#car seat headrest is the best example of this

[thefleshyougoveggie]

i love bands where the singer can’t sing but can convey emotions though their singing in a way that is impossible to describe. like yes u sing like an absolute dickhead but you are also somehow expressing exactly how i feel through the cracks in your voice

[daniel-profeta]

top 10 songs of all time?

Changes everyday, but in no particular order some of my more consistent favorites are:

The front bottoms - Twin Sized Mattress

Car Seat headrest - Kimochi Warui *so many options here, but to pick one from this band...*

Tool - Lateralus

The Mountain Goats - Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton

Phoebe Bridgers - I Know the End

Elliott Smith - King's Crossing

AJJ - People II The Reckoning

At this point I started to think harder about the songs that have meant the most to me throughout my life and as I've gotten older. For example, I like a lot of Bright Eyes songs more than First day, but that song has had way more impact on me. I play it all the time, the lyrics are permanently imprinted in my mind, and to me it's one of the most beautiful and vulnerable love songs ever written. With that in mind more and more "important" songs started coming to mind.

8. Alex G - Forever 9. Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life 10. Johnny Hobo - New Mexico Song

Now I have ten, that was easy.

Except...

I remembered that one Demarco song that makes me cry everytime I hear it. Got to include that. How many times have I listened to the Glow pt 2 during the summer? How could I leave off something from Porcupine Tree, the band that I once considered my favorite band of all time? So I kept going, through names and bands that I collect like emotional trophies, not wanting to leave anything out. They all mean so much, it's honestly pathetic. I used to hyperfixate on things like Zelda and Star Wars, then I found this shit and my brain chemistry has been altered ever since.

11. Mac Demarco - Moonlight on the River 12. Mitski - Texas Reznikoff 13. The Microphones - I Want the Wind to Blow 14. Pigeon Pit - Nights like These 15. Radiohead - Exit Music 16. The Crane Wives - Never Love an Anchor

Funny how quickly a song can feel like home. That Crane Wives song technically shouldn't even be here, I only heard it for the first time a few weeks ago. Yet maybe listening to it 30 times since qualifies it for consideration. Phoebe Bridgers has a lyric in one of her songs about wishing she had written something instead of the original artist, but she can't cause they said it first. So instead she'll learn their song and sing until the feverish inspired feeling fades away in a voyeuristic catharsis.

I think about that line constantly. Also quickly want to mention here that I'm more of an album guy. I try to listen to full records to try an experience the full piece of art the creator made. So while no song off The Downward Spiral is on my list of favorite songs, that was and is one of the most impactful albums to me as a teenager.

17. Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere but not Here 18. XTC - Dear God 19. Wilco _ I am trying to break your heart 20. NIN - Burn 21. Lucy Dacus - Night Shift 22. Haley Heynderickx - Oom Sha La La 23. Swans - New Mind

Swans was hard, because there were a few songs that meant a lot to me. But ultimately there wasn't one more visceral or frankly more evil sounding than New Mind. Love the themes, love the singing style, love the backing yells, love the industrial outro, love the faint organ, love everything about that damn song.

The list kept getting longer, and for each song I was writing a paragraph to explain my choice lol. After the first like 15 I decided to stop doing that for the sake of your eyes and for risk of sounding redundant. But a major thing I love about some of these songs are how inspirational they are. Twin Sized Mattress, Denton Metal Band, Story of an Artist, they all paint a picture of the type of person I want to be. The type of art I will always support. The thing I hope to one day inspire in other people.

When you punish a person for dreaming their dream don't expect them to thank or forgive you. The best ever death metal band out of Denton, will in time both outpace and outlive you.

Those words could honestly save someone's life, it's crazy.

24. A Perfect Circle - Three Libras 25. Deftones - Rosemary 26. Frank Ocean - Ivy 27. November Suite - The Tower 28. Daniel Johnston - Story of an Artist 29. Sloppy Jane - Jesus and Your Living Room Floor 30. Big Thief - Not 31. Tyler the Creator - Boredom 32. Duster - The Landing 33. The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning 34. The Voidz - Human Sadness 35 - 108. System of a Down - (every song) 109. Death Grips - Beware

Okay, threw these and now dozens more names are crowding my brain, and this incredibly pretentious post must come to an end. Long story short, I only have one song left to share, but each of these song has a very personal connection to me. Certain ones (like that tool song) actually changed the way I look at the world and helped me through dark periods of my life.

Many of them inspire me, some of them are just beautiful in a broken and real sorta way, and all of them feel human. The art represents something bigger than itself and the ambition knows no bounds. These songs changed my world for the better, and if you read this you are now obligated to listen to all of them.

I could ramble about music till the end of time:)

finally 110. 100 Gecs - Money Machine

[yourchemicallyimbalancedromance]

Something (Un)Familiar

Ship: none? Unless you count this as platonic LAMP lmao, also possible prinxiety?

CW/TW: heavy dissociation themes (like literally the main theme of this entire story revolves around dissociation.), also swearing

Summary: Roman wakes up in an empty parking lot in the middle of the night and panics, calling Virgil for help.

———————————————————————

The fluorescent streetlights above Roman were blinding; cutting, white circles. They pierced through his windshield and flooded into the car, lighting up the leather seats.

Roman had his head pressed against the headrest, barely conscious. Slowly blinking his eyes open, he immediately covered them with his arm, sucking in a breath at the light harshly beaming down on him. As the pressure in his eyes decreased and finally became adjusted to the light, he looked around, squinting, trying to look for cues of where he was.

The parking lot was empty, the only thing accompanying it being locked stores, rattling leaves on the pavement, and him.

Waves of fear racked his body, he saw his phone in the open glovebox and grabbed it, noticing that it was powered all the way off. He didn’t do that, did he?

His breath hitched further, he had no clue where he was, he was lost and he had absolutely no way of knowing how he had even gotten there in the first place.

He held down the volume and power button on his phone watching as it lit up and presented a passcode screen. He typed it in as fast as could, and with his entrance being accepted came hundreds of missed calls and messages. He scrolled through them.

Virgil: where the hell are you????? Patton is worried sick, literally. Text back soon, please.

Logan: Roman I think it’d be best if you answered your phone. No one is going to be upset at you, we are just concerned for your safety.

*13 missed calls from: Virgil* his lucky number, shit, he really fucked up.

Those were only a few of the multiple notifications from Virgil.

Patton hadn’t bothered texting, which made him feel nauseous.

With shaking hands, he quickly clicked on Virgil’s contact and began typing.

He deleted the message and began retyping again, and again, and again. This cycle repeated for a few minutes before he finally sent the message.

‘I’m fine. I don’t know where I am but I’m fine.’

The message was read immediately, a gray text box following hurriedly after it.

‘Holy hell you’re okay’

‘What the fuck Roman, you can’t just up and leave without explanation’

‘What do you mean you don’t know where you are.’

Roman shook his head, nerves still all over the place, the queasy feeling in his gut never left, only got increasingly worse.

He pressed the call button under Virgil’s contact and prayed to god he would answer. He picked up on the first ring.

“Virgil? Virg I don’t know— I don’t know where I am, I’m in my car but—“ he looked around, “I can’t see anything, it’s dark, I can’t read any of the signs. I- I don’t know how I got here”

He heard voices and then a muffled “Roman, Roman listen to me, we’re tracking your phone right now, it’s okay. Stay in your car, are the doors locked?”

Roman looked beside him, down at the little buttons on the car door, the lock button was pushed down, the lights streaming on it. “Mhm” he said, hushed.

“Okay, good. Do not get out of the car, do you understand? We just pinged your location. Roman—why are you in a bare parking lot?”

To this, Roman broke out into tears “I don’t know, I just— I woke up here and— Virgil, do you think I’m crazy?”

“You just—“ Virgil started, “The possibility of you being mentally deranged is extremely low, Roman. You are fine, this may be a case of amnesia due to dissociation” Logan butted in.

“Disso— what?” Roman choked out

“Dissociation. There are many types. For example, there’s Dissociative Identity disorder which has different subtypes such as OSDD which stands for Other Specified Dissociative Disorder and there’s DPDR which stands for Deperson-“

“Logan.” Virgil says sharply.

“Sorry. Right. Roman, what you are struggling with is dissociative amnesia, not being able to recall information about oneself, usually due to longterm stress and/or trauma. In this instance, you cannot remember how you found yourself where you are, and that’s okay. You are okay.” Logan explains all of this calmly, as if it is just another day, as if explaining why Roman is stranded is as normal as breathing to him.

Romans cries have died down to sniffles, and his eyes are darting around for any possible threats in the sea of darkness he finds himself in; the streetlights are slowly turning off one by one.

“Okay—okay just— when are you coming to get me?” Roman asks timidly, almost as if he’s not in the silence of his own car, no one around to hear him.

“You’re about 15 minutes away,” Logan says, “we’ll text you when we’re close so you can turn your headlights on” there’s a silence between them before he adds, “to make it easier to find you.”

Roman nods even though Logan can’t see him, he realizes this and adds a soft “okay”

———————————————————————

It felt like hours before Roman got the message Logan was talking about.

Logan: ‘We are a minute away, please turn your headlights on.’

Roman fumbled for his keys and put them in the ignition, turning them and jumping at the sound of the engine running.

He turned on his headlights quickly as he heard a car pull up beside him and park, the gravel on the lot kicking up and landing a few feet away in all directions.

Logan was driving the car while Virgil was holding Patton in the backseat, who was still visibly shaken.

Logan got out of the car, putting little pressure on the door to close it; Virgil and Patton followed behind.

Roman opened his door immediately and clung to Logan. He didn’t react immediately, just froze for a second before patting him on the back. “It’s alright, Roman. you’re okay.” He whispered soothingly.

Anyone else would’ve heard nothing but a monotone voice speaking into the cold air, but he heard it; the delicateness, the careful wording.

Roman let go and was immediately pulled into the embrace of Patton who was almost crying. It was a silent and drawn out hug, neither side saying anything; almost as if everything they needed to say had disappeared once they saw each other; Patton let go.

“If you ever scare me like that again I’m going to murder you I swear to god.” Virgil grumbled, only half joking.

Roman looked uncomfortable and fidgety at the mention of death considering anything could have happened to him while unconscious, he didn’t say anything about it, just said “sorry..”

Logan cleared his throat, “if I may interject for a second,” he looked around to make sure everyone was listening, “Roman I am extraordinarily content with the finding that you are alive and well but it is approximately 37 degrees outside. We need to get you home.”

Roman nodded in agreement.

“Alright, Let’s go. Virgil and Patton, you ride with Roman and make sure he’s well; I’ll take my car back and follow you.”

Everyone scattered to their cars and the sound of doors slamming shut filled the air. Roman was now in the passenger seat instead of the front seat, Virgil was in the front; He slowly backed out of the parking lot and headed towards their home.

