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maskedbyghost · 18 days ago

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Shadows of Obsession (part 4)

part 1 tw: obsessive behavior, mentions of killing, harm, and potential danger to the character

The house was too perfect. Books she’d mentioned in passing lined the shelves. A cardigan she’d lost months ago was draped over a chair. Every detail screamed of his attention, and it unsettled her more than the silence.

One evening, she found him by the window, staring out into the dark forest that stretched for miles. His mask was off, but his shoulders were tense.

“You think this fixes anything?” she asked, her voice cutting through the silence.

Simon didn’t turn around. “It’s not about fixing things.”

“Then what is it about?” she snapped, stepping closer. “Control? Punishment? What do you want, Simon?”

Finally, he turned, his eyes scanning her face like he was memorizing every detail. “I want you alive.”

Her breath hitched at the rawness in his voice, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. “Alive isn’t the same as living. You know that, right?”

He took a slow step toward her, his movements slow. “You don’t get it. If you knew how close they were—how close I was to losing you—you wouldn’t be standing here arguing with me.”

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You’re right. I don’t get it. Because normal people don’t stalk their coworkers and kidnap them for their own safety.”

Simon flinched, and for a moment, she thought he might actually leave her alone. But instead, he closed the distance between them, his voice low and steady. “You can hate me all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that someone out there wants you dead. And I’m the only thing standing between you and them.”

Her anger faltered as his words sank in, but she refused to let him see her fear. “You think that justifies this?” she whispered.

“No.” His answer was immediate, almost startling. “But it’s the only way I know how to keep you safe.”

She stared at him, searching for a crack in his resolve, some sign that he wasn’t as unshakeable as he seemed. And then, quietly, she asked the same question she repeated every day, “Why me?”

For a long moment, Simon said nothing. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than she’d ever heard it. “Because you’re the only person who’s ever looked at me like I was more than...this.” He gestured vaguely to himself, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Her chest tightened at the vulnerability in his words, and she hated the way it made her feel—like the ground wasn’t as solid beneath her feet as she’d thought.

“This isn’t how you show someone they matter,” she said, her tone softer now but no less firm.

Simon’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I know.”

Silence stretched between them. She wanted to scream at him, to demand answers, but the exhaustion of the situation weighed her down.

Instead, she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there in the dark. For now, she didn’t know if she could forgive him. But she knew one thing: he wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.

She was sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the TV, flipping through channels without watching a single thing.

Simon came in from outside, brushing snow off his jacket. He glanced at her, then at the TV. “Anything good on?”

She gave him a flat look. “No. Not unless you count reruns of cooking shows and soap operas.”

He smirked faintly, hanging his jacket by the door. “Could be worse. Could be a 24-hour news channel.”

She snorted despite herself, and the unexpected sound made Simon pause. For a moment, they just looked at each other, no one dared to say something.

“Do you even watch TV?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“Not much,” he admitted, leaning against the doorway. “But I’m guessing you’re not big on it either, considering how fast you’re flipping through.”

“Not much else to do,” she said, shrugging.

He tilted his head slightly. “We could play cards.”

“Cards?” She raised an eyebrow, half-amused, half-skeptical.

“Yeah, cards. You know, a deck of fifty-two? Clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds?”

She rolled her eyes. “I know what cards are, Simon.”

He held up his hands. “Just making sure. Could’ve fooled me with how bored you look.”

Something about his dry humor caught her off guard. She sighed, sitting up straighter. “Fine. Got a deck?”

A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Never leave home without one.”

Moments later, they were sitting across from each other at the small dining table, a deck of cards between them. He shuffled with practiced ease, the motion almost hypnotic.

“What are we playing?” she asked, watching his hands.

“Rummy. Unless you’re scared of a little competition.”

“Oh, you’re on.”

The first round was quiet, both of them focused on their hands. But by the second, she couldn’t help but comment. “You’re awfully good at this. Spent a lot of time in casinos?”

Simon chuckled softly. “Nah. Just something to do on long deployments.”

It struck her then—this moment, this normalcy. It was almost easy to forget the circumstances that had brought them here. Almost.

By the fourth round, she was laughing—actually laughing—when he groaned after losing to her for the first time. “You cheated.”

“You just can’t admit defeat,” she shot back, grinning.

“I’ll admit defeat when I see it. This? This is sabotage.”

For a fleeting moment, the house felt less like a prison and more like...a home. She didn’t know what to make of that feeling, but for now, she decided not to question it.

The house was warm, but the storm outside howled relentlessly, making her feel even more irritable than she already was. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself, glowering at the kettle on the stove like it had personally offended her.

Simon walked in from the other room, his footsteps careful as if he could sense the storm brewing inside her. “You’ve been staring at that kettle for ten minutes. Something wrong with it?”

She didn’t even look at him. “It’s taking forever.”

“It’s a kettle. Not a time machine.”

She shot him a glare that he could immediately know something wasn't right. “Do you ever stop talking?”

He raised his hands in mock surrender, leaning against the counter. “Alright, alright. Just thought you might want some company.”

“Well, I don’t,” she snapped, tugging the blanket higher over her shoulders.

Simon tilted his head, studying her for a moment. Then his eyes softened. “You’re not just grumpy. You’re in pain.”

She froze, the accusation hitting too close to home. “I’m fine,” she muttered, but her tone lacked conviction.

“You’re not.” He walked over to the cabinet, rummaging until he found a box of tea. “You could’ve just said something instead of trying to set the kettle on fire with your eyes.”

“I don’t need—”

“Just sit.” His voice was low but firm, and to her surprise, she obeyed, sinking into the couch with a huff.

A few minutes later, he placed a steaming mug in her hands, then disappeared into the other room. She stared after him, half expecting him to return with something ridiculous, but when he came back, it was with a small, unfamiliar heating pad.

“Where did you get that?” she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“Came with the house,” he said simply, plugging it in and handing it to her.

She hesitated but eventually took it, the warmth seeping into her abdomen almost immediately. “Thanks,” she mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

Simon didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed the edge of her blanket and, to her shock, slid onto the couch beside her, pulling the blanket around them both.

“What are you doing?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Keeping you warm. Relax, I’m not gonna steal your precious tea.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t protest when his arm rested lightly along the back of the couch, just brushing her shoulders.

Minutes passed in comfortable silence, broken only by the storm outside. She leaned back slightly, the warmth from the tea, the heating pad, and Simon's presence making her eyelids droop.

“This doesn’t mean I like you,” she murmured, half-asleep.

He chuckled softly, the sound rumbling through his chest. “Didn’t think it did.”

But when she shifted closer, letting her head rest against his shoulder, he didn’t say another word.

The room was dim, the single desk lamp casting long shadows across the scattered papers and photos spread out before her. Each document felt like another piece of a puzzle she couldn’t solve.

Simon leaned against the doorframe, his masked face unreadable as always. She didn’t bother looking up; his presence had become a constant, for better or worse.

“I still don’t get it,” she said, her voice tight with frustration. “Why would someone want me dead? I’m not exactly a threat to national security.”

“No, but you’ve seen things,” Simon replied, his tone calm but laced with something she couldn’t quite place. “Heard things. That makes you valuable—or dangerous.”

She slammed her hand on the desk, sending a photo sliding to the floor. “That’s not an answer! It’s just another vague excuse.”

He pushed off the wall and walked toward her. “You think the people coming after you are the type to leave behind a calling card? ‘Here’s why we’re trying to kill you, love.’”

“I didn’t ask for this,” she muttered, sinking into the chair and running a hand through her hair. “And I didn’t ask for your help, either.”

Simon crouched beside her, his dark eyes narrowing. “You didn’t have to. If I hadn’t stepped in, you wouldn’t be sitting here asking questions. You’d be six feet under.”

She looked away, his words hitting harder than she wanted to admit. “Fine,” she said quietly, “but that still doesn’t explain why you care. Why go through all this trouble for me?”

He leaned in, his breath warm against her ear, his voice low and full of a dangerous edge.

"Because I’m the only one who understands you," he said, his words dripping with something darker. "You think they care about you the way I do? You think they’d protect you? No one else would go this far."

Her breath hitched in her throat, and she opened her mouth to protest, but he was already moving closer, his presence engulfing her. The air between them grew thick, suffocating.

"You don't get it, do you?" His voice was barely a whisper now, and there was something almost possessive in the way he said it. "They think you're weak. They think you're disposable. But you belong to me."

Her stomach twisted, a mix of confusion and something else she refused to acknowledge. “What do you mean, ‘belong to you’?” she demanded, her voice trembling despite herself.

Simon’s lips curled into a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His gaze was intense, almost feverish as he took another step forward, his body crowding hers. “I’m the one who’s been keeping you alive, love. The one who’s watched your back when no one else cared. I’m the one who knows everything about you, and I’m the one who will make sure no one else gets close enough to take you away from me.”

Her pulse quickened at the intensity of his words, and the space between them felt like it was closing in, suffocating her. She opened her mouth to protest, but the words wouldn’t come.

“You don’t get to question it,” he murmured, his hand reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re mine. No one touches you, no one gets near you. Not even them.” His fingers lingered on her skin for a moment too long before he stepped back slightly, but the possessiveness in his eyes never wavered.

She wanted to push him away, to yell at him for being insane, but something in her stomach churned, making it hard to focus. He wasn’t just saving her. He was keeping her for himself.

And that terrified her more than anything else.

“I won’t let them take you,” he added, voice low and deadly, his eyes never leaving hers. “I’ll make sure of that.”

"You don’t have to do this," she said quietly, trying to regain some semblance of control.

But Simon only smiled, a smile that sent chills down her spine. "I don’t have to, but I will."

She tossed and turned in the bed, her breath shallow, her mind trapped in the nightmare that had become too familiar.

The shadowy figures circled around her, their faces blurred, their footsteps echoing in her ears. They were so close now, so close that she could feel the cold breath on her neck, the promise of something terrible looming.

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t scream. Her body was frozen, and the nightmare only grew darker. The figures reached out, hands like claws—then—

"NO!"

Her voice broke the silence as she shot up in bed, gasping for air, her heart pounding against her chest. Sweat slicked her skin, her body trembling from the terror she couldn’t shake off.

For a moment, she was still, trying to calm her breathing, her eyes wild and searching the darkness. Her fingers clenched the sheets, but the nightmare lingered, the fear still gripping her, even though she was awake.

The door creaked open, and before she could react, Simon was standing there, his figure a dark silhouette against the dim light of the hallway. His voice was soft, but it cut through the thick tension in the room.

“You’re alright,” he said, stepping inside without waiting for permission. “It was just a dream.”

She didn’t answer him immediately, her hands still trembling as she rubbed her face, trying to chase away the lingering panic. The nightmare felt too real. It always did.

“I’m not okay,” she whispered, voice barely audible. She hated how weak she sounded, but she couldn’t help it. She was scared, terrified of what they might do to her, and she didn’t know how to stop it.

Simon walked toward the bed, his heavy boots making barely a sound on the floor. Without a word, he sat beside her, the heat from his body drawing her in like a lifeline.

“Shh…” he murmured as he pulled her gently into his arms, his embrace firm. “You’re safe here.”

She didn’t say anything, letting herself melt into him, letting his warmth chase away the lingering chill from the nightmare. His heartbeat, steady and sure, was the only sound in the room now.

“Are you—” she started, but her voice cracked, and she had to swallow the lump in her throat. She didn’t want to be weak in front of him, didn’t want him to see how terrified she truly was. But when he was this close, it was hard to hide anything.

“You’re safe,” Simon repeated, his voice lower now, like a promise. He tightened his hold on her slightly, pulling her even closer. His breath brushed against her forehead as he spoke again. “I’ll make sure no one ever gets close to you again. No one will touch you. I’ll kill them all before they lay a finger on you.”

Her chest tightened at his words—not with fear, but with something else, something that made her heart beat faster. She didn’t know what to say, but the way he held her, it made her feel… safe in a way she couldn’t explain.

She closed her eyes, leaning into him, the soft rhythm of his breathing soothing her as she tried to forget the nightmare. Slowly, the darkness of the room began to fade, the weight of the night lessened by the comfort of Simon’s presence.

In the quiet, as she drifted back into sleep, Simon’s voice was the last thing she heard.

“I’ll protect you. Always.”

And with that, she finally allowed herself to relax, the nightmare slipping further away as the warmth of his arms surrounded her.

PART 5

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I've got so many ideas for these two...

@daydreamerwoah @spicyspicyliving @blackhawkfanatic @identity2212 @tessakate

#simon ghost riley x you #simon riley x you #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x female oc #simon ghost riley #simon riley

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godmadeaterribleerror · 5 months ago

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Chapter 3 - You've Torn Your Dress

Series Masterlist

Author's Note: This one's the first of many doozies. I recommend you clock out now if you think the following will distress you: mentions of rape, but no scenes or explicit description. If not, read on! Chapter Title is from Rebel Rebel by David Bowie.

Word Count: 7.7k

Chapter Summary/Warnings: Your first mission is delivered, and it goes about as expected. Contains usual tags, emphasis on mention of rape/non-con.

Tags: Soldier Boy/Supe!Female Reader, canon divergence, enemies to friends to lovers, canon divergence, slow burn, angst

Read on A03!

Chapter 2 - Chapter 4

Want to be tagged? Just ask!

When your team stepped into the safe house, you could see the moment the smell hit their noses.

“Merde,” Frenchie was the first to speak, a poor omen within itself. “What the fuck am I smelling?”

“Uh, probably the milk and meat. They’re the strongest.”

Annie said your name carefully, watching your reaction as she spoke. “What happened.”

“He wouldn’t put away the groceries.” You said with a shrug. You were over it. It was like, ten bad things ago.

“So you just. Left them out?” Hughie said, seemingly baffled.

“Yeah.”

“Mallory said she delivered them on the first night.” Annie glanced between you and Hughie.

“She did.”

Hughie’s eyes widened further. “That was almost two weeks ago.” When you just nodded in agreement, he pushed further. “They’ve been out the whole time?”

