#like his starting ideas for ladies are generally pretty good he just really drops the ball when it come to developing ladies

[kakashihasibs]

Why is kishimoto so good at making up little guys to love

[artificial-transmutations]

Your wish is my command

People knew when James approached pretty soon. Even with his 31 years, he still pretty much looked - and behaved - like the popular high school boy he used to be. He was loud, obnoxious and always surrounded by a group of friends - mostly his male buddies, but from time to time also one of his cardboard cutout girlfriends.

With his youthful looks and beautiful face, it wasn't very difficult for him to find a new girl - a fact he well knew and exploited. So, in general, his relationships rarely lasted longer than a few weeks or months until James got tired of his current girlfriend and dumped her for a new one.

Cathrine was one of them, a brunette smart girl who got picked up by James four weeks ago. Even though she quickly fell for him for his good looks and natural charm, she slowly felt annoyed by his constant bragging and immature behavior. However, she had agreed to let the group of friends hang out in her grandmother's antique shop this evening, a decision she started to regret already.

"Hey, look at these things. These are pretty weird, aren't they? What's this even supposed to be?"

"That's a gargoyle. They usually guard churches or the like. Or are supposed to bring luck." Cathrine explained.

"Hah! Bring luck. More like bringing ugliness. How is anyone supposed to see luck in that, huh?" James laughed and prodded the figure.

Catherine grimaced. "Honey, please don't touch anything. I had to promise grandma that nothing would be broken."

"Relax, Cathy, everything's fine! I'm not gonna break anything. Hey, do you think grandma would miss one of her creepy statues?"

"James, please!"

"Okay okay", he joked and looked around the shelves before something caught his eye.

"Hey, guys, check this out!"

He quickly stepped closer and, ignoring Catherines sigh, took the object from the blue pillow it was placed on.

"Cool! Is that a magic lamp, like from Aladdin?" he asked. Really, the brass object looked like a prop from the film. An old-fashioned oil lamp, with an oriental flair to it.

"Please, be careful with that. I don't know much about it, but I know it's an antique and really expensive."

"Yeah, yeah", James waved her off and continued to examine the lamp. By now his friends had gathered around him to watch. Giving them a show, he rubbed the lamp theatrically, but of course, nothing happened. Nevertheless, it brought him cheers and hollers from his buddies.

"The genie is just shy!", one of them joked.

"Oh, a shy one? Perhaps it's a genie lady that just needs some proper motivation?" James immediately agreed.

He raised the lamp to his face and made a kiss-face. "Don't be shy, miss genie! Oh, what is that?"

He held the lamp to his ear as if he was listening to a voice from inside.

"You want me too... what? Oh, you're being naughty miss genie! But I'm not complaining; your wish is my command!"

With that, James lowered the lamp to his groin and held it in front of his package. When he began humping the brass object, his buddies were already laughing tears. Catherine was a little annoyed on how immature James acted but couldn't help but smile as well.

What happened next, however, came as a surprise, not only for James but for Catherine and the guys, too:

In the span of seconds, James' body became engulfed in blue smoke. No, that wasn't exactly right: A more precise description was that James' body *became* blue smoke. It began at his hands, holding the lamp and quickly spread up his arms. The brass oil lamp fell to the ground as the blue smoke that had once been James' hands had not enough substance anymore to hold it.

But even dropping the item didn't stop the process. His entire upper body was turning into the ethereal blue smoke.

"Guys... Guys! What's happening?", he yelled out, but his buddies had no idea either. They were watching, perplexed, as James' body began dissolving. After a few moments, only smoke remained where moments before, James had been standing. Then, suddenly, the smoke was being sucked into the lamp, leaving James' friends and girlfriend behind in shock.

James found himself floating in twilight. He had been caught completely off-guard by his body dissolving into smoke, and he didn't have time to react or run away then. Now there was just... nothing around him. Gray twilight, and apparently no gravity surrounded him. There was some sort of light and air, but this world he now floated in lacked any point of reference whatsoever.

James checked his body, but apparently, it was alright. No sign of the blue smoke, just his regular body was hanging suspended in nothingness.

"Hello? Guys?", he tried, but nobody answered.

"Guys! Where are you?", he shouted out again, but the gray space just swallowed his words.

Suddenly, a tingling feeling ran over his body. When he looked down again, he noticed his clothes one by one fading away, until all that was left on him was his pair of underwear.

"What the fuck is happening to me?", he mumbled, a bit panicked.

The strange feeling he had only intensified however, as his very body was changing - again. However, this time, it didn't dissolve into smoke. Instead, it felt like his skin was stretching - or rather, the amount of his body was stretching. His limbs were growing and thickening, while his torso widened. At the same time, his skin became darker, reminding him more and more of a middle eastern heritage rather than his usual fair complexion.

His chest and arms ballooned out with muscle. It wasn't like he had been skinny or scrawny before - but now he didn't just look fit - he began to look more and more like a sort of body builder - one of those muscle bulls you only saw in TV or in the gym. His six-pack was becoming more visible, and his shoulders stretched wide and broad.

His legs, too, thickened and swelled, but that wasn't all. His thighs grew not just wide, but thick as well, and his calves became almost disproportionately large. Above all else, hair began to spread on his now darker skin. But it wasn't the blonde hair James was used to having on his head - it was coarse and thick hair that was dark and clearly visible on his muscular chest and arms.

At the same time, his haircut changed. While the hair on his head turned black as well, it became stylish, yet unlike anything James had tried before. The sides buzzed short and the top gelled up, he was beginning to look more and more like a young Arab hunk, perhaps from the Iran. As if on cue, dark stubble set in and covered his chin that was becoming squarer by the minute. James didn't have a mirror, but his fingers were exploring his new facial features in disbelief. As a final treat, his boxer shorts morphed into a tight pair of a simple blue fabric underwear that filled out as his manhood began to take more and more place, leaving behind his previous pretty average bulge and settling on a huge, almost obscene size.

The changes had finally stopped and James found himself suspended in the gray, twilight world, confused, scared, and sporting a very new look. He had never thought of himself as attractive before, but the changes he had just gone through had made him a prime stud.

However, he hardly had time to react, as he felt a pulling sensation all through his being. The scenery changed and he found himself back in the shop - but now, he was somehow floating a bit off the ground and looked down to one of his buddies, Greg, who held the lamp in his hand and had apparently just rubbed it.

"Whoa!", Greg exclaimed. "Who are you?"

"Guys, it's me, James!" James answered. "I somehow got sucked into the lamp thing and now your wish is my command, master."

A moment of silence followed and James realized what he just said. Despite his impressive muscular new body, the last words, which he had not meant to say at all, had sounded respectful and submissive.

"What is this bullshit? Who are you and what are you talking about?" Greg asked.

"I'm... I'm James" James stuttered. "And, apparently, your wish is my command. Just say 'I wish' and I will make your heart’s desire come true."

Again, James had only partial control over what he was saying. The last part had come out without him meaning to.

Greg was taken aback somewhat. "I wish...? I dunno. You're pretty gay like that!"

James only realized what was happening as he felt a mighty surge of power move through his body and heard himself say: "And so it shall be."

Did Greg just wish for James to be gay?! Luckily nothing seemed to be happening, until all heads turned as Catherine exhaled a low surprised moan.

James watched in horror as now her body was changing. Her breast flattened in a matter of seconds and her hair shortened to a stylish men's cut. At the same time, her body widened and her shoulders became broad. Her skin became rougher and little hairs spread all over her body. By the moment, her clothes were becoming too tight on a lot of places and too loose on some others. Catherine's face became a masculine version of itself, just like it would look like if she had been born a boy. Her nose was now strong and prominent, and her jawline was becoming stronger. Her face, too, was covered with a dark stubble that continued down her neck a bit before stopping at about where her now pronounced Adam's apple sat. When she let out another shocked noise, it was at least an octave lower than before.

Her new lean masculine look was completed by a bulge in her pants that quickly filled out with the last part of her new distinctively male anatomy.

At first, James had hated to watch Catherine's... No, Kit's feminine features melt away like that. But the longer he watched the better Kit looked, James decided. When his new cock popped into existence, James even felt himself get a bit hard from watching his lover. Kit was his soulmate, his one true love. James didn't care how gay it was - he liked men - and this man especially.

He turned back to Greg with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was happy about having Kit, but on the other hand, he was horrified about what was happening to him. He needed to beg him to stop!

But instead, all that came out was: "You have two wishes left, master."

Check out this awesome writer as well!

If you like my stories, you can use my riot page as a tip jar. There will only be tiny bits of exclusive content there, though, so it's mainly just that - a tip jar :)

[ryin-silverfish]

Nezha the Demon Child: oh god not the discourse

…I promise, this isn't about Nezha's age. No, really, it isn't.

It's about this idea of pre-resurrection Nezha as a "Demon Child", and good lord that's just as discourse-worthy isn't it.

My short answer is "It's Nezha 2019 specific and doesn't quite work outside of that context, if you are using FSYY's version of Nezha's backstory."

My long answer is this entire post.

First, I must define what I mean by "Nezha as Demon Child". It's the popular fanon inspired by 2019! Nezha, who is the Demon Pearl incarnate as opposed to 2019! Ao Bing's Spirit Pearl, after 2019! Shen Gongbao switched the two around, and thus destined to be destroyed by divine thunderbolts in three years.

In the movie, Nezha's demonic birth and out-of-control powers makes him into an outcast, despised by the villagers, and he retaliated with some pretty mean pranks.

But whereas 2019! Nezha's parents still love him and try their best to give him a good childhood in those three years, in the "Demon Child" fanon of JTTW adjacent works, Li Jing is the one who despises Nezha and sees him as a demon from the moment of his birth, and sometimes Jinzha and Muzha too.

Now, I have made it pretty clear before that I'm not a big fan of Li Jing. However, if we are just looking at FSYY novel, how much support can we really find for the "Demon Child" idea?

Well, for starters: there is only the Spirit Pearl/Lingzhu Zi in FSYY proper, who reincarnated as Nezha, destined to become the Vanguard of the Zhou Army in the upcoming War of the Investiture.

When Lady Yin gives birth to a ball of flesh after 3 years of pregnancy, two servants report to Li Jing that she has given birth to a demon. Li Jing rushes into the room with a sword and cuts the ball open, and a little kid jumps out and starts running around, and this is Li Jing's reaction:

李靖骇异，上前一把抱将起来，分明是个好孩子，又不忍作为妖怪坏他性命。乃递与夫人看。彼此恩爱不舍，各各忧喜。

Rough translation: "Shocked, Li Jing stepped forth and lifted him up into his arms; such a fine child. He could not bring himself to harm the child as a demon. Then he passed him over to his wife, and the couple showered him with affection, despite their individual joys and worries."

The next day, Taiyi showed up to congratulate him, asked about the timing of his son's birth, and basically went "Ah, crap." See, because the child is born at the hour of Chou, he is destined to break 1700 prohibitions against killing. Right after dropping that bombshell, Taiyi named the child Nezha, took him as his disciple, and just…left.

Soon, Li Jing got a report that 400 vassals had rebelled all over the realms, because prior to this, King Zhou had summoned his four major dukes to the capital, killed two of them, imprisoned one, and only left Chong Houhu the asshole bootlicker untouched, at which point the two dead dukes' sons promptly rebelled.

As Nezha grew to the age of seven, Li Jing was still conducting drills in case of an attack by the new Duke of the East's rebel army.

So what does it all mean?

Well…it sure doesn't support the idea that Li Jing despised Nezha because he still thought the child was a demon after cutting open the meatball.

He could plausibly be unsettled by the whole "break 1700 prohibitions against killing" prophecy, but instead of being abusive, I think it's more likely that he just neglected Nezha due to his duties as a general, leaving it entirely to Lady Yin to raise the kid.

Which is still not the best parenting, but with different implications for Nezha's character. Like, FSYY's Nezha gives me the vibe of someone who just doesn't quite understand social norms, or human behavior in general, or what a healthy degree of fear even feels like, and being outright despised or abused as this "Demon Child" would have taught him to fear things very quickly.

If he was indeed feared by Li Jing, it's less "suffer not the yaoguai!" and more "let's keep our third kid happy and ignorant and never let him out of the house again."

To use a fucked-up analogy…Nezha is less this dangerous hound that must be chained to a wall and whipped into submission, but a fine, powerful weapon Taiyi had left to them for safekeeping purposes, much like the Qiankun Bow & Sky-shaking Arrows sitting in their backyard building.

Perhaps he still isn't seen as his own person or treated like a regular, flesh-and-blood kid, yet it won't make sense for Li Jing or his older brothers to do the equivalent of spitting on this precious weapon or kicking it off the stands.

(Since Nezha doesn't even recognize Muzha when they run into each other during the Attempted Patricide Arc, my HC is Jinzha and Muzha both left home to study under their masters at a pretty young age, and rarely came back for visits.)

Like, I can still see Li Jing being this stuck-up and emotionally distant guy who only interacts with his kids to "check on their homework", so to speak.

Or Lady Yin coddling Nezha, partially because she wants to make up for Li Jing's absence, and partially due to the vain hope that, by sheltering her youngest child from the world, she might be able to shelter him from his very destiny too.

...

Here's where I go off a tangent: on a meta level, Nezha isn't a demon or an aberration of the natural order (which yaoguais are often seen as) either. This is very much informed by a Chinese essay called 由哪吒看《封神演义》的天命世界 that analyzed the character in relation to FSYY's view of Fate.

It is very well written and has given me quite the emotional damage (/hj).

Specifically:Nezha is destined to violate 1700 prohibitions against killing, not because he is "evil" or demonic, but because he's born to be an executioner carrying out the Will of Heaven.

He is the very embodiment of the "Peril" that is the War of Investiture, and thus must suffer through his own perils, to be ritualistically remade in death into a demigod-like warrior.

Much like how the Chan 12's participation in the War of Investiture is, in and of itself, a Peril, something they must endure and survive as the consequences to their causes——failing to sever the Three Corpses and breaking prohibitions, Nezha's suicide served as his Peril, a death that shall cleanse him of his guilt and satisfy the karmic laws while also fulfilling his destiny.

Everyone he killed in battle follows the same logic: they have violated taboos (more true for the Jie Sect immortals), gone against the impersonal, ironclad Will of Heaven yet paradoxically playing straight into Fate's hands, as their deification through death has proven——a Peril as well as a consolation prize.

To folks that don't buy into FSYY's view of Fate and think it's bullshit, or don't understand the logics of deification: an alternate and more "modern" interpretation of Nezha's suicide may be an attempt at finding freedom.

After all, what's a weapon's biggest act of resistance, but breaking itself?

After this, I'll never owe anyone anything again. My debts are repaid. I'll never see my mother cry. I'll be no one's son, no one's disciple, a blade that will never be sheathed and left to gather dust in the attic, obstructed, then blamed for doing what it's made for.

It also isn't as simple as he thought. Death, as well as freedom.

Looking back centuries later, he'll probably cringe at his younger self too.

This? This is what you think your destiny, or freedom from it, looks like? Dishing out death indiscriminately without understanding what it means and lashing out in a fit of rage——it doesn't make you a good warrior, or even a good weapon, just a mad dog!

Like, I think Nezha can be rightfully pissed at Li Jing's Asshole Arc after his death, while also gradually coming to a more mature and nuanced understanding of violence and his purpose during WOI.

Namely, as ironclad and undeniable as Fate is in FSYY, attributing everything to it is just an easy way to avoid the difficult questions and personal responsibilities.

And I feel like there are a lot of interesting potential in exploring Nezha's post-war arc, of someone who is born to be a weapon, who finds comfort and certainty in that purpose, suddenly having to become something else.

Not necessarily in the "learning to be human again" sense, moreso the divine equivalent of a veteran adjusting to civilian life, exploring the boundary between executioner and protector, while dealing with both the funny and messed-up implications of working alongside everyone he sent into the Investiture.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

Here's a two-parter idea for hc (idk this time if it's a full or a Mini, I'll let you choose ;) )

1. How do the M6 hold babies? Who's a natural and who has the stiff "toddler who's meeting their baby sibling for the first time" hold? Who likes them & vice versa? Who's the person you hand a baby to & then immediately have to take it back bc something about their aura immediately made the baby freak out?

2. Similar vein; like the wands in Harry Potter, we all know kids pick and choose who they like & nobody has a choice in the matter. Which of the M6 do kids like? Who's a natural child repellent? Who do the kids always undyingly attach themselves to even though by all means that person seems like the last parson the children would fall in love with?

Feel free to include the courtiers or any other side characters too if you like, I think that'd be funny

The Arcana HCs: M6 with Kids

~ @themushroomgoesyeet this started out as a mini-hc and then I got so carried away I turned them into a full series. XD thanks friend! ^.^ - brainrot ~

Julian

Loves kids!! so young! so small! so full of life and energy!

