#and then they drop the casual hows vegas doing by the way

[having-conniptions]

The KinnPorsche finale killed me nobody talk to me I'm dead

[kneazle]

Buck sat at the kitchen island with his chin resting on his hand, watching Tommy pour ingredients into a bowl. It's been a week since he finally ended his keto diet and Tommy wanted to bake him a cake– to make up for not getting cake at the medal ceremony back then he said. Buck knew it was really Tommy wanting him try his baking for the first time.

As Tommy began mixing what was in the bowl—and if Buck paid extra attention to the way his arms moved and his hand gripped the spoon that was no ones business but his own—Buck blurted out the question that had been on his mind before Tommy became distracting. "What's five things you like about me?"

Tommy looked at him, eyebrow raised and never pausing his mixing. "Your eyes, smile, personality, the way you store all these facts in your brain, and your big heart."

Buck ducked his head slightly with a blush, a smile across his face. "Okay, what are four things I like?"

"Documentaries, Bobby's barbecues because everyone you love is there, cooking, when we go to the shelter and Lainey let's you go out into the yard to play with all the dogs."

"Three things I look good in?" Buck asked with a grin, leaning forward on his arms now.

"Your turnouts, sweats–" Tommy gave him a cheeky grin and Buck flushed thinking of the first time Tommy saw him in them, "And my arms." He finished with a wink, causing a goofy smile to form on Buck's face. That was his favorite place to be.

"What are two things I do a lot and don't notice?"

"Here can you finish mixing this while I get the pan and oven ready?" Tommy asked, handing him the bowl. Buck didn't hesitate to listen, mixing as he responded. "You use your hands a lot, and you steal the covers every night-"

"No I don't!"

"Oh you do, but it means I just have to cuddle you." Tommy teased, pulling a pan out from one of the cabinets.

Buck grumbled a you should be anyway under his breath making Tommy fondly roll his eyes before continuing. "What's one thing you would change about me?"

"Your last name."

Cake batter flew off the spoon and onto the surface of the island. Buck froze, mouth hanging open staring at Tommy who looked casual smiling at Buck like those three words didn't leave his mouth with no hesitation.

"Wh-" Buck swallowed, "What?"

Tommy slid the bowl away from him and leaned close. "I'm not picky on which way, hyphenate with whichever name first, drop Buckley and be Kinard, doesn't matter to me."

"You- you want to marry me?" Buck said sounding breathless, looking stunned but in wonder at the same time.

Tommy put two fingers under his chin, leaning closer to kiss him. "Evan, I'd fly us to Vegas today and marry you."

"It's- It's only been six months-" Buck's lips lifted into a smile. "But...I'd marry you too."

+Alternate ending or bonus (your choice)

"Is that a ring?!" Chimney said so loudly when he greeted Buck and spotted the ring, that it seemed the whole firehouse was looking.

Buck smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, holding his hand out that Hen quickly grabbed to inspect. "Uh yeah...surprise? Tommy and I went to Vegas!"

"Buck!" Hen looked at him in shock, before her face turned into a smile and a laugh bubbled out. "How am I surprised but not at the same time?"

"Oh come on! I was supposed to be your best man!" Eddie scowled, but still leaned in for a hug, a big pat on Buck's back.

"We're going to have an actual ceremony later with everyone, you can be best man then!"

"Maddie is going to be pissed, if she wasn't still working her double shift to cover for Josh I'd tell you to call her immediately!"

"Especially because you're about to burst keeping it a secret already?" Hen looked Chimney over who was bouncing on the heels of his feet, he gave her a 'what do you think?' look but didn't respond.

"Uh actually...Maddie already knows." Buck said slowly, bracing himself just in case.

"What?!"

"She didn't actually have a shift..." He took out his phone, showing them a picture of them both in rented suits, and Maddie in a dress between them beaming with pride.

"Oh that is sneaky! I'm both offended and proud at the same time!" Chimney took out his phone and walked off without another word.

Hen offered a congratulations with a chuckle before following after her best friend who was on the phone arm waving like crazy. Eddie glanced over at Bobby and mumbled a 'we'll talk later' before heading towards the stairs. Buck looked at Bobby who hadn't said a word, anxiety growing.

"Bobby I-"

Buck cut off as Bobby pulled him into a hug. He sighed out in relief and returned the hug, Bobby squeezing him a little tighter before pulling away. "I'm proud of you kid, you've come a long way."

"I- I kind of expected someone to make a comment on how early it is for us-"

Bobby laughed. "Athena and I waited less time than you two did, I have no right to judge you on that." His gaze softened. "And anyone paying attention could see that what you two have is real, you're different with him in a way you've never been before Buck, and while I didn't see Tommy for years I can tell you've changed him for the better. Congratulations kid, but now you have some paperwork to take care of."

Buck groaned, shoulders slumping as he followed a laughing Bobby to his office.

But even that didn't stop the wide grin on his face when he wrote Kinard on the paperwork.

[miriellesandthegiantpeach]

Re-Do | Bucktommy

Buck and Tommy are standing just inside Harbor’s helicopter hangar. There’s a duffle bag in Tommy’s hand and Buck is looking pensively at the chopper waiting for Tommy. It feels eerily similar to standing outside the LAX terminal saying goodbye to Abby all those years ago. Even though Buck knows that Tommy isn’t leaving indefinitely; it’s just a special deployment to Vegas because there’s a wildfire that’s gotten out of hand. Two weeks tops, then I'll be back, you won’t even have time to miss me. Tommy said to Buck as they drove to the station.

“Baby? Did you hear me?” Tommy asks and Buck comes back to the present turning to Tommy.

“Huh? Sorry, I was lost in thought-” Buck sighs.

“Clearly,” Tommy laughs and grabs Buck’s hand. “I should be going, I’ll be home in no time, okay? Thanks for driving me.”

Dropping his shoulders in a slouch, Buck breathes out, “Yeah, yeah, okay.” He pulls Tommy in close by the hand to kiss him soundly. “Come back to me,” Buck whispers against Tommy’s lips.

“Always, baby.” Tommy smiles at his boyfriend and understands his worries - Buck is used to being left, but he also knows not to bring attention to it. “I’ll call when I land, okay?” Buck nods, there’s still tension in his brow. “Hey, I love you. Miss you already,” Tommy says and presses one more hard kiss to Buck’s lips.

“Love you too, be safe,” Buck smiles and Tommy makes his way to the chopper, his hand staying connected to Tommy’s as long as possible.

Stuck in horrendous LA rush hour traffic, Buck gets a call from Tommy just over an hour after leaving him at Harbor. “Hey, babe. You landed already? That was fast. I’m still stuck on the 5.”

“Oh yeah, the perks of having access to a helicopter. Just touched down at the Vegas airport. That giant LED sphere thing freaks me out. It has a face on it and its eyes followed my helicopter as I flew by. Did you see the picture I sent?” Buck sneaks a peek at his phone and sees a picture of the giant dome on the strip from Tommy’s point of view, and sure enough the eyes of the face were looking straight up at Tommy’s chopper.

“It knew you were flying and wanted to get a good look at the hot pilot,” Buck laughs and Tommy scoffs.

“I don’t like it,” Tommy says, totally deadpan. “Huh? Yeah, my boyfriend,” Tommy says to someone else and it still makes Buck’s heart flutter hearing the designation coming from Tommy so casually. “Garcia says hi,” Tommy turns his attention back to Buck. “I’ll text later, just letting you know I landed safely, don’t miss me too much.”

“You know I will,” Buck says, putting on a whiney voice. “Talk soon, baby.” He hangs up the phone with Tommy and feels lighter.

Tommy was right, Buck didn’t have time to miss him between work and taking up Maddie on babysitting requests. Also Tommy is in constant communication with him; they text more often than when Tommy’s home. Tommy texts him updates on containment of the fire and silly selfies and Buck will send pictures of him and Jee doing various things like tea parties or coloring.

Ten days in, Buck is at the station fresh off the phone with Tommy. “How’s that Vegas fire?” Bobby asks.

“It’s about 70% contained so they’ll be releasing the out of state firefighters first," Buck says, unable to contain his giddy smile.

Buck is still looking down at his phone so he doesn’t catch Bobby’s knowing smile. Tommy called Bobby about two hours ago saying he’s on his way back and wants to surprise Buck at the station so don’t tell him.

Bobby checks his phone, seeing a message from Tommy that he’s five minutes away.

Still here, Bobby texts back, willing the alarm not to go off. They’re all up in the kitchen relaxing. When the five minutes pass Bobby goes to the railing and looks down and sees Tommy walk into the open garage. He immediately spots Bobby and gives him a two fingered salute.

“Hey, Buck seems like you have a visitor,” Bobby shouts over to Buck standing at the sink. Buck perks up and jogs over next to Bobby and honest to god gasps when he sees Tommy downstairs. He flies down the stairs, taking them two at a time like he can’t get to Tommy fast enough. “Oh my god, you’re here! I thought you’d said at least one more day!” Tommy catches Buck in his arms and stumbles a few steps with the momentum.

“Well you said come back to you, so I asked to be released early and they let me go,” Tommy says laughing into Buck’s neck.

The smell and feel of Tommy’s arms locked around him makes Buck feel at home, feel more grounded. With an arm locked around Tommy’s neck, Buck kisses him a little less chaste than probably appropriate for being at work, but he hasn’t kissed Tommy in ten days and needs to make up for lost time.

They break apart and Buck rubs his nose against Tommy’s smiling until his cheeks hurt. “Come up upstairs, everyone’s here, at least until the next call,” Buck says and pulls Tommy up the stairs by the hand.

Tommy settles on a barstool at the kitchen island and tells everyone about the job in Vegas; recounts all the exciting bits with enthusiasm. All the while one arm securely wrapped around Buck’s waist and gesturing with the other. Buck’s eyes never leave Tommy and his smile never falters, asking questions that spark more details and exciting moments of the trip.

“It’s been almost nine months and they still look like they're in the honeymoon phase,” Hen notes to Chim.

“That’s what happens when you find your person. Trust me I’m sure I look like that with Maddie and you look at Karen like that too,” Chim remarks. He discreetly snaps a candid photo of them and sends it to Maddie. Guess who’s back early, he texts the photo to Maddie.

***

Buck’s sits heavily on the couch- today was a long day to say the least. A call came in at 3am, on his 21st hour of his shift and as he was lowering himself down on a rope he slipped and grabbed the rope at the exact wrong time, dislocating his right shoulder. He screamed out in the white hot flash of pain and fell until the harness caught him. They used one of the ambulances to transport him to the emergency room.

Two hours later Tommy escorts him from the car into his house and onto the couch. Buck’s arm is in a sling and even with the pain meds the pain still radiates from his shoulder. Buck groans and leans his head back on the couch, just another injury that will put him out of work. His mind flashbacks to his whole leg in a cast and him being couch-ridden as Ali told him she can’t handle the risk his job comes with.

As he’s spiraling Tommy comes into the living room with a mug of hot tea for Buck. “Pain that bad, baby? You look miserable right now. I thought they gave you a good dose before we left.”

Realizing that his face is being way too loud at the moment, Buck softens his brow and opens his eyes. “Oh no, it’s dulled pretty good, I was just thinking about- you know what it’s dumb. Forget it,” he sighs and drags a hand down his face. Tommy sets the tea down and sits next to Evan on the couch, lining up their legs.

“Hey, whatever it is, it’s not dumb. However big or small, I wanna know what’s going on,” Tommy says to him and waits patiently for whatever Evan is willing to divulge.

”I- uh. It’s just, remember Ali? I was with her when the ladder truck fell on my leg, scared the shit out of her apparently and the day I got home from the hospital she broke up with me. She couldn’t handle the stress and worry that comes with the job,” Buck explains. He reaches for the tea just to keep his attention on something other than Tommy for a moment.

“I see. And I’m guessing this situation reminds you of that?” Tommy asks and Buck nods minutely. “Well, I hope you know I’m not going anywhere. I hate to see you hurt of course, but the nice thing is I know exactly what the risks are. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve dislocated something.” Buck finally meets Tommy’s eyes and sees a ghost of a smile on his lips. Something about Tommy’s unwavering steadiness and calm washes away any doubt Buck has.

