#herc has seen things

[camping-with-monsters]

Something something, Hercules meeting the world’s smallest Flabébé :)

credit to @pazam who basically gave me the idea :)

[polo-drone-070]

The cursed chain - part 1

Hey bruhz. Hea iz, lyk, me first propa long story n all. Sum shit dat happend 2 me on, lyk, Halloween. Twas, lyk, real erd getting all dem werd rite n propa. But yer, I hope u lyk it, init.

1. On the morning of Hallowen 

It all began on the morning of Halloween. I woke up feeling good and really stoked. It has been a bit more than a month since I’ve received the Gold brocess and joined the Gold Army, becoming Henry Gold, #70, Right Fullback. I was still in awe of the way the Gold Jersey had transformed my body, loving my new hot muscles and my cleanly shaved head. I love all my new brothers and the feeling of brotherhood that holds us together. Gold is really the best feeling. 

Today was Halloween and I had two things to be excited for. Herc bro had decided to form a wrestling team more properly and was doing some try outs before lunch. Even though I did not have much experience in that sport, I was really excited to join the new team and do some wrestling with my bros. Then, in the evening, the Team had planned a big party for Halloween and it was going to be epic. I already had some basis for my costume, planning to go as a gladiator, but I missed some embellishments.

Going to the attic to search if I could find some elements in all the old stuff stored there, I felt, like, drawn to a dusty box in a corner. Inside, there was a really shiny gold chain collar that seemed to draw me in. It looked so cool. Much better than the thin chain I often wore. Transfixed, I took that chain, which seems to have some kind of inner glow, and could resist putting it around my neck. I felt some kind of shiver, as if some spectral hands were brushing my head, but it was just a fleeting impression that quickly receded. 

Looking at myself in the mirror, I felt right. This chain was propa lit. Then I realised it was already 10. I had not seen the time pass. It was time to go for the wrestling tryouts. I quickly made my way through the busy streets brimming with Halloween decorations and reached the Gym where Herc was holding the tryouts.

2. The Wrestling try-outs

As I arrived, Herc was giving a gold wrestling singlet to each of the bros that wanted to join. He had shaved his hair with Jack recently and I was so glad that we were rocking it as a bald bro trio. Looking at these shiny singlets, I was so stoked to get mine. It did not have a number and name yet, of course, since it was just tryouts for now, but I was determined to get in and represent da Team in competitions and all.

I changed quickly, eager to get that gold on my skin. I was of course supposed to get the collar off for wrestling, but somehow, I could not get myself to remove it.

Herc paired us for some matches, and I ended up against Leander. It was going to be a hard match, cause Leander was really fit and quick on the field. We got on the mat and got ready to wrestle each other. 

Damn, bro was both quick and powerful. I tried to hold me own, but we got on the ground and he was, like, completely dominating me. I felt powerless and frustrated as he was pinning me down hard. There was no way I fail on the first match. Herc might not want me in the team if I did not reverse that situation. But Leander was good, and his grip unyielding.

Sure I was going to be rejected from the Team, I was getting more and more frustrated, starting to draw in my every strength to get out of that grip. And as some rage was starting to build up, I felt some strange warmth in the collar, as some presence was responding to my call, offering me the power to break out if I only let him in. Not even thinking anymore at that point, I was ready to do anything to win. 

And then I felt it. The cold. Shivers. And like a ghost was entering my body. And then the cold was gone and replaced by an intense heat taking over all my body… As if my blood was boiling. Pure rage invaded my every being as my muscles distorted and grew in absurd proportion. I was becoming a muscle beast, seething with pure rage and not controlling anything anymore, ready to destroy anything that would come in my way. 

I brutally ejected Leander from his grip. He had no chance against my rage. I was going to destroy him and tear all his limbs out for humiliating me in front of my bros. He felt badly on the ground, hurting his shoulder, but I didn't care. I was going to stomp him.

And then I felt a huge presence towering over me. Herc has transformed into Dagda, his celtic golden form. His aura just overpowered me completely, shutting me down as he intervenes to stop the fight. His authority was just too much even for my blind rage and and just fell on the ground… my muscles still twitching. I returned to my form completely exhausted, barely aware of what had happened and heard Herc telling me : « Henry, Wat da fuck ? datz no wey to act on a ring. Get ut n cool down bruh. cant av u hurtin ur bro lyk dat ! » Leander was still on the ground, clutching his shoulder. I felt shame and sadness. I had no energy left to argue. I got out of the gym, completely demoralized. I had blown it ! I did not even get what got into me. And as I was ruminating what just happened, hurt in my hopes, feeling Herc was being unjust and all… I felt that rage returning… FUCK

Special thanks to @brodygold dat elp me write da story n correct me poor english, and to my bros Herc (@polo-drone-009) and Leander (@leander-gold-88), who agreed 4 da collab n elp me wiz dem pix.

[radio-ronpa]

Disney I want songs for each V3 character, go!

I got this a few days ago and I've been ruminating on it. I think I've finally settled on them? Plus notes on why I picked that song.

Here's the rules: Has to be from an official Disney Animated Classic (no Pixar, live action, or straight to vid sequels). Must occur within the run time of animation (no songs that only appear in the credits, ala True to Your Heart from Mulan). Only one song can be used from a particular film.

Let's fucking goooooo.

1. Angie Yonaga - Give a Little Whistle (Pinocchio)

Have you ever seen Jiminy Cricket and Atua in the same place? Think about it.

2. Gonta Gokuhara - The Bare Necessities (The Jungle Book)

Optimistic, joyous, and appreciative of all of life's moments, even if they are very small.

3. Himiko Yumeno - The Next Right Thing (Frozen 2)

If there was a DRV3 stage musical, this would be the number she does at the end of Trial 3. It's literally perfect.

4. Kaede Akamatsu - Good Company (Oliver and Company)

The scene with this song in the movie is literally a piano lesson, and it's about being friends and having faith in that. How could I not?

5. Kaito Momota - Go the Distance (Hercules)

Oh, I want to be a hero because I feel like I don't belong anywhere and I want to be strong enough to give my friends good hugs? Herc and Kaito are both beautiful himbos.

6. Kiibo - Strangers Like Me (Tarzan)

I mean, Keebs is real Pinocchio sometimes, but I started crying imagining him to this song. He's so earnest and I love that for him.

7. Kirumi Tojo - Very Good Advice (Alice in Wonderland)

Classic, underappreciated, and sad as fuck.

8. Kokichi Ouma - The World's Greatest Criminal Mind (The Great Mouse Detective)

Look, this song is just fun and chaotic and delighted by its own mischief. There's so many ways you can go with Kokichi, but I had to pick this one for sheer giggles.

9. Korekiyo Shinguji - Never Smile at a Crocodile (Peter Pan)

JUST READ THE FUCKING LYRICS.

10. Maki Harukawa - Reflection (Mulan)

It's cliche. It's also true.

11. Miu Iruma - The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers (The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)

Kind of unhinged and still somehow endearing. Miu Iruma is bounchy flouncy fun fun fun fun fun.

12. Rantaro Amami - Thomas O'Malley Cat (The Aristocats)

The fucking swagger. The worldliness. The feet that can't stop moving. (Of course Rantaro is my favorite character. I adored that cat.)

13. Ryoma Hoshi - Not in Nottingham (Robin Hood)

For the love of god, somebody hug that man.

14. Shuichi Saihara - This Wish (Wish)

If The Next Right Thing is Trial 3 of the DRV3 Disney musical, This Wish is the end of Trial 6. This is Shuichi standing up and telling the villain that they're not going to give in to despair, honoring Kaede's wish with his own. Plus, it's a princess song. I gotta give the main protag the princess song.

15. Tenko Chabashira - Surface Pressure (Encanto)

Tenko doesn't have a complex about being strong and defending people, what gave you that idea?

16. Tsumugi Shirogane - Mad Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)

Using your powers of shapeshifting to delight in causing despair and gloom? Can't relate.

This was a wild three hours of research and spreadsheets, and it was delightful fun to do.

Thanks, anon.

[disneeznuts]

hi it’s me again!! could i have some general crushing + relationship hcs of hercules w/ a muse! reader? 💕

a/n: YES I CAN

(hercules x reader)

summary: herc crushing on a muse!reader

masterlist

----

first off

he thinks youre so fine

like so so so fine

down bad from the moment he sees you

bro is so stuttery he can't be around you without messing up at least three sentences

he just thinks you are literally a piece of art- which would make sense because "we are the muses, goddesses of the arts and proclaimers of heroes, heroes like Hercules, HUNNY YOU MEAN HUNKULES-"

anyways...

he is subconsciously really flirty

like don't get me wrong he's still like a nervous wreck have of the time

but the more comfortable he gets around you the more the comments/compliments he's spewing

stuff like -

y: Herc can you help me with something real quick

h: anything for you

or like

y: sorry I'm such a mess today

h: you look so pretty what do you mean?

really subtle cheesy shit yknow

he's such a sap always willing to help you when you need it

always wanting to spend time with you

he will complain to phil if he doesn't see you at least every other day

h:Phil I think I'm actually going to die if she doesn't show up in the next hour

p: you literally fight monsters that are a thousand times your size and the fact you haven't seen your lover girl that's it. that's whats gonna take you out?

h:....yes :(

and it gets worse once you guys are together

he let it slip once that he thinks he's in love with you and boom that set it all off

so clingy fr

but also knows boundaries

if you've have a long day and want some time alone he can do that

he'll sulk but only when you're not looking

loves holding you

especially by your waist

just has a thing for having an arm around you like 24/7

he's a sucker for picnic dates and always loves them

he eventually meets the other muses who all see him for the sucker he is and never stop teasing the both of you about it

fr they're gossiping about how he looks at you and is just so so sweet towards you

arguments hardly ever happen

it's usually about him being jealous if anything

he trusts you 110% but when others look at you and talk to his hot shrexy bae it's hard not to be a little jealous

however, that's an easy fix as you just have to consol him that you only have eyes for him

he's such a sucker for smooches

love em

cheek kisses neck kisses forehead kisses- all of them

giving and receiving

also a big cuddler loves just to hold you

he's such a romantic and is so down bad for you fr fr

[simmerandwrite]

Sink Into Me - 04 - mob!Steve Rogers x plus size! reader

Summary: You were simply doing a good deed, pulling the handsome stranger out of the way when a car jumped the curb. Little did you know that the life you saved belonged to Steve Rogers, the Army veteran turned art dealer with connections to the Brooklyn crime syndicate.

Steve Rogers, who won’t stop calling you his guardian angel.

Steve Rogers, whose new goal in life just might be repaying his debt to you.

Steve Rogers, who isn’t shy until it comes to his feelings and will stop at nothing to keep you safe.

