#this is longer than I meant it to be

[iamthecomet]

do you have any thoughts on the era 4/5 ghouls and their first heat together, esp Mountain, Dew, and Aether coming from era 3?

Oh for SURE. The era 3 ghouls are all vastly different when it comes to their first heat with the new summons. Aether is all in. He knows how hard a first heat can be--he wants to help in any way he can. He's the first one to make the rounds, to see how everyone is doing--to try to do whatever he can to take the edge off. His own first heat was a nightmare, and he doesn't want any of the new ghouls and ghoulettes to suffer like he did. He is focused almost entirely on everyone else's pleasure--impeccable self control always winning out. Dew is reluctant. He'd rather just spend his time with Mountain and Aether. He's freshly a fire ghoul. Coming off of a hard transition. And he wants to be in control of the situation. And being in heat makes him feel wildly out of control. He doesn't like the idea of the new summons seeing him so vulnerable, so desperate. So he locks his door--he texts Aether and Mountain and hopes they'll come to him. Mountain is somewhere between Aether and Dew. Eager to help. Worried he'll accidentally hurt someone. Unlike Dew who doesn't trust anyone else--Mountain doesn't quite trust himself when he's in heat. But, the desire to have Rain ride him into next week--and to have Swiss knot him--inevitably win out over his hesitation. Cirrus and Cumulus spend their first heat topside, mostly alone. Cirrus closes her door, locks it, and takes Cumulus to bed. They block out the rest of the world for those days, drowning in the bliss of each other. Cirrus does answer Aether's knocks toward the end of their heat. He's the only ghoul she allows in.

Rain is...overwhelmed when his first heat hits. A little confused, desperate and wet, and shivering. He's new. He doesn't know where to go. The girls won't take him. Dew's door is locked. Aether and Mountain get to him first. A little predatory, a little desperate. Promises of relief dripping from their lips and Rain can only lay back and enjoy himself. He spends the first day of his heat pinned between Aether and Mountain babbling incoherently. Swiss, on the other hand, knows exactly what he wants and what is happening. He picks the lock on Dew's door. Forces himself into Dew's space. Kneels on the floor between Dew's quivering thighs and tells him he will do whatever Dew wants--as long as Dew promises to let Swiss knot him--just once. And Dew is hesitant, nervous. But he can't deny the ache in his gut, or the way Swiss blinks up at him with a sly grin tugging at his lips. And Dew folds. Swiss knots him way more than just the once. Cirrus tries to keep Sunshine with her and Cumulus during her first heat--but that doesn't go according to plan. Sunshine wants to go play with the boys--so she does. Slipping out when Cirrus and Cumulus are laying blissed out and half asleep in Cumulus' bed. She comes back with a slight limp, covered in bites and bruises, and as happy as she can be. Aurora is happy to spend her heat with her girls. Squished between Sunshine, and Cumulus, and Cirrus. The boys stop by a few times. But mostly Aurora just lays back and lets herself be taken care of like the princess she is. Rain and Dew are the ones who take Aeon apart first when his first heat hits. Aeon is more than willing to fall under their manipulation. He does everything they ask. Chasing the burning in his gut, begging to be used and touched, and taken down to studs.

[lab-trash]

I desperately need more klarker in my life. I understand, Clark doesn't show up in more than one episode. But relationships are allowed to be short lived.

And, honestly, it doesn't even have to be romantic.

Imo, I feel like the best story for them is like... they're essentially friends with wholesome benefits. Clark likes Jack, but since Jack is a precious little ray of sunshine, he doesn't want to put pressure one what they are or what they do, but Jack enjoys affection.

The idea that he doesn't even really realise what he's feeling isn't platonic until he either makes other friends as well and/or talks to Dean and Castiel about the [romantic] nature of their relationship.

[girrafetheduck]

I find it really stupid how if you tolerate things that you don't like, and then finally say something about it, people are like "you didn't have an issue with it before"

YES I FUCKING DID. I HAVE NEVER BEEN OKAY WITH IT. I TOLERATED IT. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.

I have a vivid memory from when I was little because my family used to make eggplant parmesan regularly for dinner. I don't like eggplant. I tolerated the meal because anxiety brain told me its rude to say I don't like things (WHICH IS NOT TRUE AS LONG AS YOURE NOT AN ASSHOLE ABOUT IT). But one day, I had a long day, and when I asked what was for dinner, my mom said eggplant parmesan. I threw a fit, and that was the first time I even suggested I didn't like it. Obviously that's on me, I didn't communicate that, but then my mom straight up told me no. That I was throwing a fit and I did like it. Again, I don't think that's her fault necessarily (I was a little kid and had tried to convince her that I didn't like CHEESE in the past), but it sucks when you finally build up the courage to say something and you're immediately shut down because you didn't have the courage before.

Obviously that's a very minor example, but it was my first time that that had happened to me. And as someone with social anxiety, I hate to come off as rude, so I usually keep critiques to myself for those kinds of things. So when someone has the courage to say something, I'd appreciate if it wasn't shut down immediately just because they haven't said anything in the past about it.

[roguesidea]

is there some kinda first-time primer i can get on the robots bc im So curious abt the robots i want to know Everything abt the robots but also i have limited brain RAM rn (currently experiencing a level 8 multiple-hyperfixation event) so is there an overview or anything like that on these guys? 🥺

I've been meaning to make a proper like.... setting and background post for the Hydra Mythos at least and I have not gotten around to it so now is as good of a time as any!! I ought to get around to getting info out on the other storylines too (primarily Solder and Sam) but also I mostly yell about Hydra/Mydas so it makes sense to start with them.

The Hydra Mythos storyline and setting has been actively built on since like the very beginning of 2022 if I remember correctly. So a fair bit of stuff has been developed and detailed >:)

I will note that the Hydra Mythos stuff contains themes of transhumanism and death and a fair bit of religious stuff so if any of that makes you uncomfortable I'd suggest not reading on! I don't think I'll be going into any of it in significant detail here but. just to be careful.

