#boneyard in space!

[spaceprincessleia]

Ahsoka (2023) + space in 1x07 | Dreams and Madness ↪ for Ahsoka Week Day 1

[michaelgabrill]

Boneyard Airplane Sees New Life as a NASA X-66 Simulator

NASA’s X-66 aircraft, the centerpiece of its Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, is taking the term “sustainable” to heart by reusing an old MD-90 cockpit as a base for its new X-66 simulator. When airplanes are retired, they often wind up in “boneyards” — storage fields where they spend years being picked over for parts by […] from NASA https://ift.tt/W7KlCTD

[princessbrunette]

stepbro john b seeing jj flirt or topper flirt with you.

love your page <33333

    🦴  ꒱   .  ྀི    

thinking about this in the context of when you first became aware of each others existence.

john b took you to a boneyard party, made you promise to behave yourself— and lost you within the space of an hour. you could handle yourself, he kept telling himself — but regret for his own carelessness fills his body when he spots you across the way laughing with none other than topper.

the brunette kicks up sand as he wanders over, staring you down. “aaand that is your brother—” topper points out, clearly in the middle of some elaborate story or joke that was making you giggle.

“step-brother— look what are you doin’ here top?” john b places his hands on his hips like a dad, a stance that made you giggle and bite your finger feeling like you’re in trouble.

“woah, we’re just having some fun here, right?” topper keeps that same boy-next-door smile that had you totally fooled as he places an arm round your shoulder and it’s like john b’s eyes physically darken before you as he squares up, looking down his nose at the fake blonde.

“take your hands off her… okay?” he rasps, voice low and deep making something stir in your panties though it shouldn’t have.

“whatever bro.” toppers smile melts into a malicious smirk before he turns to you. “was nice to meet you gorgeous. enjoy the rest of the party with the fun police—”

“walk away.” your step brothers holds himself back, watching topper shake his head and return to his friends before turning to you, crossing his arms. “are you insane? hm?” he tilts his head expectedly.

“what? m’socialising.” you pout, stepping up into his space like you couldn’t help but be close to him, the alcohol not helping your case here.

“well, can you socialise with the pogues instead of — i dunno — my sworn enemy? topper lives for shit like that, okay— you’re just giving him leverage on me.” he stresses, brow creased up at the thought.

“please, he’s got nothing on you. you’re john b.” you bat your lashes up at him, watching his expression melt into something else.

“uh, what does that mean?” he pushes, though he feels he shouldn’t.

“you’re more brave… you’re cooler… way hotter…” your eyes drag downwards. “probably way bigger.” you add breathily making him swallow.

“wow, wildly inappropriate.” he brushes it off, ticking his head lightly to the side making you giggle.

“whatever. we’re not blood related.” you shrug with a giggle, going to walk away but he pulls you back.

“uh, hey — do you mean that? or… are you just completely wasted?” his eyes linger, an obvious glimmer of hope passing through the chocolate hue of them.

“i’ve had two drinks only.” you hold up your red solo cup before stepping past him. “c’mon. wanna party!” you beam and he blows out a puff of air, following close behind.

“aaalright…”

    🦴  ꒱   .  ྀི    

[katsu28]

can i please request this “ [ LAP ] sender pulls receiver into their lap” this with JJ?

please forgive for how long it took me to get to this, dear anon :')

jj maybank x reader, mentions of alcohol, 1.5k

“Attention, attention, this is your driver speaking, politely requesting that Y/N L/N get her ass in this van, effective immediately. Over.” John B had his hands cupped over his mouth as he slowed the Twinkie to a stop along the sidewalk you were making your way down, shit-eating grin very present on his face as he leaned across to the passenger side to catch your reaction. 

“If that was polite, I’d hate to see what impolite looks like.” 

“That would be just a good old fashioned kidnapping.” He replied, shrugging. 

You stopped, turned to face the boy full on with your hands on your hips. “Right, because that’s never happened before.” 

“That wasn’t kidnapping, that was a very enthusiastic welcome home party!” chimed in JJ from somewhere in the back, and you could imagine the smile that matched John B’s gracing his lips too. 

“You guys grabbed me right out of my room!” 

“Specificities don’t matter.” John B rolled his eyes, motioning for you to get in the van quickly. 

“They do when you put a towel over my head.” You moved to open the passenger door since the seat was empty, but he swatted your hand through the open window before you could. “Ow, what the fuck?” 

“Sarah’s sitting in the front.” 

“Sarah’s not even here yet.” 

“I know, but we’re getting her next and I promised she wouldn’t have to sit in the back again since JJ yacked all over her shoes after the last bonfire.” 

JJ’s voice sounded out again, this time more exasperated than anything. “I told you, I got carsick from your driving! And I already apologized, so I really don’t see what the problem is.” 

“Please, Y/N?” John B pleaded, clasping his hands together. 

“Fine.” You rolled your eyes, pulling open the back door with a huff. The first thing you noticed was the giant keg occupying the seat you were planning on sitting in. The second was JJ, Kie, and Pope all crammed into the remaining space like sardines in a can, offering you identical sheepish smiles. “I…where am I supposed to sit?” 

“I’m sure JJ won’t mind if you sit with him. Right, J?” 

It was a ploy, you were sure of it. Take advantage of your crush on JJ Maybank by forcing you into the smallest space possible, see what happens. Your friends were smart, but not as smooth as they thought they were being. 

Your eyes flicked to the blond boy, who merely grinned, scooting over and patting the open space next to him. “Come on in, seat buddy.” 

You aimed a small smile at him as you stepped up into the cramped van, literally climbing over everyone else to squeeze yourself in next to him. Your thigh pressed against JJ’s as you settled in the half seat he gave you, both your elbows fighting for the space you barely had. 

It was the most awkward of dances, trying to sit comfortably in one seat. His arm knocked into your head when you tried to lean back against the seat, you ended up kicking him trying to cross one leg over the other; nothing seemed to be working no matter what you both tried. You could tell Kie was trying not to crack up watching you and JJ fumble around like idiots, but she kept her cool.  

“Hold on. Why don’t you just—” JJ pulled you onto his lap smoothly, arms wrapping loosely around your waist in one fluid motion before you could even react. “There. More space for everyone.” 

“Uh, yeah—thanks, J.” You blurted, catching Kie’s now wide eyed gaze with one of your own. Even Pope’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but JJ stayed clueless, tapping out a mindless pattern atop your thighs as John B pulled back out onto the road. 

He even helped you out of the van when you finally got to the boneyard, guiding you with a hand on the small of your back until your feet were planted firmly in the gravel before winking at you and going to help the boys unload the keg. 

“I told you he liked you!” Kie hissed, materializing at your side. You clamped a hand over her mouth, checking to see that the boys hadn’t heard anything before yanking her a good distance down the beach. “Okay, that was uncalled for.” 

“Sorry, I just—I don’t want JJ to know about how I feel.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because it’s embarrassing? Because it would ruin our friendship? Because he doesn’t feel the same way? Pick a reason, Kie!” You shot back, counting them off on your fingers. 

“I’m telling you, he feels the same way. He pulled you onto his freaking lap, bitch! He winked at you! D’you need your eyes checked or something, or are you just that stubborn?” 

“No. No, I’m not gonna chance it.” 

“Will you just live a little?” 

“Drop it, Kie.” 

“But—” 

“It’s not gonna happen!” 

“What’s not gonna happen?” JJ chimed in, looking between you and Kie with an arched brow. 

“Nothing.” You said quickly, offering him what you hoped wasn’t too forced of a smile. If JJ noticed anything out of the ordinary, he didn’t say anything, instead just nodding and going to catch up with John B. You turned back to Kie, holding your hand out for her to take. “M’sorry for snapping at you. It’s just…complicated. I love you?” 

“Love you too.” She sighed, linking her fingers through yours. “C’mon, let’s get a drink and forget about all this.” You obliged, happy to knock a few drinks back to get a certain someone to stop running circles in your mind for once. 

You didn’t see JJ until much later in the night, after the sun had sunk below the horizon and the bonfire blazed bright in the darkness. 

“Hey.” His voice was soft in your ear, causing you to shiver involuntarily at his sudden close proximity. You echoed his greeting, hoping your voice wasn’t as breathless as you felt. “Can we talk? Somewhere quieter maybe?” 

You nodded, and he led you down the beach a little ways away. Not too far away from the crowd, but far enough so you could talk without having to yell over the noise. JJ’s palm on the small of your back was enough to burn a hole through the fabric of your top, radiating warmth through your body despite the cool breeze coming off the ocean. 

“Right. So, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, and I really think I need to tell you before I explode. And uh, you can totally tell me to fuck off if I’ve read the situation all wrong.” He snatched the hat off his head, raking his fingers through his hair a few times before putting it back on. You’d come to learn that it was something he did any time he was nervous. 

“Everything okay, J?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, no, I’m good.” He breathed, forcing out a chuckle. “I’m just—I’m just gonna come out and say it then. I’m into you. Like, a lot. And I know we have the whole ‘no Pogue on Pogue macking’ thing, so I get it if you don’t wanna make things weird—like, that’s cool, I just…felt like I needed to tell you.” 

You were stunned beyond words. JJ felt the same way about you that you did about him. He loved you back. 

JJ must’ve taken your silence as some sort of rejection because he forced out a hollow chuckle, linking his fingers behind his head, wandering a few paces away. He looked like he wanted to kick himself. “God, I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—this was a shitty idea and I’m just gonna go now so I don’t embarrass myself any more.”

He moved to walk past you back towards the bonfire, but you caught him by the arm before he could, surging forward and pressing your lips against his firmly. 

If he was surprised he did a great job at hiding it, because the way he kissed you back felt like he’d been waiting for this moment his whole life. Much like most of the things JJ did, he put his everything into kissing you, cupping your face in his hands almost like it was second nature to hold you like he was. 

As cliche as it sounded, it didn’t feel like a first kiss with him. It felt like you were attuned to each other, already subconsciously knowing what to do even though you’d never dared do it before. 

JJ, albeit hesitantly, was the one to break away first, barely an inch between the two of you as his tongue darted out to wet his lips before daring to speak. “But…the rule?” 

“When have you ever followed the rules, Maybank?” You tilted your head at him, raising an eyebrow in challenge. JJ held your gaze steady while his fingers danced a path down your arm. 

“Never.” 

“Then why start now?” 

JJ perked up at your words, lips quirking into that damn troublemaker’s grin that endeared you to no end. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Okay then. Cool.” 

“Cool.” 

Neither of you needed to put into words what you were going to be from now on, because it didn’t have to be said for it to be something. You knew. JJ knew. And when everyone else saw JJ’s arm slung around your shoulders the whole night, the way you looked at each other like two crazy kids in love, they knew too.

follow @katsu-library to be notified when i post new fics :)

[obxsummer]

messy // john b routledge

request: Would love to do a request if your taking? You know the bonfire scene where John b and Sarah were broken up and she came with topper and saw John b with another girl and a fight ended up happening where the girl pushed Sarah and John b was yelling crying for her name can we do that with y/n and John b but instead of the fight with him and topper we do a fight with y/n and the girl John b was with and the girl ends up pushing y/n which has John b going crazy and in protective mode and y/n got really hurt by that push from that small clif

pairing: john b routledge x cameron!reader (she/her)

warnings: the usual obx angst and violence, ooc rafe cameron (BRING ME PROTECTIVE RAFE WOOO), injuries

navigation 

--

Boneyard Bonfires are well known in the OBX but not for the reasons they should be. More often than not (a couple years in a row now), fights and arguments broke out between the two halves of the island which usually caused the hangout to end early.

You definitely weren’t planning on attending considering things between you and John B were rough right now. Still reeling from the previous events of the week, you just wanted some space to comprehend the loss your family was facing right now. You didn’t mean to make him upset or to put a wrench in your relationship, but John B was less than happy when you told him you were heading back to Tannyhill to find comfort in your brother and sisters.  

The news of Ward’s death traveled fast, but it felt like everything had stood still for your family. Despite being adopted before you could even remember, Ward and Rose had raised you, and your heart was still broken even after all of the horrible things he’d done to you and your friends. It wasn’t fair to have so many mixed emotions and still push yourself to be around John B when he was busy celebrating a loss that hit you hard.

“You okay?” The soft tone of concern in Rafe’s voice was surprising as you glanced over your shoulder where he was approaching. You were standing out by the dock, eyes on the slow-moving water. The same dock that had been full of cops and your friends only a few days ago.

“Fine,” You mumbled. He pulled you close, arms warm as he held you to his chest like it would protect you from the cruel reality. Rafe completely shut down when the yacht exploded, like all anger had left his body and was replaced with sorrow and fear of the unknown. For so long, Ward had fixed everything for him, and Rafe had been hit with the hard truth that it would no longer happen. Like a flipped switch, he went from an irresponsible party kid to a protective older brother. The one you remembered most growing up, the version you’d missed for so long.

“Did you talk to John B?”

You shook your head slightly. “No, not since yesterday.”

Rafe had tried to stop you from going to find John B yesterday, begging you not to leave him. You hadn’t seen raw emotion out of your brother like that in so long that it scared you, so you let Rafe drive you to your boyfriend’s house to have the honest conversation that needed to happen.

“Hey,” You whispered quietly as you walked down the dock to where John B was sitting.

“Hey.” John B looked up and stood from his seat to join you on the floor of the dock closer to the water.

You sniffled, tugging your knees to your chest as you wrapped your arms around them. Every nerve of your body screamed to run and hide from this nightmare, wishing it would just disappear from view and spare the pain.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” John B’s fingers were warm as the rested on your knee, his other hand gently grabbing your cheek to brush away tears, a small gasp leaving your lips at the action. You’d cried so, so much in these past few hours that it was surprising to have tears left. 

“Were you happy?” You asked quietly, watching his face to tell a reaction. “Because you looked happy.”

John B hesitated in his response, “Babe, he killed my dad.”

You licked your lips and tucked them in, giving a small nod of understanding. It was hard to come to terms that John B felt this was an even trade-off, a life for a life. But he wasn’t wrong, and that made it worse.