Chapters: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07

Wordcount: 7k

Warnings: smut (Steve is obsessed with you, okay?), drinking, drug use, canon level violence (series), body image issues (series)

Notes: Hey! Here we goooo people. Things are getting very exciting!! Thank you to everyone who has read the first few chapters - I appreciate all the interest! While I’m grateful for every single ‘like’ on the chapters, a comment or reblog goes a long way to let me know how you are enjoying the story :) I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings and predictions!!! ( if you see me in the wild, i’m @simmerandcry​)

--

“Hello?”

“Hey you. What’re you doing?”

“Attempting to build some boxes but Herc just decided to nap on them..” You could hear voices echoing beyond wherever Steve was calling you from. “What’s going on?”

“Can you come hang out?”

God, you wanted to see him. To say you were falling for the man felt juvenile, but you couldn’t figure out any other way to describe it. 

The apartment offer had really sent you further into the depth of it - considering you knew you’d be stupid not to take the new apartment. But the fact that Steve had taken it upon himself to either come over every night until you moved, or invited you and Hercules to his place, or called you and stayed on the line until you fell asleep - how could you not be head over heels for the man?

You were trying to stay level headed and calm about the whole thing. Trying and failing, really. Because you knew that if you spent a few extra moments to use your rational brain, some things about Steve and his lifestyle did not align with yours even a bit. Despite that, you remained vigilant on the task at hand and decided that ignoring everything else for the time being was your best bet.

“Hang out?” You leaned against your kitchen counter, taking in your half emptied cupboards. Truthfully, you were tired of packing and had made a lot of progress already. Plus, you’d managed to take a few days off work coming up to aid in your apartment transition. “Where are you?”

“At the club. Can you come hang out?” 

You laughed to yourself. “Shield is open on Tuesday nights?”

“For the owner, it’s always open.” Steve’s voice grew softer, quieter. “I want to see you, baby. Please?”

You were falling hard.

 --- 

At first, you were relieved that your landlord agreed to your quick release from your agreement - but it barely left you with enough time to pack and get your shit together. 

Now that your week was over and your life was mostly packed away into boxes, you could see the exciting next steps occurring. Steve had arranged a few people to help you move, you had a whole new apartment to decorate, and your mom was coming to visit at the end of your week off. Those were all promising, exciting things.

With a final over dramatic sigh, you flopped down on your bed and reached for your phone. Your entire night had been consumed by packing up your bedroom and you’d been desperately waiting to hear something from Steve. Anything would do, really.

You hadn’t seen him since earlier that week when you had ventured to see him at the club. What you had pictured as a quiet little evening with him had actually been much more - considering you showed up and it seemed like his entire close circle of friends were at the bar too. Though they kept their work related talk clipped and quiet, you had a feeling those sorts of evenings weren’t all that rare.

Everyone you met had been very friendly, at least. It was a bit intimidating to walk in and have to meet so many new faces, but you had a feeling this was a rare occurrence - Steve bringing in someone for them to get familiar with.

You could see it especially in the way he blushed at Sam and Bucky’s commentary and in the way he kept a protective hand on you as you sat at the bar and talked with Nat, who described herself as Steve’s ‘real right hand woman’ and Yelena, who managed bar operations at the club. When Kate showed up and saddled up beside her girlfriend Yelena, you could see Steve’s shining grin as you filled Kate in on your dreams to open an animal rescue in the future.

It was nice. But you had secretly been hoping for some time with just Steve.

For a reason you couldn’t quite pinpoint, you and Steve still hadn’t escalated the physical side of things beyond making out. Even when you woke up in bed together with his very obvious morning excitement, attempts to go just a bit further always fell away. 

It didn’t make much sense - beyond the physical signs, Steve’s words were often flirty and edging well beyond appropriate language. 

Unfortunately, as much as you could rationalize the pace, it was really making an impact on your sanity and self-esteem. Maybe Steve just wasn’t attracted to you. 

S Rogers [8:33PM]: have you eaten dinner? Can i bring some thai food over? S Rogers [8:34PM]: I can help you finish packing? You [8:37PM]: I’ve given up on packing but yes to thai food!! ty :)

Maybe he just wasn’t interested in you that way. 

Maybe he was seeing someone else, too. You’d never discussed anything about exclusivity and maybe it was too soon for that and and maybe-

Maybe.. Augh, you had to stop yourself from spiraling.

Selfishly, you had never been so attracted to another person and you wanted to indulge. You wanted to feel Steve’s hands all over your body, feel his lips explore beyond your neckline, see every detail of those tattoos on his chest. 

You wanted Steve, all of him.

A knock at the door and an additional buzz from your phone let you know Steve had arrived. You stood from the bed and pulled yourself together. You had long since changed from your work clothes into a pair of athletic shorts and a tank top, mostly to avoid overheating as you packed and cleaned the space.

Truthfully, your anxiety about Steve would typically convince you to cover up with a sweater, as a layer of protection from any sign of rejection, but with an insane urge of courage, you just powered on ahead and headed towards the door to let him in.

What was it Claire had said to you? To stop playing it safe, to take a leap of faith?

“Hey!” You greeted him with a big smile as you opened the door, stepping out of the way so he could come inside. Beyond his full arms of - oh god, he was in another blue suit. This one was much less formal than the first you had seen him in, lacking both a vest and button up underneath. Instead, the dark blue sports coat matched his slacks over a plain white t-shirt. Once again, you found yourself staring at the tattoos peeking out near the neckline.

You watched him swallow and hinge his jaw slightly, matching your grin. 

“Hi.” Steve came in quickly, shutting the door and side stepping most of your boxes. “You’ve been productive.”

“I am so ready to move on from here,” you admitted, leading him towards the kitchen where he unloaded the bag from his arms. “My shower hasn’t had hot water in days.”

“I’m relieved you’ll be out of here, too,” Steve replied, shaking his head firmly as he unpacked the bags. “I wasn’t sure what your spring roll preference would be so I–” As he turned back to look at you, Steve trailed off, eyebrow raised as he caught your stare from across the room. “Are you okay?”

You took in a deep breath, squeezing your eyes shut as you went ahead and bit the bullet. “I just need to be straightforward and ask you something, alright? Are you seeing anyone else?”

Steve’s eyes blew out wide for a brief moment before narrowing again, tipping his head curiously as he watched you. “What? No.”

“I know we haven’t discussed like, dating or what we are to each other, it’s probably way too early for that but I.. we haven’t had sex yet and I was thinking maybe it’s because you’re with someone else too and you don’t want to be with me and–”

“Oh no, it’s not that at all, I swear.” With a slow breath, Steve leaned against the counter and dragged one hand behind his neck.

You swallowed hard and watched him closely. Oh god, he was either going to let you down easy or.. Wait. You let him collect himself, because if you were reading him correctly… The man was nervous. Were you making him nervous? 

You were making Steve Rogers nervous. Damn.

He cleared his throat, clutching the countertop behind his hips with tight fists. “Listen, I don’t do this. I don’t date or - or pace myself, very often. But with you, with this..” His teeth grazed over his bottom lip carefully. “I guess I don’t know what it is yet - what we’re doing here, what you want–”

You prayed for guidance and wisdom and forgiveness from anyone who might be listening, because when the words finally escaped the back of your throat, you had no idea what you were in for. With a sharp inhale, you cut him off. “You, Steve. I want you.”

Steve took that as permission enough, propelling himself forward. His hands flew up to your face, holding you steady as he crashed into you, his lips studying yours with unquestionable promise. 

Your hunger matched his - as your own hands grabbed onto his waist, pulling him even closer. And when his hips pushed against yours, a groan sounded off within him. From deep in his chest, it reverberated into your own. With one hand, he moved to cradle the back of your neck and when he -

“Oh, fuck.” You gasped as he fisted at your hair, exposing your neck as his lips and tongue continued their journey of exploration. “Steve..”

This man already had you whimpering. 

He released his hand and moved back slightly, peering down at you, barely hiding his smirk as evidence of his affect on you showed on your face. Your warm cheeks, deep breathing, swollen lips. 

“Are you okay? Is this okay?” One of his hands returned to your cheek, dragging his thumb down and across your lips. “Because I’ve wanted to do this for weeks now, wanted to know what you taste like and how to make you whimper and shake and..”

All you could do was nod, opening your mouth slightly as he pressed his thumb against your tongue. As if testing the waters, he pressed it just further and your mouth closed around it. 

“Oh, sweetheart - I’m going to ruin you. You gonna let me?” 

You batted your eyelashes and nodded hard as he slowly removed his thumb. “Yes. Yes please.”

Suddenly, the chaos and disarray of your entire apartment was gone. Your bedroom especially was a mixture of half packed boxes and clothes, though that was the last thing on your mind as Steve guided you towards your bed. Effortlessly, without even breaking away from your mouth. 

His lips ravaged yours - like every single opportunity to taste you and feel your tongue was something he needed to savor. You couldn’t hold back though - letting your hands roam all over his body, pushing away his suit jacket. He tossed it down on the ground and you pulled back. 

“Wait - do you need to hang that up?” 

Steve raised his eyebrows, a playful smirk growing across his face. “You think you’re funny, huh?”

You matched his grin, toying with the buttons on his shirt. “You’re clearly a suit guy. I can only imagine your dry cleaning bill and–”

He cut you off with another kiss, hands scrambling to caress the smooth fabric of your shorts against your skin. And then his hands stopped, snaking beneath the waistline and firmly gripping your backside.

“Fuck,” he hissed out, growling against your neck. “I have been dying to touch you, sweetheart. This fucking ass..”

Your responding laugh caught in your throat when he let go briefly, only to grip you again with even more force. Steve was an ass man, good to know.

“Okay, I’ve gotta have you..” He quickly pulled your tanktop up and over your head, then nudged you back on the bed. 

You thought you’d be nervous - finally being exposed to Steve like this, almost entirely naked under the terrible lights of your bedroom. But instead you felt excited and, well, safe. Because the way he was looking down at you as he undressed, a look that was crossed between carnal rage and admiration, you knew it would be okay. That Steve wanted to be there, in that exact moment the same way you wanted to. 

All your maybes floated away.

You reached behind your back to unhook your bra and started on the waistband of your shorts next, but Steve stopped you. 

“No, I want to..” He let out a deep exhale as he joined you on the bed, left in just his own boxer briefs. He dragged his hand across his mouth, grinning as he scanned over you. “Damn.”

You propped yourself up on your elbows, fighting off the urge to shy away from his stare. His own body was impressive, to say the least. He couldn’t hide his tight muscles under his clothes but finally seeing them, seeing how his skin was littered with tattoos, how the gold chain around his neck rested against his chest - damn was right.

Steve crawled up towards you, laying at your side, hands gripping your hips as he pulled you in close. His lips went to work again, ravaging your neck with a series of wet kisses until he got to your shoulder. His teeth grazed your skin as one hand came up to your chest. 

You didn’t waste time either, trying to focus as he explored your skin. You reached down and pressed your hand against his box briefs, eliciting a deep rumble from his chest as you palmed his length. He was hard already and you couldn’t wait to get your hands on him.

