#and like full disclosure i have never like him all that much he always came of as douchy to me

[strawberry-finches]

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[theamityelf]

Okay, I'm trying to familiarize myself with Batfam stuff, because I lowkey think they'd be fun to write for. (Never seen any of the animated series or read any Batman comic with Robin in it.)

What I have so far:

Bruce Wayne. Obviously. That's a Batman. Parents killed in an alley outside a theater, he maybe trained with some assassins (and Talia al Ghul is a character who's related to that somehow I think; she might be an assassin), and he's Batman. I know who Batman is. He doesn't kill; that's his rule.

Alfred. Butler. Secretly really good at weapons? Just generally hypercompetent and would probably be killing people if not for Bruce.

There's a bunch of Robins, which I will list. It seems like a lot of them have straight black hair and blue eyes; if true, it's wild that they didn't vary that more. I hope the fandom does something else, lol.

Dick Grayson first. He's the circus one who got adopted when his parents died. He's good at flips and stuff because circus. Not sure the specifics of his parents' death, but I suppose it triggered Bruce? And so Bruce was like, "I gotta adopt this kid." And he later became Robin. And then he did Teen Titans (which I haven't seen, but one of my college roommates watched Teen Titans Go a lot) and dated Starfire. I think he's the one whose costume is sometimes blue? But I'm not sure. Personality-wise, I think maybe he's generally positive and responsible. This is the first Robin, so he's probably got standard Robin characteristics and grew up with the standard amount of superhero angst. Not too much, not too little. I feel like I'd like Dick Grayson if I knew the character well. Oh! He's also called Nightwing, right?

Jason Todd next. He's, like...a street orphan? And I think he's the one with the white in his hair. He got killed by Joker with a crowbar and then came back angry because Batman didn't kill Joker. And I feel like things remained tense with him after that in canon but fan works have them resolve things, but like I said, I have not consumed any of his canon. I'm just going on vibes. Personality-wise, I'm thinking rougher-edged than Dick. Um, Red Hood, right?

Tim Drake is next. I genuinely don't know if and when he was adopted, because I'm pretty sure everything I've consumed about him was just like, "No, he has parents. But he figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman, so he gets to be Robin." But I also think he lives with them? I think he's more upbeat than Jason; he fully opted into all of this.

Wait, Barbara Gordon is somewhere in there, right? Probably before Tim. I don't know what she's really doing, but she's Jim Gordon's daughter and I think she becomes Batgirl. Does she get killed by Joker? Jim Gordon is like, Batman's favorite police guy. He's the one who's always lighting the bat signal.

Full disclosure, I know Stephanie Brown is someone, but I have no idea who she is or what she's doing or when she comes into play, and iirc I think I saw a Tiktok that implied she straight up lives somewhere else. I guess Barbara probably does, too. And I guess Dick probably moved out to do Teen Titans, although it would be very funny if he didn't. I'm sure a lot of fan works just have them all live together; if the Marvel fandom could put everyone in Stark Tower, the DC fandom can move everyone into Wayne Manor.

I know that Cassandra Cain is deaf, and I think she's a street orphan, too? And I feel like there was some connection between her and the kid from the Birds of Prey movie. Maybe same character; I feel like I remember reading criticism about her not being deaf in the movie. I also don't know when she comes into play, but I'm pretty sure she's one of the straightforwardly adopted ones. But I'm just guessing that because I'm not aware of any reason for her not to be.

Duke Thomas is the black one, and I think he was kind of on the Tim Drake track of figuring out the Batman stuff. I don't know how he came into play either. I think he's called Signal? Does he have an electricity thing, or am I mistaking him for a different character? There are a lot of black superheroes with electricity powers. Personality-wise, I think he's just generally cool and good-natured, but I'm not sure whether that's an actual canon thing, or if I've just consumed content that misrepresents his whole deal. Whatever the case, I'd probably love him if I knew more about him. I feel like I'll like all of these characters.

Damian Wayne, biological son of Bruce and Talia. (Though, if I'm mistaken about that, then that's really funny.) He's, like, an analyst type, which means we've got a lot of characters who are specifically characterized as analytical. (I hope knowing more about them will make it easier to vary the kind of intelligence. I want them to have different specific strengths and weaknesses. They probably do.) And I think he might have also been trained by the assassins, but I'm not sure. Personality-wise, I'm pretty sure he's distinctly creepy. Like, I think he's the creepy genius child trope, and all serious and formal. I like that trope.

[storm-angel989]

I love your one-shots about valentino. Can I request a valentino wife one-shot where valentino has a wife who is plus size and insecure about it?

Thank you so much for sending this in!

I actually have doubles of this request in my inbox (kinda sorta) so you’ll get two takes on this! Full disclosure, I am plus sized myself (and an equestrian…makes for a rough go of it during show season) and have struggled with my weight all my life. So much of what you read stem from my own issues and insecurities.

If you also share those issues and insecurities these stories are especially for you! Learning to love yourself at any size is incredibly difficult. But we are totally worthy of self love always. 

<3 Mandy

Standing in front of my full length mirror, I could lose count trying to count the flaws I saw staring back at me. 

Too big of a belly that folded when I sat down.. Thighs that jiggled when I walked. A double chin. I could write a book about how much I hated my appearance. I had struggled with my weight my entire life. A younger version of myself would have literally killed to be thin like the girls in the magazines my mother was constantly leaving around the house. 

It wasn’t as if I wasn’t active. I moved my body- I went to the gym. I did yoga and even ran with my husband on occasion. I set and hit my daily step goal on my VoxTech watch almost every single day. I didn’t eat what I felt was incredibly unhealthy. Sure there were treats here and there, but nothing beyond what everyone else seemed to be enjoying. So why wouldn’t the weight budge? 

My shopping trip from earlier in the day had put me here, staring at the mirror, hating myself even more than I usually did. After unsuccessfully trying to find a comfortable pair of jeans, the salesdemon sneered as I walked out the door.

And she’s married to Valentino? It had to be a joke.  As if he would ever marry a landwhale like that one.  

Anger and shame flooded my face and somehow, I found myself in the diet pill section of the pharmacy.  I stared at the shelves full of promises to lose weight, fast. I had never paid any mind to them before, but the cruel words echoed in my brain. I didn’t want Valentino to be disgusted by my body. Maybe, maybe these would help. 

I took a deep breath as I pulled on my comfortable pajamas and turned away from the mirror. I poured myself a cup of water from the sink and poured several of the large white pills into my hand before placing the bottle back on the counter. I scanned the label as nervousness settled in. The list of potential side effects was a mile long. The suggested dosage was two pills three times a day. I had technically missed the morning dose, so four was what I should take now right? Carefully, I counted out four and swallowed them down then tossed the cup into the garbage 

“Princessa? Are you okay?” Valentino’s voice came from behind me. I jumped and whirled around as he stepped into the bathroom. 

“I’m fine,” I said quickly as I turned towards him.

He leaned in and planted a kiss on my lips. “Are you sure, bebita? You’ve been off since you came home from the mall this afternoon.”

I swallowed. Shit. Of course he probably knew. I felt myself turn red and looked down towards the floor. I felt his fingers under my chin as he tilted my head up. 

“Talk to me, beautiful,” he said softly. 

Beautiful. As if. 

“Nothing, Val…I just want to go to bed.” I replied quietly. 

Annoyance crossed his expression for the briefest of of moments. 

“Fine, if you won’t talk, I’ll just have to kiss you until you do,” he said lightly. 

Before I could protest, he swept me off my feet and started to carry me out of the bathroom. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck. 

“Valentino stop! You’ll hurt your back!” I protested. 

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked down at me. “Why do you say that my love?” 

“Just put me down before you hurt yourself,” I begged. “Please Val, I…”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on,” he replied simply. “I will stand here and hold you just like this until you talk.” He bent down and kissed my forehead softly. “Please, mi amore. Talk to me. You know I love you.”

I tried to swallow back the tears that threatened to well up. “Why would you ever love a landwhale?” 

Fury spread over his features.  “What the actual fuck, reader?” He growled. “Start talking, now.”

I felt his hands grip me tighter as I laid my head against his chest. Softly I relayed the events of earlier in the day, specifically leaving out the part about the diet pills. As soon as I finished, he turned and carried me over to the bed. 

My pajamas were off before I could protest, and with two hands he pinned me by the shoulders, his bare skin pressed against mine. 

“Now you listen to me and you listen to me well, princessa,” he growled. “I married you. I love you. Your body is perfect and amazing in every single fucking way. Anyone who says wrong is a  jodidamente estúpida ciega. And believe me when I tell you I’ll be handling that fucking cunt tomorrow.” 

His lips pressed against mine and I felt him slowly spread my legs apart. Involuntarily, I let out a moan as he pressed himself inside of me. It took him seconds to bring me to the edge. I thrust my hips forward, desperate for his satiating touch. 

To my dismay, he pulled out. 

“Tell me you believe you’re beautiful,” he demanded with a smirk. “Say the words, “I’m beautiful” and I’ll let you come.”

I swallowed. “V-Val, I…”

I felt his fingers reach down and slowly stroke my clit, bringing me to the edge again. My heart pounded in my chest and  I threw back my head as I  let out a desperate moan.

“Say the words, or I’ll keep you on the edge until you do,” he breathed darkly. “And you know I will.”

Fuck. Yes he would. I knew it. He knew it. There was literally no escaping it.

“Fuck, Valentino fine, I’m beautiful!” I said with a frustrated groan. 

A grin sprawled across his face. “Good girl.” 

He plunged himself inside of me and with the touch of a finger, I exploded around him. 

“Please, Valentino, please come in me,” I begged. “Please, Valentino!” 

“Oh princessa,” he said with a grin. “Don’t rush. We’ve just begun.”

Two hours later, my head was on his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart as he held me. 

“You need to understand how much I love you, reader,” he said softly as he pushed back my hair. “I love you, body and soul. I know you struggle with the way you look, and I wish you could see your body the way I see it. I love every inch of it.”

“I have rolls and I jiggle, unlike you with the perfect set of abs and a body to die for,” I grumbled softly. 

He sat up and with a gentle hand, he pushed me down against the pillows and knelt between my legs. 

“I love every inch of you,” he said softly as he bent over and pressed his lips against the inside of my thigh.  “I love the way your body moves, mi amore.” 

“V-Valentino?”

Slowly, his lips pressed up my body and paused just below my belly button as his hands fell to my hips. “Your tummy is perfect in every single way. I love that someday, you will carry our child safely inside of you.” 

“Val, I…”

He ignored me and leaned up, pressing his lips to my chest, one tit at a time. “And these? Oh bebita, I want nothing more than to see you naked, waiting for me in bed each and every night.” He pressed his lips to mine. “And to see those pretty eyes looking back at me with nothing but love.” 

Our eyes met and I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. Carefully, he lowered his head against the center of my chest and closed his eyes. 

“I love that your heart beats only for me, cariño.” He said softly. 

I looked down at him and suddenly, his smile shifted to a frown. 

“I don’t love that though,” he said as he pushed himself up. 

I looked at him in confusion.  “What’s wrong?” 

“Just take a deep breath for me,” he said sharply as he titled my head up. He pressed two fingers against my neck and looked at the clock across the room. 

I felt my heart skip a beat and apparently, he did too.

“Do you feel okay?” He asked after a moment. “Your heart rate is high- really high. Like I should take you to the hospital level high.”

Now that he mentioned it, I did feel a little lightheaded. My mind flashed back to the diet pills I had taken and the warning labels I ignored. I went to sit up and he pressed his hand on my shoulder. 

“No, lay down. Slow, deep breaths,” he said firmly. “I’m going to take your blood pressure and then…”

“I took something,” the words rushed out of my mouth. “They’re in the bathroom, white bottle, am I going to die?”

Valentino gave me a look and stood up as he made his way into the bathroom. When he returned a moment later, he was in his black and red bathrobe, the bottle of diet pills in one hand and a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff in the other. 

“How many did you take?” He demanded as he slid my arm inside the cuff. “Tell me true, because that’s going to determine what I give you to counteract them.” 

“Wait, Val, I-” 

“Diet pills, are you fucking stupid?” he interrupted angrily. “Fuck, you can die if you take these. Not even if you take them wrong, they speed up your heart rate and are hard on your internal organs as a whole. Now be quiet.” 

The look he gave me sent me silent. I cringed as the cuff grew tighter around my arm and I felt the cool disk press against my skin. Finally, he deflated it and pulled away. 

“Not heart attack level but certainly much higher than it should be. Give me your wrist. The one with the tracker on it.” 

Hesitantly, I lifted my wrist up and handed it to him. 

He fiddled with the watch for a moment and glanced at me. “Fair warning, Vox probably already knows. I would if I was paying any fucking attention to my watch or my phone. It sent an instant alert. I’ll text Vox now and tell him I have it under control before he barges down here.” 

“Are you…are you mad at me?” I asked softly. 

He sighed but leaned over and kissed my forehead. “No my love. You scared me- I love you too much to lose you and it makes me afraid that you’ll harm your body trying to make it fit into some asinine image. I love you and I love your body, and I will love you no matter what size you are. Always.”

A knock on the door and he stood up. I closed my eyes. I believed he loved me, I believed he loved my body but…still there was this doubt, this tiny fear that being my size would someday turn him off. He spent his entire day being surrounded by beautiful, thin models- perfect porn stars. Why would he love me? 

“Bebita, what are you thinking about? Talk to me,”

Valentino said softly. “Talk to me.” 

“Val you’re surrounded by pretty, thin models and actors and beautiful people all day long. I don’t fit that mold. So why…why are you okay with my body?” I asked. 

Valentino was quiet for a moment. Silently, I watched as he filled a syringe with liquid from a vial. He injected a large vial with the liquid and then set it down. 

“Reader. I married you because I love you. Who you are as a person. I couldn’t care less what size you are- it’s who you are. And the people who work for me? They don’t do for me what you do. They’re nothing more than merchandise.” He reached over and rested two fingers against my neck as he stared at the clock. “If I let you in my studio you would see just how incorrect your statement is. Not all my models are the same size. Some are plus sized, not unlike you. Some are thinner. Some are shorter. Some are taller. The difference is that I love you. And that includes the body you live in. So please, mi amore- don’t punish yourself or the body you live in. It’s the only one you will ever have and it’s the one that I love, because it holds you.”

