#gun classes in georgia

[southatlantafirearms]

In today’s uncertain environment, being ready for any attacks is critical. Whether you’re defending yourself in public or protecting your home. Having the necessary information and skills can make all the difference. The USCCA Concealed Carry / Home Defense course is designed to provide individuals with the necessary tools to properly protect themselves and their loved ones. Let’s go over what this training covers and why it’s essential for anyone serious about personal defence.

[dollielliot]

𐙚ྀིྀ ⠀︵　info on the Apalchee highschool shooting that happened today, 9/4/24˖ ㅤ૮𐔌ྀི ´ ཀ ྀི 𐦯ྀིა⠀

The 14-year-old suspect in the fatal mass shooting at a Winder, Georgia, high school has been identified as Colt Gray, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said at an afternoon news conference. The suspect is a student at Apalachee High School who will be charged with murder and will be handled as an adult as he moves through the criminal justice system, Hosey and Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith added.

Two teachers and two students were killed, Hosey said. Nine other victims were taken to hospitals, according to the officials. The gunfire sent students and faculty desperately scurrying for cover as schools across the county went into lockdown and parents scrambled for information. Wednesday’s shooting is the deadliest of the 45 school shootings so far this calendar year, according to a CNN analysis. It is one of 11 school shootings with four or more deaths since 2008 when CNN first started tracking school shootings. Authorities said the first report of an active shooter came in at 10:20 a.m. ET. A school resource deputy assigned to Apalachee High confronted the shooter, who got on the ground and was taken into custody, Smith told reporters.

The witness sat next to the suspected shooter

Lyela Sayarath, 16, told CNN the alleged shooter sat next to her in an algebra class. She said he left class early, around 9:45 a.m., but didn’t take a bathroom pass. She thought he might be skipping. Toward the end of class, someone told her teacher over the loudspeaker to check their email, she said. Shortly after, Gray was outside the classroom door, which was shut, Lyela said. Another student who went to the door jumped backward when she saw he had a gun. "I guess he saw we weren’t gonna let him in,” Lyela said. “And I guess the classroom next to me, their door was open, so I think he just started shooting in the classroom.” At first, she told CNN she heard a burst of gunfire – maybe 10 to 15 shots – and then they were “kind of just Students dropped to the floor and crawled to the corner, Lyela said.

“It seemed like this wasn’t something he planned too well or that he wasn’t really strong with the gun because he didn’t try and shoot our door. Once he saw he couldn’t get in our room, he just went to the next one.”

Latest developments

The high school had received an earlier phone threat, multiple law enforcement officials told CNN. The phone call Wednesday morning warned there would be shootings at five schools, and that Apalachee would be the first. It is not known who placed the call. It was not immediately known whether the assailant had some connection with his victims, the sheriff said, though officials stressed that will be part of the investigation. Schools in Barrow County will be closed for the rest of the week.

Student texted mom: ‘I’m scared’

Erin Clark was at work Wednesday morning when she got a series of text messages from her son, a senior, who was attending class at Apalachee High School.

“School shooting.”

“I’m scared,” he wrote.

“pls” “I’m not joking,”

“I’m leaving work,” Clark replied. “I love you,” her son, Ethan Haney, 17, wrote back.

“Love you too baby,” his mom texted before racing to the high school.

Clark told CNN her son heard eight or nine gunshots before he closed his classroom door and, with the help of another classmate, moved chairs and tables to block the door.

Clark told CNN she was “absolutely terrified” when she read her son’s messages. “Just kept praying he’d stay safe,” she said.

Schools in the county went into lockdown

As emergency responders came from several counties, video from outside the school showed at least five ambulances and a large law enforcement presence at the campus, and at least one medical helicopter could be seen airlifting a patient from the scene. At the football field, where authorities had students gather, people lowered their heads and formed a prayer circle in the end zone, standing on the letters for “Apalachee” as their classmates milled around the field. All schools in the Barrow County School System, which includes the high school, were placed on lockdown and police were sent out of an abundance of caution to all district high schools, according to the sources, but there are no reports of secondary incidents or scenes. Some of the critically injured were removed by helicopter, and additional helicopters are on standby.

Atlanta Trauma Center and other hospitals take patients

Grady Health System – a Level 1 trauma center in Atlanta, about an hour's drive from Winder – received one gunshot wound victim from the incident who was transported by helicopter, a hospital spokesperson told CNN. Earlier, a source with knowledge of the situation who is not authorized to speak to the media, told CNN Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital in North Georgia received two victims from the shooting. The source said one victim was an adult with a gunshot wound to the stomach and was in surgery, and another was a minor with unspecified injuries. Three gunshot victims were taken to nearby hospitals following the shooting, according to a hospital official, and five other patients reported to the hospital with symptoms related to a panic attack. Two gunshot victims were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow with non-life-threatening injuries, Northeast Georgia Health System spokesperson Layne Saliba said. Four other patients came with symptoms related to panic attacks.

Another gunshot victim was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville with non-life-threatening injuries, Saliba said, and an additional patient came to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton with symptoms related to a panic attack.

Georgia governor sends prayers and says he can send resources

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has directed all available state resources to assist at the scene, he said in a statement on social media. The governor urged “all Georgians to join my family in praying for the safety of those in our classrooms, both in Barrow County and across the state.” President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident, the White House said, offering federal support to state and local officials.

“His administration will continue coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as we receive more information,” the White House said in a statement. Attorney General Merrick Garland similarly said the US Department of Justice “stands ready” to support the community after the shooting. “We are still gathering information, but the FBI and ATF are on the scene, working with state, local, and federal partners,” Garland said at a meeting of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.

Winder had a population of about 18,338 as of the 2020 census, according to the US Census Bureau The Barrow County School System is the 24th largest school district in the state, per the district’s website. It serves about 15,340 students, 1,932 of whom are enrolled at Apalachee High School.

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Back Forty View (On Our Piece Of Ground)

7 - You're What My World Spins Around

Pairings: Tyler Owens x OFC Georgia Tennley-Owens, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x OFC Samantha Kazansky

Rating: EXPLICIT (MDNI!)

Warnings: Birth of a child, Mentions of death, swearing as every other chapter I don't even put it anymore hahah

A/N: I feel like this chapter is kinda crap? Idk, but anyway we are finally here, it's time for baby Jaycen to be born! Total disclaimer, I tried to do my research but I don't know shit about pregnancy or babies or any of that so I did my best with details. No, I did not go into full details of the labor and all that just kind of glanced over it. I just felt this this was a huge plot point that's been looming for so long that I need to just get it down. As always comments, reblogs, likes, and feedback is always appreciate 100%. Thank y'all for continuing reading! Pics from pinterests! Gifs by @kaizsche I hope you enjoy this one.

Tags: @mrsevans90 @djs8891 @gpsmississippihippie @dizzybee03 @coloraturadiva @kmc1989

Tyler and Jake were born in the very early morning and gave their mother hell. Well, Jake did more so than Tyler, but altogether her labor had been nearly forty hours. Tyler came into the word silent as the night and Jake came screeching like a fighter jet, his attempt to break the sound barrier at the first try. The joke became, as the boys got older that Tyler snuck into the world and Jake came in like he'd been left behind by Tyler, and that he was pissed about it. Their father, Randall Owens, was the proudest man on earth, and the most supportive too. He took as much time off as he could when Jeanie had the boys. He spent as much time as her, if not more sometimes, with the boys, getting to know their individual personalities and their quirks. In most ways the boys were the same, but in some they were totally opposite.

For a long time after Randall died, Jeanie was devastated. She didn’t know how to go on without him, but she figured it out. She raised up two wild little boys who were always getting in trouble, and always just like their father in the one way that carried them through life. Both of Jeanie Owens' boys had compassion for others. 

Both of her boys were lovers and fighters. She’d taught them to always give people a chance, but to be adamant when they wanted something and to not settle. She taught them to go after their dreams. That’s why Tyler worked his ass off becoming the best bull rider he could. That’s why Jake got top of his class at the Naval Academy and got into the Top Gun program. That’s why both boys were both book smart and street smart. That’s why both of Jeanie’s boys, when they wanted something, they went after it and didn’t give up until they got it. 

Nothing was handed to Tyler and Jake. Jeanie didn’t bend when it came to rules. She made them do chores from a young age to learn responsibility. She made them care for all the horses. They were driving before they were supposed to be. And when Jeanie met Kenneth Seresin, those boys gave him hell. The boys were respectful of course, but that didn’t mean they didn’t challenge Kenny. What they remembered of Randall was how he had been with Jeanie. Always gentle with her, always supportive, and even though at their young ages they didn’t quite understand all of it, they remembered it later in life. There had been so much love in the little ranch in Dardanelle, Arkansas and until Kenny showed them the same level of reverence for their mother, those boys gave him a run for his money.

Kenny did everything with Tyler and Jake that he could. It was as if he was trying to make up for lost time and the loss of their father. He tried to be the best replacement to Randall that he could. He took them to roping events and the high school rodeos to compete. He took them up in military helicopters and on base before he was honorably discharged due to an injury, He helped them fix old beat up trucks that the boys had bought with their own savings. He taught them that no matter when you meet a person, you can love them as if you’ve always loved them their entire life. Tyler and Jake knew he wasn't their father by blood, but because of how he was with them, they treated him all the same in the end. And Kenny was damn proud to call those boys his sons.

🌪️ 🛩️🛻⚓

Tyler and Dustin took turns caring for Ducati, but not without Georgia right there, on the outside of the pen. By Tyler’s rules, until Jaycen was born, she wasn’t allowed in the pen with the horse, just in case he spooked or charged at her. However, the mustang was proving more trustworthy each day. Each time Dustin went in, whether it was to scrub his waters and refill them, pick out his poop, give him hay, or throw him grain, Ducati followed him just like the puppies. When Tyler went in to do the same chores, Ducati only wanted Tyler to love on him. Tyler would rub the mustang’s forehead, and then his neck, and he’d even offer his belly and his back for scratches. After a week, Tyler was able to touch the horse all over. After two, he was able to pick up each of his feet, without a halter, and after three...well Georgia wanted Tyler to try and throw a saddle pad over his back.

“Gee, I don’t know. Seems kinda fast.” Tyler said, as Ducati pushed his neck toward Tyler, begging to be scratched. Tyler obliged readily and then he glanced at Georgia, who had thrown the saddle pad over the top bar of the panels.

“He trusts you. I trust you. Just give it a try.” Georgia said softly, reaching out to rub Ducati’s nose. Tyler slowly took the saddle pad from the top bar and held it out for the gelding to sniff. He was uninterested and just pushed his neck toward Tyler again. Tyler raised a brow and then touched the gelding with it. Again, uninterested. Tyler tilted his head and then gingerly placed the pad on Ducati’s back. The gelding glanced at him and licked his lips.

“She said he’d had a saddle on.” Georgia said, sneaking a piece of carrot from her pocket to the gelding’s awaiting mouth. He churches happily on it and then turned his nose toward Tyler. 

“Got nothin’ bud, sorry. Just a silly saddle pad.” Tyler chuckled as Ducati poked his nose toward Georgia’s belly. She smiled and Tyler spoke again. “He’s smart that’s for sure. I figured since she said he had been buckin’, he wouldn’t be too keen on the saddle pad at all.”

“I think he doesn’t care much about the equipment. She didn’t give us the full story. I’d put money on him spookin’ at somethin’ while she was ridin’ and he bucked, bolted, and got her off. She was too scared to get back on so he’s probably squirrelly under saddle, not on the ground. I think he was how he was at her place because she never got rid of any of that anxiety. She just left it in there. Here, he didn’t feel like he needed any anxiety because we were gentle and calm from the start. And you’re not afraid of anythin’ so.” Georgia explained, as Tyler’s gaze settled on Ducati. The gelding swished his tail and cocked a hip. 

“Can you get Jake?” He asked and Georgia nodded, going back into the barn. Jake had been helping to muck out the stalls and Georgia had put Sam in charge of brushing horses. Georgia was determined at some point to get Sam on one of their horses and see if she remembered how to ride. 

“Hey Jake, Tyler needs you.” Georgia said, just as Jake was pushing the wheelbarrow out of the stall he had been cleaning. He closed the door behind him and pushed the wheelbarrow out the front so that he could dump it after. Tyler, being ever ingenuitive, had come up with a dump trailer and manure spreader to use for the back fields, effectively fertilizing them so that when the summer came around, the horses would have beautiful grass to go out on.  

“Can you grab my saddle?” Tyler asked as Jake stepped out of the barn. He immediately doubled back and Georgia inhaled a sharp breath.

“Okay, now who’s pushing it?” She asked, as she hung her arms over the rail. Ducati once again, placed his nose gently at her belly. Jaycen kicked hard then and Georgia closed her eyes and groaned softly. 

“Did he just talk back for me ?” Tyler smirked, as he placed his hand on her belly.

“I think so. That hurt a bit.” She said and Tyler chuckled as Jake reappeared, Tyler’s huge roping saddle easily slung over one arm. 

“Seems like Jaycen wants his horse ready for when he comes out.” Tyler joked and Jake threw the saddle over the panel so Tyler could pull it down. Georgia kept her eyes on Ducati the whole time and the mustang barely moved. In fact, he looked bored. 

“Okay buddy, let’s try somethin’ huh?” Tyler said, stepping over to Ducati with the saddle. He gave an out loud count of one, two, three and then swung the saddle up and onto the horse’s back. Ducati flinched a little at the weight, but his expression stayed the same and he licked his lips again. Tyler reached under to grab the cinch and secure it, then the back cinch. He pulled the breastplate around and buckled that before stepping back. Ducati simply followed Tyler, seeming to not even notice the saddle that had been put on him.

“Do I dare?” Tyler asked, glancing at Georgia, then Jake.

“If you’re gettin’ on, I’m takin’ a video for Tiktok, you dumb sonofabitch.” Jake laughed and held up his phone. “Dumb ways to die!” He sung, which made Tyler laugh, but not Georgia. She glared at him.

“ Don’t be stupid, Tyler. ” She said. Tyler patted Ducati and then turned to Georgia with a small smile.

“Oh let me have a little fun, darlin’.” He mused as he reached over the gate to grab the rope halter they had been using for the gelding. It was old and tattered, but still solid. Ducati walked over, placing his nose through the halter and letting Tyler secure it. He rubbed the horse’s neck and then brought him to the middle of the pen. “Any advice before I ruin this horse, Peach?”

“If you get on and he bucks you off...well...you’re fixin’ it later, Arkansas .” Her tone was well on the way to annoyed. Tyler placed his foot in the stirrup, bouncing a few times and paying attention to the horse’s ears. They flicked back and forth and he blinked a few times, but stood remarkably still. Tyler jumped up and laid across the saddle, then hopped back down. He repeated this step a few times before finally swinging his leg over the other side. He felt Ducati go round and suck up his belly underneath the saddle. Tyler grabbed the horn and the back of his saddle, ready for whatever was about to happen. Everyone held their breath, except Tyler. He took a deep breath and as if he was back in the chute, he blew the breath out at the same time as Ducati exploded into the air.

He vaguely heard Georgia yell at him, he heard Jake whoop and shout and he saw Sam and Dustin run out of the barn from the corner of his eye. Tyler pulled himself tight to the saddle and as Ducati quite literally bronced underneath him, Tyler fought the urge to move his legs in a spurring motion like he used to do when he rode bulls. Even though it had been years, it was hard to quell something that had been so ingrained in his brain as a habit.

They made it about two times around the round pen before Ducati lost his balance and hit Tyler’s leg on the panel, scaring himself and making Tyler yelp. Georgia turned away, the nauseous dread creeping up from the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t watch. Jake was still filming and both Sam and Dustin’s mouths were ajar in awe as Tyler too lost his balance, lost his grip on the cheyenne roll on the back of the saddle, and scared Ducati even more as he tumbled from the mustang’s back onto the dirt. He landed with a loud thud, on his ass and Ducati immediately froze. 

“TYLER!” Georgia nearly screamed, knowing he’d fallen. The wind had been knocked out of him, but when she heard him laughing, she sighed heavily, relieved. “You fuckin’ idiot! I say it out of love and because you scared me, but you’re a dumb ass!”

“Ah, I never thought I’d be so turned on havin’ my pregnant wife reprimand me.” He chuckled and coughed, then shot her a flirty glance as he stood stiffly and rubbed his ass. If looks could kill, Tyler would be a dead man walking up to kiss his wife. She brushed the dust off of him and glanced around him. Ducati had walked up behind him, apologetically. Tyler rubbed the gelding’s nose. “Bud, not your fault. I pushed ya. I also fell off. Bad ridin’ on my part.”

