#otp: just in case

[nobleriver]

Doctor Who Season 7 Minisodes

Rain Gods

[i-am-extremely-mad]

We popping the BIGGEST bottles when the 10th ANNIVERSARY OF KORRASAMI happens tomorrow!

[mischievous-thunder]

A few hours later:

Bonus ft. Nicepool unabashedly eyeing Logan up:

[ambernotember]

a stupid mistake

I am going to blame @alchemistc and specifically this post for this. oh, and angst week. also on ao3

Tommy woke up to an empty bed. Normal. He stretched his arms out and was surprised to discover residual warmth on the other pillow. He pushed himself up to look at the other side of the bed. Pillow — indented. Sheets — in disarray. Fuck. It hadn’t been a dream.

Tommy was five shots deep already, on top of the beers he’d started with. He’d barely been at the bar for two hours. He was in his forties, for christssakes, drinking like a college kid away from home for the first time. He’d come to the bar in hopes of a distraction, maybe see some of his trivia buddies, but not wanting to appear so desperate for company that he’d actually texted anyone to see if they were planning to be there. He’d sat down at the bar to have a beer or two, chitchat with the bartenders he knew, spend a few hours out of the house. He’d nursed a beer for the first forty five minutes, and then they’d walked in.

Evan. And Ravi. They’d met a few times while Tommy had been dating Evan.

And now they were here, together. Evan, his arm around Ravi’s shoulders when they’d walked in. Evan, buying their drinks. Evan, leaning in close across the table to talk to Ravi, eyes glimmering, a smile on his face.

Tommy couldn’t get to the door without heading in their direction — neither of them had noticed him, seated in the back corner on the other side of the bar, the shelves of glasses and liquor bottles in the middle of the u-shaped bar hiding him from their view.

So. Another beer. And another. And another. God, couldn’t Evan just get up and go to the bathroom or something? Ravi was facing the wrong way to notice him, Tommy was sure he could sneak by.

So. Shots.

Lee, his favourite bartender, gave him a look when he ordered shots four and five.

“You didn’t drive here, did you? Do I need to confiscate your keys?”

Tommy shook his head. “Ubered. Worked too many wrecks to ever consider it.”

Lee poured him the shots. “Can I ask what brought on the heavy drinking?”

Tommy laughed humourlessly. “My ex is here. With someone else.”

“Yikes,” Lee hissed through their teeth. Lee poured him a sixth shot, then poured themself one and clinked glasses with Tommy. This was why Lee was his favourite. Understanding, and only judgmental about drunk driving. They drank their shots together. “Why aren’t you just leaving then? Not that the till minds your contribution.”

“Can’t get to the door without passing them.”

“Well shit,” Lee said, scooping up Tommy’s empties and depositing them in the sink. “Want me to get them thrown out?”

Tommy chuckled, small but genuine. “No, but thanks for the offer.”

“Let me know if you change your mind,” Lee said, heading down the bar to take care of another customer. Tommy sipped his next shot, knowing it was just delaying the inevitable.

He finished shot five — six, technically, after the one Lee had shared with him — and was contemplating going back to beer. Nicer to his wallet, possibly his liver, but the rest of his body was definitely fucked for tomorrow.

“I thought that was you,” a familiar voice said next to him. He startled, and turned a little too fast to see Ravi leaning against the bar. “Buck and I have a table, you should come join us.”

Tommy had never wished so hard for a freak meteor to fall from outer space and kill him.

“Uh,” he said eloquently.

Lee swooped in. Yes, they’d save him.

“Are you the ex?” Lee asked, eyes narrowed. “Tommy said I couldn't throw you out but if you’re bothering him I will.”

Not a save. Just more embarrassment.

“The ex?” Ravi looked confused. “No, not the ex.”

“You’re not Evan?” Lee asked to clarify.

“No, I’m Ravi — wait, you and Buck broke up?”

Oh. That hurt more than expected.

“Yeah, after Halloween.” Tommy said gruffly.

Ravi’s eyebrows rose. “Wow, switch shifts and it’s like they forget you exist. I just got back on A shift,” he explained, seeing Tommy’s look. “I’ve been floating B and C since — well. Just after Bobby.”

