atlas.

hansgter enthusiast & ao3 writer !

[atlasinwaiting]

go the distance

a hangster drabble

“Bradley?”

“ Jake.” He says, and all the air rushes out of his lungs in one breath. “Hey.”

There’s a voice in the background; he can hear someone announcing boarding for a flight to Fresno over the intercom and he swallows around the sudden dryness on the back of his tongue. He's running out of time.

“Listen, I know you’re about to board, but I have to tell you something.” Bradley says and he runs a hand down his face in an effort to calm his nerves.

“Bradley—” Jake says, voice soft. It does nothing to hide his exhaustion and Bradley’s heart lurches violently in his chest.

“No, listen. Okay Jake? I need you to listen to me for just a second.”

"We will now begin boarding for flight 7036, service to Fresno—"

“Bradley.” Jake says again, and there’s rustling on the other end of the line as he begins gathering his things. He sounds distant, like the phone is away from his face and Bradley squeezes his eyes shut.

“I love you.” He says and it comes out all at once in a jumbled mess of words.

Jake is silent for so long on the other end of the line, that Bradley would have thought the call dropped if not for the sounds of the bustling airport filtering through the speakers on his phone.

“I love you,” Bradley says again, firmer this time. “And yeah, I know it’s a dick move telling you over the phone, but I had to tell you. You asked me, before you left what I wanted and I — I didn’t understand at the time, but I get it now. I want this, whatever it is, with you. I don’t know half of what I’m doing, and it's been so long since I’ve done anything like this with someone, but Jake, I’m sure. Hell, I’m so sure that I’m pulled over on the 264 and I just — I love you.”

He’s rambling, he knows and Jake still hasn’t said anything on the other end of the line, and it feels like Bradley’s chest is cracked open.  Raw, gaping and bare.

“I just needed you to know that.”

“Fuck you.” Jake says after a long moment and Bradley’s heart drops to his stomach, but then there's a sniffle through the speaker and a wetness in Jake’s voice and Bradley grasps on to the flicker of hope he feels at the sound.

“Fuck you for telling me like this when I’m all the way across the country like this you asshole.”

And then he’s laughing. Bradley can hear the tears behind it, that Jake is trying so desperately to hide, but it also sounds full and lively and it’s the most beautiful thing Bradley’s heard in a long time.

There’s more rustling and he can hear the soft twang in Jake's voice as he murmurs a thank you to someone.

“Listen, I really have to go.” He says and Bradley puffs out a sigh.

“Yeah I know.” He says, voice soft.

“But uh… hey Bradley?”

“Yeah?” He asks, heart beating a mile a minute.

“I love you too.” Jake says softly and Bradley would do a backflip right now if he wasn’t on the side of the damn interstate with cars whizzing by at 80 miles an hour.

“Yeah?” Bradley asks, voice soft.

“Yeah.” Jake says.

And when the calls ends, it doesn’t feel like a goodbye this time.

disclaimer: this work is credited to and rightfully owned by atlasinwaiting and is not authorized to be used and/or reposted on any other platform.

[tgmsunmontue]

Let me feel your heartbeat - 18/18

Featuring Deaf Jake and his older brother Bob, who tries to find Jake a date on Instagram. Bradley and Natasha answer.

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE THIRTEEN FOURTEEN FIFTEEN SIXTEEN SEVENTEEN

PART EIGHTEEN

                “Ow! What the fuck was that for?” Bradley demands as he dodges the elbow Natasha aimed at his ribs as they’re jostled toward the crowd of waiting people. They’re not quite jogging but they’re definitely hustling. They’ve just finished a seven-month deployment together, and they both want to be with other people right rather than each other. They’re both scanning the crowd waiting for Bob and Jake as the move, knowing they’ll be near the parking lot.

                “You're going too slow,” Natasha mumbles, and she signs snail just to drive her point home and he rolls his eyes. Her signing has come along rapidly in the last few months. It’s not their first deployment away from Jake and Bob, but it is their longest, and he’s glad they were together at least. Still.

                “Bitch,” he signs, rapid fast and hoping none of their other squadmates see them, because they’ll definitely recognise that one.