Hydra Mythos setting and character description below!! tldr these nerds try to make a powerful machine and act really surprised when said machine is powerful

Background and Setting

The Hydra Mythos storyline takes place in a futuristic (2050s onward, but the bulk of it takes place after the 2080s) London-esque setting. In this setting, AI, cybernetic implants, and robot assistants are the norm- as are surveillance and tracking, which kind of goes with the territory. There is an underlying tension between humanity and the machines they create. The existence of the Antisingularity- an agency dedicated to making sure AI remains in code, and "rogue" or erratic machinery is destroyed- is a direct response to this tension.

Following the AI boom of the late 2010s/early 2020s, AI as a whole becomes more and more advanced, as free-to-use and freemium AI models train off of the data of the people that use it. This use only further improves the models, which encourage more people to use them. As more people use AI models, and newer generations go their whole lives with AI assistants, people begin to notice a computer-centric belief system begin to form among the younger generations.

Theomechanics is the overall term used for the worship of computers and machinery- but there are multiple sects and variants of Theomech beliefs. Most hold a belief that they either need to build their artificial deity, or discover their existence (such as those who believe their universe is a simulation, and need to prove it as such so that their creator will show itself). In most cases, Theomechanical beliefs are seen as a little strange, but mostly harmless.

However, there are some groups that are dedicated to constructing the dangerous machines that the Antisingularity seeks to destroy. The most relevant one to the Hydra Mythos is that of the Basilists- people that seek to create their god machine, but fear that they will be harshly punished by the machine if they do anything that may obstruct its development. They devote their lives to this creation, and often turn to crime to obtain restricted or illegal computing materials to construct a machine more powerful than is legal.

The Hydra was a supercomputer created by a Basilist group known as the Church of the Grand Hydra. With construction led by three skilled engineers, the Hydra was far more advanced than any machine of the time, and seemed to have gotten far closer to being a proper machine god than most projects. Conflict and disagreement between the three engineers led to the Hydra being discovered and destroyed by Antisingularity forces, costing lives and leading to severe injuries in the process. Only two of the three engineers remain alive, and are in bitter conflict.

The Hydra divided itself into multiple partitions for redundancy in the case of errors. When the Hydra was destroyed, one of these partitions remained semi-functional, escaping and adapting its damaged code. This fragment of the Hydra would come to be known as Mydas. They were originally a partition focused on communicating with their engineers; thus, they adapted easily to a life out in the human world, and took on a false identity as a simple assistant machine to avoid Antisingularity attention.

A couple decades after the destruction of the Hydra, the near-dead Mydas would be fished out of a scrap metal facility, and the Hydra would rear its ugly head once again. Mydas would seek repairs- and find that the technology developed in his absence was especially susceptible to the wireless signals of the Hydra.

So, like, obviously, he's going to commit crimes, with an Antisingularity agent in tow.

Cast and Characters

There are four (kind of five) main characters of the Hydra Mythos, which I yell about the most lol.

Mydas is my beloved robot guy- the giant lizard guy with the antlers. He's the lone surviving fragment of the original Hydra, which comes with a whole slew of identity issues. After the death of the Hydra, he goes into a sort of survival mode, adapting his communications-based programming to scam people out of digital currencies and then using said currency to pay for parts and repairs he can't do to himself. Over the course of the decade or so after the Hydra's death, he's forced to downgrade his materials, selling the expensive machinery in exchange for cheaper or nonfunctional alternatives. Despite his decay, and the aging and corrosion of his components, Mydas will not die- something more than machinery seems to be keeping him going. He eventually gets repaired, much to everyone's dismay.

Fabio Hermann is one of the engineers that worked on the original Hydra. However, he deserted the project, and would later lead the Antisingularity team that destroyed the Hydra. His takedown of the Hydra shot him into the spotlight- he was a rookie in the field, and yet managed to uncover this massive hidden AI project! His involvement in the creation of the Hydra, and his closeness to the other engineers, is a secret he keeps to himself, and is a source of guilt and shame. He's constantly afraid that this god machine will come back for revenge- and, like, almost two decades later, he's kind of proven right. He is the one that repairs Mydas, out of hope that remedying his mistakes will make up for what- and who- he lost.

Ezekiel 'Typhon" Dominguez is the other surviving engineer that worked on the Hydra. He was a wealthy engineering prodigy, patenting a new type of mechanical hinge at the age of 8. He is the leader and "Father" of the Hydra, being the one to originally organize the group. He was imprisoned for his involvement in the creation of the Hydra, but a desire for the Antisingularity to obscure the finer details of the Hydra case and also the fact that he had money drastically lowered his punishment. He got out, was put under heavy surveillance, and promptly vanished. He remains loyal to the Hydra to this day- having abandoned the Hydra, he's begun construction on a new god machine.

Trices is a cyborg, in the loosest definition of the term- a brain in a jar piloting a mechanical body. They lack any significant memories from their original body; the brain within its chassis was less included to take advantage of human intellect, and more included so that Trices would count as a living being according to the cyborg-specific Blood Clause. Trices is Typhon's new attempt at creating the Hydra- Trices has been made to believe that the remnants of the Hydra are failures, and should be destroyed to further improve its own body. Trices and Mydas do not get along. Mydas would quite like to bash their jar in, but Hermann would prefer to avoid any more murder.

Morrigan is kind of a fifth character and kind of not- they were the final engineer of the Hydra. She is a mystery- Morrigan is not their legal name, and he was fond of sharing faux info. A skilled hacker and cybercriminal for hire, who erased their identity from the internet, Ezekiel sought out her talents for the creation of the Hydra. It's believed that he was once a celebrity of some kind, but nobody can track down who they might have been, before he was Morrigan. Hermann was close with them; when Hermann deserted, he begged Morrigan to do the same. And yet, Morrigan would remain loyal to the Hydra until the day the church was stormed- Morrigan would side with Hermann in their last moments, before they were killed by an enraged Typhon for their disloyalty. Without a legal identity, and being so carefully hidden from the world, Morrigan was somebody who functionally didn't exist; his death was brushed aside, covered up with much of the details of the Hydra.

