#the golden retriever is stupidly accurate

[stolennumbers]

Thanks for the tag @hiduprakyat !!!

Tag Game: do this picrew of yourself and this uquiz

(the quiz is how fandom would see you if you were a fictional character)

Only if you want: @sfdsds @valentinsylve @hyuck-xix @cashhmerre @ladyshandioftheendless @turnipoddity

[powerwantsblood]

DENJI ISN'T A MISOGYNIST WHY ARE PEOPLE SAYING THIS 😭 he's a horny teenaged boy, and yet he respects the women in his life more than ~80% of shonen protagonists DO NOT LOSE YOUR WAY CSM FANDOM. WHO IS ACCUSING HIM OF SUCH THINGS...

his character is actually developing and not "reverting" to any sort of degradation of personality, unlike what some of you are saying!! you need to take his actions on a deeper level than the surface interpretation of "boy wants sex (again)," and you'll see he is very much different and growing in part 2!! AND STILL GROWING..

he is a little baby. a small child. he is learning. he is quite literally traumatized and is developing coping methods whether they be good or bad, calculated (which he doesn't really do. he's Denji.) or impulsive. it might seem like he is making backward progress, but he DOES state sex is essentially his reason for moving forward...

despite the fallacies that come with this, he continues to make realizations and encounter meaningful relationships with people who will inevitably leave a mark on his psyche (Nayuta, Asa, Yoshida, Fumiko, now Miri, etc) ..... not necessarily good connections or experiences, much like in part 1, but still things that will shape him into who he will grow up to be!!

the high standard at which Denji's character is held to seems to be a bit unreasonable- he is either interpreted as a mildly emotionally injured yet otherwise pure, perfect golden retriever boy or a sleazy punk who only has the capacity to chase his desires- and, I do need to say that second one is a lot more accurate than whatever people have been expecting with that first reading of his character.

really, he is just a kid making his way through various stupidly unfair and difficult circumstances. that comes with flaws and traits to admire. viewing Denji as anything but an honest, struggling teen is a bit of a stain on what his character has gone through to begin with

[newtonsheffield]

Tattoo artist Sophie and Ballet Dancer Ben?!??

Can’t leave me with just that please?!? More details pretty please?! Was Benni staring at her? Was he asking Anthony about her?!

How did it go when Kate summoned him?

ahh I thought this might catch your attention 😏

"What if I told you, I had found you the perfect man." Kate had hummed, leaning against the counter of Sophie's shop while she worked, Edwina snickering under her hands, barely wincing as Sophie's tattoo gun moved over her ribs.

"Don't get too excited, it's Anthony's brother." Edwina smirked.

"Eddie!" Kate hissed!

Sophie groaned, turning towards her friend with a roll of her eyes, "Kate, Kate Kate Kate Kate. I am not going out with Anthony's brother so that you can get a groupon discount."

Kate's mouth open and closed a little indignantly, "I-he's really nice! He's a soloist with the Royal Ballet and-"

"Oh so as a tattooist in a seedy fucking hole in the wall we have a lot in common!" Sophie had chuckled, turning back to Edwina. "Are you sure it was a good idea to get her a dick? She's been fucking insufferable ever since."

Edwina scoffed, "And you don't even have to hear them through the walls Yes Anthony! Oh fuck Kate that's so good, fuck Kate!." Edwina's voice dropped into a low groan, that judging from Kate's reaction, was a startlingly accurate impression.

"You don't have to listen! You have headphones!" Kate hissed.

"And Anthony just bought a house. A five bedroom house, where no one else lives! Fuck there!"

"Sometimes, the mood strikes! And as I've caught you going down on your girlfriend on our kitchen counter more than once, I'd be careful where you throw that stone! Your glasshouse is looking delicate!"

Sophie hummed, a smirk rising to her lips "You two are fucking wild. Does Mary know she raised a pair of hellions?"

"Yes." They responded together. Silence only broken by the buzz of the gun.

