#???? fight me mayhaps???

[imperatorrrrr]

And as well as being a good dude, he has big brown eyes and flirts his way out of situations. No rivals, only lov…. [yanked off stage by a jealous someone]

I'm going to assume this is the same, Anon, and answer accordingly...

Anon, you have unlocked one of my favorite Nico Hischier subtopics - Nico Charms Opposing Players.

Let's highlight some of my favorite examples shall we?

Exhibit A - if you remember this sequence, Nico is all gotta go fast against the walls and slips past Lauzon and they end up kind of colliding and as they're getting up and catching their breath, Nico places this casual hand on Lauzon's thigh.

Exhibit B - Cernak tries to start some shit with Nico, and Nico just smiles at him. This shrug. This "come on now" facial expression. Zeal's tags in this are accurate "Nico used charm! it was very effective!"

Exhibit C - tenderly putting his arm around POJ's waist. like Nico, you are playing against that man.

Exhibit D - I'm sorry I don't know who this Ottawa man is who Nico is gently placing a hand on in front of the net, but another one, thank you.

Exhibit E - I'm including this GIFset of Nico v. Marchand even though it doesn't precisely fit the category, but I feel like it kind of does. Marchand wants to fight and Nico just smiles and pushes him away plus cheeky tongue.

There's definitely a lot more instances of Nico just charming opposing players. There's one from the most recent season, I just can't remember who they were playing, where someone ran into Nico and like Jesper and Johnny and some others came together to defend Nico's honor and Nico was skating off into the sunset with one of the opposing players. I wanna say it was a Carolina game and the player that Nico was draped all over was Orlov, but I genuinely can't remember any specifics.

P.S. Anon, I see your jealous someone and am very happy to discuss the particulars as I do have a jealous!insertplayerIbelieveyou'rereferencinghere manifesto that I'm happy to crack open at any time.

[b0amagination]

Tastes of Whumptober: Day 20

Did you know? Hero and villain prompts were some of the first whump content I intentionally consumed! I will forever be salty that mainstream superhero content could never live up to those prompts.

Content warnings for: Gun violence, threats of death, and mildly suggestive comments

Giving Permission to Die

“So? What’s the plan today?” The villain shouted across the room at the hero whose captivity he’d been in for… a week, now. Maybe more.

“Finally giving you what you want,” he responded with a shrug, playing with the knife in his hands. Flip it over, switch hands. Flip it over, switch hands.

“You don’t look prepared to present me with your corpse.”

“Oh, my death wouldn’t end your sentence, my love.” The flipping game was getting boring, and he picked at dirt under his nails using the blade instead. “You’d be chained up here with the rotting thing until you passed away yourself. Not punishment enough for your crimes, but it’s better than letting you roam the streets.”

“Sounds like you’re not giving me what I want then.”

“Be glad my greatest sin is telling lies.” A pointed glare accused him of crimes he’d plead innocent to, yet again. The knife moved to scratch an itch with the flat of it. 

“You sure that torturing a man isn’t higher on that list?”

“The pen is mightier than the sword, love.” A gesture with the damned thing now. He pushed down the urge to point out the obvious differences between that little thing and a sword. But the dick joke was funny in his head and didn’t involve initiation of a measuring contest.

“And your forked tongue doesn’t salivate ink. Swords can make quick work of those.” 

“Oh, shall I try it out on yours?” The hero stuck out his tongue at him.

“Put me out of my misery first.”

The knife plunged into the floor and he stood, never taking his eyes off of the villain.

“That. That’s what I’m talking about. Always egging me on. Trying to make me go too far.” He stalked forward and pulled a pistol from the inside pocket of his jacket. Entirely concealed from the outside. “I’ll go too far today. Just for you.” 

“Cute prop.” He hid the way his body shivered at the sight, praying the hero wouldn’t call his bluff. He was chained to this wall by his ankles, wrists, and neck. It wouldn’t be useful to put himself in a more vulnerable position.

“Here, let me fire. Maybe you’ll believe it then.” The gun aimed at the concrete beside his head but he paused. “Oh, who am I kidding. I should save your hearing for the last few minutes of your life.”

Foam earplugs were thrust into his ears and held still while they extended to block the canal, and the other did the same for himself. 

