#Omaha blurb

[crazyk-imagine]

Call Sign Crack

Dagger Squad members x GN!Reader

A/N: Some parts will have members of the Dagger Squad as Boyfriends, Girlfriends, Fiancees, and/ or best friends but you can read it however you want to. I just wanted to spice things up. Also, some parts the reader knows the squad while some parts they don’t. 

This is absolute crack; I have been working on this for months and I have no regrets for what you are about to read but do please enjoy!

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

His call sign Hangman…

“You know how he’ll joke about his name being hungman instead of his actual call sign?” You ask. 

“Yeah?” The one you learned to be Phoenix, with Bob and Fanboy beside her, all look at you with a weary expression. 

“Well,” you lean in. 

They have a feeling on where this conversation is going, and they’re still not prepared for it. 

“He’s not wrong,” you bite your lip to keep your giggles to yourself. 

“Gross,” she groans. 

Fanboy tosses his head back finishing his drink, wanting the alcohol to remove this conversation from his memory. 

Bob drops his head down onto the table. 

Jake notices this going down as he walks back with more drinks (which are most definitely going to be needed). ��What’d you do?” 

“What?” You turn to him, sticking your bottom lip out ever so slightly. 

He narrows his eyes at you, “don’t give me that look. I know that look and it screams trouble.” 

“You exaggerate.” 

“No, no,” Javy interjects. “He’s right. I’ve seen that look; it just screams trouble.” 

“Well, why don’t I just tell the other where you got that nickname of yours, huh?” 

He blinks once before patting his friend’s shoulder, “have fun you too.” 

“That’s what I thought, Javy!” You shout, leaning up in your chair. 

“Shut up!” 

“They told us about your made-up call sign,” Natasha groans. 

“Oh, is that all?” 

The three groan and leave you two alone, they can’t handle this topic anymore.

 -

His call sign Bob…

“Why do you call him Bobby pin?” Asks the one with the mustache, you think his name started with a B. Oh, you got it, Bradley. He always texts you from Bob’s phone but he uses his call sign… and you can’t remember that right now either.

‘Maybe it’s time to start drinking water,’ you think. You get out of your head and realize they’re waiting for an answer. 

“Because,” you give your boyfriend a sweet smile before turning back towards the others, “Bobby can pin me anywhere, any time he wants.” 

You want to say the cocky one’s name is Wesley… that can’t be right, but he spits out his drink, slapping his chest to keep him from choking, any more than he already is. 

The man (who always stands beside him, clearly the blond’s friend) pats his back. 

Natasha shakes her head, sipping her drink. She knows how you can be; she’s heard some calls and read the letters; and she thinks (but has yet to tell you) you’re even better in person. 

“Couldn’t have given me a little warning, Baby on Board?” Jake whispers. 

“He can’t deny it. He knows it’s true.” 

Bob shakes his head, chuckling before taking a sip.

-

His call sign Rooster…

“Cock fighter!” You shout less than a foot away from your boyfriend. 

Bradley sighs, “yeah?” 

“Here you are,” you smile at him, kissing his cheek. 

“Did they just call you cock fighter?” A tall man in his khaki navy outfit asks. 

You glance over at him, wondering why he seems familiar. Oh, now you know, it’s Jake. 

Bradley sighs, “I wish I could deny it but no.” 

“I’m afraid to ask why,” Natasha, the only female sitting with a few of the others at the moment says. 

You remember her more than the others, she’s always so nice when you call (and the only person you like talking to who’s in the same squad as Bradley, you have yet to actually get to know any of the others). 

“You should be,” he jokes. 

You smack his chest. “Shut up.” 

He gives you his dazzling smile. “I love it though,” he assures you, pecking your jaw. 

“You’re such a bad liar Bradley.” 

“Chicken’s being sweet and it’s making me nauseous.” Jake walks away. 

“Do you have any more embarrassing nicknames for Brad?” asks Natasha. 

You smirk, “tons.”  

 -

His call sign Fanboy…

“Boy he sure is a fan, of me.” Reuben shakes his head. 

Mickeys warned him about the bad jokes and puns you can make but he was not expecting them to be this bad. 

“Please, tell me I didn’t hear that,” Jason (that doesn’t sound right as you try to think of his name after only meeting him once) says. 

“You did and I only have a minor regret about it. But he got his call sign because of his love for Star Trek.” 

“That I could I see,” the one with the flaming bird name… PHOENIX, yeah that’s her call sign, adds. 

“Of course, they named him after his nerdiness.” 

You pout, pulling your fiancé (of seven months) in for a hug, “don’t be mean, birdy.” 

She raises her hands in a defensive manner even though she knows your joking. 

“Besides it’s only the font that would show you his nerdiness, as you like to say.” You can feel the vibrations of his chuckle against you. 

He pecks your cheek, “thanks for the defense, babe.” 

You give him one of your dazzling million-dollar smiles, “always.” 

“Is there anything else we should know about his call sign?” Natasha asks, having fun talking to you. 

You nod, “so much. And I mean it, like you don’t even know.”

 -

His call sign Fritz

“Hi Ritzy,” you greet him with a smile. 

“Hey, you made it.” He hands the pool cue to one of his navy buddy’s so he can hug you. 

“Of course, I did.” 

He invited you to come and hangout with his buddies, there was no way you’d miss that. It’s always good to get out of the house once in a while. 

“Ritzy?” Neil asks. 

You turn towards him. “That’s just his cute nickname.” 

“So, he has a dirty one?” Some blond pilot asks. 

You’re still working on learning their names. You shrug, “not really.” 

“That sounds like a definitely,” the same cocky blond says. 

“Okay, this is stupid, but you know ritz crackers.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Oh God,” Billy mumbles to himself, covering his face. 

You shush him. “His all-time favorite snacks are the crackers, right.” 

“Okay. What about the F?” One of the others asks. 

Your silence speaks volumes. 

“Oh, gross,” says the blond. 

Callie groans, shivering in disgust. 

You scoff, “I’m sure you’ve already gotten like five girls’ numbers and one pair of panties to go with it.” 

“What about the Z?” the girl, beside the adorable guy with glasses, asks. 

You shrug, “it makes it fun.”

 -

His call sign Coyote

“Hey, Wile e coyote,” you hold your fist up. 

He fists bumps you before handing you, his drink. 

“Like the cartoon?” Jake questions with his brows knit together. 

“Yep,” you nod. “It’s fun.” 

“And childish.” Well look who’s mister judgey. 

“We all need to have a little fun and something to remind us of our childhood sometimes. It’s a good thing.” 

Jake raises his hands, “I’m- I’m not judging-” 

The one with the mustache and the other with the glasses, fake cough into their hands and say, “liar.” 

“Hey! No one asked you two. You’re not even a part of this conversation.” 

“We’re helping you face your fears,” the one named after a chicken says. 

You blame Jake for the false call sign you think of. 

“And my fear is?” 

“Being proven wrong,” Bob murmurs, munching on his snacks. 

“Oh, shut up. No one asked you.” 

“You did,” you and Javy say. 

His friend walks away and you two chuckle.

 -

His call sign Payback

“This is why your nickname- sorry, call sign,” you correct yourself. 

“You remembered,” Reuben’s lips tug to the side into a smirk. 

You smile, “I did. Anyway, back to what I was saying. This is why your call sign is Payback.” 

He hums, “and why is that?” 

Mickey takes a seat beside his friend, “what are we talking about?” 

You rip the wrapper off your straw and take a sip of your drink before talking. 

“About how bad he,” you point to your fiancé, “is at paying someone back.” 

“Oh, God. Are they doing their speech about his call sign again?” Natasha asks Jake, who hands Bob and Bradley their drinks. 

He nods, taking a seat beside her with his arm resting across the back of her chair. “Yep.” 

“Does everyone know?” 

“You don’t ever not say it,” Bradley points out. 

“Bite me, Bradshaw.” 

“I don’t think your fiancé would approve.” 

Reuben interrupts the almost fight with a dry, fake laugh. “Ha ha. Thank you for that Rooster.” He turns to you, “ignore him. And he paid for drinks today.” 

“Yeah,” Bradley chuckles, leaning back in the chair until the words process in his mind. “Wait- what?” He frantically searches his pockets for his wallet. 

“This reminds me of the time Maverick couldn’t pay for bill the night before your mission,” you comment. 

“You weren’t there,” Billy points out. 

“You don’t know that.” 

No one says anything. 

“Okay, fine. But I was there in spirit, and it feels like I was there whenever I hear the story.”

 -

Her call sign Phoenix…

You enter the bar and walk over towards the back, where Natasha told you she’d most likely be. You smile and stand behind her, resting your hand on her back so she knows it’s you. 

You thought it would be smart if you two had some kind of signal so she wouldn’t do anything she’d feel bad about later. 

“Hey, hottie,” you tease her, knowing it would piss one of the guys off. You just couldn’t remember who it was she was complaining about. 

Just as you predicted, one of the pilots (the cocky one) scoffs. “She can call you that but one time I make a joke and you get defensive. How is that fair?” 

“Maybe because I’m her partner and you’re not.” 

Mickey, Reuben, and Bob chuckle. 

“Burn.” 

“Coyote! You’re my friend.” 

He shrugs, “it was a good burn.” 

“Mine was good,” he mumbles. 

“Your’s sucked, Bagman,” Natasha teases him. 

“I’m going to get more beer,” he grumbles as he walks away. 

“Your friends are fun.” 

“Wait, till they’ve had a few drinks,” she tells you. 

You hum, “can’t wait.”

 -

His call sign Omaha

“Do you know how he got his name?” Brigham asks, occupying the empty seat across from you. 

You tilt your head, “maybe. Why do you ask?” 

He shrugs, “I was curious if you knew, I’ve overheard a couple of the other stories. Guess, I wanted to know if his landed more on the embarrassing side or not.” 

“Ah, gotcha.” 

“If he doesn’t have a story, that’s cool too but I’m bored. No one’s here yet.” 

You sigh, “fine, fine. I’ll tell you. It isn’t much of a story anyway it’s just about something he likes.” 

He shrugs, “okay then what does he like?” 

Neil grabs your drinks and starts heading back to your “special” table. 

“He likes football.” 

“Oh, no,” Neil mumbles to himself once he hears what the two of you are talking about. 

“What? He told me he didn’t like football when I asked him if he wanted to come to the game with me.” 

“Blame them,” your caring boyfriend points to you. 

“I was going to say that you punk.” You smack his shoulder. “We were taking a mini vacation trip away and the whole weekend plan was non-refundable.” 

Brigham takes a sip of his drink. “Fine, I’ll accept that answer but only because I have someone to give me all the dirt on you.” 

You three laugh until a few of the others from their squad come over and drag the boys away, leaving you alone but not for long because the girls drag you over to play pool with them.  

 -

Her call sign Halo

“I’ve always wanted to hear the story about how you two met,” Logan says, picking through the nachos. 

Jake raises a brow. “Seriously?” 

“What?” The man asks with a full mouth. 

“Don’t judge him. Ignore him,” you tell Logan as you shove Jake’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you because I can remember it as clear as day. I was riding my- God- what was it?” 

“You said you remembered it as clear as day,” Billy points out taking a sip of his drink. 

“And I rode my scooter and bike around a lot. Anyway, I decide that I’m gonna move off the sidewalk because too many neighbors are out walking their dogs and expect me to move so I go into the street, not too far away from the curb though. And then all of a sudden, I’m on the ground-” 

“Did you get hit by a car?” 

“Did you trip over a rock?” 

“Were there any annoying little brats laughing their asses off?” 

You furrow your brows at Bob’s question. “No, you clearly need some therapy, but we’ll talk more about that later. All of a sudden, there’s a person in front of me and the first thing I think is-” 

“She’s an angel,” Callie finishes. 

“Exactly but the only reason I said thought that was because I saw a halo.” 

“That was an oddly touching story,” Neil tells you, stealing the nachos away from Logan. 

“You sound so impressed.” 

“Believe me, I am.” 

“That’d be a great way to get some numbers,” Jake theorizes. 

“Oh God. What did I start?”

 -

His call sign Harvard

“You know I’ve always been curious about something,” Javy says, setting his napkin down. 

“How did you get your call sign Harvard?” 

“Has no one ever heard this story?” You ask before turning to your boyfriend. “Is it even a story? I feel like it might be more of a fact than anything.” 

He thinks about it for a minute, “yeah, I guess you’re right but this- this isn’t the time to talk about it. I mean, we’re having dinner right now. Maybe some other time.” 

“We’ve never asked before.” 

“Come one, we want to know.” 

“We won’t make fun of you.” The others comment and reassure him. 

He’s still a little hesitant to say anything. 