“I just think too much has happened,” You admitted honestly, sniffling against your sleeve. “I just thought of all people…you would understand what it was like losing a dad. And I needed you, John B. A-and maybe everyone was right, maybe this is too complicated.”

The two of you received so much backlash when you got together, from friends and family, that it almost broke you. John B reassured you more than once that he didn’t care what they had to say, that the two of you cared about each other and that was the most important thing. But sitting here, with him, you began to wonder if it would be enough.

“It’s not, it’s not too complicated,” He tried to reason, the puzzle fitting into place as he realized what you might be implying. “Please don’t leave. I’ll figure it out, I promise.”

You shook your head and faced him with teary eyes, letting yourself be so vulnerable with the boy you’d trusted your life and heart to. “I love you, JB. But I think I need some time to… to figure this out. I shouldn’t have come here.”

Standing up, you pressed your palms into your eyes to stop the flood of tears in order to see your footsteps as you walked away.

“Hey, hey. Wait,” John B was quickly behind you, his arms wrapping around your shoulders tightly as he held you. Your breath was shaky as you grabbed onto him and tucked your cheek against his skin, soaking up every second of it that you could. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Just talk to me.”

“Just… just give me some time, okay?” You asked quietly, tucking your hand into his like it was your lifeline. “I’ll be back, promise. I just… I gotta figure this out.”

John B pressed a kiss to your head, turning your form so he could hug you properly as you sobbed. He never meant to cause so much harm, despite the fact that he was glad Ward was gone after all he had done. John B almost forgot you lost a dad in the mix, so caught up in the idea of revenge.

The sound of your name being called broke your moment with John B, both of you turning to see Rafe standing in the grass at the end of the dock. You could feel the muscles in John B’s back tense at the sight, but you knew your brother wasn’t here to fight. Rafe wasn’t here to play Kook King, he was in older brother mode. He was here for you.

“I’ve gotta go,” You whispered to John B, pulling yourself from his embrace to press a kiss to his cheek. You turned away and began the walk toward your brother, each step creating a crack in the foundation of your relationship. It felt like the worst thing to do at the moment, but you had to take time to fix this. For you, for John B. For everyone. 

--

After three days of hiding in your room with Sarah, you gave up on the idea of rotting away. It was more harmful than good, anyway. It had taken some convincing from your friends and each other, but you, Rafe, and Sarah decided to go to the bonfire, hoping it would bring some normalcy and energy back to the three of you. Today had been better than the others, too, so it wouldn’t hurt to venture out for a little bit. 

The scene was already busy when you got there, cheers and music coming from every area while people mingled and partied away. You walked in with Sarah, having already lost Rafe to Topper and his usual group of rowdy friends. 

“Here,” Your sister handed over a seltzer she’d brought along, the two of you pregaming a bit to take the edge off and help shake the anxiety. 

You thanked her, popping the tab and taking a sip as you unconsciously scanned the crowd for the familiar faces you’d come to love. Kiara and Pope were found first, the duo sitting by the fire and conversing with drinks in hand. JJ came next, the blond busying himself with a shotgun alongside some girl you recognized from previous parties. 

And then, there was John B. Your John B who begged you not to leave, promising to fix things, was up close and personal with a girl. A girl who wasn’t you.

“Oh, I’ll fucking kill him.”

You barely had enough time to grab Rafe’s shirt sleeve, your older brother seemingly catching sight of the issue as you did. You weren’t sure when he had ditched Topper and whatever blonde hookup he wanted tonight, but he had, and now he was pissed.

“It’s fine,” You reassured and took a sip of your drink, not yet letting go of his flannel as you tried to act like you were unbothered. “Leave it. For now.”

“He’s still a Pogue,” Rafe reminded you, eyes flaring with the need to teach John B a lesson. 

You nodded and let your grip fall. “Rafe, I’ve got it. I’ll handle it, and if things go south, then you can punch him.”

Rafe sent the sharpest glare toward John B, which went unnoticed before he returned to his friends with a handful of beers. Sarah rolled her eyes at his aggressive change but didn’t say anything, the two of you clinking your cans together before taking another sip.

One drink turned into too many, but you were so carefree and light that you didn’t care. Kie and Pope had come to join you at one point, the four of you a little too buzzed or high to acknowledge the tension with other members of the group. Sarah was leaning on your shoulder, looking the happiest she had since everything went down and you were glad to see it. Your siblings meant the world to you and now, they were all you had left.

“I’m getting another drink,” You announced louder than needed as you stood up from your friends and made your way toward the drink area without another word. To your luck (or unconscious movement), you managed to find John B near the bonfire, his attention still on the dark-haired girl you’d noticed earlier.  The alcohol-based confidence pushed you to approach him, despite the warning in your head telling you it wouldn’t end well.

“John B, hi.” You gave him a sickly-sweet smile and titled your head toward the girl, who you recognized as Jasmine from the coffee shop up the road. “Wanna introduce me to your friend?”

No introduction was needed but John B definitely did not anticipate seeing you here, and his eyes went wide at your presence. Sarah was suddenly next to you as the boy attempted to find a response, “Look it’s not-”

“We should go,” Sarah tried to reason with you, knowing damn well you weren’t in the right headspace to have this conversation right now.

Jasmine nodded in agreement. “Good idea, you should listen to your sister.”

“Did I ask you?” You smiled at her, letting the heavy anger seep into your tone as you addressed her. 

“You don’t own everything, princess. Why don’t you go run on home and-“

“Why are you still talking?”

Sarah began mouthing off with the girl, giving you a chance to turn your attention to a very quiet John B. “She’s a real gem. Glad to know you’re working real hard on figuring us out.”

John B’s face hardened at your words as a crowd starting to gather around you. “You’re the one who said you needed time. Guess three days was enough?”

You shook your head, begging your eyes to stop burning with tears that threatened to form. “Did I mean anything to you, John B?”

The question seemed to strike him hard but he didn’t have time to react before Rafe was in between the two of you, eyes looking to kill. “Back the fuck up, John B. You’ve done enough damage to our family this week, maybe try to take a break.”

The first punch was thrown fast, but the following ones came even faster. JJ and Pope were suddenly in the mix, Topper and Kelce coming to back up your brother as the typical Kook vs Pogue war started again.

“Are you happy now?” Jasmine hissed at you, a snarky smile on her face as she watched you yell for the boys to stop.

You glared at her, tears of frustration filling your eyes. “Shut the fuck up, you bitch. Maybe keep your hands to yourself and off my boyfriend next time.”

She pounced instantly, her hands shoving your shoulders and throwing you backward off the brick wall you’d been hiding on. The pain was instantaneous, a sharp twinge up your back from landing on your tailbone and scraped skin beginning to bleed, but the heat on your arm told you the push had been a little more than aggressive.

You screamed out, rolling away from where you had connected with the bonfire. You could hear John B yelling out for you, your name was being shouted in different directions and there were suddenly so many hands reaching for you. You pushed yourself off the ground, crying in pain at the movement, but you weren’t concerned about yourself. The rage in Rafe’s eyes told you that someone needed to intervene, and it needed to happen now.

“Stop, stop!” Your voice was weak as you reached out for your brother, trying to catch his fist before he landed another punch to John B’s already bruised face. “Rafe, please!”

The pain in your voice stopped him short, both boys instantly turning to you with concern and worry. It took them only a few seconds to clock the burn on your arm, and even though you hadn’t noticed the sway to your stance, they surely did. 

Rafe dropped his grip on John B’s shirt instantly, his hands reaching out to try and assess the wound on your arm before he forced himself to focus. “Hospital, now. We’re going.”

“We don’t have the car,” Sarah pointed out as she pulled off her lightweight coverup and pressed it against your head where the pain was starting to pulse. A small whimper left your mouth, and suddenly, you were against someone’s chest within seconds.

“Move!” John B’s voice was unmistakable even though your hearing was slowly becoming a dull ring. Everything passed in a blur from there. The chaos of the fight faded away and the orange tint from the fire disappeared as the group moved away. You could barely make out Sarah and Rafe’s voices, your siblings arguing over what to do and where to go.

“I’m not getting in a car with them!”

Worn leather could be felt under your legs, the familiar stickered ceiling of the Twinkie coming into view. You groaned at the movement, your head feeling heavier with each second. You blinked, barely having the energy to look over to see John B staring back at you, his bruised face filled with concern as he held you tightly against him. 

“No no, stay with me.” John B’s fingers lightly tapped your cheeks to call your attention as you blinked slowly up at him. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. Sarah, drive!”

You could hear your sister shout back that she was trying. 

“I’ve got it,” Rafe’s voice followed her frustration before the car started moving beneath you and everything slowly turned to black.

--

You hated the smell of hospitals, but you hated waking up in them even more. It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and when it did, you made out Sarah’s figure curled up on the spare bed in the room, her hair haphazardly strewn across her face. To your surprise, Rafe was slumped on the couch, his long legs barely hanging on as he lay across the piece of furniture, snoring softly. Which left one option as the person curled up in your side, the unruly dark curls giving away the answer.

“Hi,” John B’s voice was quiet in an attempt to allow your siblings to sleep. His green eyes met yours, sleep evident in the glassy haze they held. He leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead.

“Didn’t mean to wake you,” You whispered back, shifting carefully with the IV in your arm to cuddle into his side.

“Couldn’t sleep,” He admitted as his fingers dipped into the waistband of your jean shorts to brush against your hipbone. “Feel okay?”

You hummed in response. “What’d they say?”

“Concussion, second-degree on your arm, and a superficial blow to the head, my crazy girl.”

You chuckled, gripping his t-shirt between your fingers to pull him into you, “Gotta keep you on your toes, yeah?”

John B huffed a laugh and pulled your hand from his shirt to hold within his own. A few moments of peaceful quiet filled the room as you listened to his heartbeat in your ears, letting the steady sound calm your racing thoughts.

“Are you mad at me?” You asked quietly, fearing the answer he had to give. Your anxiety had gotten the best of you over the last few days and you’d been questioning whether a break from John B was actually the right thing to do.

“God, baby, how could you even think that?” John B shifted to lean on his elbow and look at you. There was a pretty gnarly bandage on your head where you’d hit the concrete on your way down. All John B could think about was how this was all his fault. He’d let you get hurt, let you down in every way possible, and here you were, scared he was mad at you. “All of this is my fault. If anything, you should be pissed at me.”

You opened your mouth to argue with him but stopped short. Yeah, your feelings had been hurt, but you knew if the roles were reversed and your actions landed John B in the hospital, you would never forgive yourself. 

“I’m sorry, about everything. You’re right, I was so caught up in revenge that I missed out on being there for you, and I’ll never forgive myself for that. You needed me, and I wasn’t there, and I’m so sorry.”

You moved your uninjured arm to hold the back of his neck, pulling him in slowly for a kiss. John B hummed in content, his fingers wrapping around your waist as he leaned in again, pinning you against the mattress to kiss you again and again and again. 

“I forgive you,” You said softly when he pulled away for a moment to catch his breath. “I’ll always forgive you.”

“This is cute and all, but can you guys shut up and quit making out?” You looked over to see Sarah glare tiredly before she flipped you off and rolled over on her other side to face away from you.

You and John B shared a quiet laugh and a handful of kisses before cuddling up on the tiny hospital bed in each other’s arms, preparing to face Rafe’s anger in the morning but moving forward together, one step at a time.

--

navigation 

[hanasnx]

reader at a party w jj and makes eye contact w rafe and starts teasing him by grinding on jj

MINORS DNI 18+ WARNINGS: f!reader | dirty dancing | jealousy | intoxication.

"That's it, sugar, that's it. Move your hips jus' like that." JJ MAYBANK tells you, rough hands on your hips that guide you in the circles you draw with them. "Gettin' better," he praises, keeping his eyes on your ass in your little shorts. Full of his encouragement and alcohol, you raise your red solo cup above your head as you arch back into him, laying your head against his shoulder. He can tell you're tipsy, all loose with your body as you slowly grin at him.

"I missed you so much, Jayj." you fawn, and JJ reaches over you to pluck your drink from your hand. You don't realize he's taking it from you, instead you're grateful for the free hand, turning so you could sling both arms around his neck. "Such a good teacher." you commend, and lean in, brushing your nose against his. "And so cute too." Him and his backwards cap, and gray wifebeater, were always cute to you. Even his thin beat-up backpack he wears, the straps accentuating his exposed rotator cuffs you just want to claw into. He balances you securing his forearm around your waist, and downs the rest of your drink before tossing the solo cup with the others. Boneyard cleanup'll happen later, right now he's focused on you.

Accidentally, more of your weight gains on him, and he braces his legs to keep you upright, "Easy there, girl, don't wanna get ahead of yourself." You release him to turn back around, and join the chorus of mindless cheers that partygoers chime in unison. He handles the crook of your torso, drawing you to his side. "You doin' okay? How're we feelin'?"

You bounce, shooting both your hands in the air. "I'm having so much fun!" You sway in place, and he takes it upon himself to slot back behind you like before, leaving a couple inches of respectful space in between. As soon as you look forward, you spot a familiar face. RAFE CAMERON uncharacteristically laughs with his friends, a solo cup in his hand while his other is stuffed in his pocket. You hadn't seen him in a while, and you feel a twinge of annoyance at the fact he showed up even if a keg party is open to everyone. Briefly, you entertain the thought he came to see you. The idea unconsciously sews you closer to JJ.

As if he can sense your gaze on him, he scans across the sea of people, landing on you as you're tangled up in one of his mortal enemies. His expression hardens and you conjure a devious plan. You seek out JJ's hands, directing them as you see fit, back on your hips as you press back into him. He grunts softly in your ear as soon as your ass makes contact with his crotch, and you smirk to yourself. Pride swells your chest at the sight of Rafe gripping his cup a little tighter, taking a swig as you roll your body on JJ like a trained dancer, just like he showed you how to. You encourage JJ's roaming hands while you bend your knees, lowering yourself on him as you grind. At first, he'd given you the reigns, but now that he sees you're comfortable, you can feel him getting into it. He's moving in sync with you, and you check back in with Rafe who's ignoring his friend's tapping fingers.

