#to be fair I like to play management games and those take a LOT of hours too

[roanofarcc]

WORTH YOUR WHILE

pairing. Tyler Owens x fem!reader

summary. as the local weather woman, you shared an interesting rivalry with your hometown storm-chaser. while you always reported on the dangerous weather from a safe distance, tyler barreled into it head-first. but things change the night of the county fair when you find yourself in the middle of a storm rather than in the safely of a newsroom. 

warnings. dramatic fluff, hurt/comfort, description of tornados, a curse word or two, description of injury, slightly inaccurate meteorological info.

word count. 2.9k || masterlist

a/n. hopping on the glen powell bandwagon bc he and daisy absolutely killed it in twisters!! feel free to send me requests for tyler, kate, and javi!

“If you keep looking at him like that your face will get stuck in a scowl, which is really bad for television,” your friend said, leaning into your side. With a roll of your eyes, you managed to pull your attention away from the self-titled ‘tornado wrangler’ who had stirred up a fuss in the line for funnel cakes. People buzzed all around him as he signed shirts and took photos, never dropping his smile that you often dreamed about smacking right off of his face. 

You had grown up alongside Tyler Owens, never as friends but as friends of friends. After you both split off for school to study meteorology, you returned to your hometown for very different reasons. Tyler started in the business of storm chasing, live streaming his adventures to people all across the internet who sensationalized the dangerous weather, and you scored a job as your hometown’s Weather Woman. Your job was to warn people about the threat of tornados while his was to drive head-on into them. 

That was where you two drew your lines in the sand when it came to each other. He thought you were scared of taking risks while you thought his thrill-seeking was stupid and would eventually get him or one of his team members hurt. Those opinions on each other's job led to you two butting heads every time you encountered one another. His mere presence was enough to annoy you, especially at your favorite event of the summer, the fair. 

“Look who it is,” Tyler’s voice sounded near you and your friend nudged your arm in the direction of it. You looked away from her just as he approached you, tipping his hat and flashing his teeth in a smile. “Didn’t know they still let you out of the newsroom these days.” 

You crossed your arms over your chest, as the air of arrogance surrounding him nearly choked you out. “Don’t you have a tornado to chase?” you asked, wanting to end the conversation before it fully started. Unfortunately, he never seemed put off by your jabs, but he was assumed by them. 

“I took the night off,” he replied. “I wanted to see if there was anything worth my while here tonight.” 

You raised your brows. “Oh really?” He nodded, smiling brightly at you. “Find anything yet?” 

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “It’d be easier if she answered my phone calls.” 

Tyler disliked you a whole lot less than you disliked him. After you graduated and he started storm chasing, he tried at every given opportunity to get you to join his team. Even years later he still tried to, no matter how many times you told him the risk he was putting himself and his team in every time they barreled into a storm cell. He was relentless but you were happy where you were at. You wanted to help people when it came to severe weather, not make the storm look enticing for internet audiences. 

“I already told you, I’m not interested.” Storm chasing was a dangerous game that you had no intention of playing. Being from the Midwest, you had lived through your share of tornados. Chasing them was not in apart of your career path.

His smile faded slightly before he seemed to snap back to himself. “All I’m saying is, we could use a mind like yours out in the field.” The compliment was nice, you could admit that to yourself, but it wouldn’t win you over. He knew that too. “But suit yourself.” And with that he walked off, meeting up with the rest of his team that joined him at the fair that night. 

Your friend whistled lowly. “I don’t know how you do it,” she said. 

“Do what?” 

“Say no to a man like that.” You rolled your eyes once more as the line you were in moved. As she stepped forward to order, you threw a quick glance over your shoulder in the direction Tyler had walked off in. You saw him happily chatting with his team before glancing back at you for just a moment before you returned your gaze forward.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of colorful lights, sticky heat, and enough fried food to make your stomach ache in the best possible way. Your friend left after a couple hours of roaming the prize barns and laughing at the kids screaming their heads off on the carnival rides, but you stuck around for a little longer, relishing in the sweet nostalgia the fair brought you. 

Before you had taken a couple of well-deserved days of work, you and your team had predicted a storm front moving. Later that night was supposed to bring rainfall and a thunderstorm or two popping up around the county and neighboring areas. You thought you’d have plenty of time to roam the fair for a little longer until it hit, but you noticed the shift in the weather almost immediately. The sudden uptick in wind pricked the back of your neck as the distant rumble of thunder echoed above the fair chaos. 

It was difficult to predict everything, that you had learned early on in your career. It also was hard to predict how quickly weather could change from bad to deadly. One moment you’re gazing up through the lights into the night sky, trying to gauge the incoming storm, and the next, the sirens are blaring across the fairgrounds. 

The crowd of people running in every direction made the walkways hazardous. You were knocked into and jostled around as you tried to run toward the restrooms that doubled as storm shelters. They were clear at the opposite end of the walkway, but they were your closest option. You dodged and weaved through the swarms of people, trying to stay on your feet. 

You only made it halfway to the shelter when you were stopped by the awful cries of a little girl who sat under the counter of one of the carnival games. She hugged her knees to her chest and called out for her mom, but no one who rushed by stopped. You didn’t think twice before you sidestepped the fleeing crowd and crouched down in front of the little girl. The wind picked up significantly, blowing the cheap prizes right out of the booths and sending everything flying around and knocking into people. 

“Hey, sweetheart,” you raised your voice above the howl of wind and frantic people. 

“My mom!” she cried harder. “I lost her. I don’t know where she is!” 

You glanced back up at the sky. The lightning strikes illuminated the massive, dark mass moving in quickly. “Come with me, and I’ll help you find her, okay?” 

The noise all around grew louder, frightening the little girl, along with yourself, but as you outstretched your hand, she took it, and you quickly pulled her to her feet before you both took off running. The speakers urged everyone to seek shelter immediately, but you watched as people raced in the opposite direction of the shelters, probably bee-lining to cars in an awful call. They’d never out race it. 

“Charlotte!” Someone screamed and the little girl whipped her head around before she tugged hard on your hand. From behind you, the little girl’s mother appeared, immediately scooping up her daughter in her arms. “Oh my, God. Thank you!” she said, looking at you with teary eyes. 

“We have to take cover,” you told her, gently pushing her forward. “The shelter’s just up that way.” She thanked you again before she took off with her daughter in her arms. You wanted to follow, it was stupid not to when the wind gusts became more powerful, rattling everything dangerously and making it hard to think. But there were more people unsure of where to go and what to do. Groups of kids who had been dropped off for the evening stumbling frantically out of the rides and still dizzy. You stepped from the path and tried to direct people as best you could, shouting in tune with the speaker and the sirens for them to hurry into the shelter. 

It wasn’t until larger objects were plucked from the ground and tossed into the air like paper did you abandoned your aiding. The tornado screeched to life, ripping apart pieces of the show barns and rides with ease. You tried to close the distance between yourself and the shelter once more, but it wasn’t people in need that stopped you, it was a sheet of metal pried from the side of one of the food trucks. You tried to dodge the hurling objects, but the sheet came at you hard and fast. 

It sliced your shin, sending a wave of pain up through the rest of your leg. You stumbled, determined to stay upright, but the wind was too strong for your limping figure, and you toppled against the concrete, slamming your knees against the ground before you rolled over into the lousy shelter of a game’s tent somehow still standing. 

Panic started to set in as the storm raged around you, loud and monstrous. You covered your wound with your hands, unsure of where the blaring of the tornado ended and the fast-paced beat of your heart started, drumming in your ears and beating against your skull. You knew you couldn’t stay there, but leaving was just as dangerous as every attraction of the fair swirled around in the air. The cut from your leg painted your hands red and throbbed; it would only slow you down if you tried to run, creating even more of a risk. 

You didn’t know what to do. All of your life, the storms you had faced you’d always been lucky enough to find shelter in plenty of time, from the cellar in your backyard to your high school’s basement created just for such an occasion. 

Through the freight train sounding winds and your thundering heart, you heard a couple of voices that had to be close. Tearing your eyes away from the cut on your leg, you watched as another group of people sprinted down the walkway as someone yelled behind them to run. 

In all of your life, you’d never been so relieved to see Tyler Owens’s face standing just a few feet away; he hadn’t spotted you, and for a terrifying moment you thought he’d be unable to hear you yell out above the screaming storm. But somehow, he did. His head snapped in your direction, rain-coated and windblown, looking both out of sorts and in his element. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he yelled as he ran over to you, dodging flying debris that grew larger by the minute. The second he crouched down in front of you, his eyes flickered onto your legs, and the blood seeping out between your fingers as you tried to keep pressure on the wound. 

“I thought I’d just hang out here,” you said, your sarcasm watered down by the fear clear in your teary eyes.

His brows furrowed, deep in thought for a moment as he looked between you and the distance there was still to cross to the only close shelter. Without saying a word, he peeled off his wet flannel, leaving himself in a shirt that was already nearly soaked through as the sideways rain beat down against the both of you. “I’m gonna tie this around your leg and then we’re gonna run, okay?” 

You shook your head frantically. The ache in your legs was intense and you had already lost a good amount of blood, not enough to make you woozy but you were well on your way. It felt like your heart had crawled up your throat, making it hard to breathe as panic soaked you to the bone along with the rain. Everything around you seemed to be ripped from the ground, even the anchored tent you were under was seconds away from being picked up. 

“Hey,” he said, grabbing a hold of your shoulders, shaking you slightly. “It’ll be alright. You gotta trust me, though.” The sincerity shined in his eyes, bright as the rest of the power around you flickered wickedly. With a nod of your head, you dropped your hands from your leg and let him tie the flannel around your cut. As he pulled it tight, you cried out in pain. “I’m sorry,” he kept repeating until it was knotted. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and helped you up, looping an arm around your waist as you slung an arm around his shoulders. 

“Ready?” You didn’t get a chance to respond as the tent you were under was plucked from the ground, anchors and all, and flung backward into the tornado as it tore through the front entrance of the fairgrounds. Tyler took off, giving you no choice but to follow. 

You two stayed low, trying desperately to avoid the flying objects. With each step your leg burned, but Tyler’s hold on you was strong, not giving any room for you to lag behind or slip away. It felt like hours of running, but it was no more than a minute or two before you reached the shelter. The only major injury between the two of you was your leg, otherwise, you both collected a series of little cuts and bruises from your journey. 

Stumbling into the restroom, you were met with a hoard of scared fairgoers. You two managed to find a spot to slot yourself in with everyone else. He helped you lower yourself to the floor back in the corner just as the tornado was fully on top of you. You brought your knees up to your chest and covered your head. Tyler sat flushed against your side; you felt his hands rest over the top of yours as the building rattled violently. Squeezing your eyes shut, you refused to see the damage until the howl of wind subsided and people started to stir. 

Once it was over, everyone stumbled out of the shelter, getting jumbled together as police and ambulances rushed to the scene. Amongst people pushing and shoving to find their loved ones and get the hell home, you and Tyler were separated and before you could look for him, an EMT caught sight of your bloodied leg and ushered you to one of the ambulances. 

You sat on the back after the EMT stitched up your leg, looking over the torn-apart fairgrounds. Debris was littered everywhere, food trucks and carts overturned and some demolished, and rides were dislocated and strewn about in pieces. 

You clutched the bloodied flannel to your chest, shivering in the loss of adrenaline and temperature drop, and watched the sea of people until a familiar face popped into view, looking a little frantic as he stumbled through the crowd looking like he was in search of something. His eyes finally settled on you before he quickly pushed his way through the crowd until he reached you. 

“Hi,” you greeted, smiling tiredly. 

“I was looking for you everywhere,” he said, sounding slightly out of breath. “I looked away for a second and you were gone and-” You continued to smile, and he stopped himself. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Nothing,” you replied quietly before clearing your throat. “I, um, I just wanted to thank you. And I’m sorry for ruining your flannel.” You gestured to the ruined piece of clothing resting in your lap. 

Tyler was quiet for a moment, looking at the large bandage around your shin. “Don’t mention it,” he said, brushing off your thanks like he hadn’t just pretty much saved your life. “What were you doing out there anyway?” 

You sighed, feeling a creep of embarrassment up your spine. You should’ve known better but at the moment you just wanted to help people and had little regard for your own safety, until your leg was sliced open, that was. “There were people still out there, trying to figure out where to go. I was trying to help.” 

“That was stupid,” he said. “But brave. Stupidly brave, maybe.” 

“Funny. I think I’ve said the same thing about you a time for two.” 

His signature smirk slowly fell onto his lips. “Not to my face.”

“Oh, no. Never.” 

Tyler laughed, gently patting your knee, lingering for a moment before he dropped his hand back at his side. Someone called out your name, and you spotted your friend running back through the crowd. She had called you as soon as you had made it to the ambulance and told you she’d come back to take you home. 

“You should get some rest,” he said. “I’ll see you around.” As he turned around to walk away, you called out to him. 

“Tyler, wait.” He paused. “You should try calling me again. Maybe I’ll answer this time.” Breaking out in a grin, he tipped his hat in another goodbye, leaving you with a new feeling stirring inside your chest. 

Bonus! 

Hours later, after you had cleaned yourself up, you were tucked into bed, reading by the lamp light knowing sleep was probably far off after the events of the night. You didn’t expect your phone to ring that late into the night, and when you glanced at it, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at the caller ID, but that time it was something besides annoyance that you felt. 

You answered, discarding your book on your nightstand. “You don’t waste any time do you,” you teased. 

“What I can say,” Tyler said on the other line. “I know when I find something worth my while.” 

[crispy-bonnie]

MK1 guys attending the fair with their S/O

(Tomas Vrbada, Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Raiden, Kenshi Takahashi, Syzoth, Liu Kang)

i just need to write these down because oh my god they've been stuck in my head for too long

this also ignores canon a bit (cough cough lin kuei cough cough) because i'm delusional and refuse to believe anything that bi-han did was canon /lh [lighthearted]

also not proofread and just a bit ooc , just made this outta impulse

• • • 🍟

Tomas likes to go on the rides, specifically the more intense ones. He just finds the thrill of being tossed and turned around fun. He will do his best to comfort you if you don't do well on those kinds of rides and will even bring motion sickness meds just for you. Also please hold him whenever you're scared on those rides because it makes him feel so happy to know that you're willing to cling to him shdbsb

Tomas also enjoys the fair games a lot, the both of you trying and failing miserably to win the games and simply laughing about it. There was only one time he ever won a game, and it was only because he used a bit of his magic to toss the ring around one of the poles. Even so, it was a win in his book.

• • • 🍟

Bi-Han doesn't really care for the fair. He's only there because both you and his brothers dragged him along. However, he seems to lighten up just a tad when he sees you gushing over how adorable one of the prize plushies is. He wastes no time in buying play tickets and making his attempt to win it just to impress you.

He eats shit every attempt that he tries. Eventually runs out of tickets and gets mad so he just uses his cryomancy out of pure rage. The poor guy at the stall is scared shitless and just claims that he won before handing him the huge ass plush out of fear. Bi-Han immediately hands it to you and just smiles tiredly at your giddy behavior as the two of you walk away hauling the big ass stuffy.

• • • 🍟

Kuai Liang has you on a leash because you get lost easily. Either that or he's just worried about losing you in the crowds. The leash is most likely latched to some kind of bag or belt that you might be wearing. Whether or not it's you or him taking the lead, he always makes sure he's got a firm hold on the leash.

If you get distracted or overwhelmed, Kuai Liang will tug lightly at the leash to bring you closer whilst muttering 'C'mere' under his breath. He'll hold your hand to keep you from straying and as a means of comfort. If you're too overstimulated, he'll cradle you to his chest and shield your face from the noise, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances for you to focus on.

• • • 🍟

Syzoth has had very little experience with fairs. Closest thing he's gotten to one is the Sun Do festival, and he's only experienced it once. You'll have to guide him through a lot of the stuff. He doesn't really like the rides (aside from the chill ones) but will do his best not to projectile vomit acid anywhere if you do.

You two are strolling down the place while munching on some fair food when you spot a cute looking prize at one of the game booths. You decide to use some tickets to try and win one, but you don't seem to nail it. Syzoth offers to give it a shot, scarfing down the rest of the turkey leg in his hand (that both of you were supposed to share together) before trying it out. He wins, like- perfectly, managing to win you the prize in one shot while leaving some fairgoers and the vendor stunned.

• • • 🍟

Kung Lao is absolutely destroying all the food at the fucking stalls. It's a wonder how this mf isn't built like a 1x1 lego piece from the sheer amount he powers through. He likes to share portions with you so that you can have a nice taste of whatever high-calorie junk is being served.

Oh my god and don't get me started on the stranger sides of the fair food. Kung Lao would happily order the weirdest shit only to regret it two seconds later. Except for once. There was one time where he tried pickle drink, which is just pickles in Dr Pepper. To your misfortune, he liked it, and now it's something he whips up at home every now and then. I hope you like pickles.

• • • 🍟

Raiden prefers to just have a chill day with you, doesn't want to do anything intense. He just walks around with you, looking at the shops and such while eating some fair food or something. He doesn't go on any of the dizzying type of rides, and will simply watch from the ground if you decide to do so.

Even without all the thrilling shit, Raiden does his best to make it enjoyable, mostly through romantic actions. Like- my dude will get matching stuff for you, stuffed animals or treats with the cheesiest lines ever—it's like you two are on a first date with how he tries to treat you. You find it adorable, especially when he gets flustered after you return the favor.

• • • 🍟

Johnny Cage thinks he's an absolute legend at the fair games. He's really not, but he will always boast about it anyway. He'll most likely drag you towards where most of the games are and use his fuckload of tickets to play. If you point out a prize, he will absolutely fight tooth and nail to win the prize.

He never does and eventually the vendor gets so tired of his attempts that the guy just hands him the prize. Johnny will probably go on about how he totally won that while you simply chuckle and roll your eyes as the two of you move on. He also will be taking an excessive amount of photos during the fair—but that's pretty par for the course on anything with him.

• • • 🍟

Similarly to Raiden, Kenshi isn't very fond of the intense rides, especially the ones that spin a lot. He just likes to stroll around and chill with you. He also doesn't really favor the games all too much, and if he does play, he's probably using Sento to help out.

Kenshi likes to hang around the animal-petting zoos, seeing as it's one of the few things he really can enjoy with his blindness. The two of you like to play this game where you hold an animal out to him or guide his hand towards one, and he has to guess what animal he's touching. The animals also seem to be very fond of him. Especially the fluffier ones.

• • • 🍟

Liu Kang is kind of a mix of Raiden and Syzoth. He doesn't really care as much for the fair than he does your happiness and enjoyment. He'll happily go along with you around the fair or on rides, except for the dizzying ones. He'll gladly try some fair food, play some games, all to see you smile.

While Liu Kang often chooses not to play any of the games, he's actually jacked at this shit. Point out a prize and he'll fuckin slam dunk that game like it's nobody's business before handing you the thing you were eyeing. He doesn't pay mind to the shocked stares around him, content with watching that grin of yours shine as you giggly thank him. He also likes to go on the ferris wheel—he finds it relaxing and it gives him time to just be able to sit in peace with you whilst the fair goes on from below.

• • • 🍟

[immortalmrwavell]

James: Two Men Bound as One

(For @sivfenrir)

(Original story posted March 23rd 2022 & April 16th 2022) This story has been mildly Updated

Long Story Here!! This story was originally posted in two parts but I’ve put them together in one post for your reading convenience! That said this is one of the longest stories I ever wrote so I hope you all enjoy!

(Part 1)

Seth, a youthful man in his 20’s, had just gotten home after another not so pleasant trip to his local gym. Not being able to get through a single workout without being loosely threatened and called homophobic slurs. As always he had Bradley to thank for that.

All his life Seth had been skinny as could be and usually found himself picked on by the bigger guys back in his school years. Of course now, being an adult, he was free of such torment. For the most part anyway. Whenever he ever tried going to his local gym to exercise and get into shape, the jocks and gymbro’s there would always give him a hard time. Saying how they didn’t want scrawny nerds slowing down their workouts by taking up the equipment. Of course not all the dudes in there were like this but there were enough for it to put Seth off wanting to go.

Today though, Seth decided to try his luck again in the hopes he’d get a decent workout in peace. The moment he saw Bradley from across the room however, he knew that wasn’t likely. Bradley would always make it his personal mission to make going to the gym absolute hell for any “geeks” or “nerds” that he saw. He saw the gym as a place only made for alpha bros like himself and hot chicks. With his small and meek build, Seth certainly didn’t fit either of those categories. It also didn’t help that Bradley was one of his former high school bullies…

Despite this Seth decided to put on a brave face before walking over to some equipment and starting his workout. Of course he only got about 10 minutes in before he was spotted by Bradley. The crude jock began to tease him relentlessly, telling him to get off whatever machine he was using so a “real man” could workout instead.

