#We're on the good side of bad karma

[do-androids-dream-ao3acc]

Catastrophe

BuckTommyWhumpWeek, Day 7: Canon Typical Injury (on BOTH Buck and Tommy) | AO3 version

“The one time we don't go to Micelli's, and this happens.”

Buck's smile is crooked and pained as he says this. Tommy’s, however, is worse: there’s a bright, red streak running from his lower lip down to his chin. It’s not a good sign.

“I liked the cannoli,” Tommy says. His chuckle seamlessly turns into a cough, and he clutches his side.

“Shh,” Buck mutters. “Don't make it worse.”

“I'd like to say it can't get any worse, but...”

They exchange glances. It can always get worse, they both know that. But who could have guessed?

───── 2 hours earlier ─────

It was a nice restaurant: a good table in the back, fabulous food, and a great view from the 23rd floor down on the brightly lit city. But most importantly, it wasn't Micelli's. According to Buck, there was some kind of curse on that place because their dates that started there had never ended well. If you asked Tommy, it was either bad luck, coincidence or karma, but hey, as long as he didn't have to accompany his boyfriend to the cemetery again to break a curse... His boyfriend. This felt good, and they had worked hard for it, so this new six-month anniversary definitely needed to be celebrated. There was champagne and chocolate-filled cannoli for dessert. And, somehow, a promise lingered in the air that this time, it would be better. This time, it would work out.

“So,” said Buck, who’d barely touched his cannoli — the man was baking like a pro now, and he was adorably competitive — “this time I have something for you.”

Buck pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his linen jacket. It was a special occasion, so he’d dressed up, and in the candlelight, Tommy couldn't help but look at him and think that this was his guy. However...

“I don't have anything for you,” he replied. 

“You're paying for dinner,” Buck grinned. 

They looked at each other, both probably thinking about the last dinner where those exact words had been spoken. But tonight was supposed to be different. A special kind of new beginning. 

“Well, then maybe you should eat your dessert to make it worth it.”

“Oh, I know just the dessert that's really worth it,” said Buck, nudging Tommy under the table with his foot.

“Evan!”

“What?” Buck replied with a not-so-innocent smirk, holding out the envelope. “Take a look.”

“I hope those aren't Lakers tickets,” said Tommy, causing Buck to roll his eyes. 

“Conversation is key,” he returned in a tone suggesting he’d had one of his therapy sessions lately. “To listen, pay attention… I think I know what you like.”

“Ouch, Evan,” said Tommy, but he smiled and took the envelope. “But you really didn't have to...”

“Yeah, yeah,” Buck made an impatient gesture. “Go on, open it.”

Tommy placed the envelope next to his plate. “Okay, but let me eat this chocolate before it melts,” he said, reaching for his spoon. 

“Tommy!” This time, Buck's foot searched for Tommy's shin under the table.

“Very mature, Evan. All right...”

 The second Tommy reached for the envelope, a scream rang out.

───── .:**:. ─────

“We have to get out of here,” says Buck. 

It's more than just a statement; his words resonate with determination. Not despair, you have to give him that. Their situation is tense, to say the least, but Buck knows there's always a way out. That's what life has taught him — and Bobby, of course. 

“Obviously.” Tommy slides a little higher up the wall behind him, trying to sit a little straighter. It looks painful and uncomfortable, and he grimaces. Then he says something that makes the knot in Buck's stomach grow a little bigger. “I don't know if we can, though.”

“Hey,” Buck urges, and even though he tries to sound confident, his voice sounds shaky in his own ears. His hands are bloody, which doesn't exactly make him look credible. “Hey. Of course we can We're firefighters, okay?”

Tommy grins, which looks a little creepy with the blood on the corner of his mouth. 

“Evan. You realize that's kind of the problem, right?”

Well, yeah. He's right, of course.

───── 1:45 hours earlier ─────

It was a high-pitched scream, and it could have meant anything.

“Did someone lose a tooth?” Buck asked, craning his neck. 

“Why a tooth?”

"We had a call once, someone was eating a steak and lost a canine. There was a huge commotion, blood everywhere, someone at the next table fainted. In the end, it turned out to be insurance fraud, but the guy was an idiot and had accidentally torn out his entire upper row of gums.“

”Yuck," said Tommy, looking around, as did a few other people.

A scream in an almost full restaurant could mean anything... not necessarily a broken tooth, thank you very much, but it also didn't sound like the cry of joy of a woman who had just been proposed to. Part of the dining room was behind a pillar, so he couldn't see very far. 

“Was probably nothing,” he said.

But fate, karma, chance, or perhaps a curse had something else in mind. Now, there were noises that could now be heard clearly above the clatter of cutlery and the quiet conversations at the tables. Something that disturbed the idyll, a rumbling sound as if something had fallen over. And then, again, something that almost might have been a scream—but one that broke off abruptly.

Two people emerged from behind the pillar, and with that, the evening was finally ruined.

───── .:**:. ─────

“Why,” says Tommy, and it doesn't really sound like a question, “is going out with you so difficult?”

“Hey. That's unfair.”

Buck is still grinning, but there's nothing funny about their situation. But both of them only know two ways to deal with something like this—dark humor and action. Except the latter is pretty difficult right now. And it's really not Buck's fault.

“You have to keep pressing,” Tommy says, pointing to Buck's left shoulder. 

He's squeezing one of the restaurant's formerly white cloth napkins against it. Now it's covered in red stains, but not nearly as soaked as the one Tommy is pressing against his side. That's actually worrying. Just like the sweat stains on his forehead and his deliberately shallow breathing, because every breath feels like he's inhaling fire.

“There has to be a way out,” says Buck. 

His eyes scan the walls, the ceiling, the floor for the umpteenth time. They are in a storage room: shelves full of cleaning supplies, rags and, luckily, piles of packs of napkins. The kind you use to gracefully dab your mouth in a really good restaurant, but yes, surprisingly well suited for stopping blood. But apart from that, no windows, no ventilation shaft, no secret trapdoor in the floor. In other words, no way out except the door that stands locked in front of them. 

The sounds from outside are muffled, which only adds to the surreal feeling. There are voices, shouting, someone’s sobbing. A clatter and a scraping sound, as if something is being dragged across the floor. The hairs on Buck’s arms stand up. Does he have the chills now or is it just his circulation? Finally, his gaze falls on a mop next to the door, and a plan forms in his head. It's a wild and rather half-baked plan, but looking at Tommy, he knows they have to do something. Well, Buck himself is longing for a decent dose of acetaminophen, but that's not the only reason every fiber of his being is screaming for action. There are people out there in danger. There is something in him—and in Tommy—that wants to help, even when they need help themselves. There's no denying that's the case. But if they don't do something, anything, things will end badly, he can feel it. Not just for Tommy. 

“I have an idea.”

“That,” Tommy points out, “already got us into trouble today.”

───── 1:30 hours earlier ─────

The two people entering the restaurant’s main dining room made a fascinating couple. A man, no taller than 5'8", but with the look of a street fighter—gold chains, shaved head, and tattoos—and a woman who towered over him by at least a head. She had short, purple-dyed hair and wore a floral dress that would have made her inconspicuous at any of the tables. And it wasn't actually their appearance that seemed remarkable and attracted the attention of many of the guests. Most stared in horror, some with their hands over their mouths, at the guns the two were armed with. He was carrying a short-barelled rifle, she had a small submachine gun. Whoever they were, they were obviously dangerous, and they made no secret of it. 

“Listen up,” the man shouted, casually raising his rifle. Meanwhile, the woman playfully aimed at various restaurant guests, who flinched when the barrel of her weapon came close to them. “We’re gonna play a little game, I'm sure you know it. It's called give me all your money. Oh, and don't forget your jewelry and other valuables! Polly, this is my lovely wife here, is gonna collect it. Stay calm and this will be over quickly, and we'll be on our way.”

“She's no Polly, she's not,” Buck muttered.

“Not the problem right now, Evan,” said Tommy.

Buck bent forward conspiratorially. “No, just think about it. Who robs a restaurant with machine guns just to steal jewelry and money?”

Buck watched a lot of crime shows. That and his friendship with Athena didn't necessarily qualify him to know a lot about robberies. But just like Tommy, he knew that people lied, all the time. Most fires were caused by carelessness, but no one wanted to admit to throwing away a cigarette. At almost every accident somebody said, “No, I don't take any medication,” when in truth beta blockers were the least harmful thing they’d taken. Lying, covering up, concealing—all of that was part of a first responder's life. And maybe Buck had a radar for it.

Tommy took a closer look at the two of them. The woman, who was definitely not named Polly, strolled between the rows of tables and motioned to the guests with a wave of her gun to pack their belongings into a duffel bag that had been slung over her shoulder. When she turned around, she pointed her submachine gun toward the entrance, where a restaurant employee nervously clutched the counter. 

“Now, now,” she said. “We're keeping our hands off the phones, or they'll be gone in a second. I was the 1999 sport shooting queen in Fremont, Nebraska.”

As if to demonstrate, she aimed her gun at the umbrella stand next to the entrance, where the coat rack was also located. The stand was empty, of course, a mere prop; it hadn't rained in two months. She still aimed at it as if it were a great feat to hit an object the size of a floor vase from a distance of less than 30 feet. And maybe it was.

“Oh, come on, we don't want to waste ammunition. Or draw attention to ourselves,” she  then said. “But I won't tell you again, waiter. Toss the phone across the counter.”

The man did as commanded; he frantically pulled the phone out of the charging station and threw it toward the pillar, where it fell to the wooden floor just before it could hit it. 

“Hey!” The surprised call came from an older man who appeared seemingly out of nowhere behind the pillar, from a corridor that led to the restrooms. Then, the chaos really began.

Polly fired a shot.

───── .:**:. ─────

“For once, it's not my fault,” says Buck, and for once, that’s actually the truth.

“We both have a hero complex,” Tommy mutters.

“Maybe. But we need to do something. You're losing a lot of blood.”

Tommy can't argue with that. Buck shuffles to the door and listens, “I think they're still negotiating,” he says. 

“Batshit crazy, those two. They'll never get out of here alive. All the shooting is bound to have brought the cops down. They'll be here soon.”

“I assume they've popped a few pills,” Buck agrees, “but I also think the original plan was different. I think they planned to make it look like a robbery, but then kidnap the district attorney or something like that. Then things went wrong because of the guy who was in the bathroom for so long. And now...”

“Now,” Tommy adds, “their only chance is to use the district attorney as both hostage and leverage, because the police are bound to be here soon.”

“And that plan is a lot worse for the rest of the guests in the restaurant.”

Tommy nods grimly. His face is pale—even for him, what's going on out there is anything but good. Buck grabs the mop and bangs it frantically against the door.

───── 1 hour earlier ─────

The sound of the gunshot echoed through the restaurant, following the bullet. It ripped open the left shoulder of the poor guy who’d not even noticed the commotion outside, just because he’d been in the bathroom for a bit longer. He screamed as he hit the floor, toppling over the carpet which soon turned red with his blood. 

Several more people in the restaurant let out screams. Tables shook and dishes crashed to the floor as some of them reacted in panic. Then, a second shot rang out, and Polly's husband—or whoever the guy was—yelled, “Shut up!”

The next moment, there was dead silence. Plaster crumbled from the ceiling onto him, and he angrily wiped his hair. The shot had gone upward, leaving a hole in the ceiling. 

“And you two sit back down,” he yelled, waving the rifle in Tommy and Buck's direction. 

The two exchanged a glance. Instinct and responsiveness, two qualities that make good firefighters, were probably why both of them had stood up immediately when the first shot rang out. 

“This man is injured,” Buck replied calmly. This wasn't exactly standard training at the LAFD, but the numerous advanced training courses they had to attend these days also included the possibility of being threatened with a weapon. “We're firefighters. We can help him.”

“Firefighters, huh,” said the guy, and Polly called out to him, “Finn, baby, what do we do now?”

“Quiet,” he yelled in her direction. “Let me think. I just need to think!”

Finn—if that was his name—scratched his head with his gun and looked around the room.

“I think the cops will be here soon,” Polly said.

“Let's just check on him,” said Buck, pointing to the injured man lying on the floor, his eyes wide open with shock and pain. The floor beneath him was already covered with an ugly red pool of blood. 

Tommy searched Buck's gaze. “We can end this in a flash,” he whispered. 

Buck frowned. “What are you thinking?” he muttered under his breath.

“I have an idea,” Tommy hushed. And really, this time, it was his fault. Loudly, in Finn's direction, he said, “Look, so far it's just robbery with assault. You don't want this to turn into murder.”

“What, you a lawyer or something?”

“I knew that was nonsense, firefighters, haha,” Polly sneered. Tommy glanced at her and shook his head.

“Nope, that’s true, we're firefighters.” 

He spread his arms, although he suspected that this gesture of harmlessness meant next to nothing to the two of them. Basically, they were predators, unimpressed by their prey. But he wasn't going to make it that easy for them. 

“We're trained in first aid,” he added. “If you let us help the man, you'll improve your own chances. You know very well that the shots will bring the police. Some resident, or maybe a passerby, is bound to have heard them.”

“I locked the door, baby,” Polly called out.

“That won't do much good,” Buck said, and he could see from their faces that they knew it. 

“I don't care about that guy,” Finn said. “We're not here for him.”

Buck and Tommy exchanged looks that definitely meant I told you so on Buck's part. Meanwhile, Finn strolled between the tables, his gun clutched tightly in his arms as if he were cradling a baby. When he stopped, he aimed the rifle at a dark-blonde woman in her mid-forties wearing an evening gown. She was sitting with a man in a suit who looked considerably more frightened than she did. It suited her that she was unimpressed—she presented herself in the same way in the public hearings that were broadcast on television. The woman was well known.

“Isn't that the district attorney? Valdez?” Tommy asked quietly.

“Told you this wasn't a simple robbery,” Buck muttered. 

“Do you want my necklace?” the woman asked calmly. She was indeed wearing a very pretty gold necklace with a small ruby. Finn shook his head. 

“This is getting a little out of hand,” he said. “I'll tell you what I want...”

Whatever he wanted was drowned out by a cry of surprise as Tommy suddenly lunged at him.

───── .:**:. ─────

“Hey,” Buck yells, continuing to bang the mop handle against the door. “Hey! Help! Hurry up!”

“What are you doing?” 

Buck turns his head briefly. “I'm getting us out of here,” he says grimly. 

“I've already ruined the element of surprise,” says Tommy with an embarrassed grin. 