"Fuck, baby, what're you doin' to me?" JJ breathes, and you snicker. Boys are so easy. You can feel him harden behind you, and you get another evil idea. However, your fun is short-lived, because Rafe is walking over right now.

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Number 13 with JJ please🥹🥹🥹

‘‘Was it a good weird or a bad weird? Because that’s two totally different things.’‘ 

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

During a drunken evening at the boneyard, you and JJ crossed the friendship lines and now you didn’t know what to do. A part of you wanted to bring it up, but another wished it never happened. Besides JJ’s lips on yours and the sand that fell from your shirt in the morning, you couldn’t recall much from that night.

Sarah’s jaw dropped when you told her and Kiara gasped, not expecting this kind of juicy story this early on a Sunday. ‘’You kissed JJ?!’’

You kept your eyes down and played with the tassel of your decorative pillow. ‘’If my memories are correct, yes.’’ It was your first time saying it out loud and you felt like throwing up. Or, maybe that was your hangover.

‘’How did it happen?’’ Sarah asked with a curious grin, begging for the whole story.

‘’Did he try to woo you with his terrible pick up lines? Or tell you that fake story about how he got the shark tooth?’’

Sarah laughed. ‘’The one he tells all the tourons?’’

Kiara nodded, joining Sarah with the laughing.

If you hadn't been so anxious about the whole situation, you would’ve laughed too. It was known among the group that JJ’s flirting techniques were terrible. You all wondered how girls fell for his shit when it was so obvious that he was lying to get them in his bed.

‘’I don’t know!’’ you said in complete honesty, your memories a complete black hole. A sigh left your lips. ‘’We were drunk and he was there and suddenly— I don’t want that stupid kiss to ruin our friendship. I care a lot about JJ and I can’t lose him over a drunken mistake.’’

The girls’ faces softened, realizing how upset the kiss made you.

‘’Don’t think too much into this, okay? It’s JJ,’’ Kiara reminded while Sarah pulled you in a hug. ‘’He was probably just as drunk.’’

‘’Maybe he doesn't even remember,’’ the blonde added. 

A few days passed and neither you or JJ brought up the drunken kiss. He definitely remembered, though. Every time you were in the same room, his eyes averted yours.

You tried to not let the new distance between you and JJ ruin the whole group dynamic, but something was off and everyone could feel it. You had only told the girls, but John B. seemed to be suspecting something.

‘’I'll go with,’’ JJ suggested, moving to get out of the twinkie, trying to get away from being alone with you.

John B. stopped him. ‘’No need. I have two hands. I don't need another two more to carry beers and a bag of chips. I'll be quick.’’

You both sat in silence in the twinkie, waiting for John B. to return. Silences were never uncomfortable with JJ, but this one was the longest and heaviest silence of your life. Maybe you should have walked to the chateau instead of accepting to be picked up.

‘’Hey, Y/N?’’

Your heart jumped in your chest when you heard JJ’s voice. You composed yourself and turned your head toward him over the front seat.

JJ continued. ‘’You know the other night at the boneyard? We got kinda drunk and...something weird happened with us.’’

‘’You mean when we kissed?’’ you said, purposely using the word he was avoiding. ‘’You can say the word, J, you’re not going to get cursed.’’

‘’I know.’’ He looked down, nervously fiddling with the bottom of his shirt. ‘’It was just weird.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ you agreed. ‘’It was weird for me too, but…’’ You shifted seats, sitting behind the driver seat so there was less space between you and JJ. His left arm was resting on the backrest and you played with one of his bracelets. ‘‘Was it a good weird or a bad weird? Because that’s two totally different things.’‘ You flicked your eyes up, hoping to meet JJ’s, but he was still looking down.

‘’No. Not bad weird.’’ His chest heaved as he breathed, his bottom lip caught with his teeth.

You leaned in and he lifted his head, his face — and lips — only a few inches from yours. You wanted to touch him again, and taste his lips again.

You thought this would be it, that he would close the space between you, but JJ's breath hitched as he started to freak out. ‘’What are we doing? We shouldn't be doing this.’’ He turned his head to face the window, away from you. 

‘’Don’t do this. Please.’’ You grabbed his arm, refusing to let the conversation ends. ‘’I know you push people away and freak when people get close, but don’t push something away just because you’re scared. I’m scared too, but life — and love — is living in spite of those things that scare you to death because something beautiful and fucking amazing could come out of it.’’ 

Your words seemed to have gotten through him because he turned again, a veil of fear over his face. Love — whether it be loving someone or being loved — was not a concept JJ was familiar with. He grew up without the love of a parent — a child’s primary source of love —, receiving a shower of hatred and occasional kicks and punches instead. You couldn't blame him for pushing people away and being scared of feelings. It's new to him, and everyone gets scared when they have to deal with something new and foreign.

 Fortunately for him, you were there to show and teach him a side of life he never got to experience.

You leaned over the seat, about to connect your lips with JJ’s, but John B. opened the door, snapping you and JJ out of your moment.

‘’I couldn't find the brand of chips you liked, so I picked something else—’’ He glanced between you and JJ, noticing how close you were. ‘’Am I interrupting something?’’ 

—

OBX taglist: @moralina @eudximoniakr @toylewestinnyc @rottenstyx  @sweeterheartxamerica  @jordierama @viridwityy @izzy-laufeyson @kenzi-woycehoski @lilaconner @Katsukis1Wife  @hawkegfs @mommyruuetrue  @acornacreacure @snownjune @nmedina8611 @slvtherinseeker  @slvtherinseeker @poppet05 @1stevelacyfan

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @rosie-cameron

[artbyblastweave]

An aesthetic decision I really like about the Mad Max setting- focusing on Fury Road in particular here- is that the timeline and the setting deliberately defy coherence. Countless elements of our world have carried over- the guns, the vehicles, the musical instruments, the religious concepts, and nominally some of the actual people- but the world is geographically impossible, you don't see much contemporary architecture even in a ruined state, and there's no version of the timeline where this can be the same Max Rockatansky as the original films. But it is. The incongruities are deliberate. The setting is mythic, these are campfire tales told about Max, the King Arthur or the Omnipresent Jack figure of the new age. The world that was is swallowed in myth, the world that exists is borrowing some of the old world toys, and being up-front and bombastic with signifiers of the mythic and abstracted nature of the setting absolves you of the need to make the worldbuilding make sense- or rather, to make it make sense in the way you'd have to take a stab at if you had a year-by-year internal worldbuilding timeline of How Everything Went Down.

Fallout 1 is not exactly like this. It can't be, because you could kill a man with an overhead swing of the setting bible. But it's tapping into a similar impulse. People in the first game are using old world tech, but they don't really live in the old world; they live in settlements using materials scavenged from the old world, or in old world towns that were unimportant enough back then that their current identity totally overwrites whatever came before. They don't live in LA: They live in the Boneyard, which gives you a pretty good idea of how much of what we think of as "LA" would be recognizable as such if we were exploring the space in first-person perspective. When you encounter an area that has a direct, well-documented, and unambiguous connection to the old world, it's a Big Deal, and they're hard places to get to- places that the average person living their life in the wastes would die trying to access. Of particular note in this dynamic is The Brotherhood of Steel- for all their technical understanding of the knowledge they hoard, they've clearly seems to have undergone a few rounds of Canticle-style cultural telephone, mutating from Recognizably The American Military into a knightly order. Fallout 2 does this to a lesser extent- it has more settlements directly named after their pre-war counterparts- but it's also a game about a society that's starting to pull back together and form into something resembling the old world, for better or for worse. And it reproduces the trend of stuff with a direct, legible connection to the old world being inscrutable and dangerous to outsiders- specifically with the reveal that the Enclave consider themselves to be the direct continuation of the pre-war government, that they've just kept electing presidents out on that stupid little oil rig. I haven't really made up my mind on whether the timeframes of the games- 84 years followed by 164 years- actually work for the vibe they're going for, in particular it doesn't work with Arroyo- but on the whole, the vibe coheres.

You get into the 3d games, and it becomes much harder to continue to pull this off. One major tool that Fallouts 1 and 2 used to maintain that sense of abstraction was the overland travel map; you were visiting island of society in a vast sea of Nothing. You had encounter cells that consisted of burnt-out, looted shells of cities, maybe good for a camp site but not as anything else. Another important tool towards this end was the isometric camera angle. In a topdown worldspace you can scrub out a lot of environmental details that would be immediately recognizable to the player as artifacts of our present society if you were exploring the space in 1st person. The examine button can feed you vague, uncertain descriptions that convey enough detail to make the item recognizable while also conveying that there's been a level of information decay. Once you move into a 3d worldspace you lose both of these elements- the worldspace is what it is, I can walk across it in eleven minutes stripping it for loot as I go. I can read every sign on every still-standing building, and I've got eyeballs on every old-world bit-and-bobble with a handy interface description of what I'm looking at. And you hit random encounters in the 3d games at basically the same rate, in real-world time, that you did in the isometrics- but the isometrics could successfully abstract it out to represent that you were hitting something noteworthy every couple of weeks, while in the 3d games it's kinda inescapable that you keep getting jumped every single day walking back and forth up the same stretch of road. Not only is it recognizable, it's cramped.

I think that Fallout 3, to its credit, did a decent job of navigating this and trying to maintain the islands-in-a-sea-of-nothing vibe from the isometrics- most of the settlements are built slapdash in places that were obviously never intended for long-term human habitation (bomb craters, overpasses, suburbs), the landmark-heavy city proper is textually a difficult-to-navigate deathtrap, and the poison-sky green filter, memeworthy as it is, does help shore up the impression that you're inviting death by trying to move through the space. Fallout: New Vegas I think addresses this by going in the total opposite direction; It's set in an area of the country where the infrastructure was abnormally well preserved, and the pre-war culture was revived artificially, and from a thematic standpoint it's really interested in digging into the implications of those two things. The fact that the lonely-empty-decontextualized-void aesthetic isn't long for this world dovetails well with the cowboy themes. They have a fair number of future-imperfect context-collapse gags but they don't overdo it by any stretch of the imagination.

Fallout 4, from many directions, is sort of catching the worst of the heat here. The world is recognizable, aggressively so. In fairly-authentically recreating the suburban sprawl of the Northeast, Bethesda simply surrounded the inhabitants of the commonwealth with too much Boston for a sense of true distance from our world to be possible. Everyone still has the accents. They still know the names of all the old neighborhoods. They're still doing the "Park your car" bit. It's still Boston. And it's a busy Boston, too- you can't throw a rock without hitting a farming settlement that's doing well enough to attract tribute-seeking bandits. It's densely packed with points of interest, and those points of interest are packed to the brim with salvageable materials that, going off of the new crafting system, should be in enormous demand to the people who've been living in this area for 210 years. The game doesn't really advance a satisfying explanation, even an aesthetic explanation like fallout 3's poison sky, for why everything around you hasn't been stripped clean before you even came off the ice, why all these environmental storytelling tableaus are just waiting for you to find. It doesn't spend nearly enough time hammering out what the 200-year chronology of the most-livable area seen in a Fallout game looks like- Why don't you see something comparable to the NCR emerging? Something something CPG massacre (which is mentioned twice in the whole game, AFAICT.) And what's being lost here, right, is the ability to use the sands of time to smooth over rough spots in the worldbuilding, in the chronology. You can't hide behind the idea that the world you're experiencing is mythologized. It's presented as real, and it doesn't make much sense if it's real!

And to top it off- Fallout 4 probably has the highest density of characters who were actually there, by some means or another. The Vault Tec rep, Daisy, The Triggermen, Nick Valentine, Eddie Winter, the vault 118 inhabitants, Arlen Glass, Oswald, Kent Connolly, The whole of Cabot House, Captain Zao, The kid in the goddamn fridge and his goddamn parents, and uh. The big one. You. You, the player. Which is such a goddamn splinter under my skin, from a storytelling perspective. You were present in the before-times- but only nominally, only to the exact degree necessary to establish that that was the case. The ugly shit is alluded to, but not incorporated into the character's day-to-day in a way that's obvious to the player, you're there for like six minutes and it's pretty nifty if you overlook that bit at the end where everyone got nuked. Your ability to talk about the world before is always vague, vacuous, superficial. The dirty laundry you dig up on terminals around Boston never seems to meaningfully impact your character's worldview, their impressions of the then and the now. All of which combine to make this the simultaneously the most specific but also the most frustratingly vague game in the series. At its best, Fallout's love of juxtaposing the then and the now would make it a great setting for the Rip Van Winkle routine. But it requires a strong, strong understanding of what the world was like before and after, a willingness to use the protagonist to constantly grind the jagged edges of those things against each other, a protagonist with a better-defined outlook than Bethesda's open-ended-past approach allowed for- and it has to be in service of a greater point. And for Fallout 4 to do anything with any of that, the game would have to be about something instead of being something for you to do. Maddening. Maddening.

[writingwithciara]

Safe & Sound ~Rafe Cameron~

summary: at a boneyard party, rafe catches a random touron drugging y/n’s drink when she’s not looking. they aren’t friends and they’ve never said a word to each other so why would he decide to save her? 🤷🏻‍♀️

word count:3.6k

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

warning: mention of drugs, fluff

a/n:  kinda sorta canon rafe, but also sorta not. idk. had this saved in my drafts since i started this writing blog & thought it was about time to finally get it out on the site

masterlist

"We're throwing a party at the Boneyard tonight & JJ is insisting that you come." Kiara followed y/n around her dad's store as she continued stocking shelves.

"I wish I could, Kie. But I'm swamped here. My dad's got me closing up tonight & I can't ditch my responsibilities again. Not after what happened last time." y/n narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

"It's not my fault you fucked JJ in the storage room and didn't lock the doors. That was your mistake."

"You said you'd cover the counter for me."

"Oh, shit. You're right. I'm sorry." Kiara stopped her friend. "I'm sure your dad will make an exception for this. It's a big night. It's your best friends birthday."