I sat up and wrapped my arms around him. He held me quietly and after a moment tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. 

“The next time someone- anyone- makes you feel bad about the way you look, come find me. Do you understand?” 

“Yes, Valentino,” I said softly. 

He kissed me softly. “Good. Now take a deep breath. I hate to do this, but I’ve got to counteract the cocaine you took.” 

My stomach dropped. “I took what now?” 

He shrugged. “Diet pills aren’t exactly regulated. And unfortunately those pills were a solid mix of a bunch of different drugs.” He turned away and lifted the syringe and vial.

I watched as he pulled the liquid into the syringe with a practiced hand.

 “Deep breath. I only want to do this once,” he said as he snapped on a pair of gloves. “And you might want to look away.” 

I closed my eyes tightly. The feel of the cold alcohol. His soft command to relax. His hands as they pressed against the crook of my arm as he felt for the vein. A pinch and then a kiss. 

“All done mi amore,” he said gently. “Open your eyes.” 

“Will I be okay?” I asked anxiously. 

“This time, yes. Next time you might not get so lucky,” he said as he snapped his gloves off. 

I threw myself at him and he wrapped me in his arms. 

“I love you. All of you. Now. Forever. Always. Don’t you dare forget that.” He said softly. “No matter what size you are.”

[theoldsports]

unlucky.

remus lupin x reader | 2k words (requests are open)

marijuana, alcohol, mentions of addiction issues, pregnancy.

Remus Lupin turned up early from work. It was rare he was home early like this. Considering how strict Werewolf Disclosure laws were getting in the workplace, Remus found a job at a Muggle pub evenings. His days were spent working on a comprehensive and illustrated guide to using defensive spells against blokes you don’t like. Remus thought he would never finish it, but if he did, he imagined it would sell well to a publisher.

It was rare he was home early like this.

Remus stepped through the door and kicked off his boots and hung his heavy brown corduroy coat on the coatrack. He assumed he was alone. He worked evenings, his girlfriend worked two jobs most days. Childcare near Diagon Alley in the morning, shopkeeping at Aurel and Arnie’s Auditory Alternatives: Music, Noise and Audible Toys. Remus hated how hard [Y/N] felt she had to work, but he didn’t do much to alleviate it these days.

He knew that [Y/N] wouldn’t be home for a while yet. It was typical that their schedules didn’t line up like this. Sighing, Remus sat down on the couch and reached for the blue-green bong sitting on the coffee table to pack a bowl.

Then, Remus heard a sniffle from the next room. His brow furrowed (a familiar position for his brow to be in). He took a rip off the bong before setting it down on the table. With a quick cough, Remus stood shakily from the couch and proceed to the bedroom. Without knocking, he opened the door. “Love?” Remus muttered, coughing again.

[Y/N] sighed in bed and rolled over. She was laying on top of the sheets, still in her work clothes from Aural and Arnie’s down to the beat up black leather boots. [Y/N] moaned and rolled over to face the door. “‘The hell are you doing here?”

“I live here. I sleep,” Remus pointed at his side of the bed and leaned against the doorframe. “There. The hell are you doing here too?”

“Went home early.” [Y/N] said flatly.

Remus nodded smartly. “Ah, yeah. Didn’t realize,” He said sarcastically. Remus sat on the edge of the bed and started to untie the laces on [Y/N]’s dragon-leather boots. “Me too.”

“‘S’wrong? Feeling ill?” [Y/N] asked, almost beginning to sit up. She hadn’t thought it was so close to the full moon that he would be in any pain, but things still came up. Lycanthropy was sort of like a chronic illness and both were used to treating it that way.

Remus shook his head, amazed by how she cared enough to ask. “Nah, just some new boys that needed training. They sent me home after. Easy shift’s all, like.” Remus set each of her boots on the floor with a firm thunk. “Why’re you back?”

[Y/N] shrugged.

Remus shrugged back at her. “Oh, we’re goin’ ta do that?” He shrugged again. “Just,” he shrugged a third time. “That?”

[Y/N] shrugged again. “Mhmm.”

The shrug joke hadn’t even made a smile appear on [Y/N]’s soft lips. Shit like that usually worked. Remus cocked his head.

“Cuppa tea?” Remus asked once he figured out this subject wasn’t going anywhere. He patted her on the leg as he stood up to move to the kitchen.

“RJ, you don’t have to…” [Y/N] rarely called him much else other than the nickname RJ. He loved it.

“No, ‘want to,” Remus replied, moving out of the room into their small kitchen. “You feeling okay, love? Something the matter?” He shouted down the small hallway towards the bedroom while he willed the kettle. Remus set the kettle on the burner. He was going to make her a nice strong cup of earl grey with a bit of whiskey in it, like he always did. Remus felt that he was dreadful at comforting his lover, but he knew it helped when did that. So this would be a start.

[Y/N] was silent in reply.

“[Y/N]?” Remus said.

Nothing.

“[Y/N]? Darlin’?” He repeated. Remus trodded back down the hall. [Y/N] was curled up on the bed, face down on the pillow.

This wasn’t [Y/N]. She never did this. Normally, she was up and working like a machine. Reading ferociously. Helping Remus make lunch. Trying to out-drink him on Saturday nights. Riding on the back of Sirius’s bike when she was the only one brave enough to try it out during that fateful first week. Remus’s eyes widened. He sat at the foot of the bed again, “[Y/N], hey. What’s wrong, love?” Remus said, placing a hand on her bare ankle. “You can talk to me, if you feel like it. Did something happen?” Remus would become inconsolable if it was his fault, so he prayed it wasn’t that. Or god forbid someone had hurt her.

“Remus, please.”

That almost aggravated him. “Please what? What the bloody hell’s that mean?”

“Merlin, sorry for trying to be polite.” She answered.

Remus sighed at his own temper and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t need to be no sorry, but tell me what you need.”

“Just leave me alone. I feel like shit; I don’t wanna rub off on you.”

“If you’re sick, I can pop by Molly’s and get a tonic or some shit— I… Are you ill?”

[Y/N] hauled her face out of the pillow. “RJ, I’m pregnant,” Her words knocked all the air from Remus’s belly. His eyes widened and his lips thinned. He inhaled sharply. All of this, and he still had no words. “Stay or don’t, then. I need to lay here and have a think for a while. I didn’t want it to happen like this, and you may not like it, but there it is,” She snapped. “If you’re leaving, lock the door on your way out and leave the key under the mat.” [Y/N] said and flopped her head back down away from Remus.

She had wanted to be able to tell him comfortably and sweetly, like some good wife in a movie, when they were grown up and married and ready and when there wasn’t a war waging outside. Or maybe even never having to tell him at all. Being a mother was not on her radar. But here she was.

Remus was stunned. He blinked. Never had he wanted to be a father. Men like Remus Lupin simply weren’t fathers. “I see.” Without another word, Remus stood up to fetch the kettle before it let out that infernal sound. His thoughts raced beyond measure. How could he do this? How could [Y/N]? Remus wanted to throw up. He also wanted to smile. He couldn’t seem to do either.

He prepared two mugs of his Irish-bottom tea and strode back to the bedroom. When Remus sat down on his side of the bed with the mugs, [Y/N] looked up. Her eyes were wet with tears. It was obvious to Remus that [Y/N] had assumed he had left; done the whole key under the mat song and dance.

“You’re still here?” She asked softly.

“‘Course. Cuppa?” Remus said with flat nerves. He gently extended the cup to her with a shaking hand.

“On the nightstand, please,” [Y/N] sniffled and Remus obliged. “It’s… It’s yours, obviously.”

“I know.”

The two were silent, save Remus sipping his tea as his high really began to kick in.

“Shall I get rid of it, then?”

“What?”

A surprised pause. [Y/N] stared at Remus. He never said what he was thinking. She always wondered what was happening in that head of his.

“No way we’re able to… You know. At least right now. And I know my parents were young, but RJ, I feel like I’m still a little girl and—.”

Remus’s head felt heavy. He shook his head. “But Lily and James—“

“I’ve been thinking about them too. How the fuck are they managing this…” [Y/N] chiefly held back another wave of tears.

Remus set his free hand on her back and clumsily moved it back and forth in circles in an attempt at comfort. He set his mug down on the nightstand by his side of the bed and pulled [Y/N] into his chest.

She almost tried to squirm away. She wasn’t used to being held. Remus normally didn’t hold her this way. He would come up behind her in the kitchen, or rest his head on her, maybe hold her on his lap. Frankly, [Y/N] was normally the one that held him like this. Her body tensed up. [Y/N] didn’t quite know how to be held at all.

No doubt Remus felt it. He felt a bit of shame. There was no way he treated her how she deserved. His eyes filled with sorrow.

“RJ, I’m scared.”

At every turn, [Y/N] had been there to be brave for Remus. She was as good as Atlas to him. As he felt he small hands cling to the back of his jumper, and her eyes become damp against his chest, he knew it had to be his turn to be brave for her. “My love, hey… I’ve got you, right? I’m not going anywhere,” Which was true, but also saying a lot because Remus wanted to take off running. No way in hell he would dare, though. “What’d’you need right now?”

“Just stay where you are.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated. Remus kissed the top of [Y/N]’s head. “I’m not going anywhere. You hear me?” Remus whispered, dragging his long fingers through her hair in his best attempt at comfort. He kissed [Y/N]’s forehead. “You’re my girl. Nothing you could do that would have me runnin’. We’ll sort this out together, yeah?”

“Yeah, right.”

“See? There she is. That’s my girl.”

[Y/N] almost chanced a smile. She inhaled the smell of his jumper. Liquor from the pub, pot, coffee, cigarettes and a simple and clean musky deodorant. “You smoke before you came in here?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Remus stifled a giggle. It was an inappropriate time. “I’m high as a broom right now. It’s startin’ to hit,” Remus’s accent always got a little sloppy when he drank or used. That sing songy Swansea lilt he tried so desperately to repress muscled its way to the front. All of his consonants lisped right behind his teeth. “Oops.” He laughed.

[Y/N] started to laugh, and laugh hard.

“What?” Remus asked, eyebrows raised

[Y/N]’s laugh persisted. She was in hysterics. “This… This is awful,” she wheezed, smiling. “This is awful. Like, really awful.” she was laughing so hard that Remus let his own laugh slip into the mix.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Remus jeered.

“I’m pregnant. And I didn’t want to tell you. And I tell you… And you’re stoned. You should see your face right now. You’re toasted, RJ. The world is ending out there, I’m pregnant, you’re stoned. You can’t get a normal job because of the ministry shitheads. I’ve three St. Mungo’s training applications rejected. We have… rotten fucking luck. Our friends are dying. And if this goes how shit normally goes for us, we’re gonna be parents,” [Y/N] laughed desperately, while Remus’s big green eyes ringed with red went wide. “We’re going to be very unlucky, poor parents.”

“Wait, wait, wait, hypothetically, isn’t it going to be, like, two negatives make a positive then? Maybe this kid’s the next Merlin, or somethin’.”

“I think you’re think of ‘two wrongs don’t make a right.’”

Remus thought, scrunching his nose. “No, I don’t think that’s it.”

Their conversation lulled with their laughter. Clumsy fingers dragged up and down [Y/N]’s back. Remus spoke first after a few moments. “Love?” He asked. [Y/N] hummed in response. “If we have this thing, it’s going to be very good at reading, isn’t it?” Remus began. [Y/N] smirked like she had something rude to say. “No, shut it. You said yours, lemme say mine. It’s going to be a truly voracious reader, and smarter than all of its little loser friends. And it is also going to have addiction issues and dreadful eyesight, reading AND far off, probably between the two of us, but it’s okay. Because we were so damn unlucky first, so we’ll know what to do. That’s not too bad.”

“You’re implying we have had so much experience being poor in luck that we already know the loopholes.”

“Precisely.”

“I’m in love with you.” [Y/N] said teasingly, planting a kiss on Remus’s scruffy chin.

“We’re not totally out of luck then, are we?”

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buddie: Has Eddie realized the Buck and Kim parallels yet?

Buck and Kim (Shannon's doppelgänger) are MIRROR IMAGES of each other! Also, Buck's right in front of Eddie and Kim was positioned to be the mirror so he could see who he's been wanting since he moved to Los Angeles and the person he wants is Buck.

There were a lot of references to season 2 in 7x9 and I might expound on all of them at some point but this post is solely about the similarities between Buck and Kim and the familiarity Eddie sees when he looks at her since he's already found everything he wants and needs in Buck but won't allow himself to have.

Full disclosure: Before I delve into this, I must admit how much I hate this "Vertigo" BS storyline they gave Eddie and I've posted about it many times because IMO he deserves better than an emotional cheating arc. But since TM (showrunner) is hellbent on incorporating DK into these episodes, it doesn't appear there's anything that can be done except fast forward through them like I did early this morning when I finally watched the episode. One more thing, I HATED the way they let Chris see Eddie with Kim. He's traumatized enough and I don't know if it was done for shock value or WTF but that was low for 9-1-1 standards and it shouldn't have been included.

Now back to the regularly scheduled program...

In 7x9, the scene with Buck and Kim at the firehouse allowed Buck to come face to face with a doppelgänger version of the person (Shannon) who still haunts both Eddie's and Chris' lives. Also, she represents the person Buck believes will always stand in the way of him stepping all the way in with Eddie so he can become his husband and a second father to Chris.

Now, I'll be honest, I watched the scene with Buck and Kim three times for several reasons but mainly because I noticed the show was trying to illustrate more than just Eddie's cheating. The truth is Buck's and Kim's scene should have DEMONSTRATED TO VIEWERS how Kim is a direct reflection and a representation of everything Eddie's already found and built with Buck, i.e., future spouse, lover, coparent for Chris and the family he chose. Basically, Buck's his everything but Eddie won't allow himself to feel it (believe he can have him).

When Buck came face to face with Kim, he stopped in his tracks and his breath caught in his throat because he thought he was looking at a ghost. Kim reminds him of the woman he believes Eddie will NEVER let go of/get over so they can be together and I can prove it with the images of them facing each other.