"So Soph, I've been thinking of a new tattoo..." Kate broke it seconds later.

"I do occasionally have to see paying customers you know." She rolled her eyes, already knowing Kate would be on her table within a month, because that's what you did for your friend who dragged you to their home in the final weeks of school when they found you sleeping behind the football sheds after your step mum kicked you out two days earlier.

That's what you did for someone whose parents hadn't blinked an eye, when you'd said, "I have an apprenticeship lined up, I just need a month to get on my feet."

"I never said I wasn't going to pay." Kate hummed.

And it burned in her chest. "You don't pay here. None of your family, not even Anthony the wondercock."

Kate rolled her eyes, "Anthony would never get a tattoo, he's too prim."

"And yet... you're in love with him." Sophie hummed, watching her friend smile stupidly, and she was happy for Kate, she really was. Anthony was maybe the very last person Sophie would have picked for Kate on the surface. A millionaire who thought a pair of £500 jeans were cheap, who grumbled like a grumpy old man, until he looked at her, and his smile softened, and he let her clamber onto his shoulders with a stupid smile on his face. Two people who felt more responsible for other people than they ought to. Something deep inside them, was the same. And it was nice, it really was, to see Kate have someone to finally soften with, who understood the deep grief that Sophie had watched settle in her the day they'd buried Tom Sharma. But it also made her desperately jealous. That Kate had someone, and she went home every day to a Golden Retriever puppy named Geoff and no one else.

"He's a sweetheart." Kate hummed, "He fell in the river the other day because Newton chased a squirrel, and he was only pouty until I took my top off so..."

"I'm still not dating his brother." Sophie said with finality.

"We'll see! You're amazing, Ben's great. It's gonna happen!" Kate said cheerily.

And at the time, Sophie hadn't thought anything of it, but maybe she should have.

____________________

"So, you know how Anthony bought a house, and he was really insistent on me looking at them with him?" Kate's voice was gentle as they sat in the restaurant, lunch on the table between them.

Sophie nodded, knowing exactly where this was going.

"So it turns out it's because he was... buying a house for us to live in? He wants me to move in with him, make it our home like... for the future." She couldn't keep the smile off her face, her answer written all over it.

"This is a surprise to you only." Sophie hummed, "Mary has him and Josie locked in as the parents of her future grandchildren, you know that right?"

Kate hummed, "I have Anthony locked in as the father of my children too."

That got her. "You want kids?" But that wasn't the part that surprised her. She couldn't imagine a better mother, Kate would be patient and kind and fiercely protective, and deep in the very heart of her, under all the false bravado, Kate was a nurturer. What surprised her was the certainty, the fact that this didn't sound like vague future planning, it sounded like she knew it would happen.

"Not like, in the next twelve months, but someday, yeah. It sounds stupid, because we've only been together six months but... this is kind of it for me, and he's told me... it's it for him." She said the last few words quickly, looking away embarrassedly, "He talks about our kids all the time, he wants three: two girls and a boy."

The ache settled in Sophie's chest. Deep wanting, her voice wavering, "How do you feel about that?"

Kate's smile was brilliant, "I want two boys and a girl."

Silence welled between them for a moment, as Sophie tried to swallow the jealousy she felt, unfair, when she should be happy.

"Kate cleared her throat, "So anyway, I've convinced old man Bridgerton to have a house warming party. For someone who was scrounging around on tinder when we met, he is surprisingly resistant to social gatherings. And you have to come, you can bring Geoff."

And even though the very last thing, Sophie wanted to do was go to Kate's new home, with their new furniture and the rooms her boyfriend had bought with their curly-haired future children in mind and feel how alone she was, she couldn;t really say no.

________________

"Just another little while, bud, then we can go home." Sophie sighed, standing in the corner of Kate's living room, Geoff at her feet, searching around for Newton. Edwina and Josie on the sofa nearby, curled up together, surely not far from disappearing off home.

