#( . this came out a mess lmao

[artaintfartwarriors]

Could i perhaps get moonpaw design please?

This is probably my 5th attempt at designing her, and I’m still not satisfied, but here she is!

[gloomy-prince]

How on earth do you get a “teen” rating on webtoon, I was under the impression it was just “all ages”, “young adult”, and “mature”. And aren’t “teen” and “young adult” functionally the same thing when it comes to books?? What’s the point lol

[rayven-ray]

> Looks right into your thoughts :0

[throwaway-yandere]

Considering to the current 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 poll results, this is the last fic to be uploaded...

𝑫𝒐𝒍𝒄𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝑵𝒖𝒐𝒗𝒐 (Yandere!Dainsleif/Reader)

Unreliable Synopsis:  “Fairytale worlds follow fairytale laws. There’s always a protagonist burdened with impossible tasks who will follow the rule of three, witness transformations, find talking animals, and learn the power of kept promises. So, before you embark on your journey, young (Y/n), have you heard of the Ugly Duckling’s tale?” 

Content Tags/Warnings: nothing (?) cuz I would never hurt my husband fr (will update if it does lmao)

Upload Date: TBA, approximately December 28, 2023 (8PM, Thursday, UTC+8)

It's here

[crystalpallette]

happy (late) sig day!

I was in the mood to draw some formalwear, or as close to formalwear as the puyo style gets lmao, and of course sig has got to have some sort of bug motif. so butterfly wings it is! the day may be eight minutes over but in my heart every day is sig day. god bless

[rosesradio]

you see i have many leobeth situationship/fwb enduced by their abandonnment and attachement issues thoughts also i think of a parallel with hephastus and athena were leo wants more but annabeth isn't into him like that.

ugh oh no…they’re the only people they can turn to and know each other emotionally and physically like no one else…they don’t have really emotional talks but they don’t have to, they just know…they bond over structures and robotics and things that tick, especially when their lives don’t tick.

they know how to make each other come like nothing else (the arrangement lasts long enough to where annabeth can’t come without leo—without his cock deep inside her or his head between her legs, without his warm breath against her lips or his arms around her. not that she could tell him this, of course).

she doesn’t want a relationship with him because she doesn’t want a relationship with anyone. she doesn’t want the wreck that comes with it (bonus points if percy died and leo promised to take care of her?? 👀 what if this was my last straw 🧍). she doesn’t want anything to change in their relationship.

but she knows leo is hurting every time he leaves her bed. the cycle continues with her and leo as it did with athena and hephaestus—but one thing is different. there’s a black bitter sorrow within annabeth, heavy as an anchor, threatening to pull her under if this continues any longer.

[tinta--branca--art]

I love this man he is my worstie ❤️

[kimbapisnotsushi]

oh please talk about kawanishi taichi i love that silly guy

OF COURSE ANON I TOO LOVE THAT SILLY GUY LET'S GET IT!!

(also i am SO sorry for taking so long oh my god i am back in action and catching up i promise!!)

i think he likes beanies in his casual wear

idk kawanishi feels like such a beanie person but not the douchebag slouchy ones he's got one that's a little snug and has something embroidered on it like a bird or something

okay that's a lie. he has ONE douchebag slouchy beanie that makes him look like how a high school romance shoujo mangaka of the mid-2000s would dress a flashy somewhat-delinquent teenage boy (honey lemon soda my beloved)

this, of course, could not be farther from the truth

the entire second year is scared of him bc they never somehow realize he's there until he says something and they're like "holy SHIT". this also means he knows a bunch of hot gossip

(the hot gossip miyagi group chat: kawanishi, watari, onagawa, and narita)

on the other hand. that means the students of 2-5 win the contest for "best cultural festival attraction" between classes bc they had the best haunted house the miyagi prefecture had ever seen

he's on really good terms with the school nurse because sometimes he sneaks into the infirmary to take naps during lunch or gym periods

knows how to lockpick BECAUSE he keeps trying to sneak into the infirmary. and occasionally the school roof for their "team bonding picnics" so that tendou doesn't have to keep swiping the key from the student council

i'm not just saying this bc i like enamel pins but i think kawanishi DOES like enamel pins. he's got a collection of these edgy sarcastic ones that he thinks are hilarious in a "started-ironically-and-now-i-can't-stop-pipeline" kind of way

he's got this whole tumblr-grunge-indie-hipster thing going on with his douchebag slouchy beanie and denim jacket with pins all over the collar and ripped jeans and converse sneakers and shirabu thinks he pulls it off unfairly well

i feel like kawanishi also really likes fantasy/sci-fi and is actually SUCH a huge secret nerd about it. and really likes cyberpunk and fantasyland settings you'd get from like idk snow white with the red hair or nivalis (i KNOW it's an indie game that's not even out yet but sue me i don't know cyberpunk all that well)

he and tsukki actually become friends while arguing about how much of akira is deep meaning and how much of it is actually just straight up bullshit because WHAT the fuck was that

also he's subscribed to a bunch of these small artists on youtube who make background music and fun art to go with them bc he can put together a great soundtrack for getting hw and studying done

likes getting lil gifts for shirabu, especially to add to his stationary collection. shirabu has sticky notes in the shape of whales and ice cream and paper lanterns and washi tape with fireworks and beach motifs and bakery stuff and it's all because of kawanishi

kawanishi just sticks to the plain solid-color square sticky notes that he uses to leave shirabu notes around his dorm. just small things, really, a reminder that this is a place shirabu belongs and it is a place he is loved. you're doing great. get some water soon. i'll bring you dinner, just text me. don't forget to sleep.

and shirabu will be hard pressed to admit it, but those might be his favorite sticky notes of all

[skelekins]

(❤´艸｀❤) got the boys some onesies and then we got a mocha at the cafe

[sonicstorybook]

The King's Champion

A SatBK AU where Shadow is the one sent to Camelot and Sonic is the doppelgänger- the one and only King Arthur!

Part: 4/4

Summary: Arthur the Hedgehog pulled the legendary sword Caliburn from the stone, and he became King Arthur, the ruler of Camelot. Shadow the Hedgehog appears in a flash of magic in the middle of his banquet hall, and he becomes Arthur’s problem. As the sun rises over the kingdom, a pre-dawn conversation between both hedgehogs also helps them reach... well, not quite a mutual understanding, but progress is progress!

(Shadow doesn’t know where he is, what’s going on, or why he’s there- but it doesn’t matter. He’s Shadow the Hedgehog, the world’s ultimate life form, and he’s going to play this weird game by his rules.)

Contains: Pre-relationship/platonic Arthadow (Arthur the Hedgehog x Shadow the Hedgehog)! Lamorak (Jet the Hawk) and Percival (Blaze the Cat) are siblings! Gawain (Knuckles the Echidna) and Gareth (Mighty the Armadillo) are siblings! Gawain and Gareth are Yvain’s (Ray the Flying Squirrel) cousins! Kay (Scourge the Hedgehog) is Arthur’s adopted brother!