“It can’t be that bad.” 

“Maybe he thinks you’re gonna be a jerk and make fun of him, Bagman,” Natasha says, with a snarky tone as she snatches the bowl of biscuits from him. 

The man lets out a dry laugh. “Kind as always Princess Phoenix.” 

“It was his dream school if he wasn’t able to become a pilot,” you explain, not wanting to listen to the two arguing. 

“That’s nice,” Bob tells him. 

Brigham nervously chuckles. 

“Better than mine,” Bagman, nope. Ah, Hangman says. 

Everyone chuckles before digging into their meals.  

 -

His call sign Yale

“How’s my goat?” 

Everyone except for Callie and Billy turn towards you. 

“I’m sorry-” Neil starts. 

“Did you say goat?” Bradley finishes. 

“Is that a new sex thing?” asks Jake. 

Bob scoffs, “you would know.” 

Jake points to the WSO with glasses. “Can it, Baby on Board.” 

The man raises his hands, “I’m just being honest.” 

“Oh, that’s it.” Who knew Bob was so fast? 

“Okay, first off. It’s not a sex thing, I swear. Second, it’s because Logan was really into mythology as a kid and had like a thousand books about it and we were looking up random things one night. I happened to look up yale because that’s the school everyone in his family had gone to and actually managed to get successful careers out of what they studied, not that that’s important. What was I saying?” 

Mickey shrugs, “you lost me at the sex part.” 

“It wasn’t a sex thing,” you groan. 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“Oh, right. Yale plus mythology equals goat.” 

“Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” 

Jake has his hands on his knees as he pants. “Hide me.” 

“You’re the chaser,” Callie points out. 

“Get back here Baby on Board!”

[argikiya]

Bonus/Special/Extra chapters of some of my favorite books/series.

As most of my favorite series or books are getting a lot of bonus chapters but most of the time they are only available in certain special editions which is a true menace and impossible to get hands-on globally, I'm making a guide for the chapters as I've found a lot of helpful Tumblr users/readers already posted them in the internet. So I'll collect them, make a thorough list, and keep editing them if any new material is released. Feel free to comment if you want to add anything or let me know about any other series. I'm keeping the list under the cut to avoid spoilers for those who want to avoid them.

Red, White and Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston

The henry's pov chapter from the new Red White And Royal Blue collector's edition. - set after the incidents in the book

The Folk Of The Air Trilogy - Holly Black

The Cruel Prince Barnes & Noble exclusive short story - A Visit to the Impossible Lands

Some deleted scenes from TCP (AU)

Deleted scenes of The Wicked King from Barnes & Noble exclusive edition

Cardan's letter from Queen of Nothing -(read after finishing the series)

Deleted scene of The Queen of Nothing from Holly Black's newsletter.

Walmart exclusive The Stolen Heir chapters.

The Stolen Heir Barnes & Noble bonus content.

There are also additional Folk of The Air contents and a more detailed list - click here

Legendborn Series - Tracy Deonn

Selwyn's pov chapter and Bloodmarked excerpt - to read after the first book

The Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater

A Very Declan Christmas - Holiday Drabble

300 Fox way Holiday Piece - written as part of an event

A Minor Raven Boys Holiday Drabble -click here

Book #4.5 - Opal

The Secret Sanghai Universe - Chloe Gong

This one could be a little confusing as it is a really long universe containing two separate but interconnected series. So I'm making the list according to the timeline of the book's contents are in (not based on the timeline they were published/released) which list Chloe Gong once shared in her Instagram stories and also available on her website. (Check out her list for more detailed, less-confusing blurb on the contents of each bonus content and their timeline)

A RomaJuliette Christmas Special

The Benedikt & Marshall bonus - Barnes & Noble Exclusive Our Violent Ends Edition

The semi AU romajuliette + benmars fic - click here

Roma's Letters - Barnes & Noble exclusive These Vioent Delights.

Book 1 - These Violent Delights (Post TVD contents ↓)

5. Roma Gets a New Mug

Book 2 - Our Violent Ends

6. The Priest and The Shepherd (Set before Foul Lady Fortune but better if read after reading FLF)

Book 3 - Foul Lady Fortune

Book 3.5 - Last Violent Call

Book 4 - Foul Hearts Huntsman (Post FHH content ↓)

7. In True Delights - The Epilogue of all epilogues

Once Upon A Broken Heart - Stephanie Garber

The three different special edition epilogues of A Curse For True Love

The first epilogue

The second epilogue

The third Epilogue

Simon Snow Trilogy - Rainbow Rowell

My Rosebud Boy A Simon and Baz AU - Rainbow Rowell

This short story was written as a bonus for people who ordered Scattered Showers from the Bookworm in Omaha, Nebraska. It's an alternate universe story about Simon Snow and Baz Pitch, characters from Rainbow's Simon Snow Trilogy. It was printed by the author in a brochure format.

for everyone who's missing out on this cute little gem here is the google drive link - I found it from the tumblr comment section where a generous fan shared the link. Thank you.

All pic credit @pinterest

[beyondthesefourwalls]

Mix and Match Blurb Submission (from a new fan!) Rooster/Dealer's Choice/Piano (or alternatively, aviators, because why the hell not?)/"I'm not sorry."

Welcome, welcome! I'm so glad you're here!

This one was tough, but I hope you like it! It's a little bit of fluff, a little bit of angst. I may revisit this prompt in the future, for sure.

-----

And I'd Do It All Again

You’re sitting at the piano bench, your fingers ghosting along the keys when Bradley got home that night. It’s late, and on a normal day, he would have been home nearly two hours ago. But it wasn’t a regular night, and he had been detained on base for a reprimand. You hadn’t bothered waiting around for him, too blinded by your anger.

You don’t look up when he walks in, nor do you respond when he calls your name. Instead, you press down on the ivory a little bit harder. You’re not playing any specific melody or keeping any type of tune, but you think the screeching that is coming out of the instrument is a good representation of what you’re feeling right now. 

“Are you going to ignore me?” 

He sighs when you do just that. He straddles the bench beside you so that he’s fully facing you. You can feel his body heat and smell the mixture of jet fuel and his cologne. He doesn’t touch you and you think you’re grateful for that. 

“I’m not sorry,” he spoke gently. The piano makes an abrupt sound as you suddenly stop playing. Still, you don’t look at him. “You are a damn good pilot, and you deserve a lot more respect than what you get. I bite my tongue a lot more than I should when we’re at work, because I know you can fight your own battles and I know that’s what you want me to do. But you’re also my wife. And the moment some asshole thinks just because he thinks he’s better than you and can push you like he did? That’s not something I’ll ignore. I will never, ever apologize for defending you for that.” 

You sit in the quiet for several long moments as you consider his words. 

Truthfully, it had been inevitable. The hot shot new pilot who was subbing in for Omaha for the next few weeks had been more than a little demeaning since he arrived at Top Gun six days ago, talking down to not only you, but Phoenix and Halo as well. His patience was already running thin by the time the douchebag thought it was okay to push you when you showed him up in the classroom. The guy deserved it, but you hated that your husband even had to put himself in that position for you, and that he would potentially face consequences that impact his career for it. 

If you were honest with yourself, you were grateful. 

You finally turn your head. His whiskey colored eyes look back at you, imploring you to forgive him, but steadfast in not backing down either. You let out a sigh and shuffle closer between his spread legs on the piano bench. He takes it as permission and lets a hand settle on your thigh. 

“Is it going in your official file?” you ask quietly. 

“No. Mav and Hondo were in the room and saw it happen. They backed me up with Cyclone.” 

You breathe a sigh of relief and lean your body fully against his. His arms are immediately around you, holding you tightly. 

“You didn’t have to hit him,” you mutter into his khaki uniform shirt. He presses a kiss to your hair. 

“Yes I did. And you know it. Please don’t ask me to apologize, because I won’t.” 

You nod, knowing that, at the end of the day, you would have done the same thing if the roles were reversed. 

“Thank you for always wanting to protect me,” you respond instead. Bradley tucks a finger under your chin, titling your head back far enough to meet his eyes again. He connects your lips softly, the first one you’d shared since he left before you that morning. 

“I’ll always take care of you, baby. Always.” 

count count: 637

[thefvrious]

full name: ianthe amaryllis nixon nicknames: annie, thea, ant birthday: november 13 age: twenties gender/pronouns: cis-female; she/hers hometown: omaha, nebraska sign: scorpio religion: buddhist orientation: queer occupation: rbt therapist/bcba in training family:  jared nixon (father), debbie nixon (mother), nerida nixon (sister), lysander nixon (brother) +: tenacious, investigative, protective, resourceful -: compulsive, cunning, impenetrable, brooding blurb: born in the middle of three, ianthe tries not to let anyone see that being the second girl born before the desired boy has put a massive chip on her shoulder. her entire life, she's striven to be the best of the best, beating herself up when she falls short of her own exceedingly high expectations. her brother's autism diagnosis got her interested in the field and how she could provide better care with less stigma. after graduating high school, she got a job as an rbt then got a degree in psychology with a masters in aba. she's awaiting taking her board exam to become a bcba.

[feliciavbland]

FREE JOURNAL GIVEAWAY - VERY LIMITED QUANTITIES

Never Give Up! Creative Journal 1 & 2 Free Giveaway at Rider University Alumni Book Signing Event on Sat. Oct. 28th 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST

First Come First Served

Bart Luedeke Center Parking Lot

Rider University

2083 Lawrenceville Road

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

https://www.rider.edu/about/events/homecoming-weekend

Felicia V. Bland - Fee Fee Art Studio

www.feliciavbland.com

Blurb Books

https://www.blurb.com/b/9948428-never-give-up-creative-journal-2

About the Book

“Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself.” Robin Sharma

Hello Everyone,

Do you love journals?

Journaling is amazing and life altering!

I created this journal, especially for you. For the days, you need to remind yourself about why you shouldn’t give up on your dreams and goals, despite the obstacles. Sometimes, we may feel like giving up. We need the motivation to keep moving forward because life does change. So, why don't you motivate yourself by keeping a journal! You can write down new ideas, doodles, quotes, sayings, notes to self, make collages, or journal your daily life experiences. You can decorate your journal with your favorite things, like rhinestones, drawings, or inspiring pictures from magazines. Journaling is an excellent and therapeutic way of recording your emotional highs and lows. You will feel better about yourself and your journey of never giving up. The creative journals includes the poem, Never Give Up!, at the beginning of the journal.

Warmly,

Felicia V. Bland

12/06/20

Design & Quote by Felicia V. Bland

Never Give Up! Copyright©️2019-2020 by Felicia V. Bland

Features & Details

Size: 6×9 in, 15×23 cm # of Pages: 156

ISBN: Hardcover, ImageWrap: 9781714406593

#rideruniversity #rideru #lawrenceville #nj #NewJersey #journal #journaling #journalinspiration #journalwithme #journalingcommunity #princeton #Tristatearea #journallove #booklovers #poem #poetry #nevergiveup #nevergiveuponyourdreams #pa #Pennsylvania #ny #newyork #homecomingweekend #bookworm #feliciavbland #photographer #artist #omaha #Nebraska #omahaphotographer

[callsignspark]

jordan! thank you for your kind words 💕he government names her!! which we know he rarely does, so it has to be important! everyone say thank you to Bob for being the only one with a fully functioning brain. (he's so done with Bradley he even swore, which Bob doesn't do often!) poor thing, he's starting to think the pink couch is cursed. it's not, he's just a lil dumb. I wanted to make their conversation very clear and both of them understand why everything happened the way it did. which perfectly lead to us getting to see the pining and yearning and all the cute things from his perspective! they will have dinner together post-deployment! (it's just not exactly what they were planning).

oh bubs!!! definitely need to know more about those wonderful dreams tho 👀 - the dreams were equally sweet and horny (maybe I'll have to write a small blurb about that 👀)

lol tbh i’m shocked bradley even kept the bracelet on - he was threatened by Nat with physical violence if he took it off so he didn't lmao

he’s so fucking dramatic i love his old man ass - literally the grumpiest old man. like he's 37 and pouting at the table like a kid.

this is such a fun little detail! nat def falls for all those instagram restaurants and bars - LMAO she definitely does! she is no longer allowed to pick group outing places unless someone else reviews the location first (her choice is almost never approved)

hmmm and was the ‘something’ miss flora phillips perhaps?? - mayhaps. mayhaps not. yes.

jealous bradley 👀 it’s fun to see him jealous of harvard! i know we’ve talked about this, but i like how it’s harvard? and that harvard seems pretty close with bradley? it’s not a friendship pairing you see often? also i love the ref dress you picked for mary!! i just know it looks stunning on her! also i like that it’s green ☺️ reminds me of bradley in some way - him being jealous of Harvard is soooo funny to me because Brigham is literally a golden retriever of a person. like he's smart and intelligent (he's a navy pilot!) but there's also elevator music playing in that big head of his! when Bradley is not being a jealous dork he and Harvard are close friends! (it's not a frequent friendship pairing! the secondary Daggers need more love!) earlier this week I joked that Bradley and Mary adopt Bob as their little brother and Jake as their problem child. Brigham is also adopted, but he's more of the protective brother-in-law who is like "I'll kill you if you hurt her" to Bradley who is just like "Mary, make him stop" #goodbroBrighamLennox

this is so cute!!! - this man gets a nibble of attention from her and his heart starts pounding

i also like that it was neil that spoke up! it shows she has all the guys on her side and is friends with all of them? i like that it’s not just bradley? (reuben goes without saying obvi!!!) - I loved this too! the extended Dagger Family is very close so any threat against any of them gets everyone in a tizzy. sleazy asshole should just be thankful that Nat and Callie weren't there or he would be going home without his balls! (also please picture Bradley, Bob, Brigham, Javy, Mickey, Omaha, Billy and Aaron (Billy's husband who is not a pilot but also enormous) ready to jump across the table to defend Mary. how this jerk thought he had a chance is hilarious)

lil big wig smarty pants up here!! - she really is that. bitch. and we'll get to see her in action in a few chapters!!