“Fuck..” You couldn’t help but beam as Steve took in a sharp breath, promptly dropping his hand to stop yours. “If you..” He stopped himself again and closed his eyes. “I’m trying to pace myself, sweetheart.” Before you could even argue, he was adjusting to lay you flat against the bed. With one elbow he propped himself beside you, while the other continued to explore.

Steve was thorough and thank god for that. Both his lips and his fingertips found places on your skin you weren’t certain another person had touched before - the delicate skin between your breasts, the nape of your neck, every inch of your soft stomach. Every decision seemed intentional, calculated - as if he wanted to savour every second and capture every piece of you in his mind forever.

You were lost in a state of mind you hadn’t succumbed to for a long time. A swirling mixture of excitement and nerves washed over you as he inched closer and closer to your waistline. 

“I wanna see you come, baby,” he spoke slowly, cautiously tugging on the edge of your underwear. 

You met his eyes, sensing he was asking for permission, checking in to make sure you were okay. You nodded quickly, chewing on your lip in anticipation. “Yes, please.”

He was off like a mad man, grinning as you lifted your hips and he peeled away your underwear. And when he grazed his fingers across you, against your slick, he didn’t waste anymore time. 

It echoed in the back of your mind that Steve had mentioned he didn’t do this, he didn’t date but damnit, he clearly knew what he was doing. While his fingers circled your clit, he watched you closely - as if part of his strategy was catching every clue you gave him to ensure maximum satisfaction.

And when you gasped –

“Right here, baby? Is this good? Are you gonna come for me?” He didn’t relent as you grabbed the sheets at your side, bucking your hips into his hand as he worked. “Look at me, look at me baby. I want to see you come.”

You were nearly panting as you finally looked up at him, catching the biggest grin on his face as his ministrations continued. He played you expertly through your climax, whimpering out his name as he carried on, slipping a finger into you as you shook. 

The man certainly had a strategy now. You were literally putty in his hands, shaking again and again as he laid his entire palm flat against you, working both your clit and reaching for that secret spot inside you too. 

“Again, baby. Come on.” He dipped down this time, lips finding yours in a fervor you hadn’t ever experienced before. “You’re so beautiful, sweetheart. Fuck, I could watch you forever..”

He relented soon enough, when you clamped your hand on his to finally slow it down. Your head was spinning still, almost completely forgetting you were in your mess of an apartment with this adonis of a man grinning in pride at your side. And shit, this was still just the foreplay.

“That was..” You stuttered, reaching a hand up to pull him closer. “..thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he returned with a laugh, finally leading his hand away from you. And then he even had the audacity to lick his fingers clean and you nearly died all over again. 

“I can.. If you want me to or we can..condoms..” You nudged your head to the side table. “Top drawer.”

Steve was grinning again, hurrying to shake off his boxers and hover above you before reaching towards the table. You propped yourself up on your elbows and watched as he grabbed from the drawer, although your eyes grew wide when you considered that he might find your–

“Oh  - and what is this?” 

“A girl has needs, okay?” You swatted at his hand as he gripped your vibrator. “Steve, there are more important matters at hand here..”

When he clicked the bottom button of your bullet vibe, you nearly died.

“Small and mighty,” he muttered out, licking his lips momentarily before returning it to the drawer. “We’re using that next time too.”

Your mouth dropped open at his casual, authoritative tone. “Okay.. yeah, we should.”

“That’s my girl,” Steve laughed in agreement, kneeling beside you on the bed as he put on the condom. “Ride me, baby?”

Under typical circumstances, it wasn’t your ideal way to start a sexual relationship with a person. It had taken you some time to feel comfortable on top and although you did love how it felt, the angle and position of your body often left you feeling a bit insecure. But then you considered the situation - here was Steve, laying down on your bed, hard and ready to have sex with you. Clearly he didn’t give a shit about what your body looked like - or even better, maybe he enjoyed it. 

“Baby, please. I want to feel you.” 

All it took was him licking his lips and you were decided. 

In an attempt at being graceful, you straddled him and angled yourself above him. Lord, the man was certainly blessed physically - from his broad shoulders to his tight waist to his cock, he lived up to his Big Dick Energy. And shit, as you sunk down - you were nearly ready to come again already.

“All the way, sweetheart.” Steve was already breathless as he gripped your hips, bucking his own up gently to elicit a moan from you. “I swear you were made for me.”

You were beginning to think the same thing. 

You did your best to start slow, adjusting to his size as you moved on top of him. But Steve really couldn’t hold back, apparently. He guided you to control the pace and it didn’t take him long to really take the lead. 

You folded yourself down and pressed your lips to him, as he pistoned his hips upwards into you. Christ, you were done for in moments - between his controlled thrusts and the way he was whispering into your ear, another orgasm crashed through you. 

“I want you, baby. Since the moment I saw you, since you crashed into me, I’ve wanted this.” He cradled you against him, soft flesh against the strong build of his own chest. And finally, finally, you could feel it coursing through your bodies - the same energy, the same connection, the same longing that finally spilled over. Whatever was stirring your heart and mind and soul, it seemed to match Steve too. 

With another rush of thrust, Steve reached his own peak, letting out a feral groan as he shook. 

“Thank the universe for giving me you, baby.”

 -- 

Although moving was always a tumultuous process, you were so grateful for your mother and her innate ability to organize your life. She ventured into the city to help you get set up in your new place and it had been beyond helpful - the time with your mom was exactly what you needed.

“So, when do I get to meet him?” Your mom finally asked the question you knew she had been dying to ask. Throughout your entire last few days, from unpacking the rest of your boxes and bins to rearranging your closet to shopping for a new couch - you just knew it had been on the tip of her tongue. In all honesty, you had been surprised she had waited so long to let it out.

You took a step away from your bookcase, casting a smile her way as she stacked a few plates into your cupboard. “Mom.”

“What? I’m not an idiot, love,” your mom replied, matching your pose with a hand on her hip. “Some generous friend of yours gets you a deal on an apartment, sends you flowers twice since you've moved in a week ago, makes you smile throughout the day as you check your phone..”

“I just.. We…” You sighed, scrunching up your face and taking a few steps towards her. “Mom, I like him so much. After I moved in and everything was a mess he packed a whole picnic lunch to eat on the floor with me, using a box as a table. A picnic, mom! I mean, most of it was straight from the deli down the block but..” With a heavy sigh, you closed your eyes. “I don’t know if it’s going to last. We’re very different in a lot of ways.” You leaned against the counter, letting out a long breath. Truthfully, it was the first time you admitted that out loud. And it scared you.

You liked Steve - a lot. More than you could remember ever feeling for someone else before. At first, you worried it might be some strange puppy love infatuation. But the more you actually got to know Steve, the more your heart felt knotted up in your chest. 

And god, the sex. You didn’t have the heart to tell your Mom that just days ago Steve had you pressed up against those exact kitchen counters she was unpacking on.

“Different isn’t necessarily bad,” your mom finally replied, with one of those knowing sort of nods. “Especially if the foundation is good, the big stuff and the long term - if those can align, different can survive, I think.”

You smiled. “Yeah, maybe. I’m just trying to… be realistic.” 

You were plagued with doubt in the back of your mind - not because of Steve, necessarily. But because you weren’t a stranger to blind trust and pain, both you and your mother had experienced that enough when your dad left. Didn’t your mom think their foundation had been good?

“Love,” your mom took a step forward and grabbed your nearest hand. “Don’t stress about it too much, okay? But if you’re too cautious, you’re going to miss out on a lot.” You knew she was speaking from experience and god, that broke your heart. “Now, I will drop the topic for the time being but I think I deserve to see a photo of him at least. The Mom tax.” Her eyes dropped to her watch. “Oh, I’ve gotta get going soon.”

“Maybe a photo,” you nodded with her. That seemed like enough of a compromise. “Herc needs some air - we’ll walk you.”

Your mom was capitalizing on her trip to the city and managed to book a coffee catch up date with an old friend and honestly, you were grateful for it. You appreciated every reminder that your mom was doing okay on her own these days.

The cafe was just a few blocks away, tucked between a little bistro Steve had actually taken you to a few days ago and.. 

“Mom,” you paused at the crosswalk, gripping Hercules’ leash as you turned your head and grabbed your mom’s attention. “Did you tell me who you're meeting for coffee?”

“No, I don’t know if I did,” she replied with a shrug. “Last month an old classmate of mine from college reached out to check in, see how life is, how work is going. When I told her I was coming to the city, she insisted we grab a coffee if time permitted.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, proceeding across the street and turning down toward the cafe. 

“What?” Your mom let out an excited greeting as she pointed ahead on the street and waved. “There's Sarah!” You both looked ahead and sitting outside the cafe was your mom’s college classmate Sarah Rogers and, well, her son Steve.

“Well, remember how I just said I might show you a picture of the mystery guy? Turns out you do get to meet him..” You recalled what Steve had told you when you had talked the day before, that he was busy with work and was having breakfast with his mom and when you approached them, exchanging hellos and hugs, you met his eyes with a coy smile.

“I swear I didn’t put two and two together until this morning,” he said quietly as you broke from your hug.

“What a small world!” Your mother exclaimed, gratefully telling Steve her preferred coffee order as he excused himself inside to get the drinks. “What are the chances?”

“This is all because of your lovely daughter,” Sarah offered you a smile and reached across the table to grab your hand. “Did she tell you how she saved my Steve’s life?”

“What? No, she has been quite tight-lipped about all of this, actually.” 

You really wanted to jump in and stop the whole thing from unraveling, but you knew there wasn’t a chance in hell you could stop two proud mothers from doting over their children. 

When Steve came back outside, he handed off a coffee to your mother and your preferred beverage to you, then politely suggested leaving your mothers to catch up. You were quick to agree, telling your own mom she could message you later when she’s back at your apartment.

Steve grabbed Hercules’ leash and you all headed for a walk to a nearby park, instead.

“Was it too soon to introduce you to my mom?” You nudged him with your elbow, garnering a laugh from him.

“Sweetheart, you met my mom twenty minutes after meeting me. I think it’s okay.”  

 -- 

Steve’s gallery wasn’t very large but still felt impressive, not that you had much experience when it came to art. But the walls were covered in beautiful canvases with incredulous price tags, you had a hard time even breathing near some of the pieces.

When Steve had first invited you to accompany him to an event at the gallery, you had been nervous. And when you realized it was a private fundraising party for a mayoral candidate, packed full of expensive suits and names you recognized from news media and social scenes in the city, your nerves had escalated to near panic.

Luckily, Steve had insisted you invite a friend and Wanda had been more than willing to be your safety for the evening. Wanda had been especially excited to be the first of your friends to meet Steve, too. And you were grateful to have her at your side, considering you had barely seen Steve since you had arrived with him earlier.

Although maybe it was better this way, because you both really needed to cool off. When you made it to Steve’s apartment earlier, full of apologies for running late, you worried you’d upset him by your tardiness. But the moment you stepped through his door in your sparkling cocktail dress, which flattered you in the exact way that made you feel sexy, it seemed all your concerns about Steve’s reaction had disappeared.

