#We're on the good side of bad karma

[animentality]

Dude I'm so confused

Why are the redditors refugees here-

Whats up with the tag 196

AND WHY IS EVERYONE BEING SO NICE WITH THE TWITTER REFUGEES CAME WE GAVE THEM HELL (almost)

The Reddit refugees are here because several subreddits have gone private in protest of reddit's new policy of charging third party developers for access to its API.

Hence the term reddit blackout.

196 specifically was a very queer friendly subreddit that had one rule: that you post before you leave. 196 is trending because those Redditors have come here and they're basically sharing their memery here instead as they protest reddit's greed.

As for why we're welcoming them when Twitter refugees were seen with a little more irritation, well.

Think of the culture similarities.

Tumblr and reddit have far more in common than Tumblr and Twitter.

Twitter is about clout and manipulating algorithms and discourse in 280 characters or less. It's about bad takes that reach the right people and it forces you to see things you don't want to see and it's crawling with the worst people imaginable and you're forced to see them, all the time. They also brought bad tagging and 2016 Tumblr discourse with them, because Twitter culture really involves starting fights for clout and braindead opinions that no one really wants to come back to Tumblr culture.

There was a time when Tumblr did the same thing, but worse, with more words...but nowadays, it's really calmed down.

The worst people...went to Twitter after the porn ban. Ironically, it made the site less toxic and hostile.

But then they came back.

And it was like...hm. no thanks. Stay back where you came from.

But Tumblr and Reddit have much more in common.

Both have a more streamlined way of customizing your online feed. You can choose what subreddits you see on your home screen, just like Tumblr only shows you the content of your followers, on your dashboard, and in chronological order rather than what's trending. You can join a very specific weird niche group of freaks with a shared obsession, and not care about the rest of the site at all. You also don't have a character limit on either site, which lets you ramble more and share weird detailed stories.

Reddit might have karma, but like Tumblr, the majority of people are lurkers and not posters. It also allows you to downvote bad opinions, and moderators who have to adhere to certain guidelines of behavior, which means a lot of banning disruptive people.

Granted, sometimes their mods are power hungry, but. You know.

It does more to control its users than Tumblr do, and that's a good thing in terms of keeping toxicity and illegal shit off its subs.

Reddit also has a way more leftwing attitude than you would think.

It has a reputation for being full of incels but I honestly think that's outdated.

It's cleaned up its act quite a bit since the old days.

I see way more vile shit from Twitter and TikTok. Like seriously.

Twitter is crawling with conservative bots and propaganda machines and just outright inflammatory lies. TikTok literally has the worst comment sections I've ever seen, like edgy teenagers cracking racist and misogynistic humor and acting like it makes them different and special. Its algorithm also spoon feeds you garbage and is designed to be as addicting as possible.

At least reddit's culture, while chauvinistic and regressive in certain subcultures, is mostly on the tech positive, atheist libertarian side.

It can be a little pretentious and caustic about certain subjects, and a little full of itself. Some reddits are also very male leaning and disregard female concerns in favor of moaning about how men have it worse than anyone else on earth.

But for the most part?

...well.

I welcome them here, because if they left reddit in protest, then we always support protests. But 196 specifically is also a queer subreddit, and we support that even more.

Plus they're funny as fuck.

What's not to like, really?

You should welcome them with open arms too.

[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?"

[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 🖤

[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.

[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.

[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)

[tech-obssessed-shark]

prowl rant:

(I haven't gotten through a lot of the Transformers IDW comics, but I'm up to a point where Starscream is kind of in charge of Cybertron, and Swearth just happened in MTMTE so just context)

Prowl's a jerk- like he's done a lot of bad stuff- but... I feel like some of the things he's went through is pretty rough. Something that keeps sticking with me was the moment where it was realized the Prowl wasn't in control of his own body and nobody noticed.

I honestly don't know what I'd do if I was Prowl. These are the people you've worked with for millions of years, and yet they didn't even realize when you weren't yourself. That would be horrible, no matter who it was done to. Even Prowl was shocked at how nobody noticed he was being controlled, just a prisoner in his own body. To make things worse, he then was forced into a gestalt bond with people he hated. Yet again he was made to attack the people he worked with and even considered some of them his friends.

The thing is that Prowl had done a lot of things in the past, things that weren't done under the control of anyone. It left him alone. The only people who stuck by his side from that point on were the Constructicons, who were the ones he was FORCED to bond with from before.

While he was dealing with all this, he still had to deal with the fact that Spike(someone who he trusted) straight up told him that he never trusted anyone of the Autobots, including Prowl.