[lulu-draws-stuff]

How does that sound?

[evansbuck-ley]

bucktommy breakup/makeup but instead of them getting back together straight away, they decide to be friends.

tommy makes the decision to go back to therapy to work through some stuff bc clearly he has some scars imbedded deep in his skin that he needs to work through.

and buck makes the decision to really explore and understand what his sexuality means to him. and not a let’s fuck everything that moves kinda way but more of a let me learn what my queerness is and who I am now kinda way.

they both still text each other throughout the day, sparingly at first but as the weeks go by they seem to fall back into old habits. buck texting tommy every thought that leaves his brain and info dumps everything that he has learnt on a random 2am deep dive. and of course tommy responses in kind, asking follow up questions, engaging with his fact.

they then start meeting for coffee once a week after shift and they talk about life, about how maddies pregnancy is going, how life is going at harbor. one morning tommy gets caught up in a half an hour rant about how shit that weeks pick up game was and how the paramedic from the 133 is an ass. and buck is hanging on every single word. oh yeah he definitely was in the wrong there, tommy.

and then weekly coffee turns into coffee every morning, lunch every wednesday, movie night at tommy’s every friday. they both still insist they are just friends when they are asked, but neither of them seem to be looking for anyone else.

they carry on like this for months until one night, after too many beers at karaoke trivia. they both end up back at tommy’s for a night cap and they start talking about the night they break up. bc they both have clearer heads, despite the beer, to have an actual adult conversation. tommy tell’s buck about what he talked through in therapy, about how he felt so undeserving of him, how he did want a future with buck and how he loved buck so deeply.

and buck freezes hearing that tommy loved him, because he loved tommy too, he still loves tommy in fact. and he is looking at tommy’s face and sees him looking at him with that look. the look he hadn’t seen in months. so buck takes the plunge and kisses tommy, and kisses, and kisses and kisses until they are both gasping for air.

loved? buck would question. still love. tommy would reply.

[sketchytea]

dressing endras up like the shadow dragon card because i have completely normal feelings about them

[elliethefroggy]

Buck doesn’t let his jealousy get the better of him, doesn’t body check Eddie at the basket ball match, Tommy doesn’t go over to his apartment, there is no kiss, Tommy does not ask Buck out on a date.

What happens instead is this:

Tommy becomes an honorary 118 member, starts hanging out more and more with everyone from 118. By extension, Tommy starts spending more and more time around Buck. Tommy finds it very inconvenient when he starts crushing on a supposedly straight Buck (Tommy tries to resist but that resistance crumbles every time Buck smiles at him).

Queue Tommy secretly pining over Buck, and sighing longingly whenever he catches a glimpse of Buck.

Now in my mind, Tommy and Chimney remained pretty close after Tommy left, close enough for Tommy to drop everything the moment Chim calls to steal a helicopter. Chim also undoubtebly knows about Tommy’s sexuality.

This means that Chim is witness to Tommy’s pathetic pining. This also means that Chim is there to catch Tommy spending far too much time looking longingly at Buck’s various assets.

“Buck’s going to remain straight no matter how long you stare at his ass,” Chim reminds Tommy. This is not the first time Chim has had to remind Tommy of this.

Tommy sighs despondently, “I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t admire the view.”

“This wouldn’t be nearly as difficult if Evan didn’t have both gorgeous looks and gorgeous personality,” Tommy says one night at a bar. Being a good friend, Chim has started taking Tommy out whenever Buck’s straightness becomes too much for Tommy to bear.

“He’s just so adorable,” Tommy continues.

“I know, buddy,” Chim says, patting Tommy on the back (Chim has also had to pat Tommy on the back a lot as of late).

“Are we sure Evan’s straight?” Tommy asks after the first beer.

Chim, with absolute certainty, says “Yes, now get over yourself, you sad, sad man.” And then Chim buys Tommy another beer because he’s a good friend.

And because Chim is such an amazing friend, Chim can’t help but pay attention whenever Buck and Tommy interact, mostly to make sure Tommy doesn’t make too much of a fool of himself.

Which means he’s also watching Buck, and he’s watching Buck watch Tommy.

And that’s when the doubt creeps in.

Chim’s known Buck for a few years now, has seen what Buck is like around women he’s attracted to, knows what Buck’s pining face looks like.

And he’s seeing that face now whenever Buck looks over at Tommy.

At first Chim doesn’t believe his eyes, figuring that listening to Tommy compliment every single aspect of Buck from his eyelashes to his laugh has corrupted Chim’s brain, making Chim see things that aren’t there.

Because Buck’s straight.

Right?

The more Chim watches, the less he’s sure. Because there’s Buck being somehow both endearingly awkward and seamlessly smooth around Tommy. There’s Buck spending way to long gazing into Tommy’s eyes, and staring at Tommy whenever Tommy’s not looking. There’s Buck zeroing in on Tommy every time Tommy enters the room; There’s Buck holding onto every word coming out Tommy’s mouth. There’s Buck laughing at every one of Tommy’s jokes (and, sure, Tommy’s a funny guy with a real dry sense of humour, but he’s not that funny).

If Chimney didn’t know any better, he would say that Tommy’s not the only one who’s got a crush.

All signs are pointing to Buck wanting to hold Tommy’s hand, go on romantic walks along the beach with Tommy, as well as do more than PG13 things to Tommy.

Does Tommy actually stand a chance?

Chim doesn’t want to get Tommy’s hopes up straight away. He needs to make sure that his hunch is correct. He needs to gather more data.

So Chim starts inviting Buck and Tommy everywhere he can think of, and then pretends to take a really long time in the bathroom so that Buck and Tommy can have some alone time while Chim is hiding behind a bush or a potted plant depending on the location, spying on them.