Rating: G

Word count: 2,252

Note: The close of the first chapter of Shadow’s stay in Camelot! C: Will there be more? Yes, because I have no self-control. C,:

Reminder of characters: Sir Kay is Scourge the Hedgehog! Sir Gareth is Mighty the Armadillo!  Sir Yvain is Ray the (Flying?) Squirrel! Percy is Percival the Squire, aka Blaze the Cat! 

All chatter ends and the courtyard is deathly quiet as everyone collectively holds their breath, certain they must have misheard Shadow just now… but the black hedgehog doubles down.

“You heard me,” Shadow repeats, turning to face Gawain with a challenging arch of his brow, “Lancelot can keep his Queen- I’ll take the King.”

“What!?“ Half a dozen voices cry out at once. Arthur barely manages to contain his own surprise, whipping his head to look at Shadow so quickly he almost flings the circlet off his head. 

Shadow does not flinch under the heavy weight of the stares, cool and determined with a haughty hand on his hip.

“Shadow,” Arthur wishes he had a moment with Shadow alone to explain what the black hedgehog was getting himself into, tenting his hands in front of his face thoughtfully, “Once again, I am asking you to reconsider this request. That is no light commitment or task. Are you sure this is what you truly want?”

“I’m going to prove that I am superior to this Lancelot in every possible way,” Although Shadow says Lancelot’s name, the challenging glare he levels in Arthur’s direction indicates that Camelot’s king is included as well, “By the end of it, all of you will be comparing Lancelot to me.”

“You are completely mad if you think the king will accept such outlandish demands!” Gawain is so worked up he throws his hand out, hitting the unfortunate Sir Yvain in the chest with his barbed knuckles. The yellow squirrel is knocked off his feet and into Sir Gareth behind him, who barely manages to keep them both upright, “Who are you?! What are your designs on our king?! Are you a spy or assassin?!”

“I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the world’s ultimate life form,” Shadow is arrogantly self-assured as he literally turns his nose up at Gawain, “Don’t flatter yourself. I don’t care about you or this kingdom. And if I wanted your King dead, there’s nothing you could do to stop me!”

“You churl-!”

It’s very clear that Shadow and Gawain are about to start slinging hotheaded boasts, vicious insults, and blows again. But before Arthur can try to restore order, aid comes from an unexpected source.

“Hah! You are a saucy one!” Sir Lamorak’s squawk of laughter shatters the tension like ice, pushing past Gawain to stand directly in front of Shadow. 

“Brother!” A small purple cat darts out from the crowd, grabbing onto the hawk’s hand and giving him a stern shake, “Do not be foolish!”

“I know what I’m doing, squire,” Lamorak hisses at her, low enough only those nearby can hear him, shaking himself free and pushing the child behind him, “Watch and learn, Percy!”

‘Percy’ gives a loud, annoyed groan as she stomps her foot irritably, sulkily crossing her arms and watching her brother with an incredibly unimpressed expression. Who was this girl, again? Lamorak had asked if he could bring his sister in as his squire, but that had been only a few days ago and she wouldn’t have been able to make the journey so quickly, could she? She also seemed a little too young to be a squire… 

Lamorak flips his visor up with one hand as he looks down on Shadow with a condescending grin, “Do you have any idea what you are asking for? Do you really think an untried knave without any weapon or armor of his own has a chance?”

Shadow is coolly defiant, eyes boring into Lamorak ferociously, “I don’t need anything but my bare hands to beat you.“

Lamorak’s grin falls immediately, and his hand reaches to the scabbards where his twin swords are sheathed on his back-

“Enough!” Arthur steps in before Shadow manages to make more enemies, putting himself between his combative guest and his strongest knights, “Shadow is new to the realm and not familiar with its customs, and yet you treat him with great hostility! Where is your courtesy? Your patience? This is a most inhospitable way to treat my personal guest!”

Arthur hates having to use his authority like this, he really does, but Shadow is going to wind up as unpopular as Kay at this rate. 

The stunned silence lasts only a moment. 

“Your guest!” Gawain sputters indignantly, gesturing at Shadow like he doesn’t know what else to say, “Your guest!!”

“My lord,” Gareth puts his hand on Gawain’s shoulder, choosing his words carefully, “It is most unusual to have someone enter the kingdom with the visage of one of the round table’s most illustrious and well-regarded knights-”

Kay blows a dismissive raspberry, smiling when the armadillo gives him an annoyed side eye. Gawain leans over his brother’s shoulder to give the green hedgehog a full on glare.

“And it would be imprudent to rush into something like this without considering all potential factors and viewpoints,” Gareth finishes primly, bowing his head respectfully as he meets Shadow’s eyes, “While still giving Sir Shadow the same opportunities we would extend to every other child of Camelot.”

“You cannot be serious!” Gawain turns to his brother incredulously, “He disguised himself as Lancelot!”

“I have no need to disguise myself as anyone!” Shadow’s eyes narrow as he takes a step toward Gawain.

“Enough, enough!” Arthur massages his forehead as he glances up at the sky, knowing that this argument will cost him the rest of the morning. He will be struggling to meet all his daily obligations at this rate, and will likely be working late into the night... “I will hear your arguments in the great hall at the round table- after we break our fast.”

Before anyone can say anything else, Arthur turns to his guest, “Come, Shadow the Hedgehog, bringer of chaos! Before you end up creating blood feuds with the entire round table!”

Shadow doesn’t look the least bit chastised, incredulous and amused as he gives a flippant shrug, “Fine by me.”

“With these jests, it sounds like you’re better suited to the role of court jester!” Lamorak laughs boisterously, arms crossed over his chest as he grins mockingly. His squire stands behind him, less than enthused at her knight’s actions, but doesn’t say anything. She simply grips onto his tail feathers and digs her feet into the ground below, trying to physically keep him out of the range of Shadow’s fists. 

“Have you any more?” Lamorak jeers, obviously trying to get back at Shadow for that earlier insult. (Even though the brash hawk brought it on himself. Again.)

The air around Shadow turns positively murderous, and he flexes the fingers of his right hand as he brings it up mid-chest, “How about a magic trick?

Sparks crackle around his fingertips as he looks at Lamorak over his shoulder, eyes narrowing like he’s honing in on a target.

“I can make you disappear-“ Shadow starts to say, bringing his hand down in a vicious arc-

That Arthur jumps in to stop with his hands. The strange energy spreads through Shadow’s fingers and into his own, leaving behind a tingling sensation that seems to seep into his skin and to his very bones. Arthur lets go quickly, but it travels up the length of his arm and into his shoulder before radiating through his entire body.

“My Lord!” Half a dozen voices cry out at the same time in dismay.

“It’s nothing!” Arthur doesn’t have any time to dwell on any of this, even as his body seems to buzz with the energy. He wants to shake his hand out, but he knows that will just worry his knights, “I said this will wait until after breakfast! Be still, all of you!” 

He grabs Shadow’s hand tightly as he ushers his taciturn companion forward, as if afraid the black hedgehog is going to run off and punch someone else in the face. (Which seems very likely at this point.)