Out of impulse, Roman grabbed Virgil’s hand. It was cold, but he didn’t mind it, he liked the psychical contact, it reminded him of the fact that he was alive and safe.

Virgil smiled, trying to hide it by looking in the rear view mirror, pretending to check for anything behind them. It was a dumb idea, really, it was 12:30 AM and no one would be out that late where they lived; he liked how hard he tried though.

Patton didn’t say anything the whole way home, only gave Roman the occasional glance to make sure he was okay.

He was fine with it, the silence, the lack of words. He didn’t need it, only needed their presence, only needed to hold and be held by the person he loved the most, Virgil, even if it was just hand-holding; he was fine with that.

And he didn’t know it, but Virgil was too.

[julesthequirky]

Beautiful Trauma - A Soldier Boy Miniseries: Chapter 3

Beautiful Trauma

Pairings: F!Reader x Ben/Soldier Boy

Summary: The reader is the real widower of Ben/Soldier Boy and loved their life together before the incident. In 1983 she took Compound V, so she could be with Ben forever, but in 1984 her life crashes to the ground, and she’s stuck in a world without him. In 2022 a knock at the door changes her life, and when she’s told that Ben is alive she hopes that there can be a forever after all.

Chapter Warnings: Antiquated views, smut (fingering, male receiving oral), typical SB misogyny, language, SB lewdness, mentions of drug usage.

A/N: Reader has traditional gender values that are antiquated today. I am also aware of how sucky the smut is (or at least I think it is).

Chapter W/C: 3142

This work is unbeta’d so all mistakes are mine. If you like it, heart, and reblog it. All feedback is gold. Minors DNI.

Driving home, Ben passed your crashed car and snorted a laugh.

“Typical female driver, I bet.”

“That was me.” You fessed.

He gave you a quick look before returning his focus to the road.

“I didn’t know you could drive.”

“I had to adapt.”

“Adapt? I fucking hope you didn’t adapt too much. From what I’ve seen, broads today are way too liberated. They’re all fucking promiscuous, wearing scraps. Fucking sluts. Well, I say it’s their own fault if they get into trouble. That’ll put ‘em in their place and teach them to close their goddamn legs. These days they’re too busy scissoring each other and fucking bitching about shit that doesn’t concern them.” Ben ranted.

You kept quiet, hoping and praying he wouldn’t get too riled up. You’d learnt from past experiences that it was best to shut up and listen when he went off like that.

“But not my gal, eh,” He squeezed your thigh and smiled in your direction. “You’re still keepin’ it classy. Gonna show ‘em how it’s done, aren’t you.”

You sent a perplexed look his way. “You want me to—”

“I want you to fuckin show them how to be a woman. Lead by example. Set the trend or whatever.”

Oh.

“What the fuck. Music’s gone to shit.” Disgusted, he jabbed the button to change the station.

You hmmed, distracted by Ben’s hand on your thigh. Tingles raced to your core, and your cunt spasmed in response. Eyes cast down, you were transfixed. Everything about this man was attractive, and his hand was no exception. Heat flushed over you as moisture gathered between your legs.

“Woman, stop eyeing my hand unless you want my fingers knuckle deep in your cunt.”

At his lewdness, your cunt gave a devastating clench, and your toes curled in their sneakers. Your hands gripped the seat and squeezed. Hot and flushed, the heat continued to rise, as did his hand on your leg. Reaching the apex, he prized them apart. Deft fingers stroked at your clothed cunt.

“Ah, fuck. Ben.”

Your head fell back against the seat headrest. Your pussy throbbed for his touch, and warmth spread outward from your needy cunt.

“Fuck, I can drive one-handed.”

Ben slipped his hand into your leggings and panties. Your breath faltered when his large callous fingers touched your slick folds.

“Fucking soaked.”

His fingers dipped before retreating, teasing you. His game achieved a whimpering mess.

“Please, Ben.”

“Such a needy whore.”

The pad of his thumb struck your clit, and you jerked in your seat. You needed his fingers, and as if he’d read your mind, Ben slid into your heated channel. You welcomed the delicious stretch, feeling the pulse in your veins match the one in your core.

His fingers curled, pressing a particular patch of tissue and sending you careening over the edge.

“Oh God, oh fuck, Ben!” You gripped his shoulder, and your palm slapped the steamed window.

Your cunt spasmed around his fingers as he continued to finger fuck you through your orgasm.

“Missed this tight pussy.”

Your legs spread a little wider, allowing him more access, and he speared into you, knuckle deep.

The car veered a little on the road, but Ben righted it as an oncoming car blasted their horn at him.

“Yeah, you too, cunt!!” Ben yelled at the other driver, zooming past them.

Your husband continued his ministrations as he yelled, his thumb circling your clit. Shuddering, you bared down, wanting, needing another release.

“Patience.”

He slowed his strokes, punishing and tormenting you. Looking down and seeing the outline of his fist had you drenched.

“Please, Ben. I need—I need your fingers. I wanna cum.”

“Bet you want more than that. Bet you want my tongue lashing your pretty little clit.”

Images assaulted your mind as he stroked. Of Ben lifting your leg over his shoulder. Of his beard scruff scratching your sensitive inner thigh and of Ben’s head in between your legs, lapping at your pussy.

“Yes.” You gasped and spasmed around his fingers.

“I wanna stuff my cock in this tight cunt.”

Ben was the king of lewd, and your cunt clenched hard around his fingers as his crude words had their desired effect.

“Fuck my fingers.”

Desperate for release, you complied, and your hips ground down, seeking stimulation and getting pleasure in return. Ben curled his fingers, and your strokes became body shaking and pussy trembling. The all-too-familiar warmth in your belly building.

“Faster, woman.”

You pumped your hips quicker, cunt squeezing with Ben meeting your thrusts. Sweat glistened, and your pulse thundered in your ears as the heat continued to build, the coil tightening. Ben struck your clit with the heel of his hand, and the band snapped.

Your hand squeezed his bicep, and your other hand gripped the car handle. You gushed all over his hand, screaming his name.

“Fuck me, woman, forgot you could do that.” He withdrew his hand and sucked them clean, causing a fluttering in your pussy.

No vibrator had ever come to make you orgasm like that. Not even close. Nothing could replace Ben. He returned his hand to the steering wheel, and you sat soaked and sated for the rest of the drive home.

*

Once Ben stepped into the apartment, everything righted itself. And you could see the stack of dishes and the laundry pile you hadn’t done. Shame filled you that you hadn’t been completing your duties.

“Fuck, what a shithole.” Ben grunted and placed his shield down. When he pulled up outside, he couldn’t believe that you still lived here. But this was home. Full of memories of your life together.

He sighed, headed for the bedroom and stripped down. Maybe Ben would move you both out into more appealing accommodation. A house in the country. With tons of land. Your thought strayed to kids and to Heather. It wasn’t fair that she had missed out. Would it be a betrayal if you had more? Ben wouldn’t think so.

You followed him and, after changing, slipped into bed beside him. After decades of sleeping alone, you craved his warmth, scooting closer to him, and he pulled you against his chest. He was the big spoon, and he loved it.

He smoothed back your hair, petting it. His tender actions ignited a drowsiness you hadn’t felt in decades. Your hand sought his, and your fingers intertwined. He kissed your head, and you murmured a “Love you, Ben” to him.

Before succumbing to sleep, you heard his soft whisper in your ear. “Love you too, baby.”

*

“That’s it, girl. Fuck. Gonna blow my load.” Ben grunted as his hips jerked up.

You hoped so because you were on your way to passing out. You’d lost the stamina and durability for these sessions. Your eyes streamed, and spit dribbled out, as the head of his cock nudged the back of your throat again. But his fist in your hair spurred you on, and the pain in your scalp signalled you were on the right track.

Hollowing your cheeks, you sucked. Ben hissed in a breath, and you tasted the first salty drops of pre-cum on your tongue.

Your jaw ached, as did the muscles all over your body as they strained to relax. Your knees hurt as the cheap carpet did nothing in the way of padding. You gripped his hips, going nose-deep, and Ben’s body trembled.

“We’re back, hoss.” Butcher’s cockney accent called as the door opened.

Fuck. Ben’s tight fist in your hair forced you to stay, and Butcher’s heavy footsteps in your hallway instilled a sense of urgency into you, so you sucked harder. Finally, his hips stuttered, and he gave a guttural cry, and his warm jizz painted your throat. Mouth full, you had no other option but to swallow.

“Good girl.”

After sucking him clean, Ben pulled you off, and you collapsed back, gasping like a fish as Hughie and Butcher entered the living area. Hughie muttered a “shit” and avoided his gaze whilst Ben tucked himself away. Ben tilted his head at you, smiling like a charmer.

“Don’t mind her. She’s a real cock gobbler.”

Butcher eyed you. “You got a bit of uh,” he said, tapping one side of his chin, “Right there.”

Shit. Your finger swiped the bead of cum from the corner of your mouth, and your eyes darted to Ben. He made no sound, but his look confirmed nothing had changed. You licked the cum off your finger and swallowed the remaining drop.

“Love it when you choke on my cock. Now, go sort yourself out. We’ve got guests.” Ben said, tapping your cheek and standing.

“Christ.” Hughie whispered.

*

Cleaned up, you walked in to see Ben at the kitchen table, surrounded by clutter, with white powder on his nose and chin. Old habits die hard, you guessed. Seeing you, Ben dragged his hand down his face, wiping away the excess powder. Butcher’s white carrier bag had its contents spilt all over the table. Hughie and Butcher sat opposite him.

“What do you want, boys? Coffee, beer?”

“Tea, if you got it.”

“I’m fine, thanks.” Hughie said, avoiding eye contact.

“Nonsense. It’s what she’s here for. That and other things.” Ben winked at the boys. He slapped your ass as you walked by to get to the counter.

“We don’t have tea. We’ve got coffee, though, and there’s beer in the fridge.”

“Coffee, then, luv. Hughie?”

“Oh, no. I’m good, thanks though.”

You replaced the old filter with a new one in the pot and added fresh grounds.

“Won’t be long.” You informed them as you pulled mugs out of the cupboard.

Your hands hesitated on Ben’s mug. The NY Giants print had faded, and the cup had gotten incredibly dusty from years of unuse. But it was a slice of normality. Your normality. Holding his mug brought memories of all the mornings you had together as a family. A lump in your throat formed, and the sting of tears threatened to brim.

Cradling his mug, you carried it to the sink and lovingly washed the dust off. You rinsed it numerous times so his coffee wouldn’t taste like dish soap.

A hand tugged your shirt, and you pivoted with the dripping-wet mug in hand.

“Don’t get misty-eyed now, woman. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know, but enduring forty years without you was hell. Every part of it.

