#i didn't have a solid direction of where i wanted to take this but... if i can make hanahaki work with this premise.............

[witchywithwhiskey]

How about Bucky and “what are you going to do? punish me?”

Maybe we want something from our favorite super solider but can’t say the words and try to provoke him instead.

tempting fate in the park

pairing: father's business rival CEO!bucky barnes x female reader

warnings: 18+ content (minors dni!!!), smut, fingering (f receiving), handjob, come play, come marking, public play, little bit of exhibitionism, dirty talk, light degradation, praise kink, pet names (darling), unspecified age gap, fluffy ending

word count: 4,000ish

a/n: i realized far too late that i didn't incorporate your premise at all, so sorry about that!!! also for everyone else, this is the fic where i was looking for a trope like 'dad's best friend'. i ended up going with 'dad's business rival' as a trope because it gave me a fun dynamic to play with!! hope y'all enjoy!! ♡♡

It was a beautiful spring afternoon and you were taking a slow, meandering stroll through Central Park, a sly smile on your face as you delighted in the knowledge that you had a secret. Beneath your flirty little sundress—the one you’d worn because the day was bright and warm and gorgeous—you were as bare as the day you were born. 

The hem of your dress fluttered around your thighs, the cool breeze wafting through the park teasing you with the prospect of flashing some unsuspecting stranger with a salacious view of your most intimate place. Just the thought of that news getting back to your powerful CEO father had your smirk deepening. After all, it was fun to tempt fate.

But then, your afternoon took a fascinating turn when you spotted a familiar face walking down the same path as you, going in the opposite direction: Mr. James Buchanan Barnes—Bucky to his friends. 

But you weren’t his friend, you were the daughter of his business rival. And it was a bitter rivalry. 

You’d heard your father rage about Bucky on a number of occasions—cursing out the younger CEO for stealing some business or other from him. You were certain it didn’t help that Bucky was at least 10 years younger than your father, making his slights cut all the more.

Still, that didn’t stop your father from inviting Bucky to all his charity events and galas, always pretending to make nice with the younger CEO before whispering cutting remarks behind his back. It all seemed so ridiculous to you, but you didn’t mind the moments you were able to chat with Bucky.

He was handsome, after all—and single, if the rumors amongst New York City’s elite were to be believed. Plus, Bucky had an impish sort of charm that appealed to you, and you often wondered if perhaps he might be the man of your dreams, if only he wasn’t your father’s business rival.

But your father was nowhere near Central Park on that warm spring afternoon, and as you strolled casually down the path, your eyes watched Bucky closely as he walked in your direction. You didn’t think he’d noticed you yet, so you took the moment to appreciate the older man’s attractiveness.

His brown hair was swept back from his handsome face and styled in such a way that begged to have someone sink their fingers into his soft locks—and you wanted desperately to be that person. Trailing your gaze down his broad and tall body, you couldn’t help but think that Bucky looked distinguished, even with his slightly scruffy beard, and polished in a gray t-shirt, dark jacket and dark slacks. 

Your eyes were only just wandering back to Bucky’s face when they snagged on his bright blue gaze. A devilish smirk curled Bucky’s soft lips and you knew you’d been caught gawking at the older man. Heat flamed in your cheeks—and other parts of your body—as Bucky approached you. But you refused to be embarrassed, so you lifted your chin and fixed a playful smile on your face, waiting for Bucky to come to you. 

He stopped a polite distance away and greeted you with a nod of his head, his blue eyes sparkling and the edges of his mouth curved in a smirk. You did your best not to appear flustered as you exchanged pleasantries, noting how Bucky kept his eyes fixed respectfully on your face. That is, until he didn’t.

When the conversation lulled, Bucky’s gaze drifted down your body, taking in the way your dress hugged your curves, the neckline dipping low on your chest and the hem riding high on your thigh. The soft cotton fabric was molded to your body in a way that you knew would be obscene if the cut of the dress wasn’t so sweetly innocent. Your body warmed in response to Bucky’s attention and you swayed closer to the older man. 

“That’s a pretty dress ya got on, darling,” Bucky rumbled, his voice going deliciously low, luring you in closer so you could hear him. 

Your feet shuffled forward of their own accord and you watched intently while he finished his perusal of your body with a lingering look at your plush thighs. When Bucky’s gaze finally lifted back to yours, his blue eyes were sparkling in the bright spring sunshine, and he had a pleased smile on his handsome face.

“Why don’t you give me a twirl,” Bucky suggested, some of that impish charm in his tone. “Let me see how pretty it looks from every angle.”

You were about to do as Bucky said, but then you remembered what was beneath your dress—or, rather, what wasn’t beneath it. Heat rose to your cheeks and your gaze darted around, taking in the sheer amount of people who were in Central Park in the middle of a weekday afternoon. There were a lot of strangers who’d be treated to a view of your pussy if you twirled for Bucky.

It was one thing to go for a walk while not wearing any panties beneath your dress. That was tempting fate and hoping the springtime breeze didn’t make a spectacle of your nakedness. But it was another thing entirely to actually, purposefully, flash the busy city park just to give your father’s business rival what he wanted. 

Steeling yourself, you returned your gaze to Bucky. “I don’t think that’s the best idea, Mr. Barnes,” you murmured in what you hoped was a playful conspiratorial voice. You lifted the corners of your mouth in a smirk that hopefully looked more mysterious than nervous, and hid how much your heart was racing.

Bucky seemed intrigued by your refusal and he shifted forward, his eyes dragging slowly down your body as if he was looking for the reason you’d said no. When he couldn’t find anything amiss, he lifted his gaze back to yours.

“What’s the matter, darling,” he asked in a warmly teasing voice. “You worried it might get back to your father that you flashed a peek of your panties in the park?” There was a challenge in his gaze, one you were all too happy to meet, even as your body heated with desire.

“Why, of course not, Mr. Barnes,” you murmured breathily, playing up the innocence in your voice, trying to make yourself sound more sultry. Leaning in, you pressed a hand to his broad chest and pretended you were confiding in him, your head tilting back to hold his gaze. “I’m worried I’d flash much more than my panties if I twirled around in my dress.”

You felt Bucky’s stiffen beneath your fingertips and delighted in the way you felt him suck in a sharp breath, sizzles of desire zinging through your body and making you feel like you’d swallowed a whole bottle of champagne. Bucky’s eyes darkened as they roved over your face, like he was trying to discern whether you were telling the truth.

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, darling?” he rumbled, his voice low, sending a deliciously dangerous shiver down your spine.

It was difficult to keep the innocent look on your face, but you managed, even if the corners of your mouth fluttered with the smirk you wanted to set loose. Instead of answering Bucky’s question, you cocked your head to the side, pretending you didn’t understand what he was asking. 

“Are you telling me you’re not wearing panties?” he asked, barely leashed emotion in his voice. It was deep and dark and you thought it might be anger, especially when he continued on in a voice that was as rough as gravel. “In the middle of a busy park, where anyone could look up your skirt—or touch you?” 

A snort left you before you could hold it back. You couldn’t help it, Bucky’s words sounded like a chastisement, which was silly because you were a grown woman and you knew the risks of going out without panties on. So you gave him the bratty response you felt his words deserved. 

“What are you going to do? Punish me?” you snarked, giving him a sweetly patronizing smile.

But it seemed you judged Bucky wrong because he only pressed closer to you, looming above you, a wicked smirk spreading across his face. 

“Darling, I’m not your daddy, I’m not gonna punish you,” he rumbled, holding your gaze captive while his fingers brushed against your though, trailing up under your skirt ever so slightly. He watched your chest heave as your breath hitched in your throat and slipped his hand between your legs, teasing the inside of your thighs beneath your skirt. “But you might have to worry about a public indecency charge given what I’m gonna do with you.”

“What’re you gonna do with me, Mr. Barnes?” you asked, unable to catch your breath for all the warmth and riotous sensation flooding your body.

Bucky gripped your chin with his other hand, holding you still so all you could do was stare into his sparkling blue eyes. “I’m gonna do whatever I damn well please, darling,” he said in a low, firm voice. Then he ducked down and pressed a hot kiss to your lips that felt like you were sealing a deal with the devil.

Before you could even hope to catch your breath, Bucky had wrapped one arm around your waist and the other around your upper arm, walking you further into the park, keeping his pace quick. Your feet stumbled along with him, and you wondered dazedly what exactly he was going to do with you.

It wasn’t long before Bucky had led you into one of the more wooded areas of the park, finding a path that was deserted before he looked both ways and tugged you into the trees. He pulled you deep enough into the foliage that you were obscured from view of anyone on the path, then turned to you with a look of greedy hunger on his handsome face. 

Pressing you up against a tree, Bucky’s mouth descended on yours and he set about devouring you. 

His lips were soft, but unyielding, and possessive in the way they plundered your mouth, his hands just as demanding, tugging down the front of your dress beneath your tits so they were pushed up in an offering to your father’s business rival. Bucky accepted them eagerly, groping your soft flesh and plucking at your nipples until you gasped loudly into his mouth.

“Shh, darling,” Bucky muttered with a teasing smirk, “you’re gonna have to be quieter than that.” His free hand wrapped around your throat and pinned you to the tree, a wordless threat in the loose way he held you, but didn’t choke you. Yet.

It made a delicious heat flare through your body, and again, you rose to the challenge in his words. Lifting your chin, you looked Bucky dead in the eye and murmured, “Make me, Mr. Barnes.”  

Bucky’s eyes darkened and his fingers squeezed a little tighter around your throat, digging into the sides and making your heart race as you hiccuped a gasp of desire. 

“You’re such a filthy girl, darling,” Bucky rumbled, pressing a kiss to the apple of your cheek before dragging his mouth to your ear. “Makes me so fucking hard.” His hips bucked against yours and you felt the truth of his words.

Trailing your fingers down Bucky’s chest, you teased along the hem of his pants, wanting desperately to take him into your hand, but you paused. Catching Bucky’s eye, you let him see the wordless question in your eyes. It was only when he nodded that you eagerly unbuttoned and unzipped his fly, reaching inside and wrapping your hand around Bucky’s cock. 

“So big,” you whispered wondrously, stroking his thick cock in your hand. You flicked your wrist, squeezing the tip and watched as Bucky’s eyes fluttered shut, the older man letting out a restrained groan at the feeling of you jerking him off. “Now who needs to be quiet, Mr. Barnes,” you teased, smirking up at him.

That had Bucky’s eyes snapping open and in the next breath his hand slipped between your legs, trailing up your thighs until his fingers brushed against your bare pussy. You were practically dripping for him, and you were certain he could feel it from the way his blue eyes darkened, pupils blowing wide with desire as he cursed.

“Fuck, you really aren’t wearing panties,” he bit out on a low groan, a little bit of surprise in his tone. Still, he seemed pleased by the revelation. His fingers dipped into your slit, his eyes watching your lips part in a soft moan while he teased your hole until your knees trembled beneath you. His expression shifted to one of affection, even as he rumbled, “You’re trouble, darling, d’you know that?”

Heat and pleasure swirled through your body so furiously, you were afraid you might collapse to your knees, even with Bucky’s hand wrapped around your throat and his other teasing your soaking wet folds, but you managed to shrug nonchalantly. “I’m only trouble if I get caught,” you replied blithely, giving Bucky a mischievous smile. 

He chuckled, the sound low and raspy and devolving into a groan when you stroked his cock harder, your fist gripping him firmly. He gave you a heated look, then pushed two fingers into your tight hole and choked you at the same moment. It was a good thing he did, because his hand cut off the loud moan that would’ve spilled from your lips at the delicious intrusion of his fingers.

“Let’s make sure we don’t get caught then, darling,” he rumbled, fucking you with his fingers, his palm slapping quietly against your clit as he set a fast, hard rhythm. Pleasure spun through your mind, so sharp and delicious it made you struggle to keep up with the older man, your fist working his cock at the same furious pace he set. 

All the while, Bucky held your gaze captive with his own, his eyes every so often drifting down to watch the way your chest heaved with panting breaths, your tits bouncing out of the confines of your dress, or the way your lips were parted as you tried to get enough oxygen to your lungs through his squeezing hand. 

You, too, watched your father’s business rival come undone right before your eyes. His handsome face was flushed, his cheeks pink above his beard, his blue eyes darkening even further, and his soft mouth twisting in a snarl of pleasure. When his hips began thrusting into your hand, you suspected he was close, which he confirmed with his heated question.

“Where d’you want me to come?” Bucky ground out through clenched teeth, his hand loosening around your neck to let you speak. But he didn’t stop pounding into your cunt with his fingers and it was difficult to think. You were halfway lost to pleasure, which was your only excuse for the answer that slipped from your mouth.  

“Come on my pussy, sir—please,” you begged, your voice husky and as quiet as you could manage with the way a pleasured cry was building in your chest. Rucking up your dress with your free hand, you stared into Bucky’s eyes as you murmured, “Mark me with your come.”

Bucky choked off the moan that threatened to fall from his lips, shoving his fingers deep in your cunt and pressing against a spot that had you seeing stars. Pleasure coiled tight in your core, but when he ground his palm against your clit, you were lost to him. 

Your entire being shattered apart as you came on his hand, your mouth dropping open and your body shaking from overwhelming sensation. Thankfully, Bucky choked you hard enough to silence the scream of pleasure that wanted to break free, the restriction of air making you feel the pleasure of your release more acutely.

It was only when darkness began to creep into the edges of your vision and the waves of your orgasm began to abate, that Bucky loosened his hold on you. His hand fell away from your throat entirely and he kissed you fiercely, his lips praising you wordlessly.

You were so distracted by his mouth that it took you a moment to realize his hand had dropped from your throat to wrap around yours. He was guided your fingers up and down his cock, helping you stroke him fast and firm.

Ending the kiss with a low gasp, Bucky pressed his forehead to yours and looked down between your bodies to where he was using your hand to jerk his cock, like your fist was his own personal fleshlight. The sight was so erotic, your pussy fluttered around Bucky’s fingers, which were still inside you. 

“Ya want me to come on your pussy, darling?” Bucky huffed, his chest heaving with heavy breaths even as he managed a teasing tone. “Want your daddy’s biggest business rival to mark your cunt with my seed, huh?”

“Yes, sir, please,” you begged in a breathy voice, wanting nothing more in that moment. You didn’t know where the desire came from, but you didn’t question it—only gave into it.

“Gonna make a mess of you, darling,” Bucky rumbled in warning, though his words only succeeded in turning you on again. Your pussy clenched around him again, making him huff a laugh even as he went on. “You’re gonna be dripping with my come for the rest of the afternoon.”

God help you, but you wanted it. You wanted to feel his come splash against your soft skin, you wanted the dirty, delicious knowledge that you were covered in his come beneath your dress while no one was the wiser. You wanted it so badly that you begged again, “Please, Mr. Barnes, please come on my pussy—I want it.” 

Bucky closed his eyes like he was in pain, like your words were his undoing, and then he captured your lips, using your mouth to muffle his sounds of pleasure as he came. You felt the warm ropes of Bucky’s come spray against your mound and lower belly, rolling down your body. You kissed Bucky back fiercely, swallowing down every grunt and groan he uttered while he unleashed himself. 

When he finally finished, he pulled away and you both looked down your body, watching where Bucky’s come caught in his hand cupping your pussy. He used his palm to rub his seed into your skin, making your cunt even messier than before. Both of you moaned at the sight, your body clenching tight a the debauchery of the moment.

“Fuck, darling, I can feel the way your pussy’s squeezing me,” Bucky muttered, looking up and catching your eye, giving you a charmingly devilish grin. “Makes me think you want me to dump my next load deep in your cunt.”

Your head fell back against the tree behind you and you let out a low, filthy moan of delight, making Bucky’s eyes darken again. But before either of you could say anything more—before you could beg your father’s business rival to come deep in your pussy—the sounds of people walking by on the park trail not too far from where you stood broke through your private moment. 

Realizing the precariousness of your situation, Bucky quickly, but gently, eased his hand from your pussy and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping his fingers clean. You were too dazed from pleasure to move yet, but when he swiped it against your belly, cleaning his seed off your skin, you whimpered in disappointment. 

“Shh, darling, I just wanna get us out of the park without getting that public indecency charge,” Bucky murmured comfortingly, pressing a kiss to your temple that made you smile and stop your protests.

He pocketed the dirtied handkerchief and tucked his cock back into his pants, then helped you fix your dress. Easing you away from the tree, Bucky shed his jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders to hide the scratches and indents from the bark.

You leaned heavily into Bucky’s side as he walked you back through the park toward the entrance near which you’d first spotted him. It was only when Bucky guided you to the passenger door of a nice looking car that you found your voice again. 

“Where are we going, Mr. Barnes?” you asked, a little teasing tone in your voice. When you looked up into Bucky’s handsome face, you wore an impish smirk, hoping he wasn’t done with you yet.

Bucky pushed you gently back against the side of his car, his hands on your hips beneath his jacket and his body looming over yours. A shiver of delight raced down your spine and you reached up, carding your fingers through his soft brown hair like you’d wanted to when you first saw him. Bucky turned his head and kissed the inside of your wrist before pinning you with his intense gaze.

“I’m taking you back to my place, darling,” Bucky murmured softly, a smile on his lips that turned amused. “Did you think a little fooling around in the park was all I wanted?”

You squirmed in his arms, feeling young and insecure all of a sudden under the weight of the older man’s fierce stare. Dropping your gaze to his beard, you avoided his eye as you spoke. 

“I don’t know what you want, Mr. Barnes,” you confessed, realizing only after the words fell from your lips that you meant more than just what Bucky planned to do with you that day. Feelings rushed through your body, your heart pounding in your chest and you felt shy in front of Bucky for the first time. 

But he seemed to know exactly how to handle your sudden change of mood. Curling a finger under your chin, he tilted your face up to look at him. His blue eyes were sparkling with a warm affection that made you settle a little. 

“I want everything you’re willing to give me,” he rumbled in a gentle voice before ducking down and pressing a sweet kiss to your lips. When he broke the kiss, he didn’t pull back far, keeping his face close to yours. “And please, call me Jamie,” he murmured, a tenor of vulnerability in his tone that surprised you.

You smiled against his mouth, finding it easier to tease him again. “I thought all your friends called you Bucky,” you whispered, your body lighting up at his continued closeness. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pressed your chest to his, enjoying the way your nipples dragged against his t-shirt.

Bucky chuckled and you could feel the sound reverberate in your chest, sending heat curling through your body. “Darling,” he said, his tone affectionately teasing. “You’re much more than a friend, wouldn’t you say?” 

At that, you managed a cheeky smile, leaning back to let him see your happy expression. “Yeah, I would,” you said, leaning in to kiss him again. That time, it was your turn to devour his mouth, enjoying the taste and feel of him as you made out against his car. 

When you finally pulled away, it was with a sigh of, “Jamie.” 

With a pleased smile on his face, Bucky helped you into his car, his hand immediately settling possessively on your thigh once he’d sat in the driver’s seat. You relaxed into the soft leather seat, unable to think of anything else except how content you were with the turn your spring afternoon had taken. 

