#(ever since I first joined the fandom actually I've been annoyed about it for a while now)

[youling-the-ghost]

GUYS WE FINALLY HAVE SFTH LONGFORM CHARACTER TAGS ON AO3!! :D

(we still don't have any canon relationship tags as far as I know but this is still pretty cool!)

[v-arbellanaris]

u know what actually im gonna make one last srs post abt this whole thing and then im doneeeee i swear lmfao, so all of the anons in my inbox can finally shut up and fuck off and i'll put it under a cut so i dont ~ruin your da4 hype~ the way youve fucking ruined mine i guess.

watsonian justification for this: "decisions you made 10+ years ago in another part of the country simply will not affect the current story". hey isnt the entire story behind veilguard that a guy has been working for the last 10 years to rip down the veil. like. is the whole thing not a story that started 10 years ago. do you not have access to the eluvian network now because solas stole it 10 years ago from briala. is the blight not around because of the evanuris in some way. isnt the entire magisterium something that's been in place for thousands and thousands of years. like even within the context of da, the entire story revolves around things that happened thousands of years ago that have shaped the world that our characters exist in today. we, ourselves, as real people, don't live in a world where things happening on one side of the planet do not affect anything else. and that's not even touching on the fact that we have companions from the first game showing up. at the very least decisions that affect them directly should have been factored in????

doylist justification(s) for this: #1 "we only wanted to include worldstate decisions we could develop reactivity to" so the only decisions were.... whether or not solas is romanced? for me, it's the way that when you're playing dai, the entire justification for NOT being able to romance him as anyone other than lavellan is that you can have a deep and important and complex relationship with him even if you dont romance him, the fandom is always going on & on about how important friendship!solas is and how it shouldnt be underrated but the moment his ENTIRE CHARACTER (and ours?!) gets boiled down to whether or not you had a romantic relationship with him, we're going to celebrate it??? really??? REALLY??? what in the fucking amatonormativity is this, and how is this a step BACKWARDS from dai for solas???

#2 "the world was too complicated so they wanted to simplify it for new players" that's literally the problem we're discussing. the problem we're discussing is the complexity of the world, and the solution bioware came up with for it is to simply scrap it all, and surprise surprise! not everyone is happy about it??? you are just describing the problem that the solution fails to address???

i think the most annoying part of this whole thing is the fan response to it. literallyyyy am seeing things like "no one ever complained about the worldstates not mattering in the next games before da4" which is NOT TRUE. ever since i JOINED this fandom, i've heard so many things about people complaining about leliana defaulting back to a hardened state in dai, about alistair's characterisation in dai, about cullen's repeat appearances, about your boons/decisions in dao not carrying forward in the next games. people HAVE been complaining about it, for ages, especially in dai. it is explicitly a problem in dragon age, and has been for a long, long time, and the problem has only grown the more complex the worldstate becomes. that's why they tried to address the problem here by simply scrapping it all. i've also seen things like "well if youre only interested in callback references, this dragon age game not for YOU" which not only minimises and dismisses the issues and feelings at hand here, but also reeks of self-righteous, smug superiority of I Am The Sole Correct Enjoyer. who is this game for, if not for people who love dragon age?

i'm not here for rook's story - i'm here to save the world that i've built with my own two hands over three games. i am doing that through rook as a character, yes, but i have no cause or reason to care about rook at all going into this game except for the basic fact of this is my character that i am playing - rook is a character that i expect playing the game will make me invested in and care about them. but you know what i already cared about before going into veilguard? you know what i've saved three times over already, potentially even at the cost of my own life? thedas. MY thedas. OF COURSE I WANT TO KNOW THAT IT MATTERS. in world, solas himself wants to know what changes his actions wrought. THOUSANDS OF YEARS AFTER THE FACT. why is everyone acting like fans are insane for this????

i, for one, have not complained about the game "ruining" origins or da2 or even dai. i was excited about the changes, because changes were evidently necessary. i have been fully prepared for the differences, even if i've been apprehensive or cautious about it. do you think i'm disappointed now because i hate dragon age??? where do you fucking get off saying this game is not meant for me? because i dont agree with how bioware has chosen to resolve this issue, suddenly these games are Not For Me anymore?