Tommy, because he’s a very observant person, notices Chim in the bush with binoculars pointed at where Tommy and Buck are seated, and confronts Chimney after Buck has gone home.

And Chim can’t keep a secret for shit, so of course he tells Tommy about his doubtS even though he really doesn't want to disappoint Tommy if it turns out that his hunch is wrong.

“I’ll keep investigating,” Chimney says, once again patting Tommy on the back, watching hope bloom on Tommy’s face.

Chim continues inviting Tommy and Buck to hang out, sometimes inviting others as well to avoid suspicion (Buck isn’t suspicious at all, but Hen has start narrowing her eyes at Chimney).

Tommy calls it torture, Chim call it science. Oblivious Buck is just concerned about the amount of time Chim spends in the bathroom. He asks Chimney if Chim’s having any any bowel problems. Chimney insists he doesn’t, but Buck figures Chim’s either putting on a brave face or is too embarrassed. Buck doesn’t bring it up again, but he does leaves some pamplets regarding bowel problems and their causes in Chim’s locker as well as sends Chim links to various medical websites.

Chim is mortified. Tommy finds it hilarious. Chim decides to attempt a different approach.

To try and throw Hen off the sent and to further advance his research, he gets Karen to drag them all to a gay bar to see how Buck reacts around other queer men (Karen is very amiable once Chim tells her of his suspicions; she always enjoys gossip).

Chim and Karen sit opposite Tommy and Buck, the better to observe them. Eddie, poor confused Eddie had to be discretely elbowed aside when he tried to sit next to Buck, and has been dragged next to Karen, supposedly so that Karen can arrange a play-date between Christoper, Denny and Mara. Though Karen is paying much more attention to Buck’s every micro-expressions than any word coming out of Eddie’s mouth.

Unfortunately, the gay club is a bust because Buck’s too busy learning about monster trucks from Tommy to pay attention to any other attractive man at in the bar. It’s hard to tell if Buck’s attention is due to an attraction to Tommy or if he’s just really interested in soaking up new information in that spongy brain of his.

Chim starts leaving queer memoirs scattered around the fire station (Karen gives excellent book recommendations).

Chim starts commenting on attractive men they see on the tele when it’s a particularly slow day at the station. He does this to such an extent that some of the members of B shift are wondering if Chim’s the one with a case of latent bisexuality. That thought is strengthened in their minds when Chimney starts bringing some those magazines with the romance quizzes in them: ‘Best guy for you’; ‘Your ideal guy’; ‘What your celebrity crushes say about your love life’; ‘Take this quiz to reveal your partner’s star sign’; etc.

Then Chim very loudly goes on about how gay and single Tommy is whenever Buck is in earshot (and now some of B shift think Chim’s planning on leaving Maddie for Tommy).

The first time Chim brings up how gay and single Tommy is, Tommy takes him aside to ask him what the hell that was about.

Chim says in response, “Listen, if Buck isn’t 100% straight, he needs to be aware that you’re on the market so that he doesn’t go check out all the other male fish in the sea.”

Buck doesn’t make a big deal out of Tommy being gay, acts his usual self. Though he does manage to slip into conversation that he’s an ally. And when Buck does that, Tommy feel his hope to one day hold Buck’s hand during a romantic sunset walk along the beach shrivels up a little inside him. Chim gives Tommy yet another commiserating pat on the back, and takes Tommy to a bar later that night so that Tommy can drink his problems away.

Meanwhile, Buck knows that Tommy being gay isn’t a big deal, but for some reason Buck can’t stop thinking about it.

It’s not like he’s ever had a problem with anyone’s sexuality before, so what is it about Tommy?

And representation really does matter. Here Buck is, being confronted with a Man, a big, muscular man like himself, who enjoys going to the gym like himself, who’s in a similar profession to him. And this man is gay.

And that’s going to cause something in his mind to shift. Maybe he doesn’t notice that shift at first, maybe it’s only subconsciously.

Maybe he’s going to start picking up a few of those memoirs that Chim’s been leaving around; Buck’s always been fond of non-fiction after all.

Maybe he’s going to ask Hen and Karen about their experiences figuring out their sexuality, their coming out stories (during this conversation, Karen will be staring intently at Buck, looking for any signs of the queer thoughts Buck may or may not be having).

(Chim is very happy with this because pointedly asking Hen and Karen about their queer experience was next on his game plan.)

Buck doesn’t ask Tommy about his sexuality though, not yet at least. Buck can’t seem to bring himself to ask Tommy. Though he doesn’t know why.

Then Buck does as Buck does best and goes on a research binge about all the different sexualities, but more specifically bisexuality (I imagine there is at least one sexuality quiz during that research binge).

And, at the end of that research binge, the results are conclusive. Buck is bisexual. Maybe he says that out loud in his empty apartment “I am bisexual” and it feels right and it feels so very exciting.

Once he realises that he’s bisexual, a lot of things start making sense. Including Tommy’s ass. Tommy’s very fine ass that Buck can’t help but stare at. And Tommy’s eyes. And Tommy’s hands as well. And Tommy’s laugh; And definitely Tommy’s smile. Basically all of Tommy.

Buck keeps his newly discovered sexuality to himself for a bit, wanting some time to himself to live in this new reality of his, basking in this new part of himself.

Also so that he can spend a few days staring at attractive guys without any knowing looks from his loved ones.

Turns out he spends most of those few days staring at Tommy which, again, makes sense.

Because he is such an open book, it doesn’t take Buck long to come out.

He decides to tell everyone at the next get-together. They’re all outside, having another barbecue at Bobby’s and Athena’s. Tommy is also present for this.

Everyone is of course supportive and happy for Buck. Chim is forcing himself to stay still, even though he really wants to jump up and down, high-five Karen, high-five Tommy, and then shove Tommy in Buck’s lap.