Ever since the BTS pics were released of Kim/Shannon, I wondered why her hair was blonde instead of brown. I figured it might be related to something but at the time I didn't know what. Now, IIRC, in the early part of season 1, Buck's hair was reddish blonde but for some reason, he dyed it and it's more of a dirty blonde now. Some people debate over the color of Buck's hair; however I'm not doing that here since it's not the point of this post. Furthermore, several Buddie shippers have commented on the gray/white streak in Kim's hair and they did the research that it's a birthmark. There have been several posts on it and the authors of them have commented that it's on the wrong side for her head for it to mimic Buck but I beg to differ.

When they faced each other (reminder Buck was never shown talking to Shannon in season 2; he saw her but they never interacted in CANON) their birthmarks were aligned. His is on the left side of his head and hers is on the right side but when they're facing, they line up. Additionally, Buck's lips are pink and IIRC, Shannon never wore bright red lipstick but Kim did. Buck and Kim (Shannon) all have blue eyes and everyone who watches the show should know Eddie loves looking at Buck the same way he said he liked looking at Kim. If these aren't parallels that show Eddie has found everything he wants and needs in Buck, then the writers should be replaced because they wrote it like this.

Why are these things important?

They're important because for the entirety of season 7, the show has gone above and beyond to show viewers how Buck, Eddie and Chris are ALREADY a family. Additionally, their screentime also illustrates how Buck is already one of Chris' three parents and it began in 7x1.

The three pictures above show Buck, Eddie and Shannon sitting on the same spot of Chris' bed. Please note: this is not an illusion for Buddie Shippers, it's all right above in the photos and the show orchestrated this the same way they did Buck's and Kim's similarities.

Did the show do a good job of illustrating how Eddie wants to be with Buck instead of Kim? It's debatable especially for those who are CHOOSING not to see it but the intentions were crystal clear. Buck being face to face with Kim was INTENTIONAL and the show didn't do anything to deter the parallels and similarities between them, as a matter of fact, they highlighted them.

While Eddie and Kim were in the boat, he said, "Maybe I just like looking at you" but who has EDDIE ALWAYS GIVEN "HEART EYES" TO? BUCK!

Other than the pictures of Eddie and Shannon that Eddie keeps gazing at with longing, he rarely looked at Shannon with heart eyes.

The additional pictures below show how Buck and Kim mirror each other. When they're facing their birthmarks are on the same side. Also, Kim's even wearing a striped shirt which is reminiscent of the striped shirt Buck wore during the shooting but the differences are his stripes were vertical while hers were horizontal and her stripes are bolder/thicker. (Please note, she was wearing like three shirts/tops so it must have been intentional and her shirts were navy-blue and blue which is the same color as the Buckley-Diaz family color.)

Eddie loves everything about Buck and he loves him so much that he put him in his will and named him to be Chris' legal guardian. He gave Buck his heart years ago because he believes Buck wont break it like Shannon did. In 3x8, he told Bobby, Shannon broke Chris' heart (Eddie's heart) when she left but just like always, Eddie's choosing to see the good while ignoring all the bad stuff that was included in their relationship. She literally asked him for a divorce but after all these years, he's still searching for the perfect "woman" to fill Shannon's shoes when he already has everything he's searching for in Buck.

Some viewers think Eddie doesn't know he's in love with Buck but I beg to differ. I believe he does know but due to his religious beliefs, he won't allow himself to want him. Also, Buck believes Shannon will always be the person who blocks/prevents or stops him from being with Eddie since after all these years, Eddie hasn't moved on from her. However, Buck knows the truth about Eddie's relationship with Shannon because Eddie told him about it in 2x10 and it's evident Buck knows she abandoned them by the way he apologized to Eddie in 3x9 for abandoning him and Chris during the lawsuit.

The point of this post is to illustrate the way 9-1-1 allowed Buck to come face to face with Kim in an episode that's all about ashes. Also, the haunted look on his face (Shannon reappeared in Eddie's and Chris' lives in 2x7 Haunted) showed how Buck's not sure if he'll ever be able to be who Eddie wants since Eddie hasn't moved on from the woman he dated when he was 18 years old.

One good thing that happened in the $hitshow that's this raggedy ass storyline is, Kim/Shannon told Eddie he needs to "Let her go" and hopefully, he FINALLY WILL!

Before I end this post, I have to include my continued belief in my Buddie Crack Theory because there were even more things in 7x9 that furthered my belief in Buck still being in his coma dream. I haven't decided if I'll post the details yet because there are a lot of them and I don't want to do a long post, so I'll have to determine how I want to proceed with it.

[e-dubbc11]

Be Better

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google.

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: Angst, tears, quick mention of Billy’s abandonment issues, maybe a swear or two? And of course…fluff.

Word Count: 2.1K-ish

Summary: Aimlessly wandering the New York City streets, your heart is broken. You had seen Billy out with someone else and it hurt more than breaking up with him did. But what could you do about it now?

A/N: I don’t know what the deal is with trying to answer the asks in my inbox. Some will let me, some won’t. Anyway, this is the ask I received from my sweet friend @ittybxttykxttytxtty

Thank you for sending this one in. Full disclosure, I wrote 2 fics for this prompt but I liked this one better. Thank you again and I hope you like it! 💚

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

After the rain had passed, the evening sky became a kaleidoscope of bright stars. It was a blanket of indigo heavily stitched in constellations above as you walked along the faded white lines of the crosswalk.

The city feels different at night. It’s mysterious and intimate. It swallows up the emotions of pedestrians as they hurry past you from all directions. You wished the city would absorb the emotions you were having at the moment. Anger…frustration…sadness…love.

You wished they would all go away.

Neon signs flicker from storefront windows. You could feel the vibration in your bones as the traffic hummed along the bustling city streets. The smell of food from restaurants nearby wafts past your nose, then mixes with the scent of exhaust from cars stuck in traffic.

Jumping out of an alley, a lone black cat scared you as it scampered past you, darted across the street and disappeared into nothingness. It was difficult to see where it went but hopefully it wasn’t a bad sign. You’ve had enough bad luck lately.

The city was just a whirlwind of stimulation.

If you could only make it quiet, even if it was just for a little while. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much. The invisible shard of glass in your stomach never dissolved or went away. The pain was constant but the grief came in waves. You tried to keep it from leaking out of you but it couldn’t be helped some days. The quiet sobbing in the ladies’ room at work was embarrassing but no one noticed even if you thought they did. Could the sharp edges of that glass dull over time? You really hoped so.

You walked along the cracked sidewalk, sidestepping puddles leftover from the rain but you had no idea where you were walking to. Aimlessly wandering, block after block, you thought of him. He was your only thought.

Billy Russo

He was stealing your appetite and your sleep and he didn’t even know it. Your stomach begged for food but you couldn’t bring yourself to eat. You covered the purple circles under your eyes every morning so people wouldn’t see how tired you were. The breakup wasn’t even the reason you were so upset. It was seeing him out with that other woman AFTER your breakup.

Billy invited you in closer than he allowed anyone to be but he also did his best to push you away. You weren’t strong enough to hold on and tell him that you loved him anyway. You were almost let go from your job because of him. His jealousy and possessiveness were too much and that’s when you had to say goodbye. You didn’t want to but he didn’t try to stop you.

All he had said was, “Go ahead and leave, they all do, they always do.”

With tears swimming in your eyes, you had replied, “You don’t give me any other choice, Billy.”

The dull ache in your chest as you said goodbye had escalated and your insides twisted with nausea when you walked out and didn’t even look back. Did you give up on him too soon? Possibly.

Billy had always thanked you for being patient with him, for comforting him when no one else had even bothered to try, but in the end you had failed each other.

And you didn’t regret it until the night you walked into that bar and saw him sitting with her. She had dark curly hair, warm tan skin, and was professionally dressed. She looked like his type but he loved you because you weren’t necessarily his type, and weren’t like the rest that only wanted him for his looks and money. Immediately, your heart was caught in your throat and you felt like you were going to be sick so you walked out just as fast as you had walked in.

Holding it together until you got home, you burst into tears as soon as the door was closed. Every inch of your body was numb and you had to remind yourself to breathe. Your heartbreak simply could not be put into words, it’s unspeakable, and you didn’t know what to do.

The memory of Billy Russo was firmly implanted inside every cell of your body and he wouldn’t be erased. It would be easier to forget him and move on but you’d never be able to now. It was clear to you now that you DID give up on him too soon. Was he perfect? Far from it but no one had ever loved him like you did and no one ever will.

And even now, as you wandered through the busy city streets, what could you do about it? He had moved on, which he had every right to do. But you still missed him.

You had no idea what time it was when you finally decided to go home. Wandering around the city at night past a certain hour just wasn’t safe, especially if you were alone.

The nighttime breeze smelled like fresh rain, salt and concrete as it brushed the hair away from your face, preventing the fresh tears from streaking down your cheeks. Why didn’t you try harder? Billy really didn’t know any better, he had been trying but you both needed to be better.

But you weren’t sure you would ever get that chance again.

Before walking into your building, from a distance you could see a familiar silhouette talking to your night manager. He was tall, had ebony colored hair that had tumbled into his eyes, a well-groomed beard, and wearing a black leather jacket with a maroon sweater underneath.

They were arguing with each other and neither of them had noticed you walked in.

“Mr. Russo, I told you she’s not here right now. I can’t let you up there if she’s not here, you already know this!” Eddie said.

“I’ll just wait outside her door for her to come home. What do you think I’m gonna do?!” Said Billy sternly.

As you walked closer, you waved slightly.

“Ummmm, hellooooooo.” You said, raising your voice to try and get their attention.

Eddie spoke first.

“Miss y/l/n, I kept trying to tell him I can’t let him up but he keeps arguing with me. He’s been here for an hour.” He said.

You looked at Billy while addressing Eddie.

“He knows that, Eddie. He is persistent though, you have to give him that.” You said softly with a slight smile.

Billy hurried over to you and went in to cup your cheeks but stopped himself.

“Sweet girl, uh, y/n…can we talk? Please?” He asked, with his eyebrows raised, licking his bottom lip.

“See, she’s home now.” Said Eddie, sarcastically.

Returning the sarcasm, Billy replied, “Yeah, I can see that, Eddie…thanks!”

Nervously, you said, “S-sure Billy, we can go talk. Come on.”

The elevator ride up to your apartment was quiet. The silence was deafening but out of the corner of your eye, it looked like Billy was trying to work up the courage to start the conversation.

Right before the doors opened, you spoke first.

“You’ve really been here for an hour?” You asked.

He was nervously brushing his beard with his lithe fingers.

Billy nodded. “Yeah…probably should have called but I, uh, wanted to surprise you.”

There was a slight flutter in your stomach. All you managed to respond with though was “Oh?”

After unlocking the door, you hung your coat up and walked toward the kitchen. Billy looked uneasy, he had purple circles under his eyes to match yours, but still the most handsome man you’d ever seen.

“Take your jacket off, stay awhile.” You said. “You want some tea?”

“Earl Grey, please.” Replied Billy.

He loved Earl Grey tea because it tasted like candy and you knew how much Billy loved candy. It was one of those little things that you loved about him, your badass marine and his love for all things sweet. Well…he wasn’t “yours” anymore, was he.

“Ok, well…what did you wanna talk about, Billy?” You asked, placing the kettle on the stove.

He picked up a framed picture of the two of you.

“You didn’t get rid of this?” He looked around at your other pictures of the two of you. “You didn’t get rid of any of them, did you.” He said.

You glanced down at the floor, trying to hide the tears in your eyes and biting down on your lower lip.

Shaking your head and you nonchalantly, replied, “No, I guess I didn’t.”

Of course you didn’t get rid of them. It hadn’t been THAT long since you broke up; as far as he knew you just hadn’t gotten around to doing it yet.

Before you could say anything else, he blurted out, “I saw you, ya know…that night at the bar.”

Playing dumb but knowing full well what he was talking about, you replied, “When? What bar?”

Billy took a seat at the breakfast bar with you standing on the other side in the kitchen, next to the stove.

“I saw you walk in.” He gave you a slight smile, the little lines near his eyes crinkled when he did. “You were wearing dark jeans, knee high boots, a black shirt, and that leather jacket I bought you. I’m guessing you ran outta there because you saw me?”

He waited for your response, all you could do was nod.

“I got up and chased after you but you were gone by the time I got outside.” He said, softly. “Was it because I was on a date?” Asked Billy.

With your heart racing, you tried to speak but nothing came out.

“It was, wasn’t it.” He said.

Your voice cracked and you finally let go.

“I was fine, Billy. I was meeting my friends there for drinks and then I saw you with her…and I—“ You paused, trying to control your tears but you couldn’t contain your feelings anymore. “It broke me! All I could think about is you kissing her or touching her and thinking that I’m the reason you’re out with her! This is my fault!”

Billy interrupted you. “It’s my fault too, y/n!”

“I gave up and I shouldn’t have! I told you I wouldn’t, Billy! I broke my promise to you!” You sobbed.

The water in the kettle started to boil. Your hands were shaking so you folded your arms protectively across your chest to try and get them to stop. Billy got up from his stool and walked around to the kitchen.

“Hey, hey…I’ll do that.” He removed the kettle from the burner and set it down onto a cold one.

Pulling you into a firm embrace, he squeezed you so tightly that you had a hard time breathing. Kissing the top of your head, he tried to calm you by slowly stroking your hair and letting his fingers dance up and down your spine.

“I fucked up too, sweet girl. I didn’t make it easy for you, I know I have a bad temper and I can be possessive but that’s because I didn’t wanna lose you. But I lost ya anyway, didn’t I.” He said.

You tilted your chin up to look into his endless brown eyes, your cheeks were soaked with tears as you said. “You didn’t miss me the way I missed you.”

Billy gently brushed your tears away and replied, “Well…you’re right about that.”

“I deserve that, but Billy…” You started to say.

He shook his head and inched closed to your face.

“No, my love. You don’t understand…I missed you more. I went home after I had that drink with her. I don’t want anyone but you.” Said Billy.

Confused, you asked, “You didn’t sleep with her? You didn’t go out with her again? Ya know what, that’s none of my business. I’m sor—“

He cut you off.

