#Please tell me what you think!

[pearlescent-poppies]

Soooo… I came up with an idea for a parody yesterday and now that I’ve finished writing it, I wanted to share! This has been written about Iskall concerning whatever the hell is going on with him and Joel. Now, could I have chosen Lizzie for this? Absolutely! But I find this way funnier! (This was cross posted to Reddit btw) you can find more parodies at: @mcyt-parodies

So get ready for…

Etho’s Boy (A Jessie’s Girl Parody)

Etho is a friend

Yeah, I know, He’s Been A Good Friend Of Mine

But lately something’s changed that ain’t hard to define

Etho’s got himself a boy, and I wanna make him mine

And he’s watching him with those eyes

And he’s got his lips on his neck

I just know it

And Etho’s holding Joel in his arms late, late at night

You know I wish that I had Etho’s Boy

I wish that I had Etho’s boy

Where can I find an ogre like that?

I’ll play along with all the pranks

A restraining order won’t stop me now

You know I feel so dirty when they start talking cute

I wanna tell Joel that I love him but he’ll put me on mute

And he’s watching him with those eyes

And he’s got his lips on his neck

I just know it

And Etho’s holding Joel in his arms late, late at night

You know I wish that I had Etho’s Boy

I wish that I had Etho’s boy

Where can I find an ogre like that?

Like Etho’s boy

I wish that I had Etho’s boy

Where can I find an ogre-

Where can I find an ogre like that

And I’m lookin’ in the mirror all the time

Wonderin’ what he don’t see in me

I’ve been funny; I’ve been cool with poetry

Ain’t that the way love’s supposed to be?

Tell me where can I find an ogre like that?

You know I wish that I had Etho’s Boy

I wish that I had Etho’s boy

I want Etho’s Boy

Where can I find an ogre like that?

Like Etho’s boy

I wish that I had Etho’s boy

I want, I want Etho’s boy

[mackerel1522]

Hey guys, have we already considered that maybe Fyodor is the same as IRL!Dostoevsky?

We know he already met Bram at least a few times and Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is set in the late 19th century - the same century IRL!Dostoevsky lived in.

What I'm trying to say is: What if our Fedya was actually born in 1821 just like the real author? What if our Fedya is actually the Dostoevsky?

First: Dostoyevsky's Works

Fyodor's character/ability/environment containt lots of references to most of his works:

- Crime and Punishment: the crime is being killed and as a punishment he take over the body of the killer + his character is heavely Raskonikov-coded

- The Demons: Fyodor is often refered to as a demon (or as the "Northern Devil")

*also another title of this novel is 'The Possessed' which heavily refers to his ability too

- Notes From The Underground: Fyodor's philosophy has a lot in common with the one of the "Underground Man" (the narrator and protagonist of the novella)

- The House of the Dead: his organisation "Rats in the House of the Dead" is based partially on the novel

- The Gambler: we see him play at the begining of the manga against Ace (and nails it) + later the Sky Casino where he sends Sigma

(The list continues but it'd take way too long for me to cover all of it TuT')

- The Double: his double-personality-faking after his breakdown in mersault is "The Double"-coded

- The Brothers Karamazov: in an interview, Asagiri revealed he based most of Fyodor's personality on a scene of the novel (the one where Ivan Karamazov talks to 'the devil')

Secondly: Rodion Raskolnikov

Fyodor and Rodion share a lot of common points - Fyodor being heavely Raskolnikov-coded:

First and most obvious: Fedya's ability is C&P and Rodya is the protagonist from C&P

The complex personality: Fyodor is a highly intelligent and enigmatic character. He is confident, exceptionally intelligent, manipulative and can easily see through his enemies' desires and plans. Rodion, on the other hand, is a lonely former student who actively rejects the society's morality. Just like Fedya, Rodya considers himself an exceptional man and wants to test the limits of his own freedom by committing murder. His personality is also tormented and complex.

Common themes: Both characters explore deep themes such as guilt, suffering, redemption and human nature. They both embody dark and complex aspects of the human psyche.

Thirdly: Dostoyevsky and Dostoyevsky

IRL!Dostoyevsky and Our!Dostoyevsky also have a lot of common points:

Personality/Lives:

Both were born on November 11 in Russia

Both have been sentenced to death/sent to prison

Both are very religious people

Both traveled a lot around the world

Both have chronic illnesses (epilepsy/anemia)

Both share a similar philosophy (Orthodox Christianity and Utopian Socialism)

Common themes: religion, redemption, guilt, suffering, human nature, gambling, death, chronic illness, psychology, etc...

