#also known as Reuben

[jokerislandgirl32]

This Guy….

who was your original blorbo? Like the first ever blorbo that you felt Blorbo Induced Emotions for

[zuliuli]

Can you please draw some more doomed yaoi from the swap a.u ?😔

when you have time of course

Soo....this was originally going to be something small but then I thought "Y'know what, why not do the ender dragon fight for some added angst :D" (Little did I know, I was too ambitious, and the quality fluctuated a lot)

[ruvviks]

// oc picrew. [x]

tagged by; @roseeway, thank you so much!!

tagging; @mojaves, @lestatlioncunt, @dickytwister, @ncytiri, @elgaravel and YOU!

ambrose hawthorne [he/him] // cato wu [she/her] eddie wolfe [he/they] // hanan chisaka [she/her] lauren dimas [she/her] // luna serratos [she/they] nimue nkuna [she/he] // ramiel al-masri [he/him] reuben de la rosa [he/him] // rikki valentine [she/her]

[foldedchip]

Things in Lackadaisy that I haven’t seen anyone talk about (starting with fun facts and ending with more serious topics)

Rocky was an escape artist for a traveling circus when he was a teenager. This is why he was able to escape the train tracks at the beginning of the story.

Horatio likes to sing, but only when no one is around.

Freckle is the only character to have a middle name in his character bio (Allen). Do the other characters have middle names?

Nicodeme used to be (or possibly still is) a wrestler known as the “Cajun Gator”.

Rocky speaks at least some French; the Savoys speak a mix of English, Creole, and French; Mordecai speaks English, Hebrew, and some German; Nina speaks English and Irish Gaelic; Viktor speaks Slovak and English; Mrs. Bapka speaks Slovak and some English.

Serafine likes practical jokes. The only one we’ve seen her play is the “hatchetman” thing with Mordecai, where she told him to kill a man with a hatchet and he actually did it. Has she played other practical jokes on him?

Ivy’s classmates know that she’s friends with gangsters, because they ask if Rocky is one of her “gangster friends” when she sneaks him into their dorm building. Ivy seems to like the attention.

Nicodeme doesn’t know his exact birthday, and he and Serafine don’t know their exact relation to each other. They could be half-siblings or cousins, or maybe not related at all.

Rocky is very knowledgeable about myths and folklore, and he’s also very well read. Considering he didn’t finish his primary education, he must have either picked this up from his mother, the McMurrays, or he developed an interest later in his life.

Rocky has frightened elderly people before, though he got along well with Mrs. Bapka.

Ivy’s father, Reuben Pepper, wasn’t just friends with Atlas— he owned a train station and helped him smuggle alcohol into the city. He must not do business with the Lackadaisy anymore, either because of Atlas’s death or for another reason. He was business partners with Atlas, but not Mitzi.

The name of Mordecai’s late baby sister, Hannah, is the combination to the safe he writes about in “Posthaste”.

Rocky doesn’t drink due to “past experience”. Did he drink before and then quit, or he see someone else drink and decide never to do it?

Mordecai shows a lot of the signs of autism. He comes across as very cold and unemotional, even with his own family members and closest friend. He doesn’t seem to feel empathy for people he doesn’t care about (often, autistic people will either feel far more empathy than is considered appropriate, or not nearly enough of it to be considered appropriate.) He has difficulty with social relationships and interaction, whether it’s casual flirting, working with others, negotiating with his boss, or developing and maintaining personal friendships. He is physically sensitive and can barely tolerate physical touch, crowded environments, or getting dirty or wet. He is very particular about the way he eats and dresses, to the point where other people point it out. He has an intense and unusual interest in geometry that confuses other people when he talks about it, but it seems to bring him comfort and excitement. (For the record, Rocky is the only one who rolls with it and asks him to tell him more.)

Both Elsa and Viktor have trauma from the war and show signs of PTSD. Viktor also used to stay at the Arbogast house to help keep them safe. When Ivy and Rocky arrive at her house, Elsa asks about Viktor and talks about him later on. This probably means that they were friends.

Corporal punishment was the standard for raising children in the early 20th century, especially in Ireland. Nina slaps Rocky and pushes him down the stairs in two different scenes. Rocky even mentions Nina caning (beating someone with a walking cane) him if he got mud on Freckle’s clothes— which might have been a joke, but it had to come from some truth. Rocky was shown to get into all kinds of trouble as a child, though we don’t see the consequences for it. At the time, “physical punishments” were considered normal, but there is now extensive, undeniable research that shows what kind of psychological damage it causes later in the child’s life. You’ve read the comic, and you know that Rocky is not mentally healthy.

[raychleadele]

Wait is this actually a post about Star Trek because I’ve been to truck stops like this and was fully ready to accept that somewhere in America there’s a truck stop I haven’t found yet that’s actually named Deep Space Nine because I believe someone would do that.

The fact that deep space nine is a shopping mall and gas station is SO charming to me

[roosterforme]

Something to Talk About | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Bradley knew the rumors were circulating. He knew his friends were talking. But he had known you for such a long time, and you were just friends. Because if something was going to happen between the two of you, it would have happened by now. Right?

Warnings: Fluff and swearing

Length: 1900 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written for a request. And also because mak-32 said Rumor by Lee Brice would make a good fic. Check out my masterlist for more!

"Hey, Bradshaw, where's your girl?" Jake asked with a smirk. "Haven't seen Yankee all night, and it's getting late."

Bradley shot him some side eye from his stool near the pool table. "She's not my girl. And as far as I know, she went out for dinner with some guy she met at the gym."

"At the gym on base?" Nat shook her head and laughed. "You know how those Navy guys are, Rooster. They only want one thing." 

Bradley rolled his eyes. "She can take care of herself."

"Hey, Payback," Nat called out. "Why do you go to the gym on base?"

"Pick up girls," Reuben replied without hesitation from the other side of the pool table. 

"See?" Nat said to Bradley. "And I don't believe you when you try to tell me there's nothing going on with her. She's constantly touching you, and you get a stupid looking smile around her."

"Just friends," Bradley muttered, taking a sip of his beer. He'd known you since flight school in Pensacola. He'd been stationed with you in Norfolk and Corpus Christi. Now you and he were both back at Top Gun. If something was going to happen between the two of you, it would have happened by now. "Just good friends."

"Friends don't undress each other with their eyes," Nat said, batting her eyelashes at him while the guys laughed. 

Bradley shook his head. He didn't undress you with his eyes, but it wasn't his fault that you were pretty. And you most certainly did not look at him that way. "She doesn't even date other aviators. And she once called me an adorable puppy dog of a man. Just friends."

"There she is," Jake drawled, and Bradley's head snapped around so quickly to see you heading their way. "Hey, Yankee, looking good," Jake called out. 

"Shut up, Hangman," you returned as you got close, but you were smiling at them. You always seemed to be smiling, but seeing you dressed up was a real treat. Bradley was used to you wearing flight suits and khaki uniforms every day. 

When Bradley stood, you walked right up to him and wrapped your arms around his waist. "How was your date?" he asked quietly, trying to ignore the looks the others were giving him.

"He was so stupid, Rooster. He could barely string a sentence together. Just a dumb jock," you replied looking up at him with wide eyes. Bradley held you a little tighter; so maybe his feelings for you went just the tiniest bit past platonic. 

"Aww, give the guy a chance, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Maybe he's just not used to how pretty you are. Maybe he got distracted." 

You rolled your eyes at him. "You know I hate it when you call me that." But you were still smiling. "Wanna know the funniest part? He actually asked me when you and I broke up."

Bradley's brow creased. "You and I? Us?"

"Yeah!" you laughed. "Apparently there are rumors we're together. Crazy."

"Yeah... crazy," he agreed, rubbing your back through the fabric of your dress. "Why would anyone think that?" he mused out loud as you pressed your cheek against his chest. You sighed contentedly against him, and when Bradley glanced over to the pool table, he saw his friends all scrambling to pretend they weren't watching you together. 

"I have no idea," you told him softly. 

Bradley cleared his throat. "If this guy was no good, maybe you need to reevaluate who you're going out with, Yankee Doodle. That's like five duds in a row."

You groaned. "I hate it when you're right. I'm getting a drink," you announced. "Anyone need anything?"

Bradley watched as you and Fanboy walked away to get some drinks from Penny. But you kept glancing his way while you and Mickey talked. And maybe Bradley shouldn't be surprised that people thought you and he were together. The two of you had always been comfortable around each other. 

"Could the two of you possibly stand any closer together?" Nat asked, drawing Bradley's attention away from your legs in that short little dress that you had wasted on another shitty date.

He just shook his head. "Nah. She treats Mickey the same way she treats me." But Bradley was starting to have a hard time believing that. 

You and Mickey were a few feet apart, and you were smiling as he was talking animatedly with his hands. But you seemed to reserve a different smile just for Bradley, one that would make his heart ache a little bit if he ever saw you give it to anyone else. 

Nat laughed and patted his arm. "Yeah, okay," she said sarcastically. "I'm just saying, if you want these rumors to stop, the two of you are definitely going about it the wrong way. You look like you're already in a relationship."

A relationship. Bradley would know what the press of your lips against his felt like. He would know all about the needy sounds you made in bed. He would know how it felt to hold you all night. But he knew none of those things. Did he want to?

"Here you go." You were holding another bottle of beer out to him, nudging him in the chest with it when it took him a moment to return from his hazy thoughts of spending a lazy Sunday in bed with you. 

"Thanks, Doodle Dandy," he murmured, and the soft smile that found its way to your lips had him thinking about kissing you. He cleared his throat a few times before taking a sip of the beer and sitting down on the stool. "So, was your dinner at least good? If your date was a dumb as you said, I hope you got a decent meal out of it."

And then your smile was gone as you looked into your vodka cranberry. "We got seafood, and it was delicious. And I made sure to stay and order dessert after he made a comment about my size. He said he usually doesn't date girls with big hips, but I had a cute face, so he'd make an exception."

