#also sadie is only a little bigger

[horseshoegirl]

Damn Those Dog Tags: Part 14 - Sex on Fire

📓 We have fluff! We have some smut!

This song specifically was one of the big three that inspired this fic! When I saw TGM and the scene at the end when Mav takes Penny up in his plane, this song matched the vibe, and I knew I wanted this for Jake and Liz.

Though I would love for you guys to try and guess which one is the song that inspired the whole story! Cause there is one! 👀

❗️+18, strong language, godmother reader/original female character, Mentions of an original child character, sexual themes (I mean Smut, so get outta here if you ain't +18,), FLUFF, aerophobia, and second dates.

#7k

Part 13 | Masterlist | Part 15

(Bradley's Spin-Off one shot here)

Jake and Sadie were conniving little lunatics. 

Scratch that. Sadie was an annoying insect who knew how to push buttons to get what she wanted. Jake was a gullible poor sod who had the habit of being played by said insect more than once. Because you knew without a doubt, sitting in the front seat of Jake's truck, blindfolded without any idea where you were going, this had her name written all over it.

"Is the blindfold really necessary, Jake?"

"If you knew where I was taking you, you'd jump out of my truck in an instant."

"That's not very reassuring."

Jake chuckled, bringing your hand up to press a kiss to your knuckles. "Sadie would kill me if I didn't follow through on this. After all our hard work."

"So you're doing this more for her than me," you tease. You could hear the smile in his voice when Jake replied, "The ladybug incident didn't scare you enough. Sadie's scary when she wants to be."

You chuckled softly, Jake joining in as you felt his thumb stroke across your knuckles.

Going on a date had been the last thing on your mind.

Tyler was still a major concern. Even with Cyclone keeping a watchful eye on the group of police assigned to Sadie and your case, they still needed actual leads. You hadn't paid much attention to his phone call the other day, explaining the pressure on Tyler's father to drop out of his political race or how Tyler's stupid white car was spotted on the interstate, leaving California altogether.

It should have brought you some comfort, but it didn't. The longer time stretched on, the more anxious you felt, wondering when he would make his next move.

Then there was also the matter of Bradley. Stupid, over-emotional, Bradley.

It had been days since Sadie found you in the bathtub - days since the fight. You hadn't heard from him, nor did you expect to. Maybe a tiny part of you didn't want him to reach out. But any nasty thoughts you harboured for him in the days following only managed to turn themselves into pity.

You knew his story. Mav told it enough times for you to recite it by heart. Bradley had only been two when his father tragically passed away. And Carole, his mom, had been devastated. You couldn't begin to understand the circumstances he had to go through as a kid. Each time Mav told the story, he always stressed that no love could have matched Carole and Goose's.

It's no wonder Bradley felt their loss in the way that he did. And you did feel partially guilty, wondering if talking to him about everything before it had gotten this bad would have made a difference. But it was clear he was internalizing something bigger than just hurt feelings. 

You weren't going to make the first move. That would have to be up to him.

It better be a damn good apology.

The idea of a possible date started when Sadie had called you a panicking-inducing hermit, much to Jake's amusement, scared to do anything remotely fun outside the confines of the house. Honesty? It was more to do with the fact there had been no sign of Tyler, no white car following you or sitting outside your house to encourage your paranoia.

You had gone to bed early after that, Jake and Sadie staying up playing a game of cards. You had no idea what time it was when Jake climbed into your bed, waking you up in the process when he pulled you into his chest. But it was definitely later than it should have been for a game of cards.

Jake had stayed with the two of you. Every morning you got to wake up either next to him or in his arms. The Daggers were still grounded; whether it was repairs or upper politics of the Navy, you weren't sure. But you were utterly grateful for his presence. 

It became evident that it was clearly more than a game of cards the following morning. Because in the hours after breakfast, Sadie made herself scarce. And Jake purposely kept you away from the garage, where he had parked his truck, in case Tyler decided to visit.

Sadie's maniacal laughter was another indication, so loud you could hear it through the garage walls. You were slightly concerned about what Jake was letting her do in there. 

But it all came to a head when Nat and Bob showed up at your door, telling you they were watching Sadie for the night, the Bug in question grinning ear to ear as she joined you at the door. You tried to refuse. You didn't want to leave her alone. In a surprise move, Sadie pouted at you. 

She had never once pouted over anything. No, she pushed, sassed, humoured, and produced receipts when she wanted to get her way.

 It freaked you out, so much so you couldn't bring yourself to say no. Which is how you found yourself in the passenger seat of Jake's truck, Nat and Bob standing with her on your front porch as she shouted for both of you to have a good time as he backed out of your driveway.

This was the worst possible timing. And yet, after everything they did, you felt like you owed it to them to try.

"You deserve this, darlin'." Jake's voice breaks through your thoughts, knowing you feel guilty. You squeeze his hand, dropping your chin to your chest. You have to remind yourself that Sadie is safe at home with Nat and Bob, probably arguing over music or what board game to play. And most importantly, you were allowed to take time to do things like this.

It's a few more minutes before Jake finally parks his truck, letting go of your hand and gently taking hold of your face. "Do you promise to give this a chance?"

"I don't even know what you've gotten me into. What Sadie and you got me into."

You can't see his face, so you can't tell what he's thinking. But you can imagine what he looks like right now as you feel him tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear. You bet he's staring at you apprehensively, gritting his jaw, and letting out a tiny huff of breath.

"You trust me, right?"

You turn your head to place a kiss on the palm of his hand. "You know I do, Jake."

"Then trust me when I say you won't regret this." You sucked in a breath before you nodded.

Jake lets go of your face to get out of his truck, walking around to open your door and help you out of your seat. You were instantly met with the smell of gasoline and pavement, the hot waves travelling up the bare skin of your legs, and your dress slightly flowing in the wind. There's a second where you think you heard the rumble of an engine or a zoom of a plane, but Jake doesn't give you much time to think about it as he helps you step down and shuts the door behind him.

Looping your arm through his, he leads you away, walking for a bit until he stops and turns to face you, squeezing your hand.

"Stay here," he says, letting you go. You cross your arms over your chest as you wait for him, hearing the sound of keys rattling together, sliding metal and a chain dragging along the ground. And then that's it. Besides the sound of wind in your ears and a few birds chirping, you don't hear any sign of him, and it makes you wonder if he's left you alone, standing in the middle of nowhere.

Until you feel his hand gently touching your arm, and you jolt slightly. "It's just me, Liz."

He guides you forward, making you stand in one spot, hands steadying you by your elbows. You feel him against your back for a few seconds before he's working at the knot of the blindfold.

"Just remember you promised," he said before taking it off.

You opened your eyes - to Mav's plane staring back at you.

You understood why the blindfold was necessary. You would have jumped out of his truck in an instant.

"Jake..."

"I said I would get you into a plane for our second date," he said, proud of himself. You knew where this was leading, what he wanted to do. You subconsciously stepped backwards, the words "absolutely not" escaping your lips.

You didn't get very far. Your back met Jake's chest, and he instantly had his arms around you, trapping your body against his. You turn, burying your face in his chest. "I'm terrified of flying, Jake."

"I'm going to be with you the whole time. I promise Liz, nothing bad is going to happen to you." He has the entire nape of your neck in his hand while this other hand is rubbing down the length of your spine in a comforting manner.

You don't know where your fear of flying came from. You've never been up in a plane before, a fact you certainly wouldn't admit to Jake. You were okay with heights, hikes on mountainside cliffs and long car drives.

Maybe it was the idea of not being in control of your body or being grounded.

"Jake, I don't know about this," you admit into his shirt. He presses his lips into your hair before explaining, "I won't let anything happen to you. We're just going up for a simple flight. The wind is perfect right now. There will be no turbulence. Trust me; I'm not called the best aviator at Top Gun for nothing."

He takes his hand off your neck to lift your chin. "Please," he urged, pressing a kiss to your lips. "Let me share something about my life that I love."

It was then, at that moment, you realized Jake and Sadie had something very much in common.

You could never say no to either of them.

___

If anyone had told you a week ago you would be sitting in the backseat of a plane, currently taxing down to a runway, you probably would have dropped dead on the spot. Even with your nerves on fire and a strong case of nausea, you let Jake help you up and into the back seat once he pulled the plane out of the hangar with little protest.

He was so excited to share this with you. Whether it was in how he helped buckle you into the seat or when he placed the headset on your head, there was a side to him you hadn't seen before. Almost giddiness, you thought, despite every internal voice you ever had screaming at you to run for the freaking hills. Even then, you were grateful you got to see this side of him.

As Jake speaks with the control tower expertly, you dart your eyes around the cabin. While there wasn't anything in terms of controls in the backseat with you, everything still looked old. The seat felt old. The buckles of the straps tying you down looked old. Even the walls looked old.

You also felt higher than you should, staring down at the plane's wings, eyes scoring the features, the colours, and the bumps. You knew you wouldn't find anything wrong. Jake was extremely thorough in his flight check, and you knew Mav cared for this thing like it was his child. But you were still scared, even believing if Sadie could do this multiple times with Maverick, who without a doubt took her for joyrides, you could handle a simple flight with Jake.

You should have fought harder to say no. You should have fought harder to say no.

Jake turns back slightly, looking at you from the corner of his eye. "I know it might seem scary, Liz. But trust me. I got you. We'll go slow."

Jake flies in an F-18, a machine capable of much more than whatever Mav's hobby plane could do. So his definition of slow is highly relative. It makes you feel nervous, wondering what he had planned for you.

It isn't until Jake pushes the plane forward onto the runway that you realize you have to accept that this is happening. Then he's accelerating forward, and you cannot help but hold your breath.

Adrenaline floods your veins as the plane takes off, gravity attempting to pull you back down in heavy anger. You slam your eyes shut, trying to force air into your lungs. The angle seems wrong, and you have this feeling both of you will crash into something, making you turn your face into your shoulder to hide.

Even when the plane levels out and things seem okay enough, you can't open them. Your heart is in your ears, and you're trying not to hyperventilate or make a noise. You don't want to ruin this for him. Because deep down, you knew, even with all the teasing and assurances, Jake would turn the plane around for you the second he got the slightest indication you were seriously freaked out.

So, for the longest time, you keep them shut, nothing but your heartbeat in your ears and the rumble of the old engine to keep you company. Even with Jake making this ride as smooth as possible, you couldn't help but alternate between gripping the edges of the seat or hugging yourself tight.

Don't open your eyes. Don't look down. Don't open your eyes. Don't look down.

"You alright?" Jake's voice crackled through the headset. First, you nodded with a hard sallow. But then you realize Jake couldn't see you. Your voice trembled as you managed to reply with, "Yes."

He chuckled to himself, the noise warm and full of amusement. He knew. He always did when it came to you.

"Open your eyes, Liz," Jake urged gently, his voice a mix of reassurance and excitement. "I'm not going to murder you if that's what your thinking."

Despite your anxiety, a smile manages to break through at his words. Actually, they are your words from the day of the hike when you took him down that hazardous unpaved road to the thrift shop. That had been so long ago, way before anything to do with Tyler, Bradley, or even before whatever this was with him.

He had given you the benefit of the doubt then. You owed it to do the same for him now. Shuttering a deep breath, you gathered the courage to open your eyes slowly.

At first, you half expected to fixate on the view of the ground underneath the plane's wings or catch a glimpse of the shoreline or ocean. That you'd hyperventilate, witnessing perhaps an engine on fire or a piece of Mav's plane missing, flapping in the wind.

You saw none of those things.

Jake had taken the two of you further North of the airport, towards a group of mountains. You were right in the middle of them, green caps and tall peaks making you forget you were even bound to the seat of the plane.

This wasn't flying.

This felt like soaring.

Jake banked the plane around one particular mountain, a tall one at the very end of the group. It wasn't until he purposely straightened out after circling around it, did the sun fully come into view. It was already beginning its descent toward the horizon, painting the sky with various hues and shades of fiery oranges, soft pinks and yellows.

The view from the Ferris wheel at the Fair had nothing on this.

Humans weren't supposed to witness views like this. They weren't supposed to be up this high, feeling like they could touch the clouds or be this close to the sun. Or see the shine, this bright, off the peaks of mountains or even be this parallel with them.

This was only something anyone could ever dream about seeing

As the plane glided through the sky, you could feel the sun's warmth casting a gentle light on your face. You closed your eyes, not out of fear this time, but contentment, placing your hands on either side of the window and taking a deep breath.

But when you opened your eyes, your eyes began to water, and you found yourself biting your lip as you looked back toward the sun. The words spilled out of you before you knew you had said them, your voice almost sounding broken as a single tear escaped down your cheek.

"Hi, Ridely."

Because there was something about being up here, in the clouds and the surrounding mountains and feeling the sun on your face, that brought you that much closer to her. Some part of you felt guilty for refusing Mav, Nat and even Rooster, to some degree, to take you up and experience this.

She was here with you. And you had never felt more free.

"You ready?" Jake asked you. Unknown to you, he was smiling, having heard your remark. You looked at the back of his head, a grin adding to the happy tears gracing your face. "For what?"

Jake didn't give you a reply. Instead, the plane tilted, and suddenly, the world was turning on its axis. A squeal caught in your throat as you found yourself spinning upside down.

"JAKE, YOU MOTHERFU.."

But your voice caught in your throat before you could finish your sentence, Jake laughing at your reaction.

Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as you originally thought. You didn't really know what to think about it, whether gravity would be pulling you out of your seat or seeing the world below would make you pass out.

The small part of you, still holding on to your fear, wanted to be mad at him. But the part of you, the one secretly enjoying the entire experience, won out.

The truth was, you couldn't help the laughter suddenly escaping your mouth. You couldn't help the smile as Jake accelerated the plane. Or when he let the nose dip ever so slightly to let it fall, you couldn't help the shout of exhilaration.

The rules of aviation or flight were beyond you as he controlled the plane through the air, nerves dying out and instead being replaced with pure joy.

You really could have cared less about being mad at him now.

The world below, and every problem in it, disappeared. And you were alright with that.

___

You didn't want to admit to yourself as Jake finally landed the plane that you never wanted that to end. Even if you should be feeling relief at being on solid ground or when he parked the plane in front of the hanger, you were high on adrenaline and sheer joy. 

You peered up at Jake's hesitant face after he helped you climb out of the plane, standing on wobbly legs. You couldn't do anything but pull him down by the back of his head and kiss him hard. He laughed into the kiss, rubbing his hands up and down your side as he spoke against your lips. "I take it your not afraid of flying anymore?"

You pull away, pressing your forehead to his chin. "Only if you are flying the plane."

It's feeding his ego, you are sure. His chest puffs out under your hands, and that cocky smirk he's known for returns, present in the kisses he's placing on your head.

"So I still have a girlfriend, then?"

You stiffen. Jake would want to put a title on this, even if it was only your 'official' second date. The both of you have done so much of this backwards, way outside the box of how 'normal' relationships were supposed to go. But in a few weeks, Jake and you went from a first date to sleeping in the same bed to him staying over for a week.

When was your and Jake's relationship ever straightforward? And as you told yourself in that bathroom at the fair, there was nothing wrong with being in love with Jake Seresin.

"I didn't know you had one," you say nonchalantly. Jake plays along, hands gripping your hips. 

"Oh, you didn't hear? Big Bad Hangman is suddenly enamoured with this assertive, savvy bartender at the Hard Deck. Turned him down flat on his ass the first time they met. Didn't stop him from wanting to be around her, though." 

"The shameless, cocky flirt who says the wrong thing at the wrong time, humbled by her and her sassy niece." He leans down to whisper in your ear. "Not to mention she's fucking hot."

You hummed, nodding your head and purposely avoiding looking at his face when he pulled back, your cheeks flaring up hard. 

"Will you look at me, Liz?"

"I can't."

Jake laughs at your reply. "You can't? Now why's that?"

"Because you're all ego right now and boastful, and you get that cocky smirk when you do," you mummer, still purposely avoiding his eyes. That cocky smirk grows even wider as Jake tugs your hips into his.

"You mean this cocky smirk?" he teases, pressing his nose to yours, maintaining his smile. You're fighting with yourself not to smile, but it's a battle you've already lost. Jake nuzzles his nose against yours before pressing a kiss to the corner of your mouth, still grinning. And then another to your cheek, just below your eye, before he's littering your face with them, and you laugh as you try to escape him.

"But if you really want to know," he says after you give in, smiling at him as he tucks a piece of your hair behind your ear. "I think you were mine the second you gave me that clean slate in your kitchen."

 "I was yours?" you press playfully, quirking an eyebrow. Jake pauses for a second, making a show of having to think about his answer. Till his face lights up in recognition, and he says," Oh wait."

He makes a show of standing straighter, dropping his voice lower and making his southern accent purposely thicker. "You've bewitched me body and soul since that night in your kitchen."

"Oh," you laugh wholeheartedly, knowing precisely what he's doing. "You're not trying to, Mr. Darcy, this!?"

He frowns. "I thought you liked Pride and Prejudice."

You grin at him, your hands working through his hair before you kiss his lips, pulling back slightly to mummer against his mouth. "That was before I had a decorated hotshot Navy fighter pilot sleeping in my bed."

Jake growls, and you giggle as he bends you backwards, kissing you again.

Stowing away Mav's plane didn't take very long. The two of you were on the road with daylight still out and Jake telling you the night was far from over. He took you to your favourite takeout place before driving to an Outlook, telling you he'd like to come here to think things through.