WHO IS THE FIRST!?! IS IT HIS DAD?? (RE MAVERICK?) - Maverick? the useless walnut who took 30+ years to get together with his wife?

THIS IS SO CHEEKY AND CUTE OH MY GOD!! - Mary had two (2) drinks the entire night and she's wiggling her hips on the dance floor trying to entice him to join her (she didn't have to try at all but she doesn't know that)

oh hell no uh uh - the way this chapter was originally in Mary's POV and we got to hear all the terrible things he said before Bradley showed up. good thing Mr. Bradshaw didn't hear everything else that was said.

oh you stupid boy 🤦🏼‍♀️ i liked the bit you added about the bouncers worried mary was leaving with bradley and wanted to make sure everything was right!? irl not too common 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ - the caveman instincts took over. idiot <3 (the bouncers saw one woman caught between two assholes and went "hmmm.. maybe we should double check on this one before we kick her to the curb." they are the silver medal mvps of this chapter.)

lol that’s an order tyvm!!! - she is pissed, ain't no one arguing with her tonight!

honestly yes! call him out! she tried to tell him at the super bowl party and he didn’t want to hear it and unarguably made it worse and then he has the audacity to be olivia rodrigo jealously jealousy all night!? uh uh - up until the part she was happily ready to accept all the blame (as she should) and then he acted like an idiot (TWICE!) and she's sick of it. so she's laying everything out (assisted by the courage of that tequila shot she took)

and i LOVED this part!!! i liked how clearly she spelled this out for him and how they’re going to have a real conversation about it? so many times that just gets glossed over in fics, so i’m really looking forward to it! - yes! sometimes important conversations are completely glossed over (or not even mentioned!) and I really want to show the uglier, not as fun parts of a relationship!

oh my gosh thank you for giving this to us from his side! i love his question of not being sure why she’s surprised? // i know i’ve mentioned it before but i love how sheepish and he was in that scene (but in hindsight mayhaps a little too shy…) // screaming about it - I always wanted to give his side at some point and I finally found the perfect place to do it!! him being confused as to why she's shocked is so funny to me bc his brain is like "I saw the outline of your nipples at 8AM and I've been fighting an erection every since." his is a tiny bit shy, mostly because he wasn't really planning to blurt all that information out but the words just kinda escaped! he was ready to get things moving!! (still made at Reuben btw)

i really like how you handled this and had her clarify it was built up in her head? that the original issue and freezing out wasn’t his fault (it wasn’t until after the super bowl party that is was his fault 🤦🏼‍♀️) - it was hard for her to admit that this whole thing is because of her insecurities. that was a lot of vulnerability for her. but she knew she needed to say it and she was able to!

ummm girliepop he’ll be so distraught if you do so best not!! - I didn't show it but he's literally scheming ways to get that sweatshirt back still smelling like her.

he thinks about it all the time - all. the. time. (very delicate - taylor swift of him)

AHHHHH THIS IS SO PERFECT ‘if you’ll have me’ you can have me any way you want me!! - "if you'll have me" like he's a victorian suitor!!!

oh sweet girl!! (and also sweet boy he’s been gone for her for 13 months 🤭) - is her obliviousness based on my own obliviousness where it took me four (4) years to realize a guy was flirting with me? maybe. lemme know if y'all wanna hear that story. (he's been sweet on her the entire time!!)

GOVERNMENT NAME!!! GOVERNMENT NAME!!! HE WANTS HER SO BAD (but seriously i’m so excited for their sunday night date!! the anticipation is gonna kill both of them!!) - the government name shall appear a few more times!!! (it's very exciting when it comes out!!) and only 85 days and counting for them until their dinner date!!!!

him being nervous about sharing the bed with her because of how his body might reaction like he wasn’t just on her couch a month ago hard as a rock 👀 like bradley i Get You, but also sleep in the damn bed!! - Bradley you literally admitted to thinking about almost having sex with her like two paragraphs ago, get in the fucking bed.

a woman after my own heart. yeah no fucking way you’re getting on my couch let alone my BED in outside clothes???? hell no, strip fly boy!! - is he gonna be thinking about how she told him to strip while he's on the carrier? oh yeah.

i liked that he asked and i liked that she gave him an honest answer? and then this was perfect too!! ugh i want them to snuggle up in bed tonight - now that they've talked about being honest that's what they're going to do their best to be. (and what if I told you we'll get to see them in the morning aftermath of this night???)

Mar[r]y Me - part six

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

summary: A love story told through friendship, laughter, and food.

series warnings: 18+ minors DNI, discussion of insecurities, difficult family relationships, discussions of food and alcohol use, discussions of body image, one (1) drunk asshole, conversations on what it’s like to be a fat woman trying to date in today’s society, warnings to be added as needed

word count: 5.9k

previous part | series masterlist | main masterlist

note: happy Friday!! it's August here in the real world but it's Valentine's Day in the Mar[r]y Me universe, so what will these two do surrounded by love and pink hearts? can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts!

part six - pancakes

God, I made a mistake.

Bradley has suffered through five days of the same thought on a constant loop. His brain started up the second he walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Only getting short reprieves when he had to fly. Even being asleep wasn’t safe; Mary had been consuming his nights, wonderful dreams of being with her intermixed with bad dreams of having to watch her with another man.

He felt like he was living one of those nightmares for the last three songs, watching Mary dance and giggle with some guy in his twenties.

I should be the one making her laugh. My hands should be on her hips, not his.

He cursed Natasha for dragging them to this stupid Valentine’s Day speed-dating event. Except, the speed dating isn’t actually speed dating; it’s some sort of convoluted speed dancing.

As announced by the host, there are only two rules:

Every person must wear the wristband they received upon entry; the wristbands correspond to your relationship status, so respect the color code system.

If you’re dancing, you have to dance with a new person for each song.

“Unless you’re really hitting it off with your dance partner.” DJ Socket had added with a wink before starting the night off with a horrible remixed version of My Funny Valentine.

Natasha, Callie, and Mary had laughed at the bad song choice before throwing back a shot of tequila and shimmying their way to the dance floor, pink wristbands glowing under the disco ball.

According to the event flyer that had been spammed in the group chat for the last two weeks, a pink wristband meant single and ready to mingle.

Bradley watches as the infant with a bad haircut tries to hit on Mary to what he thinks is a Justin Bieber song, absentmindedly playing with his own wristband. White. Here for fun, not to flirt.

He’s having a terrible time.

“Rooster. Rooster? Bradley!”

The use of his real name snaps him out of his thoughts. “Sorry, Bob, what was that?”

“I asked if you were okay. You don’t look great.”

He feels his heart clench a little bit. He’s always had a soft spot for the bespectacled man, Bob paying attention to small things that others rarely caught. Though even a blind person could see the way Bradley is staring at Mary, the pining radiating beyond the two high-top tables the Daggers had claimed as theirs.

“Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long week.”

Bob raises an eyebrow and opens his mouth, but Harvard interrupts him before he can investigate further.

“It’s weird seeing the girls in dresses instead of their coveralls.”

“I’m just wondering how they convinced Callie to wear heels. Omaha practically had to bribe her to wear something other than her Vans to our wedding.” Fritz says, his red wristband - taken and in love - flashing when he takes a sip of his bright pink drink. “God, these drink specials are awful! This is the last time Phoenix gets to choose where we go.”

The boys laugh as his face twists in disgust. Natasha is great at many things, choosing a good bar is not one of them.

“We should have let Jake plan; he found that complex with the mini golf and everything. That was so much fun!” Aaron adds before turning to Javy. “Where is Jake? I thought he was coming.”

Javy shrugs. “He was supposed to be here, but he texted me and said he wasn’t going to make it. Something came up, apparently. He said everything was fine, so I’ll check on him tomorrow. Make sure he’s all good.”

“Mary looks really good.”

Bradley stiffens, his mood dropping from happy back down to pissed off as steam pours out of his ears. She doesn’t just look good. She looks amazing. The light green, satiny material of her dress is hugging her figure just right, showing off her curves in the most delicious way. The slit up her leg showing off the thighs he dreams about getting his hands on again.

She looks gorgeous.

But Harvard doesn’t get to say that about his girl.

She’s not your girl. You fucked up.

“There she is! Can I get you a drink, ma’am?” Harvard stands up, holding his bar stool steady while Mary climbs on, scooting it in when she’s settled.

“If you’re going up, I’ll take a water, please.” She smiles at him, cheeks flushed from dancing.

“You want anything stronger to go with that water?”

“Vodka sprite, if it’s not too much of a bother.”

“You got it, sweetheart; anything for my new backseater!” Harvard flashes his toothpaste commercial-ready smile at her before making his way through the crowd to the bar. Him and his pink wristband quickly getting lost in the masses.

“I missed something. Backseater?” Javy asks.

Bradley watches her laugh and lean on the table, grabbing a chip after Aaron pushes the basket toward her. “He’s just trying to be funny. We’re both headed up to Lemoore next week - I’m helping out on some repairs, and he’s doing some sort of mentor program? I don’t know exactly. Anyway, Cyclone suggested we drive together since we’re staying at the same hotel. I told Brigham he’s driving since he insisted on getting this godawful 30-foot pickup truck, which makes me his temporary backseater.”

“Make sure you don’t eat anything before riding with him, or you’ll paint the windshield.” Omaha jokes.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Please. If I didn’t hurl after a greenhorn took me up and executed one very poor barrel roll before getting himself grounded, I think I can handle Harvard’s driving.”

“You’ve flown?”

“Was it an FA-18?”

“How do you fuck up a barrel roll?”

“Did you like it?”

Questions are hurled at her from every direction, all the boys interested in the fact that their favorite mechanic had been airborne in the backseat of a fighter jet before they knew her.

“I did like it!”

Bradley’s heart warms a bit when she answers his question first.

“It was an FA-18, and I think we technically hit Mach-1, but my brain has burned the trauma of that hop from my memory. It was fun until that bad maneuver because when I say greenhorn, I mean green. Like as fresh as you can possibly be.” She shutters, only partially joking. “But I didn’t throw up, and that’s a major point of pride for me.”

“It’s only because you hadn’t eaten yet that day.”

The warmth disappears, again, when she smacks Brigham’s arm after he puts her drinks down. “I told you that in confidence! And I think it still counts because I’m a civilian and have done none of the training you guys do.”

“How did you even get permission to fly?” Javy questions, stealing a sip of her water, grinning at her when she glares.

“When I was in Florida, I got close with some of the higher-ups, and one of them arranged for me to go on a simple flight so I could see what it’s like. It was really sweet of him!”

“Who did you sweet talk into getting in a jet?”

“He sweet-talked me! Actually, it was more like he manipulated me. It came up that I’d never been on a flight - which is totally normal for an engineer, by the way - and he egged me on until I agreed to go up.”

“Oh my god, you got suckered into a ride with a flight school newbie? Who managed that?”

“I don’t know if you guys know him. I don’t think he was in Pensacola when you were going through flight school, but it was Admiral-”

“Hey, baby, wanna dance?”

Her face changes immediately, annoyance spreading quickly. “No. I’ve already told you I don’t. Leave me alone.”

“Oh, c’mon, you know you want this-”

“The lady told you no. I suggest you listen to her before we make you listen.” Omaha threatens from his position across the table. Bradley is happy that Neil spoke up before him because he wouldn’t have been so nice about it.