Fourthly: Crime and Punishment

"I am crime. I am punishment. Crime and punishment are close friends. Borders vanish. Rooms awaken. The incarnation of death, the master of the ability-consuming fog… Eat, howl, and make violence as your instinct desires. This is neither a loss of control nor a singularity." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Bungo Stray Dogs Dead Apple)

There is definitely more to Fyodor's ability than "just" possessing the one who just killed him. For instance we have what happened in Dead Apple but we also have some more details that should be noticed (I think): Don't you find it intriguing how everytime before he dies his eyes are light but once he is resurrected his eyes turn dark again? The same happens when he fakes a double personality after his breakdown in mersault: his eyes turn the lightest we've ever seen him have but once he abandons the act they turn pitch black again.

Y'all remember how Harukawa said something like "the darker the eyes, the darker the personality, the lighter the eyes, the closest they are to the good side"? (sorry I don't remember the correct quote but it's something like that)

Intriguing, huh?

Finally: "Dostoyevsky is immortal!"

In his novel "The Master and Margarita", Mikhail Bulgakov says "Dostoyevsky is immortal!". In the manga, we just learned Fyodor's ability which, as said before, consist basically in taking over the body of the one who just killed him. Based on all the canon events of the manga, mostly everything conducts us to think Dostoyevsky's, in fact, immortal. Could Asagiri have been inspired by this quote? That could be possible. (Would it be extremely cool? Hell yeah.)

What if our Dostoyevsky is the Dostoyevsky but in a reality where he is, in fact, immortal?

What do you guys think about it? Do you have another theory? Do you wanna add something? (I'm open to everything! Tell me what you think - whether it's the same or the opposite, I'm curious!)

[pomie-fruitshake]

Part 2!

part 1:

----

"Haha what do you mean MC?" He says wholeheartedly and gets up, walking over to me. "It must've been a trick of light."

He smiles at me as he now stands before me, no tears in sight. He looks like always, mischievous and hot. And I now realize I have been staring too long at him. "Hmmm.. alright…" I eye him suspiciously and get up from my place at his table.

Solomon just chuckles softly. "You can continue staring, dear apprentice." I know he's grinning, I can hear it. And when I turn to look at him I see it too.

That smug smile, I feel my face heat up as I am packing my books and other study materials. "I'll stare at you some other time, magic man." I turn away and smile to myself. He giggled!

As I finish packing everything and am ready to go I hear him mumble something. But I can't make out anything besides the word 'leave'. Then our eyes meet and he just smiles softly. "I hope my room was a good place to study." He grins. "Of course you're welcome to come by anytime ~"

I perk up. This is my chance to tease him. "Oh really? Anytime?" I am grinning now too. And it seems like everything is light-hearted like it always was. But I can't ignore his tears.. the sadness I sometimes see in his eyes. Something is happening with Solomon! Something is clearly-

"Always, MC."

"..Always…?" I was too deep in my thoughts. Thankfully he didn't notice.

He is still smiling as he guides me to his door. "Yes, always." "…" "MC?.." He looks nervous for a moment. Which makes me nervous in turn. Just what does he want to ask?

[potterandpromises]

if brokenness is a work of art, surely this must be my masterpiece

I finished Only Murders In the Building last weekend and these two have taken over my brain. Predictably, I needed to write the missing space between when Theo sees Mabel on the subway and when she wakes up in his bed ASAP.

As it isn’t clear whare Theo’s new apartment is, I choose to set it in the Arconia, because there’s something heartbreaking about the idea of him walking into a building full of people he’s known (of) his whole life, none of whom he can turn to for help.

The title is from Neptune by Sleeping at Last.

Also on AO3

Theo catches up with Mabel a block from the subway entrance. She’s stopped fleeing, stands under a streetlight pole, gaze unfocused, a bloody object griped in her hand.

He gets ready to bear hug her in case she turns and steps into traffic at the sight of him.

“Are you hurt?” he signs slowly, carefully mouths the words.

She looks up, looks right through him.

He glances over his shoulder. A few people are staring, but at least nobody’s whipped out their smartphones. Yet.