Three days later Tommy catches Buck rubbing at the unkept beard coming in on his jaw. He wraps around Buck and quietly asks, “getting a little scruffy, I kind of like actually.” Buck laughs at that and reaches for his electric razor. The weight feels awkward in his left hand.

“It gets itchy like this,” Buck notes and frowns at the razor. Tommy releases him and opens the medicine cabinet and takes out a regular metal razor and shaving cream.

“Let me,” he says and maneuvers Buck so he’s turned around and leaning against the sink. Tommy spreads the foam gently and meticulously along Buck’s jaw, mouth, and chin. “The old fashioned way- always gets a closer shave,” Tommy says barely above a whisper.

There’s something so intimate about Tommy shaving him. Maybe it’s the way Tommy’s thumb and forefinger holding his chin, or the way his eyes are zeroed in on the path of the razor scraping down Buck’s cheek, or the way his eyes flick to Buck’s and causes him to smile or wink. It’s a simple act that makes Buck feel so precious in Tommy’s hands. Maybe he can stand the sling for a little while longer.

***

”Fuck him, Fuck him,” Buck spits out as he paces around Tommy’s kitchen. “That motherfucker thinks he’s above human decency!”

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Tommy says calmly despite the rising anger in his chest. He’s never surprised now about Gerrard’s new slight, but wishes he could shield Buck and 118 from that.

“It isn’t anything that can be reported really, it’s all the microaggressions, all his fucking snide ass comments. It just gets under my skin and makes me hate work,” Buck sits heavily at the island and groans into his hands. “I feel like he singles me out because he knows you and I are together. All these homophobic-adjacent comments, like he wants to rile me up and just UGH. Fuck him.”

Tommy hates Gerrard, but even more hates that he’s making his boyfriend miserable. An idea comes to him.

“I‘ll talk to the fire chief, remind him why Gerrard got transferred out of the 118 in the first place,” Tommy suggests. Buck looks up in a panic.

“No-no, that’ll only make things worse, you know how long these complaints take to actually make a difference. Once Gerrard gets wind of the complaints, he’ll get even worse,” Buck rushes out.

“Babe, if there’s a way I could help I want to, I can’t just stand on the sidelines while he’s making your life hell,” Tommy tries.

Buck stands and walks to the other side of the counter and smooths his hands along Tommy’s shoulders, seeing the tension release. They’re silent for a few minutes, searching each other’s eyes, trying their best to communicate all their worries and needs.

“Don’t,” Buck says with finality. Tommy huffs and presses his mouth into a thin line. “I know you want to fix this, but I don’t want you involved with him. Again. So, I’m asking you to keep this here.”

“Okay,” Tommy says with a nod and a squeeze to Buck’s waist. Buck thanks him with a kiss to the nose.

A week or so later Buck walks through the door exhausted and irritable. He’s making it a regular habit of going straight to Tommy’s after work because he needs the comfort of his boyfriend.

Tommy envelopes him in a tight hug, “I can guess, but how was work?”

“Shitty is the new normal. Gerrard will never change and I have to just get through it. At least everyone else hates him too,” Buck mumbles into the soft fabric of Tommy’s t-shirt.

“Ah yes, nothing like strengthening a bond by the power of collective disdain,” Tommy replies scratching down Buck’s back making him hum in response.

Buck realizes that nothing has changed since his last rant about Gerrard to Tommy and leans back to look at Tommy’s face inquisitively.

“Nothing’s changed,” Buck says. “You didn’t do anything.” At first Tommy’s confused but he remembers the conversation they had.

“I didn’t. You asked me not to. Did you think I’d go behind your back?”

You asked me not to. Like it was simple, like Tommy didn’t need clarification or a deeper reason. Just because he asked Tommy not to do something, he didn’t.

“I-I, I’m just surprised I guess? So many people think they know what’s best for me and go around me to do what they think is right despite what I’ve said.” Buck looks shocked but pleased. Tommy just smiles at him,

“I can’t speak for everyone, Evan, but I trust you. You know what you’re doing. Yes I always want to help and be there for you, but I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. And I love you very much because of that.” Tommy pecks Buck’s lips.

“And I love you for listening and taking my word for it,” Buck grins, knowing that with Tommy he’s on equal ground. The irritation of the day is completely melted away and forgotten. Buck slides his hands up Tommy’s chest and shoulders to clasp his hands around the back of his neck.

”Now do you wanna listen to what I’m thinking about doing to you to let off some steam?” Buck quirks his left eyebrow and bites his lip, knowing Tommy’s eyes will follow.

Tommy leans in and noses along the jut of Buck’s jaw and says into his ear, “all ears, baby.”

[prncessjaeger]

i changed my mind 🎀

the day you met suguru was the day you wished you should’ve ignored him, but who could ignore the way you both instantly clicked despite the main difference between you two, him being the best friend of the golden boy aka satoru gojo, having everyone wrapped around his finger, and you being the girl who’s well… not very well known and coined the term, “never out pass 8.”

but suguru didn’t care, infact he seemed like he loved how polar opposites you both were, and you could tell by the way he’d compliment you, the rushed feeling he gives you when he kisses you, the ongoing lavish dates he takes you on, it was all perfect. 

too perfect, infact. he treated you so well you could only see the good in him and that’s when the problems began. kissing his lips, you felt his arms circle your waist pulling you even closer. your hips grinded against his half-hardened dick, when you both were interrupted with yet another text from his phone. you felt him pull away, “noo sugu-” “give me a sec…damn,” he mumbled reading the content on his phone, “i..got to go,” “again?” your groaned, hopping off his lap feeling unsatisfied yet again and sighed when he mentioned there was another party he was invited to, “look ‘sugu, i trust you but it’s kinda hard to keep that trust when you’re partying every night with all those girls-”

“it’s always about the “partying”, good gosh, you jealous of them or something?” your face scrunched up in confusion, “uh no why would i be jealous of a party? i’m talking about you always leaving and going out to party?” he huffed and got up from his seat, “baby it’s college! who wouldn’t wanna go out and party?” “so you’d rather go out than be with your girlfriend?” he pushed your finger away when you pointed at him, “don’t start, besides you must wanna come with me or something?” you looked at the time, 7:37 p.m, then all the books and papers you had to finish studying, “why would would love to, but it’s getting late, and you know i have to-” “study. why can’t you brush it off for once and hang out with me, huh? you always blow me off for some dumn ass studying,” he murmured the last part but you heard him pretty clear. “okay, fine we can go-”

“nah, i’ll go with kara and shoko instead, you focus on your 'studying'…” your head jerked back, wondering who the hell “kara” was, “ suguru i said we can go, studying can wait-” “nope. see you tomorrow.” he grabbed his jacket and keys and left your apartment in a swift, not even kissing your cheek like usually does. not feeling the want to do anything school related anymore, you closed your books and watched youtube until your eyes couldn’t stay open anymore.

the second time it happened, you both were at a prestigious dinner with all your friends when suguru abruptly left your side and left the restaurant, and shoko took notice, asking “where did geto go?” “umm that’s a great question, i’ll call him.” you grabbed your phone and dialed his number, frowning when it went voicemail. you called and called but to no avail he didn’t answer, “must be an emergency, so i’ll just send him a text, anyways how was vegas?” “oh it was amazing, we visited sooo many hotels and shows…” you casually listened to her story while checking your phone, only to be met with setting notifications and it honestly started to worry you. so, you ended up leaving the dinner early, catching a cab home only to be met with suguru himself standing at your doorstep, looking disheveled and marked up, “hey! where did you run off? are you okay? did something bad happen??-” you were cut off with your name falling from his lips sternly, “i’m fine. can i just come in and change my clothes?” feeling a weird vibe coming from him, you let your hands drop from his blazer, “sure.” you let him in, smelling a weird smell coming from his suit, “new cologne? it smells… fruity?” “nah, it’s probably your cheap perfume you like to wear,” you walked to him and watched him act unfazed, and you went to sniff his shoulder confirming that the smell came from him, “but... you smell like mangoes, suguru , and you know i hate mangoes- are you cheating on me?”

“oh my god! look, i went to-” “where! where’d you go hm, “kara’s house”,” you watched his hold his head in his hands and sigh, “no, i went to my aunt’s for a family emergency, and she hugged me…” he gave you a perplexed look, rolled his eyes and walked away to the bathroom. feeling guilty, you texted your friend, shoko, to see if you were just overeacting on the possibility of him cheating on you, but she ended up sending you a long voice note about how “suguru’s not shit” and “you deserve better,” and ended it with a detailed plan on how to leave him…

…but instead you brushed it off once more and let him cuddle you that night, forgiving him yet , again. 

the third time was the final straw. 

since it was the week off for break, everyone decided to go to the beach for a much-needed vacation away from school and ever since suguru helped bring your bags down to where you were sitting, you haven’t seen him since. satoru walked up to you and sighed, “hey! how’s you and suguru?” “oh!- we’re uh, doing fine…why?” he grabbed your drink from your hand, “just asking, you both seem a little distant compared to before,” hearing those words had you in deep thought, depicting every single interaction you and suguru had to prove satoru’s statement, “um, well he has been a little off with me?” “how so?” “just brushing me off, leaving abruptly, things like that.” satoru looked back to where suguru was, eyes widening when he saw him with a familiar tall blonde chatting it up at the beach bar, so he moved to be directly in front of you hoping you couldn’t see him, "what’re you doing?” “nothing, the sun was in my eyes so i moved to see you better,” squinting your eyes, you hummed and asked, “anyways, where’s sugu? you seen him yet?” he furrowed his brows, “oh i don’t know, i figured he was over here, that’s actually why i came over here but when i didn’t see him, i just talked to you instead-” when satoru’s nervous, he likes to ramble and spew out useless information.

a trait everyone knew satoru had. 

“satoru…where is he?” you saw him rub his neck bashfully and sigh, “look i only found out just minutes ago when i looked back at him and-”

“found out what?” you asked but you went unheard by satoru, “- and i’d hate for you to find out this way, that would suck cause-” “find out what, what way?” “-cause you’re a really sweet girl but i just think you aren’t the…right one for him. i mean he’s so caught up-” “what?” “he barely shows you love-” “satoru! if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on and stop talking over me?” satoru sighed and mumbled, “i’m sorry,” and moved to the side, revealing suguru and some tall blonde girl close together, watching him feed her…grapes? giggling with her- kissed her much more passionately than he’s ever kissed you “the fuck?” 

like any normal person, you’d go over and probably curse him out, hit him a couple of times and leave him with breaking off the relationship, but instead you sighed and nodded, “you know what? i’m gonna go home and i’ll…see you later.” you packed up your towel and left in your car, suguru hearing your car speed down the highway, then turned to see your spot now being crowded by the others on the trip wondering where you’d drive off to.

“shit…” he muttered, the girl watched him sigh in his hands, “everything okay?”