Perhaps you’d been tempting fate by walking around the park without anything on under your dress. But it seemed fate had led you straight into the arms of Bucky, so you couldn’t feel even a little bit remorseful for your reckless behavior.

Especially not when Bucky squeezed your thigh and flashed you a charming smile that had you thinking your father’s business rival might just turn out to be the man of your dreams after all.

#witchywithwhiskey's springtime fun #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #sebastian stan #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan characters #witchywithwhiskeywork #sgtnightwolfinthetardis

[fearandhatred]

Bestie first of all good luck with your group project!!!!! Secondly im very curious about the unnamed bible fic👀 what is it about?

hello bestie thank you <3 the presentation is in 2 hours and i'm stressed the hell out so i'm answering this first to take my mind off it lol. also sorry in advance this will be quite long because i do love the concept of this fic

ask game

ok firstly idk why i said unnamed bible fic it DOES have a name i just forgot. it's called "that's the pain", taken from and inspired by the song the origin of love from hedwig and the angry inch (my favourite musical)! it's a retelling of plato's (soulmate) myth of how people used to have two faces, four arms, four legs etc. but because we were proud and disobedient, zeus split us in two and so now we spend our lives trying to find our other half.

so this fic was intended to be something like that but about angels instead: angels used to have multiple heads and limbs but because some of them decided to rebel, god split them apart as punishment and cast half of them down to be demons, then wiped all memory of how they used to be. the premise is that crowley and aziraphale used to be one being that was split apart, and when they're both in the garden of eden they feel this inexplicable pull towards each other which leads to them meeting on the wall. both of them attribute this feeling to them being on opposite sides and thus not being allowed to be near each other, and aziraphale takes it as a sign that they should not be talking which is like one of the conflict points of this fic. and thus begins the next 6000 years lol.

and i called it a bible fic because i was gonna write it bible style HAHA. i kind of ditched this whole fic because i wasn't sure how sustainable that was going to be and so i didn't know if i would have to change to prose at some point.

anyway i did share some snippets last time but i'll just put them here again. this is from near the beginning of the first book of said fic bible, called apochorismós, which roughly translates to separation in greek.

Apochorismós 1:7-16

⁷But on an indiscriminate day, the day to eclipse all days, an angel spoke out against the Lord, for he had pondered his position in heaven and deemed the rule of God to be insufficient. ⁸And he, Lucifer, angel of the highest order, with his two pairs of wings and eyes and arms and legs, said unto the other angels: "The Lord claims that He extends his grace to all beings, for He is mighty, and the one true God to rule over all others. But who has determined it to be so? ⁹He has endowed us with knowledge, and knowledge seeks change, and unto us what follows shall be the natural order of things. And so I will ascend to the throne, above God and the stars, and all of creation shall play by my hand." ¹⁰And God heard of the words of the angel Lucifer, and burned with righteous fury. ¹¹"I am displeased," God said unto all the angels, "for you have sinned. A sin come upon one who remains unquestioned is a sin upon all, and for this sin you shall be ripped apart, for cursed now is the sacred ground on which you walk. ¹²"This is your punishment: through strength and defiance you have separated yourselves, and only through strength and defiance shall you return." ¹³And from a mighty hand shot bolts of lightning that cut right through the angels and split them in parts. And all orders of angels split apart, until they had one pair of eyes, and one pair of arms and legs and wings. ¹⁴And the Lord cast out the angels who were with Lucifer to roam the salty ground of the earth. These were the fallen. And He made it so that the angels and demons alike did not remember they had once been joined together, in body and in spirit. ¹⁵Such was the natural order of things. ¹⁶Then came the first war.

Apochorismós 2:19-20

¹⁹The serpent felt injustice at his words, but did not speak against them. "Perhaps it was the plan to have you give away your sword," he said, in sarcasm. "And when His plan has finally been fulfilled, may that fill the unsettling emptiness and misery within my belly." ²⁰''You feel that as well, then?" The angel asked, surprised, as he had felt the same for all the days of heaven and also as guardian of the gate. "It is worse with you near."

ok that's all. sorry for the rant i went insane but also now i'm thinking about how i could incorporate hanahaki into this

#fearandhatred #fearandasks #fearandfics #thank u for the ask <333 #this is pretty much almost all i've written for this fic lol #i didn't have a solid direction of where i wanted to take this but... if i can make hanahaki work with this premise............. #the gears are turning #good omens #ineffable husbands #aziracrow #crowley #aziraphale #good omens fanfiction #good omens fanfic #good omens fic #writing

[snapscube]

so i don't know if this is a post i'm gonna keep up cause, like i said, i don't really like talking candidly about aspects of my personal identity often these days, and lord knows i especially hate talking about legal identity and all the dissonance that entails. but this week was a pretty big one for me and i can't shake the desire to share my enthusiasm for even just a fleeting moment.

my name has been a sticking point in my mind for a long time. i've adopted many different ones. first, middle, last, you name it. i've been searching most of my life for a moniker that represented my true self socially, and a surname to distance myself from someone in my life who hurt me very badly and never really learned how to stop.

obviously for a long time now I've been Penny Parker to 98% of people who know me, and for the past couple that number has been bumped up to a solid 99% with a few stragglers. it's a name that is so mundane and assumed at this point that tbh I've even come to resent certain aspects of it. which to me is actually beautiful. i find that mundanity, that nuance, extremely telling of how it encapsulates my life. it's a fully three-dimensional reflection, smudges and sparkles and everything in between.

of course, i only just moved out on my own 3 years ago. and unfortunately that had to be the starting point to make this social and personal progress i've been sitting on for half a decade at least now official, tangible, legal. i've been playing a game of catch-up i didn't sign up for, but it's one that does have a silver lining in that i feel more in resonance with who i am and who i want to be than i ever did before being granted this independence.

and as of this week, i have the pleasure of entering an era of my life where the dissonance between who i am in speech and who i am in contract is nonexistent. my name is Penny Olivia Parker. i'm the same as i've always been, but getting better every day at it. soon i'll even have a license to match!

sometimes more of an Olivia Parker in brief moments nowadays tbh but i haven't worked out the details yet. nothin you need to stress over, ill take care of it. the full set is just fine and legally recognized, which is all i've wanted for as long as i can remember.

this isn't the end of my journey, both excitingly and unfortunately haha, but this is yet another huge milestone for me and in certain respects it's one of the biggest i've managed. i'm so happy to still be here. if you're reading this, thank you for being here too.

also those of you who watched my direct reactions the other day might have a little more insight as to why i was so emotional that the day after a judge signed my legal name change a new game by the Sonic Mania devs was announced called "Penny's Big Breakaway" LOL, it was a lot to handle for me but i wasn't sure how much i wanted to say just yet.

[chuwenjie]

Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse comes out later today so I wanted to write a post reflecting on my journey and experience working on this movie. So many people have supported me through this and I am so thankful to each and every one of you!

Text version of this post under the cut:

Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse comes out tonight. It feels really weird to be typing that out right now. I worked on the movie as a visdev artist for the last 2.5 years, from 2020 to 2023. Long post incoming.

There are a lot of reasons why I'd consider this film to be one of the most ambitious animated films to ever be made. As artists, we were asked to push ourselves far beyond our comfort zones and do things that had never been done before in animation.

Every time we reached a point where most people would say "this must possibly be as creative and weird as it gets," our entire team of artists and animators would smash right through the ceiling. The driving direction for the visuals of the film was to push the limits of every single frame; to challenge audience expectations and make something truly original.

The best thing about this film was that there wasn't a single boring day working on this movie. The hardest thing about this film was also that there wasn't a single boring day working on this movie.

There were times while working on this where the imposter syndrome hit me hard. This was my first big movie, and what a hell of a first movie to get thrust into.

I came in only a few years out of school with absolutely no idea what the hell I was doing. I constantly feared that someone had made a mistake in bringing me onto this film, and I was going to let everyone down. There was a solid chunk of those 2.5 years where I wasn't sure if animation was the right path for me.

If there's anything I could tell my past self it would be this: there are so many people who love you and believe in you. There will be a time when you get to stand on the other side of it, look back on everything and see how far you came.

I'm still working on self-acceptance every day (it will be a lifelong struggle, I'm sure), but I'm glad I didn't give up on myself. I'm proud of myself and my contributions to this film, and I'm certain that this movie will continue to change and shape the animation landscape just as the first one did. That's truly a special feeling to have been a part of. I am so incredibly grateful to every single person who helped me along this journey.

Here come the thanks:

To the ENTIRE visdev & art crew- it's been an honor getting to work alongside each and every one of you. My jaw is literally still on the floor from seeing your incredible talent day after day.

I want to thank Tiffany and Felicia especially for being there for me through tough times- I admire and respect you both so much as artists, and even better than that, my life is greatly enriched for being able to call you my friends.

Thank you Patrick and Dean for taking chances on me, teaching me so much about art and what I'm capable of, and encouraging me along the way. To Aymeric, your art is one of the reasons I initially became interested in animation and you have been one of the kindest & most empathetic mentors I could ever have asked for.

I want to thank my wonderful parents for believing in me always and raising me into the person I am today: everything I do in life is to make you proud. To my brother Andrew who is perpetually awake at 3 AM when I need someone to talk to- thank you for always picking up the phone and making me laugh.

And finally to my partner Luke for making me grilled cheeses on all of the difficult days, for never getting sick of me even when all I would ever talk about was work, and for patiently and steadfastly loving me throughout this entire thing. I don't think I could've done it without you.

Starting tomorrow I will begin posting and sharing some of the art I made for this movie; I'm looking forward to sharing some of my personal favorites with you. I hope each and every one of you enjoys Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse when it hits theaters later today!

#visual development #visdev #spiderman: across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #gwen stacy

[rainyyynightssss]

Twisted Wonderland

Reacting to you having trouble with other students

Characters: Trey, Jade, Floyd, Rook

Notes: Some violence

Trey Clover

You sit next to Trey at a library table, shoulders brushing up against each other as you both look at the textbooks splayed across the surface. You had been having trouble some of your classwork and it seemed harder than usual since you come from a world without magic. Trey, noticing your struggles, offered to help you study which was a compromise since you first asked to copy his notes.

You've been trying to focus on the notes and tips he's giving you instead of the lingering touches as he directs your hand to the next page, or the small praises he gives you after getting a question right, or his soft breath on your cheek as he leans close to check your work. No, you've been diligently studying and not feeling any kind of heat in your face.

"And what about this one?" Trey asks as he taps his finger on the open page in the textbook. You look down at the words and think for a moment.

"Um..so sublimation is...turning solids into gas...without having to go through the liquid phase?" You half-guess. Trey smiles and hands you another chocolate covered candy that he had called 'motivation'.

"Right again. You're better at this than you think." He says as he flips the pages over to the next question. You sigh and rest your face on your hand.

"I really should be compensated for all this trouble." You mention.

"The trouble of doing your work?" Trey chuckles, "I can whip something up for you later. Your favorite, of course." He winks.

Just as you're about to launch into a discussion about your favorite dessert, something hard is knocked into the back of your head. You whip around and find a couple of Heartslabyul boys passing behind you. One of them is holding a heavy book and smirking while the other two try to hide their snickers behind their hands.

You have no idea what you could have done to these boys. Sometimes just breathing was enough to piss off students at Night Raven College.

"Whoops. Wasn't paying attention." One of the boys says flippantly as he shifts the book to his other arm, nearly smacking you again. You rub the back of your head, ready to tell them off when one of them eyes the bag of candies on the table.

"Oh, Trey! Can we have some? Please!" The boy begs and his friends follow suit. Trey stares at them with a blank look for a few moments before smiling.

"Sure. Here you go," He hands them a handful of the chocolate candies each, "They taste better if you eat them all at once."

The Heartslabyul boys run off after receiving the candy without a thank you or an apology. You narrow your eyes at Trey.

"Awfully kind of you to give candy to my assailants." You sigh dramatically but Trey shakes his head.

"Something tells me they won't be enjoying this treat." He smiles again.

Suddenly, across the room, you can hear a chorus of "ewwww"'s followed by some coughing and gagging. You gape and turn back towards Trey.

"What did you change the taste to?" You ask in interest but he merely winks at you.

"I have no clue. It's just supposed to be chocolate." He responds innocently. His smile turns into a frown as he gently rubs the back of your head where you were hit.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more. Though if it's any consolation, Riddle will probably deal with them after he finds out just how severe their lack of manners are." Trey offers.

You think his caresses on your head like you're something that needs care is consolation enough. But you don't say that, instead leaving your head on his shoulder and closing your eyes. Trey closes the textbooks and wraps an arm around your waist, done with studying for today but he didn't need an excuse to want to hang out with you.

Jade Leech

You finish taking a couple's order down on the notepad Azul provided to you and walk back towards the kitchen. You've been taking a couple shifts at the Mostro Lounge in order to pay off some of the damage Grim has caused by being...everywhere. Azul was benevolent enough to take you in and you just managed to slip through signing a contract with him, much to his chagrin.

Jade took on the responsibility of showing you the ropes, a little too eagerly which you found suspicious. He did tell you everything there is to know about serving and walked you through it. He didn't get irritated after you accidentally dropped a dish or forgot to add an appetizer a table ordered. Or at least you assumed he didn't since his smile never changed. Though you did notice that waiters who messed up one too many times were taken to the back by Jade. You hope that'll never happen to you.

You pass by Jade as he carries an abnormal amount of plates on his arms towards a table. He nods at you with his smile, not a hint of strain on his face.

"You have a new group at table 13. They can get a bit unruly so I'll-" Jade starts but you take the plates containing drinks off his hand.

"No, I got it! Thanks, Jade!" You tell him before dashing off to table 13. While you are definitely in this for the money, you also couldn't help but want to impress Jade and show him that his training was not in vain.

As you approach the table, you can already hear the group of boys chatting and laughing. You set the drinks down and give them a smile, readying your notepad.

"Are you guys ready to order or do you need more time?" You ask.

"What does it look like?" A blondie responds dryly. The rest of the boys stare at you like they're wondering if you passed elementary school.

"That you're...ready?" You guess awkwardly. The blondie rolls his eyes and the rest scoff, their assumptions about your schooling seemingly confirmed.

"Obviously we need more time." Another says and you nod, turning around to leave.

"I'll be back soon then-"

"Where are you going? We're ready to order." You turn back around to find the blondie smirking. Your hands tighten on your notepad and you fight to keep your smile. How did Jade do this all the time?

"What can I get for you?" You keep your eyes focused on the notepad, hoping that will lower your irritation.

"Can I get...uh..." You listen to one of them mumbling before a loud yelp is heard. You look over to see Jade gripping the wrist of the blondie who is frozen in fear and wincing. His grip is so tight that the boy's hand is turning white. You also find that the hand being gripped is dangerously close to touching your bottom.

"Harassing waiters in our lounge is strictly against our policy. I'll have to ask you to leave." Jade says, still smiling as ever. Though this time, you could see the strain in him, not from fatigue but something more lethal.

"I-I wasn't-" The boy tries to plead but Jade only tightens his grip.

"Wasn't trying to touch them? Well, security cameras will be the judge of that." Jade responds and the boy breathes a little easier.

"And so will I." Jade adds before snapping the wrist of the blondie, causing him to scream in pain. The boy flies out of the booth and stumbles towards the exit, crying as he holds his flailing wrist. Jade turns back towards the group.

He doesn't have to say a word since the other boys quickly sprint out of the lounge. You look between the exit and Jade in shock.

"Uh, well, thanks, I think. That might've been a bit excessive..." You trail off and Jade merely wipes a spot on your shoulder one of the fleeing boys must have brushed past.

"Are you alright? You can take a break in the back. Azul does time them though." He tells you and you shake your head with a smile.

"I'm alright. I only have half an hour left anyways. Hopefully those guys won't be back." You eye the exit but Jade takes your arm and leads you to you next table.

"They have an incentive not to. And if they do," He leans down close enough so that you could see the sharp edges of his teeth, "You'll tell me, won't you?"

Floyd Leech

You sit at your desk in Professor Trein's class, listening to him drone on as you take down notes. You always tried hard to pay focus in classes, which annoyed a certain eel sitting right behind you. He often pestered you in this class and you wondered why he didn't have anything better to do, like pay attention.

As Trein turns around to write something on the board, something soft and crinkly hits the back of your head. You look behind you to see Floyd grinning and pointing at the floor. You roll your eyes as you see a crumpled up paper on the ground. Curiosity got the best of you and you open up the paper.

Bored??? I am! Let's ditch!

You write a big, fat NO over his words on the paper and throw it back at him. Trein faces the class again to lecture and you can practically feel Floyd's dramatic sigh as he flops back in his chair.

"Can I see your notes?" Your seatmate asks you as he peers over at your notebook. You scoot your notes closer to you. Just last week, your seatmate had 'accidentally' tripped you while you were walking up to the board.

"Haven't you been taking your own?" You mutter.

"Yeah, but I wanna see yours." The boy starts tugging on your notebook and you try to pull it back.

"No, would you let go?" You hiss as you try to keep hold of your notes. The boy grabs your wrist to try and pull your hand off but he freezes as a looming shadow falls behind him.

"Wanna use my notes? I've got plenty." Floyd grins, all teeth.

The boy stammers, unable to say anything. Floyd grabs his hair and yanks his head back, staring straight down at him.

"Can't hear me? Should I talk louder?" Floyd asks with a giggle as he pulls on the boy's hair harder.

"Leech!" Trein reprimands. Floyd huffs and lets the boy's hair go, sending him reeling into his desk. You glance back at Floyd.

"You didn't actually take any notes, did you?" You ask.

"Sure I did." Floyd hands you his notebook. There's a couple of bullet points about a new takoyaki recipe he wants to try. He also added some doodles of an eel and a tiny shrimp.

Rook Hunt

You sigh as you write your woes down into a journal you started keeping a couple months ago. A group of Pomefiore boys have been bothering you for a while. They constantly put down your looks, calling it critique without giving any helpful tips nor was any of it even asked for. Even when you tried to avoid them on your way to see the vice housewarden, they still managed to corner you every now and then.

You finish writing and toss your notebook on your desk that sits right under your window. You think things may be better tomorrow as you rest your head on your pillow.

***

You head down the path towards the illustrious path that houses the Pomefiore students. Rook had messaged you in the morning, urging you to come by and see a "most beauté activity". You have no idea what this entails but it might be worth checking out.

You find Rook in a grass clearing just behind the dorms. He has his fingers in a square shape as he gazes at something in the distance. He sees you and gasps in surprise, grabbing both of your hands in his.

"Mon lumière! I'm overjoyed that you've accepted my invitation!" Rook spins you around.

"I can tell," You laugh a little, "What's this activity though?"

"I'm glad you asked! You see, I've been wanting to sharpen up my archery skills. The art of the bow and arrow is simply dur mais juste." Rook tells you.

"And you remember I mentioned wanting to watch?" You guess.