You know he intends for the both of you to sit on the flatbed of his truck when he backs it into the parking spot, purposely making it face out towards the water. He presses a button before the two of you get out, making the back cover come off. 

But Sadie's involvement in conspiring to get you into the backseat of Mav's plane clearly didn't end with the blindfold. Because the second two of you walk around and Jake drops the tailgate, Sadie's handiwork glares back at you.

You don't know where to look first. Your air mattress sits in the flatbed with a spare mattress cover. A few pairs of blankets are covering it, and you know she would have needed help to get the two spare pillows sitting at the back, the ones you kept on the top shelf of your linen closet.

Of course, Jake could have managed this all on his own. But the dead giveaway was the lights. It only could have been Sadie who had taken the battery-operated string lights you had on the bookcase in your family room and strung them to the sides of his truck, the electrical tape you knew had been Jake's idea.

When you get over your shock, you turn to Jake, absolutely speechless that he let her do all this. He shrugged like it was no big deal. "What? I have to give her credit. Bug's creative."

He set the bag of food down before placing his hands on your waist, lifting you up to sit on the edge of the tailgate. "Get yourself comfy, darlin'."

You didn't move. For the sole fact you were wearing a knee-high dress, and if you turned to climb on top of the mattress, he'd get a pretty nice view of your ass. He shot you a look once he hopped up, and you shrugged, avoiding his eyes. "You can go first."

He chuckled knowingly. "Nothing I ain't going to see eventually."

It was nice to know Jake's ability to make you bush hadn't waned after recent events.

The two of you settled up against the pillows, takeout containers in both of your laps as you ate, talking about Sadie and what it might look like for her when he had to return to school next week. Then his phone rang. You spied the face-time ID as Jake reached for it on the blanket in front of him.

Janet.

He looked guilty as he asked, "Do you mind if?"

You shook your head, smiling around the fork in your mouth before managing, "Of course not."

Jake handed you his takeout container, bringing his phone up to answer the call. But instead of his sister's face, he was greeted by the sight of a baby in a blue cap.

"Surprise!" Janet's tired voice rang out through the speaker. "Meet your nephew!"

Jake's eyes glazed over the second he stared down at his phone. His hand holding his phone slightly shook, and he reached out to grip the edge of his truck with a thump. You couldn't help yourself when you dropped the takeout containers onto the blanket in front of you and peered up over his shoulder.

"Oh my god, he's adorable."

Suddenly, the camera flipped on his phone, and Jake's sister was staring back at both of you.

Even in a hospital gown, her exhaustion evident, it was clear Janet was Jake's sister. Her hair was the same colour, her eyes the same shade of green. Her mouth was the same shape, and you were sure if she smiled, you would undoubtedly see Jake's same smile beaming back at you.

"Shit, he wasn't kidding when he said you were gorgeous."

You ducked, hiding your face behind Jake's shoulder, heat rising in your cheeks. Whether it was the quickness of your escape or Janet's revealing words, Jake seemed to snap out of his daze.

"Janet!"

"Hey, I gotta embarrass you where I can. Call it payback for all the times you shared my dirty little secrets with Ian."

"Those weren't secrets, Jan. He needed to know what he was getting himself into."

"Bless his heart for it too."

You shook your head, chuckling into the back of Jake's shirt at their banter. Jake looks over his shoulder at you, slightly amused.

"Come out, Liz," Janet called out from the phone. "I don't bite."

"Much," Jake grumbled.

This wasn't exactly how you imagined meeting his sister, one of the few people he actually considered his family. Slowly lifting your head from behind Jake's frame, you managed a hesitant smile, gripping him for dear life. "Congratulations, Janet."

She smiled at you, replying, "Twelve hours of labour, but it was so worth it."

"What did you name him?" you asked, unable to contain the joy in your voice.

"E.J.," she said, looking down at the bundle in her arms before returning to look at the screen, clarifying, "Elijah-Jacob."

Jake drew in a sharp breath, and Janet didn't hesitate when she cried out, "As if I would name him anything else, you idiot."

Resting your chin on Jake's shoulder, you peered up at the side of his face with an affectionate smile. "Your full name's Jacob?"

But he didn't answer you, instead asking his sister, "Now, why on earth would you do something as stupid as that?"

Janet shot him a disappointed look before her eyes tracked over to you. "Liz, will you help me out here?" she said, tilting her head toward Jake.

"Glady," you replied, tapping the back of his head. Jolting under your chin, Jake faced you, slightly shocked. But you only shot him a disapproving glare.

"You're my baby brother. You risk your f-ing life day in and day out every single time you go up in that jet of yours or go out on deployments to make sure everyone else can sleep safely at night. And when you are home? I won't even start on all the shit you stand up against, not with Liz here."

Janet lets out a huge sigh before exclaiming, "So don't question my judgment or my choice. There was no way I was going to name him anything else. Suck it up."

Jake could only shake his head in disbelief, a humbling smile growing with each passing second.

"Now, hand me over to Liz. I wanna talk to her properly."

This is so backwards, you think, as Jake passes his phone over to you with a knowing smile. You are suddenly filled with nervousness you are not used to. This was the one person you knew Jake sought approval from. Everything was riding on this one interaction.

But your nerves settle instantly when she grins at you and casually mentions, "So, he managed to get you up in that death trap."

"It seems everyone knew about this little plan but me, even my niece, dead centre in the middle of it."

Janet grins at the mention of Sadie. "From what Jake has told me about her, she's a girl after my own heart."

"Sassy? Opinionated? Knows how to get her way?"

"Something more like being an insect, but I can see where the similarities lie."

You chuckle softly, feeling Jake rub your side, before you say, "You remind me of her."

"I'd love to meet her one day. And you in person. "

"I'd like that. I'm sure she'd love you."

Jake shook his head violently, and you couldn't help but laugh at him. "My nephew will get all sorts of horrible ideas if he meets Sadie. Don't start him that young!"

You gasp at him. "Are you saying my niece is a troublemaker, Jake Seresin?"

"You know she is."

You shake your head, bumping him with your shoulder.

"Please get my number from my little brother over here. I want somebody to send cute baby pics to," Janet pouts.

"Could you send me embarrassing stories?" you wiggle your eyebrows. Janet smirks, a playful look in her tired eyes. "Oh, you want them. I'll give them to you, no problem."

 Oh boy, did you like her.

"Nope." Jake tries to reach for his phone, but you are quicker, laughing at his attempts as you stretch your hand out of his reach. "You have a ten-year-old in the palm of your hand who has an honesty problem and years of embarrassing stories about me. Let me have my chance!"

"In comparison? Nope. Not even close. Give me my phone." Jake holds out the palm of his hand. And then you get an idea, shooting him a playful stare as you extend your hand farther.

"Come and get it, Cowboy."

Suddenly, Jake lurches forward, almost toppling you over. Jake's efforts to retrieve his phone only cause you to break out in a fit of giggles, your stomach cramping so much you fall over into the air mattress, Jake landing on top of you. Your grip on his phone is still tight.

"If my sister wasn't on the other end..." There is no threat in his words. Jake's smiling with you as you continue to laugh, trying to pry the device out of your hand. Janet's shout through her own laughter interrupts the two of you. "Keep it pg, you two! Literal newborn ears over here!"

Jake manages to swipe his phone back when you laugh even harder at her words. You sit up, wrapping your arms around his as you try to fit yourself into the view of his phone screen when the two of you settle.

Janet looks up at something in her room and frowns. "I gotta go. The nurse will come back any minute and yell at me, I swear."

The both of you say your goodbyes, Janet explaining more than once she was happy Jake found you. But just before he went to end the call, Janet called out his name. 

"Watch out for a package from Texas coming up there."

Jake's smile flees at Janet's words, slowly dissolving into a sombre expression. His body tenses under your touch, and you see the second his eyes darken with a deep-seated seriousness. It's a side to Jake you've only truly ever seen once before - when he found you handcuffed on the floor of the Hard Deck.

Growing up, you and Ridley had all sorts of codewords and phrases for different things. Those were the unfortunate circumstances you had to live with as a kid. So you knew right away Janet didn't mean an actual package. Whatever it was, Jake was clearly not happy about it. It was making you deeply concerned. 

Jake reaches for your thigh, grip tightening when he replies, "Yeah, okay."

He hangs up. And doesn't mention anything else about it.

__

After finishing your dinner in silence, you sat next to Jake, staring out at the horizon. His arm was wrapped around your shoulders, keeping you tight to his side. At some point, you had placed both of your legs over his lap, wanting to be as close to him as possible.

It was still light out when Jake and you left the tiny airport, and the sky was now turning dark, leaving the small parking lot of Jake's outlook out secluded, the two of you alone and in utter peace. His fingers were absentmindedly stroking your skin as you both took in the last few minutes of the sunset.

"You okay?" you asked him, kissing his shoulder before looking back over the water, suddenly aware of Jake's hand slowly getting closer to the inside of your thigh. He kissed your cheek, replying, "Never better."

You don't buy it.

"You're an uncle now," you wondered aloud. Jake shrugged. "I already was one."

"But it's different. Sadie is..."

"Sadie counts." He quickly corrected you, kissing your forehead before looking back to the water. "She'll always count."

It warms you, his level of affection for her, but you cannot help but detect a sense of finality in his tone. Reaching up, you cradled the side of his jaw, turning his head back to you so you could lean up and kiss him.

Jake presses his lips to yours softly before pulling back to look at you. There's something in his eyes you cannot name.

Then his lips are back on yours, this time steady and encompassing, parting your lips with his tongue. Your grip on his face tightens as you suddenly find yourself being tilted backwards, sliding down the pillows until Jake is half on top of you. Your head is pillowed on his bicep as he kisses you, your hand still cradling his jaw. 

He then goes for your neck in a desperate breath, open-mouth kisses, sucking harder and harder. You're used to this. The two times Jake had you pinned up against him, he had marked up the side of your neck. But his hand, not trapped under your head, is wandering. Groping at your breast, sliding down your stomach to the outside of your thigh, testing his grip. 

He hikes your outside leg up, fingers brushing the sensitive part inside your thigh.

Your breath hitches.

"Is this okay?" he whispered into your ear. You hummed your reply, nodding once. But Jake grazed his nose along your jawbone lightly, fingers delicately sliding up and down the inside of your thigh.

"Words, Elizabeth."

Damn him and his accent, saying your full name.

"Yes," you gasped out, wanting him. "It's absolutely okay."

"My good girl," he says before diving back to your mouth. You know he's teasing you as he strokes your skin, making you quiver with anticipation of what is to come. But then he's reaching for the helm of your dress, lifting and folding it over your stomach, as he releases your lips in a harsh pant. 

The question is there in his eyes as he looks down at you, fingers resting just on the helm of your underwear. You swallow, opening your legs wide. Jake's eyes glaze over, and his arm flexes under your head. You're giving him this—this first experience of letting someone be with you. 

He doesn't hesitate when he starts dragging them down. You eagerly lift your hips to help him take them off. Once he gets them past your ankles, he shoves them into the back pocket of his jeans. 

Jake hisses when he takes you in, so spread out for him. "Can I touch, darlin'? Can I touch what is mine?" 

Fucking hell, Jake. Do you have a consent kink?!

"I'm yours," you gasp into the night air. "Please, Jake, Please."

Jake rests half on top of you, swallowing your whimper as he finally reaches and presses down on your clit, slow, gentle circles that have you closing your legs and sharp breaths racking your chest. Your hand shoots out and grips his wrist, feeling his muscles contract under your hand.  

"Keep them open, Liz," he warns, shifting down slightly so he can turn you and press you back against his chest. Jake slots his leg between yours, expertly thrusting his knee so your leg hooks up over his, never stopping in his efforts.

He rubs at you with ease, carefully watching how each movement makes you react before he switches to his thumb, and a single-finger probes at your entrance. You thrust your hips back into him, a strangled noise crawling out of your throat, and Jake uses it as an opportunity to push his finger inside. 

"That sound, " He breathes against your cheek. "You're driving me goddamn insane."

You used to worry back in university that you'd feel trapped if you ever found someone you trusted enough to do with this. But even with Jake poised at your back, working between your legs, you did not feel as if you weren't in control. Your body is open to the air, and Jake is only holding you down by his hand and the weight of his words. 

You feel safe. 

He adds another finger, curling them inside you, searching for something when you let out a sharp whine. It burns. The stretch. The sensations that were spreading across your groin. 

You felt full with Jake's finger's inside you, squelching sounds accompanying each time pumped them in and out of you.  "You're so tight," he moaned into your neck. "I won't have you here, but fuck Liz, the day I can have you gripping my cock." 

You bury your squeal into the flesh of his arm, your arm not currently gripping Jake's wrist, whipping out to find the side of his truck, making a string of lights fall. 

Not slow. This is not slow. 

"Knowing I'm your first." He bites the soft skin behind your ear. "That your mine." 

Your cry is muffled into this arm, and Jake glides his nose up the back of your neck to your ear. "Don't look away, Liz," he soothes. "Let me see your face."

It's the last thing you want him to see, ironically. The faces you make aren't pretty, and your eyes are slammed shut. And you were sure if you did open your eyes, you'd explode at the slight; you spread out so shamelessly open to the sky. Jake's hand between your legs, working you higher and higher off an unknown edge from the flatbed of his truck. 

But you do manage to turn your head back, Jake immediately catching your mouth with his in a desperate kiss. When he lets your mouth go, you whine out with a pant, "Fuck Jake, I can't." 

"Yes, yes, you can." Your words must have encouraged him because suddenly, his thumb is circling faster, and his fingers are pressing harder, working that spot inside you. Your eyes are screwed shut, tears seeping through as the ball in your abdomen grows tighter and tighter, nails biting into his wrist. 

"Are you going to let go for me, darlin'," he gasps into your open mouth, hovering above you. You wanted to, desperately. "Will you let me have it? 

You drop your head to his arm, the feeling too much to bear. You are on the edge of something, fire radiating from your core and making your thighs shake. Jake pants into your ear, once, twice before he moans, "Will you cum for me?"

His thumb swipes over your clit as he presses hard on that spot inside you. You keen, lights exploding behind your eyes as you arch your hips towards his hand, legs trembling as you clench around Jake's fingers. The cool breeze from the sea or the cool air from the night sky does nothing to the heat flooding your veins.

He's there. Turning your head back, catching your cries into his mouth, and taking the bruises you're pressing into his arm without flinching. In fact, he's smiling ever so slightly, watching you come apart underneath him.

You weakly turn in his hold, whimpering and trying to bury yourself into his chest as every emotion hits you at once. Jake pulls his fingers from you as you do, and you feel embarrassed at the wetness coating your thighs. Gripping the back of your leg, he rolls, taking you with him. Your body crashes limply onto his chest, and the one leg he's holding straddles his waist.

Your trembling, gripping his shirt to ground yourself and will strength back into your body.  There's a hyper-awareness you are not used to dancing across your skin - allowing you to feel the fabric of the blanket underneath you, the chill in the air, Jake's warmth, your release cooling on your thighs and covering his fingers, grasping your bare leg.

Any rational thought has gone out the window. Except for the fact you know Jake could not have gotten off from that.

He's hard against the inside of your thigh, through the denim of his jeans, the rough fabric creating friction against your clit as you rock lightly to the pulses aching in your core. He's groaning with each press, fighting with himself not to cant his hips up into you.

Even as you continue to whimper your aftershocks into his neck, you find yourself trailing your hand down his chest and to his stomach, fingers barely slipping under the waistband of his jeans, just reaching the first few strains of hair.

But Jake grunts, pulling your hand away and shaking his head. He brings it up to his mouth, kissing the palm before stating, "It's not about me right now."

"Jake..."

He doesn't give in to the soft pleading of this name. Instead, he grips the roots of your hair at the base of your skull, ensuring there isn't an inch of space between you as he pulls you close. His other hand is gripping the bare skin of your ass, keeping your dress up around your hips and lower half exposed to the cool air.

This time, you do feel trapped.

He's holding you like you'd be carried off by the breeze, ready to disappear at any second. As if faced with another deployment, off to fight a war with the fear of never making it back. The switch in him is so sudden that the aftershocks of your recent orgasm are reduced to cooling embers, and it only adds to your unease when Jake gasps through a sharp breath, "Just let me hold you and forget about everything else."

The concern you felt for him earlier returns with a vengeance.

Jake's anxious about something, and he's not telling you why. Suddenly, the chill in the air is too cold, the blanket is too rough, and Jake's fingers and the insides of your thighs are chalky, rubbing against your skin.

You focus on breathing instead, trying to calm your rapid heart. You weren't going to hold whatever this was against him.

Because despite not knowing what to think about having your real first sexual experience in the flatbed of Jake's truck, you today were the happiest you had felt in a while, even with literal hell overtaking your life. 

But listening to Jake's heartbeat pound under your ear, the paranoia you've ignored so many times before makes a home in your chest, and the allusion that was today dissipates, and everything comes rushing back. Tyler. Bradley. And now, whatever Janet warned Jake about that was making him act this way.

It was all a possibility again.

You couldn't help but feel this silver of happiness wouldn't last that much longer.

