#i can't stop writing about these silly pilots

[joeyalohadream]

New MOTA Fic idea:

I fell into a rabbit hole researching the Army Air Forces flight training program last night and now I'm some how 7,000 words into a story about John and Gale first meeting at basic, becoming flight cadets, learning to fly, eager to become officers and *surprise* falling in love.

I have so many ideas and headcannons that this may turn into a 30K+ word fic. What am I doing?!

[yaswtssz]

Mine

"Please daddy, just one more story and I promise I'll go to sleep!" Ruby says with her childish voice, and like a good drooling dad, Charles couldn't deny anything that the girl asked him.

"Okay, okay... you won! What does my little princess want me to tell you?"

“Your story with mom!!” The little one says excitedly what made Charles laugh. From the first time you heard the story of how your parents got together, it became your favorite bedtime story.

"Well, there it goes..." And so, the eldest began to tell about how he and 'the most perfect woman in the world' according to him, got together.

—————

After waiting long minutes for Charles while she was lying down, Y/n became surprised by her husband's delay. So curious, the woman paused "letters to juliet" that was on the TV in the couple's room, and decided to go to her daughter's room to check if there was something wrong.

When he got there, Y/n saw her favorite scene since little Ruby was born. Charles was lying uncomfortably on his daughter's bed, who was snuggled in his chest. The pilot looked so far from the little pink world where he was at the time, which only made the scene even cuter.

So Y/n unconsciously leaned on the door stop and got lost in her thoughts as she watched her husband and daughter interact.

Upon understanding what story Charles was telling Ruby, she can't contain herself and said "Do you remember, were sitting by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time…" She says, and it was as if she was living all that in her head again, and Y/n can't help but feel the same ecstasy she felt when the moment happened, years ago.

"And every time I look at you it's like it's the first time! I fell in love with the careless man careful daughter, you are the best thing that has ever been mine!" Charles says looking at his beloved with a silly smile stamped on his face.

i already posted this one in my wattpad account, where i write imagines inspired by some taylor swift songs.

please make your requests!¡

i really hope you guys like it🫶

[spacesapphi]

HES Trio Headcanon Time! (HCs below the cut, this is a long one)

TW for mentions of bullying, death, parental death, car accident, drinking, and neglect

Elliot

- he's 30yrs old and 6'0, very lanky and tall and covered in freckles. His hair is curly too!

- HC for his voice has to be Raoul from Phantom of the Opera, just has that romantic voice that fits him so well

- his family is of Irish descent and his last name is Lillis, which he finds sounds VERY romantic!

- growing up he was so obsessed with classical literature that he would often pretend his life was a novel, narrating his daily life in his head

- LOVESSSS pride & prejudice, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Mis, he'll talk your ear off about them if you let him

- was unfortunately bullied a lot for his interests growing up, even at home. He tried not to let it dampen his spirit, but it was difficult. He channels a lot of that pain into his writing

- his parents never really respected his hobbies, and his brothers weren't that kind in general. Elliot often felt alone in his house, like he was a misunderstood outcast that didnt have anyone. One of his favorite book series as a kid was Anne of Green Gables, as he connected to her feeling out of place and different from everyone around her

- pretty much canon, but he's a lightweight. One drink and he's GONE. Hes gets silly and giggly when he's drunk too

- he's autistic (I feel like everyone in the HES trio is) and his special interest is around literature, specifically romance literature. Anytime he sees something notable happen in town, or a couple do anything he goes "Oh this is just like x character in x book!" And he'll infodump about the story to anyone who will listen (usually Leah or Penny)

- he gets along well with Penny and shes actually been his test reader and editor for many of his published pieces! He always puts her name in the "special thanks" section

- takes much pride in his appearance, especially his hair. Before the farmer arrived he was the one practically keeping Pierre in business for self care products because he REFUSED to go to Joja bc "Do you know how many CHEMICALS are in those things?!"

- maladaptive daydreamer for sure. He gets frustrated with the way he cant stop daydreaming, and how music always seems to intensify it. On one hand, it gives him ideas for his writing, on the other it makes it hard for him to interact with others. When he's home alone in his cabin, Finding him pacing around, listening to his favorite CDs and records is common

- his love language is sentimental gifts. They don't need to be elaborate or expensive grand gestures. If you mention loving a certain food he'll make it for you, he'll get you things in your favorite color just to make you smile. Hes a very sweet man!

- he has a beautiful laugh!

- wears dangly earrings all the time. He likes very sparkly ones with jewels, ones that make him feel like he's in a romantic period piece. He has a killer collection of them!

Harvey

- he's 35yrs old and 6'2, though you can't tell because he's often slouched over (bad habit, he knows. His back hurts all the time). He's a chubby guy too, which makes him feel self conscious, but he learns to love himself :)

- My HC for his voice is Simon Petrikov, specifically the way he speaks in Fiona and Cake, I cannot imagine it any differently LMAO

- Harveys family is of Italian descent and his last name is Russo!

- grew up with just his mom and grandpa. His mom was a doctor and his grandpa was a retired pilot who helped spark his love for flying. He died when Harvey was 12, leaving some model planes and that radio he keeps in his office to him with a note telling him to always reach for the skies.

- Harvey has a bit of a lisp, and spent a lot of time in speech therapy as a kid. Words with lots of "s" sounds are tricky for him

- he actively went through so much testing to be a pilot, but when he got to the actual flight test where he had to get into a plane he got so anxious he threw up and ran away

- he realized then and there that he couldnt do it, and it was a hard reality to face. A lot of crying, and a lot of struggling to accept his dream wasn't attainable. He felt like he was letting his grandpa down, but his mom promised he wasn't

- when he decided to go to medical school, he couldn't decide what his focus was going to be to save his life, he changed it constantly. It took about two years to land on primary care physician and even then he still kept researching other tracks. This would come in hand once he got to pelican town and became the only doctor

- often too exhausted to cook for himself, which is why he buys so much processed food. Shane gives him a lot of shit for it every time he sees him at JojaMart ("don't say SHIT to me at my next checkup if you're going to buy that")

- his eyesight is so bad. He can't see a foot in front of him without his glasses. He's also incredibly clumsy and falls and breaks them often (I mean where did you THINK all those broken glasses you were fishing up were from?)

- like Elliot, was a victim of bullying in school, especially highschool :( Nerdy guy with a plane interest that stuck to himself was unfortunately a prime target, and he found himself in a rough situation. It actually got so bad that he took a special test to be able to graduate early so he didn't have to deal with it anymore. He passed it in tenth grade, and put all his energy into studying to be a pilot until he was old enough to join courses for it

- his mom was his biggest advocate, and was regularly down at his school to yell at administration for letting the bullying get that bad. She loved her son more than anything and would do anything for him. She was the one to suggest testing out of school, not wanting him to go through all of that for years.

- hes still close with his mom, and they regularly call and write letters to each other to keep up. Since Harvey lives so far now, they mostly meet up on important days like birthdays, holidays, and to go visit his grandfather's grave every once in a while

Shane

- he's 30yrs old and 5'7, and he hates both of those facts. Being the shortest man in town and one of the oldest single ones is a bit of a blow to his self esteem. He's pretty bulky too, a combination of muscle from working on the ranch and as a stocker, and fat from drinking and diet

- I go back and forth on his voice HC constantly, but I like the common fan interp of him sounding kinda like Nick Miller from new girl, it fits too well

- Shane is Pennsylvania Dutch on his mothers side and his last name (along with Marnies) is Yoder!

- that being said he knows very little of the PA Dutch language, though Marnie speaks it fluently. He has a bit of an accent from growing up with her

- croc wearer, don't tell me otherwise. He has a few everyday pairs, a fur lined pair for when it gets cold, and what he calls his "formal Crocs" (literally just black Crocs with bowtie jibbits this man is so fucking corny). He has normal shoes too, like sneakers and boots for the winter and work, but nothing beats his Crocs

- Jas has tried to call him dad a few times, but it makes him sad. He doesn't feel good enough to deserve that title, and he feels like he'd be disrespecting his friends by trying to take it over.

- Was in the accident that killed her parents. They took him out to celebrate his 25th birthday, going to a Tunnelers game. They were hit by a reckless driver going far above the speed limit on the way back home, and he was the only one who made it. One moment Shane was having the time of his life with his best friends in the world, the next he's waking up in the hospital finding out they're gone. As a result, his birthday has become a bit of a sore subject, hence why he "was hoping he'd forget" anytime he gets a birthday gift

- his leg got really hurt in the accident, and though its healed, he still often needs compression braces to deal with chronic pain from it. Working at Joja and on the ranch aren't exactly low impact after all

- Marnie is his only bio family thats alive and on speaking terms with him. She practically raised him for the most part, with his dad gone and mother having passed when he was little. His mother was Mona, the same Mona from the cemetery. She was Marnies twin sister, and the photo in secret note 11 is her and baby shane.

- He and Emily were childhood bestfriends growing up, and dated in highschool. They realized after about a year that they just worked better as friends though, and remain besties to this day

- he's transgender he told me himself

- Marnie was also incredibly supportive of his transition and she's fiercely protective of him. He may technically be her nephew but she sees him more as a son and thus goes full mama bear when it comes to him

- even though he doesn't take great care of himself, he makes sure jas is well taken care of, especially after he starts recovery. His clothes may be threadbare and worn, and he may look like he hasn't slept in a year, but Jas will *always* have everything she could ever need... and want. Ngl he kinda spoils her a little, especially after he cuts back and can afford it more. He feels bad saying no to her given all that she's gone through. She has a doll collection that could make the most avid collectors jealous

- he makes sure he spends time with her too, taking days off for festivals because she wants him there, taking the day off for her birthday, and trying his best to be there for her. It's an upward struggle for him to get better so he can be there for her, but he's trying

- after Joja closes down, Marnie offers him a full time job at the ranch, including pay and board. He takes the offer IMMEDIATELY, and does an amazing job at it. She's certain she'll be leaving the ranch to him once she's retired

- if you want to get him to do anything, tell him him it involves chickens in some way. Chickens are his special interest for SURE. Chicken print socks, corny puns, joke tshirts, he has it all. He practically becomes the organizer of the Egg Festival yearly once he's started recovery, putting a crazy amount of work into it to make sure it goes well. Same with the Valley Fair's petting zoo. The amount of pride he gets talking about the animals to tourists is unmatched, and it's one of the few times Marnie gets to see him look as happy as he did before the accident. Those moments are fleeting, but everytime she can see that light in his eyes she feels like everything will be ok.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

this is soooooo insanely self indulgent but for fic prompts could u write something where bucky is so attracted to buck’s brain to the point where it’s literally a turn on but buck is used to people not caring (his shitty parents) so he doesn’t really get it

The biggest trick any unit has to learn is what to do with downtime. There's things to do in Boise, but it's important to not just let the boys loose every day and night they aren't training.

