#very fun for him to have been in one serious relationship that ended in disaster and that's it

[beneathsilverstars]

Isabeau also has bad taste. When he said he liked siffrin insults bc it proves how much siffrin perceived him? The fact siffrin looking super scary flusters him? I know in my heart he has at least 1 toxic bad boy/mean girl ex.

literally everyone in this party is a fucking mess and is (general meaning of the word here) attracted to fucking messes. otherwise they wouldn't all be so ride or die for each other despite it all!!! they're just a pile of fucked up magnets.

[that-sarcastic-writer]

Mind Games (2)

Direct cntinuation to Mind games (til we lose control) (takes place before lost time)

Ben/Soldier Boy X Supe!Fem!reader

Summary: Herogasm proves to be a disaster for everyone involved, but at least you and Ben still have each other at the end of the night. Takes places during the Herogasm episode but like I did my own shit

Warnings: explicit sexual content, minors dni, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it mfs), p in v, shower sex (pls don't try to recreate this, SB has super strength, your man does not, you might break sum), oral (f receiving), fingering, multiple orgasms, creampie, dom!Soldier Boy, praising kink, Ben calls her mean things a lot (but she likes it), choking, hair pulling, spitting, Soldier Boy cause mf is a warning on his own, typical canonical violence for this show, no use of y/n, Violet isn't her real name, just a nickname.

WC: 6.9k I'm so sorry

A/N: WHAT DID I TELL YALL MFSSS. Took me 2 years to revisit it but yk what it's fine cause every year is Soldier Boy's year. So yeah here we are. I will warn yall im not too good at writing action/fight scenes, like it made sense in my head but idk if that image translated well into the scene. I only know how to write smut im sorry. But to my Ben/Jensen girlie's, this is for you. I'll see yall in hell <3

Gif is not mine I found it on Pinterest

Universe masterlist | I no longer have a tag list so if you'd like to keep up with updates follow @midnightreadinglibrary

Fucking Herogasm. Christ, you didn't remember the last time you were here. Funny, the last time you went to a Herogasm party it was coincidentally with Ben. And it was in fact the last one you ever went to. It never felt right to go back without him. 

"Fuckin' Herogasm," Butcher laughed and shook his head, glancing back at you with intrigue, "You ever been Violet?" 

Your lips curled up a bit and you licked your lips slowly, glancing at Ben for a second before you found two pairs of curious eyes on you. 

"Yeah, every year for like ten years." You responded, and you were met with a look of disbelief from Hughie, and even Butcher had a slight glint of surprise in his eyes. Perhaps they didn't take you as the orgy, drugs and depravity type of supe, not that you blame them, that never truly was your idea of fun. But you weren’t entirely innocent either. "I'm serious. You can ask Ben if you don't believe me." 

Both men gave Ben a long glance and he laughed, shrugging at you. 

"She ain’t lying, I took her to her first one, in 74' was it? Should've seen her, such a pretty doe-eyed lil’ thing, with a face like hers she fooled everyone." 

"Oh, yeah, you showed innocent little me all the ropes. It was very educational." You rolled your eyes, trying to hide the small grin on your face, and Ben had one of his own. 

For a moment you forgot neither of the other two men quite understood whatever was going between you and Ben, so you missed the uncomfortable look on their faces. 

"Oh, I showed you a hell of a lot more than just the ropes, sweetheart." 

"And I'll show you both the barrel of a gun if I have to endure another second of your trip down erotic memory lane. Can we focus here?" Butcher groaned, looking both annoyed and disturbed by your relationship, like a parent who was tired of keeping his two horny teenagers in line. 

You exchanged a look with Ben, eyes big and lips pursed as you tried not to laugh and you gave him a look of having just been scolded. He simply rolled his eyes and half paid attention to Hughie and Butcher as they went back and forth about who was going in first. 

You, as always, just stood there and observed, absentmindedly twirling your knife between your fingers as you listened to them agree that Hughie should go in first so you could be in and out as quickly as possible. In between your own priorities, Ben being the main one, you had almost forgotten why you were here in the first place. Despite the fact that you were picking off Payback's members one by one, you quickly realized this wasn't for you, or Ben and his plot for revenge. No, it was about Butcher getting his. And the two of you were simply there to make it happen. 

You had begun to wonder if this was all there was to it, a means to an end, and in reality neither you or Ben had much of a chance to make it out this revenge mission alive. But if there was something you knew for sure, it was that you would die before you let anything happen to Ben again. Deep down, you hoped he would do the same for you. 

"I'm gonna go check the area before we go in, make sure there aren't any surprises." Butcher announced after a minute or two of waiting, Hughie not being back yet. He started walking, but not before turning to glance at you both with narrowed eyes, "And you two behave, last time I left you cunts alone you broke a bathroom." 

You did a mocking salute to him and snorted when he rolled his eyes at you, grumbling something you didn't quite hear as he began to walk away. He was out of your sight pretty quickly and you could already feel Ben's intense gaze burn on your face. You ignored it at first, but when he stood in front of you, eyes never leaving you, you had no choice but to look at him. You stopped your fidgeting and you looked up at him expectantly as you leaned back against a tree.

"I don't need to read your mind to know you want to tell me something, what's up?" 

"What you said back at the motel, did you mean it?" He questioned, leaning close to your face as he placed a hand beside your head. You stared at him for a second, trying to dig in your mind for whatever it was that he meant. You found his green eyes and you realized. 

Ah. The three fucking words. 

"Seriously Ben?" You groaned, your head falling to the side with annoyance, but more of all you wanted to avoid his gaze, avoid the shame of having confessed your deepest feelings, knowing feelings wasn't something either of you ever talked about let alone ever admitted to. Because feelings meant vulnerability, and vulnerability meant weakness. And weakness wasn't something either of you would ever admit to.

He grabbed your chin, grip tight as he forced you to look at him, "Did you? ‘Cause I meant what I said, all of it." 

Your face softened and your lips slightly curved into a tiny smile. You never wanted to search his mind without his permission, it was like a line you never liked to cross, but you didn't need to this time. Just by looking into his eyes you always knew. You could tell a lot by looking into someone’s eyes. You searched his eyes for any kind of deceit or even manipulation, but you didn't find any. You knew what he meant, and coming from him, it meant everything. 

"Yeah," You sighed softly, "I meant what I said." 

"Good." His pink lips curved into a satisfied smirk as he squeezed your face and leaned down, capturing your lips into his own. It was slower, no rushed and desperate touches like before, but he still kissed you hard. There was nothing gentle about it, but was there ever anything gentle about him? 

His tongue slipped into your mouth as he dropped his hand, resting it on the column of your neck. He pressed his armored chest against yours, pretty much pinning you against the tree. His mouth was so skilled, like he knew exactly how to take your breath away in seconds, he knew you that well. You would never allow a man to have this much control over you. But it was always different with him. Your hands found his long strands as you explored his mouth, and you pulled hard. You felt him groan against your mouth and he squeezed your neck in response. You gasped, the sound quickly fading into a soft moan. He pulled back and watched with amusement the look of pure ecstasy on your face as he squeezed your throat. 

"You fucking slut, you still get off to me hurting you, don't you?" He bit his lip as he released your throat, thumb brushing over the skin he knew would bruise, just like everybody else's, even if it was for a little bit. 

You inhaled deeply, the short lack of airflow making you dizzy, but in the most delicious way possible. You opened your eyes, finding his green ones and god you wished nothing but to just ditch the mission and go somewhere where he could take you, over and over again. 

"Are we here to get revenge or are we here to get your dick wet? ‘Cause I'm getting some real mixed signals here." You mumbled, breath heavy and he chuckled. He leaned down, pressing his lips to your jaw before he moved them to your ear. 

"I'm gonna fuck you so hard I'm gonna break a hell of a lot more than just a mirror." He coaxed. The way he spoke in your ear made you rub your thighs together and the pool forming in your panties was impossible to ignore. It was embarrassing how quickly he could pull you apart and do with you what he pleased. "When we get back. Now pull yourself together, we're on a mission." 

And just like that he was standing a few feet away from you. He was looking behind his shoulder, almost as if he could hear someone. And of course, just in time for you to somewhat regain your composure, Butcher came back. Though it wasn't before you locked eyes with Ben one more time as you tried to control your breathing, and the cocky bastard winked at you, lips curled into a shit eating grin before Butcher actually approached you both. 

This motherfucker. 

"All clear. The twins are in there. You shouldn't have a problem going in," He said to Ben, but then looked at you, "You, though, you might get some attention. Pretty girl, dressed in black leather and strapped with knives, that's some BDSM shit if I've seen one." 

"Okay and?" You frowned, now standing by both men.

"Just stay close to him, people might recognize you and approach you. Do what you can to keep a low profile. You might have to get your hands a bit dirty." He looked between you and Ben. You stared at him with a small frown at first, but when he raised his eyebrows at you, you quickly realized what he meant. 

"Wouldn't be the first time." Ben commented with a chuckle when he caught on. You looked at him, slightly unimpressed by his lack of discretion but you simply rolled your eyes. 

Butcher sighed heavily, clearly done with your antics by then and he simply motioned you off with an unimpressed expression, "Off you go, ya dirty cunts." 

"Looks like you might get your dick wet after all." You commented to Ben as you both headed off to the house. 

He chuckled, shooting you a glance as you stood in front of the door. You were both eager to get this over with, you more than him. It was one thing for him to be able to face the assholes that betrayed him, and you were happy to do it with him. But the idea of being around dozens of supes, in an environment where there were no rules, no respect and no boundaries, made you uneasy. You didn't know if you could handle that many voices all at once. It had been a long time since you had been around other Supes, let alone that many, and you had made that decision for a reason. 

Almost as if he could feel the anxiety radiate from you, you felt a large hand fill your own. Confused, you looked down and saw he had intertwined his fingers with your own. "There's nothing to be nervous about, sweetheart, it wouldn't be the first time we do this." 

"I haven't been around other supes since…" You inhaled deeply, your throat slightly closing up at the memory. The last time you stepped foot at Vought Tower, when you realized you couldn't do it anymore. Ben looked at you, eyebrows slightly knitted into a frown, "It's been a long time is all." 

"Just stay by my side, nobody will lay a hand on you. I'll always protect you, remember?" He gave your hand a slight squeeze and the calm yet assertive ring in his voice made you feel almost at ease. Almost. 

You stayed silent, needing all your energy and focus to keep the dozens of voices beginning to infiltrate your mind one by one. The sound of Ben speaking as a very naked man opened the door sounded far, distant, you didn't catch much of what they said. You only knew to move when you felt Ben tug you along. Now the sound of your racing heart was almost as loud as the voices. So fucking many people here. So many Supes. So many voices. All at once. It was deafening. It disgusted you, to have to hear every passing thought these depraved beings had. You didn’t realize you started digging your blunt nails into Ben’s gloves.

It didn’t hurt, but your enhanced strength definitely made him feel the tightening grip of your shaking hands. He stopped and looked at you with a twisted frown.

“The fuck is wrong with you now? You look like you saw your father.” 

You eyes snapped up to find him looking back at you with both confusion, and his version of concern. You opened your mouth but you could only stammer but no words actually came out. You couldn’t think. It was so loud. Your lip quivered ever so slightly as you felt your chest start to grow heavy. Ben saw the look on your face, the way your eyes were frantically looking around the room, your jaw wound up so tight he thought you’d break it. The last time he saw you like this was when you first joined Payback and didn’t have full control of your abilities. 

“Stop that, right now.” He gripped your shoulders hard, really fucking hard, enough to make you shift your focus on him for a moment. You looked at him with wide eyes. “Hey, I need you to focus. Get your head under control. I need you to have my back here, okay?”

“I… I don’t.. I can’t get them to stop. They won’t stop.” You said, so close to being on the verge of tears. “There’s so many, I can’t get them to shut the fuck up. I--” 

“Hey,” He shook you ever so slightly, leaning in close to your face. “The fuck did I just say? Get. yourself. Together. You used to tune ‘em out, remember? So tune them out.” 

You breathed in, your chest rising as you tried to drown out the noise, focus on his face, on his voice. But you couldn’t. You hadn’t been around this many people in nearly a decade.

“I can’t. I just can’t. I can’t be here. I’m sorry.” You shook your head frantically and tried to slip out of his grip but he didn’t let you. 

“I need you here. Just—hey,” he grabbed your jaw, looking out of the corner of his eyes to make sure you weren’t bringing in too much attention before he met your teary eyes. “Just look at me. I’m right here. Remember you used to tune everyone else out and only focus on my voice, hm? Focus on my thoughts, okay? It’s just you and me, fuck everyone else.” 

You stared at him, the green in his eyes seeming more and more green the longer you looked. You even saw a ring yellow in there. His voice. His thoughts, they had always calmed you, centered you. The voices grew more and more distant the longer you looked at him. You listened to his voice as his thoughts became your own. Until only the sound of his voice was in your head. Your breath was shaky as you closed your eyes, a laugh of relief leaving your lips.

He held your face for a little longer, his deep frown less harsh as he watched your face slowly visibly relax and the tension left your body.

“Are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.” You exhaled deeply and nodded at him, feeling like you were slowly regaining control of yourself. “Let’s go find the terror twins.” 

You walked around this house for what felt like hours. But it didn’t help that you were being stopped every five minutes by every naked Supe you walked by. Ben was anything but amused.

“I swear to fucking Christ if one more of these slimy jizz-covered fuck faces asks you to use your knives on them I will actually shove my shield up their ass.” Ben grumbled with a look of disgust on his face.

“They’d probably like that.” You had to bite your lip to stop yourself from laughing at the death glare he shot you.

“Eat shit.” You actually snorted this time, and you were full on giggling when he started mumbling curses at you as he walked off. 

You ultimately decided splitting up was probably the way to go, the house was way too big and had too many rooms, you’d find the twins quicker if you each went your own way. Ben was reluctant at first, a bit apprehensive to leave you on your own after you almost broke down earlier. But you reassured him you were fine and perfectly capable of going on your own. You ultimately realized you made the right choice. You didn’t know exactly when or how but out of nowhere you heard a loud blast in the next room and you were launched right through a wall from the blast. Pain immediately started shooting through your body at the impact. You were a Supe, sure, but you weren’t Soldier Boy, you weren’t fucking invincible. You bled and you felt pain like any human. 