She let her eyes scan the light crowd, no idea who half the people there were, feeling more than a little out of place with the bright sleeves of tattoos that covered her arms, and then she stopped. Her eyes had caught with a man's, clearly looking her way, and her stomach swooped. He was smiling at her, his eyes curious, head tilted, his dark hair swept back from his forehead, tall, far taller than her, his body lean and powerful as he turned back to the woman he'd been talking to, Anthony's sister Eloise, Kate had introduced them earlier. He gestured vaguely, and the movement was so oddly graceful, beautiful, that she couldn't take her eyes off it.

Sophie's hand shot out grabbing Kate by the arm as she past.

“That guy over there? Who’s that?”

Kate hummed a little distractedly, looking over “Who? Ben? That’s Anthony’s broth- wait?! Are you interested in Ben?!”

“Yes, obviously.” Sophie's cheeks were burning, "He's fucking beautiful."

Kate looked far too smug “Well, I’d like to take a second to remember that a month ago, I told you I wanted you to go out with Anthony’s brother and you said Kate Kate Kate Kate Kate I’m not going out with Anthony’s brother so you can get a Groupon discount.”

“If you introduce us, I will do that Tattoo you want next week.”

Before Sophie could blink Kate had cupped her hands to her mouth, “BEN! GET OVER HERE!”

The man's head shot up, eyes widening in surprise, moving forward immediately,

"Kate jesus could you be a bit more subtle?"

"Do you want to meet him or not? perk those tits up!" Kate muttered, "Hey Benni." She hummed as he approached, letting him kiss her cheek.

"Does Anthony know you're being a menace?" Ben's voice was a deep rumble, grinning down at Kate, several inches over even Kate's tall frame.

Kate scoffed, "Please, he loves it. Ben, this is my friend Sophie. Sophie, this is Anthony's oldest baby brother Benedict."

Their eyes met again, churning her stomach, barely able to breathe.

"Hey Sophie, Kate's friend."

"Hi Ben, Anthony's baby brother."

Silence echoed between them, their eyes still locked together, as Kate hummed.

"Well! This seems great! I'm going to occupy my bedroom with Anthony! feel free to use one of the others!" And then she was gone, as Sophie's cheeks burned.

Ben let out a choked noise, turning to watch his brother's girlfriend leave.

"Fuck, I'm sorry about her, she's- well, you know."

Ben shook his head, chuckling, "No, she's fucking great actually. I love Anthony but he used to be such a grumpy arsehole and now he's like floppy haired eighteen year old, can't fucking stop smiling."

"She's... pretty fucking great isn't she?"

Ben nodded, "How do you know her?"

Sophie shrugged, the story churning her stomach just a little, not wanting to share that much of herself just yet, "We've been friends since high school, her parents were pretty great to me, still are."

He smiled gently, leaning against the wall beside her, "So you can tell me if Mary Sharma's cooking is really as good as Anthony claims."

"It's probably even better, she's a goddess." Sophie confirmed, her heart hammering in her chest.

Ben's eyes flicked down, his smile growing as they landed on geoff, staring curiously up at her, bending quickly, "And who's this guy?"

"This is Geoff." Geoff had darted forward, putting his front paws on Benedict's knees, tail wagging furiously as Ben scratched behind his ear.

"This is a great dog. How old?"

"He's nearly a year old, I got him a few months after Kate got Newton."

"And what do you and Geoff do all day?"

Her lip was caught between her teeth, "I'm a tattoo artist?"

Benedict's mouth dropped open, "That's such a cool fucking job! Oh my god, did you do these?" He gestured at her arms.

She nodded awkwardly, "Some of them, the ones on my left arm at least."

He peered curiously at them, at the bouquet of flowers blooming over her left forearm, "That's amazing, you're really talented."

Sophie shrugged, "Kate does some of the artwork for me."

"Did you do her tattoo?"

Sophie nodded, "Yeah, all of them. Edwina's as well."

He nodded, his eyes catching hers again, "That makes my job feel really boring."

