#hma writes

[ad-astra-per-aspera-1389]

This is totally random, but as far as the JONAS (LA) X BTR crossover (either one, really) goes...

Macy's favorite of the btr boys is carlos, because sports, and also bc he's just fun to hang out with. macy seems normal and put together at first, but she loves physical activity, as we know from s1, and carlos (platonically) matches her freak in the places nick doesn't

Stella's favorite is...and isn't james. she's basically that post that's like "you're in his dms. i'm pissing him off, i'm ruining his day" but in the most convoluted way possible, they also, platonically, match each other's freak. all in all, stella would rather spend time with the other girls, and she obviously adores joe, bc he understands her thoroughly, but james is like...the opposite. they understand each other and fucking hate it.

Katie and Frankie deserve the most insane sublot that builds up over time, until their scheme eventually collides with the main plotline and wreaks absolute havoc. they're ten years old and evil geniuses with famous brothers, you know the two of them meeting will bite everyone in the ass in the end.

I do think Nick and Logan would get along, but the thing is, logan is a science and math nerd and nick is a writing and music nerd. they're slightly different species of nerd. but I think nick would get along best with logan and kendall, bc even though they can go off the deep end sometimes, they're easier to handle than carlos and james.

I'm gonna ramble about Kevin and Lucy again bc I want to. it's so hard for me to imagine lucy with like, any other guy, just bc james is clearly gay, and the subplot with her and kendall was a total mess since he hadn't broken up with jo first... Anyway, they're both rockstars, and Kevin had a lot of character development in s2. he's kind, responsible, ambitious, and Lucy is headstrong, confident, and clever. I feel like they'd actually have a very normal relationship timeline compared to a lot of other ships/couples, simply bc by the time they're both in the narrative they're 18/19 and living on their own.

Joe...he would get along best with kendall, not just for the main character energy, but also bc I feel like they react similarly in a lot of situations, but joe is also a little more self-sufficient than kendall is, which isn't a bad thing, and is mostly due to living in la without his parents for a/multiple (depends on crossover fic) summer(s), whereas kendall's always had his mom and friends doing everything together.

Kevin's an interesting one, bc while s1 era kevin would definitely be best friends with carlos, by the time jonas la rolls around he's mellowed out. he's still a little dramatic sometimes, but post-HMA Kevin is very different bc of the responsibility for his brothers he gained over the summer. I feel like he'd sort of keep that older brother role he's grown into, so, besides his relationship with lucy, he's mostly helping clean up the trouble and not cause it. at the same time though, i think he'd get wrapped up in the katie and frankie subplot the most

Joe and Camille would also get along pretty well, mostly bc they have acting in common, with joe wanting advice from camille solely due to her years of experience. she's also easier to talk to than bigger names in the industry, so it's more of leaning on a friend instead of a mentor

Jo and Macy definitely spar every so often, mostly bc jo likes that there's another girl around that she can connect with about physical sports. it's not the same trying to spar with kendall, and now she has someone who's an even match against her.

Mona is one of the few people that aren't afraid to go toe to toe against griffin, given she doesn't work for him, and she's definitely screamed at him for Kelly's sake. gustavo is a little afraid of mona, and rightfully so. she's proud of that.

Still no one likes DZ

[whywishesarehorses]

My Wild Horse Story

By Dailynn Palmer, WY

I wanted to write a post about one of the most special horses I’ve ever had come through my life. I’ve worked with hundreds of horses, but my life would not be what it is had this specific mustang not been a part of it.

Meet Oliver.

I forget what HMA Oliver originated from but he was started in a women’s correctional facility in Wy. Oliver had a good start in life and was eventually sold to a wonderful family owned guest ranch/outfitter.

At some point Oliver changed- he became the horse no one wanted to work with. He bucked off some of the best riders who came through that ranch.

I had a series of extremely hard events happen in my life in 2018. I couldn’t face my current life so I decided to disappear to Wy for a time and happened to begin working for this same ranch in 2019.

I worked with some other horses, and listened to everyone talk about the black-listed Oliver. Even one of the other riders, who I truly admired for her skill, was vocally nervous about getting on Oliver. This is someone who would gallop across the 700acre property bareback, jumping anything in sight. I don’t even have the balls to do that.

Well, we were short-mounted one day so I was left with a choice between Oliver and an older gelding. I chose Oliver, and I’m sure glad I did.

There are no words to really describe how this horse healed me. He holds such a special place in my heart, akin to my first horse but so wildly different.

Now this is starting to sound like a fairy tale, huh? Well let’s get something straight- he was an absolute a** when I first started working with him. But I persisted. We spent a lot of hours in the arena just goofing off. Eventually, we built enough of a report for light trail rides outside, which led to days worth of adventures into the wilderness completely alone. We saw the world together. We watched deer, birds, antelope, rabbits, a bobcat and even a couple bears together. This dude had a heart of courage and our adventures together were limitless. Nothing phased him. He reminded me of a time in my youth when nothing mattered and I felt invincible. I felt my fire for life slowly returning and my deep wounds slowly healing.

Eventually, we started with leading out guest trail rides. He loved it. Then we began leading pack-strings in preparation for the hunting season. He loved that. Soon enough, we were leading all the hunters, guides and packhorses through 15mi worth of certified wilderness to go to and from camp. He was a star. Everyone was floored by who this horse had become. I didn’t feel the same way because I simply felt like he was the same Oliver I had to spend a century trying to catch that first day.