(I'm not going to include the whole Tarantulas thing because I'm not there yet but I KNOW it's messed up)

I honestly feel like his story is just the definition of karma. He's hurt so many people that he can't even remember them, and in exchange he's been through a lot.(I'm still mad about the whole AH YES PUT A WAR CRIMINAL ON A SHIP NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN-) I find he's an interesting character, who's not a "good guy" but is still considered to be on the "good side"- which is just an example of why I like Transformers so much. Everyone feels like shades of greys than just whites and blacks. Like THEY REDEEMED MEGATRON- THEY JUST DID THAT- So yeah anyways Transformers slay, Prowl had it coming(the horrors), and go read IDW.

tldr: the idea of being not in control of your body or actions is scary and the fact that those you trust didn't notice is worse- I feel like Transformers has some of the worst torture methods out of anything i've read really-(We're not everything starting on what happened to DAmbius aka THE PET-)

[annbourbon]

How Most Magical Contracts Work~

⚠️ Spoilers ⚠️ Ahead ⚠️🍒

Because we're (and by we I mean @smol-grey-tea and @cherrychipheart with me~~) figure out how the whole Cheritzverse AKA Grimm Society works, please consider this as part of one of my theories to add onto it >.<

It's taking me forever so I hope you guys like it. Without further ado~

Magical Binding Contract: Simply physically impossible to break. Sometimes it is implied that the magic punishment for breaking a clause is somehow contingent on the permission being given by the one who signed the contract. (It's interesting here but in The Ssum Harry breaks the contract, and Rachel tries the same thing, and both of them have several issues with the whole engagement thing because it's not something you can break just by breaking the paper, now reading this, makes me think 🧐 because it is said that they have to pay a huge sum but such number is never said~ and I don't think it's just because of money but the way it's handled... it's way too sketchy. Is it just me?)

However, and many times as safety 'insurance' this may be used as the only option if no other way of exchange is presented. The magic makes everything to stay put. Both sides need to play their part and that how it makes sense that they use it more often.

If something taught me Ursula at the age of 3 or 4 was to ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT~ seriously, the lesson stuck. 😳

Leonine Contract: is a very old principle of law that a leonine contract is not a free contract. Generally speaking anyone will side with you except if there's a Magically-Binding Contract, then you're in real trouble. Even under most civil law codes, there's a good chance that you can be freed from a contract if the other party was obviously exploiting an emergency situation. Like~~~ even in the Ancient Roman Law of Obligations, a "Societas Leonina" (a corporation in which one participator reaps all the profit, and another carries all the losses) was an invalid one! That says it all! Anyways~ loopholes are still permitted.

Curse Escape Clause: For every magic spell/curse to have a condition that negates the effect.

Now, oaths are powerful things. They bind demons. They bind honour. They create pacts that grant great power. They are things to be respected, feared, and fulfilled.

Once broken an oath of some sort thing, be it magical or mundane, a debt... is to be paid, and now is forever branded by his/her misdeed. This is seen most often than not as a mark of shame. It almost always brands the character as a pariah until they manage to restore their lost honour. So unless they are released from their contract this will bind them for whatever term it stated or until whatever condition was required is fulfilled — forever if neither was fulfilled.

Unless you're let off.

Contradictory Oaths may lead to Reality-Breaking Paradox though~

Exchange Contracts:

(And I think this is the way the Wizard works since he does implies it, and I have a lot of experience with this way of working thanks to Ichihara Yuuko~)

Okay so for starters, good and bad are human concepts. Hence no Yuuko or The Wizard in Cheritzverse seem too worried about it okay? Actually~ lol if we're to enter magical worlds no one is too worried about such things because you can solve most things via magic~🙃 unless you can't ofc

So for Yuuko customers must pay a price in order to grant their wishes, which can be no more or no less than the one demanded, or else harm will come to one's way.

She is a dealer in wishes as she will grant the sincere wish of anyone who is willing to make an appropriate sacrifice in return; the price is always equivalent to the weight of the wish, no more, no less.

This goes to keep the balance in this universe which is very delicate~ and also, to keep the cause/effect in action otherwise known as karma.

So to understand this type of contracts you need to understand how the universe according to Buddhism/Hinduism works~ in theory.