Bradley froze, gaping at you, and when you met his eyes, you looked so vulnerable. You never looked vulnerable. You were a fast talking fighter pilot who never put up with his shit. But you were also a woman with feelings that had been hurt by some faceless asshole who Bradley would gladly pound into the ground given the opportunity. 

"He's wrong, Doodle," Bradley said, reaching for you and pulling you closer. You let one hand rest on his thigh as you stood between his knees. "Well, not about your face. But the rest of it...he's dead wrong."

You shrugged and smiled at him. "Thanks, Rooster. I'll be fine. I realized he was an idiot before he even said that stuff." You sipped your drink while Bradley leaned in closer. 

"I think I have a solution for your problem, Yankee Doodle." His nose was just a few inches from yours, and now you were leaning one of those decadent hips against the inside of his thigh. Your hand slid an inch further up his leg, and he had to stifle a moan. 

"Which problem is that, Rooster?"

"These guys. These shitty guys keep asking you out, but you deserve a good one," he whispered, and your eyes dipped down to his lips. "One who would tell you how fucking perfect you are. You're fucking perfect, Yankee."

"Oh," you gasped softly. "Rooster?"

He smiled at your surprised expression. "Everyone already thinks we're together anyway. I mean, we can shut these rumors down, if that's what you want. Or we could keep everyone talking. You could probably get me to do anything you want, really."

"How.... hmmm," you hummed, rattling the ice in your cup and avoiding his gaze. But you weren't moving away from him. If anything you were creeping a little closer. "How would we keep everyone talking?"

Bradley stroked your chin with his thumb and tilted your face gently so your eyes met his. "I could kiss you... if you want."

You licked your lips and searched his face. "If you kissed me, would you just be feeding into the rumors?"

Bradley watched the movement of his fingers as he let them drift back along your jaw and wrap around to tease the back of your neck. "No, Dandy. I'd be feeding into this crush I have on you. Which is why I've never done it before."

Your eyes drifted closed as you tilted your head a bit, and Bradley's pulse went wild. Every alarm bell in his head was going off, warning him that he'd get his heart broken if you were only going to kiss him for fun. But he couldn't stop you, because he didn't want to. 

With a soft sigh, your lips met his, and Bradley instantly knew you and he should have done this sooner. Your kiss was sweet as your lips gently explored his. He pulled you closer, his firm fingers stroking up and down the back of your neck until your palm rested on his chest. He could feel the prickle of his mustache against your skin as he nibbled gently on your bottom lip. The soft noise you made spurred him on, but now you were pulling away, meeting his eyes with that same tentative look. 

Bradley could feel the cold condensation on his jeans where your glass had come to rest, but everywhere else he was so warm. He took your glass and his beer bottle in his free hand and set them down on the table behind him. "Come here, Doodle," he whispered, now tracing your cheek with his knuckles. 

Your arms went around his neck, and you were pressing against him, tucked snug between his spread legs. "I hate it when you call me that," you whined softly, pressing your lips against his a little rougher this time. It took everything in Bradley not to climb off the stool and push you against the wall when your fingers found their way into this hair. 

"No, you don't," he whispered, breaking the kiss to taste your neck. 

"No, I don't," you agreed. When his mouth returned to yours, you parted your lips for Bradley, and he tasted you there, too. He stroked your cheek, and you peppered his lips with soft kisses before you pulled away a few inches. "I liked that."

"So did I," he agreed with a laugh. "We should do that all the time."

You nodded and kissed his cheek, and then Bradley realized all the other aviators were staring at both of you with varying looks of surprise. Except for Nat. She was smirking.

When you glanced over your shoulder to see where Bradley was looking, you waved at everyone. 

"Are the rumors true then? You two are into each other?" Nat asked, casually sipping her drink.

You turned back and looked at Bradley with hopeful eyes and a grin. "Are the rumors true, Rooster?"

He wrapped his hands around your waist and nodded at the others. "Yeah. Rumors are true." Then he stood and pulled you against him, dipping his head down for another kiss while you smiled. 

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

Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls for putting up with me. And I hope @abaker74 finds a real life Rooster, because that's what you deserve!

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@swthxrry

@chassy21

@yaboid19

@solacestyles

@avoirlecoupdefoudre

@daisyhollyxox

@callsigndiamond

@harper1666

@throwinsauce

@beebslebobs

@awesomebooklover17

@wintercap89

@whosyourgnomie4

@rosesinmars

@blog-name6996

@bcon24

@wishfulwithwine

@backinwonderl4nd

@monte-carlando

@tetragonia

@gingerbreadandpaper

@emptyloverofmine

@apparently-sunshine

@chaoticassidy

@missmirandafe

@topgunbb

@changlingkhat

@sugarcoated-lame

@callsign-jupiter

@avada-kedavra-bitch-187

@katiebby04

@marantha

@averyhotchner

@abaker74

@andycanbeemotional

@heli991113

@k-k0129

@noz4a2

@tallyovie

@shanimallina87

@starlightstories

@teddyluvs2sing

@little-wiseone

@ccbb2222

@lilyevanswhore

@o-the-o-grim-o-reaper-o

@hecate-steps-on-me

@xoxabs88xox

[echoric]

Top Gun Maverick Characters as Animals!

(that either i have personally worked with or people i know have worked with) (with explanations for each choice)

Part 1 with Top Gun (1986) Characters here

Bernie "Hondo" Coleman - Timber Rattlesnake: A very docile species overall, preferring to retreat or hide when faced with a threat. However, when provoked they are capable of delivering a bite with powerful venom (either neurotoxic, hemorrhagic, or a combination of both).

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw - Red Fox: Very clever and capable of learning from their experiences, they are also a very playful species that are known to attempt to play with larger animals that could pose a threat to them.

Natasha "Phoenix" Trace - Mongoose Lemur: The females of this species are dominant over the males and they are a relatively peaceful species. They, like most lemurs, are incredibly social and live in groups with small home ranges that often overlap with other groups.

Robert "Bob" Floyd - Meerkat: Cooperative and supportive, they live in large family groups. They appear to be shy, skittish, and quiet, but when they feel safe they are incredibly social and appear to have intricate emotions. (My picture from Frankfurt Zoo in Germany!)

Javy "Coyote" Machado - American Alligator: Incredibly intelligent and capable of learning their name, voices, and commands, they are very misunderstood as being aggressive and dangerous. They are actually very calm and relatively docile animals (my picture from a trip to Florida).

Jake "Hangman" Seresin - Thick-tailed Bushbaby/Greater Galago: While they can be moody and solitary, they are prone to becoming anxious and irritable without consistent interaction with other bushbabies. They also are curious and very intelligent as many primates are.

Reuben "Payback" Fitch - Speckled King Snake: Born resistant to venom, they are one of the few snakes that will prey on venomous snakes including rattlesnakes. However, they are very calm snakes that don't often strike at people.

Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia - American Bison: While they can appear calm and docile, they are very dangerous when provoked. They are very social and thrive in large herds where they are capable of fighting off packs of wolves and other large predators.

Logan "Yale" Lee - Coachwhip: Incredibly fast, these snakes are not aggressive but instead will use their speed to get away from threats moving upwards of 10 mph! Unlike many snakes that rely on venom or constriction for hunting and defense, the coachwhip will hold its prey - or predator - in its mouth and whip their head side to side to tear flesh, and they will use rocks to kill their prey by slamming it into them repeatedly (very cool to watch, not so cool to have happen to your hand <- said from experience).

Brigham "Harvard" Lennox - Takin: Very agile and graceful despite their appearances, these large animals are able to move around their mountainous environment with more ease than almost any others. They are very protective of each other, and are very curious creatures.

Neil "Omaha" Vikander - Antillean Nighthawk: Not much is known about this species, but they are incredibly agile fliers and have been seen flying almost erratically while hunting - including dramatic dives and swoops.

Callie "Halo" Bassett - American Crocodile: The only species of crocodilian known to reproduce through parthenogenesis, making them the largest species known to use that method of reproduction! They are very intelligent and deadly predators that have been known to adapt their strategies if they are unsuccessful in a hunt.

Billy "Fritz" Avalone - Water Deer: A mainly solitary species, and the males are highly territorial. Their large fangs earned them the nickname of "vampire deer" and many people assume they are dangerous or a threat, but they are not carnivorous. Those fangs are instead used for fights with other water deer!

Beau "Cyclone" Simpson - Great White Shark: One of the most intelligent and curious shark species, and one of the most notorious species of the ocean. They are known to use different hunting strategies depending on the prey they are hunting, and they almost always are able to outsmart their prey. However, they are also very peaceful sharks when not hunting, and media commonly misrepresents them as bloodthirsty when they are just trying to survive.

Solomon "Warlock" Bates - Kodiak Bear: Despite being the largest subspecies of brown bears (and the second largest bear alive today with the largest being the polar bear), these bears are among the least aggressive of all brown bears. They will gather in large groups due to the availability of food and have been observed to use "language" and have complex social structures to avoid fights between the usually solitary bears (it's theorized that they even express their feelings to avoid conflict).

[goldenseresinretriever]

False Confidence: Chapter 18

Pairing: Javy “Coyote” Machado x Reader

Part of the San Diego Dogfighters universe

Summary: The Athletic named Javy Machado the fifth sluttiest player in the NHL last year. He’s a known playboy who leaves every game with a different girl. As far as he’s concerned he’s living the dream, playing his dream job with the dream lifestyle. Unfortunately his friends and bosses don’t agree. At 33, they think it’s time for him to settle down. You’re a kindergarten teacher at an esteemed private school. You don't expect much when you finally accept your colleague’s invitation to attend her husband’s hockey game but when you accidentally get separated in the post-game rush, you find yourself in a compromising situation with the last person you’d ever expected to meet. When his PR rep suggests a mutually beneficial agreement, your hands are tied. How long will you have to keep up the act? And how long will you be able to?

Series CW: 18+ ONLY, swearing, angst, fluff, fake relationship, suggestive language, anxiety, school system inaccuracies, hockey inaccuracies etc. There will be individual chapter warnings. No use of Y/N.