Lectures are semi-popular. Buck offers up a few on science. High-school level stuff explaining physics and chemistry. Things a lot of the boys already know a little about and want to know more.

Bucky slips into the back of the room for one of them, standing against the wall because there's no free space to sit. It makes him smile. Buck's whole face lights up when he figures out a good topic for a lecture, and Bucky's glad to see how many seem to like them.

Buck steps up to the lectern and grins at the boys. "Who wants to figure out the best order to lose all four engines and survive?" he asks.

"Can we figure it out the other way, too?" Hambone asks, which makes everyone laugh, even Buck.

"Sure," he says. "But I'll let anyone who doesn't want that knowledge cut out before we talk about it."

Bucky chuckles as Buck turns towards the chalkboard and someone sends a paper airplane through the air, hitting Buck in the back.

"Douglass, that's five demerits," Buck says.

There's a few moments of tussling around Douglass as his friends give him grief, but they all go quiet when Buck turns to face the room again and says, "Okay, let's talk gravity."

Bucky follows the lecture easily. He and Buck have had these conversations before, Buck breaking down the science when Bucky can't follow, making sure he can explain it back to him before he picks up again. It means he can relax and simply watch Buck.

Buck's got the room's attention, his deep voice carrying easily, and the loose-limbed way he moves keeping everyone's attention. He walks the boys through equations and illustrations, drawing a full layout of the fuel line hosing from memory to help the discussion about how gravity and mass and velocity all wrap together to affect which engine has the best chance of running the longest even if the fuel pressure drops.

Bucky shifts his hat, moving it from under his arm to hold in both hands in front of his belt to hide the fact that his dick is half-hard. Buck's face is bright and relaxed as he answers a question about the equation. Bucky watches the pilot who asked the question nod along as he makes sense of Buck's answer.

He's so goddamn smart, Buck is. It makes Bucky feel like his insides are sparking when it's on display like this. Buck knows so much and explains it all so well. He's so open with what he knows and never tires at questions or confusion. Watching him be happy to share makes Bucky want to cut the lecture short so he can kiss him silly, taste the chalk dust that's settled on him, and tell him how amazing he is.

The lecture ends, and the room empties out. Bucky stays put, nodding to a few of the boys who say hello. Buck stays up at the front of the room, looking at the chalkboard like he's appreciating his own work.

"Another sold out show," Bucky says once they're alone.

Buck turns and ducks his head. "I think I'm the only show on today."

"That's not true, and you know it," Bucky replies, pushing off the wall and walking slowly up the center aisle to Buck. "You had them eating out of your hand, like always."

"It's just about finding the right way to explain it," Buck says. "That's not hard."

Bucky stops close enough to Buck that their buttons brush together. "You are so goddamn smart it makes me crazy," he says. "You know all this stuff, and you can explain it, and you can figure out how to make it interesting for anyone."

Buck slips a hand over Bucky's hip and shifts so he can slip a leg between Bucky's. "Did I get you riled up again, Major?"

"You rile me up every fucking second," Bucky says, cupping the side of Buck's neck. "But, yeah, watching you work that big brain in front of a crowd really gets me going."

Buck huffs a laugh and brushes his mouth against Bucky's. Bucky tastes the chalk dust and bites his lip so he doesn't moan. "Only you," he says, and it's deeply affectionate.

"Come on," Bucky says, tilting his head to one side. "Let me suck you off while you rattle off geometry proofs."

Buck snorts and shoves at Bucky, but then he reels him right back in and kisses him properly, a slow, steady movement of their mouths matched with an easy glide of their tongues. "I may be the brains of the operation, but you're the romantic," he says.

Bucky laughs and rocks against Bucky's thigh, sighing when Bucky shifts so there's more pressure on his cock. "Come on," he says, "Let's go find a spot to fuck my brains out."

"Only yours?" Buck asks.

Bucky shivers at the challenge in Buck's tone. "I'll never manage, but I will wear myself out trying."

Buck grins at him and takes one step back, grabbing Bucky's hand and pulling him along. "An equal amount of pressure on both sides," he says. "That's physics."

"Uh-huh," Bucky replies. "Keep talking dirty."

[coffee-master]

Hello! I want to say that ur AU is AWESOME. I love the way Kai has to deal with being the master of water and basically everything else that comes with it. ANYWAY I want to ask, are u planning on adding stuff about seabound? If so, im rly excited to see how u portray that!

(Also possibly the whole Aspheera situation but no pressure on that)

Have a good day (or whatever time it is where u are) 😁

Dear anon..

There is no such way that I am NOT adding seabound here!!!

I'm planning to make some incorrect quotes and write a fic about the seabound part later.

There is no way that I'd miss such opportunity for angst!

I want write Kai struggle. I want to write him becoming one with the water.

I want to write ninjas break.

I want to see them the those three heartbroken and devastated, while not able to say goodbye.

Nya

She'd try to grab her brother's hand unsuccessfully, try to talk to him, but he doesn't listen.

Even though she tries, but when her brother starts going to the water she's scared.

Nya starts yelling at him, while trying to stop him. To hold him. But she can't-

And there he's gone.

I want to see Nya's breaking point, where she blames herself. Where she's devastated, that she lost her older brother once again. (In the pilot Nya wasn't kidnapped by the skeletons. Kai allowed himself to be kidnapped by them to keep his sister safe)

She would be angry, because Kai once again sacrificed himself for their good.

She would burst into flames, while screaming and pounding her fists on the ground senselessly, until the anger is gone and what's left is sadness.

She starts crying on the ground desperately. Jay would come to her and hug her and she'd cry more.

Lloyd

Oh, as if this boy didn't need earlier therapy..

He'd stood there heartbroken, devastated seeing as the person who promised to take care of him and always be by his side suddenly leaves him as if he didn't meant anything.

The Big Brother, who gave him some normal childhood, family-bond or even teached how to tie shoes.. He dissapeares forever.

Lloyd blames himself, for lossing him.

Kai had always protected him, before and after he got powers. He was always able to safe him and be there for him.

And right now Lloyd wasn't able to do the same.

But Lloyd was the green ninja, he should have safed him, he should have been able to do this.

Why this one time he couldn't safe him? Why?

It makes him stood there broken, crying, while looking at the see.

Cole

How do you feel when another person, who you loved deeply dies in front of you once again?

When you're aware, that you can't do anything.

When you see them smilling, as if nothing was happening, bit deep down you know that something is wrong.

That this is goodbye.

He's scared. He's broken.

His boyfriend is littelary a floating water, who sounds and looks like Kai, but doesn't behave like Kai. Who talks weird.

Something is wrong.

He's scared, because he knows what's going to happen.

He's broken, because he's going to lose him too.

And before he notices, he's gone.

But for now..

Firstly I want to do more about incorrect quotes for other seasons in my au, answer questions so that people would know how looks the situation in this universe and ect.

Moreover I also want to write more fics for this au, before going into seabound season.

On ao3 I have a series, where some one-shots about this au will be published, but for now I was only able to publish one work.

I'm very slow writer, that's why I know it'll take me a while.

So for now let's enjoy some silly incorrect quotes, please?

OH!

Besides that yeah, I'll also add the situation with Aspheera, and It'll be probably more focused on Nya and Jay.

First | More about AU | Previous | Next

[ruified]

i just finished osamu dazai’s entrance exam and it was SO GOOD??????? in no way did the anime do it an ounce of justice

anyways, just like last time, here are some quotes and my thoughts

i love love love the way we get to really explore kunikida and dazai’s dynamic as partners in this light novel, it really helps the reader understand how they work together so well

"I'm impressed, Kunikida. Nothing gets by you, does it? Incredible." His smile is cold, inhuman. "I'm so glad you were my partner."

"What do you want?! Why did you threaten the detective agency?! What was the point of killing the missing people and setting the bomb?! You... You were..."

You were so talented.

I couldn't have asked for a better partner.

they drive me crazy i love them so much </3 in this scene kunikida is questioning dazai and threatening his life on the suspicions of dazai being the azure apostle, it’s the way that even though they had only spent so little time working together that they both felt they were good partners

i love how in the ln it’s actively a mystery for those who don’t know what’s going on, even as someone who watched the anime, dazai being setup was pretty convincing

the speech given at the end of it all by dazai to kunikida on the risks of following one’s ideals also carries a bigger impact than what was provided in the anime, it makes more sense

the way that sasaki is also a genuine love interest of kunikida’s is also so heart wrenching, her last words really just hit hard

here’s something i found so sweet

"Hello, little one. Can you hear me?" Dazai takes over the call.

"We here are airplane experts. There's nothing to worry about anymore. We're going to fix the plane. What's your name, little miss?"

"Ch-Chiyo..."

"Chiyo, everything's going to be okay. Got any snacks with you?"

"Mommy gave me this piece of candy..."

"Candy, huh? I love candy, too. It's so sweet, and it really helps you relax, doesn't it?"

"Dazai—"

"I've got this... Chiyo, first, I want you to really take your time enjoying that piece of candy. After that, I'm going to need you to take that device you're talking into and bring it to the captain's room. Do you know where the captain's room is?" Chiyo nods, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Don't worry. There's nobody screaming in there, and I bet your mommy will be feeling better in no time."

"B-but I... I can't go alone. I can't leave Mommy behind..."

"Your mommy's gonna be just fine. The pilot will make things all better. So I'm going to need you to take that device to their room and give it to them, okay?"

"Well, this is just no good. I'm quite weak, you see. A big guy like yourself would snap me right in two... But I promised Chiyo I would save her."