101 speedrun here of the karmic laws (they're 12 but here's oversimplified~)

1. cause/effect

2. everything & everyone is connected

3. forgiveness

4. growth & open mindness

5. detachment

6. responsibility

7. ripple effect

8. you create your reality

9. patience, persistence and long-term view (imho struggling with patience lol but heeey~)

10. living in the present

11. honesty

12. humility

13. gratitude

14. generosity

15. evolution

16. balance

17. compassion

Anyways you can obviously see that the Wizard uses a similar analogy, however his way of expressing himself is way more twisted as he sets games for everyone to achieve their wishes. Making of it a whole competition, basically.

And he also lacks of many things, as it is compassion, humility, charisma, forgiveness or generosity... but that's another story because I have yet to finish Dandelion. 🤭😬 Yes~ sorry I could not help myself but to do this despite all the things I have against.

Something I noticed though~~ it's that depending on the contract he might not be able to change it even if he actually wants to so he might play it off like he doesn't~ or maybe he actually doesn't, but well at least this gives us an idea of what kind of contracts he uses no?

⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊ ﾟ ☽ * ₊ ⋆⋆ ₊

Links:

Leonine Contract

Magical Binding

The power of Karma

*I did copy/paste more than what I originally intended to but the original post was deleted somehow and my eyes are basically melting RN, however, the idea is the same and I added even more than what I expected to so please let it slide 🙏🏻😖

[gladdygirl18]

Okay okay so uhmmmm..... I feel like I'm gonna cry from how happy and loved I feel rn...... 🥹🥹🥹💖💖 (blue me, pink GF)

So yesterday night, my GF, our 2 friends, and I were watching Fairy Tail (the GMGs specifically), and I started teasing my GF about something that's gonna happen later on in the show (lovingly, ofc). When I got back from getting something to drink, I walked up to my GF and smiled, being a brat. She scoffed and held out her hand (does this whenever she wants me to sit next to her or on her lap). I took her hand and she yanked me onto her lap. A few seconds passed and she started poking my sides before she really started tickling, scribbling across my sides and kissing my neck (I was so happy 🥰😊💖)

When all was said and done, the match between Mirajane and Jenny started and ngl..... I got a bit jealous cuz IK how much my GF loves Mirajane as well as a lot of other women in Fairy Tail..... and it kinda got under my skin. When I told her this before we went to bed, she started teasing me about it, saying "Karma" before tickling me AGAIN 😳💖 (it made me feel better)

Later on that night, I randomly asked my GF, "How do you do it?" She replied with "WDYM?" "I know we're together and normally asking for things or expressing our concerns helps better our communication skills, but..... it's hard for me, y'know?" "Asking for what... in what regard? You mean when I~....?" (Rated R stuff I won't get into) "Not just that, it's...."

Bro when I tell you this conversation was so flustering omgggg 😳🤭🫣 but it has a good ending

"Often times when I'm sad or upset, I.... sometimes want to ask you to.... tickle me cuz it'll cheer me up but.... it's really hard to do that...." My GF turned over and said, AND I QUOTE, "Well, why don't we come up with a word or phrase to tell me you want that, even if there are... prying eyes...."

BROOOOO WTFFF 😳😳😳 I SWEAR TO FUCK I THOUGHT I WAS DREAMING WHEN SHE SAID THAT!!!! 🫣🥰🥹💖I AM LITERALLY LIVING OUT MULTIPLE TICKLE FANFICS RN WTFFFF💖💖💖💖

After some thinking, we settled on the phrase "necesito sonreir" which means "I need to smile." Simple yet effective

I swear to fuck I have never been more happy in my life rn, omggggg.💖🫶🏾🥰 Now whenever I want tickles (whether I'm in a good mood or bad mood) I just say that phrase and I get tickles. Omgggg I'm legit tearing up rn, broooo🥹🥹🥹

Yeah so that's my little TT (tickle tea) for the week. I'll probably post more if anything happens after this. Might make a series off this who knows, I'll start tagging these as #tickle tea stories

Tagging the fwends: @giggly-squiggily @cutesmokes @burningablaze @lovelymessybubbly @otomiyaa @sunstone-smiles

[2n2n]

ch 109

we're going to have good funny times.....

thinking about popping everyone open like pezz dispenser (: maybe Tsukasa was just going to sleep in the big cage in assumption that he'd be brought out to the clockkeepers.... here he is, right where he wants to be!!

ugh its like a dream come true every other panel still... between them...!!! mirroring twins...!!! MOuuuuuu....!!

ugh shes so ... small ... n

the girls look at each other curiously......!