Tommy nodded. Ravi hadn’t had to deal with Gerrard then. At least one of them had escaped unscathed.

“Well, that makes my invitation a little more awkward but… I really think you should join us.”

Lee placed a cup of water in front of Tommy. “I’m closing your tab,” they informed him kindly.

“I thought you liked me,” Tommy complained, drinking the water anyways.

“Look, Buck has seemed mopey all shift and I thought it was because of everything happening with Maddie and Eddie and Bobby but,” Ravi shook his head, “I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on now.”

Tommy tried to parse that, only to realize he hadn’t heard anything about the 118 in a while, and had absolutely no idea what Ravi was talking about. Lee refilled his water, which apparently he’d finished at some point. He pulled out his wallet, tapped his card to pay for his drink, and pulled two twenties out for Lee. He paused, and pulled out a third one. He wasn’t convinced the night wouldn’t end with either him or Evan or both of them getting thrown out of the bar. Might as well make someone’s night better.

Ravi ordered two of the beers on tap, as well as four shots. “What?” He asked when Tommy looked at him. “I’m ninety five percent sure it’s the best way to get him to talk and a hundred percent sure I’ll need it to deal with the two of you.”

Lee laughed as they took Ravi’s money.

“I’ll bring the drinks over, you two go sit,” Lee said.

“Traitor,” Tommy hissed as he followed Ravi away from the bar. Lee’s laugh followed him to the table where Evan and Ravi had been set up. Ravi slid into his previous seat, across from Evan, and Tommy hesitated briefly before taking the seat next to Ravi. There was no way he was going to sit next to Evan.

“What took so long?” Evan asked Ravi, before his eyes caught on Tommy. His eyes widened, mouth open with an unasked question.

Lee came over with a tray of their drinks, splitting the shots between Ravi and Evan, placing another water in front of Tommy when they put down the beers Ravi had ordered.

Evan grabbed one of the shots and downed it, then sputtered at the taste.

“Ravi, what the fuck is that?”

“Peanut butter whiskey,” Ravi said, unbothered, as he sipped his own shot.

“That’s… no. That’s not for shots,” Tommy said.

“Sorry I have taste buds,” Ravi shot back.

Evan took a sip of his beer and slid the other shot towards Tommy, who alternated it with the water. It was actually good whiskey, it just wasn’t meant for shots.

“So, how’s Eddie doing in Texas?” Ravi asked Evan, zero segue, and Tommy knew he was watching for Tommy’s reaction.

“Fine,” Evan muttered, playing with a coaster, eyes focused on the tabletop. “Lots of work to be done on the house. He’s trying to do it himself but I think he’s going to have to hire someone. He’s not that handy.”

“Chris staying with him yet?” Ravi pressed.

“Friday and Saturday nights. The rest of the time he’s still with his grandparents. You know, we talked about all of this at work. You can just tell him,” he jerked his chin towards Tommy. “You don’t need me to do that.”

Ravi sighed and turned towards Tommy. “So Eddie bought a house in El Paso and moved back to be closer to Chris, which is why I’m on A shift again. Bobby’s mom is apparently the leader of a mega church and a con artist, and we got called out to a scene at her church today. Oh, and Maddie got kidnapped by a serial killer and almost died, but she and the baby are fine now.”

“Are you fucking with me?” Tommy asked, not harshly, but even for the 118 that seemed like a lot.

“Oh, and Buck moved out of the loft and took over Eddie’s lease so he could go to Texas. Did I miss anything?” Ravi directed the last question to Evan.

“Denny got his cast off and should be able to play baseball this summer,” Evan added, still looking down.

“That all — that seriously all happened since November?” Tommy asked.

“Honestly, most of it was in the last month,” Ravi said.

The three of them fell into an awkward silence as Tommy tried to think of what to say to Evan. “I’m sorry” didn’t feel adequate, and “are you okay?” felt pretty heartless.

“So, what have you been up to?” Ravi asked Tommy, putting Evan’s focus back on him.