The pushy asshole looks around the table and decides not to press his luck after seeing eight men puffed up, ready to defend their friend.

“What a dick! He had a red wristband on, and he still tried to hit on you!”

“Welcome to being a woman, Mickey. Doesn’t matter if you’ve told them no or if they have a partner. Men will be gross and overbearing if they think it’ll benefit them.”

She sinks back in her chair, sipping her drink and sending a small smile to the boys in thanks. The group disburses a bit, most joining Nat and Callie on the dance floor, leaving Mary sitting with Fritz, Bradley, and Bob.

“Hey, speaking of gross and overbearing, did you hear the rumor that Admiral Cain is coming to the program review next week?”

It perks her back up; she excitedly leans forward, happy to talk about something else.

“Oh! That’s not a rumor, Fritz. That’s 100% true. He’ll be presenting his case for increasing unmanned drone research. But he’s going first on Tuesday, and then he’s back in Washington that same afternoon, so thankfully, we’ll only have to deal with him for a few hours.”

“Thank god, I had to deal with him for a little bit when I was at Norfolk, and he was worst. I know drones are getting more popular for high-risk missions, but they’ll never be able to fully replace pilots.” Billy clinks his bottle against Mary’s glass when she holds it up, swallowing the last of his beer. “You’ll have to excuse me; it looks like my husband wants me to dance with him.”

Bradley watches Mary stare longingly at the dance floor, her eyes following the happy couple dance in perfect sync with each other.

If you hadn’t messed up, that could be the two of you out there.

“So, what parts of program review do you have to sit in on?”

Mary turns, a soft smile on her face - Bradley knows her soft spot for Bob matches his own. Both of them protective over the younger man who cares so much, yet so quietly.

“I have to be there for almost all of it. I’m presenting a few sections, plus I have to do a shop tour and demo, which will be uber fun.” She rolls her eyes, knowing how some admirals like to knit-pick at how a shop is run and organized. “All my free time this week will be finishing my slides and polishing my presentation.”

“Wow, on top of helping with Lemoore’s repairs? You’re gonna be busy these next two weeks.”

“Very busy, but we’ve already done the repairs I’m helping with down here, so theirs should go much smoother! But I'm genuinely excited for program review because I’ll get to see some people I worked with in Florida! I think I’m going to try and poach a few of them that I really miss.”

“You’re gonna steal your friends to work for you?” Bradley regrets the question when he sees her face falter for a split second, realizing his tone wasn’t as joking as intended.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about it. They’re really smart and talented, plus it’d be nice to work with them again.”

The relief that breezes through his chest at her grin and kind tone quickly disappears when Harvard pops up and pulls her toward the dance floor.

“Hang- hang on!” She giggles, turning to Bob. “Would you mind keeping an eye on my purse while Brigham steps on my toes to bad 90s love songs?”

Bob’s, “No problem.” overpowers Harvard’s protests of, “I’m not gonna step on your foot again!”

She pecks his cheek, leaving a faint pink stain behind as she follows the Ohio man onto the dance floor. And for several songs, Bradley's stomach twists as he watches his two friends dance pressed close together.

“Why don’t you go dance with her?”

“She doesn’t want to dance with me.”

Bob scoffs. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Bradley, what happened with you two?”

He doesn’t answer; just keeps fiddling with the label on his beer and watching the dance floor. The two sit in uncomfortable silence for the first time in their friendship.

“I fucked up.” He confesses everything to Bob. The night on her couch, their interruption, the tiff just a few days ago. He doesn’t spare any detail, no feelings. “I still don’t know why I didn’t just let her explain! Even if I was mad that she was ignoring me, she had her reasons - she wouldn’t do something like that for no reason!”

Bob is stunned. He doesn’t know what to say to comfort his friend. None of the group’s theories had even been close to the reality of what happened.

“You can’t tell anyone what I just told you, not even Natasha!” Bradley is borderline frantic. “You’re the second person I’ve told, and I don’t know if Mary has told anyone, but I don’t want everyone knowing. I don’t want what happened to be the talk of the group.”

“I won’t tell anyone, Bradley. Not even Nat. But I do get bragging rights when the two of you finally get together.”

“That’s not gonna happen. I messed up too much, man.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

He looks where Bob is pointing, watching as Harvard twirls away with a pretty redhead, leaving Mary dancing by herself. They make eye contact, and he can see the gears in her brain working. She turns around, hips swinging hypnotically, and he loses his breath when she peeks over her shoulder at him. Bradley’s heart soars when she wiggles a finger at him.

She’s calling me over. Maybe I didn’t totally fuck this up.

His joy is short-lived. The same red wristband asshole as before getting in her space, trying to grab her ass as she pushes him away. Bradley practically falls out of his chair to get to her.

“Get away from me!” Mary pushes the stranger’s hands off and stumbles back from the force, colliding with Bradley’s chest as he comes to help.

He steps forward, angling his body to shield her as she tucks herself into his side. “She’s told you to leave her alone at least twice now. Walk away before we have a problem.”

The sleazy man rolls his eyes, “Whatever, man.”

“No, not “whatever,” man.” Bradley steps forward, disregarding Mary tugging on his arm. Her pleas for him to stop falling on deaf ears. “You’re going to apologize to her.”

“For what? The fat bitch probably liked it. She’s practically begging for it in that dress.”

Bradley doesn’t even think. He lunges, ignoring Mary’s yell for him to stop and taking the asshole down with one punch. He doesn’t get a second one, security interfering and escorting all three out.

The rest of the Daggers make their way outside, everyone awkwardly huddled together as Mary assures the bouncers that she is safe to leave with Bradley, that he’s her friend who was just protecting her from the other man’s unwanted advances.

She’s mad when she joins them. A quiet anger that's palpable, making them all stay quiet instead of joking around like usual.

“Thanks for planning this, Nat. It was really fun until about five minutes ago. I’ll text you about dinner.” She says to the girls, giving Bob a small smile when he hands over her clutch. “Bradley is going to drive me home, but you guys should keep having fun. Brigham, let me know when you want to leave tomorrow, and I’ll see the rest of you when I get back from Lemoore.”

Her clipped tone and her heels furiously clicking on the sidewalk are the only physical indicators of her anger. The group watches her go, stunned. In the year since they were introduced to Mary, it’s the only time they’ve seen her get close to losing her cool.

They had seen her defend herself against misogynistic pilots, making them feel foolish without even raising her voice. They watched her bite her tongue when admirals talked down to her because of her age, letting Mav or Cyclone handle it. In the past eleven months, they had witnessed her ability to handle difficult situations with poise and grace.

But tonight was too much.

After having to deal with yet another demeaning asshole and Bradley’s rash, unwanted heroics, the rage simmering below the surface of her skin was threatening to finally break through.

Bradley follows at a slower pace, keeping an eye on her but giving her space to breathe. He startles at someone grabbing his shoulder, turning with wide eyes to find Bob with a determined look on his face.

“Take her home and apologize; let her explain before you explain your side, okay?” Bradley nods, giving a small smile to his friend. “It’s all gonna be fine; you are made for each other. You can tell me all about how right I am tomorrow morning.”

He makes his way to the car, unlocking and opening the door for Mary, the tiny bit of hope from Bob’s pep talk disappearing when he realizes that she’s giving him the silent treatment. Climbing into the front seat and ignoring the hand he offers, closing the door herself and choosing to stare out the passenger window when Bradley sides into the Bronco.

The drive to her house is quiet; the only sound is the oldies station Bradley turns on in hopes of getting Mary to talk to him. The closer they get to their destination, the more he goes from sad to annoyed.

I was just trying to help. She doesn’t need to ignore me.

They’re both fuming by the time he pulls into the driveway. She slips out of the car, hoping he’ll just go home, but he’s following behind her to the house. One step over the threshold, and he can’t take it anymore.

“Are you gonna stop ignoring me, or should I just go home?”

He watches her shoulders stiffen and feels his stomach drop her eerily calm expression. “I don’t know. Are you actually going to listen to me? Or are you just going to tell me that we should just forget this happened, too?”

“Don’t put that on all on me! This isn’t all my fault! You ignored me for an entire month!”

“Yes! Yes, I did!” She slams her hand on her kitchen island. “And then, when I tried to explain, you didn’t let me say anything! You just said we should forget everything that happened and move on! So I tried to forget! I tried to respect your wishes! But tonight, all you could do was watch me dance with other men!”

His mouth drops open; he didn’t realize she had noticed.

“Yeah! I noticed - you pilots have all the subtly of an elephant in a firework shop with its tail on fire! It’s one or the other, Bradley! We either forget what happened and we see other people, or we talk about what happened and go from there! There’s no in-between option where you get to be upset whenever I flirt with a man that’s not you! So what’s it gonna be? Are we moving on, or are we having a conversation?”

He can’t get words to come out. He knows what he wants, but he can’t speak.

“Well, Bradley?”

Say something, dumbass! She’s not going to wait forever.

She scoffs, rubbing her hands over her face. “I’m going to shower. If you’re still here when I’m done, we’ll talk. If you’re gone, well, then I have my answer.”

He’s frozen in her dining room, wincing back to reality at her bedroom door slamming shut. His phone is ringing before he realizes what he’s doing.

“Rooster? Everything okay?”

“I think I fucked up.” He runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. “We fought, man. She noticed I was watching her tonight and yelled at me for not letting her talk last week.”

“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“I’m in her living room.”

“You’re still there? She didn’t kick you out?”

“She said if I’m still here when she’s done showering, we’ll talk about everything.”

“You’re a fucking idiot, Bradley.” Bob’s eye-roll is audible on the other end. “Sit down and wait for her to finish showering so you can talk. If she wanted you to leave, she would have no problem sending you packing.”

“You think?”

“She was two seconds from throwing a wrench at my head last week, and I’m her favorite.”

“Well, I don’t know about favor-”

“I am. Now, sit down, shut up, and wait for her.”

The line clicks, and he decides to listen to the advice, depositing his wallet and keys on her entryway table before sitting on her couch. Sinking into the middle cushion, he thinks about the last time he’d been on this piece of furniture.

“You’re so hard.” He’s not sure why she’s surprised. She has to know she’s had him on the verge of an erection since she opened her door this morning.

“You’ve been pressed against me for two hours in these tiny little shorts with no bra on, and you smell good.” He shrugs, feeling sheepish as he explains what got him going.

“Bradley..” The way she says his name borders on a moan, and he can’t help the noise he makes when she pulls his hair.

If she does that again, I’m going to cum.

He grabs her ass and pulls her as close as he can, brushing his other hand up her thigh and boldly dipping into the leg of her pajama shorts, enjoying the scalloped edge of her panties. Their lips brush, and he’s about to move his hand to the gusset of her underwear - he needs to know how wet she is for him - when they’re interrupted.

Between reliving that moment and crafting his apology, he doesn’t hear the shower turn off or her footsteps coming down the hall, only noticing her when she sits in the chair furthest from him.

“I’m sorry-” They start to apologize at the same time.

“I’d like to go first if you don’t mind?” She requests, taking a deep breath when he nods in agreement. “I want to start by apologizing for the last month. It was wrong of me to kick you out that night and then ignore you for a month, and I wish I hadn’t done it.”

“Why did you?”

“Because I got scared. That night… I never do things like that. I never make the first move or act that bold. So the fact that I just climbed on your lap like that - without thinking about it or second-guessing myself - freaked me out. By the time I got Annie back to sleep, I had completely psyched myself out, and I was convinced you didn’t actually want me.”

“That’s- I- did I give any indication that I didn’t want you?” He sputters the question, unsure how she could think that.

“It’s nothing you did, Bradley. It’s all on me, my insecurities. Men rarely - if ever - have had the same… enthusiasm that you did. You were great; this is a me problem.”

“I don’t understand.” He leans forward, wanting to get closer without crossing the boundary she set with her seat choice. “If everything was so great, what went wrong?”

“I’m fat, Bradley.”

He sits up straight, shocked at her words. What does that have to do with anything?

“I’m sorry, I still don’t get what the problem is.”

“I know you don’t understand what it’s like to be a woman, but please believe me when I tell you it’s hard. People are constantly policing and judging your body. Men will just tell you what they think of your body, what they think is wrong with it - unprovoked. And it’s even worse when you’re fat.” She leans back, hugging a pillow to her chest. “I know you didn’t do any of that. But I’ve been fat since I was a kid, so I’ve heard it all for years. And not just men, but from family too. It’s hard to shake those experiences, to ignore the insecurities and just enjoy the moment.”

They sit in silence for a minute, Mary refusing to make eye contact while Bradley tries to figure out his next move.

“Can I come over there?”