You frowned. “He doesn’t get to win.”

“What are you, five?”

You just sighed, giving Hughie a pleading look. “Don’t tell MM.”

“What?” Butcher taunted from the back of the group. “That he was right, and you can’t handle Soldier Boy?”

“I thought you were on my side about this.”

“I’m on the side of the truth, Love.”

Both you, Annie, and Frenchie let out huffs of amusement at that claim, with Hughie looking sheepishly amused.

“You can’t possibly believe that.” Annie gave Butcher a pointed look. He only winked in response, leaving her to turn back to you with an eye roll.

“Has it been like this,” Hughie gestured vaguely around him. “The whole time?”

“Nah. Worse.”

Really, hell would be a better word for it. After the knife incident, there had been the toilet paper incident, which you had won, the coffee incident, also your victory, the laundry incident, point Soldier Boy, the TV incident, point you, and the Lord of the Rings incident, another point Soldier Boy. The Elton John, Jimmy Carter, and Rockefeller Center incidents had ended in stalemates akin to the Cold War, but should those fuses reignite, you were sure you could take them home. Overall, you’d burned him seven times, he’d thrown two chairs at you, you tossed shit in his face once and threatened castration on fifteen separate occasions, and he had offered to sleep with you thirty-one times.

“He hasn’t, he hasn’t hurt you. Right?” Hughie wasn’t fully looking at you when he asked, his voice soft and nervous.

“No. I mean, he’s tried. Not in… that way, but I’ve had a few things thrown at me. All the physical violence died out around the laundry incident, though. Now we’re using psychological warfare.”

“Laundry incident?” Hughie said at the same time that Frenchie said, “Psychological warfare?”

“Don’t ask.” Was your response to both. You’d avoid revisiting the laundry incident in your mind for the rest of your life if you could help it, and the actual practice of your warfare was more childish than you’d like to admit.

“Well, as lovely as a reunion this has been, we need to talk to you both. Where’s the cunt, anyway?" Butcher craned his neck to look down the hall.

“Probably moping around in his room.” You shrugged. “Let’s talk in the living room, standing at the door is weird.”

While the living room hadn’t taken even close to as much damage as the kitchen, it had not escaped you and Soldier Boy’s sparring unscathed. Books provided by the CIA, which were mostly stereotypical classics, had been upended from their shelves and strewn across the floor. The TV was still intact, as was the sofa, but the former was stuck on PBS, and the latter was, at this point, compromised of 70% trash.

“Holy shit,” Hughie muttered as he stepped over a copy of Catcher in the Rye. “You can’t plan on living like this the whole time?”

“Well, if America’s number one man-baby would stop moaning and bitching about his glory days, then maybe, yeah.”

Annie gave you a concerned look. “And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll castrate him.” Though the threat had now been made sixteen times, it never satisfied you less to say it.

“I’ve told you, Sunshine, if you did that, you would only be hurting yourself.”

Everyone in the room fell silent, their eyes trained over you with tense gazes. You turned to find Soldier Boy almost directly behind you. “I’ve told you, by definition, I’d only be hurting you.”

He gave a mocking pout. “Wouldn’t that plague your perfect little conscious?”

“I’d live.”

“Bitch.”

“Cunt.”

“Prude.”

“Manwhore.”

“Whiny Brat.”

“Waste of space.”

“Waste of good pussy.”

“Waste of government money.”

“Waste of Compound V.”

“Pathetic, assfaced Dickwad.”

“Stuck up, pretentious Ice Queen.”

“Geriatric, entitled, blue-balled G.I. Joe Fuckdoll”

The room had practically vanished around you as you and Soldier Boy fell into your now well-tread path of insults. Your blood was burning with that feeling, aching to burst across the room as both of you glared hard enough to, fingers crossed, kill the other.

“Jesus Christ,” Hughie said, breaking you out of your own spell.

“What are they doing here?” Soilder Boy asked, somehow having only just clocked their presence. “Do I finally get to do my job and leave?”

“No,” Annie answered. “We have no way of knowing how long you’ll be here at this point.”

“That’s what I said,” you muttered under your breath, turning back to your team.

“Yeah,” Soldier Boy said at full volume. “And I don’t fucking trust you.”

“Will you get off my ass about it now?”

“I think you like me on your ass, Sunshine. My offer never leaves the table.”

“Cunt.”

“Bitch.”

“Helpless man-child.”

“Prissy tease.”

“Glorified propaganda poster-“

“No,” Annie cut it. “We’re not doing that again.”

“Party pooper,” Butcher grumbled. “I was hoping they’d kill each other this time. Then we could just go home.”

“Well, did you at least bring me drugs?” Soldier Boy seemed to search the room, as if a pile of weed and coke would miraculously appear on the floor amongst the mess of wrappers and fluid-filled paper towels.

“We’re not buying you drugs with government money.” Annie said, giving you a look of apology. “As I’m sure you’ve been told.”

“Many times,” you affirm under your breath. You’d had to hide the glue on day five, which had let to the toilet paper incident on day six. A day had not passed since where you didn’t catch him trying to turn a new household object into something to snort.

“I thought weed was fucking legal now.” Soldier Boy glared at you, as if you were personally responsible for the CIA not buying him blunts. “It’s a free fucking country. I should be able to smoke whenever I damn please.”

“Porn is legal,” you reply. “Doesn’t mean the federal government is going to bring you some.”

“If they brought me porn and weed, I’d be far more open to whatever shit you want from me.” He winked at you.

“We gave you that last time,” Hughie pointed out, shifting nervously. “It barely helped.”

“Will you be a good little supe if we come back with porn and weed? Because we can go and-“

“No, we need to do this now.” Annie spoke over Butcher, and you noticed a line of worry on her forehead, along with Hughie’s nervous fidgeting. Though Butcher didn’t seem plagued by an anxious tell, he relented to Annie faster than you’d ever seen, and alarm bells went off in your head.

“Annie,” you bit the bullet, asking softly. “What is the ‘this’ you need us for?”

She gave you an apologetic look. “Trial run.”

“Trial run?”

“We’re giving you a test, Love.” Butcher said with a smirk. “See if your little experiment is even viable. Maybe take out a player in the process. All depends on if you and him,” he jerked his head to Soldier Boy. “Do your jobs right.”

“I don’t need your little ‘test’ to know if I can do my job.” Soldier Boy snapped.

“Last time you failed,” Hughie muttered.

Frenchie nodded in agreement. “In a spectacular manner, yes.”

“Because that bitch and that pussy stopped me.” An angry scowl was thrown at Annie and Butcher, who returned it and grinned widely back respectively.

“You were going to kill a kid,” Annie said coldly.

“He shouldn’t have been in the line of fire.”

“The line of fire? Do you hear yourself? Do you really care about others so little that-“

“I’d do it again,” he snapped back, unbothered by Annie’s disgust. “You don’t get to ask me for help and get mad when I do.”

You gave Butcher a pointed look. “Aren’t you glad you listened to me?”

Though all you got in response was a grunt from Butcher, Soldier Boy’s eyes shot to you. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

You returned his glare, steeling your own eyes to match his interrogating gaze. “We’re removing the ‘kill a kid’ option from your choices. You want to know why we’re stuck here? Because you fucked it last time, and we won’t let you fuck up again.”

“You won’t let me?” He sneered, leering at you coldly. “You don’t let me do anything, Sunshine.”

If the “Sunshine” thing continued to stick, you might have to throw yourself off a roof. But you didn’t flinch, just tilting your head mockingly. “You wouldn’t need a shock collar if you hadn’t bit the hand.”

“I wouldn’t bite the hand if it hadn’t tried to kill me.”

“Nobody tried to kill you, Mate.” Butcher interjected. Soldier Boy’s anger switched back to him with fists curling at his side, but Butcher kept talking with a bored drawl. “You shouldn’t have bloody fucked up.”

“And, like I said,” you shrugged. “It won’t happen again.”

“If I see the shot, I’ll take it. Whether you like it or not.”

Looking into his eyes, you believed him. No doubt fogged your brain that, given the opportunity, Soldier Boy wouldn’t hesitate to take out Ryan Butcher with Homelander. Part of you, the angry and bitter part still trapped underground, understood that. But you’d see Ryan once, from afar, and he had looked so young. You didn’t have to imagine his fear or touch him to understand what it was like. For your life to change abruptly and without reason, to have to sprint to keep up with your new one. Soldier Boy had volunteered for this life. Ryan hadn’t. You hadn’t.

So, holding Soldier Boy’s gaze, you made your voice clear and steady. “You don’t get to take the shot until it’s clear. Ryan will be out of the picture before you even see Homelander.” You turned to Annie. “What’s the test?”

“Head-popper.” Butcher answered for Annie with an odd look at you. His voice carried the usual light and oddly joyful tone he used when discussing murdering supes, but his eyes on yours were quieter, with less manic vengeance than you’d seen before. If you didn’t know better, you’d call them thankful.

“Head-popper?”

Hughie jumped in at your confused frown. “Neuman.”

“Oh,” you paused, looking over Hughie’s worried face. “We’re going after Neuman?”

“Who the fuck is Neuman?” Soldier Boy asked with a reluctant grumble. You had picked up on his consistent annoyance with new things after you’d found him screaming at the microwave three days ago, and not knowing new people didn’t seem to be any different.

“She’s a supe who can pop people’s heads like balloons.” Frenchie gestured in imitation for effect. “It’s disgusting.”

“And she’s the VP elect, which would put an ally of Homelander in the White House, one step from the Oval Office.” Annie said pointedly, giving Frenchie a look. You offered him a small smile over her head. Though the demonstration hadn’t been helpful, watching his hands fly around mimicking Neuman’s powers was undeniably entertaining.

“She's dangerous,” Hughie added. “But she’s not a bad person. We don’t want to kill her, just remove her powers.”

“What do we need her for then?” You didn’t have to look to know Soldier Boy’s accusation was directed at you. You bit your tongue, trying to ignore the way the words seeped into your skin.

Because he’s right. A cruel whisper said into your ear, and the itch on your skin began to feel like a rash. You were saved from the plague of your thoughts—the urgent feeling to fall prompted by almost nothing—by Butcher.

“If you think you’re going anywhere without her, Governor, you’d better get used to being wrong. She’s there for the same reason she’s here. So you don’t go postal.”

Soldier Boy gave you an unreadable look as the rush of your heart in your chest slowed from Butcher’s words. You turned away from him, but you could almost feel his eyes through your skull as you looked at Butcher with a blank face.

“What’s the plan?” You asked, praying it would be simple, with as few people as possible around and, ideally, in the middle of a desert filled exclusively with fire extinguishers.

“MM and Kimiko are doing recon on one of Bob Singer’s rallies. Frenchie will create a distraction for the secret service, and Neuman’s personal detail is going to suddenly disappear-“

“Disappear?” You interrupted Butcher with raised eyebrows.

“Keep your panties on, they’ve been bribed. Once she’s isolated, Soldier Boy’ll blast her, and we can all go home confident in your little gambit.”

You hesitated, trying to imagine the last political rally you’d seen. Group of people in tight groups, electrical wiring for microphones, speakers, and lights. Gates and closed doors, hallways leading out onto streets. “How are we going to isolate her?”

“Me and Butcher will work on that,” Annie said, almost reaching for you with a reassuring pat, but thinking better and jerking her arm back. She opened her mouth, an apology certainly on her, but you raised your hand to cut her off.

“How long until we leave?” You asked. Maybe they’d say ‘three hours’ and you’d get to talk to someone who didn’t think swing music was sonically viable for a bit.

Hughie checked his watch. “Ten minutes ago.”

“Ago?” Your eyes widened.

He gave you a sheepish look. “We thought it would take less time to get you.” He turned to Soldier Boy. “Your suit’s in the van. I can bring it out-“

“I can change on the way.” Soldier Boy grumbled, ignoring Hughie’s start of sputtering protests. “Let’s get this over with.”

———-

Much to his annoyance, they had forgotten Ben’s shield, and nobody would let him change in the van. He tried several times, only to be met by a chorus of groans, shouting, and swearing. He had listened to their complaints only because she had started giving him a look he recognized as a flag for a storm of uncontrolled fire. No hot disgust or sparks of rage, only a cold and quiet, almost glassy-eyed stare. Her heart steady but her breathing too fucking controlled to be natural, measured so equally that it sounded mechanical. So, because he figured she would only become more bitchy to live with if she incinerated her alleged “friends”, Ben stopped trying to pull his shirt over his head.

Once he did, the van fell insufferably silent. The edged pleasantries and conversation he’d overheard during Butcher and his band of Assholes arrival had ceased save for tense questions and hushed conversations. Ben didn’t fail to notice all the spineless avoidance and careful words directed at them both. She, even after the foggy look faded, remained curled into a corner, trading small and toothless smiles with her team. More timid than he’d seen her before, almost like a scolded child as she looked around the van nervously. Her eyes watched the shadows as though Homelander himself might jump from them, the chew of her lip giving Ben a headache. The only words she spoke were a jab at Ben when he’d said something about political rallies post-election being fucking pathetic—giving him a lecture about American politics now heavily depending on something called “going viral”—only to fall silent once more after. Her team looked at her like a glass bomb, as if she was a delicate statue looming over their heads and not the vulgar, violent woman who slept down the hall from him. That woman infuriated him, testing his patience every time she opened her mouth, but this paranoid, skittish pussy of a girl was so much worse. So when the van halted and Butcher’s team began to filter out, he called her name. When she ignored him, he reached out and grabbed her arm.

“What the fuck!” She pulled herself out of his grip in a second, staring at him with anger. She glanced down at her arms, a look he didn’t understand crossing her face, before returning her attention to him. “Do not touch me.”

“I barely touched you,” he glowered, annoyance quickly flooding him. He had only brushed skin, with a light grip she had thrown off, there was no need to be so dramatic. “When I touch you for real, you’ll fucking know, Sunshine. And you’ll fucking beg for it. I needed to make you listen, you were fucking ignoring me.”