I'm very surprised the official documentation is using his real living name. He's almost always only No. 7 or Hanako in the professional sphere and I had the impression his 'real' name just wasn't relevant in this way to anyone, anymore ... even if they knew it. It's not as if this is a government affair, get out his ID... Amane himself looks kind of weirded out to hear it.

not so business title anymore....

of course, Akane already knows his identity (+the existence of a brother, named Tsukasa-- not that he'd know from this encounter that 'Tsukasa' is still around in the school or why) after the Severance, as Nene-chan had informed him of all of that:

♥

so pleasantly introducing himself. Amused you don't know him. I think Tsukasa enjoys his own ambiguity. But I like that, being given 'Tsukasa', Akane can fill in the rest. Right, the twin brother...

aida-sensei really enjoys drawing Tsukasa's pupils as different as can be lately, it is very moe....

meanwhile.... mr. bitch....

foosy foosy fussy hussy... it's too funny his response is to be like.. I DIDD'N DO ANYTHING...! huff...! wasting my precious valuable time, annoying....

thank you Akane for not trusting EITHER Nene-chan nor Tsukasa's possible testimony on Amane.... ♥

Amane getting his karma at last for being a gnasty fuck, GOD BLESS!!! you deserve this so much .... this arc is about Amane getting everything he's had coming to him.... wwwww I'm sorry, you didn't want your otouto to hear you talk like that? Hmmm... but you talk like that in front of Nene-chan all the time! So unfair, your brother should get to know all sides of you, too!

is it worsened x1000 that he has some history of clock tampering Tsukasa just earlier verbally remembered to him...?. it's a bad look Amane.... Tsukasa's innocent staring eyes, he's listening, he's adding this informations to his memory bank... forever and eternally ever... can't take this back.... become pervert brother... brother who wants to do erotic stuff.... Amane, you want to do erotic stuff? Ne? Amane? Amane, do you? What kind of stuff Amane ? Amane would do erotic stuff if time was frozen? Amane wants to have time powers for that? Hmm.. hm. hm. Informations processed into the Tsutsu

god amazing panel love it.... Nene-chan already knows, so the devastation is truly from Tsutsu hearing and commenting, isn't it?

I feel like Amane doesn't think about what he says ........ he gets so capricious and thoughtless .... there are consequences, Amane....

I was joking the other day with my husband, that... Amane's problem, is that neither Nene-chan nor Tsukasa have the 'full picture'. Nene-chan knows he is a pervert (as the one sexually harassed by him so often...), but doesn't really understand the depth of his mental problems, how dangerous he can be. Meanwhile, Tsukasa grasps the depth of Amane's mental problems and how dangerous he is, but has no experience with the pervert. So unfair!!

Truly, Amane will only find peace when all of his girls understand all of his heart.

I'm glad for both Amane getting to experience learning of this plan and I am glad for Tsukasa getting to once again observe Amane having interesting emotions. Another one for the bucket as well in my ongoing crusade to assert to people Tsukasa really is not jealous, he's just interested/curious in Amane's emotions. You wanna kiss? You wanna do erotic stuff? You like when she says that? I take in tha data.

he's a good and honest boy! he tells the truth! maybe when Amane wishes he wouldn't sometimes!

definitely my favorite page of the update, and my favorite addition to the canon.... ahhh!

I love how well this expresses the discrepancy in their characters, their thinking.... Amane, attempting to utilize the powers that exist, to modify the clock, to take control of something established... while Tsukasa wonders what would come of utterly destroying it.

I love Tsukasa having such a thought during his life, seeing Amane toil... it makes me wonder if he even knew of the mysteries then, or not; could he know of the implications of destroying it, or was it a simpler kind of fantasy? Tsukasa... has a side of him that is protective of others, defensive even.... when Mokke go after Amane in twitter doodles, Tsukasa tends to come to punish them. Seeing the clock torment Amane, I wonder if it made him resentful of it for disappointing Amane, for evading him, wasting his time... the clock certainly deserves to suffer for failing to amuse Amane, or help him, in his life. I hope it is serene and refreshing to at last get to disintegrate it. Tsukasa having fantasized about it for some time, makes how he revels in it and his particular mood during its destruction so cute ~~ must feel nice to spin its gears around his fingers and dance around on its corpse~~ la la la ~

so many reasons to be so pleased~~

kind of super relieved in Kako is just some sort of, automaton thang . construct. I'm interested in how Natsuhiko referred to the big clock as a kaii itself, so ... I wonder what No. 1 really 'is' at all?

I wonder what the inside of Mirai is like~

and I wonder what Amane and Teru are going to do about all of this! I'm glad Tsukasa has simplified the altercation. I kind of hope Kako himself is just out of the picture.. we could thin this cast out a little bit.