Ben stood, tugging you, and he wrapped his arms around you. The fuzz of his beard scraped against your jaw, and his warm breath fanned across the shell of your ear as he whispered low, only for you to hear.

“I’ll make up for all those years you’ve missed. Gonna stuff you so full of my babies, you’ll be popping them out for months on end.”

“Ben!” You smacked his arm playfully.

He laughed and swatted your ass. You smiled and shook your head. Same old Ben. Thank God. Grabbing a tea towel, you dried his mug and placed it on the counter beside yours. The coffee finished brewing, so you poured Ben’s first. Black. Sugarless. Just how he liked it. You passed him the mug, giving him a kiss on his forehead.

“Hughie, you sure you don’t want anything. It won’t be a problem, honestly.”

“Uh, sure. Just a coffee, then. Milk and two sugars. Thanks.”

“Coming right up.”

You grabbed Hughie a mug and poured the coffee, adding the sugars and milk for everyone’s preferred taste.

“Now, you forgot to tell me how you liked it, but if you need anything, lemme know.”

“That’s fine, fanks.”

Hughie muttered thanks as you set his coffee before him, still unable to look you in the eye.

With your beverage, you joined them. Sipping your coffee in a state of contentment, you enjoyed the moment. Ben squeezed your thigh, and you sent him a dopey, loved-up smile.

“Do you mind giving us a few minutes? To talk shop.”

The contentment drained away.

“Is it because I’m a woman?”

Voices filled the kitchen, talking over each other, but it was Ben’s deadpan “yes” your ears attuned to.

“No offence. But you wouldn’t understand the perplexities of—”

“I understand the perplexities well, thank you very much.”

Ben sighed. “Woman, don’t argue with me.”

“Well, I know when I’m not wanted.” You sniffed, scraping your chair back. “And for your information, I intend on making Vought pay for what they did.”

“Not to be funny, luv, but now Soldier Boy’s back, you’re a wanted woman. They know who you are, and if you fink, they won’t go after you. You’re sadly mistaken.” Butcher stated.

Four decades had almost passed. Surely, he was wrong.

“Met these idiots at the lab. Almost got hit by fuckin laser eyes—” Ben started, jerking a thumb at Butcher.

“Wait, you guys are Supes!” You couldn’t hide your shock, and your anger flared. “After all the shit you gave me, but you decided to keep that to yourselves!” You stood, shaking in your rage.

“Slight miscommunication, luv. We ain’t Supes either. We took temp V, nasty stuff, but very effective for a limi’ed time.”

With one hand, Ben yanked you down to your seat. “Wives just pissed the V didn’t work for her. Still a touchy subject, apparently.”

The familiar ticking of a Geiger counter started. Hughie looked at it and then exchanged a glance with Butcher.

The anger within you strengthened, building in your chest. You huffed in breaths, fighting to contain yourself, pulse quickening, fists clenched. Heart and head pounding, blood rushing, and an intense heat flushed through your body.

“It was supposed to be our forever. I took it for you, Ben. For us. And Vought destroyed everything!”

With Ben by your side, bringing in the money, your life was supposed to be bliss, babies and bake sales. America’s Finest and his homemaker.

A golden glow emitted from your chest, and the counter spiked.

“Oh shit!”

Butcher grabbed Hughie, and they legged it for the door, shouting behind them at Ben to contain the nuke. The nuke?

“Ben?”

Your brows furrowed as you watched the glowing emanate from your chest. This wasn’t your power. It was Ben’s. So why was it happening to you?

“You gotta calm down.”

But you couldn’t. The anger hurt. And it needed to be released.

The glow in your chest brightened, and like last night, Ben’s instincts kicked in, and he pushed the table away, sending it careening into the wall, smashing it to pieces. He picked up his shield and pulled you into his embrace, crouching with you in his hold.

“Ben?”

“Don’t let go.”

The heat in your chest expanded until it could no longer contain itself. The light exploded, and the blast knocked you both off your feet. Buffeting against Ben, he held you as the cataclysmic eruption blasted out the walls and floors of the building. Your ears rang as shockwaves ran from your body. Falling, you scrambled to hold on to Ben, but he grabbed hold of you. As he hauled you up, his shield connected with your head and knocked you out cold. In his arms, Ben protected you as together you crashed through the floors of the crumbling apartment. He landed on his back, mushrooming a dirt cloud into the air. His shield protected you as the apartment collapsed.

*

You came around to Ben, tapping you lightly on the cheek and his voice calling your name. Opening your eyes, his worried expression being the first thing you saw.

“Baby, oh God. Scared me half to death.” He closed his eyes and mumbled something. Then, he cradled your face and kissed your forehead.

Around you, sirens blared, people cried, and the cacophony of New York sounds bled into one.

Your head pounded, and your mouth felt like it had swallowed cotton balls. Nausea swirled in your stomach like a nasty storm brewing.

“Ben, I don’t – I didn’t….”

He hushed you and kissed your lips. “It’s not your fault.”

He warned you not to look as he scooped you up, but you failed to heed his words. The building you’d lived in for over forty years and called home now had a gaping wound. Rubble and debris littered the sidewalk. Cars, broken and flaming, lay in the road as if a child had been playing. Smoke plumed into the sky, and a fire raged in the centre of the building. EMS were on the scene, fire trucks and people were gathered.

Oh, God. All those people. Dead. Your chest heaved. All those casualties. Caused by you.

“Close your damn eyes.”

“Ben. Those peop— I ki—” You gulped in breaths, unable to stop.

“Put your face against my shoulder.”

You did as he instructed, placing your hand over his chest. The fierce beat of his heart under your palm eased your panic. Your breaths slowed, but your mind raced with what you’d just done. How had it happened?

“Weren’t the V a dud?”

“It was. Though not entirely. I’m perpetually stuck at thirty,” you said, resting your cheek against his shoulder.

“Then what the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know. But it’s not the first strange thing to happen.”

His body tensed momentarily and then relaxed. “Go on.”

“When Payback barged in, Crimson sicked TNT and Mindstorm on me, but their powers failed.”

Ben paused and put you down. Looking around, he dragged you into a nearby alley, resting a hand on your shoulder. “What do you mean?”

You wrung your hands together. “Honestly, the night’s hazy. I was stoned outta my mind. Maybe they didn’t use their powers, and I thought they had?”

Ben hmmed, nodding and nudged his shield to your hand. “Hold this for a second.”

You eyed it, perplexed.

“Are you mad? That’s six hundred pounds!!”

“Just do it, woman.”

“Fine,” You snapped, yanking the shield from his hand. “But if I get hurt, I’m blaming you.”

Ben smirked. “You were saying?”

The shield gripped in your hand had a good weight, and the shock of this discovery had your eyes widening and gasping.

“Bash me with it.”

Your head jerked up at his request. “What, no!”

“Do it and put some force into it.”

You shook your head. “Ben, no. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Not likely. Come on. Imagine I’m Cuntess.”

You smiled. “You’re too gorgeous.”

He rolled his eyes in impatience. “Woman.” He warned.

You pulled your arm back and shoved the shield into him with all your might. Ben sailed into the wall, crashing into an apartment and wrecked the place.

The six-hundred-pound shield dropped, barely missing your toe, and you jumped out of the way as it fell in your direction. The metal clanged, ringing out loud, and onlookers stared.

Holy shit.

Tags: @spnfamily-j2

[hargrove-mayfields]

Hargrove-Mayfield-Hopper-Scott Siblings AU (Part 2/2)

Just kidding about the last moodboard guys! Haha they were just being silly, they’re actually all fine!

And speaking of, here’s a preview of an upcoming domestic family fluff fic under the cut!

Vance told them all to be in the car by 7:20 am. They’re pushing it by six minutes already. The school gets pissed when they’re even a minute late though, like it’s his fault he’s raising four of them at 23 goddamn years old.

At least the youngest is nice to him. She’s already buckled in the back middle seat, waiting for Max and Jason Lee to take their respective places on her right and left. Her waist-length mousy brown hair is in two braids, done by Billy since he’s the only one that can ever get them to stay.

If only Billy could get ready as fast as he’d done those twin long braids.

“Pearlie girl, why are you the only shithead here that listens to me?” Vance had turned all the way in his seat to sign to Pearl, a little clumsy with sign language since he only just met her a few years ago.

That’s a long story. Something, something- his mom ran away with Jason Lee, had a baby in secret, hid from them and never called, not even when Vance was missing for ten months, then dumped said kids back on their equally as shitty dad once the twins turned 16.

That was the last straw for Vance. He’d fought for custody of the kids right then before Neil could fuck them up any more than he already had, and now here they are, in the shitty middle of the woods, five of them packed into one trailer because it’s the only place Vance’s wages at the arcade can afford them.

Pearls oblivious to all that though. She’s only nine, and yeah, she’s got a bit of a sharp attitude like Billy, but she’s not really in the loop about the hardships. They all agree it’s best to keep her out of it.

She is witty as hell though, and in response to Vance’s sarcastic question, declares in sign, “I can’t even hear to listen.”

“That’s why your my favorite.” Vance signs quickly, just because it makes his little sister giggle when he says that kind of shit. But that makes him seem like too much of a sweet big brother, and that’s just not him. He insists.

So he blares the horn since Pearl can’t hear it anyways to be disturbed by it, though his siblings still in the trialer, now nine minutes late, clearly need the reminder. He rolls the passenger side window down too, “Shitbirds 1, 2, and 3, get your sorry asses out here now!”

He’ll apologize to Mr. Munson later for all the noise.

Max shows her face first in response to his calling, rolling her eyes to make it known just how inconveniencing having to be on time is for her. Ever the ray of sunshine, she probably learned that from her brothers. Not Jason Lee though. He’s the actual, unironic embodiment of cheeriness, no matter what.

Though Max makes an example of just how not cheery she is with her sarcasm, “Geez, you can stop your tantrum now, you big grouch.”

After two years of this- of crying his eyes out in this very car because he thought he was doing a shitty job of being the adult, of getting in fights and sitting them all down at their three legged, wobbly ass dining table to apologize, of sleeping with a crook in his back because the hard floor is the only place for him with Max and Pearl sharing a room, and the twins taking the couch and the chair- Vance can handle Max’s morning bad moods.

“Yeah, well not until your asshole brothers make their grand appearance for the day.”

Conveniently just then, Pearl taps the back of Vance’s headrest to get his attention, signing to him with enthusiasm, “Here comes Jason!”

He looks sheepish, from the tiniest red tint to his face and the awkward shape of his shoulders. Despite being just as stubborn as the rest of them, he’s more calm and more concerned with order. So that look only means bad things, and bad things, right now, translate into getting another call from the school about the Hargrove-Scott and Mayfield kids never making it on time.