Her brows knit, and he heard the chew of her teeth on her tongue. “I’m not going to beg for anything, and I wasn’t ignoring you.”

“I said your name, and you kept fucking walking.”

“I didn’t hear you.” She snapped, but didn’t relent. “Speak up next time.”

She knew just as well as Ben did that they were both far from quiet, pussy-voiced fuckers. And while he definitely hadn’t yelled for her attention, it shouldn’t have fucking mattered. He’d seen her pick up his grumbled insults and mocking comments just fine over the past two weeks. “Bitch.”

“What do you want?” She asked with a sigh, ignoring his jab and looking at him as if he exhausted her just by breathing. “We have to go, and you still need to change.”

“You shouldn’t let them treat you like that.” He said, not hiding the contempt from his voice. He wasn’t going to skirt around his thoughts, lining them gently to help her fucking feelings.

Her body tensed, her limbs looking as if they’d locked into place. “Like what?” Ben heard her swallow as she answered, her voice not lost enough to make her sound clueless to his words.

“Like you’re a child they have to coddle. A problem they have to deal with.”

She stared at him, her glassy-eyes returning. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re fucking talking about, cunt-face.”

Ben snorted. “They don’t treat you like the bitch you are. They always use that sweet, pussy voice, like they’re talking to a fucking puppy, when they say something to you. They’re always all fucking pouty when they look at you, pussyfooting around so they don’t make you sad.” He gave her a mocking grin, hoping the next words landed like a bullet. “They treat you like me.”

It had clearly worked, as the van had grown hot, and her eyes were clearing as her heart began to pick up. Ben felt an odd feeling cover him as he heard it, almost familiar and sparking pride in his chest. She wasn’t a jittery shell anymore, she was going to try and kill him. It made his grin grow genuine, and the van grew only more heated, the air waving around them.

Her mouth opened, and Ben hoped whatever came out of it would be vile and crude.

“Hey!” She turned her head and clenched her jaw as someone called her name from outside, the van rattling as a fist banged against it. “We need to go!”

The door opened to reveal the Cocksucker, whose face grew quickly red, a bead of sweat falling from his hairline, as he was blasted with a quickly dying wave of heat.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, turning from Ben as the heat dropped further. “Coming.”

Cocksucker gave her a worried look, his gaze flying quickly to Ben, but just nodded and stood aside for her to move past.

As the door closed and Ben began to change, he listened for their soft, tense words.

“Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?” Cocksucker’s voice was nervous and gentle, like being suffocated by one of those fucking fluffy blankets Ben had seen in the empty bedroom of the safe house.

“No, he just grabbed me to talk. And you don’t have to keep asking me that. I’m fine, and it’s not as helpful as you think it is.” Ben frowned at her voice, the malice from it drained entirely in only a few seconds, replaced with only a tired hollowness.

“Grabbed you?! Like, he touched you?”

Having anticipated Cocksucker being more interested in the “talk” part of her sentence, or the shit that sounded like it was about feelings, Ben's brain rattled over Cocksucker’s word, his tone of panic looping in Ben’s head. He spoke of Ben’s touch as though it were a plague, and not something many people would kill to feel. Ben almost burst out of the van to say just that, but froze when he heard her answer.

“It was fast, I didn’t feel much. Even if I did, it doesn’t matter. I can’t go the rest of my life without touching people.” Her voice had a finality to it, and Ben could almost picture her downturned lips and wrinkled brow.

“You touch us when you heal us.” Even Cocksucker’s voice didn’t sound sure of his response.

“It’s not the same, and you know that.”

There was a momentary stall in their words, and Ben took the opportunity to emerge, securing his belt as he walked to the door. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected to see, but Cocksucker looking pathetically around, anywhere but the woman as she curved into herself, wasn’t it. She held a white-knuckle grip on the sleeves of her jacket, her thumb running up and down in small movements. They both turned to him as the door banged open, and Ben caught the empty look behind her eyes before her indifference slipped back into place.

“Did you hurry me just to sit around like pussies, or are we going to start fucking moving?” He asked, the air feeling too uncomfortable to sit in.

Cocksucker blinked, glancing at his watch. “We have a few minutes until they arrive, but I guess it can’t hurt to be vigilant-“

“Arrive?” The woman’s eyes widened, and Ben saw smoke curl from her hold on her jacket. “They’re coming here?”

Cocksucker nodded. “It’s a high-security escape exit-“

“It’s a fucking street, Hughie.”

“That’s used as a high-security escape exit.” After a moment of searching the area, Cocksucker pointed a few yards down, at a large door set against brick. “Neuman will come right out of there, and her guards will close her out here, where Soldier Boy will blast her.” He paused, glancing at Ben, before looking back at the door and taking small, cowardly steps away from his spot between them.

“It’s a public area, anyone could walk past! What the fuck were you thinking?!” Her voice was hushed and agitated, and Ben had never seen her face lose color at that speed before, had never heard her heart stutter and jump as if trying to escape her body.

“It’ll be fine,” Cocksucker’s voice wavered, giving them both a nervous look. “It should be fine. MM said it would be fine.”

“You heard him, Sunshine,” Ben gave her a wink, adding a half-cocked smile when she didn’t even return him with a dirty look. “MM said it would be fine. And have some fucking faith in me, I’m not a fucking monster. I won’t blast any running pussies except for this head-popper broad.”

“You don’t even know what she looks like.” Her tone wasn’t quite the vicious mockery he was used to, but it was better than the apathetic, empty voice she’d been using. She was rolling on the balls of her feet, speaking without looking at him, her eyes moving restlessly from the door to the end of the street. “And I don’t believe you.”

Ben just shrugged, allowing the silence to hang. The wind was picking up, whistling through the chill of winter air, making the heat around them, emitting from both Ben and the woman, all the more obvious. Despite the biting cold, Cocksucker had taken off his stupid puffy jacket, even stepping back further from where they stood, with Ben in the center of the street and the woman off to the left. Despite her slowly stepping further and further back, her back now almost against the wall, Ben could feel her watching him, hear her heart continue its new and erratic beat.

“How long now, Hughie?” Her voice was raised to carry over the wind, though it hadn’t lost that stupid fucking weakness. Cocksucker, thank fuck, didn’t get a chance to respond with pathetically comforting words, as only one skipping heartbeat after she spoke a shrill fire alarm sounded.

“I’m assuming that’s your stupid French fuck's plan?” Ben asked dryly. “Start a fucking fire? I thought you pussies were all about minimal damage.”

“He probably just pulled the alarm.” The Cocksucker’s answer lacked any confident assurance. “And I think we’re just against needless murder.”

Ben almost started to rant about their so-called needless murder being a mighty high horse for a group of people who had manipulated him just as much as Vought, who’d been willing to help him kill all those backstabbing pussies from Payback so he’d help them. About how their stupid fucking moral purity complex seemed to adjust perfectly to aid them, and maybe he wasn’t a fucking angel, but he was strong and powerful—something they fucking needed—man, and he wasn’t a pussyfaced liar about what he was, what he did. The words died on his tongue, though, as hundreds of frenzied footsteps reached his ears.

“Fuck!” he growled, turning around and pointing at Cocksucker. “You fucking pussy.”

Cocksucker gave him an idiotically confused stare. “Dude, uncalled for.”

“She,” Ben pointed to the woman, whose heart was beating impossibly fast and looking on with a bloodless face. “Was fucking right. This is a stupid plan, because unless your head-popper walks like a human centipede, it’s not going to be just her that I fucking hit when that door opens.”

Cocksucker only gaped at him like a fish as the footsteps grew louder, annoyingly unsure stutters escaping him, and just as Ben decided it might be good to slap the idiot out of his daze, the woman stepped forward.

“We need to move, Hughie. Now.” Her voice wasn’t steady, her whole body was tensed and hyper, but it held a determination Ben almost admired. “We can’t be here.”

“He- he could be fucking lying, or wrong-“

“That’s not a risk we can afford to take.” She cut off Cocksucker’s doubts, and Ben found himself surprised at her defense of him, even if it could barely be called that. Her hands were smoking once more, but she had firmly planted herself in the middle of the road, eyes turning sharply to Ben. “If people see you, any element of surprise over Homelander would be lost. We need to fucking move, you need to get in the fucking van now-“

The door banged open, and the streets flooded as hoards of people in star and stripe-themed outfits flooded the road. Everything became so loud, and that rapt, snapping sound in Ben’s head started to spread through him, spurring the drum in his chest. They were finding rhythm so fast, everything fading as Ben tried to slow it. But there were screams and shouts, and everything was getting further and further away from him while carving into him all the same, so though Ben could hear the sounds of metal clanging and shouts of his supe name, he couldn’t think anything past the beat beat beat, until he lost it all at once.

As his vision grew clear with his head, Ben expected to see shattered bodies and bloody walls. Instead, all he saw was the woman and fire. Her face was flushed red, her eyes crazed, and her clothes had become charred with holes as the fire surged from her into a barrier, cutting them off from the crowd. Cocksucker was yelling her name, urging them both to return to the van and leave, but as Ben moved, he glanced back to see the woman frozen and heard her heart as if it were his own. The wall was growing wider and shooting high, Cocksucker wouldn’t shut the fuck up about moving, but her eyes had squeezed shut, unresponsive to anything but the growing flames.

“We need to fucking go, now!” Ben turned to see a large man he vaguely recognized barreling down their side of the street, his face twisted in anger. Butcher, Starlight, a small woman he remembered fighting, and that French prick followed him, all loading into the van as the large man stopped beside Cocksucker.

“I told you he’d fucking blow it,” the man said, giving Ben a disgusted look, so flawlessly revolted Ben wouldn’t be surprised if he’d fucking practiced in the mirror.

“Hey, I didn’t fucking blow it, you pussy-“

“You said that Neuman would come out of here, that it would just be her!” Cocksucker, much to Ben’s shock, cut him with a high voice and a wave at the wall of fire. “That’s way more than just her! Is she even there?!”

“No,” the man said gruffly. “Neuman saw Butcher and figured out something was up. She’s long gone.”

“Fuck!” Cocksucker yelled, running a hand through his hair.

“Oi, we can go over how MM fucked up later,” Butcher leaned out from the van. “We need to go before she sends Homelander.”

“How I fucked up? You’re the one who disobeyed me and blew our cover-“

“What’s wrong with Madame Anomaly?” The French Prick appeared at Butcher's side.

Cocksucker glanced at the woman, calling her name before turning to the large man Butcher had called MM. “She absorbed Soldier Boy’s blast. I think it got her stuck.”

“We don’t have time for this. Get Soldier Boy in the van, I’ll take care of the Anomaly.” MM repeated the French Prick’s words, and Ben realized they were, for the first time, using the woman’s supe name.

“You heard him, Gov. Get in the bloody van.” Butcher’s words were clearly directed at Ben, but as he climbed into the van Ben saw Butcher’s attention locked on the woman.

MM had moved closer to the woman, a move Ben deemed more fucking stupid than brave. If she had “absorbed his blast,” as Cocksucker said, he wouldn’t recommend any non-supe be anywhere near her. MM seemed to realize this himself at the last possible second, taking a pathetic, stumbling step back with a pause. He and Cocksucker exchanged a look, something passing between them that Ben didn’t understand, before Cocksucker leaned down to grab a pebble from the road. Ben watched as he shakily shook out his arms, wound up, and tossed the pebble at the woman.

It was a terrible fucking idea, Ben didn’t have to be Einstein to know that, but the chain reaction that played out still managed to go worse than he might have guessed.

The woman whirled around, her eyes blazing, with a roar sounding from her chest. Fire shot from the wall directly at Cocksucker. In almost slow motion, Ben watched her face become painted with horror as she recognized her target, a different, fearful sound leaving her. She reached an arm out, her heart seeming to falter, and barely redirected the flames before they hit Cocksucker in the chest. The blaze just grazed Cocksucker’s arm, passed the van clear of anyone else, and hit the building with a boom.

The moment the bricks caught fire and the ground began to shake as the building crumbled, the woman's wall of fire fell. The woman herself remained upright, but only barely as MM shouted her name and she started to stumble to the van. Cocksucker was hauled in by Starlight and the French Prick, the former fussing over his burnt arm—Ben had seen worse at Herogasm and nobody whined about it—and Cocksucker waved her off. The woman pulled herself in, ignoring Butcher’s outstretched hand, and the door closed behind her. MM appeared in the driver’s seat, and as the engine started everyone fell into a heavy-breathed silence.

Through the ride, Ben watched the woman open and close her mouth a million times, returned to her fetal position in the corner but watching Cocksucker with a strained face. Her hands tapped against her still-smoking jacket, reaching out hesitantly before she pulled them back into herself. No words were spoken, not even the anxious whispers of the ride there. Ben felt relief as the van stopped, MM climbing out and opening the doors to reveal the exterior of the safe house, grateful for any excuse to leave these stupid, sniffing pussies to wallow in their failure.

MM led Ben and the woman to the doors, opened them by leaning oddly at the doorbell, and gestured for them to walk through. The man followed them in, shutting the doors behind him with a rough push.

“If we failed the test, I am not doing that fucking shit again.” Ben grumbled as MM turned around from the now-shut entrance.

“Butcher told me about the fucking mess you and him made in here.” MM ignored Ben entirely, speaking to the woman as if he wasn’t even there. “A team cleaned it up while you were gone, and Mallory will send more groceries tomorrow night. I saw a picture, it was fucking gross. I’m only doing it once, because I don’t want a new disease to develop in here. You’re an adult, you should take care of this place by your goddamn self.”

The woman looked at her feet, humming a small acknowledgment. She didn’t look up as she spoke. “Is Hughie going to be okay?”

MM sighed. “The kid will live. I’ll look at him when we get back.”

“I could help-“

MM cut her off with her name. “He’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”

She gave another nervous hum, and Ben jumped in.