Surprisingly though, Seth stood up to Bradley somewhat. Usually he wouldn’t dare, preferring to shrink into himself and bend to the bully’s will. But today he managed to find an ember of courage burning inside of him. He took a breath before finally putting his foot down and telling Bradly he wasn’t gonna get off until he was finished.

Naturally Bradley didn’t take kindly to this lanky nerd speaking to him like that. He continued to more or less insult and bully Seth throughout the rest of his workout. And just when Seth didn’t think it could get any worse, as soon as he left to head home, Bradley cornered him outside of the gym and punched him hard in the gut. The jock spat on Seth, telling him to learn his place.

As Seth was left on the ground clutching his stomach in pain, he couldn’t help but have mixed emotions. Of course he hated what Bradley did to him. The constant pushing around and name calling amongst other things… but at the same time he felt sort of aroused by it all too. He’d always had a thing for big muscly men, especially jocks, and Bradley fit the bill perfectly. He wanted to hate Bradley but he always seemed to end up in bed jerking off to the bully instead.

Besides he knew Bradley wasn’t quite as impressive as he seemed in terms of having his life together. He had a shitty handyman job that didn’t pay a whole lot as well as a part time job as a personal trainer. Seth on the other hand was working his way towards a programming job that would pay quite a fair amount. More than Bradley would ever be earning anyway. That thought always gave him some peace of mind.

Later that evening, after a slightly painful walk home, Seth ended up playing a couple hours of DnD with his other “nerdy fag friends” as Bradley and the other straight jocks would call them. It wasn’t until midnight that they finally got to a point where they could pause the game for the night. Most of his friends went to bed after that, leaving the group call they’d been on. Seth on the other hand decided to stay up awhile longer.

He’d been searching up a bunch of gay porn and stuff when he got sidetracked and started looking at sex toys online. He’d always thought about buying some. And so he scrolled through a bunch of different sites and toys until one finally caught his eye.

At first glance they seemed like an ordinary pair of bondage handcuffs. That is until he read the description. Apparently they were called ‘merging cuffs’. It claimed that if two people were to cuff themselves together then they would merge into one person! Of course Seth didn’t believe it one bit but the idea of it certainly piqued his interest. And his boner. The cuffs were also super cheap so he just shrugged and purchased them right then and there on a whim. Why the hell not right?

It couldn’t have been more than a minute after buying those cuffs that Seth heard a knock at the front door. But it was past 1:30 in the morning?! Who the hell would be delivering mail at this time? Regardless, curiosity got the better of him as he pulled his pants back on before sneaking out of his room. He was careful not to wake his mother who was asleep in her room as he approached the door.

He quietly opened the front door, not sure what or who to expect. What greeted him was a tiny wrapped gift box sitting on the door mat. Whoever left it there was nowhere to be seen now. Seth reached down and picked up the peculiar box to find that it was in fact addressed to him. Now even more curious he closed the door before taking the box back up to his bedroom.

After plopping himself down on his bed, he opened the box to find what was inside. Only he was shocked to find the very same pair of handcuffs he’d just ordered on the web! But how!? It didn’t make sense!? Seth inspected the box a little before pulling out the cuffs. Yep, definitely the same ones he ordered. He hardly knew what to think at this point. Despite that he couldn’t help but notice a small instruction letter at the bottom of the box too. Seth pulled it out before reading the following…

~~~

These handcuffs will allow two individuals to become one entirely new entity.

It’s as simple as putting one cuff on person A and the other cuff on person B. When they become one they will for all intents and purposes become an entirely new being made up of the qualities from their two counterparts. Once Person C is created, reality will adjust to compensate for their existence and the absence of their former selves. The only people recorded to still be somewhat aware of the previous reality have been parents to the original Person A & B. Besides that nobody is likely to be aware of the merger that has taken place.

These handcuffs are also only good for ONE USE. You can choose to split at any time but after that you will not be able to use the cuffs to merge again. To split you must break the two metal bands created by the cuffs after the merge is complete. You must also be willing to split for this to work. If the metal bands are somehow to be broken and Person C does not wish to split back into A & B then the merge will become PERMANENT.

With all this in mind, use these handcuffs wisely and with a sound mind.

~~~

Seth’s heartbeat was soaring after reading all that. Sure he hadn’t believed it before but now he wasn’t so sure anymore. He couldn’t fathom how the hell this package got here as fast as it did. That said he started to question if maybe these things could be the real deal after all…

— The Next Morning —

After jumping out of bed and getting ready for the day, Seth threw on a baggy pair of shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt to match before heading off to the gym once again. He was sure to grab the cuffs just before he left. Stuffing them into his bag before setting out.

Upon stepping through the doors he could already hear the grunting of men lifting weights and growing bigger. Music to his ears. He’d chosen this specific time for a reason however because he knew (after some social media stalking) that every Tuesday at about 9:30am, Bradley would be at the gym without fail.

Turning the corner past reception, he saw that his assumption was absolutely correct. Across the gym floor he could see Bradley already warming up. With that in mind he entered quietly, choosing some equipment as far away from Bradley as possible. Of course this only worked for so long until the meathead finally noticed him.

From there it was just like every other time the two had been at the gym together. Seth getting teased and pushed around whenever Bradley had a break between sets. He managed to hold out and endure it though. Rolling with insults until Bradley eventually finished his routine and sauntered off into the locker room. Seth waited a solid minute or two before following him.

Seth hesitantly snuck around the locker room in search of the muscle bound hunk who’d been tormenting him. The room wasn’t all that big so it didn’t take that long for the nerd to spot Bradley standing by an open locker grabbing a towel and some shower gel. He must’ve been getting ready to have a quick rinse off in the showers. Lord knew Seth was tempted to see if he could catch a glimpse of Bradley’s nude body. Just the thought of seeing water cascade down the perky muscle ass was enough to make him wanna bust a nut on the spot. Yet somehow his urge to try out the mysterious handcuffs was even stronger.

Seth pulled the handcuffs out of his bag. He looked down at them before glancing up at the jock before him again. He still wasn’t sure if these things would work. Worst case scenario, they don’t do anything and he probably gets punched in the face. But if somehow they did work then… it’d be worth the risk.

Seth waited until Bradley was facing the other to put one cuff on himself and begin to tip-toe towards the man. His small size allowed him to be fast while remaining as quiet as a mouse. Despite that his heart was still pounding both with worry and excitement as he inched closer to the jock. He could smell that sweaty post workout scent filling his nostrils already. He even watched as the hunk kicked off his trainers and bent down to pull off his ankle socks before tossing them in the locker. Bradley was about to pull off his tank top next when he felt a cold metal bracelet smack against his wrist and snap shut.

“THE FUCK ARE…” The gym bro stopped short as he saw the small man who’d just slapped a single handcuff on him. Seth felt as though his heart were about to explode out of his chest as the man looked down at him with pure disgust.

“Oh. It's you.” Bradley spat, already clenching his fists. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing but yo—” He was cut off by a sudden jolt of energy that ruptured through his body! Seth felt it too! It seemed as though it came directly from the handcuffs.

Both men looked down at the metal cuffs bonding them together as they began to emit a strange glow. The glow started to intensify and before either of them could say another word, Bradley and Seth began losing control of themselves. Their bodies began to shake and convulse uncontrollably as the magical glow encased them as well. Bradley could only curse and shout as he had no clue what the hell was happening. Seth on the other hand had a wide grin, both of wonder and relief that these merging cuffs might actually be working!

The light around them only continued to grow as suddenly Seth and Bradley bodies forcefully pulled together like magnets as if some invisible force was binding them. Seth could feel Bradley’s muscle jiggling against him as they convulsed, loving the fact that he was just tall enough for his face to be pressed into the massive hunks pecs. God it was like he was having a wet dream! And he was gonna become a part of this huge meathead?!?! Fuck! He just couldn’t wait!

Just then the magical glow engulfed them completely. The last thing either of them felt was the strangely blissful sensation of sinking inside one another. Their bodies melding into one before blacking out…

———

A new man’s eyes would soon flutter open. He was sprawled out on the floor of the locker room staring up at the ceiling. He felt odd. Unfamiliar? But also not?… he couldn’t even explain it.

He began to sit up slowly, placing a hand on his head as he glanced towards the open locker beside him. His locker? Yet even the way his body moved felt odd and confusing. Like it was completely new yet had always been this way simultaneously.

“I… can’t believe it…” He muttered to himself in astonishment as he looked down at his hands and body. He was massive yet that didn’t seem to come as much of a surprise. He flexed an arm, feeling his biceps bulge. It felt so natural and so exhilarating at the same time. Surreal was probably the best way to describe it. “It… worked?…” He said, half confused.

With a breath, the new man stood up and was able to walk himself over to a mirror nearby and sink to get a proper look at himself. His eyes widened at the sight that stared back at him.

“I’m… I’m a… fucking nerd-hunk!” It was like he wanted to say two completely different things simultaneously. He looked like a nerd… but he looked like a hunk. But hadn’t he always been a nerd… or a hunk? Everything was so confusing. So muddled. So warped together. The man could hardly think properly.

As he inspected his reflection further, the man could see Seth’s nerdy features but it was as though they’d been ‘jockified’ in a sense. He was wearing Seth’s glasses too yet Bradley’s backwards cap also sat on top of his head. His clothes looked to be the same as Bradley’s gym gear yet the colour scheme had changed to fit that of Seth’s. And his body… It was enormous! So many years of hard work and dedication put in by Bradley yet certain features like his birthmark, body hair and more were distinctive of Seth.

Seth and Bradley. Bradley and Seth. He could see both of them staring back at him. He was also both of them and neither at the same time. Two bodies. Two minds. Two sets of memories. All of them combined into one single person. That’s who he was. And as his brain began to sort through its muddled memories, he quickly remembered how he came to be. Those handcuffs. Seth had used them to merge himself with Bradley and the result of that was the man looking back at him in the mirror.

The new man took another breath, longer and deeper this time as he tried to collect himself. Who was he? He wasn’t Seth and he wasn’t Bradley. He was a whole new person made from the sum of his parts. He felt and thought a lot of the same things they did yet he felt also completely new. As if he’d only just been born in a way.

That in mind he had to come up with a new name right? Just picking either Seth or Bradley didn’t feel right though. Saying Seth’s name out loud made him want to start throwing out homophobic slurs. Meanwhile saying Bradley’s out loud made him weirdly horny like he wanted to start jerking off to other gym bros and their huge bodies. But it still felt wrong. Like the two sides of himself were arguing inside his mind. So perhaps a whole new one would be better? He thought about it for a moment until finally a name sprung out at him.

James!

Yeah. He liked that. Not too similar to either of his old names and it had a nice ring to it. He couldn’t feel any conflict between his two halves at the name so that’s what he decided to lock in.

It was then that he took notice of the two metal bracelets on each of his wrists. He remembered the note Seth had read mentioning that’s what the handcuffs would become post merge. They emitted another faint glow for a second before settling again. Weird. He would’ve been more curious about it if he wasn’t so distracted by his new form.

James began to stroke strong stubble on his face. An interesting feeling since Seth was always relatively smooth. He scratched through it a little before running his calloused hands across every little detail on his face. It was like the perfect mix and match of facial features in the most handsome way possible. Mostly picking out Seth’s features as a base and then using Bradley’s to emphasise them in a masculine jockish way.

Of course his hands then couldn’t help but wander down his body. It didn’t take long for him to start grasping at the huge watermelons sized pecs sitting on his chest. Fuck he was jacked. He did a double bicep pose into the mirror that only served to make him look even more massive. James could only watch and smirk as his arms bulged with size. His nerdy half was beyond excited. Adoring the feel of all this powerful muscle mass that it had been yearning for all these years. So much so that James’ cock began to stiffen in his shorts. His jock half was also enjoying it but for a completely different, much more narcissistic, reason. Loving to see how this form was even bigger and more of a stud than even Bradley’s former body.

After a little more squeezing and groping of his new form, James couldn’t help but want to whip out his new combined cock. He gingerly tugged at the waistband of his shorts before slowly sliding them down until his dick jumped forward. By god was it massive. It seemed as though his counterparts cock sizes had also merged to become a much bigger whole. Seth’s cock had sat at a respectable 5 inches hard while Bradley had been rocking a 6 and a half incher. James however put them both to shame with an impressive 9 inch monster with the kind of thickness that would make any man or woman’s eyes water.

“Fuuuuuuuck…” The fused man grunted with a prideful smirk. “I could have so many hot dudes slobbering over this thing.” James chuckled as he gripped the thick appendage, sending shivers up his spine. His mind filled with images of sexy buff jocks getting their ass holes resized by his cock. That is until a conflicting thought crossed his mind.

“Wait no-I’m… I’m not a fag!?!” He questioned abruptly as Bradley’s influence shone through a little. Just then the images of muscular men in his mind transformed into hot busty women. His previous thoughts about cock and ass shifting to that of tits and pussy instead. His monster cock pulsed even harder at the idea of burying himself inside a hot babe. “Nahhhh bro. I fuckin love pussy!!” He exclaimed.

And yet his mind boomeranged once more.

“But then again…” his thoughts drifted back to the idea of eating out the hole of one of his bros at the gym before thrusting his cock into a plump jock butt. James’ mind continued to play a horny game of ping pong as it bounced back and forth between extremely gay and super straight thoughts, lightly jerking his cock throughout the conflict.

“Cock… Pussy… Pecs… Tits…” He murmured to himself as his cock started to drool precum.

James was only snapped out of this cycle when he heard some other dudes opening the locker room door. He’d completely forgotten he was in a public space! He quickly tried tucking his cock away into his shorts again, struggling to hide his obscene bulge in the process. Though he wasn’t as successful as he’d hoped before another jock turned the corner and saw him. It was one of Bradley’s gym buddies, Sam.

“Yo Jay! I thought you said you were getting a shower. You got a hot chick hiding in here somewhere?” Sam teased with a chuckle upon seeing the bulge, looking around and behind James as a joke. What struck James as odd though was the fact that the smaller jock somehow knew the name he’d come up for himself mere moments prior. Or at least an abbreviation of it that his jock half rather enjoyed. He knew reality should’ve shifted after he came into existence but he came up with that name after the shift right? Just then his mind snapped back to when he thought up the name. The metal bands on his wrists. They glowed a little when he decided on it. Perhaps that was them adding his new name to the reality alter or something? It seemed plausible but his train of thought was lost as Sam continued. “Or a dude maybe? I know you’re into that as well.” His apparent bro added.

“Oh umm… Nah bro just excited to see my uhhh… progress…” James lied with an awkward smirk. What else could he really say?

“Well I love seeing my results as well…” Sam turned to the mirror, giving a flex of his own. “But I don’t go around getting boners because of it.” He laughed.

James couldn’t help but lock his gaze onto Sam’s arms. He thought about kissing those biceps before making out with that scruffy dumb jock face of his. His Seth side had clearly harboured a huge crush on Sam as well.

“But you do you man, I don’t judge.” The other jock finished before patting James on the shoulder and walking away towards his own locker. As he did James couldn’t help but turn and get a quick look at his bro’s ass in those shorts.

‘He’s definitely been training his glutes a lot recently…’ James thought to himself, his dick jumping a bit in his own shorts at the thought of getting his hands on that ass. Smacking and fucking it. However his inner thoughts began to conflict again. ‘Nah Sam is just a bro! Bros don’t fuck bros!? Bros talk about hot chicks together!’ He then remembered a time where Bradley had seen one of the other female personal trainers wearing quite the revealing outfit one day. His cock began leaking precum once again as he remembered wanting to shove his dick between her huge tits while he kept stealing glances at her heart shaped ass. But just then, like getting horny whiplash at this point, his mind darted back to a time when Seth had seen one of the male personal trainers checking himself out in the gym mirrors after a pump. He was basically drooling as he watched the man bounce his pecs a little, wishing that he could shove his dick between those huge mounds of muscle.

Seeing the memories side by side however helped James realise something. Despite one experience being gay and the other straight, they were both extremely similar. So much so that you could switch it by having Seth be the one ogling at the woman’s tits and Bradley gushing over the man’s pecs and almost nothing would change. It was more or less the same experience. Perhaps his two halves were more alike in that regard than they originally thought…

James was suddenly snapped back to reality at the sound of Sam shutting his locker. “Well I’ll leave you to get back to…” he glanced down at James’ still slightly visible bulge. “Whatever you were doing before I guess.” And with that grabbed his stuff and left James alone in the locker room once more. He looked over at his towel along with the shower gel sitting on the bench. He still kinda smelled like sweat from Bradley’s workout. Though at this point he just wanted to have an excuse to get naked.

The grey tank top soon found itself being tossed inside the locker alongside Bradley’s trainers and ankle socks, swiftly followed by the pair of black shorts James had been wearing. Then after shutting the locker, grabbing his towel and shower gel, James sauntered off towards the showers in all his huge muscular glory. Good thing they had shower cubicles because there was no way he was gonna be able to hide his massive erect cock now.

Upon twisting the handle the shower burst to life. It soon warmed itself up. James stepped under the refreshing water flow with a deep sigh. He let the water run over him calmly for a moment before getting down to business. Grabbing and groping at his body once again but with much more lust this time around. Feeling the weight of his pecs, the size of his arms, the heftiness of his thighs and the thickness of his ass. It wasn’t long before he’d gotten some gel on his hands and began rubbing it all over his hulking form. Making sure to rub the soap into every crevasse he could find and loving every second of it.

The gay part of him couldn’t help allowing one hand to linger excessively long around his ass. Squeezing and kneading each of his cheeks before eventually sliding a finger between them and towards his asshole. But before he could try and enter it, the straight part of him forced his hole and asscheeks to clench tightly shut so nothing could penetrate it. The feeling to both desire and fight against something simultaneously was an odd one to say the least.

Eventually he stood back under the water fully to rinse off any remaining soap. As he did his thick python of a cock continued to buck and bounce at full mast as if it were begging for release. Naturally James was willing enough to oblige it.

James took a strong grip on his fat member before starting to pump. As he did he tried to think of anything that would get him going. Of course his own body was one thing. So huge and fuckin powerful. He could dominate anyone! He couldn’t help but imagine pressing one of his gym bro’s down onto his back before sliding his cock deep inside his ass, pounding away and dominating him in every sense. His balls were already churning with cum at the thought when his brain began to drift elsewhere again.

Now Imagining himself between the legs of one of those personal trainer babes at the gym. Eating out her pussy and tasting her delicious pussy juice before getting her to give him a tit job and busting a nut all over her face and breasts.

Then he jumps back to the guy he’d been pounding now giving him a sloppy blowjob. James’ hand on the back of his head pushing him as far down as he’ll go. He could practically hear the imaginary man gagging on his massive length.

Just then however, his two visions began merging into one. Both transforming into a single horny day dream.

He was now imagining himself in a threesome. The babe presented him with her wet eager pussy while the hunk presented his tight hungry hole. James was spoiled for choice. He wanted both! He loved both! Soon enough he imagined himself constantly swapping between the two. Pounding her pussy then pounding his hole then back to her pussy again. Going back and forth again and again until he nutted inside one.

By this point James was jerking his cock furiously to the mixed horny thoughts running through head. It was then that the bracelets that he’d left on until now began to glow once again. Suddenly his balls felt even fatter and fuller than they were before but at this point James was too horny to stop and ask why. At this point all he wanted was to explode! His eyes began to roll back as ecstasy overtook his body. His cock and balls started to tense up as his hand continued stroking like his life depended on it. He could feel it! He was gonna blow!!

“OOOOAAHHHHH FFUUUUUUCKKK!” James roared with extreme intensity followed by a massive rope of cum blasting from his cock. With it taking all of Bradley’s homophobic ideals and splattering them across the cubicle wall in a sticky mess. Finally releasing the one roadblock that’d been stopping James’ two sexualities from merging into a healthy Bisexual.

Then, as his cock released another tiny splutter cum, he also let go of Seth’s lack of vanity allowing him to become 100% confident in showing off his new and improved body. After that James was surprised when his cock suddenly shot another powerful rope at the cubicle wall, purging any desire to bully others by belittling them as Bradley had done so many times before. This was then followed by James’ hung appendage twitching again and letting out yet another modest cumshot. This one took with it Seth’s meek and shy nature, leaving behind only that of Bradley’s confident and extroverted one. It was only after his body had ejaculated all the qualities necessary to create the best version of James possible was his cock finally able to stop shooting load after load.