THE WAY HE TALKS TO THE LITTLE GIRL WARMS MY HEART AND MAKES IT ACHE AT THE SAME TIME HE HANDLES IT SO WELL AND THE WAY HE WANTS TO KEEP HIS PROMISE UEUEUE

I tear the stitches off my hip pocket and pull out a sheet of paper.

"...I always have a spare page with me for emergencies."

I unfold the paper and write with my own blood.

"The Matchless Poet: Release Key!"

here’s kunikida just being cool i love him sm i love my wife

here’s some silly ones

"It's this incredibly rare book called The Complete Suicide. I've been searching all over for it, and I just noticed it on display in the used bookstore back there — Ah! I have to go back and buy it before someone else does."

Nobody asked.

"Tsk... Guess I'll just have to come up with another way to use you as bait. I bet the criminal targets tourists. All right, Kunikida, slip on your rubber boots, throw on your backpack, put on your red-and-green-striped shirt, and start walking the town in your knickerbockers. Make sure to bring a giant camera with you to take pictures of everyone who walks by and say 'eh' at the end of every sentence."

"Like hell I will!"

""Like hell I will, eh!'"

"You call that a strategy? That's a terri-"

"A terrible idea, eh?'"

"Stop guessing what I'm going to say!"

"Hmm? In that case, how about you get naked, put on a top

you like?"

hat, and ride around on a unicycle screaming what kind of girls

"We're not even talking about the same thing anymore!"

all in all i highly suggest you read osamu dazai’s entrance exam i promise it is so worth it <3

[eviesaurusrex]

Hey! I read your Mrs. Strange fic (which was amazing) and was wondering if you could write one for Tony? Where the reader and Tony are getting married and hes absolutely obsessed with y/n. Love your writing!

Hey, love! First of all, thank you so much for reading and enjoying my silly writing! <3 And of course I can write something for Tony. He is actually pretty front and center on my list of characters :3

***

"ɪ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ɪᴛ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ꜱᴜɪᴛ ʏᴏᴜ." | ᴛ. ꜱᴛᴀʀᴋ

GIF not mine!

Tony Stark x Navy Pilot!Reader

summary: It's Tony's and YN's wedding day, and Tony can't stop himself from showing everyone that he had been right all along.

word count: 2k

warnings: nothing really, this is just pure and wholesome fluff, some loving bickering, mentioning of pregnancy because I can't help myself, this man deserves anything and everything, not entirely proofread

author's note: This will be a short one, I hope no one is mad about this. I just want to get back into writing, and I think that's the best way to achieve it :3 I still hope you like what I came up with even though I'm not too pleased with it :x Btw: We are ignoring the Coulson-thing. I wanted to have him here, so we have Coulson here. Deal with it.

***

Smiling, YN watched the guests as they enjoyed themselves in the lavishly decorated venue and took a deep inhale of the flower-scented air wafting around her and everyone else. Tony had been adamant in his endeavors of turning every single fantasy and image fragment floating through her head into reality, so everywhere they had gone today, she had been surrounded by the prettiest of flowers and plants—from their apartment in the compound where she had gotten ready with her bridesmaids and hired stylists, to the grand venue they had held their wedding ceremony in and now celebrated the day. A church wasn't even a fleeting thought because neither YN nor Tony believed in a higher being, despite the many impossible situations they had faced and overcome in the past many years. She actually didn't want to think about the many near-death experiences they both had walked past, nor felt YN the need to think about the expenses made for today's arrangement.

They had enough money, yes, but that had never meant for her to spend it as heavily and indulgently as Tony loved to do.

The thought of her newly turned husband dancing through her mind made the commander smile as brightly as the sun outside. With the same smile resting unmoving on her lips, YN started to thank each and every one she saw for coming and wished them a pleasant afternoon while simultaneously heading toward the perfectly stocked bar. Ever since the beautiful ceremony, which had not only moved her to tears but also a certain man who was still in his denying phase, the woman had felt the dryness in her mouth increasing every passing moment, urging her to tend to her needs which had gotten worse rather quickly over the last few weeks.

She would be lying if she said it didn't scare the living daylights out of her.

"Anything non-alcoholic and a glass of water, Frankie, please," YN asked one of the many bartenders Tony had personally handpicked through hours of going through every single resume the wedding planner had to send straight to him. Both women still didn't understand the meaning of it all, but YN soon had stopped questioning her husband's strange behavior towards everything related to the wedding. Softly shaking her head, the bride mumbled a small Thanks and grabbed for the water to at least inhale half of it before she dried out on the spot. It was strange what her body was willing to do and which changes it went through in order to create a welcoming environment for something she had never considered possible for herself.

"Mrs. Stark! Mrs Stark!"

The all too well-known excited voice of non-other than Peter Parker ripped her mind from its spiraling nature when it came to that topic and back into reality where the brunet young man arrived at her spot at the bar, a bright grin on his handsome features and shining eyes—just as usual. Other than Tony, YN never had hesitated to show him affection in any way possible, considering Peter as something close to a son, and she believed he was thankful for that, even though the woman knew that his aunt was perfectly capable of handling those things herself. But gladly, May and she agreed a long time ago that Peter could use more of that loving environment, so YN had made it her duty to do exactly that.

Smiling, the bride softly brushed over his shoulders in order to straighten the black suit he wore—handpicked by Tony, of course—and straightened the tie around his neck. "Is everything alright?" Being part of the superhero business for longer than YN would like to admit, one could never know, especially not when one married Iron Man himself. But Peter only grinned and nodded too fast for her eyes and dizzy head. "Yeah, totally! Mr. Stark sent me here to remind you to drink and stay hydrated, but you obviously already did that, so here are some snacks I brought from the buffet and which are really, really good, oh, and I also found some chocolate at the dessert table, and—..." Softly laughing, YN stopped the flood of words escaping his mouth by taking the plate filled with an assortment of deliciously looking canapés from his hands and gently patting his cheek. "Thank you, Peter. That's incredibly kind and attentive, but you should go and look for MJ. I think I saw her at one of the balconies."

And with that, YN pushed the shy-turning boy in the right direction and nudged him forward. She was nothing but a matchmaker—at least, she tried her best.

But the moment of quietness didn't stay long because suddenly, someone came up to her and cleared their throat to earn her attention. With a canapé in hand, YN turned and smiled widely at the familiar sight of Phil Coulson, but without his accompanying ID dangling at his suit jacket. "Phil! I'm so glad you could make it." Indeed, she was because, during all her time working with SHIELD and even during the aftermath of what had happened in D.C., Phil Coulson had become a somewhat friend to her, which Tony always had disliked, of course. The agent smiled at her and clumsily patted her lace-covered shoulder. "I couldn't miss this, Commander Stark."

A grin tucked at the corner of her mouth at the sound of her title combined with her newly acquired last name, and maybe YN had to admit that it sounded much better than she ever could've imagined. And as if he knew her thoughts, the man of the hour walked over to them and let his arm slowly sneak around her waist to pull her into his warm, inviting side. A loving, lingering kiss to her cheek followed before Tony shook hands with Coulson. "What do you think, Phil?"—YN couldn't help it and rolled her eyes—"The name fits her perfectly, doesn't it?" One of her hands immediately rose to hit Tony against his chest while her husband only laughed, and Coulson slowly shook his head with an amused expression on his face. "I will leave you two to discuss the matter. Tony, Commander. Congratulations."

As soon as her favorite agent had left them to themselves, YN started to chew on the snacks and cocked a brow at Tony. He, on the other hand, only was able to stare down at her, that one particular smile specially reserved for her very person spreading over his handsome features. His arm tightened its hold around her waist while his other hand started to brush over her arm upward, reaching her shoulder and continuing to her neck, so his thumb could caress her cheek. "But, tell me, wife." The man paused for a moment to grin at YN's chuckle. "Do you still think the change of names was such a disaster?" Cocking her head from one side to the other, YN observed Tony's face before shrugging. "I mean, I don't know yet. Barely anyone has called me by it so far. Maybe you should give it a try, and maybe I could be convinced to start thinking it's not too bad after all," she teased him and giggled at the feeling of his lips pressing kisses to hers. He only stopped to whisper soft versions of "Mrs. Stark" against them, grinning victoriously at the sound of her pleased humming and into the kiss she gave him in return. "Watch out, or you might have to call me Mrs. Stark for the rest of our lives."

Now it was Tony's turn to grin his cheeky, teasing grin and nudged YN's chin up, so he could look her directly into her eyes. "I told you it would suit you, Mrs. Stark. And think of the non-existing trouble we'll have when we start thinking about names. We won't have to find one that suits them both." Almost immediately, she could feel the tears—happy ones—welling up in her eyes, and taking a deep breath, YN leaned her cheek into the warm, comforting palm of his hand. She still couldn't believe how her life had turned for the better, and now, they would have everything they ever wanted, everything they had ever talked about when lying in their dark bedroom, watching the slow sunrise through the grand windows when sleep just wouldn't take hold of them. "And," Tony continued with a soft smile as soon as he saw the tears trying to spill out of his wife's eyes, "She needs the Stark name. We can't have her inherit every single penny without wearing the name that's printed on everything she'll own. Imagine the troubles and unnecessary stress she would have to face in that case because she would need to change every single goddamn letterhead. I don't want that for her."

YN still sniffled a bit, blinking rapidly to suppress the tears from falling, and instead concentrated on the growing question mark in her mind. "She?" The woman asked in a hushed whisper, not daring to take a breath, not wanting to risk scaring Tony off. But he only nodded, barely visible, and let his hand wander to her lower abdomen, where a tiny bump had already made its presence known and which would soon be all over the press. "It's not some weird fatherly feeling, I promise. There's only that one image in my head I can't forget. It's stuck like a damned idea, keeping me up all night."

He removed his hand from the position he had learned to love ever since YN had told him her suspicion to wrap his wife in a tight embrace. "So, you want a girl?" Her question pushed him to kiss her again. "I'm sure I wouldn't mess her up too badly." Her hands on his face and neck let him take a deep breath and ground himself. "You won't mess them up, Tony. I know you won't let that happen because you are who you are. You are the best man I ever had the pleasure to meet—well, not from the beginning..." His grumbling only made her laugh. "That's the way to ruin a compliment, love," the Stark returned but let her continue. "No one is born perfect, husband. We both had to develop and grow on this path we decided to walk together, but we did, and now I can proudly say that I married the best man on earth and that he will be such a wonderful father. Because you will be a wonderful father, Tony. They won't miss a thing in their life because you'd be there to fulfill their every wish and hope, even if it meant for you burning parts of the world down."