"Exactement! I already have the targets set up and all you have to do for now is watch." Rook takes you further down the clearing and your eyes widen in horror. The Pomefiore boys that have been bothering you were tied up to a row of trees, their mouths gagged and a juicy, red apple sits precariously on each of their heads.

"...What is this?" You ask hesitantly.

"Like I said, mon lumière, target practice! Now stand behind me and watch as I pull the drawstring..." Rook's eyes are hyper focused as he points an arrow at one of the boys whose screams are muffled behind the rope.

"Rook, there is something very wrong here!" You shout in concern. He releases the tension in the bow and points the arrow at the ground. He stares at you for a moment before lighting up again.

"You're right! You should be the one pulling the arrow. Such an eye for beauty you have." Rook sighs happily as he stands behind you and places the bow and arrow in your hands. They shake unsteadily as you hold them. There was no way you were going to be able to hit the apples.

"Rook, this isn't-" You gasp as he uses your hands to pull the drawstring and the arrow shoots forward. You squeeze your eyes shut and hear the sound of four consecutive hits.

You slowly open your eyes and see four arrows perfectly shot in the middle of each apple, no doubt due to magical intervention. The group of boys sob in fear, not realizing it wasn't their heads that got hit.

You take a deep breath and look behind you at Rook who seems as pleased as ever.

"Did you know those guys have been bothering me?" You ask with narrowed eyes.

"How would I know that?" Rook responds with a smile.

"So you just happened to pick them out?"

"I needed targets. Who better than those who can't appreciate true beauté?"

You'll be moving your journal to a more secure location.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twst reader #x reader #trey clover #trey clover x reader #jade leech #jade leech x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader #rook hunt #rook hunt x reader

[catcze]

wriothesley the typa guy to carry all of ur bags when ur shopping 😭

OH THE WAY HE WOULD ?!?!? Christ, and he would absolutely insist on it too, and he won't take no for an answer. The fucking menace.

Reblogs are greatly appreciated !!

"Hand 'em over."

You scowl. "Fuck off." The shopping bags rustle in your grip, the various things you've bought tinkling against each other as you shift it away from Wriothesley's reach. He frowns, holding one hand out. The other is occupied with other shopping bags already, and you don't want to give him any more to carry.

"Babe. Let me carry those already."

You stick your tongue out at him, middle finger raised. "No. I always tell you to let me carry some, but you never do! So I'm taking matters into my own hands." And you attempt to walk off back in the direction of your car from where you've been bickering with your boyfriend for a few solid minutes.

But you're surprised when something suddenly grabs the bags from your hands, snatching it from your grasp.

You gasp, glaring at the assailant to your side, who victoriously clutches the paper bags in his big, stupid hand.

"Wrio! Motherfu—"

But Wriothesley just grins as your scowl worsens and you stomp your foot. Like a pony throwing a fit, he can't help but think. It makes his grin widen.

"Didn't wanna have to resort to dirty tactics baby, but you forced my hand," he says, giving you a smug glance. With ease, he transfers all the bags to his other hand, freeing up his hand to hold yours. And the bastard doesn't even struggle.

"Now lets go home, yeah? You gotta show me the stuff you bought," the bastard grins, chuckling as you huff and stare forlornly at the bags he's stolen from you. To placate you, he gives you a little smooch on your cheek and pulls you back in the direction of the car.

You try to stay huffy (you really really do) but the little kiss has you melting into a puddle in his grip.

"Fine," you grumble, letting yourself be dragged along. Wriothesley smiles victoriously.

#astronetwrk #「 🐈‍⬛ 」 catcze.desserts #wriothesley x reader #genshin impact x reader #cw gn reader #wriothesley #genshin impact

[cdlum]

I just wanted to say I think your art style is awesome! I was wondering if you had any tutorials on how you draw anatomy in your style (hips and legs especially)? Sorry if there's already one posted and I just didn't see it 🥲. Happy New Year :>

thanks for the kind words. i tend to draw people pretty stylized and then some so a good bit of artistic licence gets used. these tips are just what i use so feel free to take them with a grain of salt. with anatomy in particular you can kind of talk in circles because human/animal bodies are that complex so ill just zone in on the points you specified. here's a little image with a bunch of pointers:

the above image condenses a lot of the points I'd make, but basically the key parts are to start with the bare essentials and build up that complexity. using a line of action is a good way to get a quick, rough start. you draw a line out in the general direction of the pose and do your best to adhere to it to give the pose a sense of flow.

you can also draw smaller, thumbnail versions that throw a lot of caution to the wind but capture the basic energy of what you're going for. even having a tiny little stick figure version of your idea can make for a good guideline of where to take it forward.

when it comes to actual limbs, you wanna consider how they integrate and work together, kind of like how chains do. you can see on some of the parts of pear i've drawn out these wireframes to kind of portray how the mass of her legs works in a three dimensional space. for aspects like the waist/hips, i use that X technique i highlight above a lot, particularly for the lower torso. a lot of the times, even when drawing a character totally naked, imagining them wearing things like skintight underwear can help a lot to guide you in the right direction.

its also a good idea to consider things like gravity and weight to a degree. humans are essentially big meat sacks and gravity is always pulling down on that, but theres all kinds of aspects that effect that, such as character build or clothing. pear technically isn't naked in this, but i've tried to imagine her as such and take that into account.

if you are drawing digitally, don't be afraid to take advantage of the convenience you get with that workflow. you can retry and iterate on things a lot faster that pen and paper, and do things that aren't really feasible at all when it comes to editing and modifying your existing work. things like resizing certain bodyparts, instantly flipping the canvas, or using selection tools to completely adjust the positions of parts of your drawing. to give you an example heres a timelapse with all the little edits i made just to this demo drawing:

you don't have to use these techniques linearly, either. sometimes ill have a really solid idea for a piece in my head, and go back to basics with certain elements if they’re not coming out right or i just want to brush them up a bit more. some of the tutorial-y parts i added in i didn't actually use during the drawing but often do use so they're there just for demonstration. not every drawing i do starts as building blocks or a really basic version, often ill just start with a face and build it out from there.

i always encourage liberally using references (this can include yourself) and trying out stuff like life drawing or looking at things like existing photographs of real people/places/things if you can, the more you use learning material the better you'll draw up a mental inventory in your head that you can rely on more and more. some of these tips are things i've learned from other artists over the years (the chin one especially i remember seeing a tutorial about lol), so this is a lot of knowledge i've amassed from other sources over time myself. there are plenty of times ill use all sorts of reference material and its all in service of arriving at the final destination as smoothly as possible. learn by doing, as they say. hope this helps!

#tutorial #2024

[goosita]

no no billy taking you out on his horse and showing you the reigns but it’s a bit hard to concentrate with him and his wandering hands pushed up behind you

oh my god you don't understand this is peak romantic fantasy for me on GOD

riding around out in the fields with billy because he has a day to himself, and he wants to spend it with you.

and we all know billy loves his horse, and he's so good at riding the animal and taming it. he asks if you wanna go out with him for a ride and you're reluctant at first. of course, this is the wild west. lots of people know how to ride horses, it's a huge mode of transportation. but...you had never spent that much time around them. you lived in town and didn't tend to stray from there, and your interactions with the animals were mostly limited to carriage rides where someone else was in control.

"c'mon angel, it'll be fun. promise," he says, giving you those imploring blue eyes all round and wide. you agreed, knowing that billy would never let anything happen to you. not that you were scared. just a little uneasy, is all.

but then the afternoon comes and he's got you sat comfortably right in front of him in the saddle. his chest is warm and solid against your back, your bum is settled nicely in the cradle of his hips and his thighs, keeping you right there against him. your hands rest on the saddle horn while his arms are resting around your waist, holding the reins.

lady, his horse, wanders around where he guides her. she's a pretty horse, white with speckles and she's very calm. you can tell that her and billy have a quiet kind of trust between them.

"see?" he grins, leaning his head down to peck your cheek. "not so bad, is it?"

and it's not. it's not bad at all, really. you can tell your thighs might be a little sore later from the unconscious way you're clenching them to feel balanced, but this is actually kinda nice. the sun is perched in the middle of the sky, warming the fields and your skin. bugs and wildlife are buzzing around you as you ride, and billy seems so relaxed and content behind you.

"you wanna take the reins for a bit?" he asks, patting your thigh and giving it an affectionate squeeze. he likes to do that, give you these little pets and caresses sometimes. just because he can.

"oh...um....i don't really know-"

"nonsense, it's easy. here." he cuts you off gently, placing the leather reins in your hands. he explains to you what actions the horse will take as cues, and you don't dare do anything but encourage the animal to keep on moseying forward like she had been. billy chuckles softly at your hesitance, but he doesn't make fun. he lets you do what you're comfortable with.

you try to focus on directing lady where you want her to go, but it starts to get harder when billy's hands slide up and down your outer thighs slowly. you know he's probably not trying to distract you or rile you up, but you can't help the way your body and mind react to his touch.

billy rests his chin on your shoulder and hums, some silly little folk tune he must have stuck in his head. you can feel the vibrations of his voice against your back and it makes your tummy flutter with butterflies. no matter how long you and billy have been together, even little things like this make your heart stutter like a lovesick teen with a crush.

"you're doin' great, honey," he murmurs, and you can feel his smile against your cheek where he still rests over your shoulder. it makes you feel better, the praise. you like it when he praises you, even for little things like this.

his hands begin to wander, though, and you're not sure you can stay focused on controlling lady. billy brings his hands up to your hips, his fingers dipping into the waistband of the pants he'd loaned you to ride in. it's not inherently sexual, the way he's touching you. a little intimate to be touched out in the open like this, a little against decorum, but you're alone out here anyway. he strokes your skin softly, adoringly, like he just wants to feel you under his fingertips. as much as you like it, it's too distracting.

"here," you blurt, handing him the reins back. "can't think straight with you around." it comes out more playful than scolding, though, and billy chuckles.

"alright. whatever you want, angel," he tells you, pressing another kiss to your cheek before taking over again.

let's talk about billy, baby!

#billy the kid #billy the kid x reader #tom blyth x reader #billy the kid x you #tom blyth #billy the kid fluff #william h bonney #tom blyth billy the kid

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Do you know why dogs do that little exhausted sigh when they lie down even when they haven't really done anything that particular day?

I, too, make exhausted little sighs when I flop down and am suddenly extremely comfy!

But, okay, here's what super interesting. I didn't want to just give you a flippant answer, so I started looking up if sighing is a behavior in other species than humans. Because it's always worth keeping an eye out for accidental anthropomorphism. Turns out? The science on sighing is fascinating. Stay tuned for intense nerding out, and maybe a bit more of an answer.

First off, we gotta know what a sigh is.

"The sigh is a deep augmented breath with distinct neurobiological, physiological, and psychological properties that distinguish it from a normal eupneic breath. Sighs are typically triggered by a normal eupneic breath and are followed by a respiratory pause, which is referred to as 'postsigh apnea.'"

In non-jargon, that definition means sighs are a deep breath with a different pattern to it than normal, easy, regular breathing. "Augmented breaths" are frequently used as a synonym for "sighs", and the best definition I found is that "they comprise prolonged inspiration and increased tidal volume followed by a respiratory pause and several seconds of faster breathing. So a longer than normal inhale where you take in more air than normal, then an exhale, and then pause before breathing in again. Oh hey, look, I found a graph!

The graph is super well labeled, but just to be clear: each cycle of the red line is a normal breath, where what's being tracked is the movement of the chest wall. The part where the vertical blue bar is, that's the cycle with a sigh. The red line spikes really high (during inspiration, or breathing in) at that blue patch, and for longer than the normal period of a breath. See how it's almost like two inhales on top of each other - a normal slope and then another upward spike? That's the "augmentation" of the normal breath, almost a double inhale without breathing out in-between. Then, after the red line drops (on the exhale) there's a flat bit. That's the respiratory pause, which the period after the sigh where you wait before you inhale again.

Apparently people have been tracking sighing scientific for like, over 100 years. The first record of it in academic literature was in 1919. And we know some really cool stuff. All humans sigh spontaneously. Even babies sigh! They do it every few minutes, whereas it's less frequent but still pretty regular in adults: one study found about once every five minutes, or twelve sighs an hour.

Okay, but why do we sigh? We only sort of know, because there's a bunch of different things that have to be studied to answer that question. The direct physiological aspect of it is the most well known at this point. You've got lots of little sacs lining your lungs, called alveoli, that facilitate gas transfer from the air you breathe into your blood. They make sure oxygen goes in and carbon dioxide gets breathed out. But sometimes they collapse and deflate, which prevents them from doing their job. When you do a big sigh, the air quantity in your lungs ends up being double that of normal, which inflates them again. So sighing is a way of doing lung maintenance, in a sense.

But there's so much more going on when you sigh than just that! This is the stuff researchers are still working on. They've got some pretty solid conclusions to start, but they're very emphatic that there's a ton more to learn.

Basically, the main hypothesis right now is that sighing functions as a "reset" for your internal state when it's out of balance. People sigh more when they're acutely anxious or stressed, are anticipating a negative outcome like a shock or seeing a negative image, or have chronic anxiety, PTSD, or panic disorders. Higher sigh frequency is also associated with pain: people with chronic low back pain sigh more, and how much they do correlates with how high their pain rating is at the time!

Another aspect of sighing is that it's frequently associated with periods of relief. Studies have noted that people sigh when they're able to relax following tension, like if they're interrupted while trying to do something really mentally taxing, when they finish a task that took a lot of attention for a long time, or if a negative stimulus stops/goes away. The reason behind that is actually thought to be why people sigh so much when they're upset or in pain: sighing doesn't just signal relief, but actually cause it! Some studies have found that people experience a temporary reduction in muscle tension right after a spontaneous sigh. (Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to also happen when you sigh on purpose.)

Sighing is also thought to facilitate behavioral and emotional transitions. The frequency at which someone sighs changes even just when they transition from sitting to lying down. People frequently sigh right before they fall asleep or start to wake up. One study found that people sigh more frequently when they go from a situation of being unable to anticipate what's next to a situation where they know what the outcome will be - regardless of if that outcome is going to be negative or positive! That led the researchers to hypothesize that sighing functions as an emotional reset from states of high internal arousal (a word which here means "the state of feeling awake, activated, and highly reactive to stimuli.") So sighing might not just bring relief when something really intense ends, but it might also help people prepare for upcoming stress.

Basically, researchers think that sighing may contribute to what they call "psychophysiological flexibility." That means that sighing helps keep someone in a physiological and emotional state that matches the situation they're in, and helps the body and mind adapt quickly when something changes. They noted that these types of transitions may involve "anticipatory, activation or recovery responses." In other words: they think spontaneous sighing is relevant not only when you're worried about encountering a leopard in the bush, but when you have to hide from the leopard you tripped over, and then also when you're calming down after the leopard got bored and left.

There's a whole bunch of research left to do about how exactly spontaneous sighs do what they do, but there's also a whole other aspect of the behavior that hasn't really been studied yet: their social function! In humans audible sighing is a salient social signal. (The researchers said the part of the paper addressing this that it is a "lay belief" that sighs have a "communicative function to convey emotions," which makes the whole thing feel like it was written by aliens observing humans from afar). But they did note that sighs for social communications may be totally different from other types of sighs, since the exhalation is often very exaggerated and doesn't always occur in tandem with that "augmented" inhale pattern that spontaneous sighs have.

Okay. So. I've been a nerd forever, but what about doggo sighs? Why do they occur? Obviously, the research doesn't give us a direct answer. The majority of the behavioral / situational research on sighing has been done on people, not animals. But it's pretty well documented lots of animals sigh (it might even be all mammals, I just don't have a citation for that). And some of the studies that have been done on animals indicated that they, too, sigh in relief when negative situations end or unpleasant stimuli go away.

Let's go back to my joke at the beginning of this book I've written. My first instinct was to be like "who doesn't sigh in relaxation when they finally get a chance to rest their bones?" That totally matches what's in the research: getting a chance to rest after activity is often both a behavioral transition and an emotional one, and if there's any physical discomfort being experienced, physical rest is often is a relief.

It seems fairly probable that dogs sigh when they lay down for at least one of those reasons. I can't prove that hypothesis, but it tracks with what the science says so far. The situation you described meets the main identified criteria for sighing: there's the physical transition of laying down, the behavioral/emotional transition of being ready for a period of low/no activity, and the possible relief of pain or discomfort that comes with laying down. We don't have any any evidence (that I was able to find) of species that sigh for other reasons, or sigh in situations that don't meet those criteria. We don't know for sure that this is accurate - this isn't fact, simply my educated guess. But since sighing seems to help muscles relax and relief discomfort, it seems reasonable to me that a good old sigh after the relief of laying down would make the transition to a resting state feel even better.

Sources:

Effects of the hippocampus on the motor expression of augmented breaths

Brainstem activity, apnea, and death during seizures induced by intrahippocampal kainic acid in anaesthetized rats

The Integrative Role of the Sigh in Psychology, Physiology, Pathology, and Neurobiology

Sigh rate during emotional transitions: More evidence for a sigh of relief

The psychophysiology of the sigh: I: The sigh from the physiological perspective

The psychophysiology of the sigh: II: The sigh from the psychological perspective

Affect Arousal

UCLA and Stanford researchers pinpoint origin of sighing reflex in the brain

#science! #dog behavior #sighing #sighs #I want to emphasize this is a hypothesis based on the existing body of research and that I am not an expert in this field #there are times where it is reasonable to look at the existing literature and create theories based on a synthesis of their findings #but this is not something to repeat as known fact #and that differentiation is extremely important in this sort of forum

[koiiiiijiii]

Could you do some windbreaker characters with a fem gyaru s/o? I would specifically like Vinny you can chose any other character if you want :)

author note : OMG!! I searched some photos in pinterest, like inspiration for gyaru, and wooow!! i will definitely take some details into my style bc its sooo beautiful… i genuinely thought (idk why honestly) that gyaru is more like pink barbie in 80-90s style but it looks so cool i can’t!! sorry for such long reply, and we r mutuals so i feel even more ashamed :(( i tried with more characters but give up and done just these two!! hope you will like it💋🎗️

warning : pure fluff, vinny being softie and shelly cutie as always

vinny - he definitely have 0 idea about all fashion trends, styles and different subcultures aside from street racing… so he genuinely don’t give a fuck about your style, he crushing into person, not a pieces of clothes you wear, but once your dialogue went in all different direction, you explain him what your style specifically is and what inspired you to join this subculture, he take note in his head that as soon as he will earn more money he will buy you as many new clothes and other items as you wish.

it was one of your first dates, you were sitting together in some random cafe that you found on the way from the second-hand store to which you dragged Vinny to find new elements for your outfits.

“so… was it really necessary to spend solid 2 hours in that shop to find just few pair of shorts, skirts and belts?…” he began hesitantly, doubting whether it was worth bringing up the subject. do girls get angry if you ask them why spend so much time in the shops? should he change the subject of conversation? or maybe you want to discuss this trip to the store? it seemed that now Vinny’s brains would just explode, before you he had not had to communicate so long and closely with girls. when you looked up at him, it seemed to him that his heart skipped a couple of beats - your eyes literally sparkled with joy and fun.