"It's not your birthday." y/n chuckled.

"Okay, you're right. But we can tell him it's JJ's birthday. I don't think he knows when that is."

"My dad is not the biggest fan of JJ. Hasn't been since that night, you know. But maybe we can use Pope. He loves Pope." y/n placed the final can on the shelf. "I'll call him right now."

After conversing with her father for less than a minute, y/n and Kiara were closing up the store and heading to the Boneyard.

"Hey, you made it. I was starting to think Kiara had failed to get you here when she texted me earlier. Glad your dad let you go early." JJ smiled when y/n approached him. He handed her a drink and she took it quickly.

"He only let me go because I told him it was Pope's birthday." she smiled. "I'm quite surprised he fell for it. You'd think since he loves Pope that'd he know when his actual birthday is."

"Guess you were wrong." JJ took a sip of his drink. "Why didn't you just tell him it was my birthday?"

"He's not a big fan of you right now. Especially not after the other night."

"That was a fun night."

"It really was, wasn't it?" y/n looked around the boneyard and only recognized 4 people. "Geez, did you only invite tourons or something?"

"No. We invited pretty much all the teenagers on the island, even the kooks." JJ looked at her. "It was Sarah's idea."

"Oh that's just fantastic. One more group of people I don't want to see right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Tourons have been bugging me all week at the store. Stupid fucking rich brats." she shook her head. "All I want to do this weekend is hang out with you, Kie & Pope." y/n tipped her head back and finished her drink. "I need another one."

JJ handed her another cup of alcohol before the words were even out of her mouth. Y/n accepted it and continued to suck down the beverage.

An hour later, she had lost track of JJ and was dancing by herself. On her 5th beer, she looked around the party, noticing the kooks were already filling in the empty spaces, making the party more occupied than it was before.

On the other side of the party, Rafe stood alone with a drink in his hand. Aside from his friends, he only saw 2 others he recognized at the party. The rest of the partygoers were tourons.

He saw JJ with some random girl and then he spotted y/n dancing by herself. The girl looked like she was having the time of her life and that put Rafe at ease. He's never said a word to her and their separate groups never got along but he's seen her around the island before and he thought she was cute for a pogue.

While he watched her dance to the beat of her own drum, he also watched all the male tourons gather around her. Most of them were just there to watch her but while her head was turned to talk to one of them, another one hovered his hand over her drink and dropped something in. Rafe noticed this but didn't want to make a scene around y/n so he watched the touron very closely. When he was alone, Rafe approached him.

"What did you put in y/n's drink?"

"Excuse me?"

"What did you put in that girls drink back there? Did you drug her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, bro. I don't know who you're referring to either. I'm just here to have a good time."

"You think spiking the drink of some girl counts as having a good time? If so, you're just pathetic." Rafe stepped closer to the guy, only now realizing how big the dude was. He took a quick look around but couldn't find y/n anywhere. "Where is she? Did one of your friends take her somewhere, huh?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You put something in y/n's drink and now she's gone. So are some of your friends. I swear, if anything happens to her, I'm going to find you and it's not going to be good for you."

"Like I'm afraid of you." the touron chuckled and went to walk away, but Rafe beat him to it. Adrenaline took over all of his instincts and he punched the guy in the face and when he doubled over, Rafe kneed him in the face. Luckily they weren't around a whole lot of people around so if he wanted to, he could make an easy escape.

Unfortunately for him, the touron called for his friends. They gathered around Rafe and one of them held him back while the main touron began throwing punches. The crowd began to grow and the remaining tourons were keeping Kelce and Topper from helping their friend. It wasn't until a gunshot rang throughout the air that the tourons let Rafe go and ran off. Kelce ran to help his friend off the ground and Topper looked to see who had fired the gun. He was not expecting to see JJ lowering it.

"JJ, what the hell is wrong with you, man?"

"Are you seriously getting mad at me for saving Rafe? I didn't have to fire the gun, you know."

"I know. Sorry." Topper helped Kelce with Rafe and looked at his friend. "What the hell happened, dude?"

"The guy...tried to...drug..."Rafe closed his eyes.

"Who did he try to drug?"

"Y/n....he tried to drug y/n."

JJ stormed off and Topper assumed he was going after the touron. Kelce put Rafe in the back of his truck and took the keys from him before climbing in the driver's seat. Topper got in the passenger side & looked back at Rafe.

"So, why did you try to beat up a guy who was so much bigger than you, just because of y/n?"

"It's not right that he tried to drug her." he shook his head. "She's kind of cute though, isn't she?"

"How much did you have to drink, man?" Kelce questioned.

"A few beers. Why?"

"You just called a pogue cute." Topper chuckled. "You're clearly drunk."

"So what if I am?" Rafe looked out the window and wiped the blood from his cheek. "Maybe she's not so bad."

On the other side of the island, JJ was at y/n's window. He had shown up at her place a few minutes ago with blood dripping from his lip and a bruised cheek. After he heard Rafe say that the touron drugged y/n's drink, he found the guy and tried fighting him.

He was lucky enough to walk away with only a few marks and he made it all the way to y/n's bedroom. She was in the bathroom getting the first-aid kit so she could clean him up.

"So, are you going to tell me what kook did this?" y/n smiled as she re-entered the bedroom. She set the kit down, pulled out the rag and poured alcohol on it.

"It wasn't a kook. It was a touron." he winced when she wiped the blood off his lip. "He was huge and had like 4 friends with him."

"Why did you think that fighting them would be a good idea? Are you an idiot?"

"Not entirely." he looked up at her. "After he and his friends beat up Rafe, Topper asked why it happened & Rafe mentioned that the big guy drugged your drink. So I went after him."

"Rafe fought him too? Why would he do that?"

"Something about seeing the guy put something in your drink. I guess it set him off and he thought he could handle 5 guys at once."

Although it sounded strange to her, y/n couldn't help but smile a little. "Is he stupid? Why would a kook risk his life for me? Especially one that has never said a word to me. That's ridiculous."

"I don't know. Maybe he thinks you're hot or something." JJ just shrugged and leaned against the pillow on y/n's bed. She put the kit back in the bathroom and laid beside him. "He wouldn't be wrong to think that though. You really are hot."

"Thanks, JJ." she looked at him and smiled. "I need you to promise me something."

"What's that?"

"Never get in a fight with someone who's bigger than you, just to protect me."

"Okay, fine." he chuckled. "I just really care about you."

"And I care about you, JJ." she smiled and cuddled up next to him. "Thank you for being you."

"No problem, y/n." he smiled as they both drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, y/n woke up and JJ was already gone. She thought back to what JJ said last night and her mind couldn't help but picture what Rafe must've looked like after the fight.

After her shift at the store, y/n headed to Figure 8. She was hoping to find Rafe and talk to him but she had no idea which house was his so she walked to the country club where JJ worked. He wasn't on the schedule today so he would not be helpful, so y/n decided to wait for a little bit.

After an hour of waiting and not seeing Rafe or his friends, y/n was about to give up and go home. That is, until she spotted a familiar head of blonde hair.

"Hey, it's Topper, right?" she called out to him. He was with his mom but he stopped to look at y/n anyway, ignoring the look he was receiving from his mother.

"Yeah, that's me." he excused himself from his moms company and walked over to y/n. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you could tell me where Rafe was. I need to talk to him."

"I'm not sure he would like for me to divulge that information to just anyone." Topper looked her over. "But you're not just anyone, are you?"

"No, I guess I'm not." she looked down at her feet.

"He's under the docks. Likes to go there to look at the water & to be alone. It's kind of the only place his dad doesnt know about." Topper went to walk away but turned back. "If he asks, I did not say a single word to you. Got it?"

"Yes sir." y/n smiled as she parted ways with the Kook. She went down to the docks and sure enough, Rafe was exactly where Topper said he'd be. As she approached him, the shaking of his voice caught her off guard. He was talking to himself.

"Are you kidding? You're never gonna be good enough. Not for your dad. Not for your friends. Not even for any girl. Especially not her." he muttered. y/n looked at his back and sighed. Rafe must've been having a struggle with his own mind.

"Rafe?" her voice startled him, causing him to jump & almost land in the water.

"Jesus! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to sneak up on someone?"

"As a matter of fact, no. My dad did mention it once or twice though." she looked out at the water just as his gaze fell on her.

"So, what brings you to Figure 8?"

"Had to come talk to the guy who supposedly saved me last night."

"Oh. You heard about that?"

"Of course I did. JJ came to my house all beat up, talking about how he had to kick the crap out of the guy who tried to drug my drink. Then he told me that you were the one who initially tried."

"Yeah. I tried and failed to kick his ass. He called in his friends."

"Well, that's just not fair, is it?" she turned to him with a smile. "So why did you do it? Why would you go after a guy who spiked my drink?

"To be honest, I don't even know. Something just came over me, I guess." he shrugged and kicked at a can that the waves had washed up. "I mean, we've never even talked before right now. It was weird."

"Weird indeed." she bit her lip and looked around. A few moments of silence passed before Rafe decided to speak again.

"I was, uh," Rafe paused for a moment. "I was wrong about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that since you were a pogue & such good friends with JJ that you'd be so much like him. But you're not. Maybe you're crazy, but the good kind of crazy." Rafe's frown turned into a small smile. But it vanished quickly when y/n looked at him. He thought she didn't see it but she definitely caught him.

"Rafe Cameron, are you trying to compliment me?"

"Yeah. Maybe." he chuckled. "Yeah. I was."

"Well then, how did it feel to compliment a pogue?" y/n raised an eyebrow and gave him a look.

"It was definitely a different feeling." he looked at her. "But honestly, I liked it. Especially because someone like you definitely deserves to be complimented."

"Okay. Truth time." she crossed her arms and leaned against one of the beams supporting the docks. "Did you try to beat up some touron last night for spiking my drink because you thought it was the right thing to do, or did you do it because maybe there's a part of you that thinks that everything your dad has told you your entire life is a lie?"

"I did it because," he took a deep breath and leaned next to her. "I felt some kind of strange feeling, kinda like I had to protect you & only you."

"Rafe, that's actually kinda sweet. Especially coming from you." y/n smirked and looked at him. The moonlight was reflecting off the water and for the first time that night, she could actually see the damage the tourons did to him. "Oh my goodness. Your face looks like shit. Did you even try to clean it up?"

"Kind of." he shook his head. "Kelce tried but apparently I wouldn't let him. So I tried to do it myself and as you can clearly see, it didn't work out so well."

"If you want, I can do it. I'm really good at patching people up. I am friends with JJ, after all."

"Okay. But can we do it at your place? My dad will kill me if I show up with a pogue." he immediately looked at her, thinking his words might've offended her. "Not that it's a bad thing. But you know how my father thinks."

"I get it. I understand." she looked at her watch. "My dad should be out right now. Let's go to my place." y/n walked away and waited for Rafe to follow her. When she felt his presence next to her, she continued her way to her house.

"Let's take my truck. It's a lot safer." he opened the door for her and she gave him a quizzical expression. "Just get in."

"Yes sir." y/n looked at him and got in. "I'll give you directions when we get onto that side of the island."

Minutes later, y/n was sneaking Rafe into her bedroom & sitting him down on her bed. She left him alone to go get the first aid kit from the bathroom & he glanced around her room. Everything was neat and organized, totally against what a pogue really was. When y/n returned to her room, Rafe was standing with his back to her, a picture in his hand.

"Is this you?" he turned to her and let her take a look.

"No. That's, um, my mom when she was my age. I found it when I was going through her old stuff." y/n set the photo & box down. Rafe instictively sat back on the edge of her bed as she pulled a chair up to work on him.

"What happened to her? Did she leave you?"

"In a way, yes." y/n dabbed the cloth on the dried blood around Rafe's lip, causing him to wince a little.

"What does that mean?"

"She didn't leave us by choice. I barely knew her though because she died when I was 3. Cancer." she reached behind her with her free hand to grab the anti-biotic ointment, applying some to another cloth, and rubbed it on his neck.

"Oh. I'm so sorry." he looked up. "I barely knew my mom too. But she didn't die. Just decided to leave us. And for a pogue who only wanted the money she had."

"That's horrible." y/n looked over the bruises and shook her head. "No wonder your dad hates pogues."

"He's the only one who really does. Sarah has John B & Wheezie just doesn't like to judge people on their economic or social class. Neither does Rose, sorta."

"And what about you? What do you think of pogues?"

"I think I was totally wrong about you guys. Here you are, fixing me up, even though the kooks have been horrible to you your entire life. And then there's JJ, who I thought was a total prick, who fired a gun to scare off the tourons who were kicking my ass last night. You're really not that bad."

"Neither are you, Country Club." y/n smiled to herself as she remembered the nickname Barry gave Rafe once. When Rafe chuckled at the name, it made y/n smile even more as she rubbed the last of the dried blood from his face. "There. Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. Thank you." he stood up and walked slowly to the door. Just as he was about to leave, he stopped himself. "This may sound weird but would it be at all possible to stay a little longer? I-I'm not ready to go home just yet."

"Of course. Make yourself at home." she walked over to him and smiled. "I'll go get us something to drink & maybe I'll get some food. Any preferences on either?"

"Just a beer, if you can get one. And if you have any kind of snack, I'd appreciate it. I don't care what it is."

"Got it. I'll be right back." she grabbed the first aid kit and walked out of the room.

Rafe took another look around the fairly large bedroom, taking in everything he didn't notice before. There were fairy lights hanging from her ceiling and another string of lights were on her wall with little polaroid pictures attached at every clip.

He looked at all of them and it unknowingly brought a smile to his face when he gazed upon one of her and JJ smiling like idiots. They looked like they were having fun, the type of fun Rafe wished he had the freedom to have.

Y/n returned a few minutes later with 2 beers and a bowl of chips. She handed him a bottle and he accepted it gratefully. "Do you wanna do something or do you want to sit here in silence while we eat and drink?"

"You ever play Never Have I Ever?"

"Yeah. JJ & I play it all the time." she smiled. "You wanna play?"