Towards the end of hunting season (right around Oct.) things were starting to get very cold and the weather unpredictable. We were headed back from hunting camp, getting close to the ranch, a horrible thunder and hail storm took over earlier than expected. We were leading the pack at this time. We all had to dismount because the lightning was striking so close and quite a few of the horses were shod. It was terrifying. The hail was so strong it would leave marks on your skin, and you couldn’t see a few feet in front of you. We had a long meadow stretch to get through. I was leading three packhorses and Oliver was next to me. He understood his job in that moment and powered forward. He allowed me to shield my face next to his neck and kept me warm as we slowly made it through this wretched storm. It was physically draining and scary. But I had my best friend by my side and a silent assurance from him that he would take care of me and get us home. I trusted him, and at the time it felt like with my life. At that time, we had absolutely leading me.

We made it home.

No damage was apparent until our next pack trip, when I urged Oliver to the front of the line to lead and he stopped completely and refused. He lost all of his confidence in leading, which was his favorite thing a week prior. This broke my heart. It was a slow process but he eventually gained back his courage to lead. It was almost like he rebuilt my courage so that I could help him regain his when the time came.

A month later it was time for me to pack up and leave. I helped haul the horses to their wintering paddock and personally turned Oliver out. I gave him one big hug goodbye and that was the last time I saw that wonderful horse. I have stayed in touch with the owners and have received glowing updates about what a good boy he has been since. But I’ll tell you what, I miss the crap outta that animal.

He wasn’t the prettiest horse on the planet, he had a horrible trot and he was always a difficult catch, but boy do I love that guy. Even now as I write this, I tear up thinking about him and how much he changed me.

I know this was a long post, but I just wanted to share about a mustang that truly changed my life.

[intheshadowofwar]

Goodbye-eee!

Sydney

27 May 2023

The journey of a thousand miles, it seems, begins with a half-dozen trains.

We left Canberra just before 7am, travelling by the Xplorer train service as far as Campbelltown. Normally this service would take us all the way into Sydney, but the spectre of trackwork loomed over us and we had to change to the suburban network. We caught a train from Campbelltown to Wolli Creek, changed there, and carried on to Hurstville, which was to be our base of operations for the weekend. We left our stuff there and returned to the station, catching a fourth train to Town Hall.

I am something of a regular at Peter Nathan Toy Soldiers, by which I mean I go there maybe twice a year. I am sure this counts as being a regular. One might perhaps find it paradoxical that I wax philosophical about the horrors of war while collecting my little pewter troopers. My response is to paraphrase the great author H. G. Wells, who, when the paradox of his being a pacifist and an avid miniature wargamer was brought up, responded that ‘tin soldiers do not leave tin widows and tin orphans.’ And I like to think I have a bit of taste as to what I collect - I don’t collect wounded soldiers (as much as I tease Mum about getting that bayoneted Jacobite - she likes Outlander, you see), and the SS are completely verboten, thank you very much. But I am also keenly aware that this hobby attracts what we might charitably call oddballs. I overheard the owner in a discussion about how the most popular topics for toy soldier collection are Romans and the Nazis. Make of that what you will.

Perhaps I’m being too judgemental. I’m sure there are people who think my collection of British redcoats is problematic. Not everyone with an interest in the Nazi military is a neo-Nazi - but these days, I find it helps to maintain a healthy scepticism.

After this, I headed down to Darling Harbour and walked around the precinct of the National Maritime Museum. There’s little WWI-related there, of course - I’m not certain a single WWI Australian ship survives - but it’s still always well worth a look. One thing that annoys me is the new ‘action stations’ building - I’m sure it’s an excellent educational aid, but it blocks what used to be a good photographic angle of HMAS Vampire’s port side. I had hoped to see the replica of Janzoon’s Dufkyen, but it seems it was at sea when I was there. The submarine Onslow and the patrol boat Advance seemed in good order, and the Endeavour replica was a delight to look over as always. Of particular note was the Krait, a captured Japanese fishing boat used by Australian and British commandos in a sabotage operation in Singapore harbour - it tends to be obscured by something when I go to the museum, so it was nice to see it unobstructed today.

After that, I walked back to the Queen Victoria Building via JB-HI-FI, where I picked up a bluetooth mouse that doesn’t work. I suppose that’s twenty dollars I’ll never see again. We caught the train back to Hurstville, picked up some groceries and some KFC, and returned to the hotel, where I write this now. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading in to Hyde Park Barracks and the Anzac Memorial, and taking a trip on the ferry to Manly. I’m sure I’ll have a little more to say about all that.

[daedalusdavinci]

💫✨💝

✨What’s a fic you’ve posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

mmmm. i always feel like hold me (accountable) went hard as fuck but bc its a rarepair it flopped so goddamn bad. genuinely that fic is some of my best work and i still think about returning to it even tho i never will

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

those long ones where people analyze what you wrote or guess at what will happen next or tell you their favorite lines and what it meant to them. or, ohh my god, when people tell me i wrote really good rep. i got this one comment one time on a pjo fic i wrote about how i wrote adhd and what it meant to them as someone w adhd that just. i think about it all the time. there is no greater honor to me than knowing someone could read one of my fics and see themself in it

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

sometimes i write rlly niche stuff that does rlly well and its surprising (jdau) and sometimes i write stuff that i didnt think was that niche that absolutely flops (hma) and thats always unexpected

[wildhorseeducation]

Blue Wing Roundup (beginning 7/15)

You can find 7/18 through 7/15 (the heatwave at the beginning) of the Blue Wing Complex roundup by clicking HERE. The first week includes background information.  Blue Wing. One of the few HMAs you can see both horses and burros (or could before this roundup began) Week beginning 7/15. Cumulative totals as of July 14. (The BLM does a meeting each night and they write the daily sheets. If a horse…

[percontaion-points]

Fearless (HMA 4) chapters 9 & 10

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 9

“Not only is Marnie my best friend and nonnegotiable, but if you want my cat, you gotta take my wolf too. We’re a package deal.”

