#don't know if that tag is necessary but I'll use it anyway

[buttercup-barf]

The Mario movie was cute, best scenes are the ones with the bros just being. Bros.

Peppino is their cousin. That's it, that's the funny.

And per tradition? I guess? Some more (unfortunately Mario-less) doodles under the cut.

... Yeah. Twinsomnia again. These damn sibs are still on my brain. They're here to - Oh? Oh, Peppino's not a kid? They had the wrong address? Oh well. Might as well help him get through the tower!

Something-something functioning as a single character, something-something throwing each other around, something-something basically Gus and Brick.

Some more self-indulgent crossover'ish nonsense...

Same mirror, same man, different time, different reflections. Shoutout to @/rascal-rose for the idea of young Peppino having curly hair!! I cherish him.

And some wholesome stuff to top it off. (I feel like my handwriting is especially bad on the last one, so just in case, it goes "Buongiorno, ranocchio. Do you want the coffee?".)

[martianbugsbunny]

I had the benefit of a really strong liberal arts education bc I was homeschooled and that was really important to my mom, and I'm pretty aware that public education in that domain can be pretty lacking (which is a criticism of the system that doesn't teach writing skills the way it should, not of the people who go through the system), so I'm considering starting a series of posts for vocabulary/writing tips. just for fun, just in case there are people who might find it useful. not in a "writing can't be good unless it's perfect" way but in a "if you want help figuring out the right word to use in such-and-such situation or ways to structure things to make them flow better" way.

if you're interested, cool! and if there's a specific thing you struggle with and wouldn't mind an outside voice on, drop me an ask, both anons and otherwise are turned on w this blog, so whatever you're comfortable with, and I can either give you my best advice or throw it anybody else who knows

[costkappen]

Best boy《CLxReader》

Tags....☆smut,blow job, sub!Charles, Dom!reader, no use of y/n,fluff,charles is insecure,reassuring

Warnings....☆smut!mdni, a bit of sad!Charles but nothing too sad or angsty

Word count....☆1795

A bit of a warning, this is my first time writing so it not the best,also please correct me if you find any spelling mistakes as I didn't proof read this,anyways enjoy I hope I did good!

He looked so pretty high up on the podium, his smiling face half covered by the shining Australian sun making his pretty blue eyes shine like I've never seen before.

After the podium celebrations I went after him and pulled him in the tightest hug ever

"Congratulations Charles! P2 and double ferrari podium, I'm so proud of you" his face lit up at my praise, something I've picked up since I first met him, he gloats over the littlest praise aimed towards him, even if it wasn't said to him directly, he has a habit of kicking himself down way more that necessary when the smallest thing goes wrong, even if it wasn't his fault he always finds a way to beat himself up over it, so over the years I've made a mental note to sower him with praises as much as I can. "Thank you chéri, I'm also really happy with the team today, let's go to my drivers room I'll take a quick shower and then we'll go back to the hotel"

The drive to the hotel was fairly silent, I didn't say anything to him but I saw how his lips twitched and how his grip on the steering wheel was so tight the tips of his fingers turned white. Yes he was happy about his podium, but there was something he was not telling me so I made it my personal mission to find out what was bothering him so much on a day that was supposed to make him feel like he was on cloud 9.

Once we arrived to the hotel the first thing I did was change into something more comfortable and then I went looking for him, "Hey baby" I said as I sat down on his lap on the couch "How are you feeling? You must be so happy, we have to celebrate with Carlos and Rebecca tonight you boys did such a good job"

The praise made him smile, still he didn't look like his usual self "Yeah I'm really happy Chéri, I think the team needed this win, I can't wait to celebrate with you all" then he gives me a quick kiss on the lips and looks at me without saying anything else

" Alright then if you're so happy then why are you acting like that?" "Acting like what?" He says with a nervous giggle as to make me think I'm just over thinking it. "Like you're about to cry Charlie, don't lie to me I know you too well." He then brings his hand to gently stroke my cheek, as if I was the one that needed comforting right now, "I really can't hide anything from you Chéri?" He let's out a sigh,his whole body deflating "I'm happy for Carlos, I really am, it's just that I can't stop thinking how it should've been me on the first step, not because I don't think that Carlos deserves it but because I've got the whole ferrari team and the tifosi rooting for me, and everytime I get second place instead of winning I feel like I'm letting down everyone, especially you" well I surely wasn't expecting that, yes I knew he had some troubles in believing himself, but I didn't know just how little he thought of himself, "Charlie I can promise you're not letting anyone down,and especially not me! Do you not know how proud I am of you? The redbull is been a monster of a car and so far you've been the only one to get as close to it as second place, everyone at the motorhome can tell you that, everyone is so proud of you even when you don't win we know that you could do so much more if we had a better car and if redbull didn't have a rocketship instead of a car,no one is upset with you Charlie" his lips were quivering and his pretty blue eyes were shiny and looked like they were ready to burst with tears, but I couldn't let my pretty boy cry on a day like this, not when he was supposed to be celebrating and happy with his amazing results, "Alright Charlie how about I show you just how much i am proud of you?"

I take his hand making him stand up from the couch "Where are we going Chéri?" He asks confused as ever "to the bed baby, I'll show you what good boys like you get when they've been so good" and as I make him get on the bed I get a good look at his flushed face, cheeks red and a little shy smile,

"I'll start slow okay?" He nods eagerly his head and I chuckle at his shyness, I start by prepping kisses all over his handsome face and I stop at his lips to give him a more passionate kiss occasionally sliding my tongue on his bottom lip, stroking his arms with my hand I could feel goosebumps forming, as I made my way to his neck I made sure that my kissed lingered a bit longer as to leave pink patches all over his neck, light enough to show but not too harsh so they would be gone the next day, as much as I wanted to leave purple marks all over him I knew pr would kill him if he showed up in public covered in hickeys, so just this once I'll refrain myself.

I could feel him shiver under me as I got to unbuttoning his shirt and I kissed all over his chest "Chéri please..don't tease me like this" he pleaded looking at me with his puppy eyes "What do you want me to do Charlie? I'll do anything you want as long as you ask me nicely " I was being a bit mean to him but I knew that he loved it when I took charge and teased him, "Please just touch me..anywhere I just want to feel your touch" his words make me melt, and how could I say no to him when he was begging so prettily "What a good boy you are Charles, asking me so nicely, don't worry I'll make you feel so good" He shivers as my hand gets lower, working on his pants to get them off, I slide them down along with his underwear as he raises his hips to help me get his pant off of him, I look back up staring at his pretty leaking dick, he wasn't the biggest but he still had the prettiest dick I've ever seen, clean and neatly groomed, I started tracing the veins that run across his shaft, that pulled a whimper out of him so I started using my tongue savoring his flavor on my tastbuds as I moved to his tip, clear beads of precum already leaking out "your dick is so pretty cha, so sensitive for me.." I look up at him smiling and circling my tongue around his tip "p-pleas chérie..take me in your mouth no more teasing" his pleas and the way he looked at me while he was making me go crazy, he just looked so good, still maintaining eye contact I took him as deep down my throat as I could go, seeing his face contorted from the pleasure gave me more confidence so I relaxed my throat and stopped when my nose hit his lower stomach, he tasted heavenly and I could hear his whimpers and soft moans, I bobbed my head up and down using my hand to stoke him at his base where I could not reach with my mouth, and he looked completely gone, eyes rolling back, hands gripping the sheets so hard his knuckles turned white and he let out the prettiest moans, but his breath was staring to hiccup and he started squirming against the sheet so I knew he was getting close "what is it cha? Getting close my sweet boy?" I cooed at him getting my mouth back on him as soon as I stopped talking "mhh- Chéri please don't stop i-" He gasped and as I looked at him I saw his eyes roll back, he was completely blissed out "what is it pretty boy, Can't talk anymore? Am I making you feel so good your brain can't form words?" His breath hitched and he let out a shaky moan, this time I decided to not make him beg me to let him cut, he had been so good and he deserved it, so I started focusing on his tip, circling it with my tongue and sucking it harshly while my hand stroked him up and down as the other held him at his base,I was so focused on getting him to his sweet and deserved release I almost didn't hear him warning me that he was about to cum, "look at me Charlie,I want to see your pretty face as you cum down my throat like a good boy,just like that cha let it go for me" my words pushed him off the edge and he gripped my hair slightly pushing my head down on him, I got the hint so I took him as deep as a could and he heal me there, his loud moans filled the room, at this point I knew that whoever was staying in the room next to us hear him but I couldn't care less, I just wanted him to feel good, as i looked at his fucked out expression I felt his sweet cum filling my mouth, his mouth hanged low as he let out one final loud moan and fell back on the pillows, I slowly pulled him out of my mouth, took his face in my hands and made him look at me as I swallowed his cum, and he smashed his mouth on mine, sliding his tongue inside my mouth passionately kissing me, a quiet thank you.

"Are you feeling better now Charlie?" I looked down at him as he was laying on my chest trying to gain his breath back "yes- yes thank you chéri I'm feeling much better chéri thank you" He smiled and kissed my neck and nuzzled his face as I covered us up with the covers "well then I'm confident that you learned your lesson and will start to believe in yourself more yes?" I say as I start stroking his hair

"Well I don't know chéri, if that's what happens when I doubt myself I might just start doing it more" He laughs and hides his face in the crook of my neck, I gently smack the back of his head but I also laugh at his comment "I love you charles, you know that right?" "I know chéri, but I love you more."

[kittievampire]

There's this text message from Simeon where he doesn't know how to take pictures on his phone. MC offers to help and he says that Lucifer would be impressed to see his pictures if MC taught him what to do.

My headcanon is that Simeon isn't as naive as he seems tho (cuz how you gonna be an angle and be dressed in the most slutty outfit huh). So MC goes to purgatory hall, helps him out, then "helps him out" wink wonk and he uses his 'new' camera skills to take pictures of her. And a couple 'accidentally' make their way to Lucifer.

I think it would be best if the way Simeon acts genuinely makes mc believe that he's innocent so she's not just naive, he's playing her ya know? Fuckboy Simeon? Gaslihhting? Imagine if he said "you know what you're doing". Okey tanks <3

So jealous cause I never got this text from Simeon >:(

Like, does bro not love me too? Wtf?

Anyways,

Lemme see what I have in my bag, dear~

Click here if ya wanna request!

Taking Photos is Hard!

Warnings: Cursing, Smut, Feigning Innocence (Gaslighting), Fuckboy! Simeon x Fem! MC, Photo/Video Exhibitionism, Creampie, Mention of Facial, Lucifer is the real victim here

Enjoy.

Simeon wasn't the best with technology, and you knew this.

That's why you were so compliant when he requested your assistance.