Vance doesn’t like to be a stern guardian, really he doesn’t give two shits what his siblings are up to, but the last damn thing he needs is them getting taken away from their family over a couple of missed alarms. He’s gotta get to the bottom of that look, as Jason buckles in, “Where’s your idiot brother?”

Jason meets his brothers eye, but looks ever guilty, forcing an exhausted sounding chuckle, “About that… He said he doesn’t want to go today.”

[bauhome]

11, 20, 28?

10: a song that makes you sad

this song is so fucked . so good but so fucked

20: a song that has many meanings to you

this song changed my fucking life despite being about a boat

28: a song by an artist with a voice you love

her vocals r fucking crazy the best example is on bandcamp though so i couldn't add it :-(

[artsyaech]

what’s it with depressing-ass albums and having dogs on the cover?

exhibit A: alice in chains - alice in chains

exhibit B: man’s best friend - cavetown

exhibit C: trick - alex g

exhibit D: twin fantasy - car seat headrest

if you have other examples, pls lemme know, this is important research

[b3achfagz]

just had the best fucking idea

so instead of rickrolling people, we "rickroll" guitarists by putting the tabs for fuckin. smells like teen spirit or smoke on the water instead of the original chords. OR EVEN BETTER- PUT WONDERWALL CHORDS INSTEAD OF REGULAR CHORDS.

so if someones trying to learn like. fill in the blank by car seat headrest, for example. theres just. the chords to wonderwall.

[adviserbabycom]

Comparing the Top Baby Bouncers: Balance Soft, Classic, and Combo Models

A baby bouncer is an essential item for a baby's first few months. This article will give you reviews and tips about baby bouncers in order to help make this decision easier! Other things to consider when buying a baby bouncer include how portable it is (some models need batteries), whether or not you want music/sound options available as well as vibration options (many parents prefer that their child isn't overstimulated by too many sensory inputs), what material will work best in your home environment (plastic versus fabric), and at what age do you anticipate needing this product (some models have weight limits) Comparison of best infant bouncers Baby bouncers are a great way to keep your baby entertained and happy. Baby bouncers come in many different shapes and colors, so you can find one that matches your taste. Most of them are made from fabrics like cotton or nylon that are comfortable for the baby to be around when they're older too! Baby bouncer key features: - Comfort - Baby bouncers usually have a padded seat which makes it more comfortable and keeps their head up while they bounce on the springs. Some also offer a plush cover with a zipper, making it easy to keep clean. - Safety - A safety strap ensures that once secured in place, there is no way for your child to fall out of the chair if they lean forward or sideways. Many chairs also feature removable covers which allow them to attach an infant car seat right into the chair. The best baby bouncers have features like auto shut off, adjustable height settings, and machine washable covers so they can be used again with ease when needed! The best Baby Bouncer is one that will fit your needs while still meeting safety standards like ASTM International F2088. The best bouncer for a baby on 2023 BabyBjorn Bouncer FAQ You have to stop using bouncers when your child starts crawling or pulling up, so I'm not sure if this product will still be worth buying at 5 months old. The seat has been so easy to bring with us everywhere! It folds flat, it's lightweight and our baby loves being in it. The material of the bouncer makes it easy to clean. Just wash it and you will have a new-looking item. It doesn't seem like anything can stain or leave behind any residue, so no worries there either. The BabyBjörn Baby Carrier One Air works as a high chair replacement by securely attaching itself around any table or counter - If you're looking for something that will rock and bounce, the BabyBjorn Bouncer Balance Soft is a popular choice. The Baby Bjorn bouncers are suitable from birth; it has adjustable straps to allow both parent and child to be comfortable while seated in this product. It also features toy loops on its side for additional entertainment value. And with an extra safety strap over the headrest, there's no chance of your little one slipping through the cracks if they lean too far forward when sitting up. Best BabyBjorn Bouncer Review - Balance Soft https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdZdLWY-rvg BabyBjorn Bouncer Review So, the great thing about baby bouncers, in general, is that they're pretty versatile. Um, the baby Bjorn in general, you can have to wait until the baby's at least eight pounds before you can start using it. However, that's pretty early for most babies. Um, Alistair was born a little bit on the light side and about six pounds and three-ounce. So, he had to wait at least about a month and a half before we actually started using it with him. First, let's talk about how we use the baby Bjorn bouncer. We pretty much use it as a safe place to put Allister when we need two hands. BabyBjorn Bouncer For example, when my wife gets ready in the mornings after I've gone to work or when we want to go eat, um, and we need to prepare the food in the kitchen, we can put them down and kind of lock in place with the little straps it comes with. And it's a nice, safe place for him. That's kind of hang out and keep an eye on us and we keep an eye on him at the same time. I right Allister didn't like me sitting down too much. So I'm going to have to stand up for the residents. Let's talk about some of the pros I found about this bouncer. So, the first one, um, it's pretty important I think is that it's super easy for the baby to bounce themselves in it. It had pretty easy to bounce in general. You can probably bounce the thing with just one finger, just slightly tapping it, and the thing will move and it makes it great. BabyBjorn best activity bouncer So, the baby can actually kind of kick their legs and they'll bounce themselves in and up and down. Um, this is really great as I've noticed that many other bouncers have a much harder balance compared to this one. So not a great thing about the baby Bjorn is that it's very lightweight and it offers multiple configurations. And one of the configurations allows you to easily kind of fold it down and take it places too, you need to bring it to grandma or something and speak of configuration. There are actually three different levels. BabyBjorn Bouncer three different levels You can kind of put the bouncer into it, depending on how low you want the baby to be. All right? So, this one's pretty much a hundred percent in opinion, because the kind of like the overall design of the baby, you warned, some people might think it's kind of plain and not baby enough, but we actually like it that it's kind of a neutral color so that it kind of matches with any kind of furniture you want it to. So of course, with any baby product, probably the most important question is, is it safe? The baby bouncer is actually very safe. - It's, um, ergonomically designed to support the baby's back neck, and head. So while the product is certified and safe for baby to use, you have to make sure you're using it properly as well. - So always make sure that the belt is fastened. So, the baby doesn't fall off. And to pretty much only use it whenever the baby is alert and awake, it's not meant for the babies to sleep in the baby. - Yours is actually also very easy to clean. All you do is have to remove the cloth and then you can throw the whole thing into a washer, just make sure that you line dry it and don't put it in a dryer to dry. BabyBjorn Bouncer So, I've told you plenty of reasons why I like the bouncer. And I could only really think of one reason why I would maybe steer you away from this bouncer.  The price of $200 is significantly higher than many of the other bouncers out there that are maybe even as cheap as $40, however, to compensate for the price. This actually lasts the baby for quite a while. It lasts up to 29 pounds. And to do that, all you do is flip the cover inside out, and it becomes a seat for the baby. So, I have to give you a fair warning online. BabyBjorn Bouncer 29 pounds I do see a lot of reviews on Amazon saying once people put their babies in it, um, their baby falls asleep or instantly soothe and no longer fallacy, um, for Allister, we found that it's best for us to put him in when he's kind of happy and content and you stay happy and content in it. However, if he's fussy and we try to put them in a bouncer, um, it doesn't really calm him down a bit, any at all. So, um, it's kind of take that with a grain of salt because each baby is going to probably react to the bouncing differently. If you do end up getting the baby on a bouncer, you actually don't have to buy the official baby boomer or an add-on for the little toys that kind of hangover the unit. BabyBjorn Bouncer baby boomer Here we have, let me know down below in the comment section if this review has helped, you made a decision on whether or not you're going to get this baby Bjorn bouncer or a different brand. Best baby swing and bouncer combo Summer 2-in-1 Bouncer & Rocker Duo FAQ For the best results, we recommend that new parents use their child's high-chair from 0 - 6 months or when they reach 20 pounds ( whichever comes first). The Bouncer & Rocker Duo does not contain any flame retardants, chemical treatments, or PVC. The plastics used in this product are TPR(thermoplastic), PPCP (polycarbonate) ABS & PA 6 material which makes it super safe for your little one! It requires one C (LR14) to operate, but the alkaline battery is not included. The Summer 2-in-1 Bouncer & Rocker Duo is the must-have baby shower present! This bouncy seat with a rocker converts to a rocker with soothing vibrations for calming babies from 0-6 months. The fold-flat design makes it perfect for travel or storage. All materials are imported for quality assurance. The removable toy bar features removable toys with soft fabrics and provides entertainment wherever you go! The best classic bouncer on 2022 Fisher-Price Sweet Snugapuppy Deluxe Bouncer FAQ I’m not sure if there is a weight limit. My grandson is 3 months and still uses it without any problems. I think he’ll be able to use it for up to 8-9 months. The assembled product is 15.5" X 26-1/2 "X 16", weighing around 9 lbs. That means your batteries are dead. You should insert new ones immediately so the bouncer can continue working properly. The Fisher-Price Rock n' Play Sleeper is a great option if you want to keep your baby near Baby will feel secure and comfortable in this cozy sleeper that has a cushioned headrest, side-to-side rocking motion, soothing vibrations, and soft fabrics to snuggle up with. This Baby Bouncer is designed for babies who can sit unassisted but are not yet old enough or strong enough to climb out on their own. It's perfect for parents looking for the best baby bouncers because it provides safety features like a padded base which ensures your child cannot slip through the cracks if they get too close to the edge of the seat (which often happens when children lean forward) The best review baby bouncy seats Fisher-Price https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PYq5gW100k The best review baby bouncy seats Fisher-Price The automatic baby bouncer seat Ingenuity SmartBounce Automatic Baby Bouncer Seat FAQ The ball baby bouncer is a great way to entertain your little one and it's up to you how long they will be in the seat. To remove the bounce unit, press down on both sides of an exposed release button until it clicks into place. To install new batteries simply flip them over and replace them with size C- alkaline cells from your handymen's kit. Yes, the cover is removable and washable. Just hang dry it after you have washed it on a cold cycle to keep its color! FAQs on how to use a baby bouncers A Baby Bouncer is a chair that can be rocked back and forth to soothe your baby. It will often have music or sounds for an added calming effect. Most baby bouncers are designed to give you hands-free time, which means they're great while you cook dinner or take care of other household tasks! They also help babies feel secure and loved when in their own home environment. Sometimes they'll use it as a place where they can relax and watch different things from above (like toys) before going into deep sleep cycles too. The best baby bouncers come with various features like incline adjustments, vibration, and music or sound to help soothe your baby. Baby bouncer: A baby device that allows parents & caregivers to bounce an infant with minimal effort by rocking back and forth. They come in many shapes, sizes, styles, and colors but all have one large purpose - soothing babies! baby bouncers usually take little space within your home because most models rock without any action on behalf of the person holding the baby; this is great if you're living in a small space. Baby bouncers can also be taken with you while traveling (but not when flying!) For infants who still haven't developed their neck muscles well enough yet, using an infant carrier or stroller may be more comfortable than putting him in his own seat (and he'll likely fall asleep faster). However, once they get more mobile by crawling or pulling themselves up, baby bouncers can be a great alternative. Baby bouncers are baby seats that offer babies comfort and support but also allow them to explore their surroundings through play. A baby bouncer gives your baby the opportunity to safely bounce up and down as he kicks his legs, all while keeping hips, back, neck, and head in proper alignment. And because they're strapped into an infant seat with safety straps, baby's not going anywhere until you take him! The baby bouncer market is a competitive one, and baby products can be produced quickly. This means that used baby bouncers may not have been tested or approved for safety purposes. There's also no guarantee about what types of materials were used to make the baby bouncer itself since there could be various harmful chemicals in older models. In addition, baby products are often recalled by manufacturers if they're found to violate standards. It's best to only buy from trustworthy companies that will provide good quality baby products rather than risk your child's well-being because you bought something second-hand! Many baby bouncers come with a baby-sized insert to help your child feel more comfortable. You may also wish to attach toys or other baby gear that can provide entertainment and distraction from the discomfort of being in an unfamiliar place, such as their favorite pacifier, baby monitor, or something they may have been playing with during tummy time. You could also try switching up how you position them inside the seat - some babies prefer sitting upright while others like lying down on their backs so they can look around. It might take a little bit of experimentation to find out what works best for them at this stage! Read the full article