Billy’s lips collided with yours, his fingers wrapped around your throat like a necklace as his tongue pressed against your teeth and your lips parted so your tongue could tangle with his.

You felt butterflies in your stomach like it was the first time he’s ever kissed you and you never wanted to feel anyone else’s lips against yours. It’s always been him. His hands moved to cradle your face, chasing your lips with his own, and his gaze raking over you like he never wanted to let you go.

“We can be better, right sweet girl? Because I…” He paused, trying to get the courage to say what he wanted, “I really, really love you.” He said before kissing you again.

You lightly scraped your nails against his scalp and pulled him forward so your forehead was touching his. You knew it wasn’t easy for Billy to say how he felt and somehow it made you feel more loved than ever.

“Yes we can, handsome. Because I really, really love you too.”

Tag List: @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf @danzer8705 @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @mysteriouslydeafeningwerewolf

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend @russosafehaven @mrsbillyrusso @ittybxttykxttytxtty

If you’d like to be added (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

[laura1633]

Have you ever written secret omega for lestappen?

I have written a secret omega lestappen but it was also an alternative universe with Charles as a secret omega F1 driver and Max as an alpha cuddle therapist. I actually removed it off ao3 as I wanted to work it into a longer story so I can't link it but I have included it below the cut.

Max could still very vividly recall just how surprised everyone was when he presented as an alpha. He too had long suspected that he was an omega. It was a reasonable assumption, he seemed to possess all the qualities people liked to associate with omegas and very few alpha traits.

His dad had been overjoyed, apparently alphas were strong and far more likely to succeed in business. He tried his best to look at the positives, his father was technically correct, society seemed to have some very outdated views about omegas in the workplace. At least presenting as an alpha gave him more opportunities in life. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

During his teenage years he tried to fit into the mould that had been laid out for him. He was boisterous which at times spilled into anger and aggression. He tried to go into everything full on without fear and take what he wanted. For the most part he got away with it. When he picked fights people wrote it off as just something young alphas did, when he argued people mostly backed down or backed away. It never came naturally though and as he got a little older his behaviour started to feel more erratic and out of control rather than strong and stable.

A complete misjudgement in his early twenties changed the course of his life for the better. After a few too many drinks he had gotten himself into a fight with a much, much larger alpha and had ended up in hospital. When he was eventually discharged, still battered and bruised, he decided to stop pretending to be something he wasn’t and set out to become the alpha he always wanted to be. He let himself be vulnerable and display his emotions openly, he softened and calmed. The best part was that the more he settled into his new ways the more he realised that everything he had learnt about omegas and alphas was based on oversimplified ideas.

Whilst his new outlook may not have impressed his father it did lead him to his job and he loved his job more than anything because he was finally doing something good in the world.

The alpha buzzed the apartment for his newest client. Today was the first meeting, a time to reassure and explain all the benefits that came along with cuddling. It was also a chance for the client to set their boundaries and really think about their needs. Max was realistic, he knew a lot of people did not understand the virtues of cuddle therapy but he one hundred percent believed in it. He had evidence to back it up too, he had helped so many people.

Yesterday he had spent the morning cuddled up to an elderly omega who had lost her husband a year prior and just wanted to feel some level of intimacy and warmth without the guilt or hassle of trying to find someone new. Then there were clients who were dealing with stress but had no-one else to turn to, he would feel them settling into his arms and slowly relaxing. Then there were omegas who had had traumatic experiences with alphas and needed reassurance. When it came down to it most people had a basic need for comfort and kindness but didn’t always have a support system in place to provide it and he was more than happy to be there to help them through the tough times.

This client was his first ‘celebrity’. Not that they would be treated any differently. Each client was special and unique and the sessions were designed around their individual needs. It did however mean he had had to sign a very lengthy non disclosure agreement, and that was how he came to discover that F1 World Champion Charles Leclerc was not an alpha but an omega.

Max knocked on the door and patiently waited, when Charles eventually answered he looked a little hesitate but let him in.

“I don’t know how we start..” Charles mumbled, clearly a little stressed.

“We can just talk first” Max smiled reassuringly.

“You can’t tell anyone any of this can you? I just, if people find out then I will not be allowed to drive” Charles chewed on the sleeve of his oversized jumper.

“No I can’t and I would never. The whole point of this is for you to relax. Why don’t you tell me what you are hoping to get out of this?”

“Honestly, I just… I just want to be held. I have to spend all my time pretending that I am something I am not, sometimes I just want to lie in an alpha’s arms” Charles felt his face blushing red.

“That is understandable”

“It is?” Charles looked up hopeful.

“Of course. Human interaction is so important, genuine human interaction”

Charles smiled, “See this is what I mean, I can get a friendly hug or a pat on the back but I just.. well I am off my suppressants for winter break and I just.. I just need…to be myself and feel nice”

“We can do that” Max assured, he knew a little about trying to be something you weren’t. He may not have had to go on suppressants but he had certainly suppressed his true self for years. He would never push Charles to reveal his true designation but he would certainly give him as much comfort as he could.

“Can we just .. I mean I would prefer not to talk much”

“That is fine, this is your time, whatever you need” Max reassured. He preferred to talk first, to find out what the client needed so he could plan appropriately but some clients just wanted physical contact straight away, which was fine, he found those same clients opened up eventually.

“Do you do it here or like on a bed or in silence or ..”

“It is however you are most comfortable. We can of course cuddle in bed but I find most clients prefer something a little less intense the first time. Maybe cuddle here, in front of a movie if you would prefer”

“Sure, yes that would be good” Charles exhaled deeply, already flicking on the television and finding something inoffensive to put on.

“Okay I am going to hug you now Charles, let me know if you want me to move away or if anything is uncomfortable or overwhelming”

Charles nodded, he wasn’t entirely sure how a hug could be overwhelming but then again he had never actually snuggled up to alpha properly before. He had pretty much given up intimacy for racing. He took breaks in his suppressants and lived as an omega in the confines of his home during winter break but he could never chance a hook up or a relationship.

The omega shuffled a little closer into the alpha’s arms and tried to settle against their chest. Max’s body was warm, his chest broad and soft, his arms large and muscular. It was exactly what Charles was hoping it would be. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of cedarwood that blended so beautifully with his own sweet scent.

As Max wrapped his arms around him and held him close Charles felt himself drifting in and out of sleep, each time waking up to hear himself purring contently until he felt like he was floating. The omega took steadying breaths, moaning softly as he concentrated on Max’s chest rising and falling and the sound of his heartbeat.

“Are you okay Charles?”

“Yes, I …I…” Charles suddenly realised he was crying, Max’s t-shirt was wet where he had been resting his head, he moved away quickly, completely embarrassed, “Sorry I am not sure why I am crying”

“It is normal” Max tentatively soothed an arm up and down the omega’s arms and ushered them back closer to him, “It is just a lot, yes?”

“Yes” Charles mumbled, he really hadn’t expected such a physical reaction to being held but it truly was overwhelming.

“Just relax Charles, I’ve got you. You are safe”

“Okay” Charles tried to let go of the tension in his body, thinking about each of his muscles in turn until he felt weightless again, only being held down by the alpha’s strong grip., “It…. It feels nice”

“Good, would you like me to talk to you?”

“Maybe” Charles looked up to meet the alpha’s eyes, “And say what?”

“Just the truth” Max smiled, “That I think you deserve only good things. That you deserve to be able to be yourself”

“I wish” Charles hummed contently at the thought of finally being free, of finally letting everyone know that their precious alpha world champion was actually an omega.

“Perhaps one day” Max held Charles tightly, the omega’s body relaxing more and more as they held each other.

“One day” Charles closed his eyes and relaxed. One day he was going to do it, he was going to turn up as his true authentic self, was going to pave the way for other omegas. Today though, today he was just content to be in Max’s arms.

[fantasyismyonlyrealescape]

Whumptober 2024: No. 15 - Childhood Trauma/Painful Hug/Moment of Clarity/ "I did good, right?"

Title: A Path to Healing

Fandom: WWE (Professional Wrestling)

Characters: Sami Zayn & Jey Uso (SamiJey); Jimmy Uso (mentioned), Roman Reigns (mentioned)

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Word Count: 1224

A/N: Welcome to another addition to Whumptober, Day 15. Almost halfway through now, what a ride it's been. This one was really painful to write, full disclosure.

Summary: Sami Zayn witnesses Jey Uso having a nightmare and tries to get him to talk about it. The path to healing is not always as straightforward and one would like.

Cross posted on AO3 under user wrestlinginjeans.

Jey Uso’s greatest weakness was his family, it had always been this way. Following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a professional wrestler alongside his twin brother had only stoked that particular fire burning inside of him. Through wrestling, he developed the skills and the strength to continue to protect those that he loved.

Roman Reigns had exploited that weakness, used that weakness to get what he wanted from Jey because Roman knew him. Roman was his blood too. He had threatened Jey’s brothers too many times to count, manipulated and shaped Jey into the kind of person that Roman wanted him to be.

It had worked for a while, until Jey finally snapped. He challenged Roman for his Universal Championship and Roman had used Jimmy against Jey, forcing him to submit and say the words that Jey never thought he would say “I quit.” Because it wasn’t really a choice at that point, was it? The championship would mean nothing without his brother. For him, the choice would always be his brother.

Jey was back in that moment, having suffered brutally at the hands of Roman. But there was just one difference, Jey was outside the steel cage and Jimmy and Roman were inside. Jey could do nothing but watch as Roman beat Jimmy into the mat, punching and kicking him to the point of bleeding. Jey, his throat raw from screaming, slammed his hands on the chain link, cursing Roman and trying to tear the metal off by hand knowing that it was futile. After another moment of witnessing the carnage, Jey feels hands closing around his arms. He immediately fights to get out of the grips only for more hands to find him and begin to drag him backwards away from Jimmy and Roman in the ring.

“No, Jimmy!” Jey screamed, his voice breaking as he is hauled away from his brother and the world falls into oblivion.

Jey wakes up, Jimmy’s name on his lips in a scream as he sits bolt upright in bed. He is covered in sweat and his breath is coming in bursts, he rips the covers off and staggers out of bed in one movement. He didn’t notice that he had awakened Sami in the next bed until he heard the redhead call his name.

“Jey?” Sami calls quietly, rubbing at his eyes before turning his gaze onto the Samoan. The room was dark so Sami couldn’t see much more than a silhouette of his friend. When no response comes from the shorter man, Sami rises and crosses the room towards the figure that Sami now realizes is trembling. “Oh, Jey…” Sami says immediately, reaching out a hand to touch Jey’s arm. He didn’t want to crowd Jey as he had no idea what demons had come to him that night, but he needed him to know that he was there for him, nonetheless.

At the touch, Jey moved in to crush his body against Sami’s own, taking the redhead by surprise for a moment and forcing him to take a couple half steps backwards at the movement, wrapping his arms around the shorter man as he does so. Sami feels a trembling Jey bury his face into the redhead’s shoulder with a shuddering breath, clutching Sami all the tighter. Sami, at a loss at what to do takes to rubbing gentle circles the length of Jey’s back, whispering to the shorter man just so that Jey had a familiar voice to listen to as he came down from what Sami suspected had been a nightmare.

After a while, Jey’s breathing begins to even out and his body calms slightly, leading to Sami stepping back a fraction and attempting to catch a glimpse of Jey’s face. The dark-haired man lifts his head from Sami’s shoulder, blinking blurrily for a moment before bringing up a hand to scrub at his damp eyes.

“Alright, Jey. Come sit down over here…” Sami says gently, stepping away from him to sit down on his bed, waiting for Jey to do the same. For a moment, Jey turns his back on Sami and looks towards the window and Sami takes a quick moment to discretely swipe his phone from the nightstand, sending a hurried text to Jimmy with the following: “Call Jey. He needs to hear your voice.” before tossing the cell phone onto his bed behind him as Jey turns back around.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sami asks gently as Jey sits down just to Sami’s left.

“It was just a nightmare…” Jey states simply, his elbows resting on his knees, wringing his hands together from where they rested between his legs. “Nothing serious, Uce.”

A sigh from Sami as he tries to determine exactly how to handle this situation. Everyone responded to nightmares differently and while he had long suspected that Jey had nightmares, he had never witnessed one of Jey’s himself until that night.

“Uce, you were screaming… I know how you are; I know that you probably want to just try to forget about this and move on. But I suspect that this is something more than just ‘nothing’, Jey, and I think this will keep happening until we handle it.” Sami says, looking over at his friend and leaning over to bump their shoulders together. “It’s just me, Jey. You can talk to me, you know that.”

“I… I was back in the ring, during the cage match.” Jey begins after a moment of hesitation and Sami doesn’t need him to be any more specific to know what match Jey was referring to. “And then I wasn’t. Jimmy replaced me and he was beating my brother…” A pause as Jey’s breath hitches, his mind replaying the events from his nightmare in vivid detail over and over again before his eyes. “I couldn’t stop him, Uce. I could do nothin’ but watch.”

Sami knew how that felt all too well. An image of Kevin handcuffed to the middle rope as Roman loomed menacingly over him with a steel chair grasped between his hand’s flashes before his eyes for a moment before he pushes the image away. This wasn’t about him; this was about Jey. “It wasn’t real, Jimmy is fine and safe at home. You just talked to him the other day, remember?”

A nod as Jey plays back the conversation he had had with his twin. Jimmy had been fine then; his nightmare couldn’t change that. It wasn’t real, so why did it feel like it was?

Just then, Jey’s cell lights up the room as it rings, and the pair are drawn out of their own thoughts. Sami nods towards the cell when Jey looks at him.

“Go ahead and take it.”

Jey nods, rising and grabbing his phone only for his face to light up. Sami didn’t need to see the name of the person calling to know who it was as he studied Jey.

Sami awoke sometime later to find Jey asleep on the other side of his bed, having long since abandoned his own. A small sad smile formed onto Sami’s lips at the sight as he carefully brushed his fingertips against Jey’s wrist, wrapping his fingers around the wrist so that Jey had a reminder that he was not alone. He would help keep the demons away.