"I'm sorry, again, for inconveniencing you, MC." He apologized once more as he stepped aside, allowing you entry to his shared room with Luke. "Luke is out right now. He and Barbatos had planned a baking marathon, and Solomon wanted to tag along as well, so it's just the two of us in here."

You nodded your head in understanding, sitting down on the white sofa. "Ooh, this is comfy," You said with a small smile. "Okay!" You clasped your hands together. "You said you needed help with photos. Do you know how to get to the camera?"

Simeon pulled the device out of his pocket, pinching his brows together as he swiped through the applications. "Yes... I believe so, I've been there once... What does it look like?" He asked, eyes flicking to meet your gaze for a mere moment before looking back down at the screen. "It has a camera icon," You said, gently grasping his arm and tugging at it so he'd sit down beside you on the sofa.

The angel sat himself down beside you, and you peered over his shoulder to look at the D.D.D., pointing at the camera icon. "Right there." He clicked on it, screen immediately presenting a closer look at his crotch area. You could've sworn you saw a tent in his pants, but you quickly shook it off with a blush.

"Okay, so, do you see this huge white circle right here?" Simeon nodded. "That's what you're going to click to take a photo."

The angel stared down at the D.D.D. "Oh, what does this thing do?" He asked, swiping to the video option and pointing at the red circle. "That's to take a video. Go back to the camera."

There was silence for a moment.

"How do I do that?" You let out a small sigh, swiping back to the camera option. "Try taking a photo, I'll be your model!" You joked, leaning back onto the couch. "Ah, okay! Wow, you sure know what you're doing!" Simeon shot up with a smile, holding the D.D.D. in each hand horizontally. You sighed in relief, thankful that he knew how to, at the very least, hold the damn thing when taking a photo. "Tilt your head to the side a little? Put your knees together, and push your arms against yourself, but leave your hands on the sofa!"

"Wow, you're really getting into the modeling thing," You chuckled softly, following directions and adjusting your position as per requested. The camera flashed and Simeon repositioned himself. "Turn over,"

_

After adjusting your position multiple times in this little photoshoot, you found yourself bent over the sofa, skirt at your ankles, and Simeon slowly pulling your panties down to your knees. "S-Simeon, I don't think this is necessary!" The angel frowned, gently running a hand over your ass and caressing your lower back, which made you shudder. "Come now, MC. I'll let you photograph my most intimate areas as well if you be good for me." His voice was so sweet, almost as if he wasn't caressing the nakedness of the lower half of your body.

Simeon pulled his hand away, pushing his white pants down with one hand. "Stay just like that, Dove," He murmured softly, swallowing a lump in his throat as he saw your drooling cunt spew more of your essence onto your panties. A shudder sound was heard and you could see the wall glow a bit as the flash went off. Your breathing hitched as you felt your juices running down your thigh, pussy absolutely soaked in anticipation.

You wanted—

No, you needed him to do something. Anything!

Instead, Simeon stood behind you, snapping photos (mainly close-ups of your sopping cunt), while fisting his weeping hard cock. He then paused for a moment, swiping to the record option and hitting the red dot. "Dove," He moaned out softly, reaching out the hand that was getting himself off to gently run his fingers over your slit. You gasped. "What's this, hm? Why are you so wet?" You shook your head, burying your face into one of the pillows on the sofa. "I didn't know you were so perverted, Dove. You're dripping," He cooed, shifting his position so that he pressed the blunt tip against your entrance, precum oozing down to your clit. "W-Wha—?!"

You felt like the air was punched out of you, letting out a sharp gasp as Simeon slammed his entire cock into you in one go, your walls squeezing his length. You cried out, only for the angel behind you to shove your head into the pillow to silence you. "Shhhhh. MC, your voice is so angelic, but I want to hear what this cute little pussy of yours has to say as well," He said, angling the camera to capture how he thrusted his hips forward, cock slamming into you, earning a squelch from your cunt and a whine from your mouth, one that was muffled into the pillow. "There you go," He moaned out softly, moving his hand down to gently caress your ass.

Your walls clenched tightly around him, eyes rolling back as tears started to gather at your lower lash line. You squeezed the pillow in front of you, body jerking forward in protest to his rough fucking. Your vision was going blurry, and it felt like your brain was melting. All you could think of was Simeon and his huge cock that was fucking you into the sofa.

Simeon grasped one of your legs, lifting it and pushing your knee against the couch. This new angle allowed him to shift closer, thrust deeper into you, slamming into the spot that made you scream. "Quiet, MC," He warned softly, one of his hands moving down to circle your throbbing clit.

The stimulation from the bundle of nerves, as well as from his merciless thrusting, was sending you near the edge. "S-Simeon!" You moaned out, hugging the pillow close to your face. "That's it, Dove, let everyone know who's fucking you so good." His voice was so taunting yet so smooth, a sharp contrast to your shaky and slightly raspy voice.

He felt your walls convulse around him, letting out a gasp at how tight you were. "You're close, aren't you, MC?" Simeon stopped himself from leaning forward to kiss you, as that would screw with the camera angle. He chuckled softly. "You're squeezing me so tight, how naughty."

With a muffled cry of his name, you felt him slam into your sweet spot once more, and your orgasm racked through your body harshly, juices gushing out of your cunt, further lubricating his cock. Simeon started thrusting faster, the tip of his length bullying your cervix as he chased his own high, free hand gripping one of your hips tightly. "Gonna cum in you, Dove—" He groaned— "Take it! Take it all! Take all of my cum like a good girl, MC!" He whimpered out, almost begged before he buried himself deep inside of your cunt, moaning as he came. You could feel him filling you up, a white ring of his cum forming just around his cock as he painted your walls and filled you to the brim. He thrusted a few more times, riding out his high, before slowly pulling out of you.

Simeon zoomed in on your pussy, that was drooling with his cum, before stopping the video and taking a few pictures.

You turned your head to the side so you could breathe, panting heavily as you tried to gather your thoughts and come back to reality. That was, until you felt something poke against your cheek. You glanced over to see Simeon holding his cock up to your face, looking up to see Simeon holding the D.D.D., camera pointed directly at you.

"You didn't think we were done were you?"

_

Lucifer was in his study, stressed out from the stack of papers that still needed to be signed. He decided to take a short break and scroll through his D.D.D., though he wasn't expecting to get a text from Simeon so late into the night.

With a raised brow, the eldest looked at the notification.

Simeon: 3 attachments

"So he finally learned how to send pictures," The Avatar of Pride mumbled to himself, clicking on the notification before catching his breath in his throat. Lucifer nearly choked at what he saw.

The first picture was of your naked body sprawled out on a bed, a lewd expression on your face, and what he assumed was Simeon's cock balls-deep inside of your cunt. The second picture was of your face in front of the same cock, coated in cum with a dazed look on your face. The third was just of your pussy with cum pouring out of it, streaming down your thighs, as if you'd been stuffed completely full.

Lucifer felt his pants get tighter around the crotch, failing to notice the three dots that indicated Simeon typing.

Simeon: Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't know that would send to you!

Simeon: How do I save these to my gallery?

Hope you liked this anon!

Masterlist

[gauloiseblue]

Medic!Reader × Poly!141

Part I | Part II | Part III

[Tags: hurt/comfort, fluff, a love confession if you squint]

Taglist: @rainlovesyou12 @nijiru

When you're back at the base, the first thing that you get from your team is collective stares

"What happened to your cheek?" Price asked, visibly concerned

"Got punched by an asshole." You replied, still holding the ice pack against your face

"How did it happen?" He then glares at Graves, "You let this happen on your watch?"

He throws both of his hands in the air, while maintaining his smug face, "Easy there, soldiers." He said, "Sorry that I got your princess harmed, but it's necessary for the mission."

"Necessary?" Price growls, "Watch your mouth when you speak, Graves."

"Alright, alright. I'll leave." He then pats on Gaz's shoulder before turning around

The group immediately approaches you after he leaves, trying to look at your wound

"Whoa, he really gave you a nasty punch." Soap commented, "He wore rings?"

"All over his fingers."

"It'll take long before the bruise heals." Ghost interjected, "Since you're the medic here, I'm sure you know what's best for you."

Price nods before he looks at you, "You don't have to work today, you can rest after a mission."

"No, I'll come to work." You said, "Don't worry about me, captain."

He seems reluctant, but lets you do it anyway

Thankfully, your job requires you to use a mask, so most of your bruises are concealed.

At dinner, Graves brings quite a lot of alcohol to celebrate their mission. (The team had retrieved the important documents, as well as eliminating the target, so It's pretty much a success)

You usually skipped alcohol, but tonight you feel like you need it, so you join in

The table that you're in is pretty big, so three other soldiers are sitting with you and you team

Surprisingly, your team can handle their alcohol very well, but Soap is a lively drunkard, he talks a lot, and keeps the alcohol flows

Meanwhile, you're a chatty drunk. You can't keep a secret when you're drunk

"He touched me with his filthy hand, so of course I'd slap him." You confessed, "But then he dared to punch me in the face. The audacity."

"That's rough." Gaz winced

"But y'know, sometimes our job comes with those kinds of things." One of the men shrugged, "I didn't ask for it when I got shot or tortured, but then again, that's the consequences of my job."

"I didn't ask to be a surveillance." You hissed, "I'm just a medic, for God's sake."

"You could've ask him—"

"I did! I even tried to reason with him but nooo, he did care." You grit your teeth, "Even after roping me into this, he never once gave me any info for the mission and told me to be pretty and meek. At least I could've prepared if he told me things I could be dealing with during the mission."

"Cut it out, boy." Price stopped him before he could reply, "Y'know Graves was in the wrong here. We always brief our soldiers before missions."

"I'm not defending him."

The other man, who's silent for the whole interaction, finally speaks, "Maybe he did it because you've been using his name for unnecessary things."

You snort, "Somehow borrowing his name equals me almost getting raped?"

He shrugs, "Sometimes mentioning a certain name equals death."

"Yeah, okay, I get it." You immediately got up from your seat, "I'm just a spoiled bastard who can't handle the slightest discomfort aren't I?"

"Where are ye goin'?" Soap called when you're walking away

"My room. I'm tired of this shit."

Once you get into your room, you don’t bother to change your clothes as you go straight to bed

Of course, after getting angry and all, you can't immediately fall asleep. It takes about 15 minutes, before you're free from your anger

Then, you hear a knock on the door, before you hear a voice calls your name softly from outside

"Are you still awake?" You heard Price spoke

You contemplate whether you should answer or not, and decide to pick the first one

"Can I come in?" He asked, and you said yes

He steps inside, and pulls a chair by your bed. You turn around to see him, not hiding the tears streak on your face

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier, I hope you know he didn't mean that."

"I know." You frown while looking away, "I know all of those soldiers didn't mean to yell, or use hurtful words, I understand that, but I always try to comfort them, not telling them to grin and bear it."

He nods understandingly, "The constant threat in the field does make people numb to other's needs."