[joinedtheghosts]

going into 2023: - booked a dope flash that i saw when accompanying a friend to get some words i wrote to her in a letter tattooed - looking for a new job that suits me better - gonna be better about planning to sleep + eat + move but with compassion for myself (for example trying my best to not order delivery because the fees are insane so trying to be proactive about prepping food or buying stuff that's frozen/instant for when i don't want to cook) - gonna graduate uni this year if everything goes according to plan - going to TRY to stop consuming thc because as car seat headrest said i don't want to go insane i don't want to have schizophrenia

godspeed my loves it is hard out here but hopefully sending you some of this optimism that has seized me

[charmingwaywithwords]

Save Money With Pushchair Bundles

New Post has been published on https://www.goskyride.co.uk/save-money-with-pushchair-bundles/

Save Money With Pushchair Bundles

You can save money by purchasing pushchair bundles. Some bundles come with car seats, which is a great way to save on shipping costs and get everything you need at one time. Some bundles also come as a baby travel system, which will allow you to travel with your child. However, travel systems are often expensive and bulky, so you may only need them if you use your car as a primary mode of transport. The pushchair you choose should have a large basket that can hold all your baby gear and be easily accessible even with the carrycot attached. This basket should also be easy to access even when the pushchair seat is fully reclined.

A pushchair with a car seat is an excellent option if you are traveling with more than one child. A car seat is great for long trips and makes it easy to move from one place to another. Its padded seat is perfect for your infant, and the car seat is an excellent option for longer journeys. Many bundles include additional accessories, such as car seat adapters, so you can use the pushchair for as long as you need it.

Some bundles come with extras such as a changing mat and extra clutches. A nifty option is a 3-in-1 travel system, which comes with a pushchair frame and a bassinet, as well as a toddler seat and baby car seat. The best part about a 3-in-1 travel system is that it has a universal fit, so you don’t have to worry about buying different parts for different ages.

Pushchair Bundles can make your life easier when you need to transport your new baby. They contain all the components you need for a safe and convenient journey. These bundles include the pushchair, car seat, and carrycot. The pushchairs are the base for these items and are designed to make the ride a lot more comfortable.

Some Pushchair Bundles are better than others. For instance, you can get your dream pushchair with the right car seat, only to find out that the car seat is a lower-quality version. That’s because the first-stage car seats won’t last as long as other models. Another problem with pushchair bundles is that some manufacturers bundle their older car seats into a new model. However, this is only a major concern if you need certain features in a new style of car seat.

Kinderkraft Pram 3 in 1 Set MOOV, Travel System, Baby Pushchair, Rear and Front Facing, Foldable, with Infant Car Seat, Accessories, Rain Cover, Footmuff

How to Choose a Pushchair Bundle

If you’re looking for a pushchair bundle, there are many options to consider. You can purchase a pushchair and a baby carrier together, or you can purchase the separate items separately. You can also add other accessories such as a carrycot or sunshade to your pushchair. Some brands offer a wide range of accessories, which will save you money in the long run. Some accessories are more expensive and include things like extras or customisable features.

You can choose a pushchair bundle that includes car seats or strollers. Depending on your lifestyle, you can choose a pushchair with an included carrycot. For example, a carrycot can be used if you want to travel by public transport. Alternatively, a pushchair with a carrycot may be a better option if you’re going out into the countryside with your baby.

The chassis of the pushchair can be folded down to fit in the boot of a car. Depending on the size of your vehicle, you may be unable to lift a heavy chassis. Therefore, the weight of the pushchair and its accessories should be taken into consideration. If you can’t lift a pushchair, you might have to carry your baby. You should also look for a pushchair with adjustable headrests.

You should also look at the pushchair’s compatibility with the car seat you choose. The i-Size car seat is compatible with most pushchairs, but not all. Depending on how long you plan to journey with your child, you may want to consider a pushchair with a built-in carrycot. Then, you should consider purchasing a travel system or travel carrier. If you’re planning to use your pushchair for long journeys, make sure it is compatible with a car seat that as a reclining seat.

When shopping for a pushchair, check whether it has all the accessories you need. You might find that the pushchair comes with optional accessories such as seat liners. These accessories can make life with your baby so much easier. You should also look into buying accessories that are essential for your pushchair, such as cup holders. While pushchairs often come with different accessories, the basic pushchair will come with the essential items you need for your child’s comfort.

[wolferine]

Heart Skips a Beat - Part 3

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Summary: Natasha faces her worst nightmare when a rescue mission goes wrong…

Warnings: Violence, blood

Word Count: 2065

Part 2

Tags: @blkmxrvel @blackxwidowsxwife @marvelwomen-simp @phoenixofash @marvels-bitch-boy @when-wolves-howl

Despite your super soldier enhancements, it takes a few days before you’re cleared from the medical bay. The bullets you had been shot with were identified as hollow point sniper rounds—basically the biggest, baddest of the bunch. If you had been a normal human, your insides would’ve been shredded to pieces and you would’ve died before you even hit the ground.

You’re retired to light duty while you recover, which is painfully boring and dull. You attend physical therapy to strengthen your body, but sometimes you push yourself too hard and stumble back to your and Natasha’s room with blood staining through your bandages. She always chastises you for hurting yourself, but secretly admires your dedication and will never pass up the opportunity to help take care of you.

One week after the condominium collapse, you join Steve, Clint, and Natasha for a private meeting with members of the Miami Police Department and the FBI. As Steve had suspected, the collapse wasn’t an accident. Someone had deliberately taken out the concrete supports in the parking garage with explosives.

“We couldn’t have just phoned that in?” you whine from the backseat. Clint is in the driver’s seat, Steve next to him. You and Natasha sit in the back. “I mean, they drag us all the way across the city, just to tell us something they could’ve sent over text—” 

“Information like that, the less people to intercept the message, the better,” Steve mutters, staring out the window as the car zooms down the highway.

“I don’t know about that,” you dismiss, and Natasha side-eyes you. She knows you’re just cranky because Steve interrupted your morning cuddle with her. There isn’t much you can do intimately when you can barely twist your torso, so you have to make due with what you can.

“You know, Y/N, you are the one this guy’s after,” Clint points out. “So, if anything, you’re the only one that needed to show up.”

“Oh, please.” You roll your eyes. “You’re just jealous you don’t have a psychopath coming after you—” 

THUD.

Everyone’s head turns to the roof of the car. You swear you see the imprint of a hand dented in the metal.

“What the—”

Natasha suddenly leaps out of her seat and into your lap. She wraps her arms around your neck, yanking your head down.

“Hey!” you shout in protest, but then you hear a bullet whiz behind your head and feel the foam of the headrest cushion spray the back of your neck. Still in your lap, Natasha kicks Steve’s shoulder, causing him to hit his head against the window before a bullet zings through his headrest. Following her example, you kick Clint’s seat and he jolts forward, the bullet missing his head by inches.

“Stop the car!” Steve yells, crunching the gear shift into park.

The tires burn rubber and the car slides back and forth before coming to a grinding halt. Cars behind you honk and swerve around you. A figure goes flying off the roof of the car and lands in the road, rolling to their feet. They wear a black vest, revealing their left arm to be completely made out of metal overlapping plates. Their hair is chin-length and a mask covers the lower half of their face.

Suddenly, an 18-wheeler semi-truck, unable to stop in time, slams into the back of the car. The trunk crumples like an accordion, and you instinctively tighten your grip around Natasha to shield her in case the semi-truck tears the car in half. But it doesn’t, instead pushing your car towards the masked figure, who doesn’t even bother to step out of your path.

They jump onto the hood and punch their metal arm through the windshield, grabbing the steering wheel and tearing it right out of the car. When the masked figure disappears onto the roof, Natasha takes out her gun and starts shooting, but her efforts are fruitless.

There’s no way for Clint to control the direction of the car anymore and it’s too dangerous to stay inside with the masked figure close by.

“Hang on!” Steve says, reaching across the front to grab Clint. In the same motion, he slams his shoulder into his door, knocking it off its hinges. Both men go flying out of the car.

“That looks like a good idea,” you mumble, anchoring your arm to your own car door, the other pressing Natasha against you as tightly as you can. “Hold on, babe.” You ram your shoulder into the door with all your strength, ignoring the pain that rips through your stomach.

The door tears away from the car and turns into a makeshift sled as you go skidding down the highway. Sparks fly from the grinding contact of metal on the concrete road. When you finally come to a stop, Natasha stays on top of you, drawing her weapon and scanning for the masked figure. 

Meanwhile, the masked figure has hijacked the semi-truck, but instead of plowing you over, they turn to tip the entire vehicle over so it blocks every single lane of the highway.

“Where are they?” you pant, trying to lift your head to see the commotion but Natasha forces your head back into the car door. “Nat, stop—” 

“No!” she says. “They’re after you, remember?”

You don’t like the idea of her risking herself for you, but it’s a sweet gesture.

“Where are they?” you ask, unable to see.

“I…I don’t…” Natasha sounds confused. Suddenly, she takes off without warning. You don’t question it and run after her. Steve and Clint are engaged in an intense hand-to-hand match with the masked figure. The masked figure knocks Steve to the ground and wraps their metal hand around Clint’s neck, lifting him off the ground.