James fell to his knees then backwards onto his ass in exhaustion. He watched as his cum and ejected traits were washed down the shower drain with a faint smile on his face. There were simply no words to describe how incredible he felt. Just that he felt whole now. His two halves had finally stopped fighting against each over and have unified as one, leaving his mind feeling the clearest it'd been since the merge.

“Hey dude. You alright in there?” Came the echoing voice of another gym goer from just outside James’ shower cubicle. “I heard some noises from out there.”

He jumped back up to his feet in surprise. “Y-yeah! I’m good bro. Just slipped, but I’m good!” He shouted back, lying through his teeth as he glanced at some of his thick cum still dripping down the wall. The guy on the other side seemed a tad suspicious due to James’ tone but didn’t think anything of it and left back into the main locker room. Moments after, once he’d cleaned/licked up all the cum leftover inside the cubicle, James left with a towel wrapped around his waist as he made his way back to his locker.

Before long the merged nerdy jock had dressed himself in the spare set of clothes Bradley had in the locker. They felt tight on his body, not that it was a problem. He just loved the way his pecs stretched the t-shirt and how his thighs and ass strained inside the shorts. Wasting no more time though, James’ pulled on the leftover ankle socks and trainers before grabbing his gym bag and heading out of the locker room.

As he crossed the gym floor, James could feel the eyes of both horny and jealous people watching him and his body. And he got off on it like hell. Though just as he reached the reception he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw none other than the exact same female PT that Bradley had the hots for. His eyes almost immediately gave her a once over, inspecting her curves and cleavage shown off in the well fitting tights and sports bra.

“Heeyyy James. Are we still on for Friday night?” She asked with a devious smirk as she eyed him up just the same as he had. Looking over his bulging muscles and meaty pecs. It was then James recalled a recent memory of Bradley going on a date with her the night before. It must’ve gone well since she gave some heavy suggestions on what she wanted to do with him next time.

“Of course! Couldn’t be more excited.” James replied in a cocky but cheery tone.

“Glad to hear it.” She said, taking a step forward before reaching down, gingerly grasping at his bulge. “I can already tell we’re gonna have so much fun.” She giggled while rubbing his thick package before letting go with a wink. James grinned as he watched her turn and walk back towards some gym equipment to finish her routine, not being able to help watching her ass for a moment before turning around himself and heading out the gym exit.

James stepped out into the world, now with a semi-boner once again, and took his first deep breath of fresh air. Man did it feel good. He only had a couple seconds to enjoy the moment however as he felt the buzz of a phone from inside his gym bag. Opening the bag up he pulled out a familiar phone and saw a Grindr notification. He knew for a fact that Bradley never had Grindr but then again since reality changed this was no longer Bradley’s phone. It was James’.

Tapping the notification and unlocking the phone then took him to a chat this guy had started with him.

— Holy fuck! And I thought I was getting big hahaha. You’re fucking huge man! I would do anything just to feel those massive arms and that sexy chest! 😍 —

Well he was certainly straight forward. James went and gave his profile another quick look. They were about the same age and the guy looked to be a lean jock type. Soccer player by the looks of it. He had short brown hair with a bit of scruff on his face and some cute handsome features. The dude was definitely hot, he’d give him that. James half-hard dick even twitched again when he saw a photo of the guy wearing nothing but a Jockstrap, framing his cute ass perfectly. He could already see himself burying his face and cock between those cheeks.

He’d have to get back to that guy for sure but right now he had more important things to deal with. If everything that letter was true then his parents on both sides wouldn’t have been affected by the reality shift all that much. They probably weren’t even aware of his existence yet. So that was his next order of business. To break the news. Luckily, since Seth only grew up with his mom and Bradley only ever had his dad, there were only two parents to break it to rather than four. Still won’t make it any less awkward…

(Part 2)

James stood outside his house… or one of his houses anyway. With a deep breath he stepped forward and gave a rhythmic knock. It was only mere moments later that Seth’s mother Lisa opened the door. Of course she didn’t recognise the hulking man before her but there was an odd sense of familiarity about him.

James politely gave her his new name before asking to come inside, saying that he has something very important to tell her about her son. The middle aged woman was reluctant for a moment but the man seemed genuine so she stepped aside and offered him a seat in the kitchen.

“Ummm… well I’m not quite sure how to say this…” As James fumbled with his words Lisa became worried. She began to ask if Seth had been hurt somehow to which James swiftly reassured her that wasn’t the case. “No Mom. The truth is that… I am Seth. Kind of.”

“W-what are you talking about?! You aren’t my son!” Hearing his mother shout those words definitely hurt but James understood her view. He did look completely different after all.

“Just please give me a moment to explain.” He pleaded.

She gave him a distrusting look but allowed him to take the floor and somehow make sense of the madness he spoke.

“Yesterday I ordered these weird handcuffs and…” James went on to explain how the mysterious handcuffs worked and how they arrived almost instantly as he ordered them online. “Then this morning I took them to the gym. You remember Bradley right?…” He refreshed her memory of the bully he’d had throughout high school and how he went to the local gym frequently. “I saw him with all his muscle and confidence and decided that… I wanted to be a part of that.” James continued, telling her how the merging process had gone down after slapping the cuffs on himself and Bradley. “It was weird and confusing at first, like our individual minds were constantly pulling our new self in two different directions with opposing thoughts, but I think we’ve managed sync up now… kinda”

Of course his mother had no idea what to say to all this. The way James spoke reminded her of Seth only with a deeper, more resonant voice and a lot of the things he said were accurate like the stuff about high school… But surely he could’ve just acquired that information somehow. The only logical solution was to ask him a personal question that only Seth would know the answer too.

She sat and thought for a moment until she came up with just the question to ask. "So when you were younger, you were really proud of this one sunflower you grew. how many seeds did it make in the end?"

"Oh, hahah! I remember that easily. Just the one seed, unfortunately." He chucked thinking back to that old childhood memory. "It didn't grow to become a giant sunflower sadly, just a tiny little lanky one. Could only grow one premature seed before dying.”

Lisa couldn’t believe it, it was such an obscure memory that nobody but herself and Seth could’ve possibly known. “S-Seth?… is that really you?” She asked to which the bulky young man simply nodded with a smile in response. “I can’t… I don’t… I…” She had no idea what to say but she found herself believing it. Many of his features reminded her of her son, only more masculine, and the glasses he wore were unmistakably the same. And yet there were also a bunch of completely different features like his eyes, facial hair and most notably his large physique. Was all that crazy talk he’d said about merging actually true after all?

“Look I know you must have a lot of questions but right now we’ve got to call my dad… on Bradley’s side I mean.” James said, placing a large reassuring hand on top of hers before getting up to grab the house phone. Lisa could only stare in awe at her son(?) as he dialed a number and started calling. Soon enough Bradley’s father Saul answered.

“Wassup Dad! Look there’s something super important I gotta talk to you about. How soon can you get down here?” Suddenly James’ entire tone of speech had shifted. His dad didn’t think anything of it as James’ voice now sounded exactly like his son’s over the phone. Saul sighed at the request but agreed to meet ‘Bradley’ after being given the address.

30 minutes later there was a knock at the door. James jumped up to open it, greeting his father with that same jocky attitude as Bradley yet Saul only looked at him with confusion.

“Who the hell are you? You ain’t my son?” Though he couldn’t help but notice the man before him bore a strange resemblance to Bradley in a way.

“Yeaaaahh… about that.” James persuaded Saul to come inside and sit down at the table with Lisa. As crazy as it all sounded they convinced Saul to hear James out.

“Well I made my way down to the gym to get a pump with my bro’s and…” he went onto explain how his routine went, chatting up a couple chicks in between exercises and what not. Typical jock bro stuff. “Then I saw that Seth nerd across the room working out…” he confessed to being a bit of dick to Seth while he was there until he finished his workout. “After that I went to my locker. Was about to get a shower, when BOOM! Seth slaps this weird ass handcuff on me!” James re-explained the handcuffs to Saul, saying how they’d somehow fused him and Seth into one dude. “It was super fuckin weird at first, like a part of me was thinkin one thing then another part was thinkin something else. I think our thoughts have started to match up a little now though and work together or some shit.”

Just like Lisa before, Saul was lost for words. This man sounded like a lunatic! Yet at the same time he spoke just like his son. It wqs also a slight shock for Lisa as he hadn’t sounded quite this… bro-ey(?) until Saul got here.

Naturally Saul didn’t fully believe this to be true at first just like Lisa. And similarly to the woman before him, he prompted James to say something that only he and Bradley would know.

"Alright Dad. Hmmmm…” James pondered for a moment. “Oh I got it! You remember that time when I bullied those nerds for the entire school camping trip and you punished me by leaving me to camp alone in the forest for 2 days? I didn't learn a fucking thing from that punishment! I just proved to you I could live out there on my own." James gloated, flexing an arm and laughing.

Saul was in shock. Was this man really his son somehow? Though thinking about it he looked to have the same physique, attitude and some familiar features that reminded him of Bradley. Though there were also many that he didn’t recognise as well like his smile, his glasses and slightly lesser tanned skin among other things. Had he actually merged with some nerdy dude that slapped some magic shit on him. It took him a while to process it all but once he did…

“So you’re telling me that my jock son is now fused with some scrawny nerd!? What’re you a fag now as well?!” Saul’s outburst was sort of expected but Lisa still scolded the man anyway. Telling him to not spout ill words towards her son, especially in their own house. James also knew that despite Bradley’s clear homophobia prior to ‘ejecting’ it the other day, Saul never had anything against gay men before now. Hence he gave his father the benefit of doubt. He was probably just overwhelmed right now. Though that didn’t mean he couldn’t tease his dad a little…

“Well… I guess you’re half right. I still love pussy but dude ass looks pretty good as well now dad I gotta say!” James said with a chuckle.

“Set-I mean James! No language like that in the house please!” His mother scolded. Well it was certainly going to be a madhouse around here from now on by the looks of things.

Eventually Lisa and James got Saul to sit and listen to the positives. Being merged with a nerd means they’d be much smarter together than Bradley ever was on his own. With that intelligence they’d be able to get a decent job that pays well unlike the handyman job that Bradley had to settle for. Plus his new son still looked like an ‘alpha jock’ just with a little less douchiness about him. Really it should be a win-win but Saul was still having a hard time accepting it right now.

Afterwards, James explained that they’re the only ones who remember him being two people and that for everyone else, reality had completely shifted. In a lot of ways this made things easier, they didn’t have to bother dealing with the disappearance of Seth and Bradley nor did they have to set up some new identity for James somehow. According to everyone else, James had lived a mixed life of experiences from both Bradley and Seth. It also seemed that a lot of people now thought Bradley’s dad and Seth’s mom had a fling back in the day which was how James came to be.

After some long discussion, the three came to the decision that James would stay with Saul for the time being but would frequently come back to Lisa’s house to keep things fair. With that James went to his old room in his moms house to find that it’d been left unchanged. He grabbed whatever gear he wanted from the room and packed it into a bag. Though he didn’t bother with any of the clothes as none of those would fit him now anyway. Once done, he headed back downstairs with his stuff and said his goodbyes to his mom before hopping in his dads car and heading back to his place.

The car ride was undoubtedly awkward, neither man knowing quite what to say to the other. Best James could do was try and make some small talk about the other night's soccer game but even that didn’t help much. Luckily it didn’t take long for them to pull up into Saul’s driveway. The pair jumped out of the car and headed inside, still barely speaking a word, before James made a B-line for his other bedroom.

Upon entering he could smell a distinct musk. The sweaty post work out smell of a man clouding the room from all the previous training Bradley had done when at home. Unlike his room at Lisa’s house, this one was much messier with dirty clothes littered about the floor, unkempt bed sheets, weights and exercise equipment just lying around and much more. It didn’t seem to bother James all that much to be honest but he was probably gonna tidy it up a little later. At least get hamper in here for some of those clothes.

With that James got himself settled in, unpacking all the stuff he’d brought and looking through the stuff in his current room. He ended up rooting through Bradley’s closet for clothes to try, even throwing on some of the dirty ones, then checking himself out in the full body mirror. Due to his slightly increased size from what Bradley had been, most of these clothes now fitted quite tightly. Not that he was complaining. He just loved the way his pecs strained against some of the tank tops and t-shirt’s as well as how many of the shorts did little to hide his huge muscle butt and hefty bulge. A bulge of which was growing bigger by the second as he continued to admire his merged body, especially when he was stood in nothing but one of Bradley’s dirty jockstraps that he’d recently used during football practice with the bros. Enjoying the way it framed his ass while a bit of precum seeped through the pouch, further staining it.

In no time James was sprawled out on his bed, jacking his monster cock furiously. So fucking horny for himself, groping every part of his body like he had been in gym showers earlier that day before thoughts of both men and women alike started running through his head. In his horny frenzy, James grabbed his phone and opened Grindr. He found the guy who’d messaged him yesterday, Matt, and started scrolling back through the photos he’d sent. Fuck he was so hot, James could’ve bust a load to that cute jock butt right then and there but he held off for a moment to message back.

— Hey man, thanks for the compliments. You’re super fucking cute as well! Would love to meet up soon so we can appreciate each-over in person 😏 —

He went back to jerking gently for a moment until he got a swift reply from Matt who seemed to be completely on board. He said the best day for him was this coming Thursday. Perfect! James had a date with the personal trainer Katie on Friday so he could get ass and pussy one after the other! With that he set it up with Matt before returning his full attention to jacking off.

As his hand continued to pump up and down the shaft however, James began to notice a certain haziness setting over him. At first he assumed it just just due to his sheer horniness but the feeling grew stronger as he came closer to orgasm. His mind was overtaken by it as he couldn’t help but bust a nut all over his pecs and abs.

Suddenly conflicting memories start to disappear from his mind. Memories of Seth giving up on his work outs years back and using a flesh light are ejected out in thick ropes of cum leaving only Bradley’s memories consistent working out instead and never having to use a flesh light because he always had a hole to fuck anyway. After that even more of Seth’s irrelevant overlapping memories were ejaculated one after the other.

Afterwards James simply sat chuckling to himself as he smeared the cum over his chest before licking some up. It was like his brain had just switched itself off and he could barely think at all, a thick cloud covering his thoughts. Little did James know that jacking off had caused the two consciousness’ inside his head to start mindfucking one another. Right now it was as if the inner Bradley was shoving his metaphorical cock into the inner Seth’s mouth, shooting copious amounts of 'psychic cum’ down his throat and filling Seth’s consciousness with tons of his jock-like traits. Slowly but surely transforming Seth’s inner self into more of a buff nerdy jock.

Time flew by as James continued to lay buck naked on his bed, laughing and touching his body all over in a sort of euphoric state. After about an hour or so his dad came into the room to see his new son sprawled naked and covered with dry cum. “Huhuhuhuh shoulda knocked dude.” He didn’t even try to cover himself as his dad cursed, covering his eyes before leaving and closing the door.

It wasn’t until about 4 or so hours had passed that he finally returned to his senses, confused as to why he was now standing doing bicep curls nude in front of the mirror. Despite his brain clearing up again though, he did feel different. Besides some of Seth’s memories he could no longer recall, he also felt a bit… dumber?

The rest of that evening went as awkwardly as you would imagine when James went down to watch the game with his dad, vaguely remembering what his dad had seen earlier. It was also pretty apparent that Saul hadn’t yet accepted him either. This prompted James to try and bond with his father any way he could. Mostly via the sport on TV and hopefully try to forget what happened earlier in the process…

———

Wednesday morning soon arrived. James awoke with a big yawn as he stretched before pulling himself out of bed. Looking at his wrists he noticed the merging bracelets that were still attached to him. To be honest he’d almost forgotten they were there. He remembered what the letter said about the merge being permanent if he broke them without wishing to defuse. It was honestly kind of tempting to break them right then and there. In the short time James had spent as himself, he already felt way better than either of his previous selves ever had. However, for now, he wanted to have a backup and so he instead just slipped them off and stored them away underneath his bedroom floorboards for safe keeping.

Now that was sorted, he’d already decided he was gonna spend most of today with his dad. He had to convince him that he was still his son! Though hopefully that shouldn’t be hard since he felt more like Bradley than ever after yesterday’s odd haze.

Immediately heading downstairs after getting dressed, James found his dad sitting at the table with a coffee in hand. Well, here goes nothing.

Across the course of the day James did everything he could to get his dad to accept him. They reminisced over old memories they shared, tossed a football around for awhile, drank beer together and many other manly father and son bonding activities James could think of. Saul still wasn’t all that keen at first but as the day went on he began to warm up a little. It was minor progress but it was better than nothing. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before Saul was calling him ‘Son’ again. They managed to end the day on a high note before James later made his way back to his moms house. After all the address he’d given his hookup Matt was for his mother’s place.

Content with that day he’d had with his father, he walked inside and said hello to his mom. They chatted for a while about his day before he headed off to his room. He could tell his mom was still a little uneasy about the whole situation even if she was trying to hide it. He understood though. This was gonna take some time for both his parents.

He closed his bedroom door behind him and gazed over his other more nerdy looking bedroom. Part of him was tempted to jack his fat cock off again and bust some more jock nut like he had yesterday. He was definitely a little horny again but he honestly was too exhausted after today’s activities to bother. Instead he just collapsed onto the much smaller bed, allowing it to creak under his weight. It didn’t take long for him to doze off into a deep sleep.

———

Thursday came around and James awoke with a throbbing erection. Seems like after going 24 hours plus without jerking off, his cock was becoming restless. It took a lot of willpower to not satisfy the urge. Fortunately his desire to save his cum for tonight was greater than his urge to spill his load. He gave his thick shaft a couple tugs before trying his best to shove it into his shorts comfortably. A hard task for sure.

After heading back downstairs and grabbing some breakfast with his mom, James set off towards the gym to get his main workout in. Especially since he’d skipped it yesterday to hang with his dad.

Upon arrival he was welcomed by many other gym-goers, a lot of them he thought of as his bro’s. After that it was like muscle memory took over as he made his way over to each machine and pumped out set after set. Not to mention helping and encouraging his bros in between exercises. Fuck did he feel like he was in his element though. He felt just as Bradley always did! Barely having a thought passing through his head while pumping his already huge muscles with the sole goal of growing even bigger than he already was. Just the rush of proving how powerful he was by lifting some massive weights was causing blood to rush into his cock again. He just couldn’t control that thing!

Before long he finished his routine and went to shower off. While he was getting dried however, some of the other jocks and meatheads he’d been working out with offered him to come play some football with them on the local field.

“Let’s fucking do it bros!” He agreed with a grin.

Next thing he knew, he’d headed home to grab his football gear and the same jockstrap he’d been wearing the previous night. Then before long he was on the field tackling the other dudes while having the absolute time of his life!

They must’ve played for a couple hours as by the time he got back home it was already the late afternoon. He messaged Matt to be sure he was still coming, which Matt confirmed, before heading to his room to play some first person shooter games.

The time passed by pretty quickly and soon enough there was a knock on the front door. James rushed down to answer it before his mother could, delighted to see the man from Grindr he’d been talking to. He was cuter and even more handsome in person.

They chatted for a little while but it didn’t take long for James to lead him upstairs. As soon as the door was closed, they made out passionately for a good while. During which they started ripping off each other's clothes. Matt couldn’t stop himself grabbing at James’ arms and grinning as he felt just how huge and powerful they were. “Oh wow… you really are so fucking incredible…” He complimented as his hands continued to roam around the rest of James’ supersized muscle bod.

As Matt began squishing and squeezing at those massive pecs, James smirked down at him. “You look pretty incredible yourself you know…” he said before reaching round to squeeze Matt’s ass, earning a lustful yelp from the smaller man. The two couldn’t help but lock lips again, swapping spit with such aggressive passion. Then after finally breaking apart, James tossed Matt onto the undersized bed, stroking his massive cock to the cute jock before him. With a smirk Matt rolled over, exposing his tasty looking ass to really get James going.

Next thing they knew, Matt was leaning over the side of the bed and swallowing as much of the fat member before him as his throat could handle. James was sure to face fuck him hard and good before eventually hopping onto the bed himself, instantly jumping at the chance to eat out that juicy jock butt. Matt groaned out as his hole was licked and savoured by the hulking brute of a man, being prepared for what was to come.