Tag List:

@blue-aconite @tinytotontheoversizedpony @djs8891 @caitsymichelle13 @startrekfangirl2233

@mayhemmanaged @ereardon @dempy @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @daggerspare-standingby

@phantomxoxo @formulapierre @eli2447 @fulla02 @blckgrl-sunflower @mizzzpink @ohgodnotagainn

@bubblegumbeautyqueen @sarahsmi13s @desert-fern @lynnestra44 @memoriesat30 @penwieldingdreamer @mxlanciia

@bradleybeachbabe @bobby-r2d2-floyd @lavenderbradshaw @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @kmc1989 @gigisimsonmars @dakotakazansky

@keyrani @craftytrashprincess @hisredheadedgoddess28 @abzidabzy

Part 15: Have you ever seen the rain? Coming soon

Wickett ;)

[verdemoun]

is there like a comprehensive guide somewhere about the timewarp au thing because i keep seeing you post about it but i've only been following you for a little while so i'm not at all as caught up on the lore as i'd like to be 💔 could you maybe summarise the most basic important info and aspects of it like you were explaining it to a complete outsider ?

I will hopefully be making one is the not too distant future because timewarp definitely got way bigger than I ever anticipated and is still providing me loads of fun to write. pinned post coming in the next month hopefully and a better tagging system so people can find stuff easier

origins: timewarp part 1, timewarp part 2, how does death work in timewarp, timewarp timeline

td;lr: the van der linde gang and other important characters from rdr canon are transported exactly 100 years into the future from their moment of death - which may or may not be due to the whims of magical time travelling quasi-deity josiah trelawney

as part of timewarping the gang still experience and remember their deaths and the events of canon. they also often need to wait years to be reunited following the dates of canon wherever possible, and pass the time learning how to live in modern era and otherwise getting up to antics they didn't have time to while outlaws.

the canon timewarp cast, in rough order of death: bessie matthews, annabelle, eliza, isaac morgan, mac callander, davey callander, jenny kirk, jake adler, sean macguire, kieran duffy, hosea matthews, lenny summers, molly o'shea, susan grimshaw, arthur morgan, eagle flies, karen jones, alden carruthers, leopold strauss, micah bell iii, sadie adler, charles smith, abigail (addie) marston jr, javier escuella, bill williamson, dutch van der linde, uncle, john marston, abigail marston, jack marston.

some funky ocs who turn up: kai bell (descendant of amos bell), maeve macsummers (daughter of sean macguire and karen jones), lucy shelley (molly o'shea's wife)

characters who did not timewarp due to me thinking they deserve a fix-it happy ending in canon era: mary-beth gaskill, tilly jackson, simon pearson, reverend swanson, rains fall, mary linton.

i will however answer asks about how i think absolutely any character would react to being timewarped (special shoutout to darragh macguire)

[joesalw]

First of all I just wanted to commend you for becoming a TS hate blog despite the annoying fangirl swarm you're probably going to face. You're truly doing the lord's work.

I saw that you said you were her a fan of hers but then realised who she was after her breakup with Joe. I was curious about how long you'd been a fan and how involved were you in the fandom and what was it that caused this 180? Was it one thing that just shook you out or was it little things added up?

For me, I had always considered myself more of a casual fan of her music but never got into the fandom side of it because I always thought of swifties as pretty fucking annoying. However, I've had mutuals through the years who were more in the fandom so I sort of observed from the outside. As for her as a person, I never went to bat for her but I always felt like I gave her a sense of grace and understanding despite her being 7 years older than me and far more privileged. For example, when people accused her of always playing the victim I always thought it was understandable because when you're young you often only see things from your own pov, but with age and maturity you start seeing the bigger picture.

My issues with her started in 2020, the year after she made a documentary where she shed her white women tears and proclaimed she wanted to be politically active and use her voice for good. But when the opportunity came with covid, BLM and the election she did less than the bare minimum, a couple of tweets and some cookies iirc. After that her shitty allyship continued to annoy me especially after that Ginny and Georgia tweet, but what was really grating on my nerves was the way her fanbase and the media were hailing her an artistic genius for the littlest things. She's always been one of the poster girls for white mediocrity in the entertainment industry but it was taken to whole new level with her directing her "short film". I don't know what makes good music, but I do know little more about movies and directors and all too well was just so meh and bland and basic and the fact that Sadie and Dylan are both brilliant actors yet their performances in that "film" were so lackluster tells me she does not have what it takes to be a director. Yet she was invited to one of those variety talks and was campaigning for a Oscar nomination? And will apparently direct a movie sometime in the future? Has the world lost it's fucking mind?

Anyways come 2023 to her dating a bigot and I realised just how much of a performance her "activism" has been and her going back to the same tricks of playing victim that made me realise it wasn't immaturity and age this is just who she is.

Sorry if this is tmi but I thought since I was asking for you story I'd tell you mine in a sense. I also have some completely unqualified armchair psychology takes on miss t if you're interested in hearing them. They're probably not "hot takes" or something someone somewhere hasn't already said about her but this was already too long for me to dump them on you unasked.

Hope you have a great day! X

I started fangirling her in 2016 when the whole snakegate thing happened. With reputation especially, when she wrote those monologues about her being comfortable being her ownself at the end of her 20s and wanting a normal life and privacy outside media scrutiny. Her talking about how she used her "taylor swift sqaud" to heal her past insecurities not knowing how it could affect someone who still doesn’t have that type of friendgroup, her deciding to keep her relationship private instead of making it a circus for the media. You know, you could see the personality growth in her at that time. To me she really felt like a very matured person.

Even though there were still lots of things (that you talked about) used to make me very uncomfortable, like that ginny and georgia tweet and her posting that black image of blm trend with THIRTEEN HEART EMOJIS (so embarrassing and weird?)

Moreover, I never liked any of her self directed music videos. Like those were so bland and boring and never fit with the music. But people still praising her and giving her vmas and shits was just a confirmation that nobody cares about art these days, they only want the clout from her name. Her music is also very boring. She writes about the same events in thousand different songs to milk the shit out of it. Like girl please move on!

But what made me actually unstan her was the whole shitshow she put up after her breakup with Joe. The person she talked so highly about in her whole discography was now a villain too. She went on a brought up a whole hate trend on Joe by making her friends unfollow him publicly.

SHE IS THE ONE WHO INSTIGATED THE WHOLE JOE ALWYN HATRED TREND.

You know no matter whatever someone does (his only fault was not wanting to marry her lol), nobody deserves to go through this type of media harassment. But Joe did. Joe is the person who saved her when she was having this kind of media treatment but later on SHE instigated the same type of hatred for him. That just proves how terrible she is as a human being. And not to forget she immediately started dating a vile, racist, islamophobe, bigot, piece of shit and said that was the best time of her life. She didn’t even acknowledge her wrong in the relationship on her breakup announcement (she acted unbrothered). She used Ice Spice to cover up her mess. I mean how many more reasons did i need after that?

Now in her travis era, she switched completely 180° saying being public is her real personality. She also brought back her squad pap walks. She is really feeding into the narrative that Joe kept her in basement. So like the MAIN thing that made me fall in love with her in the first place was all along a lie? She never matured? She never wanted to have privacy? She never valued a normal life? Her personality growth really went downhill to a shithole.

But after being so invested in her for 7 years, I can tell you that a breakdown is coming very soon and I will not feel bad for it at all!

[spicybylerpolls]

Hi. So, I know this isn't really what you do but I really like what you and your anons have to say whenever we open discourse in here and this has been stuck in my mind recently and I would really like to know you guys opinion on the matter. So here goes nothing, I guess.

I think it was you who I saw not that long ago saying that Finn is the one with the smartest career outside of ST out of the ST "kids". Which is an opinion I agree with. The second one will probably be Sadie, especially in recent years. Noah, Caleb, and Gaten seem to be trying to establish themselves in Hollywood more in recent years but I do think Noah is concentrating more on college and finishing ST5 atm while Caleb and Gaten seem to prefer Broadway.

Now, considering all this, I don't know why some people are so "worried" about Finn's career post-ST. Saying his "bright future" got ruined and he's gonna be all about angry teens, legacy movies, and 80s nostalgia. While I do think he's waiting for ST to finally be over to take on other roles he probably couldn't take before because of the ST image, I do believe he's gonna continue doing those kind of projects because he genuinely likes doing those movies.

I mean, look at him promoting Ghostbusters just last week. The only times that guy looked a little uncomfortable was when the ST questions came up. Now compared that to him promoting ST. I'm not saying he's tired of ST because he seems to be well aware that it made his career but I do think the ST fandom overwhelms him sometimes and with good reasons.

Honestly, out of the ST "kids", the one with the most "worrisome" career is Millie. Yes, she's very popular in and outside of Hollywood but she hasn't really established herself in Hollywood outside of ST/Netflix, not to mention that her projects seem to be catered more towards her female side of the fandom. There are also other things that I'm not gonna mention here but I think people can guess.

I know Millie kinda "blames" ST for not being able to take on other bigger projects but Finn and Sadie have been doing ST for (or almost) as long as she has and yet they're in big movies like It, Ghostbusters, and The Whale. Working alongside big celebrities like Paul Rudd and TS and renowned directors like Del Toro and Aronofsky. I know Finn and Sadie probably have more freedom since their characters are not as "big and important" as Eleven but still. It's a little weird, isn't it?

There's also the fact that the Godzilla movies seem to have dropped her because "she was too expensive for them". I don't know how old you are but I remember Twilight and how bad some of their careers got after they became "too expensive" for mainstream Hollywood.

Honestly, I think Finn and Sadie will be fine, at least for a while (we can never truly know the future, especially in Hollywood). Noah, Caleb, and Gaten will be fine too. I didn't mention Priya because compared to the other ST "kids" she has basically just started. Millie is the one people should be worried about.

Anyway, what do you guys think about this? If you don't want to post this, that's fine. Don't worry about it. Just needed to get this out of my mind and chest. Have a nice day!

PS: I'm not saying any of them are "bad actors" or anything. Just that some of them seem to have made some smarter career choices that others.

Hmm, these are all interesting points! I def agree that Finn and Sadie are at the top based on their overall career choices, although maybe I'd switch Sadie and Finn around slightly. I think Noah and Gaten are both wild cards given the fact that they haven't done as many projects outside of ST. I hope Noah's agent gives him better projects than The Tutor because he absolutely has the talent for it.

Caleb is a wild card too, but he's been good in the things I've seen him in like Concrete Cowboy. He also has a horror movie lined up called The Deliverance, but it's on Netflix so it's likely hit or miss. I think Gaten said somewhere that he was nervous about getting roles post S5, but you're right that his career has a lot of potential if he continues down the Broadway path.

"Now, considering all this, I don't know why some people are so "worried" about Finn's career post-ST. Saying his "bright future" got ruined and he's gonna be all about angry teens, legacy movies, and 80s nostalgia. While I do think he's waiting for ST to finally be over to take on other roles he probably couldn't take before because of the ST image, I do believe he's gonna continue doing those kind of projects because he genuinely likes doing those movies."

I think some are worried about Finn because they don't see him as being as good of an actor as the others maybe? I'm not sure how fair that is, and maybe I'm biased as a Finn stan, but I've never seen him as bad in any of the project's he's been it. With When You Finish Saving the World, he had an opportunity to work alongside some great people and I think he held his own. I think some of the issue may be that in some of his projects like Ghostbusters, especially the latest one, he really isn't being given the best material to work with. His co-star Mckenna Grace got all the meatier material.

I personally think Finn has A LOT of untapped potential and he just isn't being used properly. I know he doesn't have a big role, but I'm really, excited to see him in SNL 1975 as I think he has a lot of potential with comedy because he's funny as hell. And obviously, he has a lot of potential with writing/directing and with his music career too if he chooses to focus more on that side of things instead.

I find your points about Millie to be really intriguing! I agree with you that she hasn't established herself outside of Netflix other than the Godzilla movies, but I'm not sure I fully understand what you're getting at when you say, "her projects seem to be catered more towards her female side of the fandom" and, "There are also other things that I'm not gonna mention here but I think people can guess."

Opening this up to everyone! What are y'alls thoughts?

[hargrove-mayfields]

It’s Harringrove Week! Billy’s Birthday Bonanza edition! @harringroveweek

prompt: 5 years old

warnings: there are a few brief discussions of a past miscarriage

—

Billy and Steve’s youngest child is turning five years old. They’ve done this seven other times now, the only one of their babies for which they didn’t get to celebrate this particular milestone being Summer, because she was adopted out of foster care at six.

Their wavy haired little girl is wearing a pink poofy dress, a gift to match the overload of pink decorations everywhere. Sadie is obsessed with Piglet from Winnie the Pooh, so of course everyone is required to wear little pink headbands with ears attached, and wear matching outfits. Dorothy is the only one who doesn’t have to adhere to this matching rule, since her feeding tube restricts the outfits she can wear.

To document the day, Steve has a camera, a gift from one of their friends as part of the group moving out of Hawkins clean up, set up on a tripod to the side. He doesn’t want it in the kids' faces making them uncomfortable, but he knows the hurt Billy feels being in his thirties now and having not a shred of evidence to prove his childhood existed. At least, not beyond the stiff, unhappy school photos his father had kept framed as part of the happy family routine he’d insisted on keeping up.

Their family isn’t like that. Both of them have done their damndest to make sure their babies got a better hand in life than they were given back at the start.

Sadies fifth birthday is going to be the best one yet for their littlest girl.

“Blow the candles out sissy!” Steve encourages her, after they did the Happy Birthday song in sign language, because all that singing would be sure to overstimulate her.

After a moment of placing her little hands on the table and hoisting herself up over the buttercream flower-adorned sheet cake, Sadie puffs her little cheeks and blows out all five candles, sitting back down to clap her hands together for herself, a proud smile plastered on her round face.

It inspires her siblings and her dads to cheer for her as well, giving quiet little exclamations and shaking their hands in a chorus of, “Yay Sadie!!”

Coming over to her, Billy asks her a question in sign, “How old are you now, Sadie little lady?”

Her developmental delay had made it hard for Sadie to understand these kinds of things at first. Steve has been spending a lot of extra time with her recently, teaching her numbers and letters and all of her siblings names. She even recently learned how to smile.

So it’s amazing when Sadie holds up her hand, all five fingers up, and announces her age with pure confidence. “Five!!”

Billy even catches a little glint of tears in Steve’s eyes. He doesn’t say anything though, and neither do any of the kids, though he also notices little Tommy, their always curious second youngest, checking on his daddy every now and again.

This party is probably the greatest damn thing in Sadie’s life since the first time she responded to her name when she was three. Standing there, hand in hand, watching their littlest girl rocking in her seat and giggling with her loving siblings, Billy and Steve could both about burst into tears, but, like Billy observed, they’re trying to make sure this stays happy.

Sadie doesn’t know the difference between happy tears and sad tears, and when anybody cries it breaks her little heart.

Steve distracts from the potential moment-ruining tear ducts, calling just loud enough to be heard over the kids chattering, “Cake time!”

***

Billy takes the job of wrangling all the kiddos into bed while Steve takes a bit of a rest after the party. He’s overwhelmed after today, all the sounds and sights, he’d actually tapped out of the celebration with Sadie on his hip before it was even over.

The bigger kids wanted to stay up a little later to burn off the sugar in their bodies, but Sadie was exhausted. He’d changed her into her favorite Piglet pjs, brushed her chin-length hair, and she’d fallen right asleep in his lap before he even got her to her bed.

He decided, after laying her on her pillows and pulling the handmade quilt up to her shoulders, just to sit in the little reading chair by her bed and watch over her. Not that there’s anybody around to notice, but he’s also maybe dozing off a bit every now and again.

The last kids to go down are little Tommy and Bobbi-Jo, since they share a room with Sadie and knew she would be trying to sleep by now. Billy brought them in, holding each of their hands now that they’re too heavy for his chronically out of place joints to carry, and they both climbed right into their beds without making a single peep.

Of course, two sets of stunning blue eyes peered across the room at Steve though, begging for nighttime kisses and hugs. And who was he to say no to his little ones, only 6 and 7 respectively?

After rosy cheeks were sufficiently smooched, and the princess night light turned on, Billy and Steve exchanged a look. Downstairs was still an absolute disaster thanks to the dropped pieces of cake, scraps of torn open wrapping paper, and stray streamers scattered about.

Without a word or a sign between them, the looks in their faces alone are enough to discuss whether or not they’re feeling up to it. They both think it’s best to just tackle it now before the kids can wake up and need something they can’t get to because it looks like a twister ransacked their living room.

They’re both surprised to see their oldest, named after their dear friend, Chrissy, up and out of bed and shoving deflated balloons into a small diaper recycling bag.

After a tiny bit of gentle, but concerned questioning, they discover their eleven year old just ate too much candy and gluten free cake. She couldn’t sleep thanks to the rush and wanted to be helpful.

Instead of forcing her to lay back down in her shared room with her snore-heavy siblings, Billy and Steve agree to let her stay up for another hour to help, but instead of asking her to do chores, she’s assigned to watch the baby monitors set up in the three rooms her siblings share. Especially keeping an eye on Summer and Joyce, since their older girl is prone to nightmares, and the latter has seizures in her sleep.

While her fathers take over the slow clean up of the birthday wreckage, Chrissy gets bored of watching the monitors in silence, and though she doesn’t take her eyes off the screens to keep doing her duty, she turns the volume up a little higher, and starts asking questions to keep herself busy.

“Since baby Sadie is five now, that means she has to start school, right?”