He could feel his hands shaking as he cupped his wife's face tenderly, seeing the ring she put there only hours ago almost gleaming in the corner of his vision, and knew he finally arrived at the spot he always was meant to be. Here, with this angel of a woman, making him the happiest and proudest man on earth, and letting him feel things he never had dared to hope for. "You will kick my ass if you ever think I mess her up." YN nodded at that and Tony bent down to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. "And that's why I'm the luckiest man on earth." Because with her, he wouldn't repeat the mistakes his father made all those years ago.

***

Oh gosh, I'm so sorry for this horrible dump of words. The idea in my head was so much better T.T The next Tony piece will hopefully be better. As usual: Reblogs, comments, and likes are much appreciated!

Taglist: @hopefulinlove @seasonofthenerd @onecrazydirectioner @meeksmusic83 @nyctophilic0vitnir @lastwandastan

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #267

Today, J was supposed to fly over with one of his pilot friends to Great Barrington, where his plane is. From there, J flew his plane to the usual small airport that he uses.

I'm pleased (and extremely relieved!!) to report that J made it back without incident, and the plane is in the hangar now, where it belongs.

J also took a few pretty cool pictures along the way to Great Barrington:

I waited at the usual small airport for J to get back. We drove there, and then he and his pilot friend flew out to Great Barrington in the club plane. I stayed behind to wait. I played a lot of Dead Cells.

...Guess who's got 5 Boss Cells now. 😁

At 5 Boss Cells, a new mechanic called The Malaise is introduced. And it's a little yellow bar that fills up slowly as you navigate the level, right over your hit point bar. The more enemies there are in the level, the faster it fills. It stops filling once 90% of the enemies in the level are defeated. Most foods will fill up your malaise meter as well.

The higher your malaise meter is, the harder the enemies hit you, the faster they hit you, and the higher the chance new ones will spawn near you randomly, and the higher the chance that one might randomly turn into an Elite.

...So, essentially, at higher levels, I get to have shiny new enemies to bash with my lovely shield! Which means more gold for me!! The increased strength and increased attack speed are non-issues compared to the increased amount of loot I'll get; all I have to do is improve my skills! Extra enemies means extra loot, faster attack speeds means I'll be able to parry them faster, and extra damage done by them just means I'll have to try a little harder not to get hit!

So essentially, the Malaise meter is a blessing in disguise; all it's gonna do is make me a better player, if I let it!

...I am disappointed to tell you, though, that I can't give you any more pictures of the Brother Sun book. I didn't realize that it's still protected by copyright. If I put up pictures of this book for you, I run the risk of my whole collection of letters being taken down and deleted, and not being able to write any more of them in this space; I can't have that. So I removed the photos that were in the previous three letters. I'm sorry.

But don't fret, though; I'm going to get another English copy of The Neverending Story, and I'm going to see about trying to get permission to read it out loud for you. It's easily my favorite book; I'd love to read it to you.

...But... just in case I don't get that permission... I also snagged a Japanese copy for you - just in case I ever get to see those very important people again. I have a couple more very small trinkets in mind to give to you, just in case...

...I wanna be able to do things like read books to you and show you things to watch and things to play, but... copyright law is a thing. You have to watch out for it. Otherwise, people will sue the pants right off of you.

...But don't fret!!! I can still take plenty of pictures for you. And... maybe they're not as nice as the ones taken by Mr. Dennis Stock, and maybe they don't come with cool quotes written by great people... So... I guess you'll have to settle for my silly writings and my silly pictures instead, and... I really am sorry about that; truly, lots of far awesome-er (that's a word now; I decided it) people than me should be trying to help you. But I'm here. Or at least, I'm trying to be here. And maybe that can count for something, if you'll allow it:

...Will you take my hand and walk with me for a little while and maybe also sing a silly little song with me so that you can remember that things are good, even if sometimes they're also difficult and scary? Because when we do the things together, the good things become nicer, and the difficult, scary things become not so bad.

I know that a lot of the people in your life before dropped the ball on you, because they were taught a false version of strength that told them it's best to deal with things alone. But you know... I think some of those people are trying to learn from their mistakes. And even if they weren't, then if you'll look around a little, outside of the toxic social circles you grew up in... you'll find lots of healthy people who won't drop the ball on you. One of those people is writing a new letter to you every day. 😉

In any case, J and I decided to get pizza on the way home. The pizza is to celebrate both his big victory of getting the plane in the hangar without incident, and also to celebrate my little victory of getting 5 Boss Cells. It was very good:

...Victory pizza is the best pizza. Maybe you can get some once you're not locked away at the Northern Crater, or at the Edge of Creation, or... wherever the heck you are.

...Please come home soon, okay? And please come home safe. The people who care about you miss you a whole lot.

Anyhoot, I suppose that's all I've got for you, for today. I hope you liked some of the pictures.

Please stay safe out there, whatever it is you're doing, okay? Make kind and good decisions, both towards yourself and towards everything around you. Be brave. Set healthy boundaries. Take care of your body and your mind, okay? I don't wanna think about you being mean to yourself like you were in that damnable library...

I love you. I'll write to you again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[seriowan]

I just read your dad!Rex blurb and omg I can't stop thinking about Rex with twins 😭

rex with twins 😩 i love this so much, i feel my rex-inspired baby fever hitting me like a truck right now — twins are named blue and river for easy writing and reading! ♡

more dad!rex below the cut !

rex had an issue with people who stared at him.

on one hand, he kind of understood their looks. clones with their own kids were a rare but growing sight and while coruscant's natborns felt comfortable staring at him, he felt just as comfortable staring back.

coruscant's clone base was usually the least stressful place to bring the twins. not only because of his familiarity with the area but because he could find every nook and cranny with his eyes closed.

and while his sons knew better than to be rowdy in public, he didn't quite trust them to go off on their own just yet. especially not when they were two freshly-turned five-year-olds with a penchant for exploration.

so, as a preemptive measure for his peace of mind, rex placed blue and river in little backpacks with long leashes that looped around his wrist. it kept them near and it also let them roam within their allotted space.

blue had a curious expression as he waddled around, smiling and waving at all of the friendly faces passing him. he greeted certain commanders and employees with little salutes, often approaching them, as far as his leash would allow, to ask for stickers. by the time he walked back to rex, he had republic stickers on his shirt and one on his forehead.

river was quiet in comparison to his brother. he walked hand-in-hand with his father, staring at friendly and unfamiliar faces with a sort of pouty look that only encouraged smiles rather than deterring them. he never really asked for stickers — it was more of a palm-held-out situation until someone finally got the gist of what he meant.

and as different as the two were, they both had their own reasons for slipping away like ghosts. blue went off to make friends and socialize while river liked to explore and find new things. they were just barely growing into their personalities but rex could see the trouble in their eyes that just grew and grew as they got older.

for now, he kept them on a leash.

"captain on deck!"

the moment rex walked through the bay doors of the aircraft hangar, the call went out and echoed off of the metal walls. among the wandering mechanics and pilots, a group of soldiers clad in blue were lying and seated on the ground. some leaned on their backs with their buckets hanging half off of their heads, snores echoing from underneath their helmets, while those who stood talked amongst themselves.

within the small handful of troopers were fives, echo, jesse, hardcase, tup, and kix. they were talking when the order was shouted, causing them all to bolt up to their feet and line up. by the time rex approached them, they were aligned and prepared for duty.

it was no surprise when rex's two sons caught their attention first. it was a given considering his boys were sporting 501st blue tracksuits and matching booties — courtesy of rex's cyare.

rex, blue, and river marched forward before stopping in front of the poised and proud uncles — a grinning hardcase; a winking fives; echo's gentle smile; kix reaching for his prepped-and-ready pouch of stickers; and tup's silly nose scrunch that made blue giggle and river crack the smallest smile.

"attention!" rex bellowed, causing his loose-legged soldiers to stiffen and stare straight ahead. river and blue both giggled, clinging to their father's legs as they watched him command the small legion of soldiers.

when they looked up at him, they had a certain sense of awe that made rex feel like a hero to his little boys. he put a hand on their heads, turning towards his troop with the crumbs of a smile on his lips.

"today's training exercise is simple," he told the handful of men.

they spared odd glances at one another.

"training? i thought we were doing armory checks?" hardcase grumbled, scratching his head.

"i thought we were doing drills with waxer's group," tup said with confusion, turning to glance at kix.

kix frowned. "i thought we were going for drinks."

fives scratched at his goatee, glancing towards rex as if the captain wasn't giving them an unamused stare. turning back around, he shook his head and gave a pathetic shrug. "i'm gonna be honest. i have no idea why i'm here right now."

echo sighed, palming the side of his face. "rex called us here for..."

his slow gaze turned towards rex, paling at the site of his captain's knowing smile.

rex nudged his twins forward to unclip the leashes from their backpacks. the second they were loose, the two boys looked at one another and gave the sneakiest grins. rex crouched down to his boys' height and gave them both a wink.

"don't make it easy on them," he whispered, pinching their sides to make them giggle. "especially not on the two terror twins."

"okay, daddy," blue whispered, giggling into his palm.

river nodded, brows pinched in competitive determination.

"ready?" rex coaxed, nudging them forward.

they both nodded.

"unattentive, impatient, and swift," he explained as he shifted his attention to his troopers. he gestured down to his twins. "this should be easy for you considering you lot share the same habits during our missions. jesse will be watching you all from the eagle's nest and he'll be docking every time you lose one of 'em. the price is an extra hour on cleaning duties. understand?"

all of them nodded with woe.

with a pat on his boys' head, rex gave each of the boys in blue a smile.

"give 'em hell," he said, winking.

the second they took off in a sprint, the formation of soldiers dissolved and they scrambled like roaches, arms extended with the hope of capturing an energetic toddler.

rex's smile became smug as he walked towards the hangar doors. cody leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, brow arched in interest.

"you have to do all that to keep them entertained?" he muttered, shaking his head as they left the scene of the crime. "obi's mates just take them whenever we need an eye on tobias."

rex shrugged and threw his arm around cody's neck, drawing him close. "cyare deserves a day at the library and i deserve a drink with my vod."

cody just smiled and shook his head.