After a couple minutes of teasing, the time had finally come. Once his cock was well lubed, James alined the tip with the tight hole presented before him. Matt begged him for it until he felt the tip push inside, both men groaning out in unison. Slowly but surely James delighted in pushing himself further inside until he was balls deep.

An hour or so must’ve passed by the time they finished. They were constantly switching positions, making out and admiring each overs bodies. Eventually though, despite the incredible stamina, everyone has a limit and Matt was the first to reach his. As his hole continued to be destroyed, now once again lying on his front with James pounding down into him, he groaned out and arched his back before his cock started nutting beneath him. That was James’ signal to finish up himself. Matt was then delighted to feel his ass suddenly fill with thick cum, James roaring out as he emptied the massive load his balls had stored.

While his balls unloaded, James then felt that familiar haze settling over him once again. His mind went numb as it got harder for him to think straight. During his orgasm even more memories began to vanish, this time from Bradley’s side. He shot out memories of Bradley failing most things back in high school and college. Not to mention somehow never being able to get a drivers licence. Leaving behind only Seth’s memories in those regards, getting grades ranging pretty good to amazing in most areas and having been able to drive for over 2 years now. Those among others of Bradley’s memories, all ejaculated in the load of cum that now resided within Matt’s hole.

Once again James’ two inner halves began mindfucking each over through the foggy haze. This time however, the roles were flipped. The jockier Seth was now the one receiving a passionate blowjob from Bradley, sucking out a bunch of Seth’s nerdier traits and transforming him into more of a nerdy jock mix similar to that of inner Seth. James’ two halves were becoming more and more alike by the day.

After all that intense fucking though James started drifting off to sleep, still on top of Matt who was just as exhausted. As his eyes fluttered shut, his inner Seth would only continue face fuck inner Bradley as they slept…

———

Upon waking James’ mind felt clear once again. The strange haze must’ve worn off in his sleep… but once again he felt different. Now he felt much smarter than before as if he were now channeling more of his Seth side. That must’ve been why he felt dumber and cockier before, because he was channeling Bradley. He must not have been quite as stable yet as he’d previously thought…

Laid beside him, Matt was still sleeping soundly. James couldn’t help but smile at how sweet the other man looked in that moment. He ended up wrapping an arm around the smaller but still well built man and cuddling with him. They got to lay in peace for a good half an hour or so before Matt finally began to stir awake.

The two had quite the pleasant morning chat, Matt even noting how James sounded a bit different now. Like the way he spoke sounded more intelligent. He guessed that James had been hiding it the previous night for whatever reason. As great of a time they were having though, Matt soon had leave since he was late for work. James watched while the man he bred last night yanked his clothes back on before James walked him downstairs and out of the house, waving him goodbye.

He’d never expected to like Matt quite as much as he did. Sure he was hot in all his photos but now after meeting him, he felt as though there was a deeper connection there. One he certainly wasn’t expecting. Maybe he should ask Matt on a proper date soon? Of course he already had his date with Katie to worry about first though. It’d only be fair to give her an equal chance.

The rest of the morning from that point went rather as you’d expect from James by this point… except for one thing.

He got dressed, had breakfast with his mother, then gathered his things for the gym before setting off. Though by this point he still had about an hour or so before needing to leave. So to pass the time he sat back in his bedroom and played some of Seth’s games. Games that would’ve been considered ‘geeky’ to a lot of his Jock friends but he couldn’t deny that he was having a blast!

That hour absolutely flew by and before long it was time for him to leave. After saying goodbye to his mom, James jogged to the gym as part of his warm-up before stepping inside.

He was ready for a pump.

Of course he spotted many of the other gym regulars whom he talked with as he trained. Talking to those guys did bring out a bit more of that bro-talk side to him but even they were still able to notice the strange shift in James’ tone since yesterday.

It was only about half way through his routine that Katie walked in at last. They’d agreed to meet here and leave for the nearby restaurant in town once they’d both finished. That certainly didn’t stop them from trying to chat each other up every time they passed one another though. In the end, James finished first and left for the locker room where he got a rinse off the showers and got changed.

Now he was simply sitting outside the gym waiting for Katie to finish up. Said waiting gave James a lot of time to think. Mainly about his parents.

Both his former selves had wished they could’ve had two parents rather than just one. More so Seth than Bradley but still. Now in a strange way he finally did! Although now it felt sort of like having divorced parents in a way. That’s when he came up with a plan.

James called up both his parents, asking them to come meet him and his date at the restaurant. After some persuasion over the phone, they both surprisingly agreed. Then once Katie had finished her workout and got cleaned up, the two headed to the restaurant themselves.

Upon arrival, James had already informed Katie of the situation. She was a tad weirded out by it at first but he was able to get her on board. Soon it wasn’t long before all four of them were seated at a table together. Turns out James’ big plan was in fact a double date in hopes that his parents would find some sort of a connection.

For sure it was a little awkward at first but as James and Katie flirted on their side of the table, Saul and Lisa gradually began to find common ground. Turns out the two actually did have a couple of common interests. They both enjoyed Rom-coms (Though Saul wouldn't always admit it) Baseball, Motorcycles and more!

“Hey, seems like my plan for those two is working. How’s about we leave them to it while you and I head to the Hotel across the street and… you know.” James thrusted his hips back and forth a little in his seat. Katie rolled her eyes while trying to hide an amused grin. They got up from the table after paying for their food and said to James’ parents that they were heading to the hotel. This of course invoked a slurry of embarrassing lectures about ‘safety’.

The young and horny pair arrived at the hotel in no time, getting themselves a room before rushing inside. The very second the door closed they were practically smashing their lips together, tongues exploring each other's mouths while their hands began to wander. Katie reached her hand under the back of James’ tank top, running her palm across his muscular back. James’ hand did something similar except going a little lower to feel her soft ass. The touching started gentle but quickly grew more animalistic on both ends. Katie wasn’t able to stop herself from squeezing and admiring James’ impressive muscle mass just as Matt had the prior night. Grabbing at his bulging arms and cannonball-like shoulders. James responded in kind, kneading both hands into her pillow of an ass before lowering himself a little more to get a feel of her thick feminine thighs.

Of course it wasn’t long before his focus turned to her chest as he got a good feel of her tits, chuckling a tiny bit as he played with them. Katie smirked “Alright, my turn now” She stated before reaching out and groping James’ huge pecs, poking and prodding at the muscle. “Yours are even bigger than mine.” She joked.

The two threw off the last of their remaining clothes, revealing James’ hard pulsing cock and Katie’s wet needy pussy. They interlocked their lips once more as Katie jumped up into James’ arms, wrapping her legs around his waist with one of James’ hands on her ass for support.

He carefully aligned his massive shaft with her core before gently pressing it inside inch by inch. Katie cried out in delight as his cock pressed against her pussy walls, stretching her more and more as James buried himself as deep as possible. He tilted himself back a little before starting to move his hips, slowly thrusting in and out. He used his knowledge gained from Bradley’s numerous conquests to make sure he pressed himself inside in just the right way to make her scream with lust.

James continued to fuck Katie in his arms for a good few minutes before the two hopped onto the hotel bed. The flexible young woman spread her legs nice and wide before pressing James’ face into her pussy. He proceeded to eat her out with pleasure, loving the taste of her juices as it smeared across his face.

As one can imagine this scene went on for some time. Pussy eating, dick sucking, tit jobs and all sorts of fuck positions. But sooner or later James was bound to reach the end of his rope. They finished with Katie on top of him, James’ holding her by the hips and waist to assist her in bouncing up and down. She could tell the jock was getting close by the increased grunts and inconsistent pace of his upward thrusts. Well she was on the pill so… what the hell. Katie bounced on his cock a few more times before pressing herself as far down as she could handle, moving herself around on top to massage the dick inside her from every angle. James was sent over the edge, groaning out as he unleashed a wave of cum.

It happened again. The haze. It glazed over James’ mind once more. In the load he shot out various inferior memories from not one but both sides of himself that conflicted with his merged self. While this happened, the separate consciousness of Bradley and Seth mindfucked one another once again. This time though they were fucking each over in the 69 position. They shot load after load after load of ‘psychic cum’ into one another. Constantly filling one another with parts of their individuality. Shooting over and over until that individuality started to fade as the inner Seth and Bradley slowly became more and more indistinguishable from each other. Before long even they started to fuse, merging consciousness into one singular entity as well. Melding them together until they were no longer Seth and Bradley on the inside. They were simply just James.

———

For a while everyone was a little worried when James began acting strange for the first two days after that night. Turns out that last haze lasted way longer than the others. He started acting like the dumbest gym bro around for at least 48 hours. Once it wore off however, James had evolved in the most incredible way possible. His two inner selves, after swapping and sharing so many personality traits and memories, had eventually become identical and merged into one. No more were there two voices in his head directing him, only one unified voice. No more Seth. No more Bradley. Only James.

Unfortunately Katie saw a little bit too much of the hazed out James and decided she didn’t wanna see him anymore. Guess she didn’t wanna date a guy who all of sudden seemed as dumb as a brick. Of course he was a little upset by this but it did make things easier. He enjoyed the short time he’d spent with her but in the end he didn’t feel the same sweet connection he’d felt with Matt. Luckily for James, he’d slept through the second haze and Matt hadn’t seen him as he’d went through that third one. And so… he called him.

The two met up again and had a nice proper date this time around where they got to know each other much better. They didn’t fuck on that date however. James had to make up some sort of excuse as he wasn’t sure if he’d haze out and turn into a dumb brute again.

So later that night he tested it by busting a huge load to some porn and… nothing happened. Besides covering himself in cum that is. After that you best believe James fucked Matt’s brains out post their next date. Afterwards he even got Matt to top him! He could tell the cute smaller jock was having the time of his life pounding James’ thick muscle ass. Though, thanks to Bradley’s inherited virgin hole, he felt so fucking tight at first. It took him a long while to loosen up properly for Matt’s dick.

———

Since then it’s been about a year. After a few more successful dates, Matt and James decided to start dating properly as boyfriends and they got on incredibly well. They were always laughing and having fun, James even getting Matt into a couple of his nerdy games. They loved to fuck as much as possible and enjoyed going to the gym together. Matt had even put on a fair amount of extra muscle because of James’ encouragement and gentle guidance.

That wasn’t the only good news though. Turns out James’ plan had worked after all. After that double date he’d had with his parents, they’d started to see more and more of each over. At first they came up with the excuse that it was for their shared son but before long the two couldn’t deny they were developing feelings for one another. James was thrilled for them! It really seemed like everything had come together perfectly at last. And to think none of this would’ve been possible had Seth not bought those merging handcuffs on a whim…

Saying that, James finally decided it was time. He headed into his bedroom at his fathers house and found the merge bracelets he’d hidden all that time ago. He stared down at the objects that’d created him before holding them together, proceeding to break them both clean in half with one effortless motion. Since he didn’t wish to split, the fusion was officially made permanent. No way to return. He didn’t want to. His life now was far better than his previous two had ever been. He had two parents that were falling in love. He had a beautiful boyfriend by his side. He was smart as hell, had gotten himself a great job and still had a massive incredible body.

James was here to stay. Forever.

[sorrelchestnut]

I've seen a fair number of posts both here and on reddit that question why Tav (or the Dark Urge) would end up as a group leader for any other reason that "game mechanics say so." There's the requisite "okay, well if you play a high charisma character I guess it makes sense," or on the other end of the spectrum, "if you're playing Durge and murder someone right off the bat everyone would be too scared to tell you no." And I get where people are going with this! I really do. But it also fundamentally misunderstands a facet of human nature, which is that the vast majority of people do not actually want to be in charge, because that means being held responsible for the outcome. Accordingly, most people will dither when a group consensus is needed: have none of you ever tried to get a group of friends to agree where to go for dinner? Yeah, it's like that, but waaaay worse.

A lot of times "leadership" is just the willingness to say, "fuck it, y'all do what you want, but I'm doing this." I see it all the time in a corporate environment, where people will go back and forth on group meetings without anyone making a decision until finally one brave soul goes "in my opinion the clear answer is x" and then everyone gratefully goes along with it. Because now it's not their responsibility when something goes wrong! They're just following along with someone else's suggestion, and maybe it works or maybe it doesn't, but at the end of the day they don't have to worry about the consequences unless they're personally affected. In which case they might step up and argue back, and then they're stuck being a leader, too. Welcome to adulthood!

Lae'zel is the only one who ever even tries to exert some kind of control, when she tells you to follow her lead on the ship, or calls you her subordinate in the Grove. But, crucially, she doesn't ever make any serious attempt to take control: you can just tell her, "lol, no," and she sort of confusedly gives way, because she doesn't know how to handle this scenario. In her world there are commanders and subordinates, and everyone knows where they stand and falls in line. She's never actually had to take control of a situation and so at the first sign of resistance she falls back on the dynamic that's familiar to her, which is executing the commands of someone older and more experienced. She goes through a lot of growth over the game, to the point that she can take over as a resistance leader in her own right by the end, but at the beginning she's a wet-behind-her-ears private with some decent combat chops and it shows.

Otherwise, your party consists of:

Shadowheart, who's trained in infiltration and assassination and does NOT want a lot of attention brought to her or her mission for a variety of reasons;

Astarion, who has literally been a slave for two centuries and canonically takes a while to realize that he can exert an opinion beyond complaining about it;

Gale, whose only friend is his cat and couldn't project-manage his way out of a wet paper bag;

Wyll, who was probably trained for command at one point but has been doing the lone-hero thing for a decade and has a very large secret that he's trying to conceal; and,

Karlach, who's only ever been a bodyguard and a soldier and is genuinely just happy to be here.

Honestly, it would be more a surprise if Tav/Durge didn't end up as their unofficial leader, given the general power dynamics at play. The first time Tav/Durge says something like, "fuck it, we need to do something instead of stand around arguing about it, let's go check out those ruins over there," it's a done deal. They're The Captain Now! As long as they don't make decisions that fundamentally oppose something dear and important to the other group members, they're not even going to get any argument. Because at the end of the day, not one of these walking disasters has enough trust in themselves and their decision-making skills to feel any kind of certainty that they can choose the right path forward. If someone else is going to take that decision out of their hands? They're going to follow, no questions asked, right up until the moment they can't.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Random headcannons I have about the Agency living in the dorms.

Atsushi is banned from cleaning and doing any chores other than his own. Because he cleans like he's back in the Orphanage.

Dazai is banned from the kitchen indefinitely after setting it on fire on his first day while making toast at 4am.

There's a whiteboard in the communal area with everyones daily tasks, a shopping list, who's turn it is to do certain things etc.

There's also a drawing from Kenji to brighten everyone's morning and yes it's usually a cow.

Infact a lot of his and Kyouka's drawings having been put on the walls and fridge. Along with some of Dazai's... Well after Kunikida deemed them appropriate of course.

They have weekly movie nights where they write titles of what they want to watch and than draw them out of a hat at random.

Said hat has sometimes ended up being Chuuya's hat (Dazai stole it.) It's gotten to where the door is left unlocked for Chuuya to charge in (without breaking down the door) and retrieve his hat.

Sometimes they manage to convince him to stay and watch movies with them. If he does, he's not allowed to sit next to Dazai because they'll argue throughout the whole thing.

Kyouka and Junichiro like to bake together and whenever they do Ranpo is always the first to offer to taste test.

There's jars with everyones names on them known as the bail jars. Kunikida's is used the most out of everyone else's.

The older members go for a night out of drinking on Friday nights. They invite Katai (as they do with movie nights) and each of them take turns being the designated driver.

But this doesn't always go to plan and on those days Junichiro will show up to drive them back to the dorms. (Listen if the kid can pilot a helicopter I think he can drive a car.)

The underaged members of the Agency will have a game night. They play a punch of video and board games, sometimes as teams and other times individually.

The points are added up and the winner is declared.

It's fair because the younger members of the Agency can't drink and the older ones are banned from game night. Because they get way to over competitive, looking at you Yosano.

No ones allowed to bring work home with them. Atsushi and Kunikida break this rule constantly and have been reprimanded by the others.

When there's unrest around them, someone's having nightmares, or it's an anniversary of a tragedy, whatever it is on those nights where one or all of them are struggling they all have a sleepover in the communal area.

They all take their blankets and keep each other close. Sometimes they'll talk and sometimes they won't. They just need everyone close.

Fukuzawa doesn't live in the dorms but he lives nearby and drops in regularly to check up on everyone.

[thydungeongal]

So like D&D isn't great for producing a conventionally satisfying narrative because in modern Western storytelling stories of the action genre (where D&D is firmly planted in) don't generally feature the main characters having an unbroken streak of victories against their opposition (a feature of modern D&D) but feature defeats and setbacks. When D&D is the most highly opinionated about combat and rules as written death is the main consequence of losing in combat and what you want is characters being able to suffer meaningful losses while not always being at the risk of death, you have tension between the needs of the narrative and the game mechanics.

But more than that, when a group does patch the rules to be more conducive to that and fudges the rules and manages to somehow force the game into producing a conventionally satisfying narrative, given that a lot of that was done in spite of D&D it feels like it would be giving credit where none is due to attribute that story to the game and not the group's efforts in spite of the game.

None of that is to say that D&D played on its own terms can't produce good narratives. In fact, I think the best stories related to D&D are not the sort of stuff you see in actual plays, but the sort of perfect alignment of system, fiction, and chance that can only happen in a medium that utilizes those three things. "A player figured out how to utilize the rules of the game in a way that made perfect sense in the fiction and produced an unpredictable outcome that significantly altered the course of events" is a much cooler story in the context of D&D than "The GM funneled the party into an encounter with the bad guy and the bad guy had an epic speech prepared."

And this applies to pretty much any RPG, to be fair. Even the weirdest, most obtuse RPG can produce lots of really cool unique narratives if taken at its own word. What that sometimes means is reconsidering what kinds of stories you think are good, and instead of forcing a game to produce the exact types of narratives you want letting the game take the driver's seat.

[seospicybin]

TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

PART III

Felix x reader. (s)

Too Hot To Handle Masterlist

Synopsis: You and Felix become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (9,5k words)

Author's note: Here you go! Let me know if you want me to write another 'season' of Too Hot To Handle with another skz member x

Content warning: This is entirely a work of fiction and not affiliated with real Too Hot To Handle show.

LANA: I'm not only putting the two to the test by sending them to the private suite tonight, I'm doing a test of trust to the rest of my guests.

If they believe that they wouldn't break any rules, the $33.000 will be returned to the prize fund.

However, if they put their trust in them and they go on to break any rules, the prize fund will drop by a further $33.000.

-

The night has just started and you already feel like folding before him.

As you lay on the bed looking up at him, his eyes travel down your body and undress you in the process, making you feel naked even though you still have your clothes on.

"Stop looking so sexy," he says, collapsing onto the bed next to you.

How do you not think of sex when everything in the room is pointing at it?

Not forgetting to mention that Felix is looking so fine tonight. He's wearing a sleeveless white top that showcases his toned body and his dark hair is brushed to the back with a few strands falling over his forehead. This gorgeous man has his eyes on you and you have all of his attention on you, only you.

Teasing used to be your favorite game to play and tonight, you want to know if you still have the game in you.

You hook your finger on the opening of his shirt and lowly ask, "What do you want to do first?" 

From the way he needs a moment to give you an answer, he must have so many ideas in his head.

"First, I'll take your clothes off," he says.

"Yep."

He puts his hand on your waist, "Then I'll give you head."

"And I'll return the favor after," you quickly add, showing him that you like to play fair, including on the bed.

You see his eyes light up at your offer, "and after that..."

You use the triangle eye trick of looking at his eyes, then down to his lips, and when he's about to notice, return to look at his eyes again.

"And after that?" You repeat his words with a low, sultry voice.

His eyes shift to the selection of fun things on the bedside table, condoms, lubricants, and sex toys.

"We'll do some more foreplay. Use a sex toy or two," his voice is getting deeper the more he lets his imagination run wild.

To close the gap, you turn to lay on your stomach and lean in close to his face. Lowering your voice as you ask, "And after that?"

It doesn't take a genius to know that he's imagining it in his head as he delivers those bad yet sexy ideas. He takes a deep breath and then gives you the only right answer there is.

"Sex," he says.

He glides his hand down your spine and rests it on the curve of your ass, "Lots and lots of sex."

So far, you like all of the plans he has for you and you're tempted to give all that to him, "What are you waiting for then?"

-

YOU: I promise to not break any rules but I didn't say that I'll be good [smirks]

-

The night is still far from done but Felix is already put to a hard test.