Word Count: 5.4k

Previous Chapter // Series Masterlist // Next Chapter

There’s not much time for nerves on Friday afternoon as you help Josie wrangle a restless Skylar and Jamie to the airport. Since the boys are flying to Dallas from Tampa to cap off a several-game road trip, you and Josie are flying commercial to Dallas to meet them, rather than aboard the team jet. Since this is the last stop of the trip, however, you’ll be able to fly back together with the team. For now, the two of you are juggling two kids who are attempting to balance exhaustion, excitement, and frustration with brains not quite equipped for so much and it feels like playing a dangerous game of keep-away with their wobbling lips.

You’ve always marveled at how Josie manages to look so put together while working full-time and also single-parenting for half the year, and now you know the truth. She’s just as human as you, just much better at controlling when she shows her vulnerabilities. Right now they're starting to show as you can tell the week has taken its toll on Reuben’s wife just as much as her kids. Exhaustion is evident in her eyes as Skylar clings to her leg, little eyes drooping with sleep as she’s up far past her bedtime. Jamie holds onto her hand half-heartedly as his steps become more like a shuffle and he yawns widely.

Your flight to Dallas had been delayed multiple times, one of which was on the runway, leading to the kids getting antsy, desperate to see their dad who was only a few hours flight away. Now you were finally emerging into DFW airport, dragging feet and suitcases, dreaming of your waiting beds almost as much as your waiting partners. You stoop down to try and gently coax Skylar off Josie’s leg and into your arms in an attempt to relieve Josie a bit. She relents and you shift her weight to your hip. Thankfully, you’ve had to pick up your students enough times that you’re used to the weight and it isn’t too much trouble to wrangle your suitcase behind you as the two of you make your way to baggage claim.

There’s a man waiting with a nondescript sign for the four of you who takes it upon himself to help you retrieve the rest of your luggage before leading you out to where a black SUV is idling outside, driven by a similarly dressed man. According to Zam, in an effort to protect everyone’s privacy and not cause a scene at the airport, it’s easier to have someone pick you up from the airport and drop you off at the hotel where the boys are staying. You appreciate the gesture even as you wish Javy was here as you helped Josie install the car seats for the kids. Thankfully Jamie is coherent enough to buckle himself into his booster seat as Josie takes care of Skylar. You and Josie ease into the third row of seats and slump against the cool leather as the car pulls away. According to Josie, it’s a bit of a drive from the airport to the hotel downtown and you feel your eyes grow heavy as the car pulls away from the bright lights of the airport and disappears into the darkness on the highway.

A gentle shake wakes you and you blink sleep out of your eyes, disoriented as the blinding light of the hotel driveway pierces your vision. You let out a whiney grumble, pawing at your eyes in an effort to mitigate the light, and a shadow shifts to block some of the light and your eyes manage to adjust just enough to recognize the figure leaning over you with a soft smile. “Javy,” your voice is rough with sleep and you groan as you struggle to sit up, wrapping heavy arms around Javy’s neck as he pulls you close, carefully helping you ease out of the seat. It’s an awkward crawl as you get out of the car but finally, you’re upright again and you lean your head on Javy’s chest as he smooths your hair gently.

“Hey you,” he whispers and you smile, humming softly into his shirt. “Tired?” You nod against the fabric on your cheek. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs.” You let out a whine of protest as he starts to pull away. “I can carry you if you want?” His voice is a half tease like he doesn’t expect you to say yes, but the combination of the stress of this week, your long day, and the temporary sleep you’d gotten on the drive here make you weak and you just nod. If you were less tired you’d feel guilty for the way you practically go boneless as Javy scoops you up like it’s nothing. Your head lolls on his shoulder, burying itself in his neck to hide from the light as he wraps your legs around his waist so you’re hugging his chest like a monkey.

***

Javy does his best to hide his disbelief as you let him scoop you up. It’s hardly the most romantic position to the outside viewer, he’s carrying you the way Reuben carries Skylar except she’s a kindergartener and you’re five times her age, but it warms his heart at the fact that you trust him enough to be this vulnerable around him. He knows he should feel embarrassed as he glances over at Jake where he’s helping with your bags, but he just feels overwhelming happiness. He returns his best friend’s boyish grin as he heads over.

“Thanks for the help,” he feels guilty about the noise but the steady rise and fall of your chest against his and the wheeze of your half-snore tells him you’ve already fallen back asleep. Jake shakes his head in a combination of dismissal of the thanks and disbelief.

“No problem, she looks exhausted.” Javy’s heart aches at the truth in Jake’s words. He knows how hard it’s been being away from you and truth be told he can see that toll reflected on your face even as your brow relaxes in sleep. He keeps replaying the sleepy relief on your face when he’d woken you, like you something had finally relaxed in your heart the way it had in his when he’d spotted your sleeping form on the back of the car. He’s been looking forward to this all week, and as excited as he was to see his family today, he can’t help but think about how excited he is to see you too, even if he just left you around a week ago.

Javy and Jake follow Reuben and Josie through the lobby to the elevator. There are enough bags that they send the Fitches up first, waiting for the next one. Dallas may be five hundred miles away from New Orleans, but it’s become a home away from home of sorts for him. During the season, it’s one of the only times he gets to see both his and Jake’s families. And now you get to be a part of it too. The only thing better would be the promise of his own bed and home. Jake and Javy ride the elevator in comfortable silence, but Javy knows Jake must be feeling similarly. When the door opens, Javy follows Jake down the hallway to your room. Javy shifts your weight slightly so he can fish out the keycard to your room, handing it to Jake, who unlocks the door and holds the door open for Javy. Javy doesn’t bother turning on the light, instead opting to lay you down in the bed after Jake pulls the covers back. You shift in discomfort at the change in position, blinking sleepily as he rubs your shoulder in comfort as Jake turns on a lamp across the room after dropping off your bags. He gives Javy a silent nod of dismissal before he leaves the two of you alone.

“Hey Meep,” Javy whispers lowly, “you gotta wake up, just for a bit. I’m sure you don’t want to sleep in your clothes.” He stifles a chuckle at the way your nose wrinkles in discomfort as you stretch, and Javy catches on your shoe-covered feet where they’re hanging off the bed, easing them off. You let out a long groan, burying your face in the pillow before dragging yourself into a sitting position and grumbling an unintelligible assent. “I’ll see you in the morning, text me when you wake up.” You nod your sleep-heavy head, not really looking at him. “Alright, I’ll let you get some sleep.” He leans over to kiss the top of your head and feels you lean into it. He gets off the bed, heading for the door but pausing before opening it. “Goodnight Meep, I love you.”

The door clicks shut behind Javy before the realization hits and Javy freezes in the hallway, jaw slack. He just said it. He hadn’t meant to, it had just felt so natural, it had come out unintentionally. He blinks, frozen in place, one hand still on the handle of the now-locked door. What was he supposed to do? Knock on the door and explain? You were half-asleep as it is. Maybe you hadn’t heard it? And if you had, maybe you would remember it in the morning. His heart is hammering against his chest as he stands in the hallway awkwardly. Every second that ticks past makes it more impossible for him to knock on your door. He tries not to think about the fact that you haven’t come out after him. Maybe you really hadn’t heard it. Javy opens and closes his hands in fists at his side as he struggles with what to do.

The acceptable window to knock on your door passes as he panics outside it and finally, Javy stomps down the hallway in an act of pure desperacy, banging a different door down the hall. It’s long past midnight at this point and definitely too late to be bothering the occupants but that’s the furthest thing from his mind. The door finally swings open and Bradley glares at Javy, sleep and irritation in his eyes. Javy pauses. He’d completely forgotten that Bradley would be here and the awkwardness grows between the two men as Javy searches for the right words through his panic. “Machado, this had better be good,” Bradley grumbles and Javy catches the sound of another voice from deeper in the dark room.

“Javy?” It’s all the confirmation he needs, and he pushes past Bradley stumbling into the dark hotel room.

“HEY!” The older man calls out behind him. “What the fuck, man?” A bedside lamp clicks on, illuminating Zam sitting up in bed. She’s wearing what Javy assumes is Bradley’s missing shirt and probably nothing else.

“Javy, what’s going on?” Zam yawns, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Javy stands awkwardly at the foot of the bed, his panic making his brain move like sludge.

“HEY!” Bradley’s hand clamps down on Javy’s shoulder, starting to drag him away from the bed. “What the heck, Machado? It’s the middle of the damn night, you can’t just be bursting in here. If you’re drunk, go bother someone else, I don’t have time for this shit right now.”

“I’m not drunk!” Javy jerks his shoulder away from Bradley indignantly. “I just, I just, I just…” he can’t get the words out, embarrassment sticking them in his throat.

“Easy, Javy, what’s going on?” Zam says, smoothing her bedhead out as she wakes up all the way. Javy squeezes his eyes shut, trying his best to pretend that his judging teammate isn’t standing next to him, arms crossed in nothing but his underwear.

“I accidentally told Roadie I love her! I didn’t mean to! It just came out! I was saying goodnight and I just tacked on the ‘I love you’ and I didn’t even realize until I left the room and at that point, the door was locked behind me, and I don’t even know if she heard me because she was half asleep when I left. So I didn’t know whether I should knock on the door and explain because I’m not even sure how to explain it without saying something wrong. And then too much time went by. It would have been weird if I knocked on the door at that point so I didn’t know what to do so I…”

“Came here,” Zam finishes like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“I fail to see why,” Bradley grumbles, wiping a hand over his face in exhaustion. Zam glares at him.

“Four months ago, I was losing my mind in his room because I was in love with you, that’s why.” She says pointedly and Bradley lets out a groan before flopping face-down onto his side of the bed. Zam pokes his shoulder. “Come on, Bear, help him out.”

“He didn’t come here to see me,” Bradley says into the pillow and Zam rolls her eyes.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t help.” She says matter-of-factly and Bradley grunts noncommittally.

“Do you love her?” Bradley’s words are once again muffled by the pillow but Javy’s able to make them out all the same.

“Yes, but,”

“No buts. You love her. You told her. I fail to see the problem. Go to bed. Leave me alone.”

“One butt,” Zam smirks as she jabs at Bradley’s underwear-clad behind and he swats a hand half-heartedly at her, finally turning his head to look at Javy and Zam.