She already knew, but she asked anyway, "What do you do?"

He shrugged, waving vaguely, "I'm... a ballet dancer, not a big deal."

There was something so beautiful in it, sensitive and soft, "That's... definitely a big deal. That's cool, but I've never been to the ballet."

His eyebrows shot up, "Really?!"

"My family... we're not the ballet type."

He smiled softly, "Doesn't mean you aren't." He gestured at her arms, "You're an artist, you might like it."

"Maybe." She couldn't stop smiling, "I'll have to see."

"So what's the weirdest thing you've ever tattooed on someone." He was still smiling at her, his head tilted curiously, and there was something in him, that echoed in her, even in this casual conversation, something that felt right.

"... It was... when I was an apprentice, and I had to tattoo whatever walked into the shop, I tattooed a tampon on someone's arm."

His mouth fell open with a guffaw, "Holy shit! Okay, You are the most interesting person at this party, I'm staying right here all night until you tell me everything about yourself." Her heart was hammering in her chest, "Can I get you a drink, Sophie?"

She nodded gently, anxiety swirling in her chest, as he moved through the crowd, "Okay, just- stay right here I'll be back!"

She watched him move away, gracefully through the crowd, returning minutes later, with a drink for her, and a cup of water for her dog, grinning down at her.

"Right, tell me everything about yourself."

And hours later, when he grinned down at her, his lips nearly brushing hers when he said, "Can I take you out this week?"

There wasn't anything to do but nod, and silently promise to tattoo whatever kate wanted on her for the rest of her life.

[populusmultvm]

Reid Harris | Syndicate | 35 | Chace Crawford

When you bounce around from parent to parent when you’re younger, you end up finding outlets for your behaviour. It started with joining the gangs in the neighbourhood, which quickly created the niche he needed. You didn’t need any skill or intelligence really - just a can do attitude and a small amount of bravado. And Reid had that in spades. What he lacks in skills and aptitude, he more than makes up for in his reckless behaviour, and seventy five percent of the time, it works out okay.

He’s fearless, stupidly so, loyal, sometimes brave, and really likes basketball. If you want to compare him to a golden retriever, but like a dark version, that would be pretty accurate. Reid has no siblings, and it’s the one thing he credits his divorced parents for, because bringing another life into the world of a messy marriage would have just caused more issues and he figures that the world has enough of those. He has no real hopes and dreams - he’s just happy being the hired muscle and pulling petty crimes for the Syndicate. He’s not particularly ambitious or power hungry, but he does like attention. 

He usually just pulls robberies, car jacking, and sometimes a casual money retrieval or two. See golden retriever comment above.

[agent-z-18]

Journal Entry #6

October 22nd

Holy. Crap.

I…I don’t know how to feel. Okay. Okay. Maybe I just write from the beginning? Yeah. Let’s just start with the beginning.

So, Saturday I went on my first ever retrieval. Like clockwork, I got up at 11 a.m. and while I was eating breakfast, Ray called in. Two more EOs popped up on the outskirts of town and at that moment, no villains were spotted on their way. It, honestly, couldn’t be any more perfect. Instantly, everyone was in motion, changing, collecting their weapons, downloading Ray’s map. Nobody paid me much mind as they rushed around to beat any villain that might catch wind of the EOs. And after all the run-ins with Python, I really don’t blame them for wanting to get there first and without any problems.

Too bad that one villain would actually be there.

After everyone was out the door, I ran upstairs and got dressed as quickly as possible. Jordan really outdid himself with my costume. Everything fit perfectly, great range of movement. With my mask in place, my voice changer on, and my tracker was already beeping the moment I turned it on. And it was beeping in the area that Ray’s map showed the EOs to be. Definitely a good start.

