#virginia state bar

[deadmotelsusa]

The former Mountain State Motel is now Josephine's, a strip club. Located in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.

[reasonsforhope]

"Georgia Republicans bundled over a dozen measures that targeted the state’s transgender residents into omnibus packages in a desperate attempt to get them passed. In a stunning defeat for the GOP, every single one of them failed.

Legislators gutted bills that had passed through committee and instead stuffed them full of their anti-LGBTQ+ wishlist items.

Bills that would ban transgender students from playing on teams aligned with their gender identity, ban transgender students from bathrooms aligned with their gender identity, opt parents into notification for every book a student checks out of the library, bar sex education before sixth grade, make all sex-ed classes opt-in and expand obscenity laws to make it easier to ban books with LGBTQ+ content all failed.

“MAGA politicians in Georgia tried it all in service to their anti-LGBTQ+ agenda,” said Human Rights Campaign Georgia State Director Bentley Hudgins, “including silencing debate and gutting unrelated, popular bills that had bipartisan support to ram through policies that would have put young LGBTQ+ Georgians in harm’s way. They failed.”

“It’s undeniable that the tides are shifting, both here in Georgia and across the nation,” Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham added. “Anti-LGBTQ actors are losing their political power, and more and more Georgians who know and love LGBTQ people are standing up against their baseless fear-mongering.”

In Florida recently, nearly two dozen anti-LGBTQ+ bills were defeated in the wake of Gov. Ron DeSantis‘s (R) presidential campaign implosion, dozens of measures in Virginia were tabled [Note: In the US, "tabled" means "shelved" or "taken out of consideration - the opposite of its meaning in the UK and other places], and Ohio’s governor backed off his attempt to restrict gender-affirming care access for transgender adults and minors. 

Meanwhile, in D.C., Democrats successfully excised 50 anti-LGBTQ+ provisions in the two budget bills passed and signed by President Joe Biden to fund the federal government.

Even Fox News has been forced to acknowledge transgender issues are among the lowest-priority concerns among voters."

-via LGBTQ Nation, April 1, 2024

[roosterforme]

Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw Part 22 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: It's terrifying to realize you don't know if Bradley is safe. As the lonely days stretch on and on, you try to savor the notes from him. Once the final two envelopes have been opened, you know you need the real thing.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, adult language, romantic as hell Bradley, 18+

Length: 2600 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female teacher!Reader

Check out my masterlist for more! Yours Truly, Bradley Bradshaw masterlist

Other than your car, everything you owned was inside Bradley's house. Over the last few weeks, Natasha helped you load up his Bronco and make a few trips down, but she looked at you like you were crazy when you told her you were going to leave most things packed up for now.

"Why?" she asked, leaning on a stack of boxes in the living room. "Even if he gets stationed in Norfolk, you'll finish out your school year here before he sells the house."

But you didn't want him to sell his house. You loved it here. Being in his living space was the closest thing to being with him when he was deployed, and you didn't think it was fair that he might have to give this up. What would Edith do without Bradley to help her? What would Bradley do in a different state without his best friend? No, you simply couldn't unpack, just in case, but you also couldn't accept Virginia with any finality until you were explicitly told it was happening.

"I just wish I could talk to him," you whispered.

"Soon," Nat replied, and you jumped, surprised to find you weren't alone in your thoughts. "I just moved a million boxes. I deserve a trip to the wine bar, and so do you. Bradley will be back soon enough."

"Nine days. Not soon enough." 

It was nine days until he was supposed to get back to Norfolk. On Valentine's Day. Then right after that, it was Career Day at your school. You had been holding onto a few of the envelopes and gift cards from him, trying to make them last, but you were almost out. You needed the real thing again.

Natasha groaned. "You are so in love with him, it's kind of gross. Let's go drink wine, and I'll tell you more tales from before the mustache."

You took one more look at the few unopened letters lined up on the coffee table before grabbing the gift card for the wine bar. But even southern California looked gloomy on the drive up. The wine was good, but you were just tired. Natasha told you all about how she tried to give Bradley the call sign Chicken Man, and you laughed at the idea of that emblazoned along the side of his jet. She also seemed to be able to tell just how melancholy you were.

"You're doing great," she told you, setting down her wine glass. "You're counting down the hours until you can talk to Bradley again. Vanessa would have probably been too busy with her water bottles to remember to pick him up from the airport. There's a reason why it's hard, and it's because he loves you as much as you love him."

You did your best to keep it together after that, but there was a lump in your throat, holding back your emotions, and when you got back home, you started crying on the couch. Big, fat tears rolled down your cheeks, blurring your vision, but you knew which envelope you were reaching for.

Open me when you've had a bad day

As you tore into the envelope, you realized there was another envelope inside it. The second envelope said Take me to The Bayside Florist and give me to someone who works there.

"What is this, Bradley?" you whispered out loud, reaching for your phone to see if the shop was still open this late on a Saturday. Your heart skipped a beat when you realized they closed in an hour, and you grabbed the envelope along with your phone and keys and ran out to your car.

In a matter of minutes, you parked in front of an adorable flower shop with The Bayside Florist in pink lettering on the awning. You felt a little silly taking the envelope inside, but when you were greeted by an older woman with a warm smile, you started to hand it to her.

"This might sound odd, but my boyfriend is deployed, and he left me this envelope," you said with a laugh. "Apparently I was supposed to bring it here?"

The woman adjusted her glasses as a smile found her lips. "Oh, yes. I remember him. Tall? With a mustache? Handsome?"

You bit your lip to keep from making an embarrassing noise. "Yeah, that sounds just like him."

She nodded and opened the envelope, humming in agreement with whatever she read inside. "I have something for you. Wait right here." 

Then she disappeared through a doorway, and you walked around the inside of the shop, examining the arrangements and enjoying the scent of so many types of flowers mingling together. You weren't quite sure what Bradley had up his sleeve from thousands of miles away, but you were almost positive it was about to make your day so much better.

"Special delivery from your boyfriend."

Startled, you spun around to see a stunning bouquet of flowers in every color on the counter, complete with an envelope tucked in amidst the blooms. "That's for me?" you whispered.

"From your boyfriend," she confirmed.

You stifled a whimper as you reached for the flowers. "Am I supposed to pay for this?"

"He already did."

Tears stung your eyes as you pulled the envelope that said Gorgeous from between two roses. It was written in his handwriting. You thought you should read it in the privacy of your own car, so you thanked the woman and then headed back outside. Once you were sitting behind the steering wheel, you set the flowers aside in favor of the note.

Gorgeous,

I never want you to have a bad day, but I really hate that you're having one when I'm not with you. If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I'd choose to be next to you. Will you write about your day in your journal so we can talk about it later? I can't wait to talk about everything with you. I love you.

Bradley

Now that the tears started, you just let yourself cry.

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

Constantly wondering if your boyfriend was even okay was taking a toll on you. Your classroom was supposed to be your safe haven right now. Your place of comfort. Your refuge. But a few days before Bradley was supposed to get back into Norfolk, you were short and snippy with your class. You didn't mean to be, but it was happening anyway.

"Just sit down," you told Oliver, voice taking on a sharp, scolding edge that was usually never there. All eighteen of your kids sat with their backs straight in their seats and their hands folded on their desks like they were worried you were going to start yelling. This was never how you wanted to conduct your class. These kids were really well behaved for the most part, and you wanted them to have a lot of fun mixed in with their school lessons.

You turned away from them to try to catch your breath. The past few nights had been filled with restless sleep and a pain in your heart that wouldn't go away until you knew Bradley was safe. You cleared your throat, trying so hard to figure out what you wanted to say for your social studies lesson, but you couldn't shake your mind free from the anxiety you were feeling.

Picturing the flowers that you put in a Miller High Life pitcher you found in the kitchen after Bradley didn't appear to own a vase made you smile enough that you were able to turn around again.

"I need everyone to open their textbook to page eighty-seven." The only sound was pages rustling as you added, "And I promise I'll make this a fun unit for us."

When you finally left work that afternoon, you decided to let yourself open the last envelope from Bradley. It had been in your tote bag for a few days, just waiting for the right moment. Open me when you really want some coffee. You could clearly use the extra caffeine today, so you tore into the envelope as you walked across the parking lot. Just like before, there was an envelope inside the first envelope. 

Take me to Starbucks and give me to someone who works there.

Now you were smiling. You got to go to another place of business with an envelope like an absolute lunatic, and you were really looking forward to it. You stopped at the Starbucks closest to your school, and when you handed the envelope to the girl who tried to take your order, she raised one eyebrow.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I think it's kind of a treasure hunt of sorts from my boyfriend who is deployed," you told her with a shrug. 

Then you watched her open the envelope and remove a note along with a gift card. Her eyes skimmed the text, and her face transformed into the sappiest smile. "Oh my god," she said, looking back up at you. "I wish someone loved me this much," she muttered and then turned away from you, reaching for the biggest cup and a Sharpie.

You waited awkwardly for a few minutes while she made your drink. You could tell it was your favorite drink. Bradley somehow ordered your favorite drink for you to enjoy. Warmth filled your body, and you accepted the cup from her. "Thanks," you murmured as she paid using the gift card, and that's when you realized she had written something on the cup.

Gorgeous, I love you. I can't wait to come home. Bradley

"Does he have a brother?"

You looked up at the girl who made your coffee. "What?" you asked, taking the note and the gift card from her. 

"Does your boyfriend have a brother? Because that note is the sweetest thing I've ever seen."

You shook your head, but you were smiling. "No. No brother. Sorry. Thanks for making my coffee."

As you walked outside you read the note, already feeling calmer at the sight of his hand writing. 

Dear Starbucks Employee,

The beautiful woman who handed you this envelope is my girlfriend. I am desperately in love with her, and I would be there with her if I could, but I'm fucking deployed, if you can believe it. Please make her favorite drink for her, and if you wouldn't mind, please write 'Gorgeous, I love you. I can't wait to come home. Bradley' on the cup? Thank you so much.

He had scrawled your favorite drink to your exact specifications below that, and it even tasted perfect. You spent the ride back to Coronado planning out your upcoming Monday. If Bradley arrived back to Virginia on time, you'd be hearing from him by then. Every fiber of your being was hoping he'd call and tell you to pick him up in San Diego, but if he had to stay in Norfolk, you'd take a day off from work to fly out and see him. You had to. You wouldn't be able to go an extra minute without him now. You wanted to hug him and kiss him and give him a blowjob. You needed to feel his hands on your body and listen to his voice while you ran your fingers along his scars. 

