#Nik as SANDALS

[robbingprince]

Well-polished

Laurent was just deciding whether or not he should bother staying alive when the door opened.

“Oh,” said the man who entered, “You’re awake.”

Laurent said, “Yes, quite,” and turned as far as he could with the chains, which was not very far. There was nowhere to conceal the rock he had sharpened, and so he closed his fist around it. “Should I not be?”

“Pardon?” a step towards him, and another. He could not see a face, couldn’t raise his head high enough for it, but the torchlight still fell on polished boots. A large man, probably very tall.

“Did you need me asleep. I could pretend, if it helps. I can be very convincing.”

“Can you,” somewhat amused.

Laurent made himself frown. “Yes, I have the snoring down to the dot. Shall I give you an example?”

“Please do.”

Closing his eyes to a slit, Laurent said, “Snore.”

The man gave a bark of laughter so hard it startled them both. “Oh,” he said, afterwards, “oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to—yes, that was convincing indeed.”

“Are you speaking in jest? I can’t see your expression. The collar, you know, it rather impedes the motion of my neck.”

A breath travelled between the stone walls. It was a small cell, sound should not echo within it—and yet. “I cannot unchain you,” the man said. “I don’t have the key.”

“Right. Was there another reason you came, then? Now that you’ve been convinced of my snoring.”

“I… well. I wanted to see if you were all right.”

“All right,” Laurent said flatly.

“Yes. I’m aware the question is rather silly. But you were obviously beaten badly before you were brought here, and I wanted to check if you were treated.”

“Treated?” Laurent swallowed a whole host of unhelpful remarks. “No bones were broken, if that’s what you mean.”

“No. I mean, I knew. I wanted to see if you were treated for pain.”

That stalled him for a moment, as he was possibly shocked, or more likely disoriented, unable to find the point of deceit. It was difficult to divine true motivation out of boots, no matter how well-polished. If he wanted to get anywhere at all, Laurent would need a face.

“I am not,” he said, “in much pain.”

“You are aware you’re still bleeding.”

“Yes, thank you. I never said the stickiness was pleasant. If you had a spare cloth I would be most grateful.”

“I—” the boots came closer. “Will you tell me your name?”

Laurent rolled his eyes to the floor. “Do you normally take prisoners without verifying their identity.”

“No. No, I don’t. You are not my prisoner.”

“Ah. Of course, as you are not the one with the key. You’re not simply employed by my captor, either.” The quality of leather suggested high-born at least. “In that case, you are either a co-conspirator, or.”

“Or?”

Laurent allowed himself to straighten up marginally. It hurt like a bastard in his shoulder, possibly re-opening the knife wound, and did not allow him to see above well-defined, stocky shins; it was, still, something he could do. “Or you are here to decide if you’ll help me.”

“Help you,” Boots said. “I cannot help you.”

“Because you don’t have the key,” Laurent said. “Yet.”

A long silence stretched between them, somehow also echoing in the small chamber. Perhaps the cell had grown when Laurent was unconscious; perhaps it had blown and blown until it was humongous, a cavern or a palace, empty and gleaming. Waiting to be filled with sounds, most likely screaming. The imaginings were strangely soothing; Laurent had to recall his wits before he lost track of this very important, possibly course-altering conversation.

“I must leave,” said the horribly non-cooperative owner of the boots. “I will be back. I’ll bring water. And some food.”

“Very gracious,” Laurent said, genuine and inordinately annoyed. “I will be right here.”

A choked sound, some shuffling, then the creaking of the door. Before it had the chance to close, Laurent said, “It is Laurent, by the way.”

The man almost ran back to him. “Pardon? What was that?”

“My name. You asked. If you’re still interested, it is Laurent.”

“Yes. Yes. Laurent.” In the part of conversation where a proper gentleman would give his own name, the man said, “Thank you,” and left, shutting the door carefully behind him. He seemed to possess that key, in any case, which meant he could probably obtain the other.

He was not a small man, which might be problematic when it came to one-on-one fisticuffs. Feet that large, and shins that thick, and the voice that came deep and sure: the man was either a giant, or a very near thing, and he was probably well-versed in fighting on top of it, because that was just Laurent’s luck. He would need more than simple strength to outdo him.

It would be much easier to plan with a face.

Read the rest of chapter 1 on AO3!

[ask-missparker]

Mama Mia Headcanon 🧸

— i just wanted to do this soooo let me know what you guys think 💭 (AUNTIE MIMI HAS BEEN CONFIRMED ☑️)

In the morning she is wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants playing music (such as Disney 🪄songs) as the children wake up to music in the background.

Making breakfast sandwiches for the kids and her spouse (along for her friends)

Comforting hugs and kisses 🤗 on the couch

Watching cartoons (she could often be sweeping the floor and pause next to the TV, catching the show playing)

Buying toys, clothes and other items (Nik said she spoil them but shhh 🤫)

She often forgets to brush her kids hair in the morning, because they honestly look so cute with bed head 🖌️

Singing songs and dancing across the houses (they have music on display so OFC she got it stuck in her head)

Doing hairstyles for the kiddos, like @purpleprincessonfyre & @ethan-lensherr daughter Belladonna hair

Cuddles on the couch and tickling her kiddos 🥰

She loves to snack! She always been a foodie and eating bunch of things but being a mama, she often finds herself snacking a lot. Especially due to making snacks for everyone, she will eat something for herself too

This girl be giving out nicknames!! Everyone got nicknames when she is around

She makes Bruce Banner one of the kiddos grandpa ☺️

She tends to carry to kids. Find her with @luna-d-marsh & @rickb-chaos daughter Riley being a koala 🐨 on her back, meanwhile she is carrying around one of her twins, Margot, on the front bahaha

All the kids introduce their significant others to her after a month of dating 😉

Will threaten the kiddos with spoilers -> "Do your homework or I will spoil what happened at the end of the Umbrella Academy."

Mia hears a crash and gasps, “What did you do this time?! Rochelle get your kids!”

She thinks her children are perfect angels 😇 THEN she remembers who her their aunties and uncles are 😅 🤣

Her and Cole watching Star Wars 💫together with the children

Always tries to listen to the children and make time for them (even if she apparently seems busy)

Tells Maria Hill that she can’t work tomorrow because her kiddos (along with her nieces and nephew) need her 😌

Graphic t-shirts, leggings and sandals are go-to outfit 💅 with her purse and phone

Always carrying a water bottle, cause she gets dehydrated easily and reminds the others to drink water too!

Find her giggling or having to hold back her laughter because of something a parent, or one of the children have said 😂

