Catch Me If You Can

Benjamin 'Ben/Benjy' McAllister. 36. Airline Pilot. Widower. Vesta Resident for Two Whole Years.

[benjy-mcallister]

zane:

       yanzhen  found  himself  fascinated  by  most  of  what  the  other  man  had  been  saying,  dark  hues  widening  the  more  he  spoke  only  for  his  expression  to  contort  into  confusion  at  the  last  moment.  ❝  which  part  ??  you’re  actually  a  pilot,  no  ??  don’t  stop  on  my  accord,  i  found  what  you  were  saying  fascinating.  hypothetically  though  you  could  land  a  plane  on  water  ??  ❞

“No, yeah. I’m actually a commercial pilot. And hypothetically, yes, I could perform a water landing. Ever since the whole Sully incident, they’ve work it into our training,” Benjy explained with a shrug. “But, that’s also why I can swim. Since a lot of flights, especially long hauls, go over water. You have to be prepared for everything, you know?”

[benjy-mcallister]

ethan:

“That’s a fair question, I always thought that the fish would speak a different language depending on where they were in the water. Kind of like here you know? So the fish in the Atlantic speak a different language than the fish in the Pacific.”

“That’s actually a really interesting point. The ocean is so large, there has to be regional differences. So mermen in Atlantic are different then mermen in the Pacific. Do you think Pacific mermen are more laid back like Californians and Atlantic mermen are more busy like New Yorkers?”

[benjy-mcallister]

ethan:

“Listen, I’m open to anything, I’m just letting you all know what I used to be called back in North Carolina. Damn. I wish I was a merman, how cool would that be? I bet I’d be able to speak to fish too.”

“Oh, okay. North Carolina. That explains a lot,” Benjy teased with a small wink. “Do you think all mermen talk to fish? Or do you think they have to take fish language classes?”

[benjy-mcallister]

zane:

       ❝  you  know,  i’ve  been  on  plenty  of  boats  for  work,  but  never  actually  learned  to  swim  before.  ❞  yanzhen  observed,  squinting  from  the  sun  even  with  the  sunglasses  he  had  on  as  he  looked  out  to  the  boats  on  the  lake.  ❝  so  the  fear  isn’t  really  there  like  it  probably  should.  ❞  he  turned  to  the  person  beside  him.  ❝  do  you  know  how  to  swim  ??  ❞

“Actually, yes. I do. For all the time I don’t spend on a boat, I actually do know how to swim. It was part of pilot boot camp. I can also land a plane in water too, which just might be a little more impressive. Not that I’ve tried it yet but.... Never mind me. I’m talking out of my ass.”

[benjy-mcallister]

ethan:

“Okay, fine, no one here has called me that, but that still, I’m gonna crush it. I’d probably crush any of these water race things but I gotta give some other people a chance you know?”

“I mean, if you want us to start calling you that, I’ll try... But it seems like one of those ‘Stop trying to make fetch happen’ situations. Oh, I don’t doubt it considering you live on the water. You might even be a merman for all I know. Then you’d really crush these people.”

[benjy-mcallister]

ethan:

Although this whole beach event meant a lot of overtime work for him there was one thing he was really excited for, the boat race. “Not to brag or anything but I basically have this competition in the bag. Boatman Bitfield is what they call me.”

“Who calls you that? I have never heard anyone call you that. Why would you let anyone call you that? I mean, I guess it’s alliteration but... Yeah, you’ve totally got it in the bag.”

[benjy-mcallister]

salome:

“Trying to decide if I want to ruin some kids hopes and dreams by entering the sandcastle contest or if I should just take a ride on a jet ski?” she looked over beside her. “What do you think?”

“While I’m all for ruining children’s dreams and teaching them that life isn’t fair, I think they’ve got separate categories for adults and children for that reason... Plus, a jet ski seems way cooler.”

[benjy-mcallister]

ethan:

When Benjy asked Ethan if he would go to a wedding with him Ethan felt like he was being asked to prom by the captain of the football team. Sitting during the ceremony he couldn’t stop beaming, watching his dapper friend stand in front of everyone, he may have been biased but he was the best looking groomsmen by far. Seeing him walk down the aisle with some bridesmaid Ethan couldn’t help but lean over to the elderly woman next to him and say proudly, “see him? That’s my friend.” While Benjy was off taking pictures Ethan helped himself to a drink, or two and made his way around the room he was always the kind of guy who saw a room full of strangers as a room full of future friends. Ethan noticed the bridesmaid who kept eyeing him walk in and as she made her way over Ethan quickly ducked before seeing Benjy. “There’s my handsome man” Ethan smirked at him as he gave him a small pat on the back, “bars this way” Ethan lead Benjy to the open bar and leaned on the counter, “Frank, my guy, another beer for me and for you?” He looked over at Benjy with a raised eyebrow who had come across rather uneasy for most of the day, “a straight shot of vodka?” 