“Well, now you have to do it again.” Georgia said, tugging at his shirt. He leaned down and kissed her again and then smirked. Jake was doubled over, laughing his ass off, and Sam smacked him gently. Jake stood and took a deep breath before leaning back on the panels.

“Yes ma’am. Anythin’ I could do different?” Tyler asked, as he was ready to mount up again. He was a little shaky and his hips were stiff, but he knew if he didn’t get back on it would be bad for both of them. Tyler had dissociated during the bucking fit, trying to block out any sort of fear or anxiety he had, although it didn’t feel the same as it did with the bulls. He felt like he could trust Ducati. He knew he couldn’t trust the bulls. And, he lost his balance and fell because he started thinking. He figured if he stayed on this time, Ducati might quit bucking on his own, knowing that his rider could stick it out and not be afraid.

“Just don’t fall off again. You’re gonna be sore as hell tomorrow.” Georgia said softly, placing her head on her hands on the panel rail. She blew out a long breath as Tyler climbed aboard again.

“That the first time you been bucked off since your accident?” Jake asked and Tyler nodded.

“Wasn’t that bad, He’s not trying to get me off, he’s just scared shitless. If I can stick it, he’ll quit.” Tyler said, looking to Georgia for guidance. He picked up the rope and not feeling Ducati ball up this time, he asked him to turn left. Ducati obliged, moving off softly. Tyler asked for a little more speed, clicking his tongue to get the horse to trot. He wiggled his legs a little as well, unsure of how much education the horse had. Ducati scooted forward and when Tyler didn’t tense up, the horse took a breath and let it out. 

Tyler asked for a little more again, urging the horse to canter. As soon as he stepped into it, Ducati became overwhelmed with worry and went to bucking again. He folded in two and Tyler quickly grabbed for the saddle. The bucking fit was shorter this time and Tyler stayed on successfully, letting Ducati come down to a trot again. He asked for canter, got a few crow hops, then Ducati slowed down. The little horse had a comfortable trot and an even canter that Tyler asked for once more. There was no broncing this time and as Ducati cantered around a little, Tyler realized what he had just done. He let Ducati come to a full halt, right by Georgia.

“How’d I do?” He asked, rubbing the horse all over, just making sure he was okay with everything that was going on. Georgia nodded.

“Not bad, Arkansas. You might get good at this if you keep at it.’ Georgia teased and Tyler leaned over the panels to kiss her. He dismounted and immediately removed the tack and handed it all to Jake to take back in the barn. Georgia turned and began to walk back into the barn, satisfied with her husband’s stupidity that actually worked out in the end. She threw a lascivious grin his way and waved as she spoke. “You might even get a surprise later on.”

Tyler’s eyes widened and he smiled. He glanced at Dustin, who pursed his lips and motioned for him to go follow Georgia. Jake and Sam had headed back into the barn to finish up what they had been doing. Tyler knew he'd be sore for a few days but it was worth it if he helped Ducati feel a little better, and made less work for Georgia once she could get back on and put some more time into him.

🌪️ 🛩️🛻⚓

Jake had taken to doing extra sessions with the puppies and he even helped Tyler with their dogs. Ryker had imparted upon Jake that it was imperative to be consistent with the dogs, so while down in Oklahoma, Jake spent at least two hours each day with each dog. One in the morning and one at night if he could, going through every aspect of training that he had learned so far. Sam spent about an hour with each dog as well, usually taking them as a group for a walk. They wanted the dogs well rounded in a pack and as individuals so doing this would only help and it made the bond between the three dogs stronger too. Jake had even taught Sam everything in the short amount of time that they’d been there. 

Ballast exceeded every expectation that Ryker had for the pup. Jake never had any, so Ballast surprised him at every turn. At just over eight months old, the dog was essentially a lanky, mini version of what he would be as an adult. The bite work was where Ballast really shined. Jake already had a competition ready focus heel available at any moment. Jake could out Ballast from any bite with just his voice command. And Ballast would take down anyone for Jake. A true protection dog in the making. Jake noticed something else though and that was that Ballast was also fiercely loyal to Samantha. That was ultimately what Jake wanted, so that when he wasn’t around, Samantha wouldn't have to worry about a thing. He knew Rocco would give his life for Sam, but Ballast would back him up and avenge that death if he had to, tenfold.

Muster on the other hand, was not what they expected. She excelled in all the obedience and protection work. Her bite work was great and she was a powerful little fur missile in her own right, but Muster wanted much more than anything to cuddle and hang out with Sam. Muster was absolutely Sam’s dog and while she liked Jake, she found solace in Samantha’s company. Muster also knew that Georgia was pregnant and if the cattle dogs and Ballast got too rambunctious around her, Muster would break it up. The female dog knew the importance of rest and recuperation for everyone. She wasn’t exactly a party pooper, but she did like her peace and quiet. She was a calming presence for the other dogs and that was an excellent thing to have with such a high drive, high energy pack.

Jake had even taken to teaching Rocco some of the obedience training. Rocco actually took to it pretty well too, considering his breed. Dachshunds tended to be stubborn and difficult to work with if you didn’t know how to motivate them. Jake figured out that Rocco’s motivation was simply pleasing Samantha so any time he worked with Rocco, he made sure that Sam was there and she was ready to praise him. Jake had never thought he’d grow to love the little dog as much as he did, but there was a special spot in his heart for Rocco. One that he thought would be empty from Dixie forever, but he was certain that the little red dog might be able to fill that hole with his big, courageous personality. 

🌪️ 🛩️🛻⚓

Georgia firmly believed that just like the calves and foals that her father used to raise, it wasn't up to mom when the baby came. It was all up to when that baby wanted out. And at exactly nine months to the day, Jaycen Alexander Owens decided he was ready to see the world for the first time.

Georgia had been laying down for the majority of the day, not feeling particularly well. She’d been somewhat nauseous all day. She picked at the lunch that Tyler had made and when she decided she couldn’t lay down any longer, she elected to take a walk outside, ending up in the barn, which she had come to expect. She’d felt some pressure in her pelvis just after lunch. She mentioned it to Tyler and he’d been concerned, checking in on her every hour or so after that. She’d also felt like when she went back out around dinner time, that she was waddling like a penguin. Her steps felt particularly heavy the longer she stayed out there and she was nearly done feeding the horses. She just had to drop grain but she had an overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t right.

Tyler had been working on his truck, had gone in for a shower because he had oil and soot everywhere, and had come back out to help Georgia finish feeding the horses dinner. He’d assumed that was where she was when he didn’t find her in their bedroom or on the couch. Jake hadn’t noticed her step out either. When he walked into the barn, Georgia was standing frozen, looking down at the barn floor. Her water had broken and it was time.

“Gee? You okay?” Tyler placed a hand on her back, feeling her shaking.

“Tyler...we have to go to the hospital. Like now.” She said, glancing at him and he could see fear in her eyes, wide as she tried to breathe evenly.

“Wait why...oh..oh shit...baby's comin?” Tyler's eyes widened too and he took her hand and began to lead her to the front of the barn.

“Very much yes!” She exclaimed as they crossed the threshold of the barn.

“Got it hold on! I'll be back in a sec!” He said, letting her lean on the door frame. He called the dogs and swung the front door open, yelling to his brother.

“Jake! Start my truck! Gotta get to the hospital. Dogs! Inside!” Tyler yelled as he burst through the door, all six dogs bounding through the open space, nearly knocking him over in the process.

“Baby time?” Jake asked excitedly, leaping from the couch and grabbing his boots. Sam, who had been sitting next to him, got the dogs settled, and then grabbed her shoes as well.

“Baby time!” Tyler exclaimed, turning on his heels to go help Georgia the rest of the way to the truck. 

“Woohoo! I'm aboutta be an uncle! And you’re gonna be an aunt!” Jake hugged Sam, then kissed her hard, making her giggle as they headed out the door. Once they were all settled in the truck, they were off.

Tyler made the drive short, nearly getting pulled over, but the cop recognized them and knowing that Georgia was pregnant, realized why Tyler Owens, the Tornado Wrangler,  was speeding down Interstate 177. They took Georgia to a room immediately and got her prepped. Tyler helped her change into a hospital gown, his hands gentle as they then guided her into the open space of the room. Dr. Ginnie Halstead was going to be helping deliver, and she was the one they'd been seeing throughout all of their appointments, so they were comfortable with her. Then the waiting began.

Jake had made sure that the bag in the back of Tyler’s truck with everything that Georgia needed, including some extra clothes for them both, some of the onesies they’d gotten for Christmas, extra toiletries, and some snacks among other things, had made its way into the room. He and Sam were going to stay until Georgia was actively giving birth, then they would step out and let her and Tyler be with each other. 

“Tyler, this is too early.” Georgia said, as she paced back and forth. Her contractions were getting closer together, slowly but surely. 

“Doc said it’s fine. Everything’s been good so far. Sometimes they come a little early. We wanted this.” He said, finally sitting down after having followed her back and forth for the past thirty minutes. 

“I know but it feels too early .” She said softly, glancing over at Jake and Sam. They were curled on the small couch that was situated in the corner of the room. The room itself was nice, a little larger than a normal single bed, plenty of space to move around, a spot for the baby and a full bathroom with a shower. The lighting was softer than a normal hospital suite and it put Georgia at ease, slightly. 

“It feels too early because we were both freaking out about this like a month ago and now we're here. It’s actually happening.” Tyler said, reaching for her, stopping her. 

“Why are you so calm right now?” Georgia asked, pausing her pacing.

“Well one of us has to be and it sure as shit ain’t you. Respectfully darlin’, you’re supposed to be a little scared.” Tyler’s eyes were soft as he watched her from his seat on the bed. His hand lingered at her side and as soon as the next contraction came, she was off again, walking back and forth. She breathed in and out, slowly and carefully. They subsided and her eyes met his.

“You’re not scared?” She asked. Tyler stood, walking toward her slowly. He pulled her into his arms, his hands careful around her waist. 

“I’m terrified but I’m holding it together for you.” He admitted readily. This stirred Jake’s attention, just as Georgia began walking again. Even though Jake knew how to be with Sam, he was still taking notes from his brother. 

Several hours later, and lots of pacing, Georgia’s legs were starting to shake. She had been walking and pausing endlessly. She feared for when she needed to be still and that time was coming rapidly. Dr. Halstead had come in a few times to check on her and see how her pain was. They’d decided she was going to have an epidural as close as possible to when she needed to push, as sometimes the epidural could slow down the process.

Tyler had pulled her onto the bed, putting a halt to her pacing that was becoming slightly frantic. He situated her between his legs and began to massage her shoulders.

“Just breathe, mama. You got this.” He whispered, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. She leaned back against him and grinned. He'd removed his boots so that he could be on the bed with her, so for the past hour or so he'd been sliding around in his socks.

“At least your feet don't stink.” She murmured, taking a deep breath as another contraction steamrolled over her. He felt her shudder as she grabbed for his legs and leaned forward. His lips turned up as they met the back of her neck. 

“No, darlin’ they don't.” He chuckled softly as the doctor came in to let them know that the anesthesiologist would be along shortly to administer her epidural, so Tyler would have to scoot out from behind her, but he took up until the last second that he could to stay there. He had taken to massaging down her back and her sides until he had to get up. He took a hold of one of her hands and gently pressed his lips to her knuckles. “Gettin’ about that time. You ready?” He asked. She nodded and squeezed his hand as she felt pressure at her back where the doctor positioned the needle and administered the medication. It only took about twenty minutes for Georgia to feel some relief. 

Sam and Jake elected to leave the room then. Jake shook his brother's hand, hugged him, and kissed Georgia gently on the top of her head. Sam hugged Tyler and she rubbed her hand up and down Georgia's arm a few times. 

“Good luck!” Jake said as he and Sam marched out of the room and headed to the waiting area. The doctor and another nurse came in and prepared everything for the next stage. Georgia grabbed for Tyler then, nearly crushing his hand.

“Tyler. Don't go anywhere. Please.” She said, her eyes darting to his. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. He knew she was scared shitless right now. 

“No need to worry. I'm gonna be right here the whole time. No matter what.” He said softly. He stood to the side of the bed, as close as he could to her, his arm around her shoulders. Their doctor smiled as her and the nurse readied everything they needed in the event of complications. They had discussed what could go wrong and what they would do if something did happen, but they were hoping for an easy birth. 

“If it will help and you're comfortable with it, Tyler can sit behind you like he was earlier. I find especially with first time mothers, the more encouraging their birth partner is, the smoother it goes.” The doctor explained and without hesitation, Georgia scooted forward so that he could climb in behind her again. He locked her in with his legs on either side of her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her cheek, then rested the side of his head against hers. Georgia shifted uncomfortably, and Dr. Halstead reassured her that everything looked good so far.

“Okay, Georgia, you're gonna push on my count, ready? One, two, three, push!” Dr. Halstead's voice was calm but somehow excited. Georgia bared down, and as she did her grip on Tyler's thighs tightened. He'd probably have bruises there, but it would all be worth it in the end. 

At 3:01 AM, on February 28th, Jaycen Alexander Owens was born quietly, giving his parents the single most terrifying reason to hold their breaths...and a million reasons to finally let them out in relief. 

Jaycen didn't cry at first. Just like his father, the boy was reserved from the moment his eyes opened and took his first breath. Georgia feared for the worst, but in hearing her son's little whine, she was overcome with emotion. She was exhausted, panting, sweating bullets but she was so relieved and tears streamed down her cheeks as she watched the nurse take him and clean him up. 

Tyler was also crying. He wiped his tears on her shoulder as he waited for the nurse to bring their son to them. Now, it was all real. His dream had come true. After the nurse had dried him off, she wrapped Jaycen loosely in the blanket they brought, a sky blue one that was extra soft, and handed the little bundle to Georgia. She held him  gently to her chest, the first skin to skin contact sending a wave of happiness through her. He was slightly cooler than she'd anticipated, but Dr. Halstead reminded her that she just went through labor with nothing more than the epidural. Her body temperature and heart rate was up like she’d run a marathon from the incredible feat she’d accomplished.

Tyler stayed seated behind her and peered over her shoulder at the seven pounds, three ounces with sparse sandy brown hair atop his head. He looked tiny in Georgia's arms and Tyler was sure he'd look even smaller in his own. He reached around and ran a single finger over the soft hair on Jaycen's head. 

“That's our son, Gee. I'm so fuckin' proud of you, Peach.” He whispered, making her smile. She let out a sigh of relief as everyone else cleared the room. Dr. Halstead was going to let Jake and Sam know that Jaycen had arrived, but that Georgia needed to rest for a bit before they could go in and see her and the baby. The doctor gave Georgia a crash course on breastfeeding and helped her with the first time. When Jaycen took to it no problem, Dr. Halstead sighed.

“If only they could all be this easy!” She said and Tyler smirked.

“He’s an Owens. He’ll give us plenty of trouble later on.” He said and Dr. Halstead nodded. In order to make everything easiest for Georgia, they let her stay in the room she’d been in. As long as Jaycen remained healthy, they could take him home in the next couple of days, but for now, Tyler and Georgia would be staying there. 

After resting for a bit, Tyler asked Jake and Sam to enter the room. Jaycen was sleeping comfortably in Georgia’s arms so they were quiet. Jake actually cried. They were, of course, happy tears, congratulating his brother with a bear hug. Georgia offered for him to hold Jaycen and he readily accepted. Jake was so careful taking his nephew. Tyler, trying to not immediately be a helicopter parent in any sense of the word, left Jake to hold Jaycen, knowing his brother was more than responsible enough to hold a baby. Especially his own nephew. Sam was careful as she brushed her fingertips over Jaycen's little hairy head. She smiled wide and glanced up at Jake.

“You look pretty good with a baby in your arms.” She mused and Jake chuckled. 

“This is gonna be all I can think about, Sam.” He said softly, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

Over those couple of days, there had been an influx of people. Tyler and Jake’s parents were the first to show up, excited to meet their grandson with two legs. Then came all the Wranglers. Boone and Lily couldn’t wait to see the little bundle of joy. Javi came bearing gifts, some more clothes for Jaycen and he snuck away before Kate and Scott appeared. Kate was ecstatic, hugging Georgia and giving Tyler a punch on the arm. Scott was quiet and he simply congratulated them, but when Kate asked to hold Jaycen, it stirred something in Scott. Seeing the girl he’d developed feelings for with a baby in her arms, sent his mind to a far off place and he had no idea how to get his life there, or how to even begin the conversation he wanted to have with her. He wondered if it was even in his future. But that was all for another time. Dexter and Dani had popped in last, bringing some snacks for Tyler and Georgia and a little stuffed pony for Jaycen. 