The question surprises her, but she nods. His choice to kneel in front of her is another surprise; he can tell from her eyebrows reaching her hairline.

“I’m gonna take this, okay?” He gently tugs the pillow from her hands, tossing it on the couch so there’s nothing between them. When Bradley sees her shirt, his breath hitches in his throat.

She’s wearing his sweatshirt.

“Sorry,” she says shyly, noticing his stare. “I’ve been wearing it to bed; I promise I’ll wash it.”

And as much as he wants to linger in the revelation that she’s been sleeping in his clothes, he pushes through.

“Mary, I’m going to be very honest with you because I need you to understand how much I wanted you that night. Sitting there with you in my lap? That’s the hardest I’ve ever been; I think about it all the time. How warm and soft you were.” He slips his hands into hers. “And I know what you look like. I like the way you look. I like everything about you. Everything. Even the things you don’t like about yourself. You’re so gorgeous.”

He wipes her cheek, brushing a tear away.

“This past month hasn’t changed how I feel about you. I still want you. I’ve never not wanted you. I’ve had a crush on you since the moment Danielle dragged you through the front door of the Hard Deck.”

“Bradley…”

“Not done, still my turn.” He leans up, getting closer to her to get his point across. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to fix this sooner. I was trying to give you the space you wanted, but that was a mistake. After the first week, I should have told you how I was feeling, what I wanted.”

“What do you want now?” Her voice is tiny, and his heart breaks at how uncertain she sounds.

“Still you, honey. I know I said we should forget what happened, but I don’t want to forget. I want to do that again without getting interrupted this time. I want to take you out on a date. I want you. If you’ll have me.”

He watches Mary wrestle with her thoughts, her mouth opening and closing, not sure how to say what she’s thinking. “Just tell me, Mary, whatever it is. I want you to be honest with me.”

“I want that too. I want you. But I’m not sure if I’m ready for it right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“How long have you been flirting with me?” She nudges him back, scooting forward in her chair so her knees brush his chest.

He doesn’t understand the question but answers anyway, wrapping his hands around her legs, stroking his thumbs over her soft skin. “Since that night we met, I didn’t do too good of a job since you spent the evening playing darts with Jake, but that’s how long.”

“That was last January. You’ve been flirting with me for an entire calendar year. And I’m so oblivious that I didn’t even realize you were interested until you were grabbing my ass and moaning against my mouth.” She rubs her face. “So I just need some time to process this because I never thought this - us -could be an option.”

“Okay, how much time are you thinking? How do you want to do this?”

“I don’t know… there’s no free time. I’m gone this week, and next week is program review and prepping you guys for deployment. Then you’re in the middle of the ocean for two months.”

“Doesn’t really leave a lot of time for us, does it?” He jokes, squeezing her calves. “We’ll be back the first week of May. There’ll be a few days of debriefing, but then I’m on leave. Why don’t we grab dinner that Sunday? It can be as friends or as something more, whatever you want - whatever you’re ready for at that point. How does that sound?”

“You’re okay with waiting that long?”

“Mariella, it’s been a year, and nothing has changed since I saw you in that red dress. A few extra weeks where we’re just friends? That’s nothing if it means you’re comfortable.”

“I’m sorry I’m so bad at this.”

“Stop it. This isn’t all on you; I haven’t been the best either.” Bradley’s voice is firm, making sure she’s not placing the entire blame on herself. “We’ll work on it. We’re smart people; we can figure it out.”

“Thank you for being so understanding. I really am sorry about how I acted.”

“I’m sorry, too.”

Feeling lighter than they have in weeks, they look at each other and laugh when Mary yawns, her face scrunching up.

“Okay, honey, I think it’s time to get you to bed.” He stands, pulling her into a hug. “I’ll call you when you’re at Lemoore, okay? We’ll talk about our days, and you can complain about Harvard.”

“Why would I complain about Brigham?” She blinks up at him, her eyebrows creasing after a second. “Wait! Are you saying goodbye? You can’t drive home right now; it’s too late!”

He tries to argue but is cut off by her finger pointing at the clock, the two hands telling him it’s almost three in the morning. “Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“C’mon.” She pulls on his hand, leading him down the hall.

“What are we doing?”

“Going to bed?” She squeaks when he abruptly stops, tugging her off balance.

“Mary, I’m sleeping on the couch.”

Her face is baffled. “Bradley, you’re too tall; it won’t be comfortable. We can share my bed; we’re adults. We can handle it.”

His heart thumps. He wants nothing more than to crawl into bed with her, but he’s afraid of how his body might react to being next to her all night.

“Mary, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You won’t. I also want you to be comfortable, so if you don’t want to share, I’ll take the couch, and you take my bed.”

“But-”

“This is the whole communication thing we just talked about. Believe me when I say that sharing my king-sized bed with you for one night won’t make me uncomfortable.”

Bradley stares into her eyes, searching for any hint of hesitation. “Okay, lead the way then, Vertucci.”

It’s awkward for a moment in her bedroom, the two of them trying to navigate this new situation together. But after some blushing and a few stuttered words, they figure it out. He’s just finished brushing his teeth when they discover that Bradley’s preferred side of the bed matches hers.

“Two peas in a pod.” He jokes as he starts to climb into bed, heart fluttering at the bashful smile on her face.

“What are you doing?”

He freezes, covers pulled back with his knee raised. “Uhhh… getting into bed?”

“Not like that, you’re not.” His wide eyes must give away his confusion and panic because she continues. “Bradley, you are not climbing into my bed, which has nice fresh sheets, with those clothes you wore to the club. God knows what’s on those chairs we sat on.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“You are wearing underwear, right?” He nods, feeling baffled by how this night has progressed. “Then strip, you’re sleeping in your undies.”

Bradley stands there, looking at her snuggled under her quilt, bathed in the soft light of her nightstand lamp, and still wearing his name on her arm. Based on how serious she looks, he’s pretty sure she’s unaware of how flirty her words sound. If she was any other woman, he would make an effort to flirt back, try his best to be sexy as he undresses. Turn it into a striptease.

But it’s Mary, and they just got back to a good place.

So he undresses how he does when he’s alone. Unbuttoning his black shirt methodically, taking note of how her breath hitches when he pulls the tight material off, but not doing anything about it. If he has any control over their situation, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future to make her lose her breath.

He does allow himself to make eye contact while he undoes his jeans, unable to pass up the chance to watch her watch him. He sees her scan his body, can see the hunger in her eyes, can hear the small gulp when she sees the waistband of his underwear appear. He stays steady, folding the pants and draping them over his shirt before slipping under the covers, keeping a respectful distance between them.

“Gonna turn the light out?”

She blinks at him as she processes the question, her eyes hazy from the late hour, and he thinks about how he would love to have this view every night for the rest of his life. He watches as she rolls over, eyes slipping down to the skin that’s exposed when she leans to turn the lamp off. She ends up closer when she rolls back towards him; he can feel the heat of her body radiating towards him.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Mary’s voice is soft, like being too loud will ruin the small bubble they’ve created for themselves. “Do you like pancakes?”

The question makes him think of his mom, how she used to make pancakes on special occasions and sometimes just because it was Tuesday. He never makes them for himself.

“They’re my favorite. Do you make good pancakes?”

“I make the best pancakes.” He can’t see her face, but he can hear her smile. “Night, Bradley.”

He mummers good night back, enjoying the way the mattress moves as she gets comfortable. The scent of her shampoo drifts over him, resurrecting the question that he’d been asking himself for a month.

“Mary? Can I ask you a question?” His voice is quiet, scared to ruin things but needing to know the answer.

She hums, “What’s up?”

“That night. If we hadn’t gotten interrupted, what do you think would have happened?” It’s quiet. He can hear her hands playing with the edge of the sheet, fingers nervously folding and unfolding the cotton. “I’m sorry, you don’t have-”

“No, it’s okay, Bradley.” A hand brushes his chest, warm fingers ghosting over his skin in search of his hand. She continues once their fingers are intertwined. “If we hadn’t been interrupted, we would have had sex. We would’ve made out for a while, and then I would have ridden you right there on the chaise.”

“Fuck…”

She makes a small noise of agreement. “I don’t know about after, though, if we would have had a better go of things that we have. It might have been worse, I’m not sure.”

“Can’t change the past. I’m just glad we’re fixing things now.”

“Me too.” Mary presses a small kiss to the tip of his fingers, squeezing his hand before rolling over. “Good night, Bradley; sleep well.”

“Night, Mary.”

I think I’m falling in love with you.

if you would like to be added (or removed) from the tag list please send an ask!

@gretagerwigsmuse | @bobfloyds | @hangmanbrainrot | @notroosterbradshaw | @princessphilly | @roleycoleyreccenter | @thesewordsareallihavetogive | @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby | @katieshook02 | @hellojameshowyadoin | @aristotles-butthole | @atarmychick007 | @whatislovevavy | @kmc1989 | @sometimesanalice

fic tag | credit for dividers here

[cammypearls]

hello im dying because of dead week but PLS let me know if you want new imagines or text aus from me! i decided to take a creative writing in fiction class next semester and i need to start writing again. so hml with some requests babess

[barbiewritesstuff]

Secret Girlfriend

-- Just a cute little thing about how the team finds out that Hangman has a girlfriend. It started out as a bullet point headcanon list but I decided to make them little blurbs instead.

Taglist:@mavswife @unsurebuttrying @dempy @peaches-1999 --

Coyote finds out when he finds her asleep on his best friend. Her head gently rising as he breathes, his hand tracing her facial features. Jake’s listening to music on his headphones, and he doesn’t know anyone’s watching. 

Javi feels a little funny, like he’s not supposed to be seeing this and he needs to leave but he can’t deny it’s really sweet to see Jake like that, especially when Hangman coughs and she stirs and he spends the next minute coaxing her back to sleep. 

From the darkness he can even see Jake’s smile when his girl nuzzles her face in his sweater as she dozes off. 

Bob figures it out when he accidentally steps into the wrong hangar. He’s not fully awake yet and he ran out of the house too late to get some coffee in his system. His eyes are still a little blurry from the night and his brain is groggy but he swears he can see a picture on Jake’s dashboard. He knows he’s not supposed to look, especially since it’s not a crime for him to have a picture, it’s just out of character.

 Bob climbs up the ladder and sneaks a peak. He’s half expecting a picture of Jake himself to stare back but it’s a girl in a cheerleading uniform kissing a quarterback. It takes a second for his eyes to spot the name on the back of the footballer’s uniform. Seresin. They look young but Bob figures Jake wouldn’t be carrying it around if they weren’t still dating. 

He leaves when he hears footsteps in the corridor, careful to place the photograph back where he found it.

Fanboy meets her during family day. She’s about his height, his age and she’s gorgeous. 

“Can I help you?” He asks. Maybe he can shoot his shot at a date, it’s been a while and he’s out of practice but hey, he can always try.

“I’m looking for my boyfriend” Her voice is nice, soft, shy but it doesn’t dampen the disappointment.

“What’s his name?”

“Jake Seresin?”

Oh. At first he thinks the poor girl missed the fact that Hangman’s not the girlfriend type, but then her phone rings and he can hear Jake’s voice through the receiver.  Fanboy makes his exit before Hangman arrives. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see him, but he figures that if Jake goes through such lengths to keep his relationship private, he probably doesn’t want Fanboy sticking around. 

Harvard, Yale and Halo see him waiting inside of a coffee shop. He’s on his phone and they debate going in to say hi, but before they finish that thought a woman sits down in front of him with a coffee and Hangman smiles so genuinely and so happily that there’s really no mistaking who she is to him. 

She takes a sip, some of her hair dips into the foam and sticks to her lip. Jake leans forward and brushes it aside, he’s so distracted he knocks his coffee over and they scramble to move everything away from the spreading liquid, then, they look at each other and laugh.

Omaha finds out because he knows her. 

His girlfriend has invited a few people over for dinner and they’re bringing partners. She walks in first, a bouquet of bright pink roses and a bottle of wine in her hand for the hosts and he follows suit. It takes a second for Jake to notice Neil just sitting there on the couch, staring at him with eyes as wide as plates, but when he does, he shoots him a look saying “We will never speak of this again”. 

Omaha doesn’t. He sees Jake relax around his girl. He sees him being nice, funny and caring and Neil figures she’s good for him, so why ruin it by telling.

Rooster finds out when he pulls up to Jake’s house one day after training to bring back the jacket he forgot. He rings the doorbell and a woman answers. She’s wearing a shirt too big to belong to her and some bike shorts barely sticking out of the bottom. 

“Hi” She says, clearly confused. Rooster lets out a nervous cough

“I need to return something to Jake”

“Why don’t you come in?”