~~

~~~~~~~

Ahh let me know what u think (and make ur own HCs too 👀 I would love to see them)

Tags: @ask-starrk @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @wizzzardofoz @thechoooooosenone @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh @marvelsfavoriteuncle @elzabeth-stark @sci-fi-lexcon @jackiequick @blueboirick @gcthvile @cherrysft @meiramel @trulysummersprivate and etc

[natelia-aldelliz]

Nik who has a special place for Soap who sometimes has a hard time when his ADHD gets too much and gets into trouble.

Price being upset, he tries to understand but it's difficult sometimes. It can drive Gaz and even Roach up a wall, so much energy.

The only two who can handle him is Ghost and Nik, giving him simple tasks while telling him stories to settle his hyperactive mind.

And he's so grateful for his adoptive dad and boyfriend, who never get frustrated with him, when he can't control it.

Ghost is used to wrangling Soap and Roach so he just knows what to do, while Gaz and Roach get overwhelmed and can't deal with it and Price is stressed with all the responsibilities of being the Captain and keeping everyone 1) alive, 2) out of jail, so he can only deal up to a certain point before he sends him to Nik.

And then he feels terrible and Nik has to cheer him up too, and he probably asks him how he's always so calm and patient and Nik is just like sipping on a glass of wine, in a tee-shirt, shorts and sandals on duty, with his sunglasses on, like "I just pretend everyday is a vacation day"

[therisingkings]

The Jealousy of a King

Check it out on Ao3

TW: The following contains mature content (sex and bondage) that may be triggering to some viewers. Read at your own risk. *****

Laurent swallowed hard as he looked out over the training field, the only reaction he allowed his body to express.

The Akielons trained below, shouting and clasping each other. Training naked, Laurent had recently learned, was a common practice in Akielos. They sometimes wore clothes in the winter, Damen had reassured him.

Laurent’s eyes caught and held on his husband. As much as he tried to tell Damen that being naked out in public was unkingly, the man never listened to him. His brown skin was glistening with oil underneath the high summer sun, the scars on his back nothing more than blurred lines from this distance. Damen was currently smiling at Nikandros as they put their arms across each other’s shoulders, a gesture Laurent recognized as the beginning of a wrestling match. 

Nikandros said something that made Damen laugh, and then they heaved. Nikandros managed to bring Damen to the ground, which was a feat in and of itself. 

Laurent was moving before he could stop himself. He rounded a pillar, descending the marble steps. By the time he made it to ground level, they were in the midst of the round.

Damen flipped them over, slamming Nikandros into the ground. Nikandros was quick to turn, not letting himself get pinned. There was a moment of struggle where Damen tried to get a better grip, while Nik tried to throw him off. It pushed their sweat-dampened bodies together, and even if neither of them were aroused, Laurent was suddenly hot, even in his chiton.

“Stop,” he ordered, louder than he intended because the whole training yard seemed to pause.

Nikandros looked up so fast, he bumped Damen’s head with his own.

Damen groaned and let him go. He looked up at Laurent, rubbing his head. “What is it?”

Laurent didn’t have an excuse. He said, “I require your opinion.”

“On what?”

“It’s important. We must talk privately.”

Damen’s brows knitted together, but he stood, accepting a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.

“Get dressed,” Laurent added in a slightly strangled voice as he turned away.

Damen found him a couple minutes later in their private chambers. He entered quietly, allowing the door to click shut behind him. 

Laurent was sitting on their bed, eyes on Damen’s sandals. “I am ashamed.”

“Of?”

“I let my jealousy get the best of me.”

“Sweetheart, you know that there is a very strict difference between sports and sex here. That was just wrestling.” Damen bent to unlace his sandals.

Laurent glared at the ground. “I know,” he hissed.

“So then you understand that that kind of behavior is unacceptable.” 

Crossing his arms over his chest, Laurent turned his head away like a petulant child. “You had him naked beneath you. Your cock was—”

“That’s enough.” Damen crossed the room to grip Laurent’s face, forcing him to look at him. “You will be punished for your actions today.”

Laurent recoiled. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You stopped my training session and you got jealous. I’ll do you a favor and let you pick your punishment. Do you—”

Laurent smacked his hand away, shoving to his feet. “You would have reacted the same way if I wrestled Nikandros like that.”

“You’d never be able to get Nik under you,” Damen said, which wasn’t helpful.

“Really? Let’s see if he’d like to bend over for both Kings.” With that, Laurent went to the door, fully prepared to call Nikandros to their bedroom.

Damen beat him to it. He slammed the door shut when Laurent only managed to open it a hair and caged Laurent against it with his arms. “You’re acting like a brat.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Heat bloomed across Laurent’s back as Damen leaned closer, his breath fanning over Laurent’s ear. “Maybe I will. Would you get jealous of my hand too, sweetheart?”

Growling, Laurent whirled, which only gave Damen the opportunity to throw him over a shoulder. He thrashed in his husband’s grip, which only earned him a harsh slap on the ass. The world tilted and then he was on his back on the bed. Damen shoved his hands through the cuffs attached to the bed frame before he backed off.

Laurent snarled at him, pushing himself up to a seated position— as far as the restraints would allow. 

Damen stood at the edge of the bed, an easy grin on his lips. He unclasped his chiton, letting it pool at his bare feet. His cock jutted out, half hard already. “Jealousy is an ugly look, sweetheart.”

“Fuck you. You get angry every time one of your soldiers looks at my legs for too long.”

“That’s because they’re thinking about flipping up your skirt. Nikandros and I have no interest like that in each other.” He bent to look Laurent in the eye. “You’re feelings are misplaced, understand?”

Laurent considered telling him off again, but figured that wouldn’t make the situation any better. 

Damen straightened and gripped his cock at the base, sliding his hand down the length of it. He hardened almost instantly, making Laurent’s mouth water. Damen worked himself in practiced tugs, his heavy lidded eyes fixed on Laurent. 

Heat pooled in Laurent’s belly, tenting the front of his chiton. He tried to ignore it, choosing to look out the window instead.

“No,” Damen ordered. “Look at me.”

Laurent’s eyes snapped back to him. 

Damen let out a groan from the back of his throat, tipping his chin up.

Laurent wanted to kiss that exposed throat, replace Damen’s hand with his mouth. He was hot with need, straining against his restraints.

Damen’s gaze was dark as his teeth sunk into his plush bottom lip. “Those cuffs aren’t coming off until I hear an apology.”

Laurent gritted his teeth.

Damen circled his thumb around the head, the same way he did to Laurent. 

Laurent’s gaze dropped to his powerful thighs, each wider than both of Laurent’s. The muscle was built from years of wrestling and riding. Laurent trailed higher. Damen’s cock was surrounded in dark curls that he kept neatly trimmed. They were gleaming with oil from the wrestling match.

Laurent’s throat was dry. He licked his lips. “Maybe we can—”

“Apologize.” Damen sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m getting close.”

“You can’t come from just that,” Laurent blurted. “It’s not—it’s not—”

Damen laughed. “You really think I don’t jerk off when you’re not around? You being here is just an added bonus.”

Laurent grunted, pulling hard on the cuffs. “No. I want to do it. Damen.”

Damen grinned. “You poor pampered princeling. Just part those pretty lips and apologize and you can have all the cock you want.”

A frustrated scream built in Laurent’s throat. “Fine. I’m sorry.” 

Damen chuckled darkly, but let go of himself. He slowly crawled across the bed to hover over Laurent. “That didn’t sound very sincere.”

“That’s the best you’re going to get,” Laurent snarled.

Damen wrapped a hand around his throat and the other beneath his jaw, forcing him to open his mouth. Damen licked into it, hot and possessive, not allowing Laurent an inch that he himself did not dictate. 

Laurent moaned, arching into him. He wrapped his thighs around Damen’s waist, urging him closer. “Please,” he said once Damen released his mouth. 

“Shh.” Damen sat back and two fingers replaced his tongue. His other hand went to the pin of Laurent’s chiton, tossing it aside. 

Laurent sucked on his fingers as Damen groped at his chest. He wanted to ask, to beg Damen to fuck him, but his mouth was preoccupied. 

Damen smiled, as if he knew this. He flattened his fingers against Laurent’s tongue, prying open his mouth. “I ought to fuck you here. Will your other hole get jealous too?”

Laurent whined as best he could. 

Damen tutted. “No. That would be too cruel. Wouldn’t it, sweetheart?”

Laurent lifted his hips against Damen’s, letting him feel his arousal. 

“Perhaps I could call Nikandros in here, have him bend over the bed. You know, he’d do anything for his king.”

At that, Laurent thrashed, tearing his head from Damen’s grip. “Don’t you dare, you—”

“Barbarian?” Damen’s smile melted into a smirk, dripping with wickedness. He pulled Laurent’s chiton the rest of the way off, tossing the garment aside. “I thought you’d have more insults by now.”

“Giant animal,” Laurent snarled as Damen pushed his thighs up and apart. 

“Is that the best you’ve got?” Damen lowered his face so his breath rushed across the head of Laurent’s cock. His eyes were dark as they flicked up to Laurent. “You can do better than that.”

It was getting hard to focus. Laurent let out a slow breath, trying to piece his scattered thoughts together. 

Damen didn’t wait for his next insult. He gave no warning before he licked Laurent’s entrance, much the way he’d licked his mouth. 

Laurent jumped, clenching on instinct. 