"then let's go get a drink, vod."

[fallowtail]

Top 5 Hetty outfits - jk ahem. Top 5 ghosts dynamics?

Oh this is rough their dynamics are all SO good....aahhhh ok. Ok. Going to try my best to fight my brain fog and lack of articulation skills to briefly explain why I chose them! These aren't in order either because that'd be just too evil, lol. Ok.

...I'M DOING SIX YOU CAN'T STOP ME because I accidentally wrote six of these because I miscounted and I don't want to delete one that I already wrote up, lol

Hetty and Trevor ...ok, this one is obvious, but they're just. So. Weird. In a way that you don't expect but that works absolutely perfectly. They're so similar when you get down to it and they bounce off of each other hilariously, I feel like that scene from Isaac's book where Hetty has created a scheme, and is so proud of herself for how devious she is, while Trevor rolls his eyes because he knows how stupid it is but he is still going along with it anyway because he knows if he does she'll give him a treat later (which she does!) sums up their dynamic really well. I love that they butt heads so much and think they have nothing in common when they so clearly do, lol. The way he's slowly shifted into being fondly amused by her vs aggravated is really cute- the way they're both so enthusiastic about what they get up to in the basement is so sweet, Trevor actively wanting Hetty to open up to him, to talk to him and be silly and let loose...that fond little smile she makes at him when he's being a goober during the pillow talk scene. Ugh. They do genuinely like each other but are just so stuck in their ideas about what they should want that they dig their heels in. This is the one I am the most mad about not being able to properly explain how I feel because there is just. SO. MUCH. Going on there with them. Why am I not good at writing, AHHH

Isaac and Hetty THE BESTIES! Oh Isaac and Hetty are just sooo funny like he watched her live her entire life, they are best friends, the two of them both think they run the house but they constantly default back to each other and are usually the only ones the other will listen to, he tried to romance her and then told her he was gay, he enables her bad behavior, he both refuses to take romantic advice from her but also desperately wants her advice, he deeply loves her but very clearly thinks there is something wrong with her, they have dates where they just stare out the window for hours, she clings to him constantly like he's a security blanket, she envies his ability to find love but also kind of hates his boyfriend who she encouraged him to get together with LOL, they're gossip besties, they both deeply crave the others approval, Isaac being happy Hetty found her stableboy but also not being sure why she's chosen Trevor, like. Oh my god. I love Isaac and Hetty so much that I can't find the words even more than the others. They're just so, so, so perfect together and you can always see Brandon and Rebeccas best friendship come through with these two, their scenes are always my favorite.

Sam and Hetty Wow, I wonder if there's gonna be a trend here with which dynamics I enjoy the most because it involves my blorbo, hmmm Something about Sam and Hetty finding family within each other and wanting to learn from their past mistakes and heal from their family damage with each other and then still falling into those same patterns they did in life but with the desire to fix it this time when they realize is so interesting. I love how even in the pilot Hetty warms up to the idea of her moving into the mansion so quickly despite claiming otherwise, and that even in as latest as the Halloween episode you can see them butting heads over Hetty's need to manage people to express care because she thinks she knows best and if she knows best, why wouldn't she tell people how to get what they want? And Sam lashing out when people do that to her because she wants her accomplishments to be her own and for someone to be proud of her for what she does.

Hetty and Flower and Alberta Look I said there was gonna be a trend but I'm squeezing the Lady Ghost Society into one group so that my last 3 answers aren't all for them, lol. The way the lady ghosts interact is so fun and I love that they're all different- Hetty and Alberta being all over each other this season despite their huge conflict at the end of s2, the way Flower and Alberta were the ones who volunteered to be roommates originally, Flower not realizing Hetty didn't understand what good sexual stimulation felt like and then being distraught when she realized Hetty didn't know what happened to her on the washing machine and Hetty feeling comfortable enough to come to Flower to confess her sins and Flower helping her work through it, Alberta having forgotten Flower's name in season 1 but then in season 2 she's the one who makes sure Flower remembers what her name is, it's just so...!! The fact they have a Lady Ghost Society Council is so cute too, oh my god.

Isaac and Trevor Oh my god one that doesn't involve Hetty, what the hell Isaac and Trevor are so interesting...they're kind of similar to H-Money in that on paper you don't think they'd get along, but their interactions are so?? I think Isaac envies Trevor in a way because he's so easily "one of the guys" which is all Isaac ever wanted, buuuut he also thinks Trevor is kind of an idiot, lmfao, because Isaac just thinks everyone in the house except for him and Hetty aren't particularly intelligent I think. (Also he can't get past the pants thing.) Trevor and Isaac both so very, very desperately, just want people to like them, both of them make up these stories about cool things they did to fit the persona they so badly want the others to believe...The Liquor License is such a good episode for them, the way Trevor is content to tease Isaac when he thinks Isaac is having fun doing his snooty thing but then as soon as he realizes Isaac got left alone he goes to find him...they're just really, really fun to pair up together and I'm looking forward to this next episode with them being a duo! You can really see Brandon and Asher's friendship shine through in their scenes together.

Isaac and Sam Isaac and Sam's relationship is so weird and I absolutely love it. Isaac shadowing Sam all day in the new episode and kind of making fun of her "Yogaaaa!", them doing yoga together and her ditching him when he fell asleep...there was an interview back in December where Rose talks about the Sam and Isaac dynamic and how weird it is saying Sam just really seems to want to serve him and his best interests and that there's something going on with Sam for her to want that out of Isaac LOL, she really does seem to cave into him the most out of any of the ghosts because something in her just seems to want to impress him? But at the same time he annoys her. It's fascinating. That little heart to heart they had about not needing outside approval but then immediately dropping it as soon as they got approval for her book was SO funny and they really just want everyone to like them and be proud of them and it makes for such a fun relationship to explore.

Phew! Ok, that was long, and I'm frustrated I can't properly say what I actually want to say or feel for any of these but hopefully that all comes across decent enough! <3

Ask me my top 5 anything game!

[argentumcor]

I have a very silly, girly Star Wars Legends theory.

Cheriss Ke Hanadi was introduced in Starfighters of Adumar and clearly was intended to have a future somewhere down the line. She's a lower-class Adumari who came to glory by being a very good duelist with, uh, blaster swords. I like her. She had a crush on Wedge, then got over it under duress, then helped save her world from local (inept) tyranny and the Empire, then decided to leave and join the Republic to train as a pilot. A new Rogue! Never came to pass, alas.

Adumar is a weird place, cut off from the rest of the galaxy for a long time, with an odd warrior culture that strikes me as rather...French, very Three Musketeers, court intrigue, duels, assassins, fashion...it's a fun setting for the shenanigans that happen in Starfighters. She'd be a fun fish-out-of-water, and she can be very practical and capable in a crisis.

She's also about Kyp Durron's age. Kyp mentions at some point during NJO that he has a girlfriend (after he stops crushing on Jaina? Man, they really did not know what to do with Kyp). I think Cheriss was meant to be his love interest.

Cheriss is a killer, with a pretty high body count accumulated in public duels to the death, and is by galactic standards a barbarian. She has no awareness of Kyp's genocidal Sith rage episode starting out, didn't grow up knowing about the Sun Crusher. She'd be a good match for Kyp, who is also an outsider with a dark (not that Dark) side and a Dark (yes, that Dark) past that makes him...not someone with a normal future. If they wanted to do more with Kyp- and I think there was an intent to at some point- having this no-nonsense female French murder barbarian Rogue pilot to cut through his nonsense and snark would have been a fun balance. Him with a ligthsaber and her with her blastsword promised a lot of fun action scenes and sparring scenes.

If you were not going to narratively exile Kyp for the genocidal Sith rage episode, then he needed people who were not connected with it. I do think there's an interesting story to be told about Kyp having to find a way to be a Jedi who did horrible things. I don't mean he Force choked a guy or in his anger summoned Force Lightning or wore a scary black robe for a period of time or turned his lightsaber red (back in the day, BTW, red lightsabers were just red, they didn't mean anything; Leia's first lightsaber was ruby red because she liked the color). Kyp murdered millions of people using a superweapon that made suns go nova. This was the horrible thing Kyp did and now has to live with, and he did it in such a way as everyone knows about it. Luke accepted him back into the fold, but not everyone in the Order- Corran and Mara most prominently, pretty important people among the Jedi- agreed with this, and he will always be a cautionary tale among the New Jedi Order. That's an interesting story, but he is kind of...locked into place if all his relationships are with people who know his deal and operate by 'modern' ethics. What Kyp did is too far- and seriously, in the books it is brutal- to have him just be the Jedi's 'bad boy'.

You can see that in NJO. He's melodramatic, wears a black cloak, and is kind of treated as the 'bad boy', but it can't work. He didn't just, like, murder a camp of slavers or something in a rage, he murdered millions of people and wiped entire star systems off the map in a pretty calculated plan of revenge. Star Wars Legends is not the kind of setting where that can be dismissed as the actions of a 'bad boy', it's a very big deal! People still don't trust him in NJO and it's been decades and they aren't wrong.

So my theory is that there was plan to do more and more interesting things with Kyp and Cheriss and they were supposed to be a thing, too. Maybe I'll write it, I need to figure out what Kyp was doing at the time, which was probably being treated like a dangerous animal by all the other students at the Academy which, for some reason, Luke still kept on Yavin.