It took you a good minute to understand what the actual fuck had just happened. And when you did, you almost forgot about the throbbing pain going through your body. You pushed yourself up to your feet, stumbling and holding on to walls as you dragged yourself through the rubble and burned bodies. Your jaw slightly fell open at the sight of this much mayhem. You didn’t believe in God, but fuck were you praying to a higher power for Ben to be okay. 

You managed to stay on your feet despite the pain. It would go away eventually, in a day or so, but the first few hours were brutal. Still you pushed through, determined to find Ben. You stumbled into a hallway, the walls were falling apart and chunks of cement were all around the floor. But what caught your attention was the sight that fucking American flag and blonde head of hair you had grown to despise. Your heart stopped, you were frozen. You held your breath as you realized fucking Homelander was here. And he currently had Ben pinned to a wall.

This was such a bad fucking idea. You could die a very agonizing death. A bad idea indeed. 

Adrenaline kicked in, you sprinted and with a bit of momentum you landed on Homelander’s shoulders. You were surprised he didn’t hear you coming.You were thankful he was preoccupied with Ben. Your nails dug into the side of his temples and you used all of the energy and power you had coursing through your veins, and sent that straight to his brain.

You weren’t sure if it would even tickle. You tried using your shock powers on Ben once, a long time ago, just to test out how it worked on Supes with enhanced strength, he said it felt like being electrocuted. And right about now you were praying Homelander felt something, enough to stun him at least. You could kill an average Supe if you used enough power, but you weren’t so sure if you were strong enough.

You held on, but you were struggling, commanding your body to release this much energy was mentally exhausting but the sound of Homelander groaning in pain made you smile the slightest bit. The shocks of electricity weren’t going to kill him, but it sure did hurt, and it stunned him. Nobody’s brain was invisible afterall. 

“Hurts, doesn’t it motherfucker? Your body may be indestructible but your mind can only take so much before it breaks.” You spat. Sparks were coming from your fingers as your eyes flashed bright purple. “It’s fucked when its you being held down against your will, huh?”

He screamed, stumbling around as he attempted to grab at you, but this wasn’t the first time you tried to fry someone’s brain off while on their shoulders. You gasped when you saw his laser eyes go off as he screamed, leaving indents on the wall. This split second of distraction was enough to make your focus falter, and it gave Homelander the opportunity to find a grip on you. You cried in pain when he grabbed your ankle and tossed you off. 

You landed fucking hard, it knocked the air right out of your lungs. You coughed as you attempted to get up, but Homelander was grabbing you and pulling you up by your neck before you could blink. He held you up in the air as he levitated so you couldn’t find a way to escape. He held you at arm’s length so you couldn’t reach him, either. The way his empty, ice cold eyes stared you down with evil glee as you gasped for air was terrifying. 

“I always knew you were a fucking bitch. I should’ve killed you when I had the chance. Matter of fact, I’ll do that right now.” Your eyes widened when his eyes gleamed bright red. 

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Ben behind Homelander, with a grin as he grabbed Homelander’s cape and pulled down, and he pulled really fucking hard. Your body collided with the ground roughly, landing on your side with a pained cry. But you still saw Ben throw Homelander around by his cape, and had you not been mere seconds away from death, you would have laughed at the comedic irony. You were in and out of consciousness, an aura surrounding your vision. But in between your delirium you could see Butcher and Hughie had arrived, and the three of them were taking on Homelander. It wasn’t long before the three of them had Homelander pinned down. You could feel yourself fade, your muscles give out and your mind shut off. You hadn’t used that much power since you were in Payback. 

You heard indistinct voices and shouting before everything went black. 

“The fuck are you waitin’ for? Blast this cunt!” Butcher shouted and Ben grunted.

“I can’t! Just—Fuck.” His eyes found you in the corner, bloodied and passed out. You couldn’t run away and you wouldn’t survive the blast, he knew that. “You—kid, take her, and get out here. Now!”

“No fucking way!” Hughie shouted back, and Ben felt the urge to blast him instead. 

“Do what he says, take the fuckin’ girl and go!” Butcher shouted at Hughie, catching on to what Ben was trying to do. But before any of them could do anything, Homelander blasted his lasers, screaming as he overpowered the three of them while they were distracted. And just like that he was gone. 

The three men sat in silence, in defeat. They had a chance and they blew it. Ben knew it was mostly his fault, he shouldn’t have hesitated. But he refused to ever let you get hurt. In silent anger he glared at both of them and he stood and walked over to your passed out body. He clenched his jaw as he picked your limp body and carried you. He made eye contact with Butcher and Hughie and it took all of his power not to shoot both of them in the face. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your whole body ached, and your head was founding. It was unbearable. You winced in pain as you began to peel layers of clothes off your body. God it fucking hurt. You closed your eyes as you attempted to hold back tears, only snapping back into reality when you felt Ben trace his fingers over your back. He noted every bruise and every cut. He knew they would heal, sure but it still made him seethe with anger. 

“What the fuck were you thinkin’, taking on Homelander like that? Did all the fucking pills you take for your psychosis fry all of your neurons or what?” He was so angry, and he never was exactly kind with his words. You always knew that, but it still hurt when he talked to you that way, especially when you had only been trying to help him. 

Your back was turned to him, so he couldn't see the hurt frown on your face but he did notice you huff at him and move away from his touch, refusing to look at him. 

“Okay.. Hey, no. I didn’t.. I didn’t mean it like that. Fuck.” He bit his tongue, squeezing his eyes shut with regret of his choice of words. You kept your back to him as you continued to undress. He groaned. “You would have died. And it would have been on me. I couldn’t live with that, is all.” 

“Well, I was passed out so it would have been a quick death, if that's of any consolation to you.” You answered shortly as you stripped down to your underwear. You don't think he understood that you stopped caring whether you lived or died a long time ago. 

“Okay, could you not be a bitch for two seconds?” He sighed, already annoyed by your attitude. 

“No. If you want a girl who doesn't talk back to you, go find Countess. Oh, wait, you can't ‘cause she sold you to the Russians. Guess you're stuck with me.” You answered with even more spitefulness, just to tick him off a little bit more. You didn't need to read his mind to know he was beyond pissed. You weren't exactly in a colorful mood, either. Your back was still turned to him as you tossed your bloodied gear in a corner. 

He breathed in deeply, pitching the bridge of his nose, “Violet, look at me when I'm talking to you.” 

You turned around with exasperation, your eyes open wide with a ‘what’ expression as you motioned your hands around passive-aggressively. 

“I didn't mean what I said. I know you were trying to help me… And I know that you can't always control your powers. I sometimes can't deal with my own head, I can't imagine having to deal with everybody else's.” Ben wasn't one to apologize. He was actually allergic to the words I'm sorry. You knew that. But you knew he at least tried to apologize using other words. So you listened. You knew he was having a hard time, too. “But I'm not really one to talk. I think I'm the one that's fucked in the head.” 

Your lips slightly parted at his words and you looked at him with a tiny bit of sadness. You never asked him details of what happened to him. Sure, you could look, but you never wanted to dig through his mind without his permission. He'd tell you if he really wanted to. But you didn't need to know everything to understand that what he went through messed him up. And it messed him up a lot. What happened at Herogasm was proof of that. 

“Do you want to tell me what happened at Herogasm? Don't make me look through your head, I don't want to.” You sighed softly, ultimately giving in, like you always did. Your delicate fingers dragged over his vest as you absentmindedly began to take off his gear. 

Ben stayed silent for a long time. He didn't think he even knew what happened. You were down to the last layer of the top part of his suit by the time he opened his mouth. 

“I blacked out. I don't.. I don't know what the fuck happened. I was talking to the fuck twins and then nothing. Next thing I remember is the burned bodies and the place was all fucked up.” He breathed out a little unevenly, a frown knitted deep on his face. He looked down at you when you stayed silent. “I didn't mean to. You believe that, right?” 

You did. But did he? 

“Of course I believe you.” You pressed a soft kiss to his lips, hands flat on his chest. He brought one of his hands to the back of your hair, holding your head in place. After a few seconds, you hummed, parting your lips slightly. “Can I ask you a question?” 

He nodded. 

“Why didn't you kill Homelander? You had a shot. Why didn't you take it? You would have done the whole fucking world a favor.” 

Ben stared at you with confusion. Did you really not get it? Were you that clueless or was he just that bad at showing his devotion for you? Probably the latter. 

“You saw what my blast did to the house. You wouldn't have survived that. I should have, I know, Butcher won't stop fucking reminding me. But he has nothing left to lose. Can't kill two girlfriends in the same week, y'know?” 

Your mouth fell open with indignation and you shoved at his chest, but deep down you felt warm at the fact that he chose you over his mission, for once. You still pretended to be angry at him, though. “Fucking prick.” 

He brought his lips to your jaw, leaving blunt kisses and you pretend to hate it. But the smile on your face was inevitable. 

“Wanna shower now or what?” He eventually said. That was the reason you were in the bathroom after all. 

You nodded. You could use the hot water on your bruised skin. You finished stripping, Ben just watched you with a perverted grin and smacked your ass before he stripped himself. 

He got in first, turning on the water and letting it run until steam began to fill the small space. He knew you liked it boiling hot. He didn't mind. You got in and immediately went under the shower head. You moaned in relief, the hot water running down your tense muscles, alleviating the soreness on your body. Ben watched you with a surprising amount of patience as he stood behind you. He leaned down and pressed his soft lips behind your neck, licking along the skin before he moved down your neck to your shoulder. He rested his hands on your hips, squeezing the skin as lightly as he could. You had enough bruises for one day. 

“I'm gonna take care of you tonight, m’kay?” He mumbled against your skin before he made you turn around. 

He crashed his lips against yours, rough fingers gripping your jaw as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. You whined, already craving more. When he kissed you like this, you just couldn't help yourself. 

“Need you, please.” You were breathless against his lips, your blunt nails digging into his chest desperately. He gave your bottom lip a small tug as he pulled away. 

He made you stand in front of him, his back to the shower wall as he slowly sank to his knees. Your eyes followed him longingly.

“C'mere.” He pulled you towards him, his eyes were full of greed as he made eye contact with you while he directed you to rest one of your feet on his shoulder. 

His eyes stayed locked with yours as leaned forward and licked a long stripe from your hole up to your clit. He wrapped his lips around the bud and sucked. You gasped, instantly pressing your hand against the damp wall to keep yourself up. Your mouth fell open in delight as he dragged his tongue around your sensitive clit. 

“O-Oh. Shit. Shit, Ben.” You whined softly, your free hand falling to his wet hair. He held your hip with one hand, steady vice grip holding you in place as he pushed his tongue into your hole. You swore the cry you let out was heard in the entire apartment. “Oh, my God. Fuck. That feels so good.” 

Ben hummed in approval as you wrapped your fingers around his hair and held his face against you. As if he would go anywhere. He happily kept his mouth on you, head moving up and down as he worked you with his tongue, his nose brushing your clit with every movement of his head. To say that you were so close was an understatement. You could feel your leg start to give out under you the longer you felt that heat build in your stomach. Ben was more than happy to assist you with that, too. His free hand grabbed the underside of your thigh and forced you further against his mouth until your leg was dangling over his shoulder. His other hand stayed on your hip, vice grip holding you upright effortlessly. 

His tongue found your clit one more time, and the emptiness it left was replaced by two long fingers pushing into your cunt. Your eyes rolled back as your mouth fell open in a silent cry. You leaned your forehead against the tile as you dug your nails into his scalp. Fuck, you didn't remember the last time a man ate you out, let alone ate you out like this. It felt so good you wanted to cry, you didn't even remember the pain in your body, all you could feel was pleasure. 

“Feels good, doesn't it sweetheart?” He spat into your clit as he fucked you with his fingers. If the shower hadn't been running the lewd sound of his fingers dragging in and out of your wet hole would've been so loud. But he could still hear it, and fuck did he love it. He took a second to look up at you. Such a pretty little thing when you were so close. “Oh, you wanna come don't you? Mhmm, yeah, you do. C'mon, gimme what I want. I know you can do it.” 

His tongue was back on your clit, he licked harsh stripes as he slipped his thick fingers in and out of your cunt with urgency. The sounds of him licking and sucking on your clit were almost as filthy as the sounds coming out of your mouth. His fingers fucked you without mercy, there was not a single thing gentle about his touch. It was rough and relentless. Just like he was. And it had you seeing fucking white before you even realized. 

You squeezed your eyes shut, lips parting in a silent cry as you held his face against you. But it wasn't like he'd go anywhere, if anything he kept his tongue on your swollen clit and his fingers never stopped. Tears formed in your eyes as your thighs shuddered. And when he didn't stop you were pulling at the ends of his hair to pull him off you. He groaned at this. Quite unhappy to be leaving the warm place between your thighs. 

“I wasn't done.” He looked up at you with a frown. You took in a deep breath, blowing out a small laugh as you grabbed at his face, weakly attempting to pull him back up.

“You can be down there all you want later, I just..” You swallowed hard, somewhat regaining your composure as he stood up to his full height. You pulled him down by his face and kissed him, and you kissed him fucking hard. And the taste of yourself still left on his tongue made you need him even more. “Just need you, okay?” 

“Need me where?” He grabbed your jaw, fingers sprawled out over your throat as he held your face back. He stared you down, malicious eyes full of greed as he waited for your answer. And he wouldn't give you anything until you did.

“Inside me.” You muttered through gritted teeth, almost delirious as you rubbed your thighs together with anticipation. He didn't look satisfied. You breathed in deeply, the aching need between your legs unbearable. “Need your cock, inside me, right now, Ben.” 

He lifted his eyebrows up in satisfaction and gave you a simple hum before he switched positions with you, without a word pressing your front against the shower wall. 

“I fuck you once and you're already acting like a pathetic whore? Okay. But you better fucking take my cock like the good fuck doll you've always been, hm?” He kicked your legs apart with his knee, his back pressing you further into the wall as he pressed the head of his cock against your entrance. You took a deep breath. “Yeah, you're gonna take this cock like a good lil’ fuck doll.” 