[ohtobeleah]

I just absolutely love this NCIS series. So much. I’m wondering if Ziva will ever make an appearance? Rooster would be both terrified and admirable of her but also be so concerned because reader is suddenly so into her hand to hand combat training

Ah, this is so bad but this is what I came up with. But anyway here’s a little update and the NCIS series Masterlist

Oh yes. No Ziva is definitely around. I think you’re right though, she’d fucking scare the shit out of Bradley. And I could see you upping your gym sessions a little more frequently after Bradley proposes.

We need to get one thing straight people—Bradley Bradshaw doesn’t regret proposing. He’d never regret a decision like that. He knew he wanted to spend his entire life with you from the minute he first met you. But he did propose out of sheer terror that he’d never get to if he didn’t do it immediately.

“I almost didn't come home this time.” It was a sentence you never wanted to hear but were still thankful enough to hear him say it. It was and would always be better than the alternative. The home calls all military men and women dreaded. The one where officials inform you of a loss. “And it made me realise that I now have someone to leave behind.”

It had been keeping you awake at night. The thought of something happening to Bradley that could take him away from you. He’d told you in full confidence everything that had happened—full disclosure, no confidentiality. Fuck the rules. It had set off a trigger inside you—for him you had to be better, be smarter, train harder. You didn’t want to leave your fiancé behind. There were things you could learn and upskill in to protect yourself. That could give you a better chance of coming home to Bradley every day.

“Ah it’s our resident Flyboy—“ DiNozzo beamed as he spun on his chair. Gibbs couldn’t hide his smirk that had crept onto his face as he walked side by side with Rooster, having collected him at security. Over the years Bradley had really taken a liking to Gibbs. Sure, they had a not so great start but the terrifying father had warmed up to the Aviator who stole his daughters heart.

Gibbs had taken Rooster shooting a handful of times, only threatening to wipe all traces of him from the face of the earth if he ever hurt you only once or twice. But sure enough as time pressed on and Bradley stuck around, Gibbs really did start to treat Bradley Bradshaw like a son he never had, and he had a new found respect for the lieutenant when he was calling him late at night before boarding his plane to Washington to ask him for your hand in marriage. Bradley was gonna do it anyway, regardless of what Gibbs had said—but he wanted to talk to your dad first purely because he was nervous and couldn’t talk to his own.

“What brings you in?”

“Brought you guys some lunch.” Bradley’s dumping the plastic bag full of burgers and fries on DiNozzo's desk. “And came to see my girl” Looking around, Rooster could usually pick you in a crowd. But today? You weren’t around. “She around or?”

“She’s in the gym with Ziva—“ Gibbs replied as he sat with a slight huff at his desk. “Training session, hand to hand combat.”

“She’s been doing that a lot hasn’t she?” McGee questioned as he sauntered over to grab a burger. “I mean it’s probably not a bad thing it’s just I don’t know what would have changed to make her suddenly wanna be a—“

“Certifiable badass?” Tony is smirking as Rooster stood with his arms crossed. Gibbs sent him a look of concern and he instantly knew what this was about. The goddamn uranium mission. “Gibbs knows what she’s doing, it’s proud just some phase, like when she got those stupid sea monkeys for her desk that died like a week later.” Bradley knew better than to know this was just a phase.

“I think it might have something to do with the last mission I was on—“ Clearing his throat with a cough before looking around the room. “She’s been a little off since I came back from it.” Rooster wasn’t about to out the fact he’d told you every small detail about that special detachment. No fucking way not with Leroy Jethro Gibbs sitting in his peripheral vision. “Think it might just be a reaction to something I said, accidentally planted in her head—“ Running his hand down his face with a small sigh, Bradley turned to the agents who shared a sympathetic look with him. Every single man in that room would go above and beyond for you—it was just a little sad how blissfully unaware just how far you’d go for them. “Uh, how do I get to the gym?”

“Floor four, take the elevator at the rear and it’s the first door on your right, if you find yourself in the morgue you’ve gone too far.” Rooster just stared at Gibbs with a stone cold face, watching the old man chuckle. He liked messing with the kid. A lot.

“Thanks pops—“ Rooster tapped Gibbs on the shoulder twice before he left, Gibbs returned the small gesture of affection to Rooster's hand, tapping him back once before he walked away. Making his way down to the gym. He got lost—but inevitably ended up in the place you needed to be. He didn’t come to your workplace very often, but on occasion when he knew you weren’t working a major case, he’d stop by security for visitors tag and call Jethro to come collect him.

Bradley wanted to make his appearance known a lot earlier than he did. But he got caught up in watching you train self defense. Sitting by the door with a small plastic cup of water in his hand, Bradley watched you and Ziva spar. Again and again and again you both ran through sequences and various types of martial arts training. The former Mossad agent had always given Bradley heart palpitations—and not in the oh she’s cute kinda way. More in the, He know for a fact she knows a pressure point that could instantly kill me.

“Not good enough!” Ziva hissed at you as you fell to the ground. She’d kicked your legs out from under you and sent you flying towards the ground. Your arse colliding with the harsh rubber sparring mat. “Get up, quickly. You’d be dead by now if this was real.” Ziva wasn’t lying. You wanted her to be harsh with you, be honest and make you vulnerable because that’s how it would really be. “There’s no second chances when you hesitate for even a split second.” Huh, she sounded like Maverick—just more terrifying. Bradley was entrance. Terrified nonetheless, but completely fixated on the session going on.

With a groan, you slowly stood up. Fixing your stance and giving her a nod to say you were good. Setting your hands in a defensive position before Ziva was coming at you with blows left and right. Right hooks, upper cuts, jabs and powerful crosses that you did your best to block and defend against. Grunting and sweating as you ducked and spun around—kicking her legs out from under her. Returning to sender what she had down to you. Sending her down as you pressed a knee into her shoulder.

“How was that?” You gifted her a hand up from the ground. Taking your hand as you pulled Ziva up, she smirked. She was impressed but she’d never tell you that. She wanted you to believe that there was never a level of confidence that could be reached that would one hundred percent guarantee survival.

“Sloppy at best but we can work on it.” Ziva smirked as she turned her head to where Bradley had been sitting. She knew when he’d arrived but didn’t want to break your concentration. “I think your white boy is here?” Turning to where Ziva's eyeline had gone you were met with none other than your fiancé. Chuckling to yourself as you turned back to her you tried to hide your joy.

“I think you mean Flyboy.” It had become a nickname that stuck around the office. Tony, Tim, Ziva and even your dad would all take turns referring to Bradley as Flyboy. Sure, from time to time a Rooster would slip past. Lieutenant was common and Bradshaw was often the baseline on any given day. But Flyboy? It stuck long term. “But you aren’t wrong for that either.” Making your way over to where Rooster stood watching with curious eyes. “Hey! What are you doing here?” With the biggest smile you could conjure, you greeted Bradley with open arms.

“Brought you and the guys some lunch.” Kissing your flushed cheek as he wrapped his arms around you. “Got bored, the house is super clean though.” It had just been one of those days where everything seemed a little overwhelming. You were and always would be Bradley’s satellite though. “What’s with the uh—the kickboxing and self defense maneuvering ?” Bradley knew he knew the answer. Oh he definitely knew the answer. But he wanted to hear you say it first.

He wanted you to be open with him, something was brewing in the incredible mind of yours. He could tell. But you had somewhat shut off the past few weeks. Not as open as you normally were. Keeping something, harboring your own existential crisis that you should have let Bradley in on. After all, it was his honesty and his own breakdown that had sent you into this spiral.

“She’s lacking in her self defense—“ Ziva piped up as she walked towards where you and Bradley stood. In reaction Bradley took a small step back. Ziva just chuckled to herself and shook her head. “Relax Bradshaw I’m done for the day—unless you wanna go a round?”

“I’m good thanks Ziva.” There had been a time where McGee had tricked Rooster into a sparring session with Ziva. He was out cold in a matter of minutes. The former Mossad Agent had accidentally gone a little too hard knowing Bradley was three times her size. She thought he could take it. He couldn’t. That was the first time they’d ever met, that moment still clearly etched into stone on Roosters mind. “It’s good to see you though.”

“Ziva’s just been helping me up my skills Roo—“ Ah fuck, there it was. Roo. You only ever called Bradley Roo in two situations. When you were trying to seduce him or when you were hiding something. He was pretty sure you weren’t trying to seduce him either—so it had to be that you were hiding something. “Gotta be ready for anything, you know.”

“Lieutenant Bradshaw as much as this reunion of ours has warmed my heart, I heard lunch?”

“I left the bag on Tony’s desk, I can’t promise there’s anything left—“ He didn’t get to finish before Ziva was taking off. Starving and knowing DiNozzo wouldn’t leave a crumb of evidence behind. “She’s intense isn’t she.”

“But a valuable asset when it comes to training.” You sighed, heading over to the water station. “I feel like I broke my tailbone.”

“With the way you hit that mat I wouldn’t be surprised.” Bradley taunted as he followed you. “Hey listen, you aren’t doing all this because of the—“

��I don’t really wanna talk about it.” Oh yeah he had you now.

“Baby—“ he cooed, wrapping his arms around your waist as he stood behind you. His chin resting on your shoulder. “I can’t have you over exerting yourself like this on the chance of a what if.”

“It’s not a what if Bradley, it’s a when—“ You sighed, turning in Bradley’s arms as he moved them to wrap around the back of your neck. “For both of us, it’s not a matter of if but when.”

“That’s a grim outlook.” You didn’t have a comeback, simply sinking into Bradley’s chest, your ear pressing against his heart. “You gotta dial down the training, just a little—it’s not healthy and it’s worrying me to know that the only reason you’re doing it is because I projected.”

“It was a fair projection though, I mean you were right. When the day comes you don’t make it back or when the day comes that I don’t come home—“ Pausing for a moment to look lovingly into Bradley’s eyes. Drink in the sight of him, vomit every small detail to memory. “I wanna be as prepared for whatever could come my way.”

“Can I level with you for a moment?” Leading you into the middle of the sparring ring, Bradley kicked off his shoes and undid his belt. Watching with a small smirk you watched as he took a defensive stance. You followed in return. “Sure, the risks are high.” Rooster made the first move, coming at you with a hand as he stepped forward. Still talking casually as you ducked his blow. “But what about all the other when’s?”

“You mean like when we get married?” You smirked as you made contact with Bradley’s side. A gentle groan escaping as a wave of seriousness cascaded down his face. Oh you were on.

“Or when we finally buy a house together so I don’t feel like I’m all up in your space.” Rooster was talking to you like you were the sun and moon to him. Which you very much were. But the way he was coming at you with blows and punches and kicks—told a different story. He was trying to show you that when the time came, you’d do everything in your ability to fight back.

“Or when we have a couple of kids running around.” You groaned when you dodged a particularly harsh warning hit to the side. Swinging under to try and catch Bradley off guard by kicking his legs out. But he jumped you. “Dick—“

“Do better, You got this.” It was the encouragement coming from Bradley that kept you going until finally you had him down on his arse in defeat. A sudden thud rang out through the gym as you stood towering over your fiancé. Huffing and panting because he’d put up a good fight. “Damn—“

“You’re not too bad yourself.” You offered Bradley a hand up, but he pulled you down on top of him. “Babe!—“

“Please don’t get caught up worrying about things you can’t control. I wanna enjoy you while I’ve got a chance to.”

“You almost didn’t come home.” It was true. He almost didn’t. And Bradley had fallen victim to the existential crisis that was ever looming doom before. It was a consistent and pressing dear you both shared. Losing one another. But it couldn’t be all consuming—if you let the fear of losing a loved one consume you, there wouldn’t be enough room left to love them while you had the chance.

“Key word being almost.” Kissing your lips softly as you straddled his waist. “I will always do my best to come home to you, so long as you promise me the same.”

****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~****~

Tag: @auroraboreallisfine @tigerfan24 @atarmychick007 @rosee-sensuelle @unhingedhousehold @belowtheharddeck300 @daisyhollyxox @luckyladycreator2 @86laura11 @justanothermagicalsara @taytaylala12 @rhirhikingston

[hardlypartying]

i know this is SUPER early (the season literally Just came out today) but i was wondering if you’ve seen the screencaps going around of the new riara scene from season 4? truth be told i haven’t seen the episode myself but i’d love to know your thoughts on it if you have x

i got this message right when s4 came out and nearly threw my phone from it haha learned it was best to log out. season 4 part 1 spoilers below!

i had nooooo clue there was actually going to be a riara scene. all the interviews it seems like they hate it and wanted to nip it in the bud before the season came out and that set the stage for how i watched this season.

but in all honesty… chekhov's gun. she’s gonna have to use that business card and call him for help >:) and remember we have that scene from the teaser where jj is punching rafe. this is probably totally unrelated to riara but im lowkey living for a very light love triangle here if they want to go that way.

full disclosure, this is my theory after a few glasses of wine: jj is going to die and rafe is working his way through a redemption arc to ‘replace’ jj’s role in the pogues. idk why this season is just lingering on jj and resolving so much of his character triggers in a way that feels like a farewell. and not to be all 😬 but the very same argument can be made for rafe too in this case. he’s amending his mistakes and past to finally get a proper send off. the only reason i don’t believe he’s going to be the one to die is bc ward just did and that would be really stupid for them to take out another cameron.

anyway i think we’re slowly making our way to kiara forgiving rafe. we’ve seen that he’s trying to be the more approachable and opening that door with her, getting vulnerable with her, telling her he’s always liked her. never going after her and forgiving her. idk what has to happen for her to see that he’s being genuine and he can be trusted. it’s gonna take a lotttttt tbh.

a half baked not-so theory (bc my mind is going 200kms/hr) is that the final climax/fight is going to mirror the bike race scene. with rafe sacrificing himself and taking both him and jj out. then having the moment come down to john b who has to ���run over’ jj to win this time. LMAOO the more i think about this theory the more i realize i need to go to sleep and not post delirious theories

[puroresu-musings]

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 18 in Tokyo Dome Review (Jan 4th, 2024)

New Japan Rambo **

IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship - Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney vs. TJP & Francesco Akira ***1/4

NJPW World TV Championship - Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ****

Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura ***1/2

Shota Umino & Kaito Kiyomiya vs. EVIL & Ren Narita ***1/4

NEVER Openweight Championship - Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Tama Tonga ****1/2

IWGP Tag Team & STRONG Openweight Tag Championship Double Title Match - Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo ***3/4+

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship - Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Desperado ****1/4

Inaugural IWGP Global Championship Match - Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay ****1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson *****

IWGP World Heavyweight Championship - SANADA (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito ****1/4

Photos.