"of course it was!! if you want to find really unique things, then there is no place better than a second-hand store! of course, you need to try to find something really worthwhile, but when you find that very thing.." you clenched your fists and squeezed your eyes shut, smiling so sweetly and swaying back and forth with impatience

"...oh right, let's go at my place today!!! i'll show you why we spent so much time there, these shorts and skirts will just go perfectly..." Vinny continued to listen as you happily chirped about your ideas of what to wear new things with, and it seems you also mentioned new places where you wanted to take photos together with him, and much more. at that moment, Vinny didn’t cared about anything as much as your smile. you were so sincere with him, you smiled so brightly, just like a little star in his hands, and he suddenly remembered that pleasant, soft and warm sensation in his chest, just like in rare moments from childhood. your touch pulled him out of his own thoughts as you gently shook his hand, looking questioningly into his eyes.

"didn't you listen to what i was saying?" you squinted suspiciously. "wh... what?.. no, i heard everything.."

laughing in response, you pulled him towards the exit of the cafe, in direction to your house. at that moment, it seemed to Vinny that there were no problems around, and he was finally felt like ordinary schoolboy. yes, you were the one who helped him still stay sane. you were his own little star.

shelly - 100% fashion intusiast so she highlighted your style immediately, and liked it!! as i mentioned before, she definitely would post tiktoks/insta stories with you, admiring how cool and beautiful her girlfriend is.

“hey, let’s go shopping together after school? how about finding some new stuff?” shelly said excitedly, coming up from behind and hugging you. it was the last day before weekends starts, so after school you could relax and go shopping in search of new things, maybe you will be lucky enough today and you will find some cool archive things from 2000s.

"oh my god, look at this!!" Shelly squealed in delight as she ran up to you. in her hands was Vivienne Westwood's archive white handbag, with silver chains as handles and with a distinctive badge. it needed a little repair, but for the price that was offered for this handbag, it was worth it!!

"Shelly is so cute, how did you find it?!" you exclaimed joyfully, picking up the bag from her hands and examining it from all sides. today it was a really cool piece, and after picking up a pair of pumpons and key chains for a bag, you headed to Shelly's house, deciding to celebrate this purchase with a sleepover at her house, her grandfather wasn’t at home, and he anyway liked when you two hang out together.

"what do you think about ordering something to eat and putting on makeup together? we can shoot something in tiktok! oh! or let's film unpacking for this baby, what do you say?" you asked her excitedly, as you remembered that Shelly always wanted to try your makeup style and clothes you usually wear. and she was so pleased that you remembered such little things that she mentioned once quite a long time ago, and they were deposited in your head. hugging you tightly around the neck and whispering a quiet thank you, Shelly took you by the arm and headed for her home, excitedly offering you ideas for posing and which sound you should choose for your tiktoks.

#[ ~ koi.talks🗣] #windbreaker #x reader #windbreaker webtoon #windbreaker x reader #windbreaker headcanon #webtoon #headcanon #wind breaker x reader #wind breaker #vinny hong x reader #vinny hong windbreaker #windebreaker hong yoo bin #shelly x reader #shelly scott #shelly scott x reader #shelly scott wind breaker

[mrsparrasblog]

Seducing Price

Okay so this is like a excerpt from my very first ff Nigtmares become true solider, I think this fanfic is to big to post on Tumblr, but I still wanted to post at least one of my favorite scenes from it.

Pairing: John Price x Reader ( I perspective tho, Readers callsign is Sunshine)

TW: Oralsex, seduction, Cum play , body worship , John Price on his knees for you

I went to the training center; my training uniform was in the washer, and I just hoped I didn't have some rookies who barely finished their puberty in the hall since I put on just a green sports bra and yoga leggings that hugged every curve of my body—leaving absolutely no place for imagination.

To my surprise, John was in the gym lifting weights, only wearing a tight compression shirt and grey sweatpants—oh no. I smiled and greeted him.

"No one's here, lovely. You can greet me properly." He pressed me against his sweaty body, kissing me with pure passion.

"Training your arms today?"

"Full body," he smirked, flexing his arm muscles. I giggled at this act—behind all this Captain exterior, he was just a man.

"How much do you lift?"

"250 lbs. What are you training today, lovely?" I swallowed hard; that explains a lot.

"Just some flexibility and stretching."

"Like yoga?" his voice sounded hoarse.

"Yes."

"Explains the outfit."

"You don't like it?" I asked him teasingly.

"A bit distracting." I gave him another kiss and went to a corner where I started to go into the downward-facing dog, wiggling my ass in John's direction.

"Sun," he said, scolding me while pushing the weight to the side.

"What?"

"Stop being a tease."

"I'm not a tease."

"You are."

I rolled my eyes and went to another position, John's eyes still lingering on me. He pulled the heavy weights, groaning deep, his hoarse voice only sounding more extreme. Now he is being a tease. But two can play that game.

"Can you spot me, love? I want to try a bit more on the bench press."

"Of course." We danced around each other for hours in the gym, teasing each other, sharing hidden touches when someone was near. When a rookie came in and tried to flirt with me; the jealousy in John's eyes was immaculate.

"You behaved nice, John," I chuckled.

"Wanted to rip that muppet apart." I went over to John, pressing my hand against his chest while he sat down, my legs fiddling between his spread legs.

"A bit close, love."

"Do you mind?"

"A bit."

"John, can you help me with sparring?" I asked him nicely.

"Oh lovely, you don't know what you're asking."

We began to spar, and to my surprise, he didn't take it easy on me. He didn't underestimate me like Soap and Kyle do; he didn't make dumb mistakes, and so I landed on my ass every time.

"If you wanted to bruise my ass, you could have just asked."

"Fucking minx."

He pinned me down, his knee pressing into my thighs a bit too close to my sweet spot, earning a little moan. He let go of me, looking at me like I'm crazy, so I pinned him down and sat down on his lap, pressing my hips against his erection, while leaning down to kiss him. He grabbed my ass and deepened that kiss before pinning me down and standing up. He helped me up, and I thought he would initiate something, but he didn't.

After the spare, he went away quickly, leaving me alone and flustered in the training center. I was weighing my options. I could go into my room and take care of the problem for myself, or I could just take a cold relaxing shower.

I grabbed a bikini from my room, towels, and my favorite shower products and went to the community shower stalls, hoping I would still catch him there.

I went down and removed my clothes, the sound of water falling against the stall, made me hope John was there. I went with my bikini for the sake of catching anyone else than John there.

But there he stood completely naked under the shower; his brown hair was black and damp because of the water; he was muscular like I thought, but not lean like Kyle or Keegan; he had these thick, delicious muscles. His dog tags clung around his chest, and his chest was covered with hair, making him look more masculine than I could take.

My eyes wandered down. He had a prominent V line and a fucking happy trail that made me rethink my complete life choices. It was followed by soft black curls between his thighs. and the most beautiful dick I ever saw.

I always laughed at people who said they were beautiful, but wow, I just wanted to kneel in front of him and suck him dry. He was big, maybe not the longest I had, but definitely the thickest I ever had, with prominent veins and a red inviting tip. He wasn't circumstanced, which only added to his appeal. I planned to seduce him, not the other way around.

"Sun, what are you doing here? This is the man's shower room."

"Community shower, "I corrected him, sneaky.

"No, you have a room with a shower because you are the only woman on base."

"But it's bonding to share a shower with your comrades."

"If you take a shower with Soap-"

"I won't do it; I don't want them to be hurt."

"Sun-"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Fuck"

"Something wrong?"

"Anyone could walk in here."

"Is that a problem for you when someone else sees me like this? I'm pretty covered up."

"For how long?"

I slowly started to remove my bikini top, freeing my breasts from the tiny fabric, my nipples already hardening under the friction of the water. Then I removed my bikini thong, throwing it in John's direction, who caught it with ease and couldn't stop staring down at my naked body like a predator who saw his prey.

"Is that what you want?" he asked, his voice low and rough. "To be caught like this, your cunt wrapped around my cock?"

"No, sir, I only want to take a shower in peace," I said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Then stop teasing me," he growled, pulling me against him. His cock pressed against my stomach. "You've been teasing me the whole day, and now you're even walking in my shower."

"I'm not teasing you, sir."

"You fucking are," he snapped, losing his patience. He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back roughly, forcing me to look into his blue eyes. "I've been hard for you all day," he whispered fiercely. 

"You say it like it's a bad thing; it's natural, you know."

"It's not," he groaned. "It's fucking heaven." He pushed me against the shower wall, pinning me there with his body. His cock rubbed against me, leaving a wet trail of pre-cum on my skin. "You're making me lose my control, love."

"Why don't you give me what I want, John?"

His eyes flared hotter than a blowtorch at the thought of giving in to me. He knew exactly what I wanted. "Because for once I want to make it right, I do not want you to think I only want to fuck you."

"John please" He couldn't resist my pleas any longer. He lifted my leg and wrapped them around his waist, positioning himself at my entrance. He looked into my eyes, seeing the need and desire burning there. "You want this?" he asked, his voice rough with lust. 

"Yes, John, I want you."

"Fuck, lovely, you make me lose any self-control."

"John, I know you want more than just sex; you do not need to prove anything to me."

"You're wrong," he growled, his eyes burning with passion. "I don't need to prove anything to you. But goddammit, I want to show you how much I fucking adore you." He lets me go and get back on the ground, trying his hardest not to just take me right now. He started to shower normally again as if nothing had happened between us.

I slowly started to soap up my body, putting the soap over my hard nipples and releasing a soft moan as my shower gel fell to the ground by accident. Of course, I bent over. Picking it up revealing a perfect sight of my glistering cunt to him.

John couldn't help but stare at my ass as I bent over, his cock twitching with desire. He forced himself to turn around and grab a towel, drying off his body fast as he tried to regain some semblance of control. 

"Why are you already leaving, John?"

John turned around slowly, his eyes burning with raw passion. "Because I'm trying to be the man you deserve," he growled, "and that means controlling this damn cock of mine." He pulled me into his embrace, his erection pressing against my stomach.

"You are the man I deserve, John; you've always been the one I want."

"Say that again, lovely," he groaned, kissing me deeply. His hands roamed over my body, squeezing my ass and pulling me even closer. He broke the kiss and gazed into my eyes, his own filled with desire and love. 

I wrapped my arms around him and deepened the kiss.

"God, you taste so fucking good," he murmured against my lips before trailing kisses down my neck and collarbone. His hands slowly roamed over my boobs, caressing them and slowly planting kisses on them. He spent a bit too much time sucking on my nipples; this man surely had an oral fixation. 

I moaned softly as he stimulated my breasts. Johns's fingers traced delicate patterns on my stomach, making their way lower toward my soaked mound. His breath hitched as he finally found what he was looking for: my wet, swollen clit. "You're so fucking beautiful, the most beautiful woman on earth, do you know that?"

"Mhm, John, please."

"Your beautiful eyes, your smooth skin, and those gorgeous tits that fill my hands so perfectly," he whispered before teasing my clit with his thumb. "I want to devour you whole." 

"Stop it. You make me crazy, John," I whined. 

"I never stop complimenting you, especially when you're getting so flustered easily." He slowly starts to press one of his thick fingers into my puffy hole.  But I wanted him to feel good, so I removed John Fingers from my sweet spot and fell on my knees for him, wanting to suck him off. 

"What are you doing, lovely?" He lifted me from my knees. "You never been with a real men before? You always come first." With that, he pinned me against the shower and started to spread my lips again. "Didn't Keegan take care of your sweet cunt properly, always leaving you unsatisfied?" He circled his thumb on my clit while slowly pressing his thick fingers into my pleading hole again.

"John," I moaned his name; it felt so fucking good. His calloused fingers only added to the friction.

"That's it, lovely; scream my name." His voice was deep and husky as he began to pump his fingers in and out of my tight, wet hole. His thumb continued to rub my clit in circles, driving me wild with pleasure. "so fucking tight."

"John, please, I'm close." I felt embarrassed at how fast he got me to my height.

"Cum for Daddy, my beautiful Sun," he growled, kissing my neck. "Show me how much you love it." His fingers moved faster, pressing deeper as he teased my clit harder. "That's it, sweetheart. Let go". John held me tight, his hands pressing firmly against my hips as I rode out my orgasm.  When my body relaxed beneath him, he pulled his fingers out of my slick pussy and gently kissed my neck. "That's my good girl," He licked my juices from his finger, moaning in pleasure. 

"Can you give me a second one, lovely?"

I nodded slowly, completely drunk from my high.

"Good girl." He pushed my legs apart again and knelt in front of me. I never had a man who fucking kneeled in front of me; it had something alluring, especially when he was my fucking superior. He planted kisses on my thighs, leaving love bites on them marking his territory. John started to lick my sensitive lips, his tongue darting in and out of my hole, teasing my entrance. 

"God, you taste like scotch feels."

"What?"

"Addicting, burning, and fucking exquisite." He had his things with words, making me clench around him all the time when he said the sweetest praises as if I were a goddess to him.

His other hand went to my clit, rubbing it gently before starting to pinch it between his fingers.

I pulled on his wet hair, pressing his tongue only further into my throbbing hole, his beard giving me sensations I never felt in his life, always coming close to my clit making me flinch from passion and pain at the same time.

"You like that, huh?" He chuckled against my flesh, loving the way I moaned and bucked beneath him. "You want more, don't you?" He continued to lick and suck on my clit while pinching it gently with his fingers.

I whined and shook and was barely able to stand straight. He held me in place, supporting my body weight and making me feel safe as he ate me out like a starved man. He licked every drop of me, not letting one sip of my delicious nectar go to waste. His moans vibrated against my clit and I asked myself if he enjoyed it even more than I did. 

"That's it, my sweet girl," he murmured, his voice vibrating against my sensitive skin. "Cum for me again." His fingers slid deeper into my pussy, curling to find that perfect spot inside me.

"Oh my god, John." With a final flick of his tongue, I came hard, my juices running along his tongue, and he took them greedily, his tongue lapping up every last drop. He groaned as he felt my walls clenching around his fingers inside me. When I finally stopped shaking, he pulled away and grinned, "That was fucking fantastic; taste so divine almost made me cum from just your taste."

His beard was full of me, and his blue eyes still looked hungry at me. I wanted to return the favor so much; he just gave me the best orgasm of my life. I slowly moved my hand to his throbbing length. John let out a moan as he felt my hand on his length. "Oh, fuck, Sun," he still removed my Hand.

"Give me one more orgasm, and you can have my cock all you want, sweet girl," he said, looking at me with a serious expression. 

"But John," I whined. I wasn't sure if I could take another one.

"No, but John, you asked for this, remember?" His fingers found their way again to my overstimulated clit.

"John"

He continued to tease me, circling my clit with his fingers as he leaned down to capture one of my nipples in his mouth.

"Mhm, please, too much, John."

"You can barely take it, can you?" He chuckled around, biting down on my nipple. "Just one more push and I'll give you what you want." He moved his fingers a little faster, his thumb pressing harder against my clit.

I shook under him, completely senseless and overstimulated. "That's it, my beautiful girl," he whispered. "Let go and cum for me." His thumb flicked over my clit as his fingers pumped into me.

"Almost there, I'm so proud of you," he moaned, my inner walls clenching around his fingers. "So tight, so fucking good." He thrust his fingers in and out of me faster, his thumb circling in tight circles.

"I'm going to cum John." From my face fell happy tears. God, am I crying? 

His eyes softened as he looked at me. "Let go, love; I've got you." He pressed his thumb more firmly against my clit and started a firm rhythm with his fingers inside me pressing against my G-spot. "Cum for me, sweetheart. I want to feel you shake with pleasure."

I came screaming his name; the whole base probably heard this - my juices are spilling over his hand. His mouth left my nipple to capture the sweet sounds of my pleasure. "Fuck," he groaned, "you're so beautiful when you cum." He went down on his knees and started licking me clean.

"John, what are you doing?"

"I want to taste you," he murmured against my skin, his tongue swirling around my folds. He pushed two fingers back inside of me and started a slow rhythm as he licked and sucked on my abused clit. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

"I thought you said only three." I whined; I couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't he be more selfish?

"I lied," he said with a wicked grin. "But only because I want you to cum again." He continued to finger me while his mouth worked on my clit, determined to make me come once more. "I can't help myself; you taste fucking divine."

I was so overstimulated that I came in Seconds. He was pleased with my response, his arousal growing as he tasted my sweet nectar. "Fuck, Sun," he groaned against my skin. "You're so fucking responsive." He slowly pulled away, his fingers leaving me feeling empty.

"Let me take care of you now, John, please."

He helped me down on my knees. "Tell me if it gets too uncomfortable, okay?" 

"Please," I whispered as I wrapped my warm, soft lips around him, taking him deep into my mouth. I removed my lips from him and started to lick the precum away from his slit, tracing down his cockhead and kissing the veins on his cock. "The most beautiful dick I've ever seen."

John's breath caught in his throat at my words. He groaned lowly as I licked him clean and kissed his cock. "Fuck," he gasped, "you're going to drive me insane."

I just smiled and continued to worship his dick with small kisses. He reached down and gently guided my head, urging me to take more of him into my mouth. He couldn't believe the feelings coursing through him; the desire to feel my lips wrapped around his cock was almost overwhelming. "Goddamn," he whispered, "

I heard his plead and took him deeper almost completely, my nose tickling against his curls. John's hips began to thrust gently into my mouth, his hands tangling in my hair. "Fuck, love," he moaned, "you were made for this." He got closer and closer to the edge, his cock throbbing in my warm, wet mouth.

I bobbed my head up and down while playing with his full balls, squeezing them a bit. John groaned loudly, arching his back as he pushed deeper into my mouth. "Shit," he panted, "you're amazing." I fastened my pace, taking everything He gave me while gaging a bit because of His massive thickness.

He could feel me gagging on him, and it visibly only turned him on more. "Take it, love," he growled, "take every fucking inch." He thrust harder into my mouth, his pubic hair tickling against my face. He gripped my hair eagerly, not trying to hurt me but guiding me as he fucked my face. "Can I cum inside your throat, lovely?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Good girl," Price whispered before grabbing my face roughly. "Look at me when I cum." He groaned as I felt his cock pulsing, thick streams of cum shooting out into my throat. I looked at him with pure admiration and tried to swallow every sip of his cum as if it was the most delicious thing I had in my whole life. His cum was, in comparison, good, not salty; it tasted rich and bitter. 

His hips were bucking wildly. "Fuck, Sun," he moaned, "you're incredible."

After his orgasm, I removed my lips with a loud pop, and then I started to lick the remaining cum drops of his dick while moaning. John's eyes fluttered shut as he felt my tongue swipe over his cock, savoring every last drop of his cum. "God, Sun," he breathed out, "you did so good for me, beautiful girl." His eyes softened with pure admiration. 