“That blood on your sleave isn’t yours, is it?”

She doesn’t react, doesn’t even look down to see what he’s indicating. It wouldn’t make a difference if she knew ASL. Not tonight. Probably, her reaction would be the same if he spoke English or Icelandic. He’s not even sure she recognizes him through her fog. That might be for the best.

He slouches, makes himself a little smaller, takes another step towards her.

“Let me take you back to my apartment,” he signs, “so you can rest.”

In his peripheral, some guy pulls out his phone. Theo takes a chance. He puts one arm around Mabel’s shoulder.

She lets him.

With his free hand, he pries what he realizes is a blood-covered knitting needle from her fingers. She watches his hand, face imperceivable.

He shoves the knitting needle into a side pocket, keeps his arm around her shoulder, and gently but firmly turns her around.

One foot in front of the other, he tracks the looks from strangers, the sidewalk before them, and Mabel’s face. 15 minutes, he pulls her along and she doesn’t open her mouth once, as far as he catches.

He guides her through a side entrance of the Arconia. It’s five flights of stairs to his new apartment.

She begins to shiver. Theo sweats under his coat.

He unlocks the door, leads her to his bed and pulls the comforter onto her lap. Belatedly, he wonders if she’ll get the wrong idea, maybe punch him in the face. He can’t say he wouldn’t forgive her. Immediately.

Her shaking becomes less violent. She looks around the room, bewildered. He turns off the overhead light and switches on the lamp. Without warning, she starts to pull at her coat as if it were strangling her.

He steps in, ready to help her out of it, and takes in her baby blue sweater. He triple checks that the blood really does belong to her attacker.

She stops struggling and glares up at him. Her coat still clings behind her shoulders.

“Sorry.” He helps her out of it, drops it in a pile on the foot of his bed.

Theo walks the few feet to his couch, tries to feel less creepy. This would all probably be easier if he had a female friend to call. Or anyone.

“I will sleep on the couch tonight.” He gestures to it, makes himself very clear. “Try to rest now, you’ll feel better in the morning.” Hopefully, anyway. “Goodnight.”

Mabel stares at him dully. Her head tips forward slightly and, to his utter shock, she flops backward into his pillow.

His chest is tight. He doesn’t care to examine why. Mabel rolls onto her side, adjusts a hoop earing, and goes still.

He’s still. For what feels like hours but must only be a few minutes, he is frozen in place.

Hot. He’s hot.

He takes off his coat and empties the pockets, leaves the Coney Island badge on the coffee table and washes the knitting needle clean under the tap.

Groceries. He’d meant to get groceries. It’ll have to wait, of course. Sleep will have to wait, too. He’s too wired.

He sits on the couch and pulls out his phone to occupy himself. He means to google tips on how to deal with a person in shock, just in case he’s missed something important, but he opens Twitter instead.

#bloodymabel is trending again.

[sassypantsjaxon]

Since I seem to have a bad habit of making playlists for fics I might never write, do you wanna see my objectively correct 80s alternative/80s inspired erasermic playlist?

[artemisaq]

hey, rocio ♡ probably pretty random of me to ask, but i'd like to now the latest book you favorited? i saw u reblogging something about books and then i got really interested in your recs <3

hey lary dear ♡ ♡ ; thank you sm for you ask!!. The thing is I haven't read anything in a really long time because I'm super busy with university's stuff and i hate that. I belive that the last book I read was "the love hyphotesis" by ali hazelwood (a reylo fanfic) and i lovee it!. I'm a big fan of jane austen so I have to recomend you persuasion- pride and prejudice - sense and sensibility ; i also love jane eyre by charlotte bronte and wuthering heighs by emily bronte. Oh a few weeks ago I brought "the picture of dorian grey" by oscar wilde and I can't wait to read it!!; also the shadow and bone trilogy is pretty good; oh le miserables too!! I know I have more books to recomend you but now my head is empty lol; I will make you a list this week, i promise!✨🤍

[cozylittleartblog]

Columbo and the Knight (1984)

put me in the universe where Columbo ran through the 1980s and had a crossover episode with Knight Rider. I think they deserved it, and I am not just saying that because they're my two favorite Old Shows. @telebeast wrote a little fanfic blurb about it and I HAD to visualize it into a comic (which is also the longest comic I have finished thus far at five pages...), so writing credit goes to them.