You put on a burst of speed, overtaking Natasha and launching yourself at the masked figure’s metal arm. They drop Clint instantly and you wrap your arms around the metal one, but it’s like trying to contain a bucking bull. You jerk your elbow back into their face to stun them, but it has no effect. The masked figure flings out their metal arm and you lose your grip.

You crash into the concrete highway dividers and the impact almost knocks you out. You feel your stitches tear open and you start bleeding underneath your shirt. As you stagger to your feet, you see the masked figure over Natasha, pinning her down and pulling their metal arm back, ready to deal the killing blow—

“No!” you scream, charging towards them. You catch the masked figure’s metal arm again, locking out their elbow and holding it against your chest. Natasha rolls out of harm’s way and Clint jumps into the action, launching himself at the masked figure’s legs and sending all three of you to the ground.

Natasha swings her leg around and kicks the masked figure in the face. The mask falls off. You and Clint struggle to hold them down as Steve walks up, blood dripping from a cut in his forehead.

“Bucky?” Steve says suddenly, stopping in his tracks. 

“Who the hell is Bucky?” the man snarls.

“Help!” you choke, not sure how much longer you can hold on to his writhing metal arm. But Steve is frozen the same way Natasha had been when she saw you get shot. “You need to get in here, Steve!” you yell, and suddenly Bucky goes limp. You and Clint exchange confused glances.

“Wait, what?” Clint says.

“What happened?” you ask, hesitantly releasing the metal arm, which flops to the ground. “Why’d he just stop like that? Did I say his safe word or something?”

“What, ‘Steve?’” Clint laughs in spite of the tense situation.

“Apparently.”

Steve is in too much shock to bite back at your jibe.

“I’ll call for reinforcements.” Natasha takes charge. “We’ll bring him back to the Tower.” She comes over to you and touches your side gently, reminding you of the blood staining through your shirt.

“I’m fine,” you assure her, reaching out to run your thumb over the bruise forming under her eye. She closes her eyes and leans into your touch. “Let’s hope that Steve is, too.”

***********************************************************************

Bucky is detained in the holding cell at the Tower and Steve goes to speak with him privately. Afterwards, he regroups with the rest of you. Clint relaxes at the kitchen counter with a beer, while you and Natasha sit on the couch together. She holds an ice pack against your stomach and frets over the fresh swelling in your shoulder.

“So, I’ve got some good and bad news,” Steve says.

“You can start by telling us who that guy is,” Clint interrupts.

Steve shifts uncomfortably. “He’s…an old friend of mine. My best friend, actually—”

“You know, that’s the same thing people thought about me and Nat at first, but obviously we’re more than that—” you start.

“Bucky was also involved in the super soldier program,” Steve continues, ignoring your comment. “But he was under HYDRA’s control for decades. They were the ones who sent him after us. And…” Steve takes a breath, “We were wrong about who his target was. He wasn’t after you, Y/N. He was after me.”

“But he shot Y/N,” Natasha says.

“Twice,” you add.

“No.” Steve shakes his head. “Bucky was trying to shoot me. Y/N was just in the way.”

“In the way?” Steve’s logic—or lack of it—makes your head hurt. But as Natasha thinks about it—she’s always been the smarter one in the relationship—it makes complete sense. Her mind flashbacks to the scene of the condominium collapse, where all four of you had gathered on the street after you rescued the last victim. Her and Steve stood across from you and Clint. The bullets had come from behind you—if you hadn’t been standing where you were, Steve would have been hit instead.

“I don’t think you would remember this part, Y/N, but when Nat and I were trying to get you in the ambulance, we were shot at two more times,” Steve explained. “But the bullets hit the sideview mirror and the windshield. Those were places I was in, not you.”

“Okay, so why’s he trying to kill you if you’re his best friend?” you ask.

“It’s all HYDRA’s doing. He told me he’s part of a task force that was created to kill off the Avengers. Specifically, the original six, so there’s six of them in the task force. He’s the only one that got out, and he said the other five are being held in a facility in Siberia. He wants our help to free them,” Steve says.

“So, this Bucky guy wants to work with us now? After he took down a 12-story condominium and almost killed Y/N while trying to kill you?” Clint asks.

“Please, Clint,” Steve begs. “Bucky’s my best friend—”

“A best friend who tried to kill Y/N! And you!” Natasha argues. She lowers the ice pack from your stomach and you frown at the loss of contact. “You know I love you, Steve—”

“Not as much as me,” you mutter under your breath, guiding her hand to put the ice pack back against your side.

“—But I’m gonna need you to do a little better than that.”

“I need you all to trust me,” Steve pleads. “If we have intel telling us that there are five super soldiers in existence, who are programmed to take down the Avengers, isn’t it on us to do something about it?”

“How do we know we can trust Bucky?” Clint asks.

“Well, if he does go rogue, at least we know his safe word,” you answer with a chuckle.

“If you trust me, you’ll trust him,” Steve promises.

You glance at Natasha, who is looking at the floor, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. You stretch your arm over her shoulder, pulling her towards you and bumping your heads together.

“What should we do?” you whisper so quietly only she can hear.

Her free arm snakes around your waist, closing the gap between you and her, your bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces. She rests her head against your shoulder. “Trust Steve,” she says.

“Okay.” That’s enough of an answer for you. You press a soft kiss to her temple and look back at Steve. “So, what did you have in mind?”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here for Part 4!

AN: I love taking inspiration from many places, and the inspiration for this part is the awesome fight on the highway from Captain America: Winter Soldier. Thank you to everyone for the continued support!

[stillforests]

one reason why I love car seat headrest so much is because they are a perfect example of how good art can borrow from other art. like, so many of the best csh songs/lyrics draw directly from classic literature, philosophers, the bible, etc. (I’m thinking of the galvanism monologue) and also just from things will’s friend came up with. “it should be called anti-depression as a friend of mine suggested.” even the concept of the pain star was someone else’s idea that will and cate both used and I just think that’s so wonderful. it’s hard to put into words but I think it’s the same sort of thing that makes ppl on here (myself included) like those poetry/art compilation posts. its about the making connections and the universality of experiences and the recognizing the self in the other… good shit

[kvmberly]

test drive.

20 day song imagine masterlist | main masterlist

pairing: jj maybank x kook!reader

pronouns: she/her

genre: fluff, kina angst not rlly tho

warning: like 1 curse word

word count: 1.2k

synopsis: all her rich friends say to take it slow make sure he’s the one, but she’s so sold on him

italics are y/n's thoughts

also i named random names for y/n's friends so yeah

i wonder what he's doing right now..

"y/n"

does he like me as much as i like him?

"y/n."

does he think i'm using him? oh i hope not.

"y/n!"

y/n jumped in her seat looking around the class seeing that everyone in the class looking at her.

how embarrassing

"Oh, i'm sorry what's happening?" y/n asked confused

"Miss y/l/n, while you were.. daydreaming, the class was sharing their essays. you care to share your's?"

hell no

"uh yes sir." y/n stuttered out grabbing her paper off her desk and stood for the class.

taking a deep breath, y/n shared her essay about love, the topic for the semester.

"growing up i've always had one question that nobody could answer straight forwardly. What does love feel like? even if you had witnessed a good example of love growing up, you still don't know how it feels until you properly experience it. so when i finally met someone i clicked with, i finally felt the love i've been craving. to me love is when you have an overpowering feeling and empathy towards that person. that person makes you smile on. your worse day and on your best day. love is the feeling of having butterflies in your stomach even after knowing each other for years. that is what love feels like."

the teacher nodded at her then said, "very well miss y/l/n."

y/n sat back in her chair watching the clock, she couldn't wait till three.

-

the sound of the school bell rang and the hallway was immediately filled with kids screaming. y/n exited the classroom meeting her friends in the hall.

"nice poem y/n. made me really think you knew what love is." zay laughed

"zay, let's not talk about this." y/n replied rolling her eyes.

y/n loved her friends but when it came to jj, they didn't think he was the right one. maybe it was a little classist of her friends, but y/n liked to think they just wanted what was best for her.

beep beep

y/n and her friends looked up to see jj waving y/n over.

ah finally

"can't believe you like him, he looks like he just got punched repeatedly. he can't even afford to go to the hospital." zay laughed

"zay stop. he's really sweet. who cares if he can't afford it? it's none of your business." y/n scolded

"whatever. just take it slow, almost like a test drive. he might not be the right one."

y/n didn't even bother to make formal goodbyes to everyone before she raced to jj's car, jumping in the front seat. "whats up with your eye?" she questioned.

"nothing. what's up with your face?"

not funny

y/n smacked his chest laughing a little as he pulled out of the schools pick up line.

as they drove y/n couldn't help but replay her friends words in her head. "he might not be the right one." it was almost frustrating how much the replayed in her head.

she loved jj but they haven't even been on a real date. they haven't even asked each other out. they haven't even met each others family. every time she would bring up meeting each others family he changed the subject. she didn't want to press him but meeting the people who raised him would mean a lot to her.

y/n put her head against the headrest and looked at jj driving. he looked at her for a quick second, smiling, then focused his eyes back on the road. the quietness and just being with him made her happy. only a minutes away from her home, they passed a beach. y/n smiled at the view and had the perfect idea.

"jj pull over," y/n blurted

"what?" jj questioned

"pull over!" and that he did. y/n rushed jj out of his car and yanked him to the sand.

"y/n. what are you doing? i have to get you home." jj was absolutely puzzled. she's never done this, always too afraid to be late home.

y/n didn't answer him but only dragged him to a secluded side of the sandy beach. y/n threw her phone on the warm sand and started taking off her pants.

"what's going on?"

"shut up and take your shirt off jj." she responded

just do it so i dont look stupid

he took his clothes off and so did she. next thing they knew they were in the ocean with only their underclothes on splashing each other until sunset.

-

"what time is it" jj asked as they headed back to his car.

y/n pulled out her phone from her sandy pants, "seven."

crap

"seven? y/n we have to get you home!" jj yelled

"jj its okay." y/n reassured him ,"I didn't think you cared that much." y/n shrugged as she continued walking, only stopping when she noticed jj did.

"really y/n?" he started. "of course i care. i don't want your parents thinking you’re out here with me partying."

"it's not like you've met them." y/n's words came out sharp and stung jj right in the chest. she didn't know why it would though. it was true, he hasn't met them.

jj shook his head and walked towards the car with her. he felt bad. he didn't know how to express it but he did. jj knew how much y/n wanted to meet her parents but he always just threw it off.

the truth was, he was afraid. afraid they'll just seem him like everyone see's him. he's scared the they'll say he isn't good enough or isn't wealthy enough. he loved y/n and didn't want anyone to tell him he isn't worthy enough for her, he already knew that.

the car ride was painfully silent. no one knew what to say to break the ice. it was there first misunderstanding or i guess you can call an argument. they're only 16 for God's sake!

once he drove up the her front gates was when y/n finally spoke up. "i'm sorry."

jj looked at her and licked his lips, "nah, i'm sorry. i just wanted you to know that i care about you. genuinely . and i'm sorry that i put off meeting your parents or even talking about mine.