and you know what, i already know they're not for me. the way this series, and this fandom, treats people of colour, and characters of colour, i am made aware every single day that dragon age is not for me. these games are for the liberal white girlies and white queers living in the west. i know damn well these games have never been for me, and any insistence that it should consider me will be met with vitriol and viciousness. and guess what? i am still here.

i was sooo ready to let this go until the fandom just kept acting like ppl are idiots for being unhappy about things AT ALL in da4. its so fucking annoying to me. i'm NOT going to complain about every single little thing in da4 possible, but i'm also not going to act like bioware is going to do and is doing everything right. what is WITH this fandom and extremes of thought and behaviour. is it because you're all american??? like. i'm actually so sorry that you live in a black-and-white world with no complexities or nuances because it must be so boring and sad.

in my opinion, i would not have minded slimming down the narrative choices to a select few that they could really hone in and focus on. i feel like the dragon age keep decisions can be a bit arbitrary, and i would've loved to see like 5-6 key decisions per game, ORRRR even for your worldstate to boil down to something like whether or not you generally supported positive change or upheld the status quo per game, and then specific character decisions regarding the inquisitor to be brought in, since they're the pc that actually shows up. i do think there's likely a lot of chaff that can be cut off or simplified as a sort of "lost to the times" kind of narrative telling. but boiling down these games to three fucking choices that are ultimately just 'did u romance and like solas or nah' is fucking INSANE. why is the answer to the issue of the quantum - which has been an issue for a long time!!!!!! - to just... scrap it entirely???

edit: adding this here since i said i wouldnt make any more posts abt this topic but i rly find it laughableeeee when fans eagerly parrot bioware insisting that just because those choices dont matter in THIS game doesnt mean they'll never matter in a FUTURE game (i guess we can expect the next one in 2034?). if they already scrapped those choices for this game, and you're all still buying it (some of you??? PREORDERED it???? i thought we agreed not to do that???), why would they bother. do you think the next dragon age game wont have the same line of logic for 'we need to make it accessible for new players!!!!!' that they had for this one and for dai? how willfully stupid are you that you think I'M the stupid one here?

im happy for you guys tho! i hope the new dragon age game where theyve removed all of those complexities instead of making ANY effort to address ANY of the existing dissatisfaction around feeling like any of your game decisions mattered supports your existing brainrot so you can continue believing in a black-and-white reality. really glad theyve simplified it for you guys just like you wanted into 3 choices all about sola/vellan.

i'm going back to my own sandbox, as epler has instructed me to, so i can ~imagine~ my own thedas lmfao

[broodwolf221]

my message to new/returning fans

as da4 approaches and the fandom changes, gaining both new and returning users, i want to state very clearly:

share your thoughts! it doesn't have to be "original" to be valuable! no more than it needs to conform to current fanon! you don't need to read everyone else's theories in order to state your own

I'm familiar with that pressure and how much it can dampen the urge to share, to actually engage with the broader fandom. even though i was there at the start of dai's fandom, i fell out of it for years and came back recently, and there was a definite undercurrent of pressure to a) conform to the theories already stated, especially by big name fans, and b) to only ever post a truly original theory

the former inherently limits fandom and treats it more like an academic field that one needs to be familiar with before stating anything; the latter is fundamentally ridiculous, since we're all engaging with the same source material and have the ability to perceive foreshadowing and explore what it means. the first person to perceive and write about a bit of foreshadowing has no more fundamental "right" to that perspective than the hundredth

it can also be hard to wade through the tags of a fandom that's been out for a decade+, especially if you like a character or ship that gets a lot of hate. that's exhausting and no one is obligated to do that research

you're not too late to the fandom to have theories, to post meta, or to express your feelings. those of us currently in the fandom would do well to remember that new people will be joining us and they likely won't even know the bloggers who have already posted meta, so seeing someone ask if xyz has ever been considered should be treated as a valid question. seeing someone say they've never seen ppl talking about xyz should be viewed as an invitation to (gently!) point to some people who have talked about it. "oh, if you're into this idea, you might like [username's] meta"