Tyler and Georgia couldn’t wait to bring Jaycen home to meet the dogs and the horses. God knows especially Ducati would be waiting for him.

[mingispelvis]

Chilli Pepper Vibe

Genre: mingi x afab!reader, smut w a little fluff but a LOT of plot

Length: 5.5k

Summary: You go abroad with your friends and are blessed to run into Ateez at your hotel.

NSFW warnings under cut

Warnings: oral sex female receiving, oral sex male receiving, fingering, alcohol consumption, unprotected sex (WRAP IT UP), not pulling out, use of slut, use of baby girl, there's a LOT of plot sorry this is kinda fluffy also at the end

Idk how NDAs work and idk how to end it sorry!!!!!

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

Girls trips hit different when you’re all gainfully employed. Seulgi had just made partner at Bae & Kang law firm. Joy was recently promoted to Zone Manager of her company, with a hefty bonus to boot. And you? You finally finished residency and were officially able to practice medicine on your own. Despite the three of you being in your mid 20s, you had all continued to push each other and you all achieved great things.

Thusly, girls trip. 

Seulgi, being type A, organized the entire trip from start to finish. To her, vacation starts the moment you step out of your front door. She arranged an Uber Black to take the three of you to the airport, got you all first class tickets, and arranged a very expensive penthouse for the three of you to stay in. She wouldn’t even tell you where exactly you’d be going, just to “bring your sexiest party clothes, a few swimsuits, and your passports”. 

“Our final plane before we land at our destination will be at gate, ummm,” Seulgi paused to check her airline app to see where the three of you would be waiting for the next hour. “Ah, gate A57”. You and Joy eyed the terminal signs as you walked towards A57, passing “Los Angeles, California”, “Seattle, Washington” “Atlanta, Georgia” and then “Moscow, Russia”, “Beijing, China”, and “Seoul, South Korea.” A57 came into view and underneath, in bright orange pixels, read “Tokyo, Japan”. Your jaw dropped open and Joy began to squeal. “No way, no way, no way. Seulgi. You did NOT get us tickets to Waterbomb.” Joy jumped up and down, neck pillow flopping against her back. Seulgi shrugged her shoulders and attempted to fight a smile, but Joy squealed again and grabbed her into a huge bear hug, causing a grin to explode onto Seulgi’s face. “I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW!” Joy’s scream was muffled as her tight hug squashed her mouth into Seulgi’s shoulder.

“Umm..hold on…what’s Waterbomb?” You asked, giggling slightly at your friend’s antics. At this, Joy and Seulgi stopped hugging to stare at you like you’d grown an extra head out of your shoulders. “Ew I forgot she’s only a casual KPOP girl.” Joy rolled her eyes as she plopped down in one of the chairs at the gate and kicked her feet up onto her suitcase. Seulgi took the time to explain the massive festival, the amazing kpop acts, and the water guns to you and by the time your boarding zone was called, you were stoked about getting to go. 

The flight to Tokyo was long and uneventful, the ride to the hotel was short and sweet, and the check in process was smooth. The three of you were staying at a 5 star hotel famous for waiting on their guests hand and foot. The elevator up to the penthouse was smooth and when you stepped into the hall, you were shocked to find only two massive open areas on either side of the elevator. “The other side is the other penthouse. We have this entire half of the floor to ourselves. That’s how big this place is.” Seulgi explained. As if your jaws couldn’t drop enough, Seulgi scanned her thumb print and the door to your vacation palace unlocked with a quiet click. “They don’t have my thumb print, right? I didn’t authorize them to have that information!” Joy joked. You couldn’t even think of the logistics as you stepped into what could only be described as luxury beyond your wildest dreams. Marble floors, brilliant chandeliers, gold plated silverware (goldware?) 200 inch large screen TV with surround sound speakers, full bar, and floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city of Tokyo. The balcony was a walk around that you could access from the living area or any of the bedrooms and had a hot tub, a small infinity pool, and another outdoor bar. Each of the three bedrooms had a king sized bed that you actually had to walk up two steps to get into and a full bathroom attached. The bathrooms had clawfoot tubs made of more gold, massive showers, and a towel warmer. Despite having handed over your credit cards to Seulgi so she could split the price of everything equally between the three of you, you had no idea the measly 4 digit price you paid could amount to such elegance. 

The long travels and time change hit the three of you hard, so after gawking at the amenities the penthouse provided a little longer, the three of you washed up and hit the sack, hard. So hard, you didn’t wake up until almost 3pm the next day. Luckily, traveling queen Seulgi had accounted for this and had allotted two rest days into the rigorous itinerary, delivering every meal up to the room by room service to be had on the balcony or on the edge of the pool. 

“I wonder who’s on the opposite side of the hall from us in the other penthouse” Joy questioned between massive bites of her meal. She was standing in the pool with her upper half lounging on the poolside.

“Probably some big shot oil tycoon and his 3 wives,” you joked, nursing an afternoon mimosa. Joy giggled and downed another bite of her meal. For being so thin, she had one hell of an appetite.

“Actually,” Seulgi started with a smile. “I booked this hotel because it’s usually one of the ones idols stay at since it’s super close to the festival area and the hotel is known for its discretion. I bet it's a kpop group.” Joy dropped a grape into the pool, mouth agape, body frozen as she stared at Seulgi. You watched the grape bob away towards the other side of the pool. Joy still hadn’t moved or spoken when you turned back.

“Joy? Babe? You alright?” You gave her shoulder a light shake. 

Joy took a deep breath before shouting, “A KPOP GROUP!? YOU’RE TELLING ME STRAY KIDS COULD BE RIGHT NEXT DOOR? OR EXO? OR-” Joy jumped out of the pool at this point. “We gotta go over there and find out who it is!”

“No! What are we gonna do just knock on the door and see who answers? It could be a girl group too, you know.” Seulgi stated.

Joy jumped again, “TWICE!?” Joy feigned fainting, “catch me Nayeon!” You all three laughed and Joy jumped back into the pool. “We should get some drinks and just have a party tonight. A light party, so we can go explore tomorrow, but a party nonetheless.” Joy suggested. 

“Hell yeah we’ve relaxed enough. It’s time to get fucked up.” You agreed. 

“I know a place we can get some good stuff for cheap. We spent an arm and a leg on this trip. I'm not paying the big bucks for alcohol.” Seulgi stated, cleaning up the plates (as is her duty as the resident mom of the trip). “Let’s head there now so we can be back before dinner and get some food in our system before we get trashed.” 

You and Joy did as you were told and obediently threw on a swim suit cover-up to travel to the store. 2 bottles of champagne and a box of soju later, the three of you returned and got dressed for dinner. After your bellies were full, the three of you put on your “party pajamas" (short shorts, crop tops, and fuzzy socks) and got the snacks and drinks ready on the living room table. 

“Shit we need ice for the champagne don’t we. I’ll go grab some from the ice machine down the hall. We’re gonna need more than the refrigerator has at the moment.” You grabbed the empty champagne bucket and headed to the room where the ice machine was located. Well, where you thought it was located. The ice machine room was empty and you pouted while thinking about where you could get ice. You walked back to the room, but before you went back in and admitted defeat to your friends, you saw the doors to the staircase and thought you might as well try one floor down. Entering onto the floor below you headed back to the area where the ice machine could be, but stopped when you saw two figures standing in the open area after the penthouse suite door. Though the lighting was dim (a 5 star hotel can’t light their hallways?) you could see a third figure gesturing, and then backing up and pointing their phone towards the first two as if they were recording. You slowly walked closer when you heard “Ok, shi-jak* [A/N: begin].” T-Pain’s “Booty Wurk played and the two figures started dancing. The moves were executed flawlessly until one of the figures in a black cap made an imperceptible (to you) mistake. Groans from the other two were heard and the taller male in the front, in a gray cap, turned to playfully shake at the other. You took this as your chance to pass through. “You guys are really good at dancing,” you started as all three boys jumped, startled at your sudden appearance. You passed by them, but not before taking in just how beautiful they all three were. “Oh, thank you.” The one in the gray cap nodded to you. You headed to the ice machine, but subconsciously felt like someone was watching, so you took a quick peek over your shoulder to see all three men watching you. Dipping quickly into the ice room, you put your hand over your heart and felt it flutter. 

Woah. Were they checking me out? You thought to yourself as you pressed the bucket under the ice machine. The clanking and crunching of the machine and the ice hitting the metal bucket was a mere whisper compared to the thumping of your heart and whooshing of blood in your ears. 

Fuck it. It’s vacation. You convinced yourself as the ice toppled over the lip of the bucket and landed with a clack on the floor. When you came out, the boys were dancing again. You walked just close enough to let them know you were watching, and then leaned against the wall. The boys finished up their attempt of the dance and you stepped forward. 

“Wow! You guys are really so good!” you fluttered your lashes even though you weren’t sure if they could see in the dim light. “You should be professionals. I wish you could teach me to dance!” You stepped a little closer to the three boys. 

The boy holding his phone chuckled while the one in the gray cap thanked you again. You fluttered your lashes again and flashed a sweet smile. “I’m Y/N. And you are?” You turned to the shorter boy in black. “Oh, uh, I’m Wooyoung”. He smiled lightly. 

“I’m Yunho.” The boy in the gray cap waved and then shoved his hands back in the pockets of his white cargo pants.

You turned to the final boy and your eyes widened and pulse quickened. You hadn’t gotten a good look at him when you first passed by, but even in the dim light you could see he was a ten out of ten. You strained your eyes and pleaded with your pupils to let you see this man in all his glory. 

“I’m Mingi. Nice to meet you, Y/N. And, for the record, we are professionals.” He smiled. 

“Oh? Are you in a dance group?” You questioned, never breaking eye contact with Mingi.

“Something like that”, Wooyoung answered. “More like a KPOP group.” He barely finished his sentence before he was lightly slapped in the chest by Yunho.

“Oh that’s really cool. Which group? Maybe I’ve heard of you.” You played it cool even though your heart was threatening to beat itself out of your rib cage.

“Ateez.” Mingi said proudly. 

You did your best not to fangirl hard. You’d been listening to Bouncy continuously since Joy sent it in the group chat. Due to your rigorous doctor schedule, stanning wasn’t something you had time to do- thus, Joy’s “Ew, casual KPOP girl” comment in the airport.

“I think I’ve heard of you guys before.” you nodded and flashed another cute smile. “Well, I have to get this bucket of ice back to a few bottles of champagne,” you emphasized your sentence by holding up the bucket and patting it a few times. “But if you guys ever want a break from idol life, my friends and I are one floor up with drinks and snacks.” You passed through the three boys once again, turned around, and started walking backwards so you could express your final sentence to them, “and we’ll sign NDAs, no problem.” You whipped back around before the three boys had a chance to watch you sink deep into embarrassment, fear, and confusion.

Did I really just tell three international superstars I’d sign an NDA to party with them? I haven’t even started drinking and I’m already doing stupid shit. You chastised yourself as you quickly made your way back up the stairs and into your penthouse.

“Finally! We were gonna start without you!” Joy shouted, her back to you as she sat on the couch fiddling with something you couldn’t see.

“We did start without you.” Seulgi corrected, clicking something on her computer and watching the big screen TV at the same time. She seemed to be setting up her computer to cast to the TV to play music.

“You guys will never guess what happened to me and who I met.” You started, setting the bucket on the kitchen counter and tucking the two champagne bottles snuggly within the ice. When you turned back to your friends, they were both staring at you excitedly.

“WHO!?” they yelled in unison.

You went to go sit on the couch. You started off your story of the disappearing ice machine much to Joy and Seulgi’s dismay, and even kept an air of mystery by not revealing the names of the boys until the proper point in the story, after you’d gotten the ice.

“So I’m like, my name is Y/N what’s yours? And he goes ‘Wooyoung’ and the next dude goes ‘Yunho’ and the last dude goes ‘Mingi’.” you recount. At each name, Seulgi gasps and Joy squeals. You continued before they could interrupt you. 

“Then Mingi’s like ‘Yeah we are professionals’ and I’m like ‘yeah are you in a dance group?’ and Wooyoung goes ‘We’re in ATEEZ’ and I lowkey pretended like I’m not obsessed with Bouncy so I can stay chill.” You were speeding through the story to make it to the most important part before Joy exploded with questions. 

“So,” you continue “I say ‘yeah I’ve heard of you guys. Well if you wanna come up and party with us we’ll sign the NDA!” You bury your head in your hands and pull your knees to your chest while Joy and Seulgi, essentially, freak out. 

“Are you telling me Ateez could come up here and party with us!?” Joy stands up on the couch in excitement. Seulgi quickly brings her down a peg to reality and says “They probably won’t but at least Y/N got to flirt with hot famous guys.” Seulgi pauses for a moment before a squeal escapes her mouth and she taps her feet on the floor in glee. “WE COULD PARTY WITH ATEEZ THOUGH!” Seulgi grins. With that, Joy jumps lightly off the couch and pops open a soju bottle. She grabs three shot glasses and pours the bottle evenly across all three. “Well,” she starts “we should be ready when they get here!”

You three take the shots like champs, open the snacks, and turn up the music. After some light mixed drinks and a few good songs, the three of you had almost forgotten about your supposed super star visitors. A knock at the door stops the three of you in your tipsy rendition of Kai’s Rover. You look at each other in confusion, and then turn towards the door. You head over and peek through the peephole. A young Asian woman, probably the same age as you, with an ipad is standing outside the door. You open the door just wide enough to be polite.

“Hi.” You say tentatively, confusion clearly showing on your face.

‘Hi! I’m one of the managers working for KQ and I think I have something you’ll want to sign.” The lady turns her iPad around and you see NON DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT in big bold letters across the top of a document. You feel hands on your shoulder and the door swings wider. 

“YES. WE’LL SIGN. WHATEVER IT IS WE’LL SIGN!” Joy practically screams in the woman’s face.

The manager laughs and begins to quickly scroll through the massive document, highlighting the major points (basically, keep it quiet or we’ll sue you for your entire life and the life of your future children) and then hands you a stylus. 

“If you agree to the terms and conditions, sign, print, and date here. If you have any questions let me know and I’ll be happy to answer them before you sign. If you’re no longer interested-” before the manager can finish her sentence, Joy snatches the stylus out of your hand and signs off on the document. She hands the stylus to Seulgi and she does the same with speed. 

“So, they’re coming up here? They’re all actually coming?” You ask, raising an eyebrow and begging the answer to be yes.

The manager chuckles and says “this non-disclosure agreement covers any potential meetings with the idols mentioned within it on the dates mentioned within it.” She punctuates her sentence with a smile and moves the iPad towards you. Joy nudges you in a manner that lets you know that you will not be ruining this for her. You sign with shaky hands.

“Perfect!” The manager turns the iPad back around and taps on it a bit. “And if you could all input your emails here, you’ll receive a copy of this for your own records.” You put in your emails, and the manager hits send. “Thank you! Have a good night!” The manager bows, and heads down the hall. You slowly close the door and turn to look at your friends. You stand staring at each other, excitement buzzing between the three of you as not one of your brains can form words. Seulgi was the first to break the silence. 

“Well…this is happening.” She said as if she was trying to convince herself to keep calm. Joy walked off like a zombie in a trance to sit back on the couch and stare out into the distance. “This is happening.” She repeated in the same tone as Seulgi.

“This is happening!” Joy rocketed up from the couch. “I gotta go put on some makeup!” Joy rushed into her bedroom, and you heard a distinct zip of a makeup bag followed by the continuous clacking of makeup containers hitting each other while being dumped out. You and Seulgi finally had the wherewithal to leave the foyer and head back to the couch. You took a generous swig of strawberry soju when you heard another knock at the door. This time, all three of you ran to the door to answer it. You were closer, and, therefore, faster, and opened the door with a grin.

“(Y/N)!” Mingi raised his hands above his head as if he was greeting an old friend. “I brought drinks and friends.” You moved to the side to welcome Mingi in, Yunho, Wooyoung, and San following behind him. 

“These are my friends Seulgi and Joy.” You introduced your friends but before you could give them the eyes that meant “please be cool”, they began to fangirl.