That makes them pause their cleaning. It’s a bit of a touchy subject. Steve has spent many a night crying because his youngest isn’t a baby anymore, and he’s terrified of handing over her care in the day to the school system that treated him so poorly when he struggled with the same things his autistic daughter is surely going to.

His comfort is knowing Billy, Chrissy, and Heather all work at the school in various positions, and can keep watch on the little sweetheart if she needs help. They’d done it for the other eight, and Sadie, although she’s struggled a lot, is no different.

Chrissy even personally offered to enroll Sadie in a new music therapy program, using her experience as the music teacher and the wife of a now successful musician to provide a new outlet. The school almost barred it from happening, figuring there wasn’t much their blind, wheelchair user teacher could do for the newest special needs case, but they changed their minds when Sadie toured the place to make sure it would be a right fit, and ran straight to her second favorite auntie Chrissy for a cuddle and a song. That whole situation was almost enough to make Steve decide on homeschooling his girl, but he isn’t exactly equipped to teach with his dyslexia and all.

But all of that is too much for their little Chrissy to worry or know about, so Steve simply answers, “Yep! In a few months, she’ll be in kindergarten.”

The limitations of their answers doesn’t even inhibit the number of questions she has for a second. She’s as sharp as a tack, and they’ve always encouraged her to ask questions and understand things in her own way, so she asks next, “So what will you do with none of us at home?”

“Well-“ Billy looks at Steve, and sees he’s already given up his task of folding up the plastic tablecloth to return the gaze. The only time they tried to talk about it, Steve had broken down into tears thinking about how much he’ll miss having his babies around, and spiraled into thinking about college and the future and grandkids. Billy takes over this conversation though and signs to her, expression casual so little Chrissy won’t worry, “We haven’t really thought about it too much yet.”

But their stubborn little girl already had an answer in mind, something she must have picked up from a tv show or other kids, “That’s silly. I’m a big girl now, so I know you’ll be glad to have the house all by yourself.”

��Bubba, trust me. Daddy is gonna be a wreck having an empty nest.” Billy answers with finality, about to change the subject for his husband's sake before Steve interrupts-

“I mean, the nest doesn’t have to stay empty though.”

It’s a good thing Chrissy was distracted by the baby monitor, probably watching her sister Carol roll around in her sleep, judging from the way she laughs every few seconds, or else she would have noticed the look Billy exchanged with Steve, equal parts shocked, worried, and intrigued.

They haven’t talked about having more kids since their last pregnancy ended early in tragedy. Some things, the kids just don’t know or need to know.

But they need to talk about what Steve just suggested.

Billy goes over to Chrissy and leans down to her level, both arms on the table to support himself, “Hey sissy?”

“Yeah, papa?” She looks to him and smiles, the little sweetheart always so happy to see her dads and have a connection with another person, the opposite of how Steve was when he was her age and afraid of eye contact. Sometimes Chrissy doesn’t like to speak at all, and will just make intense eye contact in its stead.

That warm swell of pride in his chest only makes him want to feel the joy of welcoming another baby even more.

Billy kisses little Chrissy's forehead and tells her it’s time for her to get back to bed, “You’ve helped enough, sweetheart. I bet you’re getting tired by now. I think it’s time for you to get some sleep yourself.”

“Are you sure? I like helping!” Their girl asks them sweetly, but she yawns right after she does so, proving she needs to get back in her bed.

It’s Steve’s turn to walk over and kiss her cheek, accenting his point with the goodnight kisses the other kids had begged him for, and telling her, “We’re super sure. Sweet dreams, little sheep.”

Hopping down from her chair with far too much energy for a little one who just looked so sleepy, she tells them quickly, in a combination of sign and speech, before she runs off to jump in her bed, “Night’ daddy, goodnight papa!”

Together, Billy and Steve watch on the baby monitors to make sure Chrissy got to her room and into bed, then resume their very important conversation.

“Do you really want more kids?”

Steve feels anxious now, coming up with some random excuse in sign to cover up what he truly wants, in case it’s too much for Billy, “Sadie needs me.”

“But it’s not like you won’t be here. You’ll just be here with a new baby in your arms.” Billy grounds him again. He’s always been so good at that, at being able to calm him and introduce rational concerns to Steve’s rsd brain. And he adds a sprinkle of playful flattery, just to make his husband smile, “New daddy Steve is the handsomest Steve.”

Even after a decade of marriage, it makes Steve blush. Flustered, he signs, a little bit wobbly in his execution because he’s so flattered, “Sweet talker.”

“You married me for my charm.” Well, that certainly helped, but it wasn’t the only reason. Steve still rewards the observation with a kiss instead of more clumsy words.

Billy’s arms wrap around him and, cliché as it sounds, the mess around them all disappears. All the stress, the worries about being the best possible, the fear of messing up; all gone in an instant. They kiss, and it feels like the first all over again.

Steve gets the courage to verbalize what he’s truly been thinking about, “I’d like to have more babies.”

His husband's face is priceless, filtering through adoration and shock before landing on a hint of concern, “Even after..”

The miscarriage, Steve fills in for him in his head. One of the absolute hardest moments of his life, tied only with the times Billy was in the hospital after his accident.

But he’s already decided he doesn’t want to carry children anymore, and offers the solution he’s dreamed about for three years now after losing their last pregnancy, “We can adopt. I always wanted to.”

He doesn’t miss the vibrant, shining look in Billy’s eyes now as his worry is cast away. Steve probably looks just as joyful and excited, though Billy’s focus was on his lips to make sure he could tell what was being said.

Then Billy asks, sounding almost breathless and whimsical, awestruck by Steve’s suggestion to expand their family again, “When?”

Those contagious emotions make it clear that this is what Billy wants too, and Steve swears his heart could just burst from happiness. He can’t wait until his longtime dream becomes reality again, to have a little baby in his arms again. To soften the intensity though, he gives Billy a more flexible answer, that lets him know he’s a part of this dream as well, “Whenever you're ready.”

****

It takes ten more months to find the right fit, the child who they can provide to the fullest for, who will not be afraid of two dads, and who will be okay with joining a family of eleven.

Only make it thirteen now, because in their arms are two brand new baby girls. Aurora, the bigger twin, is a little girl of jet black hair with a striking patch of white hair just in the center of her forehead. Waardenburg's it’s called, and it might cause her to grow up deaf just like her daddy. Her sister Briar Rose was born with a related condition that makes her skin and hair all as white as snow, and causes weakness with her heart and lungs. Also like her sister, she’s already presenting deafness.

The agency told them they were getting in over their heads by taking these girls home, but Billy and Steve knew the second they saw those fragile babies curled up in one shared crib, they would be their babies. Nine other kids all with varying states of health had prepared them for this challenge, and like little Chrissy said way back when, with the rest of the kids in school, they’ll have plenty of time with their newest additions, Steve especially while he stays home with them in the day.

It’s not even Billy’s birthday for another few days, but seeing all eleven of his babies gathered here around the living room in an assortment chairs and couches, cradles and a futon, and his gorgeous husband right by his side with a sleeping Aurora and Briar Rose cuddled up to his chest, that’s the best gift anyone could possibly ask for.

[agere-fandom]

regressor!charles smith!!

note; I KNOW the whole agere challenge is all over but idc!! i've been getting into the rdr2 mood so more headcanons for all of you!! :D Anyway- CHARLES SMITH!!! I love him so, he's my favorite (if it isn't Arthur or Hosea). Like he's so sweet omg, please I needed more Charles content- (omg he's so beautiful, it took me long too pick my photo my god-)

headcanons; (cw; diapers and periods!!)

Charles is a baby/toddler regressor and his age range is 2 - 5

Like his much more bigger self, Charles is a quiet and introverted little. Always liking his own company than others and liking the peace than the loud chaoticness of what is the camp. He won't speak much either, being non-verbal almost all the time. It's rare for him to speak words, but he has a small vocabulary if so

⬇️ Also, Charles would probably like sensory deprivation. Mostly for when it's quiet and dark. He's always hated the day and with the bright sun in his eyes, and although he is a sensory seeker at most times, sometimes he needs to have a lack of that. Mostly at night. He loves being under tree shade or looking up at the night stars. Oh, and he loves Papa (Arthur), of course

With his quietness, it's made him gone missing one too many times. But he's never left far from camp, but people are still confused because 'where did he go?'. And it usually ends up in Arthur having a 2 hour search and scratching his head before he finds Charles under a tree in the fields LMAO

He is still very much a nature boy, just like Kieran. Always going out to pick herbs, plants, flowers, ect. Most of his days while being little consists of him being out in the fields, having what little peace he can get. And he's known as the camps gift-giver, because he's always giving small gifts from mother nature herself, but only to those who are most closest like Arthur or Tilly. Whatever he finds that makes him think of that person, to be honest

He's always loved the younger littles, John and Kieran, mostly. He doesn't do much with them, he just stares at them and just watches over them quietly. He only minds Sadie and Tilly for the older ones, everyone else is too much for him. Caregivers are only stuck to Arthur and Hosea. Very head-on about who he likes (me too, Charles)

He's never been so heavy first on diapers or even using them. What diapers are used for, for Charles are for comfort reasons. Baby powders quiet the comfort as well. It's not until he got too used to wearing them he would go without noticing. He felt a LOT of shame for actually going, and found it awkward to actually find out he could go. Arthur saw nothing wrong with it, just another baby that wears diapers. And he's been full supportive of his boy, helping him take baby steps (literally) (making a fic about this btw!!)

Also, I do headcanon Charles as trans! And he's usually done shark week and periods and such while he's big and alone. But has slowly come to doing all that while he's regressed. Of course, Arthur is his full support, again, and acts like the absolute legend he is as a caregiver. He would do anything to help support his boy and doesn't even see much wrong with him <3 (i need a cg like arthur pls)

As well as this, I also headcanon him as plus-sized! I am on that road, yes, and mostly because I think he would be! He would be the best with cuddles and hugs, and Arthur's a strong boah to carry his boy, so he's perfectly fine. He usually doesn't like laying on his stomach, because it makes him feel unwell, so tummy time is out of the picture

As much as it's rare to, you would see him being around the ladies. Letting them braid his hair, making small bouquets with whatever flowers are around, even passing some of them to the ladies to put in his hair. He's listening to them talk and hum and he loves it, because it's peaceful and not so loud. Always leaning on Tilly's shoulder and listening to her

[caw4brandon]

- MTCR: Rewriting Progress -

Hey, I know it's been a long while since I wrote anything but I just wanted to share about some progress that I've made to the universe. As some of you are aware by now. Jamie, Sadie and Hector will be separated from the Hoodlites. Their replacement; the Twiggmun is finalized and I am happy to introduce you;

Herbert; Jamie's - an owl

Radiance; Sadie's - a cat

Benjamin; Hector's - a wolf

The Twiggmuns have two forms. Heads, which is a stationary form. The second form is Tails, which is a mobile form. Allowing them to swim and float.

The Twiggmuns also act as the user's "bigger on the inside" bag. They can store more than their outward appearance. The Twiggmun itself is the little slime thing you see at the bottom with the two eyes. The top is their "shell" often man made and decorated to give them a sense of identity.

Outside of team JSH. There is an improvement of the lore behind the Hoodlites. They have royalty now!

The king is named is Yazamanyhands with his queen, Becaamanyeyes. They are abnormal Hoodlites that differs from the typical Hoodlite design. Yaz is the sole master of six gauntlets (the floating hands) and Beca has a long tail patterned with various eyes of different colors.

They play the role of fearsome protectors with their unique abilities. Externality, the Hoodlites have a god-like being that acts by his own accord. Gideon the Green. The four legged Hoodlite. The master of the STAB (Stan, Tide, Ange and Bolt)

I'm thinking of giving some of my past adoptees with a pair of gauntlets. A sort of knight rank if you will which I'm glad has slimmed down to just a few. Kinda like King Arthur with his Knights of the Grail.

So, as you can see...the world is expanding. I've been busy with real life commitments, it's only now that I am free to pick up the tablet again. My radio silence will be longer than anticipated but I promise to share as much as I can to tease the final product.

Thanks for reading

- Caw4B -

[ktzart]

what are your ocs' drug of choice?? feel free to do a warm up of them answering!

honestly the only drugs most of my ocs are into are alcohol and cigarettes. jax and anna have probably tried various party drugs. jax is more into depressants than stimulants or hallucinogens but he also doesn't really have the patience to get really into anything that requires more effort to acquire than alcohol. he and anna are also both pretty heavy drinkers <3 it's not good for them <3 though jax is the one with a more serious problem. jax is also a bigger smoker; anna mainly does it socially. to flirt with girls. erin also smoked cigarettes and drank maybe a little too much to be like very good for her so jax can blame her for that. kero probably occasionally partakes of weed. probably joints though i think in the modern day theyd be into pens kfhjgkjhd. nina is super duper addicted to amphetamines for work. harlow used to be really addicted to hallucinogens and depressants for self-medication but then their body got reset when they died and their drug addiction shifted to blood addiction. whoops. khris drinks in moderation. ditto for martine and smoking. sadie's drug of choice is caffeine in the form of terrible energy drinks.

[montammil]

Awwwww, that's so sweet of Lawrence's grandmother. I instantly just love her, imagining her true and nonviolent love would definitely help the three kids get better. Thank you for answering my ask! Do you think any amount go therapy could ever fix Lawrence or make him see what is he doing wrong?

Also, I am so weak for regretful Whumper, But I am more weak for Whumper turned to Whumpee. I can definitely see Nathan getting his revenge and beating Lawrence, but I am not sure about Marshall. Imagine a scenario where all three of them capture and get revenge on Lawrence. I can't see Sadie and Marshall being all too happy, but just imagine Lawrence all roughed up with Nathan holding a pipe and Sadie looking nervous but still mad at Lawrence. and Marshall looks absolutely terrified. Maybe Lawrence will try to play a mind game with Marshall because he looks so terrified, and tried to manipulate him into untying him. Or purposely taunting Nathan, and Nathan getting very very mad

Thats a tough question haha, I'd say with enough therapy Lawrence could get better if he wanted to, but the issue is he doesn't want to. I might try to make an AU where Lawrence feels guilty and gets help if that's something anyone's interested in.

Sorry this took so long, by the way! It got a little darker than I was intending XD.

CW: Parental/creepy whumper, violence, major character death (not Marshall or Lawrence but still kinda major), manipulation, electrocution, gun violence, smoking, really just a general whump warning

When Lawrence wakes up, he hears arguing.

"This is going too far... we should just call the police or something." Marshall.

"He's a fucking rich guy. What do you think will happen?" Nathan.

"We have enough evidence to be taken seriously this time." Sadie.

Slowly, Lawrence opens his eyes and groans. His head hurts, but the sounds of all his children make him persist through the pain. He sees Marshall avoiding looking at him from the corner of the room, Nathan glaring daggers at him, and Sadie frowning at Nathan.

"Sorry about the rope, I was going for the chains like you used on me, but they were too expensive," Nathan says in a falsely sympathetic tone.

Grunting, Lawrence sits upright as his headache increases exponentially. "Great job kidnapping me. What do you plan to do now? Kill me? You always were the one for senseless violence."

"You're such a hypocrite if you believe that." Nathan marches forward to grab Lawrence by the collar of his bloodied shirt, yanking him forward to stare at him closely. Lawrence's hands are tied behind his back, and his ankles are tied together as well. Nathan would enjoy seeing his tormentor tied up and bloody, but Lawrence doesn't seem phased. "I think I should kill you. You deserve to die after the hell you put us through."

"I don't think I did. Sadie got away after just a few weeks, and Marshall seemed to enjoy my attention." His gaze shifts to the younger man in the corner of the room. "Didn't you, buddy?"

Marshall hides his face further from him at being called out.

Laughing weakly, Lawrence looks around the room as he struggles against the ropes, ignoring the ache in his body. "I hate to tell you this, Nathan, but I think you're the only one who hasn't gotten over the past."

Nathan lets go of Lawrence's collar, seething. "You're insane."

Lawrence shrugs. "I've been called worse."

He glares at Sadie and says, "Give me my gun."

"Wait, no!" Marshall finally steps closer into the light. His eyes are puffy and he's visibly shaking. "Please. Let's do something else, literally anything. Just... please don't kill him."

Sadie nods. "Nathan, we'll go to prison if you shoot him. Context doesn't matter if we aren't doing it in self-defense."

He growls in frustration, but doesn't deny that. He grabs his pocket knife and brings it to Lawrence's throat, earning another cry from Marshall, a bigger reaction than the one Lawrence gives. He stares directly into Nathan's eyes, as if challenging him.

"Just because I'm not killing you doesn't mean you're getting away from this free, bastard. Got that?"

"What ever you say, bud."

Nathan yells in more frustration. "You're insufferable!" He kicks Lawrence to the side, and stomps to the table in what looks like a dilapidated barn. He shoves the pocket knife on the table and snatches the pistol on his way out.

When Nathan exits the barn, Sadie sends a glance towards Marshall. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need to go get some air..." Marshall exits as well, only after sending Lawrence another weary glance.

Pursing her lips, Sadie sighs. "Okay then." She leaves, but unlike Marshall, she doesn't even spare a last glance toward Lawrence.

Lawrence watches the door slide shut and then the room go almost pitch black, except for a small light coming from cracks in the wooden walls, which give him just enough light to vaguely see his surroundings. He pulls at his wrists, trying to get them free, but they're tight. It takes no genius to know that was definitely also Nathan's doing.