“Hey,” Buck repeats with much more emphasis, “it's not your fault, okay?”

“Evan. We're lucky to be alive.”

“We're alive because Polly and Finn” — now he draws quotation marks in the air — “are one card shy of a full deck. They're stressed, so they overreacted. Your plan was good, this isn’t your fault. Tommy, you're bigger and heavier than that guy, and I know you don't take unnecessary risks. It was civil courage. They were threatening twenty or thirty people, and they shot one of them. You could have overpowered Finn. The fact that his gun went off was… a calculated risk, and bad luck. And if I hadn't been so stupid and thrown myself in the way, it might have worked.”

“It wasn't stupid. It was brave, Evan.”

“Oh, come on.” Buck digs his fingers into the handle of the mop, as if it was symbolizing Finn's neck. “I was scared shitless in that moment, Tommy. But I still don't think those two really wanted to kill anyone.”

“Well, except that Polly did shoot.”

The mere memory makes Buck wince. Being shot felt like slipping with a circular saw, well, sort of. Not a pleasant memory either. In any case, Polly hasn't exaggerated; she can shoot, and accurately. It's just a graze, but Buck's arm still burns. He'll survive. But nothing had gone according to plan for Polly and Finn – neither the injured man nor the fact that Finn's gun went off while he was wrestling with Tommy. Even the shot at Buck had been just pure reaction on Polly's part. And all of that was, in a way, luck. Because if the two of them had entered the restaurant with the firm intention of causing a massacre, well...

Buck turns around, hammers the mop against the door again, and starts screaming for help.

“Evan, what are you doing?”

“They're stressed, I told you. We just need to turn up the heat a little.”

Finn and Polly had quickly restored calm after the shooting. That hadn't been particularly difficult, as the remaining guests were completely terrified at that point. However, they had locked Buck and Tommy in the chamber because, in Polly's words, “Feels like out of the frying pan, into the fire with two firefighters, haha.” Of course, they also took their phones—the two of them are stressed, but unfortunately not completely stupid. Buck is still worried about the guy who was shot in the restaurant, although he suspects he's not too badly injured. Polly is truly an extremely good shot, even in a panic. Or she’s just lucky.

“What do you mean? Evan, the police will be here any minute.”

Buck continues to bang on the door with the mop handle. He would pound on it with his fists, but his shoulder would probably object. 

“Sure, the police will be here soon,” he says, “but this has escalated from a robbery to a hostage situation. That changes everything. It delays everything; negotiations could take hours. There are tons of people out there in danger, and there's this guy who's been shot, and then you need to get to the hospital, Tommy, and if I can knock one of them over the head with this mop, we can overpower the other one. I know you don't like to hear this, but you've lost a lot of blood, and I'm worried and... Tommy?”

It's just an impulse, instinct maybe. Or maybe Buck expects Tommy to interrupt his staccato babbling, like he always does when his thoughts start spiraling. But when he turns to look at him, Buck drops the mop. 

“Tommy!”

───── .:**:. ─────

Eyes shut, Tommy's head is slumped onto his shoulder.

“No, no, no, you won’t!”

Buck drops on the floor and gently pats Tommy's alarmingly pale cheeks. He carefully lifts the napkin, which has long since lost its pristine whiteness. It sticks to Tommy's clothes, and for the first time since they've been in here, Buck realizes that Tommy’s shirt is completely soaked. For a very long couple of seconds, he’s frozen. Then, as if the engine of an old, broken-down car suddenly starts again, a jolt goes through his body.

Two fingers on Tommy's carotid artery: there's a pulse. Maybe a little weak, but definitely there. Buck jumps up, almost knocking over the shelf in his attempt to get a fresh cloth to press it onto the wound. It really doesn't look good: while Buck was only grazed by Polly's shot, Finn's sudden gunfire hit Tommy squarely. Following an impulse, he carefully feels Tommy's back. He should have done that long ago, shouldn't he? Tommy's back is soaked with sweat, but there's no exit wound. 

This isn't good, none of this is good, and Buck's thoughts are racing. His own wound is burning; it's a bit like someone is holding a lighter to his skin, every movement making his nerves scream. Tommy, however, must have been in incredible pain, and he hardly let it show. Tommy just sat there, endured it, and still took care of Buck; and all that after trying to protect the restaurant guests. He's a real hero, and Buck feels damn useless. Guilt washes over him like an ice-cold rain shower. They just got back together. Is there really a curse on their relationship? After six months of happiness, is it all over again—this time for good?

What a stupid thought. Who is he, some uninvolved passerby? A defenseless spectator, like the people in the restaurant? The thought suddenly drives Buck forward; the old, broken-down car has fuel again. Bobby would have liked that comparison. But he mustn't think about Bobby now.

“I'll never listen to you again, Tommy,” he groans as he very carefully shifts the man into a lying position. “I mean, of course I'll listen to you, but I have to listen better, right? Haha. Earlier, I gave you a lecture on that, remember?”

Tommy doesn't respond. Buck stuffs a few of the napkins under his boyfriend’s head,  then pushes a box under his legs, frantically throwing out the cleaning supplies in it. At last, he checks the bleeding again and mutters, “You're stubborn, though. Would it be so bad to admit weakness once in a while?”

Fortunately, the brief period without firm pressure hasn't caused any further damage – the bleeding seems to have stopped. There's still shouting outside; it sounds like Polly. She seems to be the more dangerous of the two, and if she loses it now... Focus on Tommy, he thinks. Tommy is breathing, his pulse is steady, but he's lost a hell of a lot of blood. Buck crouches beside him, almost automatically pressing the cloth onto the wound, thinking that he was probably a little unfair. Tommy has admitted his weaknesses, he has opened up, and not just because they’d decided that this would be a prerequisite for both of them if they were to try again. It was a journey with heavy baggage on each part, and something neither of them had ever done before. Buck had always been abandoned, and Tommy had always left before things got serious. And they’d both always acted like this for the same reason: injuries, that weren't visible on the outside, but yet so deep that they still hurt years later, like scars when the weather changed.

“But still,” Buck says, as if Tommy can read his mind, even though the man isn't even conscious, “still, we make mistakes. We fall back into old patterns. I didn't pay enough attention to you, and you weren't honest. But you know what? I get it. And we can work on that, the two of us. Don't you think? I—”

A key turns in the lock, and then the door to the small chamber is thrown open with a jerk.

───── .:**:. ─────

“Get out,” Finn demands, pointing his gun at Buck. 

“What?”

“Come on, get out of there, both of you!”

Now that the door is open, the sounds which had been muffled just a moment ago rain down on Buck. Someone is sobbing. The injured man near the entrance is moaning. Polly seems nervous, wiping her hand over a few tables, deliberately knocking plates and glasses to the floor. Maybe she just wants to scare the guests, though Buck thinks they’re already completely panicked. And there’s yet another sound, still a little distant but getting louder. The reason for Polly's nervousness: sirens.

“W-we can't.” Buck gestures to Tommy, still lying motionless on the floor. 

“Shit,” says Polly, who suddenly appears behind Finn, glancing over his shoulder. She waves her gun at Buck. “You alone then.”

“What for?” 

“Shut up,” Finn scolds, waving his rifle. But Polly puts a hand on his shoulder, clicking her tongue.

“Look, fireman. Even with just one of you, our chances of getting out of here are increasing exponentially. The cops aren't going to endanger one of their own.”

Buck pinches his lips together. The two of them obviously want to use him as a human shield. And part of him wants to agree, just to protect the rest of the guests in the restaurant. To give all of them a chance to get out of this alive, especially Tommy. But...

“No,” Buck shakes his head. “I'm not leaving him alone.”

“Excuse me?” Polly pushes past Finn. Her voice has a surprisingly gentle undertone that sends a shiver down Buck's spine.

He straightens his back and stands up. Buck knows the effect his size and muscles have. It's not for nothing that he often walks hunched over, making himself small; but that's over now. Polly, however, doesn't look particularly impressed. Maybe she just has completely lost her mind.

Buck points to Tommy. “Maybe it would work, we'd go out, the cops would let you through. But then you'd have a man on your conscience. A firefighter. I need him in a hospital right now, or he'll die.”

He's exaggerating, at least he hopes so, but it's not hard to add a hint of desperation to his voice. That one spark of fear. Because it's there, deep inside Buck, turning his stomach. And it seems to be working. There's something in Finn's eyes, an uncertainty. He actually takes a step back, glancing nervously at the crowd of guests.

“Polly,” he says, his tone warning. But Polly shakes her head.

“This is bullshit.”

She drops the bag with the loot on the floor, raises her gun and points it at Buck, who raises his hands defensively. Then she pushes past him with a grin, stops next to Tommy and nudges his left leg with her foot.

“We've got a few injuries, sure, that's a bit unfortunate,” Polly says calmly. “But firefighters... Phew, I'm telling you, they’re tough.”

Her grin is smarmy now. Then, suddenly, she pulls her foot back and kicks Tommy in his injured side. Buck sees red.

───── .:**:. ─────

The anger that rises within him rarely surfaces, but it’s still familiar to him. Buck never really allows this searing, gnawing feeling to take hold; these destructive thoughts, this tingling sensation in his fingers that automatically clench into fists. It’s a feeling that erases thoughts, an instinct that drives him to act.

Danger is just a state, a situation to be analyzed, assessed, and overcome. Bobby's words. Buck has worked very, very hard to be the person he is today. Someone Bobby could be proud of, and he was. Even when he screwed up. Even when he acted impulsively. And if that's not impulsive...

Buck's fist shoots forward. He’s never really done this, at least not to a woman, and normally, he wouldn’t. Polly, however, is dangerous, and Buck knows better than anyone that gender has nothing to do with it. His hand hits Polly in the stomach. She doubles over and groans, part out of pain, part out of astonishment. Buck grabs her, drags her by the arm, twists it around. Polly drops the gun, but then she wriggles in Buck's grip like a toddler covered in sunscreen. She screams and yells, Finn yells too, and for a terrible and surprisingly long moment, Buck thinks Finn is going to shoot. Or that he won't be able to hold Polly.

But Buck hasn't forgotten what he learned when he was eight, at summer sports camp with the wrestling class. Buck forgets very little, just like his muscles, and when he flexes them and wraps his arms around Polly, she can struggle all she wants.

“Now,” he gasps, “here's my advice: if you don't want to shoot your lovely wife—and boy, you know she can shoot better than you—then you give up. The police are almost at the door.”

Finn's face is red like a tomato; it wouldn't be surprising if he had a stroke right there and then. But it's anger, Buck knows that, and anger makes people do irrational things. Finn bites his lip until it bleeds.

“Shit. Shit, shit!” he repeats over and over again. 

“There's a back exit.”

Frantically waving his gun, Finn turns around. Behind him stands one of the restaurant’s employees, a waiter perhaps, or the manager, and he flinches. 

“What?”

“A back exit,” stammers the man, pointing to a window at the rear of the restaurant. “It's... it's actually an emergency exit.”

Finn stares at him, then back at Buck. No, actually, he's looking at Polly, who is standing stiff as a board in Buck’s iron grip. 

“Baby,” Polly whispers. Finn blinks. “No. No, no, no, you're not doing that.”

“I'm sorry,” Finn says without much regret. He picks up the bag, slings the strap over his shoulders, and adds, “It's not worth dying for. Not for anyone here.”

Without looking back, he runs off. Polly starts screaming, now wiggling again, but Buck holds her tight, even though the muscles in his arms feel like they’re about to tear.

“You stupid asshole, I'll find you,” Polly yells, but that doesn't stop Finn from opening the window and climbing out, just in time: the sirens are wailing right outside the restaurant.

From there, everything happens very quickly.

───── .:**:. ─────

It is, of course, Athena who’s among the first to secure the scene.

Buck loves the red string theory, much to Tommy's discomfort, but not just when it comes to his own relationship. Sure, Buck truly believes that everything in life has a meaning and that two people who belong together will find each other in the end. It's strange that Tommy, with his penchant for rom coms, doesn't share his belief, but Buck is sure he'll convince him eventually. In any case, Buck believes that he is connected to everyone in his life by an invisible red string, not just Tommy. Certainly Athena, who secretly adopted him, just as Bobby had done. And that's why it's no coincidence that it’s Athena who finds them both when the police storm the restaurant.

“Buck,” she says with not much surprise as she suddenly appears in the doorway, and he exhales a breath he thinks he must been holding for a very long time.

He barely notices how she reaches for Polly with raised brows, handcuffs the woman and hands her over to one of her officers to lead her away. Buck just breathes, “Tommy,” and then he's back on the floor next to him, holding his hand, stroking it, and murmuring something that is meant more to calm himself than Tommy, who’s unaware of anything anyway.

Athena glances at him, turns around and shouts, “EMT!” Hesitantly, she bends down and places two fingers on Tommy's carotid artery. Visibly calmer, she then asks, "What was going on here, Buck? No, wait. I don't really want to know, and you’re gonna make a statement anyway. Of course you're in the middle of this mess, what else would one expect... By the way, you belong in the hospital, too.”

Buck shrugs, ignoring his aching muscles, not to mention the ridiculous wound.

“I’ve to take care of the mess out there,” Athena says. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Fortunately, Buck has never before seen the paramedics who are now rushing into the small room. He has made progress with Tommy, oh yes, but there are conversations Buck has still avoided. Conversations he has still shied away from, and they’re gonna be with his friends and family. Well, that can't be put off any longer now, can it.

“Yes,” he says, and in that moment, it's true.

Athena lets out a sigh. “You're every inch Bobby’s boy,” she gently tells him, and the sparkle in her eyes could mean anything as she turns and walks away. 

Tommy's fingers twitch under Buck’s. He hasn't let go, and there isn't enough room in the small room anyway; the paramedics are calling for a stretcher. 

“Tommy,” he murmurs, gently stroking his cheek. 

“Hmm,” Tommy whispers, blinking. “'s wrong?”

Buck grins, feeling a lot lighter. “Oh, nothing much,” he replies. “Just a bit of chaos, nothing special.”

“I just want one date with you without anything happening,” Tommy mutters, the corners of his mouth turned up despite his obvious pain. 

The stretcher arrives, and Buck flinches sympathetically as Tommy is lifted onto it. He runs alongside, assuring him that everything will be all right, and in this moment he knows it's true. It's not the familiar surroundings of the ambulance soon after that make him realize this, but they certainly contribute to it. Of course, Buck going with him is against protocol, but who cares? Maybe this crew has heard of the 118’s motto, because they don’t object.