Monday couldn't get here fast enough.

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

The only thing Bradley wanted to do right now was get his phone in his fucking hands, but he thought that if he brought it up again, someone would tell him the thing had been mysteriously misplaced. He already asked for it three times. He'd been dropped back in Norfolk by air transport, and after a short debrief with a national security team, he would hopefully be allowed to be on his way.

"Lieutenant Bradshaw. This way."

He was led into a medical facility first where his bruises and strained neck were examined and the findings were documented. When he realized he got caught up in a dog fighting scenario with the other aviators, he had been more angry than anything else. Didn't these people know he had a perfect girlfriend to get back home to? Did they even care? He made it out mostly unscathed and back to the carrier deck safely, if not a little sore. The one thing that made him almost laugh was the fact that Cyclone would undoubtedly see his medical report, and there was a good chance Admiral Walker would hear from him again.

After the medical consultation, he was led into a debriefing room where he really didn't have much to say about the mission. It had been successful, sure, but he wasn't going to be allowed to discuss it with anyone after this, so he just stuck to answering the questions he was asked.

Then finally, he was given his phone and left on his own. Of course it was nearly dead when he turned it on, but it should be good enough to reach you. Talking to you would come as his top priority before figuring out how he was getting home, but that was a close second. His heart pounded in anticipation of hearing your voice after so many weeks.

It was barely six in the morning in San Diego. Maybe you were up and getting ready for work, but maybe you were still sleeping. It didn't matter. He needed you to know he was coming home. He tapped on your photo, pulling up your contact information as the warm sun and cold Virginia air hit his skin at the same time, and he shivered as soon as the phone stopped ringing. Your voice in his ear was his reward. 

"Bradley!"

"Gorgeous," he sighed, suddenly so exhausted, he could barely stand. One word from you, and all he wanted to do was curl up on his couch with his head on your lap and let you take care of everything.

"Bradley!" You shrieked this time, and he smiled.

"Baby, I'm coming home."

"For good?" you asked, voice soft with an edge of concern that he wanted nothing more than to ease away. "Or just long enough to pack some things and head back to Norfolk?"

He hoisted his duffle onto his shoulder and started walking. "I'm coming home for good. Coming home to you."

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

He's safe and he's coming home! I'm working on mapping out the remaining chapters of this story, so if there's something you want to read about, hit me up. Thanks @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 23

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[callsign-dexter]

Intoxicated Confessions

Request: okay for the kiss prompts:

38. "Just because I'm drunk doesn't mean I don't mean it when I say I want you to kiss me."

with Bradley please and thank you 😭

much love <3

Prompt: Just because I'm drunk doesn't mean I don't mean it when I say I want you to kiss me.

Pairings: Bradley Bradshaw x Pilot!Kerner!Reader

Warnings: fluff, angst

Kiss Prompts

Masterlist

You and Bradley had known each other for years, you practically grew up with each other. Your father Ron ‘Slider’ Kerner was a huge part in your life and he was the reason you had become a pilot in the first place. You had stayed in touch with Bradley while he was in college in Virginia and you were in the Naval Academy. You both fully reconnected when you got into the same pilot school at the same time and it was like you were both back to your old ways.  As the time passed on you and he had become close to the point of you both developing feelings and crushes on each other, although you two were both oblivious to each other’s feelings. So, the both of you sat back and watched each other go through relationship after relationship and always being there for each other when a break up did happen. You had still kept in touch with Bradley but he was overseas and not in the states so it was a little difficult but you had managed.

 For years you both never did anything and slowly you began to forget about it but it was always there in the back of your mind nagging you and bringing it up, that was until you met Riley Wilks and you were happy but he was no Bradley and you always found yourself comparing him to Bradley. You had stayed with Riley because you were afraid of being alone and feared that Bradley only saw you as a sister so you just settled. Riley wasn’t in the Navy he worked as an accountant so you had nothing in common with him and that sucked but you powered through. Riley would follow you anywhere and that was great but it wasn’t enough. You thought you were going to be stuck in Lemoore but then you got the one paper that changed your world.

You were going back to Top Gun.

You and Riley had arrived in San Diego and were excited and wondered who all had been called back. When you had arrived at your rented house you told Riley that you were going to The Hard Deck to meet up with some of the others. He understood and now you were walking into the well-known bar and right up to Penny and then you noticed Maverick and smiled “Hey old man. Long time no see.” You said and he smiled and turned to face you.

“Wow, look at you. I haven’t seen you in a while.” He said and got up and hugged you and then you turned to Penny.

“It’s nice to see you too.” You said and she smiled.

“You too, Sweetie. Want your regular?” She asked and you smiled and nodded amazed that she remembered. In a second, she was handing you your favorite drink. 

“Slick, is that you?” You heard Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin say and you smiled and looked up, you bid Penny and Maverick a goodbye, grabbed your drink and then you were striding over to Jake and Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado and hugged them both. 

“Long time no see.” Jake said and you rolled your eyes.

“Please we’re stationed together.” You said and he laughed. You, Jake and Javy knew each other very well. All three of you had gone to the academy together. As the night drew on more and more aviators and WSOs were showing up and then one person in particular showed up and you were beyond ecstatic. After his little confrontation with Natasha and Jake, he spotted you and smiled and walked over to you and brought you into a hug.

“Slick, it’s so nice to see you again.” He said and you hugged him back and just melted into him unlike you did with Riley. He had given you callsign Slick because you were clever and you could get out of a tone like no other. You remember him coming up to you and saying “Damn you are slick, Kerner.” and the name just stuck.

“It’s nice to see you too Bradley. I missed you.” You said and he nodded and kissed the top of your head.

“I missed you too.” He replied. The rest of the night was full of smiles, laughs, Maverick getting thrown out, and piano singing which he brought you to sit beside him and those old feelings that you had pushed down were coming right back up.

It turns out that you all were called back for a special detachment. The next day you found out that Maverick would be teaching and Bradley wasn't too happy about that. You all began training right after the introduction. When it was your turn, you showed why your callsign was Slick and Maverick was impressed for sure. 

When Bradley went up and got into a tussle with him you were angry. Then it hit you that the feelings had never gone away. When you were in his arms or around him you were just happy, you were never that way with Riley. 

Training continued and it was long and stressful but the mission came up quickly and you were ready to go. Maverick picked his teams and then named you a safety dagger which surprised you but you were happy. The mission went almost without a hitch and when Bradley went after Maverick you almost went after them, but refrained against and then when they crash landed you were pissed that he did that but happy for him to be alive. You just hugged Bradley and it felt natural. 

When you all got back to land you all debriefed and then headed home saying that you all would meet at The Hard Deck tomorrow. You met Riley at the dock and hugged and kissed him but it almost felt forced. You both went back home and finished the night out. Riley could tell something was up you weren't as cheerful as before. “Everything ok?” He asked and you looked at him with a sorrowful look.

“I'm sorry.” You said and he had a look of understanding.

“It's ok. I've known for a while.” He said 

“I'm sorry that I kept stringing you along.” You said and he shook his head and pulled you into his arms. “Why didn't you leave?” You asked. 

“Honestly, it's ok. Just know that I'll be here if you need to talk and I will always love you but I know you won't love me like you love Bradley. I wanted you to tell me when you were ready and for sure knew.” He said and you sniffled and he pulled back and looked at you and gave you a small smile. “No need to cry. I'm not mad. It's a good thing that we didn't sell the house, isn't it?” He chuckled and that made you chuckle. 

“Yea it is.” You spoke 

“I'll be gone in the morning and I'll sleep in the guest room.” He said and you nodded he kissed your forehead and then you both got ready for bed. 

True to his word he was gone by the time you got up. He didn't have a lot of stuff there unlike you. If anything, you found each other and agreed to ship back to each other.

Night came quickly and before you knew it you were arriving at The Hard Deck and parking next to Bradley's Bronco. You parked and shut down the engine and headed into the slightly overcrowded place but you were quick to find your squad members. Bradley was the first to notice you. “Y/N!” He waved you over and then handed you your favorite drink and you smiled, he still remembered.

“Thank you.” You said and then took a long swig and welcomed the burn when it went down your throat.

“I didn't know what Riley liked so I didn't get him anything.” Bradley said and you smiled. He was always so sweet.

“You don't have to worry about him.” You said and a surprise look came across his face.

“How come?” He asked, taking a drink of his.

“We broke up last night and he left this morning.” You said and he was still looking at you. “He figured out that I was in love with someone else.” You said being vague and Bradley nodded secretly hoping it was him.

The rest of the night was filled with drinking and then more drinking when Maverick came by to tell everybody that The Dagger Squad is now an official squadron. You've had a few drinks and would consider yourself tipsy and almost drunk, you should've found someone to ride with. You had walked outside to enjoy the ocean breeze and some ocean spray; the salt was a welcoming scent. You don't know how long you were standing out there but someone came up beside and you turned to see who. 

It was Bradley. 

You smiled “Enjoying the night?” You asked and he turned to look at you and smile. His cheeks were rosy signaling that he had been drinking and would be considered drunk. 

“I am because you're here.” He said and that made you smile. “I like it when you're around.” He added.

“Oh, stop it. You only see me as a sister, admit it. Also, you're drunk you don't know what you're saying.” You spoke

“You know what they say: a drunk mind speaks sober thoughts.” He said and he wasn't wrong. It was silent for a few minutes “Kiss me.” He said and you looked at him stunned.

“You're drunk. You don't know what you’re saying.” You said but you were also somewhat drunk but you really did want to kiss him.

“Just because I'm drunk doesn't mean I don't mean it when I say I want you to kiss me.” He said and you looked at him seeing he was serious. 

“Fuck it.” you said to yourself and smashed your lips into his and sparks flew unlike when you had kissed Riley for the first time. Bradley was quick to respond. The kiss was hot and one of need. His hands came to rest on the side of your face and yours went to the back of his neck where you gripped the tiny hairs. After 1 minute or so you both pulled away needing air. You looked at each other, it was a look of love. 

“I've been waiting to do that since I knew what kissing was.” He said in a whisper and you nodded.

“I have too. I've wanted you for so long.” You said and he smiled.

“You have me now. Let me take you on a date tomorrow night.” He said and you nodded.

“I would love that.” You said and he smiled. He then let go of your face and you let go of the back of his neck. You both turned towards the ocean. He had you held tightly by his side almost like he was afraid of letting you go then you would disappear. 