                “Asshole,” her hand snaps out the sign so fast it’s almost like a slap and he laughs. Her signing had started out slow during their first deployment, they’d been apart and she’d been teaching herself. However, the last seven month she’s gotten good, their conversations often silent as they practiced, driving their squadmates into also learning some signs, mostly insults and swearing.

                Then he hears his name being called and he turns, looking for it, recognises Jake’s voice. Then he sees him and his face breaks into the biggest smile, sees it mirrored on Jake’s face. Bob is looking just as happy. As they get closer Bob drops to one knee and people are stepping back to give him space, to watch. Natasha has stopped in her tracks and he catches Jake’s eye, keeps moving toward him because they quietly exchanged rings before he left on this deployment, curled up in bed together. An act that Bob and Natasha had equally told them was hasty and rushed, and yet here they are.

                “Such a fucking diva…” Jake signs, rolling his eyes as he pulls Bradley in for a quick hug and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek before pulling back and tugging Bradley’s bag from him. They both turn to see Bob standing and slipping a ring on her finger to the applause and whistles of the watching crowd, which quickly resumes dissipating now that the show is over.

                “Dinner to celebrate?” Bradley suggests, and they all look at him like he’s lost his mind and he rolls his eyes. “In a few hours. Not now.”

                Jake grins, makes a sign which has Bradley blushing but nodding, his fingers clearly itching to reach for Jake and pull him close. Bob can’t take his eyes off Natasha, the smile on his face completely besotted. Natasha is shooting a little confused look at Jake and Bradley before turning a beaming smile back at Bob, shyly flashing the I love you sign which has Bob immediately signing it back, smile somehow growing wider.

                Jake swings Bradley’s bag onto his shoulder, bats his hand away when he tries to reach and take it from him. He tips his invisible hat, leaving Natasha and Bob to head to Bob’s car and back to his apartment. They’ll make plans for later, once they all come up for air. None of them will mind if the celebratory dinner ends up happening tomorrow night.

                “Home?” Bob asks, and Natasha nods, suddenly desperate to get out of her uniform for several reasons. She casts

                “Did you see the sign Jake used?”

                “No, too busy looking at you… what was it?”

                “I don’t know… I recognised some of it.”

                “What did it look like?”

                “Uh. Kind of like hungry,” she says, and she makes the sign, then follows the action with another sign which has Bob rolling his eyes.

                “Horn. But obviously not where you have a horn. Unless you’re Jake or Bradley. It’ll be a sign that they’ve made up.”

                “Oh.”

                “It’s also pretty close to erection, so I probably wouldn’t use it. Jake was probably counting on you either not seeing or not understanding. Then again…”

                “He’s not the most gentlemanly of men. Not like his brother…”

                “Not that gentlemanly I hope.”

                “I hope not either.”

…            …            ….

                “Fuck, missed you so much,” Jake mumbles into the side of Bradley’s neck, body still shaking as he recovers from his second orgasm, feeling heavy and tired. He has to get up though, has to take his aids out, get a cloth and do some basic clean up as a minimum before he’ll let himself curl up around Bradley and fall asleep. He presses a kiss to the sweaty hairline, smiles at the curls tickling his chin and then slowly eases himself out of Bradley’s body, continuing to press kisses in apology as Bradley makes tiny little sounds he doesn’t often hear.

                Then he sees the flash of ink, a small little thing where Bradley’s watch strap would normally sit, except right now he’s wearing nothing but the ring Jake put on his finger, sweat and their combined bodily fluids. He reaches, runs his thumb over the little image, notes his thumb can cover it completely and smiles with wonder at the back of Bradley’s head.

                “Love you too.”

                “Mmm. Love you. Sleep now.”

                “Yeah darlin’, you go to sleep.” I’ll take care of you, he adds silently, knows Bradley likely hears the unsaid words anyway. He moves carefully, knows how tired Bradley is when he gets back from being deployed, he wipes himself clean and then carefully cleans Bradley up, smiles at his snuffly sounds and scrunched up tired face. He goes to the bathroom and takes his aids out, washes his hands and brushes his teeth, knows he’ll sleep better having completed most of his evening routine.

                When he returns to the bed Bradley has star fished across two-thirds of the bed, one arm out-stretched in clear invitation for Jake to lay beside him. He throws a small hand towel at the worst of the wet patch half-heartedly before settling down beside Bradley. Immediately he feels his arm come around to hold him and Jake smiles in the dim light, lays his head on Bradley’s chest so he can feel it rise and fall as he slips into deeper and deeper sleep.