i think it's valuable to draw attention to the fact that a long-established fandom has been getting new blood throughout the whole time it's been here, and will be getting considerably more new blood soon, and that it might be worth adapting to that early. because regardless of any established fan's preferences, we are going to be getting new fans unfamiliar with established theories/fanon. and no one should be beholden to fanon anyway

but all this is to also say - new fandom members? i see you. I'm here for you. if you want to know what's been said, you can ask me and i will direct you as best i can; if you want to come up with stuff on your own, i support that. i will never come onto your posts to "disprove" your theory or to claim it's unoriginal

also, know that when you see vent posts where people are feeling annoyed about fans or complaining about them, they are almost certainly talking about fans who are engaging in discourse, are argumentative, or are otherwise being kinda shitty. i know - from personal experience! - how easy it is to take a vague vent post personally, especially when the kind of behavior they're actually annoyed by isn't clarified, but it's unlikely to be directed at fans who are engaging with curiosity and excitement. being new to a fandom is intimidating and as someone who's trying to be respectful, it can be so easy to internalize messages from people's venting, but fr, it's rarely about new fans and their conclusions. that said, if those posts bother you… unfollow! or block! blocking is not a mean or cruel action

find your niche, curate your experience, and you will definitely find people who support you. I've really enjoyed my time here and met many people i care about and respect, but it was a bit of an uphill struggle early on and i know a message like this from an established voice in fandom would have helped ease my own concerns coming into this space

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I posted my art from a zine early?

I (23nb) joined a zine for a semi obscure 2000s manga/anime as a page artist with two of my friends. I enjoy this media but I don't really consider myself in the fandom, I only joined because one of my aforementioned friends is a huge fan of it and the other friend is also a casual enjoyer and we thought it would be fun if we all did a zine together.

However.

Most zines have a timeline of around 9-10 months from beginning to publishing but this one's been in production for almost 2 years. I've been in a few zines and this one has the worst organization I've ever seen in any project. The timeline on the discord only covered the first 5 months and had no estimate for how long the production would be, but a year and a half for publishing is pretty unheard of. The only check-in for progress that I remember didn't even require sending in your piece, you just had to say if you were finished or not and only a handful of the 30ish people on the discord responded lmao. Both of my friends ghosted at this point and the Singular mod (there might be two mods. I can't really tell) didn't dm them to see if they still wanted to participate or anything. Since there is only one person doing everything me and a few others have asked if they need any help and every time the mod(s) say that they're fine. every month or two someone will ask how the production is going and the mod will answer, and then another month goes by and the cycle repeats. I think the zine has finally gone into its “preorder interest check” stage (so not the actual preorder) but judging by how long everything takes i estimate that it'll be another 2 months at least before it actually goes into preorder. Its also never been clear if this is a free zine or if the sales will be donated to charity or distributed among the contributors. Since there's Allegedly going to be a physical copy it's gotta at least use the sales money to pay for production and shipping costs, but I have no idea if I'll be compensated with a physical copy or any money, especially if I do the thing that I might be TA for.

So here's my actual question. WIBTA if I posted the art I made for the zine before the mod says it's ok to do so? A big part of zine etiquette is that you do not post the final piece until the zine is finished, and the repercussions for someone who does range from a mod dming them to take it down or being kicked out of the zine entirely or in the absolute worst case, called out and blacklisted in the fandom and zine circles (I don't think anything that serious will happen to me but I have anxiety so I'm always imagining the worst thing) Most of the people on Tumblr in this fandom are kind of annoying fandom mom millennial types so I don't really want to deal with any possible backlash from them lol. If I just posted my art on Instagram idk if any of them would see it, but they Definitely would if I posted on Tumblr since the zine originated on there and it's such a small tag. I'm also so frustrated with the experience I kind of want to write something cunty in the description about how it's a zine piece for a zine that probably will never come out but I know that's just being petty and would probably invite drama. Also since I drew this thing a year and a half ago it's a little busted looking so I might redraw parts of it, so posting it would still be kinda shitty but it would technically be a different piece from the original one I submitted to the zine.