This show ruled. Full disclosure, I've fallen behind with NJPW in the last couple of years, and only really get to fully see the major shows, so going in this looked like a solid little card on paper, so my expectations weren't exactly sky high. However, the New Japan crew knocked it out of the park with an excellent, Show of the Year contender. Things started as they always do: The annual "cram everyone humanly possible onto the card" Rambo. We all know what to expect here, and this was better than a lot of previous offerings, but the surprise appearance of Fujita "Jr" Hayato in this years really raised it up for me, as I'm always super pleased to see him back in the ring after all he's been through. Takashi Iizuka turning up was also a nice surprise (absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that), and it was a kick to be transported back to 2013 with him mercilessly going after poor Shimpei Nogami on commentary. The ending though was very deja vu, as I could have sworn some incredibly similar variant of this was the outcome last year. The final four of Great-O-Khan, Taiji Ishimori, YOH and Toru Yano advanced to face off for the KOPW Title tomorrow.

The main show started in style with the prerequisite Jr Tag Title Match, which featured TJP debuting his new demon gimmick, The Aswang, because he was locked in a casket when last we saw him, you see. My English feed froze at the opening bell on the Aswang mask for ages, and by the time I'd gotten back onto the Japanese feed, I'd missed like three minutes of this, there were brawls all over ringside, The Aswang was wearing a dog collar, and Moloney was bleeding. The final 5 or so minutes I did see were pretty damn good though, so that's what my rating is based on. TJP got this win for him and Akira after he blew the dreaded Dokukiri into Drilla's face, then Catch 22 hit the double knees to regain the titles at 9:38. Next up, President Tanahashi put an end to the 365 day TV Title reign of ZSJ in an excellent 8:53 sprint. These guys always have excellent matches together, and this was no exception. They worked a fast-paced thriller, which boiled down to them hitting a sequence of cradle reversals, before Tana counter a Zack Victory Roll into one of his own, and won the belt to a big pop. President Ace thanked everyone for coming in the post match, and wished us all a Happy New Year. Godly.

Career rivals Tsuji and Uemura had their first non-Young Lion outing on a major show next. This was a very good little match, I've always been high on both guys since they were rookies, and I firmly believe they have incredibly bright futures in New Japan, and are destined to be focal points in the years to come. Even though I do wish they'd do more with Yota. The guy came in super hot, with a ton of hype, and now he's kinda just floundering in the mid-card. And more mid-carders is most certainly not something this company needs! They always have really good matches, so add this one to that list, which ended at just under 11 minutes, when Uemura got the much needed win with his beautiful Deadbolt suplex. Fellow future superstar Shota Umino drove into Tokyo Dome on a motorbike to start his and partner, NOAH "Ace" Kiyomiya's tag match against HoT goons EVIL and Ren Narita next. This was going along really nicely, the three young guys all looked great, and the crowd were very much into, until the standard shenanigans started, which lead to a fairly abrupt finish, which saw Narita deck Umino with a steel plated push-up bar, then score the pin with his Double Cross finish at the 7 minute mark.

The fifth bout saw company MVP Shingo defend the NEVER Title against Tama Tonga in a hard-hitting war, which was by far the best match on the show up to this point. The near 30K in attendance were going crazy for this as they hit all their big spots, massive Lariats and Gun Stun counters. After Takagi scored a great near fall with Made in Japan, Tama went to the Bullet Club well, hitting a Gun Stun, Bloody Sunday AND a Styles Clash, before putting Shingo away with the DSD at 13:46 to claim his 4th NEVER Championship. Excellent stuff here, though seemingly Tama announced afterwards that he's finishing up with the company at the end of the month, so him winning is an... interesting decision. The double Tag Title match followed, which was a rematch of the Tag League Final between Bishamon and GoD. This was another great match, a fun sprint which saw the STRONG Champions win both sets of belts after ELP hit Goto with CRIII, and Hikuleo came off the top with a massive, but very unattractive, Big Splash to win the belts in 9:47. Just before this match, Nic Nemeth (the former Dolph Ziggler) and his brother Ryan turned up to sit at ringside. I think we all know there's some kind of angle coming here.

Speaking of career rivals, Hiromu and Despy faced off for the Jr. Heavy Title in the next bout. We've seen many versions of this match in recent history, and they're pretty much always excellent, so this fit that mould no doubt. Things started hot as Despy hit Hiromu with a Tope con Giro as he made his entrance, and they worked 100 mph from there. The challenger worked over the champions leg to set up the Numero Dos, but it wasn't to be. The finish saw Desperado escape the Hiromu Roll, then hit a Jay Driller, kept a hold and nailed Takahashi with a second Pinche Loco to win the strap at the 14:21 mark to end another great outing. We crowned an inaugural IWGP Global champion next, as Ospreay, Moxley and Finlay had a wild Triple Threat Match. This started with Mox and Ospreay agreeing to work together for the first 5 minutes in order to take out Finlay, then turn their attention on each other, before BC War Dogs Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd ran in. The babyfaces rallied a comeback though, which saw Ospreay put the invaders through tables with a Swanton Bomb to the outside, and Moxley took a post bump and gigged himself. Which I'm sure will shock many. The finishing stretch was insanely hot as Mox kicked at one from a Hidden Blade, but was put down with Stormbreaker, only for Finlay to hit Ospreay with his new Overkill finish, which is essentially a Brainbuster into a Go 2 Sleep, to become the inaugural Global champion in 22:17. In the post match, Finlay got into a shoving match and pull-apart with Nic Nemeth at ringside, which culminated in Nemeth chasing him to the back. So that looks to be Finlay's first title programme. Finlay going over was 100% the right call, with Ospreay leaving as a full-timer, they need to start making some top guys, and he's a good place to start.

Semi final time, and a true dream match next as Okada faced Danielson in a match I'd spent a good decade fantasy booking. After their slightly disappointing first encounter at Forbidden Door in June, due in no small part by Dragon legit breaking his arm during it, they came out with a lot to prove. And they certainly didn't disappoint this time as they had a superb wrestling encounter based around aggression and emotion. As anyone who's been watching Danielson since the ROH days can attest, when Bryan has a grudge with someone (Morishima, Nigel), he goes all out with the intensity, and it usually produces classics. The pacing, the limb-work, the storytelling, the drama... everything about this was essentially perfect. After Okada broke Danielson's arm in their previous match, Dragon obsessively set out to do the same here. And it lead to his downfall. The American Dragon was coming into this one with a fractured orbital bone, so Okada worked over that for a while too. Okada kicked out of a Busaiku Knee, Danielson locked on the same arm submission he tapped Okada out with at Forbidden Door, but The Rainmaker made the ropes. Dragon then stomped his f'n head in and locked in the LeBell Lock, only for Okada to hit a Rainmaker, but he was in too much pain from his devastated right arm, and couldn't make the cover. Danielson hit a big head kick and another Busaiku Knee, but rather than go for the cover, he elected to do the "Yes!" gimmick in the corner, and try another knee, but Okada hit an Emerald Flowsion, a Landslide, then another Rainmaker to fall on top of Dragon, and score the surprise win at the 23:24 (which it felt half of, by the way). This was a masterpiece, and I was legitimately shocked when the three count came. I could have watched this for an hour, it left me very much wanting a rubber match, and this is easily the best match of 2024 so far. They bowed to each other and shook hands in the post match.

The Keiji Muto fan club imploded in the main event as former LIJ stablemates Naito and SANADA (who was even dressed like Muto circa 1995), battled for the World Title. This was an excellent match, one that I didn't have a massive amount of interested in going into this show, but they had a really great clash. It's worth mentioning that something happened to SANADA here, I don't know if it was the biceps injury he's been dealing with since G1, or if he seperated his shoulder or something, but he was in noticeable discomfort through this, and it let to some wonky botches near the finish. They tried multiple times to do a Destino counter, but they couldn't pull it off. SANADA hit Dead Fall for the double down, then an Asai DDT, but Naito escaped a second Dead Fall attempt, and went for Valentia, but SANADA countered into an O'Connor Roll for a super close near fall. A Shining Wizard followed, but Naito turned another Dead Fall attempt into one of his own, finally hit Valentia, then finished the champion off with Destino to win his first World title at 25:42. It's worth pointing out that they clashed heads on the way down on the Destino, and Naito got busted open pretty bad over his eye. With Naito having finally won again in the main event of Tokyo Dome, he was about to Finish His Story, when EVIL and Dick Togo, of all people, ran-in in an attempt to ruin things like KENTA did in 2020. However, they hadn't bargained on SANADA, who nailed his former tag partner with a Shining Wizard, and Naito sent Dick packing with a low dropkick. SANADA then let Naito finish the story a decade in the making, and do his "De-Ja-Pon!!!" roll call to end the show and send everyone home happy. Whilst I applaud NJPW for giving SANADA a go, or just giving ANYONE NEW a shot at the top of the card (it's been very Groundhog Day for a long time up there, and this is something I've been encouraging since NAito at WK8!), I don't think it payed off liked they'd hoped. SANADA is a very good worker, and amazing athlete, but he's just missing something that would make him that major star. Which is obviously something Naito has in abundance, so I'm very pleased he got his big win here, as it was pretty much last chance saloon.

This was a tremendous card, not quite as good as last year's, I don't think, but still great, great stuff and well worth checking out. Especially the Okada/Danielson match!

NDT

[malakaie]

Not necessarily your favorite wrestler, but who do you think is genuinely the best wrestler working right now? In terms of technical skill/promo work/whatever yardstick you wanna measure by.

oh man ... that is a great and really tricky question. full disclosure i don't think i can earnestly pick just one (i'll get into why a little bit more below)

also i'm gonna keep this aew only because i don't feel i know the wwe folks well enough yet to have an informed opinion there, but if that ever changes i'm sure i'll start yapping lmao

for aew men it's a real toss-up between bryan danielson, swerve strickland, and darby allin, for me. bryan is i think in many ways the gold standard - he's committed, he's incredibly versatile as a wrestler, he does what he does for the love of the sport and the art form; he's deeply technically proficient but also very quick to adjust to whatever a match or an opponent needs most, and very happy to do what needs to be done to make sure his opponent has a really good showing and looks great going forward, even if it's a match he's booked to win. his promos are always impassioned but never excessive or distracting, and my guy sells like a motherfucker both inside and outside of the ring. if i had a single criticism it's that he might have a *little* bit of an ego problem - i think swerve got a little close to talking shoot when he got on bryan's case about trying to reappear in another promotion under another name because he loves being in front of an audience too much to quit - but it's an extremely mild criticism.... at the point that your career is this long and distinguished, i don't think having a bit of an ego about it is all that surprising or even necessarily bad, and it's very much tempered by how much he wants to see younger generations of wrestlers thrive and succeed.

speaking of swerve, he's very similar to bryan, while also really making his work distinctive and very much his own. he has charisma for days and has come so far from being underbooked and handled weirdly in wwe, his promos are impeccable, his ability to play heel or tweener or even something close to a face based on what's needed most from him is so impressive. there's nothing wrong with having a singular gimmick that you know you can consistently perform and sticking to it, but i'm personally most impressed by wrestlers that are both physically and emotionally/mentally versatile, and that describes swerve to a t. i do sometimes worry about his work-life balance, but i know he's doing what he believes in and loves, and i do find his dedication not just to his own improvement but also to the stability and thriving of aew really admirable. his wrestling is once again very impressive, both deeply technically proficient while also being quick to adjust, and he makes it look easy. effortless, even, again while making his opponents look great and having their time to shine. good wrestlers are a bit like magicians, to me: i want to watch someone and go, "holy shit, how did he do that?"

darby is one i feel strongly about. for a lot of very similar reasons to bryan and swerve - in a lot of ways i think these three guys are reflective of two distinct but connected generations of wrestlers (bryan in one, swerve and darby in the other). i find it really disappointing and disheartening when people only see darby as a high-flying risk-taker, because he's *so* intelligent and deliberate in the things he does, he's such a fucking workhorse and if you've never seen him do more grounded, technical wrestling you're definitely missing out on something really special imo. he took a little while to find his footing when he first came off the indies, but he's grown and learned so much in the past few years both in terms of his athleticism and especially his ability to give absolutely banger promos; i think we can definitely credit some of that to his time working with sting, but it also shows a real jump upward in maturity and a desire to help carry the promotion on his back that really warms me to see. i love that he spends time for himself and pursues the things he loves outside of the ring but is also ready to jump in and help at a moment's notice when they need someone stable and reliable to fill a gap or take over a storyline, and i love that he works with both passion and humility - i think it's going to take him far and i can't wait to see how the future of his career shapes up.

for aew women it's a hard split between toni storm and willow nightingale, for me.

toni's wrestling is phenomenal to watch - she's brutal and versatile and such a quick thinker, always makes her opponents look great, and her character work is fucking unparalleled. i'll admit it took a while for the timeless toni storm gimmick to click for me, but once i understood what she was doing it's been amazing ever since, and i just find her so compelling and magnetic to watch. i'm also really drawn to her because of what it means to see an openly bisexual performer in the wrestling industry, and while i am frustrated by commentary often hamstringing the obvious romantic story between her and mariah, i can't stress enough how awesome it's been to see a love story (however toxic, lmao) between two women be one of aew's biggest or longest running narratives.

willow is so compelling to me as well, though in a distinct way. she always makes me smile and i love to see a fat woman thriving and succeeding in a line of work that, while it's developed a lot, still in many ways does incentivise both male and female wrestlers to be somehow both thin AND muscular, even if that lacks long-term sustainability for their health. her wrestling is something that i think is quite unique in the women's division, both really powerful and really flexible, and i love that her promos have a real emotionality and complexity that her "nothing matters, smile anyway" gimmick might not immediately suggest. she's tender and passionate and sad and exuberant and loyal and refuses to take shit, and i think she's such an amazing example of fully experienced femininity in sports. and she's so fucking dedicated to showing up and being ready for whatever storylines or matches or curveballs come her way, and so keen to bring up other women - and international promotions - along with her, and i just love her to bits.