"Sure." he took a sip of his beer and started the game. For the next hour, Rafe & y/n went back and forth, slowly getting to know each other better. The rounds started out normal and innocent but the longer they played, the more the questions got personal. "Okay. Last one. Never Have I Ever....wanted to hook up with someone in this very room at one point in time."

y/n looked at him and took the last sip of her beer while Rafe finished his drink as well. They stared at each other for about 10 seconds. It was like each one of them was daring the other to do something they could possibly regret later.

To y/n's surprise, it was Rafe who took the initiative and made the first move. His lips collided with hers and the kiss was everything y/n was definitely not expecting.

Soft, sweet & gentle. Loving, even.

 When they pulled away from each other, Rafe had a smile. It was genuine and it was probably the happiest he'd been in a while. Y/n smirked at the boy in front of her.

"Damn, Cameron. Where'd you learn to kiss like that?"

"I have no idea." he chuckled. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Well, if you really like me, I'm sure you wouldn't like the answer."

"I think I know the answer." he looked back at her lips and it took all of his willpower to not kiss her again so soon. "You're lucky I really do like you, y/n."

"I really like you too, Rafe Cameron." she smiled and went against what her brain was thinking, following her heart instead as she pulled Rafe back into a very tender kiss.

It was everything both of them had subconsciously wanted for so long. They were both safe & sound as long as they were together.

[writingkeepsmewhole]

Shadows

This is part 7 of Snow In The Dark. I hope you like it :)

Fic Summary: Snow has never known who she was. Being raised in the streets made her strong but lonely. That changed when she met Jack them becoming as close as sisters. She thought she found her family. That all changes when she crashes on a planet with only one rule. Stay in the light.

Part Summary: Snow hides in the crashed ship with the rest of the others, only to learn that its not as safe as it seems.

Riddick x OC Snow

Warnings: Language. Mentions of death.

Part 1 Part 6

Let me know if you want to be tagged :P : @here4thespice @amarokofficial @backseat-serenade-dizzyhurricane @pinkcrystal44

The inside of the crashed ship was pitch black. It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Hearing a few clanks, a light floods the small space as they turn on a torch.

“She should have stayed down.” Jack says looking up at me is sad from seeing Sharon die. 

“If she only would have stayed down she would be okay. Like you.” She says, wrapping her arms around me in the middle burying her head in my chest.

“Shh, I know. I’m so sorry.” I say rubbing her back. Thinking of Riddick knowing if it wasn’t for him I would be dead. Very dead.

I don’t know what made him save me but I wasn’t going to question it. In fact I was wishing I knew a way to repay him.

“You remember the boneyard?” Johns asks, making me look at the man I was just thinking about.

I swore I could see a smirk settle on his face. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking the same thing as me.

“This just might be the thing that killed everything else on this planet.”

“What are we gonna do now?” Jack asks, looking up at me.

“We are gonna stick together like we always do.” I say smiling at her.

“Is this the only light we have? Is this everything?” Paris asks.

“There's a cutting torch on the floor here somewhere.”

“Quite, please, everyone.” Iman says, him placing his ear on the door.

Jack moved away from me to do the same.

The wailing of the creatures outside being heard in the distance. I take a breath, feeling my heart drop knowing we are slowly getting surrounded.

“Why do they do that? Make that sound?” Jack asks.

“It’s how they see. With sound reflecting back. Letting them know where we are.” I answer everyone turning to me.

I jump along with everyone else when rattling sounds from behind me make me spin around to face the noise. Everyone is shining their lights trying to see what is going on.

“Could be a breach in the hull. I don’t know.” Carylon says softly.

“Oh great.” I mutter not wanting to think about how many of those things are in here with us.

“Come on, Johns. You got the big gauge.”

“I’d rather piss glass.” Johns says, making me snort.

“Of course you would.” I say, earning a glare from him.

“Why don’t you go fucking check?” He says, challenging me.

“I’m not staying here anymore.” Paris says before I can answer.

“Where are you going?” Johns asks spinning around to go after him.

“Hey! Hey!.” Johns says, the others stopping him from opening the door.

I ignore them easing closer to Riddick, him looking down at me, his eyes shining. He didn’t have to say anything. It was clear he didn’t want me to check out if there were any monsters in here with us.

I step closer to him, my stomach flipping as I do. Like standing on a tall ledge getting ready to jump. Pure adrenaline was pumping through me when I stood next to him.

He jerks his head for me to follow him, us getting closer to the group.

“Hurry!” Iman yells, him opening up a small closet for us to get into.

Riddick, herding me into it before slipping into it himself, the others rushing in as well.

“Now we are trapped in a much smaller space. I hate this” Paris says, making me roll my eyes.

‘At least we are not out there with it.’ I wonder how these people were going to survive.

My head snaps to Iman yelling at the creature outside stabbing through the door with its claw. Almost hitting his head.

‘Oh great it’s smart.’ I think, as Riddick leans down, lighting the cutting torch off Paris lighter makes him jump and look up at him.

I move closer to Riddick as he starts cutting a hole through the wall. Johns firing shots off at the door we just came through.

“Does it not realize these things like noise?” I ask, Riddick lifting his mouth in a smirk.

I smile glad he got my joke. 

He passes the torch to me as he kicks the newly made door open. A circle hole letting us out of the room and into a bigger part of the ship.

I crawl through it following him, Carylon and the others behind us. I pass her the torch, to help the others get through.

Jack latching onto me once more. I smile at her wrapping my arms around her to hold her close. Her eyes bounce around the room as the others start barricading the hole.

“Where is Riddick?” Johns asks, looking around.

Letting go of Jack I turn around to see Riddick has disappeared.

“I said," Where is Riddick?” Johns says again, making me realize he was talking to me.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a tracker on him.” 

“Go find him.” He says, gesturing  towards the dark ship.

I roll my eyes not wanting to cause an argument with Johns. It would be quieter if I just did as he asked. I didn’t want the creatures to find us again.

“Stay with the group. I’ll be right back.” I say to Jack.

I move to start easing into the darkness. Taking slow cautious steps. Feeling like we were in the cargo bay of the ship I moved past boxes and nets.

The more I walked the darker it got since I was getting away from the group's light source. Moving farther and farther away until I couldn’t hear or see them anymore.

I was submerged in complete darkness when I felt the feeling of being watched. Swallowing, I slow down, trying to listen harder. To see if I could hear anything around me.

I take a deep breath, when I feel arms wrap around me. A large hand covering my lips as I was pulled into a firm chest.

The growing familiar smell of Riddick invading my senses. I don’t know how I could relax and have my body heat up at the same time.

He doesn't say anything. Only uses his hand on my mouth to make me look up.

Looking up to see the movement of something. I blink a few times shocked when my vision clears enough to see the silhouette of a creature eating something.

I let him pull me back into the shadows. Into an even darker space if that was possible. Hidden for the beast. Or at least hidden enough that it cared about its meal more than us.

His hand falls from my face to my waist as he eases around me. Moving to stand in front of me. His large frame blocked me from view.

If I didn’t know any better I would say he was protecting me. But he wouldn’t do that? Would he?

Despite the question in my mind I reach up and grab the back of his tank top. Telling myself it was in case he took off I would know to follow. To run to safety but I would be lying if I didn’t find something comforting about touching him in some way.

I’ve definitely lost my mind it seems.

We stay like that for a moment or two waiting for an opening to slip away I’m guessing until one of Imen’s boys comes around the corner.

I feel my stomach drop knowing this is only going to end badly.

He lets out a gasp when the flesh of whatever the monster was eating falls in front of him. The creature makes a sound, turning to face us, clearly earring the boy.

“Extremely..bad..timing.” Riddick says slowly, easing out just enough for the boy to see him.

I knew I was blanked in darkness and Riddick’s body but It didn’t stop my heart from picking up. My gut telling me this was about to go south.

“Just don’t run.” Riddick says, sounding like he was barely moving his mouth. 

“Riddick?” Carylon says, hearing his voice.

“Don’t. Stop. Burning.” He answers her, him standing perfectly still.

I matched him, realizing he figured out something about these things. They could only see you when you moved.

Hearing the crate behind us move and creak as a creature climbs onto it I ease closer to Riddick. Pressing myself into him, not wanting to be close enough for that thing to sneak up and grab me.

Both of us look up watching the creature's claws grow. Riddick’s large hand reaches back finding my hip, him easing us sideways into the shadows once more. His hand doesn't leave my body once we are locked in place again.

I watch the claw snap out at the boy making him jump and take off running. The creature flying after him. Another creature killed him, and the two began to fight.

I gasp when Riddick grabs my shirt pulling me after him as he starts to run, letting go as soon as he knows I'm right on his heels.

We book it towards the group, the light in the distance. Hearing us coming the group turns, shining their lights at us, at Riddick. I hear him yell and watch as he falls over holding his face, but it’s not in time enough for me to trip and fall on him. Making him grunt. The creature flying over us right towards the others.

It screeches flying off as Johns starts shooting at it.

“I’m sorry.” I say, moving to get off him. Riddick pushes himself up standing next to me.

Everyone screams as the monster falls from the ceiling, all of them huddling around it. I stay back not wanting to be anywhere near the thing.

“Is it alive?” Carylon whispers.

“I hope so.” I answered her, the sound of sizzling filling the air.

“It’s like the light is scalding it.” Paris says as the flashlight moves over its dead body.

“It hurts them. The light hurts them.” She says.

Hearing more noises Iman calls for his child.

I looked at the floor knowing the kid was not going to answer.

“We’ll burn a candle for him later.” Johns says, making me want to throw something at him.

“Come on, let's get out of here.” He says turning to head back to kick open the next door way.

[tiredspirals]

Passing from shadow territory to arcane was not an easy journey.

Nestled between the two god's domains was the land of plague. The Scarred Wasteland and it's pestulant heart that beats kn the middle was not a place for the weak, it's denizens reveling in strength gained through strife. Disease and death was celebrated, at least in the sense that it uplifted those who survived the trials Plaguebringer inflicted on the land.

On the bright side, the skies had a consistent weather. Dry and warm, with no storms to contend with.

On the downside, being skybound did not save you from the constant wars that further scarred the wasteland. Beast on beast, dragon on dragon, leaving the sanctuary of a clan meant placing yourself on the forefront of an all out war. It truly was survival of the fittest, where wings of monstrous beings could easily blot out the sky as they descended on you. Indeed, brigands hungry for resources and plague ridden avians were constant threats to skyfairing ships.

Stars Aligned was by no means a fragile ship. She was sturdy, perhaps ready for war in another life, outfitted with a hard metal shell and a steel cage around her air balloons. Wing shredder ballistas lined the sides, ready for use against those who dared enter a dog fight with her. The weakness, Though, is her heavy set made her slower than lighter ships and slower yet compared to rogue dragons. She must be prepared.

The Sanctum of the Outcasts was the only stop for weeks around, and was one Rataskorn was fond of. In her days running wild with mirror packs, she could remember nipping at the heels of it's defenders when she was a spry pup, and recalled it's location well. Most would discredit the mirror's intelligence, but her memory was unmatched: she stood on the balcony of the ship, excitedly pointing every which way as she recalled even the smallest details of her life in the abiding boneyard.

So much fighting. So much blood. Good times.

The great airship touched down not far from the Sanctum, finding no trouble for parking in the endless space that stretched around it. Rataskorn bounded off, the voices of her peers making their to-do lists sounding like distant static to her. Her mind was long set. She knows what she must do!

She must find a suitable gift of the wastes for her beloved mate! This is more important than life itself. Yes, Hraes loved her sparklies and shinies. Shadow dragons enjoyed trinkets and curios, like the strange black birds that pecked at bodies. Yes, just like them! Like a strange black bird…

With dreams of Hraes wearing raven's wings, the mirror sped off across the arid land, the faraway cry of someone telling her to wait falling on deaf ears. Merchants of the Bazaar beware: a bull was coming for your glass shops.

[honourablejester]

Starfinder Character Concept: A Luminous Skeletal Priest

Okay. So. Reading the Ports of Call setting book presented me with the fabulous concept of the Last Call, a colony ship turned mobile funerary barge:

“Space is a minefield of fatal disasters, and the undead can arise from those who die gruesomely or without last rites. Knowing this, a Pharasmin sect called the Cemeterians repurposed a colony ship as their flying temple and set out to provide funerary services across the galaxy. Having now operated for over 50 years, the starship is known as Last Call is easily recognized by its sign reading “Let the End be an Ending” painted above its docking bay. The ship periodically jumps across the galaxy, serving as a trading post, morgue, and neutral ground for all but the unrepentant undead.”

This is enchanting to me. Combined with all the space undead you get in Starfinder, like my beloved Marooned Ones. Just the idea of a ship that is going out to find the wrecks, the dead stations, the lost colonies, in order to grant the dead their last rites and to lay the unquiet dead to rest. Or to just provide services for ships or stations that don’t have their own priests. I so want a character who at least spent time on her as part of their background.

And then, while I was thinking about deathly space priests and their funeral ship, I remembered a Starfinder race that I have loved since I first read about them: the Shatori. I noticed them because of the image firstly, Shatori are 7ft tall translucent immortals with glowing bones. They have a glowing skeleton that shines through their semi-transparent flesh. It’s amazing.

They accidentally set off an invasion of their world by daemons of Abaddon while looking for alternate power sources way back when, and created a spell to keep some of them alive in stasis until the invasion was over, but messed it up and wound up hibernating for centuries in a pocket dimension next to the Boneyard, the deathly energies of which gradually converted the sleeping Shatori into living but sterile immortals. They can’t give birth, can’t create more Shatori, so the survivors in that stasis dimension are the only Shatori’s that are ever going to exist anymore, and each death among them is an irrevocable loss. So they are, as a people, incredibly conscious of death, and seek to preserve their knowledge against their loss. As well as live full lives, in honour of all the Shatori that will never get to live.

Which. Combined with the Last Call.

Now. Shatori do not generally have truck with religion. They’re essentially immortal space Vulcans, they believe in impartiality and rational self-interest. And Pharasma, in particular, is complicated for them, on account of her Boneyard being the thing that … well, did the thing.