They drive off, and Tommy asks, “What was in it, anyway?”

“Hm, in what?” asks Buck, and he thinks one of the paramedics is mumbling that the dose would actually knock out an elephant, and he knows that Tommy is only keeping his eyes open with sheer willpower. But he doesn't tell him to relax or any of the other nonsense people usually say to hide their own restlessness. Because this is Tommy, and he deserves his attention.

“In the envelope.”

“The envelope, oh dear.” Buck knits his brows together. “I-I think it's still on the table. Maybe Polly took it because she thought there was money in it. Or a gift card. Do you think we'll get it back soon? It's evidence now...”

“So it's neither money nor a gift card,” Tommy mutters as one of the paramedics draws up a syringe. “Then what is it?”

“Oh. Tickets for your favorite band.”

“Tickets? Plural? You don't even like that band... I hope you weren't suggesting I go with Eddie.”

Buck can't help but burst out laughing. “Nah. Sure, they’re not really my thing, but you like them,” he finally says, “and that's why...”

“I like you,” Tommy interrupts him, slurring his words now. “I even love you.”

“Sweet,” says one of the paramedics, and then another dose goes into the IV, and Tommy closes his eyes. There’s the blissful smile of being high on his lips.

Buck feels like he's just been hit by a truck. Except it doesn't hurt, no, on the contrary. Something has hit him with full force, but it feels good. Damn good.

“It's just the painkillers,” he says, stroking Tommy's hand.

“No, honey, that was definitely real,” the paramedic interjects, smiling.

Buck looks at her, he looks at Tommy; Oh, he thinks. Oh.

[rpmemes-galore]

Chappell Roan : The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess album ... sentence starters

tw for some sexual content and language

"Is it casual now?"

"You're losing it lately."

"I'm so sick of online love."

"It's gonna cause a scene."

"You wonder why I'm bitter…"

"I just wanna get to know ya."

"You coming home with me?"

"We're hot, we're drunk, wow."

"Won't make my mama proud."

"Mini skirt and my go-go boots."

"But I can't help what I can't help."

"Baby, why don't you come over?"

"Let's make this bed get squeaky."

"So slow down, sit down, it's new."

"Got so close, but then you lost it."

"Oh my god, you are heaven sent…"

"If karma's real, hope it's your turn."

"It's comical, the bridges you burn."

"Should've listened to your friends."

"If I didn't love you, it would be fine."

"Fell in love with the thought of you."

"So, baby, let's get freaky, get kinky."

"I thought you thought of me better."

"It's hot when you have a meltdown."

"Do you picture me like I picture you?"

"She showed me things I didn't know."

"Every place leads back to your place."

""Here we go, again. Everything is fine."

"Not overdramatic, I know what I want."

"And he was wearing these fugly jeans."

"Touch me, baby, put your lips on mine."

"Wishing you the best, in the worst way."

"This is what I wanted, this is what I like."

"Oh, some good girls do bad things, too."

"Can't be a good, good girl even if I tried."

"I try not to care, but it hurts my feelings."

"I love a little drama, let's start a bar fight."

"It's all in my head, but I want non-fiction."

"You're hating yourself, I'm feeling myself."

"I know you want it, baby, you can have it."

"I could be the one, or your new addiction."

"Never waste a Friday night on a first date."

"Now I'm choked up, face down, burnt out."

"I've been a good, good girl for a long time."

"But, baby, I like flirting, a lover by my side."

"So, now when we kiss, I have anger issues."

"I don't want the world, but I'll take this city."

"Could go to hell, but we'll probably be fine."

"Every night's another reason why I left it all."

"Got what you wanted, so stop feeling sorry."

"Ruined my credit, stole my cute aesthetic…"

"'Cause if we do coffee, it's never just coffee."

"I try to be the chill girl but, honestly, I'm not."

"We're leaving the planet and you can't come."

"People say I'm jealous, but my kink is karma."

"You'll say that you're sorry. I know that's a lie."

"Can't meet you for dinner at the Italian place."

"Um, can you play a song with a fucking beat?"

"Here come the excuses that fuel the illusions."

"That’s my type of fun, that's my kind of party."

"Who can blame a girl? Call me hot, not pretty."

"You don't have to stare, comе here, get with it!"

"I guess we could pretend we didn't cross a line."

"And you're getting pissed off, it's getting me off."

"'Cause everything good happens after midnight."

"If you really wanna leave, I'll never make you stay."

"No need to be hateful in your fake Gucci sweater."

"To think, I almost had it going, but I let you down."

"No one's touched me there in a damn hot minute!"

"I'm feeling kinda freaky, maybe it's the moonlight."

"I'm feeling kinda freaky, maybe it's the club lights."

"There's no one else who could. the only one is you."

"You sent him pictures and playlists and phone sex."

"I heard you like magic. I've got a wand and a rabbit."

"I kinda wanna kiss your girlfriend, if you don't mind."

"We've done this before, and I don't need it anymore."

"It's not attractive wearing that dress and red lipstick."

"If it hasn't happened, yet, then maybe you should go."

"Who knew that we'd let it get this bad when it ended?"

"He doesn't have what it takes to be with a girl like me."

"I hate that I let this drag on so long, you can go to hell."

"My friends call me a loser, 'cause I'm still hanging around."

"Baby, do you like this beat? I made it so you'd dance with me."

"I'm too scared to say half of the things I do when I picture you."

"Nothing good happens when it's late and you're dancing alone."

"And you're getting called out, 'cause you're running your mouth."

"'Cause if we have wine, 'cause if we have wine. I know that's a lie."

"Lying to your friends about how he's such a goddamn good lover."

"What's it take to get your number? What's it take to bring you home?"

"Should've listened to your friends 'bout his girlfriend back in Boston."

"Knee deep in the passenger seat and you're eating me out, is it casual now?"

[installzoey]

Ever wonder who's on the other side of the screen making fun of you? Let's take a look today at one prime example!

This is someone who posts daily to Systems Cringe. Now, believe it or not, I'm not a system - so I don't have a dog in this fight. But what I am is a good human being. So naturally, someone who spends their time 24/7 bullying people online made me go "yuck"!

but.. who are you letting get under your skin? let's recap!

these people spend all day on reddit, discord, and god knows where else discussing and posting about people they look feverishly online for to post (hi, you found my post by accident, but I'm not a system)!

they think the world revolves around them and DID. they think that everybody has a grasp on syscourse and people you meet in real life will ask about your trauma to see if you pass the validity test or not. but no, because you guys have never been outside, here's how it usually goes talking to someone else IRL: "hi, nice weather today, isn't it?"

they're unhappy with their lives and themselves. let's take a look at the example we picked for today's lesson - they constantly post on Reddit, red flag, right? but what they post about shows how pathetic their life truly is

they're obsessed with my spouse, posting them daily, but sorry, we're monogamous! find another relationship to join and crash..

they talk about how the world sucks because nobody notices their art. I would feel bad but.. karma much?

they post yaoi hazbin art and discuss gay hazbin hotel ships. please, don't let a yaoi viziepop shipper ruin your day - they clearly don't have much going for them already. (no offense to viziepop fans.. smh)

they are OBSESSED with character.ai to the point of posting about it regularly as well. I mean, I knew they needed to touch grass, but wow.. make some real friends! your waifu robot doesn't really love you (or exist!)

they're an adult but browse minor-oriented spaces like teenager subreddits - WEIRD much?

they also just have very weird stances which doesn't sit right with me, especially given the above - like defending the option to romance a child in a video game (because she's actually 200000000, duh) and comparing dating someone with DID to dating an anime child.. wow..

and so much more.. horrible takes and sad cries for help...

So what's the point? I just want to remind everyone that the people on the other end of the screen are often super miserable and unhappy with their own lives, riddled with their own flaws, and use others as a punching bag to feel better about themself and project their insecurities on - like this dude! As someone who again is not a system, regardless of any takes on syscourse, bullying is just objectively pathetic. Do better. And if you're a victim of their bullying, don't let them get to you.

[th30ra3k3n]

you get under my skin

more than anyone's ever been

but when we lay in bed

you hold me harder 'til i forget

that you hate me now and i feel the same way

you love me now and i feel the same way

scream and we shout

and make up the same day, the same day

oh, we're on the right side of rock bottom

and i hope that we keep falling

we're on the good side of bad karma

'cause we keep on coming back for more

we're on the right side of rock bottom

and to you, i just keep crawling

you're the best kind of bad something

'cause we keep on coming back for more

for @thiamsxbitch 🖤

[thelavenderpanda]

Chappell Roan lyrics x Life series

Hot To Go

“I don’t want the world, but I'll take this city” - Joel.

“Well, i woke up alone staring at my ceiling” - Skizz to BigB, secret life

“I try not to care but it hurts my feelings” - Lizzie after the shadow alliance betrayal

“You don't have to stare, come here, get with it” - Scar.

“No one's touched me there in a damn hot minute” - Impulse

“Hurry up, it's time for supper, order up, I'm hot to go” - Cleo

“Whoo, you coming home with me?” - Pearl to Gem

Pink Pony Club

“I know you wanted me to stay” - Grian

“Won't make my mama proud, it's gonna cause a scene” - Bdubs, limited life

“You're a pink pony girl” - Cleo’s skin

“Every night's another reason why I left it all” - Scar

“I'm gonna keep on dancing” - Rusty Courage animatic

Red Wine Supernova

“Put her canine teeth in the side of my neck” - Pearl to Gem

“Guess I didn't quite think it through” - Gem

“Guess I didn't quite think it through” - Scott

“Guess I didn't quite think it through” - Scar

“Guess I didn't quite think it through” - Grian

“Fell in love with the thought of you” - Scar to Grian

“Now I'm choked up, face down, burnt out” - Scott

“Red wine supernova, fall right into me” Gem to Pearl after turning her red, secret life

“I heard you like magic” - Magical Mountain, last life

Femininominom

“Same old story, time again” - Desert duo

“Got so close but then you lost it” - Gem, secret life finale

“Should've listened to your friends” - Cleo to Lizze after burning down the fairy fort, last life

“'Bout his girlfriend back in Boston” - Scar to Grian about his secret soulmate, double life

“And I don't understand, why can't any man” - Scar about Grian

“Lying to your friends about” - Etho

“Got what you wanted, so stop feeling sorry” - Shiny duo, secret life finale

“Did you hear me? Play the fvcking beat” - Bdubs

Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl

“But there I was, in my heels with my hair straight” - Cleo

“And so I take him to this bar, this man wouldn't dance” - Scar to Grian

“He didn't ask a single question” - Jimmy to Tango

“And he was wearing these fugly jeans” - Joel to Etho

“He doesn't have what it takes to be with a girl like me” - Lizzie to Joel

“With all these hyper mega bummer boys like you” - Jimmy to Scott

“We're hot, we're drunk” - Skizz

“At every party we're the party, shaking our asses” - Jimmy

“Making out while the world collapses” - Scott

“Hyper-sexy top to bottom girl like me” - Scar

Good Luck Babe

“You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth” - Desert duo

“But you don't wanna call it love” - Shiny duo

“You can kiss a hundred boys in bars” - Gem to Pearl

“You can say it's just the way you are” - Scar to Grian

“With your head in your hands, you're nothing more than his wife” - Lizzie

“And when you think about me, all of those years ago” - Gem to Pearl

“You're standing face to face with "I told you so"” - Gem to Pearl

“You know I hate to say, but, I told you so” - Cleo to Pearl about Gem

“You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling” - Grian

After Midnight

“She's in my head saying, "It's not attractive, Wearing that dress and red lipstick” - Pearl

“I've been a good, good girl for a long time” - Gem

“I kinda wanna kiss your girlfriend if you don't mind” - Gem

“I love a little drama, let's start a bar fight” - Jimmy, Scar and Martyn

“I kinda wanna kiss your boyfriend if you don't mind” - Scott

Guilty Pleasure

“So shame on me and shame on you” - Desert Duo

“I fantasize what we would do” - Shiny duo

“Oh, some good girls do bad things too” - Shadowrot

“With your dirty mind, yeah, you're perverted” - Impulse to Skizz

“You give me guilty, guilty pleasure” - all the divorced duos

My Kink is Karma

“We broke up on a Tuesday” - Desert duo

“stole my cute aesthetic” - Lizzie

“It's comical, bridges you burn” - Cleo

“It's hot when you have a meltdown” - Gem to Pearl

“People say I'm jealous, but my kink is watching. You crashing your car. You breaking your heart. You thinking I care” - Scar to Grian after he wakes up in his bed, wild life

“Six months since April and I'm doing better” - Gem

“It's hot when you know that you're caught” - Scar to Grian

[rosanna-writer]

Karma Is My Boyfriend (1/?)

Summary: Elain Archeron saved countless lives by vanquishing Graysen Nolan, her literal demon of a fiancé. She's a hero, but it's just not fair that being a good witch destined to rid the world of evil has left her tragically, painfully single. Enter Lucien Vanserra, the best cupid in the business, who's been sent by the universe to balance the karmic scales and find Elain the perfect new partner…

Happy Elucien Week! A huge thank you to @popjunkie42 for beta-reading, and my playlist for this fic can be found here. I'm so excited to participate in @elucienweekofficial; we're so lucky to have such a dedicated team of event runners!

Read on AO3 or under the cut!

The new energy in Elain's shop was too sweet to be demonic. It set her teeth on edge—artificial strawberry, discount chocolate, cards fashioned out of glitter glue and construction paper. Nothing at all like the gentle, soothing aura created by the plants lining the aisles of Roots 'n Shoots. Elain felt it following her like a bad smell as she repotted new shipments, packaged online orders, and upsold premium fertilizer to customers who'd wandered in.

By lunchtime, she'd resolved to get rid of it.

Whatever magic was hanging around didn't seem to be a threat, but she hadn't survived three years of fighting evil by taking chances.

She had half a mind to call her sisters for backup; even though Elain was a powerful witch, her premonitions of the future weren't nearly as effective for self-defense as Nesta's telekinesis or Feyre's ability to cause explosions with her mind. But whatever was hanging around didn't seem malicious. Just…cloying.

Elain let her intuition guide her and followed the strange feeling to its source. She walked slowly down an aisle of tall, leafy ferns and kept her eyes peeled.

There—through the leaves, a flash of red. Every molecule in her body seemed drawn right to it, like a compass and a magnetic pole. She hurried towards it.

The flash of red turned out to be long auburn hair pulled into a messy bun. Elain couldn't help but notice the way it gleamed in the sun as she gently pushed a fern leaf to the side to get a better look at the culprit…

And found a mechanical eye staring back.