And when he fell to his knees and shoved your dress out of his way, you knew being late was not an issue. Steve made sure you knew exactly how he felt about your dress and your body, very thoroughly.

“What are we looking for?” Wanda tipped her head to the side, grabbing your hand and sliding through the crowd to stop in front of another canvas. She raised her glass and took a sip from her cocktail, letting out a slow exhale. 

“Steve told me that somewhere in here is a painting of his..” You trailed off, craning your neck to look for him in the crowd. You were trying not to feel weird about this whole thing - the room full of beautiful, powerful people talking to your man.

Your man. Well, Steve wasn’t yours. Not really. You still hadn’t discussed all that but you knew you were sort of exclusive, or at least he wasn’t dating anyone else. But who was that blonde woman talking to him? 

“Oh my god. Is that Tony Stark?” 

All your thoughts came to a halt when you followed Wanda’s wide eyes. Yes, that was Tony Stark and did he just–

“Oh my god. He just hugged Steve? Your boyfriend knows Tony Stark?”

You shook away Wanda’s hand as she grabbed your wrist. “Steve isn’t my..” It wasn’t long before Steve caught your eye, noticing both you and Wanda staring from across the crowd. You watched as he ducked his head and whispered something to Sam, who had been flanking his right side. 

Moments later, Sam was heading towards you and Wanda. 

“Hey - there’s someone Steve wants you to meet,” Sam said, motioning his hand back towards the center of the room. 

You knew this whole event was important to Steve, given the sheer volume of donations rolling in for James Rhodes and how his campaign was already stirring up news headlines. You hadn’t seen this side of Steve before, the work mode where business related things were of the utmost importance. 

Honestly, you were still actively ignoring the mystery that was Steve’s job. Guns, hushed conversations, late night work meetings - none of those added up to anything particularly savoury. It was better to remain ignorant, if a little naive. Just a little while longer…

“And why can’t Steve summon us himself?” Wanda giggled, proudly placing a hand on her hip as she finished off her cocktail. 

You smirked. “That’s a great point.”

Sam just laughed and lifted his hands, innocent despite his task at hand. “The man is busy kissing ass. Don’t kill the messenger.” 

You let out a dramatic sigh and pointed ahead. “Fine. Lead the way, Sam.”

You grabbed Wanda’s hand, following Sam through the crowd of people until you met up with Steve and his circle. Very quickly one of the servers came to replenish your drink as you slotted yourself at Steve’s side, rising to your tiptoes to kiss his cheek. You paused near his ear. “Hi. For future reference, I don’t want to be collected by some minion, okay?”

You returned to your feet and Steve’s hand cradled your back, eyebrows twisted as he searched your face. He looked worried and you were grateful for it. You waved your hand, dismissing the whole thing and mouthing to him that it was okay.

“I’m sorry,” he returned quietly. You squeezed his hand and remained under his arm, happily shaking hands with Tony Stark and a handful of others as Steve introduced you. 

It made you melt - how happy he was to include you, boast about you, have you at his side. Although it was a bit intimidating to suddenly be on first name basis with both the DA and tech mogul Tony Stark, you soon realized that they were just people and it seemed one of their favourite past times was poking fun at Steve.

Most importantly, to your surprise, Wanda had very quickly found herself lost in conversation with someone from Stark’s circle. You had missed his job title, but his nickname Vision had stuck out to you immediately. And it seemed his philosophical viewpoint and natural energy had Wanda laughing and arguing with him very quickly.

Later, as the crowd dispersed around your group, Steve took you by the hand and steered you back towards the rows of canvases and frames on display. The whole gallery had an energy that reminded you of Steve - with exposed brick sections from the original warehouse structure, with updated lighting and flooring to match. Something that felt both vintage and up to date, classic Brooklyn with a twist of something new. 

You stopped in front of a vibrant floral piece, tipping your head slightly to analyze the strokes and colours. There was something about it that felt familiar, like your mom’s garden at home.

“I like this one,” you uttered out quietly, as Steve slotted himself behind you. He extended his hand around your waist, resting his head on your shoulder.

“You can have it, if you want.”

“Steve.”

“It would look very good above your couch,” he insisted. “I know the guy who owns the place, he’ll give you a good deal.”

You just laughed and turned around in his arms, capturing his lips in a quick kiss as you met his eyes. 

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he continued, leaving his hand to rest at the small of your back while the other momentarily cradled your cheek. 

“It’s fine,” you said with a small smile. “I just.. I don’t know how things operate in your work life, but I’m not part of that. So I think we should just communicate directly, okay? No fetching by colleagues.”

“You know, the minute Sam walked away from me - my gut feeling said it was the wrong call.”

“You’ve gotta follow your instincts, Rogers,” you laughed and fell forward into his embrace. “I’ll forgive you for it this time, though.”

Steve’s hands trailed up your arms slowly, moving to cradle your cheeks again as he delivered another kiss to your lips. “Gonna come to the club with us after this wraps up?”

You tipped your head as if deep in thought, tugging his hands away and holding them between your chests. “What does a night at the club look like for you?”

“Nothing too raucous anymore. I try to keep a level head since taking ownership,” he responded. “It’s just a carry on of all the strategic conversations and networking garbage. Lots of drinks will be flowing though. Or anything else you might want?”

You could sense he was trying to ask a bigger question so you shook your head. “Nothing but drinks for me usually. Will there be champagne?”

“If that’s what you want - I can get you a champagne fountain, baby.”

“A bottle would be fine,” you said with a giggle, sliding your hands under his suit jacket. “You’ll dance with me?”

“I don’t really dance but I can find us a nice dark corner to hide in. Show you my office..”

--

Once the event had died down, everyone seemed to be piling into SUVs waiting outside to head to Shield for the rest of the night. You hadn’t been out to any club in a while and were sort of looking forward to it, mostly because you had a feeling you wouldn’t have to wait in line to get in or wait for a drink for the rest of the night either.

In fact, when you got to the club, it only took four steps from the vehicle to get you inside, with Steve’s hand at your back leading you in. Immediately a security guard ushered you all upstairs to a roped off area that looked down on the rest of the dance floor. 

Once you were beyond the velvet ropes, you realized the wild exclusivity of the area. Already, bottles of liquor sat in ice buckets, a set of waitresses appeared with more drinks and as more of the group piled in, you had a feeling this wasn’t a place where just excessive drinking occurred.

You dropped down onto one of the lush couches with Wanda, happily taking a bubbling glass of champagne that was offered to you from a bottle Steve had popped. 

You clinked your glass with Wanda’s and scanned the area. On the opposite couch, Nat was knocking back shots with Bucky and to their side, it seemed no time was wasted when it came to the beyond drinking activities. Sam, a blonde woman you hadn’t met yet and a large football player of a man were portioning lines of coke - and even asking if anyone wanted in for their next round.

“What about you, lady friend of Steve?” The large man met your curious gaze, though you were very quick to shake your head. “I can get you anything you’d like.”

“No thanks,” you waved dismissively, finishing off your champagne before getting to your feet. “Wan? Should we dance?” 

You weren’t that closed minded when it came to places like this, given what you already knew about Steve. In fact, he had even told you about what nights at the club usually looked like for him. He had told you that years ago, he’d party all night with no memory of what he had been doing. Now? He stuck to business conversations, liquor and the occasional cigar. You had a feeling the rest of his crew could be a bit more rowdy though. 

But damn, you hadn’t seen people so effortlessly snorting drugs in a long time. Since some outrageous college parties, probably.

“Oh, me too, me too I want to dance. Nat jumped up from her seat and grabbed your hand, weaving through the array of suits standing around talking. “Stevie - I’m taking your girl downstairs.”

Steve gave a raised eyebrow look as you passed him by, not before you paused to press a kiss against his cheek. “I’ll be okay.”

“She’ll be fine! She’s in good hands!”

The first thing Nat did when you got back to the lower level was steer both you and Wanda towards the bar. Immediately a bartender took notice of you and had drinks ready. You gave a small wave to Kate and Yelena, who were both managing bar logistics far from where you were standing and you quickly tipped back whatever Nat had offered you without question.

“That was a test!” Nat shouted in your ear, grinning at both you and Wanda as you recoiled from the vodka. “You're both tough, I like it.”

You shouted back, slamming down your glass on the barside. “Are we dancing or what?”

The dance floor at Shield was huge and the playlist wasn’t half bad either. Normally, a hot sticky night of dancing at this sort of bar wasn’t your ideal but the liquid courage and electricity from Nat and Wanda definitely helped set the mood. 

You were having fun. 

God knows how many songs had blasted through your ears before you felt warmth at your back and a familiar arm snaking around you. 

“Baby..” Steve whispered against the shell of your ear, pressing himself against you. All of himself, even. “I wanna show you my office.”

“Dance with me,” you shifted against him, throwing your arms around your neck as you looked up to meet his eyes. “God, you’re hot.”

He grinned and pulled you even closer, swaying his hips slowly against yours. “I told you I don’t dance, sweetheart. Come on..” 

--

You had a feeling Steve didn’t really want to show you his office. Okay, well maybe he did. 

Very specifically he only wanted to show you the couch in his office.

“You sober enough to make good decisions, sweetheart?”

A flurry of hands and lips and steps landed you on his couch, then he promptly had you perched on the side of it, gripping the armrest with your ass in the air, with a perfect view of yourselves in the reflection of a mirror propped up behind the door.

“Holy shit, baby.” Steve was practically growling as he gripped your hips, thrusting into you with an unexpected urgency. He hadn’t even bothered letting you take your dress off, simply pushing up your skirt and tugging your underwear to the side before he slid in. “You’re so wet for me.”

“Steve, fuck.” You fisted the fabric of the couch as he slowed down, immediately chasing his pace as you backed up into him. 

“Yeah, take what you need, sweetheart.”

You had insisted he forgo the condom this time, trusting both your birth control and your exclusivity discussion to keep you both safe. And well, you had told him to up the ante a bit too - a little harder, a little faster. And fuck if that didn’t make him feel even better this time.

“Come for me, come on my cock. I want to feel you..” He doubled down as you started to shake, pressing you down against the cushions as he sped up. “Seeing you down there on the dancefloor, you looked incredible - so fucking sexy –  my girl. All mine.”

It didn’t surprise you when he pulled out and spilled against your ass. You hated to admit how much you liked it, the idea of him marking you up because shit, all this talk about being his, behind Steve’s girl? It was sending you to another universe entirely.

“Sweetheart, you okay? That wasn’t too much?” You had collapsed onto the couch, catching your breath as Steve cleaned up, quickly pulling his boxers up and buckling his belt again. He crouched down beside you, brushing a hand across your forehead. “You with me?”

“Yes, just coming back down to earth.” You laid your head down on the pillow and smiled. “That was… very enjoyable. Loved getting to see your office, great couch.”