“everything’s perfect, hey why don’t we uh, get out of here yeah?” hearing a small “yeah” the two got up and walked back to her car, and when satoru walked to the bar to confront suguru, he was now where to be seen…

…now, months have passed and you and suguru have barely spoken to each other by this point. even though you both officially never ended the relationship, he barely acknowledged you nowadays and stopped coming over, but you decided to not let it phase you and instead you focused on yourself, entering your “healed girl era” or whatever the coined term was. 

since the…"split", you and satoru have gotten closer especially after he stopped being friends with suguru days after his amidst cheating, (he ended up staying by your side and even helped you out of your funk), and today he invited you to a party. 

ironic, considering parties were the main problem in your past relationship, but you needed a change of scenery. being a nursing major was tough and sitting in your apartment all cooped up with billions of textbooks, you were tired! so, you went to your closet and picked out a cute top with a skirt to match, grabbing your fur boots and jewlery to complete the look. once you finished your makeup, you heard the doorbell ring and a set of keys jiggle, jumping when satoru’s loud voice echoed in your room, “y/nnnn!” “toruuuu!” “hey bestie-oh you look real cute, give me a spin hm?” he grabbed your hamd and spun your around, “okay so good news, i’m here bad news, the party’s in suguru’s house and it’s more of a get-together rather a party.” “hm…” you hummed, "i mean we don't have to go if you don't want to?" you grabbed your purse anyway and walked to the door, “but what if i still wanna go though?” “well let’s go!” he drove fairly quick considering suguru only lived 3 minutes away from you, and when you arrived you noticed the other couple of cars. you and satoru got out, him holding the drinks and your purse and knocked on the door, shrieks coming from shoko when she saw you, “it’s my babyyyyy!”

suguru turned his head hearing shoko’s claim and immediately knew it was you. his nerves skyrocketed and he sighed nervously, “hey everything alright?” the blonde he now dates, yuki, asked as she massaged his scalp, “yeah…she’s here,” “oh! uh, okay. don’t be nervous i’m sure she’d come around…” soon yuki would eat her words the minute you walked in the room, greeting everyone except the two. “ugh i’m so happy you’re here, i’ve missed you-gojo’s taking you away from us all the time now,” shoko complained as she hugged your figure, hasn’t let go of you since she saw you at the door. 

suguru noticed how you looked more comfortable, relaxed even with satoru which was odd considering any other time you wouldn’t pay him no mind, and with shoko’s claim of satoru “taking you away” he wondered just how close you two were becoming. 

after many, many drinks and games later, you excused yourself to the bathroom and after five minutes, suguru followed you up, satoru and shoko taking notice of it. drying your hands, you opened the door only to be met with suguru himself, “what’re you doing-” “you fucking him now? you’re such a slut you’d fuck my best friend next? and we haven’t even broken up-” “we were broken up the minute you put your lips on yuki! and you know that, so don’t come up here fucking accusing and yelling at me like i’m stupid! the fuck,” you watched him step closer to you, causing you to step back into a wall, “i still love you, you know that right?” “but i don’t love you,” suguru chuckled and rubbed his hand over his mouth, “you sure about that? just months ago you were telling me how much you wanted to get married and have my babies, remember?” he leaned down as his lips hovered over yours, “not anymore geto, i’ve changed my mind-” “ohhh so it's geto now? besides, it felt like you were determined before,”

“you just wasted my time geto, so move.” you shoved him out the way, feeling his hand grab your wrist, “baby, come back i missed you, we can do all the things you want if you just come back, i’ll be better for you i swear…” you heard him plead and please, over and over again but in the end it doesn't matter how many apologies he can spew out, like before and always,

you'll go right back to him…

[sissylittlefeather]

Y'all know I like brain breaks when I'm working on a series. (Are they brain breaks or does my ADHD just get the better of me? 😂). Either way, I wrote this dirty little thing just for fun. I hope you enjoy it! I'll come back to This is the Story and the 200 requests soon!

You're the Boss

A/N: There is very little plot here. It's almost pure smut. But it's set during the '70s Vegas era. It's an Elvis x fem!reader fic and will definitely be a one-shot. Also, this one plays with a dominant woman and kind of subby(ish) Elvis.

Warnings: this is absolutely 18+ only, MDNI!!! Cussing, fingering, oral (f & m receiving), p in v sex, unprotected sex (with a stranger), swallowing, teasing, and the reader being pretty dominant. I hope that's everything.

This is the outfit he's wearing:

Elvis walks into his suite after the show to find you there, sitting on his bed with your shoes off.

"Now, what the hell, honey? Who are you?"

"It's not important."

"How did you get in here?" He reaches for the firearm strapped to his ankle, just in case. He holds it casually in his hand as he listens.

"I paid Joe $5,000 cash to bring me in here."

"Remind me to fire his ass in the morning."

"I will, if I'm still here." He moves toward the phone to call security.

"Are you really going to kick me out so soon?" You stand up and let your silver sequined dress fall to the floor, revealing matching red lingerie. His eyes move up and down over your body.

"I might be persuaded to let you stay." He says with a playful smirk. He lays the gun down on the side table and walks toward you.

"Get on your knees, honey."

"Oh no, Elvis. Tonight I'm the boss." You say, giving him a devilish smile. He thinks about what this means and looks at you again standing there in your bra and panties.

"I'm not sure about that, honey."

"Can you follow instructions?" He's never had a woman come in and take charge like this. He can't tell if he likes it. You take two steps towards him and lay your hand on his chest where his jumpsuit is open. Then you whisper in his ear.

"I asked if you could follow instructions." A shiver runs down his spine and electricity gathers between his legs. He likes it.

"Yes, baby, I think I can." You back away from him and sit on the bed again.

"Good boy. Take your suit off." He nods and unzips his jumpsuit, removing the heavy mirrored belt and dropping it gently on the floor.

"Don't lose that." He picks the belt up again and raises an eyebrow.

"Oh, why is that?"

"You'll see. Now, suit, off." He finishes removing the light blue jumpsuit and stands before you totally nude.

"What's next, baby?" He asks nervously.

"Put your belt back on." You smile deviously as he picks up the belt again.

"Honey, are you sure?"

"Put it back on." You say firmly, but playfully. He wraps the belt around his waist and fastens it. You look him up and down, noticing how hard his cock is as it twitches where it stands. You reach out and grab the top of his belt, dragging him over to where you sit on the bed. You reach back and unclasp your bra, dropping it to the floor. You stand up just long enough to slide your panties to the floor and then sit back down on the edge of the bed.

"Get on your knees." You direct him, tugging downward on the belt. He obliges, situating himself between your legs. You spread your thighs and put one on each of his shoulders. Then you run your fingers in his hair and drag his face forward to your pussy.

"I want to come twice before I touch your cock." He nods and leans forward, pressing his mouth to your dripping center. He starts by running his tongue up your slit and stopping at your clit. He licks over and around it in circles, lapping at the core of your desire. He moans softly and you throw your head back as he works. You notice he's touching himself as he licks you.

"Did I say you could do that?" You ask, pushing his head away from your clit.

"No."

"Then stop." He groans and stops stroking his cock.

"Use your hands." He runs the hand he had on himself up your thigh and presses two fingers into you. His other hand is around your thigh. You guide his head back down until his tongue makes contact with your throbbing clit. You are ready to come undone at his touch. He goes back to working his mouth over and around you, and pleasure runs through you uncontrollably. You throw your head back and moan.

"Yes, just like that baby. Don't stop." He follows instructions and keeps devouring your pussy, sliding his long fingers in and out of you fervently, his rings pushing up against your entrance. You feel the coil of pleasure tightening in your belly and know your orgasm will meet you soon. Still, he continues to lick and lap at you passionately. It's like he's trying to earn the next step by fucking you so well with his mouth. Finally, you feel the coil snap and your orgasm washes over you with wave after wave of pulsating ecstasy.

But he doesn't stop. You demanded two and he follows instructions. He runs his tongue up either side of your clit before sliding it back and forth over your sensitive bud. He eats you like its his last meal, licking and sucking and pushing his fingers in and out deeply. Finally, you feel a second orgasm gather between your legs and moan as it slams into you, filling you with an electric current that buzzes out to your fingertips and back again. Your fingers are still wrapped in his hair, so you pull his head back off of you. He looks up at you, chin and lips wet with your arousal. His eyes are searching yours for what comes next, hoping it's satisfaction for himself.

"Stand up." Again, he listens, wiping his mouth with his hand. You scoot backwards on the bed and grab his belt, pulling him on top of you.

"I want you to fuck me until I tell you to stop." He nods, lining the tip of his dick up with your sopping wet entrance.

"Can I start?" He asks almost innocently.

"Yes." You reach around and grab his ass, plunging him deep inside you.

"Oh god." He moans as he feels your tight wetness envelop him. As he picks up a steady rhythm of fucking into you, you hear the jingling of the chains on his belt. It's a rhythmic sound that pounds in time with his balls slapping against your ass, your hips slamming together in controlled chaos. The sound is unbearably satisfying and the combination of the chains tickling your hips and the cool, smooth surface of the belt against your stomach is a new kind of delicious.

"Fuck, baby, I'm gonna come." He whispers to you. Just when you think he's close, you push him out of you and onto his back.

"Stop." He groans and rolls over reluctantly. He was so close to coming that his balls are crying out for a release. You climb on top of him and realign his cock with your entrance. Then, you slide down onto him slowly, letting him feel every inch of him enter you.

"Baby, can I please just..." he begs and tries to fuck you from underneath. You stop him moving with him pushed deep inside you.

"Did I say you could move like that?"

"No ma'am." He answers desperately. He's tantalizingly close to coming. You sit up on your knees with just the tip of him inside you. Then, you proceed to bounce up and down on the top inch of his cock, teasing him.

"Oh, fuck, baby, you're gonna kill me." He half moans, half whines.

"You want more?"

"Yes, fuck."

"Tell me what you want."

"I want your pussy."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to fuck me right now."

"Who's the boss?"

"You are, baby. Oh god, you are."

"That's right." You drop down onto him, letting him fill you fully. He groans loudly and leans his head back, with his mouth partially open.

You grab onto the thick belt and pull against it as you grind on him, pushing him deeper and deeper, the cold mirrored surface of the belt rubbing against your clit. When you feel his movements change as he approaches his release, you pull up off of him. He whimpers, thinking you're going to tease him again, but instead you pull his whole cock into your mouth and suck.

"FUCK." His hips buck up into you as he comes hard and you swallow every drop. You use the belt to hold him still against the bed while you finish sucking his release from him. His legs start to shake and he whimpers again. You lick up the bottom of his shaft one last time and then sit up and lay next to him on your back on the bed, both of you sweating and breathing heavily. He turns his head to look at you and you look at him.

"Feel free to break into my suite whenever you want."

You roll over and kiss him softly on the mouth. He's a little shocked by the tenderness with which you kiss him after the way you just fucked him, but he doesn't argue.

"I need to go." You whisper as you roll over to stand up.

"Go? Now just a minute, honey, you don't have to rush off."

"I really do." You pull your underwear and bra back on and slide the shiny silver dress back on over your head. When you slip your shoes on, Elvis stands up to protest. You walk up to him and wrap your arms around his waist. He puts his arms around you too, but the embrace doesn't last long as you unfasten the belt and pull it off of him.

"What...?" You wrap the belt around your own waist and fasten it. Your hips are wide enough to keep it on you. He looks at you in stunned disbelief.

"Are you really leaving?"

"I am."

"And you're taking my belt."

"Mhmm. Is that a problem?" He should say yes, he's supposed to wear it again, but he doesn't. Instead he shakes his head and gives you an incredulous smile. He'll come up with some excuse about why he won't wear it again.

"You're somethin' else, you know that?"

You walk to the door of the suite, belt jangling as your hips swing. When you turn back to look at him, he's sitting on the side of the bed naked. You blow him a kiss and walk out the door, closing it quietly behind you.

He never sees you, or his belt, ever again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I'm never sure who to tag:

@ccab @elvisfatass @ashtag6887 @aliypop @your-nanas-house @ab4eva @elvisalltheway101 @joshuntildawn13

If you want a permanent spot on my Taglist for anything and everything, let me know! 😂

[biasbuck]

BiAsBuck’s ficrec Fridays

Happy I started drafting this when it was Friday everyone! Can you believe there's just three weeks left to go before we're back with BEENADO?! Here's another round of the fic I've been reading this last fortnight to tide you over in the meantime. You can find previous rec lists here.

7 September 2024

Baking is a Science but I Studied the Arts by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels the reason why I'm late posting this week is that I opened up AO3 to start gathering links, realised this was completed, dropped everything and read it start to finish. Sugar Daddy Tommy is ready and willing to pamper Eddie with trips to Vegas, and Eddie is in need of a distraction from all his pining over his best friend. Buck's feeling a little envious of Eddie and Tommy's new friendship, but with an open line of communication Tommy's happy to introduce him to his bisexual awakening, and unlock a new level of kink along the way. But of course, there's crossed wires, and neither Buck or Eddie actually know who the other's mysterious new casual boyfriend is. Deliciously indulgent, sexy, and feel good polyamory with 9-1-1 what is your emergency levels of misunderstandings and self discovery along the way. Lincoln's buddietommy threeway fics just always hit the spot.