Kids tend to be initially cautious when approaching him (he's so tall, and edgy-looking, and kind of loud)

But as soon as he notices them he's folding up his gangly legs so he can crouch at their level and make eye contact and ask them about their day and introduce himself to their toys

And oh my, the stories he comes up with - it's not uncommon for you to lose him in the marketplace and come back about thirty minutes later to find him seated on a crate, about fifteen children of varying ages sitting in front of him, hanging onto his every word with stars in their eyes as he props up a toddler with one hand and wildly gestures with the other

Depending on how enthusiastic his audience gets and how much time he has to work with, he may or may not teach them the basics of improv and catch them up in acting out his story

It's impossible to pull him away once he's appointed different kids to their roles and gotten them started on his fantastical adventure

Remembers all their names and faces and preferences and goes out of his way to wave hello to them if he ever spots them while he's out and about

Asra:

Kids love the look and smell and feel of them but they rarely approach them because of how generally detached they seem

He's quite fond of kids himself, and they will straight up worship him if he puts effort into connecting with them, but most of the time he's too lost in his own wanderings to get around to it

Has strong feelings about their well being though, and will drop everything if they see one in need of assistance and not receiving it

Always accidentally ends up in a teacher's role (it's his infinite patience), he's just bad at knowing what might or might not be a good idea to teach them

How to knit? Wonderful! Now they have a new, soothing, productive hobby and skill set

How to pick a lock? No!! Now they're going to apply their scary levels of creativity and tininess to getting access into spaces they really shouldn't be in!

Known to randomly distract them during scary public things (you found them putting on an impromptu magic show in an alleyway for all the kids in the street right after a nasty cart crash)

Has an easier time with kids than with babies. Babies can't talk, if something's wrong they just cry while you try to troubleshoot

Nadia

She regards them with distance and respect and they do the same for her

It's much easier to care for them with improved infrastructure and accessible education than it is to learn what kinds of bodily fluids are normal on a child and what kinds aren't

(spoiler alert - snot is normal. snot is expected. snot will be everywhere. snot can never be fully cleaned up.)

Kids pick up on this, and are generally more likely to admire the very pretty lady from a distance than they are to walk up and start talking to her

Every now and then, though, some precocious child will start following the trail of her perfume, which will lead them to her skirt, which they will bury their snot-covered face in because it's soft and smells nice

And every time, without fail, Nadia will pause what she's doing and bend down to politely introduce herself and ask for their name without a single though to the mess on her clothes

She actually does better with babies than with kids, because it's easier for her to hold and physically protect a baby than it is to try to have a conversation with a child and quickly discover just how different Toddler Logic is from Adult Logic

Muriel

Small children congregate around him in droves and he has no idea why

They are small, they are fragile, they are living creatures who do not deserve to be hurt or abandoned, why are they crowding around his feet instead of holding onto their parents???

From a child's point of view, it's quite logical

Man is tall. Man is quiet. Man stands still. Man has gentle aura. Man provides shade. Man is clearly a tree (for chilling next to, and attempting to climb on, and occasionally bringing flowers to)

If Muriel can muster enough courage to break his initial "freeze" response, he'll find a corner to sit in so he can be extra stable and not run the risk of accidentally crushing someone

You found him like this once at a party, sitting still as a stone, with two kids chatting with each other on his lap, one scaling the sheer cliffside of his back, one perched on his shoulder sticking flowers in his hair, and two more playing with his hands (which are easily the size of their faces)

He gave you the same look you'd expect from someone stuck with a cat sleeping on their lap

Will listen to and remember any story he gets told and mention it later in conversation

Portia

Loves kids!!! x2

Unfortunately, she tends to scare the shy ones off at first with her intensity, which does make her cry herself to sleep sometimes

She has both the physical energy and the delightful imagination that perfectly suits her to joining into any game the kids around her come up with and making it one of the most exciting experiences of their tiny lives

She's also brilliantly prepared to comfort a child through any burden their small souls carry

Runny nose? She's got a handkerchief. Skinned knee? She's got band-aids. Dehydrated? She's got a water bottle. Hurt feelings? she gives the best (seriously, the best) comforting hugs

Nobody can mediate squabbles like she can (she brokered a trade deal with Firent, she can easily handle playground territory fights)

Over the years she's become the confidant of many tiny ones and you've caught her more than once mending a torn skirt or fixing a broken toy for a kid who didn't want to have to confess to their parents and face the consequences on their own

Does she fill you in on all the little one's gossip and drama? Of course. Does she take it just as seriously as her job? Absolutely

Lucio

He likes kids more than he thinks he does. Unfortunately, they're not usually fond of him at first

When he looks at kids he just sees tiny people who aren't quite big enough yet to go to real parties or do anything interesting with him

That said, he also likes to help people. In the past it was partially to show off, but he genuinely enjoys making someone else's day brighter and knowing he was the reason for it

Plus, kids are considerably easier to impress than grown ups are

Children, on the other hand, are more likely to see a very loud blonde man with a scary metal arm and walk in the other direction

Lucio does not like it when anyone, child or otherwise, takes one look at him and walks away

He must convince them otherwise

Usually resorts to sweets (he's got his own weakness for cookies, even if he still has no idea how to make them)

You've watched him win the admiration of about thirty tiny people in fifteen seconds flat when he loudly proclaimed that he'd be buying any treat any children wanted from the baker's stall

To say that he was still talking about the stars in their eyes when they looked at him three weeks later is an understatement

[enchantedblackrose]

Not Pretty

Gif credit @haileyupstead

Jay Halstead/ Fem Reader Partner, mentions of Kim and Erin.

Summary: You and the other girls from Intelligence are sent to a nightclub, but the bouncer won't let you in.

Warnings: No canon timeline. Some swearing, feelings of not being pretty. A dude calls you ugly. Largely unedited but I'm tired of looking at it.

Author's note: I really thought I had such a good idea. Then I sat down to write this and omg this is just...idek. I'm sorry? It's nothing like I thought it would be. And I'm seriously doubting posting it. Huge thanks to Resa for talking it out with me otherwise I'd still be stuck hahaha

A contribution to @resanoona 's 3k Fiesta bingo! Square filled: Hurt Feelings

Not Pretty

"Not you," dripping with disdain and a sneer while the onlookers snicker, echoes in your mind as you sit on the bench in the locker room at the precinct, momentarily sidetracked from gathering your belongings.

You shouldn't be feeling like this. Sad. Defeated. The sense of utter failure lingering over you. You and the team made the bust. And yet all you hear is that bouncer's voice. 

‐

Of course it's a frigid Chicago night as you stand outside the nightclub with members of your team undercover and underdressed. Your knee high boots help conceal your credentials as well as your backup piece, but your left little toe is already numb with pain and you're positive your heels are going to blister. You tug the bottom of your dress as if that will magically make it grow longer.

Kim playfully swats your hand. "Stop fidgeting."

"This dress is tiny and it's freezing," you stick your tongue out and she laughs at you.

"Yes, well in lieu of making your dress longer or warmer, try to relax," she offers you a tentative smile.

Through your earpiece, your partner's voice rings out, "She's right, y/n. You look...fine. just concentrate on the task." Feeling chastised, you scowl in Jay's general direction. He's somewhere in the crowd of people in line for the club in case there's trouble before you even get in. He somehow manages to catch your eye, before you plaster on the fakest of smiles.You turn to Kim just as Erin bounces up to you both, hooking her arms through Kim's elbow and yours. "Ladies! Let's get this started."

Laughing with each step, feigning flippant attitudes, you and the girls walk past the line, straight to the bouncer by the door. He barely glances up from his clipboard.

"Name?"

"You won't find our names on your list, but-"

"End of the line," he barks.

"Please," Erin pouts.

"He's just doing his job," Kim says. He looks up, appreciating the recognition. "We'll go," but none of you make to move. His eyes rake over your bodies. Erin acts as if she's about to move, but then tilts her head slightly.

"Are you Rob? Because my friend, Cassidy, was here two or three nights ago and she said you had all the right moves," she says, dropping the name of her CI.

He laughs, "You lot know Cass? That girl is wild. You party like her?"

"Harder," you say with a cheeky smile. 

"And longer," Kim winks.

She and Erin giggle. You laugh a little late and very awkwardly. Rob moves finally granting entry. 

You all move to go in, but he stops you.

"Not you," He sneers.  Erin and Kim halt. "You two can go in. She has to wait." They scoff and protest, but he's unwilling. 

"Sorry no uglies." You feel your heart plummet; his words sting no matter how badly you wish they didn't. But even though you're hurt and angry, your face remains neutral. A group of smug girls on the other side of Rob snicker and point in your direction. Another wave of dejection hits you and you shove your emotions down again.

"Rob!" Erin scolds, but he shrugs, unabashed.

"It's fine," you force a smile, not wanting to  waste any more time. "Go and I'll meet you inside." Kim, you can tell, is conflicted. Erin isn't happy. You wink and before you're even walking away, Voight's in your ear, instructing the other two to continue on as planned and for you to wait in line with Jay. You can't help but roll your eyes. Of course you were going to go wait with your partner. There was nothing left for you to do but wait. This whole night was going down as one of your worst.

Jay is towards the back of the line with only a few people behind him so no one is bothered when you take a place by his side.

"Do you want my coat?" His offer is genuine, but you hardly notice.

"No, I'm not cold anymore." It's true. Your anger is enough to warm you. You huff involuntarily.  Jay notices how you don't look him in the eye.

He watches you carefully as to not earn your attention. Your jaw is set tight. Y/e/c eyes unblinking, fixated on up ahead. Your tongue presses to your cheek. Arms fold across your chest. Your order to join him has clearly irritated you.

Minutes pass by with the line never really moving. Jay notes how you look down at your dress. You ran a hand over it to unnecessarily smooth it out. You shift uncomfortably in your boots. Jay starts to think maybe there's more to your bad mood. It wasn't just Voight, but that asshole bouncer, too. Jay's jaw clenches tightly. He starts to put a hand on your shoulder when you both hear the order to move in.

"Chicago PD, you guys need to leave!"

"Get outta here." Together you and Jay clear all civilians before entering the club.

Erin's CI had given incredibly accurate intel. Plenty of arrests and drugs were seized. Lives were no doubt saved.

_

"Hey y/n, we're gonna go to Molly's for celebratory drinks," Kim's voice is extra soft, weary even, sensing your bad mood, but not knowing the best way to approach you. "You coming?"

"I already have plans," you lie with ease and a cheery smile a bit too big to be sincere. "Thanks though!" Kim looks like she wants to press on, but ultimately decides against it.

As she walks away, you sigh. If she and Erin hadn't teamed up with you, if you had attempted to get in the club alone, would the team still have made arrests and confiscated all the drugs? It was unlikely. Moving fast was key and you would have been forced to wait in that line. And while it had been Erin's CI providing some crucial facts, this had been your case. You couldn't even get into the club because you're not pretty. Hot tears prick your eyes. You hastily wipe them away.

Your club dress lays angrily thrown in your bag. Your boots too. Now sporting sweat pants and your PD tee, you remain on the bench, waiting for the laughs and voices of your colleagues to die down. You give extra time even, not wanting to catch any of them in the parking lot. But even when the silence settles in, you don't move. You're alone for five minutes when a voice comes from behind you, startling you.

"What are you doing?"

Your hand flies over your chest. "Jeez, Jay. I thought you left with everyone else." You let out a breath.

"Why aren't you at Molly's?"

"I told Kim. I have plans."

"I don't think you do." He crosses his arms over his chest as he comes to stand closer to you.

Annoyance sets in. You zip shut your go bag before standing up and slamming your locker door close. "Well I do, so if you'll excuse me…"

Jay doesn't budge. "No. Because you're lying and I want to know why."

"I don't appreciate being called a liar."

"I don't appreciate you taking me for an idiot. Your only plans must be a large pizza at home on your couch alone because you don't go out in sweats, except to the gym. And you never go there on Friday nights. So tell me. Why are you letting what some idiot said bother you?"

You're beyond stunned by just how well Jay knows you. It reminds you how much you love him, not only as your partner, or a friend, though you would never, ever,  confess it. Tonight being the perfect reminder, you're not enough. 

But his astute knowledge of you, has left you feeling vulnerable and angry. You need to get away. From him. From work. From your emotions.

"I'm not talking about this with you. Now move."

"No."

"Jay, I swear-"

"What are you going to do?" His frustration with you seems to grow with every second. Those normally light eyes of his are turning dark. His voice is slightly raised.

You've seen Jay mad before, but not with his anger directed at you. It only seems to fuel your temper.  "Why are you being such an ass about this?" You snap. 

"Why are you being so stupid about this?" He shouts.

Your eyes widen in disbelief. "Don't fucking yell at me and do not call me stupid."

"I'm thinking you might be if I'm right and you're all upset because some lowlife bouncer said-"

"Oh for fuck's sake! I'm upset because what he said is true. I'm not pretty. I look nothing like the other girls. It's not like I haven't noticed. This isn't about just one guy. It's about me. I never get hit on when I go out. I never had a lot of dates when I was younger. It's fine. There's so much more to life. It just stirred up some bad feelings. And this sounds silly to you, I'm sure, but there it is, Jay. Your partner isn't pretty. And it almost cost us the case! I almost cost us the case because I'm not pretty," your voice breaks at the end. Tears threaten to spill, But you stiffen your lip instead. You look Jay in the eyes.

He's shaking his head. "You're wrong. You're fucking beautiful, y/n."

You don't think you heard him correctly, "...What?"

"I," he pauses, nervously licking his lips before continuing, "You're my partner and I know it's inappropriate, but I just," he sighs, like he's losing an argument with himself, and then with one step towards you he closes the space between the two of you. His mouth is on yours, tongue begging for yours.

Once you have time to react and reciprocate, he gently pushes you into the lockers, deepening the kiss. His one hand rests on your hip. The other cups your chin, desperate to bring you impossibly closer. Your hands stay at your side, unable to process what is happening. The only thing you're able to do is kiss Jay back.

A moment passes before he pulls away. His kiss has left you breathless and feeling dazed. When you finally manage to look him in the eyes, you see his face is much more relaxed now.

His tone is gentler, too. "It's unfair how beautiful you are. Your face is so soft and lights up every time you smile. Your eyes twinkle after you've been laughing. And you're smart. You're good despite all the bad we see. And you're sexy, y/n. When I saw you dressed for the assignment tonight, I-," he doesn't finish the statement, rather a pink tinge spreads across his cheeks.

"But you never said anything. I didn't know…"

"Now you do. Maybe you'll see it for yourself now." Between his kiss and his words, you can hardly think. Jay takes your silence as an opportunity to apologize.  "I never meant to call you stupid, but I really didn't. It was implied that I thought you were being stupid, and though there's a difference, that wasn't cool either. I honestly couldn't understand you being hurt by someone's words, especially when they were so wrong. I had no idea you had no clue how pretty you truly are or that your feelings about this stem so far back. I didn't get it and I'm sorry y/n."

"It's fine, Jay. I don't exactly go around broadcasting my insecurities."

"I could've been more sensitive."

"Maybe. That kiss helped a bit," you quip, finally feeling more like yourself.

Jay's grin is almost smug. "Oh yeah? Well in that case, since I know you're not doing anything, how about we get a pizza, take it back to my place and then later I'll show you just how beautiful you are to me?"

Wordlessly, almost like you still can't believe what's happening, you nod. Jay takes your bag in one hand, and intertwines your fingers through his with the other. Hand in hand you leave the precinct.

[wilcze-kudly]

The (old) announcement for the new earth Avatar series in 2025 is making the rounds on twitter with so many reactions being wishing for a Bolin-like mankisser Avatar, which has led me & my maladaptive daydreaming to concoct this speculation/wishlist/fanfic, hope you enjoy:

Technology has evolved to be somewhat modern day tech with majority population no longer very spiritual & dismiss bending & spirits as being "old head" stuff & glorified pretty animals & weird martial arts, and now the Avatar isn't considered a big deal anymore. This is part of the main conflict with the new Avatar

Korra dies at around 80ish, mostly b/c I want old lady Master Jinora to be the new Avatar's main spiritual teacher

Show starts with Jinora copying her dad's lead and summarize the end of Korra's life before zooming in on her and the White Lotus going around the Earth Kingdom searching for the new Avatar. Unlike w/ previous generations, there's hardly any Avatar claims, which is nice b/c no random false claims, but Jinora gets annoyed at how un-spritual and downright flippant people are about the Avatar cycle nowadays.

This search goes really wrong though... b/c 20 years after Korra's death and they still haven't found the new Avatar 😨. WL members begin wondering if the cycle is broken, but Jinora doesn't give up hope in finding Korra's reincarnation.

Jinora may be an old lady, but she's very spry and agile and credits the Air Nomad lifestyle for how she doesn't slow down at all in the search.