Autism W!

[haliaiii]

Please tell me I’m not the only one who sees this

[wavetapper]

rb this and tag your favourite soundtracks! they can be anything like games or movies or shows or whatever i wanna know what the best ones are 👀

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Laios's three Boy Best Friends. And yes, they hate him.

[inkskinned]

you're grabbing lunch with a nice man and he gives you that strange grimace-smile that's popular right now; an almost sardonic "twist" of his mouth while he looks literally down on you. it looks like he practiced the move as he leans back, arms folded. he just finished reciting the details of NFTs to you and explaining Oppenheimer even though he only watched a youtube about it and hasn't actually seen it. you are at the bottom of your wine glass.

you ask the man across from you if he has siblings, desperately looking for a topic. literally anything else.

he says i don't like small talk. and then he smiles again, watching you.

a few years ago, you probably would have said you're above celebrity gossip, but honestly, you've been kind of enjoying the dumb shit of it these days. with the rest of the earth burning, there's something familiar and banal about dragging ariana grande through the mud. you think about jeanette mccurdy, who has often times gently warned the world she's not as nice as she appears. you liked i'm glad my mom died but it made you cry a lot.

he doesn't like small talk, figure out something to say.

you want to talk about responsibility, and how ariana grande is only like 6 days older than you are - which means she just turned 30 and still dresses and acts like a 13 year old, but like sexy. there's something in there about the whole thing - about insecurity, and never growing up, and being sexualized from a young age.

people have been saying that gay people are groomers. like, that's something that's come back into the public. you have even said yourself that it's just ... easier to date men sometimes. you would identify as whatever the opposite of "heteroflexible" is, but here you are again, across from a man. you like every woman, and 3 people on tv. and not this guy. but you're trying. your mother is worried about you. she thinks it's not okay you're single. and honestly this guy was better before you met, back when you were just texting.

wait, shit. are you doing the same thing as ariana grande? are you looking for male validation in order to appease some internalized promise of heteronormativity? do you conform to the idea that your happiness must result in heterosexuality? do you believe that you can resolve your internal loneliness by being accepted into the patriarchy? is there a reason dating men is easier? why are you so scared of fucking it up with women? why don't you reach out to more of them? you have a good sense of humor and a big ol' brain, you could have done a better job at online dating.

also. jesus christ. why can't you just get a drink with somebody without your internal feminism meter pinging. although - in your favor (and judgement aside) in the case of your ariana grande deposition: you have been in enough therapy you probably wouldn't date anyone who had just broken up with their wife of many years (and who has a young child). you'd be like - maybe take some personal time before you begin this journey. like, grande has been on broadway, you'd think she would have heard of the plot of hamlet.

he leans forward and taps two fingers to the table. "i'm not, like an andrew tate guy," he's saying, "but i do think partnership is about two people knowing their place. i like order."

you knew it was going to be hard. being non-straight in any particular way is like, always hard. these days you kind of like answering the question what's your sexuality? with a shrug and a smile - it's fine - is your most common response. like they asked you how your life is going and not to reveal your identity. you like not being straight. you like kissing girls. some days you know you're into men, and sometimes you're sitting across from a man, and you're thinking about the power of compulsory heterosexuality. are you into men, or are you just into the safety that comes from being seen with them? after all, everyone knows you're failing in life unless you have a husband. it almost feels like a gradebook - people see "straight married" as being "all A's", and anything else even vaguely noncompliant as being ... like you dropped out of the school system. you cannot just ignore years of that kind of conditioning, of course you like attention from men.

"so let's talk boundaries." he orders more wine for you, gesturing with one hand like he's rousing an orchestra. sir, this is a fucking chain restaurant. "I am not gonna date someone who still has male friends. also, i don't care about your little friends, i care about me. whatever stupid girls night things - those are lower priority. if i want you there, you're there."

he wasn't like this over text, right? you wouldn't have been even in the building if he was like this. you squint at him. in another version of yourself, you'd be running. you'd just get up and go. that's what happens on the internet - people get annoyed, and they just leave. you are locked in place, almost frozen. you need to go to the bathroom and text someone to call you so you have an excuse, like it's rude to just-leave. like he already kind of owns you. rudeness implies a power paradigm, though. see, even your social anxiety allows the patriarchy to get to you.

you take a sip of the new glass of wine. maybe this will be a funny story. maybe you can write about it on your blog. maybe you can meet ariana grande and ask her if she just maybe needs to take some time to sit and think about her happiness and how she measures her own success.

is this settling down? is this all that's left in your dating pool? just accepting that someone will eventually love you, and you have to stop being picky about who "makes" you a wife?

you look down to your hand, clutching the knife.