 “Come along!” Arthur’s hand buzzes where it touches Shadow, even through the fabric of his glove. He half expects the dark hedgehog to push him away, and is surprised when Shadow’s hand squeezes him. But painfully so, like this is a challenge he can win while making sure Arthur doesn’t let go. The king glances back as Shadow, curious to see why the prickly hedgehog would touch him without a clear purpose- when it becomes clear this is a calculated power play.

Shadow is staring Gawain down, using this simple gesture to establish himself in the king’s entourage, annoy the echidna and the other knights who regard him with suspicion, and show his clear disregard for hierarchy of the court. For some reason, Arthur is disappointed… but he pushes that feeling aside immediately. Shadow would be a fool if he did not use the king’s political and social position to his advantage.

Arthur pulls Shadow towards the now doorless archway, whispering as he discreetly elbows the black hedgehog, “What are you doing? I don’t know how it works in your world, but you’ll accomplish more with friends in Camelot’s walls rather than enemies!”

“I don’t need friends,” Shadow gives Arthur a flat look, answering loudly as he glowers back at Lamorak, “And if you want to keep yours in one piece, they shouldn’t start what they can’t finish. I don’t like leaving loose ends.”

Arthur rolls his eyes in exasperation as he hurries through the corridor, ear swiveling backwards to pick up on the disgruntled chatter that is naturally amplified by the stone hallways. Shadow’s combative attitude and abrasive demeanor are certainly not doing much to endear him to anyone.

“You don’t seem to like casual conversation or friendly advice either,” Arthur quips back, shaking his head, “And certainly not comfortable beds. What of mead and bread? Do you like that?”

“You're starting to irritate me, hedgehog-” Shadow answers back automatically, annoyed, before blinking rapidly. He gives Arthur that look again, like he’s seeing him in a completely different light, “You are going to drink mead for breakfast?”

Arthur finds Shadow’s baffled confusion amusing, quietly chuckling to himself, “Would my new champion prefer wine instead?”

“Sure, why not,” Shadow lets Arthur open the door to the chamber himself, purposefully ignoring Gawain’s outrage and rubbing it in by refusing to let go of the king’s hand the entire time, making Arthur do it one handed. Arthur can’t remember the last time he’s opened a door for himself, let alone another person. It’s strangely thrilling, “Where does the echidna sit?”

“I sit in the red velvet siege,” Arthur nods at the plush seat with the crown carved into the wood above it, “And ‘Wain sits to my left-”

“Good,” Shadow doesn’t wait for Arthur to finish explaining or sit down, plopping himself in the seat to Arthur’s right like it belongs to him. It belongs to Sir Kay, who seems less than amused- but, in a rare move of self preservation, also doesn’t seem very keen to attract Shadow’s ire on himself directly. Arthur shrugs to his brother apologetically, making motions to an attendant by the door to bring another chair.

In fact, Shadow goes out of his way to make himself look as comfortable as possible, throwing his crossed legs over one arm rest and propping his elbow on the other, resting his chin on his fist. Incredibly bold… Arthur sits down quickly himself, hiding a smile behind a sip of his cup.

“MY KING!” Gawain yanks his chair out from the table so violently the wood cracks under his grip, splinters falling to the floor as he sits in it heavily and unhappily, “THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!”

Shadow stares at Gawain with a bored expression as he filches a piece of cheese from Arthur’s plate, popping it into his mouth as the echidna slams his hands back down on the table. 

Well, this is certainly turning out to be a very different and complicated day! When Arthur first rose this morning, he didn’t think he’d end up having breakfast with Shadow the Hedgehog sitting on his right hand side after causing a feud with almost half the round table. Or to have Gawain, one of his most powerful and influential knights, squabbling with the black hedgehog like a petulant child.

One of the many large and small problems he needs to solve... Arthur nibbles on a roll absentmindedly as he listens to Gareth’s argument from the other side of the table, pretending he doesn’t notice Shadow flick a piece of apple at the side of Gawain’s head.

He needs to nip the budding tension between Lamorak and Shadow before it leads to bloodshed… Lamorak is very pointedly glaring daggers at the hedgehog until his sister kicks him in the shin when he doesn’t pass her the jam quickly enough, and that quickly devolves to the hawk arguing with a literal child. 

Arthur needs to make Shadow’s self-appointed position as his champion palatable to the majority of his knights and advisors, many of whom are regarding Shadow with guarded suspicion over the rim of their mugs. 

He needs to find and check on Lancelot, whose absence in the siege at Gawain’s right is painfully obvious. And Arthur needs to soothe Kay’s wounded pride before his brother does something reckless and foolish that causes them all unnecessary grief. (Especially Kay himself.)

It was exactly as Sir Ector had warned- the secret wish of excitement in his heart had been answered in the most unexpected way. But Arthur has no regrets. 

Despite it all, he is eager to see how this new adventure unfolds.

[patriciaselina]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 薬屋のひとりごと - 日向夏 | Kusuriya no Hitorigoto - Hyuuga Natsu, 薬屋のひとりごと | Kusuriya no Hitorigoto | The Apothecary Diaries (Manga) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jinshi/Maomao (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Rikuson & Maomao (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Loulan | Shisui & Maomao (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) Characters: Maomao (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Jinshi (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Rikuson (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Loulan | Shisui (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Suirei (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Xiaolan (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) Additional Tags: Secret Admirer, Fluff, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Jealousy, Petty Jinshi, Everyone Loves Maomao (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto), Oblivious, Fluff without Plot, Title from a Stray Kids Song, Romantic Comedy, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Open to Interpretation, SKZ EXchange Island did a number on me...so this happened Series: Part 3 of Ka Corporate Holdings, Inc. Summary:

Suirei realizes, belatedly, that here is where the other shoe drops, because Jinshi finally tears his gaze away from Maomao long enough to consider the situation in front of him. Her, with the capacity to occupy Maomao's thoughts with their shared love for medicinal herbs. Loulan and Xiaolan, who Maomao doesn't fully realize she has the softest spots for. Rikuson, who shared a childhood with Maomao and has had her ride his motorcycle before. If you look at it in the way only a lovesick, jealous guy like him would: he is in enemy territory.

Everybody just wants Maomao to choose them. Maomao just wants everyone to shut the hell up.

Office AU fluff, I think? Spoilers for up to LN 4/5 due to a couple of the characters; I think the GX manga has reached this point but it will take a while for BG manga to get here (at the time of posting it is currently at chapter 68). Anyway, happy new year! It's been a while since I last did this but for now I'm putting the entire fic under this post, as a treat hahaha. Also shoving all the office AU oneshots under an AO3 series for my own organization purposes...

---

You're the only reason why I really love you...

Rikuson watches Maomao as she chews through the big hunk of meat that Jinshi had just lovingly fed her; her cold gaze is obviously no match for the adoring, soft eyes aimed in her direction.