She turns around and leads him up the stairs to a living room and a kitchen. There’s pictures on the walls, one of those scratch-off maps of the world. There are pizza boxes on the kitchen table and Rooster recognises Jake’s usual order. 

Hangman saunters in a few minutes later with a can of something and looks at him like a deer caught in headlights. 

Rooster just hands him the jacket and leaves. 

Phoenix finds out last, when she and the team step out of the carrier after a mission. They’re just chatting when suddenly a dog beelines for the group. A woman runs after the pet, trying to catch it before it jumps and Hangman falls to the floor with a loud “THUD”. The dog circles him a few times, licking every inch of his person. He curls up on the floor, giggling.

“I’m so sorry! I swear I was holding her, the lead snapped and --” She grabs the dog by the collar and moves her away Jake. He stands up and smiles. 

Then, suddenly remembering where he is when his girl's eyes glance away from him and towards the team, Jake jumps back into reality.

“Err -- this is my girlfriend. Honey this is the team”

“Hi” The woman waves

Everybody but Nat looks at one another and simultaneously decides to act surprised, largely to soften the blow for Phoenix, as she usually prides herself on her detective skills. The team’s not so sure she could take the hit.

Phoenix is almost mad. She would like to be mad, but as she looks at Hangman she recognises the way her dad looks at her mom even after thirty years of marriage and three kids. 

She sees the look she has judged relationships by: “if he doesn’t look at me like that, then I’m wasting my time”. Phoenix can recognise pure, unadulterated True Love when she sees it. 

And she understands him then, because if she was to find her own True Love, she might not want to share them either.

[buttercupmendes]

Your Children at Halloween pt 1

Masterlist: http://buttercupmendes.tumblr.com/post/153203411011/butercupmendesmasterlist

Cameron Dallas:

Nash Grier:

Jack Johnson:

Hayes Grier:

Jack Gilinsky:

Taylor Cannif:

Matt Espinosa:

Shawn Mendes:

Aaron Carpenter:

Jacob Whitesides:

[that-fandom-tho]

Fearless (Shawn Mendes)

Classy jazz music played in the background as people swayed on the dance floor in their gowns and suits, enjoying the night. I wasn’t one of those people. My parents had dragged me to this thing, knowing I wasn’t social and hated dressing up.

So here I sat, uncomfortable in a gown, alone as my parents made small talk that would supposedly further their business careers. I was used to it, though. They wanted so badly for me to be like them, social and successful, taking the world by storm. But I’m not, and I think they’re starting to notice that.

“May I have this dance?”

Startled, I look up to find a dude standing in front of me holding his hand out in an all black suit. A cute dude. He flashes a big bright grin as I look up. All I can do is sit there, paralyzed. His big brown eyes were friendly, but staring at me and putting me on the spot.

“Umm.. I, uh, I don’t really dance.”

“That’s a shame,” he said, taking a seat next to me. Oh God. “And why don’t you dance?”

What do I say now? “I-I just don’t.”

“Well there’s gotta be a reason,” he returns. “Maybe it’s the crappy music, or the crowdedness of the dance floor. Or maybe you’re just completely uncoordinated and really can’t dance. It could also be that you’re completely unstable on those heels, which I don’t blame you. I would be too. It could also be that you just don’t like me. So?”

For a second I just blink, taking in everything he’s said. “It’s all of that.”

“Except the last one?” he says with a hopeful smile.

I think about denying it for a second. “Except the last one.”

“Great!” he exclaims. “Then let’s go somewhere other than the dance floor,” he says, hopping up.

“Like where?”

“You’ll only find out if you come on.” There’s his hand again, just waiting for me to take it.

My parents will probably be mad if they come back and can’t find me, but who cares. As soon as our hands make contact, his clasps around mine and leads me out of the ballroom this thing is hosted in.

As we arrive back in the lobby he turns to me. “So what do you want to do?”

“You’re supposed to be leading me, remember?”

“Right,” he says, looking down in a way that makes it clear he’s thinking. “I really didn’t plan past this.”

“I can tell.” I say, as we just stare at each other wondering what to do. “Tell you what, I heard this place has one of the most beautiful gardens in the state.”

“You wanna go to it?” he asks.

“Well what would I mention it for if I didn’t?” He’s my only friend at the moment, who else am I gonna be sarcastic to?

“Good point.”

“Anyways, I think it closed at 7.”

“How much you wanna bet we can still get into it?”

I can already tell some part of this night isn’t going to end well. But does that stop me?

“Come on.” He follows me through the hotel to the double doors that lead to the garden. Immediately there’s a gate, connecting to the fence that surrounds it. The lock was a card scanner, only to be unlocked by I’m assuming managers and gardeners at the hotel.

Embarrassing as it is, I shoved my hand down the side of the top piece to my dress and dug around until I grasped what I was looking for. Shawn’s bewildered eyes said everything he was thinking as I held out the blank card that displayed only the hotel logo.

I waved it in front of the scanner and to my luck, it went green almost immediately. I quickly pulled the lock off and open the doors enough for us to enter.

“Where did you get that?” he asked. “Are you staying here?”

“No. My parents are good friends with the owners of this place. They told me if I ever need a place to stay to just ask at the front desk for an empty room and this would work for any of them. We just got lucky that it works on facilities too.”

We closed the door behind us but took the lock with us so we couldn’t get locked in. Immediately before us was a labyrinth of rosebushes and hedges and thousands of other gorgeous plants and flowers. All I wanted to do was look in amazement, but I was soon drawn out of my daze.

“Well?” he asked, looking down at me. “Is it everything you hoped?”

“Even better.” I began walking, slowly through the garden, passing roses and peonies.

He followed closely behind, reaching out and touching something here and there every once in a while. About halfway down one of the aisles I heard a bush shake behind me. I turned to find him behind me with a yellow rose in hand.

“A flower for my lady,” he said, on his knees.

All I could do was laugh. “You know yellow roses mean friendship right?”

His eyebrows furrowed and he turned and gently set it back in the bush, making me laugh further. He then plucked a new flower, a red rose, and returned to his original position and repeated his line.

“Thank you,” I said, wiping away a tear. “Where am I supposed to put this?”

“I don’t know,” he said, “in your hair or something.”

“How about we put it in your hair,” I say, heading up to him and sticking it into his fluffy curly hair. Suddenly I gasp. “I have an idea. Let’s make you a flower crown!”

“Oh gosh,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “Why not?”

“Come on!” We raced through, picking up flowers from bush after bush. “Don’t touch that one!” I told him, “It’s known to cause breakouts on open skin, won’t kill you but it isn’t pleasant.”

He quickly pulled his hand away and followed me, helping me carry all the flowers. We eventually made it to the end of the garden, where there was a huge gazebo lit up with fair lights. It reminded me of the scene in A Cinderella Story at the dance.

“We need a long, bendy stick to make it into a crown,” I told him.

”How about this?” He asked, pointing to some connected to the gazebo.

“No! If that one is broken the entire plant dies.”

“How do you know so much about these plants? I thought you’d never been in here?”

“I haven’t. But I’ve been studying botany since I was in middle school. It’s what I want to go into when I graduate.”

“Ah,” he nodded his head in understanding. “But I thought the party was for  people in the music industry?”

“It is. That’s my parents, Mr. And Mrs. Executive Producer. I’m not really a part of that,” I explain quickly, “Here it is,” I tugged a skinny wooden twig and tied it into a ring big enough to fit his head.

Together we stuck the flowers on it and I crowned him with it, smiling at the sight.

“You look beautiful,” I tell him, meaning it sincerely. It wasn’t the flower crown that made him, it was the wide smile and excited eyes.

“Why thank you,” he said, flashing a grin and adjusting his crown. He pulled out his phone and an unrecognizable slow song sounded out of the speakers. “Uh, I know in there wasn’t exactly your crowd, but now that it’s just me and you.. May I have this dance?”

“You know I don’t dance,” I told him again.

“Come on,” he said, clasping his hands together. “Please? For me? Do I have to get on my knees again?”
 I laugh, knowing he’s already won. “Fine, fine. Yes, I’d love to dance with you.”

One of his hands clasp mine and the other lands on my waist. Normally I’m uncomfortable with people touching me in any way, but it feels different this time. It feels right.

A voice is soon incorporated into the beautiful melodies and I recognize it almost immediately.

“Is this you?”

“Yeah. I wondered if you would notice.”

This night suddenly took a turn. It was always something else, never me. No one ever came to me because they liked me. I pulled away. “Look, my parents are the record producers. If you’re looking for recognition show them—“

“No,” he pulled me back, “this is a new phone, all I have right now is my own music. I’m already signed, if it makes you feel better.”

“Oh,” was all I could let out.

“Look, I really like you. You, okay? Not your parents.” He says, still swaying with me to the music.

“I like you too,” A half sigh, half laugh comes out of me. “And I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Shawn,” he finally tells me.

I smiled rest my head on his shoulder, rocking with the music.

“Feel free to tell me yours,” he says.

There he goes, making me laugh again. “Y/N.”

“Your name is just as gorgeous as you are.”

“You sound so corny.”

“But I mean it,” he said, gripping my waist a little tighter. Weirdest part was that I already knew he did.

The song ended and we took a seat on the bench, just talking about our lives, where we came from, where we were headed.

As we stood back up to find something else to do, my phone rang from inside my boob. It was slightly embarrassing digging it out of my chest but as soon as I did reality snapped back.

“It’s my dad, probably wondering where I am. I’ve gotta go.”

“Wait!” he calls out, holding onto my hand.

I turn and he brings me close, even closer than when we were dancing. He places his hand on my neck and and brings his lips down to mine firmly. I immediately feel the connection and can’t help but return his affection.

He moans a little as I wrap my arm around his neck and kiss him harder.

“Hey! Who’s back there?”

We both jump away from each other, hearing the quick footsteps of a guard or whoever called from the entrance. I leave the lock on the bench and grab his hand.

“Run!”

“I thought you said the owners gave you access!” He says, running behind me.

“Did I say me? I meant my parents.”

Masterlist

Prompt List - to be updated

Song Prompt List

—— A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! To the requester, I’m sorry this took so long to get up. I told you Thursday and it’s now Monday (technically Tuesday). It just took a while to configure an ending I liked, but it’s here, I’m satisfied. And as always, if you want a part 2, I’m open to making one. I have a couple more Shawn imagines t make, an one JG imagine that’ll be coming up soon. Btw this isn’t proofread, so if you see mistakes point them out to me!

Peace, that-fandom-tho.

[let-the-bands-take-c0ntrol]

Three Day Blurb Event!

Hey Lovelies! So here’s the thing I like talking to each and everyone of you it’s fun and you’re all such wonderful people! I’m about to go on vacation in a matter of two days, I will be gone for three days (Monday-Wednesday) but in the meantime I want to do something that involves you.

I write a lot on this blog and along with my tumblr blogs, work, and school starting soon I haven’t had time to read a lot of my favorite fic writers. So I thought why not have full three days (my vacation days) of you lovelies sending me some blurbs? You can submit it, tag me, send it via ask box, whatever your heart desires. I’ll respond/reblog to it so that why I keep this blog active for the three days that I’m gone and showcase your writings and au ideas! 

You can send me blurbs about:

5sos

The Vamps

Omaha Squad/OGOC

Shawn Mendes

Dylan O’Brien (I’m looking at you @honeymoonmuke I’m still over the moon about that smut)

I’m really hoping you all take part in this three day event. I feel like I can be able to do this now because I’ve recently been receiving a lot of feedback on my works which I love. Plus it’s something fun that everyone can get in on. This will be going on from Sunday-Tuesday (starting at anytime you have time). I’ll reblog this post again when the time comes. 

I’ll have a new part to New Man either out today or tomorrow before I head on vacation. I’m hoping this event doesn’t flop because it’s flopped before lol. So yeah! Thanks for reading if you got this far!

Love, Jazmine!

[honey-andtea1889]

Battered and Bruised

AN: Hello! This is my very first Spencer Reid blurb! I’m super excited to write this and I seriously hope you all enjoy it! My requests are open and ready for business, please don’t be afraid to ask! Xx

Summary: The BAU team gets called on a case in Omaha, Nebraska for kidnaps and murders of women around the city. When Y/N get taken, Spencer goes to the ends of his being to find her. 

Warnings: Violence, swearing, death, mention of rape, shit ton of fluff

Song: Battered and Bruised by Circa Waves 

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

Mornings weren’t Y/N’s strong suit. Especially when it included waking up at 5:30 am because your boss calls you in on a case. She knew it was a serious case just because of the time and after the last case the team had finished, she knew she couldn’t be too upset. 