Every now and then you would feel a kiss to the side of your head. At one point you ended up looking at him and smiled a true genuine smile. He was the one you were supposed to be with. He was the one you truly loved. He was the one for you. You needed him and now you have him. You just couldn't believe it took this long to figure it out. But now that you have him you weren't going to let him go and it was the same way for him. All it took was a night at The Hard Deck after a special detachment and intoxicated confessions. 

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[justinspoliticalcorner]

Trudy Ring at The Advocate:

Sweet Briar College in Virginia has barred transgender people from enrolling, based on administrators’ understanding of the founder’s will — from 1900. The private liberal arts college was founded by Indiana Fletcher Williams in honor of her deceased daughter, Daisy. Williams’s will stipulated that Sweet Briar would “be a place of ‘girls and young women,’” college officials told the Associated Press. Sweet Briar, located on the former Williams plantation in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, “has never had an admissions policy specifically for transgender students but has evaluated and admitted trans applicants on a case-by-case basis,” Inside Higher Ed reports. “The new policy holds that an applicant must confirm ‘that her sex assigned at birth is female and that she consistently lives and identifies as a woman.’” Sweet Briar President Mary Pope Hutson and the college’s board chair spelled out the new policy in a letter to the campus community in August. The phrase “girls and young women,” they wrote, “must be interpreted as it was understood at the time the Will was written.” “The board cannot change the words or the interpretation of the will,” Hutson told Inside Higher Ed. “I think that’s important.” The will is from 1900, and the college was established in 1901. It began admitting students in 1906. The Virginia legislature codified the will, and therefore the college must follow it. “And based on existing state case law, Sweet Briar leaders are required to consider how Williams viewed women and to honor that intent — even if current social norms do not reflect the founder’s perspective,” according to Inside Higher Ed.

The college has deviated from the will in one major way, however. The will mandated that Sweet Briar would admit whites only. In 1964, Sweet Briar sought the state’s permission to integrate, and that led to a long legal battle. The college admitted its first Black students in 1966 under a temporary court order, and a court struck down the whites-only policy for good in 1967.

What a disgraceful move by Sweet Briar College to ban trans women from campus.

[fursasaida]

Our problem with Syring and Seldowitz is essentially rhetorical and jurisdictional. You don’t get to say it like that. You don’t get to say it like that. The FBI agents investigating Syring for harassing James Zogby could turn right around and search James Zogby’s home on equally spurious accusations of terrorism, and that would be proper—that’s their bailiwick. Harassing Arab Americans is not an acceptable quest for a random retired foreign service officer in his Virginia condo. That’s the FBI’s job. You can green-light the shipments of MK-84 bombs to Israel to kill thousands of Palestinian children, give them the diplomatic green light to do it, and veto condemnation of killing four thousand children at the UN, but you can’t brag about it. That’s hate speech.

The thing is, though, “God, I wish the Israelis would just kill these people” is something you can sigh into a scotch and soda with your co-workers at the hotel bar after a day of frustrated “diplomacy.” Nobody would bat an eye. It’s just blowing off steam. But if you’re recorded saying it to a halal cart vendor in Manhattan, you have violated the social contract. If you stay within the system, almost everything is allowable: structural violence demands a certain politeness.

Seldowitz is a shocking example of abandoned pretense, but Syring is a more telling one: a fixation all out of proportion to any actual concern, coldly and methodically maintained. Logical and knowing but completely insane at the same time. If we produce Seldowitzes, we can be shocked and horrified. We can console ourselves that he was a personally corrupt asshole. When I think about what Syring did, I am not shocked, to be honest; what does shock me is the realization of how many Patrick Syrings there are who kept their feelings within the bounds of the “acceptable.” How many are still out there, diligently working away—and applying their personal fixations in a work-appropriate context.

-- Josef Burton, former State Department employee, on Stuart Seldowitz (the man who harassed the halal cart vendors in NYC), and a sort of spiritual predecessor of his, Patrick Syring (also a former State employee who has now been jailed twice for his harassment campaign against the Arab American Institute). "Impolite Society." 12/20/23.

[allthegeopolitics]

A women’s college in Virginia has changed its admission policy and will no longer admit transgender women, after its founder’s will – dating back more than a century – was reinterpreted. Sweet Briar College, a private women’s liberal arts institute in Amherst County, was established in 1900 after the death of Indiana Fletcher Williams, whose will decreed it be a place for “girls and young women”. In a letter to the college community, officials at the university said the institution did not previously have a “stated admissions policy addressing applicants identifying as other genders, but instead addressed applicants on a case-by-case basis”. Following updates to the gender categories of the Common Application, under which students apply to schools on one standardised form, and which is recognised by more than 1,000 colleges, the officials said the changes present “a challenge both for students applying for admission and administrators and staff making admissions decisions”. [...]

Continue Reading.

[creature-wizard]

Do you know anything about repressed memories and repressed memory therapy? Particularly why they’re debunked.

So back in the 20th century, it was just... kinda accepted by certain people that you could use hypnosis (or similar trance states) to retrieve lost memories and whatnot. For awhile, this was used mainly by people who believed in stuff like past lives (for example, Virginia Tighe/Bridey Murphy) and UFO abductions - basically, fringe types. This itself goes back to forms of mysticism where people believed that they could use trance states to access divine or higher knowledge (for example, Edgar Cayce), but - that's getting a little off in the weeds.

At some point, actual therapists came to believe that you could use hypnosis/similar trance states to uncover repressed memories. Despite there being no real evidence for this, it was just sorta accepted as fact.

In the 1970s, Michelle Smith made use of a kind of self-induced trance to supposedly retrieve repressed memories of a satanic cult's abuse. Now, the book that recounts her "memories," Michelle Remembers, isn't just debunked; it's extremely debunked. The book is full of ludicrous claims, such as Satan physically manifesting during one of the rituals. (If you've never read the book for yourself, and you have the constitution for it, I do highly recommend it. Once you get past the shock value, the claims it makes are stunningly absurd.)

Despite the book's obviously confabulated elements, it got people seriously thinking that there were all of these abusive cults out there torturing children, and people started using hypnosis on any patient they suspected might have been abused this way. And sure enough, people "remembered" being victims of satanic ritual abuse (a term coined by Pazder).

But - and here's the problem - there was never any real evidence that any of this was going on. Oh sure, plenty of cops said they found evidence, but this was a witch hunt - the bar for what constituted evidence of SRA was buried in the fucking ground, and you know how cops can get when they really, really want to feel like heroes and put somebody behind bars.

Finally people started asking, does repressed memory therapy even work, actually? And TL;DR, that's how we got the False Memory Syndrome Foundation. They did studies and found out, sure enough, that people could be led to develop false memories. Now, there's been a lot of controversy around the FMSF, with people even claiming that they were actually part of the conspiracy - but good news, we don't have to take the FMSF's word that false memories (or as I call them, cultivated memories) exist.

Remember the people practicing hypnosis to try and retrieve past lives? Yeah, there's still people doing that. The New Age sector is really big on this, especially within the starseed movement. Basically, there's a lot of people out there "remembering" memories of past lives in places that never actually existed (such as the lost continent of Lemuria) involving figures we know conspiracy theorists pulled out of their asses (such as blood-drinking reptilian aliens). You can check this out yourself in my posts, hypnosis is unreliable for memory recovery, and this is one way we know and false past life memories among the starseed movement.

Basically, between a lack of evidence for satanic ritual abuse and a growing amount of evidence that repressed memory hypnosis simply did not work as advertised, people began to realize it was all a bunch of quackery. And thus, hypnosis came to be discredited as a legitimate memory retrieval tool.

[bobby-r2d2-floyd]

The Nanny part 2

note: here's part two to the nanny! i'm hopefully going to try and start to get longer pieces out soon, i'm still trying to get back into the swing of writing fics again.

warnings: mentioned of parental death

trigger warning: one sentence in the fourth paragraph that talks about school shooting, but no violence actually occurs.

word count: 1.6k (sorry it's short, between yesterday and today i've had a headache that wouldn't go away :( )

no beta again, we die like men

inspired by: @roosterforme

previous part | next part

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You just moved to California, wanting a change from the cold Vermont air and where better to stay than with your aunt, Penny Benjamin. Penny was your mom’s sister, an unfortunate accident in 1999 took your mother and your father, you were 10 years old. Penny was more than willing to take in her only niece, even if it meant having you relocate to Virginia with her. 

Years had passed and Penny had done all but adopt you, she called you her daughter when people asked, made all your appointments for you until you were old enough to make your own, she helped you with boys, and then girls, when you came out to her. She held you while you cried over your first real heartbreak, she taught you all about your period and safe sex. She made you feel comfortable, like you could go to her with any problem that you had, and she would fix it for you.

Maybe it also helped that your grandfather was an admiral in the United States Navy, but that’s beside the point, Penny Benjamin took care of you when you had no one once, and she was more than happy to do it again. 

Being a teacher, especially in today’s world, is hard. You had to worry about whether or not your school was going to fall victim to the next mass shooting, if you could keep your kids safe in an environment where the legislators didn’t care. It was a hard choice to make, leaving the school system, because you knew that they were already understaffed, and that there were no qualified substitute teachers available to take over your position… but between the abuse from your principal, the students, and the entitled parents? You were done.

You at least waited until the end of the school year before packing it all up and moving west. It was a sad goodbye with all the students you had loved but for your sanity, it was what you needed to do.

Penny had an open bedroom, and Amelia was thrilled to be living with you again, mainly so you can help her on her homework, and of course you were happy to see Penny and Pete back together. You always loved having him around when you were a kid, and it really did feel like your relationship with him never waivered, even though you only texted each other for holidays and birthdays after the last time he and Penny “broke up”. 

You were laying on the couch scrolling through your phone, not paying attention to whatever it was Amelia had put on the tv when Penny walked in after her short shift at the bar; it was a slow weekend and Jimmy had it plenty under control.

“Hey, so I might have told one of the guys Pete works with that you’d be willing to nanny for him.” Penny says as soon as she walks in.

“Are you talking to me?” Amelia asks, not looking away from the tv and Penny laughs.

“No, your sister.” 

That catches your attention and you groan.

“I don’t want to nanny some old admiral’s bratty kids.” you say as you sit up and Penny sits next to you.

“He isn’t an old admiral with bratty kids, he’s 35, the same age as Bradley, and he literally just had an infant dropped off on his front porch today.” she tells you and you look over at her. “He needs a lot of help, and you would be perfect for the job. Aside from working at the bar you’re never doing anything.” she shrugs and steals some of the popcorn that was on the table and you look at her with your mouth open.