“You can tell her again in the morning. If she’s ready, she’ll say it back. If she’s not, you pull up your big-boy pants and wait for her. Now for the last time, get out of my room, we have a game tomorrow.”

“Bradley’s right, Javy. You’ve shown your hand, now you just have to wait for her to show hers. If she really was half-asleep, though? But make sure you tell her again tomorrow morning so she doesn’t drive herself crazy. If she did hear you and you don’t acknowledge it ever again, she’s going to think she did something wrong.” Sam’s words twist painfully in Javy’s gut. That’s the last thing he wants. You’ve been doing everything right, to the point that he’d blurted out that he loved you without a second thought. It had been as easy as breathing and now he can’t help but feel guilty that he didn’t immediately knock on your door and talk things through before he ran to someone else about it.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Bradley’s voice is heavy with sleep but firm nonetheless and Javy turns to look at him. “It doesn’t have to be perfect as long as it’s true. Think of it this way, at least you didn’t have to almost die to get the words out.” Zam smacks his shoulder, scowling at him before turning to Javy.

“Get some sleep, Javy, you can talk to her in the morning.” Javy nods slowly, turning their words in his head until a foot jabs into his thigh.

“Now get out, I’m going back to sleep,” Javy smirks to himself as he stands up and heads back to his room for the night, fighting the urge to stop at your door.

***

Well, now you’re definitely awake. You’re not sure how long you’ve been sitting there, frozen in place, eyes wide, heart in your throat, trying to convince yourself that you didn’t just hear what you thought you heard. “Goodnight Meep, I love you.” Your heart hammers in your ears as your whole body trembles with nervous excitement even as your stomach churns against the adrenaline coursing through your body. It’s painfully quiet in the room as you sit there in the dark. You’d intended to just kick off your clothes into a heap on the floor before you could wake up fully and descend back into a deep sleep in preparation for a long day tomorrow and now you’re wide awake, staring into the blackness around you, sleep the farthest thing from your mind.

Your phone buzzes on the table next to you and you grab it, blinking against the brightness of the screen as you make out a message from Nat asking if you made it to Dallas. Without a second thought, you call her. Nat picks up on the first ring.

“Hey Roadie, what’s up? I figured you’d be in bed already-“

“Javy just told me he loves me.” You blurt it out, cutting her off.

“What? Wait did you just… WHAT?!” Nat’s squawk on the other end brings a smile to your lips and the nerves in your stomach flutter with something more akin to butterflies.

“I mean I think, I was half asleep. I fell asleep in the car on the way here from the airport and he carried me upstairs. I can’t believe I let him, I was just so tired, and he offered, and it’s been such a long day. ANYWAY, he brought me up to my room, woke me up, and told me to get ready for bed and then as he was walking out he said good night and then I love you and now I’m wondering if I dreamed it, but I’m almost certain he said it.” You pause to catch your breath. “But then he just walked out like it was nothing so I’m not sure.” You wait for Nat’s response. There’s a long pause before Nat cackles in glee on the other end and you smile nervously.

“I KNEW it, I knew he would say it first! I called it!” You roll your eyes as Nat continues. “Oh Javy Machado, you secret hopeless romantic, you’ve made me a rich woman tonight! Wait Roadie, you’re awake right?” You nod before remembering she can’t see you and reply verbally. “Excellent, come to my room, we’re getting dessert to celebrate!”

You laugh at that, all your nerves dissipating in the face of Nat’s excitement and joy. “Nat it’s 3 am! You have to work tomorrow!”

“I’m working, not actually playing, and we need to celebrate Roadie! Come on! We’re having dessert and a sleepover! They booked me a double for some reason, we may as well make use of it! Pajamas are mandatory, I’m expecting you in fifteen minutes tops, no ands, ifs, or buts!” Nat hangs up before you can protest and you chuckle to yourself as you turn the bedside lamp on, stretching. You’re no longer sleepy, that’s for sure, and you’d much rather hang out with Nat than lie in bed trying to fall asleep, so you get changed into your pajamas, grabbing the hotel robe and slippers from the closet, before you head off towards her room.

Nat answers your knock almost immediately and tackles you in a hug that almost sends the two of you onto the hallway floor. “I’m so glad to see you, it’s been such a long week!” You squeeze her back, trying to hold back the tears that burn your throat at her enthusiastic greeting. You’re still getting used to having friends, and Nat’s bubbly excitement is different from Josie’s calmer, more motherly demeanor. “Come in, come in. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I ordered one of everything on the dessert menu. Javy said you don’t drink, so no wine, but I figured you can’t say no to hot chocolate, so I got us some of those. Plus, I probably don’t need any more coffee.” You chuckle at that even as you clock the two empty mugs on the table next to the couch. “You know, I had my money on something happening on this trip, what with you meeting the family and all, but Javy managed to surprise even me. The first night? The man has more in common with Bradley Bradshaw than he likes to think.” She smirks as she flops onto the couch and you sit down beside her. “So he just blurted it out?”

“I mean not exactly, but he said it so simply, like it was just a part of him saying goodnight. Honestly, I’m not even sure he realized he said it. Because if he had, he wouldn’t have just walked out, right?”

“You’re right that Javy could only hope to be that casual… that’s way more of a Jake move if I’m being honest, but to not even realize he said it? That doesn’t seem right either, honestly. Maybe he thought you were asleep?”

You shake your head, “he made sure to wake me up before he left. He had to know I was awake.”

“And he didn’t come back into your room, which means he’s probably freaking out. And if he didn’t freak out to you, and he didn’t freak out to me, then he’s freaking out somewhere.”Your face twists in worry and you sit up straighter, making to stand up, but Nat stops you with a gentle hand on your wrist. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“If you’re right, then I can’t just let him freak out alone! I need to go find him!” Worry pulses through your veins at the idea of Javy getting trapped in a cycle of overthinking that you’re all too familiar with and you stand up.

“No, you don’t,” Nat says calmly, tugging your wrist gently to guide you back down onto the couch. You don’t budge. “Hey, Roadie, listen to me. I’ve known Javy for half my life at this point and you need to give him some space right now. If you’re right and he just blurted it out without thinking, yeah he’s probably freaking out. And I know you want to help, but he needs time to process it on his own. I don’t say this to hurt you, but if he wanted your help, he would’ve asked. This is something he needs to do by himself, and he’ll come to you when he’s ready. All you need to do is be there for him when he gets there. Well, that’s not all you need to do, actually. Do you love him?”

Your heart thunders in your ear, picking up speed as your cheeks heat in response to that word. Nat’s intense brown eyes don’t give you relief, patiently waiting for your response even as they bore into your very soul as if to extract them herself.

“I should hope so,” an unfamiliar voice interrupts, and your head whips to the side in surprise, and your eyes widen as you see none other than Charlie walking out of the bathroom. He’s wearing another suit or he probably was, he’s ditched the jacket somewhere and he has the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to the elbow. His hair sticks up like he’s been running his hand through it and he looks like he’s had a long day. He leans casually against the wall, just out of the doorway to the bathroom, regarding the two of you across the room on the couch. The second coffee cup on the table suddenly makes a lot more sense. You’re so surprised by his presence that you’re not quite sure what to say, but you definitely don’t expect what ends up coming out of your mouth.

“Do you own any clothes that aren’t suits?” Your internal monologue escapes your lips and you snap your mouth shut as soon as your brain catches up. You’re mortified but Charlie seems thoroughly entertained, throwing his head back with a rich laugh echoed by Nat next to you. He shoves a hand through his disheveled hair, further causing it to stick up.

“I knew I liked you, Roadie,” he says as he regains his composure. “And to answer your question, absolutely not, it would completely ruin the image I work so hard to cultivate.” Nat rolls her eyes. “I take it Natasha didn’t mention I was here?” He asks and you shake your head as Nat shrugs, trying her best to look nonchalant.

“I’m pretty sure it was you who said you weren’t,” Nat says pointedly and it’s Charlie’s turn to shrug.

“Why are you here?” You ask, frowning slightly.

“I happened to be in town for a client,” Charlie says with another shrug, “coincidence really.” He too seems to be playing nonchalant but you don’t miss the look that he and Nat exchange.

“This reminds me, actually,” Nat turns to give you a pointed look. “What’s going on with the two of you, anyway? Charlie says you gave him my number when you went by his office but what were you doing there in the first place?” You swallow hard. You’d planned to keep your work situation and subsequent visit to Charlie a secret until you had a concrete plan of how to deal with Principal Jackson’s threats. You squirm under her inquiring gaze, trying to figure out how best to navigate this conversation you hadn’t even planned on having. “And don’t you dare lie about it,” Nat says firmly. “If you need me to keep a secret, I’ll keep it, but don’t lie to me.” You swallow again, fidgeting with your hands before you take a deep breath.

“I went to see Charlie because I wanted a lawyer’s advice.” Nat’s brow furrows.

“Advice about what?” You feel your fingers start to tremble and you clutch your hands in a fist. You just need to get the words out. You’ve said them before, to Charlie. And yet, the idea of speaking them aloud right now feels like acknowledging that they’re real.

“Principal Jackson threatened to fire me if I don’t break up with Javy.” The words leave you as you clutch your hands even tighter, averting your gaze down to them as you wait for Nat’s response.

“WHAT?!” You flinch at the intensity in her voice. “Are you kidding me? He can’t do that!” You glance up to see Nat’s face flushed with anger and you have to remind yourself that it’s not directed at you but at your situation. She turns to Charlie next, “he can’t, can he?” Charlie’s mouth purses into a thin line.

“Not outright, but it’s not hard to restructure the situation to make it look like she’s being fired for other reasons, and that’s exactly what he’s planning to do.” Nat turns back to you.

“Okay, so what are we going to do about it?” Your heart squeezes at the use of ‘we’ and your anxiety slowly starts to deflate in relief of not having to carry so much of the weight of your secret anymore.