Damen chuckled against him, teasing at his rim. “I thought you wanted my attention here.” He licked him in a broad stripe, making Laurent short circuit. His tongue was hot as it laved attention to Laurent’s entrance. He prodded inside, thrusting his tongue as deep as it would go.

Laurent turned his face into the pillow, his legs curling around Damen’s shoulders. He canted his hips towards Damen’s face, letting out a moan. His toes curled, hands gripping the small chains linked to his cuffs. 

“I bet you could come just from this.” Damen gripped one of Laurent’s ass cheeks so he could spread him apart. He gave him another dirty lick, tongue dipping inside before he pulled away. “But I don’t think that’s fair either.”

Laurent was breathing hard as he rose. He wanted to say something clever, but was caught tongue tied by the sight of his husband—all golden glory, framed by the milky paleness of Laurent’s thighs.

Damen grasped his own cock again, not to stroke himself, but to press the blunt head to Laurent’s entrance. He eased slowly inside.

So slowly, in fact, that Laurent hooked his legs around Damen’s waist, trying to urge him deeper, faster.

Damen clicked his tongue, only half seated. “Ask nicely.”

“Fuck me.” Laurent swallowed when Damen didn’t move. He sighed. “Please?”

“Good boy.” Damen sank in to the hilt, using the extra inches to grab the oil from the nightstand.

Laurent hissed at him when he pulled out. “Hurry up, you bastard.”

“See that one’s not even true,” Damen said conversationally as he applied the oil. “It loses its bite when you say it all breathless like that too.”

“Damen.”

Damen gave in. He fucked into Laurent, slow and hard and just the way Laurent liked it. Laurent keened beneath him, gripping his bindings hard. He was dizzy with the feel of it—being so full he swore he could burst right open at the seams. 

Damen kissed him without breaking his rhythm, all tongue and teeth. Laurent kissed back with equal fervor, desperately wishing he could run his hands through Damen’s hair, over his shoulders, dig his nails into the muscle.

Damen’s hand found its way between them, stroking his cock in time with his thrusts. The pressure at Laurent’s spine built as he panted against Damen’s mouth. He couldn’t breath, couldn’t think beyond the feeling of Damen inside of him, touching parts of him that had been touched by no other. 

Damen said something in Akielon too rough for Laurent to translate in his current state, but it was the timber of his voice that sent him over the edge. Laurent’s orgasm barreled into him like a tidal wave, a noise of pure pleasure releasing from deep within his throat.

“Yes,” Damen said, “yes.” And then he was fucking Laurent harder, driving him into the mattress, not allowing him a moment to recover as he shook between spurts. 

Laurent became nothing beyond sensation: the sheets beneath him soaked in sweat, Damen’s brow pressed against his own, the slap of skin on skin as Damen chased his own release. Distantly, he was aware of his thighs parting further, his ankles locking together just above the swell of Damen’s ass. His lips parted, saying, “Please, please, come in me. I want—I need—”

Damen groaned, slamming into the hilt as he filled Laurent. He trembled, eyes squeezed shut while Laurent’s were wide. 

They breathed each other’s air. Inhale. Smile. Exhale. Laurent returned to his body slowly, allowing his legs to release Damen.

Damen nuzzled his nose, kissed him, then rose, leaving Laurent alone on the bed for only a moment. He returned with a warm rag, ignoring Laurent’s sound of displeasure as he wiped him down. 

Laurent squirmed as he tossed the rag aside. “Damen.”

“Hmm?” Damen was pouring water into a glass. The clank of the shackles drew his attention and he smiled. “Oh. Forgive me.”

Once released of his bonds, Laurent sat up, taking the water. He sipped it delicately, leaning on Damen’s muscled shoulder.

Damen touched the wrist of his free hand. “Have you learned your lesson?”

Laurent thought about it for a moment, then offered Damen a secret, conniving smile that never left the bedroom. “Oh, absolutely not.”

[countrymusiclover]

8 - Family Vacation

Part 9

Family is More than Blood

@secretdreamlandmentality

Shutting the car door behind me the wind knocked my hair into my face while Jacob walked over to me with his hands in his pockets. “I can’t believe he got us tickets on a cruise ship for a family vacation. I mean I know he’s got money but still.”

“Trust me, J. You’ll get used to it at some point in our immortal lives. Now I have to ask, are you going to finally ask Hayley to marry you yet?” I slapped my hands onto my knees, sending him a grin.

Jacob had told me and our father that he planned to ask Hayley to marry him sometime soon. Since we were somewhat finally in a stable place in our lives. And if I was right he probably would ask her while we were on this cruise ship. “Look honestly I’m just afraid she’ll say no. I mean sure we have a kid together. But that doesn’t mean -ow!”

He rubbed his arm after I slapped him with a glare. “Jacob Dawson Lane why wouldn’t she say yes to you. I mean Hayley has been through far too much with our family to back out now. So I have 100% faith that she will say yes even if you didn’t ask her on a cruise ship.”

We turned our heads hearing the kids get out of the car and Andrea ran straight towards the ship with Henrik chasing after her with a fit of laughter. “Hey, be careful. Don’t get in trouble with the security of the ship.”

“Calm down, Rae…I compelled the captain to not worry about what they do.” Klaus came up behind us wrapping his arms around me and his head was on my shoulder. He was right that even though Henrik and Andrea were running around, Missy was making a mess of chocolate and other desserts around the cabins, Hope and Alina were visiting the captains quarters wanting to help take the boat to sea. The ship’s captain didn’t scold them, not even once.

Klaus slowly dragged me through the ship where I wasn’t sure what he was trying to do next. We ended up on the main deck of the ship with the tip of the railing straight in front of us. “What are we out here for, Nik?” We had only been on the ship for a few hours and it was close to sunset by this point since we were all too excited to simply sit down and have dinner yet on the large ship.

He paused in his steps putting his hands together behind his back leaning against the railing of the ship. “I thought we needed a family adventure since we have been busy. But I think you should get to live your little Titanic moment even though I’ve already drawn you like a French girl as you commonly said once.”

“I thought you didn’t understand the draw towards the movie since you basically probably lived through that time period.” I chuckled, resting my hands on my hips with the wind blowing my hair in front of my eyes until I pushed it away.

Lifting my nose into the air I couldn’t stop the smile crossing my face. Klaus slowly walked forward, extending his right hand for me. "Give me your hand, Rae. Step up onto the rail." He slowly leads me by the hand towards the railing where he had me stand in front of his chest. He moved my hands onto the rail and I climbed up onto the metal with my boots clunking when they hit.

"Nik.." I chuckled when I felt him put his front into my back when he stepped up onto the railing too.

The wind was blowing my hair in his face until he rested his head on my shoulder whispering in my ear. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do." I couldn't stop my smile from getting any bigger. All I could picture in my mind is Rose and Jack in the movie performing this exact moment. Klaus moved my hands into his and intertwined our fingers together where we were both smiling at the endless sea scape in front of us. Slowly turning my head back to my husband I grinned pressing my lips to his and he kissed back until the sun set so we knew it was time to find the others and have dinner.

We went upstairs and got changed where Klaus stayed in his normal clothes but he had put on a dark black tie. I changed into a light blue dress with tan sandals and my hair was curled. Nik and I looped our arms together where we both slowly walked through the ship until we got to the dining hall. The kids were all seated down but I didn’t see my brother or Hayley down here yet. “Have you seen your parents anywhere, Andrea?”

“They were up in the room when they told me to come down with my cousins.” Andrea replied, shoving some strawberries in her mouth while she talked back.

Klaus glanced at me, placing his hand over mine sending me a bright smile. We turned our heads when we could hear two people walking towards us meaning it was the pair we were looking for. “Here’s the hybrid and heretic pair now. Care to explain why you took so long to join the family for dinner.”

“I couldn’t find the right tie.” Jacob lied putting one hand in the pocket of his jacket with his girlfriend sitting down.

She sends him a look slightly confused. “Which is odd considering you don’t own that many. Jacob, what is really going on with you recently?”

Hope, Alina, Missy and Henrik all focused their eyes between my brother and his girlfriend. I tapped my fingers on the table and bit my lip trying to not make it obvious that I knew what he was about to do in a few seconds. My twin brother didn’t take a seat instead he lowered himself down on one knee in front of Hayley Marshall. “Hayley, I should have done this way before we had our daughter and went through death and back together. So now I am done waiting. I love you and our daughter so I want you to be with me forever. So will you become my wife, will you marry me?”

“Even if we didn’t have our daughter I would say yes, Jacob.” She nodded, holding out her hand he could slip the ring on her hand.

He got to his feet holding her face in his hands kissing her gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him back. “I love you, Hayley, soon to be Lane.”

“And I love you, Jacob.” She declared before they sat down together staring at us.

Missy raised her hands excitedly. “Are we going to be flower girls!”

“I should be the ring bear.” Andrea leaned forward on the table.

Alina and Hope high fived each other holding their hands together in the air. “No we should be bridesmaids not flower girls!”

“Wait, what about me?” Henrik entered the conversation feeling left out.