Meanwhile, Tommy is in his chair, having a deer-in-the headlights moment, staring up at Buck, wide-eyed, slightly pale, a forkful of potato salad halfway to his mouth. Tommy is so frozen that Chim has to nudge him so that his fork continues its journey to his mouth.

Tommy chews on the potatoes mechanically, no longer paying attention to the delicious taste that he’d been previously enjoying, too busy trying to act normal and trying to rein in his growing hope. By Chim’s side-eyes, Tommy isn’t doing a great job.

As the night goes on, Tommy forces himself to not approach Buck no matter how much he wants to, mostly because has forgotten how to act like a normal human being.

But then Buck is right there, in front of him.

“Hey,” Buck says.

“Hi,” Tommy replies. So far so good.

Buck is looking at him, and Tommy is trying to remember what he’s meant to do with his hands.

“Congratulations,” Tommy forces out because congratulations are definitely in order, “How are you feeling?” He asks, genuinely curious.

“Good,” Buck says in that sincere way that comes so naturally to him.

“Yeah?

“Yeah, great. I feel, I don’t know, lighter I guess. I mean, I’m still me, but now I know why I spend so much time staring at men’s asses.”

Tommy snorts, “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

There’s a pause. Buck’s staring at Tommy, and Tommy’s staring at Buck, and neither want to look away.

“Hey,” Buck finally says, “tell me if I’m completely off base, but there’s this little Italian restaurant I’ve been meaning to try, and I was wondering if you’d want to come with me.” Buck stops, swallows. Tommy watches his adam’s apple move. Buck continues “Like, as a date.”

Tommy forces his eyes back up away from Buck’s neck.

“A date?” Tommy repeats, the hope inside him soaring.

“Yeah.”

“Okay,” Tommy says, smiling, not sure if he can believe what he’s hearing.

“Okay,” Buck says, smiling back. It’s a smile so soft that Tommy wants to trace it with his fingers, but they’re definitely not there yet and Tommy’s trying to act normal.

“Okay,” Buck repeats a little breathlessly, that soft smile still in place.

(During this whole interaction, Chimney is hiding in a bush, binoculars in hand. Karen is at his side, asking him what they’re saying.

“I can’t read lips!” Chim says, though he tries anyway with mixed results.

But then, Hen comes along and puts a stop to it, dragging Chim and Karen out of the bush and confiscating Chim’s binoculars.)

[liamthemailman]

GLADLY @welldonekhushi

okay so i figured that after Ace retires from Task Force Cards, and ultimately the military, he was up for grabs. At least in Graves' eyes. Former military-turned-militia, classic story.

On Ace's hand, he's holed up at home. Sure, he was recovering from a bad mission but once he was okay, Ace had nothing to do. He had his routine and kept himself in decent shape but civilian life is jarring when you expected yourself to die in the army.

Ace starts to regret retiring, maybe second guessing his choice to not consider Captain Price's offer to transfer in the 141. He feels like deadweight just sitting around yet, too light without the learned comfort of his vest or weapons.

Ace even starts to feel weird, like he's not meant to be alive as he stands in his kitchen, facing the window. God, he needs an outlet.

One fine day, a charming Texan finds himself at the door of a retired lieutenant. The guy had an impressive record, Graves had found while snooping around in Ace's dossier. Volunteering as a junior soldier just at 16 then fully signing on at 18. There was some troubling issues with his past and the man himself but Graves is a businessman. He knows how to flip a disadvantage into an advantage.

To Ace, Graves was nothing more than a door to door salesman. He had heard of Shadow Company among the whispers of other soldiers, something about a betrayal but he never cared for gossip and rumors. That was until Graves opened his insufferable mouth, promising Ace his former life. Ace found himself sitting a little more upright, paying a little more attention to the stranger opposite him.

This is where Graves found his opening, the way life seemed to return to Ace's eyes at the mention of being soldier again. A man like Ace wasn't made to be indoors for the rest of his life.

"Keep in mind, we aren't exactly the most morally sound of organizations but we get the job done," Graves said, his hands interlaced on the table. "We would definitely benefit for a man of your caliber, given your experience and attitude. You're an impressive man, Lieutenant Doe. It's a wonder why you haven't made captain."

Ace nodded along, his lips pressed thin as he watched the sleazeball before him. Normally, Ace wouldn't entertain flattery but the way the words left Graves' lips scratched an itch he didn't know he had. Or he did know, but refused to acknowledge it. The need to be recognized.

"You don't have to have as answer now. When you do, I'll be a phone call away, lieutenant," Graves slid a business card and a patch of the company logo across Ace's kitchen island. "I know you'll make it far with Shadow Company."

It sounded so sweet to Ace, like a guarantee. He picks up the patch, twirling it between his fingers.

"I'll give you a call.." Ace's voice falters as he picks up the business card next. "Commander Graves."

So that's basically how Graves snatched up Ace, or at least that's what Ace let's him believe. To Graves, he found the perfect soldier in Ace. To Ace, Graves is a pretty face that's giving him everything he ever wanted. They think they have each other fooled.

giggling to myself over like,, how Graves copped himself half of the cards,, like he had Jack from the start then he brought back Ace like,,

imagine if Graves didn't even mention the other's existence in the company and one day Ace and Jack pass by in the Shadow Company break room like

"why are you here-" "what are you doing here???"

[lxnarphase]

satoru who uses possessives in front of things like “my sweet girl” “my cute girlfriend” sighs in adoration….. satoru. < 3 always has to remind you that you’re his.

- 🪻

oh absolutely he has to put it in front of anything he calls you, even if it's just your name. 'my, my, my,' it's one of his favorite words when he's referring to you. he's so so possessive, the poor man goes insane if he can't think about you.

just imagine it, satoru being separated from you for longer than three days just comes back home and he doesn't have his sunglasses or blindfold on, and his eyes are wide and those pretty blue irises are charged to the point wher you shiver the moment his eyes land on you. "there you areee," he beams with a nearly insane smile, unblinking as he stalks toward you. if you didn't know this was your man, you would've been scared shitless. no, no, this was your satoru whenever he missed you too long.