Scenes begin getting interspliced during the Avatar search, cutting to some ”random” Earthbender (obvs the Avatar). He's some big buff brown athlete dude who is trying to make it to the big leagues of pro-bending... but he struggles a lot. Backstory: he's dirt poor and kicked out by his family after being such a failure in school, turning to sports to try to live out his dream is a last ditch effort. Very last ditch b/c if he doesn't win tonight's match money, he's not gonna make rent and end up homeless, so he's very stressed.

Cut to some of the younger While Lotus guys who pass by the local small-town arena and then ask Master Jinora if they can take a break this weekend and watch a local pro-bending match. Honors was at first gonna say no, but her gut/spiritual connection to the previous Avatar suddenly tells her that going inside might be a good idea.

They walk in to see a pro-bending match in progress, and it's pretty neck&neck with our Earth Avatar looking like he might be able to pull out a close victory..... until the enemy's team's earthbender sends him flying back, and instead of falling normally, our Avatar gets genuinely scared that he's gonna break his neck and experiences a slowmotion "life flashing before my eyes" near-death moment where he gets sad b/c.... he's kinda a loser and his life sucks!

That's when he suddenly airbends and catches his fall.

Jinora & the WL are overjoyed to see this and it's a big huge moment..... until they zoom out and it turns out nobody else in the arena gives a single fuck outside of the fact that airbending is cheating ”yellow fan! move back 1 zone!" even our new Avatar's teammates are pissed at him

Jinora gets really mad "Um, hello? That's the Avatar!" but nobody cares beyond the game. Jinora starts grumbling abt "young folks"

Our new Avatar doesn't even care much either and just pleads with the ref that he just did it on accident, but the yellow fan goes thru.... and it ends up costing the match!

new Avatar leaves the match dejected and kicked off the team "if you hadn't done that Avatar mumbo jumbo, we would've won the prize money!" and new Avatar leaves teary eyed and cursing this "stupid Avatar stuff"

Jinora & the WL drop in on new Avatar (literally, Jinora is too excited and just flies down from the sky) and new Avatar yells abt "I don't have any money, scary airbending Grandma-mugger! Please don't rob me, I'm already homeless!"

It takes a while for Jinora to convince him to come with her (turns out, he doesn't know much abt Avatar stuff either, Jinora really starts grumbling abt "young folks" now) but in the end the White Lotus win him over by pointing out that the Avatar gets free room & board from the WL.

scene break to the following day, preparing to take a Sky Bison to the Fire Nation, & the new Avatar asks why they're going there

Jinora explains that the WL has contacts with the traditional Sun Warrior pueblos who have agreed to train the new Avatar in Firebending (Jinora then wonders aloud if the offer still stands after being 20 years late in finding him)

new Avatar guy then asks why Fire first, & not Air. Then Jinora starts lecturing him abt having to go in the order of the Avatar cycle ”It's Earth Fire Air then Water. How do you not know this?"

While she's ranting abt this, some dude shows up and new Avatar tries to hide by earthbending a hole into the ground... it turns out to be his dad. Somehow, his dad found out abt him being a late bloomer Avatar (new Avatar bragged on corny Instagram-parody abt being the new Avatar, it wasn't as popularly received as he had hoped, most ppl called him a liar)

NA's dad, same dad who kicked him out of the house for being a jobless loser dropout, suddenly wants to schmooze up to the White Lotus, after confirming that his son wasn't lying

Argument ensues, but ends with his dad at least being concerned abt his son travelling overseas and insisting that the WL take his number and give him updates. While climbing onto Sky Bison Jinora takes some grandma-ly pity on NA and tells him that they won't update his dad if he doesn't want them to.

Fast forward to NA meeting a Sun Warrior Master (their people are one of the few civilizations still keeping the traditional bending and spiritual practices alive, part of why Jinora picked them) and NA begins his training... poorly

The SW Master gets very frustrated at how blockheaded this guy is and how little he pays attention (on more than one occasion, NA pulls out his phone and desperately tries to convince social media that he really is the new Avatar, but everyone keeps accusing him of using a greenscreen filter or something to look like he's on vacation)

Sun Warrior guy ends up dragging Jinora aside and having an outburst and saying some... not so nice things about this new Avatar. He starts asking Master Jinora if it's possible that intermixing between nations has somehow produced multi enders, maybe he just has an airbender & earthbender parent. Jinora tells the SW Master to stop being ridiculous, and then he escalates as says that even if NA is the Avatar, he won't teach him b/c he's ”a lost cause"

NA accidentally walks in and overhears this, and it hurts his feelings and he starts getting existential b/c "it's happening all over again! o sucked at school! I sucked at probending! now I suck at this too! my dad was right.... I should just go home" 😢

the Sun Warrior Master feels bad & tries to retract what he said, but Jinora says that she'll talk to the NA

Jinora decides to change up the schedule the rest of the day and train the NA herself. He gets excited at first b/c he thinks it's for airbending"at least know I can airbend!" but turns out Jinora just want to do some simple spiritual meditation stuff as something (hopefully) easier for him to help build his confidence

Meditation practice goes similarly awful (he can't concentrate or relax to save his life) but the conversation does turn to Jinora talking about the spiritual aspect of Avatars and asking him if he's ever connected to any past Avatars

Jinora decides to try something, and takes NA to a shrine that she had once visited with Korra in her later years. Jinora hopes that this place might help him connect to Korra (possibly for selfish reasons b/c Jinora misses Korra)

It's late at night at this point, and the NA just ends up falling asleep rather than meditating. Jinora sighs and reasons that it's only his first day.

But ... turns out that during his sleep, NA does make contact with the spirit of old gray Korra... and she slaps the NA's spirit awake

NA freaks out "Why are you blue & glowy? Wait why am I blue & glowy?"

Korra doesn't have time for his questions and starts getting into it "Finally! It's been 20 years! You're old enough to be a fully realized Avatar, so why is this the first time I finally made contact with you? You've gotta be a bigger spiritual blockhead than when I started out!"

NA confused and explains that he's not a realized Avatar, it's just his first day

Spirit Korra freaks out and starts shaking NA's spirit like a ragdoll "You just started!!? We don't have time for this! I need to warn you about something! Here, it'll be easier if I show you!"

Spirit Korra touches his forehead and shows him a vision of a worldwide apocalyptic event that's like a climate change fueled by the modern-tech world's disconnect & mistreatment of the spirits hanging around the material world.

After the vision Korra lets him go and yells at him to hurry up and finish his Avatar training. And then before she wakes up him again she asks him to send her regards to Jinora btw.

Cut to the waking world, Jinora is concerned over where NA's spirit went and shaking him. Then he wakes up screaming and asking if being an Avatar always means that "scary old ladies are yelling at me... Oh... she told me to tell you that 'Korra says hi'"

And that's where my maladaptive daydream decided the 1st episode of this hypothetical/speculative show would end, but here's also 2 other "scenes" I daydreamed where the new guy's Team Avatar forms.

1st scene is him perhaps going on a trip away from the Sun Warriors' remote traditional village and going to a semi-rural fishing town and ending up meeting some bronze-skinned rough-and-tumble looking firebender dude seaside restaurant that he flirts with.

The NA wonders if he could flex his Avatar status to help with flirting with the fellas, but his recent failures w/ Avatar training has him feeling down and ending up losing his nerve and goes to leave. But the firebender guy sees the depressed NA first and invites him for a bowl of this town's specialty noodles.

They hit it off well, and NA enjoys getting to forget abt Avatar training (Jinora will yell at him later when he ends up missing the whole day's practice). NA asks firebender guy what he does, and he says he works on his dad's fishing boat as the chef ”stereotypical, right? they always ask the firebender to cook. I'm good at it though" And when he in turn asks the same question, NA tiptoes around the Avatar stuff (after how everyone else in his hometown and his old probending reacted, he thinks it probably won't be "cool" to say he's the Avatar)

But turns out, firebender guy thinks it's awesome, and NA is like "You're the first person other than Master Jinora to think me being the Avatar is cool😊" "Who's Master Jinora 🤔?" "One of the old ladies who yells at me 😐"

2nd scene is the waterbender & Airbender girlies of the team being introduced.

the waterbender is a traditional southern water tribe student who's doing field research for her thesis on Sun Warrior culture. She doesn't use waterbending much for combat at first (she mostly just uses it to create ice magnifying glasses to read ancient texts)

But she ends up getting roped into Avatar business after running the airbender girlie, who is Jinora(& Kai)'s granddaughter!

She flies over to the SW pueblo to see how her old granny is doing

she has a sort of funny half-camaraderie half-antagonism relationship with Granny Jinora, b/c she's a master Airbender who genuinely cares abt Air Nomad culture, but she also likes new untraditional modern tech social media fashion stuff too, and that part kinda annoys Jinora since her granddaughter kind of runs a nomadic travel page and takes lots of pictures

Jinora's granddaughter and the water tribe thesis writer meet at the Sun Warrior village, and the water tribe student complains that there's practically nothing to make a thesis on since the Sun Warriors are very protective of their culture to actually let her study anything beyond some old statues at the gate. She rambles aloud that the other grad students were doing much more exciting theses, and that the only novel thing she could do was either try (and fail) to convince the secretive Sun Warriors to let her do a paper on them... or do a paper on the mystery fate of the Avatar in the 20 years since Korra's death

Jinora's granddaughter ends up being a big blabbermouth and spilling every abt why her granny is here with the Sun Warriors

They both get roped into Avatar destiny stuff as a result

Some other random thoughts I had: it'd be cool to do another southern water tribe festival arc at some point, except this time with nods to Korra and Katara in the festival and an update on the spiritual connection there far away from the big metropolises.

Plus, it'd be cool to see Tenzin's kids and grandkids at some point, with a joke about Rohan being forgotten, b/c he was just a baby while his whole family saved the world a million times, so a self aware jab abt Rohan being old and still salty abt missing out on the adventures w/ Korra 😤

OH my gosh i love that! Babe you've got some spectacular ideas, write a fic! Granny Jinora oml 😍 and I genuinely feel for the new avatar. Its easy to feel like a failure and i think a lot of us could relate lol

[kleo1504]

[18+ Story] The Mistress and the Beast (003)

Disclaimer:

18+ Story

May include sexual themes

Female-Dom

Minors do not interact

The story includes AI generated pics

It’s a complete fiction

This is an original story by me, please do not copy

Just for you to know, I cursed this story while writing it, if you do copy my work, karma and curse will get you 😜

And for AI - feel free to learn from and use my story, I know I can’t fight technological progress 😂

Previously...

The Mistress and the Beast

(Part 003)

Tessa: Are you free for the next 30 minutes? Nathan: Not really… I have a meeting with Tessa: Make yourself free and come to my desk. Nathan: Yes, mistress! 🏃‍♂️

Tessa waits for only about 5 minutes and Nathan shows up at her office.

“I’m nearly scared of what you could possibly want from me here. I admit your desk is slightly shielded from the rest of the open space but it’s still a pretty public spot.” Nathan looks around and he can not only see but also hear the members of Tessa’s team.

Tessa is sitting by her desk. When they were moving to this part of the headquarters building, she specifically asked for a new desk which will have three full sides, covering her legs perfectly. She liked to take her shoes off while working late and she didn’t want others to stare at her feet when she did. And this desk also gave her a daring idea. “Go under my desk, Nathan.” She motions with her leg, showing him the way. He’s of a large build but he should fit just fine.

Nathan is clearly startled, his gaze shifting from her to the desk and back. “Tessa…”

“On your knees, crawl under my desk and suck my cherry hard enough to make it pop, Nathan.”

Nathan looks around one more time, nobody is looking in their direction and this space is partially shielded by paravan. He quickly drops down on the floor and hides under Tessa’s desk. He grabs her legs and slides her on the swivel chair closer. He immediately notices she’s wearing a perfectly nice and decent knee-length skirt but no underwear. Without hesitation he starts stroking and rubbing Tessa’s legs and inner thighs.

“Hmm! That feels nice,” Tessa sighs quietly and she starts typing on her keyboard to look busy for her coworkers. “Carry on, Nathan. You are doing well.”

She can feel his lips placing hot wet kisses on her inner thighs and moving up to her most sensitive spot. His skilled tongue caresses her in her lap and finds the very bud of her pleasure easily. He starts giving it quick sharp licks eliciting moans from Tessa and making her stop typing. “Fuck! You’re good!” Tessa whispers. “Don’t stop.” Nathan’s lips envelope her bud and he sucks softly and briefly, building the arousal up in Tessa. “Ahh! Shit! I underestimated this!” Tessa moans and she can hear (and feel) him hum with delight. Nathan really goes for it, using his lips, tongue and teeth, he covers her lap in kisses and his saliva making her lady parts even more wet and slick. Tessa suddenly covers her own mouth to muffle her scream as she feels one of Nathan’s fingers entering her. He starts thrusting it in and out in a slow but building up rhythm while licking and sucking her clit like a popsicle. And Tessa can definitely feel like melting. Then she needs to bite her lips hard and hits the desk with a palm as Nathan pushes two fingers inside her. “Fuck! Nathan! You devil! Shit!” She curses in between breathless panting. “You’re turning me on so much. I’m so close. Don’t stop!” She can feel one of his hands pushing underneath her butt, gripping her better to speed up. Tessa instinctively arches her lower body to give him better access. She tries to muffle her sounds as Nathan really goes for it. She gives a trembling moan when the wave of orgasm covers her. Before she can descend from the ecstatic heights, she feels Nathan’s finger all warm and wet and slick with her juices making its way into her but hole. He thrusts it several times and then she feels him inserting a butt plug in her tight hole.

Tessa’s legs are still shaky and feel like they are made of jelly when Nathan pushes her swivel chair a bit away. “Coast clear?” He asks as he’s using a white paper tissue to clean his face covered in Tessa’s cum.

“Wait!” Tessa signals with her hand.

“Tessa! We are going to that new Thai restaurant on the corner for lunch. Wanna join us?” Nathan hears a female voice and presses a bit more into the under desk space.

“Not today, Naomi. I have an appointment. I’ll join you next time. Thank you.” Tessa responds with a husky and a bit breathy voice.

“Are you okay? You sound weird.”

“I think I caught a cold or something. It’s nothing serious. Enjoy your lunch.” Tessa waits for Naomi to walk away and then pulls Nathan out of his hideout. He quickly straightens his back and clothes. Then he places his hand on her desk, leaning against it and watching Tessa’s face. “I don’t even need to ask whether I was any good.” He gives a wide cocky smile.

“If you were just a tiny bit better, I would scream my lungs out.” Tessa sighs and tries to make her skirt look decent again.

Nathan smiles wide proudly, clearly pleased that he managed to satisfy her. “Always at your service, mistress.” He whispers.

“You did great but you should really go now. People would ask what you’re doing here.” Tessa winks at him.

Nathan nods and walks away.

Nathan: Your boy is working late tonight. 😢

Tessa receives his message followed by a selfie. It’s nearly 11 pm. The selfie captures Nathan pouting, sitting at his CFO desk, his chest bare and his tie turned into a ribbon around his neck as if he was a gift.

Tessa can’t suppress her laughter.

Tessa: Oh no! They are truly overworking you. Nathan: Do you still have the butt plug in? Tessa: It’s yours. I’ll wait till you come and take it back. Nathan: But I can’t control it. 😢

Tessa shares a link with him.

Tessa: Now you can control it. 😉 Nathan: 😈

Tessa can immediately feel it vibrating and rolls on her belly in bed.

Tessa: Hmm! It feels good… Nathan: I know 😂 Tessa: I have a few more toys with remote control here. Wanna play with me? 💋

Instead of responding in the chat, Tessa receives a face call invitation. She picks it up.

“I want to see you using those toys while I control them, mistress.” He says. “I want to make you feel good.”

“Hmm! Very well! Let’s see if you can handle the toys better than I do.” Tessa reaches somewhere outside the cam frame and she presents all her toys.

“That’s one hella vibe the pink one.” Nathan laughs.

“Still a bit smaller than you.” Tessa pouts.

“Are you sure? It looks pretty big from here.”

Tessa lifts the XXL size vibrator and puts it inside her mouth.

“Fuck! Tessa! You’re crazy! You’re turning me on so much here.” Nathan bites his bottom lip as Tessa pushes the vibrator further. She pulls it out slowly again, the phallic vibrator glistening with her saliva.

“It’s smaller than you. I’m sure.” Tessa grins cheekily.

“I believe you,” Nathan moans. “When you’re already familiar with this one, why don’t you give me the remote control and use it on yourself?”

“With pleasure. Would you mind me taking my clothes off?”

“I’ll appreciate it.” Nathan gulps and watches Tessa taking her oversized t-shirt off. She intentionally makes a rapid movement as she throws it away, her breasts bouncing, making Nathan’s mouth dry and his pants too tight. She’s still wearing panties but she keeps them for now and touches her nipples lightly. Nathan can see them perk and harden. “Use the nipple clamps, mistress, please.” He asks her and Tessa reaches them. She takes her time putting the nipple clamps on, moaning and sighing softly as she touches herself.

“Hmm! It feels good! I like my nipples pinched like this. What else, my dear? How would you like to pleasure me? Would you rub my boobs if you were here?”

“I would! I would rub them softly and kiss them.”

“Alright…” Tessa starts rubbing herself, her skin getting heated and more sensitive. She lifts one of her breasts up and kisses it, circling the nipple with clamp with her tongue.

“GOD!” Nathan moans.

Tessa looks up to see him undoing his pants at his desk. He pulls his erection out and starts touching himself. “No no! Not so fast, my naughty boy. Be patient. Stop touching yourself. We have barely started and I want you to last as long as possible.” Tessa scolds him softly.

Nathan whimpers but he obeys and fixes his pants again. “Yes, mistress. Please, slide your hand down. Tease yourself over the panties.”

Tessa leans back and spreads her bent legs to give the camera and Nathan a good view. Her hand slowly slides down to her crotch. She starts stroking herself while tugging the nipple clamps now and then. “Ahhh! Yes… I wish you were here to rub me like this.” She moans and she can hear him hiss.

“I wish the same, mistress. I can see your panties dumping. Slide your hand underneath it. Are you wet?”

Tessa lets her hand inside her panties and properly rubs her intimate folds. “Yes, I’m very wet. I’m wet for you.”

“God! Yes!” Nathan moans. “Take your panties off! Let me see.”

Tessa slowly takes the panties off and positions herself so her intimate parts can be seen in full by Nathan.

“Fuck! You’re so gorgeous, mistress! Use that lube on the vibrator. Make it nicely slick. It’s a big one and I want you to feel good.”

“Hmm! Yes!” Tessa spreads a decent portion of lubricant all over the vibrator and starts rubbing her folds with it. It starts vibrating as Nathan controls it. “Oh! It feels so good, Nathan.”

“I can tell.” Nathan sighs, his eyes glued to the screen of his personal tablet. “Tease your pretty hole with the vibe, Tessa.” Tessa does as she’s told and rubs her entrance with higher speed, moaning more intensely. “That’s it! Start pushing it inside, Tessa.” She starts pressing the tip of the vibrator inside. “Fuck, you’re so tight, love! Slowly, don’t hurry, my dear.” Nathan instructs her and Tessa giggles. As if she never used this vibrator before. His care is somewhat cute but funny at the same time for her. She makes a few shallow thrusts with the vibe, each move inside going a bit deeper than before.

“Ah! It’s so big Nathan! Stretching me so well! I wish it was you, Nathan!”

“Same…” Nathan gulps and Tessa hears him moan. “God! You’re taking it so well! Fuck, Tessa! You’re killing me…”

“What now? I’m full but not quite there, Nathan. What would you do if this was you?” Tessa asks. “How would you pleasure me?” Tessa can feel the vibration getting more intense and with a faster rhythm.

“Thrust it, baby. Start nice and slow.” Nathan instructs.

“Ah! Yes! It feels so good! Filling me so well! God! The vibration… I want more!”

Nathan changes the vibration mode. “Speed the thrusts, mistress. You’re getting close, aren’t you?”

“Yes! I’m so close! Ah! I want it deeper… harder!” Tessa thrusts with the vibe much quicker and harder, nearly pushing it completely inside. 

“Shit! Tessa! Can I undo my pants already?”

Tessa gives a deep throaty moan. “YES! I’m so fucking close now, Nathan!”

“That makes two of us,” Nathan whispers as he reaches to his hard erection and starts stroking himself.

They both reach the climax at roughly the same moment. Tessa is lying on her back, the vibe still inside of her, it’s mode set to something more like a light massage, smile on her face. “Are you still there?” She asks as she’s too tired to move and check the phone’s display.

“Yes, mistress.” Nathan’s voice sounds husky and spent. “I must admit… This was the best jerking I ever had so far.”

Tessa giggles. “Stick with me and we will surely break that record.”

“With pleasure. I should really put myself together again. The night cleaning shift will soon be here and I don’t really want the poor lady cleaner to see me like this.”

Tessa gives a throaty laughter. “A big CFO found in his office late at night all worked up and covered in his cum, watching the head manager of P&C with a giant vibrator in her pussy. That wouldn’t be great for any of us.”

“Tessa?” Nathan calls for her attention. Tessa reluctantly lifts her head and grabs the phone to face him. “Have a good night, Tessa.” Nathan smiles. The lights are too dim to tell for sure but Tessa would swear he’s blushing.

“Go home and get some sleep, too, Nathan. Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams after this? You’re an optimist.” Nathan smirks. “Sweet dreams to you, too, Tessa. See you soon!” He blows a kiss and closes the video call.

Tessa lies for a little longer resting. As she starts falling asleep she forces herself to get up. She pulls both the vibe and butt plug out, washes and sanitises them both properly in the bathroom and puts them on a charger. She wears clean panties but decides to sleep without a t-shirt.

Tessa: We should discuss some rules of conduct. Nathan: Haven’t we crossed most of the rules already? Tessa: I’m not talking about company rules. I mean rules for the… the thing between us. Nathan: You mean rules for our relationship? Tessa: Okay, rule #1 Don’t call it a relationship. Tessa: #2 Don’t ever talk about us with anyone and I mean it - don’t share stories with your friends, family, priest, couch, guru or elementary school teacher. NOBODY! Nathan: I wouldn’t dream about telling anyone about our private relationship 😜 Tessa: We only have 2 rules and you already broke the first one twice. Nathan: Oh dear! Naughty me! I guess you should punish me… 🙏 Tessa: You’re such a manchild, really, Nathan. Tessa: #3 We are not dating. I’m not going to meet your friends, parents, no dates in the cinema, no picnics in the park, etc. Nathan: I think I understand where this is going. Tessa: #4 No attachments! Once I say it’s over, you accept it and we part as civilised people. Tessa: #5 As long as this lasts, you are not allowed to hook up with anybody else, unless I say that you can. Tessa: Those are the rules. If you don’t agree, we should better end this here and now to avoid any further damage. Nathan: Yes, mistress. Tessa: You mean you agree with the rules or you want to end it? Nathan: I agree with the rules, mistress. Tessa: … Good! I somewhat expect you to try to negotiate. Nathan: I learned that you don’t negotiate. You give ultimatums. You don’t make compromises. It’s your way or no way. Why would I try to waste time arguing with you when I know I can’t win? Tessa: True. I’m really happy you have this much understanding. Thank you. Nathan: Can I ask you about something now? Tessa: No emotional bonding types of questions. Nathan: Don’t worry. Nathan: As much as I enjoy all the mindblowing orals and fun with toys, is there a chance of you allowing me to actually fuck you anytime soon?

There’s like a 3 minute pause.

Nathan: Tessa? Nathan: Mistress? Are you there? Tessa: Yup! Tessa: Sorry, I choked on my morning tea. Tessa: You caught me off guard a bit. Tessa: Back to your question. Tessa: I think I can arrange something like that. Tessa: Have you found yourself some apartment or are you still staying at the hotel? Nathan: I have the hotel suit. Company pays for it until I find something permanent in this city. Tessa: Do you have plans for the weekend? Nathan: That depends on the day and hour Tessa: The whole weekend. Saturday and Sunday. 48 hours. Nathan: Well… Tessa: Make it free. Nathan: Yes, mistress. Nathan: You mean… are we going to spend the whole 48 hours together? Nathan: In a hotel suite? Nathan: Fucking the entire time? Nathan: Tessa? Nathan: Mistress, are you there? Nathan: Are you choking on tea again?Nathan: Hello?

To be continued...

[silverofthunder]

☆ you're stuck on me like a tattoo ☆

Papa Emeritus IV x Dante (OC) || AO3

summary: Dante tried to focus on the surrounding walls, the curtain artwork and the background music but it was really hard. Something in Copia was basically just inviting him to look and after a while he found himself looking at the man again.

content: 6.6k words, tattoo!AU, OC (male), getting to know each other, fluff, romance, just two idiots being awkward, bad attempt at humor, SFW

So, this fic got really out of hand. I don't know how this happened. I guess I had some kind of brain malfunction as this got so long. Tattoos are my weak point, I really love them! Also, this is a first time I created OC. I'm starting to enjoy writing more and more and maybe I'm slowly getting better in general. 😊 This was such a fun journey, hope you like this, too! ♡

It was early Friday morning as Dante was making his way to the tattoo studio nearby. The air of chilly autumn morning was pinching his cheeks and he tried to move up his scarf to protect his face more.

It didn’t take long before he stood in front of the tattoo studio, the sign ”The Ministry Ink” glowing red above the door. He pushed the door open, stepping in and taking in all the surroundings. The interior made him think some kind of a church, though it was mostly dark and… loomy. Music playing in the background fitted perfectly with the mood.

”Good morning, how can I help you?”

Dante startled a bit and looked up at the lady who was standing behind the counter.

”Good morning, I was coming to see the outlines sketches for my tattoo. I sent you an email about that a few days ago,” Dante informed while walking to the counter.

”Let’s see…” the lady said quietly, looking at the computer, then asking for his full name. Dante gave the name and she typed it fast, making a few clicks before moving her gaze to him.

”Yes, it seems Copia has made you the outline sketches so I’ll go get him. Please, wait a moment.”

Dante thanked her and watched as she disappeared to the back. Soon she came back, followed by a man who had his whole face tattooed… or was it just make up? Dante couldn’t tell, just stared at the man eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

”Congrats, Paps, you’ve done it again, scaring the customers,” the lady laughed and Dante felt the tingling of blush on his cheeks as he looked at the man who just rolled his mismatched eyes.

”It’s just make up, don’t worry,” the man said, offering Dante a smile and he found it oddly charming. ”I’m Copia and she’s Cirrus, my always so lovely co-worker.”

Dante nodded and shifted awkwardly.

”So, you sent some ideas for the tattoo and I’ve done a few different outline sketches of them. Follow me,” Copia said, walking over to the curtain on the left corner of the studio. Behind it was a tattooing space, two chairs and a small table with some inks and other equipment.

”Please, sit down,” Copia urged, motioning to the tattooing chair. Dante sat down and Copia gave him a few papers.

Dante’s eyes widened as he saw the outline sketches – they were so cool. Copia had managed to combine all of his wishes perfectly and with different ways.

”These are amazing,” Dante sighed in awe. ”It’s gonna be hard to choose just one.”

”Thank you, I always try my best,” Copia told. ”And go with what seems to be most you.”

Dante went through the options, eyes scanning the little differences. The third one had something that felt the most inviting.

”Copia!” someone shouted suddenly and Dante was startled again, nearly dropping the papers.

”Sorry, I need to go there for a moment. Take your time,” Copia said, exiting the space. Dante heard some pretty heated conversation and it made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

When Copia came back, he looked a bit frustrated.

”Apologies for that.”

”A bit of drama going on?” Dante wasn’t sure if he should ask that but Copia didn’t seem to mind the question. With a sigh the man sat down on the smaller chair.

”Yeah, you could say so. The customers shouldn’t get to hear that as I don’t want people getting a bad impression of us.”

”Don’t worry, I’m not gonna give you a bad rating.” It just slipped out and Dante slapped his hand over his mouth.

Copia let out a little laugh. ”I hope not since you haven’t even gotten your tattoo done yet.”

Dante felt the blush rising to his cheeks again and Copia eyed him with curiosity.

”I assume this is going to be your first tattoo?”

”Yes. I’m a bit nervous, to be honest.”

”I could tell,” Copia said, offering a small smile. ”Don’t worry, you’re going to be in good hands.”

It felt at least a bit comforting and Dante smiled back at Copia.

”I’ve made my choice. I’ll go with this one,” Dante said, giving one of the papers back to Copia.

”Great. You can keep those other two options if you want. And you told that you wanted this on your upper arm if I remember correctly?”

Dante nodded, pointing his left arm. ”Yes, right here.”

”Cool. I guess we have it settled then,” Copia stated, standing up and Dante did the same. They exited the tattooing space and Dante was ready to leave.

”I already booked the time, it’s in a week, so…”

”Good, I’ll see you then. Thank you and have a nice day!”

”Thanks, you too!” Dante said and left the studio.

The week went by fast and Dante finally found himself on the chair, upper arm exposed. All the preparations were already made and Dante was still a bit nervous despite Copia’s calming chatting. Dante shifted on the chair for what felt like a millionth time and it didn’t go unnoticed.

”We have all the time. You can ask for a break at any time.”

”Sorry, I’m not usually this nervous,” Dante stated, taking then a deep breath in, slowly releasing it. ”Okay, you can start now.”

Copia looked at him for a moment before lowering his gaze to Dante’s arm. Dante was expecting a bit more uncomfortable feeling as the needles started to spread ink under his skin but it wasn’t that bad and he managed to relax more after a while.

He wasn’t sure how much of talking Copia liked while working so he decided to just observe him in silence. Copia had both of his arms fully tattooed and the tank top he was wearing was so big Dante could see a bit of chest peaking out, exposing a part of a tattoo. Slowly he moved his gaze to Copia’s face, letting his eyes follow the lines of make up. It was unusual, or something he hadn’t seen before at least, but somehow it looked cool.

”Why haven’t you tattooed your face?” Dante couldn’t help but ask eventually.

”Very short answer: I don’t want to,” Copia said, a hint of smile on his lips. ”And there is still free space for tattoos elsewhere.”

”Oh, I see.”

”This make up is just because I like to be a bit extreme and also it kind of works as a mask, you know.”

”I wasn’t going to ask about that,” Dante tried, getting a quick glance from Copia.

”You certainly were. Everyone has asked about it so far. People are curious and I don’t mind it.”

”It looks nice,” Dante stated bluntly. Copia smiled at that, eyes glued to Dante’s arm as he was working on the tattoo.

”Thank you.”

Silence fell between them and Dante let his gaze study Copia more. The man was most likely at least 10, even 15 years older than him, though he was definitely toned as the pants hugged tightly his thighs and legs overall. Dante swallowed, tearing his gaze away as his cheeks started to heat up.

Fuck. Why did he had to blush like some teenage boy? Also, this wasn’t a place to have any inappropriate thoughts.

He tried to focus on the surrounding walls, the curtain artwork and the background music but it was really hard. Something in Copia was basically just inviting him to look and after a while he found himself looking at the man again. This time he let his gaze go over the tattoos covering his arms. There was a cool design of the devil near his elbow bend, the tail of it continuing to his arm, circling a skeleton-faced pope while changing into a snake. A mix of different flowers were thrown between the designs, along with some vines, probably to cover the extra space the designs would have otherwise left to the skin.

”We can take a little break now and then I finish this,” Copia’s voice broke Dante out of his thoughts and their eyes met. The mismatched one's seemed to bore into his soul and suddenly Dante’s mouth felt dry.

”Oh, okay,” he stuttered, attempting to smile. Copia looked amused while putting the tattoo machine to its place on the small table. Dante stood up, really needing to get a few minutes of fresh air.

”Feel free to take something to drink from the table near the entrance,” Copia said and Dante nodded, pulling the curtain aside and walking towards the table. He decided to go with coffee, filled the cup and took it with him as he went outside.

He breathed slowly in the surprisingly warm autumn air and then puffed it out. What an experience this had been so far. He knew he could be awkward but now it seemed to have reached a new level.

He took a sip of the coffee, the warmth feeling so good and easing the dryness in his mouth. A few passers-by glanced at him strangely – probably because he was only wearing a t-shirt and it was late autumn, after all. He stood there a moment before going back in, finishing his coffee and throwing the cup to the trash can.

There was a man standing behind the counter and Dante couldn’t recall seeing him before. He looked at Dante, nodding and smiling and Dante did the same.

”Hey, boss?!” the man called and soon Copia came from the back room.

Boss? Did Copia own this place or…?

Dante looked as the two men talked about something and at some point Copia’s gaze landed on him. Dante swallowed, shifting and playing with the he of his shirt as he moved his gaze away. Quickly he made his way back to the tattoo chair and hoped this all would be over fast. Copia joined him shortly, pulling the curtain to give them privacy and sat down, taking the tattoo machine from the table.

”So, let’s finish this,” Copia said quietly and Dante took a better position on the chair, fixing his gaze to the curtain. Rest of the time went in complete silence apart from the sound of the tattoo machine and the background music.

When Dante finally got a proper look at the finished tattoo, he was in awe. It looked amazing. Also, he felt so proud he had finally gotten the courage to take it. After all, he had thought about getting one for several years.

And now he finally had it. He would probably spend a lot of time staring at it for the upcoming weeks but of course it would take time to get used to it.

Dante was rushing to the record store as it was supposed to be opened in an half on hour. His cousin who owned the place had gotten sick and so she had asked Dante to help her and of course he had agreed. He actually worked there already but did mostly cleaning and other chores his cousin came up with.

He finally got the store’s back door, fumbled with the keys before getting the door open and stepping inside. He put the alarm off and looked for the light switch to turn on the lights. Then he went to the staff premises and took off his coat, hanging it on a coat rack, and checked the time. He still had around 20 minutes left and he set the coffeemaker ready so he could have his morning coffee.

Everything seemed to be right as he went through the store as fast as he could. It wasn’t a surprise as his cousin was pretty precise and liked everything to be in order. Well, at least it made his work easier. He went to get his coffee and then came to finally unlock the main door. For his luck there wasn’t yet any customers waiting outside and he made his way behind the counter, opening the computer while taking sips of his coffee.

Now he only had to wait and hope this day would be more quiet.

Dante had gotten a pile of records from the small storage room and was walking backwards while exiting there and his back collided with someone as he tried to close the door with his foot. He startled, apologizing and turned around, coming face to face with a familiar man. His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the records.

”Good afternoon,” Copia said, smiling.

”I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Dante stated, mentally wanting to kick himself as soons as the words had left from his mouth.

Copia chuckled. ”I could say the same.”

”Well, I work here. My cousin owns the store but she is not here tonight. Caught a flu and had to stay at home. So it’s only me today.”

”Oh, I see…” Copia said quietly. ”How’s the tattoo?”

”It has healed well,” Dante answered. ”Slowly getting used to it. Still admiring it every day, though.”

”Nice to know that you don’t regret taking it.”

”God, no, I could never! I love it, it’s beautiful. Thank you again.”

Copia waved his hand, clearly playing modest but his eyes shone in a way that told he was pleased to hear that. A brief moment of silence fell between them and Dante shifted, trying to adjust the records in his hands.

”Do you need help with those? I got no rush and I also came to look for a record I could buy for my friend.”

”Yeah, sure, you can help if you want to,” Dante said and Copia reached out to take at least half of the records to himself. ”Follow me.”

Dante led Copia to the rack where the records were supposed to be put up. They organized them together and Dante felt oddly calm now that he had recovered from the surprise of seeing Copia again.

”Your friend, what kind of music they like?” Dante asked after a while.

”She’s a huge fan of classical music, believe or not,” Copia answered. ”Not my style at all, so I really could use some help.”

”Not my style either but luckily my cousin has taught me something about different music styles. A few options came to my mind, I can go get them and you can choose from them.

”Thanks,” Copia said and Dante went to look for the records. It took a good while to find the other one and when he returned, Copia was now looking at the death metal section, going through the records.

”Sorry, it was hard to find the other one but here they are,” Dante told and Copia turned to him, taking a look at the records.

”I probably have to take both and hope my friend likes them.”

”And if she doesn’t you can always blame the guy from a record store of a wrong choice.”

Dante’s words made Copia laugh, a proper laugh this time and Dante found the sound of it endearing. He couldn’t help but smile and this odd warmth made a little dance at the bottom of his stomach.

”I might have to protect myself from her wrath so I might have to do that,” Copia stated playfully.

”Sounds like a great friend.”

”She is,” Copia said, his voice soft. Then he took a look at his watch, letting out a sigh that sounded almost like a disappointment. ”I should go but before I need to pay for these…”

”Yeah, of course.”

Dante led them to the counter and took the payment and with a goodbye and one last smile, he watched as Copia left the store. Sighing, he sank onto the chair behind the counter and slammed his hands to his face.

How the hell was that man so intriguing?

The next time Dante saw Copia, the situation was unconventional. It had been a long week and he had come to the bar to have a one drink when some big guy had approached him. At first the guy had seemed to be polite but soon Dante had found himself telling the guy for what felt like a millionth time that he didn’t want more drinks or company. He also was getting a bit too close to him, touching him and Dante didn’t like it at all.

He tried to just leave, getting up but was stopped by the guy’s hand taking a hold of his arm.

”I need to go,” Dante said, trying to sound as determined as he could. ”Let me go.”

”Nah, you can stay for a while,” the guy spoke, pulling Dante towards himself. ”Just one drink, pretty boy.”

”No, I said I don’t want to.”

The guy rolled his eyes, now taking a hold of Dante’s other hand and Dante’s heart rate picked up.

”Let him go,” Dante then heard a voice and when he turned to look at the man who had spoken, he was so releaved to see it was Copia.

”Who are you, his boyfriend?” the big guy asked, staring hard at Copia.

”Yes,” Copia answered and Dante’s heart probably missed a beat. ”Now, let him go.”

Dante could hear Copia’s voice cracking a bit. The guy was much bigger than him and it wouldn’t be nice to get into a fight.

”Fuck it,” the big guy said and for their luck, finally let go of Dante. ”Keep your pretty boy.”

Copia sent some death glares after the guy and Dante sighed, rubbing his arm.

”Thanks for saving me.”

Copia’s eyes found his. ”No problem, was lucky to be here at the right time.”

”Yeah…” Dante muttered, though Copia most likely didn’t hear it due to music playing loudly.

”Are you alright?” Copia asked, eyeing Dante with concern.

”Yes, I just want to get out of here now.”

Copia nodded, taking Dante’s hand in his and leading him outside, only stopping to get their coats on the way. As soon as the fresh cool air touched Dante’s face, he let out a long sigh. He leaned against the nearest wall, gaze landing on Copia who stood in front of him, hands in his coat pockets.

”That could have gone wrong there.”

”He was a complete jerk,” Copia huffed. ”I was lucky the boyfriend card worked.”

”Done that before?” Dante’s eyebrow quirked up.

”Once but it almost didn’t work back then. My friend had to kick the guy in his balls,” Copia told, a small smile rising to his lips. ”It was a bit embarrasing for me, though. I’m not used to scare people off or anything. I mean…” he trailed off.

Dante laughed a little. ”I get what you mean.”

Copia smiled, reaching out to grab Dante’s scarf and fixing it better around his neck. Something warm fluttered in Dante’s chest as Copia’s glove covered hands brushed his chin, and for a moment he just froze, staring at the man before him.

However, the moment was gone soon, and Copia took a step away from him, the disappointment settling into Dante as the distance between them grew.

”Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to--” Copia lowered his gaze, fidgeting with his gloves.

”It’s alright,” Dante said quietly, slowly reaching out to brush his hand against Copia’s arm, gaze fixed on Copia’s face. He didn’t meet his gaze but a small smile tugged at his lips and he leaned against Dante’s touch. It was fascinating to see Copia not so confident as he has been previously.

”Should we take a walk?” Dante suggested then and Copia nodded, briefly glancing at him.

They decided to head for more quiet direction, chatting and laughing and stopping to take some random photos every once in a while – or Dante took photos while Copia just shook his head with a smile on his lips. Time flew by fast and Dante was starting to feel sad that they would have to part soon.

Copia had insisted that they would walk to where Dante lived so now they were standing before the doors of the apartment house.

”So…” Dante started quietly, fidgeting and stepping closer to the doors. ”I guess, I should go.”

”Yeah…” Copia stated. ”I had a fun night.”

”Me too.” Dante smiled.

An awkward silence fell between them while they just looked at each other. Dante wanted to ask if they could see each other again soon but didn’t dare to do so. He was afraid it would be too much or too weird.

”Okay, I’ll go now,” Dante said, motioning to the doors. ”See you around, I guess?”

Copia nodded, smiling. ”Hopefully.”

With one last smile at Copia, Dante turned and went to the doors, opening the lock. As soon as he got inside he leaned against the wall, sighing.

If this night had proved something, it was definitely the fact that he was developing a crush on Copia.

The next day Dante was sitting on his favorite coffee shop, sipping the hot coffee while absentmindedly reading some news from his phone. There wasn’t anything really that interesting but he was a bit tired and didn’t know anything better to do. People around him were immersed in conversations, the clink of dishes reaching his ears from farther off.

”I think I’m gonna sit here? It’s quite packed elsewhere.”

The familiar voice made Dante nearly to inhale his coffee and he coughed, lifting his gaze up. Copia stood there a coffee cup in his hand, smiling.

Dante nodded, motioning to the seat opposite him, and Copia sat down.

”Stalking me, eh?” Dante asked, teasing, and Copia let out a little laugh.

”No, it seems that fate wants us to cross our paths.”

Dante hummed, sipping his coffee eyes glued to Copia who lowered his gaze, posture changing more stiff while he tapped the side of his cup. He seemed to get lost in his thoughts and Dante decided to keep quiet, waiting for Copia to speak again.

”Uhm… Last night…” Copia spoke soon, clearly hesitating. ”I wanted to ask if… you would want to go out with me?”

Dante’s eyes widened, heart missing a beat in his chest, the warmth starting to flutter in the bottom of his stomach. Copia was now looking at him and Dante just blinked.

”I’m sorry if I’m mistaken--” Copia didn’t get to finish his sentence as Dante gave his answer.

”Yeah, I would love that.”

Copia relaxed instantly, letting out a small sigh. Apparently he had expected the opposite answer and Dante couldn’t blame him. If he had been the one to ask that, he would have prepared himself to get a firm ’no’ as an asnwer.

”Great,” Copia said, offering Dante the softest smile and Dante felt like he could melt. ”You free tonight?”

”I’ve got to do a few hours shift at the record store but after that I have all the time. The shift ends at 8 pm.”

Copia nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

”I have no idea what we could do but I’ll pick you up then,” Copia said, biting his lower lip and smoothing his hand over his hair.

Smiling Dante shrugged.

”I could ask my cousin if we can use the space above the record store. There is a small room that used to be an apartment but now it’s used more of as a storage. Maybe we could listen some records, have a nice meal and drink…?”

”That sounds nice.”

”It’s settled then.”

They finished their coffees in silence and exited the coffee shop together. Dante offered to walk with Copia to the tattoo studio as he still had several hours before the start of his work shift. All the way to the tattoo studio Dante felt so giddly and he had to pinch himself a few times so he could realize what had just happened.

They stopped before the tattoo studio entrance and Dante could see Copia’s co-workers through the large windows.

”Must be nice to own the whole company,” Dante stated, making a random conversation just so that he could stall the inevitable parting.

”It has its good and bad sides,” Copia said, shrugging. ”My mom, who used to run the whole thing before, is still trying to meddle and it’s kind of annoying.”

”Oh…”

”But I love the job itself, though. Even though I’m not the most social person, I still like to meet new people and give them their desired works of ink art.”

”Your work is honestly stunning.”

Copia shook his head smiling, trying to brush the compliment off with a wave of hand, and Dante shoved him playfully with his fist.

”Hey, I’m really starting to think of getting another one so I could admire your work more,” Dante said and it was actually the truth. He had thought about getting another tattoo and he even had a small idea for it.

Copia chuckled. ”I knew you would want more. Most people do.”

”Excuse me, I’m going…” a person interrupted their conversation and they moved so that the person could get into the tattoo studio.

Copia let out a sigh. ”I should go…”

”Yeah, obviously. I didn’t mean to keep you,” Dante said, stepping forward to Copia. ”Go work on your magic.”

Smiling Copia reached out his hand and Dante did the same, their fingers brushing slightly.

”See you later.”

”Later…” Dante sighed, finally turning and heading back home with a fluttering heart and a smile on his lips.

”This is… something,” Copia said, his gaze taking in the small apartment-like room.

”Well, it’s probably better than a bar with full of drunk people.”

”Definitely,” Copia agreed, walking towards the record player that stood on the table beside the old, worn out couch. ”Are you sure this works?”

”I hope so. Last time I used it, it worked so…” Dante stated, setting the snacks and a few drinks on the bigger table near the couch. He watched as Copia blew the dust off the record player and chose one of the records they had brought with them and put in the player.

It took a moment before the music filled the air and Copia made a little happy jump at that and Dante found it cute. Dante grabbed a bag of crisps and opened it while slumping on the couch, causing a cloud of dust into the air.

”Oops,” he giggled and Copia looked at him with curiosity. Dante shifted and patted the couch with his free hand. Copia understood the gesture and came to sit beside him, arching his back against the backrest of the couch. The movement caused his shirt to go up, revealing a sliver of his belly, and Dante swallowed as he saw the ink patterns there, in the midst of dark hair. Of course Copia had tattoos there, too. Dante grabbed a handful of crisps and stuffed them to his mouth.

”Don’t eat them all,” Copia laughed, reaching towards the bag, and Dante let him take some. Silence fell between them as they munched the crisps.

Eventually the saltiness made Dante thirsty and he put the crisp bag onto the table, taking his drink – non-alcoholic as he wasn’t much of a drinker – and opening it. The taste was sweet but not too sweet, just as he liked it. Dante let his gaze wander again, fully knowing that Copia could see it. His eyes went from Copia’s face to his chest where tattooed skin was visible as Copia hadn’t fully buttoned his shirt up – maybe deliberately.

A part of Dante expected Copia to ask if he liked what he saw but instead Copia stayed silent. He let his gaze go down, stopping to the thighs that were tightly hugged by the jeans. The were quite a lot of holes in them, skin peeking out, and Dante discovered that there were a few places where he couldn’t see any ink covering the skin. When he finally lifted up his gaze, meeting Copia’s mismatched eyes, his heart missed a beat, blush creeping onto his cheeks.

The look in Copia’s eyes was still curious but now there was something else, too. Certain softness that made warmth spread all over Dante.

It was Copia who eventually broke the silence.

”I don’t usually date my customers but there was something about you…” he started, leaning closer and sliding his hand to Dante’s knee, fingers drawing a random pattern there before pulling his hand back. ”I can’t really explain it but I got this feeling that I had to know more about you.”

”I could uhm… say the same about you,” Dante admitted, after all it was the truth. ”Your looks, obviously, played a part, too. Tattoos and everything…”

A slight smirk rose to Copia’s lips.

”Obviously. I’m glad that this old man still has some kind of charm when it comes to looks.”

”You’re not old,” Dante stated, gently nudging Copia’s thigh. ”And you surely work out, right?”

”A little.”

Dante smirked, moving closer to Copia. ”I could tell.”

Copia’s brows rose, reaching out his other hand and settling it under Dante’s chin, thumb caressing the skin. ”How do you feel with me?”

The question wasn’t something Dante had expected but he didn’t really need to think of the answer. ”Like I can just be myself. Safe.”

Copia hummed, smiling as he slid his hand down, along Dante’s neck and Dante was sure he forgot to breathe for a moment.

”Safe,” Copia repeated quietly and Dante nodded, eyes glued to Copia’s. His heart was beating fast in his chest as he waited for Copia’s next move. Copia leaned in, so close that Dante could feel his breath on his face, hand still caressing Dante’s neck.

”So handsome,” Copia whispered, his slightly raspy voice making Dante’s cheeks to burn and something in his stomach turn in a pleasant way.

Oh god…

Dante drew in a shaky breath, blinking as if to make sure that he didn’t imagine the whole situation. Copia was so close, eyes studying him, hand resting on Dante’s neck and Dante was at a loss of words. He knew where this could go, they both knew. But Dante wasn’t sure if he was ready for this to go that far, yet.

He shifted, lowering his gaze and that was enough for Copia to pull away.

”It’s alright,” Copia said softly and Dante let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. When he finally dared to look at Copia again, he didn’t find any judgement or dissatisfaction in his expression.

”I don’t know--”

”You don’t have to explain, I understand,” Copia spoke, taking Dante’s hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. ”Also, I’m not looking just for a moment of fun.”

”Me neither,” Dante stated, offering a smile to Copia.

”So, were are on the same page, then.” Copia smiled, bringing Dante’s hand up to his lips, pressing a light kiss on it. Dante chuckled and rolled his eyes at the gesture – it was such a cliche but sweet anyway.

”I’m curious… How many customers you’ve asked out?” Dante asked leaning against the backrest of the couch, tilting his head.

”Besides you there’s been like… two. Though one of them actually asked me out so basically one. Happened outside of work, obviously.”

”Of course, I didn’t even think… well, you know,” Dante said. ”And all of them were guys?”

”Yes,” Copia answered. ”What about you?”

Dante knew Copia would ask that.

”There’s been a lady and a few guys.”

Copia didn’t seem surprised by his answer and he didn’t even ask more about that. It was nice as Dante had had to explain the whole thing way too many times to people and it was kind of tiring.

They continued to chat while drinking and eating all the snacks, eventually ran out of records to listen to, and just like before the time passed quickly. Way too quickly. Dante didn’t want the night to end but he was getting tired – no matter how hard he tried to deny it – and he didn’t fancy sleeping at the dusty apartment.

Copia was being a gentleman again and offered to walk with him to Dante’s place and so they picked up all the trash and took them out. Copia was carrying the records as they walked on the dimly lit street, side by side in a comfortable silence. The night wasn’t so cold this time for which Dante was happy. He wasn’t a huge fan of soon-to-be winter but it wasn’t that bad as long as it wasn’t too cold.

Soon they were standing outside the doors to Dante’s apartment and the moment of parting had come. They probably looked pretty dumb standing there, staring at each other and fidgeting. Dante’s gaze fell to Copia’s lips and he so badly wanted to kiss the man. Copia took a step closer to him, wetting his lips instinctively while his other hand cupped Dante’s chin.

Dante leaned into the touch and with a slight nod he gave Copia a permission to lean in and capture his lips in a kiss. It was chaste but it made Dante’s heart flutter happily and warmth tingle in his body. The taste and scent of Copia filled Dante’s senses and it was intoxicating and comforting at the same time.

When they eventually parted, they were both beaming and Dante couldn’t remember when he had last felt like this.

”Good night,” Copia said quietly, leaning in again and this time pressing a light kiss to Dante’s cheek.

”Good night,” Dante sighed, watching as Copia stepped further from him and turned to leave. He stared after him for a good while, completely drunk on the feeling within him, before heading inside.

As soon as he had gotten into his flat, he discarded his coat and stuff he didn’t need and went straight to the couch. He grabbed a pillow while falling onto the couch and smashed it to his face, letting out a scream that would have otherwise been heard by his neighbours.

He was so gone.

Things progressed pretty smoothly over the next weeks and Dante became a pretty much constant guest at the tattoo studio, just sitting there, drinking coffee and chatting with either Copia or his co-workers. He obviously was allowed to use staff room and a few times he and Copia had been caught kissing there and… Well, Copia’s co-workers remembered to always tease them about those insidents that they had witnessed.

Now Copia and Dante were just chilling at the room, Dante sitting on Copia’s lap. Copia’s arms were wrapped around Dante’s waist and his head was resting on Dante’s shoulder as he was watching the pics Dante showed him from his phone.

Someone knocked the wall outside the room and spoke.

”Are you two still having clothes on?”

The pair glanced at each other briefly before Copia answered.

”Just come here, Dew.”

The man entered the room, shaking his head as he saw the pair, though his smile told that he wasn’t actually that annoyed by the situation. He went to grab something to eat from the fridge and then peeked over Dante’s shoulder.

”What are you even-- Wait, are those rats?”

”Yes, pet rats. My friend can’t keep them as she is moving and she’s now suggesting that I take them,” Dante explained.

”Oh, cool,” Dew stated. ”They seem kinda cute.”

”I’m not sure I can fit them to my small flat…” Dante said, biting his lower lip. ”Even though they are small, they still need space. My friend would be crushed if she had to put them down.”

”What about you, boss? You have space and you used to have rats before.”

Dante turned to look at Copia with pleading eyes.

”Could you take them? Please.”

Copia seemed to ponder his options.

”Well… I guess I can take them.”

”Oh, you’re lifesaver, literally,” Dante said happily, planting a kiss on Copia’s forehead. ”Thank you.”

Copia smiled softly at Dante.

”Problem solved, it seems,” Dew stated seeming a bit smug and left the room with his meal.

Sighing Copia buried his face to the crook of Dante’s neck. Dante’s other hand went to Copia’s hair, starting to run his fingers through them and Copia hummed, then mumbled something.

”What?” Dante asked, voice quiet.

”I should go back to work,” Copia said, sounding disappointed. ”My next customer is probably soon here and I really should check some emails at some point, too.”

”Time to go, then,” Dante urged and stood up with reluctance. ”I should probably go see my friend and let her know that you’re willing to take the rats.”

”Oh, hopefully they aren’t the same kind of rascals my deceased ones were.”

”They are nice, at least in my opinion.”

Copia eyed him with suspicion and Dante grinned.

”We’ll see…”

The rats really weren’t that bad and Copia became attached to them quite soon. Dante’s friend had been over the moon as Copia had taken her babies and Dante was happy, too. Watching Copia to take care of them, the way he was so gentle with them, chuckling softly as one of them nibbled at his clothes, made Dante’s heart soar.

He was presently sitting on the couch in Copia’s living room while Copia sat on the floor, feeding Tweety some treats. Inky was in the big cage, waiting for her turn. Their names were quite amusing and Dante remembered vividly when Copia had heard the names for the first time and straight out bursted out laughing. Dante’s friend had looked so offended that Dante had been sure she wouldn’t have let Copia to take them.

”Do you still think they have horrible names?”

”Well…” Copia dragged the word. ”Yes, but maybe I’ll get used to them. At least they are lovely little creatures.”

Dante hummed. ”I knew you would fall in love with them. I’m not a huge fan of rats and even I like them.”

”I’m glad I could help your friend, though she might not be my number one fan,” Copia stated smiling and gently picked up Tweety, petting her a little, then opening the cage door and putting her inside. Inky already knew what was going to happen and she hopped out of the cage, nearly catching the bag of treats but luckily Copia was faster and picked it up.

”As long as you keep sending her pics of the rats and updating about their life, I’m sure she will warm up to you.”

”I hope so.”

Inky got her share of treats and after that Copia picked her up, too, bringing her close to his face. Then he gave her the tiniest of kisses and Dante cooed.

”Seems like someone has a favorite.”

”Shut up.”

Dante shook his head and waited until Copia finally let Inky to join Tweety in the cage. As soon as Copia sat down beside him, Dante used his chance and stole a kiss from the man.

”Oh, someone is jealous,” Copia smirked, earning a playful shove from Dante.

”I’m not!”

With a wide smile on his lips Copia cupped Dante’s face and pulled him into a proper kiss. Dante melted into it, pressing his body against Copia’s, his hands settling on Copia’s sides.

As the air eventually became needed, they parted, wide smiles on their lips.

”Do you now know what kind of tattoo you want next?”

Sighing, Dante moved himself onto Copia’s lap and put his other hand on the man’s chest, close to where he knew Copia’s heart tattoo was, now covered by a thin t-shirt. Dante had thought about the next tattoo for quite a while and now the idea was fully clear in his head and he couldn’t wait to get it done. Looking at Copia straight into eyes, happy smile on his lips, he finally gave his answer.

”Of course I know.”

[kaijuposting]

On Raleigh Becket and his anger management problem

There's no two ways about it: Raleigh Becket has anger issues, and he is absolute dogshit at managing his anger. His anger issues subtly manifest early on, when he asks Newt about his Yamarashi tattoo: Raleigh Becket: Who's that, Yamarashi? Newt Geiszler: Oh, this little Kaiju? Yeah, you got a good eye. Raleigh Becket: My brother and I took him down in 2017.

Because Newt hasn't actually said or done anything that could be reasonably construed as insensitive or inappropriate at this point, it would appear that the only reason he even brought it up was so he could flex about his fighting prowess. Newt seems to read this conversation as basically a pissing contest (and one can only imagine how often jaeger pilots get into pissing contests over their kills), and he responds accordingly: "You know he was one of the biggest Category 3s ever? He was 2500 tons of awesome." But Raleigh, who apparently just expected Newt to quail at his initial flex, silences Newt with a look that says I Will Do You Violence:

Whether Newt's general demeanor got on Raleigh's nerves, or whether the sight of the Yamarashi tattoo dredged up anger over losing Yancy, or some combo of both, Raleigh just... didn't react well. He didn't have to start that conversation at all; he could've just walked to the other side of the elevator and minded his own business. It wasn't like he'd have to speak to Newt after the elevator ride, after all.

Later, when Raleigh asks Mako what she thinks about him as a pilot and gets an answer he doesn't like, he's pretty clearly pissed:

Since it's Mako, he doesn't react by intimating threat of violence; instead, he goes for condescension, and responds to her like she's a child in need of his benevolent wisdom: Raleigh Becket: Thank you for your honesty. You might be right. But one day, when you're a pilot, you're gonna see that in combat… …you make decisions. And you have to live with the consequences. That's what I'm trying to do.

So the thing here is, Raleigh didn't have to ask for Mako's opinion at all. He'd be piloting Lady Danger regardless of what she personally thought about him. Asking for her opinion was vanity. Asking for her opinion when there was a possibility the answer might piss him off was stupidity. Getting haughty when he didn't like the answer was jackassery. It would've been better to stop at "thank you for your honesty," and then go and do something to calm himself down.

We see Raleigh's anger issue pop up again in the mess hall. Now, Chuck was absolutely antagonizing Raleigh on purpose, and Raleigh does actually try to avoid escalating things - at least at first:

Chuck Hansen: So you're the guy, eh? You're the guy who's gonna run defense for me in that old rust bucket of yours? Raleigh Becket: That's the plan.

But Chuck persists, and Raleigh makes the mistake of going on the defensive:

Chuck Hansen: Good. So when was the last time you jockeyed, Ray? About five years ago. What have you been doing for five years? Something pretty important, I reckon. Raleigh Becket: I was in construction. Chuck Hansen: Oh, wow, that's great. I mean, that's really useful. We get into a fight, you can build our way out of it, eh, Ray? Raleigh Becket: It's Raleigh. Chuck Hansen: Whatever. Look, you're Pentecost's bright idea. And my old man, he seems to like you. But it's guys like you who brought down the Jaeger program. To me you're dead weight. You slow me down. I'm gonna drop you like a sack of Kaiju shit. I'll see you around, Raleigh. Come on, Max.

Raleigh doesn't realize that Chuck's antagonism has nothing to do with him personally, and that Chuck's basically just taking out his frustrations on Raleigh because he's convenient. It's definitely asshole behavior and it's totally inappropriate, and Raleigh is by no means obligated to subject himself to it. The problem is that Raleigh lets his own frustration over it fester inside of him until he actually lashes out in physical violence against Chuck, potentially risking their extremely critical mission. Also, Raleigh was effectively taking it upon himself to deliver corporal punishment on Chuck, which is well-known to be worse than useless. This whole thing also shows that Raleigh's skills in deescalating conflict are pretty much nonexistent. The last notable appearance of Raleigh's anger issues is, I believe, the most insidious. After Pentecost announces that he's grounding Mako, Becket follows him from his office down the hall and roughly grabs his arm to spin him around:

What's happening here is Raleigh is using physical force because he didn't like being told no. True, he doesn't touch Pentecost after this, but the fact remains that he was behaving aggressively and was physically forcing an unwanted interaction because things weren't going his way. Pentecost gives him a well-deserved dressing down, and Raleigh basically seethes in rage:

While Raleigh's frustrations are understandable, his entire reaction here is just... hooooo nelly. The guy is basically acting like a spoiled brat over getting told that he can't fight with the pretty lady he's convinced himself he has a special, irreplaceable connection with (as cishet men are often wont to do when a woman shows them basic courtesy).

So yeah, Raleigh's a guy with some serious anger issues, and he is critically lacking in healthy anger management skills. And in my opinion, the movie just doesn't make good use of these flaws. It's not something he has to work on as part of a character development arc (he doesn't really even have a character arc to speak of), and the comedic potential of actual petty banter with Newt, Chuck, or even Mako seems to have been overlooked. I think it's a shame that we never got a movie where either of those happened, because there's just a lot of untapped potential here.

[jentlemahae]

another controversial opinion and maybe a delicate one so I’d like this to be approached with seriousness.

*

my fears about lisa’s career being controlled by the arnaults rings true little by little cuz what do you mean lisa is going to release a book about her life under the french publisher JC Lattès who happens to be part of LVMH publishing house… i am sorry but, what? why would she do that in france when she could’ve gone for any worldwide publisher?? and why French writers at that? why are all of her gigs limited to France now? at this point, if blinks don’t think the arnaults (mostly frederic) are controlling a lot of her career choices — i think we are being delusional. every single solo content we have gotten from lisa since the end of bp’s tour and the contracts were getting negotiating have been in French/around Frederic.

i don’t think it’s smart for her to get so dependent of him to get certain deals because at this point we need to be real and accept that a lot of those french gigs she’s getting is because of him. he is there at every single event. LVMH is sponsoring almost (if not all) of those events. and all of the ceos from all the LVMH divisions suddenly posting her on their instagram feels like is more about her involvement with frederic than anything else. there’s not separation between romantic and professional relationship there because he is technically her boss and the heir to all of the brands that she endorses. the power imbalance there is crazy. this isn’t some random dude. and this dependency is really dangerous.

I get that she’s probably in the blind state of the relationship but someone needs to advice her.

it’s so bizarre seeing all this. looking at jennie successfully opening her label and starting this whole new journey with her own freedom and ideas to seeing lisa limit her career to her boyfriend’s domain is very wild.

and you would say “good she’s using his influence for her career” but like, are we not seeing that it feels like he is taking advantage of her popularity to uplift the branch he was recently appointed as a CEO? The fact the French presidency is looking for likeness since it has dropped in popularity with the young people and French is having strikes and protests every other day? the lady macron playing buddy buddy with lisa now. Or that Bernand Arnault is about to overtake Elon Musk as the richest man? Hello?

And people would say is not our business and it isn’t but i don’t see people really questioning this as much and trying to romanticize the fact that man is a “chaebol” is just really crazy considering what his family stands for and how not billionaire is ethical or humane.

mmmmmmh! unfortunately the more things happen the more i agree with this……cause alone these are all innocent and innocuous things and coincidences but together ? idk ……..

though if we were to give him/them the benefit of the doubt, we could say that maybe she’s having all these gigs in france and with french people simply bcs it’s convenient since she’s already there! and maybe she actually supports him/them in using her image and fame for the brand’s gain bcs she loves him and wants to see him succeed, and the family is not controlling her bcs they’re working together (i mean at least that’s how adult relationships are supposed to work) 🤷🏻‍♀️ that being said, and even if we think these things are true, i kind of share your concerns as well bcs atm her image and career are VERY closely tied to lvmh, which isn’t great in general but especially since it’s so early in her career and she should first find her own way as an artist before getting into the corporate and political scene of a foreign country. also, i don’t like that family and i don’t like how they get money, so her involvement (especially to this extent) doesn’t make me enthusiastic……..like you said, there seems to be a power imbalance between them that is pretty worrying, not knowing their relationship personally

however, the thing still is that even though we can voice our concerns and opinions and dislike the situation, we cannot really change it cause she’s not gonna listen to fans to decide what to do with her relationship! if he / his family are actually taking advantage of her, she’s the only one who can choose to leave him and france, there’s nothing we can do 😕😐 though i do think it’s fair and valid for fans to voice concerns like this, especially cause i see so many fans praising him and saying he’s a catch just cause he has money (and nothing else tbh cause we don’t know anything about his personality and he has a face only a mother could love) which i think is so weird and uncomfortable to me ? lisa is a very successful woman, she doesn’t need his money, and it’s weird for fans to say a woman should look for a man to have money……..

[bluebudgie]

29 to 32 for Qissh

29. What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

So he's got this uncle, Councillor Flann (smart, good looking and therefore pretty popular with the masses - not exclusively but especially the ladies), and as a kid he thought that this whole politics thing is soooo cool. And his entire family thought that him stepping in his uncles footsteps would be soooo cool (for the record: not because of the ladies. rather because of the general influence). Yep, he did get into politics. Picked a field that interests him - conservationism because Rata Sum needs to work on its green energy production - and absolutely hates every single moment he has to spend with his uncle or really any other corrupt, slimy, nosy, (the list goes on) politician.

30. What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

The Arcane Coun- Perhaps a simple answer but... the Inquest. Hates their guts with their disgusting methods and lack of even the slightest hint of morals. He's never had particularly personal beef with them, but a good college friend's (ex-)friend went on to become a pretty big deal in the Inquest and made her life hell for a while. She hates his guts, so in return Qissh hates his guts too. For good reasons. Also… spherified oyster, really? That stuff's just yucky. So glooby.

31. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Having tea with a friend while discussing whatever research topics are currently the most interesting. Nothing more comfortable than mutually exchanging intellectual ideas on a cozy afternoon.

32. Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

"You're councillor Flann's nephew?! Oh please do tell us everything about him! Can you introduce us? Can you forward these messages to him? Can you- you know what you're quite handsome yourself ♡♡♡ Do you want to date so we can-" You'd think these are rare cases but he gets overrun by people on the regular. He had to pick up some self-defense skills over the years.

33. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

Starts out very defensive in most cases but will later take the time to reflect whether the criticism might have actually been justified, and work on potential improvement. Though oftentimes she'll decide it was absolutely not appropriate and she'll stick to her ways.

34. Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

Very dependant on the situation and the time/cost factors involved. If there's research leading to a dead-end but countless ressources have been spent on it already she wouldn't want to drop it immediately to move on to something else. If something fails on a smaller scale and it seems futile to keep trying she might just immediately move on to a different approach. That said - College of Statics mindset - more often than not she'd rather keep trying to improve an already existing method than re-invent the wheel.

17. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Maybe not much of a toy for many people, but he had a bird whistle he loved so much. He spent a lot of time outside with it.

18. Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

He does admire ambitious people, but if he ever met a truly wise person I think that'd really fascinate him. You don't find many of those were he is. Overly ambitious people are plenty. And often pretty fucked up.

19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

He's not particularly good at committing. He's been in a few (very) short-term relationships but he always has that feeling that he needs to move on, meet other people. He'd probably do much better in an open relationship. It's not necessarily a flaw, just a different kind of mindset, but it doesn't often work with other people. It might have ended one or two relationships early before their actual agreed upon end date. Never caused any fights or big trouble though.

20. In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

He doesn't compare himself much with other people at all. He's fairly free of those thoughts, but in the rare occasions he does it's more for self-criticism.

21. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

I've been thinking about this one for a while now and I have troubles seeing either for him. He's more of a 'whatever happens, happens' person. He'd rather search the fault with himself than blame others, but I don't think he'd wrongly assign any blame to himself if he really didn't have any influence on whatever happened.

22. What does your character like in other people? 23. What does your character dislike in other people?

So he hates when people have no backbone, but he also hates it when people have too much of an ego. They need a strong personality but not too strong so that they could potentially be any sort of threat or rival to his position. He wants people to be obedient, bow to his every whim, but simultaneously he'd be disgusted by their lack of confidence. See you just can't make this man happy. He simply doesn't like other people. Or he just needs to get over his own issues.

24. How quick is your character to trust someone else?

I don't think he trusts anyone but himself. He has a fair amount of respect for his parents and would trust them with certain affairs, but even that trust isn't unconditional.

25. How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

I wouldn't go as far as saying he's paranoid, but he's very quick to suspect other people. Talk behind his back, be at fault for whatever situation got hecked up. It's never him. Though he wouldn't want to give people credit for specifically plotting against him either, they're probably just incompetent. Or are they?

40. How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Trying his absolute best to be as nice and uncomplicated as possible and in the process accidentally making it really awkward. Completely and overly apologetic, probably thinks he's wasting a barista's time by ordering a drink. If the worker makes a mistake he will apologize over and over for causing such an uncomfortable situation for them.

41. Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

He deserves nothing. He has to earn it, and even then he's sure whatever he's doing is probably not enough to really deserve it.

1.Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

He's an only child! It's a small family in general, no cousins or similar that could be in his age group.

6. Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams? 7. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

There's a deep murky ocean and what appears to be several large organic silhouettes at the bottom of it. He doesn't know what it means. These dreams started shortly after he was first stationed in orr.

13. Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Thank the alchemy he is not, that'd be awful as a soldier. The first time he had to join an actual battle it did probably shock him a bit - the sheer amount of it. But in general no, he doesn't have any issues seeing blood.

17. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

The GD-2000X (GD obviously short for GameDodecahedron) had holographic ooze and golem battles. Multiplayer! Isn't that the coolest thing ever? Of course it's outdated by 10 models by now.

19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

I genuinely can't think of anything on the spot. He's supportive, loyal, a ray of healthy optimism and confidence - well, was, in the past. In a relationship he definitely gets along better with people more introverted than him. He likes to be the driving force. Not really a flaw though, honestly. The only relationship he had broke due to…. unforeseen outside influences. Noone was at fault here really.

21. If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

I like to think that in the past he had a generally good idea if he had an influence on something negative happening to him being his own fault or not. He'd not go out of his way to blame other people, but also not himself. These days, nothing is his fault. It's not necessarily someone's fault either, it's just the world and the eternal alchemy trying to mess with him. The universe is against him.

THANK YOU ಥ_ಥ

[80-ursa-major]

binged midnight monologuesmass.

SPOILERS

went in blind so when SUDDENLY VAMPIRES i was like what the fuck. And then they killed Riley aaaahhh. But I saw he was on the next episode so I kept watching and then he died again. For real this time. noooooooooo! And then I thought I might as well finish it and pre-emptive tl;dr it was laughably bad.

the priest actor people praise? zero charisma, he was like you got an average joe from the streets and told him to recite sermons. and his voice droned and droned omg stop talking! Riley's monologue wasn't good either tbh but his voice (ok fine and his face) was easier on the ears (and eyes) so at least you could watch. But the teacher lady argh her monologues were cringe and then they fucking replayed them so she could have the final montage and I just couldn't do it. She does that thing with her eyes, they're so open and not blinking like she's trying to hypnotize you?? Idk maybe her husband told her it looks good on camera. Btw I was shook when I found out because he didn't add even one chaste kiss with Riley but he had no issue with five uninterrupted minutes of a gross demon sucking her neck. Ooof.

I almost forgot the worst monologue not because of the theme or the actor (at least he put some passion in instead of blahblah) but the TIMING. The doctor tells you, the policeman there's a contagion and idk maybe hopefully you have some ideas to minimize victims? And he's like I'M THE VICTIM! And launches on a long-ass life-story about how he's the best dude but the evil west still hates him cause he's a muslim. Like sir this is a wendy's. The show is reaching its end, the apocalypse is coming, the (non-white?) lady simply came to you because you are the only cop so this is literally your job. So many episodes and you couldn't give this man a proper place to rightly explode about this injustice. Ironically enough mr. flanagan this might be a macro-aggresion pfffft. Oh and his son needed a little more screentime or at least show when he took the eucharist but then again imagine if he had had a monologue too, lord help me! XD

As for the vampire (did he forget he could mimic voices? he was like the only one who should have gotten a monologue but didn't bah) come on now! I know what the bible says about angels. I get that some people had a vested interest in pretending he was helping them but this creature looks like the most generic movie demon. Did the oil spill affect the water and everyone's iq dropped or something? Speaking of iq I love Riley but my boy is pretty dumb too. Like self-immolate in front of everyone to convince them or go to the mainland to convince them to help. Don't fucking traumatise the woman you love who already lost a baby. It's even dumber cause he couldn't stop seeing the dead teen so he should know what it does to a person.

Ending was batshit! Like what was this dude's plan? How would they all immediately control themselves? No wonder everyone just goes crazy and for added dumbassery they burn their homes and then achieve clarity and accept they have to die. Sure sure no one was selfish enough to hide in the shade of the trees or under a blanket. Even Bev (best acting probably) just starts digging lmao. In a way this was a good comedy. I also like the tender love Riley's parents had and his brother escaping with his gf was great. But can they really reach the mainland? And who'll be paying for her therapies? And if the demon had died earlier wouldn't everyone else be cured??? Oh well no one cares.

most ironically enough despite the ten thousand long monologues the best part was just those two lines Riley scribbled and wasn't even there to deliver them himself. DUST!!!

lastly and most importantly fuck you fuck you fuck you for those dead cats. Should have stopped watching right there.

[monathedefiant]

secret invasion wasted its potential. here are some stand out flops (mostly from the finale):

the skrodey reveal happened too soon and also just made no fucking sense. more on that here

fury doesn't develop as a character. like. At All!! he starts it the way he ends with no growth and no real acknowledgement of how his actions (or lack thereof) impacted others aside from varra. even then, as much as i love fury, what he gave her was half-assed at best and if i was her bff i'd have told her to leave him

i know the credits were ai-generated but was the storytelling also done by an ai? i'm genuinely curious

what was the point of maria's death? talos' death? again, fury doesn't grow as a person over the course of the series. so these went from being monumental moments of loss for him to just not mattering at all in the grand scheme of things

i'm cackling at the idea that secret invasion was supposed to be andor of the mcu. they fucking wish they had it like that. i'd say it's more like tbobf 2.0 but at least that show did give boba Some Development even if it was shoved into the first two episodes

the cgi fight at the end was a wholeass joke. g'iah and gravik getting all these powers and not struggling with them once was stupid. g'iah even uses mantis' powers but at no point has to deal with the blowback of being able to sense gravik's intense emotions of hatred, betrayal, and hurt. we were promised a show about intrigue and spy shit!!!! but this fight was just more of the same just with worse quality and apparently less impact on the overall storyline

domestic terrorists just going around shooting important figures in broad daylight with no problem. where was security?? they ran up on that one senator lady at the podium during a press conference and i'm supposed to believe her security detail didn't get active?? esp after the brutal murder of the news anchor by people in the exact same style of clothing????? what

i love varra as much as the next person. she's smart, persevering, competent, and gorgeous in both forms. she also wears her heart on her sleeve and is willing to practice emotional honesty. but at no point did the show ever convince me that she was a good diplomat. we don't see her doing diplomacy not once. she was unable to convince skrodey to back off of fury. her and g'iah don't talk about anything that seems to have a lasting impact on either of them. she doesn't even deal directly with gravik. speaking of which

varra introduced gravik and fury. now gravik is dead and she doesn't mention him not once when her and fury are getting ready to go negotiate with the kree. no sadness, no regret, not even a moment of silence for the young skrull she once knew.

and why is g'iah not involved in this process?? it's what her dad died hoping for: a home for the skrulls. why isn't she with them? like i get this is supposed to be a romantic thing for varra and nick but skrull lives are on the line more than ever and they're doing a pretty monumental thing without telling anyone?? *long sigh of continued frustration*

and what was the point of that one skrull that g'iah brought in, beto?? i thought he'd play a significant part in the series. when gravik killed him, i thought it'd be a turning point for the other skrulls to turn their backs on gravik. instead he slaughters a bunch of them and it's just a thing that happens. no one mentions this later on. there's no funeral. it doesn't even impact the story it happens in let alone the larger mcu narrative. like everything else in this series, it's just Something That Happens

i'm sure there are other points at which secret invasion dropped the ball. but these were the most prevalent on my mind.

this show had sooooo much potential and to watch all of it just go up in flames has been so disappointing. it's got me wondering how much time i really want to invest in future mcu shows on disney plus esp now that i'm no longer subscribed to mr mickey's little channel. like there's always

but will it be worth it??? it's looking like a no for me

[rubyinasnuggie]

Random Headcanons No One Asked For:

-Both Ruby and Weiss are left handed

--Yang was 100% prepared to tease them about it when Blake very pointedly uses her left hand to write something

--Blake is ambidextrous

--which makes Yang the only right-handed one on the team

--until the fall of beacon oops

-Ren is fully color blind

--once baby Nora figured that out, she made it her mission to explain to him what colors are based on other sensations (sue me I love this trope)

--she describes pink as the quiet comfort they share in each other's presence

--Ren finally sees color for the first time when his semblance upgrades, and he can finally see the pink petals with Nora

-Blake likes to climb on things and find random nooks and crannies to read

--it turns into a game of reverse hide-and-seek when someone needs her: depending on how urgent it is the entire squad will drop everything and look for her

-team STRQ won the Vytal tournament their first year, specifically Summer was the champion

--Yang was more upset about the disqualification than she'd ever admit, because she secretly imagined Summer was out there somewhere watching the tournament, proud of her babies

-Tai pulled himself out of his depression by gardening: having a routine helped him, so he encouraged baby Ruby and Yang to get similar gentle hobbies

-Ruby raises chickens at home

--she very lovingly feeds them corn and calls them her ladies

--Yang affectionately calls them creatures and cluckers and other such rude things to get a rise out of Ruby

-Ruby deeply wants a cow

--this is her one and only retirement dream

--although honestly she can never imagine herself living past her 20s

-Yang struggled with picking a hobby, she gets bored easily and hates the expected

--its only post-Beacon that she understands the benefits of a routine

--thats why she ends up with a ton of chores, just some structure to help her through the day

-Ruby will drink any type of milk, but Strawberry milk is her favorite

-Sun is allergic to bananas but he doesn't know

--he thinks bananas are supposed to be spicy

-Weiss loves sour apple

-Pyrrha loves chocolate almonds

-Yang thinks fish are creepy, she just generally doesn't love the ocean

--she thinks Neptune is a little clown though

-Oscar gets dressed by putting on his left sock, left boot, then his right sock and right boot

--RNJR made it their mission to interrupt him during this just to see him walk around with one boot on

-Ruby likes to bake, it's one of the few solid memories she has of her mom

--one night Weiss was feeling homesick and Ruby taught her how to make mug cakes

--"its probably not that good compared to your cake butler, but it's pretty simple, and I like them!"

--Weiss secretly makes them at least once a week, even back home in Atlas

-Weiss has taken flight lessons, at one point Ironwood really pushed for her to become a pilot in the military

-Blake has a field journal of the different types of Grimm she's encountered

--team RWBY & JNPR have spent several nights sitting in a circle talking and adding to the journal

--while traveling across Anima, Ruby sketched and took notes on all the Grimm she saw, just in case she ever found Blake again

-Weiss collects rocks

--no, not crystals. actual rocks

--shes rarely spent time in the real outside, but whenever she has, she picks up little rocks and puts them in her pocket before anyone can see

-Jaune never actually stopped writing left and right on the bottom of his shoes actually

-Weiss had never been allowed to paint her nails as a kid, she'd always get weekly French manicures instead

--by the second semester at Beacon, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Ren would have weekly manicure nights where they'd paint each other's nails

--there were several times they'd rope the rest of the teams into it, especially during the Vytal tournament where they'd write team names on their nails

--during the singles round they'd write Yang on one hand and Pyrha on the other

--"we couldn't make it fit without cutting one of the R's!"

-Pyrrha and Weiss became each other's default plus one's for fancy events, to the point people began to speculate that the two were dating

--Jaune was somehow jealous of them both and it was very confusing to him since he had poor self awareness

-Yang cuts Ruby's hair, but after she lost her arm she lost the fine motor skills to do a good job, so Blake started to do it

-Blake is always there to help Yang with her phantom pains and residual limb pain

--she helps massage Yang's arm while leaning close and purring

--Yang cried the first time Blake did this because she's not used to being taken care of

-Nora never gets sick and is the designated nurse when a bug goes around the teams

--the electricity incident was the first time Nora has ever been bed-ridden

-Weiss took ballet as a child

-Jaune is actually pretty good at the guitar

-Pyrrha is not musically inclined at all its a miracle she managed to do the iconic JNPR shine dance

--jk but actually she's a decent dancer when she has the steps choreographed for her but she has no natural rhythm

-in the last few months before Pyrrha's death, she and Jaune would waltz on top of the roof together

--there were several almost kisses

--maybe a few successful kisses who knows

-there are occasions (obv extremely rare) when Ren actually takes the bulk of the energy from Nora

--this leads to thrilling game nights where Ren makes multiple 40pt remnant-equiv-of-scrabble plays while Nora naps

-Oscar is the only person who can beat Ren in scrabble, although it's very closely matched

-Oscar is amazing at chess and will play it against himself like a little square

-Yang and Ruby are experts at the tabletop war game they play in the library

--9 times out of 10, the winner is one of them

-Oscar is the only one who also knew about Compost King, which was very exciting for Jaune

--Compost King is a common game night activity while they were in Haven because its so hard to say no to Oscar

-Yang is a straight-A student and has always been

-Blake never had any formal education and she finds a lot of the classes incredibly dull or ineffective at teaching the material

--she's always the one convincing Yang to skip a class and lie in the sun-warmed grass with her

--she still gets Bs easily

-Oscar is a very fast reader and will devour any book he's given

--his aunt would frequently bring home books from town just to keep him entertained

-Ruby has suffered from migraines and nightmares her entire life, post-Beacon they only got worse

-Weiss shops at local dust stores whenever she can, even though she could get shipments for free

--however she does have Ron Swanson's "I know more than you" energy when she's shopping

-Blake and Ren will sometimes take naps together

--not cuddling, just occupying the same general space

--wake them up at your own risk

-if Ruby isn't engaged with something, she can start to scatter and dissolve into rose petals

--its a very slow process and someone has always snapped her out of it before she's fully vanished, but Yang is worried about what would happen if no one caught her in time

-Ren is afraid of horses

-Blake hates being cold

-Yang naturally radiates heat cause semblance duh

-Weiss glued the tiniest gravity crystals to the underside of Ruby's bed to ensure it never falls

-JNPR likes to push their beds all together so they can sleep in one big pile

-Nora can only sleep if she's holding someone's hand

Hope u guys enjoyed! These are in no particular order, sorry that I kinda jumped around a lot 😅

Feel free to reblog and add your own ideas and headcanons! ❤

[filipinoizukuu]

hello mr simp do you have any thoughts on the leeks 👀

FIRST OF ALL. THEY CAME SO FUCKING EARLY??? BRO I WAS ASLEEP

SECOND OF ALL

holy SHIT YALL

Okay, it's no secret that I'm an All Might stan. I LOVE All Might. Very very much. Not just as a simp, but genuinely, I enjoy his character SO MUCH.

--And unlike what some people may think, I'm not totally blind to his flaws. I know he sucks as a mentor and that he's done way more harm to Deku than good. He's.... not perfect. in every sense of the word. The whole point of AM's character is that he is a DEEPLY FLAWED individual— but at the end of the day, still good.

This new chapter gave me SOOO many new feelings. I'm not gonna lie to y'all and say I was a Stain apologist beforehand because I wasn't. I disliked Stain to a certain degree, but I also knew he was morally grey enough that I was able to still quite appreciate him as a character. This chapter was about EVERYTHING to me because I honestly did NOT expect Hori to go in this direction and for things to happen the way they did. It was too good to be true! Too fanfic-y! The disbelief I felt when I read what happened was on par with when Bakugou and Deku had that apology and kinda-hug in the rain!

But this disbelief is not because it was a bad thing.

I think the writing in Chapter 326 is phenomenal. The moment that All Might was really beginning to lose hope in not just himself as a hero, but himself as a PERSON... we finally hear the opinion of someone who would abso-fucking-LUTELY make or break the last of his spirit.

Stain is, as much as his views are pretty agreeable and his label is that of a vigilante, still a pretty shitty guy. He's tried to kill literal kids who got in his way, even if said kids made pretty dumb decisions. AM hearing what he has to say is absolutely mind-boggling to him because he knows all of that. He knows Stain is a shitty person and that his worldview is perhaps terribly skewed. He knows Stain has spent a hot minute frying his brains down in Tartarus and isn't good at making judgment calls. Knows that for all intents and purposes, Stain's opinions are not to be trusted.

But the thing is... Toshinori also knows that Stain, regardless of the soundness of his mind, is telling the truth.

Regardless of how fucked-in-the-head Stain is, we as readers are able to acknowledge that he isn't blinded by hero worship. Sure, he's bitter, cynical, and quite the absolutist--but Stain is still clear-headed enough to be able to see AM's flaws for what they are and accept them, ultimately proving to Toshinori that the power of All Might was never his own but rather the legacy that he inspired.

The society MHA takes place in is flawed. We all know this. Heroes, as a concept, had been corrupted into being purely about good and evil. Purely winning fights for money or fame or the abstract concept of victory (coughs Endeavor and the no.1 spot coughs), making heroism as we know it about flashiness and power instead of mercy and the desire to help others.

All Might symbolizes the ideal version of the Hero Society. He represents doing the best you can. Being a hero until you reach your limits, and then going even past that. He symbolizes pure intention and the desire to be a hero not for material gains but because of the pure want to make society a better and safer place. Stain refers to Kamino Ward and the statue as a "holy land" because he believes that through and through, AM's only had the purest of intentions and morals. To him, Toshinori was like a deity that had no fault in making society what it was in the present because that accountability fell on the generations of heroes that failed to fulfill his legacy.

The point being, Stain understood that All Might was fundamentally not about 'being there' for everyone 24/7, but rather the message his presence had sent.

All Might's monologue at the beginning of the chapter essentially boiled down to the ideas that:

A. He regrets not being there properly for Deku

B. His image was a delusion that ultimately led to the downfall of hero society.

To break this down, his problem with Deku is his inability to be a competent mentor. It shows that he has led him down dangerous and horrible paths (Deku's stubbornness to do things by himself and his 'dark' arc post-war), and is unable to bring him back into the light even if he tries. It was only when Class 1-A had intervened that they were able to get Deku to rest and let people tag along, after all, which is why Toshinori was far too embarrassed to follow him into UA's walls even after everyone had come out with umbrellas.

Stain disproves this in two ways.

First, he says that it was never about All Might's ability to actually be there for people. The whole point of what inspired Deku to be the inherently good-hearted "true hero" he is today is because of the values that AM's brand had instilled in him as a child. AM's biggest positive impacts came from behind the screen where he was used as the proof that true heroes can and do exist. Deku does want to be exactly like All Might, yes, which is why we see Toshinori leading him down the same path that he walked--but the underlying message of this is that the very first thing All Might gave him even before OfA was the courage to help fix society.

I do believe Deku is an innately compassionate person. Most people in the series are. However, what makes All Might's smile so uniquely impactful to what it did to Hero Society is the way it gave people courage to help people. Less hesitation. Less bystander syndromes. The ability to move without thinking. Because you can feel the want to help a person, but the courage to be nosey and actually do it? That's portrayed as something AM's image teaches people.

The second way he disproves AM's insecurity of dragging Deku down is that he makes it clear that this pain is somewhat of a necessity in reforming society. He says, interestingly enough, that this is but the 'middle process' in reforming society. This spills over to how he addresses Problem B, but what Stain is essentially saying here is that this sort of brutality and isolation that Izuku faces is impermanent. A phase. It implies that even if Deku is struggling and Toshinori is unable to help him, it is something that needs to happen before they re-realize the ideal heroes All Might's image is meant to create.

The second problem in regards to how All Might feels about current society (how it's collapsing because of him, etc. etc.) is more interestingly addressed. There are many things that Stain says--like how Toshinori doesn't need to actually be the one to fix society with his bare hands. The current society is not his fault because of the fact that it is not finished developing. I'm not sure if I can go so far as to say that Stain means this in the sense of the Scorched Earth method of tearing everything down to build it back up better-- but I can say that Stain still has faith in society to rebuild after this period of chaos.

This rebuilding starts with the old generation of heroes correcting what they messed up (i.e. Endeavor v Dabi) and more importantly, paving the way for a better generation of heroes that was inspired by All Might's image. Heroes that are led by people like Deku, who is defined by his proclivity to help without thinking. The violent deconstruction of society is about exposing society to the raw truth of All Might's image that not everybody can be as strong as him-- which is why we have to take care of each other.

When the lady comes in to remove the sign and start cleaning the statue, it's symbolic. It's a clear metaphor that the past few chapters are the turning point for society as a whole, and how people are starting to remember what real heroism is. From the distrust that was seeded in society ever since LoV had surfaced, we are seeing that trust being returned TEN-FOLD now that people can see not only the mask of a hero's smile, but also the person underneath.

I think it's some really neat symbolism here too about how Deku, who's metal mouth guard was literally all about representing All Might's smile, is shed.

This is hero society dropping their masks. Letting people see them for as they are. Toshinori revisiting the statue in this form makes all the more impact because he shed his mask ages ago during the Kamino Bust, so this is him coming face to face with the image he's created and seeing the differences between them, and how his image continues to live on even after he's almost completely Quirkless. The lady cleaning the All Might statue shows off the fact that things can be repaired again--that society can be clean (hehe stain pun) again.

It's interesting to me here how Stain offers the information from Tartarus.

He doesn't care anymore about his life. It's evident. He disagrees with what the LoV is doing, but believes enough in Deku to think that it's time for him to retire the mantle of 'Stain'. Unless this is another test, it's very odd for me to hear that Stain is offering a blade and his life to someone he isn't even sure is All Might.

But the impact of this action reads loud and clear.

This is Stain taking pity on All Might. This is him realizing that All Might too is a person behind the hero. That Toshinori Yagi is incapable of doing anything past the image he had already created. By offering that knife and information on Tartarus, Stain is giving control back to Toshinori. He is giving AM the chance to do something big again to help society's reconstruction. To be a part of the revolution that he so badly deserves to see. That knife is essentially an exit ticket from the sidelines, and one last chance for All Might to be able to see what his image has done for people.

I personally think that the main reason Stain is willing to die then and there by Toshinori's hand, despite not being sure that he is All Might to begin with, is because of the final impact it creates that it isn't about Toshinori Yagi's true power as a person, but the image of All Might. It is because he looks like the symbol of peace, that Stain (the literal HERO KILLER) feels comfortable laying his life in his hands and giving away valuable information.

If that isn't a great testament to the power of AM's image, I don't know WHAT is.

I guess all I have to say is I absolutely love what Stain did in this chapter. Everything felt so incredibly symbolic and emotional and as someone who absolutely ADORES All Might and what he stands for in the story, this felt like a cool balm after seeing Deku tragically reject his bento box a good few chapters ago. I have a few more opinions about symbolism, and how I think Deku's generation of heroes is going to stray from the old gen, but I think that's a discussion for another time.

Thanks for reading 'til the end!

[tomboy-writer]

Prompt: Chris Evans story where your boyfriend is a cheating douche-bag. He cheats on you time and time again and you get into a bit of a depression. You confide in your best friend, Chris Evans. His consoling leads to sex, the sex soon turns into a regular thing and you get happy again. Your boyfriend sees your change and promises that he will never cheat again and that he will treat you better. You’re happy but sad at the same time because now you have to break things off with Chris. But Chris won’t have it; he says that you should stay with him and not your boyfriend. You’re not sure of which decision to make, so Chris lists off reasons why you would be better off with him.

Chris Evans x black!reader

A/N: my first Chris Evans story!! Let me know what you guys think of it.

A/N 2: I started this story a few years ago and it took me a long time to finish cause I was on a very long writing hiatus and didn't finish this until earlier this year, so some of the story goes off of what the summary says and I decided to turn this into 2 parts (could be more, depending on how long the 2nd part is). So no smut in this part, just angst and dumb jokes. This also originally wasn't going to be a black reader story, but seeing how my ACTUAL 1st Chris Evans story went pretty well (the Game On story) I decided to make it another one cause I love it.

C/W: angst, swearing, my dumb jokes, 3rd person story (it hurt my brain to write it this way, but I wanted to try something different)

“He did it again, Chris! Michael cheated on me with some big titted chick,” Y/N said as she sobbed into her best friend’s shoulder.

Chris rubbed his friend’s back, trying to calm her down. He knew how to handle situations like these since Y/N went through so many of them with her boyfriend. Chris thought her relationship with Michael was like a broken record: always repeating itself. It was good at first with the couple being so obviously in love, but that changed six months later when Michael decided that Y/N wasn’t enough and started to cheat on her with multiple women. Y/N had been given advice by Chris countless times about guys like Michael and she listened to him, she really did. But she always ended up forgiving her unfaithful boyfriend and enjoyed the makeup sex that Michael would give her after.

“He and that big titted chick can both go to hell for all I care,” Chris replied. Then he lifted his friend’s head from his shoulder and made her look directly in his eyes. “Hey hon,” he said using his ‘friendly’ nickname for Y/N. “I think it’s about time you dropped that lame ass zero and got yourself a hero.”

“Okay, Captain America,” Y/N chuckled while wiping her face.

Chris laughed too, but deep down he was really hoping that Y/N would actually consider dating him. They met seven years ago and became fast friends. But the bearded actor didn’t count on falling for Y/N a few years later when he was doing an interview for one of his new movies and Y/N was there to help support him and make sure his anxiety didn’t get the best of him. While in the middle of the interview, Chris started to feel a little fidgety, so he tugged on his ear; a sign that told Y/N that he needed her help. She was standing right behind the cameraman, so Y/N could see everything that Chris was doing. She saw the signal and started to make some weird faces for her best friend.

Y/N made Chris and the interviewer crack up that day, especially when she stood right behind the cameraman and started to bulge her eyes out at him, making him laugh as well. At that moment, Chris realized that he had found that special someone. That special someone that he wants to spend the rest of his life with and just keep forever, never let go. 

Y/N was sweet, considerate and loved Disney movies and dogs as much as he did. So he felt that she was just perfect for him. He even started to mentally kick his ass for taking so long to realize this.

The interviewer asked Chris one last question before he had to leave.

“So, Chris, is there a special lady in your life? Ya know, besides your mother and sisters,” she asked.

Chris chuckled and looked right in Y/N’s direction with a bright smile on his face. “Well, I don’t have anyone yet,” the blonde answered, his eyes never leaving Y/N’s, “but I’m looking for her.”

“Chris? Chris, did you hear me,” Y/N asked suddenly, stopping Chris from remembering the day he fell for her.

Evans shook his head no. “Sorry, I zoned out for a few seconds.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “I said I would love to find a new boyfriend, but I’m still in love with Michael.” Chris rolled his eyes this time. “Don’t do that, man. I can’t help that these are my feelings for him.”

“But what are your feelings for him right now! Aren’t you sad? Pissed? Or feeling like you just wanna punch that douche-bag in the face so hard that his face caves in a little bit?”

Chris’s friend nodded her head yes and started to sob again. He felt bad for making Y/N cry; he would never want to make her tears fall from her eyes unless they were tears of joy. He grabbed Y/N and embraced her for a few minutes until she was calm again. Once was she was, Chris pulled away from Y/N enough to look her in her eyes.

“Hey, promise me that you’ll forget about that douche for at least two weeks and just try to find someone better. Okay?” Chris begged with sincerity in his eyes. 

“Okay,” I promise,” Y/N complied.

Chris kissed Y/N’s head and, after saying goodbye, left his friend’s house for the night.

           * * *

Chris returned to Y/N’s house a few weeks later. He rung the doorbell and heard a faint ‘it’s open’. Evans opened and closed the door behind him and blushed at the sight in front of him: there stood Y/N, wearing only a pair of boy shorts and an over sized t-shirt, no makeup. That’s when Chris thought, no knew, that Y/N was the most beautiful woman out there.

"Hi Chris," Y/N greeted her best friend with a warm hug and a kiss on his cheek. Evans couldn't help the blush that crept onto his face. He also couldn't help but to imagine if he and Y/N were together and he'd come home from being on set all day long, her greeting him the same way she was now except that she'd try to pull back a little to ask him about his day. But Chris would hold his lover in a tight embrace, kiss her so lovingly, so passionately, and ask about her day instead.

Yeah, Christopher Robert [Jamal] Evans would love that.

"Hey, Y/N," Chris replied as he breathed in the embrace. "How've you been lately?"

"A little bit better; not fully okay, but I'm getting there I think," Y/N answered.

Chris shook his head in disbelief. He knew when his best friend was lying to him. "Y/N," he whispered, "I can see in your eyes that you're hurting more than letting on. You sure you're doing fine?"

Y/N's smile was quickly replaced with a small frown. "I'm doin' fine, Evans," she answered, mocking Chris's Boston accent. "And, before you ask, yes I have went on a few dates with other guys; three to be exact. First guy wouldn't shut up about his ex-wife; like I was supposed to be his therapist or something. Second guy -this gorgeous dreadhead- we connected and shit, but he too wouldn't stop talking about his ex and his table manners were terrible." You rolled your eyes before finishing your list. "Last but not least, I went on date with Mr. I-Got-Tons-of-Money-Baby. We didn't connect at all and I'm sure it was cause of his cocky attitude and the way he talked down to people -it was disgusting! " The dateless woman flounced into her big living room and plopped down onto her L-shaped sofa. "Trying to find a new man is pointless, Chris. Either I start dating women cause why the fuck not!? Or I just give up on love all together."

Chris chuckled but then nervously cleared his throat after he came up with a great -but what he also thought was a heart attack inducing- idea. "Y/N," he stammered.

"Yeah, man?"

"If the whole thing with you dating females doesn't work out, but you still want to try to find love, then I know exactly who you should date next."

Y/N gave Chris a questionable look. He didn't say anything back, just raised an eyebrow and grinned mischievously. It took Y/N a few seconds to understand what Chris was talking about. But once she did, her mouth went into an O shape, showing her shock and surprise.

"Are you serious, Evans," Y/N exclaimed; eyes now wide as golf balls. "You wanna date me!?!"

The actor chuckled. He didn't think that his friend would be so shocked by his words. "I've been wanting to date you basically almost ever since we first met, Y/N. I just- -I just never knew what to say to you about it, or if you felt the same way or not and if you didn't then I didn't want to ruin our friendship, or if you did feel the dame way but then something bad happens to us down the road and then that messes with up our friendship and then there's the thing with paparazzi..." Chris was rambling on and on but Y/N was listening to everything he was saying. Hanging onto every word that was coming out of her best friend's mouth.

Y/N had never known that Chris had felt this way about her. It wasn't that she was completely oblivious (well, maybe a little), but she also never saw any signs of her friend being in love with her. Wait. Was Chris in love with Y/N? As far as she knew -or as far as she thought from what she was told so far- this was just a crush. A crush confession that apparently was a long time coming. She wondered how she felt for Chris; did she have the same feelings for him like he did for her? When they first met, all Y/N cared about was how Chris acted as a person, not as Captain America or as an actor in general. But as Chris Evans, an everyday man. Y/N knew, after that one day of meeting Evans, that she wanted to be best friends with the man, nothing more and nothing less. But now, with Chris' confession and continuous ramblings, Y/N was having different and a little bit confusing thoughts.

Sure Chris Evans is an very attractive man, physically speaking. But Y/N doesn't care about looks -much- when it comes to dating or anything for that matter. She thinks what makes people attractive is their personality more than anything, and she knows Chris has the best personality she's ever seen from a person. But she wasn't sure if she was ready to date him or anyone else for that matter. Although, if Y/N was going to date more, then Chris would probably be her number one pick.

"So, what do you say, Y/N," Chris asked, hopeful.

______________________________________________________________

And that's the end of part 1, everyone. Part 2 will be posted....probably next week or so. It is currently one of my WIPs so I'm definitely working on it.

But what do ya'll think will happen next? What will Y/N's answer to Chris be? Will she say yes, or will she say no? Who knows??? Except for me; I know. Also, you're Y/N; Y/N is you, so you better hope that you say something positive back :P Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this! Thanks for reading!!