[star-going-supernova]

Hey, I don’t know if you do story request but I had one. I would like a scene of Gregory with the animatronics but it’s from the button gift scene from coraline. So Gregory sneaks into the pizzaplex and the Glamrock gang give him a wonderful times for the first few nights but then says that Gregory can stay here and they show him an empty cub animatronic suit. And Freddy wants him to join. Hope this is understandable, thank you.

This is tumblr generated prompt number 64! Full disclosure, I’ve never watched Coraline, so other than a few gifs and this scene on youtube, I’m flying blind here, lol. I couldn’t bring myself to make them malicious the way I’m pretty sure it is in Coraline, so we’ve got some bots who mean well in, like, a gently creepy way. 

Blind Eyes

The first time Gregory snuck into the pizzaplex after hours, he’d thought he was dreaming. The animatronics that spat out the same lines day-in and day-out were so alive and welcoming when they weren’t performing for a crowd. They’d been delighted to meet Gregory, and they’d played with him and gave him food when his stomach grumbled and tucked blankets around his shoulders when his eyelids grew heavy with sleep. 

It’d seemed too good to be true. But the same thing happened the next night, and the next, and every night after that first one. 

One of the animatronics was always waiting at his secret point of entry—a side door that unlocked if you wiggled it just right—to either bring him to wherever the rest were or call dibs on his attention. Roxy was always looking for a go kart rematch, and they were nearly tied for wins. Monty had a special golf club decorated with stickers just for Gregory, and he showed him how to do trick shots and hit the ball just right to get a hole in one. Bonnie taught him how to bowl and was always cheering him on, even for little things. Chica split their time together between cooking (Gregory was her official taste tester) and dancing. He did crafts with Sun and took much needed naps with Moon. DJMM showed him how to use his soundboard, even if it was a little too big for Gregory, and let him use his secret tunnels in the walls. 

But as much as he enjoyed spending time with all of them and was coming to think of them as his family, Gregory admittedly had a clear favorite. And they all knew it, gently teasing both him and Freddy. 

Freddy—Freddy hugged him and carried him places, and he was really easy to talk to, and he always gave Gregory his full attention. Gregory never felt forgotten or less important than someone else when he was with Freddy. Freddy showed him around the pizzaplex, gave him a tour of even the places that guests weren’t usually allowed, and he always always made sure Gregory knew he was welcome in their home. 

He’d spent so long cold inside and out, so lonely that it hurt, so forgotten that he felt like he was fading away like a ghost, that Gregory could practically feel himself coming back to life when he was with the animatronics. He smiled and laughed under their care, the color returned to his pale cheeks, and his ribs stopped being so visible beneath his skin. 

It was amazing. It was wonderful. It was a dream come true. 

He should have known there was a catch. Really, Gregory knew better; he had to know better, being a street rat. Wariness kept him alive. 

But their gentle hugs and bright eyes and warm love had blinded him. 

“I worry about you, superstar,” Freddy explained as he carried Gregory into Parts and Services. “You were hurting so much when you first came to us. You were starving, weak.” 

Gregory nodded along, comfortable in Freddy’s arms. He was small for his age, stunted by malnutrition and illnesses that were never properly treated. It was easier for him to be carried, since he practically had to jog to keep up with any of the large animatronics moving at a simple walking pace. He really didn’t mind. 

“The world outside the pizzaplex is a dangerous place, especially for one such as yourself.” 

Meaning young, alone, inexperienced. Yeah, Gregory knew that all too well. 

Freddy’s blue eyes were so bright and warm when he looked at Gregory. “It would be best if you stayed here, superstar, even during the day. You would be safe here, with us, and we could make sure you are never hurt or lonely again.” 

Hope filled Gregory’s heart. “Really?” he whispered. “You want me to stay?” 

“Of course,” Freddy said earnestly. “We all do.” And he pushed through a set of doors into a room Gregory hadn’t seen before, and there was the rest of the band, and Sun and Moon, and even DJMM tucked in the very back. 

Yes please, I want to stay, I want to stay forever, Gregory wanted to say. He opened his mouth, eyes prickling with happy tears, but Freddy continued before he could speak. 

“There is just one thing we must do,” he said, carefully setting Gregory down. “We have been preparing this since you first came here, and we knew you belonged with us.” He gestured at the others, and Roxy and Chica parted, revealing something hidden behind them, held upright by Monty and Bonnie.

It took Gregory a moment to figure out what it was because he’d never seen such a small animatronic before. It was a child-sized brown bear. It wore a fabric poncho, which was a deep blue with two white stripes going around it. The lower leg pieces were a lighter, icy shade of blue with bright gold stars. Each wrist bore a dozen bracelets, some beaded, some intricately woven thread, some with charms. He—actually, he recognized those. He’d made friendship bracelets with most of the animatronics by that point, and he knew those were the ones they had made. 

The dull, unlit eyes were a deep gold. 

Gregory titled his head in confusion. Something in his gut clenched, but he tried to ignore it.

With a flourish, Bonnie sort of… opened the little animatronic. Its chest swung to the side like a door, and the face sort of unfolded. He could see even the legs had seams that gave them a front and back half. 

Inside was a mess of wires and rods and sharp bits that stuck out along the chest and face. A particularly large spike stuck inward from the back of its neck, where a spine would be, a dozen slightly smaller ones below it in a neat line. Oddly enough, there was no sign of an endoskeleton like all the others had. 

“Sorry it took so long,” Chica said. “We had to make sure it was perfect.” 

“Custom sizing and colors and everything,” Roxy said proudly. 

Almost shyly, Freddy said, “We—I hope you do not mind that we chose a bear cub. If you would prefer something else—a wolf, or a bird, or a bunny, we could change the outer suit easily enough.” 

“You’ll make Fazbear jealous, though,” Monty told him with a teasing grin. 

Cold realization made his heart skip a beat. He stared in silent horror at the inside of the suit, at all the bits and pieces that would slide under his skin and pierce into his bones. 

Gregory nearly jumped when Freddy’s hand pressed against the small of his back, the animatronic having kneeled down without him noticing. “I know it looks scary,” he said sympathetically, “but it is a quick procedure. It will be over soon.” 

Finally finding his voice, Gregory cried, “I’m not going in there!” 

“Aww, but, sunshine,” Sun cooed, “you’ve gotta if you’re gonna stay with us!” 

“Humans just aren’t allowed to live here,” Bonnie agreed apologetically. “And you want to stay, don’t you?”

“It’s not even that bad,” Roxy said, testing the sharpness of the largest spike along the spine. “You’ll barely feel it.” 

Gregory numbly shook his head. Did they not know that he’d die if he got in there? Did they think humans were—what?—made for that sort of thing?

“It’d kill me,” he whispered to Freddy. Beseeching, Gregory turned and tugged at him, but for once, the light in Freddy’s eyes wasn’t comforting. 

“Nonsense,” Freddy replied. “We know what we are doing, superstar.” He nudged Gregory forward, and Gregory became very aware that every single animatronic in that room was ten times stronger than he was. If they decided they didn’t feel like waiting for an answer, there’d be nothing he could do to stop them. 

Swallowing heavily, Gregory pasted on a shaky smile. “I, uh, I need some time to think about it. It’s an important decision, right?” 

“Of course,” Freddy agreed immediately. The others nodded along, making Gregory’s knees go weak with relief. “Would you like to go to my green room?” 

“No! I mean, no thank you. I think I’d like to take a walk. Get some fresh air, y’know?” 

He started to back away, heart racing. 

Freddy stood. He was so tall, so much larger than Gregory. He had held Gregory mere minutes ago like Gregory weighed nothing to him. 

“I know,” Freddy said, “that you will make the right choice, superstar.” 

[jerseymuppet]

i might be stupid but. is the gothamverse a muppets batman au? is that what the thing in ur bio means? (either way plz do tell me abt it)

That would definitely be infinitely cooler than my idea! Gothamverse is the beautiful result of me playing arkham knight while waiting for an mcr livestream to start up and thinking ‘damn bitches from jersey are fucking insane! ....wait a minute’

It’s basically a silly little idea I came up last March with where all the mcr guys are from Gotham and what their villain origin stories would be etc. I followed the main Batman villain archetypes: extremist, anti-hero, camp, and serial killer, and I had a fucking blast! It’s very silly and just something I did for fun. I guess I can go a lil bit into it here.

full disclosure, I am psychotic and disabled and I do not believe in the vilification of mental illness or disability in media, all of these characters will eventually get the help they need. Batman at its core is about a mentally ill man helping others who have been failed by society and I will never forgive dc for making him into an overpowered, glorified cop.

Frank’s character (Francis ‘Frankie’ Stein) is the extremist (duh). He’s the son of a mafia boss who is steadily ruining their town with crime and Frankie just kinda snaps and kills him to take his place as the head of the family and try to undo some of the damage done. He has great intentions, he’s just very unyielding and kind of insane 💕 his moniker is Frankenstein! And his whole schtick is that he’s very hard (if not impossible) to kill. He’s also chronically ill and Jewish, these are not important to his character but they are important to me !

Mikey’s character (Micheal Way) is the serial killer. He’s a ‘sociopath’ (theres nothing actually wrong with him, people just suck and made him feel lesser and out of place :/) trying to fit in with everyday society but he always feels like something is missing and becomes a neuroscientist to try to find what exactly it is. He invents a machine (the empathsizer) that allows him to experience other people’s memories and emotions as though they are his own. From there he accidentally gets addicted to the chemical responses his brain has to doing that. And keeps doing it. Even after the testing phase is no longer accepting applicants. It gets worse after he experiences someone’s near death experience and starts chasing the high it gave him. Idk what his moniker is? It’s sandman for right now but that’s honestly so boring and uninspired.

Ray’s character (Raymond Ortiz) is camp but very loosely. He’s an engineer by day and a rockstar by night! He’s really only an engineer to save up enough money to pursue music full time but it’s hard because he doesn’t get paid that much. Winter hits and with it, cuts to his hours! So he’s forced to choose between rent and electricity. When he gets really sick as a result, he can’t afford a doctor. And when he wakes up with his hearing gone as a result, theres nothing he can really do but spiral into a depression. Until he realizes he’s a literal biological engineer. If he can’t fix his problem he can at the very least prevent it from happening to someone else! Research does cost money, so it’s very fortunate that Gotham has so many banks. His moniker is Dr. Megahurtz! His weapon of choice is his guitar, which has been retrofitted with sonic emitters to amplify and weaponize the hertz. Not enough to hurt, but enough to incapacitate.

Gerard’s character (Jules Moss) is the anti hero! She’s (yes I made Gerard’s character a trans girl, they took too long to make a trans character so I did it for them) has the same backstory as Gerard actually! On her way home from work she witnesses a terrorist attack, but instead of starting a band she decides to fight crime instead. She does so bad. Literally her first night out patrolling she gets killed by some priest who’s been driven insane by what he claims is an angel that’s ‘chosen him to impart gods will’ but it’s just a fallen star looking for a vessel to possess and the first guy it came across wasn’t dead lol. The star turns into a sword of pure light and that’s what Jules gets stabbed with, but also it fuses itself to her dna so she wakes up a few days later, schrödingers girl, with some scary new abilities and a voice in her head that definitely wasn’t there before. Her whole arc is her trying to find the guy that killed her and get revenge. Her moniker is stigmata! Because when she gets impaled it also goes through the palms of her hands and the wounds don’t heal.

but yeah that’s the bare bones of it all! I’m planning on making this into a comic series but the script is still being written at the moment! Thank you for letting me ramble about it 💕🥰

[bohemian-nights]

what are your favorite bridgerton books and why? sorry, this sounds like a hw question, but i’m curious bc i enjoy hearing ur perspective on these things!

Full disclosure, I’ve only read Benedict, Francesca, Colin, Anthony, and Gregory’s books (and I’m currently reading Hyacinth’s book, which I am enjoying). So I can't talk about the other three obviously, but that being said:

1. An Offer From A Gentleman. I’ve read it four times now and I fall more in love with it with each re-read.

I know I compare everything to Jane Eyre, but it’s very Jane Eyre esc:

Orphaned girl raised by a family who treats her poorly ✅

Working-class woman who catches the eye of a man above her station ✅

Said man above her station asks her to be his mistress✅

Forces out of their control keep them apart, but eventually love conquers all✅

I love that Benedict is such a mess. I love that Benedict always wanted Sophie. I love how much he loves her. I love that he apologized to her for what he put her through when he finally got over himself.

I love how much Sophie wants to be with Benedict and how much she sticks up for him yet she’s not willing to compromise her morals for him. She's so kind and has so much integrity. She went through hell and she still comes out of it good-natured. She truly deserves all of the love in the world(and Benedict gave her that).

Their love story hits all the tropes for me.

2. When He Was Wicked. I have to go back and read this one because it’s do for a re-read, but it’s arguable the best written Bridgerton book.

It’s more of a mature novel and it’s much more spicy than the others. I absolutely adore the setting. I realized now I don’t really like the ton so the fact that a large portion of this book takes place in Scotland away from the ton is everything.

Like with AOFAG, Michael(Kedar Williams-Stirling was born to play him) falls in love with Fran first and he never stops loving her. The pining and the longing, again it just hits all those tropes for me🔥

3. On The Way To The Wedding. I debated where to put this one because I actually only like half of the book. The second half(and the epilogue which just melts your heart) really saves this from being at the bottom of the list because the first half is so boring. I do not like the house party setting. It drags on incessantly to the point where I almost quit reading this book. Gregory is kind of just a meh protagonist. Lucy kind of needs to grow a backbone. Hermione Watson kind of doesn’t need to be there. Honestly, this book would’ve been better if we cut out Hermione Watson and began the main events at the back half of the house party 🤷🏽‍♀️

4. Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. I don’t like Colin. He’s a jealous whiny baby. The only reason this book isn’t dead last is because of Penelope. She is quite sympathetic in comparison to her show counterpart and I did find myself relating to her a lot more than I expected to.

5. The Viscount Who Loved Me. I know everyone loves this book, but I do not like this book. I came in with low expectations and my expectations were still not met. People talk about Benedict being an asshole, but Anthony is a thousand times worse. He doesn’t seem sorry for what he put Kate through(unlike Benedict) and I don’t find book!Kate that compelling of a character either. Quite frankly I don't care if I never read this book again.