“Okay, first off. Rude. Secondly, I do plenty of stuff!”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Uh, I help Amelia with her homework.”

“And you can help her while also helping Jake out with his daughter.” Penny says and you sigh.

“Fine.” you grumble and head into the kitchen, “do you eat yet, Pen?”

“Yeah, Pete brought me food to the bar.”

“Don’t you… serve food at the bar too?” 

“Not sushi.” 

You spend the next three weeks waiting to meet this Jake guy. Sure you knew of him, but you didn’t want to be persuaded by the ‘Hangman’ persona that he had before becoming a dad. Sure people don’t just change overnight, so you’re sure he still has quite the mouth and attitude, especially if this baby is keeping him up at night. 

You opened the bar early and the members of the Dagger Squad slowly filtered in. Bob was sitting at the bar with you while you were getting bottles ready, he was telling you a story from when he was a kid on his family’s farm and he was chasing down pigs and slipped and fell in the mud when the bell above the door rang. 

Looking over, you see a man you don’t recognize carrying a little baby in the cutest little dress you’ve ever seen, a diaper bag slung over his other shoulder. You shoot him a smile as he walks up to the bar.

“Hi! I’m Y/N Benjamin, but you can call me Saturn.” you say as you wipe a rag over the bar top, cleaning up some of the iced tea that Bob spilled. “You must be Jake?” 

This new man smiles at you and nods, “Yes ma’am.” he says, setting the diaper bag on a barstool. 

You watch his muscles flex as he shifts his daughter from one side to the other to give his arm a break and he catches you staring at her. “This is Avery.” he turns so you can see the little girl’s face and you let out a gentle little coo.

“Oh look at you! Aren’t you just the cutest little girl.” you say, talking in a voice that has her laughing and reaching out for you. You take her from Jake without even hesitating and she plays with the fingerprint pendants of your parents that you have hanging around your neck. 

Since the bar is still technically closed for another hour and a half, you make your way out from behind the bar and take a seat on the stool next to Bob who smiles at the little girl, pulling away as she tries to reach for his glasses but isn’t quick enough as she rubs her chubby fingers over his lenses. 

You and Jake just laugh at her antics and at poor Bob who is left with baby drool covered glasses for the time being, but even he can’t stay mad at little Avery. She looks up at you, blue-green eyes bright as she smiles her little gummy smile and laughs along with the two of you. 

Jake can’t believe how comfortable Avery already is with you, it took days for her to warm up to anyone aside from Penny; she still doesn’t like Rooster but Jake believes it's a hundred percent because of his mustache. Normally he’s nervous when she’s around strangers of any kind, even her own doctor when she first saw the woman, but with you he’s oddly… comfortable. 

Begrudgingly you hand Avery back to Jake, you have to open the bar in 20 minutes and you’re already way behind but thankfully Bradley volunteers to help you get ready. You’re standing next to him slicing limes as he cuts up some oranges.

“You know, she’s never taken to someone that fast before.” he says, making sure the slices are relatively uniform.

“It’s because I’m a woman.” you tease and he rolls his eyes.

“No, seriously. Penny was a given because she’s just the best, but Phoenix? Bob? She only just started to get along with them, and those two are the best people in this entire squad. It even took her a bit to warm up to Hangman and he’s her dad.” Rooster says, stealing an orange slice that he cut too thin before taking a beer from the fridge under the counter and walking away.” 

“You have to pay for that!” 

“Put it on my tab, Rings!” he calls out, throwing a wink over his shoulder and you roll your eyes, opening a tab for him before going over to the window and flipping the ‘open’ sign on.

You’re about halfway through your shift when Jake walks up to you, Avery sleeping against him despite the volume of the bar. 

“Hey, headed home?” you ask, taking the top off of a few beers before handing them to the patron that was waiting. 

“Yeah, figured she would prefer to sleep in her bed tonight than on the pool table.” he jokes and you give a gentle laugh.

“Yeah, probably.”

“I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out this weekend? Talk about what Pen offered? If-if you still think you can help me out?” he chews his lip a little, nervous for you to say you’re not interested.

“Yeah! Definitely, uh… here,” you grab a napkin and write your number down with a little cartoon drawing of a circle with a ring around it, how you always signed your nickname. “I’m off on Saturday and Penny isn’t opening on Sunday since it’s going to be such a hot night, she wants us to be off so I’ll be free whenever on both days.” you tell him and he tucks the napkin in his pocket with his phone.

“I’ll text you on Saturday? I can pick you up? Or I mean-” you cut him off with a laugh.

“You can pick me up, I assume you know where Penny lives?” he nods and smiles.

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Great, see you on Saturday, Dad-man.” you give him a wink before turning away to go help Jimmy out with the patrons that have gathered around the bar. Jake laughs and turns around to head out, Dad-man?

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[ravawrites]

femme fatale

summary: a morally dubious personal investigator takes a holiday to virginia as she had heard that aaron hotchner was in witsec. he was not.

warnings: MDNI!!!!! blowjobs, slight d/s dynamic, slight rough play, open ending.

a/n: This is my first smut like work! so please give me the benefit of doubt as i know i need to improve lol. Hope you enjoyed!! Happy reading <3 SEND ME REQUESTS PLEASE. I know aaron doesn’t come back after witsec but for the sake of plot, he does.

word count: 3062

In the past twelve years you had been everywhere in the world. Paris, London, Milan, Sydney, Nigeria, Moscow, and in forty nine of the fifty states. Every one held a different passport and a different name and accent. There was one state, however, you avoided like the plague. Virginia. Named after the virgin queen, birth place of the first president and home to Quantico, the FBI office and unit chief of the BAU, Aaron Hotchner.

Through the grapevine of criminal connections, you had heard that he had been pushed into WITSEC by Mr Scratch. Him and his son were in Michigan, living a normal life. So you decided to make your way to Virginia.

Your week was spent going around to all the tourist attractions, you had hazy memories of. The Smithsonian, the national gallery of art, and the Lincoln memorial but steering clear of the Capitol. Too risky. Finally, the nightlife.

Holidays in your line of work were rare and short. A night out in a bar, for fun and not information on a suspect was even rarer. You were going out for fun, to get drunk and find someone to pull back into your cheap motel before you were back on the road again. Lightly curled hair twisted around your face, framing it and highlighting the dark, sultry makeup that was precisely painted onto your skin. Dark liner pulling attention to your eyes and a deep red lipstick, surely to leave a mark.

The dress was black, tight, showing everything you had off. It fell around mid thighs that were covered in a silky black stocking that ran down to your feet that were held in expensive black heels. The red bottoms were unmistakable and were a subtle hint at your wealth, steering all of the right people your way.

You’d looked up the bars in the immediate vicinity by your motel. One was a club, that was too young for you, it would be full of college kids looking to score with an older woman. The other was one an older bar with a snooker table and a dart board. This one was too old, filled with older men. The one you’d decided on was called O’keefes. It had a dart board and a moderately sized dance floor. It was the perfect medley between young and old.

The sign outside was glowing red, lighting up the immediate area. Brown wooden doors had little glass windows and you could see the inside was dark with red accent lights, matching the sign in the front. Pushing open the doors, you immediately make your way to the bar and do a scan of the place. The bar was in the middle of the room in a square shape, you sit with your back to the door.

“Can I get a gin and tonic please.” You ask, in a strong french accent, the bartender and she nods, whisking away to go and mix your drink.

“I’ll pay.” A voice says from behind you and you turn around. He’s a blonde, tall, muscular man. “You’re French?” He asks and sits on the red bar stool next to you while nodding to the bartender for a beer.

“Yes, I’m on a vacation?” You say, feigning pauses between your words, giving the impression of changing your dialect to American. “It’s fun here.” You smile at him and rest your chin in your hand.

“Ah I was born here, lived here my whole life.” He tells you and grabs your drinks off of the bartender and you sit and begin to chat. “What do you do for work?”

“I’m an accountant. What about you?” You ask him, not breaking your eyes from his, they were bright blue even in the red light. Not your usual type but he would do.

“I’m a gym instructor.” He comments and subtly flexes. Your toes curl in cringe as he does this but you grit your teeth and make a face of recognition.

“That makes sense, you’re very” You look down and sigh, pretending to think of the word. Looking up you make a grunting noise. You look down again, coyly this time.

“Muscular?” He offers and you make an ‘o’ with your mouth and nod at him. “Yes, I go to the gym every day. I do all sorts of things.” Immediately you had regretted talking to this man. He started to go on and on about all the types of workouts and weights and how long and what muscles it works.

He talked your ear off. He didn’t stop. Your eyes roam around the room, watching all of the other people and they’re conversations that seemed miles more interesting. There was a blonde woman and a bald man having the time of their lives on the dance floor, clearly drunk out of their minds, they looked familiar. The red light bounced around the room and your eyes follow it, taking you on a journey of people watching.

There was another couple, this time in a booth, snogging each others face off. They looked absolutely enamoured with each other. Her hands were in his hair and his hands were on her hips.

Your eyes followed the bouncing light to a round table in the corner of the room. There was a group of five people all laughing and drinking, pointing at the people on the dance floor from a second ago. They were close friends. In the background of your thoughts was the blonde man, still rambling on about the gym and being buff.

The light took your eyes to the door of the men’s bathroom as someone stood out of the doorway. His shoes were black leather oxfords, polished and shining. Black slacks that were perfectly tailored and were tight around his thighs. The same could be said for his white long sleeved shirt, tight across his chest with two buttons undone. A small amount of chest hair peeking out in the gap. Now he was more your type. You looked up to his face to study it.

Your heart drops to your stomach as you take him in. The stool squeaks as you stand up from it quickly and the two of you just stare at each other. You’d also realise you’d walked into a bar full of FBI agents and the one who disliked you the most was looking directly after you. Glancing over to the table of the large group of people you had just observed.

“I am not feeling to well, I have to go.” You say, leaning down to the man, who you didn’t know the name of and watched him look confused. “The gin didn’t sit with me. Goodbye.” You put your hand on his shoulder and grab his beer which he hadn’t touched yet.

You had never been so glad to sit near the door. The split second decision to bolt out of the door was risky. Running out of the bar, you rip the door open and made your way onto the Virginian streets. First mistake, wearing heels. Being a PI provided you with a generous amount of funds. However, expensive heels this high we’re for being walked down the the street in the arm of someone. Not pelting it down paved streets, you already regretted your choice to go out tonight.

Second mistake, coming to Virginia in the first place. You heard the bar door open again and he ran through it, bolting after you. He had the upper hand here, knowing the streets. Quickly, you run into the back alley’s. You didn’t stop running, checking the street signs as you ran. Desperate to get back to your motel, you don’t look back once.