From what he just saw, this seems all like Nathan's doing. Sadie is too smart to want to pull something like this, and Marshall is... Marshall.

He tries moving, to get the gun or knife from the table, but he can hardly crawl, let alone reach up there. He sighs internally. This isn't exactly how he imagined escaping, but hey, maybe he'll figure something out.

...

Just two hours later, Lawrence hears the door sliding back open. He expects to see Nathan back with something to torture him with, but instead he sees Marshall, the only one who can get him out of this situation right now.

"I brought you food," Marshall says quietly. He places down a bowl of ramen noodles. "It's the only thing I know how to make... okay, bye."

"Marshall, baby," Lawrence says, which makes the younger man stop in his tracks.

Tensing up, Marshall whispers without turning, "What?"

Lawrence is just glad he'll hear him out. "Can you please let me go? We can go back to what it used to be. I won't hurt Sadie or Nathan, we can just go back home and be happy again." When Marshall doesn't reply, Lawrence adds, "You've only known them for a few days at least, right? You don't know either of them like I do. Nathan only cares about himself, and Sadie thinks she knows everything. They'll both leave you after this is all over."

It seems to be getting to Marshall already, but he ends up shaking his head. "No, I can't do that. I'm sorry."

"You were crying earlier. Why?" Lawrence tries next with more worry in his voice.

Wincing, Marshall finally turns to face him. "I don't like seeing people hurt, that's it. Is that all you wanted to know?" His voice seeps of impatience to leave, but there's also a hint of fear in it. Fear he'll end up caving.

Lawrence smiles. "See, Marshie? You aren't like them. You're so sweet and caring. That's why you're too naive for this world, I'm just trying to protect you! I love you."

"I..." Marshall blinks away tears. "I have to go. I'm not supposed to even be here."

As he bolts out the barn, Lawrence sighs. It looks like this'll take some time. He looks down at the bowl of ramen. It was nice of Marshall for including a spoon, but firstly, who eats ramen with a spoon? and secondly, how the hell would he even use it?

Lawrence sighs. This'll be a fun experience.

...

The next day, Nathan comes in with a lit cigarette in his mouth and a cattle prod in his hand. Lawrence sees his expression is somewhat calmer, but that's non necessarily a good thing. Not to mention Sadie nor Marshall are there to stop him.

Lawrence doesn't normally feel fear, but this is one of those rare moments. "I didn't know you smoke. I'm disappointed."

Nathan glares and throws it to the ground, stomping it out. "It's not that I'd be worried about, asshole."

"I'll give it to you, you're more creative than I am with these things," Lawrence chuckles. "You know, it's not too late to ask for forgiveness. We could go back home and put all of this behind us."

"I'd rather die than go anywhere with you. I don't want to put any of this behind me." Nathan strides forward and grabs Lawrence by his hair, yanking his head upwards. "Now beg."

"Beg?" Lawrence laughs in amusement and fear both. "It's so cute watching you try to be intimidating."

Nathan releases him, walking backwards until he reaches the wall. He leans against it, smirking down at him. "Do you think I'm joking? Beg."

"I think you're forgetting who's the superior here."

With that, Nathan doesn't hold back, hitting Lawrence against the face with the cow prod. The electricity isn't turned on yet, but that doesn't mean it isn't painful. Lawrence grunts and looks to the ground. He knocked out one of his teeth.

"Wanna repeat that?" Nathan growls.

Lawrence spits blood out to the creaky wooden floor before his gaze shifts back up at Nathan. He smiles shamelessly, his left to front incisor tooth knocked out.

A lightbulb flashes in his head. If he can get beaten up as much as possible, it'll give Marshall more reason to let him go. "Is that the best hit you got, Nate? For someone so angry all the time, you have a pretty pathetic strength."

More animalistic rage bubbles up in Nathan and he stomps away. Lawrence thinks he's leaving at first, but then sees him grab a metal pail of water. He admittedly does wince when Nathan dumps the freezing water over him. He doesn't realize what's happening until he sees Nathan grab the cattle prod again, putting his finger over the button to control the electricity.

"This is for all the times you tortured me!" Nathan jams the cattle prod into Lawrence's shoulder first, earning the first real cry of pain from him.

It feels like a million needles pricking at him. The pain mixed with the freezing iciness of the water is enough to make his vision blur. His teeth clatter together, and he looks back up at him to see the younger man smirking.

"Apologize for all the pain you've caused me and I'll consider stopping."

"I'm not the one that needs to apologize, you--" Lawrence gets interrupted with another stab of pain, his muscles spasming and seizing. Tears prick at his eyes.

"Aw, gonna cry?" Nathan jeers. He grabs Lawrence by the hair, and Lawrence grunts at the suddenness. "Reminds me of all the times you taunted me for crying."

Lawrence grits his teeth, trying desperately to stay strong. But he can tell Nathan isn't done torturing him yet. Just as he comes up with a good response, he feels lightheaded. And then darkness swallows him whole.

...

When he wakes up, he feels a blanket being placed over him. His eyes slowly open, and he sees Marshall there, crouching down right next to him on his knees. He also notices the rope around his wrists are slightly less tight, but that could just be his imagination. Despite the swirls in his vision, he can tell Marshall has a worried frown. His heart warms.

"Hi, buddy," Lawrence murmurs. He blinks a few times and looks around to see no sign of Sadie nor Nathan. Good. "Thanks for the blanket."

The younger man nods, face still bearing a look of concern. "Y-yeah... I brought you food. Uh, it's ramen again... sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just happy I get to see you again." When Lawrence's vision clears, he notices how puffy Marshall's eyes are. "Have you been crying?" His voice softens into a coo. Normally he really is hurt to see Marshall cry, but this time is different. Marshall's crying because he's worried about him.

Marshall shakes his head. "No. It's allergies." He stands up again and seems more wary than last time.

Lawrence thinks this is perfect. He moves in a position that perfectly shows off all his bruises in the dim lighting and gives the most painful groan ever. "Can you get me a cloth or something, Marshie? I don't wanna get any blood on this blanket."

"Um, yeah, sure. I don't see you bleeding, though."

"Oh, I've been coughing up some blood."

The worry that etches across Marshall's face is perfect. "You have?"

Lawrence nods. "Yeah, but I'm sure it's no big deal,. If you're busy, that's okay. I love you, kiddo." He suppresses a grin at Marshall's quivering lip.

Marshall looks behind him at the slightly open barn door, the rain pouring outside. He looks back at Lawrence, hands still tied behind his back and on his knees. He hops to his feet and rapidly strides to the table where Nathan placed the pocket knife from earlier. He gets back to his crouched position behind Lawrence and mumbles, "Hold still."

Lawrence feigns confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Cutting your bonds free."

Lawrence perks up. "Oh, thank you, bud!"

He watches as Marshall cuts through the ropes binding him, freeing his arms, then removes the ropes around Lawrence's ankles. As Marshall carefully cuts through them, he murmurs, "Sadie is napping and Nathan is getting groceries, so let's be quick... he could be back soon."

"Don't worry, we're gonna be fine." As soon as Marshall completely frees him, Lawrence pulls him into a tight hug, kissing his temple. He lets out a relieved breath.

Marshall stiffens for a moment, but relaxes eventually, returning the embrace.

Soon Lawrence stands, nearly stumbling over if not for Marshall to help him. Lawrence gives the younger man a thankful smile and puts his arm around Marshall's shoulders. "Give me one sec, kiddo. It's been a while since I used my legs."

"Okay, just be quick. I really don't want either of them to see us."

"I said don't worry. Do you have a phone?"

"W-why?" Marshall's frown deepens, mostly afraid Lawrence will take it away for the sake of taking it away. Basically like a repeat of what happened when Marshall was first taken by him.

Lawrence laughs quietly. "I just want to call a friend. He'll come pick us up and we can get out of here."

Reluctantly sighing, Marshall grabs his phone from his pocket.

"Thanks, kiddo." Lawrence dials in a number and puts the phone to his ear, waiting for it to connect.

The entire time, Marshall keeps looking at the entrance of the barn, nervously anticipating for either Sadie or Nathan to step through. Maybe with Sadie he can try negotiating with her (even if he doubts it'll work), but if Nathan finds them... Marshall is sure Nathan will kill Lawrence, and might as well him too.

"Hey, Flint! It's Lawrence... I know, I'll explain everything later, I just need you to pick me up, I'll send you my location... yes, I'm fine, my son's with me. It'd be nice if you could schedule a dentist appointment for me soon, though."

Marshall hates how casually he speaks, and he hates it even more than he just did this. Did he betray Sadie and Nathan? He didn't mean to... but it does sure feel that way...

"Let's get out of here, I don't want to draw any attention to us," Lawrence mutters. He grabs Marshall's hand and leads him out the barn door. He's having trouble walking, Marshall notices.

Lawrence and Marshall both stop in their tracks when they see Sadie standing just a few feet from them, shocked. The bandages she were holding drop to the floor along with her jaw. Marshall's throat goes dry.

"You're letting him go." Sadie's voice wavers in disbelief. "Marshall..." She steps closer, reaching out toward him, but stops herself short. Her gaze turns cold and hard. "You're seriously going to take his side after what he did to us? To you?"

"Sadie, I-- I'm not taking anyone's side, I just--"

"You know what? Fine. If you really think he makes you happy, go. Never talk to me again." She glares at Lawrence. "If I ever see you again..." She trails off and can't find the correct words, opting to storm off instead.

Marshall has never hated himself more than he does now. He's shocked Lawrence just let her walk away, but when he sees how urgent the older man looks, he can assume it's because of the bigger threat: Nathan. If Nathan finds them, they're done for. Mostly Lawrence, but Marshall wouldn't be shocked if Nathan decided to end his life too.

"How long ago did Nathan leave?"

"Um... maybe forty minutes ago?"

Lawrence curses under his breath. "Alright. We're going to hide in the woods and wait for Nathan to pass by. What does Nathan's car look like?"

As they walk across the gravel road and into the woods, Marshall thinks for a moment. "I don't know the brand, but it's small and dark blue. I think it's hard to miss."

Marshall helps Lawrence walk through the rain and mud as it only gets worse. Maybe it's for the best this way, since it'd be harder to spot them. He's starting to have regrets as he crouches behind a bush with Lawrence. The look on Sadie's face, the pure betrayal... that's something he'll never forget. Ever.

And now, here he is, hiding with his kidnapper. With Sadie and Nathan's kidnapper. He just wanted a father-figure. He just wanted the unconditional love from a parent...

Lawrence must notice the change in Marshall's mood, because he whispers, "Everything's going to be okay, buddy. Everything's gonna be alright."

His tone is soothing, and Marshall tries to believe him. But right now, nothing feels okay.

They both start to hear tires against wet pavement. Marshall glances from the bush to see Nathan's car. He's sure Nathan won't see them, so when the man's car comes to a stop, his face falls. He looks over at Lawrence to see he has a similar expression.

"You're a fucking moron if you think I didn't have a tracker on you, Lawrence!" Nathan calls. He slams the car door shut, and they can hear his footsteps against the gravel, and then the mud. He stops in front of the bush. "Get out before I shoot you in the head."

Lawrence grits his teeth and obeys, and Marshall does too. Marshall doesn't miss the look Nathan has when their eyes lock. A mix between shock and disgust.

"You let him go..." Nathan's hands shake with rage that are holding the gun. "You fucking let him go?! I knew you were desperate, but I never thought you'd be this desperate. I can't believe you."

"We'll leave you alone for the rest of your life," Lawrence tries bargaining. "Just let us go."

He barks a laugh. "You're only saying that because I'm the one holding the gun here. Do you know how much you messed me up? I can't sleep most nights because I'm paranoid you're gonna come back. Not anymore." He clicks the safety off.

Marshall gasps. "Nathan, please don't! I'll do anything, just don't do this!"

"No, I should've killed him from the very start." He aims the gun at Lawrence's forehead.

Lawrence pushes Marshall out of the way, Marshall cries out, and then the gun goes off.

But not Nathan's gun.

Marshall stares in shock as Nathan's body hits the ground. He just stares in a trance-like state, unable to comprehend what happened.

"Lawrence! Are you okay!?" a voice calls.

Marshall doesn't care about their conversation. He stares down at Nathan's limp body, the blood pooling from his head, how his eyes are still open but... lifeless. No.

He drops to his knees and shakes him. "N-Nathan. Nathan, hey. Wake up."

Nathan's limp body falls into a large puddle of mud when Marshall tries pushing him again in desperate attempt to wake him.

"Please, please don't die."

Lawrence pulls Marshall away from Nathan's body, and pulls him into his chest. Marshall doesn't cry at first. This is all a dream. It has to be a dream.

He let Lawrence out. He's responsible for this. He's responsible for Nathan's death.

Oh god, what about Sadie? If she didn't hate him now, she'll certainly want him dead as much as Nathan wanted Lawrence dead.

He can't breathe. He needs air. He opens his mouth wide, trying to gasp in some fresh oxygen. His lungs burn with each inhale, but he manages to suck in enough to keep breathing.

"Oh, sweetie... I'm so sorry..." Lawrence picks him up with a grunt.

"Lawrence, you're hurt--"

"I'm fine, Flint. Let's just get out of here."

The entire ride home, Marshall is silent. Before he knows it, he's being carried inside a small cabin-- likely one of Lawrence's many properties-- and as he's placed on the couch, everything comes crashing down on him. He breaks down. Sobbing uncontrollably, he clings onto Lawrence's shirt tightly.

Lawrence strokes his hair gently, whispering comforting words in his ear. "It's okay, baby. It was for the best this way."

Marshall mistakes the relief in Lawrence's voice for sadness, and wraps his arms around his neck. Lawrence must be sad too... after all, it seems like he was obsessed with Nathan to a similar degree as he was for him, right?

In reality, Lawrence couldn't be happier it's over.

[motownfiction]

out for blood

Sadie’s never been one for competition. Where her friends like Lucy and Will are always interested in being the best at something, being the next great something, being noticed by some nameless, faceless gods of achievement and approval, Sadie’s been content to be herself. She doesn’t need to prove anything to anybody. She’s great as she is.

At least, that’s what she always used to tell herself.

She’s in college now, and things are different.

The funny thing is that Sadie really used to believe that once she got to college, she’d never think about anybody’s opinion of her ever again. When you’re in a very small Catholic school, everybody knows everything about you, whether you want them to or not. And because everybody knows everything, they all have their own thoughts. If you get an unexpected haircut, you’ll hear no fewer than three unsolicited reviews from people who might have been in your seventh-grade math class, but they can’t quite remember now. If you kiss your long-suffering crush over the weekend, the girl who sits behind you in theology will give you her congratulations, even if she wasn’t anywhere near you when it happened. If you fail a test, it doesn’t take long for the rest of the classroom to figure it out – for half the students to shake their heads in sympathy and the other half to shake their heads in disapproval. Sometimes, it got under Sadie’s skin. All that forced closeness. But it never really got to her as much as it could. She never really participated in the competition, the fear. She just figured it was temporary.

And then, she ended up in class with Heather Hanks.

Heather Hanks, whose name makes her sound just like a super-cool comic book character. Heather Hanks, whose hair is never out of place, not even for a second. Heather Hanks, who always looks over her shoulder to see what grade Sadie got on the latest exam. No matter how hard Sadie tries to hide it, Heather Hanks always finds the score. And she always makes the same face: disappointed but also scared. It doesn’t make sense, but then again, Sadie understands it.

One afternoon, toward the end of the semester, Sadie has to team up with Heather Hanks on an in-class activity. She says she’s going to be a psychology major, too, so they’re probably going to see a lot of each other over the next few years. Sadie laughs because she doesn’t know what else to do. She’s not even sure she’s going to be a psychology major. Then Heather Hanks says something that Sadie’s quite sure she will never forget.

“You’re, like, the only person in this class I see as, like, a real threat.”

And dammit, Sadie finds it flattering.

Sadie Doyle, who prides herself on staying out of people’s business, on never being out for blood, no matter how stiff the competition, feels good. She feels good to be a threat. She feels a small smirk form on her lips. It’s a satisfaction she’s never quite tasted before … one she’s kept from herself, and for good reason. No matter how sweet this feeling tastes, no good can come of it. No good at all.

She lets her eyes drift over to the graded exam on Heather Hanks’s desk. She forgot to cover it up. And there’s a bright red 91 on the Blue Book, seven whole points lower than Sadie’s score on the very same test.

The smirk on Sadie’s lips gets a little bigger. The sweetness in her mouth gets even sweeter.

Maybe she can let herself enjoy it for just a little longer.

(part of @nosebleedclub january challenge -- day xxx! i’m behind, but the last two days have been super weird.)

[yumeirochaser]

finished all of steven universe (show/movie/shippuden)

okay so stewing on it. this show as a whole is very good. great, even!! i feel like a lot of the criticisms thrown at it online are kinda bullshit, and it is way more nuanced than i remember. it is VERY flawed, but ultimately good.

i'll start with the pros of the whole project:

-really impeccable art direction and music. this show is a feast for the eyes, esp since it's a 2010s project

-very nuanced discussions of complex emotional topics (outside of one big case)

-REALLY good cast, there's only like 3 bad charas, but everyone else is really really good and compelling

-actually really good diverse and lgbt rep. i love yuri fam. we got so much yuri here.