 “You sure about that?” He looked me over, lingering on my tired face. “The only thing I can smell is a sweet black pussy.” 

There isn’t enough “hell no” in the goddamned universe. 

JFC. Imagine sitting down to write, coming up with THAT line, and thinking that there’s 100% nothing wrong with it at all. 

“I think I just need to appeal to Trey’s better half.” 

Is this a joke? Even the readers had to endure several pages of sexual harassment and sexual assault… Not only to Vail, but also Marnie. 

If Vail is so desperate to learn how to control her cat, maybe she should practise on her own. Especially if the only person willing to teach her is more interested in getting into her pants. 

Ada arrived about an hour later…

[...]

“So, despite the simplistic view my brother shared with you, there’s three stages of shift control for cats.”

WHY WAS THIS NOT YOUR FIRST CHOICE?!

“I’m going to let my cat out to play.”

Chapter 9 summary: The next morning, Vail goes to meet up with Trey, but also brings Marnie along. Trey is angry over the entire thing, since he’d obviously been expecting to take Vail so that he could have his way with her. 

He then starts to try and “teach” her how to control her cat side… Which goes about as well as you might expect. Eventually, Marnie AND Reed have to step in to stop that asshole from practically raping Vail. The entire thing is gross. 

Vail then calls Ada, Trey’s werecat sister. She actually helps Vail, unlike her shitass brother. She also puts some healing magic into Vail so that when she shifts into a cat and then back into a human, her long-term wounds around her wrists will be fully healed. 

Chapter 10

“Okay. And what do the rules say about the Clan Luna in this situation?” 

Charlie’s dark eyes now crinkled with approval. “You’re a special case. Lunas are also allowed to observe.” 

Because it was their neck on the line, too. Like Reed had said, if Jasper died, I was the one Holland would kill next, since the last thing he wanted was the clan rallying around a grieving Luna.

Exactly why does she want to be there to not only potentially witness Jasper being murdered, but also for her death to be imminent and probably swift?

I have zero worries about this, though. Mainly because there’s 21 more chapters after this, and Jasper is listed as the POV character in probably half of them. 

“If she wants to go in, she goes through me.”

Chapter 10 summary: After Vail shifts and then transforms back, Marnie then runs off. Reed is forcefully putting Pearl into the back of a car. They’d been talking about how this guy had come back to re-challenge Jasper, and now it’s time. Vail and Marnie want to go too, so they end up going in a different car. 

They get there, where Jasper’s clan bodyguards and Marnie tell Vail that only she is allowed inside because she’s the clan Luna. However, the perk of being allowed to witness this fight is that if Jasper loses, the dude will turn around and immediately kill her. 

However, at the door, some unknown lady starts complaining that Vail is an omega, and shouldn’t be allowed in. Ugh. 

[pumpkin--carver]

I personally am not into HMA. However, I do highly suggest giving this a read. I skim read this one night for fun and ended up really liking the writing style. Not my scene, but seemed pretty good for anyone interested in the characters.

It's been 5 years since high school ended. Momo has since gone her separate ways in order to put all her time into taking over her families company no matter how much she detests her job. She only wants to make her mother and father proud.

Things change when she meets an old friend and she gets roped into the ungrounded music scene. Now she's faced with even more challenges to overcome. Will she continue down her current path or start a new exciting life for herself?

Alternative Universe: band AU and no quirks

Momo x Jirou and Toga x Uraraka focused

[toreadtowrite]

Someone who, through some divine intervention and after some Tragic Happenings, begins their life again because Magic, fully prepared for Indefinite Angst Hours, before realising that

All the Fun Fate Stuff happened in their late 20s, so they've got all those years to kill now and

They keep humming to things released after the current date because they have Zero Time Perception, and a couple melodies is acceptable but it gets suspicious when you start rapping the entirety of Guns and Ships before Hamilton's debut on the Broadway stage.

[loveforms]

“growing up?” she asked. “does this mean getting more attached to things you weren't before and becoming more emotional than you ever was?”

Help, Is this a good thing? hma.

[holeybubushka]

The author of 303 confirmed he wrote a ton of Talder flirtation that didn’t end in the script. Okay. That fits with the widespread speculation that Talder will not be made canon.

But why did he say there are plenty of episode to come? Plenty more episodes for the editors to cut Talder moments? I wish the writer didn’t say this because I would prefer no hope, thanks.

Also, I realize I am latching onto Talder mostly because this season is not that good. Some facets are excellent, but the whole timeline is on fastforward, where every interesting concept gets dropped as soon as it is introduced. And character moments are often left aside (Scylla the notable exception). So yes, I’m going to be invested in this silly ship cause the show doesn’t have a lot else going for it at the moment.

[historicalfightingguide]

“A post on my personal blog about the rather tangential topic of writing sword practice/training scenes in fiction. There's a link to the English version too near the beginning of the article.”

[hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis]

Secret Santa 2022 Announcement

Hey Everyone!

I’m sorry I haven’t been very active but I wanted to announce that we’d ( Ry @johnmurphyisqueer and I) like to see if anyone was interested in Secret Santa this year. The first time we ran a Secret Santa was 2020. Unfortunately last year, we didn’t have one, but we wanted to do one again this year. The requirements and content will be the same (i’ll reiterate below), fics, moodboards, etc. Again we will manually pair people together. 

The deadline to enter will be December 18 (2 weeks from when this is posted). You should receive your blog/name by December 20th through pms. If possible please post your content by December 31st, but it’s not a necessity. 