Raising my hands up in the air I finally ended their bickering knowing we would have to be talking about this for months. “Kids, kids. That’s enough for now. We are on a family vacation. Not a wedding planning cruise. Let’s just enjoy this trip until we go back to normal.”

“You’re mothers right. We should enjoy our vacation.” He raised his glass of bourbon when I did mine. And the others followed clinking our glasses together laughing and weren’t worrying about what was happening in our lives otherwise.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[realfernmayo]

MANDY!! i had such a great day today 🥹 hung out with the bestie and saw spider-verse again, bought some new comfy foam sandals and bought two funkos for my collection!

also found out that my friend might be able to get charlie to sign my og matt murdock pop — so i am currently screaming (maybe a lil video of him saying hello too 🫠)

hope your day was as good as mine! 🫶🏼 and if not — i'm giving you a big ol' hug rn 🫂

Nik my dearest!

I am so happy you had a good day, all of that sounds simply fabulous!

Unfortunately my uterus chose violence today, so I have been in bed most of the day, but the husband brought me snacks and dinner in bed, so I have been very well taken care of!

[avadisilvs]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Sezane Low Rachel Sandals.

[lavatica]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Candies neutral tone wedge platform sandals in size 7.

[slkdriving]

Devil's Den Ultra - 30 hr

Background

In early September, I was thinking about long trail efforts. One reason was my friend Julia's ManHump effort to celebrate her birthday. Living in Vermont, any excuse to hike and run in the beautiful trails in an effort to train for a bigger event is appealing. A couple days later I rediscovered the Devil's Den Ultra, an event that I heard of but didn't get involved with in the past. As the website says, "The devil will be testing what you believe you are capable of on all distances." It's an annual event that happens to have existed only as long as I've lived in the area and only an hour and half away from home. And conveniently it was not the same weekend as the Newport Marathon that I had put on my calendar several months ago. Knowing that it was entirely a trail run was justification that I could do both the road marathon and ultramarathon in back to back weeks, as it would not be working the body quite in the same way.

So on September 11, 2023, I registered for the 30 hour race and immediately thought of who I'd love to have with me to crew and pace. Thinking back to the Hawk Hundred experience 7 years ago, and even the THON dance marathon back in 2010, I knew I would be physically and emotionally drained in the middle of the night. So my buddy John would be perfect to share the experience with, and I also recruited Ken to pace some nighttime miles (although he was not able to join race weekend). They were down to join, so I now turned to focus on how my training would look. It was the middle of my marathon training, so I figured as I peaked my mileage in the next couple weeks, I'd transition to doing more trail runs and hikes. In fact, this day corresponded to the end of a normally scheduled set of 7 overnight shifts; I actually paused my training after consistent weeks going back to July, so this gave me an extra push to resume with a new spin.

photo credit: @ACARTERCLARK 

One of the training runs was the Three Peaks Mountain Race at the Bolton Valley ski resort (seen above approaching the summit of Vista Mountain). As part of the awesome Wednesday evening trail series Nik Ponzio was organizing/advertising was one of the Three Peaks course previews at the very end of August. It happened to be on a day I could join, and there was a pretty good turn out for a group run at a fairly out of the way location with lousy/wet weather. While the main appeal of the trail race was the 25K event, being only a week before my marathon I was eyeing the new 10K option. That worked out well once I decided to do the Devil's Den on top of the Newport Marathon. The uphill slog early in the race was a good proxy to the type of climbing I'd have at the ultramarathon, but there was also a beautiful, flowy descent that made it a real joy to return to the mountain base before an additional smaller climb and more technical descent. With some of the fastest folks doing the full race, I managed to come in 2nd place; as a well-sponsored event, I netted a $35 Outdoor Gear Exchange coupon and generous pick of random gear, which included a pair of Salomon Speedcross sandals (designed for hiking or recovering from a trail race) in my foot size.

Race Weekend

Friday

I happened to be off from work on Friday, October 14, coinciding with the kickoff of Skirack 9 AM weekly group runs. A nice easy 6ish mile run under 24 hours from Devil's Den was perfect, primarily on the waterfront bike trail. New local business Plink! provided some electrolyte refreshment and samples of their powder as well. At the store, I picked up some sale items including backup fuel and water bottle+bladder. At home after that I finished packing up for the event, including sleeping bag, camp chair, a couple pairs of trail running shoes, multiple shirts including base layers and outer layers, change of pants and shorts, some food for a small cooler and food for snacks, and massage gear.

Around 5 PM John arrived at my place and soon we hit the road. Arriving at the campsite/base operations of the event a quarter mile from the Devil's Den trailhead, we checked in with Jay Mozey, race director/creator, picking up a bag that had unusual items. The four items, aside from my included our favorite candy bar (I said caramello!), a tarot card, Untapped maple syrup "gel", and a red devil hoodie that says The Devil upside on the front (like the art on the race bib) so you see the words right side up looking down while wearing it. We also set up John's tent that we shared back over Memorial Day weekend in the Adirondacks. Since we both were hungry and in search of dinner, we hit the road again for a much shorter drive into downtown Bradford, VT.

As a very small town, seemingly everybody eating out was at the impressive Italian restaurant (Colatina Exit) that we wanted to go to. An 18 minute wait gave us time to mosey along the tiny main street area and stop by the well-regarded Vittles coffee shop, still open for a special event according to the shop's friendly co-owner. Once it was time to be seated, bizarrely, the host said a party had refused to sit upstairs, switching us to a better option than the initial spot by the kitchen. The seating upstairs was within earshot of a live cover band and aside from a wobbly table was flawless. A couple of Cashmere Hoodie pints from local brewery Upper Pass (Tunbridge), stuffed mushrooms, and ample chicken parm made for great pre-race fuel. It was enough food to save a bunch of pasta for after the race, as I was stuffed without being overly so.

After driving back 10 minutes to the race starting area, we got back around 9 PM which meant it was time to sleep! I felt cozy and warm in my sleeping bag and fell asleep quickly.

Saturday

With an adequate, albeit limited amount of sleep in the tent waking up in the middle of the night a couple of times, I awoke for the day to some pre-race satanic type of music before doing final preparations for the race.

This turned out to be a test for the real pump up at 6:55 AM following our pre-race 6:30 meeting. Jay (wearing The Devil hoodie in center of picture) intensely encouraged us to push ourselves using whatever motivation you possess, even when you may think you want to quit.

As he wrapped up with some fist bumps, we got ready to begin.

According to my watch we actually started seconds before 7 AM.

In this picture very early in the first lap, I ran with a small group including a 12-hour runner Elliot and 30-hr runner Eugene. Eugene and I would run all of lap 2 together. Holding his trekking poles here, he said had only used them once before. It turned out many folks used them on this course, which may have been particularly helpful for me on the relentlessly steep downhills. More on that later!

At the top of the big ascent near the overlook at Wright Mountain, the photographer Pete Wood captured each of us nicely.

One of us (not recalling who) also took a selfie of the group of us that power hiked and ran this first of many climbs to the gorgeous vista. I separately took a photo of this view, seen below.

Thanks to this event and the shirt Scott was wearing, I'm now aware of 46climbs, and on a related note, the entry fee for Devil's Den goes towards the Josh Pallotta Fund. Scott and I would run part of lap 8 together when he was doing lap 7. He would go on to finish two more laps than I did with 140km, finishing in 2nd place.

On the third lap, I think, this picture was taken on that initial ascent of Wrights Mountain. It wasn't lap 2 because I was still wearing pants (these shorts were underneath for a quick change). Unlike most steep climbs where ropes are attached to trees to aid in navigation, this was actually kind of loose and unhelpful, especially with the trail's direction drawing you to the right of it pretty quickly. But it looks cool!

Lap 3 was also the one I had the pleasure to spend a big chunk of it with Lee, who was the winner of the 30 hour race. He came prepared and confident, coming off a 100 mile race victory in July. Lee wasn't wrong when he said I was gonna want poles (as you can see him use below), like on lap 10. Although he came a lap short of reaching our shared goal of 100 miles for this devilish race, he did improve on last year's distance completed; this was his third attempt. If these trends continue he will pull it off next time if he wants it!

After the first of two baselayer shirt changes, this photo must have been somewhere in the range of laps 5 through 7, when there was still daylight. I was starting to get physical fatigue but could still run all of the flats and downhills with power hiking the ascents. Relative to the average lap pace I was looking to pull off to complete 100 miles, I was right on target but knew I was using too much energy to do so. Still, I was happy with my effort and was having a great time.

Saturday Night