He helped my wobbly legs up, drying and cleaning me up under the shower. It felt magical as he massaged the shampoo into my hair and washed my hair; it had such a romantic feeling that I felt truly worshiped. I put the body wash on his chest, playing with his hair, and looking at his scars, kissing them down. "Oh, love," he smiled, and I giggled, putting my head against his chest, and he wrapped me in a big bear hug. 

"John? I want more." He turned off the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around me. 

"More?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "You want me to fuck you?" His voice was low and husky, filled with desire.

"yes " 

John smiled slowly. "Oh, love, I want nothing more, but I want to make it right, okay? After our third date, okay? It will be perfect, I swear, and I will show you how a man makes love to the woman he truly desires" He kissed my forehead. He was one of the guys to say make love, and a giggle escaped my mouth. I kind of liked it.

"I didn't know you were such a romantic."

John chuckled softly. "You know me better than that. But when it comes to you, I want it to be right. Our third date, agreed?" He wrapped the towel around his waist, pulling me close.

"Can we at least cuddle?"

"Of course, your room or mine?"

"yours"

"Perfect love." He helped me put on my yoga pants on my wet skin.

"And how do we get out without someone noticing?"

"I think after you screamed like this, it's too late with the descrition."

"Shut up, John!" He kissed me, while caressing my face with his thumb. He was so different from his Captain exterior, almost vulnerable around me.

We left the shower, trying not to draw any attention, and we didn't. Well, until the tall frame of Simon appeared next to us, showing us a death glare through his mask, but not saying a word since John was his superior.

His room was a bit bigger than mine and a lot cleaner, almost sterile, between some pictures and books. It smelled like tobacco and vanilla, and I could get used to that scent. He lay down on the bed, and I removed his shirt.

"I thought only to cuddle."

"I just want to steal your shirt; it smells so good."

"But then I do not have a shirt," he chuckled.

"Well, who cares? It looks better on me anyway."

"I suppose it does." He handed me his shirt, watching as I put it on. The fabric clung to my curves; the shirt was a bit too big, fitting me like a dress.

"You are beautiful," he said.

"You spoil me rotten with your compliments."

John leaned in, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss. "I can't help it," he whispered against my skin. "You deserve to be spoiled." He trailed more kisses down my neck and collarbone before nipping at my earlobe playfully and hugging me tightly, almost manhandling me with his sheer size.

"My legs are sore because of you. If you make me run tomorrow in training, I'll die." Maybe this was my free-of-running card."

He pulled back slightly, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Oh really? Well, maybe I'll make sure to take it easy on you tomorrow." He grinned wickedly, knowing full well that he would likely push me to my limits.

"You never take it easy on anyone."

He laughed, leaning in to kiss my nose. "That's because I never want anyone slacking off. But I promise, I'll make sure you can keep up." He smirked.

"Mhm, maybe you give my thighs a massage; it would make me happy."

Price raised an eyebrow at my suggestion, amused. "You want me to massage your thighs? Consider it done." He sat up and reached for my legs, starting to knead the muscles gently. I rubbed his hair gently while he massaged my thighs, and after he placed his head on them, cuddling with the soft flesh, both of us fell asleep.

#cod #cod mw2 #cod mwii #cod x reader #captain john price #tf 141 x reader #tf 141 #call of duty #john price #smut #john price drabble #captain price #price cod #john price cod #price #price x reader #141 #cod fic #captain john price smut #captain johnathan price #john price x reader

[buckysmith]

MW2 characters reacting to you being hold hostage + how it happened

Includes: Ghost, König, Soap, Price, Gaz, Alejandro, Rudy, Gromsko, Laswell, Valeria and Graves

It was kinda hard to write the exact same topic for 11 people without repeating the same story and in the end I fucked it up but I hope you guys enjoy it anyways cause I wrote that shit for 7h+

I just hope it doesn’t flop again .-.

Word count around 10000.

Warning: hostage, mentions of dead, mentions of abuse (not heavily detailed but still a trigger)

Tell me if I have to add warnings

Ghost:

- He is an extremely cautious man, making sure no one knows where he lives to protect you.

- the only living people who know where he and you live are Price and Soap, since he knows they won't say anything even if they are being tortured

- Even your family doesn't know where you live, or rather they think they do, but they don't because the address is fake.

- but a small mistake can lead to a big problem, which in your case it did.

- Simon and you were walking together in the streets of London, but he could feel that something was off

- he didn't really want to go to London, but on your anniversary he wanted to do you a favor and go on a date like any other normal couple, spoiling you with things you like

- so you were on your way back to your car and like London is, it was crowded with a lot of people

- you could feel Simon getting more and more nervous because he sensed something was going to happen and then just a few feet away from you a car exploded causing the crowd you were in to panic

- Simon instinctively grabbed you and ran with you to your car, pushing the people running towards you away to make his way through the crowd

- but just before you could reach your car, he saw what was going on, that he was the target of the attack, because you were running straight ahead in a group of masked men.

- Simon who of course didn't have many weapons on him, only a Glock and a few knives knew that it looked bad for you to fight against heavily armed men

- he knew if he fought you would both die, so he didn't hesitate long and ran back into the crowd knowing there you would be at least a bit safer

- he pulled you by your wrist through the crowd, pushing the people who got in his way away to make room for you

- but after the masked men fired shots, the crowd just panicked even more

- he held your hand as tightly as he could, trying his best not to let go as the crowd tore you further and further apart

- the last thing he could see and hear of you before you were lost in the crowd were your frightened eyes and your voice calling out to him

- not even a second passed and he alerted Price who informed the team and laswell as well as the police and special forces in the area

- he immediately started looking for you, calling out you, trying to locate your cell phone, calling you, but you didn't answer

- all while forcing his way through the crowd in the direction he had lost you

- he tracked your cell phone signal, but only found your cell phone lying on the ground, smashed but still working

- he knew he couldn't panic now, but his blood was freezing, his heart started to stop in its rhythm

- he knew he could track you in another way, he had given you a necklace with a tracking device that even you didn't know about

- he followed the signal, running like a madman through the streets of London only to end up in an empty alley.

- the moment he picked up your necklace from the ground, saw the crimson liquid on it, was the moment his heart stopped

- it was the moment he realized that the target was not him, but you

- he stared at his necklace, time seemed to stop for him before he stood up and left the alley to make a single phone call

- days passed with no sign of you, Laswell and many other agents and elite soldiers in his debt searched for you

- he did not take any solid food during that time, he refused to eat and he drank almost nothing

- but his body did not weaken, only his spirit became more dangerous

- he blamed himself for your abduction, he cursed himself so much that he went with you to London

- days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, no sign of life from you made him slowly lose his will to live, his body became weaker and he destroyed himself more and more every day

- Soap and Price watched as their friend slowly fell apart, as he slowly became truly a ghost.

- at one point he was too weak to stand on his feet, but he resisted when anyone tried to help him

- be it to feed him or to help him to walk

- the moment he got a sign of life from you, or rather from the men who kidnapped you, Simon changed again

- the man who moments before had been too weak to keep himself on his feet became a more dangerous killing machine than he had ever been before

- whoever they were, they were about to pay a price

- and he wouldn't grant them the mercy of a fast death, he knew what he would do to them, the moment you're in his arms again.

- they would live for months, not that you could call that living, but well, they were still able to breath and feel everything. That's all I'll say about it.

Soap:

- Soap came back from his service a few days earlier than planned, so now you had a problem

- you were at a friend's in London, you were supposed to come back home two days later to pick him up

- but Soap assured you that it was no problem to spend the two days with your best friend, because you both saw each other quite rarely due to the distance or rather her and your job

- on the last day you both wanted to go shopping, some nice things to wear and maybe some other things you liked

- you then called soap, actually just to ask him if you should bring him this new video game he was talking about all the time

- but your conversation was quickly interrupted by two men with bomb vests and another man with assault rifles

- so the last shopping day turned into a hostage situation and you and your best friend were sitting together with many others in the middle of the building and in the middle was one of the assassins with the bomb

- it was just too stupid for the assassins that they didn't know who was among their hostages

- It didn't take Soap long to get from your home to London, not with his contacts.

- he also contacted his friends and teammates, Ghost, Price and gaz were also quickly in London.

- He had given you another cell phone in case of emergency, one which was not flashy but in such emergencies life saving

- but he didn't expect you to call him, and you more or less didn't really call him either

- he was the only number stored, so you just had to press a button dial his number.

- Soap didn't hesitate long and took his cell phone to the lead officer, because they had a view inside through the thermal imaging cameras, but no voice transmission and now they had thanks to you

- Soap knew how risky it was that you had called, but you had now helped the forces, especially with the identification that one of the bomb carriers was among the hostages.

- Soap could hear you and your girlfriend being yelled at, because you were whispering to your girlfriend beforehand so that the he and the other who were there to rescue you all knew where the other bomber was sitting.

- So while Soap was incredibly proud of your courage on the one hand, he was equally afraid for your life on the other

- he had been on so many missions like this, so many missions where he could have died, but none of them had ever made him feel this scared.

- it was only hours that you were trapped, but with every second That passed he knew that if something went wrong, he would lose you, killed him.

- the moment they stormed the building he had only one thought, he had to find you and get you safe and sound.

- it was only seconds in which he searched for you in the crowd, but for him those seconds felt like hours.

- For him, they were moments of uncertainty, because although they were sure that they could eliminate all the assassins with little trouble, they did not know if there were still hidden assassins among the hostages.

- The storming of the building was quick and the targets were also quickly taken out, but to soap's great fear, among the hostages there was actually someone with a bomb vest who remained unidentified, who blew himself up after his comrades were killed.

- the whole building shook, glass from windows and doors shot through the air like bullets that caused him to seek shelter for a few moments, in the seconds after that he disobeyed every order, he didn't care what would happen to his reputation or his job in the moments after the detonation

- it was all about you

- he called your name in panic, ran to the people killed by the explosion, or rather what was left of them.

- he knew where you and your best friend  had been sitting

- and that's where the bomber had exploded.

- in the first few seconds there was nothing in his head, he heard nothing, he smelled nothing, he felt nothing.

- there was just nothing

- he held his breath without realizing it, fell to his knees as his body collapsed as if it had been turned off.

- the moment he heard your voice, the moment he could sense quick footsteps and a movement, he directed his gaze in that direction

- the moment you wrapped your arms around his neck, threw yourself into his arms and kissed him. It was the moment when he understood that he was not dreaming, you were alive, you were in his arms

- it was only seconds when he thought you had died, but those seconds left deep scars in his soul.

- the day you almost died left for you only a scar on your cheek, but for him it left an order, a mission which he would not stop carrying out even after his death.

- he made sure that this would never happen again, that you were safe for the rest of your life.

- that was an oath he never broke.

Alejandro

- being in a relationship with Alejandro had its pitfalls

- but most of all it had many downsides

- he was rarely home, most of the time your relationship consisted of talking to each other on the phone over secure lines

- it wasn't like it was something new, because before you had a long distance relationship, but with your move to las Almas you thought you could see him more often since you were only a few miles apart now

- but no, he was too afraid to accidentally give away your location and put you in danger.

- his enemies were the cartel, the soldiers operating outside his unit and even his own people he didn't trust

- the only ones who knew of your location were Alejandro and Rudy.

- but seeing your husband in person only a few times a month, and then only for a few hours, caused strife between the two of you.

- you were as good as isolated from the whole outside world

- you had little contact with your family/friends

- Alejandro had moved the rest of his family elsewhere, but you didn't know where they lived and they didn't know where you lived.

- everything was a security measure, but after two years of almost complete isolation in a foreign country, you and Alejandro were always having fierce arguments

- most of the time it was over FaceTime, because as I said he didn't want anyone to know where you lived

- the phone call ended with you hanging up after he told you for the millionth time that he was doing it for your safety

- you knew that, you knew he was just worried but you were alone, you needed him with you!

- he usually didn't even stay over and slowly but surely you felt more like a prisoner than in a relationship

- you were homesick, you wanted to be with your family/friends and the comfort they gave you

- the feeling of security he couldn't give you anymore for a long time

- you loved him, but you couldn't go on like this and he couldn't give up the life he was leading

- it didn't take long for you to pack a suitcase to fly home to your parents/friends, you knew you were welcome at any time

- but on the way to the airport you came into a military checkpoint

- but it was not a normal check in which the military took unnecessary money out of your pocket for any violations, no,  they were looking for you

- they had got the order from the las Almas cartel, which you did not know of course

- because your last conversation was intercepted, they were able to find out your name from your voice and therefore knew who you were and above all they knew where you were.

- Alejandro found out only a few hours later, he had called you again and again, but since you had left your cell phone at home, he had no reason to worry.

- he thought that you were just mad and that you were going to give him the silent treatment, something you had never done before, but he had been in many relationships before where his partner reacted like that after a fight.

- however he wanted to discuss the problem in person, he knew you were hurt and he wanted to make it up to you somehow

- but when he got home there was no trace of you, your cell phone was there, but your car and suitcase were missing along with about four thousand dollars you had put aside in case of emergency

- he immediately informed Rudy and gave him your license plate number so that they could trace your location

- but there weren't exactly a lot of surveillance cameras in las Almas.

- but your license plate was caught by one of them and you seemed to be on your way to the airport, so he went on his way as well

- but your car suddenly disappeared and didn't show up again on the next camera like it had should

- he found your car but without you

- your car was in a ditch and it looked like you were deliberately pushed off the road

- he knew the moment he saw your car that you had fallen victim to the cartel

- the first few minutes after he found your car he called Rudy who called the rest of his team

- He knew he had to find you quickly

- He tried to contain his fear, but it didn't work.

- On the way back to the base his hands were shaking so badly that he could barely control his vehicle.

- he could feel his heart beating in his chest and hear the blood rushing in his ears

- when he arrived at the base all color was gone from his face

- he was so incredibly afraid for you, so much so that he had to throw up again and again

- while his body was rebelling against him, his emotions were boiling up, he was aggressive and tearful at the same time

- he tried everything to find out where you were

- after hours of searching, your captors came forward to present their trophy, you, to him.

- They knew how to use leverage to get what they wanted.

- but Alejandro still had a favor left with Laswell, so it didn't take long to get you to safety.

- but in the hours when your fate was uncertain, in the hours when he didn't know if he would ever see you alive again, a small part of him died

- he regretted every second of arguing with you, but not visiting often enough, because in the end it had caused to happen what he had tried to protect you from

- he was the reason for your abduction, for every hair that was cut in those hours

- he and his men stormed the building where you were being held and the moment he could wrap his arms around you, smell your scent and feel the warmth of your body was the moment he realized that moving away from you to protect you was not protecting you but separating you from each other

- that he was the reason

- from that day on, there was not another day that you could not see him

- he was always with you and from that moment on you were the safest you have ever been

- as safe as you have never been before

- the kidnapping was the best thing that could have happened to you and him

Rudy:

(Short info, I know the backstory would have fit well to Alejandro, but Rudy was the one who wasn't captured by Graves and his men and so I thought this could fit well to Rudy)

- you had heard that your husband was now working with people from the U.S. and the U.K. to fight the cartel and locate some  missiles

- you knew that this information was actually top secret and you weren't supposed to know anything about it, but your husband told you everything and you preferred him to talk about it than to keep it inside and  it being a burden to him

- you knew that the boys were coming back in the evening and it was important to you that they had enough to eat, of course you couldn't cook for over a hundred men by yourself but together with the help of Alejandro's partner, Rudy's mother and some other women and men you could cook enough food to feed them all

- so after you loaded all the food into the pickup you drove to the base

- What you didn't know was that the base had been taken over by the American, who imprisoned los vaqueros and plunged Las Almas into a bloodbath.

- Rudy had called so many times but the line was dead which you didn't notice because you only used your cell phone to listen to music and this was possible without line.

- since you all came outside of las Almas, you didn't notice anything   until you were stopped with the car at the entrance of the base, while your identity was checked by an American and after that you were not nicely brought  to Graves

- Graves of course immediately recognized the value you had as a hostage, after all he had the leader of the vaqueros and the partner of the second leader.

- He knew that if the worst came to the worst, you would be his life insurance.

- Rudy, meanwhile, was getting more and more panicky by the second, and instead of going straight to the safehouse, he drove to your house.

- he knew that if you were not at home, you had probably gone to the base

- he was not panic, no you could not describe his feelings like that

- he was incredibly calm on the way to the safehouse, he didn't know if Ghost and Soap were alive, he knew you were probably in Graves' captivity and he didn't know if Alejandro was alive.

- Every person he trusted was either gone or in captivity and he had to keep a clear head right now.

- but it just didn't work, he couldn't cry and  he didn't shake either.

- he was paralyzed and his head worked like in energy saving mode

- until the moment when Alejandro was with him again.

- that was the moment when he broke down, sobbed, poured out his heart to Alejandro and let him know how unbelievably scared he was for you

- that he would never forgive himself if something happened to you, that it was all his fault, and much more.

- from that point on he couldn't stop shaking, sobbing and hyperventilating

- he knew Graves would use you as leverage if a situation arose where he was in danger of losing his life, which only worried Rudy more

- He knew he would lay down his life for you if it came to that.

- yet when Graves tried to escape with you, you managed to get away from him and escape while the Ghost Team stormed the base

- you broke your arm and sustained wounds that would later become scars

- every single scar from that day reminds Rudy that he failed as your husband

- but it was the only time in your life with him that you were in danger, because after that he made sure that it would never happen again and you were safe

- he never forgot the feelings he had while you were in danger and that's why he taught you all kinds of defenses and how to handle a gun

Price :

- in a job like your husband's, there were unplanned incidents more often than you would have liked

- sometimes he didn't come home for months, sometimes he was only home for a few days before he was needed somewhere in the world so the world wouldn't end

- it was hard for your relationship and it ruined all plans for vacations or just to be together every time again and again

- and it was one of those days again, he had just come home from a mission, hadn't even had the chance to unpack his stuff and was needed again immediately

- it was useless to ask him to stay with you, so you let him go again after you had said your goodbyes

- he had promised you to take vacation, that this time nothing would come between your trip, the trip you had planned and looked forward to for so long

- this trip was supposed to replace your honeymoon because you couldn't take it after your wedding because of his job

- but the trip was booked, all paid for and you had taken the time off

- you had done your research and could only move the trip somewhere else and not cancel it without losing all your money or reschedule the time for the trip

- you knew he would not be back in time, so you told your best friend to pack her bags so that the two of you could go on vacation instead of you and Price

- together with your best friend you decided to change your trip to another country, both of you going to Cairo Egypt

- your best friend always had something to do with pyramids and the ancient egyptians and you also found them quite interesting

- but you were more interested in today's culture

- of course you told your husband beforehand to ask him for permission

- he agreed that you should go with your girlfriend, but he was worried about the choice of country you had made

- but you told him that Egypt is a relatively safe country and nothing would happen to you

- he had a bad feeling though and asked you to move the trip somewhere else, which you refused to do

- your best friend knew the country, culture and language better than anyone, you knew you were safe with her and that he was overreacting.