“Oh, uh, nothing much,” Tommy said, playing with the straw in his water glass. “Uh, fixed up two cars for a collector. Work. That’s pretty much it.”

Silence fell again.

“Well, you two are super fun,” Ravi said. “I’m getting more drinks.” He abandoned them to their awkwardness, heading for the bar even though his and Evan’s beers were barely half empty and he still had a shot.

Evan sucked in a breath then looked shocked when Tommy looked at him.

“Maddie’s really okay?” Tommy asked, thinking that was the safest thing to start with.

Evan nodded. “Physically, yeah. She’s still shaken up. She’s taking some time off work.”

“She and Howie are having another kid?”

“Yeah, uh, a boy,” Evan smiled down at his beer, avoiding eye contact with Tommy, but the smile was genuine. “Jee seems to think he’s going to be full grown, I think she’s only used to Denny as the idea of a brother, but she’s excited.”

“That’s great,” Tommy said softly.

Ravi returned with Lee and more shots — not peanut butter whiskey this time — and some of them were for Tommy this time, though Lee did still give him another water and a reproachful look that told him if he didn’t finish it, Lee wouldn’t be so nice the next time he came in.

They muddled through a surface level conversation, avoiding any more discussion of the topics Ravi had mentioned. More shots appeared at the table, and waters for all of them, not just Tommy. It was just past midnight when Ravi called it quits for the night, ordering an Uber and closing out his tab. Evan and Tommy waved as he left the table, sitting in comfortable silence before they both realized this wasn’t a normal night out for them. The awkwardness settled in quickly, and they pulled out their phones in near unison to get their own rides.

Evan groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Tommy asked, on high alert after everything he’d heard from Ravi.

“Nothing, uh, my phone just died,” Evan said.

“My place isn’t that far from Eddie’s — from your place,” Tommy corrected, “we can share a ride and it can drop you home after me.”

Evan hesitated and looked at him, expression unreadable.

“Just a ride,” Tommy said.

“Okay,” Evan nodded, following him as Tommy stood up from the table and walked out of the bar. Evan had settled his tab when Ravi did, so they didn’t need to stop at the bar. Tommy saw Lee clock them walking out together, raising an eyebrow at him, an expression on their face that meant Tommy was definitely going to have to talk about this the next time he was there.

Maybe he’d find a new bar. Lots of places did trivia, after all.

The uber arrived quickly, and Tommy held the car door open for Evan. It wasn’t a small car, but their hands ended up brushing together in the backseat anyways.

Tommy wasn’t sure who started it, but before they’d gone three blocks, their fingers were firmly linked together and Evan was tracing patterns on the back of his hand. It was just a ride, Tommy reminded himself. He had this for another ten, maybe fifteen minutes, depending on the route and the lights. He wasn’t sure if he wanted it to be faster or longer. Either way it would drive him crazy.

When they pulled up to Tommy’s house — thirteen minutes, the shorter route but more red lights, his brain helpfully catalogued — Evan followed him out of the car, thanking the driver before he left.

“Can I come in?” Evan asked. Tommy’s heart flipped painfully. He told himself it was from the alcohol.

“Sure,” Tommy said, not mentioning when Evan linked their fingers together again as they walked up the front path.

“Want to plug your phone in?” Tommy asked, when they were standing in his living room.

Evan moved silently towards the side table where Tommy kept his charging cords, bending at the waist slightly to reach the cord. Tommy stared at his ass, the way he had when they were together. The alcohol had slowed his reflexes some, and he didn’t manage to tear his eyes away before Evan turned back around.

“Thank god,” Evan said, crossing the room to him and crashing their mouths together like he had when Tommy had shown up at the hospital for Howie and Maddie’s wedding. Tommy moaned in surprise, hands flying to Evan’s hips immediately, pulling him closer. Tommy’s awareness narrowed down to the points of contact between him and Evan, unable to think of anything else until Evan pulled back enough for them to take a breath.

“I wasn’t — I didn’t plan this,” Tommy said.

“Duh,” Evan scoffed. “I invited myself in.”