                He brushes his fingers over the small tattoo again, realises that he can feel Bradley’s pulse beating just beneath it. He falls asleep feeling Bradley’s heartbeat under his fingers, smile on his lips.

THE END

[dirbenaffleck]

Twisters ‧ 2024

[meatdiaz]

genuinely i think everyone would be so much happier if we simply accepted that fanfiction isn’t supposed to be realistic at all, it’s just supposed to make you happy. ​these freaks are currently 20k words into pining for each other while living under the same roof and working the same job, fuck realism tbh

[ohangeleyes]

alright, i'll be the one to say it. ao3 and tumblr becoming "mainstream" did so much damage to the community and the writers. i have seen loads of videos and posts about:

1. people hating on writers and fics. writing is something we do for free and for fun. if you stumble upon a fanfic that isn't necessarily your cup of tea or you just don't like, scroll. dont read it. literally leave their page. you don't know if this could be the author's first work that they're so excited about, you dont know if the language they're writing in isn't their first language, you dont know that the writer could be a literal teen and loads of other reasons. fanfictions don't HAVE to be perfect. you write what you want to write because we do it for fun and enjoyment and we want to share that to the world. seriously, what is the wrong with that?..

2. x reader consumers getting WAY to entitled. the number of tiktoks i've seen that "i run a strict program when it comes to reading fanfics." girl you aint running shit. this is FAN FICTION you're reading. F A N F I C T I O N. there is no denying that most fanfiction writes are beyond talented but just because you read one fanfic that exceeds your expectations doesn't give you the right to talk down on others that don't. people have their own personal writing style, their way of doing things and you talking shit on that isn't right.

at the end of the day, we are all humans, reading and writing is what we do and what we're meant to do. and for you to talk shit about a person WRITING is so insane. we are humans. not some robots that you can tell what to do so you can consume it.

i've seen so so many authors take down their fanfics and losing all motivation to write because of a hate comment. DONT LIKE DONT READ‼️

and to every author reading this, this community values your work and your contribution. we love u and, please, never let anyone's negative words have an effect on you.

[atlasinwaiting]

WIP WEDNESDAY!

“So, there’s talk of orders coming out in April.” Bradley says suddenly, and Jake blinks at the abrupt change in topic. “Maybe I’ll be in the rotation.”

“Yeah?” Jake says, fingers tugging at a stray string on his sweater. “Got anywhere you wanna be?”

“Thinking about Lemoore.” Bradley says and Jake squints, a sour taste suddenly blooming along the back of his tongue.

“Nat’s there and it's closer to home… I dunno. It might be a nice change of pace.”

Lemoore is far. It would add two more hours onto their already six-hour difference and Jake can’t tamp down the bitterness beginning to sit heavy in his sternum.

“Coast to Coast huh?” He says instead, jaw clenching.

“Mm.” Bradley says noncommittally and Jake wonders how he’s being so nonchalant about the whole thing.

“Maybe they’ll give me NAS Sigonella. I know a guy around there.”

“Yeah?” Jake asks, suddenly unable to keep the humor out of his voice. “Whats he like?”

“Oh y’know.” Bradley says, “Buff blonde with an ego the size of Texas. Swears he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

“Oh fuck off.” Jake says and Bradley laughs, bright and full bellied like it’s the funniest thing in the world. Jake wishes he could listen to it forever.

[proship-froggo]

Fandoms have a serious problem with how creators are being treated these days.

Fandom creators spend hours of their free time to create something to make fandom thrive...for free and for the love of the game.

And what do they get? A wholeass heap of fuck all. No reblogs, no comments, no nothing. And people are surprised that creators are dropping out left, right, and centre??

"Why is there no long fic anymore?" "Why did my favourite writer stop?" "Why is my favourite artist not posting anymore?"

I implore you to ask yourself: "What's the last thing I did to support my fandom? Does my favourite creator know they are my favourite? When was the last time I left a comment under something?"

[ribbonnpurple]

DON'T WANT AI TO TAKE OVER? YOUR INTERACTION MATTERS!