"Why are you here? Are you apologizing on their behalf?"

"No, I just got a feeling that you'd change division if I didn't clear it up."

You let out an amused snort, "I was just thinking about leaving. I hate Graves anyway."

"I won't force you to stay but I'll be very sad if you don't, you know how much I love your food." You roll your eyes at him, he chuckles, "Please hold on for one more month, then we'll go back home, to our base."

"Well, I can't disobey you if you say that, Captain."

"You better be."

You chuckle at him, and he gives you his usual (and sweet) smile. "Thank you, Price. I really do."

"No prob." He pats your arm, "You can talk to me whenever you want."

"I'll keep it in mind."

The next morning, when you're preparing your medical equipments, a patient comes into the room, and catches you by surprise as you recognize his face

"Johnny? Oh—" You hurriedly come to his side, "What happened to your face?"

"Got into a fight last nite." He grins, "Y'should've seen the other guy tho."

"My God, why did you do that? Who was it?" He looked away when you asked him, "... Don't tell me,"

"Ye don't 've ta worry 'bout it, bonnie."

"You can't make me not worry about you." You retorted, "They could've given a penalty!"

"Nah, they won't. 'M too valuable for that."

"Still," You let out a sigh, "You didn't have to do that."

"Yer angry at 'em."

"But it's only for a moment. I'm… used to that."

He looks at you for a moment, before pulling your hand into his. "Bonnie, ye kno' when you asked me to be a fake boyfie, ye told me that no one in the group'd be willin' ta help ya?" You furrow your brows at him as he continues, "Well, t'was a lie. They won't hesitate ta help ya, bonnie. But I didn't tell ya because I don't want 'em to."

You open your mouth to speak, but no word comes out of your mouth.

He chuckles at your silence, before giving your shoulder a pat." Make of that wha' yer will."

With that, he left the room. Leaving you there, dumbfounded, before you realize you haven't even treated him yet

You thought about him for half of a day, until lunch came and you sat down on the table without looking around. You didn't hear when the chair beside you was pulled, before someone took a seat

"Man, I miss your cooking." You snapped out of your thoughts, as you turned to see Gaz. "Everything tastes bland here, I can't even tell the difference between one dish and the other."

You chuckle when he pokes out his tongue in dismay, "I miss cooking too," You stare down at your plate, "... Helped me clear my mind."

"What's on your mind?" He asked, "Care to share?"

"Not sure if you'd wanna hear it though."

"What are you saying?" He retorted softly as he gave your shoulder a squeeze, "You know I'd listen to you."

"You're sweet, Gaz." You chuckled, "But really, I just wanna go back to our base. But at the same time, I feel like I'm just retreating back to my shell. I know that I can't be choosy for this job, but I wish I could be with you guys for a long time."

His gaze stays on you for a while, before he speaks in a hushed tone, "Don't tell anyone that I say this to you, but last night, me and Price were discussing about your contract, and," He leans closer, "It's possible to do a rescission for the contract. Since you've been put in harm's way."

"Really?"

He nods, "He might pull some strings to get you back, but the higher ups would dismiss it since you're not an operator. We're confident that this'll work, since Laswell herself has approved it."

You look at him for a moment, before pulling him into your arms. "Thank you." You said to him, "I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

You feel him smile before he pats your back, "People said that you're a spoiled princess," He grinned, "But we certainly don't mind spoiling you."

"You'll regret it someday."

"You're worth the regret."

His words stuck with you for the rest of the day, and somehow it lifted up your spirit as you took care of the wounded with ease. At night, when you're walking back to your room, you spot the masked man in the hallway. His head turns when you call his name, and you wave at him.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Are you done for the day?"

"Mostly." He replied, "Just need to fill some paperwork."

"Alright then."

The two of you would bid goodbye, if you both didn't hear the angry stomp echoing in the corridor. You turn your head towards the sound, and your blood runs cold as you recognize the face

"I need to talk to you." Graves said with an unmistakable rage in his voice, "My office. Now."

You're about to open your mouth before you feel yourself pulled, until your body bumps against a hard muscle. It takes a second before you realize that Simon has his arm wrapped around you.

"Get outta the way, boy." He warned with a glare, "It's none of your business."

"No." He stated, as he kept you by his side

He snorts when he hears it. "No?" He sneered

"If it's about the revocation of the contract, she's not the one who filed it." He glared, "I did."

"Oh." He raised his brow in a mocking manner, "So you're the one who wrote those things?"

"Affirmative." He responded, "I was the one who saw her during the assault, so I'm eligible to give the account as a witness."

You see his muscles harden under his neck, as he hisses to the masked man, "I hope you're ready for Russia because that's where I'm sending you."

"Go ahead and try."

Just like that, the storm has passed by.

You don't know how long you stand there, before he reluctantly lets you go from his arm. You clear your throat as you step aside to face him.

"Um… Thank you." You told him while looking down

You feel his eyes on you, before his hand reaches up to pat your head. "It's nothing."

He bids you goodnight as he tells you to return to your room. You obey as you walk to your door, but when you look back to see him, you still find him standing on the same spot

The next morning, when you deliver your report to the Captain's office, you notice a familiar figure by his desk

The two men were talking, before they lifted their head when you walked in

"Hi." You greeted them, "Hope I'm not interrupting?"

"Not at all." Price reassured, "We were just discussing over something."

"Somethin' ta help fo' yer case, bonnie." His captain nudged him when he said it, "Wot? 'M sho she a'ready knew."

"Is it about Graves?"

"Well," He sighs, "It is. We were just talking about the things that he submitted as evidence."

You shot him a puzzled look, before you turn to Soap.

"The letters, bonnie." He grinned, "I gave him the letters tha' bastard wrote."

"You still had those with you?"

"'Course!" He chuckled, "Ah wanted to use it to rile him up, turns out they're useful for yer case."

"While they won't be included as real evidence, they're enough to convince Laswell to give her approval."

You look at him, while hugging the file close to your chest. "Price, I don't know if I could even repay you back—"

"Don't worry about it, (Name)." He dismissed it by a flick of his hand, "It's my job to ensure your safety."

"And out job ta keep the valuable member o' the team by our side." Soap added with a pat on your back, "Graves can bugger off with his shite."

"Oh…" You cover your mouth, trying to contain your emotions. "Thank you, I—"

"Stop it, bonnie." He said as he pulled you against his chest, "You owe us nothin'."

You didn't cry joyless tears, but they didn't know since you couldn't speak through your sob. You feel bad for causing them to panic, since you cry not out of distress, rather, you're touched by their kindness. When you feel Soap's embrace tightens, and your Captain's hand on your back, you can't help but indulge for a little while

[candied-boys]

📻Country Radio Themed Prompt List🐎

Y'all, it's rodeo season and I'm havin' a hot cowgirl summer!

I know there are at least a few of us out here who love a little small town, texas two-step, roll in the hay, tailgate party, coffee with a sunrise, dusty boots and sundresses kinda slow life. I know I can't stop putting my favs in situations whenever I listen to country music and I hope y'all hop on the bandwagon and join me for my first creation challenge!

So round up your fav cowboys and giddy up, gurl! We ride 'til the end of September! Radio playlists below👇

FAQ:

Can I submit something I already created if it fits the vibe?

HELL YEAH! Old content that fits the theme in anyway and new creations are all welcome! (Honestly even if it doesn't fit any of the prompts, I'll take any country content I can get so please reblog your works and tag me!)

How can I write for the country genre if I'm not familiar with it?

Don't sweat it! If you vibe with anything here that's more than enough! I tried to pick lyrics with a variety of themes - family, love, coming of age, angst, bad boys/girls etc. They all centre around a sense of connection and relationships - universally human themes.

We're all here playing games that locate the characters inside cultures outside of Japan and we're here writing for cultures outside our own when writing for these games, so don't be shy! Just let yourself have fun.

What should I do with lyrics?

Use the prompts however you like; Any and all types of content submissions are welcome — writing, drabbles, head canons, drawing, mood boards, playlists, whatever makes you say, "Hell yeah!"

Examples: You could use the lyrics directly as quotes, indirectly as the premise for the art. Anything! You could incorporate the lyrics from the rest of the song. There are a ton of great lines/ideas in the rest of each song. You're not restricted to these quotes. I just picked ones that speak to me or have a strong image. If you vibe with it and it inspires you, go for it!

What fandoms can I use with these prompts?

Any suitors from games by CYBIRD (Ikepri, Ikevamp, Ikerev, MidCin, Ikevil, Ikesen, Ikegen, Morganatic Idol, ANYTHING)

What kind of content is allowed?

Sfw, nsfw, dark, angst, fluff, suitor x suitor, selfship, oc x suitor — anything is fine. I only ask that you use Tumblr’s built-in content label system to mark content as mature when appropriate. Use tags and warnings as you see necessary.

What tags should I use?

#CountryRadioCC

please at me @candied-boys so I can add your work to a masterlist

Playlists:

Lyrics:

Heart Like A Truck - Lainey Wilson

I got a hankering for four wide tires

And I can't help it, it's the way I'm wired

'Fore you get too close

Boy, you need to know

Turn - Tyler Hubbard

The way she turns 501s into long, tan legs

She can turn a bad day around like she turns those heads

She can turn one little look into turnin' me on

Five more minutes into all night long

Fishin' in the Dark - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

And it don't matter if we sit forever

And the fish don't bite

Jump in the river and cool ourselves

From the heat of the night

I Grew Up On A Farm - The Reklaws

Why I gotta watch the sunrise

Job ain't ever done till it's done right

I'll tell you what makes me cry about a steel guitar

And why I gotta work so hard

Dirt Cheap - Cody Johnson

That little girl that used to swing right there

I still see her pink bow in her brown hair

Runnin' up after one of them long days

A big smile makin' every little worry fade

Use Me - Dallas Smith

I'll let you go like I always do

Won't hurt as bad 'cause I always knew

That I was just a chapter, no happily-ever-after

Old Dirt Roads - Owen Riegling

Come and find me down where the treeline ends

And the cattails grow

We can be free, livin' our dreams out

Singin' to the radio

American Kids - Kenny Chesney

Sister's got a boyfriend Daddy doesn't like

Now he's sittin' out back, 3030 in his lap

In the blue bug zapper light

Fast Car - Luke Combs

Won't have to drive too far

Just across the border and into the city

And you and I can both get jobs

Finally see what it means to be living

Long Hot Summer - Keith Urban

I wanna see your brown skin shimmer

In the sun for the first time

I gotta be the one who knows just what to do to you

To get me that smile

I Like It, I Love It - Tim McGraw

Spent 48 dollars last night at the county fair

I throwed out my shoulder, but I won her that teddy bear

Cowgirls - Morgan Wallen

And she got a cold heart but she got a warm smile

Cut from the same cloth, she kinda buck-wild

Little bit angel, whole lotta outlaw

She's trouble but I'll tell you right now, y'all

A banner for y'all:

Adorable horse dividers by @/plum98

[siconetribal]

Beyond the Bookshelves (2)

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: When you're forced to work in pairs/groups when you don't want to work in pairs/groups, work life, slice of life

Summary: You're a Resource Management Specialist at S.H.I.E.L.D. normally referred to as “The Librarian”. You've been assigned the nightmarish task of digitizing all the physical resources currently owned by the agency, with a few new computers and one extra helper.