You gasped when he pushed himself inside with a snap of his hips, but it quickly turned into a moan when he pushed himself to the hilt, hips rutting against your ass. You dug your nails into nothing as you closed your eyes, taking in the delicious feeling of his thick cock stretching your walls.

“What a tight fucking cunt.” He grunted, gripping your hips, not wasting any time. He barely gave you time to adjust. “So fucking wet. Just for me, huh?” 

You were nodding against the wall instantly, pushing your ass back against him as he fucked you without mercy. You felt his lips on your shoulder as he leaned over you. The lewd sound of slapping skin was drowned out by the shower running but you could hear it clear as fucking day. 

“Yes! Mhmm feels so good.” You moaned softly, mindlessly reaching behind you to touch him, any part of him. Your fingers found his beard as you ran your hand over his face desperate to feel him, then you found his hair, and you latched on for dear life as he drilled into you. 

“Yeah? Like how my cock feels in your guts? You missed it, didn't you?” He pressed the side of his face into your head, allowing himself to close his eyes and soak the feeling of your nails on his scalp, he could even feel the faintest bit of electricity shooting through your fingers. He fucking loved it. 

“Yes! God yes.” You couldn't even describe how much. 

Ben smirked at this as he wrapped his arm over your chest and his fingers found your throat. He forced your head back, making you look at him. 

“Open your mouth,” He ordered, he held his finger to your pulse as he felt the fast rate of your heartbeat. You did as he said, and with a huff he spat in your mouth. “Slut. Swallow it.” 

How he could so easily break you down to nothing and treat you like no other man could, truly was beyond your understanding. But your mind didn't have to understand it. Your body just did it. You felt a pool of wetness seep through you at the damn near animalistic groan that rumbled in his throat. 

“You're such a good fucking girl.” He spat, pressing his lips against yours in a messy filthy kiss. You could barely keep your mouth open, not with the way he was so determined to make you fall apart for him. “You're my good fucking girl.” 

“I want to come. Please I—fuck.”  Your words were broken as your whole body burned up, and it wasn't from the hot water. 

“Of course, you do. It just feels so good, doesn't it?” He squeezed your throat harder, only choked out sounds could leave your mouth as he slipped his other hand to your swollen clit and rubbed harsh circles. 

Your orgasm hit you so hard you didn't realize it until you were shaking violently, your eyes rolled back into your head as you fucked yourself on his cock. Not that he ever stopped. He moaned loudly at the feeling of your wetness seeping on him. The wet sound of his cock slapping against your cunt made him want to come, too. 

“Fuck. Fucking Christ Violet. C'mon, make me come. Fuck yourself on my cock just like that. Be a good fuck doll for me, that's it.” His hand left your throat to pull at your hair. He dug his fingers deep into your scalp as his face fell on your shoulder. With a deep grunt he held you down on him. “Fucking take it, that's it, girl. Just like that. Fuck.” 

You could feel your mixed releases slip down your thigh. You sighed deeply, allowing yourself to close your eyes in ecstasy as he pressed his lips to your jaw. You hummed softly, reaching behind you to run your fingers through your hair. 

“I never want to leave this cunt. Feels so fucking good.” He muttered against your skin. 

You laughed softly, eyes still closed, you breathed heavily, “You're gonna have to eventually.” 

“Like fuck I am.” 

Both of his hands were on your hips and he turned you around. You whimpered softly at the emptiness he left you, but it was quickly replaced by choked out gasp when he grabbed both of your thighs and effortlessly hoisted you up around his waist. Your back was pressed against the tile wall and he slipped his cock inside you without a warning.

“Ben—” 

“You wanted my cock inside you? Well you better fucking take all of it. Every fucking inch ‘til I say so. You want it, don't you?” He spat, already fucking into you like you were nothing more than a toy. He held you up by your thighs as he kept them wide open so he could take as much as he wanted. And that he did. “Of course you do, this cunt is all mine to with as I fucking want. That ain't never gonna change.” 

What a long fucking night you were going to have. But you'd take a million of this over another day without him in your life. And this? This was all you ever wanted. You didn't need anything else, just him.

[saikoucorps]

Can I get poly headcanons of FatGum x Gender Neutral!Reader x Hawks where Hawks is pining for FatGum but FatGum likes Reader so Hawks is jealous and tries to keep them apart but slowly finds himself in love with the reader too and is a bisexual disaster who needs to make up for his mistakes? I just think it would be a fun scenario.

:ఌ¨ ♱ MHA POLY RELATIONSHIP HCS

A/N — I loved this idea, I hope this is good enough!

☆ pairings : Fatgum x gn!Reader x Hawks

☆ tags : love triangle turned poly, poly!Hawks, poly!Fatgum, Hawks pining, soon established relationship, jealousy

☆ relationship summary : Hawks loves Fatgum! Unfortunately, Fatgum has an interest in you. But in an attempt to keep you two apart, Hawks realizes he's in love with you both.

ꪆ୧FATHAWKS× gn!READERꪆ୧

Hawks couldn't stand it.

Whenever he was on patrol, he could see you and him walking together. He hated it.

Every time he saw you together, he'd interrupt whatever conversation you guys had going on.

He didn't see what was so great about you at all. I mean, he could understand why you hung out with Fatgum. He was amazing.

Every time you two were on patrol or fighting a villain, he'd show up just to ruin your moment.

He even used his feathers to easedrop on you two!

Once, you had asked him for the coordinates on Fatgum, and he sent you to the wrong location. He did that because he wanted to fight alongside him..

He'd constantly join your conversation, hoping he'd forget about you and finally pay attention to him..

Except that didn't happen. At all.

He enjoyed both of you guys' company.

He no longer despised the thought of you, he still wanted Fatgum.. but.. you weren't that bad.

At all, actually.

He found himself naturally joining your conversations, and sometimes, he'd ignore you two talking.

The three of you began to hang out more, too. (You were already used to Hawks' appearance.. this was nothing new.)

You actually noticed his change.

Instead of being petty, things felt real.

Things with Fatgum have always been well too.

He always took you out to eat, saying it was for his quirk.

He always protected you during fights as well.. he was nice.

He always complimented you, and even helped you improve.

You ended up seeing Hawks do the same for both of you.

You all had begun to appreciate one another..

Which is why Hawks was the first to confess.

"I'd never thought I'd find myself being in love with two people."

"Oh, who?"

"They're right here in front of me."

It took a lot of shock from you and Fatgum to realize he was serious.

You both admitted you felt the same for him, but you three weren't sure what to do.

Hawks suggested a poly relationship. Funny enough, Fatgum didn't even know that was.

After a very long conversation.. you three began to date.

Jealousy was extremely rare after that, but Hawks still teased you two.

FOOD DATES ALWAYS you three, if not doing hero work, take your hangouts to restaurants.

They're both extremely protective. When in battle, they're always quick to protect eachother and you.

The height difference. Fatgum is 8'2 and Hawks is 5'8.

Fatgum tends to be the more mature one, but it's rare. You three are always having fun.

Fatgum is AMAZING at comforting. Hawks comforts in his own way, but Fatgum is more practical.

Hawks picks up on the smallest details about you two. He literally knows everything.

☆ If you want to request a ship x reader, send an ask or comment/reblog ^^ !! ☆

[rambleonwaywardson]

Clegan Astronaut AU - Part 2

Part 1

AU Summary: Had some ideas about the boys as modern day NASA astronauts. Taking place in 2025, Bucky is about to head to the moon as mission commander of Artemis III while Buck is back-up commander and CAPCOM on the ground at NASA. Established relationship (obnoxiously in love).

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read and liked part 1! I have this whole story very loosely plotted but have no publishing schedule. I'll be out of town this week, so it may be longer before part 3 is up. Also, fun fact, this was originally going to take place in the 70s during Apollo, but I really wanted to write Clegan as out and proud. I think you can see why.

See end notes for term definitions.

--

September 8, 2025 Houston, TX

Growing up, Gale Cleven was always just Gale Cleven. Top of his class, quiet but kind, a little something wild but innately good. He doesn’t talk much about his childhood, about his parents. He grew up too fast, learned too early that life is unfair, that people are unkind – even the ones who are supposed to take care of you. He grew up with his head in the clouds, dreaming of elsewhere. He wanted to be someone, to do something. He wanted to fly away. 

So when he needed money to go to college, he took a scholarship from Air Force ROTC. He would become a pilot. He would get a degree in aerospace engineering. He would learn about math and physics, and about the giant universe he dreamed of. He would do something important, something worthwhile, because he needed to be better than the man who raised him. 

Weirdly enough, being an astronaut was never a serious consideration. The space program was about impossible to get into as it was, and getting smaller. The heyday of Apollo and the shuttle were over. NASA was under fire once again in the early 2000s following the Columbia disaster, and space travel just didn’t interest the public, or the politicians, as much as it once did. Gale was fascinated by it, always had been, but he was much more interested in the physics, the math, the engineering. Even as he wanted to be a pilot, he hardly entertained the idea of being an astronaut. 

All of this, until he met John Egan. 

Freshman year of college, a talk, lanky, dark-haired boy with the most beautiful smile Gale had ever seen barreled into their assigned dorm room and hit Gale’s life like a freight train. He called himself Bucky, and he started calling Gale Buck, no matter how many times Gale repeated his actual name. Bucky Egan was also in AFROTC with dreams of being a pilot. A mechanical engineering major, not because he wanted to be or because the Air Force wanted him to be – physics really was not suited to him to be honest – but because he knew NASA would want him to be. And Bucky Egan fully intended to be a NASA astronaut. 

Gale could tell from day one that nothing would stop this boy; he was a force of nature, and if something stood in his way he simply jumped over it. 

What Gale did not know from day one was that, 16 years later, this was the man he would marry. What he did not know was that this man would completely change his life. 

It was John Egan that, one random night during their time in college, drunk on tequila shots, looked at Gale and said “still think it’s crazy you don't wanna be an astronaut. You’d be NASA’s poster boy.”

Gale Cleven was always just Gale Cleven, future pilot and engineer. Until he met John. Now, standing in a crowded bar in Houston, Texas, he’s Major Buck Cleven, astronaut. One of NASA’s poster boys. 

The Hundred Proof Bar, just down the road from Johnson Space Center, is a long-time local favorite of astronauts and JSC employees. It’s decorated with military and space program memorabilia, with a tradition almost as old as the bar itself: once an astronaut goes to space and returns from their mission, they get their astronaut portrait hung on the wall behind the bar, joining a small and coveted community of great pilots, explorers, and scientists. Among the Houston NASA community, having your picture behind the bar almost means more than having it at NASA. 

Over the bartop, Gale stares at his own portrait. Like most of the others, he’s in a bulky white EVA suit, one hand resting on top of a space helmet, an American flag in the background. The photograph was taken nearly three years ago, ahead of his inaugural six-month ISS mission, the culmination of over a decade of hard work in school, the Air Force, and astronaut training. You can read the expression on his face like a book in that picture: pure excitement, like it was everything he had ever dreamed of. 

Bucky’s picture is right next to his. Even though their first missions didn’t coincide, Jackie, the owner of the place and head bartender, insisted that putting them beside each other was the only correct course of action. Bucky looks just as ecstatic as Gale. Soon, though, there will be a new portrait of him in its place, one specific to Artemis 3.

“Here you go, love.” Jackie sets a glass of soda with lemon in front of Gale and he thanks her before taking a sip. He stands there at the bar, one hand on his glass and the other shoved in his pocket, just staring at the photographs. A little legacy to the world that’s representative of something far greater. They’d really made it, in the end.

“I’m proud of you, you know,” a voice says beside him. Gale looks over at Marge and smiles as she wraps an arm around his back and squeezes. 

“Thought you weren’t coming tonight,” Gale says as he hugs her back.

When she steps away, she shrugs. “Miss John’s birthday? He’d kill me.”

Gale laughs, shoving his hands back into his pockets. “Please, you can pretty much do no wrong in his eyes. He’d forgive you.” Bucky had come to love Marge like a sister over the years. Gale was worried at first that they wouldn’t click, back when Marge visited them in college for the first time, but he had rarely been so wrong. They get along like a house on fire, for better or for worse.

Marge shakes her head and chuckles. “No babe, that would be you. Pretty sure John would help you get away with murder if you asked.”

“Who says he hasn’t?”

Marge just shakes her head again. “Well, I just popped in to say hi, wish the birthday boy well.” She pokes Gale in the chest, looking pointedly at him. “I meant what I said. By all means, have fun tonight, but I don’t want to hear about any scandals, okay? I’m good at my job, but the press will have a field day if they get a whiff of the next moon walkers doing anything… unruly.”

“Marge,” Gale says, pushing her finger away gently. “They’re young astronauts. Unruly is their middle name.”

Marge cocks her head and stares him down. Gale tries not to squirm under the intense, disapproving gaze of a terrifying woman several inches shorter than him. “Please just-” 

“HEEYYYY!” Cheers erupt around the Hundred Proof as the front door swings open. Marge sighs and looks at Gale with an expression that says ‘you’re not off the hook and you better do as I say,’ but she drops it. Bucky walks inside, followed by Curt, Rosie, and Alex. He smiles and laughs and shakes hands, thanks people for the birthday wishes, hugs friends he hasn’t seen in too long. The place is packed with astronauts, NASA employees, space program families, and even some Air Force friends that were able to make a quick trip in. Gale turns around and leans back against the bar, watching Bucky work his way through the crowd.

He’s changed into a white tee shirt and an old black leather jacket on top of dark jeans, a timeless look that’s followed him since he first met Gale in college. He’s pretty sure the jacket itself has been with him through many of those years. Once he spots Gale, his smile gets wider and he pushes his way towards the bar. First he leans in and hugs Marge tight. “Happy birthday,” she says, ruffling his hair before he lets go.

“Thanks for coming,” he tells her. “I promise I will not be on my worst behavior tonight.”

Marge rolls her eyes. “That may be all I can ask for.” She pats him on the arm lovingly. “Enjoy yourself, okay?” She looks at both of the men standing in front of her – two men that she still sees as college boys; men who she is endlessly proud of and who also endlessly test her patience. “Sorry I can’t stick around, but I have to fly over to Cape Kennedy in the morning for some press. I’ll see you boys in a few days.”