He calms himself and pushes all the lewd thoughts away. He takes his hand back and puts it on your shoulder, twirling your hair in his fingers.

"We can't break any rules tonight," he reminds you but it's also a reminder to himself.

"I know," you say but manage to pop open two buttons on his shirt without him knowing.

Frustrated by the things he wants to do but he's not allowed to, Felix lays back on the bed and groans. After a while, he rolls over and eclipses half of your body with his.

"What do you want to do then, baby?" You ask again when all the ideas in his head at the moment are bad.

He lifts his head and brings his mouth close to your ear, "I want to have you in my mouth."

You giggle hearing his naught request and slip your hand under his shirt, touching the warm skin on his back.

"How about a bath?" You suggest.

What makes you think seeing you naked is going to help him? But he finds himself agreeing to it with a nod.

-

FELIX: I'm going to mess up, am I? [Closes eyes]

-

The wine fizzles and spurts out of the bottle the second Felix pops open the bottle of champagne.

He brings the bottle to the bathroom and holding two champagne flutes in the other hand, sees you running the bath with bubbles forming on the surface of the water.

You chug a glass of wine in one go and turn the faucet off once the bath is ready.

You know what looks best on you? Confidence. You maintain eye contact with him as you strip all of your clothes right in front of him, brazenly sending his brain into overdrive.

You've been wearing nothing underneath that dress and he could have touched you there without him knowing.

Felix can't wrap his head around the fact that you're undeniably sexy and hot and attractive. It's overwhelming that he bites his fist.

You carefully step into the tub not to slosh the water and fill your glass with more wine, "You're not getting in?"

Felix is barely functioning, he has to force his brain to work and unconsciously move like he's no longer in control of his body. He removes his clothes and gets into the other end of the tub.

"Isn't it nice?" Your foot is rubbing his shin under the water and it's getting dangerous as you stretch it out, closer to his hardening member.

Felix has to pull your foot out of the water to stop you and gently bites on your toe as a way to get back at you, earning a shriek from you.

"Is it delicious?"

"I have to taste it again," he says, putting your toe into his mouth and sucking on it.

-

FELIX: I get a feeling that she enjoyed teasing me.

-

The lingerie you packed with you served its purpose.

The fabric is sheer and lacey, covering bits of your body yet exposing just enough to arouse your conquest.

Felix has his hands tucked under his pillow and you believe is to prevent them from touching you.

He's helpless as you're straddling him on the bed, your hand is on his chest and your head is thrown to back as you drain your glass of champagne.

Now with your attention back on him, Felix gets nervous once again, looking like he's about to break under your lustful gaze.

"Are you hard?" You lowly ask, lightly rubbing his abs with your fingertips.

Felix has been taking low, deep breaths but it seems like no matter how many sighs he lets out, it doesn't help him relax.

"You're sitting right on my boner, baby," he shamelessly answers.

Well, you can feel it poking under you, that's the result of the things you've been doing to him. Not sure if you're proud of that but it seems like you still got the game in you.

You flash him a sly smile and lean in, sending the end of your hair brushing his bare chest as you deeply stare into his eyes.

"Why aren't you touching me?" You ask as if you didn't know the answer already.

His teeth faintly bite his lower lip, you're really making it hard for him. He relents, taking his hands from under the pillow to rest them on your thighs.

"You want me to break rules, mmh?" He lightly pinches the flesh there and kneads on it.

There's a way to answer that. You drag your hand down his abdomen and stop once your fingers meet the waistband of his boxer, mischievously teasing him by tugging your fingers into it.

-

YOU: It's a double-edged sword. Teasing him makes me horny too.

-                                                       

The lights are about to go out soon.

Felix turns you over and has you caged between his arms, looking at your face, oblivious to the fact that his blood is rushing to that one part of his body and it wants what it wants.

He's so hard he feels faint and you're being irresistible right now, giving him the eyes all night.

"I'm so horny," you whine as you put your hands around his neck.

Again, it's not helping him with his urges. Letting him know that you want this too only makes him want to give it to you.

"Oh, you have no idea!" Felix mutters with a heavy sigh.

The mewl you let out as Felix puts his whole body on top of you arouses him so much. He wants to do more than just put his body on top of you, especially since this is the first time you and him have privacy in the villa. Sans the camera in every corner of the room, of course!

"How about we do it?" He asks with his mouth pressed close to your ear.

You wrap your legs around his waist and pull him closer, moaning as he places a hot kiss on your neck.

"This is bad," you say, tugging at his hair but it's a fruitless effort to stop him from turning to the other side and kissing your neck again

"Oh, yes..."

-

FELIX: I really want to spend money [bites lips]

-

Felix watches as you space out, still gathering your senses after waking up from a long yet incredible night.

When you're fully awake, you turn to look at him and softly smile.

He looks so cute with his hair tousled and his freckles look even more apparent on his bare face.

"Bedhead," you shortly say, tidying the mess on his hair by combing it with your fingers.

He does the same to your hair, untangling the end of your hair with his fingers.

"What do you think of last night?" You casually ask but he can hear your sly smile without having to look.

He kisses your head and inhales the smell of your shampoo, "Very eventful," he answers.

-

YOU: We barely got any sleep last night.

-

To make the best of the time in the suite, Felix decides to pamper you with one thing that he knows he's good at. He waits as you take your bra off then lie down on your stomach so he can give you a back massage.

He kneels on the bed, trapping your body between his legs, and begins to slowly lather your skin in aromatic oil, applying enough pressure on your back to relax your muscles even though he's doing it just to feel you all over.

"Oh, that feels good," you delightfully sigh.

He knows what he's doing but the moans you let out oh... sending his head going places.

Felix lowers his hands to your hips and only lets himself go that far, even though it would be a good chance to knead on your ass too.

"Oh, yeah..." you moan again as he massages your shoulders as you sit in front of him, clutching on a bathrobe to cover your bare chest.

Felix is more than eager to please you and wants to hear more of your beautiful moans, but it's time to get ready for the day.

-

FELIX: I don't know how we're going to face everyone [lets out a long sigh] I'm a little worried.

-

Everyone else is already waiting in the cabana.

Felix holds your hand as you both make your way there and after seeing them, he immediately feels guilty and looks away from them.

"So?" Jamie asks him with a voice tinted with concern.

Felix shrugs and looks down, "I'll let Lana talk," he says.

Lana chimes in just right on time, the cone lights up and starts talking without greeting 

"Last night, I put you to a test to see if you can adhere to my rules while alone in a suite."

Cole sucks air through his neat, white teeth, "we're screwed, aren't we?" He mutters under his breath.

"But that's not all. I also give your fellow guests a test of trust in you."

-

YOU: What the hell?

-

"I can now reveal the group chose to trust you," Lana informs.

Felix is lost and tries to find any clues from everyone but they seem to be in their panic mode to care to explain it to him.

"Which means if you adhered to my rules, you will win back the $33.000 you lost yesterday. However, if you break a single rule, a further $33.000 would be deducted from the prize fund."

His jaws hung open, he didn't know that Lana would do this behind him, putting him at risk of doing severe damage.

"Guys..." he says in disbelief.

"You stake that much money on us?"

Cole shrugs and chooses not to answer him.

-

FELIX: [Pinches the bridge of his nose] This is not good.

-

Since no one can get any clues from him, they turn to you and Maeve is the first one to take her shot.

"You didn't break any rules, right babe?"

You uneasily glance at Felix and sigh, also refusing to answer.

Lana takes over the situation again, "Both of you were very busy last night."

He can hear frustrated groans from everyone in there.

"The question is: Did you break the rules?"

Felix grabs your hand to seek comfort from you and prepares himself for what's coming.

"I can now reveal..."

Lana is dragging it to build suspense and possibly, a cliffhanger to end the episode.

"I must tell the group that..."

-

YOU: Lana, just get it over with. Please?

-

"They did not break any rules."

Felix finally can drop his act of putting on a guilty face and laughs as he watches everyone celebrating him for not having sex. He never thought he would experience this in life.

Cole comes running and hugs him, "I am so proud of you, man!"

Once everyone has taken their turns to hug and congratulate him, they're back in their seats.

"I'm not going to sit and act like it was easy. I almost folded, a few times," Felix confesses with a proud smile.

Killian nods in agreement, "I bet, mate, I bet."

"I am pleased to announce that you have both passed my test. Therefore, the prize fund has been reimbursed by $33.000 and now stands at $119.000."

It's like everyone got charged with more energy but Felix fears that now the money is back, they want to spend it on themselves.

"As a reward for passing my test, I'm sending you on a date this afternoon," Lana announces before saying goodbye.

-

FELIX: I am determined to prove that what we have is not just a physical connection and we proved that today.

-

The boys are so curious about last night that they don't wait to ask about the details.

"How did you do it?" Josh asks.

Felix snorts then answers, "Well, it wasn't easy."

Cole is so enthusiastic to hear about everything, probably because he's busy being a sex cop makes him forget to have some fun of his own.

"It was hard. Literally and figuratively," Felix shares with a deep laugh.

"At one point, I thought I was going to pass out," he adds.

That sends everyone burst into laughter, making fun of his suffering but in return, he gets the satisfaction from making them jealous.

-

YOU: I'm looking forward to our date. I'll use this chance to get to know him better and make some real connections.

-

It will be your second date together with Felix but you feel more nervous than the first one.

It gets worse when he sees you walking out of the make-up room, smiling at the sight of you. You're wearing a white sundress and tied your hair into a bun, exposing the nape of your skin because you know he likes to kiss you there.

"Gosh! You're so beautiful," he says as he kisses you on the cheek.

"The most beautiful girl," he corrects his first remark with a smile that doesn't wear off even for a second.

You drop your hand to let him hold it, clasped it together as you both walk to the spot where they have prepared a nice picnic at the beach.

He helps you sit on the picnic mat and takes out the food from inside a basket while you set it in the space between. He pops open a bottle of chilled champagne for a start and proposes a toast.

"Here's to making real connections!"

You clink your glasses together and take a sip at the same time. You pick on sliced fruits and feed them to him, licking your fingers after you shove a whole strawberry into his mouth.

-

FELIX: I'm on a date in a beautiful place with the most beautiful girl in the retreat.

-

Felix notices that you've been looking at him long enough it starts to make him nervous.

"Trying not to kiss me, huh?" He jokingly says with a sly grin plastered on his face.

You take a sip of your champagne before putting it away, centering your focus on him, "I get the impression that you're a man of physical affection," you say.

The observation is not wrong. Felix has always been a man of physical affection, that's his love language.

"I grew up in a very affectionate family. Hugs, kisses... we do all that. I even kissed my mum before leaving to come here," he admits with a shy smile.

"Don't be embarrassed. I think that's adorable," you tell him while picking a sliced melon from the bowl.

"I grew up with a belief that affection isn't affection without actions, you know?"

You nod as you chew and you wipe your hand with a napkin.

"With Lana and the rules, it's so hard for me... how am I going to make a connection without touching?" He explains and leans back with his hand propped next to him.

"Like... I can tell you 'I like you' so many times but I don't think that's enough for me, I have to show you either through a hug or a kiss..." his words trail off as he's aware that he has just opened up to you and he feels something that he hasn't feel for a long time.

You sit straighter, folding your legs to the side, and look into his eyes, "I understand."

-

YOU: The last relationship I had made me scared to try to open my heart to someone.

-

The sun is slowly setting for the day and the wind is blowing warm, salty air, sending your hair floating in the air.

One bad experience doesn't mean that the next one is going to be as bad. A relationship should start with an open heart and if you can't let him in, how is he going to know how you feel?

This will be the first time you share personal things with someone and perhaps, more people through the broadcast. You lick your lips before sharing that bad experience with him, "I went through like a nasty break-up last year. My ex used all my money, maxed my credit cards, and left me with a debt that I didn't even know I had until we separated ways."

You sip your wine before continuing and put all of your hair to the back as it keeps flying from the breeze.

"So, not only that I have trust issues. I have a financial problem and that two hundred thousand dollars can truly fix my life," you tell him.

You softly gaze into his eyes as you continue speaking, "I was planning on not to spend any money here but after the previous thing..."

You avoid putting Jamie in the sentence and pause mid-sentence instead.

"I learned that I shouldn't be doing that. Obsessing over the money stops me from making real connections."

Felix nods and holds your hand, lacing his fingers with yours and it's nice that he chooses to listen and not judge.

"Me willing to break rules with you tells you of how much I like you."

What you're going to say next is a hard thing to do but you want to give him the chance, "And I decide to trust you."

This moment is special. By you telling him your problems and your feelings to him, that means, you're willing to let him in

"I think what we have, it's worth fighting for."

-

FELIX: I am beyond happy that she shares her thoughts and feelings with me. I think I... fall in deeper [grins]

-

His heart palpitations with the way you honestly speak to him and he feels like screaming his joy out to the world, but for now, he allows himself to smile from ear to ear.

"I appreciate that you're telling me this," Felix sincerely says.

You smile at him and he wishes that he can kiss you to prove how much he's thankful for your honesty and the chance you give him.

Just like Lana reads his mind, both of your watches chime and turn green.

"Oh!" You gasp in surprise and show him the watch.

Felix automatically looks at his watch too to confirm that it's not some malfunction so he can proceed to do what he wants without spending some money.

You crawl over to him and he wastes no time cupping your face, holding your face as he places his lips on yours.

The kiss feels so exceptional, tender yet intense, all-consuming, he feels like exploding with the warm feelings flooding his chest.

He pulls away from the kiss to catch a breath and checks the watch if it's still green.

"It's still green," you tell him.

Felix gently holds your chin to softly peck your lips, making the most of the green light to pour his heart out through kisses.

"I like you so much it's crazy," he mutters between pecks.

You smile back at him and are about to answer when he interrupts you with a long peck.

"I like you but—"

He stops you from continuing with another peck.

"We have to stop breaking the rules, okay?"

Felix scoffs because he knows that he caused most of the rulebreaks and nods, but now you know the real reasons why he broke the rules and he knows that your true feelings for him.

There's no use for him to break any rules.

"Okay," he agrees.

-

YOU: It feels good to know that Lana acknowledged our growth by giving us the first green light in the retreat.

-

The date was close to perfect if it wasn't for the cameras filming it but that doesn't stop you from enjoying it.

Felix is carrying your shoes after seeing you struggling to walk in the sand in them, walking back to the house feeling impatient to tell everyone that the two of you got the first green light in the retreat.

"Oh, they're back!" Poppy announces their arrival.

Everyone is already on their bed when you both walk in, you sit on the end of Maeve's bed while he sits on Jamie's bed across from yours.

"So, how was the date?" Heidi impatiently asks.

"We had a picnic, there was wine and food... it was nice," you give a concise description of the date.

"What did you guys do?" She comes up with a nosy question next and does it so innocently.

You laugh at her so Felix takes it over for you, "We had talk and making some real connection."

Maeve coo in response and puts her arm around you.

"And we got a green light," he finally announces.

"WHAT?" Maeve shrieks in surprise.

You nod to confirm and laugh as she hugs you from the back.

"I'm so happy for you," she mutters.

And Cole on the other hand points at him, "That's my boy!"

-

FELIX: Good morning! It's another day in paradise!

-

Felix used to be dreading it, locked in a sexless retreat and not allowed to even touch himself.

Now that he's with you, it feels like he's living in a dream. He likes spending all of his time with you and being around you. He likes watching you doing even the most mundane things such as putting on makeup.

"What is this?" He picks up something he hasn't seen before.

You turn away from the mirror and look at it, "it's an eyelash curler."

He looks at it in pure wonder, "How do you use it?"

You put down the brush you're using and turn your chair sideways, "It's like this," you demonstrate to him.

He tries to do the same but fails, he pinches his eyelid instead of curling his eyelash.

You chuckle at him and carefully do it for him, "There you go!"

Felix blinks his eyes a few times and looks at himself in the mirror, "Oh..." he coos in wonder.

He turns to look at you again, "Do the other one," he requests.

You comply without complaining.

"You guys are so cute. Stop it!" Mia says from the side of the make-up table.

That only makes him happy that someone is jealous of both of you and what you have. What can he say? He's the luckiest to find you, here, in a dating show, of all places.

-

YOU: We're so happy that even Lana can't ruin that for me.

-

Lana called us to the cabana as usual.

This time you and Felix can relax knowing that you have both been good. The rulebreaking days are over and way behind him.

But he wouldn't pass on enjoying the drama unfolding as Lana announces further rule break. It reminds him of how he doesn't want to be on the hot seat anymore.

"We kissed last night," Jamie admits his mistake.

Cole is so finished with him that he just stays quiet while Lana announces that another six grands have lost from the prize fund.

"As we approach the end of my retreat, I hope you put your focus on working on yourself and who do you want to be when you return to normal lives."

It's just hit him that he can't live in this retreat and hope things will always be this easy forever.

"Will you continue to grow in relationships or will you revert to your old player ways?"

He's proud that he's changed for the better and chooses to be in a relationship but in the outside world where temptation is in every corner of the way.

"Therefore, I encourage you to use your time together to find out once and for all if you're on the same page."

Fear starts to creep into him, one that he didn't expect to feel when he's just begun to figure things out with you.

"Goodbye," Lana finishes and leaves him in a deep thinking.

-

FELIX: We established things between us and it makes me think of the next thing. It's not uh... I feel nervous to even talking about it.

-

With the retreat nearing its end, Felix starts thinking of things outside of the retreat.

He thinks about what it would be like to come back to real love and tons of questions rush into his head. What he fears the most is the long distance and he knows what it would likely do to a relationship.

All of these thoughts are making him restless, and pessimistic about his future together with you.

"It's going to be so weird not waking up next to you and spending my day with you," you say as you cuddle in the hammock together.

"Yeah..." Felix meekly says.

His mind wanders off to the wrong side of things of what things would be and he starts to unconsciously make an exit plan.

Thankfully, Lana has a workshop planned for all the boys so he can use the time to think by himself. Worse is, it's only got him thinking about it more.

He starts to ask himself if this is what he wants.

-

FELIX: It's like there's this battle of new Felix and old Felix because the old me would run away when things get this serious.

-

Felix is never good at hiding things and you can sense that he's anxious about something.

You turn on the bed to face him and put your hand around him, drawing lazy circles on his back while your other hand gently brushing his hair.

"You seem... different," you lower your voice as everyone else is trying to sleep.

"Is something bothering you?" You ask.

He kisses your shoulder and then your neck, "Nothing," he lies.

You scoot closer to him and put your hand on his chest next, "I'm sad that the retreat is almost over," you say.

It's a relief that he's not the only one feeling sentimental about this when he loathed being put in a sexless retreat on the first day here.

"Me too," he takes your arm by the elbow, putting a trail of small kisses along your inner arm.

"Isn't it weird that... I'm meeting you here?" You lowly chuckle at the end of your sentence.

That makes him chuckle too. The thought that he came from the other side of the world and one day, he met you here.

Felix doesn't believe in fate but he thinks fate has an unexpected way to bring you two together.

"And our meet cute is in the bathroom," he adds.

You put your hand under his white tank to touch his warm skin, "What are we going to tell people when they ask how we met?"

He puts his arm around you and holds you close, "Tell them to watch Too Hot To Handle."

You softly laugh into his chest and remind him of the deed he did a few nights ago, "And let them see you fingering me under the cover?"

Felix often forgets that he's being filmed and it hits him just now that anyone he knows could be watching him.

"I hope my parents are not watching," Felix quietly mutters, then kisses your forehead.

-

YOU: Something is going on with Felix and I don't know... I hope that he's not having doubts about us.

-

First thing in the morning, Lana announces that he's sending all the couples to go on their last dates in the retreat.

It would be wonderful if Felix knew where his head at. He's still haunted by his thoughts of yesterday and he feels bad for not being able to show you a happy face at the announcement.

You playfully nudge his elbow, "I'm excited for our date."

He forced to put on a smile, "Yes."

There are hours left until the date and after a workout session with Alex, he finds himself thinking out loud on the beach with Killian next to him.

"What's going on, Felix?" He asks, brushing his wet hair from taking a dip in the seawater.

He lets out a heavy sigh and stares out at the blue of the sea, "To be honest, I'm a little bit torn about what to do right now."

Killian was there in the workshop with him and knows enough that he has fear of the unknown which is the future of you and him.

"I understand the fear but..." he wipes the beads of water hanging under his chin, "that only means it's important, it's a meaningful thing for you."

-

FELIX: I've been single for some time and it takes a lot of courage for me to go to the next step.