Guessing wasn’t your strong point, you think as you randomly pick another alley to run through, hoping to find some familiarity. All of them started to look the same, maybe you’d already been here, or maybe it was the panic. There was a T shaped turn, you could either go straight foreword or turn right in a couple yards. You run straight foreword.

Suddenly, as you pass the right turn you are slammed against the brick wall. You feel the backs of your tights get stuck to the brick and rip and you wince.

“You prick.” You groan and pull your hands up to shove him off of you. “What you do that for?” Bending down you bring your hands to your knees and puff for breath.

“What job are you on?” He says, with his interrogator voice. Eyebrows creased and shoulders squared to make himself look more threatening.

“I’m not on a job, Hotch.” You tell him and stand up straight, looking at this face close up for the first time in a while. Your mind short circuits for a second as you contain yourself. “You have a beard.”

“You’re always on a job.” He states, clearly not believing you.

“I’m on holiday!” You exclaim, throwing your hands up into the air. “You.” Dragging out the word you point at him. “Are supposed to be in witness protection.”

“How’d you know that?” He asks, confused. He takes a step forward, his chest rising and falling.

“Everyone knew?” You roll your eyes at him. “You had to disappear because of Scratch, you were in Maine.” You shrug. “Now can I please, go back to my motel.”

“No.” He says and takes another step foreword. “You’re a murderer.” He states. “I’ll walk you.”

“Alleged, you have no evidence.” You answer quickly, “You have a bias against me. I’m innocent.” You sigh and start to walk away from him. “We can’t be seen together.”

“I know.” You look at him confused. “To all of those things. But it’s dark, I’ll walk you.” He jogs to catch up to you and the two of you walk at a leisurely pace in the direction of your motel. It’s silent for a while and you take in the streets. “You’re British?” He questions, turning toward you.

“I assumed you knew, all these years.” You laugh slightly. “You have reading glasses yet?” You joke. He doesn’t find it funny. “One day, you’ll laugh.” The silence comes up once again, you swing your arms back and forth. “What did you tell your friends?”

“That I had to go.” He states and you turn into the street of dodgy motels. “Why did you mention my beard?” He asks as he walks you to the door. You turn the key you had in your bra, and lean against the open door way.

“It suits you, you look fit.” You shrug and smile. His face doesn’t move. “It’s a compliment, accept it.” You roll your eyes again and scoff. “You want to come in?” He shakes his head and goes to open his mouth but you interrupt.

“I don’t want to fuck. Calm down.” You walk into your room and wait for him to follow. “Close the door.” You hear it click closed. “It wouldn’t be a good idea for us to have sex again anyway.”

“Why?” He says with a strong breath out of his nose.

“You might get attached.” You smirk at him and he finally laughs. It’s a deep baritone, but silky like honey, you wanted to drown in it. “Also because I think someone knows we’re friends.” You sit down on your bed and pull your red bottoms and frown at the scuffed paint. You look up to him as you peel the ripped tights away from your legs, leaving you in your dress.

“What do you mean?” He asks and you rummage through your bag, pulling out a white envelope. You toss it towards him and watch him pull out pictures of you from vulnerable times throughout the years. “Are these not yours?”

“No, my blackmail is in a safe.” You give him a smile and lean back. “I was served them, like I was being sued.” You explain. “I’m trying to find who’s they are, don’t worry.”

“I will lose my job, if these get out.” He says flicking through them again.

“I know. They won’t.” You assure him and take the photos back, taking them back and sliding them into the envelope. The air in the room feels thick and you bury them back into the bottom of the bag. The dynamic was strange. He didn’t like you because he thought you were a murderer. You didn’t like him because he thought you were a murderer. However, you couldn’t deny the tension the two of you had. You had kept your meetings short for this exact reason, the room heating up. You look up and meet his brown eyes.

“Is that all your things?” He asks and you nod. “It’s not a lot.” He states and stands up rigidly straight.

“I don’t live anywhere for more than a month.” Zipping your bag shut. “I close my cases quickly. You can sit down.”

He waves his hand dismissively. “I should go.” You nod and watch him turn to the door and take two long steps towards it. You never said goodbye. This time though, he hesitated to twist the door knob.

“One more time, couldn’t hurt.” You stand up and the two of you meet half way, wrapping around each other. Your lips hit his neck and you start to suck gently while simultaneously unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt. Your hands dive into the hair on his chest and generally feel him up through the open shirt. “You been working out?”

“Occasionally.” He says nonchalantly as your hands wander south. Down to his toned stomach and your fingers fiddle with the button on his slacks. You look up at him for permission and he nods. Slowly, you use both hands to unbutton them and teasingly pull down the zip. “Hurry up.” He grits and your hand slides inside the trousers but stay over his boxers. You felt him get hard in your hand.

He leans down to your neck and licks up to your ear and whispers. “Get on your knees for me.” You do exactly as your told and lower yourself down to the carpet.

“You’re so lucky you’re hot, this carpet is gross.” You say up to him and pull his black slacks down to his ankles. His mouth perks up at the compliment. You learn on the backs of your feet and wait. Your fingers trail up and down his thigh. He pulls down his boxers and that was a sight you missed.

Just looking at Aaron Hotchner, every one could tell he wasn’t small, in any shape of form. His build was big, his chest was big, his hands were big, you could go on. His dick was certainly big, you observe as he holds it close to your face. “Look up at me.” He instructs and you instantly do what he says.

You didn’t know what view you preferred. On one hand, his dick was pretty. On the other, he had grown a beard out while in WITSEC. They were both equal.

“Can I?” You ask, swiping your tongue over your lip but he cuts you off.

“Patience.” He states sternly. He liked to make you wait. You roll your eyes again but do sit there patiently. He pulls you gently from the back of your head closer to him. You furrow your eyebrows at him, wondering what he was doing. An uncontrollable red flush crawls up your skin as it dawned on you, he was measuring up to your face. Dirty man. He smirks and leans back, “Go ahead.” He finally says and you sigh in relief.

“Patience is not one of my strongest virtues.” You snark and lean in, taking a long, slow lick up his length. In the past few years, you had forgotten what he had tasted like, you didn’t want to forget again. Something you’d never forget was the noise he would make when you finally took him into your mouth.

That groan was music to your ears, a symphony that makes you blush. He’s heavy and warm on your tongue. You look up at him through your eyelashes and his eyes are screwed shut as he pants. Hallowing your cheeks, you slowly bob your head along him.

“Nor is it mine.” He moans out and runs his fingers into your hair. “Can I?” He strokes your hair and you nod, mouth still full of his cock. “Use your words.” He commands and smiles down at you as you pull off of him.

“Yes, you can.” You confirm and he grabs the back of your hair in a fist. He then guides you down on him again, but deeper than before almost breaching your throats and you couldn’t stop yourself from groaning, vibrating on him and the grip on your hair tightens slightly. “Christ.” You feel the leg muscles you have gripped in your hands twitch as he moves his hips forward to meet your movements.

The frequent small spurts of salty taste into your mouth signalled that he was getting closer to the edge. You try not to smirk and you take him deeper and he throws his head back with a throaty groan.

“I’m not going to last long.” He grits his teeth together and his legs twitch again, gripping onto the back of your head as you control your breathing through your nose.

He calls out your name, a word he rarely even whispers. It falls out of his lips as he finishes into yours.

He pulls out of your throat and you swallow, standing up and then perching on the edge of your bed. “Let me pay you back.” He says and takes steps towards your, lips landing on your neck. A soft moan leaves your mouth. But suddenly, the two of you are ripped apart by the phone ringing. He pulls away and answers, it’s not work, you can tell by his softer than usual tone.

“I’ve got to go.” He awkwardly says, pulling his trousers back up and buttoning his shirt. “It’s my son, Jack, he’s ill.” He grabs his wallet that had fallen on the floor in the chaos. “I’ll see you soon.” You follow him to the creaky door to see him out.

“No, you won’t.” He begins to walk away into the dark of the night. “Goodbye Aaron!” You call out into the darkness as he disappears.

[thoughtportal]

An age verification bill in Kansas that is the most extreme in the country has passed both House and Senate and is on its way to the governor’s desk. The bill will make sites with more than 25 percent adult content liable to heavy fines if they don’t verify that visitors are over the age of 18. It also calls being gay “sexual conduct,” which critics say could set up the state for more censorship of LGBT+ citizens.

The bill is similar to the many others introduced or passed across the country in the last year, including ones enacted in Texas, Montana, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Utah. Age verification laws in Indiana and Idaho will take effect on July 1, and bills are progressing in several more states.

The Kansas legislation has a major difference: The state will lower the bar for how much adult content a website needs to host in order to be liable. In the other states where age verification laws have been enacted, it’s been 33 percent, or one-third. Kansas reduces that number to 25 percent. Mainstream sites and social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter, as well as many other websites across the internet, host a large amount of porn despite not being “porn sites.” With an even lower bar to liability, the chilling effect of sexual content, sex education, and anything outside of heterosexual, biblical sterility could be massive.Age Verification Laws Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages of the InternetInvasive and ineffective age verification laws that require users show government-issued ID, like a driver’s license or passport, are passing like wildfire across the U.S.Emanuel Maiberg

“Any commercial entity that knowingly shares or distributes material that is harmful to minors on a website and such material appears on 25% or more of the webpages viewed on such website in any calendar month” falls under the purview of this bill, according to its text. If sites don’t comply, they could be fined up to $10,000 for each violation, and parents could sue for damages of at least $50,000.

Kansas criminal law defines “material harmful to minors” as involving “nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse.” 

“Sexual conduct,” under Kansas law, means “acts of masturbation, homosexuality, sexual intercourse or physical contact with a person's clothed or unclothed genitals or pubic area or buttocks or with a human female's breast.” The Associated Press reported that the bill’s critics, including Democratic Rep. Brandon Woodard, “argued that the law could be interpreted broadly enough that LGBTQ+ teenagers could not access information about sexual orientation or gender identity because the legal definition of sexual conduct includes acts of ‘homosexuality.’” 

Aylo, Pornhub’s parent company, has blocked access to its more than a dozen websites in seven of the eight states with age verification laws in place. Earlier this month, 404 Media first reported that it blocked Texas. Age verification laws that require sites to verify ages—done through government-issued IDs like driver’s licenses or passports—won’t stop minors from seeing porn. Instead, as Emanuel and I wrote earlier this week, they’ll just drive everyone to sites with non-consensual abuse imagery and stolen content while opening everyone up to privacy exploitation. 