The dirt bike ran like a dream really. I’m not entirely sure why Taylor’s brother sold it to me for so cheap. And with how small my bike is, reaching the point where the EOs appeared before my family. Shocking, right? It didn’t take long for them to catch up though. As I followed the closest blinking dot on my tracker, I located the first EO hidden inside some tall, dried grass. I barely managed to squat down next to the first EO when Evelyn and Wyatt pulled up in their matching sport motorcycles. It was a little nerve-wracking as the two of them jumped off their bikes and pointed their weapons at me.

“Step away from the orb and state your business here,” Evelyn said, her voice hard and angry. If my heart hadn’t already been hammering already, it definitely was now. Her hand flexed on the handles of her sais as if itching to light them on fire like I know she loves to. 

Stay calm, Aydan, just stay calm. You got this. “I could ask the two of you the same thing,” I said, my deeper voice sounding way more confident than I was currently feeling. 

“We happen to be heroes,” Wyatt answered stiffly, his weapon, a long vine-like whip ready at his hip, “hired by the government. WE are allowed to be here. You, on the other hand, are not. So, step away from the energy orb and nobody has to get hurt.”

Shoot. Okay, I really didn’t want to fight them. And by this time, Mom and Dad have pulled up in their sleek sports car and Matt in his large black SUV. All three join Evelyn and Wyatt, their weapons also drawn and at the ready. I don’t blame them, it just felt a little weird being on the receiving end instead of watching them merely sparing with them. Matt spun his quarterstaff and pointed it at me.

“And who are you?”

Oh. Well, crap. I never came up with a fake name! I was so excited about everything else that I completely forgot to come up with a fake name for myself in case they spoke to me! Crap. Crap.

“Well?” Mom said, breaking through my silent panic, “Mystic asked you a question.”

Breathe, Aydan, just breathe. I paused, my gloved hand hovering over the orb, unsure if any sudden movements might set them off. Probably. They were pretty jumpy at home. Tilting my head, I wreck my brain when Mom raised her fists, her golden gauntlets shining in the sunlight, signaling the end of her patience. 

“Agent Z,” I blurted out, barely containing my wince. ‘Agent Z’? Really? That was all I could think of? Nothing cool like ‘Deathwing’ or ‘Nova’? Dang, Taylor would be disappointed in me. (I haven’t told Taylor or Jordan about the retrieval yet, I’m a little scared on how they’re gonna react to my name choice.)

Dad glared at me from behind his mask. “’Agent Z’? Never heard of him. Do you work for the government?” 

Don’t roll your eyes, Aydan, don’t do it. “Does it look like I work for the government?” Oh, yikes, sass on point, Aydan. Hope you enjoy being grounded. I grabbed the orb and slowly stood up as my family slowly processed my words and began to mutter amongst themselves. I guess it had been a while since a new villain appeared, so I think I kinda threw them off?

“If you don’t work for the government,” Wyatt said finally, “Then why are you here? Any and all orbs are to turned over to the government to be used as resources for the public.”

This time I just couldn’t hold back my eye roll. Everyone who has stepped outside their house knows why the government wants the orbs. I bring the orb up to my face and study it up close for the first time. The small glowing orb fit in the palm of my hand nicely, almost the size of a softball but slightly heavier, as if it was weighted. Warmth radiated through my glove, indicating just how much energy these little things house. I allowed a smirk to grace my lips as I glance back at my family.

“I think all of you already know the answer to that question.”

“Awe, did all of you start the party without me?”

Oh. Oh no. Of course, Typhoon had to show up. And in his stupidly cool color-changing sports car. How had none of us noticed it pulling up? But he did and now he was also here for the orbs and I was currently holding one in my hands, making me a target. And target I was because Typhoon noticed me right away. He had lifted platinum eyebrow as a creepy smirk stretched on his lips.

“Oh? And who do we have here? A new contender? Maybe this’ll spice things up a little bit.”

“So, he’s not one of your cohorts?” Dad asked and Typhoon shook his head. “Nope,” he said, emphasizing the ‘p’ at the end, “But like I said, this might make things more interesting. And he even managed to beat the lot of you to an orb. I think he’s doin’ rather well right now.”