In order to do this we’ll require a minimum of 4-6 participants, based on the fandoms requested. 

Requirements for Entering

PLEASE COMENT/REBLOG ONLY ONCE WITH THIS INFO!

(If you have a different blog you’d like to have your Secret Santa tag/use then please comment that)

1) Choose one or more of these fandoms: The 100, Harry Potter or Marvel (we’re sorry we can’t have more but we’d like to make the pairing as smooth as possible so we don’t leave people without a Secret Santa)

These will also help us pair you, so you are paired with someone who knows the fandom.

2) Any preferred characters/ship, time era (mostly for HP), movie/show (for marvel).

Also list if you want/will write for smut, fluff, etc.

3) any other details you’d like to add!

Rules for final fanfic gifts:

1) Preferably 3k word limit (you’re welcome to write more though!)

2) no smut (unless requested)

As the secret Santa you can interact with your chosen person as you please, asks, post submissions, etc. but please do not reveal yourself before December 25/Christmas to keep the suspense! So if you’re interested please comment or reblog (with the tag #HMA 2022 Secret Santa) with the entry requirements and please tag anyone you think would be interested!

We will pair based on fandoms and we will make sure everyone gets someone!!

People who I think might be interested/past participants: @mystic-writings| @awkwardspontaneity | @alyssaforevermore | @the-young-and-forgotten | @slytherinbarnes | @mobi-on-a-mission | 

Please spread the word and tag anyone that may be interested! We would love to do this again

[vroomian]

Hey Vroomian. I found this cool fic you wrote a while back of a one shot of YRZ being stuffed in Heaven's Official Blessing. It was awesome, and if you weren't busy with other in-progress work, I would beg for that work to be expanded on later if the opportunity ever comes for you. But, I would like to ask a question for that AU. How did YRZ earn both of his god name titles, Humble Scholar Bows to Lotus and Blue Glass Sword Cuts the Heavens?

Unfortunately hmas is totally finished. I’ve tried several times to finish hob but I can’t. I don’t actually like the mc enough finish it. I know people say it gets better but that doesn’t stop it from being boring now. If I’m not loving it from the start I’m not gonna push through and I’m not interested in writing anything else for it.

I already did the whole backstory thing in previous asks.

[lostcauses-noregrets]

hey there! i wanna say thank you so much for ur fics and ur rec lists, they are literally the fuel thats keeping me going rn :') HMAS Maria is a work of art!! I was wondering if you would say Wild Type by merkase is worth reading even though it's a wip? sometimes unfinished fics end on awful cliffhangers and it doesn't look like the author is still updating :(

I don't think I've ever answered an ask so quickly! First of all thank you for your kind words about my fics and recs and HMS Maria ♡ And secondly YES I can absolutely recommend reading Wild-Type by @merkase. It's one of my all time favourite fics and I must have read it half a dozen times at least. Even though it's unfinished, it's a deeply satisfying read and it ends at a really touching point. Despite the fact that Levi is a dragon (!) the characterisation is spot on, the world building is extraordinary and the plot is really gripping. Added to which, the writing is a joy to read. I believe the author does have plans to finish the fic, as they post here periodically, but even as it stands it's one of the best fics in the fandom (imho) and definitely worth reading.

[popstarau]

popstar AU

  popstar au -

me: im gonna write my ww2 au tonight my brain: hahahah fuck you literally just a ridiculous Luca AU that popped into my head and wouldn’t stop

[4.3K words below the cut] 🤷‍♀️

PART 1

--

“So I’ve called in an old buddy of mine,” Isaac was telling him over an opulent breakfast in an opulent hotel Luca couldn’t remember the name of. He had lost track of the cities they travelled to, there were so many over the years. The only one constant in his life was Isaac. “Blake Ryan. He’s a pilot,” Isaac continued. “Finished his military service a few years back and he’s been looking for something to fill his time.”

Luca glanced at the webpage Isaac showed him. “Is that him?” he asked curiously. “He’s hot.”

Isaac snorted, pulling the tablet back towards himself. “A little too old for you, Luc.”

“What? How old is he?”

Isaac frowned and counted back on his fingers. “He’d be getting close to forty this year I’d say… no, wait, he’s thirty eight.”

“That’s not old,” Luca scoffed, waving a hand dismissively. “That’s only a few years younger than you.”

“Believe me when I tell you I feel every single one of those years when I’m with you,” Isaac told him dryly. He glanced back at the tablet’s screen and took a sip of his coffee. Luca wondered what specialty brew he had today. Isaac and his love of coffee was legendary. “But with the full schedule we have coming up with the tour, we need him.”

“Why? Can’t the agency just give us another pilot?”

“No, I want Ryan. He’ll be a damn sight more reliable than whatever the agency keep sending us. It’s not just him though. He comes with his own plane too. Actually, a small fleet of them.”

Luca chewed his cereal, impressed but then he frowned. “Can we afford that though?”

Isaac gave Luca an assessing look over the rim of his coffee cup, as though to check if Luca was merely teasing or if the question was legitimate. “Yes, Luca,” he said slowly. “We can afford it. You really don’t know how much you’re worth, do you?”

Luca shrugged and reached for another spoonful of sugar that had Isaac frowning. “It’s never been about the money. You know that.”

“I do. Put down the sugar.”

Luca’s spoon hovered over his bowl and he sighed, sliding the spoon back where it belonged. He missed those cute little sugar cubes they had in the UK. He would have been too fast for Isaac to stop him if he had one of those.

He stared down at his unsweetened and now soggy cereal. “Well, I trust you. If you say we need him, we need him.”

“I haven’t steered you wrong yet, have I?”