“Now, where was I?” Of course, shouting loud enough to bypass the earplugs. He aimed only a foot to the left of the villain’s head, pulling away as far as he possibly could, and fired. 

The sound ricocheted around the room, admittedly too small to facilitate gunfire, and he grinned at the way his victim flinched, eyes going wide. He walked forward and plucked the bullet out from its newfound pocket in the concrete, scattering dust and chunks that had stood solid just moments before. 

It was still warm from being shot and he dropped his knees, pressing it into the villain’s hand and folding up fingers to protect it. It trembled in his grip. 

“Do you believe me now, dear?” he spoke low into their ear, making sure he could still hear the threatening tone.

“Leave. Put that damn thing away and leave. You won’t shoot me and I know it.”

He cradled his cheek with the gun. And slid it up to sit against his temple. 

“How confident are you?” 

“Deadly so.”

BANG.

The world was fuzzy from the shot. The noise too close to his head, bleeding into his vision despite the protection. He looked down at his hands to see the blood dripping down them, spraying from his forehead. But only the bullet rolling in his palm greeted him. 

“Oops, guess the magazine was out.” 

Comprehension was a struggle. His forehead burned, but without blood… the hero’s thumb reached up and he flinched back uselessly as it rubbed over the not-hole. It came back covered in soot, wiped against his jaw like it was nothing. 

“What…?”

He released the magazine from the gun and presented it. Empty. 

“You were right. I didn’t shoot you.”

“You…”

“Pulled the trigger? Absolutely. Let’s rectify that little mistake, love.” Another magazine from his pocket, showing the bullets loaded inside, and shoving it into place. 

Then the front sight pressed against the villain’s lips, wiggling between them and scratching his teeth. He shook his head, turning it to the side. 

“No, no. You asked me for this, baby. I’ll follow through for you.” His hand steadied his chin, squeezing his jaw, and the muzzle jammed into the teeth with the threat to break. He had no choice but to let it in.

Gunpowder was a repulsive taste. Ash and acid. Then metal, still warm from recent discharge, but cooling rapidly. He guided it in, not stopping when teeth clamped down in an attempt to ward it off. The muzzle pressed toward his gag reflex when the trigger guard finally brushed his lips and he sighed, a whiny pathetic thing. 

“C’mon. Nod, babe, and I’ll pull the trigger. Hero’s honor. To save those in need.”

Nothing. He held him by the back of the head, devious smile aware of each action’s connotation, and twisted the pistol to force it further, making him gag on it. 

“Tell me to do it. I’ll let you die. I’ll blow your fucking brains out, sweetheart.”

The hammer clicked back. His finger inched toward the trigger. The villain held his breath, unmoving.

And then the gun ripped out of his mouth, sight tearing across his cheek and lip, splattering his blood across the floor where it flew and spun to a stop at the other end of the room.

“Right. Don’t ask me again.”

[lunarrosette]

My kiddads brainrot (primarily lark & nark focused) is back and the things I would do for like a season 1.5 comic series focusing on the kiddads RAAAHHHHH

[tomaturtles]

Coming up with some sonicverse lore for them for Art Fight.... Asuka is a child prodigy overachiever whose parents work at GUN who joined the Resistance during Forces, and Kaworu is a strange wet cat with weird powers she found at a test tube in an abandoned lab and brought back with her

[a-shade-of-green]

yeah so that scene where mike kicks down the fort in his basement in s1 is definitely supposed to be paralleled by will taking down castle byers in s3. just if anyone cares about when mike turned his back on being a kid.

[aroacettorney]

tbh i wish aup had more reps for characters who achieve greatness purely through hard work and effort. the emphasis on genius/being special is mayhaps way too much to the point that it feels kinda damn depressing for those who aint born as one.

[hiimcanadia]

I know I read an AU one time where Ed and Stede were part of a nice big gay mens chorus but I really wanna write an AU where they're members of a tiny, slightly dysfunctional chorus (the members are the main cast and nobody else). Ed is probably the director who's getting a little tired of holding the group together until Stede (50 years old, newly out, hasn't sung in a chorus since he was a choirboy) shows up with all these crazy ideas for how to make their concerts gayer and more exciting. Suddenly Ed is going from picking out only the most difficult, professional, explicitly Christian music to digging out his old copy of the latke song and working on fun choreography and props. Frenchie is asking if he can play guitar in one of the songs this season. Swede gets a soprano solo. Izzy (marketing lead) is about to pop a fucking blood vessel.