A/N: Thank you to all the readers who have loved this story so much already, I did not expect so man tag requests! I'll do my best to live up to your expectations in this story that is pretty much writing itself. If I missed anyone who asked to be tagged, please let me know!

Please comment/like/reblog. If you'd like to be tagged moving forward, please let me know!

The lovely banners used in this fic are from @cafekitsune.

The walk back to the library was longer than usual, but that was because you were now burdened with a task that was nearly impossible to complete with what was at your disposal. Not only was there so little provided, the personnel allotted was the complete opposite of what was necessary. It would have been laughable had it not been so pathetic. You, someone who normally worked with a set number of others, (most of which were virtual) was now forced into a group with two other members whom you have never even properly spoken to.

Loki probably hates me, he has to hate me. The man-person-god-prince-whatever-he-is has never even uttered a word to me until today! You thought back to the very first time you ever met the silent and brooding raven haired Asgardian.

It started off just like any other day, quiet and peaceful. It was just you, the books, and the sun. Though it was a state-of-the-art facility, the library was given a more soothing design with wooden shelving and tables, soft carpeting, comfortable seating of chairs and sofas, table lamps, and desks for laptops and computers to promote productivity and security. There were a few high-tech things, such as the book trolley being robotic and the security measures equal to the rest of the complex; but overall it evoked a sense of tradition.

You were leading the robot trolley filled with books through the shelves, returning items to their proper place, when you heard the chime at the door. Peeking your head out of the aisle, you were awestruck by the handsome young man whom you have never seen before, slowly walking in and looking around in what you could only describe as pure wonder. There was a sparkle of life in those blue eyes and the faintest of smiles tugging at the corners of his lips. Setting the book in hand back on the trolley, you stepped out and gave a big smile.

“Hello, my name is Y/N. I’m the librarian. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” You cheerily greeted him, but only received silence in return as he walked further into the room without even a passing glance. There’s no way he didn’t hear me, right? I didn’t shout, but I wasn’t quiet either. He seems to be really excited about the library, so maybe he was too busy looking around? She opened her mouth to let him know she was here to assist if he needed anything, but he was nowhere to be seen. “I guess he really was just that eager.” You muttered to yourself as you finished your task and made your way to the main desk.

Who is he, anyway? He looks oddly familiar, but I just can’t put my finger on it. You dug through your memories, trying to find a name to the face. When it was clear that it was not something that would come to you right away, he let it be for now and tried your best to see if the newcomer was still here. Had it not been for the occasional sightings, you would have sworn your mind was playing tricks on you. When he finally settled on a few books, you waited for him to come to the desk to check out.

“Excuse me, sir!” You shouted after him as he went straight towards the door. His nose was already buried in one book, and two more were under his arm. It was too late. The alarm at the door began ringing, and a female computer voice came through the speakers.

“Please return the books to the library or check them out at the main desk. I repeat, please return the books to the library or check them out at the main desk.” You watched his head snap up and look around for the source of the disembodied voice when holographic floating arrows directed his attention towards you. You gave a slight wave and put on your best welcoming smile once more. He looked down at the books he held briefly before making his way over to the desk.

“I guess you didn’t hear me, I was trying to get your attention before you left. It’s fine, people make that mistake most of them the time when they're busy. May I please see the books?” He held out your hands, but he deposited the stack on to the desk and pushed it towards you. Ok, you pulled them closer. “Your ID as well, please.” You held out your hand once more and the man simply stared at you, bewildered, with scrunched eyebrows and a growing frown. Lifting your lanyard up, you pointed to your pass holder, which held your ID. “Your ID card, the one that gives you access to the various parts of this facility.” The continued silence was deafening as one of his hands slipped into one of his pockets and he pulled out his ID and placed it on the table. “Uh, thank you,” you mumble as you pick up the piece of plastic and tapped it against a panel to the right of your monitor. Loki? You stared at the name for a moment, the gears slowly turning in your head as you scanned the books one by one before handing them and his ID back to him. “You have two weeks to return or extend your borrow time. Please do not damage them or return them late, you will incur some fees if so. Thank you, I hope you enjoy them. If you need any,” you began to strike up conversation once more, but he took the books and left without a word, leaving you to awkwardly watch.

“Talk about intimidating! I had no idea they brought him here!” You let out a heavy sigh and plopped back into your chair. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him without those big gold horns! Did he really just ignore me, though? Maybe he’s shy? I don’t recall ever hearing him speak, though,” you muttered to yourself, swinging left to right. “He must’ve proven that he’s not dangerous if he’s allowed to be part of the Avenger’s team.” You shrugged and let the topic slide for now. You would give him time to grow accustomed to you…or so you thought.

The encounters that followed were nearly identical to the first. He would come in and completely ignore you, read for hours, check out books, and leave. Not a word came from his lips, and he only ever looked at you with you were not sure whether it was disdain or disgust. At some point, you completely gave up on speaking to him and simply took note of the books he liked. When he would go searching for something of interest, you would set a book that you believed he would enjoy beside the sofa he usually sat. It was clear she chose well, since he would always read and check it out. With all this in mind, you had come to the conclusion he cannot speak for some reason, and you were a rude stranger constantly chattering on to him. Not wanting to spoil his time in the library, you quickly adapted and remained silent in return. 

You dryly laughed at the memories that dropped on you like bricks. You were clearly thinking too highly of yourself, since today you had heard him speak quite clearly. Why would someone remain quiet for so long? After all attempts made to strike up conversation? There was only one valid solution: he hated you. The reason, you were not sure, but it was the only thing that made sense, and that meant you only had one Asgardian to rely on for assistance in your assignment.

Thor can only do so much since he is a main team member and one that is sent out on multiple missions globally. You pinched the bridge of your nose. Even if they forced Loki to assist, he’ll also be sent on various missions as well. I’ll have to wait for them to return every single time because those take priority over what I need to do. Then there’s training for the missions, training to keep working well as a team, meeting, and the press! The work is never going to get done! You wanted to rip your hair out from frustration as you roughly tousled it about and let out a loud groan of frustration once inside your sanctuary, the library. “And this is all if they say yes to helping me out. I doubt Fury is going to demand it, and Agent Hill isn’t going to go out of her way to persuade them. Just forget it, Y/N, fix the report and file it. Then just go on with your day just like you always do.”

“Thor, Loki, thank you for taking the time to meet with me.” Agent Hill greeted the brothers that came into her office.

“Of course we would come. It is not often that you call for anyone other than Stark or Rogers.” Thor gave an amicable smile, while Loki simply took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “What is it that you wish to discuss with us?” Thor took the seat beside his brother.

“I won’t take much of your time, it is a new assignment that only the two of you can assist us with.” She took her seat once more and faced the two of them. “Director Fury has given a task to our Resources Management department, the lead of which works here at HQ with us. She is the Librarian. I’m sure you have seen her most of all.” She looked towards the younger prince.

Loki kept a passive outwardly expression while his mind quickly tried to pull out the information of this librarian. He was no stranger to meeting a multitude of people, but he was not foolish enough to assume he would be able to memorize everyone’s name and face. He was a prince of Asgard, the only people he needed to know of in detail ere dignitaries and other royals. This librarian was hardly someone he would have considered amongst the two categories.

“So what if I have?” He coolly questioned, unsure of what the agent was trying to get at with all of this. Is this the reason she requested an audience with us the week before? What task could they have possibly given such a department that requires our assistance? I am not some scribe! He wanted to snap at Hill, but he held his tongue. Though he was an Avenger now, he was still not fully trusted by anyone. He knew even Thor had his reservations, but they knew how the Mind Stone worked. They knew he was not lying, but they were clear in stating they did not know him and this chance was only given because of his brother, Thor.

“Well, it will make things easier for us. She needs assistance in translating all of our texts into English. The department needs to create digital copies of all our books and paper resources so that we can access them anywhere and any time. We do not have the means to simply assign large groups to this task, because it would lead to suffering in on ground missions and recon. The both of you have the ability of AllSpeak which can translate anything you say to English. When you are available, please assist the Librarian in translating the various texts to help speed up the process.”

“This is a side request?” Thor asked, wanting to clarify the priority of this.

“Yes, we do not wish for this to hinder any missions you are needed for. We are requesting you head to the library when you have the time to speak with her and set up a tentative schedule so that she can report back to Director Fury by the end of this month. By that time, she will have the necessary equipment as well. If he approves, then we can move forward in starting this task.”

“You want us to dictate books to her? So she can type it up? Do you not have programs that can instantly translate for you?” Loki frowned, crossing his arms in disapproval at this waste of time.

“Though there are plenty of translation software programs out there, none of them are a hundred percent accurate. They may translate directly word for word, which could destroy the concept of the passages. It may attempt to try to understand the concept, but get it completely wrong. Both of you will be able to read the text and understand the context of it, which will help her type a more accurate translation.” Thor loudly hummed as he considered the task. It was not something he was rather fond of, however he wanted to be of assistance if this would help the organization.

“I am to deployed on a mission with Rogers and Stark in a couple of days. I am not certain how long we will be away. Is it possible to extend the time of meeting with the Librarian?” 

“I am to head out with the spider and bird tomorrow evening and return in four days.” Loki added.

“Very well, I will have her look into your schedules and reach out to the both of you.  If it cannot be done together, I will have her meet with you separately. Your missions will always be a priority, and she is well aware of that. Thank you for your assistance, I’ll inform her of this development.” Agent Hill stood from her seat and the two brothers followed, stepping out of her office and making their way towards the common room.

“Have you actually met this Librarian, brother?” Thor was the one to break the silence.

“I have not the faintest clue on whom they are referring to. No one speaks to me in this sterile place, how am I supposed to meet anyone?” He scoffed. Who would want to talk to a monster such as me? “It doesn’t matter, we will meet this woman at some point and better understand this waste of time that we are being dragged into. If you’ll excuse me, I have a debriefing to sit through.” He turned down the hall on their left, leaving Thor with the harsh words of his reality.

Tags: @vbecker10 @huntress-artemiss @softestqueeen @thegodofnotknowing @princess-ofthe-pages @firedrakegirl @rcailleachcola @cabingrlandrandomcrap @lotrefcp @lwtannie @kats72 @kneelingformyloki

[self-love-tournament]

Call for Submissions: The Self-Love Tournament 🎉👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

Be it alternate universes or freak transporter accidents, a witch's curse or timeline shenanigans, one thing that's fascinated scifi and geek fan culture for ages, especially on this hellsite, has been the prospect of meeting yourself.