[compacflt]

okay so something I love in what you've written is the running thematic element of how the "lack" of a character is treated as its own entity/character, not only with Goose--how he’s the “center of the universe” as you say--but also with Sarah. Idk if I just focused hard on Ice’s childhood/adolescence the entire time reading because I’m obsessed with how you wrote him, but the way there were bits and pieces thrown in about her as the story unfolded (Tom's pot-smoking era, the way they grew up so different but had a similar childhood, the unreturned letters and phone calls--also, Ice seeing Chorus Line on Broadway alone was so silly I loved it. Iceman Kazansky: pilot by day, musical theater fan by night. why was he so interested in fucking Chorus Line of all musicals.) but she never actually made an in-the-flesh appearance makes the entire fic, and Ice’s characterization, so dynamic and moving. Like Ice didn’t grow up as a sad little kid with no siblings and some evil overbearing Admiral father that turned him into a Navy-regulated cog in the machine; he had a sister (and grandmother?? A hipster Woodstock grandma?) who loved or at least cared for him a long long time ago, and her presence left a very visible mark (both emotionally and career-wise) on him no matter how “ice cold” he made himself. And in the very very beginning of WWGATTAI, he and Mav were bro-talking about their families and Ice was all like “grr I might as well not have a sister” because he’s secretly Popeye he was grouchy and young and Sarah had stopped talking to him, but then 9/11 happened and he kept trying to get in touch with her just to make sure she’s okay, and then they finally get to talk at the end of Debriefing and it's like...he's reached the top and he's become the person he's always wanted to become, but he's still the exact same. He wants his sister. He's “The Iceman" and can probably run the Navy on his own, but he’s also just someone’s little brother that used to smoke pot with all the other California hippies. He misses her but he can't talk about it.

Also, you didn't just shoehorn her into the story as a character that would be the Tom Kazansky Version of Carole-and-Goose (or as Ice's wife LMAO) and I loved how you gave her personal depth and a purpose/life outside the story while still adding to Ice's characterization through giving him another person to (a) care too much about and (b) shove into his closet of skeletons because the relationship he has with them is breaking some sort of federal regulation. I hope this all makes sense hahaha, but anyway I loved Sarah and how you treated her. It was so entertaining/heartbreaking to watch Ice wrestle with how the main three people he loves are his communist sister, a male romantic partner who is also a subordinate he bails out of sticky situations constantly, and the son of the man he was involved in the death of. crazy stuff.

ok this is so funny & I love this so much because… it wasn't really how I was thinking about it at the time & I'm so glad it comes across as much warmer than how I originally wrote it... okay like i could explain everything but muh “death of the author”…… eh fuck it okay. I’ll put it under a cut so you can choose not to watch me auto-fellate. another long post, sorry. 

so, on Sarah. 

I should start this post by saying straight off the bat that she’s literally just a self-insert for me, the author, as a leftist who lives in New York and would not give someone like Tom the time of day, so I could feel better morally/ethically about writing Top Gun fanfiction. So, there’s that. But she (just like everyone else in this fic) is just a tool to get across information about Ice and the story as a whole, and there’s a reason she was introduced in chapter one (two if you’re reading on AO3 i guess. no prologue, wtf is up with that AO3 you guys need to fix that). I wanted to convey a shitload of information at the start, especially because I was posting semi-weekly and wanted people to know what they were getting into because it’s a slow burn.

To summarize what happens in chapter one:

Goose is dead. 

Ice and Maverick kill some MiGskyites in addition to killing Goose and it cements some weird fucked-up hyperinterdependent relationship between them. 

No, this does not make them instantly friends. They are still fundamentally different people who dislike each other’s outlook on life.

Ice kills some more Soviets and becomes Maverick’s equal, though still not in rank/honor. 

Ice writes to his sister Sarah, who doesn’t answer. 

Ice hooks up with a girl, but finds that he can’t relate to her as much as he did before the experience of TOPGUN. Also, he can’t relate to women at all.

Ice tries to visit Sarah, and is rejected.

Ice sees A Chorus Line on Broadway by himself.

Ice and Maverick talk to each other as semi-equals, and Ice explains that his sister is a Commie who will never talk to him again. He also explains that he wants to get to the top because he thinks it will make him a good man, or that he can make the Navy better because he himself is a good man. Maverick says, yeah right bozo.

So we’re 5,000 words into a 90,000-word fic and already you know the following:

This entire story and everyone in it revolves around Goose’s death and who gets the blame for Goose’s death. 

Ice and Mav are brought together not because they like each other, but because the experience of killing both their friend and their enemies has made it impossible for anyone else on Earth to understand them to that same extent. From the first word, they're already both so fucked-up it really is each other or nobody.

This is gonna be a sloooow burn.

Ice and Mav might end up as superior and subordinate, but they are fundamentally equal ("you can be my wingman anytime/bullshit you can be mine"), and start out as equals. They are now directly responsible for the same amount of death.

Sarah is Ice’s sister, so Ice is definitely not getting married to a woman in this fic. Good news for everyone scared by the slow burn.

Ice had previously had fun with women, and still wants to marry a woman because it "follows all the rules," but after meeting Maverick/the whole TOPGUN experience he finds them annoying/unrelatable. He can’t relate to women at all and doesn't believe this woman when she tells him she loves him because he himself has never been in love with a woman. He is gay.

Ice sees A Chorus Line on Broadway by himself. He is gay. 

Sarah will not be in this fic, and Ice is a categorically lonely man who is isolated from anyone who could possibly help him talk about how he feels. 

Sarah is a Communist who rejected her military brother, not the other way around, so this is a leftist fic from a leftist perspective, but about conservative men whose conservative personal and political opinions will be repeatedly challenged by the end. This is not a pro-Navy story. 

As a corollary to that, the ship for Ice to “be a good man” has already sailed. He’s gonna try his best to be a good man—emphasis on man—throughout the story, but he’s already failed from the very first line. 

And Ice steadfastly and stubbornly refuses to be honest with us or himself about how he feels about any of the above.

So you basically have everything you need to understand the rest of the story. Now you (reader) and I (author) can meet each other in the middle on equal terms, and the real story can actually finally get started in the next chapter. It’s a lot of information. Which is why it’s not written very well and the pacing is fucked. 

But yeah I just used “Sarah” as an expository tool to help first-time readers understand the political lens of this fic from the get-go, so we don’t have to have a lot of hand-wringing when Ice becomes a war hero of the Persian Gulf War or anything like that (though in my a/n for chapter 5 i did admittedly do some hand-wringing. i gotta delete those a/ns). So, Sarah becomes kind of a weak stand-in for Ice’s political guilt. She’s only mentioned four times besides chapter one, i think—once when Ice is with “Laura” (he is still incredibly guilty about all the people he killed & feels like he let “Sarah” down); once with 9/11 (he still thinks about “Sarah” often enough that she’s the first thing he thinks of when the country has been attacked [still haven't decided if this is the real Sarah though]); once when he’s getting high with Maverick (he is constantly reminded by the brass of the ways in which he is not a good man); and once at the end of “Debriefing,” where they actually get to talk to each other—because he has finally “snapped out of it” and left the Navy.

This fic wasn’t meant to be my sorta-kinda-but-not-really-anti-military soapbox preaching, though, which is why Sarah’s hardly in it at all. It’s a D-plot. Maybe even an E-plot. All in service of the Icemav A-plot. That end scene has a couple different purposes, actually. The second is that Sarah, who at this point is pretty much just a stranger, becomes a receptacle for Ice to prove that he can finally be honest with himself and others about his relationship with Maverick. And…that’s pretty much it. I did do more with her in my Slider one-shot but i honestly dk if that’s getting posted at this point (ITS ROUGH) so im not gonna talk about it now. 

But—that was all Sarah as a symbol, which is very un-fun. Sarah as a character is kind of a blank slate, but how Ice thinks about her/misses her is not, as you said :) I’m wary of posting headcanons that are dependent on my fic, though I do have many, because I feel like that’s not really the point of headcanons… “compacflt!Ice-specific headcanons…” idk that seems a little self-aggrandizing even for me. But, yeah, I guess I would characterize my Ice’s childhood as not greeeaaat, because his dad apparently died in Vietnam when he was like eight and his mom apparently died in a car crash when he was twelve (which is why he’s such a good driver [ch 8 notwithstanding DO NOT DRIVE 120 ON I-5]), but also not, like, abusive or anything. Raised by his grandmother (in the Slider one-shot, which I might as well spoil for you since I’m feeling quite hopeless about it, Slider kinda helps Ice deal with her death in the second year they’re at the Academy together, and it’s how their friendship really starts) who might have been hippy-ish and encouraged him breaking the rules, but also he & his sister were very very impacted by the death of their father at war. This is getting kind of deep into it, and I’m just kinda making it up, but I think there was probably a lot of strife between him and Sarah when he was gearing up to go to the Academy/getting his recommendations etc., like actual arguments and screaming matches—yes, she’s disappointed in him, but more than anything she wants to keep him safe so he doesn’t die like their dad (relevant for ice/rooster later)—and he ended up losing her, so it made a deep, deep impression on how he handles (avoids) confrontation about serious stuff like this when he knows he's gonna lose… my ice has a confrontation issue, obviously. but so does canon. see him "apologizing" to maverick for goose's death in the movie for another example of this. bro is struggling.

But thats just me makin shit up so whatever.

But that’s me just makin shit up so whatever.

[allerod]

30 aka my own question, what's the absolute fucking worst "historical" movie series book whatever you've ever evered?

right, so they're not officially a couple, but i read them one after the other in a span of like three days, and they're both the same genre of alternative history so here are the worst two historical books i ever had the (dis)pleasure of reading:

the premise of the first one was simply "what if piłsudski haven't had cancer". and boy is the answer to that a doozy, according to the author! because, you see, if piłsudski had lived longer, he and hitler would meet up. and hitler would be so impressed by his mustache and strong belief in military supported dictatorships, he would fall in love instantly. and attacking your crush country is not a good flirting technique, so instead germany and poland would become allies in wwii. piłsudski would die nevertheless, and at this point hitler would start dating a polish girlie who reminded him of his, now dead, One True Love (piłsudski). they would be going on creepy dates and had creepy sex and all that, all while the war is going Great! woo! with the combined power of german-polish scientists, now not in camps, they could really invent a fully functional wunderwaffe, and a showing of it's power is scheduled. but sike! the girlie is working with the polish gov! using her position, she schemes with polish scientists! they change the weapon coordinates! the whole upper nazi management goes boom! poland takes control of german army and singlehandedly wins world war ii! hurray we're winner! but wait! the girlie was pregnant and now she's sad and she names her son adolf and writes down her memories of all the creepy dates she went on with her, now dead, One True Love (hitler). which her son finds after her death and sends to the publisher and that's this book apparently.

what a drag. the middle part was truly uncomfy. like bro why am i reading about hitler having sex. repeatedly. i can't recall the title of this, which is truly a tragedy, but whatever, it's over, let's read something else. oh what's this? a book named "the embaSSy"? well might as well, maybe this one will be better.