[milladraws]

A couple of attacks on @xhinc because why not c:

[chisungie]

I just think it's so funny that my first S-rank is the one I wanted most

[rcbertleckie]

I have yielded entirely to it tbh 😂 the lone comfort I have is that he is number two in my top three of MotA faves

honestly at this point you gotta stop fighting it and accept the predicament this man put you in

..... he is my number four?? i think??? like as much as he is making me suffer he would never overtake bucky rosie and alex BUT THATS ACTUALLY WORSE?? somehow?? bc what do u mean a man fourth in line is making me this insane like what the hell

also wait wait!!! if HE is number two.... whats the order here? is rosie or demarco the first? or am i like wayyy off?

[pegasusdrawnchariots]

🛡⚔️🏰🐎

[endawn]

thinking about … dragon pax

[annikasevenshots]

So here's the thing right.

Fans of the "behated nuTrek" appreciate, in Disco and Picard S1/2, its willingness to let new people in (by letting in new characters, letting in new fans who saw themselves in them), to continue the Trek tradition of telling stories that often aren't told through the medium of space adventures. We loved the found family, the welcoming of people who had fallen through the cracks of Starfleet, and how you can be a part of building something better when you're living in an IRL world that has convinced you that you're not something worthy.

And then you have... "traditional" fans? Fans of Star Trek who, in as many words, like seeing straight white men achieve to be the best of the best, because that's the position they started out in life when they first watched Trek. Privileged enough to only have to think about striving forwards. Not needing to worry about other hamstrings.

Anyway, Picard S3 is basically taking these traditional fans and dumping them into the nuTrek fandom enclosure without acclimating them like fish. Now I'm not calling parts of the fandom an invasive species because that's kinda weird. But a few things I've seen happen are:

The fandom becomes less of a safe space for nuTrek fans, many of whom are queer, neurodivergent or POC, or otherwise saw themselves in characters that represent a sort of minority that they are a part of. Their struggles (as represented in nuTrek) are trivialized, criticized, and made fun of, and they are made to feel less important (or worthy of their story being told) because of it.

Traditional fans tend to get listened to when it comes to what shows are being produced. The shows that nuTrek fans took refuge in, shows that dedicated themselves to putting queer stories/POC stories front and centre, are slowly being eroded in favour of more white heroism. Which is something that nuTrek fans don't really... want to see? Like, it's cute, but when that same white heroism disadvantages you IRL, it's tiring to see it celebrated in the media you used to seek refuge in.

Just a thought.

[kakusu-shipping]

Finally... S/I lore built completely off a friend's S/I... I have peaked. Jade the Dragon (MLP version) is @delightfuldevin's S/I. Thanks again for letting me use you as a building block for this one!!

I've actually had a concept of a Dragon S/I for MLP for a long time. I thought the concept that Dragons grow based on their hoard was fascinating and though what would happen if a Dragon had nothing? And also sense Twilight had to hatch a Dragon Egg for her Magic exam, did other students do the same? What happened to those dragons?

This is just the combination of those two concepts.

Most dragons have Something. The first thing they are given is their name, usually dragons are named after something precious and hoard worthy, hoping starting with something so precious would lead them to greatness in their futures.

The student who hatched Emile didn't give him a name, or anything really. They weren't friends. To them, Emile was just a pair of claws that could write and hold things. To Emile, the Student was his boss. They were co-workers at most.

Eventually, this student flunked out of Celestia's magic school, leaving Emile no where else to go. He was around 13 at this time, still without a name or anything else one may consider a hoard, and still the size of a child.

Princess Celestia ended up offering him a job, sense he stuck around and wandered aimlessly without the student to tell him what to do. He worked as Celestia's right hoof, like a Dragon would to a magic student. He wrote her letters and retrieved her books. She didn't need him, and he knew that, but Emile was never one to ask for much of anything, so he worked for the Princess without a word of resistance.

Working for the Princess came with many more freedoms than Emile was use to, but still nothing he could claim as his. He stayed in a guest room in the Castle, never spoke as his room, never decorated outside of what already existed. He gained knowledge from the Castle's Library, from borrowed books. He paid for his meals with hard work, he always put things back where he got them. Nothing was to keep.