[kaizsche]

GLEN POWELL as BEN RICHARDS THE RUNNING MAN (2025)

[aubrey-king]

Glen Powell Shows Off His Gym & Fridge | Gym & Fridge | Men's Health

[atlasinwaiting]

WIP WEDNESDAY

from my wip all the things i wish to say

They hadn’t told each other goodbye, not really, but Bradley had made a point to come and see him that night; stood at the door to his bunk room with something akin to hope in his eyes, and Jake had indulged him.

Or tried to anyway. But Bradley has always been more perceptive than people gave him credit for, and he could tell that Jake was off. He’d asked if everything was okay or if there was something going on that he didn’t know about. Jake, in true Hangman fashion, had told him not to worry his pretty little head and left it at that.

They hadn’t really talked about it. The mission. Hadn’t talked about the way Jake had come to his and Maverick’s rescue, hadn’t talked about the way Bradley grinned at him when the two of them were back on the carrier; and Jake for his part, refused to acknowledge the bitter taste of bile on the back of his tongue when he’d heard “Dagger Two is hit!” over the comms in those earlier moments.

Bradley took his answer in stride, and if he hadn’t believed Jake, he made no mention of it. They’d made thinly veiled promises to keep in touch, with Jake telling Bradley not to be a stranger, then watching in amusement as the taller man’s eyes became hooded and a little smirk tilted its way onto his face.

Jake had known then that he was utterly and royally fucked. Deep down, he thinks that he knew the whole time, and he’d thought about that stupid smirk his whole drive back to Lemoore.  

He’s missed it ever since.

[mxrcusflint]

delusions of grandeur

aka jake losing his mind over a crush, 1k of pure crack Jake: dude I'm in this briefing and I can't look at him Javy: are you texting in front of Cyclone? Jake: It's either this or grinning like an idiot Jake: it's just me, my crush, and his ugly mustache

read more on AO3

[theseventhcrow55]

i get so emotional every time i think about fanfic culture. it's just so beautiful that people are writing and anonymously posting these thousand-word stories about characters we all love and not even getting any money or public fame from it. it's literally just for the love of the game.

shout out to everyone who participates in fanfic culture, be it reading or writing fanfics. you are contributing to such a lovely thing <3

[overthinkingao3]

We write for ourselves, but we post for others.

(this came out of a conversation in the comments on a previous post about an author threatening to stop updating a fic because of lack of engagement)

So there’s this idea that fic writers should write for themselves and not care too much about stats or engagement,

and i totally get the sentiment behind that. if writing becomes entirely about stats and external validation, something important does get lost - creative freedom and joy, conviction in your own writing

but i also think:

“i write for myself, but i post for others.”

because posting fic is not only self-expression. it’s social. ao3 is called an archive, but emotionally it often functions as a community space.

people post for connection, for participation, for others to bear witness to their pain and trauma and grief,

and i don’t think most people are asking to be admired so much as acknowledged. there’s something deeply human about wanting another person to encounter something that mattered to you and go:

“ok, yeah, I see what you were trying to say. I see you.”

especially because fanfic is often people processing very real feelings through fictional characters at a safe distance, one step removed,

and then uploading that deeply personal thing into a shared archive and hoping somebody else might connect with it.

And i think that’s why it hurts so much when you summon up the courage and post a fic into the void and you get nothing back,

and then it’s like,

does anyone see me? does anyone even care?

[scentedshepherd]

Front, back, and side views. He looks good from every angle.

[tgmsunmontue]

(I need more brothers Jake and Bob so I wrote more... also it's NZSL week and I've been using NZSL a lot this week so... on theme.)

                Natasha is bored, scrolling through Instagram, when she sees it. Two handsome men standing side-by-side, the guy in the back rolling his eyes but his smile is wide and cheerful. Although there are captions, she turns the volume on, the guy talking has a nice voice, but he’s also signing, movements fast. Fluid. Fluent.

                “Hi, I’m Robert. Bob. And this is my brother Jake. Thirty-three. Deaf. He works fulltime as an engineer, has his own house. He’s also chronically single because he has terrible taste in men. So! I’m taking over, I’m taking applications for people that want to be his boyfriend. Oh yeah, he’s also gay. So, sorry ladies, you’ll lead to look elsewhere.”