And also.

What if you then did the dirty.

To honor this glorious tradition, I'm assembling a tournament that pairs the sexiest of tumblrmen with themselves, and then pits them against each other. We'll determine, once and for all, the selfcest champion.

Automatically included are some of the greats (and my personal favorites). Feel free to include them in submissions so I can curate lists of aliases/start collecting propaganda

The Onceler (from The Lorax movie)

Loki (from Marvel/the Loki tv show)

Ice King (from Adventure Time/Fionna and Cake)

Kira Nerys (from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Dave Strider (from Homestuck)

The Doctor (from Doctor Who)

Sans (from Undertale)

England (from Hetalia)

Submissions

I'll try to prioritize characters with more submissions or more impassioned propaganda, so keep that in mind when submitting

+ Ground Rules:

I reserve the right to exclude any characters or fandoms from the bracket (to be fair, the most hated usually get voted off quickly anyway). For example, I decided to exclude a MCYT character, as their player is not comfortable with certain fandom behavior, and there's significant overlap between the character and creator. I'm not here to shame you, but I don't want to amplify something that sexually objectifies a real person beyond their stated boundaries.

Feel free to vote on whatever criteria you see fit! I try to prioritize iconic ✨ examples, ones that have had large impacts on Tumblr history, and any personal blorbos 💖

(NEW 9/20) I did say whatever criteria, but I do feel like I should address hate-voting. I'm not going to forbid it, but I ask that you consider if you really do hate the character/fandom that much. For example, Oncelercest isn't my cup of tea by any means, but man.... you gotta hand it to him.....

I love passionate (and even sometimes violent) propaganda, but do NOT bully anyone or send targeted threats. If it's getting nasty out there, I might use my judgement to adjust this rule, but I hope I won't have to.

Please feel free to spread this submission list! Tagging some of my inspirations: @ao3topshipsbracket @who-do-i-know-this-man @stop-spreading-this-poll @masked-character-competition @bestadaptationtournament @ultimate-anime-tournament @unlikely-adversaries-bracket @top-fictional-unhinged-women @mosthomoeroticenemies @bestfictionaldivorce @controversial-blorbo-bracket @tournament-winners-tournament @the-most-character-i-ever-saw :)

From my end, I really appreciated how @controversial-blorbo-bracket ran their tournament, so I'll try to follow their lead: be open and transparent, give people who are writing propaganda the benefit of the doubt where possible, and try to take passionate takes in stride.

(NEW 9/24) Constructive crit or feedback in good faith is appreciated! I want to make this a space for celebration of fandom

[agoodfictitle-shadowban]

From Vormir, With Love - Part 7

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Tags: strangers to lovers, love in space angst on earth, slavery mention, alien abduction, post Endgame, survivor guilt, suicide ideations, will add as we go on

Summary: As you're being chased you crash on Vormir. So far, so bad. But things take a turn when you come face to face with a marooned Black Widow.

Word count: 2k

A/n: this is a short chapter but it's worth it

After the short conversation you had with Natasha, it feels insensitive to bring up how you felt to her. You don't want to put her in a position where she ever thinks she could lose your newfound bond. So you just suck it up. You welcome every small touch and every gesture, the simple hand at the small of your back to the cuddles in bed as you are falling asleep. It's both your personal hell and heaven wrapped into one. It leaves you feeling confused, but happy with the proximity you share. And that is of course until the barbecue comes.

That week-end is luckily a beautiful one; you can wear anything from a summer dress to a simple short and t-shirt. As you're dressing, you realize Natasha is coming as your date. Of course you already knew, but now that it's D Day, it's really hitting you and you start to panic slightly. All your questions without answers come back to you. Why did she offer when there was no need for a date, what did she mean by it, is she truly your date, what does it mean for your relationship? The questions swirl around until you're sitting at the edge of the bed you've been using, a panic attack ready to swallow you at any time. But before it can hit, someone is knocking at your door and not waiting for an answer to come in. There, standing in front of you, is Tim, in all his feline grace, looking fabulous in his relaxed outfit, but also about to shatter into pieces. You're immediately alert to his state and put aside what you're going through.

"I can't go to your… bar-beuh-queue. I can't."

"Wait, what? Why not. You seemed really excited at the prospect of free meat." You pat the spot next to you so he would sit down instead of pacing around. He immediately sits and the bed cracks slightly under him.

"And I was but you also said there were going to be many humans."

"Yes? But you've been fine here so far."

"It's not the same!" He roars at you and you frown. He sheepishly looks at his paws. "Sorry."

You shake your head. "You'll be fine. If anything they'll love you. Believe me. Plus you won't be alone there, and you can hide in my childhood bedroom." It couldn't be worse than when you came out anyway. Good thing your relationship with your parents had had time to heal before you got abducted.

"You promise?"

You nod.

"I promise."

"Thank you."

"Oh, I should thank you. I was having my own meltdown before you arrived." You laugh it off, but his curious glance has you sighing before you explain. "I'm just not sure where I stand with Natasha."

"Next to each other?" He asks, not really understanding your doubts. He makes it sound so easy. "You're mate, yes?"

"I… don't really know. We haven't discussed that."

"No discussion necessary. I can smell it. Your scents intertwined."

This makes you smile. Not only does he make it sound easy, he also makes it sound true. Somehow it appeases you for when you'll have that discussion with Natasha.

"Not how it works with humans, but I'll keep that in mind. Now come on. It's time to go."

He nods, and the bed creaks even when you stand up now. 

You're finally ready to face the day.

*

It takes two cars to bring everyone to your parents' place, and a good five seconds for your mother to realize she invited aliens into her house.

"You should have told me!" She whispers to you frantically. "I would have researched what they eat and made it!"

"First, that's sweet, second, do you think there is a website out there with aliens recipes?" You ask, on the verge of laughing uncontrollably.

"There isn't?!"

"I doubt it."

And from there, she makes it a goal to get recipes from your new friends.

"Your mom seems very special," comments a deeply amused Natasha while you show her the way to the garden with everyone else. "Not as terrifying as you painted her."

"That's because she doesn't know you came as my date yet," you smile teasingly, your heart ready to burst when you say it out loud. Not that you have the time to explore the meaning of it all as you enter the garden where half your family awaits all of you. The event quickly takes over you and you go socialize with everyone, people you haven't seen in the past five years, some still looking the same and some looking older. The barbecue quickly turns into a celebration of all the people who came back, and you get a few drinks pushed into your hands without needing to ask for them. Before you know it, your head is light with happiness and alcohol, and you're sitting next to Natasha having the time of your life, your hand lazily dropped around her shoulders. She's clearly comfortable with the contact, even leaning into it as you talk with one of your now almost adult cousins about your adventures in space.

"I need to go to the restroom, I'll be right back," she whispers in your ear at some point and you nod, eyes on her as she leaves.

"You're super lucky!" Your cousin exclaims, and you look back at them with a tilt of the head in questioning. "She's a superhero, so I never imagined she'd date anyone but she seems super sweet."

You blink once, twice, and it finally dawns on you. Your cousin thinks Natasha is your girlfriend. "Oh, you think that… I mean. We're not– she's not–" you fumble and your cousin gets the message.

"Are you sure?" They ask, confused.

"I mean, she came here as my date but it doesn't mean, you know."

Your cousin stares blankly at you. "Dude. Does she know? Do you know? Because you were acting really close."

Your cousin was on your case now too? You thought only June noticed your infatuation but apparently anyone in the vicinity could see it if even your cousin did. You decide to extract yourself from the situation and stand up.

"You know what, she's taking really long so I'm just gonna go check on her."

"Sure buddy," your cousin chuckles with no respect.

You quickly make your way towards the house and once inside, you take a deep breath. That sure was a callout. You decide to forget about it and focus on what you came to do, looking for Natasha. You go to the first floor bathroom and knock on the door, only for it to open on your surprised uncle.

"It's free, but I would wait if I were you," he tells you before he leaves. You wrinkle your nose. Ew.

You take a few steps back and wonder where Natasha could be. She probably went to look for another bathroom, which would be upstairs. When you arrive on the second floor, you quickly notice that the door to your bedroom is open. You frown, before you approach the room when you see a shadow moving inside.

On your guard, you take a peek before you enter the room, only to breathe a sigh of relief. A very short one when you realize that Natasha is in your childhood bedroom. You push the door slightly more to finally enter the room.

"Unless I'm sorely mistaken, this isn't a restroom," you point out with derision. She rolls her eyes and smirks, focusing on you instead of the photographs on the wall.

"It isn't, but my instincts kept telling me I might find some treasure here." She grabs one of the photos and shows it to you. "And I was right!"

It's an old picture of when you were a kid wearing a mismatched outfit with some old friend. You groan and try to snatch the picture out of her fingers, with no success. Between the alcohol and Natasha being a super spy, you stand no chance. Still, you're not giving up. You corner Natasha against your bed, and before you know it, you both fall over on top of it. On top of her.

Your first reflex is to apologize, but the words stay stuck in your throat when you notice how close to her face yours is. Your eyes are focused on hers, the blue entrancing you, until her breath on your lips brings another reality to you.

"I– huh– I'm sorry," you vaguely manage before you feel her hand caress your arm up to the nap of your neck.

"Why don't you show me exactly how sorry you are?" She proposes in a sultry voice and your heart stops, your breathing suddenly hard, and harder even when her other hand navigates between the both of you to find your belly.

Your brain completely stops and leaves you only with your screaming instincts, and her command. So you finally do something you wanted to do for a long, long time, and lean closer until your lips connect. As it happens, it feels like a wave of relief courses through you, like the last five years were worth it to be able to kiss Natasha, and more importantly, have her kiss you back.

The hand on your neck grip grows stronger as your kiss gets more passionate. You tilt your head further when you feel her tongue pass over your lips in demand and give her access without an ounce of hesitation. It feels good when your tongues meet in your mouth in a precise dance that leads you to moan, and again when her other hand caresses the back of your thigh, up to your ass. She gives it a squeeze that makes you melt. Something she takes advantage of. With a simple twist of her hips, she exchanges your positions so she can be on top of you. You look up at her in awe at her beauty, at the cascading red and blonde hair, at her bright eyes and swollen lips. 

"I've wanted to do that for so long," she states as she admires you too - you can see it in the way her eyes seem to caress your skin, trace your features, and get lost in your eyes.

"Me too," you admit with no shame whatsoever, her lips growing in a gorgeous smile. You lean up to give her a quick kiss. "But we need to go back, before they send someone to find us."