She squeaked in surprise and jumped backward. The leaf rustled gently as it fell back into place. On instinct, Elain reached deep into her well of power, the same way she did just before vanquishing a demon.

"Well, hello there," the man purred from the other side of the fern.

"Can I help you find something?" Elain said.

He smiled at her in a way that could only be described as radiant. He was gorgeous, and the jagged scar running down the side of his face only seemed to enhance his beauty. Before Graysen, Elain would already have been fluttering her lashes at him.

Now, she just glared in suspicion.

"I think I've found exactly what I'm looking for," he said, which did nothing to set her at ease, even though his expression had gone heartbreakingly soft.

Before Elain could demand answers, he winnowed over to the aisle where she was standing. A risky move—he was lucky there were no mortal customers while the store was closed for her lunch hour.

"Not a single butterfly in that stomach of yours. This is going to be a tough case," he said thoughtfully. He cocked his head, staring at Elain like she was a particularly difficult puzzle he was trying to solve.

"I beg your pardon?" Elain said tightly.

He began circling her like a predator, mechanical eye clicking and whirring. Elain huffed in frustration as her hands settled on her hips. Her strange visitor might not have been a demon, but she didn't have time for anything supernatural with so many orders to fill by the afternoon.

"The meet-cute I engineered just now was some of my best work, but it didn't get your heart fluttering at all. That ex-fiancé left you with quite the wound, didn't he?"

For the last year, Elain walked around with a ragged hole in her heart that refused to close, and to add insult to injury, the entire magical world knew everything about her literal ex from hell. "If you're here to discuss Graysen Nolan, get out of my shop," she said with all the venom she could muster.

"I'm here for you, Elain."

"If you're not an innocent in need of protection, it has to wait."

"Put me to work while we talk, then. I can multitask," he said with an elegant shrug.

She hesitated. The smartest course of action still seemed to be ordering this stranger out of her store, but...she could use the help. And at least he wasn't evil.

Gods, had her standards really sunk that low?

"At least tell me your name." It was irritating that he already seemed to know hers.

He sketched a bow. "Lucien Vanserra, at your service."

"The only service I require at the moment is someone to water my pothos," Elain said with a meaningful nod towards a watering can and row of plants towards the back of the room.

To her surprise, Lucien began filling the watering can without a single complaint. For a moment, Elain watched, telling herself it was to make sure he was doing it correctly—and not at all because he was absurdly beautiful.

She forced herself to turn her attention back to organizing the cards with handwritten care instructions that Roots 'n Shoots included with every houseplant they sold. She could have saved herself time and printed them, but the personal touch was exactly the sort of thing that kept customers coming back to her instead of the big box garden supply store down the road. As she worked, they lapsed into a silence that was almost companionable.

But just as Elain started to relax, Lucien went and opened his mouth again."I thought there might have been an error when the file they gave me said you hadn't had any new partners since Graysen, but now I can see why."

She stilled. "What file?"

"The file that every cupid gets when they're assigned a new charge."

A cupid. Well, that certainly explained why his aura didn't feel demonic, just sickly sweet. Elain had never crossed paths with a cupid before, and she'd been under the impression they were supposed to be a bit more…cute .

"I'm one of your charges?" Technically, Elain was already someone's charge—even after Cassian had broken the rules and married Nesta, he'd remained the guardian angel assigned to protect the Archeron sisters after they'd learned they were witches tasked with ridding the world of evil.

"My only charge, actually. The elders insisted I focus on you and only you, Elain."

"And to what do I owe that honor?"

"You saved the world, and what goes around comes around, sweetie. Offing your demonic fiancé earned you the best and brightest cupid's help with finding a doting new partner."

Lucien said it as if she were supposed to fall over herself in gratitude. But she had half a mind to slap him for the audacity to think he could just waltz into her place of business and treat her like a charity case he'd magnanimously offered to take on.

"A partner is the last thing I need." Elain and her sisters had spent the last several nights rounding up a rogue band of crossroads demons that had been plaguing Velaris's intersections. Casting the vanquishing spells on each street had taken hours, leaving her with precious little time to eat, sleep, and run her store.

It had been the same with the succubi last week, the rabid werewolves the week before, and the banshees they'd spent a whole month rooting out. These days, going on a date was unthinkable.

Lucien rolled his eyes. "You're certainly not going to attract one with that attitude."

That, Elain decided, would be the end of the conversation. She was an Archeron, one of the three most powerful witches ever to walk the earth—not someone who'd allow herself to be condescended to.

All it took was one half-hearted wave of her hand, as if she were brushing away a fly, to activate the wards she'd placed around the shop. Twin vines of pure magic grew from the ceiling, hoisted Lucien up by the armpits, yanked him across the room, and dropped him unceremoniously onto the sidewalk outside. The spell wouldn't let him back in until she changed her mind.

Hopefully, that would be the last she'd hear from Lucien Vanserra.

***

As soon as she got home, Elain marched straight up the stairs of the Archeron manor. She and her sisters had inherited the house—along with their powers and mandate to protect the innocent—three years prior, and the Book of Shadows that never left the attic had guided them through all of it. Instructions for spell casting, potion recipes, taxonomies of every magical creature they might possibly come across…the Book contained it all.

The worn leather bindings creaked as Elain opened it and began searching for the entry on cupids. There wasn't an index; the ancient book was a work in progress by generations of Archeron witches, which meant it was a disorganized mess on a good day. Sometimes, wind would gust from nowhere and just so happen to flip the book to the correct page, but today, she had no such luck.

Hello, Elain.

She jumped, nearly dropping the Book. In her rush to find the entry on cupids, she hadn't noticed the bat hanging upside down from a rafter.

Rhysand—her other, non-angelic brother-in-law. He was a bat shifter that roosted in the attic while the manor had been empty, and though Nesta had been fully prepared to call animal control the night they'd discovered him, Elain had felt horrible throwing him out of his home. But since their family had lost their fortune, the manor was badly in need of expensive repairs, so Feyre struck a bargain: Rhys could stay as long as he paid rent and kept quiet.

He'd married the youngest Archeron sister within a year.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Elain said aloud. Even after years of wielding magic of her own, she'd never gotten used to Rhys's way of speaking mind-to-mind, a power that allowed him to communicate even when he wasn't in a form with proper vocal cords.

He shifted, wings and fur disappearing as he turned back into a man. The claws stayed in place so Rhys could remain inverted—he claimed it did wonders for his back pain.

"You didn't," he said, "and if there's something urgent, I can call Feyre for you."

"It's nothing demonic. At least, I don't think. Do you know anything about cupids?"

Rhys cocked his head, violet eyes sparking with interest. "I've crossed paths with a few over the centuries. They're harmless."

"Are they all that arrogant?"

"Not in my experience."

Elain bit back a frustrated sigh and turned the Book's pages a little more forcefully than necessary. It was bad enough that the Powers That Be had decided that after Graysen, she was so tragically, painfully single that it required divine intervention, but they'd gone the extra mile and sent their biggest asshole of a cupid to "fix" her, too.

"Hopefully there's still a spell I can cast to keep him away."

"Did someone bother you?" Rhys's voice went cold, and suddenly he sounded less like the brother-in-law she badgered about remembering to recycle and more like the terrifying Lord of Nightmares he also was. Elain smiled; it was sweet, in a way—Rhys was fiercely protective of the people he loved.

"Yes, but not like that. Don't go crushing minds on my account."

"What happened?"

"A cupid named Lucien came to my shop today and said he'd been sent to help me find a new partner."

"And I assume you didn't take him up on the offer?"

Elain shook her head. She'd finally found the entry on cupids, which was barely a paragraph long: Benevolent. Responsible for connecting the worthy with their true love.

The worthy. Elain certainly didn't feel worthy, not after her love for Graysen had deluded her into thinking a demon could change. In the end, she'd done the right thing and vanquished him, but…making that choice had nearly torn her apart. She'd come so close to letting him live.

It had been nearly a year, and the sight of Graysen pleading for his life still haunted in her dreams.

"If you hated him that much, I'm sure the cupid elders could always send you another," Rhys said with a wry smile.

"I don't need a cupid. Business is booming at Roots 'n Shoots, and I have my hands full with protecting innocents and corralling you, Feyre, Cassian, and Nesta. That's more than enough for me."

"Being busy is all the more reason to accept expert help."

Elain closed the Book of Shadows and glowered at her meddling bastard of a brother-in-law. Rhys smirked back.

She started to go, but a pair of massive, membranous wings erupted from Rhys's back, allowing him to release his talons from the rafter, glide upwards, then land on his feet in one smooth movement. Elain crossed her arms, waiting for him to get out of her way once he'd shifted completely back into his human form.

Despite the irritation that was probably rippling off her in waves, Rhys's expression softened. "More than anyone else I know, you deserve to be happy, Elain. Even if you don't feel like you do."

A lump formed in Elain's throat. That meant a lot, coming from Rhys, who was always staring at Feyre like he couldn't believe his luck. "Love you," she said.

"Love you, too."

Despite all that love, he still didn't move, continuing to block her path to the attic's only exit. "I'm sensing a 'but,' though," Elain said.

"I should warn you that if you don't give things with that cupid a shot, Feyre might try matchmaking you herself. And if Feyre does, then so will Nesta…" He trailed off, letting the implications of her sisters teaming up hang in the air.

"Blackmail is immoral." She felt obligated to point it out, though pesky little things like ethics rarely stopped Rhys.

"Immoral and effective," he said, flashing her one last grin before disappearing into the shadows with a gentle gust of night-kissed wind.

[ultimatevocalsonicsongtournament]

ROUND 2 - Pool #107

We Can vs. Team Chaotix

Reblog to help expand this blog's visibility so that we have more voters!

Listen to them in the following links:

We Can

Team Chaotix

Lyrics below!

We Can

Woo! Alright! Oh yeah! Look out down below, Sonic is on the go Can't stop this party till we save the world This time we're not alone We've got some friends along And as a team we can become even stronger Together we can overcome all the odds It's never as hard as it seems Everyone can do something special The secret is sharing your dreams Yeah! We can make it if we all stick together We won't give up, not ever And everything's gonna be alright We all bring out the best things in each other Together we are stronger than anyone else could be on their own So much better than alone Sonic's in the lead, giving us greater speed Tails keeps us flying high to stay above trouble And Knuckles by our side, makes this a safer ride We'll save the world and teach that Eggman a lesson Together we can overcome all the odds It's never as hard as it seems Everyone can do something special The secret is sharing your dreams Oooooohhhhhh! Yeah! We can make it if we all stick together We won't split up, not ever It's easier with my friends by my side We all bring out the best things in each other Together we are stronger than anyone else could be on their own So much better than alone Better than alone And together we can overcome all the odds It's never as hard as it seems Yeeeeeeah, yeeeeah! We can make it if we all stick together We won't give up, not ever And everything's gonna be alright We all bring out the best things in each other Together we are stronger than anyone else could be on their own Can't stop us 'cause together we are strong Oh yeah!

Team Chaotix

(Team Chaotix) Once upon a time, you could be a bad guy And you'd live to see another day But now you'd never manage Boy, you'd be brain damaged Just to think that you could get away The power has arrived in a dream team A force where one and one makes three And when the trail's gone cold And the lies have been told This crew will find what you can't see Yeah, danger hides when the hyper bee flies And the ninja stars fly too The muscle is Vector, the karma collector And he's sworn to fight for you Team Chaotix! They're detectives you want on your side Team Chaotix! Their directive's tracking down your crime Come along for the ride Truth can run but not hide for long The game is on now Remember when stealin' used to be a good dealin' And the crooked life would always pay Well, now that the team's in town that's all gone underground But it's a worry to this very day A challenge has been issued by the Eggman This mission's going to need them all And though his hopes grow thin and the outlook is grim These three are going to heed his call Yeah, Charmy's thing is dishing out first sting And the green one cheers them on Espio is clearly ready to go Run down who'd do you wrong Team Chaotix! They're detectives you want on your side Team Chaotix! Their directive's tracking down your crime Come along for the ride (Team Chaotix!) Truth can run but not hide for long The game is on Team Chaotix! Sonic Heroes, what your problem needs. Team Chaotix! Watch those three go make the outlaws bleed There's no way you can win (Team Chaotix!) If it's trouble you're in (you're in!) They're going to kick your… Team Chaotix!

[unlikeable-female-character]

I remember last year, I think in November, Hugh called in for Gus's last show on radio and at the end Gus said something like "You've been through a lot and you're coming out the other side and we're always here for you" and tbh hearing that kind of floored me at the time because people seem to forget that we don't know what someone's going through privately. And Hugh's no different, he's a person like all of us and we obviously have no clue what he's had to deal with or the struggles he's had or still has. For Gus to make that comment on air speaks volumes honestly. So it's annoying to see his own so called fans vilify him because they've decided they know everything about his life. I’ve straight up seen posts calling for bad things to happen to him because he deserves the "karma". It’s just sick. We don’t know what he’s been going through and for a time he did look very downcast and devastated. He’s looked a lot happier lately, which is good. But I wish people would consider this before passing judgements on things we have no idea about.

They’ll say the most hateful things then turn around and thirst on his pictures and say how much they want to fuck him. Rinse and repeat. Sorry for ranting but this pisses me off like I just want to stan the guy in peace and I come across the most brain dead takes on the daily.

Rant away! I would hazard a guess you are very much not on your own!

I do remember hearing Gus say that - and he’s said it again quite recently in an interview I read. I mean…if I’m going to trust anyone’s view on Hugh I’m probably going to go with the person who has known him for 50+ years over a person who developed a hyperfixation last summer weird I know!

Absolutely no one knows what happens when the camera are off and celebs are at home. They are not magical unicorns, they are just humans, as messy and fucked up as the rest of us. Money might give them access to better resources to deal with any issues they have but it doesn’t stop those issues from developing. Covid and lockdowns most definitely fucked up a lot of people’s mental health (hi 👋) and we know his father died around that time too. Grief is a motherfucker and time is not in fact a great healer (also hi 👋). Add in a relationship break down, complicated by maybe growing feelings for someone else…quite a heady cocktail of emotional trauma to try and work your way through (obviously all of that is me speculating. I have no clue and unlike some am not going to state my opinion as fact)

I’d love to know what it is in someone that they would actively wish bad things on a person who they don’t know and whose personal actions do not affect them in anyway whatsoever. I really think a lot of the time people just say this stuff online because they don’t think it has any consequences, like it somehow just floats off into the ether and that’s it. Online isn’t real and celebrities aren’t real so who is really getting hurt?