-really good drama and jokes. it's actually very good at balancing both tones

-brisk and nice to watch

-REALLY good complex characters. rose/pink is unironically one of the tragic toxic woman all timers

-the songs rule. lotta bangers here

-i love the character designs a lot!!!!

so yeah it is VERY good!! but also really flawed. here's the cons:

-really bizarre show pacing and episode placing, which tbh i can't blame too much on them bc it WAS CN's fault for making the insane idea of stevenbombs

-the fuck it we ball planning is REALLY apparent at times

-the wide majority of the cast is very underfocused, despite the show constantly setting them up to have bigger roles. i would say the quartet of jasper/bismuth/lapis/peridot were the most prominent victims of this, but it's in general since it is the result of...

-steven himself being a VERY weak lead, with the insistence of everything being in his POV limiting the show and contriving plots more than anything. he is in fact imo, the show's biggest flaw, severely hurting it by the end of future. they really struggle with making him likeable and interesting, and the way the show insists to focus on him makes a lot of major character beats depend on him being on screen or just. happen completely off screen. certain plots also get REALLY convoluted to have him in places and private situations he really shouldn't be in for us to actually see what happens to other characters at all. he's also very one note and not really allowed to be as complex as the rest of the cast, with him constantly being exonerated of any wrong thing he does, by either being right all along or a woobie. this does get real uncomfortable with plots like the lars body swap ep, the lars/sadie ship eps and the entire second half of future bc. he gets reaaaal weird and possessive with the rest of the cast there and it's more or less glossed over. he also kind of is limited to One personality trait per season, being one walking fat joke in S1, fluctuating between funy permachild and messiah complex guy in the rest of the main show and the movie and becoming just walking whump material in future. it's weird bc he DOES improve and develop in S2, esp with the peridot arc, but then they more or less reverse his development for the rest of the show after the cluster arc ends??? it's a bizarre choice. his presence really looms over this show, like a black hole. like conceptually he's really good and he has moments where he can shine, but his execution in the majority of the show is very poor imo. like i get what they wanted to do with him in future and i agree it's a necessary topic to discuss. but also they should have made him like. an actual character people would like for that to work lmao

related to this we gotta talk about. connie. man. she was hit with the shonen jump love interest stick since very early on and she never recovered. her training arc kinda ends on nothing, she kind of only is there to fuse into stevonnie a bunch of the time (with their uh. weird ass early eps. why fanservice the little kid fusion.) and she more or less is just reduced to being steven's loyal emotional support woman by the end of future. honestly it's weird how nobody talks about the way she is treated bc it's oddly bad for a show that usually treats its diverse charas really well. like damn she really got done dirty.

but yeah i wish we were able to have eps with the rest of the cast leading bc they are really good characters. i think my faves are garnet (she actually got focused on the most out of all gems, which i don't really see fans mention either. she's great), rose (she's so fucked. i love it.), amethyst (more femmes should be allowed to be gross weird assholes in tv.) and peridot (rancid moe...). but i love all the gems they are great. the townies are also really fun!! (outside of ronaldo & kevin). i wish we could have actually seen more of the cast's lives, thoughts and interests outside of steven...i just really like these characters a lot

it's kind of a shame the show kinda goes down the gutter with future's second half bc the majority of it is really good shit with really nuanced handling of themes like chains of abuse, unorthodox families, familial abuse, trauma, abandonment, war and grieving. i legit think this show was something special and bold for its time, and i wish it ended in a better way. i had a really good time with it and i still love the cast a lot, but yeaaah they shouldn't have turned steven into the center of the universe. that really hurt it by the end. it's a good show that left me with a really weird feeling by the end. i will still cherish the time i had with it but yeaaah. it is a shame bc i really dig the concept of future, but the execution was like ehhhhhh hmmm not very good. the rest of the show clears in these topics tho we love screwed up girls. objectively tho there is way more good aspects to this show than good ones. it's just that the one big bad thing it has is the main focus of the whole dealio lmao

i wish future didn't screw up at the end but i am glad this show exists and it did pave the way for other shows! so at least there's that!! i will miss the crystal gems and their funky friends a lot....

[bouwrites]

Those Warm and Halcyon Days: Chapter 52

Conquest

Ao3.

First, Previous, Next.

Story under read-more.

“That was impressive. You are a very skilled healer.”

Veery cracks open his eyes once more to watch Daithi approach him. Roguish and attractive, in a way that almost reminds Veery of Claude, Daithi carries a certain air about him that hides the clear signs of imprisonment. He’s just too confident, too assured and competent, to be imprisoned, so it becomes easy to miss the incongruous marks still on his wrists. He almost completely lacks an accent, too, speaking Common much better than Veery himself, when compared to a native.

“I must thank you. You have just saved the lives of some of my crew.”

Veery is still tired and aching from the Albinean magic use. He’d like to lay back and just go straight to sleep. Now that the rain has stopped (Have they sailed out of it, or has it just finally dissipated?) it’ll probably be a better nap than before.

It’s too bad he can’t do that while people are talking to him. “That’s my job,” Veery says simply.

Daithi smiles disarmingly. “I see. I also heard that you summoned the storm we escaped in. To do that, and still so competently run your infirmary just after… I don’t believe I’ve ever even heard of someone like you. Legends wouldn’t do you justice.”

Veery snorts as Daithi sidles up alongside him. Veery knows for a fact that legends don’t do him justice. He’s the cat saint. He actually has legends going around about him. Most of them are complete fabrications with little to no grounding in reality. Although, Veery thinks Daithi probably doesn’t mean it in quite that way.

When he gets no verbal response, Daithi continues undeterred. “I never imagined I would meet an agell, much less one like you. It’s a shame those stories in Albinea about your kind don’t mention your beauty.”

Hang on, what? “You know about us?” Veery’s jaw drops. “You’ve been to Albinea?”

Daithi laughs. “I have. I’m a sailor. I’ve sailed all around Fódlan’s coasts, up to Albinea, around Sreng, and I go to Morfis and Almyra sometimes, too. And that’s only in your direction.”

Veery is pretty sure that’s the entire map. He doesn’t have to feign being impressed. Someday, he would like to see so many different places, too. Brigid is already more than he expects to see (Fódlan is already more than he expects to see) and even if it is too hot to reasonably expect anyone to live, Veery is glad he’s come.

There’s just no way he’ll ever see anything like this in Albinea. For that reason alone, for that experience, Veery is interested in traveling. He has always liked being on the move, anyway. This is just on a bigger scale.

Though, admittedly, he prefers travelling over land, where he’s not trapped on a ship with who knows how many other people.

“That’s amazing,” Veery says honestly.

Daithi’s grin widens. “You think so? If you’d like, I’d be happy to welcome you aboard my ship. We can go anywhere we please.”

That’s probably more tempting than it should be. Veery laughs. “Oh? You’re recruiting?” He didn’t lose that many of his crew, did he? Veery can’t help but wonder – there aren’t many dead, at least, not among those who make it back to the ship in the first place (most did not), but there are more than a few, and Veery doesn’t know how many how many are Daithi’s men.

“A beautiful and talented healer?” Daithi says leaning just a little closer. “Among the greatest of mages I’ve met, and if your allies are to be believed, just as skilled with tooth and claw as you are with magic and medicine. Anyone would be a fool not to recruit you, given the chance.”

Don’t forget the cult following. Veery rolls his eyes. “If you say so. Sorry, though, but once we free Brigid, I’m going back to Fódlan.”

“And once the war in Fódlan is finished? What then?”

He shrugs. After? He doesn’t give it much thought. Sadi will likely want to keep an eye on the developing Fódlan, advise Claude as whatever new leadership settles in after the war, and Claude may want Veery around for a while, too, so he’ll likely stick around for that. Then… “I’ll go home, probably.”

“Probably? You’ve no desire to see the rest of the world?”

“I do,” Veery admits. “I still want to run the plains of Almyra. I visited Fódlan’s Locket, once, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about just going down the other side of those mountains.”

Daithi giggles delightedly. “I know the feeling well. Once, I visited a small town in southern Dagda. I couldn’t help but just keep sailing north along the coast, just to see what’s next. I ended up frozen before I finally turned around.”

Veery hums. “Yeah, but Albinea will always be my home. I think, if I survive this war, I’m going to want to go home. At least for a while, before the next adventure.”

“Ah, I understand.” Daithi sighs, relaxing. “Perhaps someday, when you feel the wanderlust again, I’ll meet you in port. When the time comes, approach me and name a place. I will take you there gladly.”

Just name a place, huh? How bold. But it is an opportunity like no other. Veery smiles. If Daithi does go to Albinea now and then, Veery should keep an ear open for any chatter when he happens near the human towns. “I just might do that.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Daithi’s smile begins to fall, slowly, after that. Veery is content to wait to see what he’ll say next. “Perhaps it is not my place to ask,” Daithi says, “but… are you injured?”

Veery blinks. “No. I wasn’t in the fighting.”

Daithi nods like he expects this. “Of course, it’s just that you drank one of those bottles of painkiller earlier. I was worried that you were hurt in a previous battle.”

There’s a lot of battles that Veery gets hurt in. That’s the reality of battles as a whole. Still, Veery shakes his head. “No, that’s not it. When I saw how bad it was, how many people needed healing, I realized I’d have to stretch my magic reserves further than I thought.”

Daithi winces. “I’m not a mage myself, but some of my crew have mentioned magical exhaustion.”

“Something like that. After summoning that storm, I didn’t have enough magic even to ration it out. So, I used a different method. It’s a lot more efficient, but it takes a toll on the body. Nothing permanent, nothing that can’t be fixed by another healer or some rest, but it hurts. Taking painkillers for it is a dumb idea in normal circumstances; pain tells you when to stop. But I was careful.”

Daithi is quiet for a moment. “You really are amazing. I think, knowing what you put yourself through for us, I am even more enamored with you now.”

Veery shrugs. “I only did what I could. That’s all.”

“A good mindset.” A new voice joins the conversation. General Kaia, approaching. “Apologies for eavesdropping. I just wanted to come thank the healer. Found it’s good to get on the healers’ good sides.”

Veery can’t help but giggle. That’s certainly not a bad philosophy. “Well, you don’t need to thank me,” Veery says. “As I said, I was just doing what I can.”

“Don’t need a reward for doing your part, eh? I can respect that, too,” General Kaia says. Her eyes turn to Daithi. “Name’s Kaia. You the pirate we pulled out of that mess?”

A brief, affronted looks flashes over Daithi’s face. “Privateer. But yes, thank you for your part in our rescue.”

Kaia snorts and rolls her eyes but otherwise just nods to him and moves on. “Anyway, it’s good to stay humble, but anyone who can keep their infirmary functioning on a boat in the middle of a storm and take care of my sorry ass is more than just some kid doing his part.”

“You weren’t even injured that badly. In fact, I should thank you. For your help with that volunteer.”

Daithi winces, but General Kaia just nods stone-facedly. “Horrible thing, that. Poor fellow’s always been soft-hearted. Never should’ve joined up in the first place, but determined to do their part to the end. Ah… Person like that… they’re not meant for this. War takes a bite out of everyone, and in a lot of ways, you healers have the worst of it. It takes a harder heart than that just to survive. Without it, they’ll always end up blaming themselves.”

“No, he was a lost cause,” Veery says. “I couldn’t have saved him. A barely-trained volunteer doesn’t have any responsibility in that.”

“We know that,” General Kaia says. “But a gentle soul like them? That’s different.”

That’s… probably true, yes. Veery remembers Professor Byleth trying to claim responsibility for even Veery getting stabbed by the Death Knight – an event where she saves his life. People are willing to take the blame for anything, no matter how ridiculous. And Professor Byleth wouldn’t readily be described as a gentle soul. Someone like that… it must be much worse.

General Kaia sighs, scratching the back of her head. “You boys are too young to be seeing this kind of shit, too. Thought getting slaughtered in the Dagda-Brigid War was enough death for one lifetime.”

“It’s hardly the first time I’ve seen someone die,” Daithi says gently. “Not the first time I’ve killed, either. I’m not worried about myself or my crew. Still, Brigid is still recovering from the last war. The only ones left to fight are the ones who were kids ten years ago.”

“You’re still kids now, kiddo,” General Kaia says. “Least, to an old lady like me. Keep forgetting you’re the ones in your prime, now, then someone pulls out some bullshit like that storm and I have to face up. Least I can go down happy knowing the next generation is so strong. Wish you didn’t have to see the same shit I did, though.”

Daithi looks meaningfully to Veery, and then to the infirmary not far away, where soldiers still lay. “Yeah,” he says, “me too.”

Veery thinks that, on some level, he never really understands just what exactly it is they are doing, both here in Brigid and in Fódlan. It’s not that he takes the war lightly. He’s insulted by people who do that. It’s not that he doesn’t realize that people are dying, or that his own life and the lives of his family are at risk, because he does.

It’s a fight for survival. Veery has always known that. It’s just… part of him doesn’t think there ever isn’t a fight for survival. Survival itself is a fight, so even though he knows the horrors, even though he can see his blooded infirmary, the bodies neatly organized to the side, even though he scaled mounds of corpses at the first battle of Garreg Mach, even though he knows that what he’s doing, what he’s taking part in, is a terrible thing, it never really sinks in that it might be any different from just… life.

People fight. They kill. Sometimes, when they hate each other enough, they hunt each other down to eradicate the other. That’s always been Veery’s reality. It’s not some revelation that a continent can start killing each other like this. Veery knows war is bigger. He even explicitly warns Hoarvug, Sadi, and Caub before they come here because he knows they need to be ready to face the scale of it, but even if things are ramped up by the war, it’s all just what’s happening anyway.

And because of that, Veery finds himself… apathetic. He doesn’t think much differently about what he’s doing now than what he did five years ago, when he was in Garreg Mach the first time and everyone else was just academy students. He’s still surviving. He’s still killing to do that. He’s still just doing what he can. There’s more of it, but the number of people he kills doesn’t matter as much as the fact that he kills at all, in his opinion.

They meet back up with the others, and Caub and Dorothea both look so tired. Caub just wanders over to him and leans on him, even though it’s so hot and Caub is still wearing his armor. Numbers are consolidated, reported coldly to Petra and Lysithea, and then… and then Veery realizes what they’re doing.

He realizes then exactly what war is, because when those numbers are rattled off, the number of injured, of dead, of rescued, and those the rescue failed – numbers Veery doesn’t even bother listening to – Petra, the princess of Brigid, the leader of Brigid’s war, and a member of Veery’s family, sits unceremoniously down on the damp earth and cries.

He realizes then exactly what war is, because he sees Petra trembling. He sees the weight of a passing string of numbers land physically on her shoulders and bring her to her knees. And that’s how he knows. That’s what makes it more than just… life.

He realizes then exactly what war is, because life is hard and painful and sometimes terrible, and it is the deadliest thing there is, but it does not bring people like Petra to their knees.

Veery has witnessed Petra bounce back from the edge of death none the worse for wear save for frustration at not being stronger and a reinvigorated drive to get stronger. But that’s the point. That’s the difference. Veery doesn’t realize it, because he doesn’t care, but when he sees Petra now, it’s all too clear to him.

When this war is over, there might be fewer Brigidans than agell. Devastated by the loss during the Dagda-Brigid War, and now whatever toll this war will take… Veery knows Brigid isn’t large, but there’s so much life here that to realize that Petra isn’t just weighed down by deaths under her command, but the reality that Brigid may very well be dying is strange in a way that cracks and cuts like a whip.

Maybe Veery is wrong. He doesn’t know that much about Brigid and he sucks with numbers, anyway, but… it’s only hours ago that Daithi says plainly that Brigid has no soldiers but those who were children during the last war. It’s not that long before that when Petra herself says that they are so ruined that they do not even have enough men to man their own ships.

But even if Veery is wrong about the state of Brigid, it’s the realization that war can threaten a people into extinction which drives the point home.

And he also realizes the likely reason why he’s so apathetic to all this death. He has such a pragmatic approach to death because he has been fighting extinction his whole life. It was a war a thousand years ago which drove his species to this point, and they still have not recovered.

Brigid has not recovered, either.

That’s the difference. There is no getting better in war. There is no bouncing back. Unlike life, which holds the same dangers (though not usually on the same scale), which goes up and down, has peace and happiness and family alongside all the pain, war spirals only down.

It will not get better. They endure, but it does not get better. That’s war.

And for the second time in his life, Veery feels hatred. For Edelgard, who believes so strongly that there is something in the world worse than this. It’s delusional and misguided, and Veery still pities her for that, still misses her, because she used to be his friend, but he hates her for doing this.

There is no excuse for starting a war. That’s not a new revelation to Veery, but it has gained new meaning. And he doesn’t like the fire stirring in his chest, but he hates Edelgard for this whether he wants to or not.

And he must look quite scary, because some of the people around him get antsy and glance nervously at him.

Lysithea is the one who approaches him, once the debrief is over. She comes to a stop in front of his unfocused gaze, crosses her arms, and looks him up and down. Once people clear out a little and they’re as alone as they’re going to get, she asks, “Are you okay?”

Veery bites his lip and silently shakes his head.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Maybe soon. But right now? Veery once again shakes his head.

Lysithea smiles weakly, nods, then hesitates when she goes to speak again. “…Do you want to be alone?”