[imagining-in-the-margins]

S.R. Series Recs (Completed Works)

Hey friends! I’m back with another fic rec list for Completed Series! If you have any other recommendations not included here (including your own work), please send me a DM! I would love to add it.

SFW S.R. Series

Valkyrie by @illegalcerebral: Unsub!Reader. You live two lives, one where you protect and serve and one where you hunt. You have always had control over the two sides until the BAU are brought to your doorstep.

Shifting Narrative by @/illegalcerebral: The BAU are called in on a case. Complicating matters is a tenacious filmmaker making a documentary on the case and Reid’s residual emotional trauma from being in prison.

Flight Risk by @brywrites: In which a pilot and a profiler become closer than originally planned when Reid finally meets one of the elusive individuals flying the BAU jet.

NSFW Series Below...

NSFW S.R. Series

Here to Misbehave by me: Spencer meets a girl he can’t get enough of at the nightclub, then quickly realizes she is not supposed to be there.

Phoenix by me: Spencer Reid had a secret, and now you have a funeral to attend… and your own secret to keep. Or not. Rewrite of the Emily/Doyle arc with Spencer taking Emily’s place.

Lily of the Valley by me: Unsub!Reid. Spencer was found guilty but mentally ill after the torture and murder of several men. He finds solace in his psychiatrist at the institution.

26 Things by @foxy-eva: Spencer Reid is determined to help his girlfriend check off everything left on her bucket list - even the explicit parts.

Pretty Please by @mercy-burning: Reader hears something surprising from her next door neighbor, and it throws her off.

January 16 by @aperrywilliams: Reader and Spencer Reid share the most intimate part of their lives through the years around a fateful date.

Virginia Kisses by @twentysomethingloser92: Every single time Spencer and Reader kiss.

The Most Natural Thing in the World by @dontshootmespence: An experienced Dom and a Virgin meet in a bar. Can he introduce her to a world she’s always imagined but never known before? Sequel.

Lock and Key by @/brywrites: Prison is a tough place to find hope in. But when Spencer Reid stumbles upon a GED class, the teacher makes him think it might not be so hopeless after all.

Say Something by @fortheloveofwonderland: In which Spencer and Reader are in a toxic relationship trying to navigate through the intrepid waters of love in a depressive state.

Losing So Much Time by @/fortheloveofwonderland: Fifteen years is a long time to be in love with someone you only see once a year. But when you live on opposite ends of the country and once a year is all you get you just have to try and make the most of the time you get.

Teach Me Something by @homoose: Spencer meets Michael’s kindergarten teacher and finds he still has so much left to learn.

Thanks, everyone! Happy Reading!

[reasonsforhope]

"Two years ago, the biggest battles in state legislatures were over voting rights. Democrats loudly — and sometimes literally — protested as Republicans passed new voting restrictions in states like Georgia, Florida and Texas. This year, attention has shifted to other hot-button issues, but the fight over the franchise has continued. Republicans have enacted dozens of laws this year that will make it harder for some people to vote in future elections. 

But this year, voting-rights advocates got some significant wins too: States — controlled by Democrats and Republicans — have enacted more than twice as many laws expanding voting rights as restricting them, although the most comprehensive voter-protection laws passed in blue states. In all, 39 states and Washington, D.C., have changed their election laws in some way this year...

Where voting rights were expanded in 2023 (so far)

Unlike two years ago, though, we’d argue that the bigger story of this year’s legislative sessions was all the ways states made it easier to vote. As of July 21, according to the Voting Rights Lab, [which runs an excellent and completely comprehensive tracker of election-related bills], 834 bills had been introduced so far this year expanding voting rights, and 64 had been enacted. What’s more, these laws are passing in states of all hues.

Democratic-controlled jurisdictions (Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Washington) enacted 33 of these new laws containing voting-rights expansions, but Republican-controlled states (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming) were responsible for 23 of them. The remaining eight became law in states where the two parties share power (Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia).

That said, not all election laws are created equal, and the most comprehensive expansive laws passed in blue states. For example: 

New Mexico adopted a major voting-rights package that will automatically register New Mexicans to vote when they interact with the state’s Motor Vehicle Division, allow voters to request absentee ballots for all future elections without the need to reapply each time and restore the right to vote to felons who are on probation or parole. The law also allows Native Americans to register to vote and receive ballots at official tribal buildings and makes it easier for Native American officials to get polling places set up in pueblos and on tribal land.

Minnesota followed suit with a law also establishing automatic voter registration and a permanent absentee-voting list. The act allows 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote too. Meanwhile, a separate new law also reenfranchises felons on probation or parole.

Michigan enacted eight laws implementing a constitutional amendment expanding voting rights that voters approved last year. Most notably, the laws guarantee at least nine days of in-person early voting and allow counties to offer as many as 29. The bills also allow voters to fix mistakes on their absentee-ballot envelopes so that their ballot can still count, track the status of their ballot online, and use student, military and tribal IDs as proof of identification. 

Connecticut became the sixth state to enact a state-level voting-rights act, which bars municipalities from discriminating against minority groups in voting, requires them to provide language assistance to certain language minority groups and requires municipalities with a record of voter discrimination to get preclearance before changing their election laws. The Nutmeg State also approved 14 days of early voting and put a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would legalize no-excuse absentee voting.

No matter its specific provisions, each of these election-law changes could impact how voters cast their ballots in future elections, including next year’s closely watched presidential race. There’s a good chance your state amended its election laws in some way this year, so make sure you double-check the latest rules in your state before the next time you vote."

-via FiveThirtyEight (via FutureCrunch), July 24, 2023

[slippinmickeys]

Five paragraph prompt:

As they’re unwinding after a case, Mulder becomes preoccupied with watching how a man across a diner / restaurant / bar is eyeing Scully. Earlier seasons (or before FTF, anyway) so that there’s a more buttoned-up MSR vibe, maybe.

It’s odd, he thinks, how he’s never really noticed the sway of her hips.

Okay, he’s noticed, but he hasn’t looked. Not like the guy at their 10 o’clock is looking. Watching as Scully sashays back to their table, her clompy heels scuffing along the floor with a gritty, salacious rasp.

It’s summer in the District. Her foundation has long since been sweated off, revealing a beauty mark above her lip, maybe freckles, and in the heat of the field, she’d shucked off her suit coat and was now wearing only a sleeveless silk blouse, one so sheer that Mulder (and the guy at the bar, no doubt) could make out the shape of her bra, the soft globes of her breasts pillowing out slightly above the cups.

Scully against the backdrop of over-varnished, sticky tables. Scully moving through the chessboard cones of bad light. Mulder can’t look away either.

The guy turns his body in a complete 180 so that he can follow her progress, and something ignites inside Mulder’s chest. But he can’t move. He can’t so much as intimate any kind of possessive impression or Scully would pin him with a glare so intense his ball hair would try to climb back into his scrotum. It’s not like that with them.

“Evenin’ y’all,” says a voice as Scully slides back into their booth, and they both look up to see Bar Guy himself, hovering at the edge of their of their table. That was quick, Mulder thinks. “I have a bet with my buddy over there that y’all aren’t together.”

The man’s hair is very shiny and his teeth are very straight. Mulder bets he’s the kind of guy who puts his seat back the second the flight attendant sits down for takeoff. In any event, he sounds like Foghorn Leghorn, which Mulder assumes is performative. Do people from Virginia even have southern accents? Not in his experience, though Alexandria’s not exactly deep in the state.

“Kind of a circuitous way of asking if I’m her boyfriend,” Mulder says, though Scully is wearing a small, beatific smile. Mulder smiles at the guy, too. But it’s more of a that’s nice, off you fuck kind of smile.

“Are you?” Foghorn asks hopefully.

Mulder looks to his partner, seeing where she’d like to go with the question. He’d posed as her beau before; sometimes it was just easier to fend off suitors that way, especially if she was tired.

“No,” Scully says, kindly. “But I’m not in the market.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.” Foghorn smiles before walking away, inclining his head politely at Scully. Even Mulder is a little charmed by the guy’s bravado.

“You have to admire the lack of subtlety,” Mulder says, his eyes following the man as he collects both his sport coat and his buddy, disembarking to search for a more target-rich port.

“Do you?” Scully asks dubiously. She’s looking at the table, occupying herself by running her finger along the rim of her wine glass. The tone her wet finger brings forth is as rich as a ripe plum.

“In and out in under ninety seconds,” Mulder points out. “Better than standing there stammering for five minutes like the last six guys.”

“You make it sound like this happens all the time.”

“It does.”

Scully makes a dismissive gesture.

Mulder thinks just then that every single man they meet either wants to kiss her or kill her, but he’s not dumb enough to say it. Instead he downs the last of his beer.

“You ready to get out of here?” he asks.

“Not yet,” she says, gesturing about six inches beyond his left shoulder. “There’s a queue of GS-12’s waiting to ask for my hand.”

Mulder can’t help but turn to genuinely look, which earns him Scully’s charming squawk of laughter, the one she rarely trots out. When he turns back to her, she’s already sliding out of the booth and grabbing her coat.

She looks up at him as he stands up beside her and pokes him in the chest.

“Not every man in this bar wants to jump me,” she says, a teeny, tiny bit drunk.

“Nah, you’re right,” Mulder answers, his own cheeks warm with drink. “Only one or two of them do.”

He realizes, only as the words cross his tongue, that the call is coming from inside the house.

[roosterforme]

I'll Take You There | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley's best friend is moving to San Diego, and she asks him for a little help.

Warnings: Fluff, smut, swearing, slight self doubt, piv intercourse without condom

Length: 4700 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This fic is based on a super hot request from an anonymous friend!

Check my masterlist for more fun

Bradley couldn't stop smiling just thinking about you. "She's moving to San Diego for law school," he told Phoenix over a drink at the Hard Deck.

"That's awesome, Rooster! Remember how much fun we had last year when she visited for the weekend? We'll have to take her to that weird taco restaurant again where we got locked in the bathroom!" Phoenix said with a laugh. It turned out Bradley's two best friends got along great when they had met each other. 

"Yeah, well I can't wait to see her," he said as he took a sip of his drink. "It's been a long time."

Phoenix eyed him skeptically. "You think she picked San Diego State to be near you?"