The whiplash of ‘I hate this guy I hope a piano falls on him’ to ‘hey sexy dilf let’s fuck’, often within the space of a few hours, is insane. There is literally no grey area. It’s either sheer hate or absolute lust. How do people live like that??

[batsu4eva]

So, there’s this anecdote in America which most certainly never happened, but we Americans like to tell it amongst ourselves for a laugh anyway. So, it was November 22nd, 1963 in Dallas, and a very traumatized, bloodied Jackie Kennedy is being escorted by a bodyguard. He says “Other than that, Mrs. Kennedy, how was the parade?” I don’t know. I think that joke’s funny. And in a way, kind of relevant here.

…Anyways, our coterie almost ate each other. Session bullet points below as always. :)

First thing's first- we need to rescue the sire of one of our coterie members (Tee) because the church of Set is REALLY doing some bullshit right now. And I mean like, "kidnap you by literally making you walk to our place in your sleep" bullshit. We don't have a total plan at the beginning of this session but we're starting to prepare, and now just about all of us have at least one dot in Fortitude. Yay! More on this later, put a pin in it.

Sooooo, we go out to meet the Ventrue primogen to explain what we found so far in this whole murder investigation since we're now obligated to do so. And considering literally only one of the coterie is Camarilla aligned (currently) he was rather nice.

Since technically he now owes US, he asked us to name our favors, and Tee's issue mentioned earlier is now starting to be dealt with as my man said he'd see what he could do.

Oh also another one of our coterie members (Vanya) has a date with him so yayyyy :3

Carmen, realizing her opportunity to take care of a personal issue without... Well, making a mess, has asked to see if he can get someone at the police station to reopen the case on her death. If you remember her story... She was pushed down the sewer, and it was ruled as an accident because the people who basically murdered her lied to the police about it. As she has begun processing her emotions, she's realized the reason why she was angry: She wants justice or some sort of karma to play into her situation.

Sooooo... THAT was the first time Carmen openly admitted to the coterie that she didn't just die- she was murdered. And so she got sympathies because of course, nobody is introduced to the world of darkness unscathed and all that. We're closer now yayyyy :)

On top of that, Carmen calls her crush enemy-turned-informant to update the situation and ask on an update with ANOTHER person they're supposed to meet up with soon- one Daniel Hill, the childe of the Toreador primogen to question him on the journal's last entry to see if he wrote it.

So we're REALLY getting somewhere now! We're feeling good, right? Well, hold onto that feeling. Because that is going to go away VERY quickly.

Soooooo, we go to meet the Toreador primogen at her studio. Things are going fine, if a bit wishy washy since we don't know how she'll react when she's told we want to ask her childe about his possible involvement in a crime scene. That is, until Vanya almost trips the fuck out and frenzies right there due to some BADDDD rolls, and Carmen escorts her outside, manages to distract the public (oh god why is the NOSFERATU doing this lmaooooo) while Vanya ACTUALLY frenzies in an alleyway, eats some rats, and we breathe a sigh of relief.

Side note, in call we're laughing and we're like "WOW that was almost really bad." Well I have some news about what happens like right after this

So while Carmen and Vanya are out, Tee and Rorie explain the situation to her primogen, she hesitantly brings her childe out, and they ask for a sample of his handwriting and to explain what he was doing there on the night of the keeper's murder.

Sounds simple right? Well, let me tell you about Daniel. Motherfucking. Hill. Shoutout to my ST's acting skills because we fucking HATEEEEEEEE this man. He's physically a very young adult but actually in his 30s although you wouldn't be able to tell because he acts so annoying and immature. And that's exactly what he was here.

Not only was it like pulling teeth to get him to fucking admit that he wrote the last journal entry and was there at the crime scene at the night of the murder, but he literally wouldn't tell the rest of the coterie what he heard, or saw, or pretty much anything that doesn't sound similar to "nanny nanny boo boo". Yeah so Tee ends up ALSO frenzying and trying to kill this guy.

Obviously, Rorie (who was with him) holds him back from murdering the primogen's childe, IN FRONT OF THE PRIMOGEN, and unfortunately gets chewed up a hell of a lot himself as he tries to find him some food. So that's one bridge built with one primogen and a bridge burnt with another. But we'll worry about that later. Right now we're trying to keep a death/torpor from happening and getting Tee fed before the situation escalates further.

Well, the situation does escalate quite a bit because Rorie gets his arm bitten off basically and we all end up fighting him at some point to keep him subdued. Our boy Jason (Tee's bf and just general chill guy helping us out) pulls up, feeds Tee with his own blood, HE frenzies, we feed him with the blood packs he brought, crisis... not averted, but not as bad as it could've been. Obviously though, we can't walk back out looking like a horror movie cast, so we end up walking back to Jason's place via the sewers. Leading to the scene above.

We get fed, Tee's INCREDIBLY shaken, Rorie's missing an arm, and in general we are all just very, very tired. And now we all hate Daniel Hill. Like what the fuck Danny. Also we think he's the murderer now because he literally avoided every single one of our questions so good fucking job on that one man LMAO Anyways, that's all for now. Ofc have bonus screenshots below hehe. It seems like each session just gets rougher and rougher for our poor group 😭😭

[heygerald]

Falling Without A Harness - Chapter 12

AU where Tom Ryder is still an asshole, just not a psychotic one. In the aftermath of Tom's simple but complicated favor, Parker is forced to finally face reality, and decide once and for all what she wants.

Read the story here: prev / ...

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Melissa's voice echoed across the empty store, each syllable raspy and drawn out, tinged with the same sort of disbelief that has been simmering in Parker's chest all day. "But holy fuck."

The disbelief spirals and explodes, and Parker can't the help the laugh that is startled out of her from the unexpected curse.

"Excuse me," she drawled, aiming for levity, but falling somewhere in the realm of pure shock. "But since when do you curse?"

"Since about eleven am this morning," Melissa chirped back. She's slouched in the reading chair, hair piled on the top of her head in a janky bun, mascara smeared all along her cheeks, and if Parker hadn't been so thrown off by her sudden use of French, she might have taken a moment to reflect on the fact that this is the most out of sorts she has ever seen the girl look. "It just seemed like a good time to start. And, honestly? I kind of get it now. There really is no other way to express yourself properly, is there? Because—I mean seriously, Park—what the fuck?"

Parker knew that she should be scolding the young girl for her language. The last thing she needed was to garner the wrath of a disgruntled mom on top of everything else that she's dealing with. More importantly, she really didn't want teaching the youth curse words to be on her yearly karma bingo card. But... honestly, Parker couldn't help but agree.

There really was no better way to put it.

"Touché."

"Did you know that he was going to post that?"

Parker arched her brow at Melissa. "Do you think I would have left you to cover the shift alone if I knew that this was going to happen? I don't even follow his Instagram. Although, guess I have to after this, don't I?"

Melissa rolled her eyes, head lolling to the side as she stretched out her arms, back, and neck. "Only you would get an exclusive shout-out from the Tom Ryder and you aren't even following his Insta. Totally unfair, by the way."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is my sudden luck raining on your plans somehow?"

"It's not luck."

Parker slumped on her elbows, a pen stuck sideways in her mouth as she tried to work through her to-do list for closing down the shop. It was hard to concentrate with Melissa's jabbering, though, and it was even harder to find the energy to sweep the shop when she'd much rather just collapse onto her bed. "What else would it be?"

Melissa blinked at her with a tart expression. "Um, hello? You're dating Tom Ryder. That might have something to do with it."

So surprised by the comment, Parker scratched a line across her notepad, and subsequently decided that her to-do list could wait till later. "We're not—I'm not dating Tom."

"Sure," the girl snorted. "He just hangs around your shop all the time, invites you over for parties, gets dinner with you, and—oh yeah—posts you on his Instagram."

"He didn't post me—"

"But, whatever," she continued, already moving on to the next topic. Parker watched as she bent forward and, with a grimace, tried to rub some feeling into her ankles. "I lost feeling in my toes, like, three hours ago. Is that bad? I mean, I'm not gonna have to get an amputation or anything, will I? Because I'm not missing out on Stacy Jordan's sweet sixteen because of you. Her parents rented out this huge dance hall, and they even hired a DJ."

Parker sighed.

Melissa's train of thought was something that she would never be able to keep up with, and today in particular she did not have the stamina to even try. Sourly, she said, "I told you that those shoes weren't very supportive—"

A book is lobbed in her direction, and Parker ducked behind the register before it can make contact.

The loud fwap of it hitting the ground echoes between the two.

"That better not have been a new edition."

"Oh, fuck off," Melissa said.

Parker returned from her hiding spot—back aching when she sits up, neck hurting when she props herself atop an elbow, eyes burning as she squints at the largest stack of receipts she's ever had before—and clucked her tongue. "You know I think I like this new you. You should curse more often."

"Pf. You just want to get rid of the swear jar."

"Well," she hedged, eyes darting to said jar, "it would save me some money. Unless you feel like paying up anytime soon. That's, what, three f-words? I'm not going to turn my nose up at fifteen bucks anytime soon."

Melissa gave an unbothered snort. "You wish."

"So, it's just a punishment for me, then?"

"You won't even need that thing after this week," she pressed on, sinking deeper into the worn out plush of the reading chair as her gaze slowly drifted across the bookstore. The shelves are the emptiest they've ever been, and the decorations they worked meticulously hard to find are in disarray from the constant throng of customers today. It's not a problem they've had before, having to reset the store after closing, but Parker supposes that's a good problem to have. "My feet hurt because of how busy we were, not because of my shoes—which, by the way, I had to wait in line for two hours to get—they will be supportive if I want them to be. Does this mean you'll finally hire Emily?"

"Emily?"

"My best friend. I've introduced you, like, ten times."

Parker conjured up a blurry image of a blonde girl, identical to Melissa in every way except for their different colored hair and eyes, with matching braces to boot. She thought she was nice, but, honestly, she can't really recall. Whatever. "Why would I hire Emily?"

Melissa scowled. "Well, that's rude. Just because she's my best friend doesn't mean that we're going to goof off or anything. She's just as hard of a worker as I am. You'd practically be getting two employees for the price of one if you hired her. Plus, it would drive Maddy H crazy if Emily got to work at Tom Ryder's bookstore and she didn't."

"It's not—" Parker started, before shaking the thought away. Bigger things to focus on, she reminded herself. "I thought we talked about this. I can give you a raise, but I can't afford to hire someone else."

"Uh, correction, you couldn't afford to hire someone else."

Parker puts the stack of receipts away, mind slowly but surely drifting to the next task as she attempts to lock the register down. She would definitely have to stop at the bank tomorrow to deposit their cash from the day—not a problem she had ever had before—and she mentally adds that to the list of musts. "Did I win the lottery without knowing it or something?"

Her question hangs flat in the air, and in response, Melissa curls a disbelieving look in her direction. "You're kidding, right? Did you see how busy we were today?"

"Right, listen," Parker started, but by how intense Melissa's eyeroll was, it was obvious that the teenager would not, in fact, be listening. "One good day of sales doesn't override an entire quarter of awful sales. This was just—just a fluke. I can't just hire Emily on a whim because we had one nice day. Ever heard of a rainy day fund?"

Melissa, hand in the air as she inspects the damage to her manicure, scoffed. "Yeah, but it's not just one good day."

"Are you secretly working at a different bookstore in your free time or something?"

"Oh my god," Melissa moaned, before dropping her boots to the ground with a heavy thud. "Right, you listen."

"Oh, here we go—"

"Park, I know you're big on self decrepitation and whatever—something I'm guessing you learned from your total has been of a brother—"

"Wow. You know, you two have got to figure out whatever this beef is about," Parker interrupted, only to be promptly ignored as Melissa stood.

"But this isn't just going to die down," she said, the stack of bangles on her wrists jangling as she made air quotes to emphasize her point. "Tom Ryder gave you a personal shout-out on his Instagram. That, like, never happens. The only things he posts are selfies, and paid promotions. In February, he posted a three second video about his Erewhon smoothie, and they're still selling out on the daily."

Parker frowned. "Smoothie?"

"So not the point," Melissa grumbled with another jingle of her bracelets. "The point is that this—" she gestured around them, to the bookshelves and the roof and the chair beneath her with one long sweeping motion, "just hit the jackpot. Kay? This is going to go viral, and when it does, you're going to have crowds like today every day."

That doesn't sound right. Parker knows that Tom is famous, that he has millions of followers on all of his social media, and that there are fangirls out there of his even more obsessed with what he does than the one scowling across the room from her. But just because he posted her store doesn't mean that she's going to have throngs of fans outside, day after day.

That sort of thing just... didn't happen.

Not to people like her.

Right?

"Okay, well, I mean," she started, struggling to put her thoughts into words after all of her braincells effectively went on vacation for the weekend. The cash register snapped shut with a metallic clang, and she dangled the key between her hands mindlessly. "Even if we go viral, we'll be popular for a bit, but not for, like, ever. A month, maybe."

Melissa blinked at her in that sort of way that means she's judging her, and when she hefts herself to a stand, Parker can feel the lecture about to come. "Look, I know you're a millennial and you aren't really active online, so I'll break it down for you."

"How gracious," she snarked, rolling her eyes.

"It's going to be like this—like it was today—for weeks. Until something new or something better comes along, but even then you're going to have Influencers coming in for pictures, wanting to stake a claim on this place just like Tom did. Okay? Which means more pictures, more shout-outs, and more people seeing this place on their FYPs."

"FY—?"

"So, yeah, maybe this place isn't going to stay viral forever, but that just means it's all the more important to capitalize on the attention while you can. If people are flocking here just to get stuck in long lines because there's only one employee during the day, then they're going to lose interest faster."

"I know how business work," Parker interjected, offended on her own behalf, but Melissa didn't seem to care one way or the other about her feelings.

"So you know that you need to dress to impress."

Parker narrowed her eyes at the girl shrewdly. She was staring to get that familiar feeling in her gut that Melissa was winding up for some big scheme, and previous experience had proven that when Melissa really wanted something, Parker was helpless but to give in. "Is this just some big production so I'll hire a bunch of your little cheerleading friends?"

The face she made was lethal. "First off, Emily doesn't cheer, she does dance, and that sort of tone is both condescending and so not cool. Secondly, it's an excuse to hire someone else so I don't get stuck like I did today when my boss decides to go gallivanting around town without her phone!"