[lazylittledragon]

ok i swear i'm not going to talk about my breakup forever but the thing that just keeps bothering me:

i know that not getting what you need in a relationship is a COMPLETELY valid reason to end it but also. i feel like having a very vulnerable moment where i opened up about my struggles with intimacy and being relieved that i didn't have to keep doing things i wasn't comfortable with, then being dumped a YEAR later because of my lack of intimacy. is something i should be allowed to be very hurt by???

[mingis-orangejuice]

How do the OG love interests react to you with Sylus?

*a/n: Hi guys this is my first headcanon so please be nice :) In this none of them are officially dating MC but it's pretty obvious that they all have feelings for her. Also, it takes place at a work event for MC and I know technically in the main story there's no way Sylus would be allowed into a hunter’s association event, but I couldn't think of any other type of event where they would all happen to be at the same time. Either way, this is just for fun so it doesn't really need to make sense.

Genres/Warnings: fem!reader, nothing to really worry about, this is just some good old-fashioned fluff/crack. Some jealousy tho

An award ceremony was coming up at Unicorns to award the best hunters at the company, You were surprised when Captain Jenna told you that you’d been nominated for a few categories like most wanderers eliminated in a single mission and even Hunter of the Year, but since you were a rookie hunter you didn't think you’d win any of them, still, it was nice to be included, especially since you were one of the only rookies to be nominated.

That evening you got a call from Sylus congratulating you on your nominations. 

“How did you even know I’d been nominated” you asked. 

“Mephisto informed me,” he said with a small chuckle

“Oh so you have him monitoring me at work now?” you questioned, slightly annoyed.

“He was simply in Linkon doing some business for me, is it my fault that he happened to pass by your office on the way back to the base?” Sylus sarcastically asked, you could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

“Anyways, I wanted to ask you, have you decided on what you’re going to wear to the award ceremony yet? 

“Yeah, why?” you were suspicious of his sudden interest in your fashion choices.

“Good, come over to the base I want to see it,” he said flatly

“Why?” you were even more suspicious of his motives now. 

“Well, we’ll need to match if I'm going to be on the arm of the Hunter of the Year right?” *click*

Sylus didn’t even wait for you to reply and just hung up, almost like he knew you’d come over anyway so he didn’t need confirmation. He was right. Somehow he had not-so-subtly invited himself to your award show as your plus-one.

As you walk into the banquet hall, arms linked, you see a familiar face in the crowd…

Zayne: 

-Zayne would be a little bothered but would hide it by asking Sylus a million questions. about how he knows you, when he met you and how long have you and him been friends.

-He would make sure to emphasize the word “Friends” to know for sure if you two were dating

-his logic is if you and Sylus are dating, one of you would correct him, but if you are indeed just friends you wouldn’t say anything.

-to his relief, you  didn't correct him

-Sylus would sense the fact that Zayne probably has some type of close relationship with you too so he’d pull you a little closer by your waist as he proceeds to ask Zayne his own series of questions about how he knows you.

-Zayne would be satisfied after the conversation and excuse himself to go find his seat.

-even tho he was relieved that you weren’t dating Sylus he’d still glance over at you every few minutes because he couldn’t put his finger on it but he has a hunch that Sylus might be bad news and he wants to make sure you’re safe.

-Sylus would keep his hand on your waist the whole night because even tho you didn’t notice Zayne’s glances Sylus sure did.

-Overall while Zayne wouldn’t like the fact that you came to the ceremony with another man (especially since you didn’t even think to invite him) he’d respect your choices and leave you be (mostly)

Rafayel:

-He’d be the most openly bothered by it.

-the second he sees you walk in he runs up to you, ready to playfully scold you for not inviting him and that he had to find out about the event from Thomas, so he thought he’d invite himself. He told the person at the door that he was your plus one (he also slipped them a $100 bill)

-as he ran up to you his smile faded as he saw your arm linked with another man that wasn’t him

-oh so this is why you didn’t invite him

- He would greet you with a long hug hoping to make Sylus Jealous 

-he would instantly turn on his best customer service voice when greeting Sylus to try and hide how hurt he is that you invited some random guy instead of him

- but that would quickly fade once Sylus starts answering his long list of questions he just has to ask to make sure this random not important guy that you invited instead of him was worthy of being your plus one.