This is the part of the race I anticipated being the toughest for several, additive (multiplicative?) reasons. 1) Darkness. With a headlamp, while you can see what's in front of you, your vision overall is diminished which lowers your ability to best plan your footfalls. 2) Time on feet. You've now been running/moving for 12 hours. That's a lot. 3) Temperature. It's going to be getting colder, or at the very least feel colder, as you tend to slow down and sweat less. Loss of body heat can lead to hypothermia. 4) Fuel. This is a big one that builds up after all this time. You've now passed through all three primary meal times and it's unlikely you've been able to eat enough food equivalent to that and all the energy and salt you've been using up through the exertion of more than 10,000 feet of elevation gain. With the steep, technical downhills, the breaking on the descents doesn't give much of a break, either. 5) And that ties into the big one, muscle fatigue. As mentioned in the last paragraph, I was starting to feel this a bit during the afternoon well before nightfall. Following lap 7 I was so thankful for a massage therapist who treated my sore calves and hammies. Based on how much discomfort I felt during the massage, the muscles were indeed breaking down. Thinking back to the Hawk Hundred, I could only anticipate a potential debilitating leg cramp as what could happen. Through that massage, an early morning nap, and good fuel, maybe I avoided that type of injury!

The main other thing to note is the importance of having a pacer at this point. While laps 8 and 9 I did by myself in the dark (albeit I'd see other 30 hr folks on the course at times), I could no longer really run much so laps were getting slower as evident from the smoothed pace chart above. And I expected the next one would get slower since it was almost 11 PM when I got back from lap 9. All five of those factors listed above were coming together, and spending a lot of time fueling and not moving at the base area made me decide - yep, I could use a pacer right now. Thankfully, while not dressed to run, John was wearing boots and warm clothes that were good enough to hike through the woods. So after 33 minutes (way more time than any other lap breaks), we set off for a late night journey. John got to experience the whole course, and he set a very fair pace for my energy level. It felt difficult physically going uphill but not overly so, and by walking the downhills, though still challenging, I didn't risk injury as much as if I tried pushing those, in particular the frequent twisting, rocky and rooty sections. We also rested a few times, including at the Wrights Mountain overlook (which still was beautiful in the middle of the night with an assortment of street lights in the distance).

According to the big, handwritten scoreboard, by the time we returned, 3 hours and 8 minutes had elapsed. That was more than 50% more time than the previous lap. Even if I had attempted to resume 2 hour laps, time was not on my side to complete 16 laps (100 miles). Simple arithmetic (even with a sleep-deprived brain) could calculate 6 laps x 2 hours being a minimum of 12 hours needed. It was just shy of 2 AM, so there were 11 hours remaining in the race. There's a reason why it's supposed to be really hard to run 100 miles in 30 hours on this course! So my new goal was to just continue. Unfortunately, over the next hour, aside from the nourishment of bbq pizza (one of I think four slices of pizza I ate over the weekend), I struggled through shivering cold. After slowly finishing noodles and soup that had become cold, I finally motivated myself to leave the fire and make it to the tent a short distance away for much needed sleep. But I arose not only to instantly shiver but could only limp with huge discomfort now putting weight on my right leg. John opened the tent and helped me get comfortable as quickly as possible, minimizing the amount of time I shivered uncontrollably in a pretty damp tent that made it hard to feel warm unless I had fully dry covering. Thankfully the air inside the tent was still relatively warm, and I was exhausted so I soon fell asleep sometime after 3 AM.

Sunday

I woke up from my nap in the tent feeling cold but not shivering. Thank you Hannah for the warm blanket - don't know what I would have done without it with all my warm clothing having become damp from early morning dew. Although I wasn't immediately ready to exit the tent, I forced myself out a little later, after sunrise or a bit after 7 AM. After crawling out of the tent, I first put weight on my left leg, and then surprised myself finding that I could now put weight on my right leg without it hurting much. Walking back and forth from the porta pot, I felt it was go time; no time to think more on it, I would continue as soon as possible. The pizza and cup o'noodles I consumed before the nap would be enough fuel for now.

On lap 11, the first of two that I did not expect to run, I got a boost by watching the 6 mile folks run by me one by one. The leader came by roughly half way through on the nasty Cindy's Trail, closely followed by another runner. Some others passed me on Cindy's big ascent, including Shelly, a beast of an ultrarunner who did 100 miles at RUTfest in 2021. And there was a runner with a dog!

Another runner (I think Matt Hayes?) chatted with me for a little bit as he passed me on the out and back to the eponymous Devil's Den. He was coming off an injury but seemed to be doing pretty well, considering. Running even one lap of this course isn't easy. He expressed that folks doing the 30 hours inspired him and I definitely took that as encouragement to continue the best I could as the final hours ticked by. From this picture, note that I'm only able to fast walk downhills with the pain in my right hamstring and inability to go any faster versus a shuffle. At this point, I'm wearing my final outfit including entirely different shoes, socks, shorts, and shirt with an unnecessary double jacket look around my waist if I started feeling chilled.

[Side note: the socks were nice to change into and entirely expected. The shoes, while great, were forced upon me. Let's go back to Saturday night/early Sunday morning. At 2 something in the morning, I took off the Pearl Izumi trail shoes I had been running in while sitting in front of the fiery fire pit that kept me from shivering. John, after some time, noted the smell of burning rubber. I had minutes prior, visually took account of smoke between the pit and myself but didn't remember or see the shoes in front of me. Sure enough, rubber from one of the shoes had indeed been burning. If you're wondering what that looks like afterwards, here it is.]

As I returned to the base, it was well before 10 AM, which was my mental cutoff as to if I would have to consider not running another lap. So I was mentally set to do one more, a 12th lap to complete 120 km or roughly 75 miles. The lap would not count if I got back at 1 PM and 1 second. Based on how long lap 11 took and how that pace didn't feel overly difficult, I would have plenty of wiggle room if something went wrong. Also, since there were only 3 wristbands - nice thick bands with the iconic devil font saying YOUR WHY>EXCUSES - remaining in the bracelet box, I would be coming back to the finish area for the final time still with 11 bands on my right wrist. Jay assured me it was no matter. Also appreciated him signing me in and out on the big board for most of the laps after the first several - more time to refuel the better, with even seconds adding up.

After taking down some more sugary treats (including homemade, moist pumpkin muffins) to keep my energy up, I asked John if I could have my phone back for the final lap, and he obliged. This was the only lap I didn't log any of on my watch which had shut off its GPS automatically when its battery dropped to 2% on the previous lap. This would also provide some satisfying symmetry as the only other lap I took pictures was during the first lap. Some of the awesome Halloween themed decorations along the course were not set up yet early on, so I snapped a pic of one early in the big ascent.

Many of the trails criss-crossed each other necessitating clear markings like this one. Especially at night, even tracing over the same trails over and over again, the clear signage was clutch.

I also took a picture of some educational material that was part of the Wrights Mountain/Devil's Den Town Forest about various birds that live in this forest. Many may soon migrate southward, such as the chestnut-sided warbler and hermit thrush.

The course includes a series of several trails with people's names, as well as trail names such as Appreciation Way. The sequence includes Ernie to Cindy.

As referred to previously, Cindy is kind of a b*tch. In contrast, Ernie is short and gentle.

However, Cindy does provide a break in the technical steeps by this vernal pool.

After finishing the incline that marks the end of Cindy's Trail for the final time, and after a relatively short time going downhill, I heard some voices. Given the lack of people still on the course, it had to be Calvin and Nick who had been doing the whole thing together. In fact, John and I happened to join the two of them a couple of times in the middle of the night when they were on lap 7 and I was on lap 10. Their goal as stated much earlier in the event was to complete 10 laps, and sure enough, that's what they were on! At this point, I was moving only very slightly faster than they were. So once I caught them, along with Wayne (on lap 11) and another Nick who was pacing them on the lap, I decided to stick with them for the remaining roughly 1.5 miles.

One last look from the overlook at Devil's Den. While skies were overcast for most of the daylight hours on both Saturday and Sunday, there were intervals of sun. A little bit of blue sky can be seen at this time (11:37 AM).

Considering the clock, we were in a perfect position to celebrate our accomplishment hiking into the finish area without time pressure. The four of us were marked in with a last lap return time of 1214 and presented with a heavy and stylish devil medal.

I snapped a photo of the near-final results before we began to make our exit from the race base.