“Can you answer my fucking question-“

“We’ll let you know what our next steps are after we talk to Mallory and Singer. This wasn’t good, but it’s not the end of the damn world.” Once again, MM ignored Ben. It was starting to feel personal. Before Ben could push further, MM reached a hand out to rest on the woman’s shoulder, right over a hole in her sleeve. Her head shot up with her heart, but the panic in her seemed to evaporate just as soon as it appeared. Her name was gentle as MM spoke it, eyes locked with hers. “You didn’t fuck up. You did your job.” She nodded slowly. “It’ll be fine.” With those last words, he exited the building, leaving Ben and the woman in the hall.

“What’s his fucking problem?” Ben grunted, half directed at the woman, half to just say it.

She gave him a flat look. “You killed his family.” Before he could come up with a clever response, honest or dodging the annoying feeling of guilt forming in his throat, the woman turned from him and walked away.

———-

You were so tired. Your bones ached, oddly cold in a way you hadn’t felt in a while, your skin crawled with feverish chills, and when you closed your eyes, you could see the flames graze Hughie and the building turn to dust. As MM’s lingering calm he’d offered you faded, all you felt was tired. Worthless. A liability. You had fucked up, just as much as Soldier Boy. Maybe more so, because he had PTSD, even if he would deny being a “hung-up pussy”. He had lost control because he’d been tortured by Russians, you’d almost killed your friend and definitely destroyed a rec center because you’d been startled. You just wanted to sleep, to deal with the inevitable fight about groceries in the morning, running on more than quickly expiring adrenaline and caffeine pills stuck in your throat.

You made it to your room, changing into one of the pajama sets folded in your drawers, hoping someone mentioned that the allegedly fire-proof wardrobe you’d been given apparently wasn’t strong enough for the full force of your fire combined with Soldier Boy’s nuclear explosions. A shame, you’d liked the pants you’d chosen for the mission. You’d live without the jacket, though. You’d hardly pulled the shirt over your head when the door ripped open, a still suit-clad Soldier Boy standing at your door.

“What fucking happened to you?” His question was blunt and confusing as he entered your room, remaining near the door but over the threshold.

Your body was too heavy to fight with him right now. There was no tense prickling on the bridge of your nose, only the throbbing stab of a headache. “Go away, Soldier Boy.”

“All of you have a fucking thing. A weird, sad reason to whine around and pretend you’re better than me.” He didn’t budge, but rather leaned forward. “What’s yours.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You said I killed MM’s family. Butcher’s always pussying around about Homelander stealing his girl. Cocksucker mentioned something about that fast asshole doing something as well. I’m not sure what the French Prick bitches about, but I’m sure it’s something.”

“First of all, you did kill MM’s family.” You really don’t want to do this right now, but maybe he’ll give up and fuck off. A fruitless wish, a small part of you knows, but you have nothing left to push back with. “And Homelander didn’t ‘steal Butcher’s wife’, he raped her.”

“Right.” Soldier Boy watched you, his expression unreadable in the shadowy room. “Those are all fucking things. So tell me what yours is.”

“I don’t have one,” even as you speak the insistence, it sounded fake and hollow.

He takes another step forward. “Yes, you do. I saw how you froze, nobody without a thing locks up like that. I heard Cocksucker ask you if I ‘hurt you’. Just for the record, Sunshine, I may not be a Boy Scout, but I’m no fucking rapist.”

“You’ve tried to sleep with me thirty-three times.”

“And I’ll blow your mind when you realize how much you’d love it, no sooner. What’s your fucking thing.”

You stare at him, the intensity in his voice throwing you off. He’s insistent, comfortable in your room but standing at his full height, attention fixed entirely on you. That impression of dissection has returned—the feeling as if he’s trying to pick you apart for him to play with. “Why do you even care?”

“Because maybe if you tell me, I can kill what supe fucked up your pretty little head and you’ll be less of a bitch.”

You can’t stop the snort that escapes you. “What a selfish fucking cunt reason.”

He shrugged in something that could’ve been an agreement. “Maybe.” He falls silent, but doesn't leave.

You collapse to sit on the edge of your bed, staring ahead as you rub your temple. “Please just go.”

“No.”

You look at him, not caring if he sees the desperation in your eyes. “Can this not wait six hours for the morning?”

“No.”

“Do you know any words but no?” You mutter under your breath.

You didn’t miss his annoyed humph. “Oh, just fucking tell me.”

“No.” It was your turn to snap. Your exhaustion was becoming lined with bitter childishness, and you didn’t care enough to try and suppress your urge to sneer at him.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re an idiotic, self-absorbed, sadist asshat who wouldn’t know empathy if it started sucking his dick.” You mocked.

He grinned. “Ok, now name my bad qualities.”

“I’m not telling you.”

“I’ll start guessing,” he took another step forward, now almost directly before you. “Did that red-headed lesbian steal your puppy?

You frowned up at him. “Maeve was bisexual.”

“Did Noir take credit for a college project?” He ignored your comment, leaning down with a mocking smirk.

“Trust me, I got all my dues in college.”

“Did that gay-for-Jesus blond steal your boyfriend? Did the fast asshole that stole Cocksucker’s girl break up with you? Did water-boy eat your goldfish?”

“I’ve never met Ezekiel, A-Train actually murdered Hughie’s girlfriend, and The Deep famously doesn’t eat seafood, he fucks it. But by all means, keep going.”

Soldier Boy blinked. “He fucks it?”

“Yep. It’s gross.” You shrug. “Are you done?”

“Are you going to answer my question?”

You give a toothless smile. “Not until you get all your guesses out.”

“Oh?” There was unquestionable surprise in his voice at your relent, only making your fake cheer grow and your immature anger fully overtake you.

“I want you to feel like a real fucking asshole when I tell you.”

His face split open with a grin. “Well then, did the Twins kick you out of Herogasm? Did that bitch, Crimson Countess, overshadow your big debut? Did a Z-lister get more attention than you from the Vought pussies?”

You just raised your eyebrows, crossing your arms as Soldier Boy continued until the list of supes ran dry. As the last jeer left his mouth, he mirrored your face of cold amusement.

“Well?”

You leaned back, watching him closely as you spoke. “Homelander kidnapped me, kept me in a dungeon, raped me in an attempt to make more mini-Homelanders, and, after you returned, started experimenting on me to try and recreate the V used on you.”

A small shock rushed through you after you spoke. You hadn’t said any of that out loud, not fully, since you’d escaped. You danced around it with Butcher and his team, with Mallory and the CIA leaders, always picking and choosing parts to omit so nobody would look at you with pity and fear. It hadn’t worked, they did anyway, but there had still been control over it. Up until this moment, nobody had known why Homelander had done all those things to you. Everyone had seemed happy to chalk it up to him being a fucking psychopath, not anything deeper. Certainly not attempting to create a small army of additional Ryan Butchers. Small things were still yours, flashes of hunger and warped sounds remaining in your head, but everything else you had just told him.

Why did you do that? A voice hissed as the high from your petulance faded. Why did you let him win? Why did you give him a weapon to use that could hurt you?

But looking at him, he didn’t appear to be a portait of self-satisfaction and heartless triumph. He was staring at you, scanning you as though the scars Homelander left would be visible on your bare legs and arms. When he spoke, his voice wasn’t weak or coddling, but angry.

“He kept you locked up?”

You nod, part of you getting ready to fight him over something.

“He hurt you? To try and recreate me?” Your repeated nodding only seemed to inflate whatever was happening. “Did it hurt?”

Your arms and face started at that, an uncertain feeling spreading through you. There had been no reverent tone as Soldier Boy had asked the last question, no sadistic for affirmation. But you didn’t know what he wanted to hear. Why he even wanted to know. But an involuntarily honest answer escaped you. “Yes.”

He stared at you for another second before he opened his mouth, only to close it without making any sound. Abruptly, he whipped around and began to leave, giving you only one more indecipherable look as he closed the door behind him, leaving you on the edge of your bed, alone in your room.

You lay down slowly, half expecting him to storm back in at any moment, but minutes passed, quickly turning into a half hour, and your body sat at the edge of collapse once more. Soon it was unbearable, and you lay down, your racing mind being forced to a halt as sleep pulled you under.

Your sleep, as had been the case for a while now, was haunted by nightmares of blue eyes and yellow, fluorescent lights. You woke up in a cold sweat, and took a long, needlessly warm shower before forcing yourself to leave your room around 9:30. Despite your lingering fatigue, no part of you wasn’t restless as you walked down the stairs. Your body tense and ready to run, your head spinning with hypotheticals and lining up words you may need—that feeling under your skin creeping up your spine and fluttering in your gut. But Soldier Boy wasn’t in the living room or the hall. You poked your head in the dining room, hoping to avoid the minefield of the kitchen, but it was empty, the plastic chandelier lights off, the table occupied only by a vase of wilted flowers. You moved to the kitchen, ringing growing in your ears, but he wasn’t there. You turned to walk away, continue your search, but double-back as it hit you.

Nothing was in the kitchen. It was empty. Of Soldier Boy, and of the groceries MM said would be delivered.

You wandered in slowly, watching the counters as if they might start to glitch and flicker, revealing hidden produce and dirty dishes. But, leaning over the sink, there was a single plate, soaking in water that was dotted with crumbs. Slowly, you moved to the refrigerator, slowly opening it as you glanced around the room. Your eyes widened at the sight inside. Milk, drinks, and produce had been placed inside, disorganized and haphazardly. There was a jar of mayonnaise in the fresh drawer, along with a box of pasta on a side shelf, but the fridge was full. You moved quickly to the pantry, which had been sorted in a similar fashion, but filled. And when you opened the last cabinet, you saw a piece of paper stuck under a jar of peanut butter.

I know I did a shit job. Clean up if it bothers you, but don't bitch to me about it. And tell Mallory to get smooth peanut butter next time, or I’m not doing anything for her but killing Homelander - Ben

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eddiernunson · 4 months ago

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Ice Cream, Bikinis, and Other Ways to Torture Him | Older Rockstar!Eddie x Harrington Fem!Reader | 18+

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Edit: this tagging system sucks. I just fixed it! Sorry if you weren’t tagged originally!

Summary: The stories of Eddie Munson, front man of Corroded Coffin and his music filled the Harrington household, his albums on shelves and picture frames hung of your dad and him, young and dumb. You’re home for the weekend, which just so happens to be the same weekend Eddie is in Hawkins on a personal errand. The longtime crush on him bubbles to the surface as you meet him, giving into the temptation of small summer dresses and bubblegum gloss for the fun of it. Until your dad is called in to an emergency work meeting. Then the fun of torture becomes temptation.

Warnings: Older Rockstar!Eddie, Harrington!Reader (Steve’s daughter), multi chapter build up, excessive use of nicknames, no use of y/n, (major) use of marijuana, perv!Eddie, general horniness

Describes: long hair, shorter than Eddie by a few inches, reader is described to look like her mom (can be ANY race) with Steve’s freckles. No skin colour or body shape/type

Word Count: 4.1k

Chapter 3

The heat is unbearable, the kind that provides the motivation not to do anything but lie in bed all day spread out so one could confuse them as a starfish. It’s hot enough the house wide AC feels too weak for a job this tough and needs to call in backup. The fan that stands alone rotating as it blows cold air through your room is nowhere near enough backup.

Your skin feels sticky, your hair as far away as possible from your sweaty skin as you melt in the sweltering heat. One more than one occasion you’ve scooped under your tits to wipe at the sweat that has pooled there, coming up with miraculously slick hands.

Fuck it’s too hot for clothes.

The summer sun has been working late night shifts as of late, staying out until 8 or 9. As much as you revel in the longer daylight hours, today you’ve decided you hate the sun. You check the time, hoping it’s 3 or 4 in the afternoon already, having decided to forego your phone due to its inefficiency from distracting you from the heat and therefore lost track of time.

It’s only 12:30.

You swear softly, in a quick decision you can’t stay still anymore and need to go in your stash to fucking relax. You put on a light tank top and short jean shorts, lifting your hair off your sticky neck into a bun as you pocket your phone, some joints and some cash for an ice cream cone.

Smoke a joint on the way, indulge on some delicious ice cream then stumble back home for what will probably be quality time with your vibrator. Seems like a decent plan.

When you get downstairs Eddie is lounging on the couch with one leg over the armrest, sunken in the corner as he watches the tv with a glazed look in his eyes in a muscle t-shirt and his long locks in a bun. He seems to share the same sentiment that it is too damn hot. His eyes shift to you as you put on your flip flops, sitting up with loud curiosity on his face.

“I’m going to go for a walk and get some ice cream, it’s too fucking hot,” you tell him, one hand on the scorching door handle. You hiss, shaking it in a jerk move as you glance down at it. “Ow.”

”Yeah, I learned my lesson the hard way,” he observes, stretching as he stands up, his arms over his head as the lift of his shirt reveals a tuft of dark hair.

You shake yourself out of it, opening the door quickly underneath your shirt before the handle has a chance to burn your skin again and step out into the blistering sun, putting the sunglasses over your eyes as you reach the end of the driveway. Behind you a set of running footsteps startle you, the slapping of sandals on pavement having you turn to face a set of wild curly hair falling out of its ponytail as its owner catches up to you.

He’s smiling ear to ear, bearing those dazzling dimples when he sees your perplexed face. “A walk for some ice cream sounds really nice, when I thought about it.” You blink up at him, processing his words and distracted by the sheen layer of sweat on his toned arms. It’s a dangerous automatic shut down on your brain.

Eddie falters, stepping back as you continue staring up at him, jaw slack and speechless. “Unless, you’d prefer to be alone—“

You finally snap out of it, almost swinging to grab his hand out of pure reflex. “No, um, it’s just a bit of a walk and I was gonna take my time and uh…smoke for a bit.” God, that sounded terrible.

His eyes light up, his wild grin back on his face in a flash. “A joint and ice cream? Now that’s a hot day.” He starts putting his hair back into the ponytail, a god damn scrunchie, starting ahead as you stand dumbly on the driveway. ”Now you wouldn’t mind turning this into a blunt rotation would you?”