It's a very action-heavy chapter so I don't have much of depth to offer hehe, it gets like this some times... I'm glad we'll be having a bonus After-School Boy to munch on in just a couple weeks (the 28th?) >w<

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess Prompt List

Prompts for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan (+ Good Luck Babe as a treat), practice good reblog karma and sent a prompt or two to the person you reblog this from

Same old story, time again, got so close but then you lost it

He disappeared from the second that you said, “Let's get coffee, let's meet up"

I'm so sick of online love

You pretend to love his mother

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

I just want you to make a move so slow down, sit down, it's new

I just wanna get to know ya, guess I didn't quite think it through

Fell in love with the thought of you, now I'm choked up, face down, burnt out

Long hair, no bra, that's my type, that's right

You just told me want me to fuck you

I heard you like magic, I got a wand and a rabbit

So baby let's get freaky, get kinky, let's make this bed get squeaky

My mama said nothing good happens when it's late and you're dancing alone

She's in my head saying it's not attractive, wearing that dress and red lipstick

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

But baby, I like flirting, a lover by my side, can't be a good girl even if I tried

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

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

Cause everything good happens after midnight

I kinda wanna kiss your boyfriend if you don't mind

You'd buy me a drink, and we know where that leads, so

I'll meet you for coffee 'cause if we have wine you'll say that you want me, I know that's a lie

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

Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your place

But I'd rather feel something than nothing at all

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

If we do coffee, it's never just coffee

I've heard so many rumours that I'm just a girl that you bang on your couch

You said, "We're not together”, so now when we kiss, I have anger issues

We’re knee deep in the passenger seat and you're eating me out, is it casual now?

Is it casual now?

But baby, get me off again, if it's casual, it's casual now

Dumb love, I love being stupid

It's hard being casual when my favourite bra lives in your dresser

And I try to be the chill girl that holds her tongue and gives you space

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

I fucked you in the bathroom when we went to dinner

Bragging to your friends I get off when you hit it, I hate to tell the truth but I'm sorry dude you didn't

I hate that I let this drag on so long, now I hate myself

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

You know what they say, "Never waste a Friday night on a first date"

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

Not overdramatic, I know what I want

I'm through with all these hyper mega bummer boys like you

I need a super graphic ultra modern girl like me

Telling secrets there on the mattress, wearing nothing but glitter and lashes

At every party we're the party, shaking our asses, making out while the world collapses

Get up off your feet, get up on that bar

Walk that walk, flash the camera, you're a star

I could be the one or your new addiction

Who can blame a girl?

Call me hot, not pretty

Well, I woke up alone staring at my ceiling, I try not to care, but it hurts my feelings

You don't have to stare, come here, get with it

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

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

It's hot when you have a meltdown

It's hot when you're drinking downtown and you're getting called out 'cause you're running your mouth

People say I'm jealous but my kink is watching you ruining your life

My kink is karma

Wishing you the best, in the worst way

It's hot when you're going through hell

And you're hating yourself, I'm feeling myself

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

Slip off my pretty dress, down my chest when I think of you

Do you picture me like I picture you?

Do you feel the same? I'm too scared to say half of the things I do when I picture you

So tell me now, all your perversions

Am I doing research in a mini skirt?  Am I at the library in your hometown?

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

If you really wanna leave, I’ll never make you stay

Whatever you decide, I will understand

And love is a kaleidoscope, how it works we'll never know

And even all the change is somehow all the same

Love is a kaleidoscope

And it'll just take time to go back to being friends

Every colour of the rainbow, don't be afraid to hold it close

I know you wanted me to stay, but I can't ignore the crazy visions of me in LA

And I heard that there's a special place where boys and girls can all be queens every single day

Won't make my mama proud, it’s gonna cause a scene

God, what have you done?  You're a pink pony girl and you dance at the club

Oh mama, I'm just having fun, on the stage in my heels it’s where I belong

I'm gonna keep on dancing down in West Hollywood

Lovers in the bathroom and a line outside the door

Every night's another reason why I left it all

I thank my wicked dreams, a year from Tennessee

Oh, Santa Monica you've been too good to me

Don't think I've left you all behind

Still love you and Tennessee, you're always on my mind

And mama, every Saturday, I can hear your southern drawl a thousand miles away

New crush, high school love again, the rush of slumber party kissing

I'd love if you knew you were on my mind

Boys suck and girls I've never tried

And we both know we're getting drunk tonight

Touch me, baby, put your lips on mine, could go to hell but we'll probably be fine

I know you want it, baby, you can have it, oh, I've never done it, let's make it cinematic

An inch away from more than just friends

Won't you fucking touch me?