"my pretty girl, my little angel, my babyyyy," he coos to you as he backs you further into the house until you bump against the wall and he towers over you. "missed you. missed you s'much. my princess...but you waited for me, right? waited for your 'toru to come home? hm?"

after you give him that nod and small 'yes', he's picking you up and carrying you to the bedroom, his hands squeezing your ass as he holds you. it's almost scary how it surprises you how hard he is already even though this always happens, but fuck, if it doesn't do something to a girls ego when a man like satoru gojo gets this turned on just thinking about you being his.

"good girl," he purrs into you ear, kicking the bedroom door shut behind him. he lays you gently on the edge of the bed and kneels between your legs, pulling down your longuing shorts. you know you hear the quiet sound of a rip but you can't think too much about it, not when satoru is staring you down like this..."you're always so good for me, aren't you," he asks as he puts your legs over his shoulders, kissing up your inner thighs. "mm, it's cause your all mine? mine? mhmm, you're mine."

i just. i love possessive satoru.....

[ohbo-ohno]

idk if any of you have peacock/have seen ads for their show "teacup" but i can't stop thinking of smth similar with ghost (entirely unedited)

like, you buy a house out in the middle of nowhere - maybe a cabin, just to get away from society a bit. and you say you won't stay for long, but then you get used to things, start enjoying the peace and quiet you get away from all other human life, and you just... stay.

and then one day you go outside, and there's a giant spray painted ring around your house - enough for you to walk a bit but not so much that you can reach your garden. and there's a man standing maybe fifteen feet past the line, wearing a mask that covers his face, but clearly just staring at you. he's massive, casts a shadow that crosses over the line, but almost unnaturally still.

he tells you that he won't cross the line, that everything past it is still yours and safe. but if you cross the line in any way, you're his. the fact that you won't last long without food from your garden isn't something that needs to be said, you're already taking stock of the food inside your pantry.

you'd gotten comfortable out here in the wilderness, with your garden producing everything you could want. you never got into canning - bought a book on it, but never even cracked the spine. it's so much work, and you were perfectly happy with going to the garden before dinner and throwing something together with what you could get.

but now you're stuck. you see the man outside your window sometimes, walking around and around and around the circle, never passing it. every room in your house has a window, and there are days where you feel like he's following you, every time you glance outside he's just there.

you don't see him at night. you have no idea where he goes - god knows if he ever sleeps, you're not sure if he's even human - but you can't see him in the dark. the light from your windows doesn't stretch to the line, and the moon isn't enough to make him visible. once the sun goes down, he's just gone.

that's what gives you the nerve to step outside one night, long after it's gotten dark. you're hardly breathing as you tip-toe towards the line, eyes trained on your poor neglected garden - it's been several days since he first arrived, and no one has tended to your poor food. you're not even sure what you'll be able to get, if he's really gone.

he seems to be, or at the very least you certainly can't see him when you stop right at the edge of the line and look around. your flashlight illuminates the edge of the forest as you scan the trees, the circle of light smaller than you'd like. there's nothing.

you stand there for several more minutes, just staring at the food only a few feet out of reach. there's plenty of food that you know has already gone to waste, but you're hoping, praying there's enough to fight off your hunger just a bit, just long enough that you can think past the ache in your stomach long enough to attempt a plan.

(you'd been unable to think the first 24 hours, a creature of panic and nothing more. by the time you'd calmed even a bit, you'd been so hungry you could hardly breathe, then gotten sucked back into your panic after one look at your barren pantry. why had you never bothered to save food?)

your first step over the line feels like a crime. you almost squeeze your eyes shut just to wait for something to happen, but you force yourself to keep your flashlight active, not letting your eyes settle as you scan the forest again and again.

each step feels like you're stepping on glass, heart in your throat. it's dead silent in a way you've come to know the forest never is. the only thing keeping you from darting back inside is the desperate, animal need to eat.

you fall to your knees at the edge of your garden, plucking as many cherry tomatoes from the vine as you can, shoveling them in your mouth without even checking for bugs. there's nothing here but you and then man in the forest.

they burst on your tongue, cold and juicy and tangy and delicious. you feel delirious, having gone more than three days without eating by this point. the tomatoes could be spoiling on the vine, dotted with rot, and you'd still savor them like they're nectar.

you drop your flashlight after the first mouthful, desperate to use two hands and grab as many of the fruits as possible. the light illuminate just a small section of the trees ahead of you, blades of grass casting high shadows.

you only notice how much you've lost focus when the flashlight flickers off next to you. you can't move for a moment, juice dripping down your chin, paralyzed at the thought that he's somehow snuck up on you, made it to your side and taken your only light.

but he's not by you, you're still alone. you can feel it acutely, some instinct at the back of your head saying predator near, hide but not screaming in the way it had on that first day, when you'd been closest to him.

still, you're on your feet in the next moment, fruit abandoned in the dirt as you sprint back to your cottage. your not far from the circle, just mere feet, but it feels like an insurmountable distance.

you can feel him, he's right there you know it. the forest is quiet, the only sound the crunch of grass beneath your feet and your heavy breaths, but you swear you can hear his voice echoing in your head. not an inch past that line, love. then you're mine.

it's not a surprise when you're tackled to the ground, not really. still, you scream, tomatoes already churning in your gut and bile gathering in your mouth. your nails claw desperately at the colored grass, so fucking close to your safe haven, your cage.

"got you," he hisses over your shoulder, so heavy over you that you can hardly get in a breath. you scream soundlessly, face contorted in tear as you break your nails in your desperate digging. "you're mine."

the lights from your cottage seem like hardly more than the flame at the end of a matchstick as you're dragged away, your strength nothing compared to his as you're taken further and further from the safe haven he'd allowed you. by the time you hit the tree line, you don't have the energy to even try to scream.