"yeah that sucks. but i feel like i'm more wrong. i put so much pressure on you to meet my family and we aren't even in a relationship."

i wish we were

jj contemplated asking her out then and there but before he even decided, his mouth blabbed, "do you want to be in a relationship?"

"yes. no. i mean yes. i mean only if you want-"

before she could blab anymore jj interjected by softly placing his hands on y/n's jaw, "can i?"

"yes."

she parted her lips and titled into the kiss slowly and intimately. her soft lips moving along with his. the sensation of joy overwhelmingly taking over her body as their lips moved together faster. their kiss no longer seeming intimate, but needy. it's like they've both been waiting for this moment and now that it's here they wanted more.

y/n pulled away pecking his lips one more time whispering, i love you before exiting the car.

in this moment, y/n knew that jj was more than a stupid test drive. she didn't care what her friends said. she was more than sold on him and didn't want anyone else.

her friends didn't want the best for her. if they did, they would see how in love with him she was. anyone a mile away could see it.

y/n bit her lip smiling as he drove off.

i can't believe that just happened

"y/n y/l/n! why are you four hours late? and who was that boy you were just kissing?!"

y/n knew she was in deep shit, but it was so worth it.

-

thanks for reading :)

- kimberly (9:06, california)

[scuttling]

Tempting

Fandom: Criminal Minds Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Latina OFC Sophie Cortes Word Count: 2,392 Tags: 16+, Mature SFW, Pre-relationship, Fantasizing, Accidentally turned on, Mentions of sex Summary: Aaron and Sophie both find themselves... tempted. Collection: Sophie Cortes timeline, 7-12 Months at the BAU (See Masterlist for reading order) Link to AO3 or read below! “Hey, just wanted to hand off my profiles,” Sophie says as she peeks her head into Hotch’s office Wednesday night. “Any idea when the department will catch up to the 21st century and let us do these on the computer?” she asks playfully, and he smiles, rolls his eyes a bit.

“It’s not the department that makes us do these on paper, it’s me. Morgan has been trying to get me to switch to digital, says Garcia can make us a user-friendly system in her sleep.” She crosses her arms, leaning a hip against the doorframe.

“And you’re resistant because…?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it’s nostalgia, or because I hate change.”

“As long as it's not because you’ll miss seeing my smiling face at the end of the day, turning in my files,” she says, and though it’s obvious she’s teasing, that kind of is part of the answer.

He doesn’t want to be just a figure in his office, silently collecting completed case files with a ping of his computer. He knows they know his door is always open, but it’s sometimes the excuse of turning in their work that leads them there, gets them in the door, and he thinks it’s important to maintain.

“All joking aside, I think it could really benefit the team. If you wanted a beta tester, I’d be happy to try it out; we can get together once a week for a couple weeks to discuss any bugs or issues we find with the system. The others don’t even need to know; I could do my regular cases during the day, stay later once or twice a week and work them on the computer. I don’t mind the overtime, I’ve got nothing going on.”

“You should go enjoy your life, not spend extra hours holding my hand because I’m resistant to change.”

“I want to, though, if it will help. And I said I don’t mind the overtime.” They stare each other down for a moment; he is the first to cave, sighing and pushing a hand through his hair.

“I’ll talk to Garcia, see if she has capacity to work on the program this week.” Her answering smile is almost blinding, and he feels warmth spread in his chest; he's been feeling that a lot lately, always where Sophie is concerned, but especially when she smiles. “Hey, while I’ve got you, do you mind looking at a case with me? I can’t help feeling that I’m missing something.”

“Sure, of course.” She walks fully into his office, around the desk so she’s looking over his shoulder at the open file. Her hair falls in cascading waves around her face before she gets a chance to tuck a few strands behind her ear, and the smell of her shampoo is... tempting, to say the least.

It’s coconut, and jasmine, maybe, a light, tropical scent that makes him think of palm trees, fresh pineapple, warm sand under his feet… Sophie in a bikini, a tiny thing that shows off her every curve… Sophie curled up next to him in a private cabana, laughing softly in the moonlight… Sophie on a soft bed in a hotel room, her bare skin, even darker from sunbathing, a beautiful contrast to crisp white sheets…

“Have you considered that the second unsub could be a woman? That would explain how the victims are being lured from the mall—a woman probably wouldn’t stop in a parking garage at night for a man, but she would for another woman, if she’s in trouble.” She turns to look at him, and he’s shaken from his fantasy abruptly.

“No, uh, I hadn’t considered that. That closes the gap in my profile. Good thinking.”

“That’s why you keep me around, isn’t it?” He earns another, softer smile, and he thinks about leaning in to kiss her, how easy that would be. It doesn’t take long to shake that thought away, because it’s almost literally insane, but he can’t deny that he had it.

“Something like that. Are you headed home?” She stands fully, and he’s glad, because that means the temptation is gone. It’s not her fault in any way, all his, but he can’t deny it gets worse the closer she is.

“Not home; the girls and I are meeting around the corner for a drink. Will you be finishing up soon?”

“Probably not, but it’s alright. I have nothing going on,” he says, repeating her turn of phrase. He looks down at his work, and she sighs lightly.

“You could have something going on. Come out for a drink with me.”

“And crash your meeting with the girls?” He’s not entirely certain he’d be welcome, or comfortable, but she makes it sound so easy. Like it’s something he could just decide to do, if he wanted.

“Trust me, they won’t mind.”

“It’s a nice offer, thank you. Maybe another time.” She rests a hand on his desk, on top of his case file so he can’t finish filling out the consultation paperwork, and he has to look up and make eye contact with her, which he’s sure is by design. She’s too good at reading him, sometimes. “Definitely another time. I really do appreciate the offer.”

“I’m gonna hold you to it, Hotch. You need a life outside of this place.” She lifts her hand from the desk, places it briefly on his shoulder, and then heads for the door. “Have a good night.”

“You too,” he sighs at her retreating back. His feelings seem to be getting a little too hard to ignore. Their next case doesn’t come until the beginning of the next week. Sophie goes with Hotch to interview a victim’s mother in hopes that they can find the woman who is currently missing before the unsub kills her, but they come up with nothing, which is all they’ve come up with all day.

It’s clear Hotch is not pleased with their progress. He stands outside the car for a moment, looking like he’s trying to compose himself, and he takes off his jacket and throws it in the back seat.

“Damn it,” he hisses when they get back into the car, slamming his hands against the steering wheel; he scrubs a hand through his hair, unbuttons his cuffs, and rolls up his shirt sleeves a bit more angrily than seems strictly necessary. Sophie can’t keep her eyes off of his hands as he pushes the fabric up over his forearms—baring firm muscles covered in thick, dark hair—and when he throws the car into reverse and turns his head, placing his palm on the back of her headrest while he looks behind them, it gets her a little… hot.

It’s nothing new, of course. She has been feeling certain things, where Hotch is concerned—some emotional things, some physical things—for a little while now, if she’s being honest with herself. And she’s usually got the presence of mind to ignore it, or force it to the back of her thoughts, but he caught her off guard and she’s spiraling, now, imagining his hands on either side of her head, on her throat, holding open her thighs. His hands are close all the time, and visible, and the thought of reaching out to touch them is just so… tempting.

She must be making an oh, shit face, because his eyes become more inquisitive, his features a little softer. “What’s wrong?” She’s breathing heavily, and her cheeks feel warm, so she probably looks insane; she just shakes her head and exhales lightly, tries to calm herself.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” He looks like he absolutely does not believe her, and she curses herself for the hundredth time for choosing to work around a bunch of profilers; they’re always thinking, analyzing, squinting their eyes at you and trying to figure you out, and it can get really irritating.

“I shouldn’t have reacted like that. I’m sorry if I upset you,” he says when he’s done squinting. She almost wants to laugh: he’s worried about upsetting her over a minor curse word while she’s literally hot under the collar for him; her chest feels like it’s on fire, always quick to flush when she’s aroused, and she’s thanking the gods that she chose a crew neck t-shirt today and not a v-neck, or the situation would probably be a lot more awkward.

“You didn’t upset me, Hotch, it’s okay,” she insists, and he breaks eye contact to focus on the road.

They ride in silence the rest of the way to the precinct, but he doesn’t move to exit the vehicle after he takes the keys out of the ignition. “I’m sorry again for my outburst. I shouldn’t have reacted that way, at least not with you in the car.” She sits back in her seat, because this is now about more than her embarrassing moment from before.

“You’re allowed to be human, you know,” she tells him, and when it looks like he’s about to argue, she shakes her head. “I know the bureau likes to discourage it, but being in tune with our emotions and other people’s emotions is what makes us the best at what we do. Don’t apologize for the things you feel.”

“I have to lead by example. It’s the best way to set clear expectations.”

“Telling us your expectations is the best way to set clear expectations. You don’t have to pretend to be emotionless. When you’re angry, be angry.” He frowns, looks at her like what she’s saying makes absolutely no sense.

“When I got angry just now, you were looking at me like you were seeing something about me for the first time. Like you were afraid of me.”

“I wasn’t afraid of you, it’s… it’s nothing. I’d really rather not get into it.” His face softens again, and he’s giving her a look that’s usually reserved for families of victims, which throws her off guard.

“I know that victims of abuse can sometimes have a negative reaction to shouting…”

She wants to groan. He’s being so kind, but if he doesn’t let this go...

“I’m not a victim of abuse, and you didn’t scare me.” He still looks guilty, and if that’s what he thinks happened, and that’s how she made him feel? Well she’s gotta come clean sooner than later. She takes a deep breath. “You turned me on, okay? You were angry, and you rolled up your sleeves, and then you put your hand on the back of my seat and it just… affected me. I can’t believe I’m saying this,” she mutters, covering her face with her hand. Hotch processes that, is still processing that when she removes her fingers from her face. He just looks at her, expression carefully blank.

“Oh. Uh, well. It’s natural; nothing you could have done about it.” She sighs at that, runs a hand through her hair.

“I know, I’m not ashamed of being aroused, or anything, but—we’re working, you’re my boss. The situation is awkward.” He looks at the steering wheel, like he can’t say what he’s going to say directly to her.

“You shouldn’t feel awkward. This kind of thing happens to all of us.” She arches her brow, smiles a little incredulously.

“You’re telling me you, Aaron Hotchner, have been inappropriately turned on on the job before?” He shrugs, nodding.