And I know he’s a villain! I know! But hearing him give me some praise sent a warmth through my chest that I only usually feel when I’ve aced a super hard test. A job well done. And I shouldn’t be happy about it, but I am. I still am. What happened next, was rather… intense. Mom had demanded that I hand over the orb while Typhoon suddenly went off in the direction of the other orb. Both she and Dad took off the veteran villain while my siblings stayed to deal with me. I was really, REALLY hoping to not have to fight any of them, to only let them just take the orb from me and then I return home. My tracker worked (for the most part, I never did locate the second orb to fully make sure) and through my family’s reactions, none of them seemed to recognize me thanks to my outfit and voice changer. But…But then Typhoon had to come and compliment me and made me feel obligated to prove that I could really do this. That I could bring home an orb just like my family does and put it in the safe downstairs to be sent to Ray. So, instead of just giving my siblings the EO, I dodged and weaved around their attacks, their movements very similar to all the times I watched them train. I felt the wind from Matt’s quarterstaff as he swung it past my head, the heat of Evelyn’s flaming sais as she tried to swipe my arm holding the EO, and I barely even flinched as Wyatt’s wipe cracked near my ear. The adrenaline I felt while dancing out of the way of my siblings’ attacks. I kept the EO clutched tightly to my chest the entire time, not giving any of them the chance to just knock it out of my hand. But I know that they have much more stamina and that I wouldn’t be able to last forever and knowing that, I just reacted. Pulling out one of the stink bombs that I modified to have a little less of an odor and more smoke, I threw two at the ground near my siblings’ feet and once all three started coughing, I turned and bolted for my bike. I heard Typhoon laugh as he fought with Mom and Dad and when I chanced a glance his way, he actually gave me a thumbs up. A THUMBS UP! Me! I managed to return it with a wave and a cheeky grin (I really couldn’t help it) and took off.

I did my best to take as many back ways as possible to throw off anyone who might have wanted to follow me. In hindsight, I probably brought something to mask the EO, but I haven’t heard of Ray ever tracking an EO after a villain manages to take one. But I also don’t know if any of the villains have something to block the signal. I do have a lead box in my room that holds some of my older experiments because they would interfere with some of Ray’s equipment. Which, is where I currently have the EO hiding right now. I was gonna bring it to the safe but I barely remembered that there is a hand scanner that tracks everyone who opens the safe and I have NEVER gone into the safe, so what if Ray looks and sees that I opened the safe for some reason? I could barely come up with a lie about my alias, I don’t think I’d be able to come up with a good enough lie to satisfy my folks or Ray. So, I think I’m just gonna hide the EO until I can figure out a way to put it into the safe. 

But…But I find that I want to go on another retrieval. But the last two days have been rather vacant of energy orbs appearing, but there was just something about the feeling of it all. The rush I felt while narrowly dodging the attacks of my siblings was exhilarating! The way my heart hammered as I had to think on my feet to stay cool and come up with a story to keep my identity a secret from my entire family. And even coming out of it with an EO of my own! But, as a good inventor, one test run can’t be enough to base all of my findings on. I need to know if my tracker can accurately track more than one EO. Because most EOs appear in pairs! There’s really no harm in going on another one, right? And, I gotta admit, it’s kinda funny on just how bitter Evelyn, Wyatt, and Matt are about me getting away. That was all they could talk about during dinner. It was so hard to not say anything over supper, it really was! I have never seen them so salty before and it had to be the funniest thing. Three over-twenty-year-olds and all three of them were pouting like children denied dessert. At least Mom and Dad managed to get the second orb before Typhoon could get to it, so that helped keep the mood light during supper. Besides, I’m sure Evelyn, Wyatt, and Matt will get over it by the time there’s another retrieval, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.

As long as Agent Z doesn’t show up and take another orb from them XD.

  Geez, I’m a horrible little brother. But I just can’t help it. It’s so much fun!

I can’t wait to go on another retrieval.