Are you kidding me? Like are you actually fucking kidding me?

“I only got two joints,” you hold them out from the stash in your bra apologetically, as you pretend to hesitate in accepting his offer.

He yoinks one out of your hand, lighting it in a flash. “Joint’s a joint,” he states, warbled from the blunt in his half open mouth. He closes his eyes as he takes a big inhale, bliss taking over his face as it hits his lungs. “Oh that’s some good shit.” He passes it to you, clearing his throat. “Who’s the dealer these days, because that did not come from a dispensary.”

“How—“ you stop at his raised brow, grinning around the joint as you take your first inhale. God, that hits the spot. “Right. It’s some kid named Mickey. Mickey…Carver, I think.”

Eddie's fingers brush against yours as he takes it back, looking pensive as he breathes it in. “So you’re telling me that Jason Carver's son is the new dealer?” He breathes it out, grinning maniacally. “Fuck, that’s poetic.”

You’re about three doors down already, but you’re already feeling it. Usually you take much more time between inhales, not wanting to be stoned in the convenience store. It’s at least another three blocks away. “Right…I forgot his dad is the mayor. I think he’s like the black sheep of his family.”

“Oh, sweet justice,” he mutters, yet you find yourself having no interest in the context. “Would your dad happen to know about this little past time of yours?”

You take another inhale of the joint, absorbing the ache in your lungs for a moment longer than you usually do. “I don’t know if he does.” You shrug, stumbling past one of the sidewalk cracks. “I’m not all that covert about it.”

“How much he smoked in college, I don’t think he’d care,” Eddie comments, chuckling.

You stop, staring at Eddie with your mouth half open. Eddie is yanked back, tugged by his hand on your wrist. Huh, when did that get there? “You okay, there, sweetheart?”

You’re so fixated on your dad smoking you don’t even have time to process his use of the nickname. “My dad smokes pot?”

Eddie bursts out laughing, his eyes crinkling shut as he throws his head back. “Your dad has absolutely smoked pot, sweetheart. Only every time he comes to see us in concert.”

Yet another thing that short circuits your brain, staring at him as if he grew a second head. “When has my dad seen you in concert?”

Eddie’s eyes go wide, his laughter stopping almost altogether. “Oh shit, I don’t think I was supposed to tell you that,” he mutters, seemingly fixated on the bushes right next to the house you’re standing in front of.

“When does my father come see you in concert?” You glare, stepping forward more into his personal space with your hands arms tightly crossed.

“Every tour since you were born?” He answers, giving you a weak smile as he grimaces.

“What!?” You bark, tightening up your crossed arms. “Every concert? You’ve been going on tour consistently for the last 22 years!”

He throws his hands up in surrender, smoke floating up from the last remaining bits of the first joint still between two fingers. He holds it up for you, face just a bit cautious as he says, “You look Iike you need this.”

You yoink it from his fingers, taking a deep enough breath to kill the joint up to the filter. You’re not sure if its the company, the heat, or the weed, but this news really threw you off, and yes, you really needed it. The filter lands on the ground when you flick it, mindlessly pulling out the next joint and your own lighter from your bra.

As the end glows in amber, you take another deep inhale, forgetting Eddie’s still only a few feet away in front of you. You basically accidentally shotgun him. You pass it to him, seemingly completely unfazed by the puff of smoke you just blew in his face.

You jerk your head, suddenly remembering you’re supposed to be going for a walk. “Walk, we’re supposed to be walking,” you mumble to yourself, stepping away from Eddie as he laughs out a cloud.

A hand lands on your shoulder, startling you as you continue on the scorching pavement. You haven’t even hit the first crosswalk, yet and you’ve gone all fuzzy. You jerk your head back in surprise, turning your head to look up at him inquisitively.

“Sweetheart, you’re drifting,” he answers, using his wrist to fix your diagonal gait. “I think you’re very stoned.”

“It’s possible,” you muse, allowing the overwhelming scent of his cologne to float to the back of your mind. If it was the first thing, it would be the only thing.

The conversation quiets down for a bit, Eddie still keeping you somewhat steady as he continues to pass you the joint back and forth.

You’re in the middle of a mental spiral, thoughts coming and going, passing through like thoughts on a road until one particularly flashy thought passes by. “I had no idea he was going to your concerts,” you chirp out of nowhere, waiting for the light to indicate you can cross.

“To be fair it's not the best place for a kid,” he mutters, trying to make you feel better.

“‘M not a kid,” you deadpan, smoking a little bit of the last of the second joint.

“Compared to me, yes.” You glare at him, wanting to wipe off that stupid little smug grin off his face. “Regardless I’m sure your dad just needed some time off. He’s a single father of four kids, for Fuck’s sake.”

“I didn’t tell him to knock my mom up four times,” you mutter to yourself, earning another scoff from him.

“Wow, your filter is down, huh?” He chuckles, leading you across the crosswalk and towards the convenience store. “Don’t give your dad a hard time, he’s trying his best.”

You wanna move on from your dad so you’re no longer feeling guilty as you stare at his toned arms. Like, right now. Your eyes fiddle around the sidewalk, looking for any suitable topic of conversation. Anything. A chorus of laughter fills the air, your attention snapped to it immediately. As soon as you see the culprits, you blanch in disgust, jerking your attention back as you approach the convenience store entrance.

“Oh, god, gross,” you groan, stumbling as you push the glass door open.

Eddie trails a few feet behind you, leaning down as he asks, “Wh-what just happened?”

The repetitive motion of ice cream scooping hypnotizes you, catching you in a trance until Eddie bumps his hip into yours. “Hmm?”

“Outside. What was that?” He asks, pointing towards the door.

Oh, right, that. “Oh, my ex boyfriend,” you explain, wondering if you’re swaying on your feet or if the store just turned into a boat all the sudden. “Two years of my life I’ll never get back.”

“Which one was he?” He asks, putting one hand on your shoulder to steady you again.

If he were anyone else, you’d shrug him off, literally and metaphorically, offended at their need to ‘take care of you,’ so to speak. But your lowered inhibitions and inexplicable draw towards him allow the words to free flow out your mouth. “The idiot with the Oakley sunglasses hitting on what is probably the youngest girl he can without getting arrested— ooh they have cookie dough.”

Eddie chuckles, one hand on your shoulder as he pushes you forward. “They called for you about five times now, sweetheart.”

Oh, oops.

The teen with braces and her hair in braided pigtails, clearly working as a summer gig, looks annoyed as you stumble forward. “I um, want one scoop of cookie dough and one scoop of cookies n’ cream in a chocolate covered waffle cone, please.”

As she gets to work, pulling on gloves for what is probably the thousandth time for the day, reaching up for a cone off where they sit stacked Eddie leans in to say, “You know that’ll melt by the time you get home, right?”

You watch the girl scoop the ice cream, your grin growing wider with each addition of ice cream. “That makes it all the more fun to eat,” you smirk, biting your lip playfully.

The teen, Emma, you hazily notice from the name tag, holds out the cone with a measly single thin napkin. You have the foresight to understand the single napkin won’t be enough, but not to grab more.

You dig in humming as the first taste of cookie dough has a perfect little chunk of doughy goodness as Eddie orders a chocolate and vanilla soft serve swirl.

In mid bite you cough, almost exaggeratedly looking back and forth between your ice cream and the soft serve coming from its machine onto the cone. “What?” He asks, rocking on his heels.

You take another taste, “Nothing,” taste, “just,” holy shit this is good, “um…”

“Just…?”

He interrupts a rather delicious lick, eyes closed as you tilt the cone for a better angle. “Wha?”

“Oh, my god, thank God Steve’s out of town, or he’d kill me,” Eddie chuckles, grabbing the cone from Emma.

”Why?” You ask, the ice cream remaining on your lips as you take another bite.

“Because you are outrageously stoned- here you go, sweetheart,” your bottom lip pouts out at the use of the nickname toward the blushing teen, crossing one arm across your stomach as the cash register dings.

You have half a heart to thank him for paying, glad you wouldn’t have to hand over sweaty underboob cash as you start your way out when you hear your name, vaguely, then loudly. Oh god. You are not prepared to be hounded by—

“Andy!” You grimace, wiping some excess dessert from your jaw. “Hi! You here on break?”

“Oh,” he rolls his eyes, that same old cocky look smeared on his face. On Eddie it’s charming. On Andy it’s nauseating. “I dropped out in the first semester. I did not need to stay very long to know I know more than any of those pompous assholes.”

Hmm. You’re astounded. At his gull and that he knows what pompous means. “Guess all that talk about getting out of Hawkins was just talk,” you mutter, sloppily taking another bite.

You must’ve mumbled, as Andy leans in like he has no idea what you’ve said. “Huh?”

“Nothing,” you dismiss, missing Eddie glowering at him over your shoulder.

“Well, now that you’re in town,” he starts, brazenly grabbing you by the elbow, “what do you say we take some time and uh, revisit old times, yeah?”

You jerk your elbow away from him, your face squishing up at disgust by his sleazy voice suggesting you lie under him one more time for a rousing, unsatisfying round of mediocrity. “Ew, I’m good.”

“Now don’t be like that, pretty peach,” you always hated when he called you that, the reminder sending a chill down your spine that had nothing to do with the ice cream itself. “What’s one more night?”

Only now do you realize he’s only tightened his grip on your elbow, ice cream in your other hand nearly forgotten as the hair on your arms rise. Eddie pops up, the memory of his prescience and the terror that takes over Andy’s face both send a rush of relief right through you.

“Take your slimy little hand off her, you pathetic little weasel,” Eddie’s voice is rough and assertive, the soft serve ice cream miraculously held stable in his other hand as he starts to bend the arm that was on your elbow unnaturally backwards. “She said ‘ew, no’”

”Ow,” Andy’s once bravado is turned weak, wiggling like a worm on a hook as he cries out his little yelps of pain. “Okay, okay!”

“If I want unsatisfying and awful sex, I’ll let you know.” Hmm, you glance back down to the cone that melted only the littlest bit, the top layer now softened and flowing down to the chocolate covered crust.You take a bite from the chocolate, the mix of cookie dough flavour with the chocolate exactly what you had in mind the whole walk over. ”Get lost, Andy.”

You feel Eddie close behind you as the sweltering sun welcomes you, a town wide sauna you don’t think you’d ever be so glad to walk into after being engrossed in a fridge temperature. “God, if never see Andy Lewis again, it’ll still be too soon, fuck that creep.”

“You dated him? For two years?” Eddie asks incredulously, having already eaten a chunk of his sweet tasty treat.

“Low self esteem and a parade of gaslighting would have you believe that he was the best boyfriend ever,” you sweetly smile, squinting your eyes as you take yet another bite of the cookie dough starting to blend with cookies n cream. As the blend explodes your taste buds, some trails down your fingers messily in the hot sun, completely rendering your soaked napkin useless.

His eyebrows furrow, giving you a look of what you assume can only be pity for a girl who thought that was a good boyfriend and had minuscule self worth until some dude in her freshman English class begged to eat her out. You still go to those receipts when you need the confidence boost.

Unfortunately for you, when you’re stoned and the very idea of sex crosses your mind, it sends you down a spiral. The unsatisfying sex with a gross sweaty Andy isn’t the thing that set it off, but the first time your legs shook certainly turned the faucet on. Next to you, Eddie takes your silence in stride, allowing you to float in your own hazy brain as he works to finish his cold treat before it disappears at the unforgiving hands of the blistering heat. He’s seemingly lost in the taste, the desert already down to the hilt of the cone as his tongue scoops, disappearing as he focuses on the flavour.

The drop of ice cream splashing your toe alerts you of the multiple trails of cream coloured sugar, your ice cream starting to resemble soup. Dammit. You start cleaning up your hand, quickly stroking your tongue down your hand as you attempt to grab control of the situation at hand. Your hand remains sticky as you move on to the ice cream soup that has cultivated in the chocolate shell, no more semblance of where cookies and cream started and cookie dough ended. No matter, guess it’s just a melted milkshake at this point, you shrug, starting to drink, grateful you haven’t eaten much of the cone yet.

Eddie starts slurping a little louder as he gets to the end of his soft serve, a noise you allow to simply exist in the background like white noise as arousal seemed to steadily pool deep in your gut. At this point you’re not sure if it’s the extra joint or the attraction you know better than to act on but his exuberant wet noises and grunts of satisfaction seem loud, flooding your ears until it’s all you can focus on.

Maybe you shouldn’t have worn shorts, the arousal having surely made its way down your thighs and past their frayed edges right below your ass. “You that stoned or did your ex boyfriend just spook ya?”

You blink back to Eddie, chewing on the last few bites of the chocolate cone. It's sadly not the same without the last little bit of ice cream tucked in. “Hmm?”

He looks at you pointedly, raising his brow as he starts to brush the hair out of his eyes, fixing the wisps of black bangs.

“Oh,” you giggle, the sentence finally registering. “I forgot I ran into Andy, honestly. I’m just super stoned and really need to—“ you cut yourself off, swallowing what is suddenly a very hefty case of cotton mouth, “take a shower,” you amend, ignoring Eddie’s intense stare.

It could’ve been intense, but the more you focus on the ever increasing need for friction, the more you grow increasingly aware of everything he’s doing.

“I just smoked a lot more and a lot faster than what I’m used to,” you mutter, fidgeting with your bun, at this point a mess of strands.

Eddie leans in close, using his pointer and middle finger to lift your chin up to face him. He’s much closer than you expect, able to see the finer details on his face even the most HQ photos couldn’t reveal. You blink, suddenly unable to remember the basic function of breathing.

“Next time don’t push yourself too hard when you know your tolerance isn’t as good as the person you’re smoking with. You could’ve told me.” Strange, he doesn’t sound disappointed, not in you, anyways. Just at your flagrant disregard for your own limits. His voice is smooth, yet demanding, sending a shiver down your spine.