wait why is this set in modern day warsaw? ohh i see, this building we are moving into used to be a german embassy, okay. uh oh besties, these are the doors to a neighboring flat, ours is a floor above. huh, why is this flat full of nazi cosplayers. well, whatever, i need to pee i'm just gonna go to the toil- WHY IS HITLER SITTING ON THIS TOILET SINGING A SILLY SONG AND DOING FINGER GUNS. well whatever, we're returning to our own flat and we are taking hitler with us. who, upon getting to know him better, turns out to be a really swell guy. also turns out he knows nothing about any planned attack, he just wants to chill really, what do you mean world war. ooh could it be that this EVIL CLONE of him plans to take over ?! we gotta stop him, so back to the other flat we go! but first lets leave hitler here and give him a shave. okay now we can go. time for some wacky shenanigans! we get rid of the EVIL CLONE, but uh oh, there's a planning bombing of warsaw incoming in retaliation of killing hitler. and we shaved our bestie the real hitler, so no one will recognize him ; ; fortunately everyone knows his voice, so we just have to get him on a really high roof and give him a radio and he can communicate with the pilots to turn back and cancel the bombing. as soon as we find him in modern day warsaw because it seems he broke out of his enclosure..... time running out but we do it, the planes turn at the last moment, gg ez, we say a tearful goodbye to our new best friend and return home. if you disregard the noisy neighbors, this is quite a nice flat, right? and the view is beautiful, straight onto the palace of culture and science! wait where has the palace gone?

was:

is:

i cannot overstate how incredibly cringe that book was. i have never in my life read anything more cringworthy and i am not exaggerating. it's apparently based on a comedy movie by the same title, and every day i live in fear that i'll be forced to watch it and die instantly from the amount of terrible jokes presented to me.

but reading these two back to back was truly an Experience. i like to think they're taking part in the same universe, and stalin's penis was amputated in that timeline because we actually won wwii. thank you girlie for your service 🙏

[poelya]

the poe comics are good* of course, but I keep thinking about how much better they could have been. Like tfa perfectly set up Poe and Kylo as foils and instead of exploring that further in a series meant to be spent looking for Luke, instead we wind up with an old white man who is inexplicably also searching for Tekka and is somehow apparently meant to be Poe's foil instead (although I'm not gonna pretend Terex isn't a great villain, because I adore issue #13 and always will).

And inexplicably Leia is hardly in the series at all; despite the warmth between them in before the awakening, and the surrogate mother/son bond tlj and tros took, Soule ignores that in favor of effectively treating them simply as professionals who just work together. And Leia's absence feels particularly stark considering the series is meant to be about finding Luke.

Not to mention, so many character beats are simply ignored despite Soule being the one to set them up. Before the Awakening has Poe being more cautious (the bar is low) than we see in the films, or how Oscar and the crew describe Poe being circa tfa. I really think the comics could have gone a long way in building up Poe becoming more and more reckless, being the audacious pilot that high command simultaneously is exasperated by and respects because he gets results — for that matter, where is High Command? We see Statura and that's it?

The most frustrating thing is that that is set up; you have Poe reacting to how L'ulo reacts to the First Order, with an attitude we later see Poe has assumed for himself after the Finalizer - we take them down now, they can't take us out later. We could have had a delightful arc after L'ulo dies and Poe hands Terex over, where Poe gets more and more reckless (one of the annuals touches on that a bit but it's also so shaky in being a thorough line) — but instead Soule balks at negative character development so he forces Poe to be grounded and do a complete 180 in one issue because he'd rather have more light-hearted silly stories and a protagonist that is more palatable.

Even when its Soule's own characters, he can't commit to conflict. There's a hell of a lot of stuff that could have been done with Suralinda's attitude towards lying to craft the perfect story versus Poe's direct tendency towards the truth, and after Oddy's death I expected them to do something with how Poe dislikes how Sura immediately grasps at that for good publicity — but yknow. That would take away from the mission impossible esque hijinks! So!

At the end of the day I just think Soule understands Poe a bit - but he's too soft on him. Yeah, Poe is that goofy, yeah Poe does stop and consider what people (especially Leia) are trying to teach him, but I don't think he likes a flawed Poe — he mentions being "disappointed" in him during tlj in an author's note, and the post tlj issues certainly has him writing Poe a little more....brusque, I guess? It definitely doesn't feel like Soule enjoyed writing him as much and the tonal whiplash is so stark - that last volume is grimdark in a way that tlj, especially its ending, is not. It's hard to read in a similar way that Resistance Reborn is and I still can't put my finger on why, except it just doesn't feel like Soule enjoys a Poe that isn't "everyone's best friend."

And those comics saved my ass, they did. They'll have a special place in my heart for being my monthly escape during a really hard time in my life ; but man they could have been so much better. We could have had Ren/Poe as foils, we could have had Poe and Leia becoming closer and closer, we could have fleshed out Poe and Karé's friendship (which is ignored throughout the entire series), we could have fleshed out the Resistance and Poe's relationship with other background characters and with High Command. We could have fleshed out his negative development of growing more and more reckless with his own life and how his commitment to the Resistance is sometimes detrimental, as Leia is concerned with in Moving Target — we could have seen her trying to teach Poe that he needs to take a step back from that commitment and balance it better, which would have added so much more depth to their dynamic and what Leia is trying to get him to understand in tlj.

But y'know. Conflict and negative character development isn't fun or lighthearted, and I guess you can't be everyone's best friend if you have flaws that are being exacerbated by your job.

*they're kind of middling

[awonderlandsystem]

Super Baked thought trains that are rambly and likely cried through 🚂💨

Out of all the headmates I probably, definitely, have the most anxiety issues. I try to downplay it but some days are really bad when fronting. Usually ends up with me getting front stuck. The panic attacks have started to trigger Omi. That's been helpful. But she had me make a list of everything I can do to calm myself down. Halo's been pushing our journals a lot. Not just to write down day to day stuff but other things too.

I used to go right to music when I was feeling overwhelmed. But music can be a tricky tool because it can trigger emotional reactions. The wrong song choice and instead of calming down I become a crying dork. Or angry which affects Eva. Halo has been listening to these ASMR videos on YouTube. Omi suggested I try one and I think it works pretty good. I like the scratchy sounds. And the hair brushing ones. I usually stick to just the noise ones. Halo likes the android and robot repair ones. She says they help her adjust to the front. Zoe goes for the silly ones. And some eh, dirtier ones. Eva recently started trying them too. She likes this french lady that does like old victorian ones.

Halo says it's important to have as many plans in place for self care and routine as we can. Living outside my head is super hard. Being in the moment is super hard. I think we're doing better. Mostly. Trying to not beat myself up so much of my shortcomings and celebrate the small victories.

R is super depressed right now because he broke his computer. I've tried to stay as quiet and invisible as possible. The things he says, I know I'm not supposed to let his words hurt me but what about the kids? That's why I told my mom it's so important we go. R needs help. I need help. But neither of us have made that step. He won't because he's in denial. There's nothing wrong with him, in his eyes. If I would just do my job and shut up and make him happy. I can't help but think that if he really loved me he'd be trying harder to help instead of constantly belittling and putting me down. I don't deserve that. I may not be perfect, not even close really, but no one deserves that.

I feel like I've been on auto pilot so long that I've forgotten what the world's like outside these walls. I see media or stories from recent years and it's pretty scary, depressing mostly. R lays it on thick by making sure to tell me every time there's a shooting near by. I think that definitely adds to the fear of going places. I see people I went to school with or worked with but I don't recognize them. I don't remember them. I just know I should know them. I have to understand the past to know what I need to learn but keep getting stuck in it because it feels more familiar than the last 15 years. All I can think is how do I even explain this to a therapist? Where do I even start? What happens if they think I'm not fit to be a parent? What happens if they don't think I'm fit to take care of myself? What happens if the blackouts come back? I think those are my biggest worries. I've never lived on my own. I feel like I'm 36 years old with the life experience of a teenager. I better stop before I get front stuck.

[writing-and-wondering]

Liar Liar

Pairing: Rooster x Reader

Warnings: Swearing, Alcohol consumption

Request: nah

Word Count: 2.4k

Synopsis: Based off a text post by the lovely @mrsroosterbradshaw02, find it here :) and check out their other stuff it's so good !!

a/n: yo!!! first topgun fic!! this one is silly and fluffy and was so fun to write!! hope you enjoy :]

*not my gif! creds to owner <3

Walking into the Hard Deck, arm linked with Phoenix's, it didn't take long to spot a familiar group of aviators gathered around the pool table. It was a Friday night and you all had just finished up another day of grueling training. 

So it was no wonder that everyone flocked here, in desperate need of some drinks and whatever antics the guys had planned. 

"Well if it isn't Phoenix and Finch," Hangman's smile grows ever wider as he catches sight of you two, "Care to join us  ladies?" 

"Only if you can handle getting your ass handed to you, once again." Phoenix says as she accepts the pool cue that Bob was holding out to her. 

Hangman puts a hand over his chest, "You wound me, honestly. But if I were you I wouldn't be too cocky." 

You roll your eyes, "You speaking to yourself there, Bagman?" 

The group around you lets out a chorus of "ooohs" as Hangman holds up his hands, "Hey I'm just setting up for what's about to go down." 

"The only thing that's about to go down is that ego of yours." Phoenix mutters as she lines up her cue. 

Leaning your back against the bar, elbows resting on the counter, you let out a chuckle as you watch the bickering continue between the two pilots. 

"They won't ever stop, will they?" You turn your head as a voice comes from next to you. Rooster mirrors you as he stares at the group surrounding the pool table. 

"Says you." A chuckle comes from your throat, "Whatever you and Hangman have going on is nothing compared to this."

Rooster gasps dramatically, bringing his beer bottle to his lips. You can't help the way your eyes flick towards them as he takes a drink. 

"Hangman just has it out for everyone in his own weird… flirtatious way." Rooster says as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. 

You fake a shudder, "Eugh. I don't know what he's doing but it certainly isn't flirting." 

That earns a laugh from Rooster and a part of you tries to ignore the way the sound of it makes your heart flutter. You feel heat rise in your cheeks as you glance away from the curly haired man, shaking the thoughts from your head. 