But they believe that each death is an irrevocable loss. They believe in preserving the knowledge and actions of those who have died. They believe in ensuring that those who are lost are not forgotten. So maybe one of them might be willing to crew a ship and find the lost dead and ensure that their names, their deeds, their knowledge, and the nature of their deaths, is recorded and not lost to time and the vast emptiness of space.

Also. Imagery-wise. A 7ft tall luminescent death priest, aboard a flying funeral ship. I’m just saying.

I do think I want an investigative sort of Cemetarian here. Not just last rites. They’re Shatori, they want to know the hows and whys and what-is-lefts. Recovery and preservation of knowledge, so that those who have died did not die wholly in vain. In which case, they might actually be in favour of the survival of intelligent undead, as it preserves the person and the knowledge, which might have maybe driven a little bit of a wedge between them and more zealous Cemetarians (and Pharasmins in general). So they might have been politely asked to leave the Last Call at some point. But they’re interested in continuing the calling regardless. In finding the dead of space, and laying them properly to rest, and recording the nature and circumstances of their deaths, and retrieving as much of who they were and what they knew as possible.

A mystic, almost certainly. Not a direct devotee of Pharasma, though they masked that well for a long time, more a simple chronicler of the dead. I think the Akashic connection? Knowledge, the preservation of knowledge. I like that Shatori already get detect magic, grave words, and stabilise as spell-like abilities. They lean towards deathly investigation from a standing start. We’ll likely build their spell repertoire to match that.

For background … I don’t think I’d go priest. I suspect they may not still be a member of Pharasma’s flock, on account of not actually being that religious or opposed to undeath on a philosophical level. I think I’m going to go with Void Nomad instead. Touched by the isolation and death of the vast cold reaches of space. We’re going to be a philosophical sort of Shatori on an evolving journey of discovery regarding death, that thing which is the horror and inevitable end of our entire species. By studying and honouring and embracing those who have perished to the void, we are slowly learning to accept our own inevitable end.

So. A quiet, contemplative lady, a shining skeletal Shatori on a journey of discovery, death and acceptance.

For a name … I deeply love the names of the planets in the Shatori’s home system of Disaj: Perdane, the world they lost to Abaddon, Perdure, the world on which they enacted their desperate and doomed attempt to escape death, and Prevail, a world relatively unscathed by past mistakes. There’s a theme there that I like. So. She’s going to have renamed herself out in the void, to remind herself of home and to keep the knowledge alive.

Durance Vail. An ex-Cemetarian of the Last Call. A Shatori void nomad akashic mystic. Heh.

(Or, put another way, and still to my giddy delight, a 7ft glowing skeleton lady who would like to go exploring spooky shipwrecks and speak with dead people for broadly altruistic purposes).

(Also, yes, space undead and nautical horror will never not be themes for me. I like spooky ships).

[princessbrunette]

reader falling in love with jj after he fights someone for her because shes used to men being so rough with her so when jj come up to her and cups her cheek telling her it'll all be okay reader is GONER

(i'm projecting can you tell)

𖦹 ׂ 𓈒 🐇 ／ ⋆ ۪

meeting jj at a party at the boneyard and kinda just hanging around him — he’s cool, funny, makes you feel welcome into any conversation. what’s not to like? it’s no surprise that over the course of the evening you develop a little crush on him.

at parties, people get drunk and unruly — you’re no stranger to it and it certainly doesn’t shock you, but certain guys take it too far, and it makes you uncomfortable. some kook joined your circle where you all stood together, and it was clear from the get go that he was pretty drunk. jj sends you a secret look, snickering at the guy when he starts to act obnoxiously and you feel a little special that he was singling you out to joke with. you giggle to yourself, but soon enough the kook is stepping up into your space. asking you all kinds of questions about yourself. saying he ‘want to get to know you.’

it was funny for maybe the first three seconds, but then it got weird. out the corner of your eye, as this kook cuts across the circle to talk pretty much in your face — jj’s amused smile fades off his face.

“alright man.” he slaps a hand down on the guys shoulder, and he aggressively shrugs the blondes hand off him, continue to slur nonsense at you.

everytime you take a polite step back, he steps forward. jj’s jaw ticks at the way he shrugged his hand off, and he steps up again. “hey kook, you wanna back off the lady a little? damn.” there’s still a lighthearted chuckle at the end, clearly trying to diffuse his own irritation. this time, the kook turns around with an enraged glare.

“you tryna fuckin’ cockblock me or something?”

jj takes the moment to slide infront of you, creating space between you and the creep, walking him a few steps backward.

“trust me bro, i’m not blockin’ shit. she’s not interested.”

“why don’t you let her speak for herself, huh? hey, you gonna let me get to know you?” he hollers around jj at you. feeling a little braver with your wall of protection, you respond.

“no thank you, i’m good.”

“y’hear that—”

“fucking bitch—”

jj loses his patience fast, shoving the guy back hard by the shoulders sending him stumbling. the guy puts up a fight, and next thing you know there’s a circle of people watching jj beat his ass on the sand. you’re dazed, everything happening too quickly to comprehend, especially with the alcohol buzzing in your system. you found yourself slightly teary eyed, nail between your teeth.

you seem to come back to yourself when jj is infront of you once more, this time with a split lip and bruised knuckles.

“hey, you good? m’sorry i— yeah that was kinda— lost my temper just a lil.” hes still a little breathless, leading you away from the loud party.

“he called me a —”

“yeah, i know. dude i fuckin’ hate guys like him. can’t take rejection like… what a pussy.” he runs his hands through his floppy hair before turning to look at you. “you’re okay though, right? he didn’t touch you? ‘cus i swear i’ll go to jail over that shit.”

“no, he didn’t…” you blink up at him, still a little dazed. “thanks for defending me.”

it’s then he gets all modest and bashful, waving you off with a shrug. “that? nah i uh— it’s nothin’.”

he was going to have to do a lot more than shrug you off to stop you for falling for him.

𖦹 ׂ 𓈒 🐇 ／ ⋆ ۪

[usafphantom2]

EP-3E Aries II Spy Plane Has Flown Its Last Operational Mission

Current tensions in the Middle East prolonged the final deployment of the EP-3E Aries II intelligence-gathering aircraft.

Posted on Nov 7, 2024 3:41 PM EST

Another long-serving U.S. military aircraft has completed its final operational deployment, with the return of the U.S. Navy’s EP-3E Aries II surveillance platform from the 5th Fleet area of operations. The countdown to the spy plane’s final retirement is now on, which will see its vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission handed over fully to the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance drone.

VQ-1

Another long-serving U.S. military aircraft has completed its final operational deployment, with the return of the U.S. Navy’s EP-3E Aries II surveillance platform from the 5th Fleet area of operations. The countdown to the spy plane’s final retirement is now on, which will see its vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) mission handed over to the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane, the MQ-4C Triton high-altitude, long-endurance drone, and other assets, including ones in space.

The last EP-3E deployed on operations was Bureau Number, or BuNo 159893, which completed its final flight in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations on October 29. The aircraft then made a homecoming to its base at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, according to the Facebook account of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), the “World Watchers,” which posted photos of the event yesterday.

Ground crew welcome EP-3E BuNo 159893 on its return to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington. VQ-1/Facebook

The U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations covers approximately 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, as well as parts of the Indian Ocean. The area includes three highly strategic choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

The tense security situation in the region at the moment saw the EP-3E’s final operational deployment extended.

240928-N-AC117-1132 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation.

EP-3E BuNo 159893 transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation, in a photo dated September 28, 2024. U.S. Navy Commander, Naval Air Forces

Originally, the U.S. Navy had scheduled VQ-1 to cease operations by September 30, 2024, ahead of the formal deactivation of the unit on March 31, 2025.

According to the VQ-1 Facebook account, the squadron was first ordered to delay the cessation of operations until October 8, 2024, after which it was required to continue its missions in the region until an undetermined date.

240928-N-AC117-1118 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), prepares to take flight within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation.

EP-3E BuNo 159893 prepares to take flight within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation. U.S. Navy Commander, Naval Air Forces

Another VQ-1 EP-3E that had been deployed also recently returned to Whidbey Island, with photos of that aircraft’s homecoming posted by the unit on November 4. This was BuNo 161410 that had been operating from Souda Bay, on the Greek island of Crete, under U.S. Central Command.

For some time now, the Navy has been sending EP-3Es into retirement, delivering them to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, for storage.

As we reported last month, the most famous EP-3E of all — BuNo 156511, which was involved in a collision with a Chinese J-8 interceptor over Hainan Island in 2001 — has been moved from the AMARG boneyard to go on public display in the future at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

The spy plane at the center of one of the most notorious post-Cold War Today air incidents, a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II, has arrived at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona, for future public display. The EP-3E’s journey to get to the museum has been a long one, starting with the dramatic collision with a Chinese fighter in the so-called Hainan Island incident in 2001.

EP-3E Aries II BuNo 156511 is towed to the Pima Air & Space Museum last month. Pima Air & Space Museum

Pima Air & Space Museum

Meanwhile, the end of the EP-3’s operational commitment after nearly six decades of service has been commemorated by the Navy. A press release from the service included recollections from EP-3E crew members, providing a rare glimpse into a highly secretive community, and one with a very sensitive mission.

“It’s amazing to think of the number of folks who have been part of the EP-3 heritage over the last 55 years,” said Lt. Cmdr. Justin “Gump” Roberts, the VQ-1 detachment officer-in-charge. “Success in this platform has solely been because of our hard-working maintenance team while on deck and our aircrew’s superior ISR while on station. It’s an honor to be part of a legacy that’s bigger than the sum of its parts.”

The aircraft commander at VQ-1, Lt. Bradford “Chad” Holcombe, added that he was “tremendously grateful” to be part of the EP-3E’s history.

“From my first day at VQ-1, it’s been obvious to see the pride each member has in the platform, the mission, and most importantly the effort it takes to execute wherever and whenever we’re asked,” he said. “Flying the last mission flight is a privilege.”

240928-N-AC117-1132 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation.

240928-N-AC117-1132 (Sept. 28, 2024) A U.S. Navy EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System (ARIES) II, assigned to the “World Watchers” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 (VQ-1), transits within the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation. Commander, Naval Air Forces

Finally, words were offered by Capt. Dennis “Rudy” Jensen, Commodore of Task Force 57:

“My father was a P-3 pilot during the Cold War, and I’ve flown the variants of the same aircraft since 2002. Few other airplanes are as ‘time-tested and mother approved’ as the P-3,” Jensen said. “Its longevity and ability to operate from remote locations in austere environments for over half a century is a testament to those who designed, built, maintained, and operated it. Much like the ever-changing platforms onboard the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, the mission systems inside the EP-3E have evolved over time. The ability to evolve has enabled the EP-3E to remain viable and effective through today.”

During its time in operational service, the EP-3E played a fairly covert role as a central intelligence-gathering asset within the Navy’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF).

Derived from the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, the EP-3E was optimized for operations in the maritime/littoral domain. It was packed with equipment to gather real-time tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT), including intercepting communications and locating and classifying emitters, especially those related to hostile air defense systems.

The cabin of the preserved EP-3E BuNo 156511 as it appears now. Pima Air & Space Museum

A typical EP-3E comprised six flight crew and a reconnaissance crew of 18, who would be drawn from the Navy, Marines, and Air Force.

Data could be processed and analyzed onboard by the crew, then fused together with other critical information. The resulting ‘product,’ including full-motion video intelligence, could be provided in near real-time to fleet and theater commanders.

Overall, the EP-3E was able to provide commanders with specific indications and warnings, as well as build a better picture of the battlespace for situational awareness. Intelligence it gathered on air defense systems would be potentially vital for suppression of enemy air defenses and destruction of enemy air defenses, while other information would be used for anti-air warfare and anti-submarine warfare applications.

Successive upgrades ensured that the EP-3E remained a valuable asset and also added new capabilities. While it was primarily a SIGINT platform in the early years, it later became a ‘multi-intelligence reconnaissance aircraft,’ with new equipment that could hoover up a variety of electronic emissions including at long standoff range.

An EP-3E Orion aircraft, center, is followed by two EA-3B Skywarrior aircraft during flight operations near Gibraltar. The three aircraft are from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2).

An EP-3E followed by two EA-3B Skywarriors during flight operations near Gibraltar, circa 1991. The three aircraft are from Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2). U.S. Department of Defense PH3 FRANKLIN P. CALL, USN

The EP-3E’s mission saw it operate in various high-threat areas throughout its career. As well as around the coasts of China — which led to the Hainan Island Incident — regular areas of interest included the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. In the process, intercepts by hostile or potentially hostile fighters were commonplace.

The video below shows an encounter between an EP-3E and a Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet over the Black Sea, in 2018. On that occasion, the Navy says the jet came within five feet of the surveillance aircraft, causing a mission abort, and return to base.

Replacing the EP-3E with the MQ-4C has been a gradual process. Tritons have been operating from forward deployment bases in Guam in the Pacific and Sigonella in the Mediterranean, for some time. Most recently, a third Triton deployment base was established in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, on October 1, allowing the EP-3E to stand down from its duties there.

A Navy MQ-4C Triton drone arrives at NAS Sigonella in Italy on March 30, 2024. U.S. Navy

Flying at a higher altitude and offering a longer endurance than the EP-3E, the MQ-4C offers some significant advantages. While a multi-mission platform, it’s the Triton’s so-called Multi-Intelligence (Multi-Int) configuration with additional electronic and signals intelligence capabilities that will take over from the EP-3E. Since it’s uncrewed, there is also no risk to the crew, something that EP-3E operators were exposed to on a fairly regular basis.

Despite this, in 2022 the Navy decided to dramatically reduce its total planned purchases of MQ-4Cs from 70 to 27. This came after increased questions about the drone’s survivability after one of the interim Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Demonstrator (BAMS-D) aircraft was shot down by Iran in 2019.