He cradled your cheek and kissed you, hard. “I think I want to show you the desk next.”

 -- 

Steve thought he was ending his night by crawling into bed with you. Thelast few weeks following the event at the gallery had left him busier than he anticipated and when you both finally coordinated a date night, you deserved his full attention.

And, well, he had given it to you. From walking around the botanical gardens to dinner at one of his favourite restaurants to fooling around on the drive back to his place, Steve had more than indulged in you. Now, after another sweaty romp back at his place plus more action in the shower, the last thing he needed was Bucky calling him in the middle of the night.

“What?” Steve practically barked under his breath, carefully removing himself from the sheets and stepping out of the darkness of his bedroom. “Didn’t I tell you I was on do not disturb tonight, Buck?”

“Special circumstances. Castle is holding some idiot who made a scene at their warehouse, stirring shit about boundary lines.”

“And?” 

“You told Russo you wanted to know when Rumlow left his mark again - it was one of his guys.”

Steve gritted his teeth, weighing his options. He knew what he needed to do and unfortunately even your sleeping body warming his bed didn’t stop him from following through with his own rules. Brooklyn was his territory and he couldn’t have anyone else making a mess of that. “Can the guy still talk?”

Bucky laughed. “Barely. He’s in good spirits apparently - especially mouthy, says Castle. I’m downstairs, let’s go.”

A heavy sigh escaped Steve, from the depths of his chest. He knew what he needed to do, but damnit, his heart and soul were resisting. Why did this entire thing feel like a test?

“I’ll be down in five.”

Steve did his best to remain quiet as he got dressed again, stepping out of his closet to see you stirring in bed. His bed. God, there you were in his bed, resting, beautiful.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I’m leaving Hercules in charge.” Steve looked briefly to your sleeping pup who was curled up in a new dog bed in the corner. “I’ll be back soon.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your lips, trying not to shudder as you grabbed his hip.

Through a muffled yawn, you let go and fell back into the pillow. “Be safe, okay?”

Steve left one more kiss on your forehead and headed towards the door, leaving you safely tucked away at home as he ventured into the darkness of the city.

--

CHAPTER 03 - CHAPTER 05

Thank you for reading!! I’d love to hear your thoughts. Up next: what makes a good person? What happens when business mixes with pleasure?

[loganslowdown4]

Roman & Dominic’s Disney Tier List Video!

ALL THE DETAILS!

(It’s always fun to do a recap of a past TS/SaSi video, and we’ll just ignore the fact that I never have time to post things on time anymore lol)

First off: this shot of Roman & Dom is the most adorable thing OH MY GOD 😍🥹❤️❤️

Roman: The transformations in these Disney films really bugged me!

Good thing there’s not a character in SaSi that … transforms… into other… characters

Wait a minute— 🐍😁

Roman being S tier (red) and Dom being F tier (green)? Seems kinda pointed 👀🦑💚 LOLOL

Also, not gonna lie, I fully expected Dom to say he also has a little prince who lives in his head at one point too hahaha /ref

Another funny thing: I’m not surprised that Hercules made it to S-tier. I Will Go The Distance is on Roman’s playlist for goodness sake! I also made this fun comparison list between Princey and Herc himself 😄💪

Rom and Dom putting the great mouse detective in a C tier?? One of the gayest Disney movies I’ve ever seen too???

I WILL FIGHT THEM

And lastly, some clips I wanted to point out!

Winnie The Pooh 2011 - Roman referenced my incorrect quote from the incorrect quotes volume 3! I was not expecting to make an appearance in this video lol

Roman being miffed with the prince. Cinderella’s prince… just for being really dumb… ROMAN YOU ARE LITERALLY BASED ON CINDERELLA’S PRINCE HOW CAN YOU SAY TH—

‘Lady and the Tramp… going in the D-slot not gonna say that again!’ Bruh. LMAO I vote the next video be Remus and Dom ranking all the Disney sequels. I just want him to let loose and go apeshit. As a treat haha

I love Belle! BELLE! As he should. Everyone loves a book nerd. 💙❤️

Hope you enjoyed! ❤️🤍

[topguncortez]

What to Expect | Chapter 9

previous part | masterlist | next part

synopsis: You and Jake go to your first birthing class. He tells you of his upcoming deployment.

word count: 2.5k

warnings: pregnancy, cursing, topgun shit, missions, the navy sucks when it comes to paternity leave, Jake still has PTSD, birthing class,

You were tired of being pregnant. The end of the year was vastly approaching as you only had three weeks left. You were just reaching your 28th week of pregnancy, and still had about two months to go. Your back hurts, your feet hurt, your breasts hurt. Every single morning you woke up to the sight of your growing belly. You can’t remember the last time you had actually seen your feet. And trying to keep up with second graders all day was nearly impossible. 

“Knock, knock,” Alyssa said, walking into your room. The kids were in the library for story time, and you were trying to relieve your headache, “You look like garbage.” 

“Thank you, Alyssa, you are ever so kind to me,” You sat up in your chair, “I feel like garbage. I thought the third trimester was supposed to be like the honeymoon phase.” 

“Honeymoon phase of death,” Alyssa mumbled and sat down on one of the desks in front of yours, “So Phoenix and I-” 

“Since when has there been a Phoenix and I?” 

“You aren’t the only one who can get a pilot,” Alyssa winked, “But! We have been thinking about your baby shower, and wanted to know if your mom and Jake’s have thought of anything.” 

You sighed and shook your head. Jake had told you that he hasn't told his parents about the baby yet. When he was going to, his father started yelling at him about not coming back to help during branding season. It hurt your feelings a little bit, as you ran your fingers over your bump. The weirdest thing that you have noticed in the past week is that your bump has become itchy. Jake had read that it was normal and the next day went out and bought you various lotions and oils. 

“They don’t know yet,” You said, “He’s waiting.” 

“For what?” Alyssa asked, “No offense, but time is kind of running out. If he’s worried about how mom and dad are going to responde, he better do it before you shoot the kid out of your cooch.” 

“And they let you teach nine year olds?” You shook your head laughing, “But I know my mom had some friends of hers from the Wives Circle that wanted to throw something. She doesn’t particularly like them. So I’d reach out.” 

“Sounds good,” Alyssa nodded and stood up from her seat. She walked towards your door but then stopped and turned around, “Hey, what do you know about this detachment? Phoenix said that they leave in two weeks. And I don’t know shit about how they work.” 

Now that was news to you. You hadn’t heard about any sort of detachments from Jake or your father. You did your best to put a smile on your face and shake your head, as you heard the sounds of your class coming down the hall. Pushing yourself up from your desk, you tried to block out the pounding in your head and the ache in your chest. 

— — — 

Jake had slowly started to move some stuff into your house despite you telling him that he didn’t need to. You weren’t going to admit it, but it made you feel a little bit more comfortable having Jake and Herc around. Herc had fallen back in love with you like you had never been gone, and would wait by the front door for you to come home from work. All day, Alyssa’s news about some detachment had been replaying in your head. You thought about texting your dad and asking him to explain, but you weren’t sure if you could handle any more anxiety at that moment. 

The house smelled of spices as you walked in. You could hear the faint sound of Foghat’s Slow Ride from a speaker in the kitchen. You knew that Jake was cooking since Herc wasn’t waiting in the hallway for you. You let out a sigh of relief as you kicked your shoes off, and could feel the pain in your feet start to subside. 

“Jake?” You called out, as you walked towards the kitchen. 

“Yeah!” He responded. When you walked in, you were met with the sight of Jake still clad in his flight suit but had it tied around his waist, his black t-shirt covering his upper body. His muscles were straining as he mixed around the vegetables in the skillet, “How was your day?” 

“Tiring,” You sighed and sat down at your kitchen table, “How much longer is that going to take?” 

“Uh, ten minutes or so,” Jake answered and put the lid on the skillet, “What’s up?” 

You smiled shyly at him, and raised your leg up a bit, “Can you rub my feet?” 

Jake chuckled and nodded, walking over to where you sat. You put your feet in his lap, and he got right to work kneading the arch of your foot. You groaned as you rolled your neck from side to side. 

“Still having trouble sleeping?” Jake asked and you nodded, “Is the body pillow not working?” 

“It is. . . on the couch,” You said and Jake gave you a pointed look. The two of you had an argument a couple days ago about you sleeping on the couch. He got worried that you were going to roll off of it, but you argued that it was the only place you felt comfortable.You bit your lip and decided to bite the bullet, “Alyssa told me about the detachment. When were you?” 

“I tried getting out of it,” Jake answered. He didn’t want to leave right now to go fly around the middle of the ocean. He knew that it wasn’t really anything to worry about, but things can still go wrong. Things have gone wrong on missions that were supposed to be easy. It sent a shiver down his spine and bad memories flashed in his mind, “But it was nearly impossible. You know how the Navy is and their paternity leave bullshit. I would have to use up leave days, and I already plan on using those once the rugrat is here.” 

“So, what is it? And don’t lie to me, I’ll go looking through dad’s office.” 

Jake smiled and looked at you, “Two weeks, Indian Ocean. It’s a security thing. Should be a simple go out and come back.” 

“Should be. Doesn’t mean it will,” You grumbled, “Everyone is going?” 

“Yes, even your dad.” 

You tried to stop the tears from clouding in your eyes but you nodded. Jake looked at you with sad eyes as you turned your head from him. Your mood swings weren’t as common now as you progressed in your pregnancy, but you still had your moments where you’d break down in tears. Sometimes, you could tell people exactly why you were crying and others you weren’t quite sure. Right now, you weren’t one hundred percent sure why you were crying. If it was the fact that Jake was leaving for a detachment or the fact that Jake was trying to get out of it to stay with you, or maybe it was the fact that Jake only had three weeks of paternity leave to use once the baby was born. 

Admiral Simpson had talked to you and Jake after the two of you told him about the pregnancy. He was giving you information about the Navy’s paternity leave regulation, and you tried hard to not break down in tears right then in there. You knew that Jake wouldn’t get much time off, but three weeks was hardly no time at all. Jake had some leave days built up and was prepared to use them all to stay home with you and his daughter. Iceman had also said that Jake could put in for extended leave as well. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jake asked, grabbing your face gently. 

“No,” You sniffled and pushed away from him, “I’m hungry.” 

Jake chuckled and stood up from his chair, and over to you, “It’ll be okay. It’s only a couple weeks. I’ll be home before you know it,” He kissed your forehead and you closed your eyes, “Now, go sit. I’ll get you a plate.” 

You nodded and walked back over to the table, “Is Rooster going?” 

Jake sucked in a sharp breath, as he dished up a plate for you, “Yeah. He is going. He's the second team leader too.” 

“How is he doing?” 

You hadn’t talked to Rooster since he walked out of the house a couple weeks ago. Every time you called him, it went to voicemail, and every text was left on delivered. He was pushing you out, and you hated it. You wanted to show up on his front door and demand that he talk to you, but a small voice in your head was telling you not too. That no good can come from trying to force Bradley to talk to you. He was hurting, and so were you. You needed him more than ever, and he wasn’t sure if he could ever look at you the same anymore. 