"Well," Rooster sets his beer down on the counter and takes your hand in his own, "One thing we know for sure is that he's good at causing trouble. So, if you'll excuse me malady, I gotta go to the rescue of dear Bob over there." With a wink and a kiss to your hand, Rooster is leaving you breathless. 

The action was so small and natural but God did it make your heart skyrocket. At that moment you're sure that going 10 G's would've been easier on you than whatever you were feeling right now. 

A smile creeps its way onto your face as you watch Rooster make his way towards Hangman, the pair immediately falling into a friendly bicker match as Rooster picks up a pool cue. 

A wave from Phoenix finally peels you away from the bar, "You trying to hide from us, Finch?" She asks as she hands you a drink. 

You gladly accept it and nudge her with your elbow, "Hide from you? Never." 

Her laughter mixes with yours as you seemingly melt into the group of aviators surrounding the pool table. The night goes on in a haze of loud music, drinking, and some well needed laughter. 

After what you guessed was a couple of hours passed last call, Penny was ushering you all out onto the beach, "You're drunk, kids, go home!" She says as all of you collectively wave a drunken goodbye to her. 

There's a string of words that fill the air that you're pretty sure aren't English as everyone heads towards the water together. 

"What was that?" Fanboy says, his voice very loud as he squints in the direction of whoever spoke. 

"No idea. Let's swim." Payback answers him. Before Fanboy can speak he's being dragged into the water. As he's pulled along he grabs onto Coyote, and the group of them tumble into the waves. 

You watch them go, your face warm from the alcohol and mind blissfully fuzzy. "Mav will kill us if they drown." Bob says from next to you, his arm slung across Phoenix's shoulders. 

"Oh don't be a downer, Bob. Let's join them!" Phoenix laughs before taking his hand and taking off towards the water. 

In her drunken state however, she ends up doing more of a sideways run than anything, leaving you clutching your stomach as you laugh at Bob's attempt to steady her. 

"They're pretty cute, huh?" An arm across your shoulders makes you jump, but doesn't yet suppress the giggles escaping you. 

Hangman stands next to you, his smile wide as he watches his friends make complete fools of themselves. 

Reaching up behind Hangman's back and resting your hand on his shoulder, you finally stifle your laughter, "Sure. But don't let Phoenix hear you say that or she'll-" 

"Oh darlin' believe me, I've heard just about everything on what Phoenix can do to a man, and.. don't repeat this but," He leans down to whisper in your ear, "She kind of scares me sometimes." 

A laugh shakes your body as you give Hangman a playful shove, the movement making you stumble a bit, "Oooh I fucking knew it." 

He holds a finger up to you, "Do not repeat that." He warns, but the slurring of his words takes any hint of a threatening tone out of his voice. 

You cover your mouth with both hands, the two of you letting out silent laughs. "Holy shit I'm so drunk." You wheeze as you lean over, both hands on your knees. 

"Oh!" Hangman claps his hands, his voice still shaking slightly with laughter, "Y'know who else would be just so cute together?" 

You look up, wiping the tears from the corner of your eyes as you let out a breath, "Who?"

He leans in, a shit eating grin on his face, "You and Rooster." 

You shove at his chest, "Oh shut up." You say, shaking your head as you walk towards the water. The sand grows cooler and the laughter of the others grows louder as you get closer to the gentle waves lapping onto the shore. 

"Oh, come on! Don't pretend like you don't have feelings for him, Finch." Hangman practically whines as he follows you, his hand grabbing yours. 

He pulls your hand up and spins you, the motion making you laugh, "Who I have feelings for is none of your damn business." You say, patting Hangman's cheek. 

He rolls his eyes and lets out an exaggerated sigh, "Oh, but I know who has feelings for youuu." His voice grows into that of a sing-song tone. 

You raise an eyebrow at him and cross your arms, "Bullshit." 

Responding with nothing but a grin, Hangman steps next to you and points a little ways down towards the water. You follow his finger and find your eyes meeting Rooster's. 

With a wide smile on his face, he gives you a wave before being tackled to the ground by Coyote. You watch as his curls disappear under the water, only to resurface a moment later. Your face grows warm at the way his laughter fills the air, his smile shining under the moon. 

"Damn, you're whipped girl." Hangman mutters next to you. You jump, having momentarily forgotten he was there. 

"Bagman you better not be flirting with my wingwoman!" Phoenix calls over to the pair of you, her hand outstretched as she points to the man in question. 

Hangman points to his own chest before looking around and then back to Phoenix, "Who, me?" 

"Yeah, you. Who else?" Phoenix asks as she walks over, completely soaked and flushed.

You chuckle, "Don't worry, he's not. Besides, I wouldn't let him." You reassure her. She grins at you and nudges your shoulder with her own, "I know you wouldn't."

"Ouch." Hangman deadpans. 

"If you're not… being yourself, then what are you doing?" Phoenix asks, Bob joining her side. 

Grinning again, Hangman pats your shoulder, "Well I was just about to show our dear Finch here a little something." 

At the look on Phoenix's face, Hangman immediately back tracks, "Okay, wait. No, not like that. Here-" 

Hangman pauses as he chuckles, his voice still wavering a little as tries to collect himself. You begin to wonder if he's actually serious about his insight on Rooster liking you or if he's just… very very drunk.

"So, earlier, right? During pool, I told Rooster that his ears turn red when he lies." Hangman explains to you, his smile wider than you've ever seen it before.

Oh he's definitely way more drunk than you thought. 

You glance towards Rooster, who is still splashing around like a kid with the others. 

"Well, do they?" You ask, turning back to Hangman. 

"Nope." He states. 

You cock your head to the side, a confused smile playing on your lips, "Then why did you tell him that?" 

"Because I can do this." Hangman says simply before cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling for Rooster. 

The curly haired man pauses mid run and turns on the spot, swaying slightly as he looks over, "Yeah?" 

"Hey, do you love Finch?" Hangman asks, the question almost making you choke as your hand shoots up to your mouth in shock. 

Eyes wide, you look over to Rooster. 

Who is covering his goddamn ears. 

"No…" He says slowly, his hands clasped around his head as he stares doe eyed at the crowd looking back at him. 

Your mouth falls open and Phoenix reaches over and pushes it closed. 

With a pleased look, Hangman looks back to you, "What did I say?" 

But you don't look at him. 

You don't even acknowledge him. 

Because all you can see is Rooster. 

You just see him with his stupid hands still over his stupid ears and his stupid curls. 

"Stupid." You mutter, your eyes locking with Rooster's. 

"Wha- me?" Hangman asks, his voice distant to you. 

"No. Me." You say as you begin walking towards the man who has not taken his eyes off of you since he told the most obvious lie you've ever heard. 

As you near him, he finally uncovers his ears, his eyes wide, "Finch, I-" 

He never finishes his sentence because you're grabbing the front of his Hawaiian shirt and pulling him towards you. Your lips connect with such fervor that you almost surprise yourself. 

His lips feel soft against yours and the feeling it fills you with is something so unexplainable because God, finally. 

Pulling back to catch your breath you look up at him, hands still clenched tightly in the fabric of his shirt. 

He stares back, his expression that of shock. In an instant it hits you what you just did and you step back, hands fidgeting stupidly in the air, "I- you- sorry, I-" You give up as you let your face fall into your hands. 

"Sorry." You mutter again, your voice muffled. 

Gentle hands on your wrists pull them away from your face. You blink your eyes open as your chin is lifted up to Rooster's face, his hand moving to cup your cheek. 

"Stop apologizing." He says quietly before leaning in and kissing you. What you can only explain as relief floods through you, making your knees go weak. 

Or maybe it's the fact that Rooster's kissing you because holy shit can he kiss. Reaching up, your hands find the back of his neck and are tangled in his hair as you return the kiss. 

His hands travel down your body and find their home at your waist, pulling you impossibly closer to him. 

You kiss him harder before breaking off just enough to breathe. Pressing your forehead against his, you can't help the smile that grows on your face.

Leaning back slightly to look at him, your hand traces its way to his face, thumbing over the scar on his chin. He stares at you, his eyes filled with something that you've never quite seen before. 

Looking at him. Just… looking at him, you feel at home. 

"What is it?" You ask, watching as his eyes deepen in thought. He blinks at you, a smile playing on his lips. 

"I love you." He says simply, his voice quiet. He kisses you again, this time more gentle. 

You feel all the meaning and love behind it and can't help but absolutely and completely melt into it. 

"I love you." You say against his lips. You can feel him smile and it feels as though he's the fucking sun. 

You can taste the alcohol and salt from the ocean on him but everything feels so wonderful and perfect that it only adds to it all. 

He loves you. 

Bradley Bradshaw loves you. 

And you love him. 

-

Unknown to you during yours and Rooster's exchange, the others are just watching as if their favorite show is on. 

"Told you I'd be the one to get them together." Hangman says as he looks away from the pair of you, his signature grin plastered on his face. 

"It would've happened one way or another." Phoenix says, her arm slung across Bob's shoulders, who nods along with her words. 

Pushing up his glasses, Bob chuckles, "True. But I'm glad we can finally stop suffering as they cast longing glances at each other." 

"God but imagine what we have to put up with now." Fanboy says, shuddering. 

Letting out a sigh, Hangman cracks his knuckles, "Oh we're about to see some grass ass PDA. All thanks to everyone's favorite matchmaker." He says, pointing to himself. 

"Oh, you cocky son of a-" Payback starts before slamming Hangman into the water. 

The others follow suit, their screams of laughter pulling you and Rooster apart to look at them. 

"The hell are they doing?" You ask as you watch Coyote all but chuck Fanboy into the water.

Rooster hums as his arms snake around your waist, "Dunno, but it looks fun. C'mon!" He shouts before scooping you up and running towards the waves. 

You let out a yell of surprise and grip onto him, "Bradley Bradshaw you put me down!" You shout, laughter shaking your voice. 

"Well if you insist, Honey!" He bellows before throwing you into the water. 

The chill of the ocean shocks you at first but then fills you with vengeance as you surface, "Oh you're so dead!" You yell at him.

You're certain that true fear crosses Rooster's face before he takes off running, screaming for help. 

You may love him, but that won't keep you from absolutely obliterating him in the ocean.