They both hug her again before she walks off, slipping through the crowd effortlessly even in her heels. Bucky turns and looks at Gale, glances him up and down before breaking into a grin again. “You wore something cute.”

Gale looks down at himself, picking at the cuffs of his shirt. He’d picked out a black on black outfit: some nicely tailored black jeans and a black dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, complete with polished black leather oxfords – a look he admittedly knew would please Bucky with the way it fit his body so perfectly, the way it accentuated his shoulders and his waist at the same time. “Did I?” He asks innocently. Bucky nods, biting at his lower lip. Truthfully, everything looks good on Gale anyways. Gale shrugs, smirking at him. “Well, I live to please.” Before Bucky can really get any ideas in his head, though, Gale leans in and puts a hand on Bucky’s hip as he kisses him on the cheek. “Happy birthday, John,” he whispers.

They’re pulled away from each other by the sound of someone tapping loudly on a whiskey glass. Curt is standing on a nearby table, bringing in the attention of everyone in the room. He glances at Gale and Bucky. “Sorry lovebirds, but it’s not your wedding night yet. Give it a rest so I can say some words about Bucky here.” Gale blushes and pinches the bridge of his nose as their friends laugh around them. Bucky takes a step to the side, but still grabs Gale’s hand in his. Curt nods and goes on. 

“Most of us are here tonight to celebrate Bucky’s birthday. Quite frankly I’m shocked he has this many friends, but thank you for being here.” He laughs with the crowd as Bucky holds a hand dramatically to his heart. “No, really though, Bucky’s an amazing guy. I’m real lucky to know him, and I’m lucky to have him in that Artemis lander with me when we go to the moon in November.” Raucous applause and cheering fills the room at that and Curt puts his hands up as he yells over them that he ain’t finished yet. He looks at Bucky and raises a glass. “Happy birthday, brother. You’ve worked hard to get here, and you deserve every bit of it. May we make history this year!”

Applause rises again, louder now, and people stomp, holler, and shout as Curt motions for Bucky to take his place on the table. He climbs up and takes in the room. “Very touching, Curt, thank you,” he says. “I’m honored to be commander of this mission.”

“Of all the drunks in this joint!” someone calls out jokingly from the crowd.

Bucky laughs and puts a hand up defensively. “Listen, someone’s gotta make a nest for the rest of you dodos. Make sure it’s safe. Just think of me as an overpaid guinea pig. Or, actually, rather underpaid for the circumstances.” This gets some laughter as well, even as no one in the room would ever truly doubt Major John Egan’s capabilities as a pilot or as an astronaut. They all know it’s true, however, that astronauts are not compensated enough for the risks they face. The money really isn’t why they do it though. “I’m not gonna stand here and wax sentimental,” Bucky says. “So thank you all for being here tonight. Now let’s get this party started!” 

–

The evening is a blur of drinks, music, friends, and more drinks. It starts innocently enough, with Bucky making the rounds and greeting everyone he can. He and Gale talk shop for a while with Albert Clark, flight director of Artemis 3, and a few of the flight controllers tasked with monitoring the crew and spacecraft for the duration of the mission. Harry Crosby, FIDO; Jack Kidd, FAO; and Joseph “Bubbles” Payne, GNC. Bucky then declares that they need shots, and he remembers a lot less after that.

At some point, Gale loses track of him while he chats with a few of the engineers at JSC, including a hell of a woman named Helen who flew on the ISS with him. They’ve remained good friends ever since, and she’s about the smartest person and one of the best engineers he knows. He’s happy to talk about EVAs and the astronaut vs. engineer experience working in the neutral buoyancy tank, rockets and lunar rovers, even office gossip and who has the cutest dog (Gale, hands down, no room for objection). But it’s been a long day, and Gale – despite finding himself smack in the middle of the public eye with interviews and networking and photo shoots to the point that he isn’t really sure where he ends and the extroverted facade he’d crafted begins – is starting to feel drained. He talks and he smiles and he nods, but he can feel autopilot starting to take over. He brushes his fingers over the glass in his hand, smearing the cold condensation as he takes a sip of soda water. He’s perfectly sober but the music is starting to make his head pound. He blinks and rubs a hand over the back of his neck.

“Hey Buck,” Helen says, trying to hide her laughter with a hand over her mouth. Gale turns to see what she’s staring over his shoulder at and lets a quiet fuck slip out of his mouth.

“Hold my drink please,” he says to Helen, shoving the glass into her waiting hand before pushing through the crowd to where Bucky is standing in front of the dart board, crouched down so the top of his head is below the bullseye with a hand over his eyes. “And what exactly is this about?” he cries as he pulls Bucky away from the wall.

“Hey!” Curt exclaims, echoed by Alex. They’re both visibly drunk, darts in their hands as they look at Gale with displeasure all over their faces. 

“We gotta settle this, Buck,” Bucky insists, trying to tug away from the hand gripping his arm. Bucky may be bigger and stronger than him, but Gale is more sober by about a thousand miles.

“Settle what?” he asks, incredulous. 

“Well we ended in a tie,” Alex explains, like it makes all the sense in the world. “So now we gotta settle it somehow.”

The four of them stand in a loose approximation of a circle, staring each other down. Bucky has given up resisting and is leaning lazily back against Gale’s chest, fiddling intently with Gale’s fingers. Gale stands with one hand on his hip and the other wrapped around Bucky’s middle, holding the other man still while he tries to make sense of this. “And… the best way to settle that… is to throw darts at your commander? At my fiancé?”

Curt perks up defensively but his words are slurred. “Oh fuck no! We’re throwin’ ‘em above our fiancé.”

“My fiancé,” Gale corrects, as if that’s the most important part of this altercation.

Curt tilts his head and looks at him, his eyes shifting back and forth like he’s trying to make some sort of calculation in his head. Then he nods and points to Gale. “Yeah, yeah. Your fiancé.” He points to himself. “Our commander. Thassit.”

Alex adds, “whoever gets the dart closest to the top of his head wins.”

Gale rubs his face with one hand, groaning quietly. “No,” he finally says.

“No?” Curt asks, pouting. 

“No,” Gale asserts again. “Last thing we need is for John Egan to get kicked off Artemis cause he’s lost an eye. Now give me those.” He pushes Bucky gently to the side – which is met with a grumpy protest – and grabs the darts from Alex and Curt, who are surprisingly willing to hand them over.

“Buucckkk,” Bucky whines, tugging at Gale’s free hand as he gives the darts to Jackie to keep behind the counter for a while. “You’re no fuunnnn. Woulda been jus’ like when Tommy threw one at me tha’ time. Was fine.”

“Curt and Alex are a lot drunker, you dummy. You’ll thank me later.” Very unlikely. He probably won’t remember this later. Gale turns to address all three of the men. “Now go entertain yourselves in less destructive ways.”

–

An hour or two later – who can really say – as the crowd starts to thin out, heading home in hopes of getting some semblance of sleep before a full work day tomorrow, Gale finds Bucky standing at the bar, talking to some of their military friends. Jackie – saint that she is – had switched just about all of them to non-alcoholic beverages some time ago. When Gale tries to pull Bucky away, Bucky pouts and leans against the bar. “Come on, Buck, the night is still young.” It’s past midnight, actually. It’s officially Tuesday, and they have to go to work in the morning. Schedules are packed a couple months out from launch.

Gale shakes his head and wraps an arm securely around Bucky’s mid back, pulling him close. Bucky struggles at first but then pauses, turns his head to press his nose into Gale’s neck. “You smell good.” He sniffs again before Gale feels lips gently kissing his neck, making him freeze and try to keep from blushing too hard. 

“Okay,” he grunts, pushing Bucky’s head away from his collarbone while he tries to wrestle the rest of him away from the bar. “It’s definitely time to go home. Come on.”

Saying some hurried goodbyes, Gale pushes his way through the thinning crowd with Bucky half hanging on his shoulder and half stumbling beside him. Turning to look around is not an easy feat with 6’2 of muscular astronaut weighing him down, constantly switching back and forth between shouting out to friends across the room and trying to kiss Gale anywhere he can reach. But Gale manages to find who he’s looking for. Pushing between a small group of tipsy women with a mumbled apology, he reaches a hand out to grab Rosie by the shoulder. “You seen Alex?” he asks, raising his voice over the music.

“He left a little while ago!” Rosie yells back despite their proximity. Gale doesn’t know if he should be relieved that the number of drunk guys he has to wrangle has decreased or concerned over whether or not Alex was capable of getting home alone. But then Rosie adds, “Macon drove him home, don’t worry.”

Gale nods and steps closer. “You drunk?”

Rosie tilts his head to think for a moment, looks around the room, wriggles his shoulders back and forth like he’s trying to test his balance. “Eehhh.” He holds up a hand and tilts it back and forth in a ‘sort of kind of maybe’ motion.

Gale sighs as he pulls away Bucky’s hand, which is grabbing at his chin, and pins it down at his side instead. “Alright, you’re coming with me,” he says to Rosie. Then he points across the room to Curt, who is dancing on a table with a man and a woman to cheers from the crowd around them. He wonders how many people Curt has kissed tonight alone. “Grab him and meet me outside. Y’all can crash at our place.”

Rosie nods and heads off to extract Curt from… whatever is happening over there. Gale looks at Bucky, who is staring at him with his pupils blown wide. Bucky smiles drunkenly and kisses Gale sloppily on the mouth. Gale chuckles, long suffering, and presses his lips to Bucky’s temple. “I don’t know why I put up with you.”

Bucky taps him on the nose. “Cause you love me.” He can’t argue with that.

–

It takes some wrangling, some arguing, a little bit of threatening, and a lot of protesting, but Gale and Rosie manage to drag Bucky and Curt out of the car and through the door of the pretty ranch-style home on Nassau Bay. The second they walk in, they’re assaulted by two giant huskies all too excited to welcome them home. Meatball – who is really Demarco’s dog but has found himself in a weird co-parenting situation between Benny and Gale as the two alternate space missions and other work trips – just about knocks Curt to the tile floor right at the entryway. Pepper – the one year old husky who Gale and John adopted from a rescue earlier this year – slips and slides her way across the floor in her excitement to press her nose lovingly against Bucky’s legs.

“Hiya Pep!” Bucky immediately drops to the floor by the doorway to give Pepper all the hugs and kisses she deserves, laughing as she, very much not small enough to be a lap dog, wriggles her way into his lap anyways. Curt, meanwhile, stumbles away to the living room. “Couch!” he exclaims, before dramatically collapsing onto the couch and burying his face into a throw pillow.

“Shoes off!” Gale calls. Curt groans but awkwardly tries to kick off his dress shoes to no avail. Rosie rolls his eyes and goes to help. Gale bends down to scratch Meatball under the chin. “Benny’ll be home soon, bud.” He’s been on the ISS for over 6 months now and is due for splashdown next Wednesday. Meatball licks Gale’s hand before running out the door into the yard.

When Gale looks down at Bucky, still on the floor even though Pepper has run outside after Meatball, he’s staring forlornly at his feet. He looks up at Gale. “Buck, can you help me tie my shoes?”

“Your shoes are tied,” Gale says matter of factly, hands on his hips.

Bucky looks back at his shoes thoughtfully, touching the laces with oddly gentle fingers. He tugs halfheartedly. “Buck?”

“Hmm?”

“I can’t get them off.” 

Gale flexes his jaw, unimpressed, and nods. “Mkay.” He kneels down on the floor and carefully removes Bucky’s shoes, sets them neatly by the door. Then he hauls the man back to his feet. As he leads Bucky awkwardly to their master bedroom, he looks in on Curt, who is already passed out on the couch. Rosie had managed to get his shoes off and ensure he wasn't lying on his back. He then peeks into the first guest room where Rosie, mercifully still in his right mind, has already claimed a bed. “You good?” Rosie nods and gives him a thumbs up. Gale nods back. “See you in the morning.” They are in for a hell of a training day tomorrow. The only saving grace is that at least half of Johnson Space Center will probably be just as hung over.

Gale manages to get Bucky out of his jacket and settled on the edge of their bed before he goes about changing out of his own clothes, stripping down to his underwear before pulling on a pair of sweats. He is acutely aware of Bucky’s eyes tracking his every move until he goes into their en-suite to brush his teeth. Once he’s done in the bathroom, he returns to find Bucky staring out the big picture window at the full moon lighting up their backyard. 

He turns his head to look at Gale with wonder in his eyes. “I’m going to the moon, Buck.”

Gale smiles fondly as he sits beside him to look out at the night sky. He wraps an arm around Bucky’s shoulders and presses a kiss to the side of his head. It really is everything Bucky has ever dreamed of, for as long as they’ve known each other.

“Yeah, John. You’re going to the moon.”

--

--

Part 3

Terms: EVA = extravehicular activity (space walks and moon walks)

FIDO = Flight Dynamics Officer; monitors the flight path and trajectory of the spacecraft

FAO = Flight Activities Officer; in charge of preparing the flight plan; manages changes in the flight plan and crew activities

GNC = Guidance, Control, and Navigation Officer; operates spacecraft navigation and control software during flight; responsible for spacecraft orientation

ISS = International Space Station

Neutral Buoyancy Tank = giant water tank at Johnson Space Center used to simulate working in zero gravity

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for retroactively cheating on my partner?

Look, I know the title sounds kinda dumb, but it was kind of the best way I could sum it up. This also might get a little long. I'm just trying to give the context it needs that I feel sorta led me to the decisions I made.

I (22M) went on my first vacation with my partner (25F) last summer. Our vacation was to a relatively local spot not too far out of the city that's decently popular. We'd been dating at that point for around 18 months, though a lot of our dating had been done online cuz of the whole global pandemic thing. When the restrictions started loosening she started getting pushy about me moving in. This caused some tension between us, but it always kind of fizzled out. I still lived with my dad at that point. I'd never moved in with her, since I always wanna be really absolutely sure about these things beforehand, and I'll admit to viewing our week long vacation as sort of a trial run for maybe, one day, taking that step. All of this is just context for the fact that I was really serious about her. It was also the first real adult relationship that I'd been in.