Luca meet Isaac’s dark eyes and his lips curved. “Nope, you’re a fine captain of this ship.”

That made Isaac laugh. “And what ship is that? HMAS Luca?”

“Hey, that’s got a nice ring to it,” Luca teased back. “So when do we I get to meet him? Your friend?”

“Later. He’ll be flying us to Paris.”

Luca glanced again at the tablet’s screen again. The pilot’s face looked back at him, cool and formal in his official portrait on the webpage. Luca’s interest was definitely piqued. “Cool.”

--

Luca hadn’t had a lot of boyfriends. Life on the road kept him too busy for any attempts at romance, and it was hard to trust anyone really liked him for him - and not just the buzz and fame that came with his success with his music.

First, there had been Saxon – a hard lesson learned that burned Luca badly. His star had almost burned out before it rose thanks to Saxon but Luca had funneled his hurt into some of his biggest hits. Then there had been Ben, a sweet roadie Luca thought he might have been able to have something special with but he had spooked too easily and the whole relationship had fizzled before it even begun.

For all his music and songs about love and romance, there was precious little of it in Luca’s life.

The pilot was waiting for them in the hangar, dark glasses over his eyes to block out the harsh sunlight leaking in through the open doors and glinting off the private luxury jet behind him. The plane was elegant, state of the art, a shield and a coat of arms adoring the tail wing in shades of blue and green and hints of yellow but it wasn’t really the plane caught kept Luca’s attention.

For as hot as the pilot had looked in his profile photo on Isaac’s tablet, the reality didn’t do him an ounce of justice, Luca realized with a swallow.

Blake Ryan looked older in person than Luca had expected, but his lines only added to his air of rugged experience. He held himself with unmistakable self-confidence, a man who knew what he was about and cared little about what others thought. He had a dark red beard that Luca had the sudden, unmistakable and desperate urge to touch to see if it was as soft as it looked and a single shock of silver hair, bright on one side and flopped over to catch the sun. Blake Ryan wasn’t tall like Isaac, average height but still taller than Luca’s lithe frame. He stood waiting for them in a classic white and black pilot’s uniform and his black pants clung to his thighs and ass enough that Luca had to mentally remind himself not to fucking stare.

Isaac introduced them and walked away to answer the insistent bell of his phone. Luca struggled to speak when the pilot took his glasses off, revealing the most piercing blue eyes Luca had ever seen.

Ryan held out a hand and Luca took it.

For a heartbeat he was frozen in place, blood rushed in his ears and he swore he heard the echo of voices - then he fell back into the moment with a jolt.

“Uh. Oh, um,” he said stupidly, still dazed. “Hi. I’m Luca.”

There was a twitch around the pilot’s mouth. “I ken. I’ve heard ye music.”

“Oh,” Luca flushed, noting somewhere distant that the pilot’s accent was Scottish and he needed to hear more of it before his thoughts snapped back and he wondered if the pilot liked his stuff, or if he considered Luca’s art just more manufactured teeny bopper madness. He wanted Ryan to like it, he realized. He couldn’t understand why it meant so much that he did when Luca had long since accepted he couldn’t please everyone, but it did. But Luca wasn’t game to ask.

Isaac strode back over, tucking his phone back into his pocket and giving Luca and Ryan’s still joined hands a hard glance.

“Ryan,” he snapped abruptly. “Have you lodged the flight plans? We need to be in Paris by midnight.”

“Aye,” Ryan released Luca’s hand then, a slow uncurling of his fingers that only made Isaac frown harder. Luca looked down, startled to realize he hadn’t let go, that he didn’t want to let go but forcing himself to do so. He released Ryan stepped back quickly.

Ryan winked at Luca. “It’s been twenty years and he still likes te boss me about.”

“I have to boss you about, or nothing would get done,” Isaac said with exasperated irritably. Ryan tossed his head back and laughed.

“Oh, is that so mo charaid? So why did you wannae hire me then? It’s because you missed my pretty face? Or my sparklin’ wit, aye?”

Isaac chuckled and Luca watched fascinated to see the tension ease and roll off Isaac’s shoulders, however briefly at Ryan’s teasing. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it was. Come on, let’s get this show on the road. Get those preflight checks happening.”

“Yes, sir,” Ryan mocked, in a perfect imitation of Isaac’s accent and making Luca giggle.

The pilot headed towards the plane, spinning around after a few meters to walk backwards as he called out to Luca. Luca was almost sorry to miss out on the perfect view of his ass in those pants, except what he called out to Luca was better.

“If ye bored in the cabin, feel free to come sit up front with me, lad. I’ll be sure to show you a thing or two.”

He flashed Luca another grin, brash and brave, and more than a little cocky as he slipped his dark glasses back over his eyes and turned back to walk out onto the tarmac.

Luca almost swooned.

“Oh my god,” he whispered but quickly covered it under a cough when he felt Isaac’s narrowed look on him.

“Something in your throat, Luca?” Isaac asked mildly.

“Um. No. Not at all.”

“Good. Because we have less than twenty four hours before you’re back on stage.” Isaac started to walk off. “Can’t have any distractions now, can we?”

Luca scurried off after him.

--

The flight was uneventful in the way most private flights were. Uneventful and lonely and Luca was mostly bored, staring out into the blue sky outside his window, watching the puffs of white roll by under the jet’s wing. He was only half listening to Isaac as he went over the list of Luca’s upcoming media commitments, photoshoots and meetings. It was exhausting. The same grind in every city, the same inane questions and digging for dirt over and over. No one had told him when he started writing songs in his bedroom and playing them for his foster dad that there would be so much non-music involved. He was grateful for Isaac to take the brunt of the day to day management and it had been Isaac who had posted his first video on the web. It had all taken off from there. He led a charmed life – how many other twenty one year olds could say they’d travelled to the places he’d been or, or amassed the fanbase he had or the credits in the bank? But sometimes Luca felt guilty. All he had wanted was to play his music and maybe see some of the world while there was still something to see.