Y/N loved her job at the BAU. It was pretty much her who reason for living. She absolutely loved helping people and putting away criminals that don’t deserve any more than a kick of dust. Just the feeling of saving someone’s life made the job worth it. She always put her heart fully into every case that came up, making sure that every person that was found was safe and every bastard that would cause the victims pain would get every ounce of punishment they had coming to them. Y/N couldn’t think of doing anything else.

Her team made it even better. She got along with everyone. They were all so welcoming when she first joined the FBI, Y/N felt that these people, this wonderful team, was her family. 

Y/N soon made it to the BAU and went straight into the break room for some coffee. She ran into a very groggy, barely woken Derek Morgan. He smiled at her, sipping his morning brew. 

“Good Morning, Princess. How was your nap?” Derek asked as he chuckled. 

“About as good as it can get. Can’t believe we got called back in so quickly. Did Hotch tell you anything about today’s case?” Y/N asked. 

Derek shook his head. As far as they knew, no one was told about the case. Hotch had just called everyone in saying that it was an emergency. The two were soon joined by none other than David Rossi. He smiled as he made himself a cup of coffee, sighing at the time. 

“One of these days, I’m just not going to answer my phone.” Rossi grumbled. 

The three of them laughed. Derek and Rossi made their way to the briefing room while Y/N fixed herself another cup of coffee. A loud groan echoed through the hall, and you knew who that belonged to. Dr. Spencer Reid came into sight as he trudged over to the coffee machine, smiling a tired smile at Y/N. 

Spencer and Y/N had a weird relationship. It was evident that the two of them had feelings for one another, but neither of them acknowledged them. There were times where Y/N wished she had the courage to just walk up to Spencer and ask him out, but she could never convince herself to do it. Spencer was the same way. He thought she was so beautiful and smart. He felt so comfortable around her and just being in the same room as her was a gift in itself, he just didn't know how to ask without making a fool of himself. Everyone on the team could feel the romantic tension between the pair and it killed them. Spencer couldn’t could how many times Derek had mentioned it to him that he should ‘make a move before someone else does.’ 

“Whoever allowed anything to be done before 11:30 in the morning is psychotic.” Spencer grumbled, pouring coffee into a mug. 

“I hear ya, but Hotch sounded pretty serious on the phone. We should probably get up there.” Y/N sighed. 

The two made it into the briefing room, Penelope setting everything up for the team. Spencer took a seat next to Y/N, smiling at her as he took his first coffee sip of the day. Prentiss, JJ, and Hotch soon flew into the room as Penelope began explaining the case. 

“Three women were found dead in ditches all around Omaha, Nebraska. Jenna Lender, 25, was our latest victim. She was last seen yesterday morning, getting coffee for her boss. Jenna’s boss tried calling her after noticing she was gone longer than she needed to be but got nothing.” Penelope said as she clicked through the presentation. 

“How long did the unsub keep the other victims alive?” Emily asked. 

“That’s the thing, all of the girls were only alive for a day. once he was finished with one, the unsub would spend a week hunting for a new woman.” Hotch says. 

“He stays in the same area, he’s got a comfort zone.” Spencer said, eyeing the file in front of him. 

“He obviously doesn’t have a type, the women are all different. The only thing that is connecting them is their age.” Y/N said. 

“And their jobs. All of the girls worked at the same company just different departments. It looks like the building is downtown, did they know each other?” JJ asked.

“No, its a huge company. Jenna worked on the 23rd floor in Accounting, Sierra on the 12th floor in Marketing, and Marie on the 33rd as an assistant to the CEO.” Penelope said as she clicked on her tablet. 

“Are we looking at the CEO of this company? Maybe he’s got something to do with it?” Derek questioned. 

“No, he’s got a trustful alibi.” 

“Whoever it is, we need to find him before he kills again. Wheels up in 30.” Hotch said, gathering the files to head out to the jet. 

The team gathered their things and boarded the plane. Everyone was slowly dozing off in their seats while Y/N and Spencer stayed up and talked about the little things. They did this every so often. Whenever they had a long trip, the pair would sit closer to the back and just talk. They never had a set conversation, the topic was always changing. Y/N loved that. 

“No way, you can’t possibly think that Stephan King outranks Edgar Allan Poe.” Spencer laughed. 

Y/N shrugged and smiled at the genius to her right. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I love Edgar, but something about King’s writing just hits a little on the different side.” She said as she sipped on her coffee. 

Spencer studied Y/N. He took in her features, her beautiful Y/E/C eyes, her gorgeous smile, intoxicating laugh. He became so enthralled by her beauty, he didn’t realize that the plane had landed and the team were departing the aircraft. Y/N noticed his staring and blushed. Now wasn't the time to flirt though. They had a job to do. 

“Alright, Prentiss and Morgan, I want you two at the first crime scene. Look for any details that were missed. Rossi, you and I will go to the second crime scene. JJ, talk to the families of the girls. We need to know if there was anything linking them. Reid and Y/N, go to the latest crime scene and gather as much evidence as possible. You both are then to go to the police station and set up. We’ll meet there in about two hours.” Hotch explained.

Everyone broke off into their respected groups. Y/N and Spencer quickly arrived to the recent crime scene, the body still laying in the position it was found.

“FBI?” A detective asked.

“Yeah, this is SSA Y/L/N and I’m Dr. Reid. Is this how the body was found?” Spencer quizzed at the detective.

The man nodded and led the two over to the body on the ground. Y/N looked at the woman to see if there was any form of self defense wounds on her. Spencer was taking note of the area in which the body was found. It was just outside of town, the woods just a few miles away from the dump sight. Spencer was about to look around until Y/N called him over.

“Take a look at this.” She said, moving the arm of the woman.

The two saw marks around her wrists, showing that the woman was tied up when she was captured. As the looked even closer, the agents could see the body had bruises all along her neck, hips, and thighs. 

“This woman was raped, Spence.” Y/N said disappointedly. 

Spencer sighed. This case was not going to be an easy one. The two headed back to the station to set up the search. Spencer could see that Y/N was a bit off since they left the crime scene. Morgan and Prentiss came into the room, they were almost out of breath as the entered. 

“Marie Thomas was raped.” Prentiss explained. 

“So was Jenna.” Y/N stated, pinning up a photo of her lifeless body. 

“So he stalks them for a week, kidnaps them, rapes them, then dumps their dead bodies in ditches.” Derek said as he flopped onto a chair. 

“None of the girls had enemies at work, they all got along with their coworkers and mostly kept to themselves.” JJ said as she walked in. 

“So what sick bastard is taking these women?” Emily questioned. 

Hotch and Rossi soon joined the rest of the team, both looking more on edge than everyone else. 

“Guys? Are you okay?” Y/N asked. 

“Something isn’t sitting right.” Rossi sighed. 

Hotch walked over to the board as Spencer explained how he wanted the people of Omaha to see that he means business. Y/N became uncomfortable with the topic and decided to stand outside to get some fresh air, clearing her mind from all of the horrifying information she had taken in. Derek came to check up on her almost immediately after she left. 

“You okay mamas?” He asked. 

Y/N chuckled at the nickname.

“Honestly? No. These poor women were just living their lives and then this happens to them.” She explains, her heart sinking at the thought. 

“Look, Y/N, I know this is hard, but we have to keep our heads up. We’ll catch this sick son of a bitch, no matter the cost.” He said. 

“Derek, we don't have a lead. We can’t even connect the girls to each other besides the fact that they’re all the same age and work in the same building. To me, it almost seems like a revenge story.” 

Y/N’s head picks up after she said that. What if it was a revenge plot? What if the unsub was hurt by an ex or embarrassed by a coworker of the opposite sex and it just trying to get payback? 

Derek looked at Y/N curiously. She bolted back into the station and ran into the conference room where the rest of the team was. 

“This is a revenge spree.” Y/N said. 

The team looked at each other, confusion taking over the room. Y/N walked over to the board and began explaining her theory. 

“All three women worked at prestigious jobs, all three women were young, they were successful. Maybe this guy was ridiculed by someone like them, a girlfriend, coworker, boss, whatever. He is most likely killing them because he’s intimidated by them.” She said. 

“That explains the connection. But what about the geographical profile? What the significance of the ditches around the city?” Rossi asked. 

“He obviously wants them seen but not immediately. He’s almost trying put on a show for people, saying that he’s superior.” Spencer adds, looking over the photos. 

“It adds up but what about the rapes? He just does it because he can?” JJ asks. 

“No, he’s asserting dominance to these women. Showing them that he’s in charge.” Hotch said. 

“Gather all your officers up Detective. We have a profile.” 

About 15 minutes later, Omaha Police Officers and Detectives were surrounding the FBI agents as they gave the profile. 

“The man we’re looking for is in his late 20′s-early 30′s. He socially awkward and intimidated by women of higher class.” Hotch starts. 

“He won’t approach anyone first. He would be someone that keeps to himself at work unless his boss came up to him.” Emily said as she looks around the room. 

“Over the years he’s been humiliated by women of authority, this could be a boss, higher up coworker, a girlfriend even. He has been taking this for years and has had enough.” Y/N said. 

“He’s definitely the odd one out, he doesn’t look like he could do something as gruesome as this. Think of like a nerdy kid in high school.” Rossi explained.

“He’s trying to assert his dominance. He’s been submissive almost his whole life, he’s trying to show that he’s the one whose in charge by not only kidnapping, but raping the victims before he kills them.” Derek said as he sat in front of the group. 

“He’s on the hunt right now. He could be anywhere around the city so be on the look out.” Spencer said. 

“We’ve already made sure that everyone never leaves a location alone and that a city wide curfew has been set.” JJ says, crossing her arms. 

“This man is very dangerous, stay alert and stay safe.” Hotch said, ending the briefing. 

Y/N exhaled and decided to take a breather. She walked outside and took a deep breath. The case was starting to get to her. It could also be the lack of sleep she had. 

Y/N turned to go back inside, until she felt a sharp pain coursing on her head and the world went black. 

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

After a few hours, Spencer had noticed Y/N missing and started looking for her. He looked around the station and even went downtown to see if she was at some coffee shop. He called her phone, only to be answered by her voicemail. Somethings wrong Spencer thought. He quickly went back to the station, panic taking over his mind. 

“Hey, Y/N isn't answer her phone and I can’t find her anywhere.” Spencer said frantically as he entered into the conference room.

The team looked around at each other, trying to figure out where she could’ve gone. It was normal for Y/N to wonder off during a case but not for longer than a half hour. The team knew that sometimes, some cases can be a little much for her so she steps away to take a minute to gather herself. Spencer would always go to make sure that she was okay, comforting her whenever she became overwhelmed with any case they were working on.

“Oh god..what if..” Emily started. 

“Our unsub has her.” Hotch said grabbing her phone and dialing Penelope’s phone number. 

“Hello my sweet, beautiful, darlings. How might I be of assistance.” Penelope sang through the small phone. 

“Garcia, Y/N has been taken. We need you to run a search on her phone to see where she could possibly be.” Rossi said. 

“Oh my god, no.” She said, sadness and worry taking over her demeanor. 

“It’s gonna be okay baby girl. We’re gonna find her, right now we need you to get that search started.” Derek cooed. 

Spencer was standing in the back, watching everything unfold. 

How could he let this happen? Usually he would check up on her but today, he was so wrapped up in the case that he didn’t even bother to make sure she was okay. He wanted to make sure that you weren’t over stressed, especially with cases like this one. This was all his fault. He should’ve gone with her. His guilt began to eat at him, anxiety gnawing at him like a dog on a bone.

“Spence? You okay?” Emily asked. 

“This is all my fault..” He whispered. 

“Spencer, you couldn’t have done anything to stop this. We’re dealing with a violently aggressive man-” 

“I check on her when cases become too much. I make sure that she’s okay. I’m always there for her and this time, I wasn’t. I wasn’t able to protect her from this maniac out there. And because of that, I’m losing the love of my life...again.” Spencer snaps. 

Emily looks at the sad Doctor with empathy. She rubs his back for just a moment and returns to the rest of the team, leaving Spencer on his own. 

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

Y/N groaned as she picked her head up, the weight being ridiculously heavy. She took in her surroundings, seeing only a dark room with a single light bulb above her. She tried to move but her hands and feet were tied together on a chair. Well this wasn’t how I wanted to spend my day, she thought. Y/N soon heard a loud slam come from down the hall. Footsteps were soon followed, dragging along the concrete floor. 

“Well. Aren’t you a pretty one.” A man with a deep voice seethed, slowly making his way over to the light. 

Y/N could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest. To say she was terrified was a huge understatement. 

“What do you want from me? I wasn’t the one who hurt you.” Y/N said, trying to sound as brave as she could. 

“No, but you’re like her.” The man yelled as he slapped her cheek. 