Summer's End by @dunnonorlly back on my Eddie's summer of introspection without Chris bullshit, with a wonderful self recommendation that I'm so glad was brought to my attention. I love fics which really showcase all the ways this ensemble love each other and there's such a gorgeous wealth of extended firefam offering support here, including a particularly impactful Eddie and Bobby dynamic, with his advice and experience shared, and deep understanding from Maddie. Talking things through with those he trusts, and some beautifully written gentle steps towards finding peace and embracing love with Buck at his side and his family reunited.

Counting Pulses by tinyydancerr also recommended to me by dunnonorlly, this is an alternate take on season 7 written early on in the series, in which crucially Eddie has OCD, based on the author's own experiences and carefully woven into all the idiosyncricies that make up Eddie Diaz. It's a beautiful and painful character exploration that allows Eddie to examine his own past and present with fresh eyes, in the hopes of moving to a future without tripping up on all that's held him back. I particularly loved the backstory elements, and how his mental health and Catholic guilt create a maelstrom he's painstakingly riding through life. Such a moving fic. The same author also has a GORGEOUS anniversary Henren fic Up, and Down, and Around which sees Karen through Hen's eyes, with a rollercoaster of emotions.

about the present by @runawaymarbles if there's one thing you need to know about me it's that I LOVE me a timeloop narrative, and wow does this two parter The Scroll of Saint Barnabas and Theoretical Corpses, Laughing deliver. "The day of the shooting, Eddie got stuck in a time loop. But that was three months ago. He's completely fine now." In which Eddie absolutely has PTSD, but when you're caught in a timeloop where you see all of your loved ones picked off by a sniper, and every attempt you make to stop it just ripple effects someone else to be harmed, what do you even do? Plus along the way there are confessions they won't remember, secrets that are impossible to keep locked up forever, firsts that they'll be forced to forget, and overwhelming survivors guilt. An absolute masterclass in consequences, understanding, and healing together through the hurt.

Being Eddie by @cal-daisies-and-briars sticking with the timey-wimey theme, I also read this Being Erica inspired fic, in which a mysterious therapist grants Eddie the opportunity to go back in time to fix a list of his regrets, confronting repressed memories, and gaining an understanding of himself and the people in his life he feels like he's wronged along the way. Of course the butterfly effect is in full force, and sometimes changing the past means losing a future and a love you're growing to cherish.

like a river that doesn't know where it's flowing (i found where i'm going) by @queerdiazs VIVE LE MOUSTACHE! 'After coming out as gay, finally, Eddie has a well-deserved hot girl summer witnessed by his closest friends and family. Everyone is supportive and encouraging, except for Buck. What could that possibly mean?' Truly full throttle embracing the concept of latter in life coming out second pubity and slut era Eddie, this is so much fun, so delicious, and Buck is full on out not having a good time. Eddie can't help that the moustache makes him so irresistible! (I also had a great time with their fic no one else on earth because I love me some Eddie vs Josh).

Stay Until the Morning by @semperama oh my god, once again smacked in the face by my demiromantic Eddie and resulting emotional trauma feels. This is established (almost) buddie, written for the @summerofbuddie "breaking cliches" week. The author says it best: "The cliche that's broken here is that friends-to-lovers is as simple as two people realizing they love each other and then it's happily ever after. In this instance, things are a little more complicated!" I really really deeply appreciate this examination of simply finding your person doesn't magically fix all the things that have reinforced your emotional barriers and mental walls, and Eddie has a lot to unpack around how he's approached sex and relationships as does Buck. Small but mighty, this packed a punch.

suddenly the only thing i saw was you by @diazisms finally ending on a wonderful sapphic rarepair wildcard, this is a 5+1 fic featuring May Grant and Adriana Diaz! Bless you mysterious Diaz sisters for being such a rich fictional ground to play with - In this, Adriana is dropped off in LA for college, feeling out of place having taken a year to work. She bumps into May Grant, a beautiful stranger in a coffee shop. As they grow closer, they soon discover they have more in common than they thought. I loved this so much.

Okay that got long, but as usual insert call out for more henren fic here. Feel free to self rec! And please share and reblog :) See you next week, probably with HOTSHOTS recs bahaha!

BEES!

[heroofshield]

Whumpcember Day 8- Isolation (Mass Effect 3, Shepard & Vega)

@whumpcember

Takes place between ME2 & ME3

--

Rose Shepard sat by the window that her room had and stared out it. Normally she didn't mind being indoors but she hadn't been outside since she was transported to Alliance headquarters in Vancouver.

"Three months and twenty-nine days ago." she thought sullenly, letting her head drop onto the small table with an audible thud.

"I've been in space longer than this, why is being here so much harder?" she said out loud, her voice muffled by the cheap wood.

A glance at the clock on the wall (because she was not allowed to have an omni-tool that connected to the extranet) told her that it was only one in the afternoon and she didn't have any meetings with Alliance brass scheduled today.

Or at least she didn't think so because normally James Vega told her the day's agenda when he brought in her breakfast, and he hadn't said a peep about anything this morning.

Feeling the urge to move, but knowing they wouldn't let her in the gym while everyone else had the opportunity to use it, Rose decided to do a modified exercise routine. Standing, she changed into the workout gear she'd been supplied with when she first arrived, and after clearing a big enough space started to do some stretching.

As she leaned towards her right leg, Rose realized she didn't know much about James Vega. Since she couldn't access the Alliance database, where he'd been and what he'd been doing before being placed on her guard duty was a mystery.

"And he's not very forth coming about it either." She thought while finishing up the leg stretches and moved to start push-ups.

"But he still calls me 'Commander' so at least he isn't holding what I did to the Batarian relay against me. And when we were first introduced, he looked like he was meeting a celebrity so he at least knows about Elysium."

Finishing up with with her third set of push-ups, she lay on the floor for a minute to rest before rolling onto her back and starting torso twists. It was different without any weights, but Rose figured out how to modify it.

"From what I've seen, he's been in the Alliance for awhile. So why would someone like him get assigned to simple guard duty?"

Rose felt the sweat she was building up start to make her shirt stick and was even feeling a bit better so she finished up the last set of torso twists and stood, stretching as she did. Cooling down with some yoga moves, Rose made the decision to ask James about his previous service when he showed up the next morning to wake her up.

Only he didn't.

Suddenly he was gone and his replacement, one of her original guards had no idea where or even why.

The routine of casual conversation was suddenly gone and Rose was thrown for a loop, the one thing that had kept her connected to the outside severed. After four days had passed with Vega still gone, Rose realized how much she'd come to rely on that to keep her somewhat sane.

--

James Vega walked into the Alliance Complex feeling the weight of what he'd done a Fhel Prime than when it'd first happened. Some of the Admirals had needed another inquiry as to what had gone on so for the past week he'd been in London, rehashing it six ways to Sunday. That plus the medal ceremony for his "brave actions" after the second inquiry had only made the nightmares worse.

But now he was back in Vancouver, with the salt in the air and the sea breeze ruffling through his hair, so hopefully he could get at least one full night of sleep.

The next day he arrived to deliver the Commander's breakfast and when he opened the door, was surprised to see the room still dark. He'd known the Commander as an early riser, more out of habit after nearly twenty years in the Alliance than anything, so the fact that the curtains were still drawn to block out the sun was...odd.

"Commander, you awake?" he asked in as soft of a voice as he could manage while setting the tray on the table by the window and opened the curtains, letting the sun light spill in.

Rose groaned at the sudden change in light and buried her face in her pillow, "Go away."

"And miss you seeing this thrilling breakfast of," James paused, raising the cloche that covered the plate. "oatmeal, toast, bacon, and protein powder. Gotta love the biotic-friendly diet huh."

"That can fuck off." Rose said into her pillow. But then she felt guilty for snapping at James when her being restricted to her room wasn't his fault. Sighing, she sat up and ran a hand through her hair-grimacing slightly at how oily it had gotten. "Sorry, I'll be sure to enjoy it. Thanks."

James raised an eyebrow at the disheveled appearance, a stark contrast to the semi-put together Commander he'd gotten to know. "I'll leave you to it then Commander."

"You know you're not supposed to call me that any more."

James shrugged, "I won't tell if you don't."

Rose felt a ghost of a smile start to appear on her lips, realizing with a surprise that she had no idea when the last time that had happened.

Stepping out of the room, James frowned-not liking what he had seen in Shepard's quarters. "Hey Keith, what's up with the Co-Shepard? She seems...different."

Keith straightened up in the chair he was sitting in and shrugged, "She's been like that the last week and a half. Probably because of the new restrictions."

"What new restrictions?"

"You didn't get the email? Shepard can't leave her quarters whenever she wants, it has to go through the Admirals if it's not Medical or Inquiry related."

James let out a curse underneath his breath. "That'd do it." he thought while thanking Keith and making his way to back to the cafeteria to grab his own breakfast. As he ate, his own mind was coming up with a proposal.

--

"Where are we going?" Rose asked while looking at James from across the room.

"Just trust me. Put on the civvies and then I'll tell you more."

Rose gave James a look but did as she was told, ducking into the bathroom to throw on the Blast-O tshirt and jeans. Walking out, she saw that he had a baseball cap in his hands and caught it when he tossed it to her.

"Follow me." James said, turning towards the door and walking out, casting a glance behind him to see Rose hesitantly follow.

As she stepped out of the room, she paused just on the other side, raising an eyebrow at the four other guards that had appeared. "What's going on?" she asked, looking at James when one of them approached her with biotic damping cuffs and attached them to her wrists.

"Sorry about those, Anderson made them a requirement." James apologized. "And we can only spare an hour so I hope that's enough."

Rose followed James silently as they moved down the hallway, towards a side entrance. Heart catching as James paused and so did she and her entourage, she didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Make sure the hat's on good. Anderson doesn't want to deal with press asking why you were let out."

Nodding her head, Rose slipped on the baseball hat and adjusted it so that it wouldn't fall off if the wind picked up. Holding her breath, she cautiously stepped over the doorway and onto the concrete. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, she felt a thrill in her chest as they walked away from the door and into the green space.

Growing up on spaceships and stations, Rose had always enjoyed it the most when she got to go planet-side and just experience weather. Closing her eyes once they reached the middle of the grassy area, she closed her eyes and tipped her face up towards the sun-soaking the warmth in and just reveling in the fact that she was outside for the first time in months.

"Sure it's with an armed escort, but I can just ignore them." she thought, opening her eyes again and turning in a slow circle to take it all in.

"Thanks, Vega." Rose said in a voice barely loud enough to be heard over the usual city noise. "This has...helped a lot."

"Glad to help Commander."

[glitchedgoalie]

who: ty + carter (@rollercoasterush) where: centennial park (specifically the ODR)

things had picked up over the last several weeks. ty and carter had gone public at the new year's eve party, but since then, they'd had several more public sightings. she'd been caught attending one of his games at msg with one of her girlfriends and he'd brought her coffee on set. they'd both posted some carefully curated photos on instagram. they'd been seen grabbing brunch or leaving each other's apartments. more recently, though, they'd been in las vegas for the super bowl and some of the after party footage (including a particularly embarrassing video of ty singing love story at carter from across a crowded room) had gone viral in a way that ty wasn't really expecting. his follower count had been climbing steadily but it had blown up over the last week. someone stopped him on the subway on the way to practice to ask about carter. a fan of hers turned around in the starbucks line and told him he better not hurt her.

so, things were going well. well enough that their agents wanted them to be spotted again together in public doing something more date-like. ty had agreed on one condition: he got to pick what they did. he didn't mind sporting events. hell, he loved movie premiers, too. but he liked carter. he didn't want to parade her around like some kind of trophy. he just wanted to do something fun with her.

so that's why he'd dropped a pin to her earlier that day and told her to meet him at the park. what carter didn't know was that he was waiting on the bleachers of the outdoor rink, dressed casually in a thick sweater, a puffy vest, and a red sox knit cap, skates already on and laced. he'd had one of the team's equipment guys grab him a spare pair of women's skates. 'hey." his breath curled into the air as a white puff as he waved her over. "are you a seven and a half? i guessed." a sheepish smile turned his mouth as he stood up, tramping down the bleachers with his skate guards still on. "if not, we can rent a pair for you." once he reached carter, he pulled her into a one-armed hug, the other hand still gripping the borrowed skates by their laces. he dropped a quick kiss to her lips. this has become more natural after the first few times. he felt less weird about it now, even if it still seemed like a bit of a business transaction. "how are you?"