If it was meant to be a trial for moving in, the vacation probably brought to the surface all the issues that I'd had with her. It was seriously a disaster. Our first day was great, but she spent a lot of the next two days taking calls from work and having some "alone time". I was really pissed off on the third day, waking up to ask if she wanted to go swimming, and having her tell me she was up for hours, and if I wanted to go I should've talked to her earlier. I suggested things we could do together, and we did eat lunch together and go to the pool, but she wasn't at all interested in doing anything else with me. After lunch, she sort of disappeared, so I went to the bar myself and considered texting her to join me. I got distracted talking to a guy, and soon enough we were super invested in the conversation together.

For context, I'm probably somewhere on the bi/pan end of things, but I grew up and continued living in a close minded small town. Especially last year, I was very much not out, not comfortable with people seeing me as in any way lgbtq adjacent, and still holding onto a lot more internalised stuff than I was willing to admit to.

This guy (who I'll call R) and I hit it off. We had lots in common, and he was fun to hang around with, and a good listener. I won't lie, I did find him pretty physically attractive, but naturally, it wasn't a huge issue. I've never had a problem being faithful, it's something I value over anything else in a relationship. When I spoke to my girlfriend about him later, she make some teasing remarks towards me about him being my "boyfriend". I was extremely sensitive about this, and snapped at her, to which she called me oversensitive and complained I never understand her jokes. I, being more mean than I should've been, told her she should try being funny, and she just called me misogynistic, which I resented, so I walked out, and came back later when I was sure she was asleep.

The next day, she shut me off completely, which I understood. I apologised, but I appreciated that she needed some space. I ended up meeting R at the pool again. We went for a hike, which took longer than expected, and made it home at dinner, which we got together. He insisted on paying in full, and we had a fun time, walking back to the hotel together. He told me he was leaving that evening, and I offered to help him pack. We got into his room, I helped him pack, we talked, traded socials, and, eventually, just out of the blue, I kissed him. I don't really know why, but it was nothing more than a chaste kiss, and I panicked and left.

The rest of the trip with my girlfriend was mostly us keeping to ourselves, and while we made up, there was definitely an atmosphere. The atmosphere just stayed. We broke up in October, for reasons unrelated directly to the vacation.

However, my issue is that from the vacation to when my gf and I broke up, R and I were dming each other. Objectively,it wasn't anything romantic or sexual, no nudes, nothing like that. We would just talk like we always did. We decided to try out dating in February of this year, and so far, its been great - he's genuinely a brilliant partner, we have far less conflicts, we sort things out quicker, and we generally seem to mesh much better than I did with my ex. But being with him has sort of taught me that what I valued him for when we were just talking is also what I mostly value him for now that we're dating - his good listening, his great sense of humour, the fact he just seems to get me. I could be overthinking things, but I can't shake this weird feeling that while I was with my ex I was somehow having all the trappings of another relationship whilst not indulging in the traditional markers of one. It just doesn't feel right to me. Am I the asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[raayllum]

Anyway Runaan-Callum parallels slap so let's talk about 'em (semi requested by the lovely @hoothalcyon)

Although Runaan and Callum are about as different presentation wise as they could possibly be, especially in Arc 1 - one a stoic, serious Moonshadow elf sworn to duty over family, who believes wholeheartedly in a dastardly human enemy, and the other a goofy heart-on-his-sleeve prince who always believes elves may be worth reasoning with - they do have, at their steely cores, have a fair few similarities. This is largely in their respective relationships with Ezran and Rayla.

For starters, in spite of Callum's idealism, he does have a more skeptical core (just like Runaan) both in regards to potentially listening to / trusting 'former enemies' and in trusting the people they love with possibilities they've already deemed impossible.

Runaan: No. Humans are liars. This is a trick and a trap. You're a fool, Rayla.

Rayla: Just... trust me. Callum: Right, right. That makes sense. Since we go way back. Like that one time, ten minutes ago, when you chased me through the castle trying to stab me. Haha, good times!

You have Callum and Runaan both being terse/angry at Ezran ("Ezran, you don't get it, do you? Why do you think they're sending us away? Because they're coming to kill him!") and Rayla ("Of course he was afraid, but you had a job to do! You let him live but you killed us all") for not seemingly getting the severity of the situation they've found themselves in, even though Callum told Ez that everything was okay when the younger boy expressed doubts earlier, and even though Runaan didn't listen to Ethari's cautioning that Rayla wasn't ready for this sort of mission.

Runaan and Callum are both also lied to / betrayed by people they trusted, leading ultimately to disaster once the illusion has been revealed; for Runaan, it is his adoptive daughter, and for Callum, it is his childhood friend(s) in Claudia and Soren. And both turn away from each girl in the end, leaving them staring off sadly as Runaan and Callum devote themselves to the missions they believe have to be done that Rayla and Claudia were attempting to derail.

Callum and Runaan also believe that Rayla can be better than how she's presenting herself ("Why? You know this is wrong" / "You're better than this") even if they have opposite ideas of what 'better' is. For Callum, it's Rayla embracing her compassion ("You have a big heart") and for Runaan, it's largely shutting it off ("Your heart isn't hard enough to do whatever it takes"). Which is why I think it's nice that they are both the ones who label Rayla's said compassion, initially in Callum's case, as hesitation.

And of course, in Chasing Shadows, they are the two voices inside Rayla's head, helping her retain her identity (to a degree with Runaan, who is also paralleled with RedFeather in spite of the distance and/or fraught dynamic between them, as well as being the two people to pull her out of the water from near drowning.

“An island is land,” said a voice in her head, so playful and cheeky she could almost see his smile. [...] “A hidden dagger,” Rayla understood. It was something Runaan had told her time and time again: “a defenseless enemy may keep their daggers hidden.”

I love you. I wish I could say that we will see each other again, but I don’t know if we will. I hope so. 

Callum can also be determined bordering on stubborn, like Runaan (a trait many of the main cast share, given the adversity of their circumstances; "We have to keep going, no matter what" from 1x08; "Justice will not be denied" from 1x03) but he is ultimately more willing to change. He can be stoic (in S4) if not very well, and has his own self sacrificial tendencies, particularly if that means protecting his loved ones: "We'll be stronger as five" now that Runaan knows the mission will likely require sacrifice and "I need you to kill me" now that Callum knows Aaravos has turned him into a threat. Given the trouble that magic has recently brought Callum, I wonder if we will start to see him have similar doubts as Runaan in Bloodmoon Huntress over being an assassin, of "I wonder if perhaps I shouldn't have become..."

However, as Ethari lays out in BH: "Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close. I've known since we met that this is Runaan's calling, that nothing will deter him from his duty." When Runaan is offered freedom and a chance to go home to Ethari - to free himself and return to his loved ones, to ease their suffering - he doesn't take it. It is the end of his episode in which he states, "I will never help you," allowed to hold fast. (Even though, if he had been freed, he possibly could've taken the coins holding Lain and Tiadrin with him as well, if through force.)

But Callum has his "I will never help you" at the beginning of his episode, so it's unsurprising from a structural standpoint that Callum's vow doesn't hold (and doubly unsurprising from a characterization standpoint) since as we all know, Callum "values those close to him more than anyone or anything."

Now, we don't know what Runaan would've done if one of his loved ones' lives had been on the line, as opposed to Viren just further threatening his own safety, but he was willing to sacrifice the lives of all of his assassins (granted that they were equally willing of the risk), so there's a little grey room. We also know that Finnegrin had to meet a challenge similar to Viren's: Callum didn't fear his own lack of freedom, torture couldn't break him, and he wasn't scare either when it seemed he was assuming he was the one going to be fed to the giant sea serpent. So Finnegrin had to find something that Callum, likewise, would "fear more / find worse than death" and he did:

Magic is very important to Callum and it's what he absolutely wants to pursue, but he's not willing to risk his life or heavily bend his morals just for his calling (2x04, 2x02, 2x08); he is willing to do those things for his loved ones, time and time again (1x01, 1x02, 2x07, 3x09, 5x08).

The fun thing is that we see this sort of language (Finnegrin's whole thing about fair prices) reflected in BH with Runaan as well, specifically with Kim'Dael holding an innocent Skywing boy hostage and using him as leverage for Runaan to sacrifice himself (which, given Callum's subsequent dark magic use, is also a level in 5x08, because he's also willing to sacrifice/risk corrupting himself further to save Rayla):

Which we could see Callum consider if there's something that requires him to do dark/dangerous magic again in S6, since in his mind, he's already 'tainted' and stained by dark magic, just as Kim'Dael taunts Runaan over it (and those sweet assassin-dark mage parallels continue to persist):

I know you're brave. The kind of brave that would sacrifice your life to save the ones you love. Let's make it simple. Give me your blood, assassin, and those two you came with walk away free. You've killed, but they haven't. They can still have long full lives.

(I do still lean towards this ultimately coming back around for Rayla first and foremost because BH basically exists to hold up a sign like "Runaan and Rayla are similar" / her paying the price motif and sacrifice, but I do think ultimately both Callum and Rayla will end up in a situation similar to Runaan's above whether in structure or in how they process it.)

Where are all these parallels going, besides Callum being the one to free Runaan and co. in S6, and Runaan possibly encouraging the "You need to kill me" idea at first? No clue! But they're fun either way.

Other fun misc. parallels:

Guiding moon (Ethari and Rayla to Runaan and Callum respectively, parallel, maybe)

And last but not least, the parallel that gave me the tag for their foils / dynamic in the first place

[dpsisquared]

For the ship meme, how about Sylvain/Claude!

I ship them! It's so fun to ship Sylvain, there are a lot of ones I love for him. I feel like these guys could go one of two ways-- disaster flirts that have a sudden revelation that the person they've been looking for has been there the whole time, or the more serious version, where two extremely guarded people let down their walls slowly over time.

1. What made you ship it? Idk why but Claudvain seems to be a surprisingly common bg ship in Felileth fics and I just thought it worked so well.

2. Favorite things? They're very similar. They both have their walls up 24/7 and those walls are practically impenetrable. I like the idea of them learning to be vulnerable together, like it's easier if you're not doing it alone. Playing chess as a metaphor for relationships. And though it's a bit sad, I actually think leaving Fodlan would be a pretty good ending for Sylvain. I don't know that he'd ever be able to completely move on from his toxic family while living in their home. Superficially, just look at them! That is an attractive couple right there. As a writer, they're a good "Greek chorus" couple in the background, always with funny quips about the other characters.

3. Unpopular opinion? I don't think so? I wouldn't even know what a popular opinion on them is 😅

[cannibalvillains]

About shipping my muses, n stuff.

Gonna keep this a a constant WIP, as I figure stuff out. But I decided this could be fun to make for mutuals who maybe wanna ship. Give yall an angle.

Generally ship tropes I like; Arranged Marriage, Toxic, Hate-fucking, queerplatonic stuff, partners in love and crime aka "murder boyfriends", whatever the Addams Family had going, tragedy

(.... Sorry im not awfully good with pure fluff, just don't do it for me. Also; pointing to my no smut rp rule)

Brief details on each respective muse are under the cut!

MHA______________________________________________________

Dabi (demiromanic bi)

Tbh if my Dabi actually has feelings for sb id say its time to run. He is obsessive as hell and he can't do relationships normally. He has straight up stalked several other muses by this point. It was for different reasons but affection is definitely one of them. Also expect it to be undoubtly toxic. He can genuinely love but also it's god awful. He's honestly most easy to deal with on a "we only fuck and nothing else" type basis.

Ships i like for him; Shigaraki, Twice, Hawks (only toxic hatefucking), ...

Overhaul (aroace, repulsed type aka "dont fucking touch me")

Right out the gate: don't expect normal relationship dynamics with him. Just don't. Fact aside that he generally just sucks with people, Im serious when I say he's aroace. He will never fall in love with another character and he will happily die a virgin because that stuff just makes him beyond uncomfortable. That said, I wrote him in tight knit relationships before and they have been some of my fav in recent past. Either way it's a slowburn.

Ships I like for him; Kurono, Nagant, ...

Spinner (bi-curious)

Tbh this man is open to be shipped with almost anyone. I haven't really done stuff with him yet, and he is also very open. Doesn't think about this stuff right now but he would try his best if put in the situation.

Ships I like for him; ???

Eri WE DO NOT SHIP THE CHILD

Enji (disaster bi, in denial abt liking men)

Taking current canon into consideration; Enji is old, tired and doesn't seem himself as "attractive" anymore. His marriage was more duty than love and these days he is most in of all concerned with fixing things with his kids. Trying to ship him at that age would take a lot of convincing. Trying to get him to cheat on his wife like 10 to 20 years prior is an option but can only end terribly. (please I absolutely wanna do that!!) Anything before his marriage would be battling his drive to become the number one hero. (also fun)

Ships I like for him; All Might ( yes its terrible ), Rei ( yes its complicated ), ...

Twice (gay, hopeless)

He's a mess. You may think this means he best works with other people who are well put together, but I (terrible person) like to see spiral, together with other messes. Enjoy.

Ships I like for him; Dabi, anyone LOV tbh (also just purely platonic stuff; we love to see it), ...

Bakugou (bi)

Main criteria for people Bakugou likes; they stand up to him and give him challenges. Just straight up best compatible with muses who are either an asshole equal to himself, or just say "No, stop being a dick. I won't take your shit." If your muse just follows along with whatever he does he will not give them the time of day. He won't care.

Ships I like for him; Occhako, Monoma, Fujimi, ...

JJK_______________________________________________________

Sukuna (aro, an egnima)

I dunno yet what gets him... but you gotta be strong else he will just crush you and be bored. Probably best to get his interest through powerful Jujutsu/fighting skills though, obviously.

Ships I like for him; Gojo, Uraume, Toji, ...

Gojo (GAYYYY)

Definitely struggles to relate to people with his whole "its lonely being the strongest" business. Definitely not easy to connect to and will not be honest about his feelings. But BOY does he seek connection! Pathetic little man!

Ships I like for him; Geto(duh, tho tbh also love it as just best friends), Sukuna, Nanami, ...

Yuji (???)