“Oh my gosh Wooyoung you’re my bias! It’s so cool to meet you guys!” Joy giggled and jumped Wooyoung with a hug. “Oh I’m so sorry!” Joy jumped back as quickly as she had hugged Wooyoung. “I should have asked first- can I hug you?” 

Wooyoung laughed and nodded, coming in for another hug. Yunho, Mingi, and San greeted you all and you all headed to the couch. 

Joy, the official party girl of the three of you, immediately began to pour shots while Seulgi turned the music back up. The party had commenced full swing, with all of you jumping, dancing, and shouting lyrics as loud as you could. After an hour and a few drinks, you were just buzzed enough to let your inhibitions out the window, so when Bouncy came on, you lost it.

“EVERYONE SHUT UP I LOVE THIS SONG” you yelled, arms out as wide as possible to clear the makeshift dance floor (aka the area where the coffee table used to be). The song got as far as Yunho’s “one, two..” before it stopped. You whipped your head around to Seulgi with a look on your face that clearly said what the fuck!? But before you could verbally protest, Seulgi pointed to the TV. She’d pulled up the music video.

“Since you’ve never seen it.” She stuck her tongue out, but you didn’t see her. Your eyes were glued to the screen. By the time the video ended, you had made a dangerous decision. Watching Mingi clear out a bar with a fake gun, belly roll, and dance had you trembling. You knew you had to have him. You devised a devious plan in the blink of an eye. “Play it again!” you whined. “I wanna dance AND,” you stood up to emphasize the second request “I want you all to sing your parts!” 

The boys laughed and agreed as Seulgi re-started the music video. You began dancing as Mingi rapped “What you wanna do?”. Your plan was in motion and so were your hips. You spun around and swung your hand in the air like you were swinging a lasso. You slowly approached Mingi, who had sat down on the couch. When the chorus hit, you straddled him. Your heart was beating faster than it ever had before, but your mind was determined. You kept lightly moving your hips and swinging your imaginary lasso. Mingi looked at you with eyes wide and mouth slightly open, corners of his mouth turned up in disbelief. You pushed a little further- putting your hands on his shoulders and singing along:

“Slow it down, make it bouncy 

지금부터 fly

좀 다른 spicy 청양고추 vibe”

You looked Mingi in the eyes when you felt his hands on your hips. “Don’t forget to rap your part.” You leaned close with a small smile and mouthed “fix on” in time with the song. Mingi began rapping, and you began the next part of your plan. You wrapped your arms around his neck and began to kiss at his neck. You heard his breath catch slightly, but he didn’t miss a beat of his rap. You moved up to his ear, bit lightly, and moaned “mmmm”. You applied a little more pressure in your grind and you moved to snake your fingers up the hair on the nape of his neck. You kept kissing his neck and, when his rap had completed, Mingi slowly slid his hands down to cup your ass. You could hear San and Wooyoung confidently slurring their way through Seonghwa’s lines. You’re surprised you’re not embarrassed about slutting yourself out in front of your friends, but the growing bulge pressing into your crotch is making it a little easier. Pulling back and placing your forehead on Mingi’s, you stare in each other’s eyes and reach a silent understanding. You slide off of Mingi and grab his hand, leading him to your bedroom. 

You shut the door, but can’t turn around because Mingi has pressed his body against you. He wraps his arms around you and kisses your neck. He spins you around and crashes his mouth into you, tongues wrestling and arms wandering. You push him towards the massive bed and pull away from the intoxicating kiss just long enough to warn him to watch his step. You pull off your shorts and shirt and Mingi does the same. Mingi sits up against the headboard and drags you back into his lap. You both moan and grind into each other- Mingi clearly not able to choose between massaging your breasts or squeezing your ass, so he settles for one for each hand. You’ve had enough of the humping and pull away. You trail kisses down Mingi’s body, clearly heading to give him the best head of his life, but he leans forward and grabs you before you can make it to your prize. Mingi flips you over and tears your panties off like he’s unwrapping a christmas present. 

“Shit.” Mingi mumbles as he pushes your legs out and back for a clear view of his meal. He looks up at you as he lightly runs his middle finger through your slick covered folds. Your breathing is heavy and your heart is pounding. 

“You want it, baby girl?” Mingi raises an eyebrow at you. You nod fervently, but that’s clearly not enough. “Lemme hear you baby. What do you want?” Mingi teases in the sweetest, sultriest voice you’ve ever heard. 

“I want you to eat me like it’s your last meal, Mingi.” You respond, grabbing a fistful of his hair. At this Mingi’s eyes flutter shut and he gasps. 

“Don’t let go,” Mingi growls, then he dives in. He wraps his lips around your clit and sucks, and makes quick work of his tongue. He slowly pushes his middle finger inside you and hooks it right into your g-spot. 

The speed at which the pleasure overcomes you has you grabbing Mingi’s hair with your other hand and releasing a deep moan. Mingi slurps and moans as he fingers you deep. You pull him off of you and he looks up at you with confusion. You begin to crawl down towards his crotch, bulge straining painfully through his boxer briefs. Mingi gets it immediately and flips over onto his back to continue his work on your clit while you unearth his throbbing cock. Watching the thick, long member spring out of its cage has you clenching around Mingi’s finger. He moans and adds a second as you squeeze the base of his cock. He’s already leaking, so you squeeze a little more out to lubricate his dick. You lick a stripe from the base to the tip, and then take Mingi in his entirety. Mingi’s head falls back and he moans deeply. 

“(Y/N), fuck, just like that.” Mingi pants and speeds up his fingers within you. You feel your orgasm approaching but you’re determined to make Mingi remember you. You move off of Mingi, which removes his fingers from you, and turn to face him. He looks down at you and you stare in his eyes as you deepthroat him. You hollow your cheeks and work your tongue up and down, cupping his balls with one hand and running the other up and down his thighs. Mingi lightly places his hands on your head and you can feel him throbbing in your mouth. You can tell he’s getting close and remove him from your mouth with a pop. The heat of the moment over takes you and you go to straddle him, line him up, and sink down on his cock. Mingi’s eyes fluttered shut and he shuddered out a moan. You began a slow pace, up and down, while simultaneously circling your hips. You threw your head back and dug your nails into Mingi’s toned abs. He gripped your hip with one hand and began mercilessly rubbing your clit with the other. Your legs went weak as your orgasm built up again, and you sat down on Mingi, fully taking his entire length. Mingi pulled you forward so you were laying on his chest. He hooked both of his arms around your waist, lifted his hips, and began fucking you senseless. 

You came within seconds, gripping Mingi’s cock tight- he could feel your walls fluttering and your orgasm dripping down onto his thighs. 

“Fuck Mingi, yes! Make me cum!” You moaned into his ear. Between your pussy death gripping his cock and you dirty talking in his ear, Mingi couldn’t handle it. His hips stuttered, his breath became ragged, and his moans became louder and louder. He pounded into you harder and harder until he finally stilled deep within you. You felt him throbbing and spilling his release as you were coming down from your own high. 

Mingi rode out his orgasm still holding your body tightly to his. You pushed your torso up so you could see Mingi’s face clearly- hair sticking to his forehead by beads of sweat, eyelids low in bliss. Mingi took a deep breath and finally came to. His eyes got wide and he swore in korean. 

“Oh God. I just…fuck…I didn’t pull out…I’m…are you…” Mingi’s mind was clearly racing and you put your pointer finger to his lips to shush him.

“Shh. It’s okay. I’m on birth control, I’m clean, and I’d never do that to you. I promise.” you comforted him.

Mingi’s eyebrows creased together and raised in a face that relayed “you promise?” then he nodded and released the breath he’d been holding. He then rolled over, still holding you tight to his body, so you could be flat on your back when he pulled out. “Stay there!” he requested as he ran off to the bathroom to get you a warm towel. He came back smiling, ready to provide you with excellent aftercare. He found your clothes that had been scattered over the floor, and handed them to you as he put on his own clothes. A pang of sadness hit your heart as you realized your night with Mingi was over, and you went into the bathroom to collect yourself (and to pee. You always pee after sex!). You looked in the mirror and saw how rosy your cheeks were, hair all over your head, and all you could do was smile. You were thankful that you had this experience. After quickly brushing your teeth and washing your face, you opened the bathroom door and peeked back in the bedroom. Mingi was nowhere to be found. You realized simultaneously that it was silent in the penthouse. You assumed the girls went to bed and Mingi left with the rest of his members. You crawled into bed, fluffed your pillows, and turned off the lights.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You woke up hot. Really hot. And paralyzed. Not sleep paralyzed, paralyzed like you were in a straitjacket. You slowly realized someone was in the bed with you. You could hear a soft snore from behind you. You twisted around to try and see if Joy had had another nightmare and wanted to cuddle with you for “safety”. The figure behind you aroused and you strained your eyes in the darkness to see who the hell caused you to be drenched in sweat.

“Hey, did my snoring wake you?” A soft, deep voice asked. Your eyes adjusted to the darkness and you saw Mingi’s sleepy face, eyes still shut tight. You were glad his eyes were closed because you were grinning like an idiot. “No, I just had a funny dream.” You lied as you cuddled up, face first into his chest. Mingi held you tight, kissed your forehead, and immediately fell back asleep.

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

The smell of bacon wafted into your dreams and knocked on your brain until you regained consciousness. The sun was beaming into your room and you gave yourself a nice, full body stretch. While stretching, you realized how roomy your bed was. You turned over and noticed your empty bed. You sighed in content, happy for the night you had. A piece of cloth under the unused pillow caught your eye. You lifted the pillow and noticed Mingi’s shirt, and a note.

“Had a great time last night. See you at Waterbomb. Have you and your friends meet us backstage ;) -SMG”

You grabbed his shirt, stuffed it into your face, and took a big sniff. You didn’t care that it was creepy and delusional. You’re happy he left you a memento of the night you shared. The door to your room creaked slowly open, and you popped your head up as soon as you noticed it.

“SEULGI SHE’S UP OH MY GOD.” Joy screamed and sprinted full speed towards your bed. She flopped down next to you as Seulgi ran in behind her.

“TELL. US. EVERYTHING.” Joy enunciated her words by shaking your shoulders. 

You relayed the night to your best friends. You concluded by showing them the note. Joy and Seulgi shrieked and their voices overlapped in excitement- fantasizing about how the day was going to go. You tuned them out and looked wistfully out the window as the sun continued to shine into your bedroom. You began to grin as you thought about all you were going to do with Mingi again. 

[according2thelore]

Foaming at the mouth over your OlderBrother!Sam!

I'm convinced that Sam will try (or threaten) John into taking full custody or his brother once he legally turns 18!

Sadly even if Sam manages to get Dean out of hunting, it's likely that Dean will still try to help his Dad in secret or even runaway to do it. (Just a HC)

hi, anon!!

ooh! that's super fun to think about!

i'm of the belief that sam would still go to stanford, even if he was the older sibling. in his mind, i'm sure he's thinking that john will be forced to step up now that sam isn't there to carry his extra weight. a trial by fire, of sorts. john will finally have to be a dad, and it'll be good for both he and dean, in the end. he loves dean more than he needs to breathe, but i can only imagine how much more the life chafes since he has the added burden of being the older brother.

BUTTTT

it would be absolutely fucking delightful if sam gets a call in the middle of the night from a hospital in georgia asking him if he knows a "dean cobb." john left his sixteen year old son behind at a motel to go hunt something else, and dean found a hunt in the neighboring town and decided he was going to try to take care of it himself. sam gets there--jess assuring him she can take care of rent next month, because sam has to use his half to buy a plane ticket to atlanta--when john does. sam decks him in the face right there in the parking lot, lays him out on concrete. and that's the "two years" they mention in the pilot that he hasn't seen sam. fuck. oh god oh fuck i have to write this.

anyway!

i still LOVE your idea!! i think if sam was going to stay behind from stanford--or fuck it, take dean with him to california--he'd have to keep it under wraps in the months leading up to it, because he knows john'll fight him tooth and nail.

when he's younger, he threatens john with it all the time. dean needs to be normal, and he needs to be safe, and he needs to join the goddamn wrestling team, dad, look at him, he loves being on a team. sam would make sure he'd get what he needed. sam would make sure that dean wouldn't have to sleep with a knife under his pillow and have salt perpetually underneath his fingernails.

sam has bobby draw up the custody papers, has bobby pull his strings to get a death certificate for their father, good enough to convince any judge that dean is legally his ward. and in the months leading up to him getting dean the fuck out of dodge, he is the perfect son. he picks a few dumb fights with dad to keep him from being suspicious, but he doesn't complain about dean's living situation once. he cleans the guns and hides his papers and makes sure he and dean's duffles are always packed.

agreed, even if sam manages to convince or trick dean into going with him to california, dean is not going to go quietly into that good night. he loves hunting, and loves that it's something secret and special and good his family does. hunting is the only thing that connects him to the mother he didn't know. it's the only way he can show that he loves her and that she mattered. he'd find small hunts around palo alto, and sam would get a call in the middle of his psych 101 lecture that dean hasn't been in any of his sophomore classes since first period. dean comes home--a family housing dorm that sam was able to plead his way into--with a busted lip and boots covered in grave dirt.

if john knows where they are, you bet your ass he's calling dean in the middle of the night, telling dean to hop on a bus and meet him in topeka for a wendigo case he really needs help on. he burned all of his other bridges with hunter contacts, and pastor jim & caleb are on the other side of the country. and dean jumps at the chance, desperate for his family to be whole again and thrilled to be useful. he leaves a note for sam, but sam is inconsolable until his fifteen year old brother walks back in the front door almost a week later, after a cross-country bus trip solo. "i'm not a civilian, sam." dean gripes, as sam chews him out for being reckless. "i can handle myself."

GAH! ageswap!au is endlessly fun and fascinating to think about for me, and i'm so glad you agree! thank you so much for the ask!!

and thank you so much for your patience!!! <3 and i'm so glad you liked these!

-lizzy (the post in specific anon is referring to) (and the other ficlet i wrote for it as well)

[escrivoir]

Last line tag

Most recently tagged by @reallylilyreally and @thegrandpineapple (thank you! ❤️)

Here's what I'm working on currently, a Webgott companion to the go farther in hope-verse:

The Army’s the same as anywhere else, except in all the ways it isn't. The amount of grab-ass the men at Basic get up to would have made his new vocation a whole new promised land, except that three guys get blue ticketed out before they even get a gun in their hands, sent back home with a label of queer mental defective scribbled on their papers for any asshole to see.

No way Joe's dancing with that kind of danger. Those guys were obvious, idiots, running their mouths and their hands where anyone could see them. Joe keeps his eyes and hands to himself and his dick in his pants, and when he hears the siren call of double pay, he jumps at the opportunity before he realizes he's just agreed to jump out of a goddamn plane. The other guys in his class laugh at him when he blanches at the realization, and that's when he snaps, fuck you, I'll jump all day long, and I'll see the good shit while you ladies are busy clearing minefields with your teeth.

No one else signs up.

There's a three-day gap between Basic and his train for Camp Toccoa, and he makes the best of it, going back to San Francisco with a ticket for Georgia tucked in his pocket. After dutifully visiting his parents and letting his ma fuss over him like he's somehow turned thirteen all over again, he's heading for the door when his father clears his throat.

Tagging @citedkisses because I can 😊

[cursedalthoughts]

Priority Research 7 Predictions - Sakura Empire

It is time for one of the biggest factions in AL to get their PR prediction post. Last year, the Sakura Empire got Shimanto, a choice I was honestly disappointed with - not because of her design or gameplay in Azur Lane, but because Shimanto is an utterly unremarkable ship in World of Warships.

So, as usual, I will mention some of their most likely choices. None of these selected ships are guaranteed to make it into PR7 - we may not get a Sakura girl this time, but all of them are ships I would be interested in seeing. Hell, some of them I've turned into OCs of mine lol ALSO, I mentioned some of these candidates last year. Because I just really want them in AL damnit.

Bungo

Bungo is funny.

She's an upscaled Amagi hull with 457mm guns (no clue why they aren't 460mm). Her gimmick is accuracy. Yamato is already well known as a very accurate battleship, but Bungo takes it to a whole another level. She's so accurate that, assuming you aim perfectly; you will most likely encounter aiming bugs that no other ship really experiences (because WoWs is built on a mountain of spaghetti code)

As a special consumable, Bungo gets access to a 'High-Precision Spotter Plane' that further reduces her dispersion by -20% for a minute and five seconds. You can get two whole salvos out very comfortably, due to her 26.4s reload.

Honestly, if you miss with Bungo, it is your fault. Easy DR material.