[leclerced]

…..so when DO the boys see carhop reader again ?

honestly they went straight to mexico city from austin i think but i don’t know if they wen’t straight to vegas from mexico bc there was an off weekend between mexico and vegas. idk what they did after mexico n before vegas tbh i can’t remember?? BUT considering they have a weekend off between those two races i think they’d def take the opportunity to go back to texas. they’d verify w their teams they can get that weekend off and ask her to schedule that weekend off and her coworkers would do it immediately but only if she promises to bring them by.

imagine her picking them up from the airport late at night then stopping by her sonic before it closes and all her friend coworkers are there, she’s weirdly nervous ab it like she’s introducing them to her parents. but tbh you need the cooks approval y’know? after sonic the boys are actually hungry and she refused to eat sonic so the boys waited until they left to eat, but not much is open so girlie takes them to waffle house. she tells them all about the waffle house index, which if you don’t know is an informal way of measuring how bad a disaster is. waffle houses are notoriously open no matter what, so if your waffle house is closed, shit is fucked up. i’ve never seen a closed waffle house in my life. they do limited menus during disasters and have trained teams to reopen, if they do close, asap once safe to do so. live laugh love waffle house.

then as soon as they’re back at the hotel they’re rushing to get her into bed because they’ve missed her.

i think she would take them allll around austin. idk much about it but the things i do know ab it is theres an amusement park where you can go karting!!! also rock climbing, mini golf, laser tag, rides, and those classic prize games. she definitely would have gone growing up its like a tradition imo, everyone goes there at least once. one morning when they’re asking what they can do, she’d passively mention it and they’d get so excited about it and she’s like tired from the night before and doesn’t wanna walk around the park all day, but oscar says he’ll give her a piggyback ride the whole time and she refuses that and goes anyways. despite her saying she can walk, he carries her around for awhile just because he wants to. he would insist that she hop on his back so lando can take their picture at least, but then he doesn’t put her down. they’d go on rides and hold her hand and totally beat her at karting. she hates losing so she casually says they should try the rock climbing next , then absolutely smashes the rock wall. before they’re halfway up, she’s scampered to the top, run the bell then dropped back down.

also would looove them somehow convincing her to go to vegas with them ?? getting her all fucked out so she lets them buy her plane tickets and secure all the paddock passes and the next morning she regrets agreeing to ask her boss for a week off work all of a sudden. oscar and lando would promise passes to the race next year, then have to concede and promise to get standard tickets for the people who will be covering her shifts for the week she’s taking off because her manager will only let her have the time off if she finds someone to cover her.

im not in school so idk how the breaks work but im pretty sure they get time off for thanksgiving, and thanksgiving was the thursday after the vegas race soo lets say she has the following week off school for the holiday so they just have to convince her to take off work for the week. vegas was a weird one. lets say she doesn’t have class fridays so she flies to vegas after class thursday and goes straight to the track to see her boys before practice. they’d have gotten her passes and such so she gets in easily, and someone takes her to the mclaren garage and she gets to see them right before practice starts.

and then it swiftly ended when carlos’s car was annihilated by that drain cover. she’s soo sleepy by that time bc it’s late at night but she just sits and watches her boys work, ignores them telling her she should go to the hotel and rest. she eventually gives in to the idea of napping in oscar’s driver’s room when they come back from their interviews, and she convinces them to go with while they have a little break and lay down with her until the next session.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 3/14/2023

one of the good things about the tuesdaypost series is that it reassures me i did actually do things in a particular week, even if the week felt very much like an unmemorable gray blob

listening

Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools this came on last night as i was making dinner. two (three? let's not think about it) years ago i found the las vegas jazz station bc i wanted something on in the background while i wrote cowboyfic. and now (when i remember internet radio exists) it's in the rotation of things keeping me company while i tend to my databases

-

reading

it's been just over two weeks since philip marlowe has burrowed his way into my brain. i have read through most of The Simple Art of Murder, which contains the titular essay and eight novellas/short stories. if you enjoy reading and thinking about criticism as its own genre/art form, this seven page essay is well worth reading. chandler had extremely strong opinions about his colleagues that he kept to himself with varying degrees of success. aside from a brief catty snit at what we now call "cozy" mysteries, it's a very level look at the challenges and limitations of detective fiction as a genre.

The realistic style is easy to abuse: from haste, from lack of awareness, from inability to bridge the chasm that lies between what a writer would like to be able to say and what he actually knows how to say. It is easy to fake; brutality is not strength, flipness is not wit, edge-of-the-chair writing can be as boring as flat writing; dalliance with promiscuous blondes can be very dull stuff when described by goaty young men with no other purpose in mind than to describe dalliance with promiscuous blondes. There has been so much of this sort of thing that if a character in a detective story says, "Yeah," the author is automatically a Hammett imitator. And there are still quite a few people around who say that Hammett did not write detective stories at all, merely hardboiled chronicles of mean streets with a perfunctory mystery element dropped in like the olive in a martini.

i had a tremendous amount of fun reading through the novellas and picking out elements he reused and expanded upon in later full novels.

im yoinking this example from wikipedia but this sequence in The Big Sleep:

The room was too big, the ceiling was too high, the doors were too tall, and the white carpet that went from wall to wall looked like a fresh fall of snow at Lake Arrowhead. There were full-length mirrors and crystal doodads all over the place. The ivory furniture had chromium on it, and the enormous ivory drapes lay tumbled on the white carpet a yard from the windows. The white made the ivory look dirty and the ivory made the white look bled out. The windows stared towards the darkening foothills. It was going to rain soon. There was pressure in the air already.

first appeared in the short story The Curtain:

This room had a white carpet from wall to wall. Ivory drapes of immense height lay tumbled casually on the white carpet inside the many windows, which stared towards the dark foot-hills. The air beyond the glass was dark too. It had not started to rain, yet there was a feeling of pressure in the atmosphere.

when you are an exacting self-editor who will spend five months on one short story i imagine it's quite easy to go back and expand on a previous framework? it is fun to see how the sausage gets made

-

watching

the westerner (1940, dir. Wyler). really had me thinking about the Types of westerns i like. this is a perfectly adequate, well-acted little open range vs. homesteaders film with an impressive prairie fire sequence. walter brennan (a guy i love to see) more than deserves his oscar. gary cooper is great as a quick-thinking drifter who scams his way out of a noose. our heroine looks very much like olivia de haviland around the eyes. the original nyt review points out that cooper is very much overshadowed, and cooper only did the movie under duress bc he was worried about this very thing (p. 138-140).

between the fact that the movie thinks cooper should be the lead but brennan steals every scene he's in, this movie does not grab me by the lapels and shake me like some others i could name. part of it is that i do not like brennan's character. he is a self-appointed judge with a 100% hanging rate. i also think this is a totally different movie if you are not a woman, bc his character is INCREDIBLY weird about women. the ending tried very hard and failed to make me go "aw he was all right deep down anyway huh".

the other part of why this movie does not work for me: it starts off as my favorite genre "Some Guy has an incredibly fucked up day" but most of it is about good bible-thumping homesteaders enacting the american dream. what if we all got along??? america's big enough for everyone isn't it?? this movie really pulls its fuckin punches re: any sort of a theme, and i do not like cooper as an actor or brennan's character enough to say i had a good time. this movie does not delve into an aspect of the cowboy western mythos i am particularly interested in, but it is on kanopy, and it is part of my goal to watch every western on kanopy in order to convince the boston public library to add more westerns.

-

playing

man i wish fallou/t 4 was good. ive really got to fucking suck it up and start rdr2 even though i know it will consume my life in a time where i do not have a ton of time to spare

-

making

chicken fajitas. no pics all gone.

also: 6/10 baby blanket repeats. im trying to get this out by midapril so if i decide to fly down and look at apartments in person i can deliver it in person. so far i am happy with this rate of progress. i am going to frown about the edging for a while when im done knitting the body but that's a problem for future kay

[mazojo]

do you happen to have any horimiya character hcs…👁👁

YES I DO I LOVE THEM SM I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM DONT MIND ME SCREAMING COMPLETELY RANDOM THOUGHTS I HAVE

I think tooru is a nepo baby. I don’t have prove but I dont have evidence against it either. I just imagine him casually dropping it in convo like “yeah my mom’s an actor of the best seller on theaters rn anyone wanna go see it I got free tickets” and everyone like ??????????? He tries denying the nepo baby allegations later when he is successful but he can't

Me on my Miyamura is trans agenda. I love him, he is so cool, he is trans bc I know him personally !!!

I think Sawada gets a girlfriend during college and she is like the complete opposite of her and she is like “I can only be Stan of Hori !!!!!” But then her soon to be girlfriend says something soft and she is like “I can only be stan of Hori and MAYBE my cool cotagecore girlfriend !!!!!”. She first tells Miyamura about it bc she lowkey wants advice and he plays matchmaker

(he fails to play matchmaker but he tries, he probably blurts something out like Sawada talks all the time about you !!!! And she is mortified, love a socially unaware king)

I also think Yuki is secretly a weeb and when she tells Tooru he thinks its gonna be some magical girl Sailor Moon show but then she pulls out some dark shit like Parasyte or something. She probably likes JJK a lot to, a Nobara Stan all the way she doesn't know if she wants to be her or date her.

I think in turn Tooru is really into K-dramas but he likes the cutesy soft ones that are romantic and shit and makes Yuki watch them. They probably alternate watching one of his shows and one of hers #equilibrium

I actually think Yuki and Tooru continue to date in college where they have a kind of breakup because they don't know how to communicate because they are dumb and I love them but they realize they love each other and finally are able to confess all their feelings in the cute awkward way they do. Tooru probably jokes about getting married after and Yuki would be the next few days like “was he /srs or/j 😀😀”. I could talk for hours about Yuki and Tooru they are so personal to me and they were done so dirty

I think Iura is the first to get married of the main squad. He probably meets someone on a bar during college and they get so infatuated they propose and get married in Vegas or something. He would be so real for that, being your simp is my full time job and I am dedicated is kind of his brand !

I think Shindou and Yuki could be best friends. They irradiate dumb x dumber energy I love them for that. I also think he has good reads on people so he would lowkey get her to open up more naturally and she is grateful although a bit hesitant at first to let it all out, but they do become good friends. I think she also helps him brush off his feelings less, I believe they both use #humor to cope and they are trying to get better about their emotions and being more real. I love them normalize your favorites becoming best friends because reasons !

I also think Miyamura lets his hair grow out back after high school but that’s just me saying it because I want him to grow his hair out again please I am begging

I think Yanagi is an ace king <33 I also think they use he/they pronouns

I also lowkey think Sengoku misses a lot of Hori and him being besties moments from childhood. Like they are still friends and all but they drifted apart but I think they do grow closer during their last years of high school and when Hori asks him to do a speech for her wedding or something he lowkey almost cries. 

I 100% believe Iura is a gamer but he likes the gacha sort of games and they lowkey ruin his wallet. He probably plays Genshin impact and mains Kaeya and Beidou because they are hot, bisexual legend.

I also think he plays idol games, he is probably into Hypnosis Mic and Enstars. He kinda sucks at them but he tries his hardest. Sakura or Sengoku probably sees him playing one time and tries it once and beats his high score or something. He cries afterwards.

I think the following run social media pages:

Sakura —> probably a famous twitter that everyone looks for good takes on like, everything

Iura --> tries to runs an instagram meme account, fails.

Shindou —> runs a successful instagram meme account

Yanagi —> one of those aesthetic Tumblr blogs that reblog Sanrio shit and cutesy food, he is aesthetic like that.

Remi —> runs a Tik Tok, she probably knows all the famous dances and trends and makes bank from it. An entrepreneur if you wish

Miyamura —> runs a TikTok that blows up but he doesn’t understand how

I also have this random HC that Yuki goes into voice acting as a career and she loves that its something she is really good at. I just think she,,,,,,,,

They are all super random I know but I just…… I just think….. think that them….. Yeah….

[callmearcturus]

Pregnant Dave? :O

lmao lemme tell you the whole story since i don't think i'm gonna write the actual chapter, there's too many other stories ppl are waiting for updates to. so i'll spell this out.