He can easily imagine heart shapes emanating out of the guy's sparkling eyes. Rikuson chuckles to himself, hiding his smirk behind his drink - he hadn't seen Maomao try to look that infuriated since the time when her biological parents tried putting her in girly frills for one of the numerous La family pictures.

While his chuckle may have been successfully hidden, the mirth in his eyes was definitely not hidden enough. That's why Maomao's gaze decides to target him next, her cold eyes seeping into his soul as they convey only one message: don't you even start.

At that, Rikuson puts his drink down so Maomao can see just how amused he is with the situation his dear childhood friend has landed herself in now. She balks as it finally sinks in: with her attention fully on avoiding Jinshi's affections, she hadn't realized she had left Rikuson to his own devices, and truly, he can start anything he damned wants to start.

"You look awfully pleased, Mister Family Friend," Loulan says, eyeing the silent battle of wills in front of her with interest. She's sitting on Jinshi's other side, batting his hands away as she succeeds in reaching over him and handing Maomao the drink she had just poured out. "Is watching our Maomao eat that interesting?"

"Very," Rikuson grins, turning the charm up to eleven, knowing full well that while Maomao had gotten distracted by her drink, it is now Jinshi who is glaring daggers through his skull. He cheerfully decides to pretend he doesn't see that. "It brings me back to when Xiaomao and I were kids - I had to feed her because back then, all she wanted to do with her hands was use them to read through her books about medicine."

Something in between a scream and a shiver wordlessly passes through Maomao's face. Yes, Rikuson grew up with Maomao, but he never really calls her Xiaomao. Well. Not as much as he used to. When she was still a Xiaomao, she was a cutie - or so Rikuson remembers his younger self thinking, as well as his current self, sometimes.

But that's neither here nor there. Right now, Jinshi's hands are balled up into fists under the tablecloth, so regardless of whether it was a lie or not...it was a wise choice.

"I like people who enjoy learning," Jinshi says, making a big show of sounding nonchalant as he tosses his beautiful long hair over his shoulder with a flick of his hand. "I think it's great for people to have something they're passionate about."

"Oh, really now, Mister Jinshi?" Xiaolan perks up suddenly, almost elbowing Suirei beside her in her haste to get the next words out. "Would you say that a passionate learner is your ideal type?" A big smile blooms across her face, as it always does when she gets her hands on something she considers interesting.

Jinshi grins back, clearly pleased that at least someone has been picking up the breadcrumbs he had set down. Maomao rolls her eyes and leans back in her chair, as if she already knows what he'll say next, but she isn't actively moving away from him, either. "Yes. I like passionate learners. I also like people who aren't picky eaters and love their alcohol."

"Aww, that puts me out of the running! I just like sweets and juice." Jinshi smiles kindly as Xiaolan fake-sighs, holding a hand to her head in an imitation of a swoon. "But that's good for you, right, Maomao?"

"How did this go back to me?" Maomao snaps back, but a tad softer that she usually would. After all, she really is a softie when it comes to Xiaolan. Loulan sometimes complains about such blatant favoritism, but when she does Maomao merely pulls her aside and says neither of them should possibly expect dear sweet Xiaolan to keep up with the best of their messes.

"Oh, you know what I mean." Xiaolan says, her sunny smile firmly in place as she leans forward, a woman on a mission. "Remember when that nice Mister invited you out to go to the night markets and you and I had a phone call the entire night before to talk about where you should bring hi--mmph phh hmm?"

"You should eat more meat, you know." Maomao swears up and down that the only reason Xiaolan ever got to say that much is because she was busy loading up her chopsticks with meat. Definitely not because she was committing the look of surprise from the guy beside her to memory. Damn, why does he still look pretty with his flushed cheeks and stupid mouth all wide open like that. "Have some more."

"Xiaomao, easy on the meat, her cheeks are looking very full." Rikuson chides. He keeps putting unnecessary emphasis on the nickname, and Jinshi still looks like he'd swallowed a frog. "Your big brother over here will gladly take the rest of it, though?"

Maomao really, really doesn't want to reach across the table and feed Rikuson, but she doesn't know what else to do with the meat when she doesn't want to eat all of it either. She's about to bring the chopsticks out to reach his side of the table when someone suddenly pulls on her sleeve.

"Hmm?"

"I want that cut; give it to me." Jinshi says, in a tone of voice that brooks no arguments. It's more than enough to make Rikuson smile crookedly and move away.

"Get your own damned meat."

"No, I want that cut, not those cuts."

"Are you a child?"

"You really let her talk to you like that, Mister?" Suirei wonders. For almost the entirety of this meal, she had been quietly listening to their conversation, letting Rikuson and Xiaolan on each side of her pile up on the meat as she diligently sliced bite-sized portions for her little sister, who, like Maomao, was more focused on the drinks than anything.

After a few gestures here and there, it looked like Maomao finally caught on that Jinshi had wanted her to feed him, so she does, begrudgingly. There's a satisfied, contented sparkle in Jinshi's eyes as he licks his lips, holding Maomao's gaze the entire time. Then he turns to Suirei. "I'd obviously let her do anything with me."

"Big words from someone who wouldn't let me feed him cordyceps." Maomao grunts. From the tone of her voice, this seems to be a recurring complaint.

"I was with you the whole way, until you said you'll lock me in with a random other person. Isn't a woman of science supposed to personally observe their data?"

Loulan laughs at that, Rikuson quickly following along, and Xiaolan turns to the woman beside her in sheer confusion. "What's a cordyceps, Suirei-jie? What are they talking about?"

Unfortunately, due to her line of work, Suirei knows exactly how a cordyceps would be used, so she also knows in what purpose this Mister Jinshi is hoping to use it with their seemingly oblivious friend. "Trust me, Xiaolan, you're lucky to not know what they mean."

---

After the meal is done - which also means, after Jinshi had finally finished making Maomao feed him everything, up to and including half the plate of grilled silkworm that Loulan had ordered on a whim - Suirei tells them something that's been weighing on her for a while now.

"I realized we're going to have a problem on our way back."

Suirei had bought a four-seater sedan, but between all the medicinal herbs she and Maomao had haggled, the cute stuff Xiaolan bought for her new apartment, and Loulan's haul of assorted knickknacks, the back seat might as well not exist for human seating.

Rikuson had bumped into them at the market and went along with them to the restaurant, but he only has a motorcycle with him. He does have an extra helmet, though, so someone could possibly ride with him - not someone taller like Suirei or Jinshi, though.

Jinshi had insisted on bringing Maomao to her meeting place with the other three girls with the intention of just dropping her off and going back home, but when he had seen Maomao recognize Rikuson in the crowd and call out to said family friend with such familiarity, he suddenly didn't want to leave. If only he knew he was going to stay this long, he would have opted for his four-seater as well - now he just has his two-seater sports car.

"I don't see a problem," Maomao says, fully aware of the eyes that are suddenly on her. "Each vehicle can ride two people, and there's six of us. Easily said and done."

"Xiaomao, the helmet still fits on you, so you can ride behind me like you used to." Gods above, Rikuson thinks, behind his smile, Maomao's guy really needs to take a chill pill. But I guess I'm not helping.