I want more than you know

Cause I was never told that I wasn't gonna get the things I want the most

But people always say, "If it hasn't happened yet then maybe you should go”

Come get me out of California

To think I almost had it going but I let you down

Think back to what you said and I turn red

Wild thoughts that make me melt

Sometimes I scare myself but I can't help what I can't help

So shame on me and shame on you

I fantasize what we would do and how would he taste and the way you move

Oh, some good girls do bad things too

Oh my God, you are heaven-sent with your dirty mind, yeah, you're perverted

I want this like a cigarette

You give me guilty, guilty pleasure

Feels like pornography watching you try on jeans

You can say that we are nothing, but you know the truth

I don't wanna call it off but you don't wanna call it love

You can kiss a hundred boys in bars, shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling

You can say it's just the way you are, make a new excuse, another stupid reason

You'd have to stop the world just to stop the feeling

I'm cliche, who cares?

It's a sexually explicit kind of love affair

And I cry, it's not fair, I just need a little lovin', I just need a little air

Think I'm gonna call it off even if you call it love

I just wanna love someone who calls me baby

And when you wake up next to him in the middle of the night with your head in your hands, you're nothing more than his wife

And when you think about me, all of those years ago, you're standing face to face with "I told you so"

Good luck, babe!

[lenteur]

random thoughts about castaway diva, episode eleven

(read more because i always get carried away lol and this post might contain spoilers)

We're starting this episode with woo hak making me angry. Why are you contacting mok ha when the whole family agrees it's best to leave her out of the messy situation with mr jung? WHY???

... I take back what I just said. At least he's helping her with the press conference so I guess he's not that bad.

The whole press conference scene had me on the edge of my seat. So many conflicting feelings. Mok ha not following the script and trying to defend ran joo no matter what. Yoon ran joo just keeping her head down and accepting any accusation thrown her way. Eun mo rae seeming to side with mok ha and wanting ran joo to pursue her career so she feels better about being compared to ran joo (a desperate has-been singer who can no longer sing). All of that feels like a lot.

Talking about ran joo, it's frustrating to see her deny all of mok ha's wishes because it descredits the chunsam island singer. I understand she's trying to ease the tension but still, part of me feels like it's unfair to contradict mok ha like that. Because, in the end, mok ha will also be ridiculed for her statements.

I don't think it was a good idea for mok ha to participate in the press conference but I commend her will to defend those around her.

I'm glad the reporter let the truth out because now ran joo knows she was manipulated into signing the termination contract. I mean, she did it on her own will but had she known lee seo jun thinks of her that way, she might have thought twice before signing it. I wonder if there's a way she can nullify the contract? I feel for ran joo because she's been through a lot and there aren't many people on her side.

YES RAN JOO!!! Tell him how he would be nothing without you. He deserves it. He's trash, not you.

When I'm telling you I feel for ran joo, the fate of a tree metaphor is what I'm talking about. She's always given and hasn't taken a lot. People are taking her for granted. They milked her fame until the last drop and now she's treated like trash. I really wish there was a way to make her get her revenge. She doesn't deserve that treatment.

The scene between ran joo and her mom = saddest scene of the drama. I shed so many tears 😭😭😭 I'm relieved ran joo knows why her mom calls herself that and that they could talk to each other. This scene was beautiful 💖

MOK HA FINALLY CONFESSED HER FEELINGS TO KI HO AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Dae woong (i think that's his name) woke up. I hope his story can make mr jung guilty of at least one thing (if he's innocent for the family case).

Lee uk is a good man. I keep repeating myself but I want everyone to know how amazing he is. He's ready to go to prison to defend the family. He's even saying if he could turn back time, he'd follow the mom sooner. I'm so happy the mother found someone so caring after spending years with mr jung.

I was so happy when the judge called mr jung following his family stalking.

I'm so happy the judge decided to believe the real victims instead of siding with mr jung. And dae woong could give evidence of the accident to the judge. Karma came and bit you in the a$$ mr jung!!! HAHAAHAHHHHAHAHAHA

Seo mok ha helping ran joo and her mom <3 She's one of the best people on earth. So kind and thoughtful.

YES! Ran joo wants to keep singing!!!

I'm relieved ran joo could read great articles about her to her mom. About a song that just got released (and not some old song).

So yoon ran joo sold 20 million albums a long time ago? Please make her magically appear during the shares meeting so everything is nullified 🙏🙏🙏

Justice was served for the family and yoon ran joo. I couldn't be any more grateful.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? We got a happy ending for everyone finally and you have to ruin it with mr jung st*bbing lee uk? I can't believe it.