She gives you a quick kiss in turn, one that makes you long for more, but you restrain yourself while she stands up. You sit up in turn and adjust your clothes quickly so no one can suspect what just happened. As you do so, you notice Natasha stopped in her tracks to check her phone and concern is plastered on her face. She turns to you.

"We need to go."

[mrpldiddles]

deer in headlights

sooooo here's my first fic! it may be getting posted the day after halloween but i still wanted to share it hehehe so here it is :) i'll share the tiktok that inspired this fic at the bottom of the post as it deserves all the hype lol

since this is my first post i don't have a tag list or anything but if you'd like to be tagged when i post in the future, whether it's for trevor or any other nhlers i may write for, just let me know!

the ending for this one is a bit rushed but i hope you like it anyways! enjoy :)

word count: 1.2k

warnings: implied smut

~~~~~~

It was Trevor’s idea. And according to him it took him exactly two months and 13 days to talk me into it. 

“Absolutely not,”

“Come on, babe, it’ll be hilarious!”

“Are you forgetting how public your job is? Thousands of people are going to see it and thousands of your fangirls will be talking about it.” Was how the conversation went for the entirety of those two and a half months. From the end of August to almost the middle of October, Trevor begged and begged for us to use his couples costume idea for Halloween. And each time he got shot down. He even went as far as getting Jack, Cole and Jamie in on his scheming. Having them text me at the most random times asking what I thought of their costume ideas - all of them being the couples costume that Trevor continued to bug me about. He even went so far as to buy the materials needed to make the costume, using the argument of me not needing to buy anything for the costume. 

I didn’t cave until I walked in the front door of the apartment one day to find him attempting to make the costume himself and making a bigger mess than necessary. Construction paper and pieces of fabric were strewn all over the living room and around the hockey player sitting cross legged in front of the TV.

“Trevor-”

“Look, you don’t even have to lift a finger to make the costumes! All you’ll have to do is put yours on!” He exclaimed with a huge smile on his face and fabric glue smeared all over his hands and somehow his cheek as well. I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of my boyfriend looking like a little kid with their arts and crafts project.

“Alright fine, you win, Z,” I sighed, crouching down beside him as he let out a loud cheer. A laugh escaped my lips as he pressed a wet kiss to my cheek before turning back to the project in front of him. “I guess I can lend you some help,” I said, snatching up what appeared to be the costume intended for me to wear.

“Good because I actually have no clue what I’m doing,” Trevor said while managing to get even more glue and a piece of construction paper stuck to his face. I shook my head, laughing as I picked the yellow strip from his face. 

“That was more than obvious, Z.” He exclaimed in protest as I laughed to myself, focusing on the project in my hands and trying to decipher what my boyfriend had been attempting to create. Out of nowhere I felt fingers attack my sides causing me to drop the supplies and cry out in surprise as Trevor practically tackled me to the ground.

“What was that? Huh, babe?” He asked as he continued to tickle up and down my sides. My breath came out in gasps and laughs as I made some attempt to answer him and push him off of me. His hands paused, being placed on either side of my head as I caught my breath. I looked up to see Trevor hovering over me, his shaggy hair falling into his face as his eyes examined mine, a prominent smirk on his face. “Wanna take it back?” I hesitantly nodded my head, staring up at his bright blue eyes. “I wanna hear you say it.”

“Your arts and crafts skills could use some work but you’re not as hopeless as I would’ve thought, Zegras,” I huffed out. He seemed to consider my answer, his eyebrows furrowing and his mouth tilting down slightly. I cringed slightly, mentally preparing for my ticklish sides to be attacked once again as he continued to hover over me and keep me pinned to the floor. 

“Works for me,” he uttered moments later before he took me by surprise and crashed his lips into mine. My hands finding their way into his hair and one of his finding my hip.

Much to Trevor’s delight, we won the Ducks’ unofficial Halloween Costume Contest. My doubts on the costume followed me all the way to the Terry’s front door where Trevor asked if I was ready to head in. I nodded, mentally assuring myself that this wasn’t as stupid of an idea as I thought. Troy and Dani were the first to greet us as we entered their house and the costume automatically earned their approval.

“Y’know, Z, I didn’t believe you when you said you two would have the best costume this year but I think I stand corrected,” Terry exclaimed, clapping Trevor on the shoulder who smiled smugly at me causing me to roll my eyes.

“Let me guess- this was all his idea?” Dani asked me as our significant others continued to talk just off to the side. 

“What gave it away?” I asked, smiling. After a minute or two more of talking to the party’s hosts we made our way further into the party. Compliments and chirps were sent our way from the other Ducks and their significant others until we eventually found our way to Jamie and Mason in the backyard.

“I still can’t believe he talked you into this one,” Jamie said, sipping from his plastic cup.

“His arts and crafts skills were a cry for help, I had no choice but to step in and help the poor guy.” I shrugged, smirking up at my boyfriend who simply shook his head.

“Alright, come on, we gotta show everyone the full effect,” Trevor exclaimed, setting his cup down on the table behind Jamie. I begrudgingly took his hand, allowing him to walk me into the middle of the yard, earning the attention of the others around. I shook my head before pressing my hands to the two lights set in very specific spots on my chest, causing them to turn on. I couldn’t help but laugh along with everyone else at the sight of Trevor, dressed as a deer, staring blankly at the two lights. 

“A deer in headlights!” He’d exclaimed when he first told me the idea, explaining the entire costume concept.

“I think I deserve some sort of prize for thinking up our winning costume,” he declared smugly as we entered our apartment at the end of the night. 

“Oh, do you now?” I asked to which he nodded his head solemnly, his hands behind his back and everything. I shook my head, giggling before rising up on my toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and find a prize in our room,” I whispered in his ear before turning and walking away to the kitchen, a huge smile on my lips as I heard my boyfriend gasp as my words registered in his mind.

“You’re a cruel, cruel woman,” I heard him mutter, smirking to myself. “Maybe that’s what we’ll be next year then. Cruella de Vil and one of her puppies-” Before I could finish my sentence I was scooped up into Trevor’s arms, a gasp escaping my lips.

“Hold that thought, doll, I want my prize for this year’s costume first,” he declared, walking towards our bedroom door as I laughed in his hold.

~~~~~~

hope y'all enjoyed that fic and want to read more from me in the future hehe :)

the tiktok that inspired this fic:

[sarcastictissy]

It is actually not unreasonable for people to be making comments such as “the qsmp should not come back for a season 2 within a few months” because from just a financial and legal standpoint, they are going to need a lot of time to get everything sorted out. I expected when the initial news broke of the issues behind the scenes that they wouldn’t have everything resolved until 2025 anyway. These things take time to do right, and it’s not unreasonable to want them to actually take that time.

In the end that is what a lot of people are talking about when they react with those sentiments. Some are venting frustrations and being dramatic, some have a general idea of just how long fixing a mess like this takes. But chastising us for expressing our desires that the qsmp team really take the time needed to set everything right is a bit unnecessary. Please extend some of the understanding you give to Quackity Studios to the fans who also want to see this project continue but are deeply concerned about them rushing the process of solving their internal issues.

As I said in the post, I completely agree with people wanting the studios to take their time in organising things behind the scenes. Unsure if it was a translation error or If I worded things wrong etc, but what's unrealistic is people assuming when things will get resolved. Like I said, we don't know what is going on behind the scenes and to say things like "qsmp better not return before 2025" is an unrealistic statement as we don't know how far along they are to beginning a new server. I don't honestly believe they have even started reconstructing/ creating a new server yet, but I don't know. None of us do.

I do apologise if my post seemed ignorant or rude. It was not my intention. I was merely trying to get through to people that putting expectations on when the new server should or shouldn't be up by, is unrealistic.

I do genuinely hope for a better future of qsmp and I'm willing to wait as long as necessary. Please do not think I am trying to rush this process or anything like that. Trust me when I say this server deserves to be successful but only if the admins are treated fairly and respectfully.

Hope this helped cleared things up. You're welcome to ask further questions if not and I'll answer as clearly as possible :)

TW: suicide!! Below cut

I've also seen doomposting such as "if qsmp returns within 5 months I'll ki11 mys3lf." And things like that which is heavily concerning, even as a joke. Those sorts of posts are very damaging and are often not tagged correctly.

[fisherman-fight]

WELCOME TO THE FISHERMAN FIGHT!!

I like fish. presumably, if you're here, you also like fish. or your blorbo probably does. but do they like fish more than everyone else's blorbos?? stick 'em in this tourney to find out!!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

criteria for submissions:

- if the character fishes for, like, their job or their survival or whatever then they're automatically eligible

- if it's not for their job or survival, but it's established that they do it relatively regularly anyway, they're automatically eligible

- characters who just fish occasionally, or like Once, have a good chance of being included based on if the fishing is somehow important (or if i think they're cool)

- player characters from video games with fishing mechanics/fishing minigames are automatically eligible

- i won't be pedantic about the scientific definition of Fish. a character who hunts for sharks or sea monsters or whales or whatever is still good to go

- no real people, fictional characters only (unless you can make a funny and/or compelling case for why they, an objectively Real Person, should be considered a character, like the person who submitted jeremy wade from river monsters)

- don't know if it's necessary to say this, but the submissions so far have been overwhelmingly men, so: anglers of all genders are welcome! i am using "fisherman" as a vague gender neutral term

other rules and stuff:

- i reserve the right to exclude any submission from the tourney based on my own personal judgment. most submissions will probably be included though

- you can submit multiple characters but only submit each one once

- propaganda about the characters is not only allowed but ENCOURAGED. throw it in my askbox or the tag #fisherman fight 2023

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

submissions are open NOW

they will close sometime on april 28th, and the polls will start shortly after. i'll try to include as many of the submissions as possible!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

submissions go in this form here!

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

some other tournaments y'all should go check out:

@character-of-all-time

@number-two-tournament

@vs-coughing-baby

@baldguy-fight

@sharkshowdown

@irlcats-bracket

@triangletripetition

[anewe9]

My black mage is too cute... (and a carboncopy, too)

If you like Spy x Family (SxF) you might find this somewhat interesting. A plus if you are a wee bit familiar with Harry Potter (HP)

If not, skip this.

Warning: Chapter 1 Spoilers for My Black Mage is too Cute under the cut. Long post, too.

Yes, the above is official. It is not fanmade. The chap above is a student actually saying "I will kill you" whilst thinking "I like you". The pink-haired girl is a classmate, shocked as SHE CAN READ HIS MIND.

So... what can I say? The boy looks suspiciously like a teen SxF Damian, and the kawaii girl looks like a teen SxF Anya. Browse the damianya tag and you will see how similar they are.

Other than being students in a magical school (hi, Hogwarts), and girl is a prefect (hi again, Hogwarts) the rest does look like an AU Damianya to me... sans the Damianya/SxF charm.

-Background-

My Black Mage is too Cute (such an unimaginative title but on par with other shoujo titling standards) launched in the August 2023 Hana to Yume issue 17/2023.