“Thanks,” Benjy said with a happy sigh as the other man lead him towards the bar. Ethan’s excitement at seeing Benjy made him release a breath he didn’t not know he’d been holding. Sure, he would have preferred Caroline to be at his side, but Ethan was a great buddy to have by his side. Always happy and excited. He patted his hands down on the bar and smiled over at Frank the bartender, who was likely to be his other best friend this evening. He laughed when Ethan suggested a shot of vodka. “Only if you’re doing one with me. So, two shots Frank, my man.”

[benjy-mcallister]

calliope:

brows scrunched up as she looked up at the male who’d spoke. in all honestly she hadn’t noticed him standing anywhere near her “not you.”

“Oh, good. I was about to be incredibly impressed with  myself seeing as I usually don’t piss people off until I open my mouth. But, if you need anyone to beat up the guy on the phone, let me know. I mean, not me because my face is too pretty, but I know a guy.”

[benjy-mcallister]

amelie:

“well susan and mike sound like a complete bore.” she laughed in response “i can’t help it. i’m inquisitive.” she explained “it’s my job.”

“Well, Susan and Mike aren’t real, so they can be whatever we want them to be. For the purpose of this conversation, they’re definitely complete bores,” he agreed with a small nod. “You have to be inquisitive for your job? Let me guess... Some kind of news person? Do you report all the hot gos?”

[benjy-mcallister]

anna:

“A pilot? That’s even cooler than a degree.” She immediately envied how easy it must be for him to quiet literally take off from reality. “Huh, guess it’s not as crazy of a goal as I thought then.”

“Yep. I’m a pilot. And I will admit that it is pretty cool,” he said with a small nod, smiling in appreciation at her excitement. “I mean, I read a lot of travel magazines and travel blogs, so I might be a little biased? I’m also not an expert in the area, so take my advice with a grain of salt.”

[benjy-mcallister]

sienna:

“Besides the fact that it’s almost definitely a cult? There was a really gruesome murder at one of their stores back in 2011. And by gruesome I also mean super interesting.”

“I mean, I get a cult like feel from a lot of brands. I mean, do you remember Juicy in the early aughts? That’s was pretty scary. Woah, what kind of murder? Like human sacrifice or execution style?”

[benjy-mcallister]

closed starter for @ethanbitty​

It was the first event Benjy was attending since his wife had passed.  A wedding (of course), for someone one his wife’s side of the family (of couse), and they’d gone and given him a plus one AND asked him to be a groomsman. Sure, it’d been almost two years now, but the last thing he needed was this pity invite. He felt obligated to go though. Taking another woman felt wrong though, his brothers were both busy doing god knows what, and as much as he tried to reason - not going was not an option. So, he asked the only other person he knew to be in love with him. Plus, they were hot enough to distract any lonely, drunk bridesmaids. Let’s just say Benjy was relieved Ethan agreed to come with him. They made it through the ceremony without any issue, but the reception would be another story. After the wedding photos were finished, Benjy went hunting for Ethan and let out a sigh of relief when he spotted him. “Please tell me there’s an open bar.”

[benjy-mcallister]

calliope:

“ — ugh, no.” calliope groaned, eyes scanning the phone in her hand “there is no way in hell that’s happening.” there was no way she was replying to the text from her dad “good try, asshole.”

“Wow, I haven’t even opened my mouth yet... Um, I’m sorry for whatever I said? Whatever I did? However I looked?” He tried covering all of his bases.

[benjy-mcallister]

anna:

“Two degrees? How did you manage two? What are they in?” Anna was impressed by the other, it was admirable being able to get two degrees when she couldn’t even get one. “Huh, I mean I do like to travel so being able to do more of that and take photos does sound cool, or do a photo series of people from different areas of the world.”

“I said kinda. I got my degree in aerospace engineering, but I also got my pilots license, which was basically another degree in it’s own way,” he explained casually with a small wave of his hand. “Both of those ideas seem pretty marketable to travel websites and things of that nature.”

[benjy-mcallister]

anna:

“Oh well that sounds promising” she laughed, “I took a lot of photos while I was traveling. Most of them are nature scenes you know the cliche grand canyon photos, but honestly some of my favorites were of the people I met along the way.”

“You can ignore me,” he promised with a wave of his hand. “I’ve kinda got two degrees, in a sense, so I’m a special case. Traveling photos are always pretty successful, actually. You’ve got travel websites, TV shows, magazines - Every airline practically has a travel magazine in the seat back pocket. You can probably do a lot with that actually. And taking photos of people is good too.”

[benjy-mcallister]

amelie:

“i look forward to the day i get that invite.” she joked “hey, i might not say no. it’ll make for a great story.”

“It’ll make a great story? Is that your indicator for deciding when to go to a party or not? Like, oh, Susan and Mike are a boring couple so nothing crazy will likely happen, I’m not going to go.”’