Anxiety rises in you again for a different reason because you don’t know what you’re going to do. “I don’t know,” the words sound weak and hopeless. “It’s funny,” you hate the defeated tone in your voice even as cynicism and exhaustion colors it, “the only reason I got into a relationship with Javy in the first place was so I could keep my job, and now it’s the very thing threatening it.” You slump back into the couch, tipping your head back and studying the ceiling like it’ll hold the solution to your fate. “Except now I love my students and I love Javy,” you don’t really think about the words as your brain is muddled with dread until Nat screeches at a volume that makes you concerned for whoever shares the wall behind you. She smacks your arm in excitement and you smile at her sheepishly.

“YOU SAID IT. Look at you! Okay, so you’re not breaking up with Javy, obviously. But you shouldn’t have to give up your job just because of that. Javy’s made bad choices, but you definitely shouldn’t have to pay for them.”

“And yet,”

“Don’t ’and yet’ me.” She turns back to Charlie. “What’s your professional opinion? Should we sue the school?” Your eyes widen in shock, and you sit up, shaking your head vehemently.

“Nat, we’re not suing anyone!” She turns back to you, brow furrowed.

“And why not?” You blink, surprised at the pushback.

“One, that’ll just make things worse, and I’ll probably still have to quit my job even if I win the lawsuit because it’ll ruin my relationship with the school. Two, I’m a kindergarten teacher, I can’t afford a lawsuit let alone a lawyer.”

“Well you have a lawyer,” Nat waves at Charlie and you wince.

“This isn’t even Charlie’s department, I went to him for advice, not to actually hire him.” You give him an apologetic look. “No offense,”

“None taken. I’d love to help, but I’m not sure how much I can do in a professional capacity. I wouldn’t be the best lawyer for your case, and I’m also employed by a firm, so who I represent affects not only me but them as well. You wouldn’t be a client, because we’re a sports law firm and you’re not a professional athlete, at least not to my knowledge.”

“Do you have friends?” You stifle a snort at the way Nat’s question comes out.

“Jeez Trace, invite a man for coffee and then insult his social circle.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Nat rolls her eyes. “We both know you don’t have any friends.” Your snort escapes even as Charlie mimes injury.

“You wound me.”

“You’ll live,” she chirps, voice saccharine sweet. “But seriously, what are we going to do about Roadie’s situation?”

“I suggested we get Zam involved, try to take control of the narrative, paint Roadie as the sweet, girl-next-door, non-celebrity girlfriend that made Javy turn over a new leaf, but she said she wasn’t on board.”

Nat turns to you, frowning, “Why not? It’s a good idea. Make yourself irreplaceable in the public eye, and the school has to think twice about trying to break you two up.”

You shake your head. “Sure, but then they’ll just fire me. It doesn’t solve anything.”

“It does, though. It’s nothing but good press for the school. The school already benefits from being linked to the Fitch family, but add in your notoriety and affluent parents are going to be more likely to send their children there.”

She has a point, but it still doesn’t sit well with you. “My relationship with Javy isn’t a game. I know it started that way, but it wasn’t real back then, so it was different. Now it’s real, and the only people it belongs to are us. Javy doesn’t deserve to be used like that. I never want to feel like I’m loving him for any reason other than because of my feelings for him. That’s not a relationship. All everyone cares about is the fact that he’s this bigshot hockey player who makes tons of money, but I don’t care about any of that. I love him because he’s sweet, thoughtful, and considerate. And sure, the relationship feels real right now, but if we start playing pretend, even if it’s just for the cameras, it’ll seep into our lives and everything will become a game that I don’t want to play. I’m not gambling everything I’ve gained these past few months on a race that’s been rigged from the start.”

You shake your head as the reality of your situation becomes all too clear. “That’s not the kind of person I am, and I’m tired of changing who I am to try to keep this job. Someone once told me I never have to do anything that makes me feel uncomfortable. So I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m not giving up Javy, but I’m not giving my students up either. You told me to become irreplaceable? I can do that, but not to the world. I’m good at my job. I don’t like saying it, because pride isn’t what motivates me to do it. But I’m good at my job. I work hard for my students and I keep my head down while I do it. If they want to fire me, they can try, but I won’t make it an easy decision for them.” You take a deep breath. “So that’s what I’m going to do. I know it’s not big, or showy, and it seems like I’m giving up, but I’m not. I’m not big or showy either, but it’s what makes me me. I’m not changing myself up for anyone, whether that’s the press, Javy, or Principal Jackson.” You’re out of breath and emotional.

Your cheeks are hot and you can feel your throat closing as tears of frustration prick at your eyes. You’re caught off guard when Nat wraps her arms around you in a hug, squeezing you tight and you hug her back. “Just let us know what we can do to help. We’re here for you, no matter what, for both of you.” Maybe you’ve never been a fighter before, but you’ve also never had an army of people willing to stand beside you before either. And maybe, for once, you actually stand a chance.

A/N: Tomorrow’s going to be a big day 👀 Who thought Javy would be the one to say it first?

[justabigassnerd]

Surprise Arrival

Pairing - Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia x sister!reader

Word count - 1,464

Warnings - mentions of bad familial relationships, little bit of angst, mostly fluff

Summary - after turning up on Mickey's doorstep one night, you finally get to meet the Daggers

A/N - hey y'all it's been a while but here's a new fic! I really hope I did this request justice. I've never written for Mickey before so it was definitely new territory so I just hope it was good enough somehow. I won't ramble but as per y'all please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

While Mickey Garcia, better known by his callsign Fanboy, was one of the more talkative of the Daggers. They didn’t know a lot about his private life. He could talk for days on end about Star Wars and Star Trek and debate various topics on both franchises, but he never chose to be completely open about things that happened in his life outside of work.

What the Daggers didn’t know about Mickey was that he had grown up with a rocky relationship with his parents. He loved and respected them, but he soon figured out they didn’t extend a similar courtesy to him, especially when he told them about how he applied to the Naval Academy. The worst part of it all was having to leave his little sister behind when he moved out. You were the one person he was closest to in the family, and he hated leaving you behind, but he made sure to stay in regular contact with you, so you maintained the strong sibling bond you had.

Then one evening you showed up at his front door.

You hadn’t given Mickey any kind of warning that you were going to do such a thing. He had just heard a knock at the door and gone to answer it, assuming it was Reuben coming around to check in on Mickey like he did occasionally but instead he was greeted with the sight of you behind the door, teary-eyed and a bag slung over your shoulder.

“y/n? What are you doing here?” Mickey asks, eyes wide in confusion as he peeks out the door, expecting to see you with someone else.

“Can I come in, please?” You ask quietly, voice evidently thick with the tears you’re trying to hold back. Mickey doesn’t respond with words, just opening the door wider and ushering you inside when he hears the slight pattering of rain against the pavement.

“Okay, you gotta tell me what’s up? How’d you even afford a flight out here?” Mickey asks the moment you’re in the house, taking your bag and setting it down while you sit yourself on the sofa, winding your arms around your middle as if to protect yourself.

“I’ve been saving up money from my job for a while now. I couldn’t bear to stay there any longer it’s like they’ve gotten ten times more unbearable since you left, and I can’t handle it, Mickey. Please let me stay with you. I can’t go back.” You explain, looking at your older brother with tear-filled eyes that break his heart as he listens to what you have to say.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know it had gotten that bad. Of course, you can stay. You’re my sister. And if they ask me if you’re here I can tell them you’re not if you don’t want them to know where you are.” Mickey says, moving to sit next to you on the sofa and watching carefully as you nod gratefully at his words before burying yourself into his side for a sudden hug he was quick to return.

A week after your sudden arrival, you had been settling into your new life. Mickey had managed to get into contact with your old school and arrange a transfer to a nearby school. Mickey had also noticed how much happier you were now that you were permanently living with him. However, despite all that, the Daggers still had no clue about your arrival. He had been declining regular hangouts outside of work with them in favour of spending time with you to make up for the time he lost. He felt slightly guilty for constantly turning down the Daggers since he was usually the one encouraging the others to hang out and now, he was hiding away. One day, Mickey decided to bring up the topic of meeting the Daggers to you.

“Hey y/n/n. How would you feel about meeting the people I work with? There’s no pressure if you don’t want to of course.” Mickey offers as the two of you eat dinner, carefully watching your reaction to gauge how you might feel about it.

“Are they nice?” Was your response, and Mickey nodded without hesitation.

“We tease each other sometimes but it’s in good fun. They’re practically my family. They’ll love you I can promise you that.” Mickey says, doing his best to explain how much the Daggers mean to him. You listen carefully to his words, staying silent for a moment after he finishes speaking before finally nodding your head.

“Okay. I’d like to meet them.” You say, giving your brother a small smile as he grins in response.

“I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

A few days later, the Daggers had arranged to meet at the Hard Deck for their weekly Friday hangout and Mickey had made sure to send you a message letting you know where they were meeting and at what time, making sure to let you know that you could arrive whenever.

“It’s been ages since you hung out with us, Fanboy. Did your lady dump you or something?” Javy jokes as he slaps Mickey on the back as the Daggers grab their first round of beers.

“My lady?” Mickey asks, glancing around at all the Daggers with a confused expression.

“You’ve been ditching us a lot lately, so we just assumed you got yourself a girl.” Jake shrugs as he lifts his beer bottle to his lips before taking a swig.

“No, it’s nothing like that at all. I’ll explain myself soon, I promise.” Mickey says quickly, internally cringing at the team’s assumptions. The team seem to back off then, muttering to themselves and drinking their beers as they all move over to the pool table.

Half an hour after the Daggers arrived at the Hard Deck, you arrived too. You enter the bar, carefully navigating around the groups of people as you search for your brother until you finally catch sight of him chatting with some people by the pool table and slowly make your way over to him.

“Hey, Mickey.” You greet as you reach him, smiling as he lights up, immediately grabbing you into a hug.

“You came!” Mickey exclaims happily, hugging you tight as the rest of the group becomes aware of the interaction.

“Who’s this Fanboy?” Someone asks as you pull away from the hug, instantly aware of the pairs of eyes watching you.

“This is y/n. She’s, my sister.” Mickey introduces you to the group, winding an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his side as you smile sheepishly. At the introduction, the team bursts into questions, all talking over each other as they ask both you and Mickey various questions.