Adatara

Adatara is the predecessor of Bungo in the tech tree. She's Tier 9, her spotter plane reduces her dispersion by -10% instead of -20%, and has one less turret. Her reload is longer, too, at 30s.

If Bungo is DR material, Adatara is PR material.

Tsurugi

As much as I love Tsurugi, I see a lot of people compare her to Georgia, which is just innacurate.

Both ships enjoy 3 double 457mm gun turrets with short reloads and remarkable accuracy, but Georgia has American Super-Heavy AP that does devastating damage, and Tsurugi's AP shells do a pitiful 13.5k damage - Georgia's AP shells do almost 18k damage each.

Also, Georgia has very fun secondary guns. And can tank damage, since she's an Iowa hull variation. And is superbly fast. Tsurugi has none of those things.

Tsurugi has 15km-range deep water torpedoes (that can only hit battleships and aircraft carriers), as well as a 'Torpedo Reload Booster' consumable that reduces the 150s reload down to just 10s. Also, while not enjoying Georgia's 46+ knots speed, Tsurugi can easily do almost 37 knots, which is faster than a lot of cruiser.

Sadly, Tsurugi also suffers from pathetically weak armor.

Tsurugi could be a very fun PR battlecruiser in AL, however.

Iwami

Iwami is a variation of the Izumo design. Much like Izumo, she has fairly accurate 410mm main guns. Much unlike Izumo, her overall gun layout makes sense, with 2 frontal dual turrets and two back dual turrets, much like a Nagato.

Iwami has two gimmicks of particular interest: Two sets of torpedoes, one per side, which are taken straight out of Shimakaze (4 20km torpedos per launcher) that also deal devastating damage, but can be seen from orbit (relatively speaking - their detectability range is 2.5km. Normal hydroacoustic search detects torpedoes at 3.5km)

The second gimmick of Iwami is access to a surprisingly strong secondary gun array.

Iwami could be a PR battleship with a support role.

Shikishima

As I said last year, Shikishima is "The USS Georgia of the Yamato-class."

Her main armament consists of 3 dual 510mm turrets boasting of improved accuracy compared to the Yamato-class, as well as a 27s reload. She shares all the flaws of Yamato and Musashi, mainly having incredibly weak armor and a glacial turret traverse of a whole entire minute to turn 180º, but she's a fun ship that can do insane damage. She relies a lot on sheer overmatch, being the second ship to have 510mm guns - Satsuma is basically an upscaled Shikishima, and HMS Incomparable "only" has 508mm guns.

Also, for some reason, Shikishima also has a very nice secondary gun layout, guns that also have improved accuracy and reload times; meaning you can run a full secondary gun Shikishima build without losing much main gun accuracy.

Due to being a Yamato hull, she'd be DR.

Yoshino

Hey, wouldn't it be funny if Azuma had even more torpedoes than Shimakaze?

Yoshino is just that, a bigger Azuma with a total of 16 torpedoes. She gets a choice between the 'suicide' 12km torpedoes of Shimakaze, which deal almost 27k damage each; or the same torpedoes that Iwami has, 20km range.

She's different enough from Azuma to be somewhat likely, but she's also not really that much different than Azuma. She'd be DR, for sure.

Hayate

A unique (for Japan's standards) destroyer that has both good guns and good torpedoes. They normally excell only at guns (Kitakaze) or only at torpedoes (Shimakaze) - Hayate is good with both.

Past me summarized her pretty well. She's a decent mix between Shimakaze and Harugumo - Harugumo being Kitakaze's bigger sister.

PR rarity for sure.

Yamagiri

Ok, but what if you wanted a pretty good mix of Shimakaze and Harugumo, instead of a decent mix?

Yamagiri is an upscaled Hayate that mixes the two lines of destroyers. She gets access to the same amount of torpedoes Shimakaze has, while having access to some formidable main gun armament as well.

While Hayate is a PR, Yamagiri would be a DR. However, there's one main issue with Yamagiri as a PR7 choice:

She's a Superdestroyer. A Tier 11. We have never gotten a Tier 11 PR ship, and there are much more fun and bombastic options for the first Tier 11 in Azur Lane's Priority Research.

[quietlyimplode]

Black Widow Fest - Day Five

Wild Geese (cruelty is easy)

Warnings: death of widows, implied (not graphic) torture, Natasha in the Red Room.

Word Count: 2154

Pairing: Black Widows, Widows, Natasha-centric (Clint/Nat implied)

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. - Mary Oliver. Wild Geese.

Head warnings. This is not a happy fic, words in their essence are something that can be so benign but can have ripple effects. Words said in grief, anger, pain, can have lasting impacts in ways we don’t know. Be careful with your words, you’ll never know how they may ricochet. Take care friends. <3

Cruelty is easy. You’re not special for choosing it.

1/

Chains around her wrists, toes barely touching the floor, the woman spits at the Widow.

“Why do you hold your secrets, when you could so easily just tell me? Where is your husband?”

Blood on her chin, still the woman snarls.

Like a rabid dog, she drools and snaps when the Widow comes close.

“You’re going to die here anyway, why not make your last hours easier?”

The woman, dehydrated, delirious, laughs.

“Cruelty is easy. You’re not special for choosing it.”

It give the widow pause.

The woman laughs again.

“You’re not special at all. Just a cog in the machine. Doing someone else’s bidding. How does it feel to be the puppet?”

She sighs, spits, and leans heavily on the chains.

“So kill me, because I don’t know what you want to hear. My husband is nowhere. He’s everywhere. He’s in Malta, Dubrovnik. He’s in the Maldives, in Sri Lanka or…”

The gun shot to her head silences her and the body falls heavily against the chains, it’s weight now dead as there’s steady blood flow from the the wound.

.

2/

Natasha watches the older widow as she instructs the anatomy class.

Blood flow, large veins, nerves. It’s fascinating the way that the human body works. Out of all the things that Natasha learns, she finds this the most interesting.

The Red Room teaches them these things for the use of information extraction, for field medicine and to show them that they are not immortal.

Even though they think that they are.

They’re drilled daily, and it becomes Natasha’s favourite.

The older widow seems to see it, her love of learning and how she absorbs the information.

After class, she asks the Widow to teach her about cranial nerves, how they can bring pain. How it can impact on thinking.

The widow pauses and takes Natasha’s hand.

Touch is always a strange sensation.

She craves it and strays away from it.

This time, the touch is insistent.

The words are said urgently, whispered as though a secret in shame.

“Cruelty is easy, Natasha. You are not special for choosing it. Kindness, grace and patience, sometimes those are things that matter more in the moment.”

Abruptly, she lets her hand go, and stands.

“We will learn more on the cranial nerves over the next week.”

She hands Natasha a book.

“Read this. And write me a essay on how you would provide the field medicine in case study, 600 words by tomorrow.”

The book is heavy, but it’s the words that were spoken in secret that run in repetition in Natasha’s head.

‘Cruelty is easy.”

She wonders if it’s a challenge, if she’s suppose to learn to extract information in other ways. Through words rather than pain.

She walks out of the room, wondering just how that would work.

.

3/

Georgia stares at Natasha.

“So what, like the whores of Odessa, you want to go in me what? Ask them for the information?”

Natasha feels the fear flow through her.

She stands straighter, hardens her face and nods.

“They’re going to invite us in graciously. They’re going to tell us everything we want to know and we’ll be done in less than 2 hours.”

She pauses.

“Unless you want to follow the mission parameter, take the man and his daughter and torture them both to see who breaks first.”

She knows Georgia is not smart enough to understand what she is going for. That she can show them that she can do things in a creative way.

She doesn’t like torture. It’s messy and gives her a feeling in her gut that doesn’t go away for days. The images replay in her mind.

But she can’t tell anyone that.

Georgia shrugs.

“Okay. But if we die for this Natalia, I’m going to kill your in the afterlife.”

Natasha bristles at the nickname and passes an easy smile.

“I’ll get the blame, just follow my lead, okay?”

Natasha stands, folds money in her hand and smiles.

The door knock is met with a crack of an opening and a girl, no older than twelve peeks around the corner.

“Hello?”

“Hi hun, I’m Irina and this is Svetlana, we are here to see your mum, is she home?”

The girls eyes widen, and sadness fills them.

“Um. No, she’s not.”

Natasha knows well that the woman is dead.

“Oh, okay, can you leave a message for us?”

The door opens wider.

The girl more trusting now.

“My dadda’s home,” she starts, “I can get him, if you want?”

Natasha smiles, “oh sure, that would be great.”

The girl leaves them standing at the door and Georgia moves nervously from foot to foot.

“Are you sure about this, Natalia?”

Natasha reaches behind her and squeezes her hand in reassurance.

“Hello?”

The bearded man appears, his face drawn and tired.

“Hello!” Natasha says brightly.

“Alina gave us this address when we last met up, she said to come visit if ever we were in Vladivostok.”

The man frowns.

“We went to school together.”

Natasha is betting hard that the man will remember his wife’s ramblings of her childhood friends, but not their faces.

“Oh,” he nods.

“Irina and Svetlana,” the girl says, helpfully, as though she knows.

“Oh,” the man says again.

“She’s dead.”

The words are heavy and the girl retreats behind her father as if the words won’t find her there.

Natasha schools her face into one of grief, like the woman wasn’t killed at the hands of the KGB in partnership of the Red Room.

“Oh,” she echos, “how? When?”

The man opens the door wider, and invites them in.

The follow the couple into the kitchen, where the girl starts to make some tea, taking the role that her mother must have left.

The man sits, offering chairs to the Widows as they’re offered tea.

“It is perhaps a long story,” he opens, looking to his daughter.

Natasha is quick.

“And I want no pain in reopening a wound.”

She pauses.

“She was my friend. She was kind and honest and dear to us.”

She sighs dramatically, and rests her head in her hands, Georgia taking the cue to offer comfort.

“Is there anything we can do?”

The girl sets down the tea, and they wrap their hands around it.

She looks small amongst the big table, and squeaks a response.

“What was my mother like when she was young?”

Natasha lies with the truth.

The words woven and soon the man is drunk.

The little girl tired and secrets spilled without his knowledge.

They help the girl put her father to bed, and she gratefully thanks them, offering them her meagre stash of lollies.

Natasha declines, but Georgia takes four, then closes the girl’s hand around the rest.

“Thank you,” the little girl says, spontaneously hugging them both.

They hug her back, and leave the way they came, no one worse for the meeting.

“That was more exhausting, Nat.”

Georgia tells her, getting into their car.

“But no bad dreams,” Natasha sighs, leaning back.

Georgia snorts.

“No, no bad dreams.”

The getaway is smooth and smell of sweets emanate.

“Do you think they’ll punish us for going off mission?”

Natasha shakes her head.

“Given the information we just gathered, and the relationships we made, no, I don’t think they will.”

“You tell them then.”

“Mm,” Natasha nods, non committal to the instruction.

“Why?”

Georgia hands over two hard lollies and Natasha takes them both, wrapping them and revelling in the sweetness.

“Cruelty is easy, we aren’t special for choosing it.”

Georgia doesn’t say anything but seems to ruminate on her words.

“Where’d you learn that?”

“Madam Simzar,” Natasha chooses to disclose.

Georgia smiles.

“I miss her.”

Natasha ducks her head, unable to keep the pain off her face.

“Me too.”

.

4/

Natasha exits Fury’s office.

Making a bee line for the door, she brushes quickly past Clint and disappears.

Clearly not good news then.

He follows her to find her gone, disappeared in a matter of seconds.

He wonders where she could have gone, and walks quickly to the library hoping to catch a glimpse of her hair.

She’s not there, and she doesn’t appear to be anywhere. He swears under his breath before returning back to Fury’s office, hoping for some insight into what made her run.

He thought they might have been passed this, but, he supposes, Natasha’s go to self preservation will always be to hide her feelings, conceal her grief, hurt and sadness.

He feels that’s what this is, judging the way she wouldn’t even make eye contact as she brushed past.

“What happened?”

He’s not usually so abrupt with his boss, but he needs to know whether in this moment, Natasha needs help.

No time for pleasantries.

“A widow Natasha defected, overdosed.”

Fury’s words are flat.

The pictures he passes over shows the graphic image of a woman overdosed.

Clint feels sick.

The could be Natasha.

He knows at once where she’s gone, and leaves the room without another word.

.

The park is quiet.

Big dark clouds ruminate overhead, and he wraps his jacket around himself tighter against the cold.

The playground is dead, just as he assumed it would be, the children home and getting ready for night time routines.

He’s glad.

They used to come here and swing on the swings when Natasha needed to get away from herself. The rocking motion seemingly soothing.

Clint finds her exactly where he expects to.

The swing next to her inviting for him as he sits down and says nothing.

They stay in stasis, swinging slowly.

“Her name was Georgia.”

Natasha rests her head on the swing lengths, and swallows.

She wants to tell him about her, but the grief is too much. A tear slips out, and she hastily wipes it away.

“Cruelty to yourself is easy, Clint,” she says tiredly.

Clint looks at her, really looks and notices the slip of blood in her hand, clutching the small pairing knife.

“I’m not special for choosing it,” the words said in a whisper.

She hands him the knife, unwrapping her hand from around it.

“It’s harder to be kind.”

He pauses, the knife gone as soon as he touches it.

“I’ve heard you say it before.”

He didn’t feel how dangerous losing a widow might be for her. Certainly didn’t expect the knife.

He wants to know how safe she is, how she won’t be the dead girl, overdosed.

“Is it a reminder?”

She looks at him, shrugs, nods.

“Cruelty is easy,” she whispers.

Natasha pauses at the statement, aware she’s just repeating herself, the words though; they seem important.

The mission they went on, replaying in her mind, with Georgia smiling in the car.

“Georgia was a friend,” she looks to Clint. “One of a select few, and her passing feels personal.”

“She was a widow?”

Clint knows but asks anyway.

“Yes.”

Natasha starts swinging, slow movements, dragging her feet on the ground.

“Was she…”

Clint doesn’t really know what he’s asking.

“Free?”

She finishes the thought anyway.

“Yes. No. Are any of us ever free of that place?”

Clint doesn’t know how to answer.

“Drugs.”

Natasha pauses.

“She wasn’t kind to herself.”

“She felt the need to be cruel.”

Clint starts swinging too, feeling the heaviness of the night pressing down. He wonders just how much and how close Natasha was to this girl when they were young.

“To herself?” he wonders.

“Yes.”

She’s hastily wipes at her face again.

“But you aren’t.”

He says it as a statement and hopes that it’s true.

“Sometimes I am.���

Natasha pauses. Thinks.

“I beat myself up with my thoughts. But I’m better at recognising it. Stopping it when it comes.”

The introspection is not lost on Clint. It’s taken years for them both to realize when their thinking patterns have not been… optimal.

“She was not.”

He cringes at the past tense, the death fresh.

“No.”

She drags her feet.

“She was not.”

Clint’s not really sure what to say. He wants to hug her but knows it’s not appropriate.

“I’m sorry she let you down,” he opts for, pushing back and forward on his toes.

Natasha shrugs, slowing her movements.

“She didn’t let me down, her actions have nothing to do with me.”

There’s a pause, as Clint is at a loss for words, not used to Natasha’s nonchalance at the death of her friend, or wonders if she’s just masking her grief.

“It’s a reminder,” she continues.

“I choose to be kind.”

She says it with a strength, even as her voice wobbles.

“Cruelty is easy, to others, to yourself.”

Clint nods, pushes off a little more heavily.

“Yeah. It is,” he agrees.

He slows with his feet and then repeats the process.

“You are kind, Natasha,” he tells her.

But it’s met with silence as night covers them in darkness.

.

[barcodeboy]

Three days after my 6th birthday, my school went into a lockdown. It went into lockdown because there was a shooter at the university less than two miles away from my school. A year and a half before, there had been a mass shooting at the same university, where 32 people were killed.

I don't remember any of these things happening. I was too young.

A couple of years ago, my mom told me the story about when I came home from school and told her about the lockdown drill we did. My mom and my sister, who was eight at the time, made eye contact. My mom and my sister both knew that it wasn't a drill. And even at eight, she knew not to tell me.

In the aftermath of the Georgia school shooting, I am left thinking about this. I am thinking about the fact that my mother always hugged me before school, every single day, because she was terrified she wouldn't see me come home. And now, I'm thinking about the families who didn't have their kids come home.

I have watched multiple different videos of students of that high school talking about what happened. I saw a girl talking about how the shooter pointed the gun at her and ran towards her. I saw a boy talking about one of the teachers who had been killed, about how the last thing they talked about was his tardies. And I saw a girl talking about how the killer had been sitting next to her in class before all of this happened.