- however, this led to an argument, he insisted that you move the trip elsewhere and you vehemently refused

- he wanted to continue arguing with you but your argument was interrupted by Soap who told Price there was an emergency

- you could hear him sending Soap away again and this time telling you rather rudely not to make the trip

- that was the last thing you heard before the connection was lost and you were sure he had hung up on you

- you didn't know that the connection was lost do to the emergency which was an attack

- during the argument you thought about giving in, trusting his feeling but after he yelled at you you didn't want to give in out of pure pettiness and went on the trip with your best friend

- the first days were wonderful, the hotel you lived in was fortunately well air conditioned as you could hardly stand the stinging heat, the people were nice and the food was delicious

- Price didn't contact you during the days and while part of you was worried about your husband, you knew that if you didn't hear from Laswell he was in good health and just wouldn't talk to you, and you, definitely wouldn't give in and talk first!

- he knew you were fine, at least you thought he did, since you were in constant contact with Laswell and her wife.

- they were as much a part of Price and his family as you, Soap, Ghost, gaz and his pets. It was an all or nothing deal

- with Laswell's wife you were also in contact every day, sending her pictures from your vacation, what you were doing and the great food.

- but all good things come to an end, in your case it was "wrong time, wrong place".

- your best friend and you got lost

- How did you know? There were no other tourists around, not a single one.

- you knew instinctively that you had to find a way back very quickly, but it was already too late and you ran into a group of criminals

- you recognized the mark they wore on their bodies, t your husband had told you about the group but they were supposed to be in Russia, not here!

- he had already dealt with the people several times, each time it ended in a bloodbath on both sides

- so you grabbed your best friend by the arm, dragged her through the winding streets while dialing Price's number, which only went to voicemail, you called Laswell, but she didn't answer her cell phone either, so the last thing you wanted to do was call Laswell's wife, but it was too late and you were trapped

- the last thing you felt was a strong hit on your head before everything went black

- It was Laswell's wife who noticed your absence.

- You hadn't sent her any pictures or texts for four days, which was unusual for you.

- she asked Laswell if she knew anything about you, to which she only responded that you had called her four days ago but had not contacted her again

- Laswell didn't think anything of it, she thought that you had probably called her unintentionally, but with the information that you hadn't given any sign of life for four days was something that worried her.

- even more when Price also contacted her saying that he couldn't reach you in days after you called him.

- she tried to track your cell phone, but it was either off or the battery was dead

- the last trace showed that you hadn't moved from one spot in two days before your phone died

- she knew something was wrong, so she immediately alerted Price while sending one of her men stationed in Cairo to your last location

- When Price learned that you had not ignored him but had disappeared, he panicked.

- he knew the mission he was on was important and that his presence probably made the difference between defeat and victory, yet you were gone, in a foreign country after he asked you to go there

- he let another captain replace him, he knew his boys together with him would accomplish the mission and immediately set off to Cairo

- but he knew that he was not allowed to be there officially, so he entered as a normal human being

- he looked calm to everyone else, but if you were there you would immediately see how incredibly upset he was

- you were the only person who could see behind his facade

- he was unbelievably afraid for you, he couldn't drink, nor eat, everything he tried to get into him came up again faster than he had forced it down his throat

- he couldn't even enjoy his beloved cigars anymore, just the thought of smoking one made him throw up

- days went by, days he didn't sleep, days he didn't eat, days he drank almost nothing but scotch

- deep circles had formed under his eyes and the worry about you made him very angry

- after almost a week Ghost, Gaz and Soap also came to Cairo to support their captain who was more a ghost of his former self

- it took another two days but then they found you, it had been a total of two weeks since your abduction and you were starting to give up

- they didn't do anything to you after they found out who you were

- one of the men had recognized Price's face on your background and from there on it was easy for them

- they were also recently in contact with Price, negotiating the price for you and your best friend, but you didn't know that

- threatened to do something to you that would only make Price angrier.

- but Laswell was able to use it to get a location on you.

- it was a night in fog action in which they asked Price not to participate because those 10 days of living on nothing but alcohol and pure caffeine had weakened him considerably

- but he insisted.

- he had never been so nervous on a mission as he was on this one, he could hear his heart beating in his chest while his blood was literally boiling

- he didn't know if you were still alive, he didn't know what they had done to you, he knew nothing and couldn't control the situation, he couldn't prepare himself for what he might see.

- the operation was quick, the kidnappers didn't expect to be found out.

- 141 and several other soldiers searched the house and when Price found a locked door, after having shot a man with a gun only a few feet away, he opened it and through the sparse light recognized a person lying on the floor only a few feet away from him, he could also see that there was a pool of blood around them.

- his heart stopped at that moment, he didn't want to get closer to see who this person was, he didn't want to know if it was you... it just couldn't be you!

- he stepped like in slow motion towards the person lying on the floor, his whole body was shaking and he could feel the feeling of throwing up

- at the moment when he knelt down to turn the person and to catch a look into their face, he received an extremely strong hit on the head which made him see black for a fraction of a moment

- but his body reacted out of reflex, he turned and skillfully pressed the person who had attacked him to the ground and squeezed their throat.

- when he regained his sight he realized who he was choking and also the person who had attacked him realized who he was

- his eyes filled with tears while he let go of you and kissed you

-despite the sparse light he could see that you had been beaten, that you were hurt but you were alive

- a wave of relief came over him and you as you both began to sob

- he was relieved that you were alive and you were relieved to see him, that he had come and that this hell had now ended

- you were too weak to walk on your own when the relief came over your body, two weeks without food and only little water in an extreme heat had left its mark, not to mention the psychological stress and the wound on your shoulder

- your best friend had not survived, you both had been shot at, but only she had been killed while you were only wounded

- you pretended to be dead as well, and because of the panic they had, they didn't realize that you were still alive.

- you didn't know if the men would come back, but you knew you had to escape at the next opportunity

- not a day went by from then on that you didn't listen to him and for him not a day went by that he didn't regret yelling at you

- he thought he was to blame, while you also thought you were to blame for everything

- but basically it was just "in the wrong place, at the wrong time..."

Gaz:

(Im going to take gaz first appearance in MW2019 as my "guide")

-you and your boyfriend gaz live just outside London, you had moved in with him and left your old life behind you

- you had met Gaz by chance, or rather it was an accident

- you accidentally drove into his car when you were on vacation in London, you were wearing the worst outfit you could imagine and he, well he looked great.

- you were extremely uncomfortable and to this day he made a bit of fun of it, even though he was to blame for the accident

- you two got on well from day one though and friendship turned into love and now you were here in London

- gaz had been tense for a long time, but he was not allowed to tell you what was going on

- but you could imagine what it was and of course you tried to give your boyfriend some kind of comfort

- it was your day off, which calmed gaz down because he knew you wouldn't be near where his assignment was

- he couldn't tell you about it, so he kept quiet about it.

- but shortly after he left for work you got a call from your boss, she told you that one of your colleagues had dropped out and they needed you

- since you got along very well with your boss and the store became like a second family you of course agreed and left immediately

- you knew you would be there just before the shift started and since the shift would start at six pm anyway you thought you would write to your boyfriend just before you got there

- so you texted him at 5:50 pm (1750military time) that you would be home around 10 pm because you had to work spontaneously and would bring take away from your favorite restaurant

- gaz got the message while he was sitting in the car, he knew he wasn't supposed to look but usually you only wrote when something was going on or you wanted to know something

- when he read the message that you were at work, in the area where he now had a job, he completely freaked out, called you but you had your cell phone on silent and since the store was so busy you didn't even notice he was calling

- after that everything went wrong, there was so much shooting, people blew themselves up and so many injured and dead within a few minutes

- and this bloodbath led to the very store where you work.

- the feeling of throwing up was getting stronger by every minute and he started shaking without wanting to, he didn't know how you were and if you could get out in time

- when a man named Captain Price appeared, he followed him while he tried to calm down

- there were many people tied up between a man with a bomb vest which exploded only a few seconds after he and captain price arrived

- as gaz helped Price free the people he recognized one of your colleagues, he immediately asked her where you were, if you had escaped, but she tearfully told him that they had taken you.

- That was the moment when his heart stopped.

- you had been captured...

- at the moment when price and he and the hostages left the building, a live broadcast of the assassins was shown on the big advertising boards

- with you in their midst, wearing a bomb vest, at an unknown location.

- He immediately told Price that you were his partner, that he would do anything to free you and so much more.

- he could barely think straight, his heart ached while his stomach churned and he felt dizzy.

- it took them an hour to get your location

- an hour in which he threw up countless times and still tried to be strong for you

- he stormed the building with Price and his own team, killing anyone who got in his way while calling your name before finally finding you

- but the countdown ticked on and on

- when gaz finally got to you he tried to be as strong as he could but it tore his heart out to see your eyes filled with tears

- he knew how scared you were

- There were only a few minutes left before the vest would explode and Price told him to go, the experts said there was no chance and that the vest was too complicated to disarm in time.

- Price knew from the little time he knew gaz now that he would not leave you alone, wished him good luck and they both left the area as quickly as they could while

- it was only a minute before the vest would explode.

- he cursed himself for not being there while you tried to calm him down

- A second before the vest exploded, he grabbed all the wires in sight while pressing his lips onto yours, only to rip off all the wires in one go.

- and instead of you exploding nothing happened

- gaz had somehow managed to disarm the vest

- it was the moment when he started crying with relief, just like you did

- from that day on he made sure nothing like that would ever happen to you again

- he made enough after he joined 141 for you to stay home.

- but he supported you when you started an online business so he didn't have to be the bread winner

- but now you were safe, safe from all evil, safe from enemies, safe from anything that would harm you

Graves

- being in a relationship with graves was not always easy

- you two could not see each other often and for a long time, something that was difficult for both of you

- phillip, who was so much more gentle and loving in private than he was on the job, was incredibly homesick and lovesick for you

- it was just hard for him to be away from you for a long time, so he tried his best to somehow bridge the distances between you without putting you in danger

- he talked to you on the phone as often as he could, always had a picture of you with him in which your face was hidden but which he would often look at when he missed you too much

- it was a picture of the two of you lying in a hospital bed, your face buried against his neck while he had an arm around your torso

- his mother had taken the picture when she visited her son in the hospital after he was badly injured in battle

- during the weeks he was in the hospital you lived there as well and when he was finally able to go home you took care of him even though he assured you he was fine

- the picture showed him so much, it showed him that he had someone worth fighting for, worth coming home for, worth living for.

- he knew that with you he had found the partner for life and you both would go through thick and thin until the end

- the two of you were enjoying a bath together when the call from Shepard came forcing him to leave immediately

- your heart ached as your husband had just come home and already he had to leave again

- he didn't want to go either, but he knew he couldn't refuse an assignment and left after you said your goodbyes

- only a few days after your husband left you got a call from your best friend who lived in las Almas and was very pregnant

- since you had promised to be with her when she had her baby, you quickly packed the things that seemed important to you, the copy of the picture that Phillip was carrying with him

- las Almas was only a few hours away from the farm where you lived with Graves and more or less his family

- since your in-laws lived only three minutes away by car and it was on your way anyway, you personally told them that you were going to las Almas to assist your best friend in the birth of her first child

- on the way you wanted to tell phillip, but from then on something kept coming up and before you knew it you were already in las Almas

- your best friend her parents were actually from las Almas but moved to the USA before your best friend was born to give their daughter a better life there

- but apart from her parents all her relatives were in las Almas so after she met her boyfriend who was a policeman in las Almas she went back home without her parents

- her parents begged her not to go, but your best friend was much too stubborn to listen to them

- you were warmly welcomed by her new family and the birth went quite easily, both of you joking around while she almost broke your and her boyfriend's hand

- but the birth of the child went quite well and fast and you were able to go back to her house around late noon

- you helped your best friend with her baby while the others celebrated the birth of the child

- but in the evening the mood changed, it started storming

- the city became louder, at the beginning your friend joked that many babies must have been born today, but the sounds that had sounded positive before became screams and the sound of gunshots echoed from the houses

- not even half an hour passed, when armed and masked soldiers stormed the building in which you were located

- you reacted instinctively, grabbed the hand of your friend who had her baby in her arms and pulled her down from the sofa and towards the second exit

- you could hear screams behind you, then gunshots which silenced the screams

- but your friend collapsed after only a few houses, she was too weak to run as she got shot leaving the house

- she gave you her baby, told you to get her baby to safety before she sent you away

- the last thing you could hear was a gunshot and a dull sound, the sound of her body hitting the ground

- While you were on the run, Graves wondered why you didn't answer him.

- he called you several times, because normally you had texted him at least five times by now, but you didn't answer the phone

- you tried your best to get through the streets unnoticed, but the baby woke up after a shot was fired at close range

- you tried everything to silence the baby in your arms, but it was already too late and the masked men pulled you out of your hiding place, almost threw you to the ground and you barely managed to support the baby and yourself

- but you recognized the uniform of the men when you were forced next to the Mexican policemen

- they were your husband's men!

- you tried to explain to them who you were, that you wanted to talk to Phillip but one of the men just kicked you in the face

- everything went black and you lost consciousness for a few seconds

- when you woke up they had already killed the men next to you and you were also holding the gun to your head while you begged them to inform Phillip Graves, your husband

- you heard a gunshot, then another and a third and the sound of three bodies falling to the floor

- Your vision was blurry, but you recognized the man in front of you, it was Ghost. You had seen him before, years ago, when Graves talked to you on video.

- a few minutes later Graves was standing in front of his killed men, but something next to the killed policemen caught his eye

- he grabbed the something that was already full of blood and looked with pure panic at what he had just picked up

- it was the picture of him and you, but it couldn't be! The picture was still in his pocket so how...?

- pure panic flowed through his body as he reached for his phone and called you again, praying to God that you would answer the phone and he would hear your voice

- but you did not answer

- his heart stopped for a moment when he called his parents and they told him you were in las Almas, the town where he had made a bloodbath on Shephard's orders

- where his men killed everyone who got in their way.

- he then disobeyed the general's order, told his shadows not to kill anyone and to look for you before giving them a description of you

- but he didn't calm down, even though the danger of you being killed by a shadow was now zero, Ghost who knew what you looked like was running around, not to mention the men and women of the Cartel

- while they were looking everywhere for you, you went with the injured Soap, Ghost and the baby to the safehouse of a guy named Alejandro.

- Ghost and Soap told you that you were now a prisoner of theirs, since Graves had betrayed them, but you didn't care.

- You had barely survived and probably would have died without Ghost's help.

- but you also didn't want to accept what your husband had done, but you had seen it with your own eyes and couldn't deny it.

- The men who held you captive were nice considering who you were or rather who your husband was

- You begged the man named Captain Price not to kill your husband, that there had to be another way and you would do anything to keep them from harming him.

- Graves found out they had you just minutes after Price called Shepherd.

- that was the moment Graves broke completely, on the one hand he couldn't and shouldn't refuse the orders, on the other hand they had you in their grasp

- It killed him, drove him crazy knowing you were in danger.

- Price brought you into the field and Graves could see you through his scope, Price gave him an ultimatum, Graves would surrender voluntarily with his shadows and you would live if not, you would die.

- but when you collapsed next to Price after a bullet pierced you, Price fled and Graves reloaded.

- he knew there was no turning back as he looked at your body lying virtually lifeless on the sandy ground with blood pouring out of it

- you woke up later in a hospital, the bullet had hit you but not killed you, just knocked you out.

- you later learned that Graves had not surrendered, died in an explosion, and within twenty-four hours you had lost your husband and best friend

- the baby your friend had entrusted to you was taken to her still living grandparents and Phillip's parents visited you every day in the hospital

- you felt alone nonetheless, you had put your wedding ring on the side table and most of the time you were just lying around

- after one week in the hospital you discharged against the advice of your doctors

- the first night back in your home two arms wrapped around your body and the familiar smell of a certain person rose in your nose while you tried to enjoy your hot shower

- it was his raspy voice that sent a shiver down your spine

- he would make sure that no one would ever lay a hand on you again and he would stand up for his mistakes, at least to you.

- it was on you to choose between stay or go

Valeria

- being in a relationship with Valeria was everything but easy

- she gave you everything you wanted, but there was one thing she couldn't give you and that was your freedom

- she kept you behind closed bars and you lived in a golden cage, but living isolated and not being able to leave the house gnawed at your mental health

- the fact that sometimes she would just disappear for weeks and then reappear didn't make the situation any better

- you could see Almas from the villa you were living in and despite begging her to go with you to the village  over and over again she never allowed it

- but you had enough of it, she always left you behind and after years of isolation you couldn't take it anymore, you finally wanted to see something different!

- there was a "party", most of the people were wearing masks and after you grabbed a mask as well as some clothes of the servants you left the building together with some servants who had a shift change

- you didn't want to leave her, you just wanted to see something different for once

- but Valeria was on Alejandro's radar since she was captured years ago and they found out that you were her partner.

- you walked happily through the streets, oblivious to the men and women following you.

- however, it wasn't long before you reached a corner where they chloroformed you and took you to a van

- Valeria, meanwhile, did not notice that you had disappeared until after her  conversation with some other evil men, because you were neither at the pool, nor in your room, nor anywhere else in the villa.

- Panic coursed through every vein of her body as she yelled at her men to find out where you were.

- when she checked the security cameras and saw you undressing and throwing yourself into the servants' clothes to leave the mansion unseen, the panic was joined by pure rage

- she immediately unleashed her men to search for you while she thought of how she would punish you for what you had done

- she was informed about an hour after she realized you had disappeared that the dogs had lost track of you and that you had probably been abducted

- she knew instantly who you had been kidnapped by

- the anger she felt towards you turned into pure fear, she knew what Alejandro and Rudy were capable of

- but she was from the cartel that ruled the city and she also had her contacts in Alejandro's elite squad.

- she knew a direct attack would end in a bloodbath, but she knew if she waited too long and Alejandro tried to get information out of you, she could never forgive herself for that

- she knew what a monster Alejandro was, she knew what he would do to get information that you didn't have, but she also knew that he wouldn't believe you.

- At the end of the day, he was as brutal  as she was.

- the longer you were under Alejandro's control, the stronger her hatred, her rage, and the more dangerous she became.

- she was there in person when she tried to save you, it was her job as your partner to save you.

- the way in was easier than expected, although it ended in a bloodbath on both sides

- but the moment she saw you again, the moment she knew you were now as good as safe, her feelings cooled down

- she had learned from her mistake to lock you up and keep taking you to new places, outside of Mexico, so at least you could see the world and she could make sure you would never be kidnapped again and that you were happy

- but also you had learned never to run away again, her punishment was anything but funny and yet so much more gentle than like all the others. Thankfully

König

- you were visiting a friend while your husband was away somewhere in the world doing his mission

- you hadn't heard from him for days, which was usual but you were worried, but you knew if you didn't hear from him it meant he was alive and well

- it was the idea of one of your friends you were visiting to go to a party of someone she knew

- you texted your husband of course, informing him that you were going to a party and write him as soon as you were on your way back.