“Whoa calm down guys. If you let them speak maybe, you’ll actually get an explanation.” A voice says strongly as a woman with black hair steps forward, glancing around at the rest of the team who quickly quieten down, mumbling apologies.

“Thanks, Phoenix.” Mickey mumbles gratefully, smiling quickly at her before focusing his attention on the rest of his squadron.

“y/n has decided she wants to live out here with me. I know I never really told you guys anything about my family but that’s just because I didn’t feel like it had any place in our conversations.” Mickey explains, looking around at all the Daggers as they exchange looks before Bradley clears his throat and steps forward.

“You’re always welcome to talk to us about anything. Doesn’t matter what. We’re your team and we’ll always be there for you.” He says, clapping Mickey on the shoulder as Reuben takes a step towards you.

“Hey, there y/n. I’m Reuben, or Payback if you prefer. I’m your brother’s pilot.” He introduces himself, holding a hand out for you to shake which you do with a smile.

“So, you’re the one who has to put up with Mickey.” You say with a laugh as Reuben chuckles nodding his head, both of you ignoring Mickey’s faux gasp of shock.

“The one and only.” Reuben says before more of the Daggers step forward to introduce themselves to you and once the introductions are over, they integrate you into their conversations smoothly and you feel like you’ve known them much longer than you have.

“I think we should make y/n an unofficial member of the Daggers.” Jake says after you finish telling a story about growing up with Mickey as your older brother, which is soon followed by sounds of agreement from the rest of the Daggers. As you watched them all nodding and agreeing with Jake’s words, you felt your heart swelling with happiness as Mickey tugged you into a side hug, smiling down at you.

You had finally found your family.

[the-ace-with-spades]

There's one fic idea from another fandom that I never wrote and would like to adapt to the TGM fandom, which is tattoo artist/florist but more like they're both tattoo artists but one of them doesn't know that (have I mentioned this before? i feel like I did)

tw: mentions of addiction and ODing

I'm thinking this happens in San Fran/Portland/Settle/Washington DC

Bradley had his papers pulled and accidentally started working part-time in a tattoo shop (just cleaning) and absolutely fell in love with tattoo art and switched majors from engineering to art history/etc. in his second semester. Not long after he started an apprenticeship at the same tattoo shop, his thesis was about tattoo art history and he became a well-known academic in the field and a popular tattoo artist.

Carole used to love flowers and had a very varied garden at their house and flower illustrations everywhere - Bradley used to draw flowers on every card for her - so flowers became his specialty

He now runs a tattoo shop (The Bloom) with Natasha, who he met at a tattoo competition TV show (because I'm a sucker for reality shows rn...) and flies as a side gig, but he also has part-time gigs at different colleges.

He is tattooed all over, but only on the parts of his body he can cover in some ways - it's really funny when he lectures because he looks like a stereotypical professor, cardigans, collared shirts, khakis and all, but sometimes when it's hot, he rolls up his sleeves and people can see his full-sleeve tattoos.

Now, Jake had a completely different route to the place he is at now. He got mixed with the wrong crowd and got kicked out of the Naval Academy first year, he got mixed with an even worse crowd when his family didn't take him back when he returned and he was an addict for some time. He had one of those born-again christian turn arounds - not in a super fanatic way, just woke up one day in a hospital after a close call with his (religious) crying mom praying with a rosary over him and realized he needed to change something about his life or he's going to destroy everyone around him. He starts going to church with his ma and gets a little involved in the local Christian charity, etc etc.

One of the therapies he attended was art therapy and at first, he thought it was bullshit but then he actually liked it and even designed some of his own tattoo cover-ups at the sessions (he had shitty tattoos he had done when he was high or drunk that reminded him about worse times). The tattoo artist who did his coverups was actually impressed and offered him training, which he took up.

Most of his shittiest tattoos are covered now, but he still has not very thought-through tattoos on his face, some of which are too big to ever do much about them, and some blackout tattoos, so he looks very 'stereotypically'.

Due to his background, cover-ups, black only, and trad/neo-trad tatttos are his specialty. He is also really good at pigmentation and tattoo restoration/longevity.

Now, Jake moves out of Texas with his mom after his dad (who has been completely unsupportive of him since he got kicked out of USNA) passed away, to be closer to his sister and her kids who lived on the other side of the states. He filters around, taking part-time gigs at other studios and gigs he gets from social media.

Eventually, he opens a tattoo shop with Javy, on the other side of the street as The Bloom is. Due to the amount of flowers and the name of the studio, he assumes it's a flower shop.

He and Bradley run into each other in a local coffee shop (run by Reuben and Mickey) and Jake, seeing Bradley's getup, is still under the impression Bradley is a florist.

Bradley spills Jake's coffee and asks him on a date when he pays back for his coffee a few days later

(Bob, working a street away, is the actual local florist)

[mothdruid]

I Wish You Would

pairing. Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x afab!reader

word count. 3.3k

warnings. ANGST!!

author's note. this is for @laracrofted 1989 writing challenge. my song was I Wish You Would. and a special thanks goes out to @withahappyrefrain, @bobfloydsbabe, and @rae-gar-targaryen for letting me use your OC's as the bride and wedding dates for the daggers in this fic. well, here is some angsty angst for you all. also, the venue i'm writing about is a real place called The Farmhouse Siloam, and this is the dress I wrote the reader in.

The invitation had arrived earlier that year. It didn’t shock you that Jake was actually getting married, but having something tangible telling you was a little odd. Danica and Jake started off on an interesting foot. The way Jake had talked about her in secret wouldn’t have made it obvious, but once you all met Danica everything about the relationship made sense. She was the exact kind of woman that drove Jake crazy, in a good way. That’s one thing you and Bradley had always agreed on. That Hangman would hang the stars for his Venus, something you found out Bradley would have trouble doing for you.

The relationship hadn’t been terrible, honestly, it was the best relationship you had ever had. One that you thought about regularly, even though you continually told everyone you were over it. So, when Jake and Danica gave you the heads up that they were also inviting Bradley, you gave them questioning looks. Why would that even matter? It was their wedding anyways, they could invite whoever they wanted. It’s not like that final not was still something you thought about daily. But how would they had known that? They couldn’t have when you always told them the opposite.

Neither of you were bad people, but that night would have told anyone the opposite. Both of your words were laced with venom, neither one of you knowing how to convey your thoughts properly. It wasn’t like either of you, but things had gotten out of hand quick. One thing lead to another, escalating past the point of control.

An uneven breath passed your lips while you looked in the mirror. The dress you had picked was something simple. A two strap summery dress with a bustier built in. It was covered in a muted pastel floral print. Cielo and Abby had helped you pick it out. You bought it with the thought of being able to wear it again, and not to draw the attention of anyone specific.

Even though you and Bradley ended on poor terms, you still yearned for him. Almost two years later and you still wished for something. But you weren’t just hoping and wishing for him to reach out to you, you were also wishing you could have changed things. Wished you would have never hung up on him. Wished that maybe you wouldn’t have said the things you did. Wished that you would have swallowed your pride and reached out. Too many wishes, but it was all in the past and you couldn’t change it now.

All you could do now was face the day. Face the fact that you would be seeing him again. Face the emotions that were going to resurface.

You did a small twirl, calming your nerves in the process. If anything you could hide with Mickey, Cielo, Abby, Bob, and Reuben if things became too much. Or at least just Cielo and Abby. No matter what, you would survive. Ignoring the sensation tightening in your chest, you moved to the bathroom to finish your makeup.

-

Bradley stared at himself in the dressing room mirror, ignoring all of those who were fluttering around him. He had known about this day for a long time. Hell, he knew when Jake decided he was going to propose. Jake had immediately sent him and Javy a picture of the ring. Eager. That was all Bradley had thought about it. Bradley had a slightly pessimistic view on love now.

After his last relationship, he took a break from love. It was too painful, the only thing in the world that could hurt everyone. Even those whose walls were so high, heart so guarded. Those like Bradley.

Love had been the most damaging thing in Bradley’s life. The love for his father? Heart breaking. The love for his mother? Life altering. The love he had once felt for Maverick? Trust breaking. The love he had for you? World crumbling. It wasn’t worth it anymore in his mind. He had tried it multiple times, each time ending in pain.

The pain he had felt with you had been different though. It was a shared one, a pain he could tell that you were also experiencing. It wasn’t like when his dad just never returned home, or when his mom took her final breath in the hospital, or when Mav set him back. All of that had been one sided, him being the only one being hurt. But when he saw the tears roll down your cheeks, the way your chest heaved with each breath. That finally click he heard when you hung up. The ache in his chest as he stared at the phone, deciding not to call you back.

Yeah, you had been the one to hang up, but Bradley had been the one who did nothing. He didn’t do anything in that moment except let you slip through his fingers, like sand in an hour glass. He regretted it to this day. Knowing he should have at least reached out but didn’t. It was one of the biggest mistakes of his life. He finally popped his collar up then ran the tie for his suit around it.

He hadn’t been this dressed up, outside of his Navy regalia, in a long time. The last time he remembered was for your cousins wedding. A smile drifted to his lips, but only a small one, as he recalled the way you had tied his tie for him. Your face was so calm and focused, threading the material through the knot and tightening it up for him. His own hands followed the same pattern that yours once did. He was never able to capture it completely, but he always preferred how you had tied his ties.

“Crazy, huh?” Javy said while grabbing Bradley’s shoulder and pulling him close.

“That’s one word for it,” Bradley let out a little chuckle.

The two of them sat there for a moment, silence over taking them. Javy's bright smile faded a little when he met Bradley’s gaze in the mirror. Javy wasn’t oblivious to what today meant for Bradley, Jake neither. Jake had told Bradley immediately when Danica sent out invitations. Bradley was happy you would be there, seeing the union of two amazing friends. But he couldn’t ignore the anxiety festering in his chest.

“If you need anything, just ask man.”

“Thanks.”