"Nah. She got a scholarship." But Bradley wished you had picked the school based on him. He'd had a crush on you for over a fucking decade, since you were both at the University of Virginia. But you'd always had him firmly in the friend zone, and that was okay with him. You were beyond cool, liked to go to baseball games, could drink him under the table, and didn't put up with anyone's shit. Plus you were so gorgeous, he wasn't sure you had been talking to him the first time you met. He actually turned around to make sure there wasn't someone else behind him. 

The only time he hated being friends with you was when you were dating one of the fraternity fuckboys you always seemed to favor. He had told you so many times that you could do better, but you never listened to him. Maybe you'd meet someone better in law school. 

Phoenix shook her head. "I still think there's more going on between the two of you than what you've told me."

"No way, Nat. There's nothing between us. Never even a drunken kiss where you both go 'Eww, let's never do that again' and then avoid each other for a week."

She clicked her tongue. "Shame, that. I think she has a thing for you."

Bradley shook his head. "Nah. Definitely not."

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

You were a nervous wreck, moving from snowy Colorado to sunny San Diego to start law school. You had worked so hard for years as a paralegal, saving as much money as you could to pay for more schooling, and now it was finally happening.

And in the same city as Bradley Bradshaw, no less. What were the chances you'd end up in the same place as one of your best friends once again? You even really liked his friend Nat and couldn't wait to hang out at that fun bar again. What was it called? The Top Deck? 

You were supposed to be meeting them there as soon as you arrived tomorrow, and then Bradley promised he'd help you unpack into your new place this weekend. Just thinking about him gave you butterflies. He was so hot, and his voice could melt butter. But you'd known him for too long, and he'd seen you at your worst moments. There was no way he was even close to being interested in you. And that would just have to continue to be okay, because he really was a great friend and someone you could trust. 

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

"She should be here soon," Bradley mumbled as he peeled the label off of his beer bottle. "Should I text her again?"

Phoenix laughed and threw a dart, narrowly losing to Hangman. "Just give her a chance to get organized. It's only 7 and she's probably tired from her long drive."

"Who are you talking about?" Hangman drawled as he gathered the darts from the board.

"Rooster's friend from UVA. Remember meeting her last summer?" Phoenix asked. 

A sly smile crept along Jake's face, making him look extra punchable to Bradley. "Oh yeah, I remember. About this tall? Cute smile? Nice ass? Is she single?"

"She's not interested in you," Bradley said with an eye roll. There was no way in hell he'd let that happen in a million years. Sure, Jake was the king of all fuckboys, but you usually always went for brunettes. 

"Bradley Bradshaw!"

Bradley spun around and his entire face broke into a smile as soon as he saw you. "Hey!" he said as you launched yourself into his arms. "I've missed you."

You were pressing yourself against him and laughing next to his ear, and Bradley had to think long and hard about the most un-sexy things (his landlord, that one bathroom on base, the filthy interior of Phoenix's car) just to get through the hug without getting hard. 

"I missed you, too," you said, placing a kiss on his scarred cheek. "I was afraid you might have shaved off the mustache."

"Nope, it looks too good on me," he told you with a smirk as you eased yourself out of his arms and gave Nat a hug as well. 

"Remember me? I'm Jake," Hangman said with a charming smile. 

Bradley almost laughed out loud at your response of, "Sort of?" Then you turned back to him and demanded he get you a beer and a shot of tequila. 

"Anything you want, babe," Bradley told you.

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

He kept calling you babe just like he always did. Your heart and body were in dire straits at the moment, because every time he said it, you thought about kissing him. He had just excused himself to use the bathroom, and Nat was all over you. "Are you going to make a move on him, because he's definitely not going to go for it, even though he wants to."

You just blinked at her. "What are you talking about?"

She shook you gently. "Come on! It's obvious the two of you want to hook up with each other!"

"Did he say that to you?" you asked, suddenly very flustered.

Nat tossed her head back and groaned. "He doesn't need to say it! I know it's true regardless! Please, consider putting him out of his misery?"

And then Bradley was back, and you were still flustered. 

"What did I miss?" he asked, settling into the seat next to yours with a crooked grin. He should have looked like an idiot with the Hawaiian shirt and the mustache, but he somehow looked dashing. And now Nat had given you a glimmer of hope that maybe he'd kiss you back if you kissed him. 

"You didn't miss anything, but I'm ready for a second shot, and you're buying," you told him as you poked him in the side with your finger. "Holy shit, you're solid muscle," you muttered as Bradley caught your finger in his hand. 

"Yeah, well I kind of get paid to stay in tip top shape," he said with a chuckle before flagging down the bartender for another round. "So, you gonna tell me what's new with you? You dating a new fuckboy?"

"No," you said with an eye roll. "I'm done with fuckboys. I'm in law school now, Bradley. Gotta keep it classier. I'm going to find myself a fuckman to date."

You watched as he erupted into laughter before leaning closer to you, his brown eyes shining. "Don't let Jake hear you, or he'll be all over that."

"The blond one? No thanks," you said before taking your tequila shot. 

"Yeah, you never did go for the light hair."

"You've kept a catalog of the guys I was into?" you asked with a laugh. 

Bradley scratched the back of his neck and didn't meet your eyes. "Yeah, kinda. It always pissed me off a little bit that you never went for someone sweet."

"Oh. Well, I can't change what I like," you said with a shrug, mentally weighing the pros and cons of attempting to kiss your best friend.

"And what exactly do you like? Maybe I already know someone in San Diego that would be great for you."

You took a deep breath and went for it. "I like brown hair. And brown eyes. And stupid, cute puppy dog expressions. And sometimes mustaches and Hawaiian print shirts...." 

Bradley's mouth opened like he was going to say something, but no sounds came out. His eyes were darting between your eyes and your lips, and he was blushing a bit. Maybe Nat had been correct about him! 

"Sound like anyone you know?" you asked sweetly. 

"I..." he shook his head slightly. "Not gonna lie, babe, I think I just blacked out."

Now you were squirming a bit. "In a good way? Or a bad way....? Listen, pretend I never said that!"

"I don't wanna do that," Bradley whispered, leaning in close with intention. And then he kissed you. 

He kissed you right there at the bar, and it was so sweet and so perfect. His mustache tickled you a bit, and he rubbed his thumb across the back of your hand before releasing your lips. 

"Mmm...maybe just one more?" you asked, barely cracking your eyes open before his lips were on yours again. This time you let your fingers trace his cheek and jaw, and his hand was at the back of your head, messing up your hair. 

"You okay with this?" he asked when he paused to take a breath. 

You looked at him with wide eyes. "Is this what I've been missing out on for thirteen years?"

Bradley chuckled, cradling your chin in his large hand. "I'm kicking myself right now, babe."

You leaned in and pressed a harder kiss to his mouth before whispering, "Can we go outside or something?"

Bradley was immediately out of his seat and taking your hand in his. "Hey, Penny! I'll settle up later, okay?" 

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

Oh, shit. You were kissing his neck and sighing softly, and his dick was so hard. The cool, night air outside in the parking lot wasn't helping Bradley clear his mind at all. 

"Hmmm," you hummed as your lips landed on his chin again, and he knew there was no way he would ever recover from kissing you and then getting put back in the friend zone, but he couldn't stop. 

He roughly pushed his fingers through your hair and mashed his lips against yours until you moaned. You knew he was hard. He knew you knew he was hard. And you were rubbing your body against the front of him, making it even worse. 

"This is probably a bad idea," he grunted as you kind of wiggled yourself against him. 

"I think it's a great idea," you whispered. "Where's the Bronco?" 

Bradley tossed caution to the wind and guided you toward his truck, never taking his lips off of you the whole way there. Once you were inside, he took a few deep breaths before climbing into the driver's seat. 

"Want me to take you to my place? We can hang out for a bit," he said as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

You giggled. "Yeah, I don't have a bed yet."

"A bed?" he groaned. "You want me to take you to bed?"

"Yeah, Bradley. I really do. If you want to?"

He grunted and adjusted himself. "Yeah, I want to, babe. My dick has never been harder."

The two of you eventually stumbled into his apartment, all wandering hands and laughing smiles. 

"I really like this," Bradley said when you kissed his neck and ran your nails along his scalp. "I never thought this would be happening to me."

"I never thought you'd be into me at all," you whispered as he scooped you up into his arms. "You're so hot, Bradley. Remember when we went on that ski trip? I kept thinking about sneaking into your room at night."

"Fuck, you should have. I would have loved that," he groaned before claiming your mouth hard while he palmed your ass and carried you to the bedroom.

He was going to fuck you. He was going to fuck his best friend, and he couldn't wait. 

He set you down on his bedroom floor and froze as your hands went to his shirt buttons. He watched your fingers in the dim light from the hallway as they worked downward until his shirt was open and you were running your hands under his white tee shirt. 

You looked up at him and pulled both shirts off. 

"Holy shit," you said softly before running your hands up his torso. 

Bradley let you explore him for a moment before he reached for the hem of your shirt, and you let him take it off. He'd seen you in a bathing suit many times, but you were curvier now than you used to be. And he really liked the way you looked. All soft skin and rounded shapes. He kissed the tops of your breasts where your bra had them on display for him. 

You held his head in place as he licked down inside your bra and undid your jeans. But when he slipped his hand inside the front of your underwear, he could feel you tensing up. 

"What's wrong?" he asked you, already slightly out of breath. 

He watched your eyes dart back and forth between his as you swallowed hard. "Nothing. Keep going." 

So he hesitantly knelt in front of you and pulled your jeans down, kissing you just below your belly button. When he started to pull your underwear to the side to kiss you there, you took the tiniest step away from him, and he shot to his feet. 

"Shit, I'm sorry," he apologized as he watched you chewing on your lip, just out of his reach. "We can stop, babe." Panting, he reached for your jeans where they had come to rest at your knees and started to pull them back up. 

"Bradley," you whispered softly. 

"You don't need to feel bad about this, okay?" he promised you, gently grasping your chin and forcing you to meet his eyes. "The last thing I want to do is fuck up our friendship."

"No. I want you to keep going," you insisted, trying to force his hands to pull your jeans down again. 

He shook his head. "No way. If you're not a hundred percent sure about it, then let's stop."

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

You wanted to scream. You were so turned on by him. Even the way he was gently pulling your jeans up over your hips had you dripping wet. And the way he looked at you was almost too hot, because you knew he loved you, even if just as friends. 

If you were ever going to trust anyone, it should be him, right?

"Bradley, wait." You put your hands on his and forced him to touch your bare waist. He looked very conflicted, but you could see that he was still hard inside his pants. "It's not what you think. I really want you. It's just that... I've never been with a partner who could make me come, and sex never really feels that good for me. And I don't want you to regret sleeping with me if I don't seem into it or I don't orgasm." You winced as you shrugged.