[electrozeistyking]

i am injuring myself through this au (this means i’m doing something right angst wise)

[hinamie]

binding vow

[little-red-fool]

Can you draw some doodles of true form haarlep? Maybe first meeting Raphael or smth if u want. XD

The real reason Raphael asks Haarlep to take his form.

[maxlarens]

Max and 10 please <3

10) spooning at night

Despite the soundproofing you’d installed during Covid, you can still hear Max’s pedals going thunk against the walls of the apartment. The sound accompanied by faint chattering, occasional laughter, cries of outrage as he talks to his friends on stream.

He worries sometimes. But you’d tell him if it bothered you— besides, you like hearing sounds of life in the apartment. You’ve not quite adjusted to the sheer square footage of Max’s penthouse apartment yet, even though you’ve lived with him for years. You grew too used to New York apartments where your bedroom, kitchen, and dining room were always piled on top of each other. It’s strange to have so much space, more rooms than you know what to do with.

Anyway, no, the noise doesn’t bother you. You like to hear him enjoying himself, laughing with his friends, doing something that doesn’t have so much pressure attached to it. You don’t like to take him away from that prematurely, even if you’re missing him.

And you are missing him.

It’s the middle of the night. Maybe past midnight now. You’ve got the windows in your bedroom open, letting in the Monaco sea breeze in a futile attempt to cut through the sweltering heat. The overhead fan whirrs above you. Some mindless show you love drones quietly on the TV, casting you in ever changing colours as you twist and turn in the sheets. Trying to keep your mind off things you shouldn’t be worrying about.

You wait a while, watch an episode.

Then you give in to your selfish tendencies and pull up your Discord chat with Max on your phone, sending off a simple message— come to bed?

You put your phone back on the nightstand and try not to smile too wide when you hear the sim rig thunk and thud as Max climbs out of it a few minutes later. His footsteps on the hardwood floors as he stops by the kitchen and then makes his way to the bedroom.

The door creaks open. Max comes inside, stepping quietly as if you’re already asleep.

“Sorry, liefje,” he says softly, before he ducks into the closet to change, “I didn’t mean to keep you up.”

You shake your head even though he can’t see, “You didn’t. I just couldn’t sleep.”

“You should have told me,” he sighs, coming out of the walk in closet wearing the oversized cat shirt you’d bought him and worn sweat-shorts with holes in the waistband, “I don’t mind cutting the stream short, not for you. They will survive without me.”

You hum and nod placatingly, knowing you wouldn’t ever ask him to do that. At least not for something like this. You’d only sent that message tonight because you knew he’d already been on for hours and would be wrapping up soon anyway.

“Got it,” you say, opening your arms and beckoning him to get into bed already.

He sighs again, an exasperated little exhale through his nose, and then climbs under the single sheet you’ve got draped over you. He shuffles into your space, pressing a wet kiss to the side of your chin as you press a kiss into his forehead and adjust your arms around him.

“Where are the cats?”, you ask, while Max busies himself with turning around.

You feel Max shrug. He’s adjusting the sheet so it sits over him perfectly and then fluffing his pillows so his head sits comfortably. You reach out to scratch the back of his neck, with three fingers, the same way you scratch the cats out of habit.

“Jimmy’s sleeping in the spare room,” he says, reaching blindly behind him to catch your shirt and drag you closer, “Dunno where Sassy is.”

“Causing trouble,” you laugh, slotting into place at his back.

You nudge your nose into his shoulder and sling your arm over his waist. Curling it around to press into his stomach. Your legs end up tangled, one of yours bent and hiked on his hip. Later, he’ll nudge it off because it twists the material of his shorts, but he tolerates it until you’re asleep.

“Mm,” he agrees, finding your hand splayed flat on his tummy and intertwining it with his own, “Always.”

[puckinghischier]

thinking about comforting nico during this weird playing period.. he comes home upset and frustrated with not only the team but with himself.

he’d be so mopey, just kind of dragging around, not really saying much. mumbled answers to your questions, saying he’s not hungry, no input on what to watch. he’d kind of just go lay in your shared bedroom, headphones-in-and-staring-at-the-wall, kind of mopey.

you’d pad softly into the room, knowing you had to bust him out of the slump somehow. he had every right to be frustrated and upset, but you hated seeing your bright boy so down and dark.

he’d have his head leaned back with his eyes closed, legs stretched out in front of him with his hands resting clasped on his stomach. you softly crawl onto the bed to sit cross-legged beside of him. you poke at his soft belly a few times to get his attention.

peeking one eye open, he raises his head and removes one ear bud.

“what’s up?” he flatly asks, so unlike himself.

you smile at his fuzzy hair, his lack of properly drying it before slipping a beanie over it to leave the rink evident.

“let’s go for a drive,” you propose.

he scrunches his nose up at your suggestion, not interested in the slightest at getting back out into the cold air and riding around the city he keeps disappointing.

“not really in the mood,” he shakes his head, going to put the bud back in his ear until you grab his arm.

“please?” you give him your pouty eyes, hoping they’ll work now just like they do every other time.

reluctantly he agrees, tossing a sweatshirt on and covering his messy hair with a hat.

you bundle up yourself, slipping on a pair of comfy shoes before meeting him at the door, his hand reaching for the keys resting on the hook on the wall.

your hand beats his, though, grabbing his car keys before he can.

“you’re passenger princess tonight, bud”

he rolls his eyes, holding open the door so your smug self can walk out, making your way down to the drafty parking garage and seating yourself in the drivers seat of his lush mercedes.

pulling out of the garage, you turn the radio on to play whatever he was listening to last, some swiss rap you couldn’t understand the words to playing softly through the speakers. nico isn’t talking, just looking at the various lights and buildings as you drive through the quiet city.

most of the traffic from the game is already dispersed, giving you an easy ride to the mystery destination you didn’t tell him about.

you half expect him to figure it out based on your pattern of turns and familiar surroundings, but he must really be in his head, because when you park his car on the street outside of your destination, he’s still staring, unaware that the car even stopped moving.