I'm giving this episode a 9/10

[luna-loner]

Hmm, if you still ship it, how about 002 for SugiKano (though, not all of them can be answered, huh? ^^;)? If not and/or as a bonus, KaruMana/KarmaNami? You seem real excited for the week, so here’s another chance to talk about it in the meanwhile.

Yay! Thorn's here!

Of course I still ship it, I just don't talk about it or any other ships because my mind is mostly focused on Gakuyuki. Due to recent events though, Karmanami is top priority, hence why we'll be doing both.

Suginkano

When I started shipping them: I think it was like a day after @blueberry-4 told me she shipped them. Rarepairs have a habit of occupying my mind rent free for a considerable period of time, but you already know that, my dear friend 😅

My thoughts: I can't believe I never thought of shipping them prior to meet Blue. They're perfect for each other. They have a lot in common, like sports, one-sided crushes, love chicken (which you pointed out to me, Thorn), etc... but have enough differences to balance things out. It's especially great for Okano, not only because she deserves someone to treat her right after the Valentine fiasco with Maehara, but also because I can see Sugino aiding in her growth.

For example, I can see Sugino praising and complimenting her skills whenever they hang out and play sports (We're at friendship stage here) He may not realize how impactful his words are, how they provide validation for her hobbies and interests. This alone won't diminishes her insecurity about being "unfeminine", but it does help, and Okano will gradually learn she doesn't need to change herself for others or to fit the mold.

What makes me happy about them: All the possible cute moments and scenarios, the chance for them to be with someone after their one-sided crushes, the height difference, the blue and pink combo, and the fact this ship can work both platonically and romantically.

What makes me sad about them: That they barely interacted.

Things done in fanfic that annoy me: No fanfics so no answer. Instead, I'll tell you about the things I did in my own fanfics that annoyed me:

Alot of times, I had Sugino tease Okano and her respond with anger in true tsundere fashion. It was funny at first, but then I felt it was too OOC for Sugino. I don't think he's above teasing, but he wouldn't tease someone just to get a reaction. Since then, I toned it down, and even outright abandoned it. He'd still tease her, but very lightly and she either teases him back, or playfully swats/kicks him with a smile on her face.

Things I look for in a fanfic: Good characterization.

My wishlist: For them to move on from their crushes and just be happy.

Who I'd be comfortable them dating with, if not each other: Kurahashi for Sugino and Kimura for Okano. Basically, my old ships for them pre-Sugikano, or OCs (for Next Gen purposes...)

My happily ever after for them: They get married and have kids and a dog.

Karmanami

When I started shipping them: From the begining, right after episode 8.

My thoughts: The delinquent x nerd dynamic what sold me on the this ship. It's endearing to picture Karma being the first to fall in love, but can't bring himself to confess, but he hangs out more often with Okuda as a result.

What makes me happy about them: How Karma trusts Okuda enough to let his guard down around her. It's this honest and open nature that prevents the chances of conflicts between them. I also love how Karma prompted Okuda to improve her skills, even if it was for nefarious puposes...

What makes me sad about them: That they never became canon.

Things done in fanfic that annoy me: Nothing, actually. I've read my fair share of bad Karmanami fics, but they were mostly crack. Overall, I liked what I've read for this ship.

Things I look for in a fanfic: Nothing in particular, maybe more of Okuda unintentionally flustering Karma.

My wishlist: For them to keep in touch even after graduation, showing that even after years, they still have the easiest boy-girl relationship.

My happily ever after for them: They get married and start a family.

[th30ra3k3n]

What are we fighting for?

Seems like we do it just for fun

In this, this stupid war

We play hard with our plastic guns

Breathe deep, bottle it up

So deep until it's all we got

Don't speak, just use your touch

Don't speak before we say too much

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

You get under my skin

More than anyone's ever been

But when we lay in bed

You hold me harder 'til I forget

for the lovely @babygiriraeken

[salotk]

Boston How about you become the karma of this horrible being and get it out of the way? 😂

I really wondered if Boeing, after being rejected by Sand, will go hunting again and try something with Boston. Could this being (Boeing) be so shameless? I'm sure so. I don't put my hands in the fire for him, nor do I try to make this idiot like me. (clearly I'm talking about Boeing, the character, not the actor) just to clarify.

I think... what if Top at that time when he was close to Boston told him about Boeing? What if Boston knows who this man is? So I feel like we're about to see a part of Boston that we haven't seen yet. A part... good, maybe?