Some of the EP-3E’s missions will also be taken over by the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. The baseline Poseidon has a signals intelligence capability, allowing it to detect, geolocate, and classify emissions, including from radars and other air defense nodes, which is also now set to be upgraded. Some P-8s are configured to carry other intelligence-gathering payloads, such as the AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor, as well. Boeing has internally funded the development of a modular multi-mission gondola-like pod for Poseidon, which is set to offer an additional way to relatively rapidly integrate sensors and other capabilities.

A U.S. Navy P-8A carrying the AN/APS-154 Advanced Airborne Sensor (AAS), a powerful and secretive radar system mounted in an elongated pontoon-like pod under the fuselage. cvvhrn

“The transition from the EP-3E to the P-8A Poseidon and MQ-4C Triton platforms has been carefully planned to avoid capability gaps,” the Navy says. “These platforms offer enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, with greater range, endurance, and the ability to operate in more complex environments.”

The Navy will also be able to leverage other emerging U.S. military ISR assets, including new spaced-based surveillance capabilities.

While the EP-3E’s time is now nearly up, there remain a handful of other Orion variants still in U.S. Navy service. These include P-3C, NP-3C, and NP-3D aircraft flown by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30) at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, and by Scientific Development Squadron One (VXS-1) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Many of these are also in the process of being replaced.

While many secrets of the EP-3’s exploits are still to be revealed, there’s little doubt that this platform made an enormous contribution to gathering intelligence from hotspots around the globe during its long and eventful period of service.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

[obxone]

Solace

Edited-ish-- ~3.2k words. Hints of smut.

“Hey,” Kie murmurs while sticking her head around a shelving unit to see you sitting criss-cross on the floor reading your latest paperback. “I know you aren’t here yet, but someone is already requesting you.”

Your eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Who?”

She bites her lip before exhaling. “Rafe.”

“Fuck me,” you mutter before glancing at the watch on your wrist. “I have fifteen more minutes!”

She shrugs. “My dad said you could clock in early.”

“Damn it,” you mutter getting to your feet and stashing your book in your apron pocket. You knew if you did not go out there Rafe would be a jackass to another server and they didn't deserve it. “Fine, fine fine.”

She hugs you and you groan loudly once she lets you go. “Sorry Babe.”

You swipe your badge and clock in before slipping out onto the floor. Rafe smirks when you emerge from the back. His eyes run the length of you and you frown at him, showing clear displeasure. 

“Hey gorgeous, you look good.”

“What can I get you today?” You ask, pulling your pad and pen out of another apron pocket. 

He studies you before shaking his head. “No witty banter today Babe? No hey boyfriend, how are you?”

“Rafe,” you sigh, shifting your weight to one foot and glaring at him. “What can I get for you?”

He smirks reaching forward so his fingers drag over your arm. You step back pressing your lips into a thin line. 

“Rafe, order or leave,” Kie mutters passing with a tray of food in her hand to another table. He watches her go before turning back to you. 

“Fine, I’ll go. See you tonight Princess.” He stands, his tall frame moving into your space, but you stand your ground already knowing his tactics. He smirks. “I’ve always loved your spirit Babe.” His lips press to yours quickly and he leaves before you can lash out at him. You glare after him. 

JJ and Pope enter with JJ looking over his shoulder in anger. His blue eyes find you next and he frowns. “You got them?” Kie asks. You nod and lead them to a two-top table in the corner. Pope excuses himself to go to the bathroom shortly after. 

“You okay?” JJ studies you, his expression softening with worry. 

“I’m okay.”

He reaches out to you, but you don’t back up. Instead you step forward and his hand guides you into him. His arms fold around you and you hook your arms around his waist. “I'll be here when your shift ends to take you home. I don’t trust him not to come back.”

“Thanks, J,” you whisper before lifting your head from his chest to see another group coming in for lunch. You press a kiss to his cheek before stepping back. “I’ll come to get the order in a minute okay?”

“Okay.” His hands stay on you until the last possible second and you smile at him gratefully over your shoulder before you welcome the party of four and lead them to the deck for another server to take. 

Your shift finished with a flourish of tourists and hefty tips after you smile politely and busted your ass to give them everything they needed in a timely manner. You were tired as you counted out your tips and before clocking out. You tied your apron and dropped it in your bag. You stepped out on the floor shouldering the bag and calling quick goodbyes.  

“See you at The Boneyard later?” Kie asks, wiping her hands on a hand towel. 

“Maybe,” you say before grabbing your phone. JJ was outside waiting. You wave before stepping outside. He smirks at you leaning casually against his dirt bike. “Hey handsome,” you tease and he laughs. 

“How tired are you?” He questions once you get to him. He doesn’t miss the bags under your eyes or the tired sound of your voice. His hand touches your face, thumb dragging over the rim of your chin. 

“Exhausted. I want to nap and shower before we go anywhere else.”

“We can do that.”

You grin before pecking his jaw, teasing him a little bit. “Take me home Sexy.”

He laughs swinging his leg over to straddle his bike before you climb on. He turns the bike over as you get settled and then you head off into the night. 

It took fifteen minutes to get you home. JJ parked his bike in the garage before you led him upstairs to your room. “Shower first?”

“Yes,” you respond before dropping your bag on the floor by your bed and peeling your shirt off as you head for the bathroom. You look back over your shoulder to see him watching you. You grin at him, before tipping your head towards the bathroom, inviting him. His hands are on his hips as he leans back against your closed bedroom door. “No one is here JJ. It’s just us.”

“Fuck,” he breathes before straightening up and following you. You laugh as you both remove your clothes and slip into the shower together. Hands and lips all over one another until you bliss out, ignoring the weight of the world that seemed to press down more and more every day. 

After a shower, you pull on an oversized t-shirt and curl up with him on your bed for a nap. Lazy kisses and barely there touches until you both fall asleep. 

— — — — 

You wake up to JJ’s hands on your skin, his fingers tracing patterns into your thigh and his lips on your exposed shoulder. “JJ,” you mumble tipping your head back to see him. He smirks before leaning in, his lips brushing yours. 

“How’d you sleep?”

“Better.”

“Good,” he murmurs, his voice sending shivers down your spine. You turn to face him. His hand slid up your body, pushing your shirt higher until it is off of you and crumpled on the floor. He slips between your legs as you kiss him, fingers tangling in his hair. He groans as he buries himself in you. 

“We’re going to be later than we already are,” you tease.

“I don’t care.”

He rolls his hips into yours, hands sliding up your sides to your breasts before his head dips down. You gasp, eyes closing as you let him have his way with you. 

It was dark out by the time you both headed towards The Boneyard. JJ drove your car and you smiled enjoying the moment. 

“How have you been coping?” He asks, not looking at you. You knew he was worried and it only seemed to grow each day.  

You turn your head to look at him. You study his side profile. JJ Maybank was gorgeous and he knew it, but he also had this subtle charm to him that he didn’t believe when you told him. 

You shrug. “You saw it today.”

He frowns before reaching over. His hand cupping the back of your neck as his thumb trails over your jaw. You lean over, pressing your lips to his once he stops at a stop sign. He smirks before ending the kiss. His breath fans over your face before he pecks your forehead. 

“As much as I love the sex, and believe me, Baby I do, I’m here to talk if you need it.”

“I know and the same goes for you,” you murmur before sliding back into your seat and holding his hand as it rests on your thigh. “But sometimes not talking works too.”

He laughs squeezing your thigh before he turns into the dirt lot and parks the car near The Twinkie. The lot was close to being full so you arrived at the perfect time. You slip out shut and the door before he takes your hand leading you out to the beach. 

“Hey!” Kie grins, lifting a cup once she spots you both. 

“Hello, Sunshine.” You peck her cheek before taking a cup that Pope offers out. She looks down at JJ’s hand holding yours and smiles at you. Kie was convinced you were both in love with each other and too stubborn to admit it. And maybe that was true. You lean down kissing Pope’s cheek next. “Hey, Handsome.” 

He blushes before clearing his throat and handing a cup to JJ making you giggle. You untangle your fingers from JJ’s before announcing you wanted to dance and going without another word. He watches you go over the rim of his cup before he looks at his friends who all share a knowing look. 

“Shut up,” he mutters before taking a joint John B holds out. 

After a few beers and legs that are aching from dancing so long you settle onto JJ’s lap. His arms holding you as he presses kisses down your neck making you giggle. He rests his chin on your head after being satisfied with the blush painting your face. The Pogues all sit around a fire together sharing laughs and weed. John B makes out with a tourist just behind your group. And you laugh as he nearly falls from the driftwood he is straddling. Kie sways along with the music humming the familiar tune while Pope pokes the fire with a stick. You enjoyed this, the little moments where nothing else mattered. 

JJ’s hand wraps around your thigh squeezing gently. “Rafe’s here,” he murmurs in your ear, and you sigh, dropping your head on his shoulder.

“Fucking hell.”

“Should I take you home?”

You shake your head. “No, this is nice and I don’t want to leave yet. He has to let me go.” 

“You know I don’t mind either way.”

You turn his face to yours as you lift your head and he stares at you. “No fighting. I don’t care what he says or what he does, no fighting.”

He frowns before nodding reluctantly. His fingers resumed drawing patterns. “Don’t go anywhere without one of us okay?”

“Okay.” You whisper before kissing him. He groans, his tongue slipping past your lips as your fingers tangle in the tank top he wears. The kiss ends and he blushes, staring at you before glancing to see a few of the other Pogues covering their eyes mockingly. 

Another hour passed and Kie added a log to the fire as John B and JJ shared a joint. You had taken it once before moving to sit next to Kie. “Need more beer,” she says standing before offering her hand to you. You clasp it and stand. JJ turns his head, his blue eyes glued to you. 

“I’m fine, I’ll stick with Kie,” you say and ruffle his hair. He swats at you, but you laugh and slip away with Kie.  

Kie talks to the guys manning the keg as she gets a refill, but you had only accepted a water bottle and look out over the crowd. Your gaze falls on your group of friends. JJ exhales a cloud of smoke and laughs passing it to John B. You would be driving home tonight since JJ was blocking the signal as Pope put it. 

“Princess, if I didn’t know any better I would think you were hiding from me.” Rafe’s arms wrap around you as his lips brush your temple. You inhale sharply, panic blooming in your chest. You reach down to pull his arms off of you, but he tightens them pulling you back against his chest.

“Kie,” you whisper, but she doesn’t hear you. “Kiara!” You say louder catching the attention of a few others who all turn as well. 

Her eyes zero in on Rafe holding you and she frowns. “Rafe, let her go.”

“No.”

“Rafe-” Kie starts but he shakes his head. 

“No, you Pogues have had her all night long and I want time with her.”

He was nearing drunk as he slurred his words slightly. He reaches up, turning your face up to his. His breath fanning over your face confirms it. “Isn’t that right Babe?”

You reach up wrapping your hand around his wrist and trying to make him let go. “Rafe, let me go.”

“Nope.” He pops the p and laughs a little. “I deserve to have time with you, you are my girlfriend. I think I’m well within my right.”

He lowers his face down but you turn your head and his lips meet your cheek. He groans before looking down at you. You could see the anger building in those blue depths. 

“Rafe let her go, man!” John B’s voice calls. He turns his head to look at your group of friends approaching. Your gaze connects with JJ and you see the anger on his face. His fists balled up by his side and you know he won’t keep the no fighting rule tonight if Rafe didn’t let you go soon. You look back at Rafe, but he’s glaring at the others so you take the opportunity and do the only thing you can think of and jam your knee between his legs. He grunts releasing you so he can cup his hands against himself. He staggers but stays upright. The crowd around you groans in pain with him. 

“Come on!” Kie grasps your hand pulling you away. You both push through the crowd that had slowly trickled up to watch the interaction. “JJ!”

“Right here,” he says coming around the rim of the crowd to grasp your hand. You don’t miss the grin on his face at your actions. “Ready to go?”

You nod, but your head whips around as Rafe yells your name. You turn back to JJ who tugs on your hand before you run for the parking lot.

Once you are away from The Boneyard you lean back into the seat sighing as you press your hands to your face. “Take me somewhere,” you mumble. 

“Home?”

“No, my mom will be home. Anywhere else.” 

He frowns before making a u-turn to head back into the cut. “Text John B. Let him know we are going to the Chateau.”

You do before closing your eyes as you try not to panic at what feels like the walls closing in. JJ’s hand is on yours and it feels like the only thing keeping you grounded. 

— — — — 

You woke up before JJ, slipping from the bed and pulling his discarded shirt on. You fish your phone out of your bag and look at the notifications. Unsurprising a text from your mom and Rafe. You texted your mom back that you were fine, you were with the Pogues, and you’d see her sometime this week. You knew she must be sobering up since she cared about your well-being at the moment. She’d fade back out by tomorrow afternoon.

You open Rafe’s text and sigh. He demanded you come to a family lunch and be the perfect girlfriend he knew you could be. The guise that you were still dating to appease his parents still going on in his mind. You frown, before messaging him back declining. Your phone vibrates in your hand and he’s calling. You groan swiping to answer. 

“What?”

“I’m coming to get you. Be ready.”

“I’m not home Rafe. You need to tell your dad. I’m not doing this anymore. I’m not your girlfriend. We broke up. That’s the end of it.”

He lets out a frustrated sound before he growls. “I don’t care how much that little Pogue fucks you, you still belong to me Princess and you will be at lunch today.”

“No, I won’t. It’s time you fess up and own your shit!” You snap before turning to see JJ stirring. You frown and try not to yell anymore and risk waking the others. His hand ruffles his hair as he leans back against the headboard. Rafe doesn’t pause in his rant so you cut him off. “You fucked up. You hurt me again and again. I’m not yours anymore Rafe, you need to tell them. Goodbye.” You hang up and toss your phone before moving back to the bed. JJ opens his arms as you snuggle into his chest.

“I got you.”

“I know,” you whisper before leaning up to kiss him. He returns it before leaning back to study you. The questions in his eyes make your heart ache more than you wanted to admit. You should’ve never let yourself into his bed, but now it was too late. You both were emotionally invested in the other. It had been seven months of this bubble you had created together. You had caught feelings right away and they had only grown since. You reach up to wipe away the tear sliding down your cheek but he beats you to it. “I hate him so much. I don’t understand why he can’t let me go.”