The premise is quite damianya simple: Tsundere boy, named Jade, with a rather obscure family, is hiding romantic feelings for your standard bubbly, chirpy pink haired shoujo heroine, named Aria Popwell. She is a senior (third year) to him (first year), and prefect at their School of Magic.

-Aria, the female lead-

Seriously, "Aria"? Nothing to connect with certain Anya, right?

Anyway, chapter starts with introducing Aria, the female lead. She is a prefect (whatever this means) at Hogwarts Hardy Quartz Magic Academy, "where apprentice magicians attend classes" We don't know where this Academy is (Japan, I suppose)

Aria is in her third year (no sure if this is a grade, and in fact, how many grades there are if any). She also teaches other junior students (perhaps for being a prefect, this is not confirmed) Her first words are to let us know that Kafugori are big bad wolfs that are very dangerous and how to face them. This is important to the plot (more on this later) It also sets some expectations. To me, I am led to believe that Aria is proficient and competent in whatever she does as a magician or at least, as a student in a Magic Academy.

Yes, let's have a closer look at our heroine... Yep the ^_^ shoujo trope.

Oh no no... that is not a damian jade-shoujo-filter yet. This is how WE are meant to see her. The shoujo flowers are absolutely necessary to help you understand that she is the cutest, loveliest creature on Earth. Unfortunately, we have seen the same face, same flowers and same cheerful shoujo attitude hundreds of times.

-Jade, the male lead-

Yes, this is Jade. Probably if Damian's puberty makes him... agonisingly emo teenager whilst keeping his mysterious and irresistible good looks. Or else. And Yes, Anya Aria just read his thoughts for the first time, much to her shock. Apparently until now, she did not know she can read thoughts when she touches people.

-Giving Tsundere a bad name...-

In case the first time's insults (pushy bitch) were not clear, he escalates his attitude. (Note: I appreciate that the fan translation might not be that harsh, so probably bitch is not what the original Japanese intended to sound) As he is such a cute and charming misunderstood black magician, he has to make sure his prefect is well aware that he is not only terrible at throwing unimaginative insults... he is also proud to announce he will kill her. Why? I do not know.

If you are a hopeless 13-year-old romantic teen that finds that charming, I hope you grow up out of this as soon as possible. If not, please stay away from handsome, dark, mysterious boys/men who might feel the opposite when they say "I'll kill you" Good looks are not worth it and I bet you do not have mind-reading abilities.

There is a kind of cute tsundere (Damian himself, though he is just a young boy), this is not one. There is absolutely nothing sexy, romantic, attractive or remotely interesting in a guy that pretends to hate you, says he will kill you, when they actually like you. Insulting is no praise either and I detest this trope.

Some tsundere fail to recognise or deny (again, Damian, he is too young); some are a bit embarrassed and these pass soon. Insulting and threatening is not charming.

-No, we don't need to see your fantasies (part I)-

Is he really fantasising / wishing to be kissed by her???

Yep, he is. What a creep.

It is bad enough that this guy thinks Aria is cute/hot/pretty and admits (to himself) that he likes her, when in actuality he is insulting her (a charmer). Wait, why would she kiss him? Because she is flattered she is called pushy bitch? Slow poke? Because she likes to receive death threats?

I was truly hoping Jade wanted her to kiss him to destroy that stupid crush. Only an idiot would kiss such a jerk. That would be his eye opener, at least, to realise he cannot possibly like someone so daft. Otherwise, this is ridiculous.

-She is adorably clumsy... NO. She is not.-

Moving on, good news is that the story goes to the point, way too much. Does not waste time with world-setting, simple when/where/why/how/what...

No, we meet cheerful Aria, and dark Jade like that. Other characters do not have any names, and do not really matter. Simple and lazy storytelling.

As Aria is completely shocked she reads minds, she has some little insights/flashbacks about this newly (and conveniently) found ability. No creativity, no build-up, no surprise, nothing. It just happens. Maybe this will be developed later, but it is just dumped like that.

Next panels are a few random examples of him pretending not to care about her, but actually saving this clumsy Aria girl. Too fast and again, no time to digest anything.

First time Jade stops a magic lab accident by destroying a hazardous chemical aimed to that foolish girl.

Second time, he appears to be shoving Aria off his way when in reality, he was saving her from being poisoned.

Why is she even a prefect???? How come she is not aware of the hazards around school??? Why are there hazards like those in a school no matter how magical this is???

Frankly, instead of being charmed by Jade's apparent indifference (yet saving her arse), to me this is a disservice to the girl that started the story being introduced as a prefect. We meet this shoujo heroine explaining useful tips as to how to defend yourself from big bad magical wolves. Sets a bar, you expect some proficiency even if you are not (yet) explained her merits or how she got the prefect status. By being this dumb, requiring the hero to save her, we have to lower our standards. At some point, even Jade himself wonders how she even became a prefect in the first place...

Back to the story, as now Jade inadvertently picked Aria's interest after saving her, we have Aria determined to know him better because, and I quote "Is Jade actually a really good kid who's easily misunderstood?"

So she joins him for lunch. Basically now she is trying to connect with him which only makes him complain and insult again. Now I have to agree with Jade, and I hope these attempts to connect with him help him realise his crush is as dumb as Aria.

How many times have we seen the kawaii heroine with that exactly same pose??? Eye wink + finger + cute smile + shoujo flowers. This is supposed to charm boy who (for no reason) is already charmed by this standard shoujo/magical girl trope.

The highlight of the chapter is when dark boy saves clumsy useless girl from being eaten by a Kafugori. Yep, the same beast she started the chapter talking about. Too bad, I would have appreciated getting rid of this ridiculous FL.

Why is a prefect unable to defend herself when chapter started with this lady mentoring others? I've no idea.

Why is the first year student able to save her? Other than a convenient plot device, I suppose we are led to believe that (1) he is powerful (more than her, but this is not a high bar at this point) (2) as he is a dark mage or comes from a family of dark mages, then his abilities are better. Or both.

She is again pushy, wants to understand why he saved her again (and yes, we want to know too) The pacing and rhythm are confusing, he declares he does not want her around because he is dark magician and would stain her reputation. There is a flashback when they meet, on his first day at school, and apparently, how he started his crush on her.

Again, the same shoujo-face, with shoujo-flowers, with naive shoujo-girl that smiles at sad kid declaring she does not care about his dark magic nature.

-No, we don't need to see your fantasies (part II)-

After the flashback to understand (?) why he seems to like her so much, Aria insists she will help clarify that he is actually a nice kid so that everyone knows.

Then she touches him again, and so she reads his mind.

My face mirrors Aria's. D:

Why does he have such ridiculous fantasies about her?? Marry her??? WHY??? Even poor Damian, being six years old, did not even fantasise about marrying Anya (and it is overkill, yet so appropriate for the comedic tone of SxF) With panels like this one, I wonder if this is actually a parody of shoujo fantasies, inspired by damianya doujins, or the author is really serious about this romantic trope.

To be honest, there are damianya doujins that are ridiculously charming, and follow the comedic style that SxF has and it is so refreshing. Here, those fantasies seem so serious I am inclined to believe it is just feeding shoujo readers.

-Conclusion-

Yes, there are fics and doujins that do a much better job at using the crazy and hillarous setting of a tsundere boy crushing on a mind-reader... A tsundere's worst nightmare.

However, this story has not earned that tone yet. It feeds from the premise of Hogwarts with a teen damianya... but both worlds (HP and SxF) are set and well-constructed. This one not yet.

This is a confusing setting instead, I am reading this as a (serious) romantic story (shoujo) with some supernatural/magic environment and bits of comedy. But also, perhaps it is just a comedic shoujo with a HP/damianya parody; a parody of both shoujo and HP/damianya ship; an homage to SxF damianya... Or simply a confusing combination of shoujo tropes with zero creativity (nothing we are presented tries to be original) The humour/comedic tone is just not good either.

Speaking of... and considering that Damian and Any are in primary school and are just little kids, these two have so much charm. She can read minds, yes, but she is young (it is implied she is 4 or 5 and not 6 like Damian and the rest of her little classmates) Therefore, Anya cannot identify that Damian has a crush on her, and Damian, as a little boy, does not know how to deal with a crush. The insults are not cruel, they compete with each other and they also care for each other in a naive, adorable way. But here... Aria just unlocked this mind-reading ability, so maybe it would have been more interesting to see her confused by his feelings towards her, as a first time mind-reader, making the comedy more intriguing. But no, she clearly reads him and concludes he is misunderstood and wants to help him (?)

The fantasies he has (kiss, carrying her bridal-style) are so disconnected... Even with the lame flashback, we have no reason to understand why he seems so infatuated other than Aria being pretty and choosing to ignore his dark reputation. He does not even know her (ok a boy crushing on a pretty girl does not need more) And when Jade gets to know her just a bit, it is to realise she is useless. And the crush seems to be at least the same or worse (wedding!!!) But again, I cannot help to remember how Damian started his crush: it was earned. We see him noticing Anya at the student ceremony and smugly believes she is the one crushing on him. Such a conceited brat. Then she punches that very smug face (priceless!) and you cheer for Anya. And then she tearfully apologises for punching him. Damian realises he does like her, we are shown his now celebrated damian-shoujo-filter... and we have to adore this kid. Poor Damian runs away embarrassed and disgusted (he is a child) And then their friendship develops, with comedy and nice moments that do progress their connection (keeping it in line with their age) Anya does not take advantage of Damian's feelings for her, as she is clueless about these.

But with Jade and Aria, I found no chemistry, nothing to really empathise with Jade's feelings towards her other than she smiles too much and has the standard kawaii looks. Compare that to how badass Anya is, she stood her ground, yet she was such a sweetie when she genuinely felt sorry for punching him. She is not necessarily pretty all the time, but Damian's shoujo-filter sees her as such a cute girl. I insist: the crush is earned. I would have crushed on Anya, too. With Jade? Not really.

Conversely, I also struggled to understand why would Aria care for such a jerk, no matter how pure his actual feelings are. Yeah, we need to wait for him to realise, and publicly accept he is not actually a killer and he has this heroic streak blah blah. But I am not even intrigued by this potential either. Moreover, I mentioned that Anya did not take advantage of Damian's feelings as she is not aware of these. Aria declares this mind-reading ability will make her "feel guilty" and "she will not touch anyone again"... yet she definitely touches Jade, and does use his secret to approach him. How noble.

Regarding this mind-reading ability, with Anya, we don't know much (yet) other that she was experimented on since birth (or was she born with the ability?) With Aria, we are shown a simple flashback of her Mum mentioning this ability as "high level magic only used by some bloodlines with excellent magic manipulation skills" and that some Popwells have the ability. Being so useless, Aria is not in the Sue category yet... but I hope being such a special snowflake with such great blood and the cute shoujo clumsiness does not make her one.