“Sure, yes.” Her brows rise further into her hairline, not believing him for a second; he sighs at her expression and shakes his head, huffing a laugh. “Okay. You were in my office last week, leaning over my shoulder to look at a case file, and I could smell your shampoo. It’s coconut, right?” She nods, not sure exactly where the story is going, but she feels herself getting hot again, against literally her every wish. “Well, it made me daydream of the vacation I so desperately want: a drink in my hand, sun on my skin, sand beneath my feet… making love late at night with a breeze blowing through the open patio door.”

“Oh.” Her heart is racing, beating so hard she’s almost surprised the sound doesn’t give her away, and her breathing is heavy, and she thinks he’s about to speak again when someone taps on his window abruptly. He rolls it down and Gideon sticks his head in.

“There’s another body, 482 West Hemlock; you two might as well stay in the car and meet us there.”

“Will do,” Hotch replies, and Gideon nods, steps away from the car. If he wonders why they were sitting there unbuckled for so long, he doesn't show it.

They back out of the parking lot sexy-incident-free, and they’ve gone a few blocks before he turns to look at her again. “Are we okay? I hope I didn’t say too much.”

“No, you didn't. We’re okay.” She smiles softly, actively thinking about anything but vacation sex with her boss.

(It’s surprisingly difficult.)

They process the crime scene, gaining some new insight about the unsub, and before long they’re ready for a profile. Sophie opts to ride back to the station with Prentiss under the guise of letting Gideon and Hotch iron out the details, but really she needs to be as far away from him as possible while working the case, or she’s going to lose her mind.

The rest of the day is uneventful, spent poring over pages and pages of cold case files trying to link other murders to the one that occurred earlier that day. They identify at least 15, and when they literally can’t go on for a minute longer, Hotch calls it and they discuss where to go to grab some dinner.

Italian wins, and Sophie gets a big, beautiful bowl of pasta primavera and a glass of white wine, and it’s almost enough to make her forget all about the day until Hotch catches her eye from across the table, smiling at something Morgan said, and her stomach clenches. She smiles lightly, trying to hide it, but she’s not sure she was able to save face in time. She spends the rest of the meal arguing semantics with Reid, something so perfectly normal that it shouldn’t raise anyone’s suspicions.

She feels eyes on her anyway, but she doesn’t look in their direction.

[friendshouserecords]

The following interview was conducted between Jayson Ayala (J) and carter c (C) on the night of December 17th, through Discord messaging.

J: Before we begin, would you like to introduce yourself?

C: hi!!! i'm carter c and i'm a DIY musician from vegas & i make a LOT of music.

J: Omg hi, big fan! :D

C: hiii

J: In July you released your 2nd (now labeled only) LP, everything i do alone i want to do with you, and in the corresponding months after you've been releasing new material for each month. How has the reception been for all the projects?

C: so like reception has actually been really good! everytime i get criticism and stuff like that i take it wholeheartedly and try to better my future projects and i hope everyone can obviously hear that. a lot of people really liked "my lips are moving" which was suuuper super reaffirming that i could make really whatever i wanted. i'm happy ppl r really liking it :-)

J: That's really great to hear! Has releasing projects at this pace brought any sort of worry or has it been an ease in task with nerve only appearing in approach to differing sound?

C: not gonna lie, at the end i got so unbelievably overwhelmed but i made due . pretending to write songs for other projects helped me a lot too. for example, back in april i released 2 songs as "imaginary best friend", and using aliases like that just kind of lets me do whatever. now that i don't have any deadlines i've gotten back to writing a lot more freely but for a while making carter c was very very stressful. i was still having fun tho!

J: Congrats on pushing through and finding ways to keep things more relaxed for yourself! It's good to know that writing has been at free pace. :)

In relation to sound, your latest record is a large shift with the direction taken in sound. Instrumentally you took a diverge from an synths, midi drums, and a general electronic feel for a more natural, rock-folk sound. Who would say inspired you to make this change for recording?

C: the inspiration for that sound is a lot of the DIY artist's i have been listening to as of late. car seat headrest, geronimostilton, julia brown, teen suicide, starry cat, paranoid americans, weatherday (etc.) but the reasoning for that sound existing is that i kind of wanted to limit myself and making something that is authentically "carter c." not carter c with vocals and maybe guitar by carter c, synths & drums programmed by lev sterling, and keyboards played by kameron salek. i just wanted to make something that truly reflected my skillset and who i am.

J: Would you say you achieved what you set forth?

C: for sure, i feel like my music now at the end of the day is an extremely accurate representation of my skillset and of what i want to create

J: Good job :)

C: ty :)

J: Whilst it's in the air, let's talk inspiration. The narrative of the album primarily focuses on your relationship with your partner, Amanda Shaw. Was it your intention to make the album a sort of concept-record or did it come about naturally in the writing process?

C: the concept-record aspect of it was completely on accident. originally my idea for everything i do alone i wanted to make an album full of disconnected singles (in the same vain as dc/snuff film or my back is killing me baby) but all i could really write was these long winded love songs. i would stay up so late writing these them about her and she'd listen and help out. it kind of just morphed into a concept album about her and what it would be like really meeting in person naturally as we both did our parts to contribute to the project

J: In what ways did she help out?

C: so in the cd verison of the record there is a drawing  for every song and she co-wrote cover me in paint, i think yr a rabbit, and helped me with the structure of star funeral

J: Cate Wurtz type beat 💪

C: LOL

J: From my understanding she also drew the album cover, yes?

C: yup! it wasn't even meant for the album

J: With the mention of Cate Wurtz, you recently tweeted about your song, badplace, which you stated was inspired by a Cate Wurtz comic and a bit after she liked the tweet! Do you think she listened to the track?

C: honestly i'm not sure! i'd be honored if she did. badplace (THE COMIC) is my absolute favorite comic of all time and it's so funny and silly and bubbly and weird. i hope she remembers that comic and tbh if she checked out the song i hope she sees that her fans luv her n stuff

J: Well I hope she did, it's easily my favourite off the tracklist! I was wondering if you could tell the story of the spoken word piece in the breakdown, I'm sure fans would love to hear!

C: oh for sure, it's straight up ripped from the comic. cate is credited as a writer on the song bc of it. her words really stuck out to me and effected the way i view my own personal life.

J: Let's move on from the album for a moment.

In September, you released a companion EP dubbed, i would drive a million miles just to hear your voice. Does the EP add any extension to the narrative previously given?

C: not particularly, to me it gives certain songs another lens to look through. everything i do alone as an indie rock song, i think started as a suped up version of fashion break, animals is using only instruments i owned when i wrote the song, and february 6th is just a leftover song i had. the EP is an extension of the concept and motif of the album

J: Ah, that's a good way to look at it, thanks! Speaking of february 6th, it derives from your side project, imaginary best friend. Another song which had also made a comeback was waiting 4 u!. What brought you to give these two a fresh a coat of paint and should we be expecting any new releases from ibf?

C: oh yes ibf!! waiting 4 u was rerecorded for jested inc's charity compilation and february 6th was just a song i loved playing all the time but my vocal delivery on the original was very much not my finest performance. more ibf will hopefully come out eventually, and another song (called imaginary best friend) came out back in september. who knows tho!

J: I'll be sure to check it out after this! Re-recording seems to have been prevalent for yourself this year. First we heard an updated take of Star Cluster off your debut LP, Starry-Eyed Boy. It featured an incredible performance from Ewren. Then we saw an acoustic recording of fan favourite, ride, and just last month we saw, AGAIN, another version of ride which bared resemblance to everything i do alone in regards to sound. Why has ride been given so many iterations from a swing-feel [demo-recording] to a diy jam and do you think I could get on ride 5?

C: haha! ride 5 will never happen. ride is a song that i've had high expectations of because i like the writing so much but the original recording irks me so much. it just feels so superficial and glitzy for no reason compared to the november ride. the ride demo is super cute though, glad you've heard that one.

J: Of course, I'm a big fan! Your latest release, wave goodbye to the ghost, was released about a week ago. In the song's description you state the track was demo'd in late December of 2020. Was the song considered for SEB or maybe even dead while also kind of hungry?

C: it was written for dead while also kind of hungry but was left out for ride (because they both originally contained car seat headrest lyrics) but in ethos it was really the first ibf song. entirely recorded, produced, and performed by me.

J: Is it now? Is the demo available anywhere for listen?

C: the first first demo? it's available here

wave goodbye to the ghost (december 2020 demo) 

it was essentially a different song tbh not a lot is really left the same but maybe that's cool because growth or something lol

'wave goodbye to the ghost' demo

here is the demo from this november when i picked it back up as well :P

J: Neato! Another note you made in the description was the revision you made on the lyrics. One of the topics is college and recently you were just accepted into one, which were you accepted into and how has school been on you as a musician?

C: oh ya! i was recently accepted into portland state university for music production, which i'm super excited about. in school i'm a pretty big music nerd, spending the majority of my day in the band room and spend the rest of my day either mixing or browsing RYM. being a DIY musician and also going to school hasn't done much just because my music isn't rlly marketable to everyone at school

J: I feel that, but being marketable is for sell outs or whatever lol

C: agreed

J: Let's take things back to everything i do alone. The track animals is the oldest song to appear in the selection, dating back to 2018. Why did this song seem most fitting for a spot on the record?

C: fun fact, the song is older than that! it was originally released under a different name randomly in 2017. i decided animals was best for the LP because a lot of my friends liked the song and so did amanda. i ended up playing it a lot on early carter c livestreams (pre SEB) along with the skeleton song & blond boy. they were just the best of my old tunez.

J: Do you really have a skeleton under your bed named george?

C: haha! sorta? the song was written about my notebook (named george) that i kept under my bed because i was so nervous about someone reading it

J: You named your notebooks lol? Why were you so nervous about someone reading it?

C: just that one. i wrote so much in it & so much just personal stuff yknow. tweens are weird

J:Definitely, haunting memories for sure!

C: indeed

J:You recently came out with a compilation track of singles you've released throughout the year. Not just under your name, but side-projects you're attached to as well. One of the projects ,teenage hands, is in collaboration with the artist, Ewren. Should fans be expecting any new released or shall it remain dormant?

C: a lot more teenage hands is coming soon. ricky eat acid + bedroom pop vibes. get excited!!!!

J: you heard it there folks, get the hype train started! We're coming to a near end for our interview and this last one has me on the edge of my seat... what would it take for you to re-do King of the Gnomes??

C: one million dollars and a full 30 person orchestra.

J: And that's a wrap! Before we pack could we get a list of what you've been listening to?

C: absolutely!!!

This Will Be Horrible For The Economy - geronimostilton

inane - Hopper1000

ILoveUIHateU - Playboi Carti

Loved - Julia Brown

When Will My Man Come? - Car Seat Headrest

this was sm fun, thank you jay <3333

J: Anytime, thank you for your cooperation! Be sure to STREAM CARTER C through the following link