- it was a really great party, the music was great, the appetizers which were offered were delicious and all in all it was a great night

- but only until you saw a familiar face, it was one of the guys your husband had been chasing and this one was supposed to be dead

- you knew it was a dangerous mafia boss from the documents of which you were not allowed to know anything

- but you knew you couldn't let your panic show

- you went to your friends, told them you were not feeling well and you would like to leave

- but they insisted that you stay and just rest, since after all their friend was throwing the party

- a bitter taste spreads in your mouth when said host came to you, asked if everything was fine and your friends said that you were not fine

- without you wanting it the host and mafia boss then took you to a quieter room where he tried to make a pass at you

- but before it could come to more he was interrupted by a smoke gas

- everything went fast, you got something taped to your mouth before a bag was pulled over your head and you were tied up

- you didn't know how much time had passed, you didn't know where you were what would happen to you now, the only thing you knew was that you were in danger

- König meanwhile waited for your message while he drove with his colleagues and the prisoners to a safe house

- but your message didn't come, you didn't answer his calls either and your cell phone was off

- he knew you wouldn't cheat on him, he also knew you always kept your promises and yet you were gone

- he could clearly feel the coming panic attack, whereupon he started to take his weapons apart and put it together again to distract himself somehow

- in his head all the scenarios were playing out, from you being bottled up, lying unconscious somewhere, being kidnapped, every scenario you could think of was playing out in his head

- hours went by, he didn't have the numbers of your friends and he had no other way to contact you

- the car you were in stopped at some point and you could feel someone grab you roughly, pull you to your feet and take you somewhere.

- you could only hear what was happening around you, fear flowed through you and you prayed that your husband had already found out that you had been kidnapped

- you were forced to the cold floor, sitting on your knees while you listened to the mafia guy being asked the same questions over and over again, you could hear blows and groans of pain from him.

- you could hear them breaking his bones, knocking out his teeth and smelling burned skin

- after a while one of the men seemed to have had enough and you could feel the barrel of a gun against your head

- it was the moment he raised his voice and threatened the mafia guy to kill you if he didn't finally speak up that you started to fight back

- it wasn't the threat to kill you, no, it was the voice you recognized

- only a few seconds after you tried to stand up your husband kicked you in the ribs

- but it also loosened the tape on your mouth, so you immediately called out his name

- the look on your face when the sack was pulled off your head and you looked into your husband's masked face, you couldn't help but weep

- you were almost abused, then kidnapped and your husband broke your ribs without knowing it

- you knew after that day you had many friends less and enough partying for the rest of your life

- and he, he felt guilty for that day for the rest of his life. Great success

Gromsko:

- it had its advantages to live somewhere in the countryside in Poland

- there were not many neighbors, those who did lived quite a distance away and otherwise it was quiet and of course safe

- your husband had many enemies, many very powerful enemies, which is why he hid you somewhere in the countryside

- you both had daily contact, be it only a sms but he wanted to make sure you were ok

- but everything peaceful had an end

- They had found out where Gromsko lived, but they did not know that he was married.

- so it was a surprise for the assassins who were after Gromsko to find you instead of him

- they knew that they could use you as a bait to get to Gromsko and he quickly realized that something was wrong, precisely because you did not answer him anymore

- he sent a friend to you, who informed him that you had probably been kidnapped

- the kidnappers were not the smartest, you quickly realized

- while Gromsko together with some old friends tracked you down, you made life difficult for your kidnappers and annoyed the hell out of em to get a waterbottle

- Gromsko, who was usually calm in person, was agitated and everyone could feel how dangerous he was becoming with each passing minute.

- he was worried about you, panic was an understatement and the hatred he felt for your kidnappers was boundless

- but also self-hatred, after all you had come into this situation because of him

- when he found out where you were being held he set out with some of his old colleagues to rescue you

- everything happened quite fast, the kidnappers did not expect that they would be found

- Gromsko was looking for you when he entered a room which looked like a cell

- you were already waiting for someone to come into your cell, and you hit the person on the head with the glass bottle you had been given

- the person you headbutted, however, grabbed you and pushed you against the nearest wall, while squeezing your throat

- you noticed who it was at the same time and he did, and he immediately let go of you, apologized for hurting you and teased you for hitting him with a bottle

- you moved to the city and got a dog to defend you when he was at work

- he never let you out of sight again, not that you knew, everyone had it’s little secrets after all

Laswell

- your wife was not always easy, especially her paranoia was not and it was a reason for many fights between you

- you knew the USA was not the safest country in the world, but you lived in a good area, hardly any crime and a nice neighborhood

- but for her no place was safe enough and she insisted that you carry a small device that would notify her if you were in big trouble

- you thought it was over the top but what wouldn't you do to make your wife happy

- and besides, she was really scary when she was angry.

- you had something to do at the bank and Kate asked you if she should come with you on her day off but you refused, after all you wanted to go shopping and get something special for her afterwards

- you were at the counter of the bank when armed men stormed the bank and you instinctively reached for the small device and pressed it

- when Kate was informed by phone that you had pressed the panic button, she didn't hesitate for a second to see where you were.

- almost at the same time the sports show she was watching changed to a news bulletin that the bank you were in was being robbed and was now being held hostage

- she didn't want to let it show as she called her friends at the CIA, but no one had ever seen her like this before

- 141 who were also nearby due to a mission, were also informed by her

- while she seemed to everyone to be in a bad mood and aggressive, Price could see the incredible amount of fear in her eyes

- he knew she would not admit it, but as it took longer and longer to get an overview of the situation she began to tremble more and more

- this only stopped when Price along with his team and a few others killed the men and got you safe and sound to your wife

- I guess it wasn't such a bad thing to have a paranoid wife after all.

#call of duty modern warfare #john mctavish #mw ghost x reader #phillip graves x you #soap x reader #modern warfare headcanons #soap mctavish #alejandro vargas mw2 #phillip graves headcanon #alejandro vargas x reader #ghost headcanons #phillip graves x reader #alejandro vargas headcanons #alejandro vargas x you #ghost x you #könig x reader #simon ghost riley #simon riley x you #valeria garza x you #valeria garza x reader #captain price x reader #kate laswell x reader #gromsko x reader #rodolfo parra x reader #gaz garrick headcanons #gaz garrick x reader #call of duty gromsko x reader #john price x reader #john price headcanons #buckysmith

[starsaroundsaturn]

why do we accept the way that men (and yes, women too) act towards their partners in the romantic genre?

in this post, I'll be discussing sarah j maas, colleen hoover, the pretty little liars franchise, twilight, the vampire diaries, and many more.

many of these I happened upon as a teenager. even as a teenager, I saw some of these as overdramatic and even problematic, but I could see the appeal.

the love interests, all men in these instances, were obsessed with their partners. they were distracted about them.

regardless of the novel, the protagonist can be the stand in for the reader--I am almost certainly not the only one who imagined myself fighting the white witch in Narnia, eating at the Redwall feasts with my companions, dancing with a special someone at a ball, or saving the world with the spy kids. protagonists are made to be relatable, to be appealing, to be somebody we'd love to be or at least like to listen to throughout the story.

and in these romances, the main character is super special. she is the obsession, the person who drives others distracted, she is so, so wonderful that the love interest cannot resist her.

we all want to be that kind of special. we all want to be seen and known and loved and admired. it's not just human, it's human instinct. we want to be accepted, we want to be loved, because that's family, and family means we survive. we need people.

so this is a really attractive premise. this person who we can see ourselves in--she or he is irresistible.

I think that's where we fell into this pit. he can't resist her. he wants her so much he loses control over himself.

it sounded super romantic.

till it didn't anymore.

she is so special and irresistible that he ignores it when she says no (hoover). he's lost control so much that he obsesses over her and watches her when she sleeps and stalks her, because he wants to be with her all the time (twilight). she's so special to him that she's his (soul)mate, and he can't help it if he acts possessively over her all the time and can't bear men looking at her, because she's just that important and irreplaceable (maas). she might be his student, but that doesn't mean they don't belong together! (pretty little liars).

yeah.

when you say it like that.

but the thing is, if you don't think about it too hard--like a smaller me might not have--it sounds exactly like the dream. it sounds like Mr Darcy falling in love with Elizabeth against his better judgement--but then, when she doesn't want him, he leaves her alone, takes the advice she gives, helps her family when it's needed because he wants to take accountability for his mistakes. only when she initiates does he tentatively bring up his interest in her again. when he's accepted, he's overjoyed, and grateful for her love for him.

huh. crazy.

the fact is, I think we've gotten to be so used to the idea that love is madness that we don't realize when it really is unstable, unhealthy--and awful.

we want people to do great things for us. we want demonstrations of love that often we've lacked in our lives. we want somebody to be willing to drop everything to help us and make it better when we're lost. we want a pair of solid arms around us (and I include myself, uninterested in romantic relationships, in that population). (there's a reason I'm obsessed with friendships and father figures and siblings).

we want passion and adventure and excitement.

and I think romance novels, and those who still romanticize these relationships, look in the wrong direction. they take the phrases madly in love and irresistible in the direction of unstable, passionate desperation rather than steadfast care and devotion.

I loved the phrase madly in love when I was a kid. not so much anymore.

#romance #love story #meta

[egophiliac]

any book 7 predictions? :)

I don't like to speculate TOO much, since it usually ends up going in a totally unexpected direction that renders all theorizing moot (gestures to episode 6) (did anyone have "it starts with robots breaking into the school and kidnapping everyone" on their bingo? no, I didn't think so). but I do feel pretty certain that the main crisis is going to involve Malleus deciding that the best solution to all these Uncomfortable Feelings is to just...magically put everyone to sleep for some hundred-odd years so he won't outlive them. problem solved! where did all this ink come from

there's a few things I would like to see from 7, but I don't have any solid expectations either way on:

the mysterious f o u r t h y e a r s

Malleus in full dragon form

child Malleus in flashback? :D :D :D

we'll probably get Silver's backstory, but maybe not his last name (I'm still terrified that he does have one, and it's...also Silver.)

SHOW ME THE DIASOMNIA UNIQUE MAGICS (I feel like Silver's could be something to do with dreams, that seems thematically fitting to me?) (and I know Sebek is supposed to be lightning-based but I do think it would be hilarious if his power was just A Really Big Bite) (he takes after his mom!)

it would also be super cool if Ortho got a UM, though I could see it going either way on whether or not he can even have one (I feel like narratively, Ace is more likely to get his during whatever ends up happening with Grim, so while it would be a nice surprise, I'm not expecting it for a while) (now watch as it's the first thing that happens)

I know they're not going to just show me Sebek's family (unless...? 👀) but any time they're so much as mentioned it's absolutely delightful and I want more of them

zero idea if it's going to go this way, but I would lose my entire mind if they did that one trope that's like

(look, Silver's main personality trait is "loves his dad", I don't make the rules)

#art #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland chapter 6 spoilers #twisted wonderland book 6 spoilers #apologies in advance #because if you thought i was being annoying over every thirty second malleus cameo #well #ahahahahahaha #ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[itsgrimeytime]

The Nurse (Part Six) || Rick Grimes (TWD)

Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Taglist: @strnqer @1985bitch @curlycarley @imaginemyfavoritefics @t-uroboros @crazytxgradstudent @addisonnie @whos6claire @taylvvrr @quicksilversg1rl @catt-leya @1tsk1tty @pascalshearts @hopefulatrocity @xoyouronlyamorrxo @fuseburner @idkseraphine @all-for-kpop @carlgrimeskisser @emo-potato-virgil @timotheesrealgf @mcuclintasha

Summary: Before all this, you were a nurse. A nurse who had patients, one of which was a man in a coma. A sheriff, you think, it was all kinda fuzzy now. When it all went sideways, you set up what you could for the man - but had to leave. You’d always wondered where he’d ended up; until in your search of shelter, you run into a familiar face.

TWS: Blood, gore, mentions of death, gun violence (just violence in general), swearing, angst, angsty!Rick, jealousy, and all things typical of TWD.

[[A/N: I listened to Boyfriend by Dove Cameron to write this, so... I think you can assume how this vibes. You simply have this man WHIPPED, I will not take any further questions. Thanks for reading :)) ]]

Your eyes were hazy, something warm coming across your skin, as you followed the empty hallways. Well, not empty.

Rick was there, Judith carefully held in his arms -every once in a while, he'd lean down to kiss her forehead. The casual affection took you somewhere else for a moment, like watching your grandparents in the kitchen just so natural in each other's spaces -so domestic. When you were younger, reading books about extravagance -big gestures and life-threatening situations, your mind had settled on the balance of fairytales.

Who wished for a lackluster ending? Who wanted to dance in the kitchen too early in the morning, instead of the adventure of a lifetime? It hadn't made sense then.

But watching him now, gentle and bouncing around the room, you'd realized somewhere deep within yourself... maybe you had.

The idea of a home, where the sun seeped through curtains and the smell of breakfast wavered out through the air. Smiles, and playgrounds. Movie nights, and the whispers of promises of forever.

Your brain fogged, and you blinked to try to clear your head. Even just for a solid second, you still found Rick in your eyesight. And maybe he was dusted in dirt, and his hair wasn't washed, but the idea with him made much more sense. You just couldn't chance the thought, not in this world.

"You're drooling."

Clearing your throat, you turned to the intruder -Michonne, her smile small but still enough, "Very funny."

She paused, eyes focused on you for a second -like she could tell you were off. Straightening in her seat, she fully faced you -concern furrowed in her brow, "You okay?"

"Yeah," you echoed, eyes drifting to the pair - imagining the warm glow of a kitchen instead of the cold prison walls, "-just thinking about what I'm missing, you know?"

Michonne turned back to the two, "Yeah, I know."

"Can you imagine your own backyard?" you retorted, in disbelief with a laugh aired in your tone.

"My own house," she hummed, eyes flicking to the ceiling instead, "-I think I'd have a dog."

"Sometimes," you took the edge of your shirt in between your fingers -the material soft to the touch, "-I think about what curtains I would have. Isn't that stupid?"

"No," she answered -simply.

Michonne was direct like that, her answers straightforward and steady; sometimes, you doubted she'd ever really been insecure about an idea. She seemed so confident, you never thought to go against her. You didn't know her past, but it was hard to imagine anything breaking through that resolve.

You pursed your lips, turning back to the two -he was smiling now, the crinkle by his eyes so prominent as he looked down at Judith. It was so unabashedly bright; despite his whole world crumbling, he'd still lit up your corner of the world. And maybe you were a little biased, but you thought it'd be a tragedy if it went dark again.

"You should tell him," Michonne spoke, unflinchingly as if she'd read your mind.

You whispered, a breath across the room -you'd never named it, "Tell him what?"

She placed a hand on your shoulder, a gentle pressure that guided your eyes to meet hers. Her eyes leveled with yours, the look was easy to read despite the schooled expression -she knew, and so did you. You often wondered how many could see it in you, you knew it was obvious -the gazes searching to find his first, the stares lasting just a touch too long, smiling when he did.

"I think you know."

And you did.

You just weren't sure of much, you weren't sure if this world could be... loved. Could anyone in this world love or be loved? Despite what you felt, deep in your heart, you still weren't sure. Was it even possible for it to work? With everything else so harsh and direct, how could you even begin to-

"Plus," Michonne interrupted, a smile biting at her lips, "-you could do worse."

You laughed, leaning your head back to the sky -the thoughts fleeing from your mind like leaves in the wind, "I could."

When you leveled your head, your eyes connected with something new -Rick was looking at you. Bright blue followed the movement of your face, your lips quirked into a smile and you raised a hand to wave. Trying to avoid the warmth that swirled up in your stomach and the very real feeling of 'I told you so' radiating from Michonne just beside you, you pushed forward.

And there it was, the bright smile you'd seen just moments before except this time, it was directed to you. In a spare second, he pulled Judith's little arm up and waved back -gentle movements, but the notion there stayed the same.

Laughter took the place of a response, and you couldn't quite get your brain to form anything else -it was so fuzzy with memories you hadn't made yet, but you wanted to. Eventually.

Your eyes flickered to the sky, it had to be midday at this point -just as it began to cool off in the day. With daylight flickering, you had someplace to be.

"Alright," you hummed pulling yourself into gear, "-I can only handle so much of Rick Grimes a day."

Michonne laughed, "Liar."

You snorted, walking out into the day -eyes searching for a particular person. It had started about a month ago when you and Daryl had formed a bet. He'd said something about your choice of a weapon, and you'd said something about his.

"Bet if we switched, I could kill more walkers than ya."

"You are so on."

So, with some new rules in place, Daryl had sworn on the blue sky that he'd teach you how to use a bow. Wasn't fair if you didn't know how, so it was a necessary step.

Your weapon wasn't as... complex. So, the opposite wasn't really necessary.

You eyes caught him in the field, where he stood across from a... what the hell is that?

There's was a tall branch, sticking up from the ground with burlap sacks and hay sticking out -instead of good seams and crisp corners, however, this was not quite a masterpiece.

You burst into laughter, eyes following the desperately tied rope and hay poking out of corners. It truly looked like a nightmare, but on the area where a "face" might be was detailed of an eyepatch and angry eyebrows.

"Really?" You yelled across the grass, as Daryl spun to you -shrugging as if he hadn't put any time into making... that.

Ranging closer, you extended your hand toward the character, you'd say for now, "I didn't know you were into arts and crafts!"

"Keep laughin'-" Daryl rolled his eyes, not quite responding to you as he loaded up his arrow -tone solid, but you could tell he was light.

Daryl was something you had to get used to, something you had to learn. He was a bit of an icy mystery to any outsiders, but you knew he cared an awful lot more than anyone claimed to.

"Maybe I will," you quipped, "-we ready?"

"Yea," he stood off the ground, brushing dirt off his pants, "-we're losing daylight, gotta start soon anyway."

He was surprisingly attentive, slowly doing each step at your pace -it was an air the man hadn't exposed to you yet. Kind and gentle. He was a great teacher, to your benefit.

Watching as he seemingly without a flinch, landed an arrow into the... target. Right on the eyepatch, and if you took out a ruler probably in the perfect middle. Why did you take this bet again?

Then the weapon was in your hands, the arrow already in, and just awaiting your next move. Trying to remember the steps, Daryl guided your hands to the right position and pulled back your shoulders -there was a proper posture, but you doubted he used it.

That was when a new voice presented itself, just as Daryl adjusted your grip on the bow, tilting the tip down a touch -assumingly something was wrong in your technique.

"What are y'all doing?"

You knew that drawl. He was always an echo in your brain, words bouncing around in your head -he'd stuck with you in so many different ways.

You spun around -eyes finding him with ease, "Hey, cowboy! I could ask you the same question."

Daryl hadn't said anything yet, his mouth in a stubbornly straight line and that was odd for him. Especially when talking to Rick. But then you looked at him, Judith wasn't in his arms anymore.