“This is just going to make things harder,” Tommy had to make him understand.

“It’s making something harder,” Evan said, a smirk on his face now.

“Evan,” Tommy tried again.

“Tommy,” Evan said back to him, a hint of mockery in his tone, but sounding overwhelming desperate.

Tommy could blame the alcohol running through his system, right? He could say he was doing this for Evan. It was what Evan needed.

When Evan reached for him again, he went willingly. They shed their clothes as they made their way through Tommy’s house to the bedroom, bumping into walls and picture frames. There was never less than two points of contact between them, Tommy’s skin alight with the heat rolling off of Evan.

They tumbled into bed holding each other closer than Tommy thought physically possible. Tommy felt like he was trying to burrow his way into Evan’s body, like he could meld them into one being and stay there forever. Was there a way he could keep this? Was there something he could say to take away the hurt he’d caused? Was there a way to keep Evan in his bed, in his life? Evan’s hands on his body brought him back from his thoughts, focused on the righthererightnow.

Buck slipped out of bed the next morning, silently collecting his clothes and his phone. Tommy was still asleep as he moved through the house, a ghost in a now unfamiliar place. It made it easier, almost, or so Buck told himself. He closed the front door carefully and ordered an Uber, setting the location to the coffee shop a block away, and the drop off point as Maddie’s house. He didn’t want to bother her but… he felt like she was the only person he could talk to.

Every step away from Tommy’s house made him feel heavier, like he was wearing his work gear in quicksand. He thought he’d feel… better about it, somehow. This time it was his choice to leave. With every house he passed his stomach roiled, not the feeling of a morning after heavy drinking but the feeling that something was wrong, that he’d made a mistake.

But Tommy had been the one to walk away first. Tommy had decided he wasn’t Buck’s last. Wasn’t Buck just… proving him right? Wasn’t that what he wanted?

Buck walked into the coffee shop and got a large coffee and a greasy breakfast sandwich for himself, a little pastry for Maddie to make up for dropping all this in her lap with no notice.

The driver was waiting for him when he left the shop, and he slid into the back seat, alone this time. He was silent on the drive, thanking the driver when they arrived. He was glad to see Chimney’s car wasn’t in the driveway.

He let himself in with his spare key and called a hello to Maddie. She was sitting in the kitchen, still in her pajamas, hands around a cup of coffee — Chimney had at least let up on that this time around. He handed her the pastry bag and sat across from her, hands still wrapped around his take out cup.

She looked down at what she clearly knew was a bribery pastry, then up at Buck.

“Buck? What’s going on?”

“Maddie, I did something stupid.”

It was fair, Tommy thought, that Evan was the one to walk away this time without letting Tommy say anything to stop him. He'd clearly seen that Tommy was right, had spent the night in Tommy’s little house, the garage the biggest part of it, and realized, yeah, Tommy wasn’t his last. Tommy had been right. Tommy had been right that Evan would break his heart.

Tommy had just been wrong about how much it would hurt.

tag list: @chimneyz @bucktommyscones @swagmaster9k @geekwarrior107 @racerchix21 @fan-of-a-lot @bybobbysbeard @desert--moonchild @deans-hoodie

interact with this post to be added/removed

[a-slut-for-smut]

it’s them your honor

[leopardmuffinxo]

when you want to impress your crush, but your siblings keep teasing you

[pinkyjulien]

Valentin & Mitch | 717/?? Good Luck Kiss 💚

[jibanyans-chocobar]

Yeah Sasuke ur her husband and all but.

INO DID THE FOREHEAD POKE THINGY FIRST 🗣️🗣️🗣️‼️‼️‼️

[king-lena]

macdennis + watermour parallels (beating each other up)

[beaulesbian]

frobin crumbs!

[i-am-extremely-mad]

Happy 10th ANNIVERSARY OF KORRASAMI! We popping the BIGGEST bottles TODAY!