I dunno yet, somebody give him Jennifer Lawrence! Or his former classmate, that seemed cute. Either way he is a sunshine boy who probably clicks easily with people but later in the story of jjk it may be difficult to get close, the trauma of losing people and all that....

Ships I like for him; ???

Maki (???)

I dunno yet either, give her Jennifer Lawrence as well! Ok no, forreal though. I think she needs someone who can help her relax and not be so stuck on her goals all the time (tho do support her goals... and shittalk the Zen'in clan together...!!)

Ships I like for her; ???

Kenjaku (EVIL)

Would probably fuck anyone. I dunno if you should get near them though. There is like.... ALL THE RED FLAGS. Doesn't care much for the people they start relationships with. To them it's just all a game.

Ships I like for them; Yuji's dad, Gojo (while disgused as Geto, def in a toxic af way), ...

OP________________________________________________________

Law (gay af)

Honestly, this guy has a terrible taste in men and he knows it. He also hates it. He wants to have a good relationship but he got a tendency to get into the ones he regrets, and doesn't regret, but so damn regrets. I think there is a lot of fun kinda drama to be had here.

Ships I like for him; Kidd, Bepo, Zoro, Robin ( yes i said hes gay... they just match ), ...

Doffy (bi and awful)

On the outside Doffy is sweet, charming and flirty, makes all the compliments and expresses his care for his person of interest. He is also manipulative, possessive and most of all cares for himself.... YOU SHOULD RUN.

Ships I like for him; ...

BLEACH___________________________________________________

Zagetsu (nope)

Eh. I just have him to be a creature tbh. If you wanna ship with him genuinely, CONVINCE ME.

Ships I like for him; NAH

[villain-in-love]

Notes on Chainsaw Man self-insert in development

⬩ The Drowning Devil, probably one of the Primal Fears or very close to it.

⬩ I may have been inspired by Morgan Clae's version of "Get In The Water". I've been listening to this snippet non-stop for a few months already.

⬩ Hides the fact that she’s a devil, lives as a human artist and photographer. Her underwater artwork and photography are highly sought after.

⬩ She’s ancient. Like, “still remembers the fall of Rome” ancient. She only died once in her life and she dislikes talking about this fact.

⬩ Calm as still water and very secretive. Always maintains a serene expression no matter what she might think or feel at the moment.

⬩ This is mainly in reference to the fact that most victims of drowning report experiencing the feeling of calmness and tranquillity before finally losing consciousness.

⬩ Don't be misled by her poise and feminine looks, she’s surprisingly harsh and unceremonious with her words. She's not interested in putting in any effort to sound nice or polite, and doesn't mind using profanities when she sees fit.

⬩ Drowning (I will be calling her that for now) is relatively peaceful for a devil, and doesn’t care about the ever-lasting conflict between devils and humans. She has no interest in helping either side.

⬩ In the rare moments when she gets involved in something serious, she demonstrates ruthlessness and cruelty, as well as utter disregard for human life.

⬩ Often disappears for indefinite amount of time when nobody can find or contact her.

⬩ Her favourite pastime is drowning or almost drowning humans for the sake of traumatizing them and feeding on their fear.

⬩ Accidentally became a mother figure to Denji.

⬩ A very awkward, emotionally stunted, and irresponsible mother figure, that is. Still, she loves this disaster kid and actually tries to help him when needed.

⬩ At first she only considered Aki to be her personal toy that is fun to mess with, but then she started gradually catching feelings, even willing to go into a confrontation with Makima to protect him.

⬩ Her relationship with Makima is complicated. Not quite friends, but they might hang out together if they happen to run into each other. Not quite enemies, but they would not hesitate to become ones at any moment.

⬩ When I think of it, they could be great character foils to each other.

⬩ Drowning almost always wears long skirts and dresses, and she dislikes outfits with many layers. You can often see her wearing tank tops with maxi skirts in something that is close to gothic/grunge style.

⬩ Such clothing style, or rather silhouette, reflects the fact that she's not particularly active physically... as well as the fact that even in the world this dangerous she has no actual need for that. Also her clothes are usually something that she would be comfortable wearing under water.

⬩ She has dark greenish-blue eyes, maybe with a gradient. Actually meant to be depicted with no pupils.

⬩ Her hair reaches her ankles, it's mostly straight but starts to get wavy at the ends. Somehow it's always moving even when there’s no wind and she stands completely still.

⬩ I feel like she definitely should be taller than the real me.

⬩ I still can't come up with her human name, but it should be something multinational and sounding like it's unclear whether it's a real name or a nickname. What I can say for sure is that she hears "Rapunzel" in her address a lot.

⬩ Additional music: Shadow Lady by Portwave (slowed) and Follow Me Away by Grayera, Девочка и Море by polnalyubvi (slowed).

Makers used: first one, second one.

[acacia-may]

Hello Acacia _may I saw you were doing a song recommendation thing and I was wondering if you had any songs for Jessie and James 😉 hope your well

Hi Eggs! Hope you're doing well! 💕 Thank you so much for ask! I don't get a lot of Pokémon ones so this is really exciting for me, and I'll admit I had a little too much fun going through my old Rocketshipping playlist from way, way back in the day! (It's so old it doesn't even have a Spotify equivalent lol 😂). But yes, excellent pairing and lots of wonderful memories!

Your song & headcanons are below the cut! Thanks for playing my song + headcanon ask game! 🥰

So, in another life (long before I had a Tumblr), a much younger Acacia was just elbow-deep invested in Rocketshipping, and your ask has gotten me all squealing and kicking my feet up in the air about them again. I had lots of fun going back through my old playlist I made for them, though I'll admit most of it was pretty on the nose and/or cheeky with a bunch of criminals in love kind of songs (who knew there was such a genre of that 😅😂). One of my favorites of those has always been "Ocean City" (YouTube) by Charming Disaster. I feel like it really has this Jessie and James vibe to it since it starts of as this kind of bouncy, jaunty pseudo-love song about a couple on what we think is a romantic getaway only to find out by the refrain that these lovers are actually on the run from the law! 😁

It's a fun song so I think it's worth mentioning, but I decided to go for a more serious choice so I can write some related headcanons for you and picked "I Caught Myself" by Paramore which has always felt like a Jessie song to me in the context of Rocketshipping. I feel like the complicated feelings of the singer are very similar to how I imagine Jessie would feel about James and pursuing a romantic relationship.

So without further ado here are some of my "Jessie falls in love with James" headcanons:

Jessie has lingering abandonment issues from her childhood which have made her jaded and guarded. She really struggles to open up to others and even when she has someone in her life (like James) who is so devoted to her and has been such a constant presence in her life, she still struggles to truly accept and believe that he's always going to stick around so she's always looking for the "emergency exit" or that "escape hatch" in case things go south and she goes out of her way to convince herself not to care too much so she won't end up getting hurt.

Despite being so independent and headstrong and so guarded about her feelings, Jessie does feel this almost-undeniable closeness to James and feels this connection, but she stops herself from really exploring that or pursuing it. She does have these moments where she's really beginning to think "Oh, wow! I could actually be falling in love" but then she "catches" herself and doesn't really let herself feel that and just buries her heart deeper and deeper away from him, struggling to admit just how much he means to her and how much she cares about him.

This sometimes even goes so far as her consciously or perhaps subconsciously sabotaging her own chances at happiness by pushing him away. When she feels James is getting too close to her, she sometimes lashes out--feeling it's better to just stop anything that "could be" before it became something and she lost her heart only for it to be broken (or so is her fear)

For this reason, she never expresses her feelings or inner turmoil on this topic despite her affection growing not only in intensity but also in undeniability [to the point that by the time they actually do pursue something romantic with each other, everyone in their lives are just exasperated like "FINALLY. It's about time"].

It's James who confesses first though it is inadvertent and accidental. Confronted with the fact that he actually loves her, Jessie has a sort of existential crisis, but eventually allows herself to believe him. She allows herself to be loved, and it's in that moment that she reaches true acceptance that she loves him too.

I Caught Myself - YouTube

[shipcestuous]

What do you think of Ray and Rachel from War of the Worlds? They become really close and have a lot of intimate moments, and Ray will do literally anything to keep her safe. I love when he sings her the lullaby and kisses her as she falls asleep, or after he kills Tim Robbins in the basement and Rachel gets into his lap and tries to comfort him, and then we see them sleeping in each other’s arms. So sweet.

Ray and Rachel in War of the Worlds. Their father-daughter relationship is one of my favorite things about this movie and I love how Ray will do anything to protect her.

I'm sorry for taking so long to answer your ask! It has been a long, busy week.

I recently rewatched this movie. It's funny, when I saw it when it first came out, I wasn't that impressed. I love disaster movies, and a lot of times creature features and alien invasion movies can be classified in the same category. So I think I had certain expectations of fun and War of the Worlds was a lot more serious and small-scale than I was expecting, even though it was directed by Spielberg and was a big mainstream release. But every time I have watched it, I've liked it more than I did the time before. Now it's a movie I like quite a lot, and even though it was made in 2005, I think the special effects still look really good.

To get back on topic, Rachel and the brother, Robbie, have come up at least once and possibly twice. And they have a lot of sweet moments. But there's really a lot to be said about Ray and Rachel as well. They have great development over the course of the movie.

It's unclear how long Ray and the kids' mother have been divorced but she's remarried and expecting another child so it has been at the very least a couple of years and in my opinion probably a lot longer, maybe even most of Rachel's life. The kids have a bedroom at Ray's place but it's clear enough that he hasn't been very involved in their lives. Aside from Robbie calling Ray out for caring only about himself, Ray didn't know that Rachel was allergic to peanuts, it seems like he didn't know about her competition prize, he didn't know her favorite lullabies, he didn't know about her anxiety or how the others calm her down, etc. So when the kids are handed off to Ray, she's less hostile towards him than Robbie but also doesn't exactly trust him, per se.

I love that after the kids are dropped off, Ray just goes straight to bed and tells Rachel to order food if she's hungry. It's the absolute least he could have done.

I think it's a very critical moment when Robbie wants to run off and join the fighters (I could rant about that, but it's off topic), and Rachel pleads with him: "But who is going to take care of me?" That line is as much about Ray as it is about Robbie. Even after all they had already been through in the movie at that point, Rachel still wasn't sure about Ray as a father. But then Robbie does run off. Robbie/Rachel is still a sweet relationship, but he abandons her, he really does. And Ray is the one who is there for her, and like you said, he'll do anything to protect her. (And interestingly, by running off, Robbie is showing that he trusts Ray to take care of Rachel. So it's almost like he trusts Ray before Rachel does, even though he was the more antagonistic one. Maybe because he's older and remembers when they were a family?)

Those scenes that you mentioned towards the end of the movie are so sweet. She's asking him to sing her favorite lullabies and he doesn't know them, but he does his best. Later, he's traumatized by what he had to do, overwhelmed by what they've been through and having it all on his shoulders, and she comforts him. And you really see how far they've come.

And then we get our happy ending and so much promise for the future of this family. And you know that Ray is going to be a lot more involved in their lives and probably live closer. And with the world thrown into chaos, things are going to be very different. And Rachel and Ray are definitely bonded by the intensity of what they went through, a million close calls, and seeing so many people die.

It'll be quite a few years before Rachel is an adult but her father is played by Tom Cruise, who ages at half the rate that everyone else does, so that works out. I feel like Ray would still be basically the same guy and look essentially the same even 20 years later.

It's funny, I've seen so many Tom Cruise movies, but it seems like he doesn't play fathers very much. So this movie is kind of a rare thing in that respect.

[tauforged]

ves and rex are childhood friends, practically adopted siblings - they were both rotten little troublemaking teenagers that navigated the same circles, and realized they had far more in common than they could’ve guessed - weird and complicated relationships with their fathers, dead or wholly absent mothers, and this sort of innate restlessness and dissatisfaction with their appearances. rex’s father wasn’t the biggest fan of ves, although he recognized that the poor kid was going through some serious shit and made a point of being kind to him whenever rex had him over, which started becoming more and more often as ves’s relationship with his dad became more and more strained and dangerous. ves, meanwhile, was rex’s personal hype man on top of being her best friend and adoptive brother. any time she did anything, no matter what, he was there cheering her on. he always thought she was insanely cool, and was admittedly more than a little jealous of her. sure, her dad was a little protective and kind of annoying, but at least he was there. he supported rex in a way that ves wished he had. rex knew that ves’s dad was horrible to him, but she’d have been lying if she didn’t say she envied him when he told her about all the times his dad would leave home for days on end to work and he had the house to himself, free reign to do whatever he pleased so long as he cleaned up the evidence before he got home. they spent a lot of time sitting around on top of landscaping rocks in their hab-ship’s nature parks, talking about life and throwing leaves and grass at eachother.

ves likes to draw, and he’s responsible for a handful of murals and tags around the habs that he’s very proud of. he’s especially fond of things with big teeth and big eyes. his finest work (in his opinion) was a piece he threw up on the wall of a maintenance shed in one of the parks of a swarm of moray eels devouring eachothers tails. rex’s favorite piece of his, though, is something he scribbled in one of her notebooks while he was ‘helping’ her with schoolwork - he insisted it was just a random doodle, but she’s positive it was a picture of the two of them. she kept it and pinned it up on her wall - he’s embarrassed and keeps begging her to take it down, at least let him redo it on nicer paper, but she insists that it wouldn’t be the same.

rex is a pilot, as mentioned before, and while she’s really good behind the controls of a cruiser, she has a lot more fun on her hoverbike or even on old fashioned roller skates. ves thinks it’s the coolest thing ever, and wherever shes riding, it’s almost a given that he’ll be there to record it for her and cheer her on, no matter if it’s a race or a stunt show or just her practicing in a run down old skate park. she managed to convince him to let her get him a pair of skates and teach him, and while he has fun once he gets the hang of it, he’s far less graceful and prefers to sit back and watch from the sidelines.

when rex finds out what happened to ves, she freaks out and insists on going after him. not only because he’s her friend and she’s worried for him - but because she knows he can’t drive a cruiser to save his life. her father tries to stop her from getting involved (ves’ dad IS his boss, after all) but she goes anyway, following him down to the planet’s surface. by the time she gets there, though, it seems like she’s too late - it looks like he’d crashed his stolen cruiser just as she feared. but when she lands and goes to look for him, though, she can’t find him - not even a body. what she does find, though, are tire tracks and footsteps that suggest that someone else got to him first, which sends her into a panic - there aren’t many habitations on the planets surface, aside from long-abandoned research labs that had fallen victim to disaster, or ‘security’ bases owned by auron corp that functioned as armed guards to keep anyone and everyone away from the whales’ impact sites. so, despite knowing how dangerous it is, she hops on her bike and takes off, following the tracks in the hopes that she could catch up to him before whoever picked him up turned him in.