"Call me Xiaomao one more time and I'll--" Make sure one of yours becomes small, is how Maomao usually ends this threat. It's a testament to her inner growth, or maybe how tired she is, that instead of completing that sentence, she takes a deep breath and stops herself. She massages her temple, seemingly nursing a headache. "Ugh. You know what? It doesn't matter."

"So that's a yes?"

"I take that more as a no," Loulan murmurs across the table so quietly that Rikuson suspects it's only meant for his ears. Then, louder, she speaks again: "I call dibs on me and Maomao riding jiejie's car home!" Loulan says in her usual bright voice. "I'm a super duper safe driver, and Xiaolan said before that she wanted to ride a motorcycle at least once."

"Uh, I wanted to ride with Maomao too, though?" Xiaolan says, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Just like last time. It was fun to ride behind her on the scooter..." The faint flush on her cheeks may be from the prospect of having to wrap her arms around an unfamiliar young man like Rikuson, but Maomao doesn't know what to do with the troubled look the young woman sends her direction.

"Xiaolan, I don't think we can ride together this time. I don't have a license so I can only ride my scooter, but I didn't bring it today." Come to think of it, that was Jinshi's fault. He smiles beatifically beside her.

"Then it's settled, Xiaolan and Mister Family Friend on the bike, me and Maomao in the car! I wouldn't want to separate her from her herbs after all."

"Little sister, where am I supposed to ride in this scenario, if you've taken my car...?"

"Oh, you and Mister Jinshi are similar heights so I just thought if he can fit in the sports car, you can too, jiejie!"

Suirei and Jinshi exchange looks. Literally the only things they have in common are their heights and a surprisingly soft spot for Maomao - his more prevalent than hers. That doesn't mean I'll automatically give way, she thinks, and chalks that sudden burst of pettiness up to how Jinshi had earlier made it an unspoken competition of who can buy Maomao more interesting medicinal raw materials.

"Wouldn't you have more fun in a fancy sports car with all the bells and whistles, though, meimei? I know you like driving fast." Suirei wonders aloud, a serene smile on her face. "Also, you did tell me before that you like talking to passionate people with clear-cut goals. As a businessman, I would guess Mister Jinshi would fit that description."

What is jiejie talking about? Loulan has met Jinshi for the first time in her life today, but she has heard more than enough of him from Maomao and seen them together around the office enough to know that if that guy has one passion in life...yep, it's probably Maomao herself. But that aside - "Jiejie, I was talking about Maomao back then! I want to talk with her more! Jiejie already hogged all her attention with all the medicine talks you had earlier. I wanted in too! Maomao!"

"Like I said, it doesn't matter to me either way," Maomao says, somehow grasping the fact that she is now the center of this entire conversation, without actually committing enough to listen to any of their debates. "The motorcycle is okay, either of the cars is okay. Just let me know whatever you've decided."

"But Maomao - come on, ride with me, you'll love it!" Loulan...sparkles, there's no other word for it, her eyes are sparkling up at Maomao's nonplussed expression as she shoves Jinshi out of the way to look at her friend better. "Don't you love me enough to share the ride home with me?"

Suirei realizes, belatedly, that here is where the other shoe drops, because Jinshi finally tears his gaze away from Maomao long enough to consider the situation in front of him. Her, with the capacity to occupy Maomao's thoughts with their shared love for medicinal herbs. Loulan and Xiaolan, who Maomao doesn't fully realize she has the softest spots for. Rikuson, who shared a childhood with Maomao and has had her ride his motorcycle before. If you look at it in the way only a lovesick, jealous guy like him would: he is in enemy territory.

What will he do now?

Maomao sighs and hangs her bag across her torso, readying herself to leave with her coat tucked into her arm. "We should go, then. If Rikuson and Xiaolan are taking the motorcycle, I think we should leave for the city before it gets dark out there."

Jinshi still appears lost in the train of thought he'd hitched a ride on, long enough that Maomao takes one good, long look at him and drapes his overcoat over his shoulders, unclipping his car keys from his belt loop and putting it snugly in his clasped hands for good measure.

They really do work well together, Xiaolan thinks. Too bad that for all their shared intelligence it appears like they cannot even fathom that when it comes to this, they're on the exact same page.

Jinshi blinks back to life when they're out of the restaurant, Loulan happily twirling Suirei's keys around her index finger as she herds Maomao towards her sister's sedan. "...wait."

Neither Maomao nor Loulan manage to get a word in before Jinshi catches up to them on his long, long legs and clasps his hand around Maomao's wrist. No pulling. He just holds her. "We live in the same floor of the same apartment building, I'll drive her home."

This is apparently news to Rikuson, who looks at Xiaolan in curiosity. She gives him back a timid smile that probably says, yeah, that surprised us, too.

"I live in the same apartment building as you two, boss." Loulan smirks back, her arm wrapping around Maomao's free arm. Suirei makes an astute observation that the picture they make almost resembles the tug of war scenes in the dramas Loulan loves to make her watch. This is, considering her dramatic little sister, probably done on purpose. "Maomao gave me the okay. Also, I called dibs first."

"Maomao and I had plans after this, the original idea was that I drop her off and come back for her when you're done." In spite of the confidence in his tone, there's something in the way Jinshi says Maomao's name that tells Loulan he doesn't really call her by that as often as he wants to. "Since we're already together, it only makes sense for us to go to the next location together."

"Jiejie, Xiaolan, Maomao and I are going to have a sleepover in my unit. In the same apartment building you're going home to. We are literally going to go to the same next location." The first vestiges of any pulling are coming from Loulan's side - Maomao winces, sometimes the girl really does not comprehend just how much upper body strength she actually does have. "The only one who's actually going somewhere else is Mister Family Friend over there, but he isn't complaining over Maomao not riding with him."

"Actually," Rikuson smiles curiously. "Uncle Loumen's staying over at Xiaomao's unit for the night and we're heading back home tomorrow, so I'm crashing on her couch for tonight too. We're all going to the same place."

Maomao blinks in confusion. "Ah. That was today? I thought that was tomorrow?"

"There was a mishap at the ticketing office and we got compensatory tickets for tomorrow morning. Lahan-ge's work, as expected."

Maomao shrugs, or as much as she could with one girl clinging to her arm and one guy holding her hand. "That's fine. I'll bring out the blankets for you, if you really don't mind the couch."

Hey Xiaomao, what about we share your bed like old times - is what Rikuson would probably say, if only the guy in front of him with an obvious burning crush on Maomao hadn't been riled up enough already. He keeps that little tidbit in the back pocket for future reference, instead. Nobody has to know that the only reason younger Maomao clung on to younger him back then was because she was dreaming and mistook his arm for a ginseng root, of all things.

"Maomaooooo." Loulan just about whines, her eyes sparkling as she tugs onto Maomao another time, attempting to pull her away from her coworker just enough so that she can run with Maomao into the sunset. "Come on, it's cold out and we have to go!"