(lol this wound up being long enough to almost be a chapter so for context: this is a summary that functions as the epilogue to out here the good girls die. that fic is explicit, DaveKat but also very strong nonsexual KarkatRose vibes. content includes a trans man getting pregnant, no in depth discussion of the physical aspects of that but he does so willingly.)

for context: this takes place maybe a year after the end of the fic. by now, Karkat is a councilor for Vineyard because of course he got into local politics. Rose works as his secretary and basically works on her own political agenda from her desk. Rose has ambitions to make Karkat governor someday. Karkat is loudly adverse to this, but Rose is building quite a coalition of her sex workers' union, small business owners, hospitality workers, etc. so, give her five or ten years.

in Vineyard, Karkat and the Twins are a common topic of the proverbial grapevine. a handsome former Ranger who brought twins back from Vegas? my god.

No one quite knows what is going on there. Is Karkat fucking his secretary? or wait is he cheating on his secretary with her brother? or wait is he sleeping with both of them? also sometimes its hard to tell them apart.... they come from back east, are they manipulating Karkat? what the fuck is going on there? this is all encouraged by Rose, who says its a benign way to keep Karkat in the local news and that helps come election time.

dave is mostly relaxing, decompressing from a long life in a high stress job, and hanging out with karkat's dad and learning to cook and tend to crops. he tries out hobbies. it's nice. unlike rose, he doesn't really have an ambitious bone in his body.

ANYWAY: but like. the reality of being sex workers, rose and dave have gotten pregnant before, but by now they know the signs and they probably keep an exact cocktail of medicine to either Plan B themselves or medically abort as needed. like that just.... seems logical for the setting? not a huge deal.

in Vineyard-by-Navarro though, I think it eventually happens to Dave again and Rose is first to notice and is like "mmkay lemme run to the pharmacy" and dave's like "hm." and keeps going "hm" for a while and thinking a lot. like, a lot.

rose gets kind of impatient with him and they have a minor fight in the living room. karkat comes home and is like "do you guys need a mediator or should i just wait outside until you're done" and dave is like "actually. i think we could use a third opinion here." and rose is just like "kldsjalksdjf SHHH"

but dave and karkat talk and are game to give it (baby) a shot. so rose changes on a dime and shifts into a mindset not unlike a bomb defusal expert. she makes plans and shit and sets up for an expansion to be put on the house, all that.

the only thing that adds a wrinkle; dave is pretty okay with the whole "dude having a baby" thing but he doesn't want it to get out around town, he just doesn't want to deal with Other People's opinions on the matter, right? so. obviously. rose and dave need to swap places. that's just logic.

that's how Karkat learns that Rose and Dave purposefully keep their hair approximately the same length, and with a little work, they can mimick each other. when Dave drops his drawl and puts on Rose's posture, Karkat is lowkey freaked out, but Dave always is quick to drop it when no one is around, discard it with the casualness of tossing out a balled up paper.

still, the fact they can fucking just swap gives Karkat a reminder of his first impression of them, that a pair of New Vegas twins were dangerous.

anyway, Dave goes to the office with Karkat and answers to "Rose" and-- okay he's not as good at Rose's actual job but when word gets out that "Rose" is pregnant, everyone goes easier on him anyway, it's fine. and it makes lunch breaks a lot more interesting; dave gets bored, finds a gap in the schedule, and has a locked-door meeting with Karkat. the rumor mill is having a ball with it.

Rose, on the other hand, is SO FUCKING BORED. she's so bored. every night she grills Dave on what he DOES all day. Dave's answer does not impress her. so Rose eventually gets so bored, she goes out as Dave and looks for a job, and settles on an open afternoon position at the Vineyard radio station.

which in turn leads to another hysterical fight that goes a bit like

ROSE: Perhaps I became concerned about my dear brother, sitting around at home with nothing to enrich his life, wilting like a cactus bloom. DAVE: aw no fuck that and fuck you, I entrusted you with my identity and you go and get me EMPLOYED? you got me a JOB? ROSE: You know there are many who would be extremely blessed to have such a service. In fact, you may find that you are already very popular at Radio Wine. DAVE: you are playin with some fire, sis, given who is wearing your stupid fucking heels and sitting at your stupid fucking desk for the next few months. ROSE: That threat is more than a little uncalled for. Did you not notice I went out of my way to select a job I thought you would be amenable to? KARKAT: [silently eats dinner, shaking his head to himself. how the fuck is this his life. how.]

so that's life for a while until Dave is far enough along it's reasonable for him to prep for having a baby. "Dave" conveniently informs her new employer at the radio station that she's gonna be the midwife and needs to be on-call to run home. everything is set.

Karkat is like "Are you two both addicted to, like... complexity? I feel like you made this whole situation much more complicated." Rose is like, "Well, yes. We are still con artists, and one of the techniques for controlling a mark is to make things just complicated enough that they are spending too much time trying to understand the situation." Dave nods. "Yeah, they're too busy keeping the dominoes lined up, so they have less time to catch you." Karkat points out, "Yeah but who are you conning here." And the twins change the subject because they don't want to admit they might've done all this out of habit.

anyway, the twins decide the baby should definitely be named Vantas so if in the future there is legal trouble and the NCR tries to deport them back to Nevada, either of them can claim to be the parent for legal protection. Rose says she'll use her connections to get them each a fake ID to back up the story. Karkat feels a headache coming on.

but baby is born! everyone takes some some time off, and dave and rose swap back. rose also notes aloud that being a family man looks good to karkat's future constituents. karkat tells her no.

the rumor mill spins up again when Karkat and Dave and Rose and new baby Vantas go on an outing to the broadwalk. eventually, Rose will start winding up karkat's mayoral campaign behind his back, and they'll all be happy. 8)

[celestial-thoughts]

an update of sorts (platonic 4 horsewomen of mma)

Prompt 1: Wondering if you could do something with the 4 horsewomen talking all together and them talking to Shayna about her and Dakotas relationship and how it's been going??? Prompt 2: Wondering if you could do a platonic story with the 4 horsewomen(mma) about how shayna's changed since dating Dakota ???

Author's note: I'm so sorry this took me so long to finish! Between other life stuff, repeatedly getting sick, other writing projects, and a lack of inspiration, I just hadn't been able to do it until now. This takes place during Crown Jewel 2022.

Word count: 1.1k

"You know, we really should do this more often," Shayna remarks as she drops onto one of the couches in the living room of their hotel suite.

By some miracle Shayna, Jessamyn, Ronda, and Marina had managed to find a weekend when they were all free, and they now found themselves in a hotel in Vegas. It felt like forever since the four horsewomen had been reunited. But finally, they're all together again.

"Says the person who has the busiest schedule out of all of us," Jessamyn teases from the armchair.

"Ronda has the same job as me," Shayna points out.

Ronda laughs at this. "I'm not the one with a girlfriend that I'm madly in love with," she fires back. Shayna opens her mouth to protest, but Ronda shakes her head. "Don't try to deny it," she says. "We know it's the truth."

"What's the truth?" Marina says as she enters the room, her hair still wet from showering.

"That Shayna is in love with Dakota," Ronda says, crossing the room and sitting down next to Shayna. "How is that going by the way? I feel like we haven't really caught up in forever."

Shayna feels her cheeks flush as she holds back a smile. "It's good," she says, trying to stay casual about the whole thing.

"Just good?" Jess asks, raising an eyebrow at Shayna.

Shayna squirms a little, not quite making eye contact with any of her friends. "What answer were you expecting?" she asks. Ronda smirks at her, and Shayna immediately shakes her head. "Nope. Not telling you any of that," she says.

"Come on, since when do you keep secrets from us?" Ronda asks, playfully nudging Shayna's shoulder.

Shayna cracks a smile. "Since there are some things that I just want to keep to myself," she says.

Ronda opens her mouth to say something but Marina shoots her a look. Ronda pauses, rethinking her words. "Okay, you don't have to share anything you're not comfortable with," she says. "We just want to know how you've been. We've barely talked since you two started dating."

Shayna smiles at this. She really does have the best friends in the world. "I've been good," she says. "I've been really, really happy."

Marina looks up at Shayna from where she's sitting on the floor. "You seem happier," she remarks. "Not that you didn't seem happy before but," she trails off, as if searching for the right words.

"I get what you mean," Shayna says. "I think we've both finally adjusted to having a limited amount of time to spend together, which sucks but we try to make the most of it." Suddenly, her phone buzzes and she looks down to find a text from Dakota.

Dakota Kai: We're the second match on the card, in case you wanted to watch.

Jess looks over Shayna's shoulder at her phone and smiles. "Are you going to watch her match?" she asks.

"Of course I am," Shayna says, as she types a response to her girlfriend.

Shayna Baszler: Wouldn't miss it. Have fun out there. I'll be cheering you on from here.

Dakota Kai: Hopefully I don't mess up.

Shayna Baszler: You won't, I promise. And remember that no matter what happens, you'll always be my champion <3.

Dakota Kai: xoxo <3

Shayna puts her phone away and stands up to grab her laptop. She returns to the couch and pulls up Crown Jewel, setting the device on the coffee table.

"Don't you already know what's going to happen?" Ronda asks as they watch the opening match.

Shayna shakes her head. "Dakota wouldn't tell me anything," she says. "But for her sake, I really hope that the right decision was made."

"I'm guessing she didn't take the title loss very well?" Marina asks.

Shayna sighs. "She said that she was fine, but I could tell that it upset her," she says. "She was finally starting to find her confidence again, and losing the belt definitely rattled her."

Jess nudges Shayna's shoulder, nodding towards the computer. "It's time," she says.

Shayna turns to face the laptop, taking a deep breath. A women's title has never changed hands in Saudi Arabia before, but there's a first time for everything. Dakota and Iyo make their entrance and Shayna can't help but smile. Even without the title around her waist, Dakota has never looked more ready.

"Hey, don't forget to breathe," Marina says.

The match is back and forth, and Shayna flinches every time Dakota or Iyo kicks out of a pinfall attempt. At one point Dakota locks in a submission attempt on Asuka and Shayna can't help but smile.

"Did you teach her that?" Ronda asks, and Shayna nods.

They continue to watch. As Alexa climbs to the top rope with Dakota down on her back, Shayna feels her heart pounding. "Get the knees up," she says under her breath, hoping that Dakota is aware of the situation she's in. Alexa goes for twisted bliss, and Dakota gets her knees up to her chest just in time. Shayna lets out the breath she was holding.

As soon as Asuka and Iyo start going at each other, Shayna knows that if Dakota and Iyo pull off the victory it likely won't be clean. Not with the official distracted. Sure enough, Nikki Cross appears and takes out Alexa.

Dakota quickly covers Alexa, and Shayna doesn't miss the way her girlfriend screams for the referee. She holds her breath, hoping that this is it.

One. Two. Three.

Shayna lets out the breath. They did it. Dakota and Iyo are once again champions. She smiles, knowing that there will be a very happy Dakota coming home on Tuesday.

"I figured out what's different about you," Marina says.

Shayna looks at her, a confused expression on her face. "There's nothing different about me," she says.

"I mean since you started dating Dakota," Marina explains. "You find joy in her successes, even when things aren't going as well for you."

"She's right," Ronda chimes in. "I remember when I talked to you after Clash at the Castle. I expected you to be upset because you lost your match. But instead, you we're so excited because Dakota won her match."

Jess gives Shayna's shoulder a squeeze. "We're glad you've found someone who makes you so happy," she says.

Shayna smiles, thinking about all the times Dakota has made her happy when nothing else could. She thinks about how lucky she is to have Dakota in her life. "Me too," she says. "Me too."

[pint4punt]

Revenge of the Nerd: Kellen Moore’s Chance to Prove the One who Got Away Wrong

It’s been just under 8 months since Zeke infamously lined up under Center in the latest series of laughable Cowboys’ desperation plays with their season on the line. Yes Kellen Moore’s beautiful mind has certainly given us some of our favorite moments in sports’ history. But of course when shit so unceremoniously hits the fan with the whole Country watching, somebody has to take the blame, and that somebody most certainly isn’t going to be the man who lied to get the job in the first place.