-Rafayel takes every answer as a challenge to try and one-up Sylus

-if Sylus mentioned that he took you to a fancy Italian restaurant in Linkon City last week, Rafayel would mention how he took you to a real Italian restaurant in Italy last month, (or at least how he wanted to but you were busy with work and couldn’t just drop everything and join him in Italy)

-if Sylus said he bought you the dress that you’re wearing, Rafayel would remind you of the time he bought you a cute mermaid-themed hoodie which is actually your favourite and you use it all the time, therefor it’s more important than a dress that you’ll only wear once

-while Rafayel was getting worked up trying to keep up with Sylus. Sylus kept his calm demeanour the whole conversation, he noticed that the calmer he was the more annoyed Rafayel would get and he found it amusing. 

-Rafayel would constantly text you throughout the night to check on you even though you were sitting only 1 table away.

-Sylus took note of this and would purposefully do things like put his arm around your shoulder or wipe the food off your lips to get Rafayel to frantically text you making sure you’re ok, and ask if you want to switch seats and come sit next to him where you won't have a random guy constantly touching you.

-overall he will be suuuuper jealous and will make it very obvious (even though in his mind he thinks he was being subtle) 

Xavier:

-I think he’d be extremely bothered but he'd be way better at hiding it than Rafayel

-like the others he’d also have a few questions for him about what his relationship with you is but he would very casually drop them into a normal conversation

-he, much like the others stared at you the whole night, but only just to make sure you were ok, definitely not because he was jealous or anything. You’re his co-worker and friend so he feels responsible if anything happens to you.

-he would try and do a background check on him during the event on his hunter's watch but nothing came up, since Sylus obviously didn’t tell Xavier who he really was. 

-this made Xavier even more worried, who is MC really sitting with, how is she so calm and why would he give him fake info, just what is he trying to hide? 

-he was so focused on staring at you and Sylus that he didn't even notice that he downed 3 full plates of finger foods, every time the waiters would pass by he would unconsciously grab the plates out of their hands and bitterly eat while staring, almost like he’s in a trance.

-once you guys get to the apartment building and the adrenalin wears off he’ll notice that his stomach is in so much pain from all the food he unknowingly ate while staring at you and Sylus.

-he nearly collapses in the elevator on the way to your apartments, so you decide to invite yourself over to his and take care of him

- he may be in tons of pain right now but at least he gets you all to himself 

*Please do not reupload anywhere this is my original work

[holmsister]

Literally laios to kabru

[zzzenmui]

🌟 Monday's Melancholy 🎈

Extended version YT link: 【手描きプロセカ】 月曜日の憂鬱 (Monday's Melancholy) 【司類司】

About Monday’s Melancholy with Tsukasa and Rui. It’s about their first official meeting on kamikou’s rooftop. That’s why they’re wearing indoor slippers. and the drone in the title ahaha

The second half, it progresses from events… mainstory -> kamifes -> wms -> dazzling light. Other than it going by events, the colour also goes from orange/yellow (Tsukasa) -> pink (Emu) -> green (Nene) -> purple (Rui). The order of who officially joined the group.

A little something Rui’s Phenoix Wonderland’s ticket hm

[bibewilderedandbuck]

Buck goes out to get food or restock after a particularly rigorous ""work out"" session and it just happens to be at the same time as some idiot decides to rob the place.

Buck is kneeling down because hes looking for Tommy's favorite gatorade flavor. They have all the popular flavors at eye level but if you're looking for dark red, you have to stoop down. Homophobic, and during pride month.

He hears the commotion and of course his hero complex kicks in. But he doesn't wanna spook the guy cause he knows how he looks. Massive and buff and a firefighter and everyone at this place knows him too, he lives right down the road (or maybe the drug store is one the first level of his apartment). He goes to send a quick text to Tommy, when the guy with the gun demands all their phones. Buck gets out "911" and turns on his location. He stays low to the floor but makes himself known. Gets the gun trained on himself instead of anyone else because that's just who buck is.

The robber is getting desperate and every time bucks phone pings he gets more and more jumpy.