“He’s getting through it,” Jake said, and placed a plate of food in front of you, “Being Rooster, moody and a pain in the ass. Nat said he came out to the Hard Deck the other night and seemed okay. Wore an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt and played the piano with his sunglasses on.” 

It brought a smile to your face thinking of the memories of watching Bradley play the piano with his sunglasses on. It was just like looking back and time seeing his father play and young Bradley sitting on the piano. You had thought about it before, how it would look to watch Bradley play to a young child that looked just like him. You frowned as you placed a hand on your belly. 

“You okay?” Jake asked you and you nodded. 

“I miss him,” You answered honestly and Jake looked down at his dinner, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be-” 

“It’s okay,” Jake said, and reached across the table and grabbed your hand, “I know how much he means to you and I’m sorry that this is happening right now with everything else. But I promise, I’m here for you. I know I’m not like Rooster, but I’m trying.” 

“I know,” You smiled at him genuinely, and squeezed his hand, “And I’m thankful for that.” Jake smiled at you and kissed your hand, “So that means you’ll be at Lamaze classes.” 

“La- what?” 

— — — 

Jake had never seen so many pregnant women in his life, and he was in a bit of a panic. The calm, cool and collected pilot sat on the ground next to you, as you read through the pamphlet that the instructor gave to you. Jake still respected your choice on wanting to do things as natural as possible, but he wasn’t all too aware of what that all meant. He had talked to your mother one night as the two of them were going through a box of baby stuff that she had kept, and Sarah somewhat explained childbirth. And Jake was terrified. 

“I don’t even know what I’m doing here,” Jake whispered to you. 

“You’re going to learn how to help me through birth. This kid is like you. . . has your big ass head,” You said, not looking up from the pamphlet. 

“My head isn’t big,” Jake frowned. 

“Sure it’s not,” You smiled as the instructor walked to the front of the room. 

“Welcome everyone, my name is Reagan and I will be your instructor for the next several sessions,” The instructor introduced herself, “Today we are going to work on breathing, different positions for helping to relieve pain and adding counter pressure. So, let’s start with sitting between our partners legs, resting against their chests, and learn some breathing.” 

Jake moved to sit behind you, keeping his knees propped up so you can lean against him. He rested his hands on your bump as you took a deep breath and listened to the coaching Reagan was giving. Jake was making mental notes of every single thing Reagan was saying, and was going to make sure he practiced it. He had seen videos of women complaining about their partners during birth, and Jake didn’t want to end up like that. He wanted to do everything he possibly could to help you through it. 

“Am I doing enough?” Jake asked as he rubbed your belly. 

“Yeah,” You nodded, “I know that the second the real thing is happening all this practice is gonna go out the goddamn window, but it helps to be prepared. Can I hold your hands?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Jake said, and opened up his palms for you to rest your hands in, still going through the motions of breathing properly. 

The next thing Reagan had instructed was working on counterpressure, something that Jake was actually interested in learning. You complained about your back hurting most days and Jake did what he could to help you, but you told him he wasn’t doing it right. You were currently laying on your side, curled up with a pregnancy pillow as Jake kneeled behind you, massaging spots on your back. 

“Is this helping?” You groaned as Jake’s fingers dug into your back. 

“Yeah. You keep going and I’m gonna fall asleep,” You looked over your shoulder and Jake smiled at you, “Wait,” You gasped and grabbed Jake’s hand, placing it on your belly as it tightened. 

“Is that normal?” Jake’s eyes grew wide in terror and you giggled. 

“It’s Braxton Hicks, and yes, it’s normal. Practice contractions.” 

“It better be practice,” Jake said and then leaned down to be level with your belly, “You hear me, miss. Practice contractions, not real ones. You can’t show up yet.” 

You giggled and Jake placed a kiss on your belly, before going back to rubbing your back. 

When class was done, Jake agreed to taking you to Target (not like it was much of a fight to get him to go. Jake loved going to Target as much as you did). So Jake bought you a Pink Drink from Starbucks and grabbed a shopping cart, going straight for the baby section. You had started putting together your registry, much to Alyssa and Stephanie’s persuasion. You had hardly thought about the baby shower which was looming around soon. You were trying to get through this last week before Jake left, and getting through the end of the school year. 

“Oh my god,” Jake said as soon as you started looking around at all the baby things. You rolled your eyes as Jake walked away, as you looked at the various strollers and carseats. Some of the moms at school had been giving you different suggestions since you had started showing. While you were thankful for it cause you didn’t know the first place to look at, it made you very overwhelmed reading all the safety precautions and warnings. 

“Look at these!” Jake had a big bright smile on his face as he held a small flannel shirt and jeans in his hands, “For when we take her to the Ranch! Oh my god, she needs a hat.” 

You giggled as he walked away, getting lost among the rows of baby girl clothing. You went back to look at bottles and pacifiers until it donned on you. You gasped and turned to look for Jake. His parents still had no idea that you were pregnant.

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Pick Baby Kazanksy's name:)

[royal-wren]

hi!! would you be open to sharing some of your experiences with worshipping the kharites? how have they impacted your life? i'm interested but there's so little information surrounding them. thank you so much :D

Ah hell yeah! I'll jump on any chance to talk about them!

I love the elder Kharites so much, sure I honor ALL of them but the first three are the ones directly in my life, and the third to have a statue on my altar. My main go-to with them is every art that has to do with writing, those that really eat up poetry and storytelling in all forms. They're givers of joy, grace, beauty, and eloquence, and the ones I lean on most for my own writing more than anyone else in company with two that they're in the retinue (staunch companions) of Hermes and Aphrodite. I feel like I might be the odd one out on my tendency to lean on them with H and A over the Mousai and Apollon, but it's just what feels most right for me. I can't dream of it being the latter when in my mind the five in question embody what grips and makes writing special while also being patrons of the arts.

To put it into perspective and why I went from honoring, to actively worshipping and now being their devotee and crediting them with every piece I make:

Bacchylides, Fragment 10 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (C5th B.C.) : "Truly the skilled man [poet or artisan] prospers in golden hope, whether he has won honour from the Kharites (Charites, Graces)."

Pindar, Nemean Ode 4. 6 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) : "If that man with the Kharites' (Charites', Graces') favour haply bring forth the heart's deep mood to live upon the tongue."

Pindar, Olympian Ode 14. 1 ff (trans. Conway) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) : "Whose haunts are by Kephissos' (Cephisus') river, you queens beloved of poets' song, ruling Orkhomenos (Orchomenus), that sunlit city and land of lovely steeds, watch and ward of the ancient Minyan race, hear now my prayer, you Kharites (Charites, Graces) three. For in your gift are all our mortal joys, and every sweet thing, be it wisdom, beauty, or glory, that makes rich the soul of man. Nor even can the immortal gods order at their behest the dance and festals, lacking the Kharites' aid"

From their theoi page: "The character and nature of the Charites are sufficiently expressed by the names they bear: they were conceived as the goddesses who gave festive joy and enhanced the enjoyments of life by refinement and gentleness. Gracefulness and beauty in social intercourse are therefore attributed to them. (Horat. Carm. iii. 21, 22; Pind. Ol. xiv. 7, &c.) They are mostly described as being in the service or attendance of other divinities, as real joy exists only in circles where the individual gives up his own self and makes it his main object to afford pleasure to others. The less beauty is ambitious to rule, the greater is its victory; and the less homage it demands, the more freely is it paid. These seen to be the ideas embodied in the Charites. They lend their grace and beauty to everything that delights and elevates gods and men. This notion was probably the cause of Charis being called the wife of Hephaestus, the divine artist. The most perfect works of art are thus called the works of the Charites, and the greatest artists are their favourites. The gentleness and gracefulness which they impart to man's ordinary pleasures are expressed by their moderating the exciting influence of wine (Hor. Carm. iii. 19. 15; Pind. Ol. xiii. 18), and by their accompanying Aphrodite and Eros. (Hom. Od. viii. 364, xviii. 194; Paus. vi. 24. § 5.) They also assist Hermes and Peitho to give grace to eloquence and persuasion (Hesiod. Op. 63), and wisdom itself receives its charms from them. Poetry, however, is the art which is especially favoured by them, whence they are called erasimolpoi or philêsimolpoi. For the same reason they are the friends of the Muses, with whom they live together in Olympus. (Hes. Theog. 64; Eurip. Herc. fur. 673; Theocrit. xvi. in fin.) Poets are inspired by the Muses, but the application of their songs to the embellishment of life and the festivals of the gods are the work of the Charites."

It certainly doesn't help that so many of the gods I focus on and are most important to my personal worship directly have them in their retinue or are their companions in the sense like the Mousai and the Horai where it's more an equal footing kind of thing versus what it's like with Hermes, Aphrodite, Apollon, Athene, Artemis, Dionysos, Hera, Hekate, and while it isn't noted anywhere, I can't see it in any other way than Hestia's inclusion as one of the trio leaders of festivities with Hermes and Dionysos and the Kharites embodying mirth, cheer/excitement, and festivities.

The best way to devote yourself to them and my go-to when I'm down and don't have the energy or focus and willpower to do much more is to do something for myself that will bring joy, comfort, and elation in their name. Hedonism and doing your hobbies go a long way with them.

Further reading:

The Graces in Ancient Greek Mythology

The Graces by Louis de Jaucourt

The three Graces, or the allegory of the gift published by Denis Vidal (also here if the other link dies)

Pausanias tries to visualize the three ‘Graces’ of Orkhomenos in Boeotia by Gregory Nagy

The Three Graces: Cosmic Harmony in Scève's Délie by Joan A. Buhlmann

The Three Graces: Composition and Meaning in a Roman Context by Jane Francis

[toffyrats]

my professional opinion on every hamilton ship i have seen in this accursed media

starting with the ogs and working down to the quote unquote rarepairs.

hamliza: 7/10 obviously didn’t uh. go very well! they’re domestic and cute and i never have any opinions on canon ships because they’re explained in the og media yk 😭

lams: 6/10 what kind of a name is lams. anyways i could probably make an entire post about this pairing and how much i actually enjoy it but how mischaracterized and ruined theyve been… as a concept theyre great but the fanon interpretation sucks im sorry

mullete i think its called: 5/10 WOW these names are bad. its mid. i don’t mind it. idc. dont love it don’t have any problems with it either. 100 percent grey area.

jamilton: 4/10 i just don’t like enemies to lovers it’s just a preference i’m sure it’s actually fine. jamilton lovers always have the best art so its fine

jeffmads: 8/10 this. has problems. as all things do. however i love their dynamic and they act like an old married couple. james following thomas everywhere and being pathetic is frankly hilarious. took off points for the fact they might actually be funnier platonically

jamilmads: 4/10 this feels like jamilton fans realizing jeffmads actually kind of makes sense and adding james for no reason

hamburr: 2/10 get away from me. get away foul beasts 🤺 (i think its like a 4 in reality but the fans are off the rails)

literally anyone/peggy: 2/10 whether it be lafayette, laurens, whoever i don’t see it. she’s just besties with everyone leave her alone

angelica/hamilton: 4/10 angelica girl your standards should be so much higher. yeah i don’t like this one

revolutionary polyamory: 4/10 this is referring to hamilton laurens laf and herc i believe. its ok. i dont rly like it. its eh.

washington/anyone: 1/10 HES THEIR DAD LEAVE HIM BE

lafferson: 3/10 daveed diggs squared. it makes me giggle a little bit other than that no emotions but hate

mariliza: 2/10 i really hate the trope of shipping two canon love interests with each other it makes no sense

hamilmads: no rating bc this one is just confusing to me wtf.

philidosia: 9/10 i am so biased on this one. so very biased. this was my otp back in the day. everything was about them. save me dear theodosia szin animatic. theyre my everything. the angst possibilities are insane and i love it. docked off one point just because of fanon interpretation, i have a very specific dynamic in my head and it is NOT that

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent Day 21: Uskerty

I absolutely adore this episode as the origin of my single favorite Cabin Pressure line: "You know, between the dames and the horses, sometimes I don't know why I even put my hat on." Nothing will ever beat it for me.