[redwingedwolves]

Hey, it's before 10 this time! I'm going good!

Prompt List

7th Feb - 💟"How it all started": How did you and your F/O get together? Was it sudden, slowburn, enemies to lovers? Feel free to gush!💟

Keigo

Slowburn doesn't even begin to cover the start to mine and Keigo's relationship. We were very, very much friends to lovers with one-sided pining on his part. XD I'm just a dumbass who didn't even really think about him that way until after he asked me out. But, basically what happened was I accidentally called him 'babe' one time while we were parting ways. I don't even really remember how and honestly didn't even realize I had said it until Keigo texted me and asked about it. I then had to actually think before realizing 'yeah, I kinda did, holy shit', but he just said it was fine and we just kinda brushed it off..

Then, one day, like a week later, we were just hanging out at my place when he turns to me and just, with the straightest face possible goes "do you wanna go out with me?". I was very confused, and no one has ever claimed me to be the brightest crayon in the box, so I just looked at him and kinda asked "like on a date?". Obviously the answer was yes like a date. So we did and it was... A disaster. We both tried way too hard and it was just a not very fun time all around. After all was said and done we had basically decided that because it was such a bust we would just remain friends.

Another week passes and I talk about what happened to my sister and she calls me an idiot. She says that we messed up by trying to go into it like a whole new relationship and by extension ignoring the one we had already formed. It was like the biggest most obvious thing when she pointed it out to me and as soon as I realized that she was right I called Keigo and asked him if he wanted to try again. He was obviously confused, asking me why when we said we'd just stay friends and I told him that we were still going to be friends, we were just adding another layer on top of it. So, we went out again and needless to say this time it went much, much better and well, the rest, as they say, is history.

Dabi

My relationship with Dabi started out... Interesting, to say the least. The very first time I ever met the man he'd threatened me because he was trying to get a rise out of Keigo and when it didn't work he seemed to just ignore me from then on out. Now, I am, once again, by no means the smartest man out there, but I could not deny the attraction I felt toward him even if I tried and I was apparently much more obvious in that fact than I would have thought cause it was actually Dabi that approached me about said attraction. After he confronted me one thing led to another and we ended up starting up a friends with benefits type deal. Though, I suppose it was more 'fuck buddies' cause we weren't really friends at the time either. XP

We actual did that for about four or five months before either of us realized feelings were involved. And then, after a particularly bad argument in which Dabi stormed out and left, I came to the very shocking realization that I was in love with him. When he came back later that same night I ended up telling him and he was shocked, kinda harshly asked if I was serious and when I told him that I was he just kinda groaned and sat next to me. He asked if Keigo knew and I told him yes. He took a long moment in what I assume was him processing the whole thing before he looked up at me and said "well, that's good then cause I love you too." And well, that was that. We've been dating for about six months now.

[totowlff]

extra — you can’t shift the tide

➝ after a long day, what toto wants most is to get to his room and rest. but he has one more unfinished business to take care of.

➝ word count: 1,1k

➝ warnings: none

➝ author’s note: double update today, with an extra and a new chapter. by the way, we already have two unpublished chapters ready and they are amazing! enjoy this extra!

JUNE, 2015

Toto rubbed his eyes and checked the clock on his phone. 

It was getting late — probably well past time for him to head back to the hotel for the evening, but it was so easy to get caught up in his work sometimes. But, he needed to force himself to stop — his son, Benedict, was waiting in the garage for him, after he’d asked to stay behind to watch the mechanics working on Lewis’ car after qualifying today. Benedict was probably wanting to go back to the hotel sooner than later.

Toto gathered up his things, turned off the light in his motorhome office, and headed downstairs. He waved goodnight to the cleaning staff that were getting everything ready for tomorrow, and headed out across the paddock to the garages. 

He spotted Benedict in the back of the garage. He was exactly where Toto left him, in a seat behind the mechanic workbay. It looked like he was dozing off a little. He had his head propped up on his hand. His hand kept slipping, allowing his head to dip, which would rouse him briefly, until the cycle would repeat again. 

“He must be tired”, Toto thought, chuckling a little. “Dozing off with all of this noise”.

He crossed the garage, nodding hello to a few of the mechanics, and softly jostled his son’s shoulder a bit. 

Ben jolted with a start, despite Toto’s attempt to wake him gently. He looked up at his father and blinked, momentarily confused. 

— It’s time to go — Toto said — I know it’s been a long day, so let’s go back to the hotel and get some sleep. We have an early day tomorrow.

Ben stretched and yawned before standing up, and followed his dad out of the garage, waving goodbye to the mechanics still busy at work on Lewis’ car. It would be time for curfew soon, anyway, and the cars would be covered with their blankets for the night, not to be touched until the next morning. 

They walked back to Toto’s car in silence.

— Did you have a good day today? I’m sorry that I ended up being so busy and didn’t get to spend very much time with you — Toto said, as they settled in, and Toto started the car. 

— Yeah, I had a really good day — Ben said — Watching the mechanics work was fun, and I liked seeing the cars. I’m glad Elisabeth brought me to see the McLaren MP4/2B. Those old cars are so cool, and they’re so different from the ones now. And it was nice to see Niki again.

Toto couldn’t help but feel a bit of excitement when his son mentioned Elisabeth, unprompted, like he had. He knew that she had been nervous about whether or not his kids liked her. As confident as he was that they did like her, there was still a nugget of doubt at the back of his mind. It was normal to be worried about it, he assured himself. He’d even spoken to his therapist about it, and she assured him that it was expected that he’d feel a bit of apprehension when introducing them to someone new. Elisabeth wasn’t new to them, per se, but her and Toto’s relationship was getting serious — almost “this is your new stepmom” serious. 

His kids meant a lot to him. They were the most important people in the world to him, other than Elisabeth. The kids liking her as his friend from work was a different matter altogether than them liking her as a possible future stepmother. 

Ben and Rosi had met Elisabeth long before they started dating. After the relative disaster of introducing his kids to Aurélie, the woman he dated for about eight months before he and Elisabeth got together, he knew he needed to treat this situation with some delicacy. 

He’d never wished that he could read his son’s mind more than he did now, because he was so curious as to what Ben’s thoughts were on the matter. 

In most cases, he preferred to take the direct approach to resolving problems and asking questions, but it felt a bit different with his kids, at least with something like this, since the direct approach had failed so spectacularly when he’d introduced Aurélie as his girlfriend. He didn’t want to repeat the same mistake twice in such a relatively short span of time.

— So, did you like hanging out with Elisabeth and your sister for the day?

— I did — the boy said — Elisabeth is nice to talk to. She knows a lot about cars, and… I don’t know, I guess it seems like she likes talking to Rosi and me. Like, she asked me about my F1 in Schools project, and most people don’t even know what that is.

Toto relaxed a little. That seemed like an endorsement, a step in the right direction. Toto trusted his son’s judgment. He liked to joke sometimes that Ben was his junior advisor, but at the core of it, he meant it. Ben may have only been fourteen, but his entire childhood was shaped by Toto’s parenting missteps and his divorce from Stephanie, Ben and Rosi’s mother. He’d gone through a lot, but Toto always marveled at how emotionally intelligent his son was because of it. There was never any way to hide his feelings from Benedict.

For that reason, he tried to shield his kids from as many of his personal dramas as possible after the separation and subsequent divorce. He dated a few women, even before Aurélie. He cringed whenever photos of himself with whatever woman he’d been out on a few dates with ended up in business and social magazines in Vienna, but there wasn’t much to be done about that. He never introduced any of the other women he was dating to his kids. Not before Aurélie, and what happened with Aurélie was exactly why.

He took them all out to dinner. They’d gone out to a pizza place in Vienna’s Innere Stadt near Toto’s penthouse called Trattoria Santo Stefano. The kids loved pizza, he thought, and there were lots of lighter options if Aurélie didn’t want the carbs. She was a fashion model, and she had to pay attention to what she ate, and she usually declined most of the restaurants suggested, with the fare being too rich. It hadn’t bothered Toto at first — he liked eating healthy, but he still liked the experience of dining.

Their outing didn't go badly, he thought. However, during dinner, Ben and Rosi were very obviously bored and indifferent to her presence, and Toto struggled to keep conversation flowing between his children and his girlfriend. It wasn’t surprising — she didn’t really make much of an attempt to interact with either of the kids. Toto tried not to fault her for it, because he knew that Aurélie hadn’t been around pre-teens very much and probably just didn’t know what to talk about. But, still, it did bother him that she more or less treated them like wallpaper, and would look startled whenever Ben tried to participate in their conversation. Rosi mostly ignored them and focused on her dinner. 

After that dinner, Toto asked his kids what they thought of his girlfriend directly, eager to get their opinions.

Rosi didn’t have much to say, and said that she wasn’t really paying attention, and that she was a bit bored. 

Ben’s response, however, was more lengthy. 

— I don’t know why she didn’t want to talk to us. I kept trying to respond to her questions, but she kept looking at me funny. I feel like she didn’t really want us there. I don’t know why you like her so much, dad.

It stunned him at the time, and it was why he was a bit cagier about asking now. He’d underestimated how smart and perceptive Ben was, and should have realized then that his relationship with Aurélie was going nowhere, but at the time, he convinced himself that they’d all come along to like each other. 

— It will just take some time, but you’ll see, she’s wonderful — he told them.

Toto realized now that he was just trying to convince himself, more than he was trying to convince his children.

Silence hung in the air in the car between them for a few more minutes, with nothing but the hum of the engine as Toto drove down the Spielbergstrasse. He was keeping his eyes focused on the road, watching for the shine of eyes from the roadside, just in case a deer or some other critter would try to cross. It wasn’t something he ever had to worry about in Vienna. 

— Is Elisabeth going to be there tomorrow? — Ben asked, quietly. 

Toto furrowed his brow at the question. 

— Of course she will be, Benedict. She’s part of the team. Did you not want her to come?

— No! No, that’s not it. I… Can I ask you a question?

— Of course — Toto’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter as he snuck a quick sidelong glance at his son, but he tried to remain composed. He was probably just as nervous as Ben seemed to be.

— Is Elisabeth your girlfriend?

Toto felt his face blanch and his stomach lurch. 

— Why are you asking? — Toto said. He was trying to keep his voice even.

— Well… You were working in your office one day when Rosi and I were at your place. Your phone was in the living room, and it rang. Rosi went to bring it to you, but the call went to voicemail. We saw that your wallpaper had changed, and we know you don’t know how to change it. And it was a picture of two wine glasses, and I noticed one of the glasses had lipstick on it, so… We figured out that you had a girlfriend.

Toto’s head felt like it had been replaced with a balloon, filled with helium, trying to float away from his neck. Guilty as charged — he definitely didn’t know how to change his phone’s wallpaper. Elisabeth had done it for him because she thought it was cute.

— We’ve noticed some other things, too. Like the furniture being rearranged in your apartment. You haven’t moved your furniture since you first moved in. And the way you talk to Elisabeth… We’ve been around people on the team a lot, and we’ve never seen you talk to anybody else you work with like you talk to her. And that song you were playing on the trip up from Vienna. Rosi and I were sure it was because of her.

Toto sighed. He and Elisabeth had tried so hard to hide it from the kids, because of how things went with Aurélie. Toto didn’t want to bring someone new into their little family so soon, and Elisabeth didn’t feel ready, either. 

And yet, they Ben and Rosi had seen right through it.

— Yes, Benedict. Elisabeth is my girlfriend.

More silence in the car. 

— Are… You upset with me? For not telling you?

Toto could see Ben turn his head.

— No, dad. Rosi and I like her, and both of us want you to be happy. Plus, she’s nice to us, and doesn’t ignore us like the last lady did. And you’ve been a lot happier lately, too.

Something warm bloomed in Toto’s chest. He couldn’t help but smile. 

— I’m glad you like her, Ben. You and your sister are… You’re the most important people in my life, and I wouldn’t want to be with anyone that you two didn’t like.

— Is that why you broke up with the last woman? — Benedict asked.

— Well — Toto started to say, but Ben continued.

— Because… You didn’t seem all that happy when you were with her. Not like you do now, at least. You really like Elisabeth a lot, don’t you?

Toto couldn’t get the smile off his face all of a sudden.

— I love her, Ben.

[dreamescapeswriting]

Your Eyes ~ SCB & LF [Request]

⤜WORD COUNT: 2.1K

⤜PAIRING: Felix X Fem!Reader x Changbin

⤜GENRE: established relationship, polyamrous, cute, your eyes MV inspired, cute, fluffy, teasing, just all cute and fluffy vibes.

⤜Copyright: © DreamEscapesWriting - July 2022

⤜MASTERLIST

"Hmm, it's too early." You mumbled while making your way into the kitchen. Felix had dragged you out of bed with the promises of pancakes and breakfast smoothies but the idea was losing its appeal. Felix had dragged you out of bed, you'd barely had a chance to change into some shorts and a hoodie you'd stolen from Chan a couple of days ago. If it was down to Felix you would have come out in your PJs which consisted of nothing but a crop top and some panties exposing you to the boys.

"Yn, it's 10 in the morning. It's not early." He laughs while standing at the kitchen counter. Your eyes glanced down at everything in front of you, milk, flour and eggs all laid out on the countertop waiting to be made into pancakes.

"You haven't made them?" You poked your bottom lip out, you could have sworn he told you he had already made the pancakes...But maybe you'd been half asleep and imagined him saying that to you.  What was worse than waking up with promises of pancakes? Finding out that you had to make them yourself.

"You're making me cook..." You glanced over your shoulder at him as he began to pour you both a hot drink. You could remember the last time you'd cooked with Minho and it didn't go down very well. In fact, you'd bust the fire alarm because of how badly your cooking had turned out. It was going to end in disaster, you could already sense it in the air.