“O-ok,” you stutter, thinking about the pads of his two fingers against your skin, picturing him taking the pointer and shoving it past your lips. The mental image quakes your knees. God you should’ve known your body would react this extreme to Eddie, weed has always been a catalyst for raging lust.

Unable to handle the eye contact for much longer, you rip your chin out from his grasp, recognizing the shrub you usually walked past on your way to school.

“I-I really need that shower,” you mutter, walking ahead of him to the long, windy driveway leading up to the Harringtons. Eddie’s flip flops smack against his heels step by step steadily behind you as you open the door, remembering Eddie’s haste as he tried to catch up to you.

He says nothing as you rush up the stairs, slamming the door behind him as he saunters into the living room to fool around his guitar.

The blasting air conditioner should be refreshing after spending an hour or so in the hot blazing sun with no water, but it does little to off-set the raging fire coursing through you. Your face feels hot, stretching to scratch an itch you know can only be scratched one way when you're as blitzed as you are.

It’s one thing to picture him when he’s a million miles away in LA or on covers of magazines, but its another entirely when he’s right downstairs after a walk in during which he defended your honour.

You switch back to it, his commanding tone and demonstration of strength as he so effortlessly pushed a boy whose name you don’t even want to think about in this cloud of overwhelming desire. You open your eyes, standing in the middle of your room, the weight of your hand trailing over your skin suddenly heavy but doing its job all the same.

You kick off your sandals, having forgotten to at the front door. The shorts and thong come off as well, having no patience in teasing yourself as you normally do. Your head meets your pillow, legs spread as you start to make yourself comfortable.

As soon as your core meets the air the stark realization of how wet you are sinks in, the arousal slick down your thighs at this point ready for something more… You feel the sharp exhale deep in your belly, rolling over you in an impatient wave begging for some kind of relief.

As your fingers start to roll across your clit, you gasp in how wet you are. It usually takes a vibraor and some self teasing to get this far, Jesus. For some reason the fingers aren’t doing enough, whining needing as you attempt to get the friction you so desperately need.

As two fingers slide through the weeping, begging hole you grind the heel of your hand against your clit, desperately lifting your hips up to meet it. Right now you don’t even have to picture him doing anything particularly dirty like his hips rolling against yours as he fucks into you or his pretty brown eyes peering up from between your legs.

No.

Just the demonstration of his strength as he so easily yanked the asshole’s arm back and his commanding, harsh tone was doing it for you. His sun-kissed skin, the halo of bright yellow sun surrounding his curls, his toned arms…his lips so close to yours, that was enough to get you halfway there.

And loud enough for any potential wandering ears.

Thank you so much for reading remember replies and reblogs are the best way to support fic writers on tumblr

She might get juicy next ch

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simdertalia · 4 months ago

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🍓ᛉ ACNH Nordic Set ᛟ🍓

💗 Sims 4, Base game compatible/ Steam animation requires Cats & Dogs. 43 items

This set is brought about by the lovely patrons who voted 💗

As always, turning the brightness down on functional lamps will make them look better (not overly bright) due to my vertex paint issue in Blender.

Always suggested: bb.objects ON, it makes placing items much easier. For further placement tweaking, check out the TOOL mod.

You can raise & lower items with 0 and 9 on your keyboard.

Use the scale up & down feature on your keyboard to make the items larger or smaller to your liking. If you have a non-US keyboard, it may be different keys depending on which alphabet it uses.

Type “acnh nordic" into the search query in build mode to find quickly. You can always find items like this, just begin typing the title and it will appear.

As always, please let me know if you have any issues! Happy Simming! 💗

📁 Download all or pick & choose (SFS, No Ads): HERE

📁 Alt Mega Download (still no ads): HERE

📁 Download on Patreon

Will be public on September 30th, 2024 💗 Midnight CET

Happy Simming! ✨ Some of my CC is early access. If you like my work, please consider supporting me (all support helps me with managing my chronic pain/illness & things have been rough as of late):

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Thank you for reblogging ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

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-Wooden Stool -Dala Horse -Lavender in Vase -Small Wall Frames -Wall Painting -Backsplash -Rug is EA from Cats & Dogs

The rest of my CC

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firsttimewriter92 · 1 year ago

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Neighborly shenanigans Pt. 1

Simon "Ghost" Riley x f! reader (Neighbor AU)

Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Description: You´ve just moved in a couple of weeks ago, trying for a new start. A brief encounter with your neighbor gets your endorphins and imagination going. What is it about the mask?

Warnings: cursing, some dirty thoughts, fluff, a little pining

Word count: 1.917

A/N: Hi everyone <3 This is my very first Simon Riley x reader fic. I´ve written about several characters of CoD but Ghost was always kind of an enigma to me. I never knew how to make him the love interest. But and idea popped into my head after reading some characterization that made it much easier to write for him. So here you go :) Let me know if a part 2 is something you´d be interested in.

“Jesus fucking Christ” you swore as you tried your best to push your heavy apartment door open and balance your bag and groceries through the door. It was a struggle to say the least, but you were damned if you did second trips. Grumbling through your teeth you saw no other possibility than setting down your bag, holding the door open with your foot and grabbing your groceries a little more securely. Bending your knee, you gave your door a forceful push and slid through into your small hallway. Foregoing taking off your shoes you made your way into your open kitchen and set the heavy paper bags down on your kitchen island.

A sigh escaped you and you took a moment just to stand in your kitchen and take in the chaos around you. Half emptied moving boxes were strewn all around your living room, amidst not yet hanging shelves, plastic plants and several DIY projects. Another sigh left your lungs with a huff. Moving and starting anew had seemed like your only option a couple of weeks ago but now you dreaded the silence. You wanted this, ___, you thought. It was your decision.

Your new job was everything you ever hoped for, and training turned out to be smooth sailing. You loved it, you loved your apartment, even though it was far from being finished yet. But still, what you´d left behind still lingered in the back of your brain all too clearly at times. Especially when your heavy door closed behind you every evening and there was nothing but you, your DIY projects, an occasional phone call with your parents and then silence. Silence to wallow in, rake your brain and memories. Memories not even a good Podcast or music were able to drown out.

You weren´t as close with your colleagues yet as to be invited out to the pub after work but that was to be expected. The chances were good though. Maybe just a couple of days more and you´d have at least some kind of social interaction. One step after the other, you reminded yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Your own impatience with yourself was yet again trying to make you feel like you´d made a mistake by moving. A humorless laugh bubbled from your lips as you shook your head. Calm down, you thought. This is your life, your pace. Relax.

A couple of minutes later your food was stored away, veggies and salmon steaming away and finally you sat down on your couch, glass of wine in hand and Netflix on your TV.

“Bloody hell” you cursed as a shot of adrenalin set your brain into overdrive. Your bag. You jumped off your couch and hurried over to the door. Swinging it open with a yank you initially thought someone had put out the lights in the corridor. All you saw was black and not a second later you collided with something solid.

Shaking your head, you realized three things. It was 7 o´clock on a warm day in July, so it couldn’t be dark out already. Your hallway had several windows and yes, the sun was still out. The black wall you just ran into turned out to be a massive chest.

Heat was ascending your neck as you took a small step back and lifted your head to look at the face this quite impressive physique belonged to. What the…?

Before you stood a man, several inches taller than you, frozen in place with his arm lifted as if he was just about to knock on your door. He looked down on you with impressive, hazel eyes. Honey blond, tousled hair adorned his head, falling slightly onto his forehead, wet tips clinging to his temples and a bead of sweat disappearing behind his ear. But that was about all you could make out.

Seeing people wearing a facemask had of course not been an unusual sight for the last three years but he wasn´t wearing one of those surgical ones. His nose, mouth and chin were covered in thick, black material, even spanning over his cheekbones and disappearing behind his ears. When your eyes caught his again you saw them narrowing just slightly and one blond eyebrow ticking upwards.

Something wriggly moved inside your belly.

The man slowly lowered his arm, simultaneously lifting the other slightly, holding out your bag.

“This yours?” a deep, calm voice broke through the silence and the wriggly something inside you spread out towards your chest, down your arms and into your fingertips. You swallowed, trying to gather your wits again.

“Uhm…yes. Yes, that´s mine. Forgot about it” you said with a nervous laugh as you took it from him. He hummed deep inside his chest in understanding. The sound only letting your eyes snap onto his again trying to decipher if the squinting was an annoyed one or an amused one.

Amused, as it turns out. He took a deep breath, the black material of his running shirt as you now realized it was, stretching across the expanse of his chest.

“You know, that´s how you get your identity stolen. Or at least your wallet.” Yeah, there was no question now, he was grinning behind his mask, his tone mildly rebuking but not at all belittling.

A small smirk of your own crawled onto your lips as you cocked out your hip and nodded your head.

“You´re absolutely right, Sir. I´ll cuff my bag to my wrist from now on so this inconvenience shall not occur to you a second time.” You want to be cocky, mister? Fine with me.

Your answer made him chuckle. It was short but genuine. One hand in his pocket he stepped back slightly and only now did you notice the heat that his body had emitted. With one last narrow of his eyes, making the edges crinkle ever so slightly he answered. “Not an inconvenience, Miss. Have a good evening.” He nodded once and walked away to your right.

“Y-you too” you cursed the way your words tumbled. To your surprise he halted in front of the door next to yours and your heart jumped into your throat as he took out his keys. Your eyes still fixed onto his side profile (you still couldn’t really make out any features), he gave you one last look before opening his door.

“And thank you” you rushed out.

He only lifted one hand to give you a small little wave that seemed way too juvenile for a man of his stature and closed his door.

Kind of shellshocked you turned around yourself and let your door fall shut behind you. Clutching onto your bag you didn’t even notice how long you were just standing in your hallway, trying to sort out the wriggling nerves. Who was that? Idiot. Your neighbor. Your neighbor that you´d never seen before. A man like him you´d remember seeing. There´d never been any noise from the apartment next to yours so you just thought it was either a very quiet tenant or one that only went there to sleep.

Sitting down on your couch again you stared at the wall behind your TV. He was behind that wall, doing…things. Existing. Why did that feel so exciting to you? Maybe it was just because that´d been your first real social interaction apart from talking to your colleagues?

Laughing incredulously at yourself you buried your burning face in your hands and giggled. No. No that wasn’t it and you knew it. It was stupid. So very stupid and weird and nerdy and…that damn mask!!

“Whhhyyyy…..?” you moaned grinning and rubbed your temples, finally letting all the pent up adrenalin and endorphins rush through your blood stream unstopped. What was it about men wearing those damn masks? Not being able to fully see their face. Having to find out what there was to them by just their actions.

The fist time you really thought you´d lost your mind was when you actually developed a burning crush on a literal tin can from the Star Wars universe. Oh yeah, sure. Give me a brooding, sarcastic, overworked loner with PTSD and give him a freaking child to protect. Watch him become a devoted, loving single parent. Of course! Yes, let me thirst after him. And did it stop there? Of course not. The pandemic hit and the lockdown had everyone in a chokehold.

The only chokehold you wanted to be in at the time however was one carried out by a video game character called Ghoul from “Call of Obligation”. Tatted up, burly, sharp, dutiful, loyal and fucking hot.

The only thing you were able to see of him? His eyes. Just his eyes and an occasional forearm here and there. Everything else covered in tactical gear and a scary facemask. God that character haunted your dreams almost every night. And now, you had his existing, breathing, heat emitting, real human equivalent living next to you. You felt your insides burn as another funny noise came from your mouth. There had to be something wrong with you. Why was half a visible face or even less, so damn attractive to you?

“Shit must be some kind of kink” you murmured to yourself as you reached for your wine glass.

Why was he wearing that mask anyway? People weren´t obligated to wear one anymore. Was it some kind of training technique while running?

Anyhow, you appreciated the encounter. Your mood instantly better even though the both of you hadn’t talked much at all. He seemed witty. Cocky almost and you liked that.

Emptying your wine, you put the glass back in the dishwasher and walked over to your bathroom when you heard it. The shower in the next apartment was running. Immediately you halted all movement and tried to not even breath. The situation seemed so delicate, like thin glass ready to break. You stared at the wall when something else caught your ears.

No. Did you hear this right? Was he…?

You walked carefully over to your shower and stepped in. Trying not to care about how crazy you must look at this moment, you turned your head to the wall slightly, closed your eyes and listened as hard as you could. There it was.

Low, melodic and absolutely captivating. Over the sound of the water hitting the tile you heard your neighbor singing. Your forehead hit the tile and you breathed as quietly as possible, marveling in the baritone sweetness that could be heard through the wall. All too soon, about a minute later it was over. The water was shut off, the singing stopped.

As if in trance you got your nighttime routine going and a couple minutes later, slid into bed. Knowing where his bathroom was now, you were positive that his bedroom had to be next to yours as well. You tried to hear more, but nothing else penetrated the walls. It made you glad actually. If you would be able to hear him in his bedroom, sleep would turn out to be an impossibility to achieve.

This way, you closed your eyes, got comfortable and let your thoughts drift and wander. Not long after, you were dead asleep. Your dreams yet again haunted, but now, the usual scary mask of Ghoul was replaced with a solid black one and instead of clawing at a fully clothed head between your legs, your fingers tangled into soft honey blond curls.

_____________________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading. Please consider interacting with this post and give me some feedback. Comments and reblogs always help not only to push my work that I love, but also help to improve my writing and get my imagination going.

Thank you for considering it <3

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nonsensical-pixels · 2 years ago

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BASEMENT TREASURES: the latest sims 4 kit, converted to ts2! [download - sfs]

have you ever wondered what lies in your sim's basement? sure, most of us have a torture room or two stashed away, but what if your sim isn't olive specter or hazel dente? where's my moldy moisture-eaten couches and prehistoric electronics? well, starting today, they're right here!

the moment i saw that this kit had released, i literally RAN to convert it. it's perfect for my older hoarder sims. plus, a lot of people asked for it 😅

this is almost the entire kit, save for the unbeatable stains, which--surprise, surprise--refused to get converted along with the others. i have plenty of similar stuff, though, so i'm not too upset. in total there are 25 items: 24 buy mode assets, and 1 wallpaper.

note: just before i posted this, i saw that @2fingerswhiskey already converted the retroplex tv console--you can grab their version here!

keep reading for credits + more info!

credits

ea/maxis for the original ts4 meshes & textures

items included

there are individual previews included in the actual download!

Big Box of Irreplaceably Replaceable Things (396 polys) Brass Floor Lamp (806 polys) Candid Coffee Table (148 polys) Dated Drywall (7 swatches) Disassembled Heart Bed (1712 polys) Dusty Trinkets (259 polys) Forgotten Frames (620 polys) Grandma's Couch (1487 polys) Mementos of Glory (361 polys) Records of the Past (112 polys) Relic of Good Times (454 polys) Retroplex TV Console (424 polys) Shabby Cardboard Box (94 polys) SquareTube (420 polys) Strange Reminescence Framed Photo (214 polys) The Best Seat in the House (905 polys) The Fun of Yesteryear (106 polys) The Graceful Ambition Standing Mirror (544 polys) The Moving Buddy (842 polys) The Not-So-Mod Lamp (302 polys) The Traveller's Trunk (782 polys) Uncle Bob's Dusty Rubber Plant (804 polys) Unmatched Chairs (452 polys) Unstable Wall Shelves (166 polys) Weary Wall Decal (2 polys)

things to note

The 'Graceful Ambition Standing Mirror' is repo'd to the 'Forgotten Frames'.

The 'Retroplex TV Console' is decorative only, get 2fingerswhiskey's version if you want it to be functional! They won't conflict :)

The mirrors have a slight issue where the reflection includes the frame, I'm very sorry, I tried my best but I couldn't fix it :(

if there are any unmentioned issues, please do lmk asap! happy simming 💞

( @sims4t2bb )

#s2cc #sims 2 cc #the sims 2 #sims 2 download #ts2 download #4t2 #4t2 conversion #4t2 basement treasures #long post

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jacky93sims · 1 year ago

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Presidio Tv Stand and Wall Shelves for The Sims 2

These are 4to2 conversions from Onyxium, low poly. Tv stand and Television are a single object, while shelves are separates. When you put the tv in your game it will have a grey screen for a moment but then it turns black (idem when sims turn off the tv). I put a bunch of bonsai on the shelves and stand slots to let you see the placement. 4 colors. See the original post for better pictures (I'm not good as an interior designer ahahah)

DOWNLOAD HERE

#sims 2 cc #the sims 2 #ts2 #sims 2 download #the sims 2 cc #ts2 download #4to2 #4to2 conversion #buy mode #sims 2 objects #functional #tv #television #wall shelf #wall shelves #living room

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darkmxgician · 3 months ago

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Promises Break- Part 4

pairing: fem!reader x noah. tags: drinking, trauma/PTSD, smut, drugs

word count: 1.9k

story song: nowhere to go

taglist: @sorrowsofsilence @angelsdevils @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @montgomery-929496

18+ below the cut

~ Reader ~

I wake up to the headache that was threatening to burst my skull. I dreamt of my brothers friend Noah, that he showed up to the club I was at. That he brought me home and took my virginity, that he relished in the sight of my blood and fucked me like a feral beast. That I enjoyed it. What the fuck is wrong with me? My grip on reality is slipping more and more each day. I try to stand, needing to use the bathroom, my bladder ready to burst. My legs fail me, and the soreness between them makes me gasp. Was it real? It can’t be. I stood up again, stumbling towards my bathroom. I pause as I walk past the mirror, I slept naked, which is odd for me. I have make up all over my face, my eyes puffy, like I’d been crying. What happened last night? But it was the marks on my throat and breasts that make me pause, I raise my hand to my throat, hissing when my fingers scrape at the angry red marks. Did I do that to myself? I turn away, I can’t stand the sight of myself. When I use the toilet I look down and notice the same red marks littered across my thighs, like bite marks, and bruises on my hips. Lack of certainty threatening to undo my sanity completely I go on autopilot, scrubbing my make up off, dressing in boxers and a large t-shirt, each movement eliciting some new pain throughout my body. I make my way to the kitchen, putting the kettle on, filling a mug with sugar and finding a box of tea bags. I know I have no food in so head outside for to smoke, needing something to take the edge off.

~ Noah ~

I couldn’t sleep, the adrenaline running through my body, having only sated the beast inside ever so slightly. She’s awoken something inside me, and it will destroy everything until it has her in its claws. I took the time while she was sleeping to roam through her home. The room next to hers seemed to be some sort of library, a sofa by the window, three sets of floor to ceiling shelves, housing books and hundreds of vinyl records. I make a mental note to look through her collection of music later. The large windows look out onto a patio, where a small pool is illuminated by lights dotted around in plant pots. The living room housed a large sofa, a TV with games consoles lined up and a cabinet that seems to act as a scoreboard, writing adorning its surface. Two more bedrooms, a laundry room and kitchen make up the rest of the house. I take my time, familiarising myself with her surroundings. My alarm starts blaring and I groan, 7am. I check on y/n, still asleep, she looks at peace, a stark contrast to the make up smeared across her cheeks and the bite marks I left on her throat. The sight of her like that almost had me crossing the room to take her all over again. I fist my hands at my sides and head out, I need to get some clothes and supplies from home, and a store. Her brother has been for a week and there’s no evidence that she’s eaten much since then. After last night, I’ve decided that she is mine, mine to fuck and please, but she needs someone to take care of her. How did this get so complicated so fast? All she had to do was stay home like the good girl she usually is.

I let myself back in using the key, I need to get a copy for myself, when her brother returns he’ll take this one back. I spot her instantly through the large windows, sat with a drink, smoking a cigarette. She looks lost in her own thoughts, not noticing me as I walk into the kitchen, dumping the bag of groceries on the counter. I open the door and stalk towards her. I expected her to jump, to react, but she lifts her eyes to me slowly, and laughs. What the fuck is wrong with this girl? She closes her eyes, that’s when I realise it’s a joint between her fingers, not a cigarette. I take it from her and stub it out, the last thing she needs is drugs. She looks at me again, tilting her head and assessing me. I stare back, leaning down and resting my hands on the arms of her chair. She reaches up and touches my face, just like she did last night after I fucked her. “Are you real?” she laughs again, the sound grating on me, “of course not, but I’ll give my imagination points for thinking you’d ever want to be with me”. She thinks she made it up? She’s more fucked up than I thought, maybe I pushed her too far last night, maybe I broke her completely. I grab her face, forcing her to meet my stare, “if you don’t think what I did to you last night is real, little one, maybe you need a reminder?” I crush my lips to hers, needing her to feel me. I’ve never formed normal attachments, never had a real girlfriend. But for some unknown reason, I need y/n to know that I want her, I crave her, that she’s mine. She’s the masochist I’ve always dreamed of, granted a more fucked up version, but nobody truly sane would ever want to be with me anyway. She’s barely there, she tastes like weed and something else I can’t place, I grab her, everywhere, squeezing and pinching, trying to get a rise out of her. She jerks when I roll her nipple between my fingers, bingo. I bite her lip, enough to let me taste her blood and she struggles to get away. Like I would ever let that happen.

~ Reader ~

When I first met Noah I was excited to get to know him. My brother lives with his bandmate Nicholas, who I adore. I started listening to bad omens straight after meeting him, and they quickly became one of my favourite bands. Noah’s vocals and the lyrics made me believe he was someone I could come to love as much as his bandmate. A few months after meeting Nicky I went to their apartment to hang out with them. When I walked in my eyes were instantly drawn to Noah, his good looks enough to pull me in. I was hopeful that we would at least become good friends, I mean Nicky wouldn’t be friends with an asshole right? Wrong. He was rude from the very beginning, he looks at me like he can see under my skin, right to my very core. It set me on edge, that paired with his unfriendly demeanour and lack of empathy and feeling, I just couldn’t get past his shell. I decided it wasn’t worth it. I stopped trying, resigned to feel awkward and raw in his prescience. I tried to act like he wasn’t there. Another impossible task. So I avoided him at all costs, unless we were meeting in a group setting, where he would be distracted with others and content to ignore me.

I’m not sure how I got caught in his web. I woke up this morning thinking I’d imagined the whole thing. I’d definitely had dreams about him in the beginning. Those quickly fizzled away along with any hope of him being a nice guy. And now he’s on me, his hands everywhere, squeezing and grabbing in a show of ownership. His mouth on mine, biting me, making me bleed like he enjoys the taste of my blood. The more I struggle, the harder he kisses me, pinning me against the chair. He’s invaded every sense. I can almost taste his cologne, he’s all over my skin, the sound of our moans and violent clashing of mouths fills the quiet morning. He’s like a rabid animal, I can’t decide if it’s because he actually wants me, or just believes me to be his. He’s had a weird hold over me since the day we met, his all knowing looks and infuriating smirk. But I find it hard to believe that someone with antisocial tendencies like Noah would ever want to be with me, for one he’s 6 years older than me, and clearly much more experienced when it comes to sex. I can’t relax and let this happen until I understand his motive, is he just messing with me? The thoughts come too fast, and lack of oxygen from the kiss makes my head spin. He pulls back and remains in my personal space, eyes assessing me like they always do, it’s like he can sense my unease. “Why?” I question, my voice breathless in a way that makes his eyes go dark. “Why what?” he fires back, his hot breath all over my skin. “Why did you come to the club last night? why bring me home? why sleep with me?.. And why did you come back?”, the words spill out of me, and I’m useless to try and stop them. If he thinks he knows me so well then he should be expecting my interrogation. “You’re not as put together as everyone thinks, as soon as I realised there’s something lurking under your skin, I wanted to peel it back and see for myself”, his low tone does nothing to ease my anxiety. “So this is just a game to you? some way to see how fucked up I am?”, tears start to fall, I can’t help it. He seemed to care last night, he was looking at me with worry in his eyes, and now it’s all falling apart. “Don’t cry little one, believe me when I say this anything but a game to me. You are mine”, he all but growls the last word, pulling me up into his arms and carrying me inside. “So what, I’m supposed to believe that you want to be my boyfriend? take me out on dates and hold hands?” I almost laugh at the mental image. He gently puts me on one of the stools in the kitchen and begins to unpack a bag of food. Did he go shopping? “If you feel like putting a label on it, I can be your boyfriend”. I mull over his words, how can we go from hating each other to a relationship in less than 24 hours? Do I even want to be with him? As if sensing my internal debate he stalks up to me, fisting my hair and forcing me to look up at him. “If you’re trying to think of a way out of this y/n, you’re out of luck. I’ve seen all of you, and I’m not letting you go”. His hold on my hair tightens, as if proving his point. It stings so much tears to well up, my head goes completely empty, and I start to feel panic rising. He senses it, like he seems to do with all my emotions, and lets go, hooking his hand under my chin and kissing me gently. It was different than the savage kiss outside, this one is reassuring. He brings his other hand up to cup my face and continues his exploration of my mouth, almost making me purr with his sweet caress. When he pulls away his eyes meet mine and they’re swimming with raw emotion. I’m so fucked.

#bad omens #noah sebastian smut #noah sebastian #noah sebastian x reader #bad omens fanfiction #noah sebastian fanfiction #dark romance #my writing #promises break

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ruhiagarwal · 1 year ago

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#Buy tv unit online #types of modern tv unit #Engineered wood tv unit #Solid wood tv unit #Types of tv unit designs #wall mount tv stand #Floating TV units #wooden tv cabinet with storage #Tv Cabinet with 1 drawer #Tv Cabinet with 4 drawers #Tv Stand With 1 shelf #Tv Stand With 4 shelves #TV Unit Price Online #Tv unit in Budget

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dcocca · 7 days ago

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Hello! Just wanted to give you a heads-up: a new chapter for Pages About You, Pages About Me is online!

I’ll leave the link here:

In this chapter we see Aziraphale and Crowley exchange their first reading recommendations! The book needed to be “a funny one”, as the first prompt said. What might have they chosen for the other?

Let me know what you think of the chapter and, of course, what you think of the reads I have chosen for them! Have you read them? Did you like them? This might be my own intricate way to write for a fandom I love and still keep rambling about books.

An excerpt:

Crowley shifted his tone, bouncing slightly on the spot and looking around. “Let’s get to the comic for ye… I’ve given it a lot of thought and I think I’ve got just the one for yer initiation.”

With that, Crowley grabbed the nearest step ladder and began climbing towards the shelves close to the ceiling. At one point, he stopped and started running a finger along the spines of the various graphic novels.

“Let’s see... Ha! Here it is!”

The comic book seller descended the ladder, skipping several rungs and landing with a thud that startled Aziraphale. Crowley inspected the volume for a moment, as if to double-check it was the right one, though it was clear he didn’t need to. Then he handed it to Aziraphale.

“Here ye go. What d’ye think?”

[…]

Aziraphale was speechless, more confused than ever.

“Wh—” he began, then recovered and tried again to form a coherent sentence.

“Is this... really a comic?”

He cast a questioning look at Crowley, who was already waiting for him with a satisfied grin.

“‘f course ’s a comic. Oi! No peekin’!”

Crowley caught his hand just as he was about to open the book to make sure he wasn’t being teased.

“I want ye to open it and explore it calmly at home. Process it in yer own time, in yer own way,” Crowley said, surprisingly thoughtful and understanding. He seemed to know exactly what Aziraphale needed. Perhaps that first day they’d met, he really had seen right through him, after all. Scanned his soul with barely a glance.

“Just tell me what ye think of the cover. What stands out? Why don’t ye think it’s a comic?”

@goodomensafterdark 💙❤️

#good omens #aziraphale #crowley #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #fanfic #good omens 2 #good omens fanart #books and reading #comic books

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simstorian-blog · 9 months ago

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Sandtrap Flat

(CC List + Links)

World Map: Oasis Springs

Area: Bedford Strait

Lot Size: 30 x 20

Gallery ID: Simstorian-ish

Packs Needed

Expansion Packs

Cats & Dogs

For Rent

Get Famous

Get Together

High School Years

Game Packs

Dream Home Decorator

Parenthood

Strangerville

Kits

Desert Luxe Kit

Build Mode

Felixandre

Soho Pt. 2 (Light Switch Medium, Metal Door Medium)

Harlix

Orjanic Pt.1 (Glass Roof 2)

Harrie

Klean Pt. 2

Klean Pt. 3

Kwatei Pt. 1 (Double Arch Short, Front Door Glass- Medium, Front Door Solid – Short)

Peacemaker

Rustic Siding

Pierisim

Tilable (Plaster)

Woodland Ranch (Wooden Ceiling)

Sundays

Juniper Terrazzo Floor C

Buy Mode

Anniee-sims

Lilah Prints (Mesh Needed)

Anye

Prio (Duvet)

Townhouse (Loopchair)

Awingedllama

Boho Living (Wooden Arch Floor Mirror)

BlueTeas

Curtains

Jasmine Teenage Bedroom (Pendant Lamp)

Allen Seating (Walt Ottoman V2)

CharlyPancakes

Lavish (Clothing Only)

ClutterCat

Baby Boo (Coloring Book, Pouf, Tulip Vase)

BubbleGum (Calendar, Color Candle I Big)

Busy Bee (Glass Jars, Pen Holder, Pencil Case)

Cozy Cocina

Fairylicious (Cushion Pile, Kids Art)

Sunny Sundae Pt. 1 (Candle Small)

Sunny Sundae Pt. 3 (Alarm Clock, Open Book, Vanity Mirror)

CowBuild

Minotti Ottoman I

Felixandre

Berlin Pt. 3 (Desktop)

Kyoto Pt. 3 (Bath Tray)

Shop The Look S1 (Magazine Stand, Tassel Rug)

Shop The Look S3

Soho Pt. 1 (Sideboard, Woven Rug)

Soho Pt. 4 (Ficus Planter, Stool)

Harlix

Baysic

Baysic Bathroom

Harluxe (AC Control, Book w Sunglasses, Light Switch, Makeup Tray, Mini Bar)

Jardane (Counter, Grill, Sink – Deep)

Kichen (Bowls, Glasses, Plates)

Livin’ Rum (Bookstand, Coffee Table Book, Frame Tv, Stacking Box)

Orjanic Pt. 2 (Foxglove Vase)

Harrie

Brownstone Pt. 1 (Sink, Shelves)

Brutalist Bathroom (Bathtub, Block Vanity – Centre/Curved Left & Right, Frame Mirror – Large, Rectangular Sink, Shower, Tiled Decorative Shelf)

Coastal Pt. 7 (Mirror)

Country (Bed Vase)

Halcyon Kitchen

Shop The Look (Wooden Bowl)

Shop The Look 3 (Coffee Tables, Cushions, End Table)

JoyceIsFox

Simple Live #7 (Cooking Utensils, Double Chopping Board)

KiwiSims4

Blockhouse Dining (Pendants)

Piha Living (Chandeliers)

KKB

Citrus Room (Samsung the Serif Ver1)

Ledger Atelier

Mohan Living Pt. 3 (Sofa)

Nordheim Bathroom Pt. 1 (Bathrobe)

LittleDica

Delicious Kitchen (Paper Towel)

LorySims

2021 Ford Bronco

MyCupofCC

Bathroom Collection (Woven Bath Mat)

Nordica Sims

Art Poster 01

No Style x Woodland

Annika Meabh Sofa

Peacemaker

Creta Kitchen (Bar Fridge, Short Lineal Light Beam)

Ellipse (Ottoman)

Kitayama Bedroom (Half Moon Headboard)

Kassova Sectional

Matilda (Backpack, Jacket, Knit)

Pierisim

David’s Apartment Pt. 1 (Books 3 & 4)

David’s Apartment Pt. 2 (Nightstand, Open Book, Pile of Jumpers 2, Pile of Trousers 1 & 2, Shoes, Wooden Side Table)

MCM Pt. 3 (Metal Sconce 2, Narrow Rug Long, Narrow Rug Short, Wall Mounter Accent Table)

MCM Pt. 5 (Hair Dryer, Hair Straightener, Wigs)

Winter Garden (Olive Tree)

Pilar

Osaka Lamp Oval Large

Plush Pixels

Calm Sofa

Ravasheen

Knit Happens Clutter

Procrafination

RusticSims

Kind of Modular (Books, Deco Jar)

Loft Pt. 1 (Lampara de Pie Petrea)

Sooky88

Justina Blakeney x Loloi Area Rug

Mixed Modern Square Rug

Sundays

Canggu Pt. 3 (Pillows I)

Kediri Pt. 1 (Throw Pillow – Solids)

Swell Pt. 1 (Bolster Pillow)

TaurusDesigns

Eliza Walk-in Closet (Clothing Only)

Tuds

CRIB (Pendants – Small/Medium)

Winner9

Yokeda Wall Lamp Triple

DO NOT REUPLOAD MY LOTS.

DO NOT CLAIM THEM AS YOUR OWN.

DO NOT PLACE BEHIND A PAYWALL.

Tray Files: DOWNLOAD

#simstorian #the sims 4 #sims 4 #ts4 #cc #ts4 simblr #build #sims 4 build #oasis springs #bedford strait #sandtrap flat #residential lot #colorful #interior design

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hold-him-down · 5 months ago

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Belleview Chapter Two (Part D): Day One

Notes: This is the final part of chapter 2. Now, pretend all 4 of those parts were posted in one thing because that is really how it was meant to be but things got away from me :)

Belleview: Chapter 1, Chapter 2 (Part A), Chapter 2 (Part B), Chapter 2 (Part C)

TW: Institutionalized slavery, Med Whump, Dubcon Medical Care, References to Human Experimentation

✥ ✥ ✥

Day one, Lincoln thinks, goes by in a sort of semi-organized frenzy that makes up for a lack of rhythm with the undiluted tenacity of every person who has been assigned to this site. It is a flurry of organizing volunteers, scheduling with local hospitals, reviewing the notes of the medical team and pausing, occasionally, to ask how his two patients are faring. River remains isolated, but no one pushes him, and Felix remains alive and that, for what it’s worth, counts as a win.

Beds are built inside of the tiny rooms with impressive efficiency, while volunteers sort through the floods of donations, things from clothing to food to entertainment. At some point, an entire truck full of televisions, courtesy of the mayor, pulls up, and at another, a florist brings a van-full of indoor plants to help make the place feel more ‘homey.’ Three restaurants deliver catered lunch, and seven bring dinner. The residents, by and large, refuse the food, and it is not until the prepackaged meaty substance that has been their daily meal for their entire time at the site is found, heated, and delivered, that most of them eat anything at all.

The phone rings non-stop with offers for food or ‘any other support needed’ over the next week. News vans come and go, with volunteers offering cursory updates on where things stand at Belleview, but never on the residents themselves. Their identities are protected, and no one seems to mind regardless.

The community, much to Lincoln’s surprise, rallies behind the residents, and he is left to admit, reluctantly, that even here, in this somewhat small community in southern Florida, where so many vocal supporters of the system fought tooth and nail to keep contracted labor intact, there are countless pockets of good. He doesn’t have the time to rearrange his opinion on the town, but he recognizes the necessity to reassess where he stands.

For now, he throws all of his energy toward the task at hand.

Three of the residents, Felix, Gabriel, and Ari, require hospital visits for diagnostics. Lincoln makes a note to check on them before leaving for the night. Seven more have been hooked up to IV fluids and are being monitored while they sleep, but will be treated at the site once the med rooms are set up. Three (River, chiefly among them) refused any care, and seven allowed themselves to be examined without fighting. Notably, the team suspects that many did not understand, or believe, that things have changed, and so the pretenses under which they cooperated were dubious at best.

It’s eight o’clock, and with one full twelve-hour shift under his belt, Lincoln accepts that it’s nearly time to call it a day. The first group of volunteers has begun packing up and leaving for the evening, with the new group filing in and orienting themselves to their tasks. Lincoln sits in the empty office, twenty-one folders strewn haphazardly across the large metal desk.

He reaches for the newest folder, marked ‘Felix,’ and opens it. He reads through the notes– his notes– and stands, placing the lone file into his bag. He picks up his keys, and he turns off the light to the office, and he starts making his way through the bowels of the building that, just yesterday, housed horrors that he has not yet begun to wrap his head around.

Lincoln passes several volunteers setting up a common area out of what was once a waiting room, which includes putting together sofas, hooking up the donated TVs, stocking shelves full of books, and hanging art. There are half-broken down boxes strewn everywhere. He greets the volunteers with an exhausted smile and half-wave as he passes. Once he reaches the tip of the main corridor, he pauses. It’s quiet now, with an almost eerie quality to it. A couple of the fluorescents are dull, with one outright flickering. It gives the wing a sort of post-apocalyptic ambiance befitting its history. If not for the doors, each cracked open in a bid to encourage the residents to explore their temporary home, it would look exactly the same as it had this morning, save for one of the plants that made its way to a corner.

“How did it go today?” Dr. Anthony Schiller, the assistant director of the site, who will oversee it during the overnight shifts, asks as he pulls up beside him.

“It could have gone worse,” Lincoln responds. They are silent for seconds, maybe minutes, staring down the long hallway. And then, “I’m worried about them,” Lincoln says softly. At the doctor’s expectant look, he continues, “About where things go from here.”

Schiller nods in agreement, and Lincoln hands him the key to the office with a half-hearted smile that is meant to be encouraging, but might read closer to reluctant.

“Files are on the desk, notes are in the files,” Lincoln says. He gives a rundown of where they’re at, what they’ve done, who to keep an eye on overnight.

Once Anthony has retreated, Lincoln makes his way through the corridor toward the exit. He listens for any signs of distress as he does. In one room, the light from the TV flashes through the crack in the door. From another, he can hear crying. He pauses, knocking on the door. “Do you need anything?” he asks, and the boy’s– Ethan’s– eyes snap up to meet his.

“I’m sorry,” Ethan whispers.

“It’s okay,” Lincoln replies. He takes a step into the room, where there is a barely-eaten dinner and an untouched pile of blankets. “I’m sure this is overwhelming,” he says. He picks up the top blanket and unfolds it, then sets it on the untouched bed. “Have you had a chance to eat?” he asks.

Ethan nods, visibly holding back as much emotion as he can.

“Okay,” Lincoln replies. He sits at the edge of the bed, and pats the space next to him. “Will you come sit with me for a minute?” he asks then. Ethan, predictably, does as he is asked, and Lincoln hands him the blanket. “I’m going to head out for the night,” Lincoln explains. “Is there anything you want me to grab you for tomorrow?”

Ethan shakes his head quickly. “Okay,” Lincoln replies. “Try to get some sleep. If you’d like to turn on the TV, you can. Anything you need, please let the volunteers know, okay? I know this is confusing,” he continues, “but things will get easier.”

Ethan smiles, his eyes downcast, and Lincoln squeezes his hand. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

As he continues down the hall, he wonders, idly, how many of these beds will be untouched tonight. How many of these men will go hungry tonight. How many will sleep at all. River's room is quiet and dark, and Lincoln resists the urge to check in on him. He is okay. He refused lunch and dinner, but has a bed, has clothes, and has access to food and water. No progress has been made throughout the day, but, Lincoln hopes, they will try again tomorrow.

He reluctantly continues walking.

He pauses, finally, at Felix’s door. As one of the three critical patients, the volunteers have been on top of him all day, reporting back at least hourly on his status. With the medicine and with the fluids and with the constant care, he’s been stable, which is something.

Lincoln pushes the door open as quietly as he can, and buried under a weighted blanket, curled up on his side, lies Felix. An oxygen mask covers his mouth and nose, and, under the covers, Lincoln knows a slew of monitors cover his body, feeding them data on his condition. After a thorough review of that data, Lincoln turns his attention back to Felix.

Even in the darkness, it is obvious that he has been bathed, he has been given clothes, and his wounds have been tended. He looks… peaceful, Lincoln thinks. He looks comfortable.

As he takes a step back toward the hall, Felix’s eyes crack open, instantly seeking him out. His fingers lift, just slightly, in something that vaguely resembles a wave, and Lincoln makes his way to his bedside.

He kneels next to him, squeezing his fingers gently.

“Hey,” he whispers. With his free hand, Lincoln brushes the hair off of Felix’s forehead, then runs his fingers across the bruising on his neck. “I was just on my way out,” he continues, “I wanted to check and make sure you have everything you need?”

Felix doesn’t respond, but he keeps his eyes on Lincoln. Lincoln smiles and stands, with a soft, “I’ll see you in the morning,” as he moves away from Felix’s bed.

The panicked look, the same from earlier, ghosts across Felix’s features, and he reaches for the mask. It doesn’t take more than a split second for Lincoln’s mind to be made up. At home, his boyfriend will struggle to understand what happened here today. He’ll be chastised for taking his work too seriously, for not setting boundaries, for giving too much of himself to his job.

But, he thinks, as he pulls out his phone to send the text message: I’m going to stay here for the night. I’ll check in in the morning. Will explain tomorrow, he knows it’s right. By the time he drags the small armchair over to Felix’s bed and settles into it, Felix’s body has lost the fight for consciousness. Still, when Lincoln puts his hand on top of Felix’s, and the tension in his shoulders immediately lifts, Lincoln knows that this is where he’s meant to be.

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@hellodecisionparalysis

#institutionalized slavery #Med Whump #Dubcon Medical Care #References to Human Experimentation #ok SO #this was really all one big chapter #and we went a little up close on some things that maybe didn't need to be as up close #BUT who am if not an oversharer of every detail of every interaction #anywayyyy #im gonna take a stab at making some edits to river's chapter and i do apologize for that but i think it reads slightly adjacent to where-#-i wanted it to #then we'll get moving

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