“What do you gain from this? Huh? Some sick form of pleasure?” Y/N screamed as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. 

The unsub punched her in her face. Y/N could feel a bruise forming under her eye as she panted. Y/N was a strong girl, and she wasn’t going to give up that easily but she definitely couldn’t hold on forever. 

She hoped the team would save her soon. 

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

“Okay so by the looks of it, her phone was up and active until she got closer to the forest. That’s where the trail runs cold.” Garcia says, clicking away on her many computers. 

“Detective, is there any abandoned houses or barns out that way?” Hotch asked. 

“There’s actually an old barn just passed town. It’s deep in the woods though. Kinda hard to see at night.” The Detective said. 

“Well we can’t wait until morning, she’ll be dead by then, so if you could tell us what the coordinates are, that’ d be great.” Spencer hissed. 

“Reid.” Hotch said sternly. 

“No Hotch, if we wait any longer Y/N will be dead. She’s part of the time and a huge part of my life. I can’t just wait around until it’s convenient for everyone!” Spencer yelled.

The team looked at Spencer in surprise. Hotch signaling to Derek to get Spencer to calm down before he’s removed from the case. 

“Kid, I know you care about this girl, but you need to keep your cool.” Derek said, pulling Spencer to the other side of the room. 

“I’m sorry, Morgan. I just want her to be alive.” Spencer said, his voice wavering. 

“I know. We’ll get your girl back.” Derek promised. 

Spencer nodded and hugged his friend. 

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

“Only a few hours left gorgeous, better get some rest before I destroy you.” The man said. 

Y/N was beaten beyond belief. She felt as though she’d been to hell and couldn’t recover. Her vision was hazy, she could tell she had a huge concussion. Her lip was bleeding and by the throbbing of her eye, she knew there was going to be some bruising. Her body ached from being beaten in a chair. She could barely keep her eyes open. 

Her thoughts went to Spencer. She thought about ever seeing him again, about ever being able to tell him that she loved him. She wanted to finally express her feelings to him, but probably won’t ever get the chance now. Her swollen eyes began to fill with tears as her heart breaks. 

It’s not long until the man come back and beats her again. Constantly throwing fists at her face. 

“How does it feel to be less than nothing, you bitch.” He whispered.

“Go to hell.” Y/N seethed.

With that, Y/N spit some of the blood from her lip at the unsub. He yelled and slapped her across the face. As he was going in for a punch, Y/N hear footsteps outside, Her heart beat picked up, knowing her team finally came to her rescue. 

“You think you’re all big and bad because you kill and rape women? hah, I’ve seen bugs better than you.” Y/N spat. 

It was that moment where a click of a gun rang throughout the barn and Hotch’s voice rang through Y/N’s ears. 

“Put your hands where I can see them.” He said sternly. 

The unsub grabbed a knife and pulled it to Y/N’s throat.

“If I die, she dies with me.” He said. 

Spencer locked his gun and pointed to the unsub. He could see the terror and shame in Y/N’s eyes as his fingers landed on the trigger. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to keep her safe, and after this, he was going to make sure you weren’t in harms way. 

“Sir, just let the girl go.” Hotch tried reasoning. 

“Why? So she could go tell scrawny over there to work harder? So she could torment him just like I was?” 

The unsub looked over to Spencer. 

“You know she screams your name, right?” he said. 

“She screamed it while I was beating her to a pulp. Guess you could say she-” 

A gunshot was fired. The man’s body flopped to the floor as Y/N hyperventilated. Spencer ran over to her, untying ever blasted knot that was harming her precious skin. Once she was released, Y/N flopped down on top of Spencer, holding him as tightly as she could. 

“I thought I was never going to see you again.” he whispered. 

“I was so scared Spence. I thought he was going to-” 

Spencer cut Y/N off. 

“I wouldn’t let anything like that happen to you, Y/N. I care about you way too much to let someone manhandle you like that.” Spencer said lovingly. 

Y/N pulled away from him and crashed her lips onto his. 

The kiss was delicate, yet full of passion. The pair kissed for just a few moments before they pulled away. 

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while, just couldn’t find the right time.” Y/N said, softly smiling at the cheesing Doctor. 

“Well I’m glad you finally did. Come on, let’s get you home.” Spencer smiled. 

Both agents stood up from the ground and made their way outside of the barn. Y/N was looked at for her injuries and soon after, the team made their way back home. 

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

“Don’t worry about the reports just yet, guys. Go home and get some rest.” Hotch said as they entered the BAU. Everyone cheered as they all made their ways to their designated cars. 

“Hey, Spence?” Y/N asked. 

“Yeah?”  

“Can I please stay with you? I don’t know if I could stay there by myself tonight.” Y/N blushed. 

Spencer smiled and pulled Y/N into his chest. Y/N snuggled in tightly, feeling the warm embrace of the Doctor who saved her.

“Of course you can stay, do you want to run back to your place and get some clothes?” Spencer asked. 

Y/N nodded as they headed to his car. The drive back to Y/N’s apartment was silent, but a comfortable silent. The two held each other’s hand tightly, afraid of letting the other person go. They pulled into the parking lot and made their way upstairs. Y/N unlocked her apartment and quickly slid inside, allowing Spencer access to her home. Y/N quickly ran back to her room, gathering some clothes and her tooth brush so she could stay over at Spencer’s. 

As she exited her room, Spencer was sat on her kitchen counter, looking through a small cookbook her mother had given her. 

“These snickerdoodles sound really good, do you mind if we bring this and make cookies tomorrow?” Spencer asked. 

“Sure.” 

Spencer smiled and took Y/N’s hand, leading her back to the car. The drive to Spencer’s apartment wasn't too far from hers. The two quickly made it up the stairs and into the apartment. 

Spencer’s place was cozy. With the many books on the book shelf, it made Y/N’s heart fill with joy. A yawn passed Y/N’s lips. 

“You wanna go to sleep, darling?” Spencer asked, placing a hand on her back. 

Y/N nodded. Spencer lead her to his room. They both began to get ready for bed when Y/N spoke up. 

“Can I wear one of your shirts to sleep?” 

“Of course, here.” Spencer said, handing Y/N a black crewneck sweater. 

Y/N threw it on and climbed into bed. Spencer follow shortly after, snuggling close to Y/N as possible. She rested her head on his chest and sighed. Spencer kissed her head sweetly whispering: 

“I love you.” 

[nebraska-doesnt-exist]

Hey I dont live in Nebraska but same can be said for IL. Unless it's about gang violence in Chicago or corruption in either Chicago or Springfield we don't get attention. And we're having just as bad of flooding in the Rockford area. I really hope some day both states get the attention they deserve.

yeah, it’s a pretty common thing for most communities that aren’t in the biggest cities. The Post is full of people talking about disasters their communities have dealt with that didn’t get attention, or the attention was focused on major urban areas that didn’t suffer as much.

wow, sorry for the rambling post—i got a little carried away, so it’s under a read more. anyways, i hope you stay safe up there—from one forgotten state to another! 💜💜

obviously i think it’s important for the news to cover disasters that occur in/affect large cities, and i’m not mad or whatever that other disasters have been covered—that’s good! i’m glad the news covers hurricanes and fires! i just think they should also cover disasters that affect everyone else, even if they aren’t as exciting.

someone described it as the news-as-entertainment, and i definitely agree with that. i’m trying to be careful here because i don’t think it’s a “fake news” issue, and it may not even be the fault of individual reporters on major stations. it’s really the corporations behind media networks and the push for news to make money.

all you have to do is look at the alarming number of papers that have had massive layoffs, or the numerous local papers/stations bought up by larger companies, and it becomes clear why this environment that prioritizes revenue has become so prevalent in the media industry. (hopefully this doesn’t sound like some right-wing conspiracy theory; i’m coming at this as a copy editor watching as newsrooms shrink and positions like mine are outsourced to other agencies in different states.)

there’s a really strong push for news stations and papers to focus on stories that are going to generate revenue. viewership. readers. “clicks.” flooding in nebraska isn’t exciting until it’s a disaster, until it’s too late.

even then, so many articles and segments focus on exciting or recognizable stories. how many stories covering the floods talked about/focused on omaha even though the city itself was relatively unaffected? but it’s the only city non-nebraskans will recognize, so it gets a lot of attention.

or how many articles were there about that fridge full of beer some guys found? there’s literally nothing newsworthy about that, and it trivializes the destruction—but it’s funny and exciting and gets readers, so naturally that’s splashed everywhere that bothers to report on the flooding.

online papers/news sites publish stories to get clicks. tv stations run stories to keep viewers from changing the channel. so long as media outlets are capitalistic in nature, focused on generating revenue over truly delivering the news even, when it isn’t glamorous, this divide isn’t going to get fixed.

and for the record, i’m sure this is a problem even within cities or in urban areas. there are always places and people that are overlooked because “nobody cares.” how many poor urban communities are ignored in media because their stories aren’t exciting enough to be covered? flint has more than one hundred thousand residents—how hard has it been for them to get media attention, especially as they continue to struggle?

the fact of the matter is that we need to be able to question the way our national media is run without having our concerns get derailed by antisemitic “fake news” fascists or supposedly “woke” people who think any criticism of the media or concern for rural communities must come from the alt-right.

(quite frankly this is getting into a whole other debate about the dangers of the strict binary line of thinking promoted by our current two-party system. you’re either right or wrong. democrat or republican. a or b. it’s this constricting binary that forbids external suggestions and refuses to look for different or nuanced solutions. but i could talk about that forever and this post is long enough.)

(also, i wasn’t sure where to fit this in above, but national media does provide an important service, keeping us informed about our national government—but coverage tends to hyper-focus on certain stories and neglect important issues. there’s no need to spend twenty minutes having three people fight over what this tweet means and then mention a natural disaster or controversial law as a ten-second story blurb.)

.

((note: this post isn’t for bigots. don’t reblog if you’re racist, antisemitic, islamaphobic, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, exclusionist, ableist, etc. etc.))

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Pumpkinheads

Author: Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2019

Genres: fiction, graphic novel, romance, contemporary, LGBT+

Blurb: Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they’ve worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say goodbye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September first...but this Halloween is different. Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch, their last shift together, their last goodbye. Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it; Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: what if, instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut, they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights, taste all the snacks, and Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years. What if their last shift was an adventure?

[nicasbookblr]

Title: Before He Kills Author: Blake Pierce Format: Audiobook | free on @applebooks (link on bio) Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 Review: Giving this audiobook 4.5⭐️ because it does not only have a gripping plot, it also showcases how women are being looked over at a job that is apparently meant for men. Mackenzie White was often treated with disrespect and her authority was constantly being undermined by her peers who thought her pretty face won’t be able to crack such a case. Same writing style as in Girl, Alone, it is a suspenseful plot driven story. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because I’m wondering what happened to the last victim. Other than that, it was very exciting to listen to as I move around the house! Check blurb in the comments. 🏷 #bookishcanadians #bookblogger #bibliophile #bookstagramcanada #bookstagramphilippines #bookstagramfeature #bookishcommunity #booksofinstagram #bookreview #bookreviewer #igreads #bookworld #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booklover #booknerd #bookcommunity #audiobookstagram #audiobooksta #audiobookrecs #audiobookish #audiobookcommunity #bookrecommendations #iloveaudiobooks #bookcommunity #audiobooklover #audiobooklistener #audiobookblog #audiobook (at Omaha, Nebraska) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZgZ0ulLUKS/?utm_medium=tumblr

[allthingsdarkanddirty]

Opal from Omaha by Nora Nolan

Available at: https://books2read.com/u/mq0Nq1

Blurb:

Can she put the trauma she has witnessed behind her to start a new life as a bride?

Opal McAllister is eager to travel to Big Rock. Not only will she be reunited with her childhood friend, but she’ll be married to one of the town’s most successful men. At nearly thirty years of age, she’d begun to think she might never marry, but she always held out hope. When Amy writes to ask her if she’d be willing to become a bride of one of the many single men in Big Rock, she jumps at the chance. After corresponding with Henry Tucker for a while, she knows he is the man of her dreams. However, the situation Opal encounters on her trip to her new home affects her deeply.

Henry loves his smart, funny, fun-loving new wife, but he can see that fear has taken root in her and threatens to hold her prisoner. What will it take for her to release that fear, once and for all? Join Opal and Henry on this adventure as their love soars, their intimacy shocks and sizzles, and the villains are vanquished.

Publisher’s Note: This steamy Western romance contains graphic murder scenes, love scenes, and a theme of power exchange. Please do not read if any of these are offensive to you.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Opal-Omaha-Operation-Rock-Brides-ebook/dp/B08PVXH3HH

Universal: https://books2read.com/u/mq0Nq1