These are all children. They should not have to deal with this.

nobody should

[lucy4242564]

.cowboy like me.

Chapter 10.

Call my bluff, Call you “babe”

~Have my back, yeah, every day Feels like home Stay in bed The whole weekend It’s nice to have a friend~

“Do you love them?” Lilah asked before he got a chance to say anything.

His blue eyes still caught her off guard sometimes, but especially when they met hers when saying the words, “I love you.”

Between moving and starting college, there wasn’t much room for anything else. Lilah spent her weekdays attending classes and decorating her apartment. She was going to make the best out of the new loneliness, it was the only way to pass her time and she honestly didn’t mind it so much. It was a comfortable kind of lonely and she looked forward to the weekends when Daryl would come visit. Lilah loved showing him the new improvements she’d made on her space.

 

Daryl felt like his life revolved her schedule. In previous relationships he’d left before a schedule could form. This time around, he yearned for the weekends when her schedule allowed them to see each other.

 

When she got a week off for Thanksgiving, he couldn’t have been happier for her to warm his bed again.

 

It was that week that Daryl taught her how to shoot a handgun for the first time. He wasn’t over the moon about her living so close to the city and needed to have a sense of calm when she was there.

 

She took to it a lot better than she thought she would. It was surprising how easy it was. When Daryl first seriously suggested she learn, she wasn’t too keen on the idea. He taught her how to shoot a rifle and it seemed like more trouble than it was worth. Now a pistol— it was actually a little fun trying to hit the targets in front of her.

 

“Yer an alright shot.” Daryl had said as he sat, inspecting the target sheet.

 

“Well I guess I’ll have to keep practicing til I’m the best one you’ve seen.” Lilah teased.

 

 

 

They were celebrating Christmas late since Lilah flew back home to be with her family. She tried talking him into joining her, but he refused. So with a week left before the next semester started, they sat in his living room, surrounded by gaudy decorations that she insisted he needed for the holiday, opening gifts.

 

He’d received more clothes than he needed, and frankly some he wouldn’t wear unless she forced him to, a gift card to a sandwich shop he frequented for lunch, a small television that she convinced him to set up immediately, and a handful of other things to round it off. It was the first typical Christmas he had ever experienced. He’d do it all over again to watch the excited look on her face each time he opened something.

 

Each gift Lilah opened, she could tell, had been carefully picked out just for her. A pink steering wheel cover, a fresh candle in the scent she’d burnt out and couldn’t find a replacement, and among others; the gift that made her smile the most.

 

A matte black, compact pistol. Her eyes lit up as she opened the box to reveal the metallic weapon. A smile slid onto her face when she recognized familiar initials etched into the side of it in small letters. D.D

 

“Y’said you wanted to be a better shot, figured you should practice with yer own gun.” Daryl commented before a kiss was placed lightly on his cheek.

 

“I want to be the best shot.”

 

 

 

By the time Spring rolled around, Lilah was counting down the days for her next weeklong break. She’d adjusted well to the area by then, but she was excited for the week in the mountains of Georgia. Daryl promised a camping trip along the river and Brittany had been going on about a surprise when she got back. Lilah still visited regularly, but they were always short trips and recently she hadn’t been making them as often. Finals were coming up so she threw herself into school.

 

Law school was not for the weak and she struggled with stress in a variety of ways, one that effected her the most was her eating habits. She could go the entire day without a bite of food or she could rip through her cabinets like a savage, there was no in between.

 

Unfortunately, this had been a week of forgetfulness that she moaned about nightly on the phone to her boyfriend. She got cramps if she went to bed right after eating, but by the time she felt accomplished enough to let herself eat, it was already bedtime. When she spent that evening thinking about Spring Break and dreading finals, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. She peeked through the peep-hole then scrunched her eyebrows before turning the knob. “I think you have the wrong apartment number.” Lilah said to the pizza delivery boy standing in front of her.

 

He looked down at the receipt then back up at her. “Nope, Lilah Dixon?”

 

A knowing smile plastered across her face before she nodded and took the boxes from his arms. “Hold on.” She said as she sat the pizza down and ran to her purse.

 

After handing off a tip to the driver she danced over to her phone, the goofy smile still on her face.

 

“Lilah Dixon?” She teased when the other line picked up.

 

“Didn’t want’cha thinkin’ you had one a’them secret admirers or whatever.” The drawl of her boyfriends accent explained over the phone.




 

“What?!” Lilah exclaimed, throwing her arms around Brittany’s neck.

 

It was the Saturday before she returned to school and Brittany reserved the entire day for the two of them. There was exciting news to tell Lilah that she’d gone on about for almost a month.

 

“I’m 10 weeks!” Brittany beamed at her best friend who was eyeing her stomach.

 

“A baby! We’re gonna have a baby!”

 

Lilah loved children. Her and Brittany would daydream about their futures together and it was always assumed Lilah would be the first to have a kid. Life played its cards differently though, so here they were.

 

 

 

 

Her birthday fell on a Monday that year and it was not so secretly her favorite unofficial holiday.

 

She rebelliously took a long weekend and skipped classes to spend her special day with the man who was peppering kisses down her neck.

 

Small sighs of pleasure left her mouth the lower he went, while her hand grabbed at the short tufts of hair on his head. Daryl’s fingers brushed over her clothed nipples lightly before tugging the shirt up to reveal her bare chest. He quickly took one of the pink buds between his lips before swirling his tongue around then sucking harder as his other hand continued to travel lower.

 

His name spilled from her lips as he worshipped her like an altar that morning.

 

 

 

Her first year in law school had passed by at an excruciatingly slow pace. Particularly the last semester.

 

She wasn’t sure if it was her impatience of the cruise her family was taking in the morning or the absence of Daryl in bed that had her awake at 3 am, but she could at least solve one of those things. So she rolled out of the blankets and padded to the living room.

 

“Come lay down with me.” Her voice painted with grogginess.

 

Daryl was in the same spot he’d been in when she initially went to sleep at midnight. Sitting on the floor, fiddling with a cross bow he bought earlier that day, he paused to look up.

 

Some nights he would lose track of time and forget to sleep until the sun came up and this would’ve been one of those nights had she not interrupted him. He hadn’t even noticed how tired he was until he was following her onto the mattress.

 

Daryl wasn’t looking forward to her going away for a week out the country. She’d just finished school and the selfish part of him wanted her all to himself for a little while.

 

Those thoughts faded into blurbs as he drifted off to sleep though; domestic bliss had him in a death grip.

 

 

 “You remember when we got together?” Daryl asked before taking a swig of beer.

 

“Yeah, why?” Lilah responded.

 

They were at the creek where the spark between them ignited. It had been a little over a year since they’d met and he never expected to be in the position he was in.

 

“When was it?”

 

“Oh!” Realization dawned on her, “You mean the date. I’m not sure off the top of my head, I can figure it out when we get home though.”

 

Daryl nodded in response, gazing into the smoking embers that floated above the fire. He felt like a lifetime had passed since his heart started beating for her. One year seemed like such a short amount of time; he could’ve convinced himself he’d known her all his life.

 

She consumed so much of him and he wondered if it was normal to feel so much when being in love. He hoped so, because if it was up to him he’d stay in it forever.

 

Lilah hadn’t even thought of their anniversary. The night she declared herself his girlfriend was a memory she hadn’t thought of in a while. If she was honest with herself, she forgot that it would be coming up soon. Her life was so busy in the past year and Daryl fit so perfectly within the chaos, it took her a second to remember he hasn’t always been there.

 

Daryl Dixon was the one. Lilah believed strongly in soul mates, and in her soul she felt hers was Daryl.

 


“Our anniversary was June 24th, it’s been over a week!” She hollered later that night while looking at the calendar and comparing dates.

 

“That’s when you were up north.” Daryl commented, peaking up from cleaning a gun.

 

“Oh my god! I think that was the day I almost got hit by the car when we went to New York! Worst anniversary ever actually.”

 

A laugh filled the room. Things were good.

 

 

 Her second year of college began much like her first year. She renewed her lease, took care of her class schedules, and settled back into a routine.

 

This year was going to be a big year for her, she’d determined it herself. Brittany was having a baby, Paul was heavily including Lilah in his plans for engagement, and she was going to try her hardest to convince Daryl to move in with her.

 

She knew that was highly unlikely, but it wasn’t going to stop her from trying.

 

 

“Are you seriously going to get mad at me for that?” Lilah groaned as she trudged behind him up a leafy hill.

 

“That’da been a good deer if ya coulda kept yer mouth shut!”

 

She didn’t enjoy hunting, but she went with Daryl a handful of times. It was fun to see him in his element and she did like the lessons in tracking he’d teach her off hand. It was the silence after a while that she hated.

 

This time she’d frightened a deer off after she tried breaking the silence by asking how dangerous it would be to have sex in the middle of the open forest. She hadn’t known he had loaded a bolt into his crossbow, he made her face the opposite way to watch for a deer that he was sure would be passing through the grove they were sitting in. “I didn’t know!”

 

“Last time I’m takin’ you with me.” Lilah knew he wasn’t actually mad at her, he was just frustrated. She still felt bad.

 

 

 

This year Lilah was spending Thanksgiving with her family and Christmas in Georgia. They were going to fly in a week after to celebrate the New Year, so she didn’t see a point in making the trip. Plus, she had the best Christmas gift planned for Daryl.

 

He’d been complaining about needing new boots for hunting, but would never break down and buy a pair.

 

She didn’t fully understand why he would look at them when they’d go shopping, just to see the price and put them back. Lilah was overwhelmingly aware of how privileged a life she lived and was thankful that she didn’t have to completely understand that way of things.

 

She was quick to swipe her credit card a few weeks before Christmas though, and now she was sitting in her apartment, watching as he peeled back the wrapping paper to reveal his present.

 

“Do you love them?” Lilah asked before he got a chance to say anything.

 

His blue eyes still caught her off guard sometimes, but especially when they met hers when saying the words, “I love you.”

 

 

 

“You and Daryl are getting pretty serious huh?” Lilah’s dad commented while nodding towards a framed picture that sat on a side table by her door.

 

It was a photo of Lilah on Daryl’s shoulders, holding a fish that he’d caught in her hands. Brittany took the picture after a drunken Lilah argued whether or not it was hers or Daryl’s line that caught the fish. After that he got her a distinctive fishing pole, he wasn’t sharing a catch again. There was nothing particularly special about that picture, but Lilah never displayed a lot of photos. It wasn’t her taste. That was her official unofficial first fish though, and Daryl thought she needed it framed.

 

“Oh, yeah, I guess.” Lilah smiled. “Not to brag or anything, but that was the first fish I ever caught. I’m basically a professional.” She exaggerated before telling him the full story.

 

Her dad never showed much interest in her life with Daryl, but it warmed her heart when he seemed interested and began asking more questions about that day.

 

 

 

It was a Thursday evening that Lilah drove 90 the entire way to the hospital when she got the call that her best friend was starting to push. She’d dreamed about this day since they were kids and it was finally happening. She was going to be an aunt!

 

“He is the most perfect little human!” Lilah cooed at the tiny newborn in her arms.

 

“Isn’t he?” Brittany was star-struck laying in her hospital bed.

 

“Now it’s your turn.” Paul joked, looking between Lilah and Daryl.

 

She could feel her face heating up as she tried to hide back an embarrassed smile at the suggestion. The fact that Daryl was the one to response first though, shocked her. “Nah, ain’t ever even held a baby.”

 

“Umm, okay, brake check.” Lilah blinked in surprise. She wasn’t sure why that information was so unreal to her, it made sense. “You’re about to.” Before Daryl could refuse the advancement, Lilah was showing him how to cradle his arms and support the head, then gently passing the infant off to him. His body tensed up at the uncomfortable weightlessness of the baby he now held.

 

Lilah thought she could get used to the scene in front of her, then shook it out of her head as quick as it entered. College was her top priority for the time being and it needed to stay that way. She could dream about babies another time, preferably one when he wasn’t looking down in awe at the sight of an infant.

Chapter 11.

[southatlantafirearms]

Begin your quest to become a USCCA Certified Instructor and join a community of devoted professionals dedicated to promoting firearm safety and education. This credential not only improves your skills, but it also enables you to have a good impact on the lives of your students. For the best firearms training in Atlanta, visit South Atlantic Firearms Training and enrol today!

[maplewoodstreet]

The Pro-Palestine Self-Immolation of Aaron Bushnell

CONTENT WARNING: extreme, self-inflicted violence

Self-immolation is an extreme and brutal form of protest in which the protester purposefully sets themselves on fire. The act is excruciatingly painful and can result in death.

The Self-Immolation Protest Event

On 25 February 2024 at around 1 p.m., a 25-year-old active US Air Force serviceman named Aaron Bushnell dressed in military fatigues doused himself in flammable liquid and lit himself on fire outside the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC. This act of self-immolation was done to protest Israel's genocide of Palestinians.

Before the event, Aaron Bushnell had emailed several left-wing news outlets saying he will "engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people". He also posted on Facebook a Twitch link with this caption: "Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?' The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now."

As he was livestreaming the event on Twitch outside the Embassy, he said, "I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit to genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers—it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal." After lighting himself on fire, he repeatedly shouted "Free Palestine!" until he collapsed.

Meanwhile, a police officer aimed his gun at the man as he was on fire. Another policeman said, "I don't need guns, I need fire extinguishers!"

From ignition to extinguishing, Bushnell was burning for approximately 90 seconds. After fire extinguishers were used, Aaron was transported to the hospital and at 10:06 p.m. was pronounced dead.

A censored version of the video can be found on Twitter.

This is the second pro-Palestine self-immolation performed by US citizens. The first was by an unknown woman performed outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia on 1 December 2023.

Reactions to the Protest

An unofficial group of White House administration staffers created a statement calling for a permanent ceasefire and criticizing President Biden for not using his power to prevent Israel from committing genocide.

Bernie Sanders responded to the self-immolation saying, "It's obviously a terrible tragedy, but I think it speaks to the depths of despair that so many people are feeling now about the horrific humanitarian disaster taking place in Gaza, and I share those deep concerns. Children are starving. People are dying—29,000 Palestinians have died, two-thirds of them women and children. The United States has got to stand up to Netanyahu and make sure this does not continue. We are increasingly isolated. The international community understands that what Netanyahu is doing is a humanitarian disaster. It is a horror, and we continue to be one of the very few countries in the world that stand by Israel, and I think that is a terrible, terrible mistake. And as you may know, I'm doing everything I can to make sure that the United States government does not send another nickel to Netanyahu to continue this terrible war." Despite outcry from his followers, Bernie Sanders still has not supported a ceasefire.

Green Party Presidential Candidate Dr. Jill Stein responded by saying, "May his sacrifice deepen our commitment to stop genocide now."

News outlets like FOX News, USA Today, Reuters, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN neglected to include the reason for the self-immolation in their headlines.

There have been vigils held throughout the United States. A vigil in New York City had NYPD officers with riot helmets and batons ready one hour before the vigil started.

There is speculation that Aaron Bushnell may have been a closeted transgender woman and used the name Lilly. Aaron's Twitch username was LillyAnarKitty. The "AnarKitty" could also be a play on words for "anarchy". The profile picture for this account was of the Anarchy symbol.

Various Internet User Reactions:

The Most American Thing That Has Ever Happened by Caitlin Johnstone

BabyHilton

Rayne Fisher-Quann

MaxBluementhal

MicahinATL

TroyTheCatfish

Sean McCarthy

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Back Forty View (On Our Piece Of Ground)

8 - You Had Me From That First Hello

Pairings: Tyler Owens x OFC Georgia Tennley-Owens, Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x OFC Samantha Kazansky

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: nothing spectacular just some raunchy language from Jake and Tyler and pregnancy/baby talk

A/N: This chapter and the next are kind of a jumble of stuff because Jake and Sam need to go back to California soon and figure some things out lol. Nothing special with this one just lots of pregnancy/baby talk! Thank y'all for continuing to read! Hope you enjoy! Gifs by @kaizsche, pictures from Pinterest! As always likes, comments, reblogs, etc. are so so appreciated! This one has some song notes through out so hit play on those for the full experience!