And maybe it would be fun to see it with someone who mattered… his person. If they even existed.

His mind wandered in circles as the melancholy ache in his chest grew louder. This thoughts drifted towards the front of the plane, towards the cockpit and Luca allowed himself a rare indulgence to think about something other than his career or what was expected of him.

Suddenly, the pilot’s offer to sit with him seemed like the most interesting thing in his life.

Isaac’s voice cut through his thoughts. “You’re not listening to a single word I’m saying, are you?”

Luca sat up but looked down at his feet sheepishly. “Um. No. Sorry. Can we pick this up later? We still have ages to go and… My brain is kinda tired.”

Isaac’s expression softened. “Sure, Luc. I suppose none of this is going anywhere. I might go catch some shut eye myself. You’ll be alright out here?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Might just play a video game or something on my phone.”

“When are you going to let me get you an upgrade on one of those things,” Isaac shook his head as Luca pulled out his trusty old phone in its garish blue camo case. It was a few years old, and definitely not the most up to date and hip thing out there, but the phone contained all the most important bits of his life that wasn’t his guitar or his father – photos, notes, videos – all his three am scribbles and half rambled thoughts. It was all on his trusty old unit.

“Look, Nebo does me just fine, thanks, Dad.”

“Why can’t you be a normal teenager and hassle me for the latest tech and upgrades? You know Kio was at me again this morning for the newest model gaming rig. Six calls, Luca. He called me six times just while I was having a shower.”

“Must have been a long shower,” Luca joked. Isaac’s face twisted in a held back laugh.

“No, it was not.”

“Did you give it to him though?”

Isaac sighed dramatically, like he’d sacrificed more than a few keystrokes and half his sanity to boot. “I send him the codes for the credit chits.”

“Good,” Luca said happily as he wriggled down in his plush seat. “He’ll love that. And I like looking out for him.”

“You’re a good kid, Luc. You sure you’ll be okay?”

Luca rolled his eyes. “Yes, dad. I’ll be fine. Where am I gonna go?”

“Stay off the wing,” Isaac teased, gathering up his tablet and his jacket as he climbed to his feet. “And don’t talk to strangers. Call me when you get there-“

Luca cackled. “Yes, Dad,” he sang out around his grin.

Isaac paused, looking down at Luca with dark eyes that suddenly grew soft. “You know, I love it when you call me that, kiddo,” he said quietly. He squeezed Luca’s shoulder as he moved passed him towards the back of the plane. He soon slipped into one of the plane’s cabins.

Luca looked out the window again, watching the clouds, his phone still dark and dull in his hands. Then he glanced towards the front of the plane.

His feet were moving before he had a chance to talk himself out of it.

--

The cockpit was quiet when Luca appeared in the doorway, rapping gently on the frame. The pilot glanced over his shoulder, smiled in greeting and gestured silently at the co-pilot chair for Luca to take a seat.

Ryan wasn’t wearing his sunglasses now, and Luca was once again struck by the blue of his eyes when he turned to face him. They felt familiar somehow, like maybe they had met once before but he was sure he would remember eyes like that if they had.

Luca slunk in and sat down nervously.

“Um, hi. You said I could come up here and…”

Luca shrugged, trying to be casual but suddenly feeling anything but. His face felt hot and he was sure his cheeks were red under his brown skin.

Ryan gave him a wry glance as he turned back to the controls. There were so many buttons and dials and screens Luca was terrified to touch anything. He sat on his hands lest he accidently knock the stick and sent the plane crashing into a nose dive.

“That won’t happen,” Ryan assured him with a chuckle when he said as much. “I won’t let us crash.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Luca said back weakly. Ryan glanced at him again, but this time their gazes stuck and held.

Those eyes again, the curve of his mouth. There was something there that tickled the very edges of Luca’s mind.

“Have we met before?” he suddenly blurted.

“No, lad. I think I would remember meeting someone as bright and as bonnie as ye.”

Luca flushed at the way Ryan smiled at him. His gaze refused to let him go.

“I’d remember you,” he said confidently, then found himself flushing harder with embarrassment. “I mean, I would, uh- because, you’re… uh, your eyes-“

“I’m flattered, lad.”

The tone he used to say it in was low and Luca swore it held a promise of something he couldn’t quite place. Something just out of reach that made him think of his music, like when he was on the cusp of discovering that perfect melody, the missing piece that made all his music fall together in a tune people couldn’t get out of their heads.

Luca opened his mouth to speak just as something beeped on one of the multitude of screens in front of them. Alarmed, Luca sat up and the spell was broken, leaving Luca with the tang of disappointment in his mouth and not entirely sure why.

Ryan turned back to his instruments as Luca fretted beside him.

“What is that? Why is it beeping?”

“Nuthin’ to worry about,” Ryan said soothingly. He slid Luca a small smirk. “Dinnae tell me you’re a nervous flier now, boy?”

“No,” Luca scoffed, vaguely affronted by the thought. “But I’ve always been curious. Actually… I’ve always wanted to learn,” he admitted self-consciously.

“Ah, did ye now?” The pilot eyed him with new appreciation and Luca had the absurd impulse to preen. He wanted Ryan to look at him like that again. Luca wondered what the pilot’s voice would sound like crooning soft praise into Luca’s ear.

He pushed the thought aside quickly.