-

A few minutes before it's time for the date, Felix knocks on the wall of the make-up room, seeing you still getting your hair styled by Maeve.

"Hey," he greets.

You smile seeing his head pop in the doorway.

"Are you ready, babe?" He asks.

"Just a minute," you say, letting Maeve finish her task first before coming out of the room.

You keep your head busy by picking which accessories to wear, than trying to guess why Felix acts differently.

Maeve is gently combing your hair with her fingers and looks at you through the mirror, "How do you feel?"

You shake your head and sigh, "I don't know... I don't feel confident about us right now."

You catch the reflection of Maeve frowning in the mirror, "What if it was a bad decision that I opened up to him? What if..." You feel tears welling up and stop you from talking.

She hugs you from the back and thinks of something to cheer you up, "I'm sure it's just about the retreat going to be over soon," she says.

You shake your head again and you can't fight the tears coming out of your eyes anymore, hurriedly dabbing it with a tissue to not let them ruin your make-up.

Maeve squeezes your shoulder, "It's not too late for us to become a couple and win the money."

You crack a laugh and let her finish by spraying your hair, "Don't think too much and try to enjoy the date, okay, babe?"

You nod and hand her the necklaces to help you put them on and clasp them.

"I would love to kiss you again," she says with a grin, complimenting you to make you feel better.

-

YOU: I'll be going on the date and hope for the best [looks down]

-

For this date, they're sending you on a yacht to sail to the middle of the sea, far enough from the villa but still, with cameras surrounding you both.

It's always a good idea to start with a toast after pouring the drink into two wine flutes.

"Cheers!"

However, your observant eyes don't miss seeing the calm he puts on is different from the usual one.

"So... what's going on? You've been quiet the whole day," you tell him then sip your drink.

He gulps air as you put him on the spot "It's obvious, huh?"

You nod and take another sip to continue talking, "I can't help but think that you start to... falter?"

You do see right through him that he's at a loss for words for a moment.

"Uhm..."

-

YOU: What the fuck is going on? I need answers!

-

"I'm a bit lost. I'm sure about what I want," Felix begins.

He puts away his drink, the alcohol not helping him with his jitters.

"We got closer to each other now but at the same time, it made me think about what I really want."

He can see how you're getting so nervous listening to every word coming out of him that the glints in your eyes dim a little.

"Having a relationship means that I need to settle down and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that."

-

YOU: I'm worried for both of us at this point.

-

It's obvious that Felix has been in his head too much to even think of all the possibilities and only focus on the worst outcomes when there are a lot of ways to solve them together.

Before you offer one, you need to ask him one important question.

"Are you happy?"

You ask him again just in case he didn't hear you the first time, "Are you really happy?"

Felix gets quiet for a moment and you give him time to answer you, you know it's more than just a yes or no question. It will determine whether this relationship should go forth or stop everything right here before anyone gets hurt.

Felix doesn't answer but decides to explain himself, "With you know, I live in Australia and you're living in the other part of the world."

So that's what's been bothering his head. He's been thinking of your future together outside of the retreat and that's kind of thoughtful of him.

"How are we going be in a relationship when we're living far away from each other?"

From his slightly quivering voice, you can hear how visceral his fear is.

"There's nothing wrong. It's more about me just trying to figure some things out," he assures you that it's just him overthinking things that got him here.

-

YOU: For a second, I was afraid that Felix would say he wanted out of the relationship.

-

Felix takes a sip of his wine as his throat gets dry from letting out the harsh truth.

"That's what I'm afraid of as well," you say.

You stare into his eyes with your squinted eyes from the bright sun shining down on you, "But we don't need to settle in one place to stay in a relationship."

That he didn't expect to hear from you because he thinks you would ask for some stability or commitment from him.

"You said you're traveling a lot for your job and maybe when I have paid my debts, we can travel together," you say.

A smile blooms on his face as it registers to him that what you said is true. He thinks too much on the negative side of things when things could go his way.

"We still have so much to figure out but as long as we're together and willing to try, we're going to be fine," you add.

-

FELIX: I didn't think that she would say that.

-

"It's a relief that you feel that way," Felix says with a smile still plastered to his face.

Change is indeed scary but it's also exciting. Felix feels so much better knowing that you're willing to try despite the distance that will separate you both.

"I really like you and I want to be around you for a long, long time," he earnestly says

Felix found his want in that sentence, he wants to be with you but he fears that the real world will tear you apart.

"I'm excited for what's going to happen and the future we'll have together," you say.

That puts him at ease and convinces him more of what he wants. He wants more of you.

-

FELIX: I'm always caught up in the moment all the time and I'm just going to say it, stop overthinking things.

-

Chugging a glass of wine to give him courage, Felix looks at you with hopeful eyes and starts speaking.

"With everything we've been through, I am more certain about my feelings so I'm going to say it..."

From the way he gets antsy, you fear that he's going to say something pessimistic about the relationship again.

He takes a deep breath and you mimic him by doing the same.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

You scoff in disbelief and press the back of your hand to your cheek, feeling it heating under your touch.

All day, you've been thinking that Felix having second thoughts about the relationship and next thing you know, he's asking you to be his girlfriend.

It takes you a while to be able to speak, "Do you really mean it?"

"Yeah," he answers with a grin.

"I'm uh... I don't know what to say," you say, nonplussed.

-

YOU: Gosh, is this really happening?

-

Instead of beating faster, Felix feels his heart is slowing down and it will eventually stop beating if you decide to make him wait for your answer any longer.

Your eyes locked in an intense gaze with him and then nod, "Yes."

Swear he can feel his heart skipped a beat just now and it would be a perfect time for a green light, if not, Felix would unwillingly break the rules.

Lucky him, Lana delivers as both of your watches chime at the same time.

"Green light," he foolishly mutters.

You laugh and lean into the middle so he can kiss you. He's putting his hand on your neck to angle your head to deepen the kiss.

When he pulls away, he looks at your face with adoration in his eyes before going for another kiss, a deeper, passionate, and ultimately, romantic kiss that marked the beginning of this relationship.

"I'm less scared now about us going our separate ways once the retreat is over," he says.

The fear is now replaced with confidence that things are going to be alright. A thousand miles away is nothing compared to what you have for each other.

You nod and hold his hand, "I told you, I trust you."

Felix can't stop himself from smiling as warm feelings fill him to the brim, "Oh, I got myself a girlfriend!"

-

FELIX: I was this close to making the worst mistake in my life. I'm glad I didn't.

-

"Look at that stupid smile!" Cole shouts the second he sees Felix coming to the firepit.

"Look at them holding hands!" Heidi squeals.

You both sit next to each other with happiness drawn on your faces.

"So...?" Heidi asks, being her nosy self as usual.

Felix looks at you and decides to be the one answering for both of you. He licks his lips before speaking.

"We went on a boat, and had a long, heartfelt talk," he begins.

He turns to the side to see you smiling, looking at him with sparkly eyes that make his heart flutter.

"We got another green light," he shares with a stupid grin on his face.

Heidi leans forward, ready for any juicy details, "The question is... did you make it official?"

Felix glances at you to seek permission if he should be the one to share another good news.

"He asked me to be his girlfriend," you take over from him.

Heidi leans closer, doesn't want to miss the next answer, "And did you say yes?"

You bite your lip and then excitedly nod.

"Oh, fuck off!" Heidi curses out of jealousy.

"You guys are too cute. Get out of here!" She reclines on the sofa in defeat.

-

FELIX: We've had the best date today and I have the best girl in the retreat as my girlfriend. My life couldn't be more perfect!

-

Felix has springs on his feet, even when he's lying on the bed, he feels like flying.

He likes putting his body on top of you and letting you wrap him in your arms and legs. He's getting even better at controlling himself since it's no use to doubt you now that there's clarity in the relationship.

"It's our last night in the retreat," he mumbles as he rests his head in the crook of your neck.

"Mmh..." You hum in response while lazily scratching the back of his head.

"How about we blow all the money away?" He suddenly comes up with a very mischievous idea to pull a joke at you.

"As much as I want to kiss you. I don't want to waste any more money," you reply.

He looks at you and pouts for shooting his idea down.

"We need it for plane tickets," you remind him.

He nods in agreement and props his elbow next to your head, "Just one kiss," he seduces.

Your hand instantly flies to cover your mouth to prevent any damage from happening.

"I'll still kiss you," he says and kisses the hand blocking your lips.

He repeatedly kisses your hand then all over the face, getting soft in the head for how much he's into you.

-

FELIX: This morning, I reminisced about everything that happened in the last 24 hours and I realized how much she means to me.

-

"LAST DAY OF THE RETREAT! WHOO!" Heidi cheers in her raspy, sleepy voice then yawns.

Felix kisses your forehead as you're snuggling next to him rubbing the sleep of your eyes next to him.

"Someone is going to walk out of this retreat with $113.000!" Killian reminds everyone of what everyone could be at the end of this.

"Oh my, God! $113.000 is a lot!" Maeve says with a cute, surprised expression on her face.

"I'm surprised that we still have that much money," Laura adds.

Jamie points at Cole, "It's all thanks to Officer Cole right there!"

Everyone gave him a round of applause for voluntarily keeping everyone in line and sticking to the rules even though it might have not worked at times.

"I wonder who will win," Alex says.

Felix doesn't think too much about winning the money, he's been so focused on growing in a relationship with you but if he could nominate someone, it will be you.

-

FELIX: Everyone would say I'm biased, but I see her and her growth, how at first, she was scared to open up until she came to the point to let go of all of that when she decided to trust me.

-

Lana chimes in for her morning greeting.

"Welcome to your final day in the retreat."

It feels real now that Lana said that, this will be over soon and he has to say goodbye to this paradise.

"The winner or winners of the $113.000 prize has not been selected yet. Therefore, I encourage you all to use the 12 hours you have left to show me and your fellow guests why you deserve to win."

Felix feels sentimental once more. Despite the stupid rules, this wouldn't have happened without Lana and he wouldn't have met all of these wonderful people.

-

YOU: I'm going to use the best of our last day and enjoy it to the fullest.

-

"Okay guys, since it's the last day..." Maeve pauses talking to find something on the table.

"And before I go home to Ireland," she continues.

She looks at you as you sit on the other side with Felix tidying his locker in the same room.

"I need to ask you one thing," she says.

"Are you asking me?" You ask her, holding your eyebrow pencil mid-air.

"Yes uh..." Maeve leans in as she applies make-up to her eyes.

"Who is the best kisser? Is it me or Felix?" Maeve asks then burst into evil laughter.

Felix snaps his head and turns around his heels to see you, anticipating your answer more than Maeve does.

"Tell her, babe," he says to you, confident that his answer is him.

Without stopping doing your make-up, you answer, "It's a hundred percent, Maeve."

Maeve triumphantly howls and dances on her chair.

Not accepting your answer, he trudges your way and puts his hand around your neck, "It must be because I haven't kissed you in a while, huh?"

You tilt your head to the back and look up at him, "Nope."

He holds the sides of your face and leans in, "I'm going to remind you nonetheless," he jokes, leaning in to kiss you but his lips land on every part of your face except your lips.

-

FELIX: I'm excited for us and makes me want to let her know something I've been meaning to tell her.

-

After the last workshop in the retreat, everyone is called to the cabana.

"Hello, everyone!"

Lana welcomes everyone and goes straight to business.

"The prize fund now stands at $113.000."

"That's a lot of money," Cole comments.

Felix holds your hand because he knows that the money would be a great help to fix your life and he wishes in his heart that you'll make one of the finalists.

"Since your arrival in the retreat, I've been observing your behavior. Your ups and downs, your mistakes and breakthroughs. You all have shown impressive emotional development."

Felix couldn't agree more. He got caught in this bad habit of dating just for fun and look at him now, happy to commit to one girl.

"However..."

Whenever that word falls out of Lana's nonexistent mouth, it's always something not good.

"I have identified three finalists who stand out for their transformative journeys. And just one of them will take home the prize."

Again, Felix doesn't really care about the prize but his heart is racing, endlessly wishing that your name will be called.

"The first finalist is... Heidi!"

Everyone claps for her as she takes a stand.

"The next finalist is... Cole!"

Felix is more than happy for Cole, he's been working harder than everyone else in this retreat. He deserves it so much, other than that, he's a good friend of his.

"And the last finalist is..."

-

FELIX: I hope Lana sees the growth in her and she calls her name. [Clasps hands together]

-

Felix is more nervous than you are, his hand holds you tighter that it starts to sweat.

"Felix," Lana calls his name instead and he glances up in surprise.

"W-what?" He stammers.

But then Lana calls your name after and that's when it registered to him that she nominated you both as a couple to be the last finalist to win the money.

Felix throws his arms around and holds you tight, it's even better that you got nominated together.

He brings his mouth close to your ear and whispers, "Guess we'll be getting those plane tickets."

-

YOU: Wow. Okay? Wait— What? I can't believe I have the chance to win that much money.

-

"All three of you are the finalists. Tonight, one of you will leave my retreat with $113.000."

Felix hears you sniffle next to him and he pulls you for a side hug. You're touched that you're getting closer to what you want and because he knows how much this means to you.

"Please make your way to the dressing room and get yourself ready for tonight's announcement."

Felix holds your hand as all the finalists are being sent to the dressing room and everyone else will have to vote which one they think is the most deserving to win the money.

"It's so surreal!" Heidi shrieks the second he pushes the door to the dressing room.

"This is crazy," Cole is also still in disbelief that he got chosen to be a finalist.

Felix reckons that you need more time to compose yourself, he sits on the single sofa and lets you sit on his lap. He rubs your arms, giving you as much comfort as he can.

"Who do guys think will win between the three of us?" Heidi asks.

You shrug and hold Felix's hand, playing with the rings on his fingers.

"I think it's you, Cole!" Felix says out of courtesy.

"Yeah," Heidi agrees even though she doesn't sound very much like it.

-

FELIX: In all honesty, I think we deserve to win.

-

Everyone is taking their time to get ready for the last hurrah.

The theme is a white party so everyone is obligated to wear white. Felix puts on his white shirt and jeans while you put on a tight white dress with a deep cleavage, looking hot as always.

The only difference is that you look so tense and it's probably because you're nervous thinking about the prize. He stands behind your chair and gently massage your shoulders to help you relax.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers.

"Thank you," you mutter with a soft smile.

You pull his hands and hold them on your chest, looking at the reflection of both of you in the mirror. Felix loves what he sees.

The finalists are once again being isolated in the dressing room while they make the rest waiting outside.

"Whatever happens, I'm so proud of all of you," Cole earnestly says.

Felix offers his hand for a fist bump to him, "So proud of you, man!"

Heidi excitedly giggles and shouts, "May the best one win."

-

FELIX: We brought out the best in each other and are proud of our journey. Forget about the money, I'm leaving with a girlfriend.

-

Everyone welcomes all the finalists with cheers and whistles, taking a turn to hug everyone and greet each other.

"How are you feeling, babe?" Maeve asks you.

You let out a big sigh, "I'm close to having a panic attack," you jokingly answer.

"Good evening, everyone!" Lana as the host of the party, greets everyone.

"During the time in my retreat, you broke the rules 18 times!"

You and Felix look at each other then chuckles at the same time, remembering that the two of you contributed six times out of those eighteen.

"Throughout your stay, I have also observed people commit to the process and ultimately make a significant change."

Everyone is nodding in agreement and silently reminiscing about the time we had in the retreat.

"Finalists, your fellow guests have been voting for which one of you should win. The time has come to announce the winner."

He can feel your hand slightly shaking his and he tries his best to stay calm even though his heart is pounding in his chest.

"Finalists, please stand up!"

Offering his hand to you, you take it to help you get up from the chair and stand close to Lana's cone-shaped body.

"Good luck," Maeve quietly wishes you.

You stand close to each other and Felix rests his hand on the arch of your back, rubbing it up and down your spine to soothe you.

"The votes have been counted and only one of you can take home $113.000."

He looks at you and gets the confidence that no matter what the result is, he'll be alright, you and him will be alright.

"On third place is..."

Felix squints his eyes in fear, getting faint from the anticipation.

"Heidi."

You both look at each other with bewilderment on your faces, can't believe that everyone voted for two of you in the top two.

"And for the first winner is..."

Felix badly needs something to hold on to, he gets behind you so he can hug you from the back and clasp your hands together in front of you.

He flashes a smile at Cole, knowing that the winner is between the two of you and Cole.

"Cole."

Sure, he's disappointed that the two of you didn't win the money but it doesn't cancel out the growth you have gone through together. Mostly, he's thankful to have found you.

He hugs you tight and kisses your cheek, "I'm so thankful for you," he says.

You hug him back and mutter, "You have to help me pay my debts," you joke and rest your head on his chest.

Felix may have lost the money but he feels like a winner having you by his side.

-

FELIX: We didn't win the money but I got the most beautiful girl in the retreat [looks at you]

YOU: [Nods] I still prefer the money though.

FELIX: [Aggressively kisses your neck]

-

Everyone takes another turn to hug and congratulate each other.

It feels real now that the retreat is over and he probably wouldn't meet them again since they're from all over the world.

Cole pops open a bottle of champagne and sprays it at everyone, a few drops landing on his shirt and your hair.

"Congratulations! My retreat rules no longer apply," Lana concludes for the last time.

Felix has so much to say to you but before that, a kiss is what he needs right now.

He cups your face and softly puts his lips on yours, kissing you with such love that his heart rattles in his chest, overflowing with happiness.

-

FELIX: [Looks at you] I'm so proud of you and I... I love you [turns your head to kiss you]

YOU: Well, I love you too. [Chuckles]

FELIX: Really?

YOU: [Nods]

FELIX: [Holds your chin] I love you so much [pecks your lips]

-

The sounds of fireworks going off surprise everyone, lighting up the night sky with bright colors.

He turns you around to watch them together and holds you close, his mouth resting close to your ears.

"I'm so lucky," he whispers with a delightful sigh.

"I couldn't pick a better girl," he adds.

The 'you' that entered this retreat would choose money over him but the 'you' leaving the retreat is different. You grow into someone who's not afraid to try and let someone in, and you're leaving with a boyfriend who is worth more than any material things.

You look to the side to show him how grateful you are for him and pull his face close for a kiss, now that the rules no longer apply, it's your turn to truly show him how much you like him through actions.

Well, in that case, it's going to be a long, long night tonight.

-

FELIX: Can't wait for our life outside of this retreat but for now, it's time to f—

-

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[starry-bi-sky]

how do you clone a fey? that's trick question; and fey love those!

@the-navistar-carol (<333) brought up a good point while I was talking about my changeling danny au with her -- Dani! How would she exist in this au? Danny's a changeling - a fae. How would Dani, a clone of him, be created? How do you make a fey? Not through any means that Vlad is doing; you can't make a fey through unnatural means, considering the Fair Folk are nature. And Vlad's not a fey himself -- he's a halfa, even if he could make a fey, it's not in his best interest too. He's a powerful ghost, but even the weakest fae can overpower the strongest ghost. He won't want a clone of Daniel to be more powerful than him.

(In a three tier hierarchy it goes Ancients -> Fae/Mythos -> Ghosts. They all live in the Infinite Realms, but on different Planes. The fae live above the Ghost Zone in the Fey Wild, while the Mythos live beside the Wilds or down in the ghost zone depending on where they are. Places like the Frozone, the Athens Acropolis, and other such large islands climb throughout all three Planes.)

(While Ghosts can travel into the Fey Wild, its generally advised against as the ectoplasm tends to manifest differently there due to close contact magic. It can make it rather disorientating for a ghost, and as human spirits, the Fae living there would jump them faster than they could blink. So unless you're willing to play mind games with 'steal thy name eat thy face' fae, most ghosts keep out of the way of the Wilds. Fey can travel down into the Ghost Zone, they just don't bother.)

That's of course, not taking into account if Vlad even knows Danny's a fae himself. Vlad doesn't ring me as someone who really cares much about ghost culture or the going ons of the GZ. He might be aware that fae exist, but the moment he realizes he can't use them for personal gain he just doesn't bother with them. The risk is greater than the reward, and he'd rather not get eaten. But lets assume he's aware by now that Danny is fey, and has to take that into account while cloning him.

So, how does Dani exist? Good question! Honestly; i'm not sure. She might not exist at all, or if she does, she's more halfa than fey. Vlad would need a lot of human dna and ectoplasm to balance out all that fae magic. He manages to steal DNA from Jack and Maddie to do it, and since Jack's fey ancestry is very dormant its much easier to use alongside Danny's DNA.