You watched his brow scrunch up, and he wrapped his hands around you, almost possessively. "What do you mean? I'm confused."

You inched closer to him and pressed your lips together before saying, "Guys can't make me come. Like ever. I'm sure I'm the problem, since I'm clearly the common denominator here." You laughed sardonically. 

Bradley cocked his head slightly to one side, and rubbed his huge hands along your back. It felt very good.

"Can you get yourself off?" he asked, in that very low raspy voice. 

Without really meaning to, you felt yourself rubbing against the front of him again. "Yeah, I can make myself come. Just never with a partner."

Bradley shook his head slowly and grinned down at you. "Then you're not the problem, babe. And you should have listened to me when I told you to lay off those fuckboys."

You laughed and buried your face against his warm, muscled chest. He just held you for a minute before whispering, "If you'll let me, I'll try my best to make you come. And I won't get upset if you don't. But, you know, if you don't want to-"

You grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him down to kiss you. He was such a great kisser; you should have done this part a long time ago. When you started gently sucking on his tongue, he broke away. "I'm gonna need a verbal response to that one, babe."

You bit your lip. "As long as you won't be upset with me, I want you to try."

And as soon as the words were out of your mouth, Bradley had his hands at the back of your bra, unclasping it and tossing it across the room. You gasped as his hands and mouth found their way to your breasts, and he had you practically screaming as he circled your nipple with his tongue. 

"Jesus, you're so sexy," he whispered against your belly as he returned to kneeling in front of you. "You look fucking hotter than ever."

You looked down at him, taking in his messy hair and flushed cheeks, and you knew right then that he would do everything he could to take care of you tonight. He slid your jeans down your legs once more and helped you step out of them. Then he shook his head reverently before removing your underwear as well. He looked up at you and groaned before placing a soft kiss on your smooth pussy. He stroked his thumb along your ribs as he stood, making you shiver.

"First, you're gonna tell me what you like best about foreplay," he informed you as he licked his lips.

"Foreplay?" you asked with a chuckle. "Guys usually just start ramming their dick inside me, or beg me for a blowjob."

"Fuck, babe," Bradley said, running his fingers along your cheek. "While I'm sure that's been very disappointing for you, it is very good news for me. Because I like foreplay. A lot."

"Oh?" you asked, and your thighs clenched together. That was a positive sign. 

"Oh yeah, so how about I give you a sampling of all my best moves? Then if you decide you want to do this again, you'll know what you like the most for next time."

"God, you're kind of cocky, Bradley. I didn't expect you to be like this," you said a little breathlessly. "I like it. So much."

He scooped you up into his arms and sat on the edge of the bed with you straddling his denim covered legs. "I just want you to feel good," he said before trailing his lips and mustache softly across your collarbone before sucking gently on the side of your neck. It felt wonderful. Then his tongue peeked out and teased you behind your ear, and you gripped his shoulders. 

You were dripping wet and trying to rub yourself on his jeans, but he was holding your hips tight and wouldn't let you. When he returned his attention back to your breasts, you cried out softly. He pulled one nipple into his mouth and teased you, releasing you with a soft pop before focusing his attention on the other. And when he started rubbing that mustache along your nipples, you were actually whining. 

"You feeling good, babe? Because I am feeling great," he said, keeping eye contact while he licked the side of your breast. 

"So good! Are you going to fuck me soon?" you asked, wondering when he was going to try to get you off with his dick. You were kind of dying to see it. 

He shook his head slowly. "No, I'm not gonna fuck you for awhile, babe," he grunted, running his knuckles along the undersides of your breasts before kissing you. His lips were persistent but not overpowering as he tasted you. You could hardly believe this was Bradley, your friend of so many years, making you feel this good. 

As his fingers trailed along your sides, you squirmed a bit on his lap, dying for some friction. "Not yet," he scolded before picking you up and practically tossing you down onto your back in the middle of the bed. You squealed as he pressed his body weight on top of you. He leaned on one forearm, giving you a great view of his bicep and kept your hips still with his other hand. God he weighed a lot, and his weight smashing you into the bed was delicious. 

The smirk on his face as he leaned in to kiss your lips was ridiculously sexy, and you slid your fingers through his wavy hair. "I can't believe I get to touch you like this," he whispered, with a grin. He kissed you softly as he toyed with your nipples, pinching them into hard peaks and then soothing them with his palm. You could tell you were dripping wet, and you were making sounds you couldn't even identify. 

You'd never been this turned on before. 

"Usually the guy would have blown his load in me by now, but you've still got your jeans on," you moaned as he moved his lips back to your neck. 

Bradley chuckled against your skin. "I was raised by a woman, babe. She taught me it should always be ladies first."

You almost jumped off the bed when you felt Bradley's fingers rubbing the top of your thigh. He nibbled on your bottom lip as he inched his hand closer to where you wanted him. You were no longer nervous that he might not be able to make you come, because your entire brain was focused on how good he was making you feel.

When his fingertip blissfully connected with your wetness, you cried out his name.

"Oh, babe. You're soaking wet," he whispered, and you watched him bring his finger to his mouth and lick it clean. 

"Mmm," he moaned before kissing your mouth so you could taste yourself on him. "I'm going to love this."

Then he was shifting down your body and wrapping his massive hands around your thighs. You propped yourself on your elbows, dying to watch what he was doing. He pulled your legs apart and settled between them, looking up at you as he kissed you pussy once. You almost cried out, but he focused his lips on your legs instead. 

"You're practically dripping," he whispered between nips to your inner thigh. "Can't wait to get that all over my mustache."

"Please, Bradley! Please! Get me all over your mustache!" You weren't above begging at this point. 

"Soon," he managed to grunt before running his tongue lazily just above your clit. You were afraid you were going to start stroking yourself soon if he didn't hurry up. You loved him for his current endeavor of trying to get you off, but you had no issues with touching yourself in front of him if you needed to. You were beyond needy and your body was craving relief. 

And then his tongue was licking your slit, and you thought you might black out. "Bradley!"

But he didn't stop. He licked up and down, over and over, slowly separating your folds and exposing you to him. "So pretty," you heard him whisper right before his lips closed around your clit.

"Oh," you gasped. Sure, you'd had guys venture down there with their lips before, but this was already better than every other guy combined. And he still had his jeans on!

Bradley swirled his tongue slowly and softly around you. And then he made eye contact with you, so you encouraged him by saying, "That feels incredible."

He released you and said, "Great, but I'm just getting started," and then proceeded to kitten lick you instead until you were squirming. You watched him dip his tongue down repeatedly, occasionally grunting or groaning as he did so.

You were mesmerized, looking down the length of your body and watching him give you head. Occasionally the light from the hallway would catch his mustache, and you could see your wetness there. Which just made you even hotter for him. 

And then he dragged the length of his tongue slowly yet firmly along your clit, and you felt your hips jerk off of the bed with a gasp. His eyes met yours as he did it a second time, and once again your body jerked in response. You gasped, and shook your head back and forth on the pillow. You felt so good and so relaxed, and you could already tell what was about to happen. One more long pull of his tongue, and you were starting to see stars at the edge of your vision. You felt yourself starting to clench around nothing. 

No way. This had never happened before. 

Then he wrapped his lips around your clit, let that tongue work some magic, and you were crying out incoherently. Pleasure washed through your limbs and soaked through your torso. You couldn't process much, but you knew your legs were shaking as Bradley sucked on your swollen bud. 

"Oh Fuck!" you screeched. "Oh my God!" You were literally riding his face through your orgasm, but instead of stopping, you could feel Bradley slide one of his fingers inside you. "Oh! What are you doing?" you asked quietly, gasping for air. You were literally scandalized and shocked that Bradley had made you come, so you could barely think.

"Gonna try for number two," he said, and when your eyes met his, the cocky look you found on his face was incorrigible. You tried to talk, but your voice broke immediately, as he worked two beautiful fingers in and out of you. He kept those fingers moving in a rhythm that was really working for you as he eased his body on top of yours. He gently kissed your lips and you moaned. He tasted like you. His mustache was wet from you. You licked his face a few times until he was moaning too. 

"You keep doing sexy shit like that, and I'm not going to last long at all."

"Bradley, you made me come!" you said through your lust-filled, hazy brain. "You going to fuck me now?" you asked, really dying to see his penis.

"Not yet, babe. Soon though." He smiled as he kissed his way down you body.

He deftly worked his fingers inside you in tandem with his mouth on your clit, and you were so close again. You couldn't believe this was your body.

"Babe, you on birth control? Or do I need to get a condom?" Bradley asked you when he took a break from eating your pussy like a professional. 

"I'm on birth control. You're good," you managed as you felt your hips starting to jerk again. 

"Can I cum inside you?" he asked, and his words had you absolutely moaning at the prospect.

"Yes!"

Bradley somehow got his jeans and boxer briefs down with just his left hand as he kept you jerking off the bed with his right. 

As soon as you got a glimpse of his dick, he was lining it up to your opening. "You're huge," you whispered and then groaned as his dick replaced his fingers. He thrust into you slowly a few times, filling you up as he tossed his head back and growled your name. Then he put his gorgeous fingers gently on your clit and kissed your mouth hard. Your hips bucked again and again as he moved his lips to your neck.

"I'm in heaven," he murmured next to your ear.

And you were coming. Again.

When your vision fully returned, you watched Bradley as he kissed your breasts while slamming into you, and soon enough, he was cumming inside you.

He collapsed against your chest, just a sweaty mess. He had worked so hard. Just for you. 

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

"How did I do?" Bradley asked between breaths as his heart rate finally started to calm down. He rubbed his nose against your tits and lifted his head to look at your face. He was pretty sure you had two orgasms before he got off, but he wanted to confirm, because he did not last long once he was inside you.

You raised a thumbs up into the air. "Good job, Bradley. Great effort. You were right, I'm not the problem."

"No more fuckboys?" he asked, placing a kiss on your collarbone.

"No more fuckboys," you confirmed as you ran your fingers gently through his hair. "In fact... you think we could do that again? Maybe like a regular thing since I'll be in San Diego now?"

"Babe, I'm taking you on a date tomorrow night. Kinda tired of being your friend, honestly. Thinking I want to make this something more. Sound good?"

You bit your lip and smiled at him. "Yeah, sounds good. I don't really want to be your friend anymore either."

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Hope my anonymous friend enjoyed this one! Whew, this one really got away from me, clocking in at almost 5000 words! Thanks for reading!

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