Tags: @mrsevans90 @djs8891 @gpsmississippihippie @dizzybee03 @barnesboo1967 @coloraturadiva @kmc1989

It always ended the same way. Tyler and Jake would go for a short drive, out in the back forty and listen to whatever music they had on hand. This particular time, Jake had graduated Top Gun, top of his class and he’d come home to tell Kenny, Jeanie, and Tyler in person. They were going to celebrate later on, but not before the boys had their own little festivities, which included a jaunt through the wilds of Arkansas in Tyler’s new truck. Tyler had just gotten a beautiful red Dodge dually, diesel, 3500. Bone stock, but Jake knew that his brother was about to modify the shit out of it. After Jake had put his bags down in the living room, hugged his mother and Kenny, Tyler nearly dragged him out the door and pushed him toward the passenger side. Jake hopped in and they set off down the road. Tyler wanted to test the truck out first with his favorite person in the world. Jake.

They cranked the radio, Tyler putting his spotify on shuffle, with a country playlist like they always went for when they headed out on adventures. The drums, tambourine, and guitar all melded in through the speakers and out the open windows. Tyler had his cowboy hat on, a new one he’d just gotten and sunglasses, and Jake had a backwards baseball cap, one that used to be Tyler’s, and his own set of sunglasses, his favorite pair that he kept on him exclusively for show. He only wore them up in a jet, or with Tyler in the truck. 

As the lyrics flowed through the speakers, Tyler hummed and Jake stuck his arm out the window, his smile wide. When the chorus came up, both boys belted out the lyrics.

“I need a pretty little homegrown hometown girl, with a ribbon tyin’ back those waterfall curls, I been lookin’ all over all over the world, for a pretty little homegrown hometown girl!” They sung in unison, glancing at each other and smirking. 

“I know exactly who you’re talkin’ about, T.” Jake pursed his lips. He knew Tyler was still on about the girl who’d left him. Jake knew he would always be about that girl. He believed those two were soulmates, just put together at the wrong time and they’d find each other again. Damn it if Tyler wouldn’t do everything he could to find her. In the meantime though, Tyler would joke that Jake is his soulmate. 

“You talkin’ about anyone in particular?” Tyler asked, his hand gliding along the fresh, new leather of the steering wheel. The truck smelled new and they both couldn’t get enough of it. It was a comfortable ride, and Tyler was the only person that Jake trusted to drive. That was why Jake could never be a back seater. He couldn’t handle having someone in control of where they were in the air, but on the ground, he’d give up all of that to Tyler. And no matter how sketchy things got, he always put his faith in Tyler. 

“Nah, no one. I’d like a little hometown girl though. Pretty little brunette maybe? Big tits and a big ass? Someone that’d look fuckin good on my arm at Navy Balls and all that shit.” JAke said and Tyler blew air from his lips.

“Yur a slut, y’know that?” Tyler joked and Jake reached over and punched him in the shoulder lightly. “Not from our hometown though. Ain’t none’a these girls good enough for you Jake, I tell ya.”

“Nah, maybe a California girl. Pretty, tan, and like I said, brunette. She’s gotta be a brunette. God, I’d love a hot little brunette to be sitting on my couch in my Cowboys jersey, watching football on a sunday. Fuck.” Jake shook his head and Tyler couldn’t help the laugh that left his lips. He glanced over at Jake, who smirked and tilted his head. 

“Yeah and I’d take a cute lil’ blonde barrel racer girl that I could have a few kids with, a farm and go roping on the weekends. Maybe we can watch football, but maybe we could go do fun shit with the kids too.” Tyler’s smile faded slightly and then he shot a look at Jake, whose jaw stiffened. 

“Don’t ruin the mood you jackass.” Jake chucked a bottle cap at Tyler that he’d found lodged between the seats. Brand new truck and his brother already had crap everywhere. “Don’t get sentimental on me, you dick.”

“I’m not...I’m just...I don’t know. I’m gonna miss ya, Jakey.” Tyler said and Jake grabbed his brother’s shoulder. Tyler turned down a dirt road and pushed the truck a little faster, letting the suspension and tires do some work. The boys were quiet as the next song came over the speakers, making them grin. They belted the song, both of them tapping their hands on the outside of the truck as Tyler steered the monster through thickening brush and low, muddy spots.

“Gotta git down, gotta git down to Arkansas, havin’ so much fun that it’s probably a little bit against the law! All the boys and the girls down there sure know how to have a ball! If ya wanna git down gotta git down to Arkansas!”

The truck bumped along and almost bottomed out, crunching sticks underneath its six tires and heavy frame as they navigated out of the worst of the trail. On the other end was a clearing, a big field that ended at a small cliff, where it overlooked the Arkansas River. They were just in time. Tyler parked some feet from the edge and both boys climbed up onto the roof of the truck, the newly installed rack above the cab the perfect spot for them to sit. Their legs hung off in front of the front windshield and Jake pulled two cans of shitty beer from his sweatshirt pocket, handing one to his brother and cracking his own open. They gazed up at a darkening sky, watching as a storm began to build just on the other side of the river, several miles away. It was heading away east from them so they weren’t worried about it.

“There might be a tornado in that one.” Tyler said, pointing toward the front of the storm. Jake’s brows raised.

“You gonna take me on a chase any time soon?”

“Yeah when you come back from your next deployment. We’ll go. I’ll have the truck modded out by then. It’ll be able to withstand an F-1 at the least.”

“You're nuts. But I believe in you. I know you’ll get it done.”

🌪️🛻🛩️⚓

When Tyler and Georgia brought Jaycen home for the first time, there was a palpable fear between them. They didn’t know how to care for a kid. Sure, they’d read some books, talked to everyone they could, got a hundred opinions, but now it was up to them to really figure it out. 

They knew the first week would be exhausting. They had already been running on fumes, so any chance they got to sleep was going to be key. Jaycen was pretty consistent about sleeping. He’d be down for a couple of hours and then wake up, begging for something to eat. They’d decided it was best for them to do mixed feeding, so that if Georgia was too tired, Tyler was able to take over and feed Jaycen. Jake and Sam had also volunteered to help out, figuring they could use the experience if they wanted to have kids too. 

Samantha had really taken to the little guy. The tufts of hair on his head were her favorite thing and she gently brushed them back and forth when she held him. Jake’s favorite thing about Jaycen was that he was kind of a sassy little boy. He would stick his chubby little fingers in his mouth when he wanted food and then, and he only did it to Tyler and Jake, would smack them on their arm several times while his bottle was being prepared. Tyler was determined to keep the temperature consistent, not too hot and not too cold. Georgia appreciated his attentiveness not only to Jaycen but also to her.

When Georgia was feeling particularly tired, Tyler would bring Jaycen to her, that way if she wanted to feed him in bed she could. Georgia already adored the little boy, who had the same sage green eyes as his father. She loved looking into his big green eyes, full of curiosity for the world in front of him. Tyler’s favorite thing about the small human was that he would just stare at Georgia, his focus never leaving his mother. He understood that, because he felt the same. He loved Georgia and he knew that the little boy would love her too. 

The great thing about having Jake and Sam around was that they could help with everything on the farm. Tyler had delegated to Boone for anything for the channel and they’d made a short video introducing the newest storm chaser. There had been a lot of congratulations but there had also been some salty comments from the sore losing fangirls who thought they’d had a chance with Tyler. They even went so far as to comment on Ophelia’s videos that she’d taken of Georgia helping her, saying that Georgia didn’t know everything. Georgia would be the first to admit that though, so it didn’t bother her. Ophelia shut down everyone that came into her comments, defending her mentor fiercely. 

As for the Wranglers, there was the pro-Georgia camp and the anti-Georgia camp there. It was really just a couple of recurring girls who were pissed that Tyler had flirted with them once or twice at a bar or at a rodeo and they never got their chance with him. Tyler made it a point every time he was on the stream or in the chat that any Georgia hate was not allowed. He was even slightly passive aggressive at times, which it seemed some people actually enjoyed. He’d make comments like ‘god I love my wife so much’ or ‘can’t wait to get back out there chasin’ but am really gonna miss my wife and kid’. 

During that first week that Jaycen was home, Kate had taken over the channel with Boone. Even though they both had significant others at this point, they were still a highly chaotic couple when they were together. Boone thought it was hilarious when Kate drove, because she was honestly a bad driver. She sped far too often and hit the brake far too late most of the time. She had no consideration for either truck, so much so that Tyler and Boone were constantly sending her trucks so that she could get her own. They would do all the modifications of course and help make it perfect, but she really needed her own so that she could stop crashing and trashing theirs. 

For the first week, Tyler and Georgia kept Jaycen close to the house. The dogs were absolutely ecstatic to have the bundle of joy around. They constantly followed whoever had Jaycen in their arms, their eyes focused on the boy. Pancake loved to sit next to them on the couch and try to lick Jaycen’s feet. It would make the little boy giggle and squirm to the point he would get the hiccups. 

Grits was very protective of the boy. He would sit by whichever parent had him, almost on top of their feet and survey the room constantly. The red heeler would whine when Jaycen cried and howl when he laughed. Waffles was the one who got right up in Jaycen’s face. She would sit on the arm of the couch, touching her nose to the top of his head or sneaking in a lick to the baby’s face when she thought Georgia or Tyler weren’t looking. 

Georgia wanted so badly to take Jaycen out to the barn, but she knew they should wait. The waiting was hell though. She could see from the kitchen window that Ducati would stare at the house, as if he knew his rider had come into this world. She couldn’t wait to introduce the mustang to his kid. 

“You know how much more I love you? I mean...I loved you before, obviously...but now..it’s just tenfold. You made my dreams come true, Peach.’ Tyler said softly, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. He peered down at his son in her arms and his heart overflowed with happiness. Georgia hummed and tilted her head, touching her temple to his. She blinked slowly as she looked from the squirmy bundle in her arms, to her proud husband. She leaned back against him, and he began to sway back and forth. 

“I love you too, Tyler. And I love our son too.” She murmured softly, letting him rock her gently. The motion comforted Jaycen, making him close his eyes, and drift off to sleep again. 

“Wish I could sleep as much as him. I think I’ve barely slept the past couple weeks.” Tyler admitted, letting his lips travel to Georgia’s neck. They ghosted over the skin, sending a shiver down her spine, bringing forth a smirk. 

“Wait until he’s older. We won’t get any sleep. We’ll be zombies.” She joked, letting her eyes flutter closed for a moment as she enjoyed the protective presence Tyler offered. She felt so safe in his arms. She would even go so far as to say, her anxiety had decreased by at least half. She had a new brand of anxiety, but it was over caring for Jaycen, not the actual birth. That had scared the shit out of her, but as she’d told Tyler, the pain and stress had been well worth it now that they had their first child. 

“And...now that you’ve done this once...” Tyler began but Georgia stopped him, her words gentle and reassuring to him.

“Yes, Tyler, I do want another kid. And I can’t wait to see Jaycen grow up. I think he’s gonna be a lot like you.” She yawned then and Tyler chuckled. 

“Why do you say that?” Just cause he looks like me, don’t mean he’s gonna be like me. He might be like you and if that’s the case, we’re in for a wild ride. He’ll be a daredevil.” Tyler said. Georgia’s brows furrowed and she turned in his arms, sandwiching Jaycen gently between them. Tyler leaned down to kiss Georgia and then he pressed a light kiss to Jaycen’s forehead. 

“He’s quiet. I know they said you can’t tell much about them now, but I think he’s going to be smart. He just stares and you can tell he’s trying to figure things out.” Georgia explained and Tyler nodded in agreement. 

“Maybe he’s admiring his loving mama, just like his daddy does.” Tyler said, bringing a hand up to caress her cheek, She pressed into his hand and glanced up into sage green. There was warmth there, and a reverence that Georgia would never quite get over. Tyler worshipped the ground she walked on, and there were times she still couldn’t believe that, after all she’d put him through. 

“He’s asleep. We should go put him in his crib.” Georgia said softly, meeting Tyler’s gaze. He agreed and he motioned for her to hand him Jaycen. She did and he took the boy up the stairs, Georgia following closely behind as they snuck up to the nursery to put him down for another nap.

It had warmed up significantly over the next week or so, giving Tyler and Georgia the opportunity they were hoping for. They dressed Jaycen in warm clothes, courtesy of their friends and family, and brought him out to the barn to see the horses. As they made their way down the aisle, Georgia said the name of each horse and pointed. Tyler followed closely behind, watching the little boy’s face light up as each horse stuck their nose out toward him. Georgia was careful, not letting them nibble or get too close, just enough to sniff. They walked out the back of the barn to the pen where Ducati was standing.

As soon as the mustang saw the bundle in Georgia’s arms, he walked toward the three humans and nickered softly. He stuck his nose through the bars of the panel fencing and Georgia let him sniff the little boy. Ducati whinnied quietly and his ears shot forward. There was a softness in the mustang’s eyes that Tyler recognized.

“He knows that’s gonna be his rider one day.” Tyler said, rubbing his hands up and down Georgia’s arms. 

🌪️🛻🛩️⚓

Sam and Jake had been getting a crash course in raising a small human. Because they were able to, they did one feeding a day for Jaycen for that first week, hoping to give Tyler and Georgia some reprieve. Usually in the middle of the day, so that if Tyler had to run to the store he could, and Georgia could sneak out and check on the horses. Ophelia and Lennon had come to help, offering to do whatever Dustin couldn't. 

Tyler had to run to the grain store, leaving Georgia home with Jaycen. Jake elected to go with him, and Sam stayed with Georgia just in case she needed any help. They hopped in Georgia’s truck, as it had the open bed and headed off. 

“This is a pretty nice truck. This is hers?” Jake asked as they headed out the driveway. 

“Yeah, she’s had this since she started rodeoin’. It got trashed last year durin’ chasin’ season. I’ve been workin’ on fixin’ it for the entirety of her pregnancy. Finally got it fixed. No frame issues thank god, but I don’t know that I trust it to tow a trailer anymore after that.” Tyler explained.

“How’d it get trashed?”

“Tornado rolled it. Gee said they were goin’ pretty fast too. She got a concussion from that. Her two friends were in it and they were okay just scared the shit outta them.” 

“That sucks. She still want this truck?” Jake asked. Tyler raised a brow.

“Why, you wanna buy it?” 

“I don’t know. I kinda like it. It’s not a girly truck. It’s nice.” Jake mused. Tyler smirked at him as they pulled down the main street in Stillwater, heading through town to the store. 

‘You’re goin’ home soon aren’t ya? Tyler asked. Jake nodded.

“I do need to get back to work. They wanna do a physical and mental eval. Then they need to see if I can hack it up in a jet again. It’s not the flying I’m worried about at all. That comes second nature to me. It’s the leavin’.”

“You got the dogs though. She’ll be fine.”

“How’d you know Georgia was pregnant?” Jake asked, rolling down the window as Tyler slowed up and turned off the main strip.

“She was real sick one mornin’. Peed on a stick. It was positive, so we made an appointment with Doc Halstead and went through all the shit there. I went to every appointment too, even if I was gonna be chasin’. Rushed home for one cause I didn’t wanna miss seein’ his little heart beat.” Damn, Jake...I really love that kid already.” Tyler turned into the feed store lot and parked in the front. The nice thing about their local store was that they could order by phone or online and they got a notification when it was ready to be picked up so all they had to do was go in and give their phone number. Georgia ordered enough every week for a half a pallet, so they would use the forklift and place it in the back. When Tyler got it home, he used the forks they had for the tractor and lifted it off and placed it in the front of the barn so the only lifting that had to be ever was to put the bags in the grain room.  

“Sam and I have...yuh know...like a lot...and she’s not showing any signs.” Jake said as he was about to get out but Tyler stopped him. One of the employees had seen Tyler and waved him over to the loading dock. They knew by now that he had an order, he barely had to get out of the truck.

“Doc said all women are different and even all pregnancies are different. She said she had one woman who was sick the entire pregnancy, had to be bed ridden for the last trimester and then her next one she kept working and felt fine up until a week before her due date. Said it depends on the environment and how you take care of yourself. I’m a lot healthier than I used to be. Doc said it’s not just the women. Has to do with the guy too.” Tyler explained as he backed the truck to the dock. The employee pulled the tailgate down. 

“Sam and are are pretty good about eating healthy and what not. We exercise, stay fit.” Jake said, as he watched the employee place the half pallet of grain and supplements in the bed carefully.

“So maybe her body is just like ‘everything’s fine’ right now. When you get home if you’re really that worried, have her go to a doctor. You should talk to her about it though.” Tyler said as the employee waved to him and closed the tailgate. 

“I know, I know. We have...sort of. She’s scared to have kids.” Jake said as Tyler drove out and headed back toward home.