It was noteworthy and impressive that Scott (finished with 14 laps completed) and Lee (finished with 15 laps completed) each were determined to set out again when time was not on their side, based on when they last checked out of the starting area. I figured bragging rights, and the Devil's Skull (!), was on the line even if the odds of completing one final lap were low.

Quick Wrap Up

Although I didn't achieve my primary goal, this event definitely challenged me physically and mentally as it was meant to do. Got to fight back from "the abyss" and came back with the classic black toenails!

So no question about it, this was a successful ultramarathon and a great reminder of what's so great about these types of events. Looking forward to hanging out and doing a few laps at this year's RUTfest, where I'll see some of the same awesome people around.

[wellenoughaboutme]

Morgen

Det første, du gi’r dig til, li’så snart, du vågner, er at gå hen til bordet med dit puslespil.

Ik’ noget med bad eller kaffe eller smøger eller mad først, og du trækker heller aldrig gardinet fra før du gi’r los og begynder at slås med dine brikker.

Du gør det hver eneste morgen, jeg har set det selv, hvordan du kæmper frustreret og fokuseret med puslespillet af al magt Men alligevel har jeg aldrig set det mere end højst halvlagt.

Nogle gange tror jeg, du tror, motivet er hele verden. Smerten i dit blik når du febrilsk og længe prøver at få det hele til at hænge lidt sammen. Gi’ lidt mening. Gå lidt op. Og det er uden stop, når jeg ser dig lede og spejde og skue efter det, Martin Luther King sagde om historiens bue, og om den faktisk bøjer af retfærdighed. Og om der er noget højere. Noget at stå op for. Stop’ op for. Noget at hop’ op for. Ud i verden, ud af sengen, ud at vågne og vække sig. Men brikkerne i puslespillet vil ikke rigtigt lægge sig.

Andre gange er det dig selv, du prøver at lægge, dit selvbillede, din persona, række for række Men brikkerne vil ikke strække. Lidt li’som timerne i den her uge, du heller ik’ rigtig kan overskue. Og tænk, at den her halvfærdige avatar har ansvar for et ægte levende menneske. Barn! Med så mange skridt foran sig, det endnu ik’ har trådt. Og hvis vi er de voksne nu, hvem siger så, at alt bliver godt? Du leder efter en brik, der kan dæk’ og håber, du ik’ bli’r afsløret, før du finder noget retning i din personlige puslespilslægning.

Og så er der alle de gange, hvor brikkerne bare er sorte li’som de bange tanker, som gjorde søvnens timer korte. Sort som spindelvæv og bananfluer, man umuligt kan tælle. Sorte knuder og huller. Asiatisk i vælde. Alligevel lægger du brikkerne op ved siden af hinanden, bare for at se, hvad det kan gi. Om man kan vride mørket for lidt læring. Noget med håb om forandring i. Men læring kræver lys, og det er på lyset, at håbet beror. Og den slags er der intet af på dit puslespilsbord.

*

En morgen banker det på døren, mens du sidder dér ved bordet for dig selv. Du åbner op og der står en fyr, mellemøstlige træk, han slår dig lidt som en rebel. Men milde øjne, som lyser og gnister, da han tager til orde:

”Vidste du godt, at jeg stadig vælter borde?

Og nu har jeg udkig på dit. Og jeg ville elske at la’ det smage min sandal.” Og du kigger stille op på ham, og gi’r et forsagt og forsigtigt nik som signal.

Du kan godt fornemme, at Han godt ved, at det her, det ik’ er så’n bare lige, og det har du ret i, for nu hører du ham sige:  

”Hvor jeg kommer fra, kalder vi det her at sige farvel til livet, farvel til sig selv, dø og miste – og finde livet igen som givet. Men, frygt ikke! Jeg har gået vejen før, og jeg er din følgesvend.”

Jeg bliver simpelthen så glad, da jeg ser dig smile alvorligt og nikke igen.

Og i slowmotion ser du de fyger som gløder af ild til Skt. Hans Puslespilsbrikker i byger, som syreregn uden stedsans.

Og i slowmotion ser du dem falde Som når det skælver om kirsebærtræer. Som manna fra himmelske sale. Som en fløjtende flyvende hær, Som forårsregn på den knastørre jord Og med et er der hverken spor at puslespil eller puslespilsbord.

Og nu river han gardinerne til side i en glide- nde bevægelse og proklamerer:

”Nu er alting nyt.

Før troede du, at du skulle bære det store billede, se de store sammenhænge, Mit barn, alt det har du slæbt på alt for længe! Som om, at alt det kunne være inde i dig! Barn, det store billede bor godt og trygt hos mig!

Og hvis jeg bare kunne vise dig billedet, som jeg ser det, og hvor jeg fører det hele hen. Den verden, jeg føder, det jeg ser og gror i dig, selv dit dystre og uglede sind!

Det er så smukt, at det er til at dø over! (Sku’ det til, ville jeg gøre det igen.)”

*

En fiskehejre flakser forbi dit vindue gennem solens gyldne tråde, mens han taler til dig om at gøre det med morgener på en ny måde.

”Morgen er skabelse. Kærlighed. Liv som opstår og vender tilbage”, det fortæller han, og så citerer han en digter fra gamle dage:

”På himlen har han rejst et telt til solen, den går som en brudgom ud af sit kammer, den gennemløber sin bane glad som en helt.”

”Og”, fortsætter han, ”nogle gange rammer det dig, strålerne varmer, morgenens fyrværkeri. Andre gange må du vide, at bag skyerne sker den vildeste sprudlende symfoni.

Og kan du høre, hvad det er, jeg hvisker, hvert eneste morgengry? ’Denne dag har jeg skabt til din glæde. Min nåde er altid ny!’ Så nu giver jeg dig et nyt morgen-bud: ”Før mad, før kaffe, før bad: Vær glad!

Og så slutter han med at låne lidt ord fra den gamle digter igen:

”Denne dag har Herren skabt, lad os juble og glæde os på den.”

***

[the-luca-ruberia-gang-blog]

Before he can even respond, a loud and obnoxious truck horn started playing a small tune as its loud engine roared and pulled up right beside them. A slim scraggly haired man hops out of the truck and makes his way to them. He had baggy shorts, a dirty, AC/DC shirt, and a pair of sandals. “Well, it’s about time, I was wonderin when that damn plane was goin to land for y’all. How ya doin cousin!?” Nik smiles and hugs him. Then turns to Kim. “Hun, I want you to meet my cousin, Sebastian. Bayou boy, gator, wrestler, tour guide, Demon Hunter contract distributor. This man may have many jobs, but if he’s still one of the greatest friends, and family members I’ve ever known.” Sebastian just smiled and waved at her. “How you doin ma’am? Nik here talks nonstop about you anytime I give him a new contract, he’s always checking his phone to make sure that you’ve texted him.” Sebastian gives a Wiley grin. And Nick smirks at him and gives him a small punch to the shoulder. 

A special meeting! (RP for Kimjones93)

Luca had walked in the rain, just to deliver a package to Kim. Beside heavily as he knocked on the door. “I’m doing just as you requested.. I hope this works..” The package was wrapped in black paper. With a red bow wrapped around it. The name tag didn’t have anything written on it, except for an insignia. And insignia with a coyote face and flame coming off of it.

[prjctdiva]

part of my brain saying who cares about your hair you should wear your new sandals and shorts now vs part of my brain heavily influenced by my mother who thinks I should hide in a cave until my waxing appointment: fight

[slinthoe]

Dance With Me

PAIRING | Niklaus x Reader

GENRE | fluff

WORD COUNT | 988

WARNINGS | sappy?

SUMMARY | Niklaus takes you to a place he adored, but when you arrive, he isn’t pleased.

A/N | Something small I wrote so I could at least publish something within the two slow months.

Pebbles and gravel cracked beneath your feet. With each step, the rubber of your sandals dug into the crevices between your toes. Quietly and closely, you trailed behind Niklaus as he guided you to the place he’d been wanting to show you.

He told you it was behind the woods: a clear path of nice green grass and beautiful orchids, and only a half an hour human walk; only, it had been an hour. He had offered to carry and vamp speed you to the place, but you’d been determined to walk on your own. If only you had accepted the offer, you’d already be at the field, and clean of all the dirt that washed onto your clothes. But due to the embarrassment from your previous stubborn declares, you followed behind the man without any words.

Ahead, Niklaus had begun to climb a high step of rocks, his arms out and ready to steady himself. Beneath his shoes, the rocks crumbled and cracked as he lifted himself. But as he had almost completed the step, his back leg gave out and he slipped.

Falling to the ground with a plat, his hands fell above his head and planted on the hard pebbles, and it would’ve made you laugh if you hadn’t noticed the small cuts that slowly began to heal around his arms as he stood up.

“Would it kill you to be more careful?” You hissed at him. Although he had incredibly fast healing, it still worried you whenever he got hurt.

“No,” he shrugged off, after brushing away the dirt from his jeans. Fixing his posture, he went ahead again and lead you further.

In a few minutes, Niklaus stopped by an empty field of grass. Moving carefully from behind him, you stood beside and admired the plain. Although it wasn’t as Niklaus had described, the field was beautifully littered in forest green grass beneath the dimming light of the sun. The landscape was heavenly, but judging by the way Nik frowned, he wasn’t amused.

“This is supposed to be it,” he blinked, looking around. He was annoyed. He had talked the place up for months, eager to show you once he had dealt with his issues, but the orchids were gone, and his plans had been messed up.

You looked up at him, “it’s okay.” He wasn’t convinced. He should’ve checked it before he had made you walk an agonising hour.

“No, it’s not. I wanted to show you how the orchids…”

The frown he held staked you straight in the heart. Niklaus was never one to show his vulnerability, but he was too upset at himself for possibly disappointing you.

So, you had cut his words, “Will you dance with me?”

You hoped your gesture would cheer him up. So, with a hand held out, you took his and dragged him further into the field. You pulled your phone from your pocket before typing in Niklaus’ favourite classical song.

But as you went to play the song, you paused. Niklaus hasn’t answered your question. A smile spread on your face and you lifted your head to meet his eyes.

Slowly, you asked him again, “Will you dance with me?”

Although he was still troubled, his iconic smirk lifted onto his face and he nodded. He could never pass an opportunity to dance with you. “For you love, anything.”