This continued until Emile met Jade, a strange Dragon who'd come and go as he pleased, and talked of adventures through portals and across realities. Jade gave Emile his name, and with it Emile felt 10 feet tall. Jade gave Emile Friendship and Family, things one wouldn't consider to be owned, but when Emile first claimed Jade as his friend it became obvious he'd grown, more than physically.

Perhaps, with Jade's help, Emile can find he has the right to ask for thing and take up space.

[tacoma-narrows]

If anyone is looking for anything in particular to draw for me for Art Fight, give u a Tarmac, Astro or perhaps a Wilkołak? :3

[innytoes]

Willie Ship of your choice and Pokemon AU?

The problem with living in a town with a gym, Reggie thought, was that every passing by would-be Pokemon master thought literally everyone with a Pokemon wanted to battle. It was exhausting. Especially when they wouldn't take no for an answer.

Listen, was it stupid for Reggie to try and punch out a Geodude? Yes, but it was better than trying to punch out a twelve year old. Probably. The twelve year old probably wouldn't have given him what felt like a black eye. And he had to act fast, because the Pokemon had been rapidly approaching his cowering Jolteon.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Alex asked as he came to on what appeared to be a park bench. It wasn't very comfy, except for his head, which was pillowed on something.

"That Sparky is a rescue, and if she doesn't want to fight, she shouldn't have to," he said, gently petting the Jolteon who was nuzzling her nose under his hand anxiously. "It's okay baby, nobody's going to hurt you."

Both of Reggie's Pokemon were rescues. His very first, a Growlithe puppy he'd found out in the rain when he was fifteen, was a constant companion. Reggie wasn't sure what had happened to it before he got him, but Buddy didn't particularly like fighting. He shied away from battles, and it took Reggie ages to realise why he always cowered behind his legs in a certain part of town. The part near the gym.

They'd worked on that, and getting his confidence up in general. Buddy was a happy Pokemon now, though he still didn't like battles. The only time Reggie had ever seen him fight was to protect Reggie, and to help him kick Sparky's owner's ass. Anyone that would raise his hand against his own Pokemon didn't deserve them. They did, however, deserve a black eye, a stolen Jolteon, and singed pair of jeans.

With a groan, he sat up, laughing when Buddy hopped on the bench and started anxiously licking at his face. "I'm okay, Bud," he promised. "What happened? Did Whitney put them to sleep?" That was their usual strategy, when trainers wouldn't stop bothering them. You couldn't start a Pokemon fight if you were too asleep to grab your Pokeballs.

Alex' emotional support Jigglypuff chirped at him from Alex' backpack.

"I was going to, but..."

"Yeah, sorry, Ziggy and I stepped in first," a new voice said from behind him. Reggie turned and blinked. Apparently, the comfortable thing his head had been pillowed on was this gorgeous stranger's lap. He had beautiful long dark hair, killer cheekbones, and just about the cutest Zigzagoon Reggie had ever seen draped over his shoulders like a fancy stole.

"I- uh- that's..." Really hot, Reggie wanted to say.

Sparky nudged his hand again, pointy fur prickling under his fingers. "Thanks," Reggie managed. He looked up at Alex, who seemed equally flustered at this hot stranger who just rocked up and saved them both, and then waited with them until Reggie regained consciousness.

"Are you... a trainer?" Reggie asked, carefully. He didn't seem to have any Pokeballs on his belt, just the Zigzagoon wrapped around his neck. But if he defeated that kid's entire arsenal, that Zigzagoon was probably powerful as heck.

"No," the guy said quickly. Ziggy nuzzled his cheek gently. "I... not anymore. Ziggy and I are just... travelling."

"Thank you for saving us," Alex said sincerely.

"If you're new in town," Reggie said, not wanting the guy to leave now that he was awake again. "Maybe we could show you the best places to get food?"

The man's guarded look changed into a beautiful smile. "I'd like that, yeah," he agreed. "I'm Willie."

In the end, Willie decided to stick around a lot longer than he planned, and Reggie and Alex never had to worry about pushy Pokemon Trainers again. Their boyfriend and his badass Zigzagoon had them covered.