“Why?” He asked, glancing at Jake.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s just the fact that she would be carrying around another human for nine months or if it’s because I almost died on that last deployment...”

“I venture t’guess it’s the latter. She doesn’t wanna have a kid, have all the dogs, and then get a letter from the Navy sayin’ hey your husband died flyin’ a jet, sorry. She’s scared to lose you.”

“I get it, but..she knew what she was getting herself into. Her father was an aviator too.”

“But how long was her father an aviator and deployed on missions before she grew up and understood what she could lose? And you said her father just passed not too long ago. I’m sure that weighs heavy on her mind.”

“Yeah she had lost someone else too before that.”

“Well so there’s exactly why she’s so scared. And I’ll bet she doesn’t want that kid growing up without a dad, Jake. I know you’re gonna be a great dad, but you do have to be a little sensitive to her feelings too. Don’t be so hard on yourself either. And damn it, just talk to her, like we’re talkin’ right now. Put everythin’ out there.”

“You always give the best advice.” Jake said, staring at his brother.

“You do too when I need it. That’s what brothers are for though. To give each other advice.” Tyler said and then he turned up the radio slightly, letting the music take over and fill the comfortable silence that had entered the truck. Jake’s thought traveled back to California then as he stared out the window and across the fields of wheat and corn. He had come to wonder if California was really the place for him and if he wanted to have a family out there, or if he wanted to come back home and try to raise a family here. He wanted to be close to Tyler. He’d always been his safety blanket. His balm when things got rough, so why wouldn’t he want to be closer to him and his parents. 

But he had to think about Sam too. California was all she knew, except for going to Harvard  for college, but even then she had gone home as much as she could. It was a discussion that they needed to have and Jake just didn’t know how to start it or where to start with it. He’d been putting it off for so long it felt like a monster feat to try to bring it up but he knew he needed to do it. Maybe talking all of it out before they went back to California would be the best thing, so that they could manage expectations of each other when they got back and really evaluate whether or not this was what they wanted, now that they’d gotten a taste of this life.

When they arrived back at the ranch, Tyler started up the tractor and swapped the bucket fo the forks so that he could move the pallet. Jake directed him and then once he’d placed it down, Jake began moving bags into the grain room. Tyler left the tractor running.

“You mind putting the grain in the bins? I just wanna go drag the arena. It’s my five minutes of peace and quiet to myself.” Tyler said and Jake nodded. He watched as Tyler walked up to the house quickly, meeting Georgia on the porch. She had Jaycen in her arms and the dogs all came piling out of the front door. Grits, the red heeler, peed on the grass by the first step and then ran, leapt up into the cab of the tractor and sat, waiting for his human. Jake observed for a few more minutes, watching his brother kiss his wife on the lips and kiss his newborn son, all bundled in clothes and a blanket, on the forehead. All Jake could think of then was that he did in fact, want this life. He wanted to come home to Sam and a baby. He wanted everything that Tyler was sharing with him. 

He sighed as he saw Tyler step down from the porch and Georgia walked back inside, already looking like a pro with Jaycen in one arm and the door held open for Waffles, the only one of the dogs that wanted to come back in. The little blue dog ran inside and Jake watched Tyler hop into the tractor cab, Grits taking up his place on his human’s lap, and heading off to drag the ring. Jake continued moving the bags of grain and dumping them into their respective barrels. He was almost done when he heard light footsteps coming into the barn. 

“Hey, handsome.” It was Samantha. Jake, as he crumpled up the last bag and put it in the recycling bin, smiled wide. He stepped over to her, dusting his hands off and then wrapping them around her waist. 

“Hey, gorgeous.” He said softly, pressing his lips to hers. They stayed in that moment, lips just touching, no tongues, no passionate forcefulness, just love between them. Jake was the one who broke the kiss and then his green eyes stared into the warm chocolate brown of Sam’s.

“Can we talk about some things before we go home?” He asked, and she nodded, allowing him to guide her out to the back of the barn so that they could speak in peace and private. They leaned against Ducati’s panels, the horse walking over immediately to say hi. Jake reached through the bars and placed his hand on the gelding’s forehead and scratched softly. 

“What do you want to talk about, Jake?” She asked, reaching for one of his hands. He glanced down and then back up at her, eyes full of concern. Sam clocked it immediately and she drew him in closer. “What's got you worried?”

“I’m just wondering...if you feel okay? Feel any different?” He asked and she tilted her head.

“No? Did I do something that has you asking that?”

“No, no, I just...I...we’ve...fuck...we’ve had sex...a lot...without...” Jake stuttered, trying to figure out how to start. Sam took in a sharp breath.

“I don’t feel any different, no. I...actually called a doctor, back home. I was kind of thinking I might be pregnant at this point too but... I just haven’t gotten around to taking a test and...I’m worried that there’s something wrong...”

“Maybe it’s just bad timing? Maybe it’s me? I know they said the meds I was on when I came home, the depression shit...they could affect stuff like that. Either way...maybe when they do my physical eval I can have them run some tests there too.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea...and Jake I know this is hard. Having to leave. I know you want to stay longer.” Sam moved in to put her hands on his chest and she saw his eyes grow misty. His brows furrowed and he touched his forehead to hers then.

“And I know California is your home.” He whispered. 

“It is...it’s yours too. But...Jake...we have many more years ahead of us...and we can decide, together, where we want to live.” Sam said softly, running her fingers up and down his chest.

“Do we? Have many more years?” Jake asked, tone flat.

“What?” She drew back, her stare hardening.

“Do you want this Sam? Do you want me? With everything that comes with me being in the Navy? With the possibility that what happened last time, could happen again? Or that the next time, I don’t come home? Are you really okay with that?” He asked. He felt warm breath on his hand. Ducati was standing, quietly closing his eyes to the sound of them talking. Sam took a few moments, petting the gelding’s neck and thinking over what she wanted to say to Jake.

“No Jake...to be honest the thought of losing you absolutely scares me to death, but...I love you so much that I want to give it a try. I want this. And everything that comes with it. Because I’m realizing that I really don’t wanna ever be without you...and I know...I know you’re going to go back on deployments and I know you’re going to be gone at times, but I know you’re always going to do everything you can to come back to me. To us.” She said and Jake pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head. 

“I just worry...about not being there for any kids we have. I don’t want to miss things...I don’t want...” Jake’s speech drifted off and his eyes glazed over. Sam knew he was thinking of his father, Randall, not Kenny. Jake didn’t want his kids to miss him. 

“Jake...I’m more resilient than you give me credit for sometimes. I’d be okay...and they’d be okay. And imagine how excited they’d be to have you home...”

🌪️🛻🛩️⚓

As always, Tyler and Jake took an hour, and set off in the truck. They always did this when Jake had to leave, though it wouldn’t be for another month or so, but Tyler needed the time alone with his brother. They were at a very different place and time in both of their lives, but the same sentiment. Tyler turned up the radio and even though it was chilly, rolled the windows down. The first song that came on was one that they both sung softly, but the words hung heavy in the air between them, making them both tear up.

“I’ve been thinkin’ back, summers in the woods, didn’t keep time, cause we didn’t know we should, snuck a little whiskey on the back porch, and now I’m needin’ more, so on a saturday don’t call me if you miss, I’m on a southbound train, just take me back to...skippin’ town and skippin’ classes, time passed slow, like ole molasses, the hardest part of movin’ out was movin’ on. And city lights are dim compared to southern skies and open air. The hardest part of lettin’ go was lettin’ on that I’m goin’ goin’ gone.”

They stayed quiet as the song finished, the next one filtering through the speakers, on a slightly happier note.

“I love a first cast when the water's glass and the line starts to run. Or that first sip of a cold beer when the workin’ weeks done. I love the twilight in the mornin’ fore the day wakes up, or the windows down on the first ride in a paid-up truck. And I love a slow down in a beach town with an ocean view, and I love a first fall Saturday trip down to Baton Rouge. And I love a six-string with the stars out and the campfire glow, but girl that don’t even come close ...” Both brothers hummed but they sang the chorus, each having someone in mind. Someone special.

“To the way that it feels when you lean in and kiss me, the way that you dance when you get kinda tipsy, I’m wrapped round your finger like this ring I’m wearing, that look in your eye, girl, when you catch me starin’, and I don’t even know what it is but now that I’ve found, I can’t imagine me livin’ without this back forty view on our piece of ground, watching you watch the sun goin’ down, that’s what my world spins around .” Tyler glanced over at Jake, his lips turning up. Jake’s all knowing smile met his brother’s.

“That little blond barrel racer...” Jake said, tilting his head in approval.

“That little brunette that you hadta have...” Tyler said, shook his head and reached over to pat his brother’s arm.

[channeledhistory]

Police have carried out multiple violent arrests at Emory University in Decatur, Georgia, in what appears to be the first campus crackdown in recent days to involve rubber bullets and teargas after students set up an encampment in solidarity with Palestine and against Cop City. [...] In a statement released on Mondoweiss, student organizers wrote, “We are students across multiple Atlanta universities and community members organizing against Cop City and the genocide of Palestinians at the hands of US imperialism. We are demanding total institutional divestment from Israeli apartheid and Cop City at all Atlanta colleges and universities.” The statement accused the university of being uniquely “complicit in genocide and police militarization” and said the protesters’ fight against Cop City “is interconnected with global movements against oppressive state practices, most notably the Palestinian struggle for liberation”. [...] The university’s student-run newspaper, Emory Wheel, reported that officers deployed gas into the crowd. The Atlanta Community Press Collective, a local independent outlet, also reported use of teargas on the crowds, in addition to stun guns and rubber bullets being deployed against the protesters.

[...] In a statement released on Thursday, the university said, “Several dozen protesters trespassed into Emory University’s campus early on Thursday morning and set up tents on the Quad. These individuals are not members of our community. They are activists attempting to disrupt our university as our students finish classes and prepare for finals. Emory does not tolerate vandalism or other criminal activity on campus. The Emory police department ordered the group to leave and contacted Atlanta Police and Georgia State Patrol for assistance.”

[...] As the crackdowns continued in the south, Princeton University students in New Jersey set up their own Gaza solidarity encampment on Thursday morning at 7am. Two students were arrested and barred from campus. It is unclear when they will be able to return. [...]

[crownedinmarigolds]

The Stakebait Coterie! Khloe and her boys are out there saving the Atlanta Waterbloods or get Final Death'd trying! (I'll type it all beneath the cut because I know.. my handwriting)

The main characters of the Poisoned Peach - ATL by Night chronicle my beloved is running for me! Khloe is my character, and the boys are my unbeatably dope team.

Name: Khloe Mariah Osbourne

Born: 05/04/1993, Embraced: 2022 by a Ventrue, came out Thinblood, Physical Age: 29

Height: 5'5", Hair: Dark Brown, Eyes: Hazel, Gender: Miss (She/Her), Nationality: American

Likes: Coffee, True Crime, Tabletop RPGs, Being a Minx, Staying Busy

Dislikes: Disappointing Others, Being Unprepared, Not knowing what's up, Her body, Tiktok-Style Ads

A little history: Khloe grew up the only child of very normal people who nastily divorced when she graduated high school. An avid reader and over-thinker, Khloe has immersed herself in many fantasy worlds and strategy games to the point where she seems to think of everything. A people pleaser who has a lot of good acquaintances yet no friends, the lack of companionship was hard-felt when COVID rolled around and kept everyone inside. Had a few partners, though none lasted. One night after visiting her mother, she found herself on a backroad all alone, save for the oncoming headlights that may be straying in her lane. (Where the Poisoned Peach begins!)

Name: Kyle Johnson

Born: 2/3/1994, Embraced: 2020, Sire unknown, but came out Thinblood, Physical Age: 26

Height: 5’10", Hair: N/A, Eyes: Sexy-Boy Brown, Gender: More man than your man (He/Him), Nationality: American

Likes: Feeling needed and helping others, Parties, Drinking cocktails with stupid names, Reasonable reactions.

Dislikes: Being late, people that CAN help and just don't, the MINIONS, Improperly labelled content warnings.

History: His mom was a nurse, her mom was a nurse, and so on. His sisters didn’t want to carry on the tradition, so he decided to go into the medical field himself as an EMT. The stress of the job brought on early balding, but he thrived both on the clock and in the club. One night, he drank a few too many and he woke up in a dumpster the next night, completely clueless. The sunlight began to hurt, nothing sat right in his stomach. Everything was the same yet all so different, better and worse. He spiraled, confused and depressed, until the Dusk Angel found him and helped him come to terms with his new existence. Now Kyle proudly helps the Thinblood Revolution as a kind face to help ease the new blood in, just as he had been.

Name: Randolph "Ralph" Gaylord King III

Born: 10/09/1996, Embraced: 2021 by a Nosferatu, came out Thinblood, Physical Age: 25

Height: 6'5" (Even pre-Embrace, him just big), Hair: Brown (Has to shave the remnants every evening, used to be long and thick and in a man-bun), Eyes: Yellow-Orange (Brown pre-Embrace), Gender: BOI (He/Him), Nationality: American

Likes: Guns, Bad Jokes, Strategy Games, Annoying Christian, Being a right menace

Dislikes: Himself :(, Whiny people, Beer, Signs with sayings meant to be taken serious.

Some Background: Born in St. Louis Missouri, Ralph had a pretty standard lower middle class upbringing. He followed his father and older brother and joined the army when he turned 18 right out of high school. Years of prep and hard work paid off as he went through candidate courses, eventually making it into Special Forces. His career was short-lived however after losing his right foot on his first deployment. Depression and dead-end jobs seemed to be his future until as a joke he started posting thirst-traps on social media, but it got real when his follower count spiked and sponsors started making offers. He was thrown into the life of an Insta-Thot - specifically Fitness Inspo - ultimately landing him in a party in Atlanta, Georgia, where his soon to be sire, Bill - a jealous and spiteful Nosferatu - lurked. Ralph was alone as he stumbled to his hotel room, and Bill could contain his hate no longer. To him, Ralph deserved to be as ugly on the outside as Bill thought he had to be on the inside. Little did Bill know, he messed with the wrong guy.

(Not written due to lack of room, we clearly don't play favorites here...) Eventually found in the sewers by the Dusk Angel, Ralph now serves in the Thinblood revolution, using every skill he's acquired in order to get revenge against the Fullbloods.

Name: Christian Ottavio

Born: 01/16/1989, Embraced: 2017, Gangrel sire but came out Thinblood, Physical Age: A rough 28

Height: 6'1", Hair: Dark Brown, Eyes: Brown, Gender: The MAN (He/Him), Nationality: American

Likes: Beer, Relaxing nights spent inside, Napping, His truck

Dislikes: His family, Wearing tight jeans, Bro-Country music, Fullbloods

A bit of background: Born and bred in Georgia into a rich family with ideals he couldn't wrap his head around. Went into the workforce at a young age in an effort to escape them and be on his own. He's had to sleep in his truck many a night, but eventually got everything together enough to get a roof over his head. That was until some uppity lick decided to draft him into the army of the damned during the Atlanta Sabbat civil war. He was one of many forced to fight during the schism, and one of the few to come out "alive." Before his sire could take him behind the proverbial tool shed, Christian was saved by the Dusk Angel, and now is a proud Thinblood freedom fighter.

[amandas-ipodx]

Why we should be able to keep our phones at school

Hi tumblr!! I feel like this is a very serious issue that I feel the need to talk about. I’m not just saying all this because I’m a teenager and want my phone, I have completely valid reasons. Schools taking our phones away during the day is very dangerous especially considering the current state of America.

In 2024 so far we have had 28 school shootings resulting in injuries or deaths. That is too many. Considering the recent events at Apalachee High School in Georgia and my school cracking down on phones it got me thinking how unsafe it is for schools to take our phones. It’s unsafe because, how could we contact loved ones in an emergency and in a lockdown phones could potentially make a lot of noise.

Let’s start off with these pouches. In my district, you put your phone in the pouch at the beginning of class and then get it at the end of class. Which seems fine but, even if you have your phone silenced it still makes noise. In class the other day my friend called me and you could hear my phone vibrating. Think about that when worried parents are trying to contact their kids during a shooting.

That leads me to my next thing, there’s absolutely no way you can communicate with loved ones. You could argue that you can grab your phone before going to the corner of the room you’re supposed to, but most teachers don’t let you do that. (At least during drills)

Some schools are using a system where your phone is locked in a pouch kept in the office until the end of the day. You can’t grab your phone then? How would my mom know if I’m alive?

I hope this can get my point across. Don’t take our phones take their guns.