In turn, it results in a little girl whose more human-ghost hybrid than clone. With that little extra boost in fey magic making her not a fey, but still relatively powerful. Dani is less of a clone and more of a lab-grown little sister. It's a rather tedious, complex process that has Vlad tearing his hair out trying to figure out. But he does eventually figure it out.

[jazeswhbhaven]

Hello~!

That might be a weird idea, but how would the kings react to a gn!MC who's insanely lucky with crane games and the like?

Like, they manage to win at least once every few tries and even those giant plushies

(totally didn't get inspired cause I and my little sis won a few plushies at the funfair today, including a giant bowser lol)

Thank you for waiting anon, this idea isn't weird at all. In fact I'm terrible at crane games so if I had any luck I'd spend a lot of time getting cool prizes lol

And a giant Bowser plush???? Ah man I'd be so stoked to have one of those in my house because he's just great

Satan: Crane games are a rare find in Gehenna because the angels keep destroying their arcades. However, MC does come across one and Satan watches intently as MC easily wins a prize, then the next, then the next. He wants to try but he loses immediately. It mildly annoys him and he tries again only to lose again. Fair to say that the crane machine gets smashed and Satan takes the prize he wants anyway. MC doesn't suggest crane games ever again.

Mammon: Tartaros has plenty of crane games around for tourist. Mammon even has a few in the palace just for fun and he often gives out tokens specifically for the ones in the palace for the subjects to use. His prizes are a bit odd, but MC has no problem winning most of them which impresses Mammon. He does think it's a bit useless as he could simply just buy whatever it is for MC, but whatever joy they get from playing crane games is enough for him. He's happy to see them happy. but he's not allowed to play because he usually ends up breaking the crane machine with his massive hands.

Beelzebub: Crane games? Hell yeah. Beel is a natural when it comes to playing them, but he'd rather watch MC because it fascinates him just how easy it is for them to win. He takes them around all of Avisos trying out even the most rigged crane game known in Hell to clean everyone out of their savings. MC loses the first round but their second try yields them a cash prize and then some. MC just can't be beat. And it's very clear...that Beel plans on using this to his advantage. A reason to go to more places to see if MC can win them all type of advantage.

Leviathan: There's...pretty much only one crane game in Hades, but the prizes are mostly fanmade Leviathan items. MC brings Levi along to watch them try their hand at the game, but he seems disinterested. After they win, he pushes them aside and also plays saying their technique was sloppy. Turns out he wasn't "wrong" as he also wins the next round. He gives MC the prize and tells them not to share it with anyone or even mention they did this together.

Lucifer: He's new to crane games, and Paradise Lost doesn't have any, so MC has to take him to Gehenna in order to play. He watches in silence as MC wins him a prize which is a stuffed toy ram. He holds it and then tries his hand at winning. He's not very good and he gets mildly irritated but he does try again. Finally he wins something small for MC and gives it to them in exchange. He says crane games are not enjoyable for him, but he does want to know more on how MC learned how to win so much.

Belphegor: This otaku is the master of crane games. His entire room is filled with prizes for a reason. Yes, he could simply "buy" them if he wanted but he says there's no fun in that. However, it's only worth it if the item is rare enough. He has MC try and is impressed by them winning each time and they even got a rare prize Belphie was looking for. Needless to say he drags them around pretty much all the time to where the rarest items are so MC can get it for him. Less work the better.

[amostimprobabledream]

The Captains Play Stardew Valley!

I have Stardew on the brain. These are very silly.

Shunsui Kyoraku:

He never knows where the fuck his animals are because he "doesn't believe" in fencing them in. He also forgets to water his crops so he struggles in the first year because he's always broke af - not an experience he has in his real life.

He loves the whimsy of the game, especially when it comes to finding little secrets like Secret Woods or getting to Ginger Island. He reacts like a five-year-old being presented candy, it's the cutest thing. Also, he's in Stardrop Saloon almost as much as Shane is.

He never does the same thing per day, he'll have a wander down to the bottom of the map one day, mosey into town the next, explore the beach another…he's one of those people who takes "comfy game" at face value and plays in a way that's so leisurely that it's actually quite frustrating to watch. The urge to backseat game is often very hard to resist.

Favourite villager: All the women. All of them. From Jas to Evelyn, he loves every lady. Even the witch, he thinks he could fix her. He desperately wants Marnie to dump Lewis and find a man who appreciates her and feels bad for Sandy stuck by herself in Calico Desert.

Soi Fong:

Naturally, she got a cat when given the option and listening to it meow at her fills her heart with glee, but she pretends she doesn't care. She becomes offended if any of her animals give her eggs/milk/etc that aren't gold star or higher.

She absolutely hates Lewis for his terrible management and keeps asking why you can't vote to remove him as Mayor when he's so blatantly incompetent. A mystery for us all. She's also absolutely flabbergasted that Lewis is dating Marnie on the sly. She also dislikes Pierre for claiming her produce as his own.

She likes fighting monsters, when she managed to get to the desert she was thrilled at there being tougher monsters in there - she changed her tune pretty quickly when she got ganged up on by three serpents and lost some valuable treasure. She pouted about that all evening.

Favourite villager: Abigail - her tomboy attitude reminds her of someone…

Rose Otoribayashi:

Rose thinks the game is adorable at first but he quickly starts learning some of the lore and is surprised by how dark this seemingly cutesy farming simulator can get at times.

He absolutely loves the music in the games and has even tried writing songs with them as inspiration. Sometimes he just plays the game soley to wander about and vibe with whatever music is playing in the background.

He enjoys combing the beach and the tide pools or pulling up flowers and giving them to villagers. He does finish the mines but he doesn't visit them unless he has to because of a quest, he finds them gloomy and not fun to look at.

Favourite villager: This is an easy one, he's SUCH an Elliot stan. He calls him his "digital twin".

Unohana Retsu:

She completes the mines and skull cavern with ease. She can't intimidate the characters in the game with her avatar so she gets to back it up with her sword instead. Seeing the joy on her face at cutting down enemy after enemy makes you wonder if you gave her the right game.

That said, she also enjoys the cosier aspect of it - tending to her crops and animals comes quite easy to her and she's never bored by it. When confronted with cutscenes for the games she tends to be firm but fair in her advice.

She rarely faints but she likes checking in at the hospital because it reminds her of Fourth Division, so she has a lot of friendship points with Harvey and Maru especially.

Favourite villager: Harvey but also Marlon. Duality queen.

Shinji Hirako:

He has the WORST fucking luck in the mines - when he sets up bombs they explode in his face, he can never find enemies when there's a quest to do them, etc. Yet then every so often his crops will get visited by a fairy and suddenly be fully mature just when he needs them to, or he'll catch a rare fish by mistake.

He pretends to be disinterested, but he's a liar. Shinji LOVES, and I mean LOVES the tea about the villagers - when Caroline mentions she used to like to take walks by the Wizard's Tower he nearly spat out his coffee. And he actually shrieked when he found Marnie and Lewis in the bushes together - you ran into the room because you thought the idiot had stubbed his toe or something. He ships the villagers together unless he's the one courting them.

He cracks you up during the cutscenes because he says the most hilarious things in response to the villager's antics with a straight face. He goes for Lewis' jugular EVERY TIME.

Favourite villager: He likes most of them, but he has a thing for Haley - she was rude to him when he first talked to her and he developed a bit of a crush.

Byakuya Kuchiki:

It took a LONG time to persuade Mr. Uppitypants to play, but once he does he's DETERMINED to stick to a firm schedule. Too bad that's not quite how it works - he's terrible at the fishing game and it takes him forever to get the correct ones for the community centre. He buys them from the merchant whenever possible.

Spring is his favourite season because of the cherry trees. He waters his crops and checks on the animals diligently, every day, and with a complete straight face. He doesn't like being poor so his Farmer starts making bank QUICKLY.

Gets SUPER competitive during seasonal events, especially the Flower Dance. He's still salty about Abigail beating him in the Egg Race in the first year and has lowkey disliked her since then.

Favourite villager: Penny, he likes her genteel, shy nature. Reminds him a tiny bit of his wife.

Komamura Sajin:

Oh my god, he absolutely LOVES this game. Looking after animals is his absolute jam and he quickly turns his farm very profitable. He's just disappointed you can't take your dog on walks with you in the village and thinks all of them should appreciate its cuteness.

He dislikes the fishing game, not because he's bad at it but he doesn't like removing them from their home just to lounge about in your backpack, but Sajin is also duty-bound to restore that damn community centre, so…sacrifices must be made.

Also he's overjoyed when he learns you can speak to animals in the game and always goes to check the forest in case there's a new furry critter to talk to. He also befriends Krobus and the Dwarf very quickly, since he can relate to being different to everyone around him.

Favourite villager: Linus, he appreciates a guy who is in-tune with nature and just wants to live peacefully among the animals. He also is indignant when people judge the Farmer for digging through the trash, so you know, kindred spirits.

Lisa Yadomaru:

Lisa has married every bachelor and bachelorette in the game at least once - she has the save files to prove it. She says she likes to explore all the game's options but that's not true, she just wanted to know who has the spiciest lines of dialogue as your spouse.

She hates having to check the animals and crops every day so she uses sprinklers to maximum efficiency and getting the automatic feeder is a godsend. She does still like to pet them and see the cute little heart icons, though. Lisa isn't immune to cute pixellated animals.

She finds the mines kind of boring but her insatiable curiosity compels her to get to the bottom anyway, and she loves finding new clothing items to dress her character in - every time she loads the game her Farmer has some kind of new fit on.

Favourite villager: She was very upset when you told her you can't marry Sandy - Lisa calls her "desert wife". She's also fond of Maru, who reminds her slightly of Nanao.

Kensei Muguruma:

Kensei gets a horse ridiculously early on because the slow walking pace of the Farmer drives him insane, especially when he passes out just before he reaches his farm, so he goes out of his way to get a stable as soon as possible. The horse stays his favourite animal throughout the game because it goes home by itself.

The fishing game nearly made him fling the controller out of the window - especially when he had to get an octopus. You were seriously concerned he was going to straight-up snap your game in half.

He tunes into Queen of Sauce EVERY time, even when it's a re-run "just in case I missed it". He has actually tried to cook some of the recipes in the game and some of them were actually quite tasty! (He declined to attempt the Strange Bun, though.)

Favourite villager: Robin, he likes building new stuff on the farm and he finds Sebastian's cynicism refreshing in a game with mostly upbeat characters. He constantly grumbles how Demetrius isn't good enough for them.

Hitsugaya Toshiro:

He protested when you first got him to play - he's not a kid! But eventually he gave in to shut you up and soon enough he found himself drawn in, especially at the notion of it being passed down from his grandfather.

He likes unlocking things as he goes through the community centre and gets this satisfied little smirk every time he completes a bundle, even if it's an easy one. He's actually a little disappointed when he finally finishes it and doesn't have much reason to go anymore.

Hitsugaya tries to do everything so "you can't accuse him of not playing right", but he gets so salty if he has a bad time in the mine or spends ages fishing and doesn't get the right thing - then he yells at you for teasing him when he pouts. Favourite villager: Surprisingly, he's fond of Sam, he appreciates how hard he tries to stay upbeat and look after his little brother, it reminds him of when he was a kid and protecting Hinamori.

Zaraki Kenpachi:

He spends almost all of his time in the mines - as soon as he learns you can fight monsters in the game that's all he does. He's passed out in there MULTIPLE times, to the point where he was too broke to collapse anymore. Luckily he also made money quickly because he found a lot of gemstones down there.

Can never remember any of the character's names so he gives them nicknames - Evelyn and George are "the old people", Harvey is "Glasses", Haley and Sam are both "Blondie", etc.

He gets very aggravated when anybody he wants to sell to isn't there, especially when it's Clint, who he doesn't like and swears at a lot. Funnily enough he doesn't curse Marnie out the same way, even if he really wants a cow and she's too busy staring at her microwave.

Favourite villager: Marlon, he likes a man who knows his way around dangerous weapons. But unsurprisingly…he also has a soft spot for Jas.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi:

Another person it took ages to convince, but he finds it intruiging despite the simplicity of it. Mayuri isn't really interested in the villagers and instead immediately dives into all the supernatural/weird shit - he visits the Wizard's Tower every day and ends up getting the Sewers pretty early too.

He's a completionist at heart so he gets very determined about filling up the community centre quickly and gets pissy when you point out unless the merchant has a red cabbage he's unlikely to get it done by the first year.

Rarely does to any of the seasonal festivities, but he does always go to Spirit's Eve - he likes the aesthetic.

Favourite villager: He finds Krobus the most interesting and would probably invite him to live on the farm if forced to pick a spouse, but for human characters it's the Wizard.

Ukitake Juushiro:

Mr. Conflict Averse King hates it when he walks in on a cutscene that requires him to pick a side, he hates upsetting any of the villagers. He reaches ten hearts with people because he unfailingly responds in a way that will max out their affections.

He befriends Linus SO quickly because he feels bad for him. He also wishes he could help with all the problems and disapproves of the bad parenting present in the game, especially Pam and Demetrius. Shane's cutscenes involving his alcoholism made him so sad as well.

It takes him forever to get through the mines, the button mashing is hard for him and the frantic pace of Skull Cavern and the desert is enough to give the man heart palpitations.

Favourite villager: Vincent and Jas, obviously. He's got such a soft spot for little kids and his heart breaks at Jas' backstory.

[bagopucks]

J. Hughes - Blackouts

✄————————————

Jack Hughes x Reader

Requested✨ (as a comment in a previous post)

@lolihaveaproblem

Word Count: 1.8k

Warning(s): None!

Not proofread!

—————————————

“This is so stupid!”

“Well if you hadn’t blown all your money, you wouldn’t be losing this bad.”

“Jack, you idiot.”

“I don’t wanna play this any more. You guys cheated.”

It’s all Ive heard all evening. When the boys at the lake house asked me to oversee monopoly, I did not think it would be this hectic. Or heated. It was Monopoly.

To be fair though, I did learn quite a bit about the Hughes and their friends.

Quinn was silently competitive, and I had definitely seen him slipping Luke some money here and there under the coffee table. I only let it slide because I was rooting for the youngest brother. I learned Cole was incredibly good with his money. Maybe a little stingy, but he was definitely a saver. Trevor didn’t give two shits. He was playing just for the hell of it, spending here and there and everywhere, but still managing to stay out of debt or bankruptcy, and Luke just seemed to have a natural knack for the game.

My beloved Jack was trying to do Trevor’s method, but luck was not on his side. He was owing people money he did not have. He was all over the place. He was a financial nightmare. I kept it in mind in case of the day you both get married. Any conjoined bank accounts would certainly have a pin or password he would not know.

“It’s a little late to quit now. Might as well stay in.” Quinn tried to reason.

“With my one property? Hell no.” Jack quickly stood up from the floor. I was not the only person who winced at the crack in his back. “Trevor can have it.”

Trevor, who somehow seemed to be the richest and luckiest.

“Oh fuck yes!” I giggled at Trevor’s excitement.

I would say I had more fun overseeing monopoly than Risk. When the boys decided to play that, I had to take headache medication due to all the yelling. They took that strategy game quite seriously. Again, except for Trevor. Who had a weird obsession with Australia, and overpopulated it with his troops.. and somehow ended up winning the game after two days of on and off playing.

There had been a lot of F-bombs there. A lot of negotiations. A lot of snack breaks. The second time it was brought out to play, halfway through day three, one of the boys got so tense they flipped the board.

The NATO of hockey players did not enjoy that.

Sometimes I played board games with them, but other times I really did enjoy watching them bicker and argue.

Throw Throw Burrito was another I enjoyed to watch. From a safe distance. Considering the main concept of the game was to throw foam burritos at one another. Some of the welts those boys left the table with amazed me. But I hadn’t laughed harder than the time Trevor got hit in between the legs. The speed with which everybody scattered, was highly amusing.

They didn’t play board games often at the lake house, but seeing as we were in the midst of a three hour power outage, and phones were on their last percentages, everybody was desperately looking for something to do.

“Babe, come on.” Jack mumbled, ever the sore loser. I looked up at him from the couch, his face illuminated by the many candles we had burning. Fucking scented candles that had the house smelling like too many things at once.

“I don’t know, Jack. Last time I left a board game unmonitored the whole thing was flipped.” I commented. I knew what I was doing, and as soon as the words left my mouth, the uprising of displeasure from that memory came in the form of new arguments and accusations about who it was that had flipped their poor game of Risk. Jack chuckled softly. I swiftly climbed over the arm of the couch, seeing as boys were sitting at the foot of it all gathered about the coffee table.

“They’re never gonna get over that.” Jack mumbled as he grabbed my hand. I was swift to snatch up one of the candles before he led me down the hall to his room.

“Not my problem. I still have my money on Cole.” I whispered in response. We both snickered softly, and I winced at the sound of another outburst. Trevor yelling about money missing. Looks like they caught Quinn and all his laundering.

“So, Rowdy,” I began with a playful smile as we wandered down the hall. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“I don’t know. There’s gotta be something in this house to do.” Jack shrugged. I smiled at his cluelessness.

Once we got back into his room, I pushed the door shut behind myself. I opened his blinds and watched the rain pelt the windows, gently biting my bottom lip. Jack swiftly snuck up behind me, wrapping his arms around my body.

“Watch out baby,” I whispered, holding the candle out.

“Sorry.” Jack’s mumbled apology made me smile.

“Come on, Jack-O.” I tried to make my way to his tall dresser, but seeing as he wasn’t letting go, we both waddled our way over together. I set the candle down on top of the safe area, slowly turning in his arms to get a good look at Jack’s face.

“You think my mom and dad are okay?” His question caught me off guard.

“I have a strong feeling they’re more than fine.” I assured him, reaching up to cup his cheeks. “Probably having a more peaceful night than we are.” I added playfully, just in time to hear another shout and a loud bang. I winced. Somebody was beating the table now.

As much as I claimed to hate the noise, the silence in the lake house was often worse than that. Especially in the evenings. I got so used to the noise that the silence began to feel eerie. Like something was incredibly wrong.

“Can’t do movies, not enough phone power to play games. Not enough light to read.” I mumbled thoughtfully. “I have hair dye in the bathroom.”

Jack seemed to really consider the idea before shaking his head.

“Okay. Makeovers?”

He shrugged.

“Wanna watch me try on lingerie?” He lit up like a kid on Christmas. It was a cruel joke, but alas, I had no lingerie to try on, and I was not going to resort to seduction at a time like this. Not when something could go worse with the weather. The last thing I wanted to do was be huddled up in the basement with my boyfriend and his brothers and friends, in a less than appropriate outfit.

“Sorry for the false hope,” I apologized with a smile. Jack groaned.

“I’ll play mini sticks with you.” I finally offered, and Jack shrugged before deciding that was good enough.

“I’ll go get ‘em.” He was out of his room and back within a minute, two tiny little plastic nets in hand, a ball, and two sticks. I giggled softly. Even in the off season, we couldn’t escape hockey.

By the foot of his bed, Jack set up one net on one side of the room, and a net on the other. We quickly got situated on the floor before Jack slid a stick in my direction. I felt incredibly silly, but anything to pass the time at this point.

“You know the rules?” He asked, and I nodded.

“Same as normal hockey.” I checked. Jack smiled at me before he tossed the foam ball in my direction.

“Loser has to eat the melted nasty ice cream on the counter.” Jack made the condition. I grimaced. How disgusting. But once I agreed, we faced off, and our game began.

I could not say I was surprised near the end of the game, when we took an ‘intermission’ and I found I had holes in my leggings. Jack and I had played quite an aggressive game of knee hockey. Despite the fact that he tried to enforce penalties, he quickly gave up when I reasoned that he couldn’t be in charge of them. Especially when he kept grabbing the back of my shirt to keep me from getting too close to his goal.

The Hughes brothers were always cheating to win in some kind of minor game.

We’d laughed and yelled, pushed each other over and played with no mercy. But it was 9-9, and I seriously did not want to eat the warm ice cream. I figured if Jack had cheated, then I could play dirty too. So when I had the foam ball in my own possession, I rushed Jack, who was trying to play defense in the middle of the floor.

We made eye contact at the last second when I moved my stick into both hands -acting as though I planned to cross check him- and pressed my weight against his chest, shoving him onto the floor and effectively pinning him down.

Jack broke into a fit of laughter as I climbed on top of him.

“That’s a penalty,” he tried. I laughed and shook my head.

“Your mom is.”

I was swift to tap the puck into his net with my stick.