[vampyrebellion]

It seems like he just fell out from a star

Oh, so clear; he's magnificent~

[nadiajustbe]

Bartimaeus and Nathaniel have incredibly complex relationship and while it is definitely not all the roses and flowes and sparkles — making it seem like that would be going against the topics that the book wants raise — I think that showing them into the box of strictly negative, or, as the matter of fact, strictly positive, also goes against the purpose and/or the arc that they go through.

The thing that makes Stroud's writing so fabulous is that he is able to show complex dynamic, make them interesting and engaging with the characters complementing each other in it, without soothing out the angles of watering down the problems of the said dynamics and, in fact, actively working on showing and resolving them.

No one is saying slavery is a good thing — and If you somehow happen to think so Bartseq are definitely not the books for you — nor no one is saying that some harmful stuff Nathaniel has done, both to Bartimaeus and Kitty and the state (especially in the start of PG) is anyhow perfectly fine or justifiable. The books themselves are not making any excuses for him. They are excellent for giving them their background and psychological reasons, but never does it the book's narrative itself uses it to excuse it.

The thing that is so wonderfully crafted about Nathaniel and Bartimaeus' arc, though, is that it is PROGRESSING. The progress starts right from the moment of giving them a balance in the dynamic where it weren't supposed to be, and ends with them being equal in all the senses of this word at once. It moves them further from their assinged roles/dynamic and only then does the changes happen. The change is not a straight line — it has its worst lows and its best highs, but they are undoubtedly the central core of the book, even perhaps a central relationship. The story doesn't shy away from the hurt Bartimaeus felt, it makes Nathaniel both acknowledge it and pay for it the only way he can think of. It doesn't shy away from their previously hidden mutual regard, either.

By trying to fit them in a box of being thoroughfully evil or abusive all the way through— which is a take I happened to see — is technically ignoring the fact of these relationships not staying constant by the story understanding its hurt and its inherent flaws. There is a groud behind it, don't get me wrong. Still, the end of PG was an escalation of their arc, the moment in which they abandoned their roles completely, get rid of a power dynamic that was disturbed beforehand, quite literally walk in each other shoes.

I am not saying it is an any way romantic. I am constantly trying to look at it through the more platonic glasses when I'm trying to thoughtfully analyse the canon material with the narrative intended.

However, Bartimaeus Sequence, in its own essence, is about love. It's not about love the way that romance melodramas are trying to show it, nor it is even about love in a way some found family books are trying to show it. It's about love in its full entirety, its wounded complexity, the way it forms and changes and then forms again.

Bartimaeus and Nathaniel's arc, just as Bartimaeus and Ptolemy's, or Bartimaeus and Kitty's is also about love, escalated differently from each other because the very context of each is different, involves different people with different personalities and life situations. It is also about opression, about slavery — and it is very anti-opression and anti-slavery.

It talks about the way love and mutual regard existing in a universe where it seems to be borderline inexistent. The way it starts to form and shape only when pain and opression is no longer here, when it loosens its grip on the nature of the relationship. The way people can change, yet their change doesn't take away their responsibility, and then taking the said responsibility is the real source of change and love. Love which undeniably goes along with the move of trust and mutual regard and acceptance — because all of these are, in one way or another, are what love is, one of its thousands of definitions.

You should acknowledge the problems that their dynamic has throughout the books. You should acknowledge the topic explored in it. You should also acknowledge the arc given to them that actively talks about these issues and shapes it. Bartimaeus not having any kind of love or at the very least, a groundwork for love, for Nathaniel by the end of PG, with their relationship staying nothing but toxic or "abusive" all the way through without any change is simply not the opinion I can align myself with.

[leopardmuffinxo]

entombed passion

[aylaaescar]

If you say that you are mine I'll be here 'til the end of time

my OC Seyda Moderni (they/them or he/him pronouns) and Red Antiqua, from @shepherds-of-haven, as done by @serahlink! :') you ever hate a dude in magic high school because you think he's a dumb frat boy, only to meet him again years later and it turns out he's actually a sweet nerdy guy you're into? who hasn't, honestly (rivals to lovers supremacy)

once again, I highly encourage you to commission Link if you're looking for art! he's wonderful to work with, and the art is beautiful :D

[theladyjojogrant]

Gary Russell really said