At this point, Maomao can't budge, not even if she had wanted to, because Jinshi's hand has since moved down to interlock his fingers with hers. It's not exactly a position Maomao wants to be caught dead in, but his hand is warm and his fingers slot perfectly in between hers and Maomao can't quite understand why but she feels something quite like contentment settle deep into her chest. She will never tell the man in front of her that, of course. His pretty head is already filled with hot air as it is; she's not gonna add to that.

Maomao looks up at the guy in question, most probably to tell him to let her go so Loulan can stop sulking and actually drive, but the expression that greets her on that celestial beauty's face makes her stop dead in her tracks. His eyes, usually guarded behind his public smile or clear and open to match his real childish huffiness, are now glossy with unshed tears. His lips, glossy with a distracting sheen that Maomao knows full well came from all the meat she was feeding him earlier, are trembling. And his hand, the only part of his that tethered him to her, clasps even tighter against her fingers.

"I'll get you anything you want, Maomao, just please ride with me." Jinshi blurts out, his voice a complete 180 from the cool, calm, collected voice he was using when talking to everyone earlier. He sounds more desperate, more raw - it's the same tone of voice that convinces Maomao to do stuff she normally doesn't like gently tend to his wounds or let him cling to her as he sobbed and told her about his poor excuse of a father. And she's hearing it again now, all because these naughty kids she unfortunately calls friends have made a good game out of messing with him, somehow.

Xiaolan can't help but wish she had enough popcorn to pair with all this cheese, and shares an amused side glance with Rikuson beside her. He grins with her, in solidarity, because guess who's going to go home and tell Big Brother Lahan all about their littlest sister's budding workplace romance?

As Loulan pulls her closer, crushing her arm against her sizable bosom, Maomao shoots her a warning glance - that her friend, of course, gleefully ignores. "Bribery isn't fair, Mister Jinshi." Loulan chides, her words at a complete odds against her resplendent smile. "Maomao's coming with me and you can talk to her later!"

In response to that, Jinshi sniffles, which tells Maomao that he's about to blubber out more nonsense, stuff like "don't leave me behind!" or "will you abandon me like this!?" Maomao is (unfortunately) the number one protector of Jinshi when he's in such a delicate state, which means she has to bring Jinshi back to his usual state fast. So she decides to throw him a bone, for once.

"Wait a sec, Loulan, let's let him talk. What do you mean when you say anything?"

"As expected from our Maomao," Loulan coos, leaning her head against Maomao's shoulder. "You're just too nice!"

"When I mean anything I mean anything." Jinshi says, staring Maomao and Loulan down with a renewed confidence. "Just tell me what it is, and it's yours."

Maomao balks at that. "I don't think that having my boring ass in the passenger seat for a two-hour car ride is worth that much, actually, so don't be that vague -"

"You said before that you needed more cordyceps for your experiment. I can get a couple more, and throw in some saffron and rosy periwinkle for good measure."

Loulan knows exactly when she lost Maomao because she gets that shine in her eye that only appears when rare herbs are concerned. So she lets go of the arm she had been clinging to, and watches her walk away with interest. "I'll write up an IOU to hold you on that when we get home," Maomao tells Jinshi, doing nothing about her hand still interlaced with his as they walk back to his car.

"I'll gladly sign any paper that Maomao wants me to sign," Jinshi says, the fondness clear as day in his tone as he happily opens his passenger car door for Maomao. Wow, that's enough sparkles to drown Maomao in, probably. Still a better option than letting him break down and sob in front of everyone - Maomao knows how to deal with this annoying guy's handsomeness by now. She does not want to watch him cry again.

"Well, that's that on that, change of plans. Mister Family Friend, I'm going with you." Loulan says, matter-of-factly, taking the extra helmet from Xiaolan's arms and exchanging it with her sister's keys. "Jiejie, I can entrust our sweet Xiaolan in your hands."

There's a look on the young woman's face that tells Rikuson she's not doing this out of affinity with him - she had, in fact, been sizing both him and Jinshi up with matching glares whenever she thought Maomao was not looking. But nevertheless, Rikuson still thinks there's no harm in asking her what she's planning to do. "Miss Loulan, right? How can I help you?"

"You could've helped if only you rode with the boss," Loulan mutters under her breath, before turning to Rikuson with a blinding grin on her face. "How fast can you go on your bike?"

He still doesn't quite know where she's going with this. "Fast enough...within legal limits."

"That's good enough. Let's go and get close enough to ruin any romantic mood that settles in between them."

"Suirei-jie," Xiaolan whispers, as the odd pair makes their way to where Rikuson is parked, "I thought Loulan likes Maomao and Mister Jinshi's romance?"

"I don't know, Xiaolan," Suirei sighs, a hand behind Xiaolan's shoulders as she leads her to their ride. "Your guess is as good as mine." 

---

End notes:

i'm drafting an entirely different fic but it's postponed now since i just came back from watching skz code episode 44, final episode of their self-proclaimed jeju dating show and it's a hot mess and literally the only idea taking up my brainspace right now. for context, this is felix. see the things he says at 18 and 33 minutes into the video respectively:

like him, jinshi tries to be cool and calm when it comes to maomao but he isn't above freaking out and going straight to bribery. let us all pray for this lost little child. fun fact the title/beginning note is from the exact song we hear in the background when he says what he says in minute 18. wanted to have jinshi panic and be awkward even more but i felt that if he escalated maomao would actually shake him by the shoulders so just left it at this LOL

this was originally supposed to be a single scene from the fic i was drafting in the first place but i kept expounding on it and it became like this so here it is anyway. also as a bonus i wanted to keep track of who was sitting beside who so i made a seating chart, but i blinked and suddenly it became this. enjoy

i just want you to know watching aforementioned video woke me up in the last hours of 2023 with the urge to write down this mess in my brain and put it into words so everything came in a daydream and aside from this i don't think i can explain much else. so i guess, happy new year, stay healthy, etc. see you around and hoped you liked this!

[awkwardtickleetoo]

An Ocean Away

okay. i know i made a joke about it literally in the answer to my last ask. however. i have decided to actually start doing little mini fics that i either a) started years ago and never finished, or b) are ideas from/based on something from years ago that i wrote in the spur of the moment

this one happens to be the second option: based on this clip from april of 2021!! throwback to baaaaby baby george omg i love him so much my little man. definitely took some creative liberties with the clip inspiration, but, pretty close still nonetheless :)

i’m excited to keep this going here and there!! there have been a lot of concepts i’ve been meaning to do for ages but thought maybe they’re too outdated to do (especially anything smp related) so maybe this will give me a good reason to get those done <3 that’s about all i have to say, so i hope everyone likes the fic!!

(technically, there’s no actual tickles involved, but still) lee!george, ler!dream, ler!badboyhalo, 2.4k words

enjoy!!