[myfavouritelunatic]

The Blacksmith

Full disclosure - this is officially the SMUTTIEST chapter I have ever written. So to those of you who came for the smut but stayed for the story, this one’s for you! 😘

Pairing: Halbrand/Sauron x Female Reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: SMUT. Lots of smut. Very NSFW 18+

Links to Chapter One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen!

Chapter Eighteen

You were thrust back into the forest then, back to reality, with the knowledge Sauron had provided you. He did not speak, for he knew better, he only sat down atop a log nearby that was covered in moss and dead leaves. You felt his eyes upon you but you did not shift your focus from the trees in the distance. It all began to sink in. Memories thought lost now flooded back, and you could see clearly the time you had spent with your father, and how his influence was great and troubling. At school you would bully children of the faithful, draw portraits of dead elves, and write stories about what you would do if you lived forever. At night, your father would tell you tales about the war of wrath, and the way it should have ended. There were more images flashing before your eyes, causing your head to throb, and letting out a deep breath, you somehow managed to force them back.

"I was raised in darkness... how did I not remember this?" you paused, turning to Sauron at last. "You are deceiving me!" you accused him, struggling to believe the evidence now before you. "I swore to you that was not my wish." "Then who or what buried it within me?" "Surely you know." he spoke wisely. "Why do you think you felt her pull each time you saw her?"

Everything changed when your mother died.

"My mother... but how could her death push me towards the faithful? I could have sworn I just always felt this way all along." "Because you were young. Easily swayed. Either way. Your father was too far gone, all he saw was the short life your mother had lived and how it had been robbed from her, from him. In her death he did not see, refused to see, what you saw. The good that came of it." "My baby brother." you acknowledged. "Once your grief passed, and as you cared for the infant, the darkness that your father had cultivated began to retreat deep within you. You saw the honour in your mother’s sacrifice, the duty. Her destiny. The notion that even though her time on this world was indeed short, it was filled with so much meaning. It had a purpose. Her death had a purpose. And she was to be rewarded for it in the next life. Despite how much you miss her, you understood this. Whereas your father... he delved even deeper where the light would never reach him."

"And he helped to bring ruin to the Southlands... my father did that. I am glad he did not have the satisfaction of seeing it." Sauron smiled, and the butterflies you had felt when Halbrand looked at you this way returned. Sitting down next to him on the log, you had placed yourself so close that you felt his arm, his leg gently against your own. And for the first time in what felt like forever, you didn't flinch, you did not adjust. You just sat there beside the dark lord. Your king. "I found a way back to the light... you can too." you implored. "But the darkness is still in you, as it is in me." "How do we fight it, my love?" He pondered his response carefully. "We remember that our duty is greater than our own desires. We stay in the light, as king and queen of the Southlands, despite the evil appetites that tempt us. We pay them no mind. We pull each other back. We do this together. If we are parted then we will lose. I told you this was your destiny, to rule at my side. Now you know the reason."

Sauron let the arm closest to you roll slowly over until his palm faced upwards. An invitation. And it was an invitation you were now ready to accept. The darkness wanted to consume you both, and you had almost happily let it. So did he. With all truths now spoken between you, your love for each other could finally breathe. Smiling at him, you let your hand touch his, your fingers gliding to where they fit oh so naturally. He lifted it then, your skin meeting his lips, which he planted with delicate kisses, and you sighed having missed the sensation. You raised your free hand to cup his face, his lips not leaving it untouched either, and he clasped it too so then both your hands were his. The loving squeeze he gave them, you returned in kind, and suddenly the space between your faces was shrinking. You wanted to feel his mouth against you so badly, but you waited for him to make contact. Sending him a warm smile to let him know it was okay, he grinned in his happiness, then his smile faded as he finally caught your lips.

The kiss was fast and immediate, as if you were both making up for lost time. The frenzy of it, the passion, could not be contained, it had been bottled up for what felt like too long, and was bursting out of you both in every touch. Lips and tongues crashed into each other repeatedly like waves in a storm that could not be tamed. Hands ran everywhere they could reach, and quickly unsatisfied with the lack of skin to skin, made moves to change that. You both stood to undress the other, swiftly removing your footwear. Sauron unbuttoned the clasps of your exquisite crimson gown. "I'm sad to see this dress off of you..." he uttered with heated gasps, "...but I'll be glad to finally ravish you with its image fresh in my mind..." Kissing the fabric as he slowly let it fall to your ankles, he watched as you stepped out of it, your naked form now bathed in what moonlight broke through the canopy above.

"I'm also sad to see you parted from this..." you spoke as you undid his belt, then hoisted the blue grey garment up and over his shoulders. "This is truly your colour." Savouring the feel of the fabric in your hands for a moment, you then tossed it next to where your dress now rested. Running your fingertips over his naked torso, you relished the firmness of his chest, his stomach, just how strong and powerful he felt. Then you swiftly pulled off his trousers until the only thing that remained on him was the torc, all else now bare and exposed. Sauron raised his hands to remove it but you stopped him. "No... leave it on..." you breathed. He dropped his arms and stood there taking you in. "'I shall never not love this view..." he spoke, admiring your body. "What about this?" you asked, placing your hand upon his most sensitive area, having him gasp involuntarily. "Do you love this?" Sauron whispered your name, coated in lust, "Oh... yes..."

  His responses to your movements had you grinning with glee. You loved the feeling of his hard length in your hand, and as much as you adored the times he had pleasured you, it was truly in these moments where you were in control that your head was buzzing the most. Sauron leaned in to kiss you then, but you denied him. This caused him to laugh, and he rested his forehead against your own, letting his mouth hover over yours, waiting to be accepted. It was then you felt his fingers now on your most sensitive area, causing you to cry out sharply. "Mmmm..." he moaned between gasps, "You're so wet for me, my love..." As he spoke, his lips made the lightest of brushes against your own, and you could deny him no longer. Your tongue achingly found his, and your sighs of pleasure grew with intensity.

"Get on the ground." you commanded. "Yes, my queen." your king happily obeyed. If it was control you craved, then what you did next let you have it like never before. You set yourself on top of him, but did so in a way that your womanhood rested over his mouth, and his throbbing length rested under yours. He could only lay there and accept what you were offering, with both his pleasure and your pleasure under your control. And he loved it. The two of you hungrily devoured each other, taking his hardness into your mouth as deep as it could go over and over, while Sauron's tongue was lapping up your wetness and sucking on your clit.

  As brilliant as this idea was, it soon backfired, as his mouth upon you started to prove overwhelming. Sauron had taken control. You released him from your mouth, unable to do anything else but let your ecstasy consume you. Collapsing, you gave your body over to him. Your eyes rolled back in your head, but then, in a brief moment of clarity, you decided to take control back. Knowing your orgasm was quickly approaching, you wanted to play a part in it, so you rose up, adjusting your body so you were crouched over his face, your shins in the dirt, and you rode his mouth, his tongue to the point where the forest was filled with your carnal screams. You saw white light in the darkness of night.

The moment you crumbled to the ground, Sauron was already hovering over your body, his erection grazing your tender entrance. "That was... you are so..." "Is Sauron... speechless?" you teased, grinning at him, still catching your breath. He chuckled in response, before correcting you. "Call me, Halbrand." he growled, and thrusted himself into you fast and deep, your gasps filling the air, shocked by the sudden sensation. Holding onto him, your fingernails dug deeper in his back with each movement of his hips. Halbrand's darkened eyes were fixed on yours, watching the ecstasy he was giving you manifest in your expression. Halbrand. He wanted you to call him Halbrand. Did he truly mean that or was he just caught up in the moment? You thought that calling him Sauron, a name that represents his true identity, would be exactly what he wanted to hear. Not the false name of a low man with a claim to a kingdom that wasn't his. Yet the way he growled the title at you, the animalistic way he was ravaging you now spoke a truth he needed you to hear.

The friction of him inside you had never felt better. It got better every time. And it got better again when he changed his position. Now with his shins in the dirt, Halbrand pulled your legs up across his delectable torso, and with your feet hanging off his shoulders, he hit your sweetest of spots with every single motion, the torc rocking against his collar bone with each thrust. Your moaning was untameable. "My queen... you feel... so good..." he somehow uttered between his own moaning, his breathing heavy. "And you... my king..." you responded in kind, your words were gasps.

You were both lost to the bliss you were experiencing and it seemed never-ending, almost as if you had only ever known this existence, just your two bodies entangled and enraptured. The feel of the ground beneath you, of the grass, the dirt, the leaves, you knew it was there, but it was also fading, your body floating above the world, like you had temporarily ascended to the heavens. Then Halbrand placed his thumb on your clit and you were really flying. It only took one more thrust after that before your body surrendered to the pleasure once more. This was enough for your love, his head falling back as he cried out in ecstasy. When next he looked at you, a smile broke out on his face, before he collapsed onto you, your bodies trembling together until you were absolutely spent.

Halbrand wrapped himself around you on the forest floor, kissing you with what energy he had to spare. You lazily but lovingly returned the touches of his mouth, sighing softly in your contentment. Running his hand through your hair, the smile he wore was like one you had not seen. It wasn't evil, there was no trace of that in this moment. It was more than adoration, than affection, than love. It was pure happiness, it radiated with the definition of the word. He was happy. Truly happy. Realising this, your body was overcome with a different kind of ecstasy, and tears couldn't help but lightly fall. Though Halbrand knew nothing was wrong with you, he only let a tear fall from him then, and you both kissed each other joyfully, tasting the salt that had landed on your lips.

The sun's warm beams of light roused you from your slumber hours later, and as your eyes opened you smiled sleepily at the sight of your love still gazing happily at you, the torc he still wore reflecting the sunshine. His grin widened as he caught your eyes, then he greeted you with your name, his voice raspy, and he continued to gently stroke your head. "You are so dazzling in the light..." he whispered. You then took his hand and placed it to your lips, not breaking eye contact. "I don't think I have ever felt this good..." you announced.

"Nor I, my love." he spoke, moving his head closer to yours to steal a kiss. You held the touch firmly, his lips your prisoner. After a moment, you released him with a smile that he then returned. Laughter escaped from you suddenly, as your joy could not be contained. "I still cannot believe this... any of this... that you found me." "It was you who found me. You wandered into my smithy." "Only because the others were all shut." you spoke honestly. "Oh so I'm a last resort to you then? The bottom of your very long list?" His mockery caused you to laugh even harder. You went along with it, teasing him. "You weren't even on my list." "Excuse me?" "In fact, I showed the tools you mended to one of the other smiths, you know the one I should've gone to." "The one who was closed?" "Yes, that one, and he said he would've done a better job for half the price." "I DIDN'T CHARGE YOU!" your love’s voice raised, feigning outrage.

You were howling with joy now, absolutely loving the way Halbrand was getting riled up by your words. Yet he was having a lot of fun, surprising for having his craft called into question, even if in jest. Celebrimbor did have a point after all, smithing was his love. Luckily, he loved you more.

"You know what else he said?" you prodded him further. "Oh please tell me." "He even said... he'd make love to me better as well." "Did he now?" "Uh huh. But I didn't want to hurt your feelings so I told him I was already spoken for." "Really... that's fascinating!" His words were drenched in sarcasm. "Wild isn't it?" you spoke with a snicker, struggling to keep the ruse going any longer. "Can I ask you something?" said Halbrand. "Anything." "This other smith." "The one who was closed?" "Yes, that one." Halbrand chuckled. "Did he mention how he would take you, if you were in his bedchamber?" "Let me spare you the details."

"Did he say he would do this?" Halbrand clasped your earlobe with his mouth, nipping and sucking on it gently. You couldn't stop the sigh that sounded from you. "No..." "What about this?" he whispered, his breath tickling the skin he had made wet. Then he proceeded to kiss your neck hungrily, the way you liked. He stopped when you didn't answer him, queuing you. "N-no..." "Or this?" He moved himself down your body, attaching himself to your breasts, dividing his time evenly between the two. Then his wandering hand slid down to where your aching for him was starting to grow. Halbrand didn't ask for a response then, well not with his words anyway. Only with his eyes as he looked up at you, one of your nipples caught by his teeth. "No.. nothing like this..."

Still searching for an answer that didn't exist, he moved himself further down, spreading your legs, and positioned his face over your womanhood, ready to devour you. "Maybe it was this?" Halbrand teased with a smirk, as he let his tongue glide up and down the length of your folds, find your sweet spot, and wreak havoc on you completely. Suddenly you found yourself forgetting the game you were playing. It wasn't long before he let two of his fingers enter you, and you gasped loudly, throwing your head back on the ground. "Oh Sauron..."

Before you had time to think, he stopped. Looking up, you saw him roll back and sit at your feet, resting his arms on his knees, his brow furrowed. "I don't want you to call me that. Please don't call me that." he pleaded with you. It was then that you realised what you had said in your lustful haze, and you hadn't meant it, as you were more than happy to call him by the name he first wore for you. You had been thrilled to hear him ask that of you last night, because it truly meant so much.

"Forgive me, I just got caught up in the moment..." you sat up then, and shifted yourself closer to him so your legs were touching. "May I ask... why should I not call you... Sauron? That is your true name, yes?" Halbrand sighed and bowed his head, closing his eyes. He let out a small chuckle before answering you. "My true name... is not that one they gave me. Mairon is the name I was created with. The only name I knew... before all the darkness." His tone was grave. "Shall I call you that then?" "No..." he stated, his eyes opening. "Mairon was so very long ago... he is not who I am anymore. And neither is Sauron."

You studied his face intensely as he explained it all to you. "I have had many names... and none of them are mine... the only one left... is Halbrand. With Halbrand... there is hope." "Then that is who you are. Halbrand. Of the Southlands. King." You found his hands and gave them a loving squeeze. "My king." Halbrand kissed you quickly then pulled you into him in a thankful embrace. "I'm sorry." you spoke, worried you had caused him pain. "Don't be. I needed to hear that name one last time to let it go. I told you we couldn't do this alone."

The two of you held each other for a little while longer before Halbrand interrupted the peaceful silence by pushing you back down on the ground. "Now... where were we?"

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