"I wasn't gallivanting," she defended. "It was, just, an unfortunate—"

"Parker," Melissa said, leaning on her elbows until they were inches apart. "Hire some more people, or you're going to have to work every shift of this store forever because I don't ever want to experience that rush alone again."

Ugh.

The girl had a serious point—about everything, it seemed—but Parker was in no mood to think about any of that. "I already said I'd give you a raise."

"Well, that is a given," she chirped, gathering her purse and jacket from behind the counter. Parker might have been more put off by her attitude if she didn't think the girl deserved a hearty raise. Afterall, she was a little mastermind in her own right, as terrifying as that could be. "But I'd also like to have extra help, and it's no one's business if that extra help is a couple of my friends from school. I take this job seriously, you know. I wouldn't recommend her if she wouldn't be a good employee."

"You're a menace, you know that, right?"

Melissa smiled, and for the first time all day, it seemed more conniving than tired. "I'll send you her resume."

"No, no, no, that's not what I just—"

"And, anyways, she's just as big of a fan of you and Tom as I am. I mean, obviously, she's never met him, but I tell her everything. She totally ships you two. Probably not as much as I do, obviously," she trailed on, finally getting around to swipe the mascara off her cheeks as she bent even closer into Parker's space, "but she's invested. I think it's totally time you post him on your story."

"My what?"

"I mean, he already posted you. Or, you know, your store," she corrected herself, waving a hand around flippantly as if those were the same thing. And, maybe, in the mind of a teenage fangirl, they were. "Relationships are never official until it's on the page."

"We're not—"

"Have you thought about a ship name, yet?" she barreled on, completely ignoring the fact that every extra word she said was only compounded the migraine growing between Parker's temples. "Because I think Ryvers is so, totally cute, but Emily likes Parom better. Although, that sounds a little—"

"Okay, alright, that's it," Parker stood from her stool, and in the matter of seconds had shooed the teenager outside with as much decorum as she could muster. It was ruined, of course, by the bright red blush sprawling across her face like wild fire. "Goodnight, Melissa. Thank you for your help today, I will see you next week."

"But—"

"Goodbye!"

She shut the door with the jingle of the overhead bell and promptly slumped against it. A few beats passed before Melissa's boots clomped off in the direction of the bus stop, and when it fell silent outside, she glanced around. The store at night, with the main lights switched off and the crackled radio drifting from the corner, felt eerily empty after the busy day they had. And while the trash absolutely needed to be taken out, and the shelves needed to be catalogued for what she would have to put in her upcoming order, for the first time ever, Parker decided that there were some things that could wait until tomorrow.

After all, she had a boy to talk to.

---

"Are we dating?"

Tom, dressed down in some Nike sweats and a simple black tee with sleep marks red on the side of his face, blinked at Parker like she was on drugs. And, honestly, she supposed that was a fair assumption to make. After all, it was nearing midnight by the time she pulled into his driveway, unannounced, her hair mussed like a bird's nest from driving the entire way into the Hills with the windows down, and the anxious energy from the day's chaos had yet to make itself useful other than by adding a shakiness to her hands.

And while she had spent the entire drive over contemplating all the things that she wanted to ask him, the first thing that had come out of her mouth when he opened the door was that.

"What?"

Parker winced, anxiously wringing her hands together, before she pressed inside. She supposed having a mansion in the Hills meant that even the closest neighbors were too far away to hear anything, but the idea that there might be someone witnessing what likely could be considered a mental breakdown was not a comforting thought.

"I didn't mean..." she started, shaking her head, before she stooped to untie her shoes. That proved to be an impossible task with how shaky her hands, were, however, and in the end she just kicked them off with a grunt. "That wasn't what I—well, Melissa seems convinced that we are."

Parker could feel his eyes burrowing into her back, and Parker pointedly avoided eye contact as her cheeks flamed a hot red.

"Melissa," he echoed dully.

Cool, she thought to herself. Just be cool.

But the Seavers siblings were not known for their ability to play it cool, and while he drifted after her, Parker miserably tried to think of a way to explain her squirrel-brained thoughts without sounding like a lunatic.

"Well, you know, you posted me on Instagram."

"I didn't post you on my Instagram," he corrected.

And—shit. Wasn't that exactly what she had argued?

Parker was happy that her back was to him as her face flushed an even more indelicate red. It didn't help that there were lamps on all throughout the living room, orange and yellow hues of lighting casting shadows across her already warm face.

"I know, I know, and I told her exactly that, but she has it in her head that posting, well, my shop is the same thing as posting me and then she wouldn't shut up about it today. And now she wants me to hire her friend who is also convinced that we're, you know, dating, and I told her that she's—that that's not—you know..."

The knit of his brows made it painstakingly obvious that Tom didn't know, and honestly how would he? She didn't even know what she was trying to say.

"I... think I need a drink," she muttered, scurrying to the fridge where she withdrew two ice cold bottles of beer. IPAs were not her favorite by a long shot, but there were far more important things to handle, and without hesitating, Parker popped one open. A long swallow followed before she awkwardly slid the second bottle towards Tom. "Maybe I should start again."

His brows disappeared into his hairline, but the moment she met his eye Parker just knew that he was relishing in this particular conversation.

She planted her elbows on the counter, and caught her head in her hands with a whine. "I really wish that you had given me a heads-up about the post."

Whatever was smug withered and died. "A heads-up?"

"Just so I could have been more prepared, you know," she hedged, fingers nervously plucking at the wet label on her beer bottle. "Between the crowds today and my system freezing and Melissa pestering at me about our—you know—whatever, I feel like I've been running around like a headless chicken. It's been a lot to handle."

He was silent for a long moment, and by the time that she dared to glance at him he had managed to shake off any remaining sleepiness. Now, he scowled at her long and hard. "Right, well, next time I'll make sure to get your approval ahead of time. Should I have changed the picture too? Written a longer post about how much I fucking adore your shitty little store?"

Parker reared back. "Hey, it's not shitty."

"Right," he scoffed, shaking his head at her. "You know, most people would at least hold off on their complaints until after they've said thank you. Common deceny, and all that."

Parker deflated against the counter as Tom looped around the other side of the couch to sit down. There were pillows sprawled across it, a blanket pooling on the ground, and a Tom shaped indent in one of the cushions from where he had been sleeping before she showed up. When he flicked the tv off mute, Parker became increasingly aware of how poorly this conversation was going.

She took a deep breath and a long dreg of her beer before carefully seating herself on the table smack dab in his line of view. When he refused to give in, however, she took the remote out of his hand and flicked the tv off with a huff.

"Tom—"

But he wasn't having any of it, and he rolled his eyes at her so intensely that it must have hurt. "Oh, fuck. Look, if you're going to make this into some big lecture or whatever you can save us both the time and effort. I already spent the day dealing with this bullshit from Gail. I don't need it from you too."

As almost every mention of his producer did, that caught her off guard. "Gail?"

"Yeah, imagine that," he scoffed. "I try to do something nice, for once, and the first thing she does is yell at me because of it. And now you're here doing the same thing, and I don't even know what I expected, but it sure as shit isn't—"

"Why would she yell at you?" she interrupted.

He finished half of his beer in a swallow. "Why do you think?"

She wasn't sure. That was half the reason she asked the question, but when he tensed—as if preparing for that exact sort of answer—Parker's mouth snapped shut just as quickly as it had opened.

Why would Gail be upset?

Sure, she was his producer, and likely was miffed about missing out on her fee, but it wasn't like a percentage of twenty grand would have had any real impact on her salary. After all, Tom hadn't minced his words earlier when talking about how much of his yearly income went to the movie mogul. And Parker had seen her house; the woman wasn't going to be pinching pennies any time soon unless she was robbed at gunpoint. And even then she would probably benefit from her high profile connections.

Which meant if it wasn't the money that she cared about, it must have been...

Realization was a painful thing, and Parker rounded towards Tom with wide eyes. "She's upset because you did this without asking her?"

Another swallow of his beer. "I told you that I don't do stuff without asking her."

"But you did this time."

"Because she would have fucking said no," he ground out, distaste over even having to admit it obvious from his tone. "Which is fucking—I mean, it's my fucking life. I can do what I want. Should be able to, anyway. I'm the one making her money, but I do this one thing and she's all pissed off about it. You know how small that makes me feel? That she would even expect me to get permission from her?"

"Tom," she said, only to have him steamroll on.

"It's bullshit. Total bullshit."

"Tom," she tried again when he didn't seem to hear her.

But whatever floodgate he had opened wasn't closing anytime soon, and Parker felt her chest constrict. "Everything I do is because she tells me to do it. I don't even chose who I sponsor. But I do one post without her permission and get shit for it. And apparently, not just from her. Because you're here too, pissed that I didn't tell you ahead of time, and it's like no matter what I do it's—"

Not knowing what else to do, but knowing that she had to do something, Parker lurched forward to sling her arms around his neck. He went stiff beneath her touch, freezing as she attempted to pull him to her, before his hands slowly bracketed around her waist.

"What are you—?"

"I'm sorry," she muttered. Then, when that wasn't enough—because how could that ever be enough—she tightened her hold on him hoping that it might convey what she didn't know how to say. Parker shook her head into the crook of his neck, swallowing. "Fuck, Tom, I'm sorry. I didn't come over here to yell at you. I swear I didn't. I'm not even mad, I don't know why I said that thing about the heads-up, I just... I just was so overwhelmed today that I didn't know what to say or how to bring it up or thank you that I just—I just word vomited. Okay? I'm sorry. I am. I'm sorry."

"Hey," he said, arms tightening around her. "It's okay."

But it wasn't okay, and he had to know that. "But it's not, Tom. You just—you just changed my life, you know? What you did... I've never had that many people in my store before, and they were lined up, and the line didn't dissipate all day! I think I sold, like, half my inventory because of you, and if that continues even for a month then I'll be able to actually finance my store and I won't have to close and... I'll never be able to thank you enough for that."

She leaned back to find Tom frowning at her. "It was just a post."

"To you, and to Gail," she said, finally being able to express what she had been stewing on all day. "But to me... it's everything. I don't know how I'll ever be able to pay you back."

"Pay me back?"

"I mean, I could give you some of the profit, but it probably won't be much. Especially since I still have loans to pay off, and I need to get insurance, and fix the AC, and maybe even hire some new staff, but I'm sure I could give you percentage. Like, a little over time, and it definitely won't be much, but—"

She didn't realize she was rambling until Tom shook her. "I don't want you to pay me back, Park."

"But—"

"Nah," he said, shaking his head at her. One of his hands twisted into the cotton of her sweater, and for the first time that night, as he ducked his head to avoid her gaze Parker realized that maybe he was just as anxious about this entire thing as she was. "I owe you, okay. Not the other way around."

Parker couldn't think of anything more ridiculous than that, and her brows furrowed a divot into her forehead. "What are you talking about?"

He released a chuckle of disbelief, the sound low and raspy in his throat. "I know I'm an asshole. What you said when we first met, that day on the set, it pissed me off so much because... you were right, and no one else had ever bothered to tell me. I'm an asshole to staff and to the crew and to your fucking brother, but do you seriously think I'm blind to all the things that you've done for me?"

Floundering for words—and thoughts—all she could do was blink at him.

Tom glanced away, fingers wrapping themselves into her shirt, skating a burning line over her skin. "You—you're..." he started, before drifting off. Clearly, she wasn't the only person struggling to put their thoughts into words tonight, but Parker was too dumbfounded by the fact that Tom Ryder was admitting to be an asshole above all else, that she couldn't find the energy to interrupt him. "No one has ever... held me accountable before."

Even more bewildered then before, she stared at him. "And that's... a good thing? Because I thought that drove you crazy? I mean—"

"God, of course it drives me crazy," he cut her off with another chuckle. "But you do it because—because you see something in me that no one else does, you know? You see... me. Not the rich, famous me that everyone else sees and takes advantage of, but the asshole on the inside that no one else likes. Do you know how many people have found me in the bathroom like you did? Do you know how none of them have ever cared before?"

Parker's hands skated around his neck, desperate for something to hold onto, to feel, as she gently flattened them out on his chest. "You don't owe me anything for that," she said, shaking her head. "You didn't have to do this just to make up for that. I like being in your life, being your friend, your... I think more people care about you than you think, Tom."

He swallowed, and her eyes tracked the movement of his throat. "And you're the only person in my life that would say shit like that and mean it."

"Of course I mean it. I wouldn't lie to you."

"I know," he said, hands drifting further up her back, a connection that she didn't dare break as they settled into the groove of her spine. "And that's why I did it. So I don't want anything from you, alright? I just... want to give you this. Fuck Gail, fuck my social media manager, fuck all of them. Just this once I want to do something for someone else. Well, no, even that's a lie. Not for someone else, but for you."

Parker bit her lip, feeling her heart thump against her chest, and she was certain that he must have felt it too as she leaned against him. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said. "You're—just... you're not like other girls, you know that?"

Despite the tension growing between them, the softness of the moment and the tender way he was holding her, Parker couldn't keep back a startled laugh. And when she did laugh, Tom's hands paused in their movements, brows knitting a second time as he watched her with something wary struck across his features.

"Sorry, sorry," she said almost immediately, biting her lip, only for another giggle to escape. He looked truly put off then, and she carefully skated her hands back around his neck. "I just... sorry, I'm not laughing at you. That just so sounded like a line."

The wariness vanished, replaced by irritable fondness, and his hands pressed her closer. "Yeah, well," he said, that oh-so familiar smugness of his curling his mouth upwards. "What if it was?"

"Oh?"

He shrugged, pressing on. "Lots of girls would kill to hear that kind of line from Tom Ryder, you know? You should consider yourself lucky."

"I thought I wasn't like other girls."

"You're not. No other girl has ever driven me fucking crazy like you do."

"Flattering," she snarked. But the skate of his hands was starting to ignite a nervous fluttering in her stomach, and as her nails dug into his shirt, Parker could barely maintain a sense of decorum as she smirked at him. "Well? Go on then."

"With?"

"You've given me a line. I'm interested in seeing what other sorts of moves the famous Tom Ryder has to woo the ladies. You want to show me your wine cellar? Art collection? Is there a disco ball that comes down from your ceiling if I clap?"

His entire torso shook as he laughed. "See what I mean? You're drive me fucking crazy."

"Ah, maybe, but that wasn't a no—"

Parker swore that a single kiss from Tom Ryder had the ability to set her entire body alight. Sometimes, she wondered if he felt it too; the way the pads of his thumbs would trail a burning line along her skin or how her hands got shaky as she trailed them up into his hair. His hands certainly didn't shake; not when they pulled her sweater over her head or drifted along the length of her legs, fingers dipping into the ticklish spot behind her knees, tugging her impossibly closer before moving up, up, up...