“Whose needy ass boyfriend wont stop blowing up their phone?”

Buck raises a shaky hand. He opens his mouth to say something but before he can get it out-

The store clerk high-fives him and tells him he’s proud of him. “It was only a matter of time, man. He went through all the women of LA and he just moved on to the men.”

A chorus of “Oooh come on!” “That’s biphobic” “ew gross” “not cool” ring out among the other hostages. Buck’s cheeks are burning. The mix of positive and negative reinforcement creating chaos in his head.

“You really should consider letting us go.” He says to the man with the gun. Buck takes a risk and stands to his full height and the other man’s eyes widen. “My boyfriend is bigger than I am. He's waiting for me and we weren’t done.” He holds up a box of condoms and the gatorade and someone hoots behind him.

It’s then that the sirens start. Someone shouts instructions through a bullhorn. Buck isn't listening, he's determined to get everyone out before himself. He calmly explains that out there is one of the most fiercely protective police sergeants he's ever met.

"And her first priority is not going to be you." Buck motions his raised hand to the other people in the store and says, "let them go and I can help you."

The voice amplified by the horn sounds more desperate by the second and when did the fucking fire department get here?

The armed man send everyone out, except buck, who he now holds in front of him with the barrel of the gun tucked snugly against his spine. Buck can feel it shiver against his skin.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone."

"I- I know," Buck says. The guy cowers behind him and he curses his height because if anyone was a fantastic human shield its Evan Buckley.

There's a new voice coming through the bullhorn now and Buck groans. Its Tommy and he's telling Buck the whole teams here and he's going to be alright. He sounds desperate and scared and Buck just wants to wrap his arms around the man and tell him its going to be OK.

"The boyfriend?" the guy asks and Buck almost laughs. He lets out a shaky breath.

"Yeah, needy right?"

"Listen man, I made a mistake. I'm in a lot of trouble but I never wanted anything like this." Buck nods. "My baby is sick and I'm broke. I just needed some cash and some formula."

Buck groans. He's too nice for his own good.

"There's an exit in the back."

"What?"

"In the back room I've seen them take in deliveries that way." He can hear the guy shuffle and then stop.

"Should I hit you?"

"What?" Buck peaks over his shoulder, the guy is half way to the door at the back of the store and still he's completely shielded by Buck's body. Seriously he should have been a bodyguard or something.

"I mean...it'll look like you just let me go?"

"This isn't a movie? I- I'm literally being held hostage, dude."

"Right." He turns away from Buck and then stops again. Buck is holding his breath. "Thanks man. I know this is fucked up and you didn't have to help me. You're a good guy."

Then he's gone.

Buck's not sure how to react. He did it, he saved everyone and himself and oddly the whole thing feels like a dream. Unreal. He walks slowly to the door of the shop and exits with his hands still in the air. Eddie is the first to hug him, barreling right into him and smacking his back into the glass of the window. He's checking over Buck for injuries and squinting inside the store and he seems confused.

"Where'd he go?"

Buck shrugs. "Went to the back and never came out."

Athena is next, she too gives him a once over, lets him know she can take his statement tomorrow and motions to the rest of the crew. They give him one resounding bone crushing group hug. Buck's warm and smiley but he still feels not here.

Finally, Tommy ambles out from behind the police car. He's thrown on a hoodie and sweats and he's vibrating on the balls of his feet. Buck see's the same expression on his face that must be reflected on Buck's. He reaches out to Tommy and Tommy clutches at him. The hug starts off timid until Buck hears a few pops in his back and Tommy is taking a deep breath in at his temple.

The world falls back into place like they've hit the bottom of a drop of an amusement park ride. His feet feel solidly on the ground and his stomach finally drops. His knees nearly buckle. At some point Buck had known he wasn't in danger, but it didn't feel that way. It felt like he was never going to talk to his family again, he would never see Hen or Eddie or Bobby...or Tommy. There is so much he wants to say but his breath is shaky and his hands won't release Tommy's shoulders.

"Do you want to be alone?" Tommy asks. Because of course he asks. No Buck has never wanted to be alone less. He feels like if he lets go of the man in his arms he's going to float into the atmosphere and dissipate. Like he's only tethered here by Tommy's hands.

"No," Buck says. He takes a grounding breath in, his chest bumping Tommy's. "I- I want to go home."