--

“George, check discord,” Dream’s tired voice crackled through the microphone, lighting a fire in George’s chest from an ocean away. He blinked back into reality, having fallen into a trance watching BadBoyHalo wander around the SMP for the last 10 minutes, curled up in front of his computer in his dimly lit bedroom. He scooted his chair in, pushing his fingers out of the sleeve of his too-big hoodie, pulling at the blanket over his legs to make sure it didn’t catch under the wheels of the chair as he moved. He clicked off Bad’s stream, navigating to his and Dream’s discord messages, the preview notification letting him know that Dream had sent him a photo about two minutes prior.

It was a piece of fanart.

Fanart of him. And Dream.

Fanart of him and Dream, where Dream was tickling him to pieces.

It wasn’t anything too drastic– Dream with his arms wrapped around George from behind, fingers pressing into his ribs, lips close to his ear, presumably whispering something that would make George’s stomach flip about as much as it did in that moment, while George pushed him away, his face bright pink with a huge, shy smile– but Dream knew exactly what he was doing by sending it to him.

On Bad’s stream. In front of over a thousand people.

Had Dream lost his mind?

He wasn’t able to stop the shy giggle that made its way out of him, but he bit his bottom lip hard as soon as it escaped, smiling so wide it almost hurt his cheeks. He squirmed in his chair, one foot landing back on the ground as he adjusted himself, pushing himself to sit straighter, then slumping back down, pushing his chair a few inches back, then closer towards the desk, before finally settling on using his toes to twist the chair side to side nervously.

He clicked off their messages, into his and Bad’s, then into their group chat, before landing back on Dream’s, the image sending a new wave of flustered energy through him when it graced his presence again, making his flustered giggling return at full force.

“What’s going on over there, Captain Giggles?” Bad asked, chuckling himself, unable to ignore George’s intermittent laughter any longer. The nickname alone made his chest flutter again, bouncing his leg, growing antsy and shaking his head at no one.

“No, nothing, s’nothing, Dre– Dream’s just…” He stuttered, adjusting his headset over his ears and shifting his microphone around.

“He’s what?” Bad pressed, a smile audible in his voice, and George momentarily wished he could go back in time and slap himself before he ever met the two of them, but Dream’s laugh pulled him back down again.

“Yeah, what am I, George?” Dream asked, smug, and George could tell from the way his voice sounded that he had sat up straighter in his chair– taller, more alert, more confident.

“Just… an idiot,” George muttered, speech slurred and jumbled, both from how sleepy he was and how flustered he was. Dream and Bad both laughed at his reply, moving on with their own conversation about something else on the server that George was only kind of paying attention to.

He clicked on the message bar on the bottom, beginning to type out a reply, before deciding that his keyboard was much too loud and his monitor was much too big and bright to be doing that on, so he migrated back to Bad’s stream and returned it to full screen, before grabbing his phone and finding his home in Dream’s discord messages there instead. While his phone was much smaller, it was much closer to him, and the same photo shocked him for a third time, making the butterflies in his tummy flutter rapidly and forcing him to let out another quiet giggle. From there, his fingers flew, his hands clammy and shaky as they held the device close.

are you insane

He couldn’t think of much else to type. He still smiled, though, when he heard Dream let out a chuckle from the other end of the call, followed by the clacking of his keyboard, clearly much less shy about it than George was.

i saw it on twitter and it was just too cute not to send to you

look at your smile :(((

Dream was trying to kill him.

you’re trying to kill me.

Yeah, that was good.

nooooo

not yet ;)

George squirmed in his seat again, pulling the sleeves of his hoodie over his fingers again, crossing his arms over his chest as he pulled his legs up again, curling his toes around the edge of the chair and muffling more breathy laughter into his arm.

“George,” Dream prompted during a lull in his and Bad’s conversation, and George dreaded what would follow, his nerves just barely starting to get back to normal. “You still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” He replied, collected, albeit still sleepy, furrowing his eyebrows. “Why?”

“You haven’t said anything in a few minutes,” He finished, and George knew instantly that he was still messing around– he wasn’t free from Dream’s grasp just yet.

“Oh, sorry. Just tired, I think, but I’m still here,” He replied, as Bad answered a couple questions from chat in the meantime.

“Good,” Dream said back, clearly smirking, and George was embarrassed to admit how quickly that reply got him right back where his nervousness started.

Seconds later, his phone screen lit up again, alerting him of a new discord message.

georgie

One word, and Dream already had more nervous giggles bubbling up in his chest. He had George wrapped around his finger– and they both knew it.

yeah?

George let out a sigh, willing himself to calm down, eternally grateful that his camera wasn’t on. He could feel the heat on his face, helplessly aware that his flushed skin would be incredibly obvious and visible, even with the awful lighting from his computer monitor and the single, warm-toned lamp he had turned on in his room.

is that how you’re gonna react when i get to actually tickle you for the first time?

Any resolve George had hoped to hold onto flew out the window as soon as Dream hit send.

His embarrassed giggles returned again, even more nervous than they already were– which George didn’t even know was possible until it happened. They came out higher pitched, squeaky, completely involuntary, and he couldn’t stop it if he wanted to. He slapped a hand over his mouth, practically melting against his chair, resting his elbow in his desk and slumping down to hide in it. He dropped his other foot to the floor now, both legs bouncing nervously, as he stayed curled up with his head in his arms, mentally begging for the carpet below him to open up and swallow him whole.

“Oh my goodness, George, are you okay?” Bad asked through fond laughter, and George let out a groan, peeking one eye up to watch as Bad’s chat flew faster than his tired brain could process, filled with messages about his laughter and Dream’s smug responses and theorizing about what could be causing both of those things. “What set you off like that?”

“I sent him something,” Dream explained after recovering from his own smug laughter, voice smooth and sickeningly sweet, a tone that George recognized immediately, harkening back to their late nights discord calls with just the two of them where Dream would tease him in the exact same way. This only made George want to crawl into a hole even more, but he was still thankful that Dream wasn’t making him explain what had happened, because he might have actually died.

His thankfulness was short lived, however, when Dream reminded him that he was still insane, and still thrived off making George squirm and whine from thousands of miles away.

“Can I send it in the group chat, George? To show Bad?” Dream asked, and George had to bite his lip to stop himself from whining in response, reminding himself that they were still live, so he had to try to contain himself, even if Dream was making it so hard to do so just by existing and talking the way that he did.

“I hate you,” Was what he decided on instead, muttered softly into the sleeve of his hoodie that kept him comfortably warm and fuzzy– not a yes, not a no, enough for Dream to make a decision. He heard Dream chuckle, the sound vibrating through his chest and squeezing around his heart, another whimper threatening to escape his throat before he swallowed it down. He heard a few clicks, then watched the screen of his phone light up again, where it had been abandoned on the side of his desk.

oh baby :((

you’re so cute :(((

is it okay if i send it?

George felt the warmth spread through his chest again, feeling his lips form a small pout as he read each message as they came through. He squirmed and altered his position again, pulling the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands and picking his legs up, curling up under the blanket and scooting closer to his desk so he could still reach his keyboard and mouse.

mhm

He turned off his phone and placed it face down on the desk as he took a few seconds to get cozy again, shifting and squirming and wiggling, adjusting his hoodie, glancing between Bad’s stream and his now unoccupied hands in his lap, fidgeting with his fingers bashfully.