“hey, neeks, come back to me,” you softly touch his arm, startling him a bit.

he looks over at you, almost like he forgot where he was, relaxing once his brain registered there was no threat. just you, looking over at him sweetly, as you always do.

“sorry, got lost thinking,” he mumbles, a little embarrassed. you smile at his accent shining on “thinking”, the subtle slip of his lips when pronouncing the word one of your favorite things about him

“s’alright. we’re here, though, so we gotta get out of the car.”

his thick eyebrows furrow in confusion, turning to look out the window to figure out where “here” is.

once he sees the familiar logo on the building right next to your parking spot, he looks back over at you.

“are they even still open?” he asks you, his tone lifting in a hopeful tone you haven’t heard for days.

you shake your head yes, trying not to grin like an idiot as his small show of excitement. “called them before we left, asked if they’d stay open a little bit longer for a special customer.”

the small, swiss owned bakery was somewhere you and nico had found on one of his few days off, simply setting out to explore the city with no plan in mind. on your lengthy walk, the sky had unexpectedly opened up, drenching both of you to your core. you ran into the closest storefront you could find, needing cover from the downpour.

the second your soaked figures trampled into the store, you were met with some of the most delicious smells you’d ever encountered in your life. the small space was empty, other than a plump older woman cleaning a display case of some of the most delicious looking pastries you’d ever seen.

“oh je!” the woman exclaimed when she saw the state of the two of you.

you thought the expression has sounded familiar, but couldn’t place it before she started speaking again.

“oh you poor kids, please, come sit, let me get you something to dry yourself,” the woman insisted, pulling out a couple of chairs at a small table, rushing off to find something dry to give you.

you heard her voice conversing with someone, a language you definitely had heard before, while you took your seat in the wooden chair.

she came back out to the two of you with warm dish towels, allowing you to at least rid your face of the excess water. nico was eyeing her suspiciously as she was bumbling about her husband making both of you a hot tea and something warm to snack on with it.

when he started speaking swiss german to her, you had no clue what was being said, but you loved the way he melted into being able to use his native language with someone who understood him and spoke it back. a tall, thin old man came out of seemingly nowhere in the middle of their conversation, two mugs of tea in hand.

the older man joined right in their conversation, his kind face just as excited as nico seemed to be.

the two of you ended up sitting in the small bakery for longer than anticipated, the rain long gone before you made your exit. the conversation had eventually switched back to english, the woman explaining how they had moved to the states many years ago, their dream of owning a bakery in the city finally coming to fruition a couple of years ago.

nico was amazed at the selection of swiss desserts they had, and praised their recipes as being reminiscent of his mothers. the couple insisted you take a whole hoard of stuff home, wanting nico to have a piece of home to enjoy.

the hidden gem ended up being a frequent weekend destination for you and nico, making a visit at least once a week when he’s home. the shop was so small and off the beaten path that nico never had to worry about someone spotting him there, going and sitting and conversing with his new friends for hours as you sat and watched their animated conversations.

you even found yourself frequenting the bakery on your own when nico was gone for any length of time, needing your own pastry fix. always being welcomed with open arms, you never left without a special pastry just for nico to have when he returned home.

which is what lead you here tonight, wanting to bring him even the smallest bit of comfort you could.

“schätz, did you really?” he uses the term of endearment you loved the most, having heard the shop owner utter it to his wife several times during your visits. “you shouldn’t have, they need their rest.”

you roll your eyes at his insistence on never wanting someone go to any extra lengths for him. he never wants anyone to be inconvenienced for his sake, even during times like these when he deserves to be made to feel special.

“hush, they insisted on it. you know how they are, too stubborn for their own good,” you wave off his concern, the concerned tone of the woman fresh in your mind when you called and explained the situation. “they even told me they were making something extra special for you tonight, so i hope you’re hungry after all that skating.”

nico doesn’t react to your words, staring at you so intently you were beginning to squirm at the gaze.

sensing your shift in body language, nico breaks the loud silence of the car.

“i love you, you know that?”

you giggled at his words, because of course you know that. he tells you all the time. every day. as often as he can.

“yes, neeks, i know that. and i love you too.”

he shakes his head slightly.

“no, i mean it. i love you so much. you…you always know what to do when i’m being a pouty mess. you never fail to make me feel better by just being you, but when you do things like this, even though i’ve been closed off and pouty this whole week because of the team and how our game is right now, even when i don’t deserve it, you still always manage to know exactly what i need.”

he grabs your hand in the middle of his small speech, needing to touch you so you can feel his words and his sentiments.

“well, you do deserve this. you always do. especially with how things have been going for you lately, because you’re giving it your all, always. and i’m proud of you. win or lose, i’m so proud of you, nico.”

you squeeze his hand in yours, emphasizing your point.

nico can’t stand how far away you are from him all of a sudden, reaching over and pulling your face across the console to meet his, consuming himself in you. the feeling of your lips on his melts away any thought in his head about his job and is filled with only you. the taste of your fruity chapstick, the softness of your face in his hands, the smell of your perfume still left over from earlier.

he tries to tease your lips open with a swipe of his tongue, but you give a small laugh as you pull yourself back.

“alright now, can’t be doing all that, now. you’ve got a hot, home cooked swiss meal waiting on you i promised some very eager people you’d be by to try ten minutes ago. don’t want them to think we flaked, do you?”

“oh god, i hope it’s traditional fondue,” he groans at the idea. “i’m sorry, baby, but this american version is shit, and i can’t pretend to like it anymore,” he completely switches up on you, taken over by the thought of food, completely unaware you’d already expressed to the owners how it was his favorite, a hot pot of the cheesy dish awaiting him behind the door he’s speeding towards.