JJ frowns. “He loves you.”

“He loves the ideas of me. The same way Topper does with Sarah. They don’t know what love is. None of them do.”

You rest your head back on his chest. “It scares me. If Beau and Graham were still here I wouldn’t know any better either.” You trace a couple of hearts on his bicep trying to focus on not crying. “I miss them every day. And I don’t think this feeling will ever go away.”

“It won’t go away,” he murmurs, his lips brushing your forehead. “But it’ll ease over time. They were your brothers, Graham your twin. That connection doesn’t end even in death.”

You look up at him and he shrugs but doesn’t hide the tears collecting in his own eyes. “Oh JJ,” you whisper before reaching up to wipe his eyes. He pulls you into his chest, his face pressed to your shoulder as he cries and you comfort him. Graham, John B, Pope, and JJ had been his friends even with the kook versus pogue lifestyle. JJ and Graham had the strongest bond, formed while working at the Clubhouse a little over a year before the accident, and the others had accepted Graham without question. 

You found solace in each other after the funeral and hadn’t stopped since. You had a crush on JJ for years, but you also loved Rafe deeply. You had dated since you were 14, but then Rafe had mixed in cocaine and bad people after a year of dating. You had ignored it doing what a dutiful daughter does per your mother’s instructions, but after losing your brothers and seeing your mom destroy herself you had ended it. You press closer to JJ, hand combing through his hair as you think about that night. It hadn’t gone well and you had shown up on JJ’s doorstep and he had taken you to the Chateau where you stayed together only leaving the others side for work. Then your mother sobered up and called you to come home. He had promised to check in that night and he had. He had snuck in and spent the night with you in your bed and since then it had been more than sex and you had only gone a handful of nights without the other. 

“I love you JJ,” you whisper, running your fingers down to his hand. You bring his hand to your face and press a kiss to his palm. He cups your face pulling your lips to his in a heady kiss before nuzzling his face against yours. 

“I love you too.”

You inhale before opening your eyes to look at him. You knew you were toeing a line, but after the countless nights lost in one another and the days keeping each others heads above water, you couldn’t help it anymore. “I love you more than friends JJ. More than the bond of a heartbroken kook princess and pogue. I want you, all of you.”

He smiles a little, his dimple surfacing. “I’ve been yours since you showed up at my door Babe.”

[8-rae-rae-8]

Come back for me CH.1

A fanfic idea brought to me by an anon person who I love very much now

2.3k words

Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), Canon-Typical Violence, Violence, Blood, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Mild Blood, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Age Regression Little Simon "Ghost" Riley, Age Regression Caregiver John "Soap" MacTavish, Captain John "Soap" MacTavish, rewritten ending of 09, Age Regression/De-Aging, pet regression pet regression pup Gary "Roach" Sanderson, Little Space, Age Regression, Caregiver John Price (Call of Duty), Shepherd is the worst, Gun Violence, Face Slapping, Mocking, Men Crying, Crying, Gaz is dead already remember, i didnt forget him, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat

A hail of bullets aimed at them from every direction. Body screaming out to run, and only to fire at enemies he could see immediately. He couldn't hide to use his sniper skills. Too many out on the field, all aiming for a kill shot.

A boom got Ghost’s attention. Whipping his head around, Roach was lying on the ground. Exposed dirt under him. His breath picked up slightly as he bolted for his team member. In just a few seconds, he was there, pulling Roach along with him.

“I've got you, Roach, hang on!” He forced out. His arms wrapped around his front as he began to pull. Exfil was so close, they could get out.

Ghost shouted his visuals. Smoke in the treeline. But that was a reflex of being in the military so long. He had to get Roach out, that was what he was thinking. His mind even screaming it.

The sound of a gun so close had his mind frazzled for a moment. The gunfire was from Roach, Simon noticed. Though the tightness in his chest never ceased.

“Roach, hang in there!” He yelled, lungs burning with all the smoke and gunpowder. Simon's eyes kept darting down to Roach as he pulled him along. Impressions were left in the dirt, marking where they had been.

Roach went mostly limp. The goggles over his eyes made it hard to see if his eyes were open at all. Ghost breathed harshly as he pulled and pulled that dead weight.

“Come on! Get up, get up! We're almost there!” Simon shouted, pulling Roach up by his hand, with an arm around his back. The weak grip Simon got in return was only more stress inducing. The situation was bad enough. They just had to get close.

The sounds of their radios became mindless chatter in the background. Ghost held tightly onto the other, practically carrying him.

The plane landed, just so close to them. They kept walking, Ghost doing most of the work. Wounds would be assessed when they got back to base. Safety was so close.

They thought.

In the mouth of the plane, Shepherd was waiting for them.

“Do you have the DSM?” The General shouted, closing the space between them.

“We got it, sir!” Ghost returned.

A hand went to rest on Roach's shoulder, as the DSM was taken from him.

“Good, that's one less loose end.” Shepherd spoke. A nod was sent to the soldier next to them. One of Shepherd's men.

One less loose end. That had Ghost’s mind running.

In just a few seconds, the weapons both Roach and Ghost held were stripped away and their hands were secured behind their backs. As if they were the ones causing mass terror. Makarov was their target, so why were they being held like they were the problem?

“What the fuck!?” Ghost hissed as he tried to fight back. A revolver pressed to his temple in an instant. The fighting stopped.

Their comms clicked back to life.

“Ghost! Come in, this is Price! We are under attack at the boneyard!” The words were hard to manage under the panting of panic breaths he was trying to calm.

“Do not trust Shepherd, I say again, do not trust Shepherd!” Price shouted to them through comms. It was too late.

If it had been a minute sooner, they would have gotten out of there. Maybe not alive. But they would've made it out at the very least.

Shepherd clicked the radio, the one on Ghost's gear.

“Too late, boys.” Shepherd's voice crackled through the radio. Before he could get a response, the radio words were cut, both on Ghost’s equipment, and Roach's.

Effectively cutting off their contact completely.

“Goodnight, boys. Enjoy the ride home.” The headset over Ghost’s ears were pulled off, then his balaclava was pulled over his eyes.

Simon couldn't even see Roach's status. No words would come out when he tried to ask. Just panicked breaths

He was in the dark now. Completely.

The dark scared him.

The flight could've lasted hours or minutes. It all blended together. Or maybe he was knocked out at some point.

Either way, by the time the balaclava was moved enough to see, Ghost was somewhere else entirely. He didn't remember being picked up or moved at all.

There was a strong tired feeling waving over him, but it didn't feel the same as waking up and feeling sleepy. It felt dreadful. Painful. Like it was sinking into his bloodstream.

The mask was pulled off his head completely. His arms went to move, but he was still bound. Simon grunted as he tried to remove them from his wrists. But with Shepherd’s clearance level, he and to know Ghost was skilled in escaping these situations, so the rope wss ridiculously tight. Enough to leave burns if he fought against it. Even his ankles were bound, the rope was tied to his wrists behind his back.

It took but a second for life to hit him in the face again. Literally. A sharp hand, still holding the revolver hit against his bare face. The cold metal, then the harshness had him gasping for air while coughing.

“You boys-” Shepherd began.

Roach interrupted, his mask and goggles gone too. Rather than using words to communicate, he growled. Even with his hands bound, he managed to shuffle just close enough to be right in front of Ghost. Unlike Simon, his ankles weren't bound. He stood in front of Simon like a guard dog.

Despite his smaller frame, Roach had a bite. More bite than bark, truely.

“The fuck do you think you are?!” Shepherd raised his voice, with a darker tone.

But Roach lunged, refusing to be intimidated. Giving out bites to Shepherd like he was a dog, biting wherever he could reach.

Ghost saw it break skin. The shirt Shepherd wore was turning red at one bite mark.

A loud shout filled Ghost's ears, his head immediately turned downward. He didn't want to see it. Whatever would happen, he didn't want to see it.

Ghost could withstand it. He'd live through it, but his head throbbed and he felt so tired. From everything. This emotionally weighed down on him too. Where was Johnny?

His head stayed down.

Pain suddenly shocked through his system.

Blood oozed from his thigh.

A yelp followed, but not from himself. Simon's eyes widened as he registered the pain and stared at the fresh wound. A knife cut, long along his upper thigh. It was deep, but not as bad as he has experienced before.

Roach proceeded to be pushed harshly off of Shepherd harshly. Ghost could barely see it, but the thud gave it away.

It sounded painful.

“You're like a fucking mutt!” Shepherd shouted at Roach, holding him down by the head so he couldn't bite again.

A human bite could make Shepherd sick. Simon would bet money that Roach did it to protect him. But getting him sick would be a benefit.

Roach growled, a rumble deep in his chest. He pressed back against the hand, trying to threaten Shepherd.

Simon's eyes finally looked somewhere other than his leg, first looking at Roach. Blood was dripping down his skin. Shepherd's blood.

It didn't make him feel relieved like he hoped. Instead, it made him feel sick. This shouldn't be happening. If they just didn't split up, they wouldn't be hurt like this.

On top of the headache, he felt fuzzy. His brain felt foggy. And this was the worst possible place to feel like that.

If he could, he'd be curling in on himself. The ropes around his wrists, that tied his hands to his feet felt much constricting. He closed his eyes. The sight was too hard to see. Roach trying to protect him felt too much.

Too much and he didn't deserve it.

Simon tried to shuffle forward just a little, to release the tension on his shoulders, but it didn't help.

Tears slipped down his cheeks before he even registered they had filled his eyes.

Too much.

Too much.

Too much.

He ached. His muscles burned. His heart was tight in his chest.

He felt tiny. Pathetic and small.

The worst time to feel that way.

Shepherd was a man he was supposed to trust. And he trusted too easily this time around. He should've seen this coming, he'd been able to predict it with others before. But there were no signs. Nothing that Ghost noticed at least.

Ghost held his breath, and everything was quiet again. Just for a moment. He let his face get red, just holding his breath. If he was lucky, he'd pass out.

“The Ghost, crying, how pathetic.” Shepherd jeered. The focus turned back to him. And now it wasn't so quiet anymore.

The words forced Simon to take a breath. The redness fading ever so slightly. He tried to be scary. Teeth bared, his eyes sharp as he looked up. It just didn't have the same effect. Less effort behind it, and more fear.

It was scary. Just him and Roach.

And Roach looked like pure evil. The anger displayed on his face. Simon shivered as he saw it.

Roach barked. Damn similar to an actual dog. He was quickly back to protecting Simon. The only time his eyes softened were when he saw the way Ghost looked.

It must've been bad, judging how much Roach attempted to protect him.

But it shouldn't be Roach. It should be Johnny coming to protect him.

He wanted his bubba.

Shepherd's hand grasped at Simon's face, forcing him to look up. The skin tightened on his neck, being pulled to its limit. The hand on his chin felt like a violation in itself.

“What are you? A child?” Shepard hissed at him, mocking him.

Ghost averted his gaze, but was grabbed by his hair instead. He missed his mask. The one he could hide behind. He was for his team to see, not this monster.

“Get away from me-..” Simon managed to cough out. Blood was still collecting in the knees of his pants. Almost drenching them.

“You're stupid, Ghost, really. I'm not holding you here to hurt you… but I won't hesitate to.” And Ghost knew he'd make good on that. Shepherd wasn't the type to wait around like that.

Goosebumps rose on his skin. His gaze was hardly able to stay on Shepherd's face. It hurt too much.

“Now, we're going to call the captains. The two of you are going to behave, or you're going to be far worse off.” A threat. Ghost could pick that up. But he couldn't really hide the way he hoped that Mactavish could fix this.

He wanted to be home with his bubba again. To be held and told it would be okay.

Ghost was released from the firm hold on his face and hair. His head dropping back down, eyes only looking at the floor.

Again, Roach shuffled closer. Much more quiet than Simon could've been. He stood on his knees just a little in front of Simon. Guarding him. If he could, Simon would hide behind him.

The ropes hurt. Slowly, he felt his limbs going numb. But that was part of this. Keeping the most dangerous one in the room tied up. It was smart, because neither of them could do anything about it. Both too far gone in their headspaces.

It clicked for Simon why Roach was protecting him like a dog. He was also regressing. It made sense… In their most vulnerable times, of course it would happen. It was just their luck.

Roach struggled against the ties on his wrists, while Simon merely gave in to it. He didn't fight, he sat there, in that stress position he was put in. If he fought, it would only end up hurting worse.

Shepherd turned, backs to them as he approached a table. It was bolted to the ground, as if it was used regularly for activities far worse than this.

The more Simon paid attention, the worse (and smaller) he felt. His eyes squeezed shut. Wetness dripped down his cheeks. More and more tears. It took but a minute for his shoulders to start trembling, and his face to get a little red. He blinked open his eyes every few seconds, just to close them again.

Small whimpers came from Roach. He shuffled closer. That proximity only helped a tiny bit.

A glare was shot their way when the room wasn't completely silent. It was only an instinct for Roach to keep whining, quiet and soft. He was in distress, and so was Simon. This was all just distressing.

There were sounds of typing, Ghost noted. He turned his head upwards a little bit towards the screen of the laptop. Simon could make out people talking, it was quiet at first before it got real loud.

The laptop was angled at them, and Shepherd stepped back. Right to Ghost.

He reflectively flinched away. His entire body tensing up further.

“If either of you try anything, you'll never see your captains again.” Shepherd firmly told them. He had leaned down next to Ghost, cutting the ties at his ankles and wrists.

But he was immediately bound again with his hands in front instead. The same was done to Roach. He looked exhausted, bloodied just like Simon. But it was worse. From the explosion to the bullets he must've taken. Simon could hardly fathom how he was still up and going.

The both of them knew Shepherd would make good on his threat. So there was no fighting. No attempts.

Something on the laptop buzzed, before making a popping sound three times. A call connecting sound. The screen changed, with the backdrop of a desert.

There were Mactavish and Price.

Bubba. Simon's eyes watered again.