Thinking a little about Boeing and Sand (I hate to put them in the same sentence) 😆 I feel like Sand hates Top so much because he feels like he was the bad guy in the story and that Boeing was a "victim." since she was with him only for three months and then left him aside. I think that maybe Boeing would give Sand a very different version of what happened, leaving Top as the villain and him as the poor man who allowed himself to be sweetened.

A good chat between Top and Sand would be nice. I think Sand would end up thanking Top because he will get the Boeing off his back. I don't know, I have a theory that Boeing approached Top, seduced him and obviously Top responded to his advances and then Top was left looking like the bad guy.

I hope this is fixed in part 1 of the chapter. I still remember that photo of Ray on a stretcher sitting with that brown jacket that looked like Sand's, and a top on one side of Sand. I don't know if it will be a deleted scene or if we will see some of this in chapter 12.

[saemi-the-dreamer]

For the ask meme, Emma /Knightley from Jane Austen's Emma or you'd rather/ if you haven't read Emma, Elinor/Edward from Sense and Sensibility) and Damon Gant/Manfred von Karma from Ace Attorney?

Thanks for asking! 💕

Emma /Knightley

Ship It? Yes!

What made you ship it?

I admit that I wasn't especially rooting/shipping them while I read the book the first time, even if I didn't hate it! I was re-reading it after watching the 1996 series (that and the 1996 TV movie are the only adaptations I've watched entirely) and the ship seemed more natural years later. It's been a while, so I'm sorry for not being able to go into too much detail. Still, something I really love about how these two are portrayed is how the two can be honest and call each other out when needed (thinking about the "Badly done, Emma!" scene) without having the other overreacting or turning into a huge, unnecessary drama, on the contrary, they stop and think about their own behaviour. It's so important, especially in Emma, the heroine gets a pass for a good half of the story, nobody except Knightley argues with her, so for all this time she doesn't take him as seriously as she should, and is even smug when she sees that Harriet followed her advice whereas Robert didn't listen to Knightley's (which wasn't even the point of Knightley's frustration btw).

I guess that I like the dynamic where an overconfident character gets paired up with another who doesn't hesitate to call them on their bullshit, and who is their equal? xD Plus, I recall that Knightley's confession was very poignant... I need to re-read it!!

What are your favourite things about the ship?

Since Emma is not my favourite Jane Austen story, and I only learnt to really appreciate it later and I require re-read it, I can't say for sure. I'd say that I really like how the two have known each other forever - literally, Knightley held Emma in his arms when she was a baby! Talk about a "slow burn"! It's interesting to imagine how the two went through so many stages of life together, saw each other grow and mature, how the way they looked at one another shifted, and how their feelings changed and they could hardly help it. There's something quite natural in this that I like.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

The age gap isn't that bad, especially in context! Or more unpopular I guess: the story didn't need to be "modernised" for today's audience (looking at the 2020 adaptation). For fuck's sake, can't people just accept that things were different back then?! And still be able to say "I'm letting it slide because of context, it's fictional and it works here (❤️) but I wouldn't accept it in real life.". I don't like that they made Knightley younger, and changed the dynamic with Emma that much (from what I've seen), it was unnecessary and just to cater to some holier-than-thous. They could have kept an older Knightley and added some scenes to show his softer, more vulnerable side.

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Gant/Manfred

Ship It? Yes!

What made you ship it?

The fandom made me! 😂

After finishing the first Ace Attorney (the version with "Rise from the Ashes" of course) I went and browsed the internet to find some art and fanfics, and then I discovered the Kink Meme. It's there that I've stumbled upon the pairing. There was also some pretty fanart of them, younger, investigating together. I started to really like the idea of them being both old colleagues (and lovers, having a torrid affair in Gant's office 🤣).

What are your favourite things about the ship?

The potential for two dynamics:

A) an "evil" power couple, with the two just being unapologetic, ambitious, ruthless men. And these two keep bickering like an old couple, and it's a mess of arguments and make-up sex, the two manically laughing as they tempered evidence, etc. (okay, I know I'm going overbroad here, I'm kidding! xD )

B) "We're both disillusioned by a corrupted system, at first we really wanted to make it honestly, then we started getting our hands dirty and now we can't go back or stop. We're colleagues, partners in crime, weird friends... sometimes lovers. We're both messed up, but we don't care anymore, as long as we achieve our goals and have each other."

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Since I mostly low-key ship them and haven't found that many stories about them, I don't think I have one? Otherwise, it's more an unpopular opinion about each one of them, not the pairing?

I'd say that I don't believe either of them ever sexually harassed or "seduced" Miles......................... 😒