This time, there was no party to return to, no busybodies to avoid or assistants needing Tom's attention in between fittings on set, and most importantly no phone to chirp at them or brother to distract.

There was just her and him, Parker and Tom.

And when the tension between them—once ugly and mean and festering and awful, now golden and beautiful and, maybe even destined—finally broke, she realized that it wasn't so bad to have someone to drive crazy; perhaps, even, it was the spark that she had been missing.

[imaginespazzi]

Silver Star Anon ⭐️

Hello Friend 👋🏼

Lmfao I don’t blame the Aces hate.. assuming the Hamby situation? But yeah I think their Karma is hitting. sold their soul for the 2 chips and now idk wtf we are doing. I wish they’d come home to SA, Sin city too toxic. Girl I am just saying.. anything can happen. azzi is prime real estate next draft. everyone’s going to want her 🙂‍↕️

i could never hate you btw, everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and that’s what makes us all unique. And we all can agree to disagree, it will never be too deep with me. 😇

I left another anon before this one so not much ball yap here…

Side note:

Heterosexual is crazy 😂 This is my first time admitting this and it’s only because i’m an anonymous lil yapper. I think i’m Bi but we will never know as i’m too scared to ever explore out of my comfort zone. I’ve only ever seen myself with 1 person and unfortunately that was my best-friend since middle school. Legit soul mates but now she’s engaged and that’s okay 🥹

But my gay awakening was def eliza dushku in bring it on … and jessica alba in Honey; god bless. 😩 and Azzi confirms it everyday for me… Again I think women are god’s gift to earth.

Oh and speaking of OTH…

I need to know, Team Brooke or Team Peyton? 👀 that’s legit my comfort show, I can rewatch it so many times. I think that’s what made a lot of those shows so great were the soundtracks, like top tier music choices. aside from the drama of course 🤣

Why hasn’t anyone done a Pazzi OTH type fic?? Nivi pls I beg 🧎🏽‍♀️ jk but maybe not? we can go the naley route or the toxic love triangle it’s a win win for me.

Anyways time for sleep (it’s 2am) 😴

Hi loviiiiee, I'mma combine your two asks to make it easier for both of us lmao.

No like I really wish it was in her veins but she did takeover a lot more last night and her postgame quotes about being a more vocal leader and holding her teammates accountable definitely makes me more excited to see her going forward. Like I have no expectation from Dallas at all but I really do think we're about to see a generation run from P and I cannot wait for it.

I dislike the Aces out of principle of being a Liberty fan (just for Stewie) lmao but yeah of course the Hamby stuff was not great and A'ja )hope she's okay though!) has some questionable friend choices that makes me side-eye her a little bit too icl. But it's mainly just rivalry-based hate lmao. But yeah like I genuinely don't know what they're doing over there because everything looks bad. I love Jewell too, I've had a soft spot for her since Seattle but it's evident she's not herself.

LMAO never say I don't love P because I skipped out on watching Phee and the Lynx for her but maybe a good thing because the Lynx lost and that's my second team (blasphemous I know but I'm just here for Phee and Stewie).

Aww lovie welcome to the Bi!Club (idk if I'm actually in it but we're not gonna dwell on that because I don't like thinking too hard about it I just know I love a woman right now lol). But wow that's depressing and I'm send you the biggest hug and Imean maybe in another life you guys will get the Pazzi arc you deserve!

UGH YES JESSICA ALBA IN HONEY (Jessica Alba in general actually!)

I'm team Brooke in general but Team Peyton for Lucas but also just Team Breyton because I loved their friendship. LMAO siiiigh don't give me ideas cause we know I won't write them but I'll obsesses over them like yeah Pazzi as Naley would be kind of perfect now that I'm thinking about it.

[mytragedyperson]

Hi....! If you don't mind, can I ask, who are your top 7 favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series/etc (can be canon or non-canon) and your top 10 favorite characters ever from any media? Why do you love them all? Thanks if you want to answer....

Thank you for the ask. I'll start with characters. This isn't in any particular order. There are a lot of headcanons here but those headcanons are mostly based on my interpretations of their canon characters. Also these are more characters and ships I think about most often rather than favourites because I struggle with favourites

Dazai Osamu from Bungou Stray Dogs

I've always liked morally grey and manipulative characters. There's something about a character who doesn't really care either way which side he's on. Good and bad aren't important. There's simply his people and the people coming after his people. I also ship him with so many characters both for angst purposes and genuine i think they'd be good together reasons.

2. Ranpo Edogawa from Bungou Stray Dogs

I promise this is not just a list of Bungou Stray Dogs characters. But, considering Ranpo and Dazai often fight for the spot of favourite Bungou Stray Dogs characters, not including him would feel wrong. No, i always liked Ranpo. I took one look at this genius with zero ability to survive the normal world on his own and, yeah, he was funny. Then the flashback episodes happening with Ranpo fully believing in the beginning that he's not special, that everyone can just notice these things and just pretend not to know and just not get it. Like that scene may have permanently altered something in my mind. Also, him trapping Chuuya in Poe's book was just great. We stan Ranpo here. It's good for the soul

3. Kageyama Tobio from Haikyuu

I don't think this is surprising. My pfp is Kageyama for a reason. And, yes, some of it definitely comes from some well-written angsty soulmate AU fics. But also my guy Tobio here i relate to in some way. I'm no major sports file. But i get it, communication is hard. I've spoken to people and had my tone come out moody when I didn't mean to. I've struggled to explain things. And for Kageyama, a lot of his problems come from the fact that he doesn't know how to communicate. He doesn't know how to explain how to improve because he's been playing so long it's instinctual. I think there's a scene in season 1 or season 2 where Nishinoya is trying to explain something to Hinata but he keeps using onomatopoeia so no one understands what he's saying... except Kageyama, who explains things in a similar way. But also he's actually so respectful of his upperclassmen and admires his fellow setters so much. Like, yes, he's confident, but he still wants to earn his place on the court, he still wants to earn his victories. He's still willing to listen to other people, especially other setters, and learn from them. Can he be rude? Yes. Does he mean to be? Most of the time, no. Even people like Tsukishima and Hinata, they talk to him first.

Also my inner Kageyama apologist demands I add, when I look beneath the surface of how he says things (the words that actually come out), what he says (what he means, what he's trying to say) isn't actually that mean or bad. He just doesn't get how people cant love basketball as much as him.

Moving on

4. Karma Akabane from Assassination Classroom

Oh look, a character from the first anime i ever watched. Listen, can this guy be kinda embarrassing when he's trying to be badass? Yes. But also, he's in middle school, we're all embarrassing at that age. Like i struggle to explain what it is about him specifically makes him my favourite. Maybe I'm sensing angst potential. Like I've written before how I could kinda see him and Karasuma becoming a little found family and Karasuma adopting him. I have headcanons that he secretly likes studying and learning but was bullied for it so learned to fight so he could defend himself and that lead to him becoming a delinquent. This isn't to say he doesn't enjoy fighting and breaking the rules, he does. We can all like more than one thing. I have ships with him, i ship him with Nagisa, i ship him with Gakushu Asano, him and Rio Nakamura as besties, a platonic ship. Just... there's so much potential and that's without bringing crossovers into the mix. I can still picture him in My Hero Academia

5. Reki Kyan from Sk8 The Infinity

Listen, if I wanted to, this could just become a list of Sk8 the Infinity characters so I'm limiting myself to my favourite, Reki. So i don't think it's hard to see there's not many happy, sunshine characters. But here he is, my ray of sunshine, the guy i just need to see loved and protected, the reason i can never like or forgive Adam (no hate to people who like him ofc). He hurt my sunshine physically. My sunshine was hurt mentally and emotionally. His self doubt won out. But you know what, I'll say it. The found family was found because of him, he was the heart that brought them together. He got Langa into skating and brought him to S, he jumped in Shadow's car and adopted him as his uncle, he stood up for Miya and became his older brother figure, he challenged Adam, which lead to Cherry and Joe giving him advice. And then the people at S get in his head, make him doubt himself, but Langa only seems to love skating when he's skating with him. It was a fanfic, a really good fanfic that's a whole series and i'm pretty sure one of the parts is called to Build a Mechanic. But it has a lot of Reki interacting with Cherry, which i don't see terribly often and getting his confidence back. But it points out he himself hasn't been skating long and is self taught, and it's not like he's bad at skating. Like, ugh, i love him. His angst makes me sad.

6. L from Death Note

He's the reason I watched Death Note, but I've said before that, before i knew what Death Note actually was and just heard the premise and saw the characters, i did think he was the one with the death note. I've mentoned AUs. Lawlight is a big factor but also him. A morally grey strange overly smart man child. I just wanna throw him in the Bungou Stray Dogs universe (with Light of course) and see what happens. Just watch him interact with Ranpo and Dazai and Fyodor. I want to throw him in a universe where there is no Death Note, the stakes are so low but him and Light treat it the same as they do their canon storyline. Maybe a school theatre or academic or professional rivalry. He's so unethical and I love it

7. Cale Henituse/Kim Rok Soo from Trash of the Count's Family / Lout of the Count's family.

First you can pry the name Trash of the Count's Family from my cold dead hands. That's how it was introduced to me and so that's its name for life in my head. Now the character. Ah the perils of caring too much. For people who haven't read this web novel, allow me to paint a picture. Imagine a guy who's transmigrated into a different world. He gathers multiple powers, meets main characters, turns antagonists to his side, becomes friends with leaders, gets involved in multiple wars, saves multiple people and adopts children and takes in strays. Now, imagine that same guy's main goal is to live a peaceful slacker life. Well that seems contradicting. Yep that's Cale Henituse after Kim Rok Soo transmigrate to become him. A walking talking contradiction, who leaves destruction and misunderstandings in his wake. He does the exact opposite of what he says he'll do. Wants to get rid of other characters? Adopts more. Wants to avoid war? In every battle. And the entire time he basically thinks he's the worst, greediest person to ever exist. He's so kind and so good and so giving and so in denial about all of it. He's so smart and powerful and yet wants nothing to do with that power beyond protecting his people

Wait, just realised it said 10 characters so 3 more. Let's go.

8.Nico Di Angelo from PJO, specifically the first 3 books he's in because that's all i've read. Badass 12 year old child of Hades who rocks up to a battle with 3 gods. Summons ghosts with McDonalds. Traumatised, good angst potential, lots of possible ships. Like he's still just a kid. A kid whose mom and sister died, whose dad is a god, who is 70 years in the future from when he was. Like, someone, anyone, please, love him, protect him. I don't care how powerful he is, that is a child. A child who could kill you with a snap of his fingers. But a child all the same. or at least a teenager but my point stands.

9. Natsusa Yuzuki from Number24. So manipulative. Such a little shit. So spoiled. So loved. So adored. There's something about loving a sport so much that you can't leave it even when you can't play because you're hurt. Also he just has this charm and he's so pretty. I can admit to being shallow to some extent. Like he's just a pretty, manipulative guy who has everyone wrapped around his finger and loves rugby. He is either a power bottom or a bratty sub, because i can't imagine him topping but I can imagine him as a mean dom to some people, who likes degradation and humiliation. Or a bratty sub who acts out so his top has to put him in his place. Also he's small and likes being manhandled a little.

10. Alastor from hazbin hotel. He's just a mystery. He's been gone from hell for years, he's not double dead, so where was he? Why is he back now? Who did he make a deal with? Who is he chained to? Lilith? Still doesn't explain where he was. And if not Lilith, who? Was he still in hell, just in one of the other rings? Was he out of hell entirely? How? Why? Why is he helping Charlie? Also him and Nifty are cute in like a platonic way, and him and Rosie are gossiping besties and he does seem capable of forming friendships and caring about people but it's a small list and even then I'm assuming he actually cares about Nifty, Though I will say his relationships with the female characters do seem healthier and more genuine than his relationships with the male characters. That could just be manipulation though. I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be a sociopath or psychopath, though i could be wrong. He's just so interesting

Okay this is ships. Ships are harder because there's a lot of ships I don't mind or like but no real "i need this" ships. But let's do it.

Lawlight from Death Note. Discussed this before in this post more detail. Is it toxic in canon? Yes. Is that part of why i ship it? Also yes. Look, for all i think of AUs where they actually work, either both being Kira or no death note, I was initially drawn to this for the canon. Chaining themselves together? Sharing a bed? L watching him on cameras? We don't need AUs. I can think of so many ideas for them in canon. Some kinky, others not. Some dark and angsty. I don't mind the idea of Misa being added but Lawlight is just fine for me, especially since I don't really ship L and Misa romantically, Though i do think them as besties could be fun. The Judas and Jesus parallels. God there's so much glorious potential. They can make each other worse.

Akutagawa x Dazai - Bungou Stray Dogs. Feel like people are gonna come for me for this one, I'm treading dangerous ground, and yet tread i must in honour of being honest. There are other Dazai ships I like, there are other Akutagawa ships I like. But this one, this one i wasn't expecting. Again i dare to ask is it toxic, and again i dare to say it is, and that's why. I felt guilty at first, then i remembered they're fictional. So wanting to see angst as Akutagawa worships Dazai and it becomes romantic and Dazai manipulates him with it. Akutagawa and Dazai with Dazai as a god figure and Akutugawa worshipping him. Listen even in the fluffiest of universes they'd still be unethical. Yandere Akutagawa meeting a Dazai who uses his yandereness to take out his enemies by flirting with them so Akutagawa kills them, until Akutagawa goes too far and kills someone Dazai cares about, maybe Oda somehow. This is where darkfics come in. Most of my ideas for them are dark and angsty. I know lots of people see them more familial but, even if they don't ever get together, in my head, Dazai was Akutagawa's first crush. Also Dazai purposely trying to make Akutagawa jealous. How obedient Akutagawa is for Dazai but how he will also go against his orders. Dom/sub, brat/brat tamer, gunplay, knifeplay. Also this is Bungou Stray Dogs, they're in the mafia, ethics and laws are unimportant here.