Probably this Story has not found its place yet, and I am definitely not the target group. But I would have never considered myself the target group for the crush of a 1st grader like Damian, and here I am. I will read the next chapters until I confirm my suspicion, but this is definitely not my cup of tea.

If you like this, it is okay, too. It is simple (very, very simple), easy to read, and does not seem to deceive anyone: Aria will eventually fall for the misunderstood tsundere with a secret heart of gold, and probably more shoujo tropes will be added to the story (boy saves girl, exes, competitors, jealousy, his family of evil magicians...)

1/5 only 1 for some decent artstyle. Zero/few backgrounds making the art super amateur and lazy (only faces and people) And lack of originality.

[purgemarchlockdown]

...the more I think about it the more I actually do get bothered with the Amane voting discourse on the end of the guilty voters.

Not even cause their voting guilty. Like- I don't care too much about that really, vote how you want and stuff, but how...accusatory a lot of them can get.

Not to heavily generalize a group of people, but one of the reasons why I didn't talk about it too much was cause I'd go into the tag and see another complaint about Inno Amane voters being on their moral high horse and being unnecessarily aggressive.

It's why I try my best whenever I talk about it to be clear I don't think guilty voters are bad people or anything. I'm not going to base someone's sense of morality on what they vote on the interactive anime mv series, I just won't.

However...I am starting to get bothered about how defensive and even hypocritical a lot of the discourse can get on the guilty voters side.

Firstly: A big argument I tend to see get thrown around is that "she can actually hurt people stop treating her like she's harmless" which...yes, from what I've seen a lot of inno voters (Including me!) agree with that and just find that:

1. There's an exaggeration of the actual danger and the security of a guilty verdict.

and 2. Find that there's a double standard here, where Amane is being treated as more dangerous even though other characters are equally, if not more so, than her.

(A Lot of these people point out that she killed an adult and I'd like to point that it's Highly Likely she used the Taser, or uh stun gun actually and that the attack had the element of surprise, two things that are not present in T2.)

Second thing: Positioning yourself as more reasonable than inno voters because unlike them your looking at the issue objectively and without attacking people...is a moral high horse! That's literally the definition of a moral high horse!

If I'm on a moral high horse for pointing out that her situation with the audience uncomfortably parallels with her abusive situation then guilty voters Should Also Be Considered To Be on a moral high house for believing that I'm downplaying the amount of danger I'm putting the prisoner in by doing so!

It's not like both points are bad anyway! If someone presented me with information that Amane could genuinely hurt someone in a way much worse than I anticipated then I'll accept that. I'm voting her inno Knowing about the possible danger. Not blindly believing she's harmless (which a lot of these guilty voters say inno voters are doing!)

Third thing: Sorry I will actually be Really pretentious here. Throw tomatoes at me now- How come when we reach the 12 year old abused child that's when people start acting like Milgram ISNT commentating on social issues?

I swear this is a thing- when we reach Amane people start talking about how the inno voters are taking it too seriously or are being too aggressive or again, are on their moral high horse when half the time its...engaging with the themes. Yamanaka said in an interview he wanted to make the audience be apart of the story and everything!

The Interview in Question:

Yamanaka: That's a difficult question... I'm always conscious of emotional control in my work, but in “MILGRAM”, the content has more live feeling to it. So the story progresses realistically based on the presence of the audience. I think I used a different brain than I have been using to create works up until now, I see it as necessary to think very three-dimensionally. I'm currently trying to turn the audience into characters in my work.

It's like pointing out the uncomfortable themes in her story when your an inno voter is the same as calling yourself "smarter" than guilty voters. Which is Weird when those themes Are such a big part of her story.

Or, alternatively, somehow, pointing out those themes means your disrespecting Amane since she didn't want to be treated like a child even though, again, those themes are such a major part of her story!

I was really trying to engage with this in good faith and now I'm fucking pissed that I spent a month worrying about being too aggressive and mean without realizing that a lot of the guilty voters I was hearing this from were doing the Same Fucking Thing!

[self-loving-vampire]

I don't really want to reblog your post saying this because I feel like that could be annoying but I've gotten a lot into gacha games (specifically Bang Dream, Project Sekai, D4DJ, Blue Archive, and now Zenless Zone Zero, in that order) as a 25 year old plural trans failgirl and despite enjoying them I know they are bad for me and it is my policy to not recommend them

and basically every time I find myself posting gushing over their stories or whatever I feel the need to asterisk myself with "this is a gacha game so I'm not really recommending you check it out". And like, I don't know, I feel like I should say it and it's necessary but it also feels a little tedious I guess. Like, everyone who I follow and who follows me knows this already so aah. But also then again I thought I already knew that the psychological manipulation and gambling was bad and etc and I still ended up getting super OCD over it and losing a lot of time and money to them and I would not wish this condition on anyone else. Which I guess is a more than good enough reason to continue the asterisking even if it's tedious in the same way it's tedious to say "content warning" or "spoilers for _____" or tag anything bothersome so people can filter it and sometimes you might forget to but you gotta do it anyway.

Anyway I uh. I do have like fifteen years of game playing experience prior to the gacha games where I played no gacha games. So if that counts for anything my favorite games of all time (and these are all non gacha singleplayer games) range from like,

Psychonauts (1 and 2), Milk Inside a Bag of Milk, Subahibi, killer7, Night in the Woods, VA-11 HALL-A, Tsui Yuri ~Okaa-san ni wa Naisho da yo~ (the incest yuri visual novel), Shadow the Hedgehog, if found..., Kindred Spirits on the Roof, Dishonored, Gunpoint, Jet Set Radio Future, and most importantly Senran Kagura (but not the gacha one), and many others but I'll just stop typing them now

Also I recently played the System Shock remake, which is kino and beautiful

Anyway I hope this confession is allowed. I really like your posts and your ask box has a very confessional vibe to me sometimes so I still feel compelled to it. Um, yeah. I guess, play those games. And not necessarily any gacha games. (Do that at your own risk, but also probably, really, seriously don't)

I've been trying to write a more formal essay on how gacha games can have good things in them but unfortunately still suck but ironically it hasn't yet come together because I've been distracted playing the gacha games. Hopefully I figure out that problem... Maybe with drugs or something (please)

Yeah, I don't think they are entirely bad (I still look at and reblog horny pictures from some of them often) but I wouldn't play one of those again even with full confidence that I won't fall into a gambling addiction because even putting morality and financial risk aside the very fact that they are trying to push players into it ends up worsening the rest of the game design.

Games these days (not even exclusively gacha) are sometimes deliberately made more tedious and inconvenient just for the sake of selling a solution to these invented problems. Paying to remove some arbitrary limitation or to skip a grind, for example.

The controversy around the new Star Wars Battlefront 2 contrasted with the original game highlights this very clearly. Things that used to just be a part of the game included by default are now things you have to either gamble for or play for an unreasonable amount of time to unlock. It really did not have to be that way, as demonstrated by the original game.

I think if you have been playing them and noticed all the issues it might be worth it to ask yourself if you're actually enjoying yourself on the net. Not just if the games have something in them that's worthwhile but if they are actually a fun way to pass your time. Is it play, or is it a chore you put up with to avoid falling behind or missing out on the things you do like? Would you be missing on much if you engaged with the story through youtube videos instead of playing the game yourself?

And if you do end up deciding you could be having more fun with something else, it's not like there's a shortage of other games, especially if you look into older games. Many of these are free or easy to emulate.

Looking at your list I think we have different tastes but if you enjoyed things like System Shock and Dishonored then you could maybe look into the first Deus Ex, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, or Arx Fatalis.

(Also this is a confessional now? I guess it gives people an excuse to picture me dressed up as one of those ero anime nuns even as I maximize blasphemy and apostasy.)

[phoenixradiant]

OC Beach Episode Tag Game

My thanks to @willtheweaver for the tag! This may be slightly complicated that only two, maybe three of these people have ever actually been to the beach before. I'm going to be taking their emotional states from the end of the story, despite the fact that some of them are dead at that point. The dead ones I'll give their last non-death-related emotional state.

Cellic: He would stand like a pillar of marble as the waves crashed around him. The warmth would ebb away from his body but he would only find it refreshing. If there were anyone remotely close to his size he would try to wrestle and throw them into the water. He would also sunburn. Badly.

Maiph: Maiph has seen rivers and lakes before but beaches are something completely new*. By which I mean she would spend a considerable amount of time sharing an opinion with Anakin Skywalker. She'd swim to avoid sitting on sand, if nothing else.

*(Okay so she's been to the 'beach' before but it wasn't real and doesn't count [don't ask, long story {please do ask actually, I like long stories}])

Farric: Farric would try to ride waves, but would flip over in the water, hit his nose on the bottom, and be kinda miserable for the next hour. He'd get over it, though, and if there were tidepools he'd relax in those.

Narra: Here's where you all get to learn a fun fact! Narra can't swim! Part of growing up homeless in the city is there aren't very many large bodies of water. So she'd wade in as deep as she could (not very) but then she'd just kinda be stuck. She'd have a good time, though. For someone so experienced in voluntary misery, she's quite good at enjoying herself.

Radiaten: On the absolute other side of the spectrum, Radiaten might legitimately not know how to have fun. He knows how to poke fun, sure, he's great with jokes, but he doesn't really find relaxing to be very... relaxing. He'd be very intently trying to not get his tunic wet or sandy, which pretty much means standing up on shore the whole time.

Lycoris: Lycoris acts a lot like an enthusiastic mom. She's not having fun unless everyone's having fun, but goshdarnit, she's going to make sure they're having fun! She even brought snacks! Yes it's just stale bread, but everyone thanks her and eats it anyway. Would try to dunk Cellic. He might notice. Would hold her breath underwater for as long as she could. This is long enough for people to worry.

Sonin: Would find the tallest dune and stand there, arms open to the wind, just breathing. It would be the best part of his week. But then, so was yesterday, and so will tomorrow be. He's eternally grateful for the world around him.

Kar: Kar would pickpocket other beachgoers. He'd probably sneak it all back afterwards, unless he finds a really cool shell. That he'd keep. Old habits die hard.

Lutian: Lutian would be hit by the exact same thing I was when I stepped back into the water for the first time in far too long: You can taste the ocean. And you don't even need your tongue, just let the water splash your lips and the salt gets injected into your bloodstream. She would alternately frolic in the waves and ponder the fact that you can taste without your tongue. She would subsequently take up the habit of kissing cheese, attempting to taste it. Kar would ask her who the lucky guy is, and she'd get flustered and he'd never let her hear the end of it.

Let's see, who's up? @corinneglass, @cybercelestian, and @agirlandherquill what shenaniganry hath thy characters? (yes I know that's the singular tense, but I wanted to use hath so thy is a necessary addition.)