Moore was promptly…….mutually parted ways with, as McCarthy felt that having the league’s best Red Zone Offense and being a Top 10 Rushing Offense wasn’t good enough. But surely Mike McCarthy, a Super Bowl winning Head Coach who previously called plays for the Packers and was never questioned by his Quarterback Aaron Rodgers almost every snap, could do even better……right? Hahaha oh Dallas fans turn back now, it only gets worse from here as we preview how the jilted nerd in LA is about to unleash his master plan for revenge on Monday Night Football.

The Offenses

Dallas Cowboys:

The Cowboys’ 2023 Offense has left a lot to be desired through 5 games. They managed to plummet from 1st in Red Zone Scoring all the way to 27th and turnovers continue to be a problem. While all of their wins have been blowouts, 3 of their 12 Touchdowns on the year have come from the Defense. Take those away, and Dallas’ 1.8 Touchdowns per game would tie for 22nd in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In all fairness, it wasn’t just Moore that left the team in the offseason. Ezekiel Elliot, arguably their most effective goal line back is now with the Patriots and Tony Pollard has yet to find the End Zone since he hauled in two against the Giants in Week 1. Their passing game hasn't fared much better with top receiver Cee Dee Lamb having one Touchdown on the year and only one game in which he eclipsed 100 yards while newcomer Brandin Cooks, who literally has had 1,000 receiving yards everywhere he’s been, has less than 100 (73) on the year so far.

But hey teams regress, especially when their seasons end in insane fashion the year before. Something Kellen Moore’s new team knows all about after blowing a 27-7 lead in the playoffs last year. So how has his new squad fared so far?

Los Angeles Chargers:

The Chargers’ 2023 Campaign got off to a bumpy start dropping their first two games to the Dolphins and Titans before rebounding with wins against Minnesota and Las Vegas. While no team wants to start 0-2, one thing the Chargers can hang their hats on is how damn efficient they’ve been in the Red Zone, scoring on 68.75% of their trips which is good for 5th in the NFL, 13 spots higher than they ranked last year. Oh and this has all been without the help of Austin Ekeler, the league’s touchdown leader for the past two years, in 3 of the first 4 games. Huh, makes you wonder if there is a correlation between the Cowboys alarming regression and the Chargers’ meteoric ascension in the Red Zone year over year?

Even if the casual fan hasn’t caught on to Moore’s impact yet, the Chargers’ players certainly have taken notice. Keenan Allen is on pace for nearly 1,850 yards, threw the first touchdown of his career this year, and frankly, looks like the second coming of Christ right now. The Offense has a whole is clearly humming with the Chargers having the third most points per game (388.8) and only two turnovers on the year. But we all know that teams’ offensive outputs aren’t just dependent on the scheme or skill positions. We also have to look at the game’s most important position:

The Quarterbacks

Dak Prescott:

Coming into last week’s “Super Bowl litmus test” for the Cowboys, Dak had actually done a great job protecting the football with only one interception through four games. Well apparently that is a lot harder against a team that can punch back, as Dak was tormented by the 49ers’ secondary, their otherworldly Linebacker Fred Warner, and even their backups, each of which managed to pick off Dak in the biggest ass kicking of the Cowboys/49ers Rivalry.

Despite embarrassing his team, his coaches, his family, America, everyone who loves him, God, and the known universe last week, things do get a little interesting when you dive into Quarterback rankings on the year. Kellen Moore’s old quarterback currently ranks 7th in the NFL, one spot behind……Kellen Moore’s new quarterback

Justin Herbert:

That’s right, Moore’s prodigious new signal caller is still only one spot ahead of the lovable doofus he left behind in Texas. But make no mistake, there’s a sizable difference between the 6th highest ranked QB and the 7th. Herbert boasts a 30.3 EPA, well above Dak’s EPA of 21.5 while holding a 7:1 Touchdown to Interception ratio compared to Dak’s 5:4.

Still, the more important question isn’t how Herbert compares to Dak. It’s how each QB’s ‘23 campaign compares to their ‘22 campaign.

‘22 Dak

-Yards per Game: 238.33

-Touchdowns Per Game: 1.92

-Interceptions Per Game: 1.25

‘22 Herbert

-Yards per Game: 278.76

-Touchdowns Per Game: 1.47

-Interceptions Per Game: 0.59

‘23 Dak

-Yards per Game: 212.2

-Touchdowns Per Game: 1

-Interceptions Per Game: 0.8

‘23 Herbert

-Yards per game: 276.5

-Touchdowns Per Game: 1.75

-Interceptions Per Game: 0.25

Look the season is still very young, but the early returns suggest Herbert continuing to perform at a high level while Dak has noticed a dip in production, albeit a commensurate dip in interceptions. This definitely speaks to McCarthy’s vocal effort at playing to the the Defense, even at the cost of Offensive production. That being said, Offensive production would sure have been helpful last weekend when Dak’s squad lost by four possessions. Sure McCarthy’s strategy of protecting the football makes sense when the Defense……..plays Defense, but when that doesn’t happen, quality Quarterback play will be crucial and Dak already looks like he misses Kellen Moore. So with the revenge game looming the question becomes:

How Do They Match Up?

Remember that touchdown leader for the past two years running? Yeah he’s back for this prime time matchup which gives Dr. Frankenmoore even more than tools to work with against his old team that is giving up 4.5 yards/carry and a Red Zone Defense ranked 19th through the first 5 weeks. On the other side, the Chargers rank 12th in the Red Zone suggesting Dallas’ bottom tier Red Zone Offense will continue to struggle.

Look revenge narratives are fun and as you can probably tell, our hard earned American dollars are on the subject of this article’s team tonight. But that’s not just to poke fun at “America’s Team”. No honest to god, in our heart of hearts, we truly believe that Mike McCarthy…….is a steaming pile of dog shit of a Head Coach.

Say what you will about Kellen Moore, but the Cowboys looked a lot more competent with him running the offense…..and that’s saying a lot of you’ve ever watched Cowboys’ football.

[sanddusted-wisteria]

Empty Skies, Hazy Skyboxes, Ch. 5

prev | index

Also on AO3

------------

Qi opened the saloon’s front doors, and was greeted with Owen’s smiling face from behind the counter.

“Hey, Director! Glad to see ya.”

Qi gave him a nod. “Good evening. The usual, please.”

“Meat-stuffed mushroom with a summer sand tea, comin’ right up.” As Owen moved to the kitchen, Qi took a seat at the bar, two seats down from Justice, who raised an eyebrow in greeting as he approached.

“Evenin’, Director. Holdin’ up okay?”

“I am indeed ‘holding up’,” Qi said in a way that he hoped seemed casual. “Thank you for the concern.”

Justice nodded thoughtfully as he took a sip of his yakmel milk. “‘Course. Just makin’ sure.” His awkward manner was of no surprise to Qi. Everyone seemed to be acting cautiously around him today. Everyone knew what day it was.

Justice drained the last of his milk and stood up, leaving a couple gols on the counter. “Well, I gotta get back on patrol. You need to talk, you can find me anytime. Unsuur too, but…y’know.” With a stiff nod, he left the saloon.

The kitchen door swung open and Owen came out, carrying his food. Qi fished around in his pockets for the payment.

Owen just held up a hand. “On the house,” he said, a sad glimmer in his eyes.

“Oh… Oh.” Qi had no idea how to respond, so he just picked up the fork and started digging in. Owen silently went back to cleaning up the bar, opting to leave Qi alone. He knew his customers well. Qi never liked conversing with anyone while he was eating on a normal day. And today…

“Oh, there you are, Qi hun.” Qi glanced over his shoulder to see Vivi strolling in. “You didn’t come for dinner tonight! We all sat there for 15 minutes all worried!”

“Ah. Vivi. Apologies. I’d completely forgotten. I’m a bit absentminded today, you see…”

Vivi’s face fell. “Of course, child. Don’t you worry ‘bout it. I’ll wrap it up and drop it off at your research center so you can have it tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” he said blandly, eyes unfocused.

He was brought back down to Earth with Vivi’s gentle hands on his shoulders. “Take a deep breath, hun.” Qi closed his eyes, slowly drawing air in…and out. “That’s it.”

In…and out.

In…and out.

The fog in his head cleared a little bit. He opened his eyes to see Vivi’s sad smile. Tears pooled in her eyes.

“Tell them…that we all miss them…so much,” she whispered.

“...I will.”

------------

Qi left the saloon into the darkened street. Street lights started blinking on around him, but he turned and headed away from the lights, out towards the workshop. The last orange tinges of the sunset disappeared behind the mountains in the distance, stars already peeking out of the newly-dark sky. Qi kept his eyes straight ahead. He wouldn’t look up. Not yet.

He opened the door to the house and went to the bedroom, opening up the closet. Rolled into a neat little bundle and tucked safely in a corner was their stargazing blanket. He picked it up, dusting off some of the sand that was perpetually stuck in its folds. He took one last steadying breath. He was ready.

Qi walked through the barren streets towards the back of town. The cold night air made him shiver, and he clutched the rolled-up blanket to his chest. Finally, he stood before the graveyard gate. He opened it carefully, trying not to make it squeak. He padded silently towards their headstone. “Hello, starlight…” he murmured as he crouched down to brush the sand off the carved stone, his thumb tracing along the epithet.

Sandrock’s shining star.

Sandrock’s spirit lies with them, and their spirit lies with Sandrock.

He spread the blanket out on the sand beside the headstone and laid down. “I’m doing alright. I just submitted another paper to Vega 5’s astronomy journal. Bound to be accepted, of course. A review on all the astronomical relic discoveries we’ve made in Sandrock so far. And of course, I gave you credit where it was due.”

…

“Mi-an has been helping me build new components for the Mobile Suit. Recently I’ve managed to improve its mobility on soft sand by almost 200% by adding some retractable treaded wheels.”

…

“Sleepyhead came back a few weeks ago for the Portia road project. You should’ve seen his face when the Mobile Suit was in action! He’s off to Portia now, for their part of the project.”

…

“Yes, yes, don’t worry, I’m still getting a responsible amount of sleep every night. Regular full meals, too. Vivi would never let me live it down if I didn’t.”

…

“Elsie says the animals are well. She told me to tell you that, erm, ‘Doodles says hi’. The idea that a yakmel could say anything is ludicrous, but I wasn’t about to waste time arguing about it.”

…

“Tonight the Perseids are at their peak. Oh!” He pointed to a brilliant shooting star that lit up his vision. “Magnificent, isn’t it? It’s a debris cloud from the Swift-Tuttle comet that Earth happens to pass through every summer.”

…

…

“I still miss you. I miss you terribly.”

…

“Sometimes it still hurts to look up at the night sky like this… Just another reminder of…”

…

“B-but…I think I am getting better. Hugo and his family have practically taken me in as one of their own. They know what it’s like…”

…

“They all miss you too. You were practically a part of them as much as I am now.”

…

“I never realized how nice it feels to have someone care for me.”

…

“Still…it never feels the same as you.”

…

…

His next words caught in his throat. He tensed, trying to force them out. They sat stubbornly on the tip of his tongue.

I love you, he thought. He felt tears prick at his eyes as he struggled to say it aloud.

He’d always found it hard to say it. Like he’d spontaneously combust the instant the words left his mouth. So he’d say it in every way but his voice. An “I love you” pressed into their skin whenever they touched. An “I love you” hidden behind his signature at the bottom of every diagram he gave them. An “I love you” in every drop of oil and every tightened bolt when he repaired their machines. An “I love you” steeped in every cup of tea.

An “I love you” whispered into the open air beside their grave, long after they could ever hear him.

…

The stars slowly turned over his head. He recognized things that he had told the builder about before on this very blanket: stars, asterisms, planets, satellites. They would always listen with rapt attention as he spilled everything he knew. Sometimes, they knew a story about something he would point out. Old myths, sometimes passed down from even before the Age of Corruption. Normally, he wouldn’t entertain such nonsensical and unscientific accounts of the stars. Stories of people and animals and allsorts getting turned into asterisms? Ridiculous. But the builder’s storytelling always managed to…enchant him somehow. And even without the builder’s narration, he had to admit that it was a beautiful sentiment. Being enshrined forever in the sky, admired for all eternity.