                In the background Jake has been signing, not matching what Bob has been doing with his hands. Then Bob throws back his head, laughs, shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

                “My DMs are open and I am taking applications. You don’t need to know sign, but it’ll definitely help bump you up the list.”

                Bob is cute, and clearly loves his brother and she finds herself smiling as the clip ends with them shoving at each other.

                “What are you smiling at?” Bradley asks, dropping in to the space beside her, worn springs of the rec-room sofa creaking in protest and the sagging cushions forcing them together.

                “Just the Instagram algorithm showing me single guys…”

                “Sure you’re not on Tinder?”

                “Fuck you.”

                “Are they hot? Show me,” Bradley orders, resting his head on her shoulder and she rolls her eyes but presses the rewatch, holds her phone between them so he can see. Bradley is watching intently, making little amused noises under his breath and it’s not that funny. Cute. But not funny.

                “Why are you laughing?”

                “The guy in the background. He’s… he’s signing something completely different. Bob is single too. Jake’s only agreed to this if they’re double dates, but he’s pretty picky, so don’t expect a second date. Yes, he does have a big ego. He also has a big dick to go with it. He said not being able to sign is a deal breaker. He’s sick of having to make accommodations just to be able to communicate. Then he called Bob the best older brother, which is what Bob stands for apparently.”

                “So… Bob posted this. But he must have seen what Jake signed.”

                “Yeah. Obviously weeding out people who don’t know sign.”

                “Wait. Since when did you know sign language?”

                “My uncle, and my mom before that. Why? You want to go on a double date?”

                “Pfft. They’re probably on the other side of the country.”

                “That’s not a no. And from you that’s a resounding yes. What’s the guy’s name?” Bradley asks, and he’s pulling his phone out, jostling her and she holds her phone out so Bradley can see the name and search it up before she taps on the guy’s profile. Bradley is doing the same, and he’s sitting up suddenly, making her sink into the gap further and she pushes against him, struggling to sit up properly.

                “What?”

                “They’re in San Diego. I’m going to message him!”

                “No!”

                “Come on! The guy’s hot and if nothing comes of it we’ll still have gone out… Live a little Phoenix.”

TBC or not TBC? 🤷‍♀️

[overwhelmed-alien]

I’m usually a “Jake Seresin is a prim, prissy city boy” OR a small-town boy with a past/family name he’s trying to escape truther BUT, what if just under the pearly white smirk and hair products is an unapologetic small town, hell-raising, hog wild, cow-tipping, lifted truck owning redneck.

He hides it well for the military, but back home he’s one of a dozen cousins whose photos have been pinned to the cork board at the county sheriff’s office since they were in middle school (they aren’t bad boys, they’re just crazy as hell).

Who (allegedly) shot off the illegal fireworks in the Garrison’s cow pasture and caused a stampede on Main Street? Who (allegedly) knocked over all of old Joe’s corn in “crop circles” and called the local news station with false reports of an alien invasion? Who (allegedly) stole all the road signs in town and hung them up in Uncle Sylas’s shed? Who bought 50lbs of tannerite from three local hardware stores and (allegedly) blew up a rusty old grain cylo just for shits and giggles, and the BOOM was heard two counties over and the state bureau of investigation was called in to investigate a potential hidden meth lab? Who (definitely) picks out the biggest, meanest looking group of out-of-towners in the local bar to hustle at the pool table every Friday night?

Those damn Seresin boys.

Imagine Bradley beaming in delight when Jake invites him to “go noodling with me at this secret little spot on the river, Bradshaw, it’s real pretty.”

He’s about to take his shirt off and get all cozy in Jake’s fishing boat for some good old-fashioned romantic “noodling” (or whatever Jake said in that cute country twang), when Jake suddenly, randomly hops into the water, disappears for a few hair-raising seconds, and then comes back up with a splash, a shit-eating grin, and a sixty pound, thrashing catfish biting his arm all the way up to his shoulder that he immediately hefts up into the boat beside him.

Bradley - the unapologetic California city boy - screams so loud he causes another stampede at the Garrison farm.

^ Seresin boys on a random Tuesday evening.

[thejbomb]

Tranq him! He’s rediscovered CapCut!

But in all seriousness they make me physically ill.

(Moon Song is so them fuck)