“So, um, what do I call you?” he asked instead. “Mr Ryan? Blake? Flyboy?”

Ryan laughed at the last one and Luca grinned. “Just Ryan will do, lad. No one uses my first name.”

“Isaac said you’re kinda sensitive about it,” Luca supplied helpfully. “Three first names and all.”

“He told ye that? That numpty bastard.” It was said with enough humor that Luca laughed along with him, surprised to realise he felt at ease with Ryan already. And he rarely felt at ease with anyone so quickly. He never knew what they really wanted from him but Ryan was an old friend of Isaac’s and Luca felt instinctively that he was safe.

Ryan had good energy, Luca decided.

“Ryan, huh?” Luca tasted it on his tongue. He liked it. He liked him. “Okay. But you have to call me Luca. The last guy insisted on calling me Mr Moreno and it made me feel like my dad and it was sooo not cool.”

Ryan held his gaze, not laughing the way Luca expected him too. His own wild grin faded as he fell into the look Ryan was giving him. It felt heavy, but in a way Luca suddenly wished he could explore on more than just on a surface level.

There was a pull, a tiny tug, somewhere deep inside him.

“Luca,” Ryan said softly, not breaking eye contact.

Luca had never liked the sound of his own name more than he did in that moment.

--

The worst part about touring was the frantic pace.

So many different venues, so many different hotel rooms in different countries, so many time zones. There were days Luca woke up, blinking into the light flashing from his alarm clock and hating the way his phone buzzed and jumped across the bedside table. Isaac had a habit of placing it just out of reach after he had fallen asleep, far enough away that Luca had no choice but to get up to shut the damn thing off and by that point he was up and irritated he didn’t feel like going back to bed anyway.

It was all part of Isaac’s devious plan to keep him on track.

He swung out of bed and freshened up in the bathroom, staring at his face blearily in the wide, unforgiving mirror above the sink. Sometimes he looked at himself and didn’t know who it was looking back at him. Some days he looked at himself and wondered when it was all going to come crashing down, when would the world wake up and realise he wasn’t worthy of all the attention and the credits thrown at him, he was just some kid from the lower wards that got lucky, living a life that was never really meant for him.

And some days he looked at himself and wondered when would it be his turn to experience all the things he wrote about in his songs. A love as deep and as wide as the ocean. A love that boomed as loudly as thunder.

He ran a hand through his dark curls and sighed, knowing if he spent too much longer in the bathroom, Isaac would come in after him and haul him out by his ear if he had to. Isaac was his adopted father, but he was Luca’s manager too and he already knew he had a full schedule today. Meetings, signings, photoshoots, rehearsals, sound checks and training – there was plenty to keep him too busy to feel lonely.

He was surprised to find Isaac wasn’t alone when he stepped out of his room. The hotel suite’s breakfast laden mahogany table overlooked the city streets below. In the distance, Luca caught a glimpse of the white sails of the opera house and the iconic bridge, both local landmarks.

“’Mornin’,” Ryan said to him warmly, eyes glittering over the rim of his mug as Luca slipped into his seat beside Isaac and opposite the pilot. Luca’s heart leapt with an unexpected thrill to see him, although he wished he’d tided his hair a little better.

He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously as Isaac peered over at him. He had his dark rimmed glasses on today. “How did you sleep kiddo?”

“Okay, I guess,” Luca shrugged and reached for one of the sweet pastries laid out on the table. The amount of food for three people was obscene – plates piled high with fresh fruit and cereal, cold meats and cheeses, bread and sweet things, even bacon and scrambled eggs like what Isaac had in front of him.

Isaac lifted a stern eyebrow at Luca’s slow reach. “No.”

“What?” Luca protested feebly, eying the plate of pastries in front of him with obvious longing. His trainer had him on a strict eating plan Luca was convinced only purpose of it was to suck the joy out of life. “Not even one?”

“Not until you eat your fruit. Then still no.”

Luca groaned and poked at the bowl of fruit Isaac shoved in front of him. ��Why are they even here then?”

Isaac plucked one of the pastries off the tray plate. He gave Luca a grin as he took a bite and Luca whimpered sadly. “I’m not the one on an eating plan.”

“That’s so mean,” Luca pouted. “Tell him, Ry. It’s so mean, isn’t it?”

Ryan’s answer was a chuckle behind his coffee cup. Luca didn’t see the slight narrowing of Isaac’s eye at the shortening of the pilot’s name or the speculation it reflected. He brushed it off quickly, flashing Luca a smug grin.

“Ah, that’s the price of fame and fortune, kiddo.”

“So mean,” Luca muttered, sighing into his slices of melon and trying not to gag on his protein drink.

--

Two days later, somewhere over the pacific, Luca slid into the cockpit once again. Ryan said nothing but nodded to the small white box sitting on the co-pilot seat.

“Pastries,” Luca whispered reverently as he carefully opened the box. The smell of powdered sugar and cinnamon made his mouth water. “Oh my god? You… you got these for me?”

“Dinnae seem fair for ye to miss out.”

Luca smiled gratefully in Ryan’s direction, already eagerly reaching for one of the sweet treats.

“Oh,” he said, his face suddenly falling and his hand frozen in mid-air. He thought about the barks of his trainer and the eating plan he was supposed to follow. It didn’t allow carbs. Or sugar. Definitely no carbs and these pastries were almost all carbs. In fact, they were nothing but carbs and sugar – tiny pockets of heaven Luca wasn’t allowed to have.

He lowered them to his lap sadly. “I… I can’t. I have this… coming up, a photoshoot and a movie thing and I have to… I can’t. My trainer would kill me.”