So yeah, this episode is super funny, but I do want to talk a bit about something that's come up as my go to "look, a THEME!" here- vulnerability. Because as I was listening, trying to figure out what I was taking away from this episode besides "this is all really funny and well plotted" because at a certain point that gets old, it struck me that there are ways that both of our (absolutely brilliant) pairings this episode really strike a chord when considering the role of vulnerability- and lack of it- in relationships.

This is a bit less so in the Douglas-Arthur pairing in this episode, which is inspired (and yay, there's finally a nice airport manager!)- there are brilliant set pieces, and the premise of the bar conversation allows two very different people to kind of sort of attempt to understand each other. There's also a really nice father/son element- we already can perceive, even if it's not said outright, that Arthur doesn't have much of a father figure- his life is very dominated by Carolyn's influence, even in the majority-male flight deck, in a way that I think even tints his interactions with Mr Birling about sports (there's a tinge of eagerness for acceptance), which he's clueless about. Would Arthur know more about sports if he'd had a dad who gave a shit about him? Who knows. But this episode giving him an older man who's willing to open an as-yet-shut door into a men's world that excites him.

The men's world is, of course, the world of the pub. We've already seen a glimpse of Douglas in that milieu in Kuala Lumpur, and usually I'd say the less said about that the better, but I think there's something interesting about how mean spirited and surfacey it could be there, alongside Arthur's misunderstanding what Douglas means about "talking about their lives." He asks a question that is so unexpectedly and deeply personal that Douglas isn't even upset that he asks, he understands that this is another rule of masculine bar/pub conversation that he has to teach Arthur. On a certain level, this is fine on its own- there's a time and place for everything- but if you look at it a certain way, it can reinforce tropes about men and expressing emotions and feelings. And yet... even by following the rules of pub chat that Douglas lays out for him, and trying to fall into its ritualistic norms (like creative insults), Arthur, in part through his own open-book vulnerability, is able to bring things to a place where Douglas is pretty unselfconsciously vulnerable himself, about the place in the world where he finds himself. And by the end, he's fallen more into Arthur's more atmospheric image of two men in a bar. He's loosened up, and isn't playing by the rules anymore. It's just really nice (in addition to being hilariously funny).

The Martin and Carolyn pairing is maybe a bit less novel than the Douglas and Arthur one, but it still works really well in this discussion of vulnerability. Both of them have had pretenses/barriers they try to keep up- and both, incidentally, are related to their own interest in expressing that they are in control- but by now Martin has learned enough to have started to relax his. This actually really helps, as his actions aren't hampered by pretense or pride- he's basically able to function ALMOST competently with the cabbie as a result. But Carolyn is almost on overtime trying to keep her barriers up against vulnerability and it is clearly driving her a bit bananas, hence her complete dysfunction this episode- she has to be ironic and invulnerable about her gift to Herc, to prove that she may be seeing him but she doesn't have feelings (which will of course come to haunt her in Vaduz), and as a result loses all her judgment. And her overtime craziness is, unusually enough, what causes Martin’s misfortune, not his own incompetence! He's the functional one here, not her, because unlike her he's not filtering all his behavior through this one very constricting lens.

Once Martin is able to open her up a bit in the discussion of his salary- where she starts off in control as the boss and is forced to face the fact that Martin is loyal to her even when he shouldn't be*, which could very easily pierce the defenses of her invulnerability as she has to accept this reality- she starts to mellow out. Whereas she starts off saying that she's “not a little old lady” so she can’t do the totally reasonable thing until Martin begs, afterward she manages to chill enough that she can do the, you know, sane thing even though it dings her a bit in the self-confidence. She's not quite as in thrall to her inner barriers anymore.

I'll just end off by saying- this episode may also, in addition to my favorite line, have my favorite closing lines of any episode, with the possible exception of Zurich 2. Though that one's mostly about the nostalgia and emotions. So maybe this is it.

*On this note- when did Martin stop looking for jobs? He was looking in Rotterdam… given my St Petersburg post I wonder if it was before or after that.

[driftwithme]

I think that at heart, Raleigh Becket imagines himself speeding down the road on his shitty car to get to the airport just in time to push the doors open as Chuck turns around his way. They both stare at each other and time freezes and on the background there's some old black and white film replaying the scene of a soldier and his darling meeting after the war is over with a song-- "did you miss me?"

The world gets blurry except for the straight line that takes him to Chuck. All is colors and the sun beating down if they're somewhere sunny or the wind picking up outside it they are in Anchorage and Raleigh releases all the air of his lungs at once and Chuck blinks and slowly, smiles to Raleigh as the clock relearns how physics works.

He imagines he would eat the steps to Chuck and kill the distance between them with one swing of his arms until he has Chuck pressed firmly against his chest, his chuckle shaking them both, fingers fitting on Chuck's ribs, his sweater riding a bit up and catching on the zipper of Chuck's jacket. Then Chuck--- then Chuck hugs him back and oh the Earth spins twice as fast as it used to. Raleigh holds onto Chuck for dear life, willing his creaking knees to keep them upright.

But when they finally get on the same time zone Chuck's flight is terrible and he's feeling miserable and Raleigh gets stuck on traffic so he cannot meet them there and he has a gala that night so he can't also be with them later and he just gets out of the taxi and runs to the hotel the Hansens and Mako planned to stay in (listen, Raleigh hasn't seen Mako in a month and Chuck in a year and a half) and insists on not getting announced so when he knocks on the door and Mako opens it up, he just hugs her and spins her around a bit and let's a kiss on her cheek and points a finger at Chuck letting him know they will talk later and leaves. He says hi to Herc on the hallway as he rushes back to the elevator.

Like a mad man.

Mako and Chuck are a bit too tired from the horrible flight and a bit too stunned to even speak about it so they agree to shower, meet on that room for dinner and chat about their plans for the weekend meeting with the UN and go to sleep.

I bet Raleigh doesn't particularly show it that much, 'cause by now he's used to playing the part, but he's sooooooo disappointed that his little dream scenario didn't happen. The man is sulking even.

It's the type of thing that would have Yancy fondly laughing at his little brother for the "romantic tendencies" inherited from their mom.

"It's the half French in us."

Knowing Yancy, he would have suggested for his crush to wait for him awake before doing his thing at the gala internally chuckling for his mischief and later made a fool of himself on purpose by playing the role of the so poor repenting lover :(((( please let me in my love. Raleigh could do it too any other time, no big deal, but when it's about true romantic love and not just a fling, he's so so soooo dramatic and worries sooooooo much.

Also? He doesn't even think Chuck likes him like that. He zooms out a bit thinking of how he could have messed up their friendship for rushing into his little Shakespearean reunion and thanks God it didn't happen. Which is a shame because Chuck cannot fall asleep on his hotel room wondering how "later " is later and if he should wait for Raleigh to be back from the gala or if Raleigh meant it as "see u in the morning" or something.

[mywingsareonwheels]

I’ve been thinking about Douglas’s antagonism towards Herc despite their past friendship and, OUCH. Now I have feelings.

Herc’s everything Douglas wants to be and once fooled the world he was and carries the image of being. Smooth, charming, unflappable - which Anthony Head portrays gloriously, immediately making Douglas seem less so in comparison. Four ex-wives but he carries them so much more lightly than Douglas’s three (I somehow doubt that Herc was ever cheated on, or has a daughter that he misses painfully). No disgraces, no addiction problems. None - at least as it seems to Douglas - of Douglas’s intense vulnerability underneath all of the snark and charisma. And Herc was there for Douglas’s downfall. From almost the first moment Herc is managing to remind Douglas of that, and whether it’s deliberate or not is rather besides the point. And in Herc’s first episode he manages to make it clear that there’s no chance of Douglas ever going back to the kind of career he once had, and refuses - however gently and tactfully - to help him. Whatever friendship they once had... that’s not happening. Ouch, frankly.

And aaargh it’s just occurred to me that “Rotterdam” parallels Martin with Paramount Martin and Martin is threatened, but it does *exactly* the same with Douglas and Herc. Martin’s just a lot more open about his insecurity. Martin and Douglas are so much more alike than either would acknowledge.

And then there’s the fact that in his own way Douglas is very protective of all three of the other members of MJN, and he does not trust Herc with Carolyn’s heart, not even a tiny tiny bit. Let alone with Arthur’s, in a stepfatherly way. That bit’s genuinely selfless, I think (well, coupled perhaps with not wanting to deal with a miserable Carolyn making his life harder; he is the man with all the ulterior motives after all). It’s also sensible: I mean, no one could have seen Herc being willing to change for Carolyn, not even Herc.

And then there is (much more reprehensibly), as John Finnemore has noted, a certain dog-in-the-manger attitude that Douglas has to Carolyn: he doesn’t necessarily want to make a move on her but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be happy for anyone else to do so.

Perhaps above all: I somehow doubt that Herc ever had a Rory. Douglas became the mask, and is pretty happy with that most of the time, but Herc, I think it’s implied, was always like that.

By the end of the show it’s clear that things are thawing considerably, as Herc proves himself to be an increasingly good partner to Carolyn and (even more importantly?) stepfather to Arthur (and yet without threatening Douglas’s own paternal relationship with the latter), and as the resolution has Douglas being so much happier himself, and becoming the captain (and official Team Dad) of OJS. They can all happily fly off into the sunset together, as by that point they all deserve, which is great. :D 

But just... gah. I love the fact that this apparently silly little radio sitcom just has so many hundreds of layers, and Roger Allam is incapable of not delivering a multilayered and gloriously textured performance in everything he does. Douglas is infuriating and hilarious and a delight and yet some of the time absolutely damn heartbreaking.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Do you have your own pitch/idea/concept of a new Scarlet Witch villain?

