went back to bed. I don't want to talk about it really. Telling people would mean I would have to explain things I'm not ready to talk about, not yet. And fuck, if I told anyone what would Faris do to me? I don't wanna think about that either.

I think I hate him. I hate him so much.

#{{ his face was like the sun }} headcanons #big cw for grooming #cw grooming #cw homophobia