Veery’s first thought is yes, of course, and then a stinging jolt overtakes his heart and he nearly jumps. It takes a while to respond properly. It takes a while to sort through what he’s feeling. But when he does answer, he quickly, pitifully, shakes his head again.

He doesn’t want to be alone. Not now, when he’s angry and hateful and feels like crying. He wants… he’s not sure what he wants, yet, but he doesn’t want to be alone.

Lysithea takes his arm and begins tugging him gently somewhere else. “Let’s go rest. We both need it.”

What a good idea. They find a spot. They curl up close – not on top of each other like he might with Claude or Hilda, but close – and then the next thing Veery knows Hoarvug is wrapping himself protectively around him, then Sadi is there suffering her fur in this heat just to groom Veery’s hair for a moment, and Caub tucks himself in their muddle, too, leaning against Veery in the small space Hoarvug can’t claim.

Then there is Dorothea, tired and weary herself, just like everyone else here. She plops herself down right between Veery and Lysithea, smiling gently as she pulls Lysithea (with minimal protests) close. Leonie smiles openly at them, watching them with one eye as she settles into a guard post with Shamir.

And finally, Petra. She stops to whisper quietly to Leonie for a moment, and then makes a beeline for Dorothea, who pulls her into the pile with open arms, squishing the princess between herself and Veery, when there wasn’t even space for Dorothea there at the start.

Veery figures they all need to be close to each other at the moment. As Sadi quietly purrs, Veery closes his eyes to rest.

He is glad that he has these people in his life, and he is glad that he is with them in this moment.

And in the twilight moments of wakefulness, he worries that, given the events of the day, if he dreams tonight, he will dream of red. But when he does sleep, he dreams of flying, instead.

The next day, Veery finds Shamir to ask her about yesterday’s report. He doesn’t need the numbers, numbers don’t mean anything to him, but he feels like he should know exactly how bad the situation really is. Shamir will give it to him in a way he understands, and she won’t waste time sugarcoating anything.

When he asks his question, Shamir hums quietly. “Our team managed to rescue Daithi and most of his crew.” Most. “The others weren’t so lucky. The prisoners at the other camps weren’t as skilled, so when their escape was blocked, only a few made it out. The plan worked for a time, and the assault teams did manage to significantly damage the Empire camps, but it wasn’t long before they were overrun with numbers. We lost more men than we saved.”

Veery suspects as much from just the scene in his infirmary, but now he has confirmation. He’s not sure what to do with this information, and neither is he glad to know it, but knowing it still feels important.

“What’s wrong, Veery?” Shamir asks, almost lackadaisically. “It’s not like you to get hung up on details like this.”

It’s not. It’s really not. All the same, he’s thinking about it. And he thinks… “Shamir?” He doesn’t question it because it doesn’t occur to him that it should be questioned, but Shamir volunteers unprompted to tag along on what isn’t even a church mission. Sure, they may have wanted a representative, but while Shamir is a great knight, she’s hardly a good representative for the Church of Seiros. But what she is, is a mercenary who took part in the Dagda-Brigid War. “Why did you volunteer for this mission?”

Shamir’s lips quirk down for a moment. “If you’re the one asking, I assume you’ve figured it out.” She shrugs, sighing. “Not that it was a secret.”

Veery bites his lip. “The only people I’ve met here who look old are the king and General Kaia.”

Shamir nods. “Brigid took the brunt of the counter-invasion in the Dagda-Brigid War. They lost their king and prince, their princess was taken prisoner, and their country was put under vassalage. The only reason the current king didn’t fight back to rescue Petra is because he didn’t have any army left to fight with. Dagda couldn’t help because the Empire was invading us right after. That’s why there aren’t many people left in Brigid any older than I am; they all died in the invasion.”

Shamir pauses, then shakes her head. “My partner died in that war, too. I guess I was being sentimental when I volunteered. I thought I should finish what we started back then. Or maybe fix some mistakes.”

Shamir being sentimental? What an odd picture, but it fits into place perfectly, nonetheless. “I see,” Veery says. “Thanks for telling me. As for me… I’m not really sure why, but I just felt like I needed to understand the context. I guess I just realized how bad war really is.”

Shamir’s expression softens, as much as it ever does. “It sometimes takes a while to sink in. How do you feel?”

“Angry.”

“Good. War should always make you angry. Just don’t let that anger make you sloppy.”

“Don’t worry,” Veery says. No matter what he feels, he won’t let it stop him. Survival comes first, after all. In a war, that’s more difficult than ever. “I won’t.”

The operation to rescue the prisoners is still technically a victory on paper. Every step of the operation goes exactly according to plan, except of course the simple fact that they lose more men than they save. Brigid’s standing army ends up more depleted than it already was, and many prisoners don’t make it out at all, but they do save who they can, and they have completely removed the Empire’s threat.

Nothing is stopping them from conquering the last of these camps, anymore. One by one, in full force. One way or another, the Empire has no remaining deterrent. That means that it’s time for battle.

Standing imperiously over the war table, Petra shows no sign of her tears of yesterday. She is hard and resolute, as everyone is. The thick coat of mourning looms over them, but a brighter current moves their feet. With no more deterrents, there is nothing stopping the battles ahead. Brigid will be free soon. That thought, not the ones of yesterday, is the one which brings genuine excitement to the table.

And there is no hiding the relish with which Petra announces that thought, so sure and firm that it can only be fact. She does not smile, but she does not need to. It’s a somber statement, made in a serious moment, but Veery knows her by now, and he hears in her voice that agitated wonder of witnessing something monumental.

Veery himself still aches. His muscles burn like the early days of workouts with Leonie. He’s tired, and his magic reserves are still recovering from yesterday’s stress. The oppressive humidity of Brigid weighs on him like an ocean in this state, the heat more uncomfortable than ever when he desperately wishes for simple rest and relief.

All the same, he smiles. Because Brigid will be free soon.

At that table, plans are drawn, and then it begins.

Veery does not fight that day. Though he does not fight the day before, either, he still exerts himself beyond normal limits, using powers not fully understood or even in his control, and he aches and slogs through the day and is in no state for battle.

Part of him seethes with his newfound anger and wishes to vent it, but no part of him will ever protest avoiding a fight. When the order comes from Petra that he is to rest alongside Lysithea, Dorothea, Leonie, and Caub, he is grateful that nothing is expected from him so soon after summoning a storm and managing his infirmary.

Sadi and Hoarvug are not exhausted or injured like the ones ordered to stand by, but of the two Sadi is the only one who might actually fight under a human’s command (just getting Hoarvug to split from Veery and Sadi to roar on a ship is a struggle and a half, and he only gives in because Veery asks – and even then he is paired with Caub, who Hoarvug at least respects), so it seems Petra just plans around them regardless, considering Veery, Caub, and them a single unit.

Veery thinks it’s a waste of resources, but they spend so much of their time at rest glued to his side that he suspects they would disobey orders simply to watch over him regardless, so he grudgingly has to admit that Petra is right to dismiss them.

And yet, strangely enough, the einherjar do fight, even though Caub does not. Veery still does not understand what rules govern their role and presence in this world, if any do at all. Walhart and Celica are incredibly strong, though, and are surely an asset to the assault. So long as Celica stays away from magic – Caub is resting from overworking at his infirmary, and the exhaustion from a few days ago still – Veery is content to simply let whatever happens with them happen.

As for him, Veery uses the time to think. He reflects quietly on the war and how it makes him feel, on Edelgard, and Brigid, and Sadi brings him (and the others, but only as a sort of afterthought) food and drink throughout the day, insisting that he rests while he can, and recovers as much strength as possible for the coming days.

Veery is aching, in pain, and exhausted, but he is not helpless. Sadi does not make a nuisance of herself, though, so he has nothing to complain about.

Hoarvug, however, clings to him as much as Veery will allow. (Less than usual, even, because they are in a war camp in the jungle now and not in the relatively cooler walls of a stone building.) Luckily, though, he does not talk overmuch, content to let Veery think in as much peace as a hulking cat draped over him in silence allows.

Veery must be getting used to it, because it’s actually quite easy.

He spends time with Lysithea and Ambrose, the latter also on leave because even he, with the help of his spirits, cannot conjure a storm like that so lightly, and they talk eagerly about magic. Caub joins as well, and Veery relates his use of Albinean magic methods in healing, as Celica teaches them. Caub admits to using it too, more sparingly than Veery, because though he doesn’t blow through an absurd amount of magic before his own infirmary is overrun with patients, he simply has a much smaller natural pool to draw from.

He also spends time with Leonie, together with Dorothea using a safe amount of magic to ensure the cut on her leg heals properly so that she is able to join the next few battles. She wants to train, but both healers give her strict orders to rest for the day. Even with magical healing, and even though the wound isn’t severe, it’s safer to rest while she can. Magic healing is not some panacea. It’s not a miracle, however miraculous it seems at times. The body will always need time to recover.

Still, it can vastly accelerate the process. Ideally, Leonie should rest for a few days at the least, but if she takes today seriously, she shouldn’t be in danger of hurting it if she starts fighting again at the same time as the rest of them.

Probably tomorrow. That’s how this war seems to be going. Honestly, Veery prefers it in Fódlan, where the war is at least spread out by organizing and moving such large numbers of people. Dealing with such a smaller scale means it just happens nonstop.

But it’ll all be over soon. Veery tells himself that throughout the day, and then the next day comes, and Petra asks him if he’s ready to fight once more. Veery knows she will let him rest if he needs it, but he does not. He is not fully recovered. No one simply gets over such a massive spell, not to mention prolonged use of the Albinean method of magic, while dulled to the pain of it and so admittedly not properly monitoring just how it’s affecting him. Veery will be lucky if he’s back to peak form by the time he gets back to Fódlan, considering the events of this campaign, but he is well enough that it will not hinder him on the battlefield, and that is what matters.

He’s survived worse. He’s hardly in peak form in the middle of an Albinean winter, after all, and he continues to survive those year after year. The world doesn’t care if he’s prepared to face it, so he learns to be more than capable of facing it regardless of the situation.

So face it he does. He enters the eastern camp on Cetus together with the others and he fights. It’s a tough battle, the Empire is desperate, they know they’re losing so they have nothing left to lose, but Veery has his family at his side and he fights and at the forefront of his mind throughout it all is that so long as he succeeds here, so long as he not only survives, but wins, and then later when he fights through the camp on Dobarcu if he does the same, then the war will no longer be on Brigid’s shores.

It will not stop Brigid from suffering in this war. They will be instrumental, Lysithea says, in the eventual assault on Enbarr. All the same, the Empire, and the war with them, will be excised from Brigid.

And that is something Veery wishes dearly to achieve. For the sake of an already suffering people. War is the most terrible thing, and Veery knows it will take much more than this to put an end to it entirely, but removing it from Brigid will at least make it smaller.

Even if it’s negligible in the grand scheme of things, it’s still something. These are still people, and if even one person is released from war’s downward spiral and is allowed to make their lives just a little better, then the effort is worth it.

Veery does not believe himself to be a particularly empathetic cat. He is not fighting for those people. Not really. He’s part of this war for his family, and to help Claude create Arcadia, because he believes Arcadia will be a better world for him. All the same, it is a more immediate thing to look forward to than the end of the war as a whole, which he still cannot honestly see, and though he doesn’t consider himself empathetic, neither does he think he’s mean. He is glad to see people’s lives improve.

He hopes the lives cradled by Brigid will improve after this is over.

And so he fights. He vents his anger towards the war against the Empire, and it is not good. War is never good. The Empire is no more a single entity than the resistance is. Every soldier has their own reasons for being there, and especially here in Brigid, especially away from the front lines, Veery notices a certain reluctance.

Not everyone is passionate. They may believe in Edelgard’s vision, but, like Veery, they may not necessarily be willing to die for it. It isn’t the case with every soldier, especially due to Veery’s preferred means of offing them (that is, quickly, before they even notice he’s there) but in an unsettling number, Veery sees in their eyes that they no more want to fight and kill and die than he does.

That’s war. Killing for the sake of killing, because people bigger than them tell them too. Veery won’t be surprised if, at least here where there was an expected peace, there isn’t a single soldier who truly wants to engage in war.

It’s sobering. It keeps Veery’s anger burning. If Veery were a more empathetic cat, someone willing or able to feel badly for killing them, then he thinks he would feel sick. But he is not and does not. Instead, he feels tired. Tired not so much for the fighting and killing he’s done already, but all the fighting and killing he knows lies ahead before the end.

It’s just… disappointing.

And when the dust settles on the final battle in Brigid, when Brigid is finally free, Brigid cheers. Privately, surrounded by only close friends and the highest ranking generals, Petra sighs, sags, shakes her head, and stills for a long moment of silence.

Then Veery finds the coolest corner he can and takes a nap.

Apparently, the collective agreement among everyone busily going about organizing what comes next is to just let Veery sleep. Not that Veery is going to complain. A lot happens during his nap, and none of it requires him to be there, so he’s more than happy to nap through it all.

They do move fast, though, because when he does wake, it’s from Caub approaching with news that everyone is boarding a ship back to Míor Mór where Petra and Lysithea will report to the king.

Celica and Walhart are already gone, which Veery does, admittedly, feel a little bad about sleeping through – they both help him during his time here in Brigid, and he gets to know them, especially Celica, who is friendlier, well enough that knowing he’ll never see them again hurts a little. The loss mitigated, some, by the fact that Veery knows from the start that they will vanish.

Apparently, they share some words with select members of the crew before they vanish. Caub, naturally, and Petra, but also Hoarvug. But Veery figures that’s none of his business so he doesn’t think much of it.

Once at Míor Mór, Veery makes his own goodbyes once it’s clear there are no plans to linger. Ambrose, Daithi, General Kaia, and some of his infirmary staff, mostly, since everyone else will be making the trip back to Fódlan.

And, of course, the goodbyes with the king himself. That’s the same conversation where much of the planning for what’s ahead takes place, though as usual Veery only really understands the broad strokes. Petra (and her retainers) will be coming to Fódlan with just a token battalion of soldiers while most of Brigid’s forces will stay here under the king to fend off any Empire counterstrike and prepare for sieging Enbarr.

According to Leonie, who explains things in simpler terms afterwards as they pack, that means that for the war front they’ll soon be returning to in Fódlan, this excursion will have a minimal impact at best. But it’s all for the sake of delayed gratification, or whatever, since Brigid will come into a much bigger role once things really come to a head later on.

That’s good enough for Veery.

It’s no time at all before everyone is boarding Kieran’s ship once more, ready to set out for Fódlan. Home, for some of them. Just another foreign land and sky for Veery. Not that that’s a bad thing.

Veery is just eagerly awaiting air that isn’t sweltering. If he’s lucky, there may even be some snow left in Fódlan before winter succumbs. (Oh, what he would give for snow right now.)

[softpine]

i hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean; and whenever one door closes i hope one more opens

[transcript]

[ks-dreams-fantasies]

Rio smut?! Where the reader is married with 3 kids but she is currently going through a separation. She is in friend group with Beth,Annie, and Ruby. They all work for Rio and reader calls Rio over one day to talk about “business” and he’s confused on why she wants to talk and when he comes over to her house she asks him to fuck her and Rio delivers🙂🥵. Please

*GIF NOT MINE*

As you wish boss -Rio (Good Girls)

Hey love ! Thanks for your request, hope you like what I wrote ☺️ Enjoy some smut 👅 This is a longer one and I wrote it late at night , it’s not proofread sorry in advance 

Also this takes place in season 2 before Ben transitionned so that’s why there is mention of Sadie

Warning: Language, Smut

Word Count : 3k

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“I need to get Stan out of there” Ruby said panicking as you and Annie tried to comfort her.  Turner had arrested him Tuesday morning and Ruby couldn’t stop crying.

“I know we said we were out, but it’s the fastest way to get the money to bail him out” You called out looking at the both of them

“We could do it!” Annie said confidently “Plus we could all use the money, my sister doesn’t have to know” she continued

“We can’t go behind her back Annie” Ruby replied shaking her head disapproving of the idea. She didn’t want to do that to her bestfriend, but part of her was in need of the cash. “We need to tell Beth”

“We can’t, she’s an addict Ruby, it would be like giving a drink to an alcoholic. She’s trying her best and it wouldn’t be fair of us to bring her back in after all the effort she has done. It would only be one time, enough to get Stan out, enough to help (Y/N) with the divorce and enough for me and Sadie”Annie said trying to convince her.

“I mean, how would we even do it? Did you forget about the fact that we’ve been banned for every wholesale store? Beth’s the one who came up with the idea”

“As much as I love my sister, we don’t need her for that, we all have brains, let’s use them and find a way, it’s shouldn’t be too hard” Annie answered

“And how do we even find this guy, I mean Beth’s always been the one contacting him. Do you even know how to get to the man?” Ruby couldn’t believe she was even thinking about it

“I’ll do it” you said, finally speaking “I’ll get in contact with him”

“And how will you do that?” Ruby said finishing her coffee

“Let me take care of it” you replied, taking her mug to fill it in.

“Don’t” she said motioning to your hands “I have to go get the kids from school, we’ll catch up later”she continued standing up, picking up her purse before leaving

“Ok, so we’re really doing this?” Annie said excitedly

“I guess so, it’s going to help all of us, especially Ruby” you sighed “Anyway, anything to take my mind off of my stupid ex” you said rolling your eyes

“How are you doing by the way, with this whole situation?”