This is not a new character, per se, but I have a lot of ideas for a revived or resurrected version of Hecate, who was killed by the Emerald Warlock in the 2016 Scarlet Witch series. A couple of years later, in Avengers: No Road Home, the gods of Olympus were slaughtered and eventually reborn in new forms. We haven't seen Hecate, but making it so that she was reborn alongside the other Greek gods would be the perfect way to soft-reboot the character with new powers, a design, and new motives.

Overall, I think Hecate has some interesting things in common with Wanda, in terms of her most recent experiences and trauma, and there's already a lot of connective story tissue between them. Hecate would also be the perfect character to do more worldbuilding for witches and witchcraft, and if you lean into the idea that Agatha might be from ancient Greece, you could also tie her into the the history of the Coven of Mount Wundagore. She's one of my favorite mythological figures, and I just really love digging into historical forms of magic and mysticism, so with the right amount research you could do a lot of cool stuff with her in comics-- and the Marvel character is such a blank slate at this point that the possibilities are kind of endless.

Herc #4

The goddess Hecate is sort of a d-list villain in the Marvel universe. All told, she only has eight appearances, but I think she's got a lot of potential. Her main storyline is that she was banished to Earth and robbed of her memories and powers; after being restored to her true self, she eventually settled down to live peacefully amongst mortals, but she was then murdered in cold blood by the Emerald Warlock, who stole her magic.

The basic premise would be for Hecate to come back looking revenge and seeking to reassert herself as the goddess of magic and queen of witches. I would have her begin by consolidating power on the Witches' Road, maybe even scheming to supplant the abstract entity of Witchcraft as the supreme goddess.

From the Witches' Road, she could summon all sorts of mythical creatures; I also really like the idea of her commanding a legion of lampades, which were chthonic nymphs that served her as torchbearers and handmaidens in Greek mythology-- I imagine her sending them out into the world to bring inexperienced or vulnerable magic users under her thrall, which would be great way to incorporate some of Wanda's students from Strange Academy.

I also have this idea that Hecate could be split into three separate aspects, or have the power to be in three places at once. You'll notice in the image above that she has three faces-- in classical sculpture, Hecate was often depicted in triplicate, with each form facing in a different direction, to represent her role as the goddess of crossroads. That's a great way to bring things back to the Witches' Road, and it's a fun way to ramp the story up to a bigger scale. In addition to her quest for revenge and power on Earth, she could also, simultaneously, make a move on Olympus. In GotG (2020), the Guardians of the Galaxy battled with the revived Olympians, several of whom were killed all over again, and eventually the mountain itself was sent through a black hole. Maybe Hecate wants to dig it out and bring Zeus under her heel; maybe she wants to orchestrate another resurrection so she can remake the Olympians in her image.

Herc #5

These are all ideas for, like, a big climactic storyline, at the end of which Hecate would have to be defeated, or maybe even healed, in a way that would probably take her back off the board. Alternatively, if you wanted her to be a more sustainable, recurring villain, I would retroactively make her a part of Agatha's backstory so that you can set her up as an even more cryptic, morally ambiguous rival for Agatha, who would then to be motivated to build a new Coven to oppose her. That's when Wanda would step in and say, "hey, me and my family will help you, but you're not calling the shots and you can't keep secrets from us." It would be a fun way to even the playing field between Wanda and Agatha and resolve some of their more recent beef.

[auselessmage]

I keep forgetting that yeah, I really do like Medabots. I really gotta sit down and fully play through some of ‘em (has only played some of DS and 9 Kuwagata).

I love Medabee, but my heart will always belong to Rokusho.

I dunno why I tend to gravitate to stag beetles more than hercs, but I can tell you that this guy is definitely skewing my preferences to stag beetles.

ArcBeetle-Dash speaks to me too.

What do you mean the jet dude turns into a RAILGUN. Yeah, I would use him. I think he is in 9, so if I get his parts, I’ll definitely try him out.

Ashton feels very MC Medabot to me and I do like him for that.

Very simple and functional. He looks like he has a nice mix of attack and defense but could be pushed further. All things I like and I would love to use his parts as my first Medabot if Medabee/Rokusho/Juke weren’t handed to you on a silver platter.

I hate his name, but I can pretty much never turn down a brown and green palatte.

I dunno why I always like bug designs in games, but I REALLY like Bad Hacker. I especially love how he looks after Medachanging. The other bug bots look fine, but this one’s nice to me.

Beast Duster’s cool. I like chimeric robot designs where you can pick out the parts of all the bots used to make it.

He’s not the only bot to do this (He’s basically just a more screwed up Beast Master), but I do like him as is. I do like that he’s a little bit more run down.

Oh, Blue Submarine, how I love your head shape and eye designs.

He does Medachange into a literal submarine, but I don’t think it’s a wild enough difference in design to care personally. Love his Medabots 1 design too. They made him so itty bitty.

And finally (but only cause Tumblr’s getting mad at how many pics I’m uploading), Iron Horse.

I actually really love the motorcycle horse centaur thing she has going on. Probably my favorite centaur thing I’ve seen, but that doesn’t mean too much when I’ve really only seen like… 6 centaur designs in my life. She seems real cool though, design and personality wise.

But yeah, wow, loser talks about robots for too long even the app is actively slowing down. So uhhhhhh play Medabots I guess. Or look at the other bots if you don’t wanna do that.

[hassiegfrieddoneanythingwrong]

Jason for the character ask.

Ah yes, the asshole (affectionate)

Favorite thing about them:

He's a very good leader, especially under pressure. Yeah, Jason can be an asshole as well, such as making sure that he's the most protected, but he does make sure his crew (either og or neo Argonauts) and himself are ready for whatever. If I were to make a tier list of "Servants who I trust my life with", Jason would be near or at the top.

Least favorite thing about them:

... I think he was made way too easily hateable back in Okeanus?

Favorite line:

I'm torn between his Bond 4 and Bond 5 lines.

OTP:

Jason x Heracles, I mean have you seen the amount of times he gushes about Herc?

BroTP:

Jason and Guda/Ritsuka.

NoTP:

Jason x Medea. There's a reason why these two are effectively divorced from the other (Jason went back on his word to her, and Medea... well, murdered their sons), and while I get the whole "hate-sex/hate-fucking" thing to an extent, I genuinely can't see them getting back together, because their story has proved why.

Random Headcanon:

He hates being in my Chaldea, since there's no Heracles. Man is waiting for the day that I randomly summon the Berserker.

Unpopular Opinion:

Honestly, I can't really think of an unpopular opinion on him. Maybe I wish that his FA looked different...?

Song I associate with them:

I wanna say You're Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring, but I don't know if that makes a lot of sense. 😅

Favorite picture of them:

I'll split this into official stuff and fanart/fan made stuff.

For official art, my favorite picture has to be the CE art for completing Atlantis.

For fanart/fan made, I choose the two sprite comics Lapithae made in regards to Jason going on about both Achilles' and Odysseus' dad's.

[comicavalcade]

Submariner Summer 25

Ok everyone, welcome to a Special #SubmarinerSummer read though. How special? Well, for part 25 we're covering Avengers #40: Suddenly...The Sub-Mariner! Chronologically this is our Prince of Atlantis's next appearance, and they weren't shy about putting him on the cover, either.

I'll be mostly skipping the purely Avenger bits, we're here for Namor, but the title page has Earth's Mightiest basically doing clean-up from their last adventure. Roy Thomas has writing duty here; remember that name. Meanwhile Avengers legend Don Heck is on pencils, natch

At any rate, when the tale visits Namor, he's apparently kicking ass in a combat tournament. Vashti interrupts, though, to inform him a surfacer sub has crossed into Atlantean territory. Before long, it starts blowing up a reef, and Namor is NOT having it. He goes to intercept it

Hot. 🥵

*ahem* I mean, uh, he uh, he's got it, the torpedo I mean, its large and...uh, he masters it

👀

ANYWAY he sends it back towards the sub and they freak out. But Namor made sure it didn't hit them, hoping to run them off away from Atlantis. Instead, of course, they decide to attack. That's just what surface people do. So he leads them into a trap where they get stuck

The sub radios to their base that they're stuck, so Namor decides to go there and take care of the problem at the source. Meanwhile, Cap calls the Avengers and sends them to hunt for the Cosmic Cube, last seen near a Caribbean island...hmmm

Namor arrives at the base in "Puerto Nuevo" (🙄), and demands to speak to the commander. The sailors decide to play tough; Namor tosses them in the water 🤭

The rest of the sailors take that as a call to attack, and he decides he's had enough and blows by them to get to the subs

This is, of course, *right* when the Avengers arrive. They see that Namor's there, and since they're there looking for the Cosmic Cube, they assume he might be too. So down they go to deal with the sea prince, starting with Pym as Goliath, and the Wasp. Namor isn't impressed.

Then Hawkeye gets in the mix, and his aim is true. Unfortunately for him, he vastly underestimates the lord of Atlantis

Here's where things get interesting, however. New Avengers recruit Hercules is here, you see, to duel Namor in myth-laden hyperbolic archaic English ("wine-dark depths" is a good one, Mr. Thomas). Also, have at thee! And in the midst of combat, Herc lets it slip about the Cube

Getting Herc off of him, Namor dives into the sea, and quickly sets his aquatic subjects searching. It doesn't take long before they find it, and Namor now has the Cosmic Cube, figuring out its power. Now he can really make the surface pay for its trespasses

The Avengers are wrapping things up at the base when Namor makes his return, having shaped the cube like a pendant so he can still fight. He wants a rematch with Hercules, and brings along a Cube-spawned sea monster to keep the rest of the Avengers busy. So thoughtful.😇

Time for Namor vs. Hercules, round two. This time, Herc quickly presses his advantage on land, so Namor uses the Cube to take the fight to the water, where the advantage quickly switches to him.

Namor is too honorable to take this win, though, and decides to use the Cube to make things even again. By now the other Avengers have beaten his sea monster, and Wasp arrives at the two tussling titans in time to realize Namor's pendant must be the Cube, so she snaps the chain

With the Cosmic Cube gone into a crevasse and the rest of the Avengers on the way, Namor decides its pointless to keep going and retreats. The U.S. Navy gets away with environmental destruction once again. Score the win(?) in the Wasp's column. But there's one more loose end...

And that, of course, is the Cosmic Cube. Where could it have gone, falling down a deep deep chasm?

Oh, Mole Man.

Womp womp.

So, a raucous bout between the Avengers and Namor, especially with Hercules. As usual for Namor vs Surface it was laced with misunderstandings and misinterpretations, and no one willing to talk anything out. And yet somehow Mole Man is still the one with the biggest L. Classic.

But, with our guest appearance battle done, NEXT we will return to Namor's own solo feature and fair Atlantis in the deep for Tales to Astonish #92: It Walks Like A Man!