Ryan turned to him, his expression hard and fierce as he reached out to take one of Luca’s hands. Ink across the back of his knuckles drew Luca’s eye to their joined palms and he didn’t stop to think as he linked their fingers.

“Ye’re beautiful,” Ryan told him, his voice a harsh whisper. He caught Luca’s gaze with his, held it until Luca was lost in it. “Dun let anyone tell you otherwise. And if ye were my boy, I’d tell ye that every day so you never ever forgot it.”

Ryan released him to sit back in his seat, once again turning his attention back to the flight controls, leaving Luca to blink and wonder if he had just imagined what had just happened. Was it real? Or some fantasy his sugar and carb deprived and contact starved mind could conjure up?

Luca looked out at the clouds outside and ate his pastry.

--

The words haunted him.

They played on a loop in Luca’s brain until he was sure he was going to go crazy with it. They made his blood hot, his knees weak, and Luca couldn’t stop thinking about what ever door inside him that had unlocked with the heavy way they had been uttered.

He stood under the spray of the water and tried to remember the exact tone and timbre of the pilot’s voice as he closed his eyes and stroked himself. He tried to remember the exact shade of blue, the way his mouth curved behind his beard, the deep lines against his forehead as he frowned. He tried to replay the entire moment, but it was just one part that he kept getting stuck on. One split second he wanted to live in forever.

…my boy…

Luca moaned as the ecstatic release washed over him and he splashed against the wall of the shower with the memory of those words echoing through his brain. Weak and spent, he laid a hand against the glass, pressed his wet curls against it and tried not to think about the fact he just jerked off to lewd thoughts of his father’s friend at best and technically a contracted employee at worst. The levels of inappropriateness were sky high, yet he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

He let the water run over him a bit longer, hoping it would wash away his shame as much as it washed away the remains of his jizz.

Later, he wouldn’t be able to look Ryan in the eye.

[mallowstep]

The fact that Reedpaw bit Tigerstar is fucking hilarious to me, ngl. Like...damn. it's a hilarious what if weird dream the other anon had.

i mean all of the misty au is a weird dream. the first part is a fever dream (semi-literal in that iirc i was sick when i first came up with it? not first talked about it publicly, just first thought of it), the human au is a thing i thought before i went to sleep which means i put so much elbow grease into warping it into something coherent (things i think before i fall asleep are some of the only visual things i think and like yeah i know exactly what a lot of their house looks like, have pictured bedroom doors and space and can see exactly what featherpaw is wearing and i also don't know what color her hair is), so their migraine medication induced dream fits right in.

i saw reedpaw bit tigerstar's ear and went with it. i rolled. i rolled so hard.

(also because writing that little thing with mistyfoot kissing reedpaw on the forehead made me feel soft and warm inside.)

like legitimately it was a good scene. i don't think i ever wrote up feathertail and tigerstar's interaction? he comes to parent's weekend at hawkfrost's college and mills around until he runs into them and it's. bad.

(feathertail doesn't have a restraining order on him in hma -- human misty au -- canon, i just needed

well actually if i wasn't trying to focus on the lighter parts of the scene, tigerstar would have in some way made physical contact with feathertail which would have been. um. bad for her. very bad for her.

and for him.

like she would have said something that provoked him and he would have, out of habit, almost, reached out to grab her chin. think his fingers would get as far as brushing her face before stonefur decked him.

the end result of all of this is stormheart trying to talk to the police officers while waiting for mistyfoot while feathertail is having a panic attack and there are four confused and terrified children. it's. uh. a mess. he's very thankful when mistyfoot arrives.

mistyfoot's current first priority is: feathertail is having a panic attack which is matthew shorthand for ptsd related trauma flashbacks and such, but you know. she's also another adult who can be like no yeah tigerstar is definitely in the wrong.

i'm not sure how it plays out from there, except.

mistyfoot pulls into tigerstar's driveway. she's seen photos of his house, but never been close to it, and she's surprised by the gravel driveway. he didn't seem like the type.

when she got a text from stormheart, she didn't expect to see both stonefur and tigerstar in handcuffs.

stormheart catches her eye. "feathertail is..." he shakes his head slightly. mistyfoot nods, and follows his gaze, walking behind their van, where feathertail is sitting on the ground. all four of the kids are sitting with her, but they look up at mistyfoot, scared and confused.

"why don't you take reedpaw to my car?" she says, and they take the hint and scatter. that, or they're just excited she's letting them in it. that, or they realize the severity of the situation.

mistyfoot sits next to feathertail, and pulls her into her lap.

yeah that angst. could expand on it. also at some point they have a conversation to the effect of "i'm nearly 30, i shouldn't feel like this," and mistyfoot is like "right that's not how this works" because at some point she has to leave feathertail and

"stonefur attacked tigerstar," the officer reads off, "unprovoked."

"it was provoked," stonefur and stormheart say in unison.

"i didn't do anything wrong," tigerstar says, and mistyfoot tries to ignore the way his voice makes her want to freeze in her tracks. "i just wanted to brush a bug off her, and next thing i know, that brute is clobbering me."

"i hit him once," stonefur says. "guess it was enough."

don't make this worse, mistyfoot pleads, because she knows tigerstar is watching her.)

okay i am falling asleep here but you get the idea. right in canon it's just hawkfrost and feathertail and tigerstar and while hawkffrost has the closest thing to a positive relationship with tigerstar, this is a blatant disregard of their terms of engagement. keep the rest of hawkfrost's family out of it, especially feathertail. don't say her name, don't ask, don't even think about her.

following them to parents' weekend is definitely in violation of that. hawkfrost can meet tigerstar's eyes without looking up.

uh. falling asleep yeah goodnight if y'all want to hear more about that let me know