“I’m fine, the kids are starting to get used to it slowly, they’re often talking about his new girlfriend though, it’s kinda pissing me off. I mean he’s the one who fucked up and he gets to be happy with someone else? Like don’t get me wrong, I’m good without him, I wasn’t happy anymore, I was staying with him for the kids. It’s not like we had sex often, but it’s the only thing I miss, you know?” You asked shrugging your shoulders. Of course, you were taking care of yourself when you felt the need to, but you couldn’t help but admit you were missing the touch of a man.  

“I get it” she chuckled

You talked for a bit before she left, leaving you all alone as you washed the dishes. When the kids came back from school, you prepared their bags for the weekend as they were going on a camping trip with their father and his new bimbo. He was coming to get the two little ones while you were going to your eldest’s baseball game.

“You have everything? Don’t forget I’m dropping you off at your dads after the game and he won’t be happy if you’re missing something” You said to him as you both hopped in the car, fastening your seatbelt.

“Don’t worry mom, I have everything. Can we go now? I don’t want to be late, Marcus said we could practice together before the game” He said as you drove off.

You never told the girls before, but your son was on the same team as Rio’s son. You didn’t see each other often, most of the time, Rhea was taking him to his games, but when you did see him, you would glance at each other from across the bleachers. He was a totally different person when Marcus was around. He still looked intimidating, but you could see his softer side when he would smile and clap as his son made a good play, encouraging him.

As you arrived at the field, your son went running to Marcus as you looked through the bleachers trying to find a familiar figure. Today was just your luck, as you saw Marcus’s dad sitting there, typing on his phone, probably taking care of business as he waited for the game to start. You made your way towards him, while other women stared at you as you sat next to the man dressed in black. He lifted his eyes from his phone, watching you, as you played with your own fingers.

“How you doing mama?” he said, his voice deep, hearing a gasp coming from a lady behind you. Rio was attractive and you weren’t the only one agreeing to that. Maybe it was the confidence, the danger, the relationship he had with his kid or even the neck tattoo, but you were not the only mom swooning over him. The difference with you, was that you didn’t let it show. They were always trying to get his attention, by sitting next him or trying to make conversation. Some of them even brought juice boxes and snacks for Marcus, trying to make him like them by gaining his son’s appreciation. You, on the other hand, never sat close to him or even spoke to him. Your relationship was strictly business related but it didn’t stop you from thinking about him in a different aspect. You didn’t want to admit it, but you sometimes happened to be thinking about him while pleasuring yourself. You couldn’t help but think about his dark seductive eyes or even his plump lips, and the fact that a man hadn’t touched you for what felt like years made you wish he would roam your body with his strong veiny hands.

You coughed softly “We need to talk” you said looking towards the field

“Yeah? About what” he replied smirking down at you

“Not here” you answered, not wanting to meet his amused eyes “Tonight, my house” you whispered as the game started. You didn’t talk after that you could feel his eyes on you from time to time and you could hear the bickering from behind you making you roll your eyes internally. As the kids won their game, Marcus and your son came running towards you two, looking happier than ever.

“Dad did you see that?” Marcus asked his dad, jumping around excitedly

“I did pap, you did great, who’s your friend?” he said looking at your son

“That’s Lucas, we always practice together”

“Well nice to meet you little man” Rio said smiling at Lucas “We have to go, but I guess I’ll see you around yeah?” He semi asked diverting his gaze towards you, winking, before leaving

You proceeded to go back to your car, heading towards your ex’s house, dropping off Lucas for the weekend

You later got ready as you opted for a more revealing but still classy outfit, waiting for Rio to come over. You were coming down the stairs as you heard a knock, taking a deep breath before opening the door, surprised to meet your ex’s figure.

“Are you going somewhere? You look hot” he said eyeing up and down as you scoffed, rolling your eyes

“What do you want David?”

“Lucas forgot his headphone, he needs them for the ride”

You sighed “Wait here” you got to your son’s room, picking what he needed before going back downstairs, shoving them on his chest “Goodbye David” You said slamming the door to his face. You walked through the kitchen as you grabbed a glass pouring some gin into it. You took a sip as you heard the door open again

“Ok David, what do you want now I told you I-“ you stopped dead in your track as your eyes laid on the tall criminal that stood in front of you.

“That’s not a very nice welcome mama” Rio smirked, his voice thick and croaky, sending shivers down your spine

“You could’ve knocked” You responded your voice laced with attitude as you tried to sound unfazed by his actions

“That’s no fun though” Rio threw back avoiding your remark, stepping closer to the kitchen island as you stood on the other side, fixing him a glass. As you made it slide across the countertop. He took it, nodding at you, before taking a sip himself

“Why did you want to see me (Y/N)?” he questioned you as you tried your best not to look surprised that he actually knew your name. It was the first time you heard him say it and it made you quiver slightly. “We want to do business” You said trying to sound confident as you took another sip of your drink

“I thought you said you were out” he looked amused as he gazed at your fidgeting fingers

“Well, you see, Beth is out, that doesn’t mean we need to stop doing business with you” you swallowed the remaining of your drink, hoping it would give you a boost of confidence. “Of course, no need to mention, it would stay between us” You said stepping a few feet closer to him but not close enough to reach him

“And how would you wash the money” he asked downing his glass, looking deeply into your eyes, a grin plastered on his face

“Why don’t you let me take care of that, you just need to provide the money, and we’ll do the rest for you” You managed to say with a pleasant smile, proud by your assurance

“Ok so 500 g’s to start, and we’ll see how it goes” He shrugged, his voice filled with pure enjoyment as he watched your eyes grow slightly bigger

“500 grand?” You gulped. How would you do that in a week, you didn’t even know how you would proceed to wash all the money

“If you can’t handle it, I can find someone else for the job” he said stepping closer to you

“We’ll handle it” You responded immediately, almost cutting him off. You turned around as you filled both of your drinks, taking a sip right after you put the bottle back on the kitchen counter.

He stared at you, an amused smile on his lips as you almost gulp down the entirety of its content

“Good” he said looking at his glass, now full. “Was there anything else you wanted from me?” he said as he took in your outfit. You were dressed in all black, his favorite color and he couldn’t help but admit that you looked amazing. Beth was good looking, but he always found you breath taking. He took another step forward, facing you completely, your chest almost touching as you hold in a gasp, now feeling nervous. You breathed threw your nose, processing the words that would next come out of your mouth before looking straight at him.

“I want you to fuck me” you said trying to sound confident and demanding. He looked at you closely trying to find one thing that would indicate that you were messing with him

“Don’t joke around mama” He stated raising his left eyebrow, eyes filled with lust, licking his lips softly.

“If you’re not the man for the job, I can always find someone else” you managed to say, surprising yourself with your boldness, as you rephrased the words he said earlier. A smirk appeared on his lips as you went to take a step back to get away from him. He decided otherwise, grabbing your arm, pulling your body to him as you slammed against his firm chest, crashing his mouth to yours, almost gasping startled by his actions. His lips were soft and sweet but at the same time so rough. Your hand moved to the back of his neck wanting more, as you felt him smirk withing the kiss. You had been fantasizing about this for a moment now, and by the looks of it he had been too. His touches were hungry and intense, his hands grasping your waist tightly as you let a muffled moan past your lips. You both pulled away to catch your breath as you diverted your kisses to his neck. You’d always dreamed of putting your mouth on the dark ink covering his throat and you were finally being able to do it.

“Fuck” he murmured as your hands moved up his back, taking his shirt off interrupting your kisses on his neck for a few seconds. Your lips went right back to it, now having more skin to touch. Your hands made their way to his belt, undoing it, looking up at him biting your bottom lip. His eyes were filled with lust and desire, his hand grabbed your neck slightly as you let out a small gasp

“Do I need to remind you who I am sweetheart?” he asked, not liking that you questioned his competence

“Maybe you do” you said with a devilish grin. Your words were enough for Rio to turn you around and to bend you over the counter. His hands found the waistband of your jeans pulling them down, growling at the sight of your almost bare ass. Rio yanked your underwear leaving the bottom half of your body completely naked.  You could feel the warm fluid slowly leaking out from your fold as you anticipated his next move.

“Never question my abilities mama” he said in a husky tone as he slapped your ass hard. You let out a loud moan already feeling the sting his hands left behind. He pressed his growing crotch against you lowering his mouth to your ear whispering.

“Am I clear?” He slapped your ass once again when you didn’t answer, making you whimper. You felt him take a step back as he dropped his pants coming back to press his erection against your bare skin. You pushed your body back to get even closer to him, but his hands steadied your figure, grabbing your hips firmly.

“Did you forget who’s in charge here?” He said teasing your slit with his erected member. “Let me show you” he continued as he pushed his tip inside of you slowly stretching you out making you moan. He groaned lowly as he rammed into you making you shriek in pleasure. It felt better than anything you’d ever imagined before. His tip was brushing your deep spot and you couldn’t contain yourself anymore, screaming as he pushed in and out of you at a fast pace. The pleasure was immaculate as you stood on your tiptoes giving him an even better access to your aching core. He slapped your ass one more time before grabbing a fistful of your hair, bringing you to him as he started kissing bellow your ear.

“Fuck, you’re soaking wet for me” He stated, moving his hand to rub your needy clit. The way he was playing with the bundle of nerves between your shaky legs, brought you closer to the edge.

“Is that what you wanted mama? Am I fucking you good enough?” He asked as your eyes rolled back making you see stars from the pleasure he was giving you. Each stroke was getting deeper and deeper as you grabbed the kitchen counter, moaning loudly, encouraging him to keep pleasuring you like he was doing. He rubbed your clit a little bit faster and before you could even comprehend what was happening, you were coming undone, clenching around him.

“Yes! Oh my- fuck Rio” you moaned, tears welling in your eyes as your orgasm took over you. He didn’t stop, but you could feel his thrusts getting sloppier indicating he was close to his release. The sight of your ass bouncing back against him was all it took for him to spill his loads into you, letting out a throaty groan. He pulled out of you slowly taking a step back pulling up his pants. You stood up, making your way to the bathroom, cleaning yourself as you put on a pair of shorts. As you came back in the kitchen, Rio was still there, finishing his drink, staring at you with a slight smirk on his face

“What’s with the smirk?” You asked trying to sound like someone who didn’t just get railed on the kitchen countertop. He downed his drink, putting it back on the island as he walked forward, standing in front of you. He looked you up and down, meeting your gaze, pulling a piece of your hair back from your face

“I got the job done, didn’t I?” he smiled cockily as you rolled your eyes

“Whatever” he laughed at the way you tried to ignore his previous question. You both knew you were satisfied with what had just happened moments ago even if you tried to hide it.

“I’ll contact you for the drop off” he said as you smiled content that the deal was still on

“As you wish, boss” you answered teasingly as he slapped your ass one last time before exiting throught the front door, leaving you shocked and alone. You liked it and you were scared to admit that you would like for it to happen again. That night, as you got into bed, your mind couldn’t help but wander to the man always dressed in all black. You couldn’t help but to think about his eyes, his hands, his mouth, his cock… Oh how he made you feel so good was not even understandable. Why would you even question his ability to please you? How was he so good at it? Everything he did was just … perfect.

The real question was: was there something he wasn’t good at?

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Thanks for reading

Hope you liked it, let me know what you think

-K

[faith-trustpixiedust]

Here's a couple of actresses I would like to see in The Pocketwatch!

I think Raegan Revord would make a good choice for Chloe, depending on how old the characters are. In my head they're 13/14/15 like Celia and Dizzy are in D3, but they might be older than that. Raegan is only 14 so she probably couldn't pass as much older, but maybe! She currently plays Missy Cooper on Young Sheldon and she's one of the highlights of the show in my opinion. She's a very feisty character and I would love to see that in Chloe as well. Also I think she looks like she could play Jedidiah Goodacre's little sister if you squint.

Next would be Madison Reyes as Red. She's known for her role as Julie in Julie and the Phantoms, which means we already know she can sing! She's currently 17 (turning 18 in a little over a month) so it might not be believable that she and Raegan are the same age, but I think she could still play a 15 or 16 year old and audiences would believe it. Plus she has prior connections to Kenny Ortega (and Booboo Stewart!) so it could be cool to have her be a part of the same franchise as them once again, even thought neither Kenny nor Booboo have been confirmed to be a part of The Pocketwatch.

Madison Reyes also looks kinda similar to Angelica Migliazza, a dancer who played a daughter of the Queen of Hearts named Quinlin in Descendants 3. (Although there's not that many good pictures of her in costume to really compare the two of them.) I'd love to see Angelica reprise her role in this upcoming movie. It could be cool to see the Quinlin and Red sibling dynamic in comparison to Chad and Chloe. Or if Red and Chloe are in their late teens/early 20s, Angelica could play Red!

For selfish reasons, I would love to see Sabrina Carpenter play Chloe. I just love her so much. She already has quite the fanbase among Disney viewers as the star of Girl Meets World so she could help draw in a bigger audience. Again, if they characters are in their late teens/early 20s I think she would be a great choice, but she just turned 23 (happy birthday Sab!!) so I doubt she'd be cast as anything younger than 17. Maybe there's like, a five year time jump post Royal Wedding so characters like Dizzy and Celia (and now Chloe and Red) are now about 20? Really I may just trying to justify her being in this movie. Disney please listen to me I love her so much. She has the voice of an angel so there's no doubt she can sing, and she's a pretty good dancer too. Also she just looks like a queen so...

Finally, I've got Sadie Sink as Red (or Chloe too tbh!). She's 20 so she could maybe get away with playing a 15 year old...and she kinda does on Stranger Things, lol. I think it could be fun to see Sadie in something quite different than where we're used to seeing her. But then again, the time travel plot of this movie really isn't too unlike Stranger Things. I think she would be fun in a musical though! A redhead playing Red would also explain her name, even though any actress could wear a red wig to play her.

I really haven't given it all that much thought yet, I was just watching Young Sheldon tonight and thought Raegan would make a great Chloe, so I did some more thinking about who else I'd like to see in it. Let me know if y'all have had any ideas!

[squidproquoclarice]

If you'll answer AMA that's not about MTSBH, aside from Arthur dying what one thing would you change from the game?

Yeah, "Arthur doesn't need to die for the sake of the story" is my first call, of course. ;)

My next in line is the Chapter 3 mission "Blessed Are the Peacemakers". They either needed to cut it, IMO, or do far more with it than they did. Because as-is, what you have is a mission where Arthur undergoes a horrifying near-death experience where he's strongly implied to have been set up by Micah and abandoned by Dutch, only to have it fizzle out like a wet match...just so three chapters later we can hit the exact same notes with TB so he can have a slow-death experience and be abandoned by Dutch and finally expose Micah as a traitor. And as introspective and thoughtful and philosophical as he is, it's very, very weird that an ordeal where he's almost certainly set up, and then captured, severely injured to the point full recovery of that shoulder would be a while if ever, imprisoned, beaten, tortured, implied to have been sexually assaulted, and nearly dies of sepsis merits just "I guess I'll live, even if uglier than before" in his journal and is dismissed with only that. And aside from a few comments around camp immediately after and Sadie's angrily telling him in Chapter 6's "Goodbye Dear Friend" that at least he lived unlike Jake, it's really never brought up again by anyone. It's like this profound, prolonged trauma that should have shaken the foundation of everything he's believed for so long is just utterly forgotten, erased only so its beats and themes can be repeated almost exactly several months later. Arthur's mortality and how the life he's led has made him suffer. Dutch's complete narcissism and how he uses people. Micah's cold, cunning betrayal. It's almost like it's a relic of an earlier storyline that got abandoned so they could focus on the TB and making Arthur into a sacrifice. And it's peculiar, because it feels like that could so easily have been a springboard to the exact same thing: his growing realization exactly how little he or anyone else means to Dutch and his delusions of grandeur, things with Micah coming to more of a head, and dealing with his mortality and the legacy of his life. It also would tie in better with Sadie's own descent into ugly, messy PTSD courtesy of the O'Driscolls and give even more shading to their intimacy and friendship. As-is, the O'Driscolls don't seem to matter at all to Arthur in terms of either anger or fear or anything else, which is somewhat weird given how much they put him through. He's not allowed to have any PTSD reactions to them like Sadie is, which is frankly weird. Even for a man who thinks as little of himself as Arthur does, it seems unrealistic for him to have zero reaction, even privately, given we see how deeply he feels things. And so Peacemakers is this weird blank where a profound, alarming event that feels like it should very possibly have been the turning point along with Sean's sudden, shocking death in Rhodes and triggering that slow-creeping horror of no, we are not going to just wait it out and be OK, and it seems I cannot rely on Dutch to make it all OK because we're in deep shit and all he's doing is talking grandiose promises realization...apparently just doesn't matter at all? As-is, you could cut it from the game and it wouldn't change anything at all, and that really says something. I feel like if they gave Peacemakers a bigger prominence, the game's pacing would have worked better. Chapters 4 and 5 in Shady Belle and Guarma could have easily been more naturally working towards Arthur's growing awareness of Dutch and Micah rather than artificially prolonging it and suddenly having it all happen in Chapter 6 after like three dozen glaring neon signs already, and after many of Arthur's likely allies are conveniently dead and he's dying. It maybe gives him the chance to confront Micah and Dutch more actively. It gives him a chance to make choices and truly grow up from that scared, traumatized street kid who's made Dutch his father and god and become a man in his own right, rather than becoming a martyr.