-

Throughout the entire ceremony you had fought the urge to throw up. Which now lead to you in the bathroom, waiting for your nausea to calm down. It was the worst symptom of anxiety you got, that and the tightness in your chest. You didn’t think that seeing Bradley would do this to you. You had been preparing and hyping yourself up all morning, only for him to crack it all with one look. A look he didn’t even return.

You moved to the sink, looking at yourself in the mirror. That’s when you noticed something that you didn’t catch prior. Well, you had ‘caught’ it, but didn’t realize the full extent of your choice in lipstick. It was Bradley’s favorite shade. It was a soft neutral, one you wore cause it went with everything. Bradley had loved it because, “It just makes you glow”, or at least that was what he had told you. Your fingertips almost brushed your lips, but you stopped yourself and simple smiled.

The reception was gorgeous, the entire thing had been gorgeous. It was an outdoor venue, a boho-esque farm house that had been transitioned into a wedding venue. People were swarming everywhere, waiting to the newly weds and wedding party to show up for things to officially start. You made your way up the steps of the outdoor pavilion, looking around only to find familiar faces staring back at you. Danica and Jake had been kind enough to put all their good friends at the same table. Bob and Mickey both noticed you at the same time, alerting everyone else at the table of your presence.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Reuben said as he stood to pull your chair out for you.

“As if I wouldn’t miss this,” you replied while sitting down.

“That’s right, can’t stay away from us,” Mickey said with a big grin.

The night had moved fast. Dinner had been an event, Javy making his way over to your guys table to greet everyone. Jake and Danica eventually came over too, only after making sure to say hello to all the extended family, which Mickey was claiming you all were a part of. You, Cielo, Abby, and Natasha had talked about the struggles of finding the perfect guest dresses. Bob chiming in to say that you all looked phenomenal, only to turn red when you all complimented him back while Abby pressed a kiss to his cheek. The only person that was missing from your group was Bradley.

Your anxiety about the situation had subsided when the wedding party walked in. Bradley had actually looked at you, even gave you a small smile. The butterflies you had felt weren’t brand new, but they weren’t something you had felt in a long time. They were a regular thing Bradley used to give you, no matter how comfortable you had become with him. Butterflies on your one year anniversary, two year, and even three year.

Your gazes didn’t stop meeting throughout the entirety of dinner. He calmly sat at the wedding party table, disappearing at some point. The thought about finding him had crossed your mind, but you decided to stay seated, a small amount of anxiety winning that battle. It was a good thing though, the first dance starting only a few minutes after you made the decision.

All of you sat there mesmerized by the gorgeous couple dancing. They looked so seamless together, making your heart swell with fondness for the both of them. After the first dance was the dances they had with their parents. Danica with her father, Jake with his mother. All of it, everything was making something inside of you sad. Not for the people around you, but for the fact that you could have had this.

The night continued though. About forty-five minutes had passed since the music and dancing had started. You were sitting at your assigned table while sipping your wine. It had been your second glass. Even though you wanted to get really drunk, you decided not to. It wasn’t the time nor place, and seeing Bradley didn’t fully constitute it. But there was a still a part of you, one that was becoming a little overwhelming, was yearning for him.

A slow song had started to play, many people dispersing from the dance floor. It wasn’t the first slow song and it wouldn’t be that last. During the first slow song, Reuben had asked if you wanted to dance at one point after seeing the saddened look on your face. You had politely declined though, and Reuben confirmed that he understood. The two of you instead had sat at the table and watched all the varying couples on the floor. Jake and Danica, Javy and Natasha, Bob and Abby, Mickey and Cielo. The first time you didn’t take notice to Bradley’s presence, trying to ignore the silent plea inside of you.

Your heart was screaming at you, telling you to just walk over. It was wishing that you would simply go up and talk to him. Wishing that he would come talk to you. Wishing for so much that would probably never happen.

But this time you did notice his presence.

That’s because he wasn’t there, completely absent from the pavilion.

-

The day was going better than Bradley had anticipated.

So what if his chest was filled to the brim with regret and anxiety. He could get over that. What he couldn’t get over was how beautiful everything was. The venue looked like something from out of a movie, Danica truly looked like Venus, and it was perfect. Including you. Before he even walked down the dirt path they called the aisle, his eyes were locked on you.

How could they not be?

After countless days and nights he had spent with you. The very image of you was seared into his soul, being able to immediately pick you out before even seeing your face. You looked as beautiful as ever. It made his heart race, now being faced with the reality that he was only a mere twenty feet away from you. So, he made sure not to make eye contact throughout the entire ceremony. It was harder than he thought it would be. All he wanted to do was look at you, but he forced himself not to.

That was until the reception started. When he walked up the steps of the pavilion his heart was hammering. The DJ announced his name and he walked through, eyes finally meeting yours. It was brief, but it was enough to make his mind spin. He immediately noticed the color of your lips. It was his color, the one he had always loved on you. The one that made you look radiant, complimenting you in all the best ways. It had always grabbed his attention. It wasn’t an extravagant color, but you made it extravagant.

And you continued to keep his attention all night. His eyes followed you, adverting away fast enough for you not to notice when you looked his direction. It was borderline painful watching you with all of his friends. They were your friends too, but the two of you hadn’t been around all of them at the same time in forever. Not actual forever, but that’s what it felt like to Bradley. More like a lifetime.

All he kept thinking was about how foolish he had been. Wishing all over again that he would have done just something. Called you back, sent a text, or simply just not disappear out of your life. But at the time he thought that was the best thing. Only after did he realize how dumb he actually had been. He had to leave the pavilion for a moment, getting fresh air to relieve himself. He returned only a few minutes later.

Then when Jake and Danica started the first dance he started to feel sick. If he would have been better, that could have been the two of you. He could have seen you in one of those gorgeous white gowns. All he saw when he pictured it was you as an ethereal being. This all had to be karma, finally coming around to bite him in the ass. And it didn’t stop either. Watching everyone take their partner, arms wrapped lovingly around them.

Watching how Bob softly moved a stray strand of hair from Abby’s face. The bright smile that Mickey brought to Cielo. Even the way Natasha was laughing at Javy's dumb jokes. He wished that he could have been like that with you. Whisking you around the floor, whispering in your ear about how lucky he was to have you. But it was simply a wish, nothing more.

So Bradley left.

He didn’t want to sit with the regret and pain anymore. The memories of how foolish he had been to let you slip through his hands. He made his way out of the pavilion, dress shoes hitting the grass quickly as he walked a little bit away from the pavilion. Warm deep breaths filled his lungs as he stared out at the sky. Hues of orange and pink were starting to blend in with the clouds.

Not even a minute later did he hear someone coming down the pavilion steps. He waited for a moment, hoping he would hear the steps hit the stone path, but they didn’t. The small sound of shifting grass was creeping closer to him, making hm let out a sigh. He was whole heartedly expecting to see Javy, maybe even Nat in tow. But when he turned around he was much more surprised.

-

“Hi,” you said barely above a whisper.

“I.. Hi,” Bradley greeted back.

The two of you stood there for a moment, staring at one another. Bradley’s eyes had brightened, a soft smile pulling at his lips. Which you mimicked, offering your own small smile at him. Neither of you knew exactly what to say. It didn’t feel awkward, but it wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable either. You looked up, seeing the gorgeous colors of the sky. Bradley looked up to see a little more pink had settled in the sky.

“It’s beautiful,” you said.

“It really is,” Bradley replied.

There were a few beats of silence before you spoke again.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you,” you didn’t look at him, keeping your gaze towards the sky.

Bradley looked at you though, wondering why you would ask that question. You had never bothered him ever, he just sucked at showing how much he cared about you. Sucked so much he couldn’t even properly show it to you.

“You never have,” Bradley decided it was a now or never thing.

You looked at him, raising an eyebrow to act like you had no idea what he was implying. A breathy half laugh passed your lips as you stared at him now. You waited for a moment, hoping he might retract it or something. That never came though, so you dropped the slightly confused expression from your face.

“Bradley, I didn’t mean it like that,” your smile was gone now.

Bradley nodded, “I know, but there was a lot I wanted to say and never did.”

Those bubbles of anxiety were floating back into your chest, threatening to pop at any moment. But there were things that you had never said either. It was now or never, say your peace or forever hold it.

“There’s a lot I never said either,” you started to fiddle with your hands, a nervous habit you had always had.

“First, I want to say I’m sorry, genuinely,” Bradley’s eyes were sincere as he spoke, “you didn’t deserve anything that happened or that I said. I was stupid then, the emotionally capacity of a peanut.” You both let out a chuckle after that one. “And I don’t expect everything to be magically okay, but I just wanted to apologize and say”, he paused briefly, “that I miss you.”

It felt like your heart had broken into two. Everything you had ever seen in the media was telling you to ditch him, tell him to fuck off. But you couldn’t, because you completely understood what he was saying. You felt the exact same way. Ever since he left it was like you were missing something, double checking every time you left your apartment.

“Bradley, I’m miss you too,” you grabbed his hand as you spoke.

His hand encapsulated yours. The warmth was something familiar yet distant. He had always ran a bit warmer than you, something you had always appreciated. A soft smile appeared on his face once more. He rubbed his thumb lightly on the back of your hand. Neither of you were sure how much time had truly passed since you found him, but another slow song started to play in the distance. Bradley let out a small huff that caught your attention.

“What?” You asked.

“I just… I’ve been meaning to ask you all night,” Bradley started, “would you like to dance?”

“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

The two of you stayed there in the grass. Bradley kept you close to him, hands resting on your waist. You rested your head on his chest while your arms where wrapped around his neck. It was peaceful, anxiety melting off the both of you. It wasn’t completely perfect, but it was something the both of you had wished for.

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

Paul Reubens (1952-2023)

I’m absolutely devastated to learn that Paul Reubens, also known as Pee-Wee Herman, has passed away after privately battling cancer.

I first came across his work, not through Pee-Wee but as Oscar Vibenius in a few episodes of Pushing Daisies; you can imagine my shock just two years ago when I got into TNBC and realised that one of the voice actors of my favourite trio of characters was in the first television show I was truly obsessed with and one that remains close to my heart. Despite only being in two or three episodes, he made such an impact and was by far one of the best guest stars on the show.