A small part of him, deep within his heart of hearts, imagined his builder up there. Winking at him from thousands of light years away, a quiet, persistent presence in the sky.

Always bright, always beautiful, always there.

His dearest starlight.

------------

prev | index

[always-andromeda]

NSFW Alphabet | Timothy Klitz

Timothy Klitz x fem!Reader

Author's Note | you all can thank soph for the two posts in one day. also, the way I go off on these? I'm so sorry. sometimes I will picture a scenario and like...I have to write it all down??? also I watched a YouTube video with all of Klitz's scenes and I went buck wild. Idk how I forgot how adorable and sweet he is that movie. especially when they go to Vegas and him and Eli are talking to that girl and pretending to be producers. just him saying "hi!" was giving me butterflies? god what a nerd (it's me, I'm the nerd).

Warnings | little bit of Eli slander (dw, I love him), smut under the cut! minors, please don't interact!!

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Tim is oblivious about aftercare. He'll finish cumming and be like, That was awesome and then kick back all casually and you're like Baby. Honey. Sweetheart…that’s it? and he's very confused about what he's supposed to do. So you have to teach him how to hold you afterwards, how to clean up. And he’ll do it, of course, but he straight up doesn’t think about it at first. He discovers that he really likes to cuddle you, though, and that’s as satisfying as the sex itself.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Totally a boob man. Y’all saw how he literally moaned touching a boob in the movie!! He likes laying his head on your chest as you pet his hair. You smack him one day when he says Mmm, Klitzes tittses as he buries his head between them. God, you're such a fucking weirdo you say with scorn. But he feels your chest shudder underneath him with quiet laughter and he knows it's okay. So if you're having a bad day, sometimes he'll repeat it just to make you laugh (it’s also how he signals that he wants to cuddle you).

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He will cum anywhere you let him. He's a little bit of a freak that way. Like the first time he pulls out and cums on your stomach, he says, Woah. Sweet. and is so thrilled about it that it almost makes him hard again. Again, I just imagine it being kind of fun to him. 

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Okay, maybe this is just me projecting here but I think he'd get hard talking to you on the phone a few times. He figures it out one day when you call him while you're on vacation. And when you start saying, I miss you so much, babe. He feels something stirring down below. Oh, he really didn’t think he’d be into that.

But he doesn't want you to know; doesn't want you to think he's even more of a dork than you already do. So he just keeps asking you questions about your day and slowly takes himself out and starts pumping to the sound of your voice. He tries not to talk from there. He just lets you ramble on about all you did.

You get the hint that he's doing something else when he lets out a breathy and shaky, Mhmm, yeah? midway through your sentence. But you're not sure if he'd actually have the guts to do that over the phone. So you lightly test the waters and say, I just wish you were with me right now, Klitzy. It's so cold over here.

And he is SILENT. He almost drops the phone because he's so taken aback by how good you sounded saying that. He doesn't have a free hand left to cover his mouth so he's biting his bottom lip and just fighting through it, hand on his cock moving a little faster.

That's how you know he is 100% jerking off over the phone and the power that makes you feel...it's immense. You keep teasing him over the next few minutes until he cums, a weak groan beginning to fall from his lips. You can hear the first few notes of it before he covers the speaker with his hand.

Klitz is ashamed to say it, but this will keep happening every once in a while. And he thinks he does a good job of hiding it. But little does he know, you play it up just to help him out. Neither of you ever mentions this strange little space you've created with each other.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Klitz has NO clue what he’s doing. He knows the basics. Like he knows the different parts of your anatomy, knows that he can finger you, can eat you out, can have sex, all of those things. But he can’t really figure out how it all works? Like he’s just gotta wiggle his dick around down there and you’re good to go? He is shocked to find out that it’s a liiiiittle more complicated than that. But he’s excited to learn. He just thinks it’s really fun that there are multiple ways that he can make you cum besides just wiggling his dick around.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

This guy...he loves when you ride him. Like he’s totally cool with doing missionary too. But with your tits bouncing in front of him and the way you sharply pant as you go? He gets to dig his fingers into your hips. And sometimes you'll throw your arms around his neck and hang your head on his shoulder. He wouldn’t trade that show for the whole world.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

An absolute goofball. Especially the first time. Because he is just so excited that he gets to do this with you! You agreed to have sex with him! So he's all awkward smiles and trying to keep things light, mostly just to calm himself down a bit. He's unintentionally very funny. Like sometimes he will just fixate on a part of your body midway through sex (most of the time it's either your boobs or your collarbone) and be so dumbfounded that it will make you laugh a little. Snapping out of it he'll go What? and look at you dazed, glasses slipping down his nose and mouth slightly parted. You just shake your head and kiss him until he's reminded of what he was supposed to be doing.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

He didn’t even know that was a thing he was allowed to do until Eli shows him a porno where the guy is COMPLETELY bald down there. He says, Dude, what’s up with that? Eli is entranced, absentmindedly says, What’s up with what? Though Klitzy is super uncomfortable, he says slowly, That guy…he’s like…smooth. And Eli legitimately laughs at him, You’ve never tried to shave your balls? He explains (in way too much detail) how one time he tried it but didn't like how cold he felt afterwards. He also used a dull blade so he was super red for weeks afterwards. And that turns Klitz off of the idea entirely until Eli says But, hey, chicks dig it.

So there Timothy Klitz is standing in his bathroom, shaving gel in one hand and a razor in the other. And he almost just goes for it until you walk in and stare at him with wide eyes, darting back and forth between his dick and that razor. What are you doing? Klitz tries to sound casual, Oh, uuuummm...ya know...just...shaving. Your mouth starts to hang open, Why??? Freeze frame on his face, trying to think up an answer that doesn't sound stupid. Yeah, you've seen his dick many times at this point and are comfortable enough with him that you just strolled into the bathroom knowing he was in there, but somehow he feels so embarrassingly naked. Like dreaming of showing up naked in class, kind of naked. 

He decides to say Because chicks dig it? and you pinch the bridge of your nose Did Eli tell you that? Klitz nods. Eli is a dumb virgin who hasn't had a single woman touch him, let alone tell him what they find attractive. And I happen to think that you're perfectly gorgeous just the way you are.

Klitz puts down the razor at that point and never picks it back up. So yeah the carpet matches the drapes! He’s got a fairly messy bush of thin, gingerish hairs down there.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

As much of a goof as he is, Klitz is so so so sweet during sex. Sometimes he'll get a little insecure because he's well aware he's not the most conventionally attractive guy. And he's totally confused sometimes why you're still with him because you could do so much better. So he tries very hard to show you that staying with him is worth it with little compliments and kisses. Over and over he'll say you're so pretty and you're so good to me.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He jacks off probably once a day or so. But he gets very embarrassed about it. He’s the kind of guy who will watch porn and as soon as he cums, he looks back up at the computer screen all shocked like, Oh god, who turned THIS on??? He’ll quickly close the internet browser, delete all of his internet history AND all his cookies.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Heavily believe Klitz is into role-play. Very much enjoys the professor/student dynamic but plot twist: you're the professor. If your hair is longer, he loves when you pull it up into a bun and push a pencil into it. He’ll ask to borrow a pencil and you’ll take it out and he goes crazy watching your hair fall over your chest. He loves when you wear a button up that's undone just enough that he can see the cups of your bra peeking out the top. Loves when you assign him "extra credit" because he's such a pleasure in class. 

Ograsm! Control! If you edge him, especially while roleplaying?? He has no choice but to go with it. He IS a bit of a teacher's pet, of course. 

Praise kink all the way. Be nice to him. He's insecure enough on his own so if you offer him any bit of praise, he's over the moon. Even a little that feels good or a yeah, right there will have him smiling and almost stumbling over himself. He just wants to feel like he's good enough for you.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Klitzy talks a biiiig game about being super nasty and freaky. But when you finally take him up on it, he SHRIVELS like a raisin. Fuck the man in his car and he is over the moon but also kind of anxious the whole time, afraid that someone is going to see. For the most part, he likes keeping it safe and sticking in his room. Besides, it gives him more time with you.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Whenever you touch him reaaaal slow, he is just ready. Like sometimes you walk your fingers up his arm and it sends shivers up his spine. Put you hand on his knee, I dare you, because that will get his face all red. But if you slide your hand up his thigh, he'll recline back and be totally fine if you just take him from there.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Nothing with pain. I don't even think he'd enjoy choking or anything a little bit more tame. He's in this for a good, fun time and as much as he says he likes to get freaky, he's not THAT freaky.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Klitz loves giving. It's probably one of his favorite parts of having sex with you actually, especially because he got good at it VERY quickly. If he's got a few spare hours between college classes, you KNOW where he's gonna want to be. There have been a few times where he will make you lay back on his bed and just be at it for so so so long. Again, he thinks it's so fun that he can even do this to you. He takes immense pleasure in making you cum over and over again. Even when you're clenching your thighs together because you're so sensitive, he'll make you cum just one more time after that for good measure.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

He really can go either way. It just depends on how much time you have and how sentimental he’s feeling and what you want. Like if he’s got some time between classes, he most definitely will be throwing his bag down and can roughly fuck you on his couch. But if you ask him to go a bit more gentle, he won't mind. He enjoys a bit of slow burn intimacy; likes giving you little kisses as you moan under him.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Klitz is okay with the occasional quickie but he really prefers the full experience. He genuinely likes you and therefore, he likes taking his time. Sure, having sex between classes is fun, but it’s not nearly as meaningful of an encounter than when you’re spending a whole night with him.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Tim gets a bit nervous doing new things (mostly because he doesn't want to look dumb in front of you) but he's willing to try anything that you're willing to. As long as you ask him nicely, he can build up just enough confidence to appear somewhat together (even if he's melting inside).

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He can go for three to four rounds but sorry, he doesn't last long. It takes him a while to be able to build up the resistance and last long enough to make you cum too. And he gets kind of nervous about it; gets worried that you'll see him as inadequate. He is packing heat. So why can't he make you get off? He is persistent though! He will try until he is so tired that he physically can't cum anymore. He really is kind of a people pleaser at heart.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Klitz gets intimidated by toys so he tends not to like them. If he goes into a sex shop with you, he’s not going to be shy exactly, but he’ll get almost defensive. Like you pull a dildo from off the shelf and look at it and he’ll say under his breath, C’mon, even I’m bigger than that. And you’ll roll your eyes because of course he’d say that.

Eli got him a fleshlight before he started seeing you because You gotta at least practice getting pussy, man. And even though Klitz uses it sometimes, since Eli has touched it, he can’t think about it too much or it makes him want to gag a bit.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He won't tease you all too often but it is so much fun to teach him. Though he's really a switch at heart, if you tease him enough, the whiney sub in him will come out in full force. Run your nails down his abdomen and he will be WHIMPERING. If you're edging him, he is so eager to please that he will just take the torture because your hand is so much softer and delicate than his.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

So loud (again, he literally moaned OUT LOUD touching some titty). Like, sometimes you have to cover his mouth if you guys need to be quiet. But most of the time, it’s really sweet that he’s so expressive. He face screws up and you can tell that he’s enjoying himself because he’s groaning in between muttering Fuck, fuck, you’re so good. You’ll know he’s getting closer though when he starts panting and his curses get higher pitched.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

He really likes cuddling you. Before and after sex. He's always been a little bit more sensitive than his friends but this is the one parts of your relationship that he won't ever mention to the guys. Because it feels so special to him that the sexual aspect aside, you enjoy being affectionate to him.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

We already know. Everyone knows. Timothy Klitz is HUGE. He is packing eight inches hard. And like...it's pretty thick. And you KNOW he is so proud about it. He doesn't brag about it all the time, but it's just enough that it makes you a little exasperated.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Being a young guy, it's fairly high. Like he can go multiple times if he really wants to at almost any time of the day. There won't be too much time in between sexual encounters either.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Klitz is such a sleepy guy afterwards. He'll want to bury his head in your neck and give you drowsy little kisses. Or he wants your head on his chest. Either way, he likes being connected to you in some way at the end of sex. You make him feel very comfortable with himself. And being an awkward dude, he appreciates it so much. So he tries his best to show it at the end of the night when you're both falling asleep.