“And I win.” Jack was still laughing at the ‘your mom’ joke when he actually registered his loss. The poor brunette craned his neck to see the goal, his expression dropping with realization.

“What? You cheated!”

I leaned forward while he was busy complaining.

“You’ve been cheating since we started this game. I’d just accept my loss and get ready to eat shitty ice cream, Hughes.” I was quick to kiss him before I stood up, dropping my stick on his chest for effect.

“I want a rematch!”

“Can’t, Jacky. I’m retired.” I’d certainly give him hell about this moment for the rest of our lives.

“Bullshit. One more game.” Jack finally sat up, staring up at me as he held my stick out.

“I can’t, buddy. Not pulling a Tom Brady. I’m retired, end of story.”

“This sucks.”

“Aww it’s okay. How’s about you just come to bed and we can cuddle for a bit instead of the ice cream.” Jack eyed me cautiously, seemingly trying to decide if it was another joke or not.

“I’m not making you eat warm ice cream, Jack.” My tone took on a much more serious sound before I held my hands out to him. “Just come lay with me.” He let me help him get up from the floor, dropping his own stick and nodding.

“Can’t believe you thought I was cruel enough to make you eat that,” I teased.

✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾

[nouearth]

joy-cons.

pairing ; barry allen x gn!reader. fandom: ; dc, the flash (cw) genre: ; fluff. rating ; pg. note ; it's been a while since i've written, so pls spare me the pain! just wanted to write a little drabble to start off my blog!

it took a lot of convincing for you to play mario party with barry. forty pleases and multiple interrogations on why you didn’t want to play to be exact.

are you scared? afraid you’ll lose again? come on, babe. i’ll go easy on you!

it’s not that you hated the game or anything. they’ve become a party favorite for years (except for the tenth game, we don’t talk about you) and you’ve always enjoyed how those games made you feel afterwards. whether you lost or won, cheated or played fair; mario party made you (and everyone) laugh and bond together, and you’ll always credit those games for bringing you and your family closer.

with your boyfriend… not so much.

“barry… listen…” you respond with an insecure smile, hesitant whether you should really bring this up with your boyfriend right now or suck it up and play a round if it makes him happy.

“oh no… are you still mad that i stole all your stars the last time? listen, we can play the other games! i’m sure one of them have an option to turn it off or something…” barry playfully rambles, his signature smile that made you fall in love with him still remaining. “which really defeats the purpose of the game, though. because then it becomes all vanilla and if everyone is given a fair chance-“

“barry- no.” you cut him off with a small peck to his lips, a gesture you often do whenever he goes on a tangent.

“then what is it?” he repeats the same gesture back, following up by leaning his forehead on yours to gaze into your eyes a little closer, his hold on your hands tightening to keep your balance and his upright.

“well… uh… okay, you know that mini-game where you have to button-mash the hammer into the little sand cactus thingies?” you describe the mini-game that made your thumbs sore in aftermath. in all honesty, you were great at it. until barry came along.

“the pokeys? yeah! you know i got a world record on that?”

“uh-huh. i was right there.” you lead him to the couch where both you and barry sit, reaching over to grab the red and yellow joy-cons on the table. “less than a millisecond…” you mutter to yourself.

“what about it?”

“well…” you clear your throat and open your palm that’s been holding the red joy-con for barry to take. “you broke them again.”

“oh- i can just pay you back, you know that-“

“no… barry. that’s not the problem! i’ve been noticing and this always happens whenever we play those type of mini games where we have to break our thumbs until they’re beating red!”

“hey! we don’t have to play those! we can skip and… and we can-“ barry fumbles over his words and you can tell something’s making him nervous. it’s quite comical, this entire situation. you weren’t mad, sad, disappointed, but suspicious.

“barry, did you even look at the joy-con.” you shut your lip tight, almost wanting to laugh, but remain serious as your boyfriend looks like he’s in a state of panic.

“wha-“ barry averts his eyes down to his palm. a singular joy-con, the one that he always uses whenever you guys play together, except it looks a little different than usual. “it doesn’t look broken to me- OOOOOH MY GOD.”

barry’s eyes register to a burnt joy-con. well, the other half of it. one side still maintains its signature red, but barely. he looks up at you with wide eyes and an expression akin to edvard munch’s the scream painting.

“yeah- can you tell me how you managed to smoke literally half of the controller? and out of all the games, it’s mario party?!” you take the controller back from his hand and examine it closely. one of the buttons is also smashed in. no wonder he had to get a different controller mid-round.

“listen- i don’t know how that happened! i mean, i told you i’ve been lifting more recently-“ barry attempts to grab the controller back from you as if withholding it would take any more suspicion off of him. the struggle has him rolling on top of you while both you and barry’s arms extend further away from each other.

“oh my god, barry. are we seriously doing this right now-“ you breathe out from under him.

“and that world record?! i blink once and suddenly you win first place with less than a millisecond to your name?! i’m not even sure if it registered how fast you were, barry.” you struggle through your words as he pushes his weight on top of your lungs in a continuing attempt to retrieve the joy-con, but a sigh of relief exhales when you drop the controller and barry rolls off of you.

“i’m good at games! great at them! i thought we talked about this, y/n!” you take a minute to catch your breath and watch barry desperately retrieve the joy-con as if his life depended on it.

“barry, you literally only win when we play those mini games-“ something catches your eye when he loops his finger through the joy-con’s wrist strap and the edge of the controller knocks an object out from under the couch.

another red joy-con.

you take a closer look and in midst, catch a glimpse of barry’s ‘oh shit face.’ before he could swipe it back under the couch, you hop off the couch next to him and crouch down, taking a closer look.

It’s burnt, just like the one you confronted barry about it. you pick it up and examine it with your hands. same damage.

“I can explain-“ you cut him off when you begin pushing the couch away. “oh my god, y/n. no, no, no, no!” he dramatically pleas, but barry knows he’s in too deep as what has been his worst kept secret, is finally revealed.

a clutter of broken joy-cons, all red with similar burnt marks and smashed in buttons reveal before you. it must’ve been at least fifty controllers scattered in a pile. at least four thousand dollars’ worth of product. he’s broken a few joy-cons before, which is why you brought it up to him in the first place… but that’s only been four or five times. not over fifty?! you could tell barry was in desperate need in saving money too because you also saw some third-party brands that resembled the joy-cons.

“okay, so… you aren’t going to believe me… but i have these amazing superpow-“

“barry..? w-what the hell?!”

© nouearth. please do not repost, plagiarize, or translate my works. and if you like this story, please reblog and leave a like!

[chillenby]

It's 2 am so um sorry if this doesn't make much sense..

I know a lot of people hate Jimmy and rightfully so. I mean he's a bad person, raped Anya, was too much of a coward to face his own actions so he decided that he should write a tragedy, then fails at it, only to be the reason why everyone died one by one and then finally killing himslef and giving Curly extra 20 years to be saved to once again avoid conciquences and to be the 'hero' he so much wishes he could be. He is selfish, greedy, a bastard and genually an awful human being. I understand that fully.

And yet, he is my favorite character along with Curly (and I don't mean only the pre-crash 'hot' Curly, but also post-crash Curly). You know why? He's so complex and interesting to think about. From psychoanalysis to just trying to figure out how he would interact with characters outside of what we see in the game.. it's all interesting. And it doesn't help that he is the reason for what happens in the game and I cannot explain how much I love the plot (the best way to describe it is that Jimmy is the core of this game, he is connected to everyone and everyone connects ro him, so in my mind, if I want to appreaciate this game fully, I need to extend it to that asshole, because we out him there would be no plot or those hard hitting messages). I love him as a character, I love how fucked up he is, I love that we play as him, I love his dialoge scenes and lastly I love his delusions because I love metaphores and I love that he is one of those characters that makes me think.

I know people shit on him and you know what? Fair. I sometimes do that to characters that've done nothing wrong, but I think they're cunts. But it sometimes just saddens me how people just ignore him or just make stupid jokes like 'sorry you had ro draw Jinglebells'. I know they are jokes, but I don't know, I'm tired of seeing them everywhere and being fed a lot of 'I hate Jimmy' stuff.

I mean there are Jimcurly fans which have amazing art and they sometimes get one thing correctly (in my tastes, this is all a personal opinion and I just want to yell it out into the void called internet) is that it hurts. Jimmy hurts people and hurts Curly, and in a lot of fics and art Curly just lets him. And I like that, as much as usually I like silly and wholesome stuff, for this game specifically I want it to hurt. I hope it hurts. Because that's the theme of the media, it's hard to consume and it hurts, it's dark and fucked up, it talks about our society and the people in it.

...

Also the aus and stuff can be fucking wild. Like there are amazing ones like surviviors au comic where instead of crashing the crew is stuck in a wormhole (I love it so much, genually can't stop thinking about it and rereading it, so beautiful and so good, didn't knew that was exactly what I needed until I read it) and like anti-tulpar (which I'm just receantly getting into and it's odd but in a good way, it's funky). But one the other side we have like lobotomy au and hypno au (the hypno au I read is like on the fence of being uncomfortable and not too bad, since the hypno used makes Jimmy docile and truthful, but on the inside he is still the same person, and like I read a smut and I was left wondering is it rape or not..). I just found out about lobotomy au and as much as I like fucked up shit that to me feels like crossing the line especially since I heard that it's usually used in a sexual manner(I don't have twitter so luckily I managed to escape most of it, but I heard a few things and I have certain opinions I just want to yell out, but if my info about this is wrong feel free to inform me :)). On that I have only one opinion, what is wrong with people? Like I get it, he is a bad person and has done awful things, but to do something to dehumanize him to the point of not being able to have deeper thoughs and not being able to take care of himself, then put him in a sexual manner where he gets practically raped since he can't consent? Why? Do people actually find this attractive or is it some type of letting out your anger? I think it's fucked up

But yea.. if anyone reads this thanks I guess? I just needed to spew out all my thoughts and make them make sense. Form them into proper words and ideas instead of unprocessed junk

So as a closing thought, please apreaciate Jimmy more and make more complex jokes. (Or at least don't like hate on this post too much aand don't post those stupid jokes under this post too much, I'd make my day if none of that would happen)

[pucktoxicity]

what are your thoughts on the whole jack not giving a puck to a kid thing

*sighs* okay. this is gonna be long. sorry. i don’t ever, and haven’t ever, wanted to ask any player for anything during warmups, but i get so pissed off watching jack ignore people who ask for stuff, so… here’s my thing.

i know how locked in, focused, and ritualistic he is during warmups. he doesn’t look around at all except when him and dawson do their little not-subtle gossiping during warmups, and i’ve told you guys this before, he does not hand shit out to people. ever. it is an extremely rare occurrence for him to give anyone anything, whether it’s a little kid or a teenage girl, and he’ll only do it when absolutely necessary, which makes me angrier than how he doesn’t acknowledge people during warmups. and to be fair to him, he doesn’t really have to give anyone anything, nor does he owe giving a puck or a stick to anybody. that’s not what he’s there to do, and there is a possibility that because he’s him, if he hands out one puck, everyone else will be throwing fits that they didn’t get one.

HOWEVER, once again, he’s him.

he’s nj devils franchise player jack hughes, first overall draft pick jack hughes, league superstar jack hughes, all of that. he’s an idol for a lot of kids just beginning their lives in hockey, and i see so many signs at games that say things like jack, you’re my hero! i want to have a career just like yours! trade me candy for a puck? and it’s a little boy. and he never gives those kids a puck. i think he’s got to remember that sometimes and remember his stature in hockey, and that so many kids look up to him, so to read and fully acknowledge that sign and not do anything? a dick move in my book.

it should also be mentioned that he’s not special with his laser focus during warmups or his rituals. every hockey player has their thing, and there are plenty of people who manage to make time to give some kid a puck he’ll cherish forever. cole, trevor, jamie, quinn, for example… tomas tatar has some of the most strict warmup rituals and he’s always giving out a puck or two. jake allen and jakob markstrom are always handing out their sticks to young fans. it’s just so off-putting to me how much jack refuses to acknowledge the people that “PaY tO wAtCh HiM pLaY” on a regular basis, and more than ever in the past twoish years. if long term veterans of the league, who aren’t even as “famous” as you are, can take ten seconds to make some kid’s day, you should be able to as well. 🤷‍♀️

[rosinaparker]

Skz members trying to make you lose at an arcade

genre: fluff, humor

pairing:

Bang Chan/Han Jisung/Jeongin x f!reader

warnings: cursing, little suggestive

summary: your best friend takes you out to an arcade and he continuously teases you and makes you lose

Bang Chan:

Chan always loved taking you out on little hang outs. It never seemed like anything romantic whatsoever, but something about tonight felt different..

we approached the basketball machines ready to compete with each other. He payed for the first round and we immediately started playing. "You ain't winning this one, Y/n" He said proudly, though it definitely wasn't going according to his plan. I repeatedly kept scoring points which made him groan "Dude that's not fair!" I giggled at his remark to which he shot me a glare. Next thing I know I was getting shoved "Hey! Stop cheating!" He laughed in my face. that jerk..

This continued for a bit, until I lost the game eventually. "Oh, looks like I won" He chuckled. "You kept on shoving me you asshole" I punched his arm "Now Now, don't get so feisty miss" his mouth curved into a smirk. "Don't say that" I cough out.

I walk away from the machine, my face slightly turning red, he followed right behind. I suddenly felt his hands grab my waist from behind "Don't run away from me like that" he spoke softly.

The hands that were once placed on my body left, leaving a lingering feeling. "I'm just gonna ignore the fact that you did this" I say dumbfounded, he only chuckled at me.

Han Jisung:

Jisung is an enthusiast about arcades. He loved them and he most certainly loved taking you there.

It was late at night as he suggested we'd go to the arcade, I agreed to it almost immediately.

We played some games, ate food and had a good time. Before we ended the night, he wanted to play that one shooting game that everyone was talking about. "Please y/n! Just this one last game" he whined "Fine, as long as you play fair" I reply, squinting my eyes at him. He gave me a sweet smile...oh he is definitely not gonna play fair.

Immediately we throw a coin into the machine and start shooting at the targets. I was surprisingly good at the game, which irritated him.

"How do you expect me not to cheat when you play this good?" he poked my side. "hey, no poking!" i giggle. he knows I'm a pretty ticklish person, and he uses it against me.

I kept on wiggling in my spot, missing lots of targets "Seems like I'll be winning this one" he grinned. oh I was not letting him win that easy. I pushed his arm, making him lose his balance. He gasped dramatically pulling onto my sleeve "Cheating!" I yell with a chuckle "You did it too! You're no better" he snickered. Though at the end of the game, I still managed to win. "rematch. I cant go down like this" he fell to his knees "you look ridiculous, stand up" I chuckle. "Kiss me and I might consider it" his eyes looked up at me. At that moment something felt a bit different, blush creeping up my cheeks. I shook those feelings away "Stand up before I punch you" "okay okay, no need to get violent baby" he grinned as if he knew what he was doing. "Let's go home" I sigh exhausted.

Jeongin:

It was normal for you and the members to go out and play stupid games. This day was no different.

We went to this nice new arcade that has opened around the block. Most of the boys separated into small groups, some going to the food stall, others to the race cars...me and Jeongin decided to go to the dance machines. "I bet I can score more points then you" he proclaims, I scoff at his words "Oh yeah? Show me then." I dare him.

He never goes easy on challenges. "Watch me"

He started off pretty good which annoyed me. I taunted him "wow, look at that. Ain't that good after all" I chuckle at his facial expression, he looked provoked. he eventually scored a bit over average. "That's nothing" "You try, since you think it's that easy" he huffed.

I jumped onto the machine with confidence.

Not long after I started the game he kept nudging and teasing "that score doesn't look good, y/n" "Ohh, bad move" he grinned with his stupid smile at me, I could punch his cute face..

I totally lost the game..not because I'm bad at it- I think-

"Ha, I won the bet" he poked my forehead "Don't touch me" I say with a pout. "Don't you like it when I touch you?" he asked quietly.

God, my cheeks were burning up, how can such an innocent sentence sound so dirty. "Don't say such stuff" I push him away and go down the hallway, searching for the others ''I didn't say anything bad though" He chuckled.

-Rose✩

[ticklishraspberries]

You Raise Me Up (Charlie/Nick)

Summary: Nick's obsession with picking Charlie up leads to cute discoveries, which lead to even cuter confessions. (Based on an anoymous prompt!! Hope y'all enjoy it!! xo)

It all started because of Nick Nelson and his stupidly strong rugby arms. Somehow, Nick has convinced himself that picking Charlie up and carrying him is his obligation as a boyfriend.

So, it’s become a very common occurrence for Charlie to be lifted off his feet, a surprised gasp followed by giggles, clinging to Nick like a koala.

And because Nick is stupidly strong, he makes it seem as easy as breathing to lift Charlie in every which way — scooping him up in a bridal carry, over his shoulder like a fireman, or the classic piggyback.

Clearly, all those just weren’t enough for Nick, who needs to add new techniques of literally sweeping his boyfriend off his feet to his repertoire, and one day, decides that sticking his hands under Charlie’s arms js the new thing he wants to try.

Rather than a surprised sound followed by fond laughter, the reaction that Nick gets is something akin to a shriek, although Charlie will deny that.

“Are you okay?” Nick asks, pulling his hands away as though he’d been burned.

Charlie’s cheeks are pink, his eyes wide. “No—I mean, yes, I’m okay, I just—I’m really ticklish,” he splutters, the admission making his face flush more.

Nick’s worried expression quickly melts away and is replaced by a mischievous grin. “Oh, you are?”

The giggling starts before he’s even been touched. “Nick, please, I can’t,” he babbles, but he doesn’t make a move to escape. If he really wanted to, he could take off running and by the time Nick caught him, they’d likely be breathless and too exhausted for such antics, but something like curiosity, maybe even excitement, keeps Charlie rooted to the spot.

He goes down easily when Nick manhandles him to the ground, but he makes a show of swearing and half-heartedly kicking his legs. Once he’s flat on his back, Nick’s hands worm their way back under his arms easily, and he squeals. “Cut it out!”

“Absolutely not,” Nick replies. “This is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.”

Charlie whines between his high-pitched laughter, the flustering compliments not at all helping him maintain a shred of dignity throughout this ordeal. “Shut up!”

A gasp of mock offense is followed by fingers scribbling with twice as much vigor, making Charlie cackle and blurt out nonsensical apologies.

The two boys end up in the grass, Nick hovering over him and kissing the residual giggles off of his lips.

Ever since, Nick has been tickling him a lot, and Charlie…Well, he doesn’t hate it half as much as he pretends to.

He’s grown up with siblings, and his friends have never shied away from giving him playful affection. He sees it as a form of closeness, bonding, and love. When Nick tickles him, it makes Charlie feel adored, but his body still kicks into the same fight-or-flight that has nearly broken Tori’s nose multiple times.

Two weeks later, they’re in Nick’s bedroom, playing Mario Kart when Nick latches onto Charlie’s knee and squeezes it until his car falls off the edge of the track, knocking him back into 8th place.

“No, stop tickling me!” he cries. “You cheater!”

Nick chuckles, saying a half-hearted apology, but he actually does stop, which surprises Charlie. Although it embarrasses him to think about, he didn’t…actually want him to stop. Even if it cost him the round of Mario Kart, which was saying something.

But they continue the game as normal, and Charlie still manages to get back up to first place despite Nick’s interference. 

They cuddle in bed after, and Charlie tries not to overthink why Nick had stopped. But overthinking is his biggest talent and hobby, so the attempt is futile.

“You alright?” Nick asks, poking his cheek.

Charlie nods.

“Did I upset you when I tickled you during the game?” he asks. “I know it was technically cheating, but I think it was fair considering you still managed to beat me.”

There’s a light, teasing tone to his words, but his smile is soft and apologetic.

“No, not at all!” Charlie reassures him. “Actually, I…Well, normally you don’t do it so briefly, so I was kind of surprised that you stopped.”

Nick’s smile brightens. “Well, you did literally tell me to stop.”

Charlie flushes. “Yeah, but…I don’t know, it’s sort of just instinct to say that. It doesn’t always mean that I—that I actually want you to.”

“You are the most adorable person on this planet,” Nick says, pulling him into a tight hug. “You give me cuteness aggression. I just want to squeeze you.”

Charlie laughs, squirming weakly in the embrace. “You’re crushing me, you brute!”

Nick takes the insult as an opportunity to stick his hands under Charlie’s arms. “Now that I know you don’t mind this, I’m never gonna stop,” he whispers.

Charlie decides that he likes the sound of that.