As I’ve mentioned, he was one of the voice actors who brought the trio of Lock, Shock and Barrel to life in Nightmare Before Christmas - I love those characters so much that I got a tattoo of them in 2021 on my left arm, and it’s one of my favourite tattoos I’ve ever gotten even now. I know that in the scale of things, especially given this man’s career, a voice role doesn’t seem like a huge deal but it does to me.

Once I realised that this man was Pee-Wee Herman, I of course had to check it out. I remember many mornings in summer 2021 being spent watching episodes of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse online, laughing at them despite the fact I’m a full grown adult and just loving the positivity and joy in them. Watching those episodes became a small little routine for me, bringing me something to smile and laugh at even as I dreaded another day of work or whatever the future held. For a small moment every morning that summer, they were a little respite.

This world has truly lost a bright, hilarious, witty and generous spark that can never be replaced.

[ruvviks]

HARBINGER; a person or thing that shows that something is going to happen soon, especially something bad.

[aydafigs]

ooh I have so many thoughts on The Rat Grinders discourse okay

on the one hand, I think it's completely reasonable to be disappointed that there was no attempt from The Bad Kids to engage with TRG beyond just killing them as quickly and bloodily as possible, or no effort from Brennan to present that as an option. I agree that it sucks that these teenagers, who have been corrupted by rage crystals and are presumably being manipulated by authority figures, are being treated as irredeemably evil and therefore condemned to hell forever for their crimes - and I agree that it feels incongruent narratively, when a big arc this season involved 'redeeming' a corrupted goddess, and a key theme has been the power of utilising doubt to overcome rage. I also think it's a shame that Fig's past attempts to engage with Reuben were ultimately forgotten about and rendered useless (and I definitely got the impression that Emily herself was also frustrated about this).

however! I do also completely understand it from a gameplay, genre, and storytelling perspective.

firstly, mostly just as a sidenote, I think it's worth acknowledging that a lot of 'real-world' thinking and logic surrounding death and ‘redemption’ and the moral complexities of 'good vs evil' don't always work within Fantasy High or d&d. death is treated much more flippantly in a world where characters can and do regularly plane-shift to the very real and tangeable afterlives. it's harder to think of death as truly an end to someone's life when it is known for certain that those who die are actually continuing to live alternate lives on different planes of existence - and I think from a meta perspective this inevitably affects the way players think about killing NPCs within a story. no one is ever truly gone; they're just living somewhere else now.

additionally, in-universe, the prospect of dying or being killed is an accepted risk for those attending Aguefort. they're training to be adventurers, and as fucked up as it is, a key element of the universe and genre that this story takes place in is that people - including teenagers - die on adventures, and this risk is entirely normalised and considered unfortunate but necessary. it's one of those genre-specific tropes that you have to accept for the world to function. this is d&d, this is fantasy adventuring high school, teenagers have to save the world from other, villainous teenagers. it's every teen supernatural/fantasy drama. it's Teen Wolf. it's fucking Riverdale. as Brennan has put it before, "it's adventuring school. people die."

The Rat Grinders are not the heroes of this story - and what is so interesting about them, at least to me, is that they know that. there's a lot of excellent analysis of TRG as existing on a meta level even within the story; they're power gamers, they're XP farmers, they know they're NPCs; and this is the source of Kipperlilly's anger. Kipperlilly's rage stems from knowing that she is ordinary; that she doesn't have a tragic backstory, that she will never save the world, that she and her friends aren't a notorious adventuring party or 'found family' or anything other than regular. so she set out to become Not Ordinary by any means necessary - and if she and The Rat Grinders couldn't be the heroes, they had to become the villains. whether or not TRG 'deserved' to die or not is a moot point, I think. it's not about what they deserve. their story, and especially Kipperlilly's story, is a tragedy in this way; she was doomed by the narrative from the moment she started to write herself as the villain.

The Rat Grinders are, narratively, the Big Bads of the season; the Final Bosses of this game of d&d. this final battle is necessary to conclude the story in an exciting and climactic and satisfying way. it would simply not be as exciting, either for the players or the audience, if this season ended with The Bad Kids talking it out with The Rat Grinders and convincing them to switch sides. at the end of the day, this isn't a movie or a TV show. this is a game, being played in real time by real people who are improvising and having fun while collaboratively telling a story together. of course, the storytelling on this show is phenomenal - but it's never going to be able to do everything. they don't have a room of writers pitching ideas to write perfectly timed and paced scripts for character arcs and resolutions. they're a group of improv comedians playing a roleplay and combat-centric game together. they're playing d&d. they’re playing heroes fighting bad guys.

I do think there's a lot of valid criticism around rage and manipulation and who is considered worthy of 'redemption'. I just also think there's a middle ground somewhere between "The Bad Kids killing The Rat Grinders is awful and evil and bad storytelling and everyone involved should feel bad" and "haha suck it Rat Grinders fans, told you they were always evil". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk. it's all love now. [smooch]

[sirius-astraeus]

Not His Son

Look, Tom knew that Bradley —Rooster, these days— wasn’t his son. Hell, he wasn’t even Maverick’s, a fact Bradley made very, very clear when he left that night. Ice remembers it like it was yesterday; Bradley had received a letter from USNA telling him that his application was, for whatever reason, pulled successfully. He’d approached Maverick with the subject, quickly blowing up at his godfather/adopted father once the truth was revealed. Pete Mitchell had pulled Bradley Bradshaw’s Naval Academy application. He left in a fury, shouting awful things that Tom knew Maverick dreamed about every night.

“You aren’t my dad. You never were. I hate you. I wish you died instead!”

Tom also thought of those words often. They were sharp thorns in his heart, haunted his every breath. Bradley was right, they weren’t his parents. And while they might have raised him, Iceman and Maverick were nothing but a heavy, burdened memory Bradley despised.

That didn’t mean they stopped caring. Especially now that Ice was a three star admiral, and Bradley was a full-fledged naval aviator. Hell, he was attending TOPGUN (at Ice’s secret referral). He was a grown man, an independent and strong man. He didn’t need Maverick, he didn’t need Iceman.

It didn’t stop Ice from keeping an eye on him, though. With his admiral status, Ice had the files of every single naval flight officer at his fingertips. Most of the time, Tom used the files to recommend squadrons and put together missions, but…

He still worried about the kid.

In actuality, it wasn’t all that often that Tom checked on Bradley. Every few months, and he usually didn’t tell Maverick the updates with the knowledge that his husband —they’d gotten married without Bradley there, but they did send an invite that went unanswered— would be hurt knowing Bradley was doing well without him. And that wasn’t narcissism or anything on Pete’s part; Bradley was, in all ways but blood, Pete’s kid. He always would be, even if the only surviving Bradshaw never spoke with him again.

It was Bradley’s second week at TOPGUN, and he was doing well. Top of his class, in fact. It brought both joy and a strange feeling to Ice’s chest.

He’d passed Bradley in the hallways of the air base several times in the past weeks, and every time he gave the man a warm smile. One of the other admirals on base, a two star by the callsign of Cyclone, teased him about the sudden appearance and disappearance of warmth on his face every time he was in the same general area as his kid.

Not his kid.

Today was a particularly bad day for Tom. His husband was stationed overseas and had been for the last month and a half, and Ice was missing him dearly. Plus, Ice had nightmares about Hop31 (better known as ‘the accident’ around Maverick, who flinched anytime ‘hop’ and ‘31’ were in the same sentence) and Goose’s death the night before.

Seeing Bradley strutting through base, a funky-pattern Hawaiian shirt on and wearing a pair of aviators, his 70s-pornstache perfectly groomed, was just salt in the wound. His (not) son was a spitting image of Nick Bradshaw, identical even in the walk. Goose always loved to strut and peacock about, showing off whatever shirt he had on.

Tom had tried to approach Bradley, just to say something. Hi. I miss you. Pete misses you. Anything, just to hear the young man’s voice. Would he sound like Goose? Bradley was raised in California, so he didn’t have the southern twang that Goose had, but maybe…

Bradley glared at Ice when he got near, turning and walking away. His friends, who Ice recognized as Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace and Reuben ‘Payback’ Fitch, looked confused as they snapped to attention. Tom sighed, smiling sadly at the kids before turning to walk the other direction.

Later that day, Ice was watching the skies. His mind overlayed memories of Hop31, how *well* it was going, with the planes flying overhead. He knew who was up there right now. He knew that the F/A-18 that just barreled through the sky was none other than Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw. Pride and guilt filled his chest, and he was suddenly overcome with emotion. Emotion he didn’t deserve to feel, because Bradley was not his son.

He turned away from the window, eyes wet.

((Story based on the short sketchy drawing I did in an hour or so…the uniform is probably very inaccurate just bear with me please))

[helcef]

Hi! New follower here :) I wanted to ask you about reuben: 💯 🖊️

henlo welcome :) heres ur order of my guy’s lore

🖊️ does your oc have any tattoos? do they want any (more) tattoos?

Two and probably counting😁 Cant have a guy w engel as his surname and not put religious imagery on him. He 100% forgets abt the back tat most of the time (out of sight out of mind)

💯 share three random facts about your oc that others may not know

1) when reuben was younger (early teens) he had a big ass crush on kimi räikkönen and would repeatedly watch any race replays he could find. Reub had no clue it was a crush tho and thought he just looked up to räikkönen as a driver thats all (his brains kinda empty when it comes to figuring this out so he doesn’t rlly care. He realized it was a celebrity crush later on but left it at that. Probably bi but he doesn’t care) nowadays he can be seen ogling ppl wet dog style in the garage, he gets posted online w the ‘ik what u are’ meme

2) bit of a gun nerd but he Hates the communities surrounding it. He’s mostly interested in the mechanics of firearms, he’s considered getting a permit to own one just to tinker around but hates the image that comes off as. Also hates that the most well known gun from austrian is a glock

3) Ex (sort of) catholic w the guilt and all. Usually not a big part of his life except when things go south he feels like he’s being punished or smth lol.. much to unpack but hes busy so its put on the back burner