Then, with the press of a button, you played the song and put your phone in your pocket. Pulling you in, Niklaus held you by the waist and put his chin on your head. He swayed you both to the music. Peacefully, you danced in tandem.

“It was supposed to be a beautiful night,” he told you quietly. His cheek moved to rest on your temple.

“It is, Niklaus.”

“No,” he fought back. As grateful as you were to the beautiful view, Niklaus expected much more from the flowers that used to roam the field.

He pulled himself away from you and looked into your eyes. “We were supposed to pick some orchids and make a bouquet,” he softly smiled. His hands gently held onto your cheeks as he moved your hair that threatened to fall by your face.

“and in midst of that,” the wind blew a chill to your skin, “I was to put a flower behind your ear and tell you how much I fancy you.”

His words made you take a long blink. Niklaus did everything, but he never once seemed to show you some bit of interest. It was either your obliviousness or his subtle flirtations. Rebekah was convinced it was the former.

“And so, I say this with my whole heart,” he continued, his thumb caressed your cheek. “I believe I have been keeping a very important secret from you, love.” It was that pet name that always opened the cage of butterflies in your stomach.

He tilted his head and admired your features with a smile. The pause of his words made your heart pump faster, and Niklaus chuckled at the sound of it. You were eager to hear his thoughts.

“You what?” You stuttered from your anxiousness. Niklaus chuckled again.

“I like you.”

His voice was as soft as the calm wind that blew by your face. With the coming night, the sun began to dim behind Niklaus, and you could barely see the usual bright glow of his blue eyes. But still, the shadows casted perfectly around his features and his smile wasn’t unnoticed.

To Niklaus, your hair kindly flew in the air behind you, and the dimming of the night illuminated your best features. The way your eyes sparkled never failed to make him weak in the knees, and neither did your words.

“I like you too, Niklaus.” That sentence and your kind smile alone made his heart jump in giddiness. Beneath himself and the rising of the bright moon, he was in awe of you.

[abandonedsdjfhcvndfbv]

igot paralyzing goosebumps over THe riddle buy nik kershaw playing at estonian equvalent of ikea and then i tripped on my sandal coming out og an isle and into the way of other people trying to walk past Literally comedic existence

[mangozcat]

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆. lee donghyuck x fem!reader  𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄. fluff 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒. he hates summer. he has such a hatred for leaving his house, spending time in the burning hot sand and doing anything besides playing video games at home. that’s why, when you suddenly show the boy a piece of your mind about how he stole the corndog you ordered from the truck nearby, he slightly warms up to the idea of summer.

𝐃𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎. @marklyxxi​ nik my beautiful ray of sunshine!! I was gonna dedicate this to you even before we talked about it in our dm’s, to be honest. it’s been such a wonderful ride so far, and why not show that in a story? this story was honestly inspired by my original hatred for making mutuals (mainly because of drama on my previous blog) and how you came along and just made it disappear like k bro I see you. much love babe <3, and if you’re reading, I hope you enjoy!

𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑. he enjoyed the trips, liked the sun, but he hated the blistering heat and endless girls at the beach throwing themselves at him, and of course, he’d also just rather be inside. indoors had air conditioning and gaming setups. and what did outside have? some tumbleweeds, most likely. not like haechan left his house enough to know.

overall, summer had far more cons than pros, in his opinion.

that’s why, as he was forced to sit out in the sun, staring out at some ocean shore, he felt nothing but annoyance towards his friend. it wasn’t his choice to be at the beach, he was left with no other option when jeno threatened to take away his computer. after all, who would willingly go to some sand-filled land that always burned your feet, had potentially dangerous sea creatures washing up every day, and held very high risk of death by drowning.

yes, because some people do in fact sign up to be a lifeguard, only to stay on their phone the entire shift without a care in the world for that one swimmer struggling to stay above the water. or several, depending on what business days the ocean chose to show up for work.

“you should maybe stop glaring at the water as if it hurt you,” jeno said, an eyebrow raised as he glanced over at his friend. haechan only responded with a short, meaningless hum beneath his breath. rolling his eyes, jeno took a handful of sand and tossed it in the other’s direction, grinning maliciously.

he merely narrowed his eyes, not amused at jeno’s antics. turning back towards the tide, he muttered under his breath about how gaming would be far more eventful than staring at the ocean mindlessly. to which jeno replied with a curt, “then stop staring at the ocean and be productive, you fucking dumbass.”

haechan was, yet again, not amused.

“look,” jeno said blankly, shaking haechan’s shoulders to grab his attention. the boy looked at him, although reluctantly, through his bangs. “I brought you here to help you get out of that house, idiot. not to torture you or bother you, but because I somewhat care about my roommate.”

“yeah, yeah,” haechan said, huffing out. it might not have been jeno’s intentions, but bringing him to the beach alone was bothersome. what was he supposed to do here? all he knew was online, electronic. and suddenly his environment is changed so drastically that it made his head spin.

what was a gamer supposed to do at the beach, with no electronics?

haechan glanced around, taking in the sight of the beach for what seemed like the first time since arriving. there were plenty of people in the water, splashing around joyously. somewhere down the sandy plain was a volleyball net, where children were tripping while chasing after the ball, not mindful of their feet whatsoever. but, every time, they managed to get up, smile, and return to what they were doing. there was a food truck near the entrance, and he smiled to himself at the sight of one of his favorite things: food.

“and of course, I don’t want you to be a virgin forever,” jeno concluded, making haechan immediately groan. he wasn’t a virgin, and jeno knew that pretty well, but it was always going to be a running joke that he was; all because jeno, and several of their friends, thought that he couldn’t dedicate more to a girl than he was dedicating to his games.

maybe they weren’t too far off. simply elbowing his friend in the side, haechan pointed towards the food truck. jeno grinned at the sight, saying, “oh, so now you’re interested in the beach? wow, if only I had known that all it took was food, I definitely would’ve bribed you sooner.”

“y’know, I suddenly don’t want food anymore.” haechan huffed out, glaring at his friend. jeno immediately frowned, holding up his hands in surrender at the genuine look of annoyance on his friend’s face.

“fine, fine!” jeno said, breaking into a smile as he quickly dropped his hands to tickle viciously at haechan’s sides. the boy yelped out, his cries quickly turning into laughs of both joy and pain. haechan couldn’t determine which was more powerful as his brain quickly mushed over at the brain numbing sensation.

“s-stop it!” he cried out, tears forming in his eyes as he clutched at his stomach with one hand while another weakly reached to clasp around jeno’s wrist. jeno simply laughed loudly, continuing his torment. when haechan finally seemed to have enough (mostly because he was whining about how he was gonna pee himself soon), jeno finally stopped.

giving haechan some time to recover from the abuse, jeno waited patiently, chuckling occasionally at his friend’s expense, until finally speaking. reaching his hands back to haechan’s sides, making him cry out even though he wasn’t touching him, he said, “do you promise to attempt to have fun?”

“n-nope!” haechan said, giggling mischeviously as he tested his friend.

jeno simply shook his head, putting his hands on haechan’s sides finally, ready to start tickling again (but with no remorse this time), hyuck immediately cried out, whacking his hands away. whining about how he was “sensitive”, he finally agreed to attempt having fun at a place he despised.

his first idea had been to go to the food truck. if he was going to have fun at the beach, the only reasonable explanation for it would be the endless supply of snacks in his stomach. of course, it just so happened that when he arrived, they were fresh out of what he wanted most; corndogs.

“well, promise over, I tried. can we go home now?” haechan said eagerly, turning to walk towards the direction of where jeno’s car was parked. instead, he was met with the man’s hand on his shoulder, turning him back around with a tsk under his breath.

“nice try,” jeno said, nodding to himself before straightening his expression completely. “but no.”

haechan whined as jeno pushed him, using both hands on his back to force him forward, sliding him soundly. he started ranting loudly, making jeno groan out as he was forced to carry both his mental and physical weight back to where their towels were on the ground.

“it’s actually impossible to have fun at this place, jen,” he said matter-of-factly, even pointing a finger up to further accentuate his point. “it’s hot outside, the water is freezing- and you know I don’t do well in climates where the temperatures are completely opposites at times! -and they’re fresh out of corndogs, and I have no phone!”

when he didn’t hear a complaint or argument from jeno, he turned around. suddenly realizing that jeno had stopped pushing him at one point and that he was ranting to himself, standing alone in the middle of the beach, he nodded. “ok, well that’s not awkward at all.”