“Bad, check the group chat,” Dream said, and George let out a huff of air, his breathing somewhat regulated again even as his head grew dizzier and his poor tummy fluttered with butterflies. He heard Bad gasp, a smile audible in his voice when he spoke next.

“Is that what I think it is?” He asked excitedly, and Dream hummed in confirmation. “Oh, that is so cute, that’s really cute.”

“Who is that, George?” Dream asked softly, and if George was in the same room as him, he could have shot lasers at him through his eyes. “Is that me and you?”

“Dream…” George whined, pulling the collar of his hoodie over his mouth to hide his giggles.

“Can I show that on stream?” Bad asked, and George’s stomach flipped, protests leaving his mouth before he even registered the question.

“No, no, no! Nohoho, no,” He whined, no fight in his voice, but still shaking at the thought of something like that being shown to their audience. He knew Bad wouldn’t do anything like that without his undeniable permission, but it was still enough to make him giddy and nervous all over again.

“C’mon, Georgie, let him show it,” Dream teased, and George shook his head at nothing once again.

“Nohoho! No, no,” He continued to protest, feeling the tension and anxiety rise in his chest, starting to get slightly nervous about continuing their activities in front of an audience.

George always prided himself on being able to control a situation on stream, making sure things would go a certain way, or at least be able to wrangle things back in if someone like Dream or Sapnap or Bad decided to tease and mess with him to fluster him, but this was a different situation. He wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to keep himself from completely falling into Dream’s trap, and with Bad there as well, it would only happen even faster. He still trusted them to know they would take care of it, but the thought worried him nonetheless.

“Can I at least describe it to them?”

“No! No, you can’t, you can’t,” George squirmed in his seat, running his fingers through his hair. He huffed again, biting his lip nervously, anxious energy turning antsy again.

“Alright, alright, I’m just teasing. I’m not gonna show it,” Bad reassured, and George hummed in acknowledgment. “But it’s a very cute piece of fanart, George, I’m glad I could see it. Did you commission someone for that?”

“Wh– no–!” George stuttered, giggling in surprise, not expecting the question. Dream chuckled too, answering much more eloquently.

“No, no. Obviously he didn’t,” He said, slow and soft, voice thick like honey once again, and George melted at his tone like a lovesick baby kitten, collapsing in his chair for the millionth time that night.

“Well, either way, it’s very, very adorable. I love it a lot, I saved it already on my phone,” Bad explained, the words flowing through George’s ears in slow motion.

“Y-you…” He stammered again, processing that Bad actually saved the drawing of Dream tickling him to his phone, and he broke into shy, squeaky giggles again. The other two let him wind himself down, kindly letting him breathe for a moment, and George decided that was as good a time as any to click into their group chat and type out another message.

bad

can you end

if you want

pls

His fingers trembled over the keyboard, and he squeezed his fists together, hoping it might help to calm him down slightly. He heard Bad chuckle through the call, answering another question from a donation, before a response came through.

aw :(

does someone want our attention?

George swore he was about to implode.

cmon

no more on stream

He replied, knowing he wasn’t making as much sense as he’d hoped, but confident that the other two would understand him. Dream’s response came first, reassurance over everything else.

okay, sweetheart, it’s alright

not too much longer, don’t worry

we won’t leave you hanging

George let out a soft sigh, ashamed to admit how much the simple words calmed him. Bad’s response came next,

anything for my gogy :)

lemme say my goodbyes and i’m all yours you lil muffin

Immediate relief flooded over him, followed by the sudden realization that he had technically just asked Bad to end his stream so he and Dream could focus more on teasing him, which he did not think through when he started typing. When he started giggling again, even as Bad tried to talk to chat and had to mute the call to do so, Dream couldn’t help but comment on it.

just heard that realization hit in real time

huh, cutie?

George bit his lip, typing up a quick reply,

shut up

i can barely breathe

He heard Dream chuckle at his message, and the group chat stayed still for a few moments. Eventually, George watched Bad’s stream go offline, and he returned to the discord call once more.

“So,” He began, and George was already laughing before he even finished. “Where were we again?”

[anotherpapercut]

working with children really will make you examine your thought processes and emotional reactions like nothing else. I've found myself being so much more thoughtful in my daily life about how I respond to my emotions and environment, as well as the reasoning behind why others behave the way they do

[beevean]

Random question out of the blue, but I saw a post on a forum I lurk, that offhandedly alluded to Archie comics nearly killing Sonic even before Sonic 06, due to Sega not paying attention to what was being done with the character until it was too late. Having seen you rant about IDW Sonic before, (which I don't think is the same thing? But still adjacent enough to be relevant) you seemed like the best person to go to for context on what happened with that prior run.

I'm not well informed on Archie, sadly. I tried to read the reboot, but turns out it wasn't a reboot at all because it still required me to know events happened before that issue 😂 and pre-reboot is a complete mess I wouldn't even know how to touch.

I do know that technically the "real" Robotnik the comics start with dies early on, and then he gets replaced by another dimension's counterpart. A bold move, I suppose.

TvTropes gives me this:

Mistaken for Dying: Though he survives some near-fatal adventures, his friends and family thought he had died more than once. Issue 125 was easily the most dramatic as he stopped a doomsday device from destroying the planet. Everyone thought he was vaporized when he was really warped halfway across the universe. It took him a year (in Mobius time) to get back.

Plot Armor: No matter how bad things get, Sonic is always guaranteed to win in the end or eventually rebound from a short term defeat. It's eventually revealed to be an In-Universe case: according to Mammoth Mogul and Eggman, Sonic's long-term exposure to Chaos Energy has essentially made him an Anthropomorphic Personification of Chaos, a living unknown factor; no matter how strong the bad guys get, no matter how ingenious their plans are, and no matter how far they calculate and plan, Sonic will win at the last minute. This has driven Mammoth Mogul to play the Long Game, using his immortality to his advantage to simply wait it out until Sonic dies of old age or just gets too old to fight, and is what led Eggman to create the reality warping Genesis Wave tech to have a way to counter it.

(this last part explains a few fanon misconceptions, huh)

Sorry I wasn't of much help lol. I hope someone else can answer your question!

[dawnbreakersgaze]

Oh my Gooodddddddd

He showed up in this outfit today but he added the sunglasses????

And then he starts talking about my eyelashes 😩 when I tell you the way I fucking MELTED as it was a voiced line 🥺

Y'all I was not prepared. That outfit has me in a headlock. I've only had it for a day but it already is rivaling Zayne's 90s lesbian suit (that I would kill a man for) as my favorite in game outfit currently.

When the weather lets up and my hands feel better I'm 10000% doing some Xav fanart of him in this outfit because hnngggggg 🥴🥴🥴🥴

[lopsidedtreetrunks]

Happy 10th birthday to The Song Ever