"Lix...I burn pasta to the bottom of the pan." You stared at your boyfriend who just continued to smirk at you, placing down the two mugs in front of you and chuckling. He knew you weren't exactly gifted in the kitchen but you'd been spending so much time with the others lately he wanted to get some time in with you too.

You were dating all of them...It might have been weird to other people that were looking in on the relationship but you were having fun with it. All of the boys bought something new and exciting to the relationship and sure it had been very strange at first but you adored it. You couldn't change the boys or the way your relationship worked for the world. There was always something new for you to do.

"Just start cracking the eggs into the big bowl." Felix nudged his head over at the carton of eggs and then you stared down at the bowl that was in front of you. Smiling to yourself as you decided to test how serious Felix was about making you make the batter for the pancakes.

"What if I get the shell in it?" You rolled the egg around in your hand, staring at it as you waited for Felix to answer you. He wasn't stupid, he knew what you were trying to do and it wasn't going to work. He'd been the one to make breakfast - alone - all week and he wanted to be able to do it with you. It was his first date with you all week and he wasn't going to be able to hang out with you for long since he had work to get to later.

"We'll pick it out." He turned to you with a smirk, weighing up the flour and milk as he waited for the eggs. You were happy he wasn't getting you to do the flour or you were sure there would have been a food fight repeat that had happened last month with Jeongin.

"What if you can't get it all out?"

"Then I'll make a new one." He shrugged his shoulders, unbothered by your attempts of getting out of this, it wasn't going to work with him. It might be with Changbin since he was the softest for you but not with Felix.

"I'm tired though," You whined still not cracking the eggs into the bowl if you'd stopped complaining it would have been done by now but you weren't looking at it like that.

"You should have gone to bed earlier." You glared at him playfully before shaking your head. Memories of the night before flooding back to you. Jisung had asked you to game with him for most of the night and you'd agreed, completely forgetting that Minho had also asked to spend time with you. The two of you ended up doing face masks until 4 in the morning while laughing at his attempts to keep cucumbers on his eyes.

"Blame Minho and Jisung, I had a gaming night with Jisung and then Minho wanted to stay up late and have face masks," You mumbled tiredly, carefully blowing on the hot drink in front of you and taking a sip from it in hopes it would somehow begin to wake you up.

"I'll talk to them," Felix pouting a little, he'd been looking forward to early morning with you. The original plan was to go to the market together to get some fresh fruit but when he saw how tired you were that morning he decided to leave you to sleep as much as possible. Without ruining your sleep schedule of course. You did enough of that whenever you stayed up to spend time with Chan.

"This is our day together," He reminded you, wrapping his arms around your waist as you snuggled into his chest. Closing your eyes for a second to try and relax with him, Felix always had such warm and inviting hugs it was one of the many great things you loved about him.

"Your MORNING together," Changbin interjected before kissing your shoulder softly making you giggle a little at the feeling. That was right, you had plans with Changbin that afternoon. You'd almost forgotten thanks to how tired you were but you smiled over at him while pulling away from Felix.

"Are you going to tell me what you have planned?" Changbin had done nothing but tease you ever since he'd asked you out last week. Giving you little to no hints as to what he had planned for the two of you to do together. You knew it didn't involve leaving the house since he'd been ordering things in all week and hiding them in his room.

"No." He smirked before running away and leaving you with Felix once more who wasn't going to give you a chance to get out of helping him with breakfast.

"Ready?"

"No, I can't crack eggs." You mumbled before Felix wrapped his arms around your shoulders and gently took your hands into his. You smiled taking in a deep breath of the aftershave he was wearing, it was your favourite one in his collection.

"Are you listening?" He laughed making your body vibrate when he noticed your eyes were shut and laying your head back against his shoulder,

"Y-Yeah, you just smell good." You mumbled before carefully following along with him as you cracked one of the eggs into the bowl, cheering as you successfully did it without getting any shell into the bowl.

"Why do you get the bigger stack of pancakes?" You whined in protest when Felix sat down across from you, placing a plate stacked high with pancakes in front of him. 

"Because I did most of the work for them," He laughed looking at your plate with about four pancakes on it. He also knew that if he gave you the bigger stack you'd never be able to finish it. 

"Here," He chuckled cutting up some of your pancakes and holding them near your mouth, smirking at you as he urged you to eat from his fork. You giggled a little leaning forward and opening your mouth to take it when it was rudely stolen away from your reach

"I am...disgusted," You whined at him as he laughed, slowly feeding you some this time and shaking his head at you as you got cream all over your lips.

"What?" You laughed, licking your lips in the hopes of getting rid of all of the creams but he shook his head at you. 

"You missed a spot,"

"Where?" He shook his head, standing up and leaning closer to you, his lips close to yours before he kissed you deeply. Sparks consumed your entire body and your heart roared into life. Your pulse was si wild you couldn't hear anything, not even your thoughts about how perfect the kiss was. Felix's lips were so sweet and soft, they tasted like the cream and maple syrup from the pancakes. You desperately wanted to wrap your arms around him and never wanted this moment to end with him but you knew it would soon. 

Sooner or later the two of you would need to come up for air.

"You too?" You quizzed looking at the garden. It was decorated in fairy lights, blankets laid out on the floor and the barbeque was burning brightly in front of Changbin. You hated the idea of cooking once again but your eyes ran over him as you giggled a little, he was standing in front of the barbeque dressed in a white shirt and smart pants. A dark brown apron covered his clothes as well as some brown clothes to protect his hands while he was cooking. The sight alone was perfect and the food smelt incredible to you, especially after a day full of chores that you'd been doing with Jeongin. It had been a busy day and you were much looking forward to your chill night with Changbin, 

"Me too what?" He frowned glancing at you as you pointed to the food he was cooking, you'd already cooked with Felix and you'd burnt one too many pancakes.

"You're going to make me cook?" You questioned, walking closer to him as he let out a loud laugh.

"No, I like my eyebrows on my face thanks." He said sarcastically as you rushed over to him and snuggled into his arms making him laugh. 

"Thank you," You said dramatically before snuggling into him and kissing his chest softly as he shook his head at you.

"Don't thank me yet, you might not like anything."

"If it's your cooking, I know I will." You smiled warmly at him, going to sit down on the picnic blanket that was laid out for you before watching him continue to cook. He'd made everything beforehand, it was mostly kebabs and some marshmallows. The whole date idea was just to spend some time with you in the garden away from everyone else.

"Here," He sat down beside you while everything cooked carefully handing you a glass of wine as you clinked the glasses together,

"To a wonderful night," You announced as he nodded,

"A great night together," Your glasses hit together again and you watched him closely as he took a sip from the wine. He usually wasn't a big drinker and by the disgusted look on his face, he gated the drink.

"They said this would be nice,t they lied." He mumbled making you giggle before he stretched his hand out and rubbed your head teasingly.

"Don't laugh at my expense," He whined before you laughed and moved away from him, yelling that you were hungry and wanted to eat.

"FEED ME CHANGBINNIEEEE!" You screamed as he chased after you, grabbing you from behind and attacking you with kisses. Your heart rapidly hit against your chest as he captured you, whispering that he wasn't ever going to let you go.

"Food will be two minutes, let me enjoy holding you." He pouted before you relaxed in his grasp, smiling at the calmness of everything around you. The house was silent as was the garden, the only things you could hear were the cracking of the fire and the birds that were in the sky. 

"I love you," You whispered kissing him deeply as he wrapped his arms around your waist. Bringing you closer as you could have sworn you heard the fire burn louder at the intensity of the kiss you were sharing. 

"Hm," You whined out kissing him deeper as you pulled on his hair a little. About to pull him back to the blankets when you heard a yell coming from the bathroom window,

"FIRE!" Chan screamed out as you both shot around to see the barbeque was officially up in flames and burning all of the food to a crisp. Chnagbin was first to grab the fire extinguisher and put out the flames while you pouted at the burnt food, 

"Shall I order something?" You quizzed, wrapping your arms around Changbin as he tried not to get too upset with his failed attempt at cooking for you. 

"Sure. We can still eat out here though, right?" You nodded glancing back at the cute set-up he had for you both.

"Of course, let me go and order." You smiled rushing into the house to go and grab your phone. You couldn't wait to spend the rest of the night laying under the stars with him.

tagline: @minholuvs @taestannie​ @sw33tnight​ @acciocriativity​ @mwitsmejk​ @taeechwitaa​ @justbangtanthingz​ @stillwithlix​ @lolalee24​ @yubinism​ @ethereallino​ @aerastus​ @kimahnjung98​ @halesandy​ @hanasonmi​ @snigdha-14

[cassafrasscr]

Hoo boy. You've opened Pandora's Box on this one, because I have SO MANY THOUGHTS.

I'm much more an Ashrym fan than a Callowmoore fan, to be honest. I enjoy Ashton and Fearne's dynamic - the pickpocketing, the banter, it's very fun and cute. But it's also very surface level? Their conversation at the clock tower is pretty much the only serious conversation that they've ever had (that I can remember. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). You could maybe also include the 'I was Soft once' conversation they had, but it wasn't very long, and didn't really go that far in developing their relationship?

So yeah, aside from the surface-level flirting, I just don't really see it. I think there is definitely mutual attraction between them. And after last episode (e77) Fearne absolutely has some sort of feelings for Ashton. Or had. She might be reevaluating how she feels about him after everything that happened.

I'm also not so sure Fearne's feelings are reciprocated in the same way necessarily, especially with how frankly careless Ashton was about Fearne's feelings towards the end of last episode. The kiss felt a bit less like a declaration of romantic interest to me, and more like "I might be about to die here, and if I live everyone will probably hate me for what I did, so I might as well at least have this one thing to look back on."

I dunno if that makes sense? But that's where my head is at. Based on the "That's the only one you get" comment, I'm not sure Ashton ever intended to go any further in their relationship with Fearne than that one kiss, but we'll have to wait for next week (or maybe next 4SD) to see what Tal really meant by that.

Now Ashton and Orym.

Taliesin (and Ashton) have explicitly said that Orym is the reason Ashton stuck around with Bell's Hells. Their motivations for sticking close to Orym were pretty self-serving at the start. Because of the Ashari/Hishari connection, they thought Orym could get them answers about where Ashton came from and what happened to them.

And the thing is, HE WAS RIGHT.

1.) Orym was the one who made the history check on the Hishari helmet after the museum heist, and gave Ash the summary information about who the Hishari were and what happened to them.

2.) Keyleth was the one who discovered that Ashton has Titan blood and suggested that they seek further answers from Evon'travir. It was Orym's connection to Keyleth and the mission she gave him that got Bell's Hells an introduction to her in the first place.

3.) Orym's connection to Keyleth is also what got them an in with Allura Vysoren. Allura was the one who explained the Dunamancy in Ashton's head (Caleb started to explain a bit, but didn't really have time to get into detail or to examine Ashton's head at all).

Ashton has learned more about where they came from and what's happened to them in the last 2 or 3 (in-game) months than he had in the 20+ years since the Hishari disaster... all because of Orym.

Ashton also only has this new found family that he's so desperate to protect because of Orym. Because Orym gave Ashton his first substantial clue about the Hishari, and they stuck around to try to gain some favors and follow that thread. Ashton ended up hanging around long enough to get attached, and now he won't let the Hells go for anything.

Also, Ashton has been protective of Orym literally since Day One. After Orym got absolutely pummeled by Eshteross when they fought him in his study, Ashton called out to FCG that Orym needed healing (Dorian ended up giving Orym a Cure Wounds on his turn, but Ashton still made a point of drawing attention to him). They've actually been pretty consistent across the campaign about making sure Orym gets medical attention during and after fights, even if Orym probably wouldn't ask for it himself (at least not directly).

Ashton has gotten more protective of the whole group over time, but he does seem particularly loyal to and protective of Orym (immediately agreeing to go to Zephra and then to help heal Keyleth, losing two rages to pull Orym out of combat with the Bari Mondolo, throwing rock snowballs at rude kids).

I think this probably started as "I need to keep this crazy halfling alive for long enough to get some goddamn answers", and developed into a deeper bond the longer they kept working together.

I think Ashton probably saw Orym as a kindred spirit, which earned him Ashton's respect pretty early on (even though Ashton as a punk and Orym as a guard seem like they should be diametrically opposed). They're both frontline fighters who's fighting style involves getting between their teammates and their opponents, and taking hits so others don't have to. They're both fiercely protective of their people. They both know what it's like to carry pain that never fully heals, that lingers in your mind and body until it becomes the background noise of your daily life.

ANYWAY. I'm totally normal about them, can you tell? 😅😂

I think there is mutual attraction between Orym and Ashton as well (they've complimented each other's looks, and haven't been that shy about ogling each other). But... Fearne's been a little more up front about liking Ashton, and I'm sure Orym's past trauma and status as a widower might make the flirting/courtship/dating thing more complicated for both of them to approach.

After the stunt they just pulled, though, I dunno how Ashton's relationships with Orym or Fearne are going to play out. Orym's pretty understanding and forgiving, but this is gonna mess Fearne up pretty bad, plus his own past trauma with losing loved ones. They both deserve to be mad at Ashton for a bit, and the whole group needs to have a serious talk about what happened.

And you know what? Despite his best efforts... Ashton does still have two hands. We could potentially get a poly PC ship out of this mess. 😂

i know that the callowmoore and the ashrym girlies have been going back and forth for months, but i've never really swayed one way or another because i think both sides made good points, but after ep 77 i think things seem clearer (to me at least)

fearne is 100% into ashton, i don't even think that's up for question anymore.

but part of the way tal played ash last night made me think that ashton is either 1) insanely protective of orym for some reason or another OR 2) actually kinda into him

here's my evidence that i remember:

ash kissing fearne but telling her "it's the only one you get"

ash telling fearne that she'll be like his sister if she takes the shard (which she didn't)

ash seeming to not care about fearne's feelings for him (but using them against her later on when he absorbed the second shard)

ash threatening to hurt the kids that jokingly called orym "old man"

now i need to hear what everyone else things so DISCUSS: