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#we put a lot of thought into the tone of the designs!!!! also watched a bunch of the one piece baseball videogame!!!!! cosplay is wild lol

scummy-writes · 5 months

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Ikepri Suitors and their OnlyFans Account

This is silly, entirely based on messages in my server over the great Silvio Tit Block and jokes about OF following soon after, but I did put some thought into this!!! Just don't be upset if its odd, because while we all know chev would never have an OF in his life, it is fun imagining it 💭

We'll skip over the 'hows' and 'whys' here. We can pretend they're the princes of OF, and just what they specialize in.

Characters: Chev, Silvio, Gilbert, Clavis, Jin Keith

Chevalier

- There is a room lined with bookshelves, various titles glinting from the low light. In the center is a lavish lounge, and laid out across it is Chevalier. There is a robe draped across the back of it. Nothing on his person save for a book in his hands, which he calmly reads aloud.

- yeah. Chev just reads his romance books while nude on camera. It's a bit of asmr while getting nice eye candy

- a lot of comments in his page is about watching his erection, especially when he gets to a sex scene- people claim to see it twitch at parts, but they're never completely sure.

- rarely cums on camera. Usually reserved for higher tiers where they supply him with rare books that are difficult to find. Those videos focus on him in a different viewpoint, his breath heavy as he tries to control himself. Seeing precum drip down the length of his cock is a sight you'll want etched into your memory.

Clavis

- It's an adventure every time you view a new upload from him. Most of the time, he's testing out sex toys he's created, alongside any experimental lubes or mild aphrodisiacs. Other times, he's slowly fucking his fist or a fleshlight, whimpering out how much he loves his darling.

- his tendencies for being foolish are not entirely gone from here. They will show in the toy designs or follower requests he abides. He's done things such as drawing on himself with whip cream, trying to edge himself with vibrators, or see how long he can last without touching himself while taking his brand of aphrodisiac.

- there is a persona he has for his OF, a silly gentleman who is prone to trying to please his fans through his creations, but between the curated chaos there are softer videos of his. Ones where he sighs out praises and words of love, playing up a fantasy of being your loving husband, coaxing himself to cum on your command.

Jin

- His chest is his money maker. Of course, his whole body could be considered so, but he pays attention to the comments he receives, and he knows what his audience wants. There's many a picture and video of his body slicked with oil, hands squeezing his chest as he winks at the camera

- certainly has started off videos shirtless and in sweatpants, letting his erection strain against the fabric. He's came in his pants just a few times, as a treat to his fans every once in a while.

- lots of focus on him jerking off for the camera. Sometimes he's got the hem of his shirt in his mouth, jerking off while letting you soak in the rest of his body. Other times he's in the shower, soaping his body slowly, paying attention to his chest, laying out his best dirty talk with gentle chuckles and sighs.

- sometimes tests out some of Clavis' special creations, but not often. One dyed his palms and dick, and he's been more careful since.

Silvio

- Silvio is known for his money, and also his tits. Those days out at sea have caused his body to be toned delightfully, and when accentuated with the fine jewelry he wears, it wasn't a surprise that nudes of himself caused a stir among those who knew of him.

- despite how often he sleeps with women, he rarely has any with him in videos. Most of his content centers around tasteful photos of himself, lounging on furniture with jewelry adorning his figure. This account was how others found out just how many piercings he has litered along his body.

- in the few videos he has, the times he collaborates with someone is few and far inbetween. Those videos are often rough, a means to an end for both parties, and when Silvio cums he'll elect to do so on his partner's face when possible. Something in the way he does so, then takes their chin in his hand to survey his work, makes his fans go a bit wild. But outside of those videos, he's often jerking himself off. Slowly, taking his time chasing his pleasure. He'll hiss curses as he gets close to his orgasm, edging himself more and more until he can't take it anymore.

- there are rumors that if you post photos of his tits outside of his OF account, your account will be struck down immediately with an explicit marker. His chest is just too much for other sites to handle.

- carlos has to delete many comments stating "I can fix him", lest Silvio pop off.

Gilbert

- oddly, when you view his content, there is no comments on anything. It's as if you've found a diamond in the rough, a private profile not meant for others eyes. Yet Gilbert doesn't kick you off of the page, and you're surprised at the amount of content he produces for such little price.

- he focuses on different ways for himself to get off. His hand, various toys, trying to cum without touching his cock. Occasionally, he'll experiment with a kink you happen to enjoy, but never mentioned. All the while he asks if his 'little rabbit' is enjoying the show, panting with his chuckles. Watching him cum is a delight, as you get to see how breathless he becomes, how his hips jut as he works his cock to the point of overstimulation.

- at some point, he allows for you to make requests, and you're surprised at how willing he is to do anything you desire. It's a bit concerning, but it's difficult to worry about as he follows each request, looking at the camera as he teases you for asking such a thing of him.

- there's odd cum tributes that he'll upload, but you never understand exactly who they're for.

Keith

- Keith will never show his face on his account, terribly ashamed of what he's doing to begin with. He'll opt to wear a facemask with anything he does on the account, keeping his bangs messy often.

- his content varies at times, to the point of confusing his fans. Most of the time, there will be sparse uploads: videos where he is palming himself through his pants, getting off on the act of filming himself while apologizing. Its clear that this is a shy man, and those who view his content are confused as to why he's uploading. But most love the way his eyes water, how sometimes he'll pull his girthy cock out for them to see, coaxing himself through a rough orgasm.

- other times, those apologies are nowhere to be heard as Keith- still donned in a mask- shows his body with confidence. He'll look directly at the camera as he teases his thick cock, murmuring about how he wants to make them gag on his length, how he needs someones tight warmth milking him dry. In some videos, he'll treat a fleshlight as if its one of his subscribers- fingering it slowly and stretching it out, talking low and dirty to the camera about how much it's going to take for them to fit all of him inside, how he's going to have to train them to take his cock with ease.

Chev's, ironically, is inspired by someone I knew. They had an OF dedicated for doing the same thing, but no jacking off element. Meanwhile Silvio's funny blurb is due to @xbalayage getting temp marked as explicit due to trying to make her icon Silvio's tits, and thus caused this post to be born. The rest came about just through idle thinking. I'm aware that all of this is ooc, I'm not taking this as a serious piece and neither should you.

These were silly but fun, I hope yall enjoyed, even if it was just a chuckle!

Taglist (please let me know if you'd like to be added/removed!):

@yarnnerdally @katriniac @kissmetwicekissmedeadly @bakaneko-chan @skoetiepoetie @bestbryn @nightghoul381 @xbalayage

Ikepri Masterlist (more serious stuff on that) | Ikevamp Masterlist | Ikevamp/Ikepri Server

#ikepri chevalier #ikepri clavis #ikepri gilbert #ikepri jin #ikepri silvio #ikepri keith #ikemen prince keith #ikemen prince silvio #ikemen prince chevalier #ikemen prince jin #ikemen prince gilbert #ikemen prince clavis #im not too happy with keiths and silvios but there was an attempt

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itsmoonpeaches · 2 months

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Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender: A show with its heart in the right place but questionable execution

[An objective spoiler review from a fan of the original Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series who watched the live-action adaptation pretending to not know a thing about the original show.]

Episode scores

Episode 1: 7/10

Episode 2: 7.5/10

Episode 3: 6/10

Episode 4: 1.5/10

Episode 5: 7/10

Episode 6: 8/10

Episode 7: 5/10

Episode 8: 2.5/10

Overview

Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is a show with some heart. When there are highs, they are very high, but when there are lows they take away from the rest of the story. The visuals are overall stunning with an attention to detail. The set design in particular is done with love including incredible pieces, CGI design, and beautiful cultural references. The fighting is creative and fun to watch, though waterbending fights seem too slow. Surprisingly, the CGI animals work very well. A highlight is Momo who works in the same way Grogu from The Mandalorian works. However, the close-ups of calligraphy pieces should have warranted more research.

The costuming is detailed, but there are some instances when it would have been better to interpret certain characters more realistically rather than try to copy the original animated design.

The cast is not bad, especially considering the focus on younger, less experienced actors. Of the younger cast, Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko), and Maria Zhang (Suki) are the standouts. Gordon Cormier (Aang) also has good scenes but is not always consistent. The kid is cute and embodies Aang well. The most disappointing was Kiawentiio Tarbell (Katara) who I so desperately wanted to be good, but was either not given the direction needed, or was told to keep the same flat face.

The writing in the show could have been a lot stronger, and many actors suffered from poor writing choices including clunky lines. They acted their hearts out with these but suffered for them at the same time. The show overall felt like a first draft of something that could have been great but fell flat because of either outside sources or a lack of trust in the audience.

For my short and sweet tweets on each episode click here. For a long, detailed review on each episode and my final thoughts keep reading.

Episode 1: Aang - 7/10

This episode started out incredibly strong. Immediately, I was immersed in the world and intrigue. We had an earthbender running through the streets of the Fire Nation Capital City with an intercepted missive that Fire Lord Sozin would attack the Earth Kingdom. The action was very cool to watch and the earthbending stood out. When Sozin captured him and warned that this information was just a diversion and that he had his sights set higher, the tone was exciting and interesting.

Seeing the Air Nomads and what their life was like, then being introduced to the main character, Aang, was fun. I enjoyed seeing the interactions between Monk Gyatso and Aang. They felt like they had an incredible bond.

The violence starts soon after when Aang runs away during the Comet Festival and Sozin's plans are revealed when he uses its power to attack the temples and boy is it brutal to watch. This scene was tough, but in a way that made the audience really hope that the Fire Nation loses because what they did was so incredibly cruel that it can't be put into words.

Where this episode begins to fall off is when we hit the Water Tribe. The writing here becomes a bit clunky and stilted. Gran Gran in particular was a choice. By a choice, I mean that out of all the actors she was unfortunately the worst. Every line that came out of her mouth was grating and poorly delivered, which was sad because her scenes weren't written particularly badly.

Sokka is a stand-out as well as Zuko, though they gave Iroh a scene and lines with Aang that felt so out of place. It felt like a disservice to Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (Iroh) who is an incredible actor to give him these awkward sentences to act around. Katara acts like (maybe?) she cares. It's hard to tell when she has no emotion and keeps telling me things that she supposedly cares about and I'm not seeing it.

Episode 2: Warriors - 7.5/10

It is here where things begin to pick up. I had a good time with this episode because to me it was so much fun, and it wasn't necessarily because of the main story going around. It was because the chemistry between Sokka and Suki was so unexpectedly good that I could not peel my eyes off the screen.

No seriously, it was fun. In just one episode, they made me believe that this was the couple for the show. Suki is portrayed as a silent, yet awkward warrior whom the village admires. She's blindsided by Sokka who is definitely not as good a warrior as she is, but is interesting for her to watch.

What's so refreshing about this take is that it's Suki who makes the first move and Sokka awkwardly flirts back with clearly no experience in talking to girls he's interested in. Suki starts peacocking for him! That's hilarious and endearing. We never see that in most media. It's usually the guy who does it, so him being the bumbling fool while Suki also flirts with absolutely no understanding of how to do it was a joy to watch.

Katara exists I guess? Aang's story with Kyoshi honestly was good enough for me to give it a pass, but they also gave Kyoshi so many long lines with nearly nothing to say. They could've cut her lines into a more condensed, stronger thing but instead left them long-winded. However, watching Kyoshi make a tornado of bodies is an experience I'll never forget. Continue what you're doing, fight choreography department.

Episode 3: Omashu - 6/10

This episode is fine. I enjoyed the beginning with Jet being revealed as the guy on the cart who lets the main characters into Omashu. However, the writing really starts falling off here. It starts to feel like they're cramming storylines into one episode.

The set design in Omashu in particular is incredible. I cannot emphasize how beautiful the markets were from the food stalls to the costuming. South and Southeast Asian foods, dried herbs and chilis, gold!!! Just watching the background was fun.

Katara's acting, however? Not fun. She's given so many good emotional beats here and does nothing with them. They keep showing me her flashbacks and I think seeing less of it would've made it more impactful. This is the episode when I realized that she is the most useless character in the trio. Does she need to be there? Does she do anything for the story? No. Sokka feels like the glue of the group while Katara merely causes problems. It doesn't help that everyone acts in circles around her. I wouldn't feel anything if they wrote her out.

Episode 4: Into the Dark - 1.5/10

I don't want to talk about this episode, but if I must, know this: It was awful. It was some of the worst written TV I've ever seen. They took the feeling of cramming too much in the previous episode and multiplied it by 100.

There were too many plot threads and not enough time to let any of them breathe. It felt like watching a show that didn't know what it was doing with itself and in the end, I still don't know what this episode accomplished other than making me frustrated as a viewer.

Sokka and Katara being in the Cave of Two Lovers was an...interesting choice. It looks very strange and borderline incestual considering the out-of-place story right beforehand about two lovers meeting up in the same cave Sokka and Katara had to venture through. The fact that Oma and Shu are both women was something I didn't even notice because of how terribly presented it was. It did not need to be there and was a disservice to the representation they wanted to include.

Sokka and Katara are siblings, so that was something. In fact, using that storyline at all felt so weird. They used it as an excuse to build their relationship when all I felt was confused about it.

Aang and Bumi could have been interesting if they executed it better. Instead, they TOLD me they were best friends and that Bumi went through a lot during the war and that Aang knew Bumi well. I needed to SEE it. (Show don't tell is a very real thing, and this episode is rife with crimes against the rule.) Instead they showed us a brief flashback that wasn't nearly enough. They had one strong plot point with Bumi making Aang the same bison whistle he had from the first episode to call Appa, but it didn't work because the rest of it was executed so badly.

This episode felt unnecessarily preachy and in a bad way. They kept telling us the war was bad, that Iroh hurt people, that Aang hurt people by leaving, yet they showed us none of it. This would've been a really impactful message otherwise, but all it gave me was a load of nothing dipped in nothing sauce.

I loved the orchestral rendition of Leaves From the Vine, but the lines were so long and awkwardly written during Lu Ten's funeral that if it weren't for the music, I would've felt nothing. From the perspective of a viewer who doesn't know anything about Avatar: The Last Airbender, I would still feel confused because it didn't fit with the convoluted tone of the episode in the first place. Why was this here? Why was any of this here?

From a fan and story perspective, we could've had a strong episode just combining The King of Omashu and Jet. Using Jet to try and assassinate King Bumi was such a good intrigue plot, but again the writing was terrible. We didn't also need The Northern Air Temple plot lines here. Danny Pudi deserves better than that.

Episode 5: Spirited Away - 7/10

I don't know if this episode was elevated because the previous episode was vomit level, but I really, genuinely enjoyed this one. After stepping back for a while, I've deduced that yes I liked this episode. This was also the one that I actually felt something emotionally.

I can tell why this one would be controversial from a fan perspective, but looking at it as a story that works within this universe and this version of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this really works. It finally felt like an adventure with stakes and characters I could feel for.

From a fan perspective, I enjoyed what this did with the Spirit World here, combining lore from different books in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. It felt fun and creative and worked for me.

From a new viewer perspective, it was the first episode that ended that I actually said, "Wait no, it can't end there!" The visuals of the spirits were so fun, the flashbacks emotional. Katara acted finally! Plus, her younger child actress was phenomenal. Gran Gran was...hm. Sokka stood out immensely. He melted down and I really felt for him. Aang's meeting with Gyatso was gut-wrenching. I teared up.

It was here I discovered the show really shines when they're not trying to copy the original show, and when they try to do their own thing with lore that exists as long as it fits with what they're trying to tell. It works, and it's enjoyable, and gives characters more depth. The kicker? This episode was so strong in comparison because they did a lot of showing us things, not telling us. But it's not without its flaws. There was some weird dialogue here and there. Really, I enjoyed Sokka's and Aang's scenes the most.

June of course, was such a perfect casting choice, and her scenes with Zuko and Iroh were fun. Though once again, they wrote Iroh's lines in a way I don't understand. Why make him this one-note wise man? Sometimes less is more.

Episode 6: Masks - 8/10

This is hands down the best episode of this show. I hardly have any complaints about it. Even Iroh's wisdom lines were doable. Zhao was such a fun ride. They made him this whiny officer with too much to prove and a cocky attitude, and I enjoyed every minute of it. He's like a grown man who is a child, but it works. Oh goodness it works. Give me more of him nitpicking the heck out of the way his speech is written. It was such a refreshing take on a villain.

The rest of the episode? BRILLIANT. Absolutely. Zuko as the Blue Spirit will never get old, but the live action presentation was so good I have no complaints about it at all. The fighting and choreography really worked, and boy was it a fun thing to watch come to life. I don't normally love when things are copied one-to-one from animated shows to live action because it doesn't always work, but this was one of those instances that I'm glad it did work. It was iconic of them to bring back the bamboo pole fight and what's crazy is that it ended up being some of the coolest fight choreography I've seen. They must've had a blast with it!

Zuko and Aang were so good in this. They have a lot of chemistry as actors, and I could believe they want to be friends but circumstances don't allow them. It makes their extended interaction trapped together and hiding from the Fire Nation in a shack that much more impactful. Adding in the fact that Aang stole Zuko's Avatar journal paid off from episode 1 because now they talked about it, bonded over calligraphy and brushes, and I wanted them to be friends with all my heart. Their inevitable separation hurt me.

But oh no, you thought that was all? They made Zuko's backstory better. They showed us more of the scene where Zuko speaks against his father, and it's actually worse than the original show. Worse, as in better story-wise but worse for Zuko. Ozai asks for Zuko's opinion in the war room, Zuko gives it, Ozai disapproves. Then, when the plan is made to sacrifice the 41st Division, Zuko speaks out and says it's a terrible plan.

I could unpack that scene forever. This makes Ozai seem more manipulative, and I love it. He tests Zuko, disapproves, yet punishes him for saying his opinion later when Ozai had asked him before.

They show us the Agni Kai. I enjoyed the choreography. It helps that Daniel Dae Kim (Ozai) is a sight to behold. His cloak was a good choice, and I'll leave it at that. He is also a perfect Ozai. He has the aura of a man who doesn't play around, and he is menacing. It's also his line delivery and voice.

But the thing that I could also obsess about forever? The fact that Ozai punished Zuko not just by banishing him, but by making his crew the same 41st Division he saved. Zuko and Iroh never told them either, not until Iroh decided he should by the end.

So when Zuko comes back injured from freeing the Avatar, it is a great earned scene when his crew bows to him and calls him their prince.

Episode 7: The North - 5/10

After the previous episode, this was such a let down. Not much stood out here, but the Northern Water Tribe was a great set design. I loved looking it at. Unexpectedly, Kuruk was in this, but it worked so well. So unbelievably well.

From a fan perspective, I've always loved Kuruk and when his backstory was revealed in the Kyoshi novels I felt validated. He has a tragic and interesting back story, and they delivered here. Meegwun Fairbrother (Kuruk) has such a commanding presence. I cannot state this enough. He is the Avatar. He is Kuruk. I genuinely want more of him and I want to know more about him. I wouldn't mind if there was a whole live action show about Kuruk with him as the star.

The rest of this episode though? I mean. It was fine I guess? It wasn't episode 4 level of terrible, and definitely had more that elevated it, but the writing started downgrading immensely from here. Also, Yue, girl, what was that wig? And it's so obviously a wig that it was distracting. Why?

Katara felt like she should've had a presence here but she barely did. She had a fight with Master Pakku that felt unearned. It was also the first fight I've seen in this show that I didn't enjoy watching. The choreography wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It was also slow-paced for some reason. It was like I watched two people decide they need to make a move with each move. Everything Katara did felt unearned this episode.

Episode 8: Legends - 2.5/10

Why. What was this finale and why was this the finale? Ignoring the fact the Yue is apparently a spirit trekking lady which could've been cool if they executed it better, this was a whole mess. I'm going to ignore this plot because apparently she was the three-tailed fox in episode 5, and I like episode 5 and don't want to bring that one down so I'll pretend this doesn't exist.

I wouldn't mind if this was the route they went with Yue, but it was so rushed. Her being a waterbender was new, but I also didn't mind it. It was just...shallow. Seeing Yue's romance with Sokka after Suki left a sour taste in my mouth because it was badly done. The actors had no chemistry, and Sokka seemed like a playboy.

The writing was so terrible. Everything was mashed together last minute, Kuruk was there for a cool second, and then my expectations fell past the floor of an outhouse.

Momo, the cute CGI animal, died for some reason saving a person from a falling ice block. Then Yue had to go revive him for some reason. My first reaction was "NO!! MOMO!" Then it was confusion, and then I started laughing because none of it felt right and none of it felt earned, and I was laughing so hard I started crying.

I forgot Aang never started waterbending.

Oh yeah, Katara called herself a master I guess? I don't know how that happened because she's been crap the whole season and never got Pakku to teach her, so I guess she's self-taught now and proved herself by fighting Pakku and convincing him to let the women fight even though they showed no indication of wanting to...so yay feminism? Katara has only been looking at a scroll and failing badly the whole season and learned from no master so I don't know where she got this "master" idea from.

What saved this episode from being episode 4 was that the fight choreography was the coolest I've seen. As a fan, I was scared about how they were going to interpret the black-and-white lunar eclipse scenes but they delivered well! The blasts, the bursts of fire and color, holy heck it worked so incredibly well. I was impressed. Genuinely. I loved watching all those scenes. The Fire Nation blasting through the walls was so cool.

Oh yeah I guess Aang not learning waterbending explains why him being a giant Ocean Spirit fish didn't allow him to waterbend the waves to beat the Fire Nation, but instead he crashed into them.

Katara, Sokka, and Aang were finally together most of the time. I still hardly know anything about them though. Are they friends?

The ending scene with Zuko and Iroh was heartfelt, but could've been stronger. Azula took over Omashu I guess? Sozin's Comet is coming "soon" I guess? None of it felt earned.

Final thoughts

Honestly, if this show ended on episode 6 maybe I'd want a season 2, but after that I don't feel any interest in seeing this iteration of the show. Half of it doesn't work and the writing is questionable. If I were a new fan, I don't think I'd like it just from the weird writing alone. I'd stop after episode 4.

I genuinely wish the cast and crew well, and I love many of them from previous works, but they do not need to be in more of this. They deserve better projects.

It was telling that once I finished the series and saw who wrote what, the original creators were the ones who had a hand in writing episodes 1 and 6, which are episodes on the stronger side. Especially 6, which is the best one. If anyone tells me that I am crazy to be skeptical over an adaptation of any kind without the original creator(s) involved, I'll point to this fact.

My advice? Watch Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko's original Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender which you can also stream on Netflix.

#atla #natla #natla spoilers #avatar the last airbender #natla critical #netflix avatar #lok #legend of korra #netflix

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youvebeenlivingfictional · 10 months

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Year One (II)

Part Five of Three Years

Year Three | Masterlist |

Pairing: Nathan Bateman x Reader

Rating: Explicit - 18+ Only.

Length: 8.5K

Notes: ….Hi! It’s the final part!! And only a week late!!! Thank you for reading 💖

Warnings: Cursing; angst; enemies to enemies who fuck to lovers; tech-talk; angst (I know I said it before but really); Nathan being Nathan; vaginal sex; fingering; creampie; choking; oral sex (male and female receiving)

Summary: Keeping Bateman off your mind isn’t so difficult, once you get down to it. Sure, there’s a little a bit of a lull. At the start, hearing him on the odd conference call throws you off for a few moments. In the midst of taking notes, your mind will flash to the sound of him grunting low in your ear, the memory of the press of his body against yours, and the phantom weight of his hand heavy on your throat.

BlueBook’s campus is stunningly large and confusing. Sc(ai)le is a far smaller operation, and is likely to remain so, and you’d been certain when you signed the contract that this vast new environment would be well out of your realm of familiarity. But receiving a map for the BlueBook campus along with your other documentation for orientation made your stomach churn. The differences are staggering. BlueBook’s Silicon Valley office has four separate buildings. 3/4ths of the parking lot is designed for electric vehicles; regular vehicles have parking furthest from the main building. There are multiple cafeterias and cafés on the premises. There are designated nap rooms.

Maybe it’s an archaic approach, but you go out of your way to print out the map that was sent to you ahead of your first day. When you pull up for work your first morning, you are insanely happy that you did. You stop in the lobby once you get your badge, eyeing the print-out as people simply stride past you like you aren’t even there. You’re almost alright with that. You don't really want to explain who you are to some random BlueBook employee as you ask for help. But this behavior also lays the company’s culture plain. If you were at Sc(ai)le, at least one person would stop and ask if you needed help. Here, moving into a junior leadership position, you’re completely invisible.

“Sooo, how are the new digs?”

“...They’re fine,” You fib to Jenn, looking around at the office. It’s not a complete lie; they’re not bad. Your name is on the door; the size is about the same as your old office. But where your office at Sc(ai)le had been bright and open, this feels…Closed in. It doesn’t have the same fishtank quality, and where your old office had initially left you feeling exposed, this office makes you feel like you’re sitting in a file box on a shelf somewhere. There’s a window behind you, but it faces another building, and doesn’t let in nearly the same amount of light as your previous office.

“Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh?” You frown, “What ‘uh-oh’?”

“I know that tone. What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it!”

“You sure? I don’t wanna brag, but I know the guy in charge, and I can put in a good word.”

“Oh, yeah,” You scoff a laugh, “Bring my problem to Bateman for me, that’s all I need.”

Jenn goes quiet for a few seconds before she hedges, “I thought you guys were better now.”

You raise your hand, scrubbing it across the back of your neck as you fight back a sigh.

“We are,” You insist, “I just mean, you know…Even if Bateman did like me, this would so put me on his shit list. And I need to watch my step around here. It’s different now.”

“Yeah,” Jenn agrees, “It is.”

You can hear the creaking of her office chair, and practically picture her twisting back and forth in it.

“Can we do dinner at the end of this week?” You ask, hoping that she won’t call you on the subject change. “I want all of the dirt, you know. Hear how it’s going with my fearless leadership.”

“Sure.” It’s a relief as her tone shifts, as you can practically hear her smile. “Friday? Saturday? Sunday?”

“Friday, please. I’m guessing I’ll need all weekend to recover.”

“You’re damn right,” She chuckles. “Friday it is.”

“I’ll text you some options before I make any reservations.”

“Sounds good.”

“Alright. Have a good day, Jenn.”

“You, too, girlie.”

You smile, lowering your phone and hanging up. You’re about to set it on the desk when your phone flashes with another call. You grimace at the sight of the contact, despite the way that your stomach flutters. You consider not answering it at all—and then swipe to answer it right before it can go to voicemail.

“Took you long enough.” Nathan doesn’t give you a chance to say a thing before he’s filling your ear. “Who were you talking to?”

“Excuse me?”

“I got a busy signal twice.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I wanna know.”

“Well that’s too damn bad.”

“I could take a guess.”

“Feel free.”

“...”

“Well?”

“I’ve decided I don’t care.”

“Do you have a reason for calling me?”

“Figured I’d check in, day one and all that.”

“Nothing to report so far.”

“Really.”

“Nope. Had two whole meetings and got my email set up.”

“Well look at you, you little overachiever. Usually people don’t get their email set up until their second day.”

“You know me, I like to hit the ground running.”

“Mhm. Listen, I’m gonna be in town this weekend—”

“Okay—”

“—So I’ll put something on your calendar.”

“For what reason?”

“To check-in.”

“I think check-ins like this are just fine.”

“I may as well see you while I’m in town.”

“What for?”

“It’s customary to take a new hire in leadership for dinner.” A pause. Then, “Why else would I want to see you?”

You lean back in your seat, fighting the urge to squeeze your thighs together. The way he leads you into this question shouldn’t send tingles through your body. You’d forgone Bateman’s invitation to visit him before your stint at BlueBook had started, and haven’t been with him—or anyone—in a few weeks. Still, you’ve had longer dry spells.

“I don’t know,” You pass off breezily. “You tell me.”

“I don’t miss you,” He laughs. You think that he may mean for it to sound cruel, but you’ve come to know him a little too well, and he shockingly just manages to miss that mark.

“Good,” You lean back in your seat a little more. “I don’t miss you, either.”

“Good.”

“And I’m afraid I have plans this weekend, so unless you’re planning on adding some kind of bonus or overtime on this, I won’t be joining you.”

A weighty pause, a truly stomach-churning beat before, “Fine.”

He practically yawns it.

“Great,” You pronounce crisply. “I have a meeting to get to, so—”

“That’s funny, so do I—”

“I’m gonna hop off—”

“—Happy to give you some time back.”

“Great.”

“Sure.”

You draw the phone back from your ear again, rolling your eyes as his contact flashes, then disappears. Happy to give you some time back—the audacity. As if he'd put an actual meeting on your calendar for that useless call. You lean a little further back in your chair, then flail and hurriedly straighten before it can fully tip backward. Yikes, that was close. You puff out a panicked breath as you settle, tossing your phone onto the desk.

He doesn’t miss you. Good! That’s good. You don’t miss him either. You don’t want him to miss you. You don’t need him to miss you.

You need…To charge your vibrator. You could get on the dating apps again. It’s been a while. The last time you bothered was before you joined Sc(ai)le. Maybe the dating landscape isn’t as bad as it used to be.

You wince, shifting in your seat. You already know that you’re kidding yourself. There’s no way the apps are a good option now. They were barely a good option then. You’ll just have to up your vibrator game. There’s one you’ve had your eye on for a while, anyway. Nothing better to get with your signing bonus.

Keeping Bateman off your mind isn’t so difficult, once you get down to it. Sure, there’s a little a bit of a lull. At the start, hearing him on the odd conference call throws you off for a few moments. In the midst of taking notes, your mind will flash to the sound of him grunting low in your ear, the memory of the press of his body against yours, and the phantom weight of his hand heavy on your throat. The first few times, you swallow thickly and reach for your coffee, or water, washing down the thought. Slowly, though, you manage to put a wall up. The Bateman on the phone isn’t the same guy that had fucked you, or the same guy that you slapped.

Okay, well, technically, he is.

But this is Business Bateman. This guy is no longer at least one level removed from your day-to-day. You’d been fucked by Bastard Bateman—Banker Bateman, even. This Bateman isn’t teasing any of you over the phone during team meetings. There aren’t hefty pauses for effect, or to bait you into answering him first. He’s to-the-point. He doesn't wait for answers; he demands them.

After a couple of months, you manage to convince yourself that you prefer it this way. You tell yourself that you don’t miss Nathan. You don’t miss his cock, his teasing, or smacking his smug fucking face. It really is better this way. Your life is almost back to normal. Your friendship with Jenn is on a positive trend. You manage to see her at least every other week, and your smiles at the mention of Nathan’s name gradually become less forced.

The shift is critical. Despite your relative proximity, you feel far less tense on a day to day basis. Sure, there’s an itch that just isn’t being scratched for you right now—but you’re not bracing for whatever shit Bateman may pull next, or operating with a fear that Jenn may learn just how much time you actually spend with Nathan. It still weighs on you, though. There are moments when you feel the heavy truth of it on your tongue, and you consider telling her—but the conversation otherwise feels so bright, and so easy, and you can’t bring yourself to shatter the moment.

You’re certain Nathan hasn’t told her, either—if he had, you’d know by now. Jenn doesn’t shield her feelings well from anyone, but especially not from you. You know that her crush is still affecting her in full-force, but as far as you know, she hasn’t acted on it. The conversations about Bateman becoming part of the board would’ve backed off by now if she had. If anything, those have increased.

Worse, from what she’s been telling you, you think that he may be considering it. You’re in no place to influence business on either end anymore. You don’t want to buzz in Jenn’s ear, insist that she take more time to think about this. She’s been thinking about this move for three years now. You don’t want buzz in Nathan’s ear about it, either. Whatever you tell him to do, you’re certain he’ll do the exact opposite to spite you. The only thing worse than impacting Jenn’s company negatively from the inside is managing to negatively impact it after you’ve left. Sc(ai)le’s direction is none of your business anymore. You need to make peace with that.

“Knock knock.”

You can’t help but look up, stunned. You haven’t heard his voice over anything but a phone for nearly six months. That’s sort of your fault—he did offer to take you to dinner. But you didn’t trust him then. You almost don’t trust his appearance now. Frankly, seeing him shouldn’t be such surprise. You work at his company, after all. But this little sneak-attack is something that you haven’t been treated to in a very long time.

“Hi there,” He adds, and you realize that you’ve done nothing but stare at him.

“Hi,” You manage. “You here for a talk or are you just stopping by?”

“Just stopping by.” He pushes himself off of the door frame, and you turn back to your laptop as he takes lazy, drifting steps around your office. You watch him out of the corner of your eye, taking in the snug fit of his polo shirt, and the swell of his ass beneath his—sweatpants. The man wore sweatpants to his own office. You can’t help but shake your head a little as you come to that realization, turning fully back to your screen.

“You here for the All Hands?” You ask.

“Yup.”

“Surprised you’re not zooming in as usual.”

“I happened to be in town, figured I may as well make an appearance.”

“In sweatpants?” The indignant shock slips out before you can stop it. He just snorts, amused.

“I have a change of clothes in my office.”

Of course he does.

“So,” He rounds your desk, leaning against it and watching you work, “How do you like it?”

“The work? It’s fine.”

“Better or worse than Sc(ai)le?”

“Not better or worse. Just different.”

He watches you for a few moments longer. “But BlueBook is better, right?”

You roll your eyes a little bit, biting back a smile.

“If it helps you sleep at night, Nathan, yes. BlueBook is better.”

“I knew it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m telling Jenn.”

“She’ll never believe you.”

“...Do you still have that policy?”

You immediately know exactly what he’s asking about, but you let out a confused, questioning hum.

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Really.”

“You’re going to have to refresh my memory.”

You hear the soft huff of Nathan’s laugh, and the slight hush of him pushing off of your desk. You’re certain that he’ll just leave, but Nathan rests one hand on your desk, and the other on the back of your chair as he leans over you.

“Well I’ve been told,” You shiver as his breath brushes your neck, “That you don’t fuck your boss.”

“Oh, that policy.”

“Mm.”

“That one is still in place.”

“Really.”

“Firmly.”

“That’s too bad,” Nathan sighs.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. You’re fired.”

“Sure.” You don’t even flinch. You know that he’s not serious. At least…You’re pretty sure.

“Pack it up.”

“Can I send this email first.” You glance back toward him, and feel a touch of relief when you find him smiling warmly at you. You shake your head a little, turning back to the screen as you fight off your own smile.

“Thought you said I wasn’t irresistible,” You remind him.

“You’re not.”

“And that you don’t miss me.”

“...I don’t.”

The pause makes your stomach flip. You swipe your tongue across your lips, considering.

“In town for long?” You ask.

“The next week.”

“Alright.”

“So?”

“So…” You shrug, “Maybe I'll quit BlueBook for the weekend.”

“Just the weekend?”

“Maybe.”

“Hm.”

“You can’t expect me to…Quit for longer than that.”

“You haven’t taken any vacation days, have you?”

You scoff, turning toward him fully.

“Excuse me, but I might have plans for that.”

“Do you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’m making it my business.”

“The weekend.”

“The week.”

“The—I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can.”

“It’s too short notice! I’d have to work out coverage.”

“Then work it out.” Your stomach swoops as Bateman leans in a touch closer, his gaze sweeping from your eyes to linger on your lips. “Call in sick today after the All Hands and we’ll get a head start.”

“You’re trying to get me in trouble.”

“You’re making it harder than you need to.”

“Your cock or your plan?”

Nathan grins.

“Would it shock you if I said both?”

“Not one bit.”

“Good.” He grips your jaw, giving it a squeeze before he lets go and straightens, turning away. “Block off your calendar. I’ll send you the address.”

You lean back in your seat, unable to help watching him as he leaves. You wait for him to turn back, to shoot you a smile or a wink, to tell you that he’s kidding—but he doesn’t say or do a thing as he goes. You bite your lip, hesitantly turning toward your laptop again and opening your calendar. The next week doesn’t look…Too busy. There are a few status calls that you’re not necessarily needed on. The deliverables that you have could be shifted, and surely in the next week, you’ll have some time to yourself. You can bring your work laptop home with you. You wince. You’ve done a pretty good job of keeping your work out of your apartment. But hell, it’s been three and a half years. If you’re only starting to take your work home with you now, that’s pretty good.

You have 20 PTO days. Are you seriously going to take five of them just to be at Bateman’s beck and call?

You don’t even make it to his place before it starts.

You can’t focus through the All Hands; you’re distracted. You can’t get your head together. You sit there, going back and forth and back and forth on whether or not taking this time off is actually a good idea. You could always take the time and then go back to the office if you decide that this just isn’t working for you. But then, Nathan might talk you into staying with him for a few more days.

How the hell did he talk you into this in the first place?

You desperately try to swallow against your drying throat, glancing around. Everyone is engaged with what Bateman is saying up front, or splitting their attention between their laptops and phones, still answering emails and slack messages while Bateman fills them in on funding updates and the state of the company. You ought to be focusing, too, but you suddenly feel so—hot. It’s not sexy, either. It’s like your skin is prickling from the inside. You scrub your sweaty palms against the fabric of work jeans, shifting uncomfortably in your—in your seat—

You push yourself up, mumbling your apologies as you squeeze past the other people in the aisle. You don’t look back as you hurry toward the door at the back of the conference space, even as your ears catch on Nathan’s comments that the latest BlueBookTab is set to complete its final round of QA by the end of Q2.

You wind your way through the halls, your stomach twisting with discomfort. You already put in for your time off, cited the fact that you were sick. Surely your hasty exit would’ve lent credence to that—but maybe you could still retract that PTO request. Or maybe you could—Hell, what can you do?

You reach your office and draw in a relieved breath at the complete silence and calm. Water, you need water. You take up your water bottle, taking a greedy swig. You must’ve had too much coffee this morning, maybe that’s why you feel so—blegh, so weird. Or maybe it’s a sign. If you feel this uneasy, this unsure about spending time with Nathan, it must mean that your time likely wouldn’t be such a good idea, anyway. You can tell Nathan that. You can calmly, rationally tell Nathan that you’ve changed your mind. He won’t care—

“What’s going on?”

You whirl around at the sound of his question. Nathan looks almost bored, and sounds mildly perplexed.

“What are you,” You wave back toward the door, “What about the All Hands?”

“It’s finished.”

“...Oh.”

“Yeah. You ran out, like, right before I wrapped things up. Did you pay any attention to the agenda?”

“Not really, no.”

“Why did I even hire you,” Nathan chuckles, kicking the door shut behind himself.

“You tell me,” You bite out. Nathan rolls his eyes, further rankling the irritated nerves in your belly.

“Relax, sweetheart. It was a joke.”

“It wasn’t for me.”

“You want me to tell you?” His brows raise as he walks closer. “You’re kidding me.”

“And if I’m not?”

“What’s wrong with you?” He presses. You push a short breath out through your nose, shaking your head as you search for the words.

“I’m just—” You clear your throat. “I’m having some second thoughts.”

“About?”

“This.”

“BlueBook?”

“This,” You clarify, waggling the finger between the two of you.

“If you’re that worried about coverage, bring your laptop with you.”

“Then what’s the point in leaving the office? Look,” You groan, “I’m sure you can find someone else to fuck.”

“Sure I can. I have.”

It’s like a slap in the face. You stare at him for a moment, stunned.

“I—Then—” You splutter, “Why—? Are you with someone?”

“Not with,” He plops into a chair. “Just…You know.”

“No, I don’t know, Nathan. That’s why I’m asking.”

“The hell does it matter to you, huh? Why are you so hung up on this?”

“I’m not, I’m just—”

“—You clearly are—”

“I just want—Fuck, I don’t know, if you’re like, dating someone, I don’t wanna insert myself in whatever the hell mess that would be.”

“I told you, I’m not with anyone,” He repeats boredly. “Satisfied?”

You consider for a moment. Are you? You’re not sure you are. You were having reservations before he mentioned that he had found someone else to screw around with.

“...No,” You finally determine, shaking your head. “I’m not.”

“Fuck,” Nathan groans, tipping his head back before he pushes himself up out of the chair. “Alright, forget it. I don’t know when the hell you got so fucking boring.”

“Excuse me?”

“What, is your listening comprehension going, too?”

“Fuck you!”

“You had your chance, sweetheart.”

“You wanna say that to my fucking face, Bateman?”

Seeing him stop just a few steps from the door and whirl around to you makes your hair stand on end.

“Which part did you miss, huh?” He spits as he grows closer, “Where’d I fucking lose you?”

“You haven’t had me since day one, you self-centered, self-righteous asshole—” You suck in a breath as he roughly grips your jaw, shutting you up. Your heart pounds in your chest as Nathan presses close, backing you up against the harsh edge of your desk. You raise your hands, grasping Nathan’s wrist so roughly that your nails bite into his skin. His lips twitch with a contentious smile as his hips shift against yours.

“I haven’t had you since day one where, honey? Here?” He asks in a low, cruel murmur. He nudges you back to sit on the desk before he tips his head, eyes searching yours. “This is my company, sweetheart. My name’s on the fucking door. I’ve had you the entire goddamn time.”

His mouth covers yours before you can gripe or argue. You groan at the contact, only allowing yourself to savor it for a few moments before you bite down harshly on his plump lower lip. Nathan’s hand slips from your jaw, smoothing down to squeeze around the sides of your neck. You whimper, reaching out to grasp and twist the fabric of his collar, hauling him closer. Bateman draws back with a slick sound, peering at you as he squeezes just a little harder. Your lips remain parted, heaving in tight breaths as stars begin to crowd your eyes. You hear a sharp whine, and it’s a moment before you realize that the sound came from you. Nathan tuts and shushes you softly as he loosens his grasp.

“There’s no lock on that door,” He murmurs, “You want everyone to come in? See you spreading your legs for me like this?”

You hurriedly shake your head, and his smile widens.

“Then I guess we better occupy that mouth of yours.”

It’s a risk that you never would’ve taken in Sc(ai)le’s offices. Those hadn’t been even remotely private—if anyone had walked past when you and Bateman were there before, they would’ve seen you. Now, unless someone knocks on your door and comes in, no one will know.

Still, your position doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. If any one walked in now, they’d see Nathan’s bare ass, and your hands grasping his hips as he thrusts into your mouth.

Your hold on him is fairly futile. With his hand on the crown of your head, you have little range of motion. You’re hardly moving, just holding your mouth open as he thrusts roughly between your lips. Your eyes water as you peer up at him, as you watch his tongue swipe across his lips, his gaze dark as he watches you. He shoves his hips forward harder still, and you struggle to recoil as you gag, as he keeps your head locked in position. He finally lets up, and you sway backward, coughing roughly as you swipe to clear away the spit that’s leaked along the sides of your lips. You watch Nathan chuckle, grasping his slickened shaft. Your thighs twitch, sending a tingling through your wet, neglected cunt. Before he can ask—before he can demand it, or say a word, you kneel up again, taking the head of his cock between your lips. He huffs out a soft laugh, hips twitching before his hand smoothed over your cheek, thumb sweeping across your cheekbone.

“Yeah,” He coos, “I missed you, too, sweetheart.”

You groan, sinking your nails into the meat of his thigh as you swipe your tongue along the veined underside.

“You hungry?”

You don’t answer right away, and maybe that’s why he presses, “Hey.” You feel him sweep his hand along your naked lower back. It makes you sag even deeper into the mattress. “You alright?”

You draw in a deep breath, leaving your eyes closed as you consider. You are aching, and sated. You feel fucked-out, and cozy, and…

“Yeah,” You finally mumble, though it’s a herculean effort. Your tongue feels heavy, and your lips feel oddly…Gluey. “I could eat.”

You feel the bed dip, and hear the sound of his feet padding across his bedroom floor. It’s chased by the rumble of a drawer opening, and you wince as it’s then slammed shut. You roll onto your belly from your side, turning your head from the thud as another drawer is opened. You feel the bed dip again a moment later.

“Here,” He urges, dropping some clothes within reach. “Should’ve stopped by yours to get some clothes.”

“...Mmm.”

You hear him chuckle, and feel his hand on your cheek.

“Open your eyes for me.”

You finally do, blinking up at him where he’s leaning against the headboard. It shouldn’t be such a warm sight, considering the struggle in your office, but a tired smile unwittingly pulls at your lips.

“Do we have water?” You mumble.

“No. I’m a billionaire without access to water.”

“Shut up,” You groan, pushing yourself back onto your back and squinting up at the harsh lighting. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Almost nine.”

“...In the..?”

“Evening.”

“Mm.”

“Here.”

You look up as you hear the crisp crack of a water bottle being opened. You push yourself back just a little, settling your head on his thigh and taking hold of the proffered bottle and cap.

“Don’t spill it,” He mutters.

“I won’t.” Probably. Maybe you will, just to spite him. God knows how many bedrooms he has, you can probably find somewhere else to sleep. You draw in a greedy gulp, then another. It’s so cool; you didn’t realize how thirsty you were.

“Slow down,” Nathan counsels boredly as he takes his phone up from the bedside table. “You start choking on it, I’m just gonna laugh.”

“You usually laugh when I choke,” You mumble, lowering the water. He huffs softly, nodding.

“That’s true. What do you wanna eat?”

“I don’t know. What do you have here?”

“I’m gonna order something.”

“Oh.” You think for a moment before you tip your head back to look at him. “What are you hungry for?”

“Think we both know what I’m hungry for.”

“That’s not hot, it just sounds cannibalistic.”

“Don’t get too close to my phone, Clarice.”

“Fuck, your Hopkins needs work.”

“So?”

“Grilled cheese,” You finally decide, closing your eyes again. “With bacon and tomato.”

“‘Kay.”

“And a chocolate milkshake.”

“Alright.”

“And fries.”

“Thought the fries were implied.”

“Just confirming.”

“Cheese fries or regular fries?”

“Mmm…Regular.”

“Drink your water.”

You raise your hand obediently, taking another few sips. You hear Nathan set his phone down on the bedside table after a few moments.

“You wanna get cleaned up?” He asks, smoothing his fingers down your throat.

“Not yet.”

“Alright.”

You feel Nathan’s hand rest over your throat for a moment before he lets his touch drift lower.

“Should see if I have a turtleneck in here,” He comments.

“Why?”

“You’re bruising.”

You open your eyes, surprised as you wave toward your throat. He nods, smoothing his knuckles gently along the sides of your neck. You bite your lip, considering.

“Was I too rough?” He asks.

You shake your head.

“You sure?”

You nod.

“I need to hear it,” He insists. You huff softly, capping the water and setting aside. You push yourself up on slightly shaky arms before pressing yourself into Nathan’s side. It seems like his arm curls around your waist on instinct as you nuzzle against his neck.

“You weren’t too rough,” You murmur. “Okay? If I’d wanted you to stop, I would’ve told you to.”

You feel Nathan nod slightly, his hand splaying on your waist. You close your eyes, resting against him.

“Maybe we should establish a safeword, though,” You offer after a moment.

“Sure. Jenn.”

“What?”

“The safeword.”

You reel away, socking Nathan in the shoulder as he grins smugly at you. It’s a stupid decision—your head spins from moving too fast. You rest that same hand on Nathan’s shoulder to steady yourself as you grumble, “That is not even remotely funny.”

“C’mere,” Nathan urges. “You’re gonna make yourself sick, moving like that.”

“Your fault,” You mumble, though you cuddle up against him again.

“Uh-huh.” Nathan turns his head, nuzzling against your hair.

“...Crypto,” You finally say.

“You want your safeword to be crypto?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because I hate it and it’s something I’ll remember.”

Nathan snorts a laugh before you feel him nod.

“Crypto it is.” He smooths his hand up your back, rubbing in small circles. You let your eyes slip shut again, allowing yourself to relax as the pressure in your head drops away. It’s strange. Even when you and Nathan fucked around before, it wasn’t quite like this. Sure, you had moments when he’d keep close, or when you didn’t get up right away, but you never made an effort to cuddle up, and he never made it a point to keep you this close. He used to relish in your discomfort, not try to lessen it.

It’s almost frightening how long it took for you to shut him out during your time at BlueBook, and how quickly you let him back in. It took one evening for him to unravel you, beyond the bounds of your prior…What could you call it? Association? Relationship?

“Drink your water,” He urges again. You shift a little reluctantly, leaning away from him to take hold of the bottle before leaning against him again. You yawn widely as you unscrew the cap, taking another few sips. You hold it up questioningly, and Nathan takes it, drawing in his own gulp before pressing it back into your hands.

He hovers.

Maybe it shouldn't be such a surprise, considering how depleted you were before you got out of bed, but you never expected Nathan to be the type to…Hover. You can feel him watching you as you settle on a seat at his kitchen island, resting your chin on your hand and fighting back a yawn. You can hear him unpacking the food, popping the containers lids before pushing a few over toward you.

“Here,” He urges. “Sit up.”

“Ugh,” You groan, pushing yourself and opening your eyes. “Is there a straw for the milkshake?”

Nathan pokea through the bag for a moment before he throws one toward you. You flinch, fumbling to catch it before ripping off the wrapping and jabbing it into the lid.

“Thanks.”

“Mm.”

You pull in a taste, shoulders wiggling with joy as the sweetness sweeps across your tongue. You reach out, opening the container and picking up a couple of fries. You glance over as Nathan leans against the counter across from you.

“What’d you get?” You ask, nodding toward him.

“Veggie burger.”

You hum, popping the fries between your lips. You have to fight the urge to cram a few more in before you’ve even finished chewing. You didn’t even realize how hungry you were.

“Still having second thoughts?” Bateman asks. You frown, and he clarifies: “About this week.”

You press your lips into a thin line as you consider. You pop the lid off the milkshake, dipping one of the fries inside and swirling it around.

“Not in the same way,” You admit.

“What’s still tripping you up?”

“...I never told Jenn.”

You can feel Nathan’s gaze as you reach for half of your grilled cheese.

“Never told Jenn what?” He asks.

“Anything, about, you know. This.”

“You need to?”

“No! No, not need, no,” You shake your head, “But…I’m a shit friend, you know. She likes you.”

It’s not fair to tip her hand like this, without her knowledge, but there’s no way that Bateman doesn’t know this by now, right? Still, it’s a moment before he lets out a grunt.

“What?” You sigh.

“Nothing.”

“It’s clearly something.”

“She didn’t tell you.”

“Didn’t tell me what?”

“Remember when I said that I found someone else to fuck?”

It’s like he’s dumped a bucket of water over your head. You freeze mid-chew, gobsmacked, your heart dropping into your stomach as Bateman reaches out, snagging a few of your fries as if he didn’t just turn your world upside.

“...Uh…” You shake your head, “I didn’t—I had no—When?”

“I don’t know, last year?”

Last year. You shake your head a little, trying to knock a response loose.

“Wu—uh…When?”

“After your party.”

“The party where you asked me to come stay with you for a week?”

“Yeah. But you didn’t, so.”

“So you fucked Jenn because I didn’t fuck you.”

“I fucked Jen when you didn’t fuck me. You weren’t the implicit cause. That make you feel better?”

“A little, yeah, I guess. But that doesn’t uh—weird feeling. This is a weird feeling.”

“I’m a little surprised she didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me, too.”

You reach for the milkshake, slugging back a gulp and wincing as brain freeze sets in.

“You gonna get all weird about it?” Nathan asks.

“I’m not—No. No, I’m not making this weird. I’m not gonna let this get weird. We’re gonna fuck.”

“If you’re sure.”

“All week, I mean we are gonna do it. A lot,” You insist, pointing at him. Nathan’s lips twitch in amusement.

“Alright,” He concedes, holding his hands up, “Jeez. Long as you leave it attached.”

“...Did you ever mention this to her?” You ask, waving between the two of you again.

“No.”

“Okay.”

“Are you going to?”

“If I do, I’ll give you a heads up.”

“Whatever.”

“Was it just the one time?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

That shouldn’t make you feel superior or good, but…Well, it kinda does. You and Jenn haven’t had a tug of war over Nathan, per se, not personally. It sounds like what they had was a one night stand than a real relationship.

Still, it’s her business, and her…Business.

“Cut it out.”

“What?” You blink, frowning.

“I can see the smoke coming out of your ears.”

“Oh—Shut up,” You gripe, throwing a fry at him. He smiles, picking it up from where it lands limply on the counter.

“So?” He asks, “Are you staying?”

The two of you don’t spend the entire time in bed. It’s just not physically possible, and the two of you do need breaks every now and again. Neither of you can draw yourself entirely away from work, either. You manage to contain it. You don’t let it creep into the rest of the house. You make a little space for yourself in his office, curling up in the corner of the couch and hunching over your screen and keyboard. Your time off is approved, but you still answer a few emails a day, and dial into a few status calls, just to keep up to date with what’s going on with your team. Nathan spends a fair bit of time working, too. You’re fascinated by the wall practically papered in post-its, even more fascinated still as you actually watch him work.

For all of Bateman’s pointed teasing and distraction while you worked with one another at Sc(ai)le, he has laser-focus when he’s working on BlueBook. You don’t take the same pains to annoy him as he had with you. You’re too interested in the way that he iterates, how he conducts himself when speaking to other staff members, how he occasionally mutters to himself as he makes notes. While you’re working, it’s like you’re hardly there. He’ll catch your eye every now and again, but for the most part, he leaves you to your own devices. A time or two, when you’re dialing into the same meeting, Nathan dials in and brings his phone over to the couch so that the two of you can listen in together.

You shift closer to him when he does, sitting side by side. Whenever Nathan unmutes, you’re careful to keep completely silent. You don’t want anyone to get even a hint that you’re there. It’s not against any company policy, but my god, it would set the team’s tongues wagging.

After one such call, Nathan hangs up, pitching the phone into the other end of the couch and grunting, “Fuckin’ idiots.”

You can’t help but smile.

“You do know that I’m still here, right?” You ask.

“You think I forgot?” Nathan turns to look at you, brows raising, “You gonna tell ‘em?”

“What?”

“You gonna tell ‘em that I think they’re fuckin’ idiots?” He shifts toward you. You shrug, turning back to your laptop and reopening the email that you’d been drafting before the call.

“Probably not.”

“Oh, probably not.”

“Freedom of speech.”

“Freedom of speech protects you from the government, sweetheart. Not from me.”

“I don’t need anyone to protect me from you.”

“No?”

“Nn-nn.”

“You sure about that?”

Before you can answer, Nathan snaps your laptop shut and tosses it to the floor.

“Are you crazy?” You screech as Nathan climbs over you, steering you back onto the couch. You give his chest a shove, but it hardly moves him as he crowds against you. His hands skim up your sides, and you can’t help but grin and squirm against him as his lips cover yours.

You think that time must be mellowing him. You’ve been with Nathan for three days straight, and you can’t help but notice a few…Differences. It goes well beyond the hovering.

He hasn’t kissed you so much since that first night. Nathan seems to almost delight in your kisses now. He takes his time slotting himself between your legs, spreading your thighs wide as his tongue spears past your smiling lips. He doesn’t hurry things along as he used to—though in fairness, these days, you have far more time than you used to. You’re not cuddling up in some dark corner, wary of being seen, or caught. You’re not hurrying out of bed, covering up as quickly as possible and shooing him out to scrub the sweat from your skin.

He doesn’t turn you, shove you into the wall, into the mattress, into the backseat of his car. Now, face to face, he tugs your panties aside and eases his sweatpants down just far enough to draw out his hardened cock, and ease it into your slick, aching pussy. The two of you groan against one another’s lips as he sheathes himself fully inside you. You raise your hands, cupping his cheeks and swirling your tongue along his as he plants his knees against the cushions to gain purchase.

Nathan reaches down and hikes your shirt up as your hips press together. You shiver as he ducks his head, his beard brushing harshly over your pebbling nipple before he takes it into his mouth.

“Fuck, Nate,” You moan, fingers hooking in the fabric of his shirt. He hums, teasing the nipple lightly with his teeth before he draws back. His kisses trail up your neck, brushing over your throat.

“Your bruises are starting to fade,” He murmurs.

“Oh?”

“Mm.”

“Are you gonna fix that?”

Nathan leans up, grinning.

“Maybe later, baby.”

You reach up, shoving at his chest and urging, “Up, get up.”

Nathan shifts back, sitting on the end of the couch and pushing off his sweatpants. You draw your top off and kick away your panties before you clamber onto his lap. You steady a hand on his shoulder, reaching down and grasping his length before easing down onto it. You whine softly as you settle into his lap, as he slides his hands up your back and draws you close. You lean into him, resting your forehead against his as you begin to roll your hips.

“Come on,” Nathan urges, “You can do better than that.”

You laugh a little, resting your hands on the back of the couch.

“I’m doing exactly what I want.”

“I want more.”

“Well that’s too damn ba—ad! Fuck!” You whimper as he grasps your hips, steadying you and snapping his hips up harshly. Your mouth falls open as he takes control of the pace, fucking up into you almost punishingly.

“Nathan, goddamnit,” You breathe as his fingers press more hardly into your hips.

“You close?” He murmurs.

“N-no.”

“Too bad.”

“What do you—mean, oh, you piece of shit,” You whine as Nathan tips his head back, his hips jolting harshly as he spills into you. You reach down to play with your clit, but Nathan shoves your hand away and pushes your hips up. You frown, confused as Nathan slips down, then grin as he shoves the coffee table back. He sends it scattering as he slides down and lowers himself to sit on the floor, resting his head on the cushion and dragging your hips down to his lips. Your fingers flex in the fabric of the cushion as you peer down at Nathan. His tongue swipes across your cunt before he gives your lips a sucking kiss. Your hips quiver as he swipes his tongue against your tingling clit. You grind greedily against his questing tongue and lips, chasing your pleasure.

“Almost,” You warn. Nathan hums against you, hurriedly lapping his tongue against your clit and grasping your hips to draw you even closer. A stunned moan leaves you as he sucks your clit, lashing his tongue against it until you’re shaking, hips rabbiting against him. Nathan moans, tipping his head to and fro and nuzzling your tender flesh as you ride out your orgasm. You push yourself off of him, flopping back onto the couch. It takes Nathan a moment to push himself up, and you groan as he drops himself on top of you.

“Noooo,” You groan, “Get off’a me.”

“Why.”

“I’m all hot and sticky.”

“I know.”

“So are you.”

“I know,” Nathan grins, nuzzling up against you and pressing closer. You whine, kicking your feet irritatedly.

“You’re awful,” You mumble, looping your arms around his shoulders regardless. He grunts, peppering your neck with tender kisses.

“I know that, too.”

“I’m going to have to tell her.”

“Have to?”

You meet Nathan’s eye in the mirror as you dab foundation over the newly blooming bruises on your neck.

“Have to,” You nod.

Nathan leans in the doorway of the bathroom, watching you closely. He seems to be considering it before he nods a little.

“Alright.”

“Are you okay with—”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“What are you going to tell her?”

“That…That we fuck.”

“Okay.”

“What else would I tell her?”

“No, that’s accurate. I was just curious.”

“We can talk about the verbiage—”

“We fuck,” He agrees. “It’s fine.”

“Okay,” You nod, directing your gaze back toward the mirror and pumping some more foundation onto your beauty blender.

“That what you’re going in?”

You glance down toward your outfit—your jeans, and one of Nathan’s t-shirts.

“Yeah,” You shrug. “We’re just grabbing bagels, nothing fancy.”

“Are you gonna be long?”

“Jeez,” You laugh. “No, dad.”

“Hey,” He pushes off of the door frame, sauntering closer. “We’ve only got a couple more days here. I’m heading back soon.”

“I know.”

“So?”

“So I told you, I won’t be long.”

“Good.”

“You’re such a big baby,” You mumble as Nathan cuddles up against your back. You smile as his hands smooth over your hips and belly.

“You’re a goody two-shoes that can’t lie to people.”

“Yeah, god forbid I have a conscience. I’m really not coming up with the short end of the stick here.”

“You aren't coming up with the short end of anything,” Nathan murmurs, rolling his hips against you. You snort, swatting back at him.

“Cut it out, you perv. I’m gonna be late.”

“...Are you going to say anything?”

You don’t think she will for a few long moments. Jenn’s expression is frighteningly unreadable. She roughly swallows the large bite of bagel that she'd taken before she clears her throat, setting the bagel back down.

“Let me get this straight,” She leans back in her seat. “You have spent the last…What, three and a half years telling me, swearing up and down that you hate him—”

“I think ‘swearing’ is a little strong—”

“—And now you’re telling me that you’ve been fucking him? For a year?”

“...Ish,” You nod, “It’s, um…Maybe closer to a year and a half. Although—That’s elapsed, if we went by the amount of time we actually spent, it’s probably closer to…Six months?”

“Oh, if it’s elapsed.”

“Yeah.”

“Well that makes it sooo much better.”

“Yeah, I thought it—...You’re being sarcastic.”

“God, you’re so smart.”

“Look, Jenn, I know this seems kinda bad on the face of it—”

“It doesn’t seem bad. It is bad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, that makes me feel much better.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“You knew that I liked him!”

“...Yeah,” You lower your gaze to your untouched food. “I did. What I did was shitty, I’m not pretending it’s not. I should’ve told you after the first time it happened, and it shouldn’t have happened again. Frankly, it…It probably shouldn’t have happened at all.”

Jenn pushes a sigh through her nose as she raises her hands, scrubbing them over her face.

“Do you like him?” She asks after a few moments.

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

She shoots you a disbelieving look as she lowers her hands, and you hold your own up in concession.

“I think, it’s just…” You consider for a few moments. “When it started, it was…Angry. I was angry, I was mad at him, and the sex kinda worked some of that out. I’m not mad at him like that anymore. I’m not even angry about that entire situation anymore, I’m…I guess I like him,” You finally concede. “Not like-like—Christ, I sound like a teenager, I just mean, um…” You shake your head. “We’ve reached…An amicable place.”

“And that place is his bed?”

You bite back a laugh as you nod a little bit, “Sometimes.” You watch Jenn for a few moments, taking in the furrow of her brow and the thin press of her lips. “How pissed are you?”

“...I’m not gonna pretend I’m happy about it.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“You should’ve told me.”

“I know. I honestly didn’t think it would keep happening, but it did.”

“Even now?”

“...Yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Sorry.”

Jenn huffed a stunned laugh, shaking her head.

“I need to process this.”

“I totally get that. Take your time.”

“Gee, thanks for your permission.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“...Are you wearing his shirt?”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Talk about it anyway.”

You roll your eyes, looking down at Nathan. His chin is resting on your belly, smoothing his hands along your thighs. You sigh softly, shifting slightly under him.

“It could’ve been worse,” You concede. “She didn’t, like…Flip, but she wasn’t happy about it. Obviously.”

“Didn’t think she would be.”

“No, me neither.”

“Well thanks, Mr. Smarty Pants.” You sigh, smoothing your hand over his head and honing in on the feeling of the his buzzed hair against your palm. “I’m gonna have to give her space for a while.”

“She ask you to?”

“No, but when Jenn is mad like this, she needs…Time. She comes back to me, not the other way around. I can’t push.”

“What if she doesn’t come back?”

Maybe he means it as a harmless hypothetical, but the prospect makes you feel queasy. It’s a thought that you’ve been grappling with all afternoon, that had caused tears to prickle in your eyes as you’d driven back to Bateman’s place. You shake your head wordlessly, swallowing thickly and directing your gaze toward the ceiling.

“Okay,” He concedes. You smooth your hand down to his nape, letting your eyes close as you draw in a deep breath. It’s strange to find comfort in the way Nathan covers your body with his and nuzzles into your neck. He shouldn’t be so sweet with you, not after everything that the two of you have been done. But he cuddles close nonetheless, taking your hands in his and settling into silence.

“You gonna miss me?”

He is teasing now. You glance up from your laptop as you sit on Nathan’s bed, watching him sort through his dresser drawers and draw out a few items to pack for his trip home.

“...Yeah,” You admit after a few moments. “I think I am, a little bit.”

He casts a surprise glance over his shoulder.

“You can always come up and see me.”

“After the week off I just took? No, I don’t think I always can.”

“Figure of speech.”

“Inaccurate.”

“You gonna cry when I take off? Throw yourself onto the tarmac in front of the jet?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m gonna actually stay here, waste away in this bed without you.”

Nathan turns toward you again, tossing a shirt in the direction of the duffel bag before he climbs onto the bed beside you.

“Close it,” He urges.

“Almost done here.”

“Close it now.”

“If you shut it on my fingers and throw it again, I’m gonna punch you in the nards.”

Nathan snorts, sliding down against the headboard and resting his head on your shoulder. You can’t help but smile at the warmth and weight of him beside you, and the way he repositions his head to get more comfortable. You finally finish your email before you make a big show of closing the laptop and setting it aside.

“Can I help you?”

Nathan turns his head, nudging his nose against your neck.

“You could stay here,” He offers.

“I like my place. Besides, I don’t have any of my shit here. I’ve been wearing your clothes, like, all week.”

“I know. Looks good.”

You smile, shaking your head.

“I don’t wanna stick around when you’re not here, Nathan.”

“And if I am around?”

“...Might be nice,” You shrug, looking down at your discarded laptop. “But you’re not around much.”

“That could change.”

Your stomach flips at the assertion, and as Nathan looks up at you, you force a neutral expression.

“If it’s in the best interest of the company, then sure, I guess,” You excuse. You finally chance a glance toward Nathan, and find him watching you closely.

“...I’d like it,” You admit softly. Nathan nods, murmuring, “Alright.”

You nod, looking down at your lap. You'd said three little words, but they feel so dangerous. Your nerves turn to the fluttering of butterflies as he presses a tender kiss to your jaw.

“You’re just adorable,” Nathan murmurs, and you grin at the mocking sincerity in his tone.

“Yeah, well. You’re short.”

Tag list: @missredherring; @fantasticcopeaglepasta ; @massivecolorspygiant ; @blueeyesatnight; @amneris21 ; @ew-erin ; @youngkenobilove ; @carbonated-beverage ; @lorecraft ; @moonlightburned ; @milf-trinity ; @nolanell ; @millllenniawrites ; @chattychelsea ; @dihra-vesa ; @videogamesandpoorlifechoices ; @missswriter ; @thembosapphicclown ; @brandyllyn ; @wildmoonflower ; @buckybarneshairpullingkink ; @mad-girl-without-a-box ; @winchestershiresauce ; @aellynera ; @writefightandflightclub ; @thedukeofcaladan ; @beepboopyoda ; @foxilayde ; @revolution-starter ; @rachelwritesstuff ; @queen-of-elves

#Nathan Bateman x Reader #Nathan Bateman x You #Nathan Bateman/Reader #Nathan Bateman/You #Nathan Bateman fic #Nathan Bateman imagine #Three Years

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i9messi · 1 year

Text

Matching nails — Mason Mount

You and Mason paint each other’s nails and spend your day off together

Word count — 585

mason’s masterlist

You and Mason had a day off, so you decided to spend time together doing silly things. You had reached a point in your relationship where you only needed each other’s company to know that everything was fine, even the silences were comfortable. You had already seen some movies and ate junk food, so you had the amazing idea to paint your nails.

What started as an individual activity ended with your boyfriend willing to do your nails. Mason smiled as never before and approached you, acting as if he had done it before, though in reality his knowledge was zero.

"Doing your nails? Of course. Sit, darling."

It was fun to see him focused and listening to the explanation about what each thing was used for. You gave him total freedom to choose the nail polish he wanted and to paint them as he wanted, that could be a terrible idea if you thought about it a lot. Mason paid attention to each nail polish carefully, until he picked his two favorites.

"Green or brown?

"Green."

"But I like the brown one." He made a pot and waited for your answer.

You smiled at him and narrowed your eyes, "Okay, then brown."

"I have an idea." You waited for him to continue, but he decided to act mysterious. "You’ll see, trust me and trust the process. They’ll look beautiful on you."

While you were watching him work, he did a bunch of things to your nails because you let him. You had been stuck for hours while your boyfriend put it in different styles and added details and accessories as he pleased. He honestly had the best time of his life and would want to do it again. Once he finished with your nails, Mason looked at his work with pride. You gave a look at your nails and you really liked the result.

He had painted some of them brown and the others green, and had also drawn small hearts, making them look very beautiful. They had some imperfections, yes, but they had turned out quite well and you were grateful.

"They look so cute! Do you like it?" Mase asked you, honestly waiting for your answer.

"I love them, baby. Thank you."

"It's my job." Mason replied, passing his hand across his forehead and wiping away the fake sweat. You took the same nail polishes and you held your boyfriend’s hands in yours.

"Now is your turn."

"What?"

"How about we get matching nails?"

The idea seemed right for him, you had the rest of the afternoon to do other things, and painting your nails the same colors would take you a good extra time. It was cute too, having the nails matching with your lovely boyfriend.

"Okay, but I don’t think they’ll look as pretty as the one I did."

"Mason!"

"I did a great job, you have to accept it."

"Ok, cocky."

You took care of repeating the same design and pattern that Mason had made with your nails, so they were practically the same. Your boyfriend would help you and point out the right tones and patterns to follow, pretending to be a pro. You took less time than Mason did, so you smiled proud at the result. You joined your hands with his and saw your matching nails.

"We should do this more often." Mason proposed and you totally agreed.

It had been too much fun.

"We should."

"By the way, the ones I did are better."

#mason mount drabble #mason mount fluff #mason mount #mason mount imagine #mason mount x reader #mount #chelsea #mount x reader #mason mount one shots #football imagines #football imagine #football player fanfic #football players

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ahgasegotarmy116 · 6 months

Text

Semantic Error | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Chapter 5

Based off of Semantic Error (bl) by J Soori Summary: Jungkook begs to be the designer again. Pairing: Techie inexperienced fem!reader x Artist fuck boy Jungkook Work Count: 958 (something small since I haven't updated in a while) Warnings: Nothing really just some teasing but that shouldn't be surprising at this point lol a/n: Just wanted to put something out even if it's small since you guys really seem to be liking this story <3 I'll hopefully be coming back with a new chapter soon. You guys are gonna love the next one ;) Read from the beginning

After a long and arduous conversation that Jungkook had clearly planned to have from the beginning disguised by his intention to just "spend time with me" we've finally come to an agreement.

"So you lured me in here just to ask if you could be my designer for the game again? You could've just asked and not made me feel awkward by your strange request" I say walking out of the library with him following wherever I go. "Well yes, but I also just wanted to spend time with my new friend" he says and puts his arm around my shoulders. "Don't touch me" I say in a monotonous tone that seems to throw him for a loop as he quickly lets go.

"Last time I checked we weren't friends" I say looking down at my clock to see how much time I have left until my last class. "Oh you hurt me with your words babe" he says dramatically placing his hand over his chest. "Also can you quit it with the pet names? They make me feel uncomfortable" I say still looking down at my watch, trying to hide the blush that is most likely starting to form on my cheeks. "Uncomfortable...or flustered?" he says tilting his head down trying to catch my glance.

"I'm leaving" I say quickly turning towards the building that holds my next class. "Let me walk you to class" he says following me and falling in step when he catches up. "If I let you walk me to class will you stop calling me that?" I ask, keeping my eyes trained on my destination which isn't too far from where we are. "Maybe...but no promises" he says clearly amused with the pout that forms on my lip at his answer. "Whatever" I say under my breath realizing it's probably a lost cause anyway.

"Oh I forgot to ask! Since we're working on the game again I was thinking that maybe we could work on it in my studio" he says clearly hoping I say yes. "Why would we need to work together? You can just send me the files by the deadline agreed upon and do it on our own" I say going to grab the door handle when we finally reach the building but failing as he jumps in to open it for me but I walk in ignoring the gesture.

"Wouldn't it be more efficient if you were to give me your feedback while you're sitting next to me so we won't have to worry about going back and changing everything later because it didn't meet your standards? I promise it's really nice and it's only a few streets down from campus. I share it with another girl but she keeps to herself for the most part so you won't have to worry about her" he says trying his absolute best to convince me which really makes me question his motives but not enough to care.

"She's lesbian by the way so you don't have to worry about any of that" he says making excuses that he really shouldn't feel obligated to. "Okay? Not sure why that would concern me" I say and continue on, getting closer to my destination. "I'll think about it. It would be a lot more efficient like you had said but I'm not sure if the setup would prove to be productive for us" I say processing a little out loud.

"Just swing by after class. I promise I'll have the place sparking clean and you can feel free to rearrange anything you'd like so it'll work out well for the both of us" he says practically begging at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if he would resort to getting down on his knees for me...no! I mean, what? Why would I ever think about something like that?

Flustered by the mental image that thought had provided me I blurt out the first thing that would pacify the situation. "Yeah...I guess I could stop by" I say after clearing my throat getting rid of any awkwardness in my tone. "Cool, I'll come back after your class and we can go together" he says walking away leaving me chasing after him before he goes.

"Wait" I say taking hold of his sleeve and making him stop in his tracks. Once I've realized what I've done I quickly let go and look down the hallway back towards my class to make an excuse not to make eye contact. "Just text me the address and I'll meet you there" I say quickly and start to walk back before he grabs my wrist pulling me back leaving me unable to protest since I had done the same to him.

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" he asks and brings his hand up to my jaw, guiding my eyes back over to his. "I'm not embarrassed I would just prefer to go on my own that's all. Plus you've wasted so much time on me today so you should just go do something productive. My class doesn't end until 8:30 so I'll come over right after" I say trying to convince him to just let me go on my own.

He searches my eyes for a while before caressing my cheek and I jump at the feeling not realizing he hadn't moved his hand yet. "See you then pretty" he says leaning in to say it so I'm the only one that can hear. I pull away from him and make my way back over to class quickly before he can see the blush that's flooded my cheeks immediately and I hear him chuckle behind me, happy he got the reaction he wanted.

What is he doing to me?

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fionajames · 3 months

Text

The Creepers - Clone Force 97

A/N: Hello to everyone!!! Sorry I've been absent, first/second week back at school and immediately we have homework and tests. Not fun. Not too long ago a BUNCH of people voted on four polls to decide the names of some Clone OCs. This idea came about as I was watching the Bad Batch the thought struck me of; "If Clone Force 99 has such a high mission success rate and turned out so well, why didn't they make more Clones with mutations?" So here we are. Here they are :) (also please send requests)

Overview of the Creepers

This is Clone Force 97 - they have four members, also known as the Creepers. Creepers has a double meaning. Not only does it mean a stealthy, mysterious group but it also means a plant that grows along the ground or floor. The Creepers are similar to the Bad Batch in several ways. They are mutationally defective, to put it simply. Their mutations, however, are different to Clone Force 99’s. They have a Clone who is an extremely talented pilot, one who is extremely fit and athletic, another who is a brilliant fighter and lastly one who is nature-orientated and doubles as their medic. Not only do they have mutations, but they all underwent training that helped them enhance their skills in their areas.

Saturn

Song: Saturn by Sleeping At Last

Saturn has the dark/tan skin that most Clones have, with fluffy black hair with bangs that fall over his brown eyes. He has a saturn emblem on his armour, with constellations and other planets revolving around it.

Saturn is the pilot of the group, and that is the way the Kaminoans intended it. He’s smart and calculating but also a really nice guy. Saturn is kind, chill and happy. But he is also a sad sort of calm.

Leap

Song: My Kind of Woman by Mac DeMarco

Leap has the same skin tone as Saturn with black tufty hair that’s shaved on the sides, hazel eyes and two scars going diagonally over his left eye. His armour has lots of different little designs.

Leap is the athlete of the group, and very fit. He’s energetic, cheerful and determined, and always seems to be injured.

Snapper (Snap)

Song: Bloodhound by The Foxing

Snapper has the normal skin colour with very curly, short dark brown hair, brown eyes and a huge scar creeping up the right side of his body. He has several tattoos depicting hounds.

Snapper is the fighter of the group, but not just that. He’s a funny and silly kind of guy, but also tired and has a lot of pent-up anger. Contrary to common belief, he is not aggressive, nor gentle, he is mid-ground but has pent-up anger because he keeps it in too long.

Moose

Song: Forest Fire by Brighton

Moose has the normal skin colour with curly shoulder length hair that is kept neat with a bandanna, green eyes and quite a lot of scars - on his face a scar over the bridge of his nose and one crossing over his jawline. He has antlers and plants on his armour.

Moose is the nature and animal orientated guy, and although not officially a medic, he is the medic of their group basically. He’s quiet, kind and a bit of a cloud-walker, but deeply traumatised and anxious.

Aesthetics:

Top Left: Saturn Top Right: Leap Bottom Left: Snapper Bottom Right: Moose

The poll that decided the bandanna style Moose wears his hair.

The poll results plus polls.

(taglist: @techs-goggles9902, @skellymom, @transmascanakin)

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i-heart-hxh · 7 months

Note

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from Hunter x Hunter? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

I'm happy to answer, thank you very much for asking! I'm indecisive and overflowing with love for HxH, so doing rankings is a challenge for me, but I put some thought into it and here are my answers for now!

Top 5 Characters:

5. Biscuit Krueger -- It's fun how Bisky isn't at all what you'd assume when we meet her character (in a few different ways), and I love her sassy attitude! She has a lot of different sides to her, and I find her very entertaining. Her strong personality makes how she plays off other characters especially amusing. I like that she can be somewhat cranky, self-serving, and rude at times, but she also has a softer and caring side to her. I look forward to seeing more of her role in the current arc!

4. Neferpitou -- I adore Pitou's design, and the combination of how sinister and also cute they are simultaneously, which is fitting of a very powerful cat (ant). I enjoy their mischievous and playful side as well! Their growth as a character throughout Chimera Ant Arc is so moving to me, and such a vital part of the arc and the message of the series as a whole.

3. Kurapika -- He's a great second protagonist for the series! The dichotomy of the brutality and darkness of his revenge/recovery mission and what succeeding at that requires from him, and his underlying gentle and polite demeanor are interesting to watch play out. I'm both excited and nervous to see what Togashi has in store for the rest of his arc...

2. Gon Freecss -- He's only very, very narrowly in second place, I adore him deeply and he and Killua are undoubtedly my two favorite characters of all time (from anything). I love how he initially seems to be a normal, cheerful, and strong-willed shounen protagonist, but as you go further in the story and look deeper into his character it becomes increasingly clear how unique and well-written he is. There's so much nuance to him and he's such a fulfilling character to explore and think about, I never get tired of it. Plus, of course he's adorable!

1. Killua Zoldyck -- I mean, who doesn't love him? He's such an incredibly multidimensional, fun, heartwrenching, fantastic character. His emotional growth throughout the series is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in a piece of fiction. His character design is so simple and yet so precious and iconic. There are tons of little touches to his character that contribute to making him feel so well-rounded and genuine. He and Gon utterly captured my heart my first time through the series and haven't let go even slightly.

Honorable mentions: Leorio, Alluka, Senritsu, I could go on and on... Togashi is a master at writing characters!

Top 5 Series Moments:

5. Gon and Killua on Whale Island -- I absolutely love the Whale Island episodes/chapters, they're such a reprieve from the many harrowing things going in the series otherwise, and it's wonderful to see Gon and Killua becoming closer. Their talk under the stars is such an important moment for them, setting the tone for their relationship going forward. I love thinking about all the fun they must have had that we don't see when they're on Whale Island, because they were there for a while and we only see a bit of it. These episodes/chapters are something I come back to a lot for comfort, and in the future I'm hoping we'll get another scene that echoes the scene under the stars...

4. "It has to be Killua." (From the dodgeball match.) -- There are so many layers to this scene, I love the complexity of it. From Gon's romantic-coded words towards Killua, Killua's very non-platonic response, and the contrast with Killua getting hurt on Gon's behalf, but it's because of Gon's respect for Killua's desire to help him at all costs... It's difficult to even summarize all the layers of what's going on without going deep into meta, it's a great microcosm of both the love and trust between the two, and some of the issues between them beginning to pop up, too.

3. The initial confrontation between Gon and Pitou/"It has nothing to do with you." -- The intensity of this scene is off the charts, both in the manga's incredible inked portrayal and the 2011 anime (with some of the absolute best voice acting I've ever seen in the hundreds of anime I've watched). Watching Gon lose control the way he does is chilling, and meanwhile we witness Pitou's growth as a character and the deep pain and conflict Killua faces. It's a difficult read/watch for sure, but an absolute turning point in the series and for the characters involved, and it's brilliantly executed and tragic.

2. Meruem and Komugi's lover's suicide -- This scene has made me cry hard so many times, it's beautiful and iconic and the absolute perfect climax to the Chimera Ant arc. One of the best and most heartwarming/heartbreaking scenes simultaneously I've ever seen.

1. "Gon, you are light." -- This scene was a major turning point for me when I watched the series the first time, and I still think it's an incredibly amazing and painful scene that says so much with so little. It's not just about Killua's increasingly hard to deny love for Gon, but also his self-esteem issues and how he sees himself in comparison to Gon, Killua's guilt over what happened to Kite, his denial of the cruel reality of what's happening because he deeply wants to see the optimistic way Gon does... And then of course with the scene going straight to Pitou holding Kite's decapitated head, it's really a gut punch.

This was difficult for me because there are SO many fantastic moments in HxH, I could easily make a top 20 or 30 and still not run out of scenes I adore. Of course, loving Gon and Killua's dynamic as much as I do, I go back to their scenes over and over again, and so that's what I'm focusing on here in my ranking. But there are tons of scenes not centered around them at all or only centered on one or the other that I also deeply love, and it's hard to leave all those out!

Thank you for asking my opinion! As hard as it is deciding on rankings, it was fun to think this over and write out some of my reasons why.

#hxh #hunter x hunter #gon #killua #killugon #bisky #pitou #kurapika #meruem #komugi #asks #my posts #elaine2895

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furtiveseal · 8 months

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Analyzing The Witch From Mercury's mechs: Gundam Aerial

Putting a title like this is probably making this seem like a bigger thing than it actually is but fuck you I'll be pretentious about my stuff if I want to

Hello hello! I've been thinking a lot about the mecha design of WFM lately, and some of these thoughts seemed interesting enough that I wanted to share them. This will probably be a series of posts to make it more digestible, since I plan to cover several characters and how the mech(s) they pilot throughout the story reflect them.

A few disclaimers: I'm going to be spoiling the entire show, so please watch it first before reading this, I'm serious, it's really good. Spidey if you read this and go further I'm gonna be mad. Also, this is just for fun, I have no formal training in character design whatsoever, I may read into things too much or not enough or miss obvious stuff, but I also don't care that much tbh it's part of the fun of making my own analysis! If you have your own thoughts to share though I'd love to hear them!

I'm also aware of The Tempest but I didn't read it, don't plan to at the moment, and people already analyzed most of the show under its angle here, so I won't be mentioning it unless I have something to add.

Analysis and spoilers under the cut :>

In order to analyze Aerial, we first need the context of knowing her pilot, Suletta Mercury.

This is what Suletta looks like for most of the show, with her Holder outfit letting her stand out from the crowd of uniforms at Asticassia but also and most importantly her tomato red hair, which is the color she's most associated with throughout the show (especially visible in the opening and endings).

And this is what her mech, the Gundam Aerial, looks like.

As far as I know (I've only seen Witch From Mercury, Iron Blooded Orphans and a few episodes of Seed, but I've seen a lot of other Gundams in passing) main character Gundams all face a specific challenge: they have to be based on some level on the original RX-78-2, especially color scheme-wise.

This is also true of Aerial, but I think she does a really good job at giving that color scheme meaning by using it to visually tie herself to her pilot. White, yellow, and the dormant Permet's black are the colours of the Holder outfit, along with the red accents that dispel any possible remaining doubt as to who this mech's pilot might be.

What about the blue, you may ask? It IS the most dominant color in her design after white, after all. Blue is usually associated with Miorine, but here, I think it's associated with Eri. Her original color, red, has been taken over by Suletta, but since this is her body, she's still there through the blue: blue like the Lfrith's Permet scars that originally took her life, and like the Permet score 6 that has Prospera shedding a tear against Shaddiq. Blue, unlike the red Permet that now belongs (mostly) to Suletta, sharing a color with her.

Beyond her colors though, Aerial's shape language also tells us something about her place in the story.

Let's look at the Demi Trainer, the most widely used mech at Asticassia, or in other words, the baseline.

This mech looks big, heavy, sturdy but not super maneuverable; it's made up of large individual parts shaped with rectangles and a few circles. It doesn't look especially complex either, and its color scheme is toned down, it doesn't stand out much beyond the chest piece.

If we look at Guel's Dilanza, the previous Holder's mech aka the status quo, we find a very similar shape language:

The color scheme pops a lot more, but it's still mostly the same huge rectangles, with just a few more spikes and triangles that don't really change just how blocky this mech is. It is CHONKY. It looks like it takes space and shakes the ground wherever it goes.

Now let's compare them to Aerial's shape language. She looks much more segmented and has a lot more triangular shapes and angles in her design, which goes completely against the shapes set up by Asticassia's established mechs.

Her bit-on form emphasizes this even more imo, and the plane-like "wings" on her lower back also increase the feeling that fitting to her name, this is a mech designed for airborne combat, unlike the Demi Trainer and Dilanza that feel very grounded in comparison. Her silhouette feels much lighter and more vertical too instead of a brick.

This all goes to make Aerial look like what she is narratively: a complete gamechanger unlike pretty much anything else. She's the resurgence of Gundams in a world that (mostly) forgot about them, and she looks the part. It's no coincidence that the only other Asticassia mech to share part of her shape language is the Pharact, which is another Gundam.

That's most of what I had to say about Aerial! I'll cover Rebuild later and hopefully leave a link to it here once I do. I currently also have thoughts about Guel's mechs and the Michaelis that I might share down the line.

#seal talks #gundam the witch from mercury #mobile suit gundam the witch from mercury #gundam aerial #suletta mercury #seal analyzes gundam witch #g witch spoilers #witch from mercury spoilers #mech #mecha

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saltygilmores · 9 months

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Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, 2/18 “Back In The Saddle” (more glorious filler) Part 1

The episode begins with an uninteresting Friday Night Dinner intro that has nothing worth writing about, except we see Richard again, and I feel like I haven't seen Richard in a really long time. (This is a Richard-centric episode, which is fine with me).

They fixed the Tomatos Sign? Say it ain't so!

Oh, the other chalkboard.

I recommend you all look up a woman named Valerie Campbell on TikTok or Instagram. She worked on the show and shares a lot of behind the scenes stories. I can’t seem to find this specific post again, but if you care to dig around yourself, she had a little story about the crew member that actually designed this sign.

I don't remember it being a particularly fascinating story, but if you want to hear the story of Sign Guy, go on and find Valerie.

Thinking about the time Rory took a slice of unbuttered unsyruped French toast on the run like it was a god damn pop tart. You weirdo.

LG: Look at the handwriting on that sign. It's so precise. So determined. It's focused Luke. RG: That's Jess' handwriting.

That tone of suspicion again. Sigh.

You know what, I won't pile on Lorelai too much for this comment, because it was lighthearted and not dripping with passive aggressive sauce for once. You win this round, Gilmore.

Couldn’t have killed you to throw in a “that’s so thoughtful/cute/sweet” or something though.

I love how blasé they are about their notions that either Luke or Jess could have such gorgeous handwriting. Neither of them are marveling even one bit over that skilled graphic design. Sad lack of shock, wonder, and awe.

Lorelai is very much NOT Team Jess and is actively trying to destroy this adorable friendship. Being a Lorelai and Literati supporter at the same time seems like a paradox of sorts? But hey, according to Tumblr, I'm just a big ol woman hater for saying Lorelai is evil. Continue, Lorelai. Lay some old fashioned Dean Lust on us. It's what the people want.

Rory looks thrilled to see ButtZilla.

Drop yourself off a bridge.

Lorelai: Please please please eat with us Dean!

So much said with so little in her tone of voice alone

From left to right: Wetting her pants in excitement to have Dean for breakfast/ thinking about covering his naked body in maple syrup; a man wondering if this will be one of the rarest of days when the Gilmores pay for their food; Hello Darkness My Old Friend; and Buttzilla.

I've got something you can eat, Dum Dum.

JOKES ON YOU BUTTZILLA! JESS WROTE THE SIGN! YOU'RE GONNA EAT AN OMELET THAT YOU ORDERED OFF A SIGN THAT JESS WROTE!

Mind your own business, AssButt. Your necklace is stupid and so are you. Your mother doesn't love you.

"Next time I get you all alone I'm going to give you SUCH a spanking, young man."

Poor put-upon Brad. One day, Brad will rule the world, and the peasants will be sorry. Our usual Chilton crew that consists of Rory, Paris, Madelyn, Louise, Brad, and one rando (some 30 Year Old Archie looking dude) are gearing up for a Business Fair. They have to invent a product appealing to high schoolers. Rory is the CEO, and they have an imaginary 1 million dollars to imaginary market/produce/and distribute it. They also have to find a responsible adult to be their "business advisor". Richard will eventually join them and muck things up. Everyone else's negligent dads are too busy working and Rory's deadbeat dad Crusty is off somewhere trying to impregnate some chick named Sherry and wouldn't know how to Business if his life depended on it, so Richard it is. But this is the 2000s, so surely someone's mother could also have business experience?

Paris and Madelyn suggest Rory's mom, seeing as she "Runs a hotel", but the girls wouldn't know that Rory's mom regularly leaves her shift in the middle of the day to do things like look at coffins. Not a good role model. Joyous filler nonsense.

Rory: LOL yeah I guess. Let’s have someone look at Lorelai’s “books”. The Independence Inn and Stars Hollow are both an accountant's wet dream.

I neglected to include Brad in my poll of Gilmore Girls characters whose quietly bubbling anger will one day no longer stay contained until they snap and murder somebody.

She's definitely not, but Paris threatens her so Rory promises to ask her anyway.

The people of Stars Hollow are incredibly angry and violent. Don't let their sweet faces fool you. Try to take away their coffee or twinkle lights, or fuck up their wedding invitations, and you'll be sorry.

#gilmore girls #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #denise rewatches gilmore girls #jess mariano #literati #gilmore girls season 2 #filler episode #I am an equal opportunity hater #when I did this on Twitter this 15 year old girl was always in my mentions trying to tell me that criticizing Rory meant I hate women #its a tale as old as time honestly #jokes on her I like Rory now #its satire #back in the saddle

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eriexplosion · 6 months

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Clone Wars - Ambush

And for now, back to the very start!

Real talk, part of the reason I was putting this off is because it STILL gives me such conflicted feelings regarding the Jedi & the clones relationship. And about Yoda, who is not my favorite but I hesitate to say I DISLIKE him because I do think he has fascinating angles but also I want to dropkick him like a little green football much of the time. I don't tend to talk about him much because I get Rambly.

However, his turn will come in a second, first things first: VENTRESS. Honestly it's still hilarious to me how if I had actually watched this show as a kid this woman would have single handedly led me to my sexuality like 7 years earlier than I managed it.

One of the clones kneeling to present Yoda with the communicator is SO cute. When the clones interact with beings much smaller than them........... I feel. But okay the first Complicated Feeling with Yoda is that I genuinely like him during the moment when he's marveling over the beauty of the moon and being a little playful. Kind of like I genuinely like him in the Original Trilogy when he's being a touch senile. Which just drives home how much I do not like him during most of his serious moments where his whole reputation for wisdom is used mostly to lead the plot around or say shit like his 'when our loved ones die we should be happy for them' advice to Anakin which, shockingly, didn't improve his Anxieties.

And he acknowledges the clones as individuals! It's a really sweet scene actually, and it starts the show out with the confirmation that yes these are people, they are full people with individual personalities. And then it gets helpfully ignored and Yoda never shows any concern about the clones as individuals again. Especially with the decision to retcon Jek in as one of the clones that Yoda straight up decapitates without pause or reflection.

Likeeee, this really undermines the feeling of the scene and sets an entirely different tone for Yoda's character to me, because it's such a strong moment in episode, so for it to never really come up with Yoda in particular again it's just. It's a weird decision, character tone wise.

Anyway this kind of ended up making me more resentful of Yoda in the long run? Because we get the immediate and obvious proof that he knows the clones are individuals, all of them unique and valuable, and then he proceeds to keep leading the Jedi through using them as tools for the rest of the war and ends up executing one of these same clones years later without pause or concern. If they had threaded this through a little more and given us more scenes like this it might not feel so stark? But that's also a big issue with the writing of the Jedi in general, where they lightly brush against the moral issues of the clones and then suddenly go "OH LOOK, LIGHTSABERS" and ignore it for 20 episodes.

My headcanon way of interpreting this is that Yoda was still very open early on but soon enough he starts realizing how many clones are going to die in this war. Each of them unique in the force. And since he's not really willing to push back against the Senate, for a variety of reasons, his other option is to just. Retreat back emotionally from the clones as individuals. Can't be consumed by negativity if you simply refuse to feel those bad things!

That said 'the force resides in all lifeforms' - increasingly loving this kind of drop in now that we know anyone can learn to use the force to some degree.

Another thing I enjoy is that I think that Yoda is actually really served design wise by the early season TCW animation. He looks good when he's stylized in the wood carving fashion.

This is much more of a flashy fight episode than a plot one, but any time clones are onscreen of course I can collect a pile of Thoughts about them. We also get a lot of battle droid comedy relief because they may be godawful fighters but at least they're funny. I think it does work better several episodes into the watch than it did as the very first episode, because watching the TCW movie (which was mostly excuses for long fights) and THEN this was a slog, but interspersing with other episodes that had a bit more substance to them made it feel like less of one.

Still. Vibrating about the clones even more in this watch because of having Hidden Enemy be so early on and calling attention to the clones horrifying situation makes my complicated feelings on Yoda acknowledging their individuality once and never again SO much stronger. Just. GAH. MY BOYS?

On a final note. Shout out to this fucking. Face. Ventress makes when she gets her lightsabers back.

Ventress the instant she's called 'young one': >:<

#the clone wars chrono rewatch #This is literally 95% rambling about my Yoda feelings whoops #but to be fair this is not exactly a MASSIVELY PLOT HEAVY EPISODE

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bulgariansumo · 2 months

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My brain wants to ramble about Mario movies, so I will do that. There will be bias, and there will be spoilers, but I think I'm going to at least put the section about the 2023 movie under a read more. Let's begin.

Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986)

My love, my light, my heart.

Making a movie based on the Mario origin story(?) of "guys stumble into fantasy world, save princess from monster" is difficult if you don't add something to it, but adding things comes with the risk of deviating from the source material’s vibe, since it’s so simple. It’s the same problem with movies based on Dr. Seuss books.

Something a lot of people don't realize when watching this one is that Super Mario Bros. only came out a year prior. The people tasked with making this movie had very little to work with. Luigi didn't even have a consistent color scheme (though prior to this, he was always depicted with green somewhere.)

This movie’s solution to these problems? Keep it simple. Mario and Luigi spend the movie collecting "the three legendary powerups" with a dog and then go fight Koopa. They have misadventures on the way, and Mario eats Mario-branded ramen. It's fun, it's silly, it's goofy!

This is all accompanied with a charming art style that really takes advantage of the ability to push character expressions. For the cast, we have:

Mario - He’s not the smartest, the strongest, or most fearless, but he’s determined, and sometimes that’s all you need. This movie depicts him as a lovestruck dreamer, so a good chunk of his lines involve him calling out to “Piichi-hime~” Also, he’s a gamer. His character is nothing unique, but it sets the tone of this movie, something that I feel like Mario’s character does in all three.

Luigi - Pickaxe in hand, his number one priority is getting his coins. He and Mario share about three brain cells total, but he lacks the idealism of his brother, trying to keep him grounded in the things that really matter: money, food, and their business as…grocers? He’s there for his brother when it counts, though. Most of the cast has their fair share of goofy moments, but he is the designated comic relief, and Yuu Mizushima’s performance serves that well. He sounds unhinged half the time, it’s great! Fun fact: This is the first time Luigi is depicted as thinner and taller than Mario.

Peach - She spends most of the time wishing that Mario would save her, as one might expect, but even this early on, she has a little bit of agency. Her first introduction is her fighting off the enemies after her, and she manages to pull a clever trick on Koopa midway through, though it doesn’t help her much.

Koopa - Very doting on Peach and willing to accommodate her whatever way he can, except for letting her go. His portrayal by singer Akiko Wada combined with the rounded artstyle makes him more adorable than menacing.

Kibidango - The dog that tags along with Mario and Luigi. He tries to be their voice of reason, but he can’t talk, and they don’t listen. He’s mostly there to help the plot along and provide a twist at the end.

For the most part, this movie sticks to using material from the game. There’s some deviations, like the dog and a wizard, but they don’t feel too out of place and, if anything, lend to the movie’s fairy tale-like quality.

Mario games generally try to maintain a whimsical, timeless vibe, and this movie captures that best. It’s not perfect, but it's a fun little romp that I highly recommend watching at least once, only an hour long. Please watch it!

Next are my thoughts on Super Mario Bros. (1993).

I also finished my thoughts on Super Mario Bros. (2023) if you're interested.

#text post #super mario bros #the great mission to rescue princess peach #it's so strange to me when people say this version of luigi is wario-like #yes they wear yellow and both like money but wario is greedy out of selfishness. this version of luigi is greedy out of practicality #he's a small business owner #he has bills to pay #his brother is running off after a girl who for all he knows is a gaming-induced hallucination

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blueflyingturtleontheway · 4 months

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For character ask game: Gabe-1,2,14,18,20

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Aaah it's so difficult to put it into words. I generally really like characters who are "normal" and achieve everything because of their dreams, motivation and hard work and Gabe is literally "just some guy", he's our best look into Shuriki era Avalor and literally, his whole story and character development could have not happened if not for one decision made not even by him, that we didn't even see in the show (him being made Elena's guard) and then if he didn't PUT HIS WHOLE HEART INTO IT!!!

And it's just that, I love how he changed throughout the show, how we see more sides of him and outside of that first promotion, everything that happens to him he has to work for (and tbf he probably had to do something meaningful to become Elena's guard too). He has big ambitions and a big heart which is literally the best combination.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Hmm maybe how he never gives up? He might not believe in himself, he might be beaten or humiliated, it might seem hopeless, but he'll always stand up and fight for what he believes in.

And my second favourite thing is definitely how much he loves his friends and family <3

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Guard uniforms

Zbbdhzhs okay no, I have this one half-serious headcanon that Gabe is actually very knowledgeable in fashion, he just always wears the uniform because it's just the most comfortable given that he's almost always on duty when we see him. And it would probably be easier if I knew anything about fashion

But okay I tried putting together a little visualization!

So I definitely think that Gabe's personal style is definitely very simple and as much as he cares about looking well put together, he doesn't care all that much about what he wears, so what he has in To Queen or not to Queen I think is actually pretty realistic. But if I was to design him a casual outfit I'd say that he takes a lot of inspiration from Antonio Agama, since he's such a great fan of his, so he definitely goes for the "adventurer" vibes. So high boots with tucked in pants, a simple shirt with rolled up sleeves, except I'd give him a neckline more similar to Naomi's and an ascot, like Mateo's except maybe tied more loosely (he bonds with Mateo by going ascot shopping together.) As for colors I'd put him in warm, earthy tones - browns, beige, red, maybe some khaki, and navy for more elegant occasions (yes, because of his uniform)

And I know that's not what the question was about but I also started thinking about his style in the sense of modern fashion.

I think he'd still dress in a kind of military-but-casual style, he wants his clothes to be practical first and foremost. I allowed myself to give him a bit more accessories, since again, he's not flashy but a watch is just a useful thing to have. The paracord bracelet I imagine was a gift from some friend who thought that he should accessorize more XD and he wears it because hey, you never know when you might need a piece of rope. Also Gabe strikes me as the type to always be warm, so it's t-shirts for him for the majority of the year, but he'd look great in a biker jacket, you can't convince me otherwise. (Bonus not included: given how big of a fan of Antonio Agama, he definitely owned an Indiana Jones type of hat at some point and thought it made him look so cool. He still wears it sometimes when he's out of town with his closest friends and it kind of grew into an iconic part of his wardrobe between them.)

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

His friendship with Elena! Cause really, it's so diverse, since it's so full of contradictions and they're basically opposites in many aspects, but through all of this they just care for each other so much and it's just- A

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Ricoooooo

I'll be sharing my "Gabe and Rico are friends" propaganda until the day I die, I fully believe they are friends and in fact have been almost since the beginning of Gabe's time in the guard (okay, so maybe they weren't that close pre The Curse of El Guapo, but I still think they were at least work friends and definitely became closer with time, you can pry their friendship from my cold dead fingers)

Thank you so much for sending this ask!! As you know, I love talking about Gabe zbsggs

Ask game

#my post #answering asks #ask game #lucy-shining-star #gabriel nuñez #gabe nunez #eoa #sorry this took longer but ive tried sketching him at first in a casual outfit #but i wasnt happy with it jfjchfjc and then ended up falling in a rabbit hole of screenshotting outfits from the show #but yeah it was all so fun

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utilitycaster · 11 months

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you NAILED it when you said a lot of indie ttrpgs are "rigid when i need openness and open where i need structure" like there is an art (and science) to deciding which mechanics fit the tone and intent of a game (and, frankly, and art/science to which mechanics even allow for fun) and I feel like that often gets glossed over in indie spaces.

Thanks! As a caveat, I am someone who primarily plays D&D, and a lot of my indie game knowledge beyond one-pagers is purely academic: it comes from a combination of watching actual play that uses different systems; discussions with friends who play different systems; and for lack of a better term informal research (following game designers, reading rule books).

This also means, frankly, that my primary experience with indie spaces (rather than games) has been through their absolute dregs: the specific sort of person who lurks in social media spaces searching for people mentioning either the games they Don't Like in a positive manner or the games they Do Like in a negative one, and then getting smarmy in the comments before the OP beats them with a spiked bat and blocks them and then they go off and make 2003 Nerd Media Forum Man comments of "oh...if only they would listen to my Logic and see the Truth" on their own blogs.

Most of the indie discourse has absolutely nothing to do with game mechanics, let alone setting or tone of the game, even though those are all crucial. People say the words "player agency" a lot but they don't actually mean it, since I guarantee if their players all unionized and said "hey instead of Crispy Dino Tender Knights, the d12 system for which your old roommate ran a successful Kickstarter campaign, could we play D&D?" they would tell those players to fuck off. Most of it is part of the general culture of identity through consumption, in which, in this space, you are not best described as a person who loves or plays horror or adventure or high fantasy (what you like and do) or even as someone with an interest in specific mechanics (a d20 system, a dice pool system, games based on tarot/oracle/playing cards, drawing/journaling games, GM-less games) but rather simply as someone who follows the arbitrarily correct companies. This is why Paizo (established in 2009; at one point was publishing the most popular TTRPG in the world; documented history of underpayment of artists and mistreatment of employees) is inexplicably treated, in many of these spaces, as more of an indie darling than Darrington Press.

(Sidebar: I think it's valid to not purchase from companies with values you find problematic and my point in bringing up Paizo is to point out that it's the second-largest name in the space and far from innocent, as well as to note that Hasbro has done some unbelievably awful stuff as of late. My problem is that indie spaces seem to overwhelmingly treat the two very separate and independently potentially true statements of "I don't like this company's practices, either for valid reasons of exploitative capitalism or for various personal gripes" and "the game system put out by this company is thoughtful, well-designed, and fits many people's needs, even if it does not fit mine" as entirely dependent on each other.)

A much shorter way to put it is how a number of smart people in the space have put it: when you ask for game recs and provide clear guidance on what you're interested in, the vast majority of people do not listen to you at all but instead bring up their favorite game even if said game is out of print, is prohibitively costly, and/or is truly unsuited for what you are intending to do. Because many, many people in the indie space, particularly the ones who engage with posts coming from those newer to it, seem to have defined themselves by their favorite game and then retroactively come up with reasons why it's the best and why everyone who plays something else, especially D&D, is stupid. This general second-banana mentality, of course, permanently cements them in that place, because they're so busy bashing everything they see as more popular that they define their favorites as games that are less popular and forget to explain why their favorites are actually good and back themselves into the corner we're seeing, in which people who champion one game will endlessly bash games that are remarkably similar and in doing so underline that this was never about gameplay or mechanics. (This is also really true in actual play spaces, and honestly a lot of nerdy media spaces.)

ANYWAY I think there absolutely should be a wide variety of games, and I even think it's good to have games with pretty strong similarities that are different enough to support different genres! I think more choice is great! But yeah, I think a lot of people who disparage specific mechanics (like a d20 system) on the whole do not actually think about what the game that uses those mechanics are trying to achieve. Again, I think PbtA as an engine does sound pretty fitting for its original use as Apocalypse World, but, not gonna lie, Monsterhearts is never going to be my thing and while I'm not sure it ever would, I think it could have been closer to my thing had the mechanics been customized to the setting more. I think games that put most of the rules onto RP segment of gameplay have a place, but it's really genre dependent! D&D does not support the same type of story as Good Society, and it's just as stupid to try to run the heroic fantasy system in the comedy of manners system as vice versa - and a lot of people do not understand that. Mechanics that make it easy to succeed (D&D) and mechanics that make it much harder (Blades in the Dark) and mechanics that ensure eventual failure (Dread, 10 Candles) all have their place, and both players and designers should be prepared to speak to their choices.

#answered #Anonymous #long post

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kindatired · 2 months

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Genshin Impact: First Impression

I know, "You just NOW getting into Genshin after four years?'

Well, I didn't want to play on my phone so I waited to buy a laptop. I did bought a MacBook for school but then I found out that even though this game runs on IOS it doesn't run on MacOS...

(I should've known since the game isn't on the Switch...

Why most of the games I want to play isn't playable on the devices I have- Anyways back to the point.

I just finish Mondstadt in Genshin and so far I really like the story which makes me excited for what they have in store in Liyue. So this is all my thoughts about the first Archon quest, all in one go.

This chapter was a nice introduction to the world of Tevyat and I like how we already have to worry about two antagonistic groups (The fatui and Abyss Order)

Matter of fact let me list down how I think of each character:

The traveler:

I wish they have more character to them especially during the cutscenes. Despite being the protagonist I feel like they’re just in the backseat most of the time with the exception of them needing to action scenes. (Due to this my version of the traveler is that they're snarky but their heart is in the right place.) But I like how they showed us what the other sibling is doing because most stories they will have it a mystery right before the final arc

Paimon:

She’s cute but also WHERE IS HER PARENTS? At the start, she said that she was saved from drowning and I was like “Who was watching you?? Do you have any friends or anything?” I truly believe she will be a plot point in the story considering she can float around and have a space aesthetic to her

Venti:

I really like how mysterious he was at the start of the story and then later we see how much of a doofus he is. (Not saying he's dumb but carefree) Despite not wanting to be a ruling god, he still cares for his city in his own way. I don’t know why but if you mix Pit and Palutena together and then boom there’s Venti.

Amber:

I love her design so much. It's simple yet effective especially with the red bow. I feel like the team knew this too which is why she comes with her own plushie which is so freaking cute! Her character quests is fun too when she taught us to get our own glider's license. I don't know why but she gives the first classmate you befriend in class energy (Probably because she is the first person beside Paimon that we met in the game)

Kaeya:

I’m down bad I like how he has a laidback personality yet he’s always behind the scenes. Despite the front he puts up, you know he’s doing something else. Kind of wish we get to see more of him but I’m satisfied with what we got

Lisa:

At first I thought she was going to be a flirt she kinda is But I found it funny how she’s has a “I don’t have time with this bs” attitude on her side quest but still have a lot of patience for people's BS at times. I can't exactly remember but I think when she was trying to find all the overdue books, she went "I might as well make it fun" and brought the traveler and Paimon along too.

Jean:

Once I take a step back and think of all the things she had to deal with during this arc, it was definitely something. Abyss Order, The Dragon, The Fatui and trying to keep the citizens calm. She doesn’t get enough credit where it’s due. There's this one line delivery in the English version, I can't exactly point out when but it was about how the Fat couldn't get the upper hand in the situation. I don't know why but her tone of voice was passive aggressive, like she was praying on their downfall.

Diluc:

Mix opinions on him due to him sending us to find four of those ice flowers and I had to spend a hour and thirty minutes trying to find the fourth one. So yeah I have bitter feelings about that Serious note, he's probably my favorite character in Mondstadt if we're not including Amber and Kaeya. Bro is the Batman of the game, they even call him the Dark knight

Abyss Ice Mage:

Yeah I dedicated a whole section to this NPC because Imagine being electrocuted by Lisa and flamed by Diluc within a week. Like bro was put in the wringer (rightfully so). Kinda hoped they appear in the future story so this trend of Ice Mage being comedically abused continues.

My thoughts of the story:

I thought the first archon quest of the story is neat. It has nothing too spectacle as it works as a exposition to the world of Teyvat and it done that job very well.

The twist of knowing where the traveler's sibling is doing was definitely something I never thought would happen. Usually in most stories, they would have the sibling in prison but nope.

Your sibling is doing fine just helping out the big bad organization that is trying to destroy Teyvat.

Now this may be a reach but I like how each character has the freedom of accomplishing their goals by their own way.

First you have the traveler, by default they have the freedom of not being born in Teyvat as they are not from this world. Because of this, they have the ability to use more than one element. Another note is that because the traveler isn't bound by the nation's rules as they wasn't raised in Teyvat, they're always the person with a third option, sort of like a spectator...

is this why they're so quiet? So he can hear the opinions of others before making their own conclusions???

Paimon also has freedom as she doesn't have a parental figure which allows her to tag along, traveler on their quests.

Moving on to the people of Mondstadt, even within the Knights of Favonius who are under strict codes, handle tasks using their own method.

Example of this is the uniforms.

While Amber, Lisa, Kaeya, and Jean share the same motifs as being in the same group, their uniforms are completely different. You know how in magical girl shows, where you have sailor moon, where every soldier wears the same design but different color palette? Then there are other shows like Magica Madoka, where the girls where completely different outfits? The knights of favonius fits the latter, with the exception of the NPCs.

Even the way they handle tasks are different. Amber make sure she does her best to follow the rules but with a bit a flare. Lisa is a tad strict but her approach is passive. Kaeya always tries to find a loophole in the situation to see the whole picture. (Example: Him "staying behind" in the city, to get more information about the Abyss Order). Jean who follows the rules, but know there are times when the rules have to be bend.

Then you have the outliners like Diluc and Venti who are not apart of the knights. Diluc doesn't trust the knights to completely solve the problem so he acts as a vigilante, to pick up the pieces they fail to notice.

Venti who is the god of freedom, decided to not rule his region like the other archons. Instead, he watches it from afar, like the guardian he is, and steps in when the time is right.

All these characters are different in one way or another but they all come together to work together because they all share a common goal. Still even if you do things your own way, you still have to bear the responsibility of your actions.

Venti was too nonchalant in his approach of protecting his region which resulted in a Harbinger, La Signora, taking his Gnosis.

I say he was nonchalant because he was focus on the current problems of his country, which was storm bringer, and not future problems such as the Fatui. Because he wasn't focus on them, he let his guard down when the problem with storm bringer was solved.

I know this may be a stretch and I'm just writing what pops up in my head but that's what I got from the message of the archon quest.

Speaking of La Signora, how the hell did no one saw her attacking Venti and traveler or at the very least heard it? I know Barbara did but you're telling me that only ONE person heard that shit?!

So after talking to Venti it appears that we have to go to every seven regions to find the traveler's siblings. Or in this case, try to convince them to not destroy this world.

The fuck do we look like Pokemon Trainers?... Because I can sing the theme songs if you want

Either way, I had fun with the story. Gamplay-wise... I'm not really much of a gamer myself. I don't go into the mechanics of the game.I play fighting game, barely knowing the combos and just smash buttons to win

However, I can say the gameplay of Genshin is easy to get into. Unfortunately, it's a rpg so I have to farm for materials... yay, I guess. But it's not as bad as Fate Grand Order, Fate grand order farming system is a shit storm especially considering how it's a turn based but doesn't have a auto-farm system.

(for those who want to get into the story of FGO, just look it up on Youtube, do not play the game. )

When exploring, I often hesitate of where I go, because the game doesn't want you to explore said region yet, They will send Paimon telling you "Let's explore that later" only to yeet you off the cliff.

Speaking of Gameplay Paimon, she always setting us up. There was this purple spot, and she told us to blow it away to see what it is, only for it to be the eye of the storm... Its not like it was hard but it was annoying to fight it.

At least she let us control the time though.

Overall, I had fun with the game, I'm looking forward for Liyue and thank you for reading all of this as I was writing as I go so I know there is MANY grammar errors in this review.

Can't wait for Liyue because then I will get to see the character that convinced me to play the game.