Karma Akabane x Asano gakushu from assassination classroom. Academic rivalry? Yes. Asano being annoyed because Karma doesn't seem to put in as much effort as him but still manages to beat him half the time? Yes. The taunts? Yes. Asano eventually finding out Karma's secret love of learning and studying? Yes. Bonding over shitty parents? Definitely. Asano finding out what went down with Korosensei. healing together. They love and hate each other. If True Love by Pink and Lily Allen was a couple. Again this is without getting into crossovers and AUs really. some headcanons but not really AU. Them competing in all areas and being equally matched. Them being a power couple. Their love language is making fun of each other but, also, headcanon/fic idea i thought of right now, Karma is secretly a pretty good chef. He makes something for Asano but they're still rivals so he can't just give it to him so he has to trick Asano into stealing it and then, when he does, he refuses to tell him where he got it. Asano only finds out when Nagisa accidentally lets it slip at some point and never lets Karma live it down but is secretly touched because he's not used to stuff like that. Them subtly caring for each other. Someone messes with them and they go full power couple and just destroy whoever it was in every way they can.

Reki Kyan x Langa Hasegawa from Sk8 the Infinity. Had to have these two here. Like there was no way I was doing this list and not mentioning this ship. Like all the reason i need is the scene where Langa thinks Reki didn't come to S and his heart just isn't in the race until Reki shouts his name. Like they just are the heart of the show. They care about each other so much. They'd be so soft towards each other, so loving, a truly sickening couple. But I need that.

Natsusa x Ibuki from Number24. Listen this ship list could just be ships with Natsusa from Number24 so easily, but this one. Natsusa sits on his crotch. Natsusa being a power bottom for Ibuki's service top (i think that's the term.) The size difference. The scene in the chapel. i think it's a chapel. I love religious imagery in ships. Not overly religious myself but there's something about partner worship. Ibuki being the reason Natsusa started playing rugby. It's so good. Like Number24 is basically one big polycule anyway. but these two, these two are it. Also Seiichirou. Add him in there too. Of all the polycule these three are it.

Todoroki Shoto x Bakugou Katsuki. This is mostly from fanfiction. I watched, like, one season of BNHA, though i do plan to watch the rest. But I've read some really good fics about them. Plus, i feel like Todoroki could bring some much needed calm to Bakugou. Also i feel like Todoroki doesn't fear his anger in the way others would and, actually, behind his sheltered upbringing he's a little shit who would love deliberately annoying Bakugou. Bakugo hates that he falls for Todoroki but, honestly, Todoroki's precious, everyone loves him, and Bakugou is just a man. He never stood a chance. And neither did Todoroki. They're an absolute power couple. They obliterate villains together. Or if they become villains or vigilantes just kick absolute ass. They both have a million fangirls. Katsuki lives to piss off Endeavour (whether Shouto forgives him or not). Also i need Todorkoki hanging out with the Bakusquad and learning internet slang and memes and being chaotic but is still very awkward and seems very stoic so no one suspects him.

Aomine Daiki and Kagami Taiga. I thought about it, who should be the last ship on the official list. In the end it could only be them. Kagami could very well be the person who makes Daiki fall in love with basketball again. They are rivals to friends to lovers. Each other's biggest competition. Supporters. Both so bad at feelings and too prideful. I don't know who falls first but they both fall hard and neither will admit it. They definitely sleep with each other multiple times before they're even friends and insist it will never happen again only to fall back into bed together. Also they're switches to me. Again there is possibility for a polycule but when i think ships i usually seek out in fanfics, it is them.

special mention: Kageyama Tobio x happiness. Couldn't decide on a specific ship because as long as he's happy, i don't care

Thank you for the ask. If anyone sees this, feel free to send asks for headcanons, drabbles, snippets or just questions like this. To see what fandoms i write for, check out my pinned post.

Side note: I realise all the ships are gay and all the characters are male. I promise I don't hate women or straight/lesbian ships. Also i do watch shows and movies and stuff that isn't anime. These are just the characters and ships and things i think about most often.

[11queensupreme11]

Me: I'm going to read Arsenic blues, wishing to see what the queen has to us ❤️

After reading the note: The fuck!?

Can't believe people are really stealing your job and asking why they haven't the right to it. People are crazier every time I check is half concerning and half amazing how their brains work

Have to be nice, living in that fantasy world for free and without Isekai yourself.

Be for real and growth. Write your own stuff and don't come here asking yourself why the author is mad when you literally just committed a CRIME

Anyway, great character as always queen! ❤️

It is amazing how Loki has one type, defender of rights only person here that knows about human rights and thinks they deserve it.

Loki's the "fuck around and found what happens" god and is always hurting him but he can't scape the consequences of his own actions

Dumb bitch, you're lucky you're hot

Baldur was the first to say: they deserve to live cause you created them and if they're bad it is because you all are worse, maybe if you all learn a minimum of moral they would be better ❤️

I love him, Loki really didn't deserve him, he doesn't deserve Percy either but Baldur is... *Chef kiss*

He was the first, if you know what I'm saying, it is even wonderful how a person (god) can be so kind without knowing what it really is. It is hard to be kind, but without an example!?

Made him the god of humanity and sent him far away from Loki's (too late)

Loki: what's wrong here? Him or me?

Me: You have one chance, and hint, it isn't Baldur you asshole

(That hint of karma. Poseidon is going to lose his daughter, one as loved as Baldur and it's just his fault cause he doesn't have a heart. Love that for him. I love him but I also love the drama)

(Maybe we're more like the gods that we like to think I guess)

Thinking about it, maybe Percy being too gremlin with him IS a good thing.

No matter what, that side of her, the way she's always ready to fight but also being ready to relax with him is his... Well, Loki is always on the edge, but her giving so much kindness to him is also pushing him away.

She chooses to spend time with him and genuinely enjoy that time when he isn't tricking her (to the surprise of EVERYONE including him)

(Percy, being too kind is one thing)

At least he's learning that maybe killing and hurting your loved ones isn't the best decision.

Took him millennials but progress is progress

For now, act 4 is going to give him a ticket express to that fall to madness

Beelzebub...

Well, his trauma is stopping him right now, but I trust him to find a way, it's the smartest one so I'm going to wait before saying something

(For once, the author's favorite is one of my favorites)

(Just laughed cause that is karma right there, you were the one always making the deals with bad ends, now is your turn babygirl. Still rooting for you king ❤️)

Thanks for the chapter Queen and remember, a alive Nico is the best kind of Nico ❤️

bro omg that plagiarizer was weird af. did you see the old ask asking for permission to make an hp x pjo x ror fic inspired by mine? THAT TURNED OUT TO BE THEM. they made a third wattpad account sfahdvbjhv 😭😭😭

i made another chapter calling them out on wattpad and they deleted the books and fucked off (they'll probably be back with a fourth account 💀) but yeah, that's just weird behavior fr 😭

and also.... the thing i wrote about poseidon getting karma? yeah, that's a big ass hint for the future HEHEHEHE

and yesss percy actually does enjoy loki's company most of the times, he just ruins it by... you know, being an asshole to her sometimes, but other than that, she likes hanging out with him! she actually considers him as a friend (but beelie is her #1 bestie in the ror verse LMAO)

[wickedsrest-rp-archive]

That's all, folks! Keep reading for a summary of our finale and a little look into what the future holds for Wicked's Rest! We are now officially CLOSED for this iteration of the rp, however current members are welcome to continue writing and posting anything that they want to wrap up before relaunch comes around. We're also still planning on hosting a final thread for those interested that didn't get to take part in the finale, or who just want to do another group writing activity! We look forward to seeing all the creative and exciting things you guys are going to do with our refreshed setting and lore!

With a loud boom, it was over. The townspeople that had taken up arms against the encroaching demonic threat watched as all their hard work paid off. Those destroying ritual sites saw the last of them burn away, leaving nary a trace of their existence. The brave people battling those man-sized bird monsters helped weaken the large one trying to escape, and as the final blow was delivered to the greater demon’s open maw, it all started to dissolve. Battles across town ended abruptly as the creatures in the greater demon’s service crumbled to dust and ooze, just like their master. Beneath the town, the powerful entity shuddered and sank into itself, its exposed limbs and beak breaking down into black sand, water, and ichor. On land, deep pits in the earth were left behind where the legs used to be. In the sea, the space the demon had carved out for itself collided with Storm's Eye Trench, making it even deeper and more dangerous and flooding a good portion of the massive cave system beneath the east side of town with seawater.

The mineral abnormality, lovingly known as Serpent’s Flat, also dissolved with the demons. This massive chunk of mystery mineral that had covered a part of the town for longer than most could remember fizzled away to reveal what lay beneath, and no one was expecting what was uncovered. Bleak Point, the neighborhood that’d been engulfed all those years ago, had sunken into the earth. Mysterious, unexplored underground caves had swallowed it all up, and it seemed that not all life had been wiped out when the Flat was formed. Creatures, both intelligent and not, had obviously been busy at work making the ruins of Bleak Point into a habitable place. Stone stairways proved that they’d tried to come topside, but had never been able to break through. But now with the way cleared, surface dwellers and cave folk are about to meet for the first time.

This chapter has ended, but there is more yet to come. As some people attuned to magic have sensed (and as others predicted), there has been a shift. The greater demon that slumbered beneath Wicked’s Rest for untold centuries is dead, and with it, the source of natural magic potent enough to keep this supernatural hub thriving with power. Decay is creeping in from the edges, and while it doesn’t seem so bad yet, it will undoubtedly start to cause problems the longer Wicked’s Rest goes without a power source.

FINALE THREADS:

Birds, Why Does it Have to be Birds? - Jade & Alistair

Demonic Bullshit - Owen

Night of the Living Leg - Emilio & Xóchitl

Bomb Voyage - Levi & Mateo

Call it Fate, Call it Karma - Rosemary

It's a bird! It's a plane! No.... it's a bird man! - Eden & Maggie

[ourdiva]

LMFAOOO i love the overall story do not get me wrong and i'll probably come to enjoy the ending fully im just bitter as hell i can't lie. it's why i'm waiting until a few weeks to write any long analysis on it cus my ass is going to be biased rn.

luckily the only irl i've introduced so far is my younger sister and she adores it so bad. she's happy as hell till survived since he's her fav 😭 anyone else is my online friends on disc/twitter and i've been preparing them for karma cause i know it's gonna hit one way or another.

BUT YEAH ! i still love all the characters (including side characters) even if mizi and me are a little heated rn she's still my 2nd fav and gf we're just kinda on a break as of now. pluuus on the yume side of it i can write some good ass lore for my oc SO #bonus! your top 3 is so real tho. - 🐑

TRUE MAYBE THE ENDING WILL GROW ON ME IDK … actually idk they’re gonna have to do some heavy lifting for me to accept what happened to hyuna this ep 😭

Unfortunately i introduced alnst to like everyone ever around me so I have a lot of crimes to answer to.

still yeah they’re gonna have to pry alnst out of my cold dead hands regardless of the ending, just placed my order for the super 6 fair 💃 obv I had to get merch of my fav girl, I got some Luka too and I guess … WHERE IS THE ISAAC MERCH MAN?

the concept of being on break with mizi is a little funny i giggled ngl LMFAOOOOO I hope you two get over this rough patch work it out before she starts shooting at the rest of us pls💔

i haven’t updated my yume lore since … before wiege came out … you can imagine why. but i do know my yume is gonna die in the flames with hyunas corpse, MOVE LUKA!!!!

I’ve been getting whacked since yesterday cuz karma dropped and then love island ep 22 happened and then i woke up today to my fav f1 driver landing in 19th place at today’s race … WHAT THE HELLY!!!! GIVE ME A BREAK

[strulobitch]

Silvers springs anon here👋Just randomly thought of songs that are in Nico's counter album:(In no particular order)

My kink is karma

You ruin your life,you losing your mind

You dyeing your hair(referencing the time Lewis dyed his hair blonde)

People say I'm jealous, but my kink is watching,you crashing your car (Spain,do I need to say more)You breaking your heart

You thinking I care,people say I'm jealous, (the critics comparing the two of them)but my kink is karma

Metallic Stallion

I had a dream that I'd always been yours (do I need to explain this)My metallic stallion races off

But I'm chasing fast till I get on top( Abu Dhabi)I'm the one he can't break off

Cuntissimo( Monaco's royalty Nico )

I <3 u

Cause I love you, and I know that you love me tooI want you, and I know that you want me tooI love you, I've been waiting to make you mineI want to be holding you tonight(this one makes certain brit and dutch go mad)

Princess Of Power

I've been hurt by those who were supposed to treat me right (no explanation needed here)

I lived the sweet and I lived the sour...(this could be a feature with Lance)

Welcome to my world, princess of power

Stuck in a loveless generation...

Welcome to my world, princess of power

EVOL LOVE(basically this is where jealousy,envy and love become blurry)

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker(this could reference their first song)

Every kiss you give me makes me sicker

A day in the dark, a day in the cloud of gloom, yeah

I look at you, you look at me(at a conference or interview)

Milk and roses, squeaky clean

Well, you're the best I've ever seen(does this one need explanation)

And I'm your dying beauty queen

I think that I would die (this opening is already iconic)

He's stupid,I'm smarting,He's stupid,I'm smarting

Never be me(One of the songs Nico performs before silver springs)(I wished that I was good at editing to make an edit to them with this song)

But if you're looking for stable, that'll never be me

If you're looking for faithful, that'll never be me

If you're looking for someone to be all that you need

That'll never be me (hard as I try)That'll never be me (I play with fire)

Dry your tears now, don't you cry,I'm by your side, at least for a while(before the big fight)

Jaded,The whole song, strulo, the whole song

Song about me(This could be a duet between Nico and Lewis live)

I heard that you heard that I was writing songs about you (the Lewis album)

That I was bad-mouthing your name in some shitty bar somewhere(they started singing in shitty bars)

You know how I love these biased, one-sided conversations( we're always friends-> well we're not friends)

So let's discuss the whos, the whys, the whens, the hows, the wheres

And rapid fire ones:

loml

Love of my life

So high school (thanks to that one edit of them to this song)

Everytime (of course I need to bring a Brittney ballad)

And every time I try to fly I fall without my wings(

I feel so smallI guess I need you baby

And every time I see you in my dreams( Monaco, Greece the stars)

I see your face

You're haunting me(people finding out about their songs from the time they were a duo)

I guess I need you baby

We can't be friends ,On your side,Sinner, Save your tears( could be a duet)Video games Radio andWhite Mustang

sorry for the long list it's just that this has been stuck on my brain for long

I don't mind long asks at all!

Thank you for sharing this🙂‍↕️

I'll definitely be thinking more about this😋

Also, this should be an au

I love the idea of the drivers in the music industry

So I hope you don't mind if I call this Silver Springs AU, since your ask started this idea<3