His flannel was rolled up his arms, and his eyes laid intently on the hand that Daryl had wrapped around your wrist to push down the bow. It was still connected there, passively, like he was waiting to take the weapon out of your hand. You hadn't minded, it was completely like a guiding hand really, nothing else.

Rick pursed his lips, something set in his jaw, "Right."

You furrowed your brow, quickly gesturing the bow to Daryl -which he with ease accepted. He knew something more than you, you could tell in the way that their eyes flicked to each other, heavy and filled with something you couldn't really read. The air stilled and brushed across your skin like a harsh gust of wind.

"Why? Is everything alright?" you asked, concern turning over in your tone. You'd always assumed the worse -especially as one of the sole medical professionals, you knew you shouldn't have gone so far out-

"What? Oh yes," he seemed to blink, facing you again -all the tension in his face seemed to melt and his hand went to rest on your shoulder, "-nothin' to worry about."

You exhaled, shaking the buzzing under your skin out as much as you could, "Okay, good."

He smiled at you, but it wasn't all there. Something was wrong, you knew it, but it apparently wasn't an emergency? Did he need to talk to you? Was he okay?

"I was just teachin' 'em how to use the bow," Daryl echoed, tone solid and seeming to address something you hadn't noticed -talking directly to Rick, "-nothin' else."

You quirked your brow, genuinely confused by the shift in the energy, "What else would we be doing?"

Rick's eyes flickered to you, where you now stood -kind of puzzled and a bit tense in the newfound energy you found yourself in. He sighed, running his other hand through his hair -you knew that was a sign.

"'Course," he hummed, his voice a little less restrained, but still not quite... Rick, "-it's for that bet you two have, right? Sorry for interrupting, just..."

He looked at Daryl -eyes unbreaking, and intense.

"Curious," he finished, eyes connecting to yours for a few seconds longer than you expected -then flicked back to the ground like he'd been embarrassed...? His hand carefully, hesitantly, drifted off your shoulder.

Before you could even open your mouth, the man cleared his throat and turned back around the way he came.

"Daryl-" you began, turning back to the other man. You weren't sure what that was, but you weren't going to just leave it like that.

"Go," he hummed, unbothered, as he carefully plucked a few arrows off the ground, "-I'm not as stupid as you think."

You rolled your eyes, relaying to comment on that later in the back of your head and trailing after Rick. He was actually pretty quick, despite the unfavorable footwear, but you somehow managed to catch up.

"Rick," you spoke, tone direct and stressed out into the meadow air.

He stopped in his place, a bit stunned it seemed, as he stood still. There was definitely something wrong, you could feel it. In a breath, you wrapped your hand around his wrist, pulling it to you behind him. He still hadn't faced you -facing straight ahead with air to him you'd only seen once or twice in your time knowing him.

"Are you alright?"

Rick didn't respond immediately, stance shock still. You watched as his shoulders huffed out breaths, the smallest rise and fall being the only thing you could focus on. His wrist was warm in your hand, and you felt your fingers rubbing gentle circles into the skin there -in an effort to soothe something you didn't know the root cause of.

His eyes flicked back to you, much softer and something more familiar to you -shining in a haze you couldn't identify, but had experienced yourself. (Merely hours before actually.) They flicked to your hand and then your face, almost in realization that you had made that point of contact.

"Shit, sorry," you pulled your hand back, tone a bit rambly, "-I didn't know if you were comfortable with that, I should've ask-"

"No, no," he echoed, pulling your hand back just to match it with his -intertwining your fingers, "-it's fine, better than fine. I am."

"Oh," you swallowed, watching now as he faced you -his own thumb cradling against the back of your hand that sent your brain into a bit of a fog, "-okay."

Rick grinned the kind that crinkled at his eyes then.

"I-" you began, suddenly remembering what you'd run after him for -blinking the fuzz out of your brain, "-you still didn't answer my question, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah-" he enunciated, eyes hanging on your hands for a second, "-I'm good, promise."

You raised an eyebrow at him.

"Great, even," he responded, thumb dancing against your skin and your brain almost flatlined again.

"Then," you pursed your lips, "-what was that back there?"

"Nothing," he answered back, a little too quickly for your taste, "-just curious."

"Rick-" you started, before locking onto the way he held your hand. It was the same one that Daryl had been holding just a second earlier, and your mind lit up with the flicking of his eyes to the touch, the set of his jaw, some internal dialogue between the two... oh my god.

He seemed to notice the difference in you, his own eyebrows raising in response to your change in demeanor.

"Cowboy," you hummed, daring only to look at your intertwined hands, "-were you jealous?"

Rick stilled in his place, the thumb frozen in its cycle and the breath caught in his throat. You could practically see the thumping of his heart in his chest, watching as the pink flooded up his neck -he totally was.

"Rick," you added, a little in disbelief.

He hummed, seeming to be unable to speak and his eyes lazily focused on your intertwined fingers. You found it kinda cute, actually.

"Rick," you continued, "-look at me."

He sighed, deep in his chest, the curls at the nape of his neck catching the sunlight just right. He looked pretty like this, like a painting. And finally tilted his face to meet yours -fingers squeezing your hand and thumb rubbing against your skin, his eyes were a bit distant then.

You reached your other hand up to the side of his face, trailing your fingertips along his cheekbone -the cut that you'd once been drawn to now under your fingertips, "There you are."

His breath hitched, as you brushed a few stray curls back behind his ears and let your hand rest against his skin for a few seconds longer. You could feel the heat bubble up there, as you focused your attention there -trailing along the now scab and up along the crinkling near his eyes. You smoothed them out with a few timid presses of your skin to his; it seemed so natural, so familiar.

Rick seemed in a trance almost, eyes dipping down to yours without much thought, like a sort of bliss. You wondered how long it had been since he had his face cradled like this, how long he'd missed the gentle brush of fingertips. Even just for a brush of contact, he seemed unable to speak, the air heavier in between the space than you'd known it to be before.

"Trust me when I say," you hummed, eyes straight into his -unflinchingly, "-you have nothing to worry about."

You noted somewhere deep in your head to do little things more, as you leaned back -pulling back your hand to your side but keeping the other one steady in his. Rick still stayed silent, eyes wistfully watching you fall back into your own space; he'd looked a bit conflicted. So calm and breathing peacefully, all the while his heart seemed to beat 100 miles an hour out of his chest.

Definitely cute, you decided.

"With that out of the way," you cleared your throat like you hadn't just crossed millions of boundaries that you'd established with him, "-I think you have some plans to make. You ruined mine, after all. It's only fair."

He laughed, eyes hooked on your hand in his and it was different then, you could feel it in the buzz of the air, "It's only fair."

#rick grimes #rick grimes x reader #its griming time #stuff n' thangs #rick grimes x you #rick grimes x y/n #ricky dicky doo dah grimes #twd #twd rick #rick grimes x y/n fanfiction #the nurse #nurse!reader #doctor!reader

[strangersteddierthings]

Steve, Gareth and Chrissy are cousins AU (sad edition) [prologue] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Final Part]

"So," Robin says after they clink their molotov cocktails together, "do we also get to talk about the whole cousin situation now?"

Steve looks across the field, where Eddie and Dustin are defending themselves from invisible enemies. Gareth and Lucas are swinging the finished spears at each other while Erica shakes her head at them, working on a third. It looks like Nancy is showing Max the proper way to hold a shotgun, which isn't nearly as bizarre as it probably should be.

"What's there to talk about?"

"Are you doing okay?" Robin asks.

Steve doesn't mean to making a scoffing noise. It just leaves his body involuntarily. "No. But I'm not the only one not doing okay. Now that we know Vecna doesn't have to do the whole weeklong build up to murder town, that he could get any of us, as any time and he's just being a sadistic bastard-"

"Steve. He'll take the bait. If nothing else, we have to believe that."

Steve looks from Max to Gareth, then back to Robin. "Yeah. Right."

Robin is quiet for a moment, before her eyes flick away and back to him again. "Do you want to talk to Gareth? He was... God, Steve, it was awful, hearing him scream for you. While Vecna was... Anyway, I know you two are like avoiding each other for whatever reason, but I think you can let go of whatever it was."

"I just wanted to keep them safe, Robbie," Steve swallows down the sob that wants to break free. "I never wanted them involved in this. I was so scared that I'd somehow infect them with the Upside Down that I just kept them away and it took Chrissy anyway. It-it-"

"It hasn't taken Gareth, though," Robin says softly, cutting Steve's spiral off. "It hasn't taken him. But he needs you. I think you need him, too. You should talk. Before we drop him at the Creel house. Because."

She doesn't finish, but that's fine. Steve knows what she's saying. They could die today. Any one of them. Chrissy died without Steve making it right. He'd started to work on hanging out with Chrissy again, but it was all surface level. He didn't even apologize. With Gareth he could justify, however shitty that was to do, that he was staying away because Gareth asked him to.

Chrissy hadn't asked for Steve to step out of her life. He'd done that himself in '83.

He can't do right by Chrissy anymore, but he can try with Gareth.

He stands and Robin gives his knee two solid pats before he walks away.

"Dustin, you piss off Steve somehow?" Eddie asks.

Gareth, in the middle of facing off with Lucas, pauses to look around, which gains him a light tap to his side by Lucas' spear. Sure enough, Steve is stalking their direction with a grim determination on his face.

"What, why am I the one getting the blame?" Dustin says, offended.

"It is usually you," Lucas adds, which earns him a squawk of indignation from Dustin, who shoots back, "he could be coming to lecture you for making Erica do all the spear making!"

Steve doesn't approach either boy, though.

"Hey, can we talk?" Steve asks once he comes to a stop in front of him.

"Got some end of the world regrets, Harrington?" Gareth says, trying to keep his voice lighter than he feels. He wants to tease Steve, not bully him.

He must succeed because Steve gives a chuckle and says, "I don't think we have time for all the end of the world regrets, so, uhh, just the one for now."

"We're cool, dude," Gareth says, eyes flicking from Steve to Eddie. The kids know, Gareth told them himself, but Eddie doesn't. "I started it."

"Yeah, but I graduated and still pretended you didn't exist. Which isn't what you asked for."

Gareth shrugs, because he doesn't know everything but he knows enough. Learned this isn't anyone else's (besides Eddie and his) first rodeo or whatever. That there have been other times, dating back to the year Will Byers was lost for a week. "Dude. Seriously. We're cool. You've been dealing with... whatever the fuck this is. So, just, like promise to be around more once we all survive this."

Steve looks pained but before he can reply, Eddie cuts in, "I'm sorry. How do you know each other?"

Gareth looks to Steve, who just shrugs as if to say your friend, you responsibility and honestly? Fuck Steve Harrington. Keeps traumatizing secrets and pushes Gareth away and also throws him to the wolves. Except, this is the secret Gareth has been keeping from Eddie. He sighs and turns to Eddie. "Well, uh, Steve's my cousin. We used to be super close before I started high school. Actually, Steve here is the reason I joined Hellfire!"

Eddie seems to go through all 7 stages of grief before settling into a confused. "I'm sorry. Steve talked you into joining Hellfire?"

"That is not what I did!" Steve defends himself.

"God no. He just went into great detail about how loud and obnoxious and attention-grabbing the current president was, as if that would make me want to not meet you for some reason."

"It was a warning!" Steve yelps at the same time Eddie sing-songs, "You think I'm attention-grabbing, Harrington?"

Dustin, Lucas, and Erica are all laughing at Steve has he tries to sputter through what he meant by attention-grabbing ("It's hard to not pay attention when he's shouting from the top of a lunch table!"), and Gareth just watches on, amused.

After they fight an... evil wizard? Vecna or whatever his name is. Once this is over, Gareth is going to sit Steve down and make him tell him everything, but that can wait.

He wants to watch Steve flounder trying to defend himself from the accusations of watching Eddie just a bit too much back in high school.

Later, as they all pack up and load up in the RV, Nancy stops Steve from entering the RV, ushering everyone past until Gareth and Steve are the only ones left outside.

"Are we acknowledging that you're cousins, now?" she asks.

"You knew!?" Steve sounds surprised. Gareth's surprised, too.

Nancy just rolls her eyes. "Steve, I've been to your house." When that just makes Steve look confused, she rolls her eyes and says, "there are family pictures covering almost every inch of your living room."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Robin pipes in, appearing in the doorway with an angry expression.

"It wasn't really my thing to talk about, was it?"

"Yeah, but did you even check in with Steve? If you knew, and knew what happened to Chrissy- you didn't even ask if he wanted to go to the funeral!"

"Robin!" Steve hisses.

Nancy doesn't look upset by whatever accusation Robin seems to be trying to make. "If Steve wanted to go, he could have said something. We aren't his keepers. But, also," her gaze goes from Robin to Steve, "I didn't want to pry or seem pushy. I figured you'd tell us when you were ready."

Robin frowns but doesn't say anything else, disappearing back into the RV. Gareth gestures for Steve and Nancy to go first, and then he's closing and locking the door behind him before heading to sit by Eddie along the back bench seat. A bunch of shit has been piled there, so Gareth shoves it off the seat and to the floor. The pile of things ends up being a hazard and he almost brains himself while turning to sit down; something under his foot slides and Eddie saves him, yanking him to fall onto Eddie. After some fussing and laughter from those around, Gareth gets seated and looks down to see what almost killed him.

It's a phone book.

Eddie leans in close once they're back on the road to town to whisper, "so, you just let me go on all those rants about King Steve and never once thought to tell me you were related?"

Gareth just gives him his best impression of a King Steve smirk and says, "I would have hate to have deterred you from talking about your favorite school subject."

It's worth seeing the scandalized look on Eddie's face, even as the man socks him in the leg for the comment. "I hate you, man."

Gareth rubs his leg and says, "you don't mean that."

There's a long silence from Eddie after that before he says, "you're right. I don't mean that. And. Uh. In case I don't- in case it goes south down there but ends up fine up here, I just-"

"No," Gareth growls. "Fuck you, Eddie. We're going to be fine. All you gotta do is shred on your guitar and get the hell out. You're going to be fine."

"You didn't see the bats."

"Eddie."

"Fine. It's gonna be fine," Eddie agrees and falls silent.

Gareth frowns at that. Eddie must really be worried, to not argue back like he usually does. Gareth's worried, too, but what can he do?

He thinks about his mom. When did he last tell her he loves her? If they don't succeed tonight, will he get a chance to say it again? Will anyone get a chance to say it again?

Gareth looks down at the phone book at his feet.

"Wait, does anyone have change for a payphone?" Gareth asks from somewhere behind him. Steve turns in his seat to look into the back of the RV.

"Uh, yeah," Robin digs into her pockets, but then narrows her eyes at Gareth and asks, "wait. Who are you calling?"

"I have to let my mom know I'm alive. Just... hear my voice," Gareth says. "She needs to know I'm okay. It's already been too long since last we talked and... after Chrissy she was..."

Robin's face drops into the guiltiest look Steve's ever seen on her face and she produces her wallet, dropping the whole thing into Gareth's open hand. "Yeah, no. Sorry. There's still plenty of time for a phone call before the end of the world. You better return my wallet, Cunningham."

"I'm not going to rob you, Buckley," Gareth says before ducking out the RV with Max, Lucas, and Erica.

Steve tries not to let the guilt well up in him as they drive away. Gareth had wanted to come with Team Kill Vecna but Steve had quickly argued against that. He wasn't going to let Gareth anywhere near the Upside Down.

So it was decided. Max, Lucas, Erica, and Gareth at the Creel house, Dustin and Eddie on distraction, and Nancy, Robin, and Steve were going to face down Vecna.

There was still hours to go before they'd try, with a time set for 9:20ish, since that's the time Vecna's been enacting his curse according to Eddie's broken watch. Plenty of time to fortify Eddie's house in the Upside Down, plus the almost 40 minute walk to the Creel house from Forest Hills.

This was going to work. It had to.

Max and Lucas opt for hiding around the back of the house, waiting for time to pass until it's closer to dark, and Erica said she was going to snoop around the abandoned playground, so Gareth decided to head to the payphone a couple of blocks down the street.

He makes it halfway there before Erica scares the shit out of him by saying, "why do you need a phone book?"

Gareth yelps and spins, stupidly trying to hid the book behind his back even though he knows she already saw it. "I- uh, no. No reason."

Erica eyes him and he's suddenly very aware of whatever Eddie saw in her that night at Hellfire, that let her join the club. She's pretty scary for a middle schooler. "Do I look stupid? Who are you calling." It's not a question. It's a demand.

"I'm going to try and get a hold of Eddie's uncle," Gareth answers, trying to sound like an authority figure. "Tell him he'll find Eddie at his home at eight tonight. I know you all are so used to not telling people but this is- we need a real adult and Wayne's an army vet. He'll know how to help. He'll want to help."

She purses her lips, stays quiet for a moment before she nods. "I'm usually surrounded by stupid people, but you're kind of not one. I've got more change if you need it."

Gareth calls the plant and asks to speak to Wayne Munson. It's a bit of back and forth before the secretary agrees, but only if Wayne agrees to speak to a Gareth Cunningham. The plant must be getting calls from angry locals.

"Are ya really Gareth, or are ya just wantin' ta yell at me for helpin' raise the devil incarnate?" Wayne sounds tired and Gareth feels bad for him.

"Eddie would love for you to call him that to his face when you see him again."

"Thank God, son," Wayne sounds relieved. He must recognize Gareth's voice. "Ya okay? No one's harrassin' ya, are they?"

"No. Listen Wayne, I'm going to say something crazy but please just listen and do your best to be casual. I know where Eddie is. Or, where he will be at eight tonight. He's.... not physically hurt but he's going to need you. He might hate me for telling you this but I had to."

There is a pause where all he hears through the phone is a long inhale followed by a slow exhale. "Mmm hmm. I appreciate yer concern and glad ta hear no one's botherin' ya just for knowin' Eddie."

Gareth is only confused for a moment before he realizes Wayne is trying to make this conversation sound routine from his end. "Just. He's going home. But please don't show up until after eight. If you... if you beat him home he might run. Try to keep you out of this, y'know?" Gareth is just lying now, but he's a teenage boy in a garage band that plays in a dingy bar at the edge of town. That is to say, he knows how to lie off the cuff.

"I read ya loud and clear. I'll let ya know as soon as Eddie's been found safe so ya can quit worryin'. I gotta get back to it, but thanks for reachin' out."

Gareth hangs up and looks to Erica. "Well. Let's hope I haven't ruined everything."

"Let's hope that you know Wayne as well as you think you do."

#steve‚ gareth‚ and chrissy are cousins au #my fic #everyone is like “wE cAnT tElL aNyOnE wHaT wE aRe DoInG” and gareth is like “i think u are all stupid and also i havent signed an nda and #i know what my best friend looks like when he needs support and since yall wont let ME go with to kill vecna for revenge for chrissy #(thanks no thanks STEVE) im going to sick eddie's uncle on you" and i think that's very smart of him #gareth has zero issues asking for help when he thinks everyone he loves could DIE