he stumbled over to a nearby towel- one that he swears is his -and sat down, leaning back to stare up at the clouds. realizing that was a dumb idea as the sun burned a simmering beam of light right into his eyes, he covered them. seeing red, rainbow colored specks behind his eyelids, he sighed to himself. he hadn’t even been at the beach for an hour and he was already, as expected, miserable and bored out of his mind.

sitting up, he rested his chin on his knees as he glanced around. he could’ve sworn he left a bag with sweats laying right at the end of the towel. jeno must’ve put them in his car, haechan thought inwardly. continuing his inspection, he suddenly spotted it; a gleaming, greasy, yummy looking corndog.

it was just sitting there, in all it’s glory, making his mouth water.

he deserved the snack. he wasn’t too sure why it was there or how it had gotten there, but he, yet again, assumed that jeno had worked his magic to get him a corndog. after all, he did want the boy to have a good time; and what better way than to get him a corndog, like he wanted?

eagerly reaching his hand toward the plated snack, he immediately bit into the food. it tasted good, but yet again, he expected no different.

until, of course, it was whacked out of his hand with a sandal. haechan immediately yelped at the burning sensation erupting on his hand, rubbing at the soft skin. he glanced up at the attacker, eyes widening when he saw a girl standing before him, looking furiously as she eyed, not him, but the corndog laying in the sand a few meters away.

oh.

well, that’s not good.

he hopped up, sending her a charming smile before darting away, panicking inside as he ran to the opposite side of the beach, where he realized his towel was. fucking dumbass, he said in his head, should’ve realized that wasn’t mine at first.

he had many regrets, but taking a bite of that corndog wasn’t one of them. or at least, he confidently said that in his head before realizing that the girl was right behind him. he turned at the feeling of a tap on his shoulder, having to glance down slightly to meet eyes with her. she had her eyes narrowed, arms crossed over her chest, sandal still in hand.

under any other circumstances, he would’ve found the girl attractive. but he had enough common sense to realize that it wasn’t a moment to fantasize when she looked murderous.

“now listen here, you corndog thief!” she bit out, jutting her bottom lip out in a pout as she thought of her words carefully. cute, he thought as her facade dropped for a moment. “that was the last corndog and I paid four of my precious dollars for it, sir, so you better buy me another one.”

“but they’re out!” he whined, annoyed at the thought of obeying her. she suddenly snapped her head at him, pushing close, looking like a snake ready to bite. he yelped, jumping back a short distance before rasping out a, “ok, ok! fine, I’ll buy you another corndog when they make some more.”

jeno wrapped an arm around haechan’s shoulder, chewing a corndog between his teeth as he grinned at the two. they both looked at him, surprised and furious. he only smiled to himself, taking a slow and teasing bite as he said, “sorry, guys, this is the last one.”

and haechan swore he had never tackled someone sooner.

he still owed the girl a corndog, but when she jumped to immediately help him tickle jeno until the corndog stuck to the sand beneath them, he figured it wouldn’t be so bad if he had to come back to repay his debt.

[darling-i-read-it]

Hotel Pools

Douglas Booth!Nikki Sixx x reader

Word Count: 1.3k 

Warnings: making out, cuss words, suggestive jokes obviously 

Author’s Note: Me slightly breaking my no real people rule for how douglas booth portrayed nikki in the dirt? More likely than you think! Also if I was about to count how many times ive written about pools-

(btw don't condone some thing motley crue did) 

Summary: Instead of going out for drinks like he usually did Nikki sticks with you for some reason 

Genre: flufffff

Song: sex money feelings die by lykke li 

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director 

(not my gif)

    You couldn’t remember what day it was. On tour those days seemed to blend together. Instead of calling them like they were (eg. Saturday, Sunday) all you knew was the tour dates. You had plane rides scribbled on your arm so you didn’t forget as though the crew would ever let you forget. You were touring with the guys after all. The guys that needed constant reminders that things even existed. But beside that, you shouldn’t have been on this tour at all.

    You knew how it was on tour. You knew the groupies, you knew the drugs, you knew the adrenaline that would eventually get to their heads. You knew that you shouldn’t have been involved with a guy who was doing those things. He didn’t deserve to be tied down by you because you knew he would want to go out and do anything except be with you. But you were in love with him and if he said he wanted to be with you, you believed him.   

    “Are you going out?” 

    You were startled. You were sure when you had gone to the hotel bathroom Nikki hadn’t been in the room. He had told you earlier that night that he was going for drinks which meant you would have some time to yourself and also you should try and keep your mind off the things he could be doing while drinking with the guys. You liked every one of them, honest, but you would never go drinking with them without someone staying sober. That someone was typically you when you tagged along.

    You folded your arms over your robe.

    “Just for a bit. I figured you’d be out drinking for a long while.”

    “I forgot my coat.” You raised your eyebrows and turned to the bathroom counter, snatching his coat and then giving it to him.

    “Here you are.” You walked past him and slipped on your sandals. It was hot in California this time of year. Nikki watched you move and grab a few of your things. It was nearly ten at night.

    “Where are you going?”

    “Nowhere of concern.” You went for the door and then stopped, turning to him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek then you were gone.

    He was surprised. You weren’t one to usually go out which was against most of his mottos for having a girlfriend but he liked you quite a bit. He even brought you on this tour against his better judgement. So far it had been a blast. You were really considerate of him going out with the guys and never seemed to have any problems. 

    But he just figured when he went out you went to sleep or watched TV or something. Where were you going in your robes? Were you blantenley going to some other hotel room as though he didn’t care? 

    After a moment of contemplation he opened the door and walked down the stairs quickly to the first floor.

    “I’m gonna stay in tonight,” he announced to the guys who were huddled around. Tommy looked like he was gonna burst if he didn’t get a drink in him and Vince was very appalled at the fact Nikki would ever say that. 

    “What the fucks that about?” Mick asked, visibly annoyed.

    “Y/N just walked out of the hotel room in her robe.” Vince scoffed.

    “So?”

    “I gotta find her.” 

    “No you don’t.” 

    “Yes I do.” 

    They let out a collective sigh.   

    “Fine. Pussy.” 

    Nikki rolled his eyes and then they were gone, whopping a hollering as they got in the car waiting out front. He would be lying if he said that he was a little sad he hadn’t gone out but he turned that sadness into determination as he walked to find you. He walked toward the elevator, passing the hotel gift shop and the pool to the elevator. He clicked the up button, every intention of starting at your shared hotel room and going from there. He rocked back and forth on his heels, wishing he had a drink when his eyes wandered to the pool. Sure enough, there you were, tossing your robe on one of the tables and kicking off your shoes. You looked stunning in the pools night lights and he had to stop and stare, even as the elevator door opened then closed. 

    He walked through the door to get into the pool and the large door shut behind him. The pool area was closed off by tall fences and shrubs. You had jumped into the water and surfaced to find Nikki at the side of the pool, looking down.   

    “What happened to drinking?”

    “I thought you were sleeping with some douche bag in the hotel so I bailed.”

    “Shame. I’m just here, swimming about. You can still probably catch them if you want.” He shook his head and looked down at you, your hair slicked back and your swimsuit accenting your curves in every right way.   

    “I think I’ll stay.”

    You were surprised at that. You figured he’d be sprinting back out to the lobby.

    “You gonna stand there and watch?” you asked. He shrugged.

    “I think the pools big enough for the both of us. I just mean we might both fit. Tight squeeze.” You raised an eyebrow.

    “I mean we’ll have to be real close together but I think it’ll be alright.” He laughed and took off his jacket, tossing it on your robe. You swam backward, watching as he stripped down to his underwear. You smiled. “You gonna stop there sugar?” 

    “Ah, I won’t lose this till you lose that,” he said, pointing at your swimsuit. You shrugged.

    “Fair enough.” 

    He jumped into the deep end and you raised your hand to block the splash. You laughed and looked around in the lights to find where he had landed. You didn’t see him until he surfaced right in front of your face, his hand grabbing your ass as he did so. 

    You laughed, shaking your head as your hands went to his hair.

    “I thought I said something about this suit.”

    “The lobby is right there. Kids are staying at this hotel Nik. They’ll see.” He shook his head. 

    “Let them.”

    You giggled, shaking your head as he kissed your neck and then jaw.

    “Oh you mean being sent to jail for public indecency is better than a night out with the band?” 

    “We can handle jail.”

    “I can’t!” you laughed.

    “You could. I believe in you.” You rolled your eyes and grabbed his face with both hands bringing him to look at you. Your thumb brushed his cheek.

    “I missed you.” He was about to say something about how you had slept in the same bed every night for ages but he knew what you meant.   

    “I missed you too.” He shrugged. “I’m glad I stayed back.”

    “Yeah?” you laughed. He nodded. 

    “Yeah.”

    “Cool.” He chuckled.

    “Cool.” There was a beat of silence. “If you don’t kiss me again I think-”

    “Oh shut up.”