What are these acronyms?

[shynetyme06]

P. Paperjam—

This one is gonna be long but I can tell you know exactly what you've signed up for

First impression: I thought he was an annoying baby because of reasons you can probably guess. I mostly tolerated his presence in the videos I watched because I really liked errorink when I first joined the fandom, so he was just "kid that was there sometimes"

Impression now: HE IS EVERYTHING TO ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fr my favorite character of all time✨ Back when I was exclusively looking at utmv content on youtube, I came across this video, and it was my first ever look at pj not being that annoying baby, which dominoed into me trying to find more about this jerk of a character, because omg this is what's actually canon?? which led me here :3 genuinely obsessed with their story, and by now my opinion of errorink literally traded with them lmao. Those dad guys are cool but they're always in the background of the true star forreal

Favorite moment: this

Idea for a story: I have way too many of these........ But I've been seeing ppl be more broad with this answer so I will too: I like when people acknowledge how garbage she's doing mentally. She didn't just spawn and start acting like an asshole to everyone, a hard childhood shaped who she is now and so the bitterness just makes sense (people tend to forget/not know/acknowledge that she was actually shown to be a pretty chill, soft spoken kid. years of neglect is what pushed her to leave) This next part isn't like, a rule for anyone lmao. but this question is for my idea and what my idea is, is that most if not every single one of my pj variants have got parental issues (even if a lot smaller in some cases) because said issues are a staple for this guy atp (to meeee)

Unpopular opinion: I think the pj and fresh dynamic can be fun without shipping or the uncle fresh interpretation. They're both grown and get into shenanigans (also I think it's funny if pj initially just hung around the guy because he's literally walking error repellent, and since fresh is unable to posses pj the strategy just kinda became "hmm having a friend makes me look more normal, I can live with this")

Favorite relationship: omnipj forever and always 💜🩷I used to go through their ship tag like every day when I discovered them I swear, they are genuinely the cutest thing ever to me. They used to be my true otp, (fr never seriously considered shipping either of them with another person) but thenn I met a certain someone and got converted lmao. Now I've got 2 worlds featuring the ship of pj x lux (including a shared au with the aforementioned someone, hi tobi💜) And no matter if it's just one of them or both, I love seeing the softer side of pj's personality that had been buried for so long resurfacing again around the people she loves <33333 And part 2 of this answer because nearly every dynamic with pj intrigues me like crazy: ink man. that freaking guyyYYYYYY THEY MAKE ME SAD. going back to an earlier point, pj didn't just come out hating them. they tried and tried and tried to have a relationship, and we know how that ended. My interpretations of them rarely get to the point of pj running away and being forgotten, but there's always this.. disconnect, yknow? (I am a huge fan of good dad ink guys I just tend to douse their relationship with pj in a little flame before they get to the healing part🙏) (And bonus since we're on the topic of parents, the fact that pj still wanted to on some level appeal to even error after the things he's done to them is absolutely tragic, and all this put together really adds to my reading of pj as a character being one who believes in the idea of having to work to deserve to be respected/cared for) Uhhh part 3 I promise this one is shorter: Palette and pj are the siblings ever to me. I really like sibling dynamics that are adult/teen + kid, (ik palette is canonically an adult now just let me have this) plus they're opposites in a ton more ways and play off of each other really well. I believe that pj was not happy in the slightest about being an older sibling to him in the beginning, but they always grow to love each other <3

Favorite headcanon: I don't think I have a favorite tbh, but here's one that applies to every pj I've written so far: they are farsighted, but refuse to get/wear glasses all the time because "it's not that bad"

ask game

[itsjaywalkers]

babe i miss ur rants like crazy so if u have any rant that needs to be indulged this is me indulging u <3333

this actually made me so soft.. i didn't know there was someone who enjoyed my rants so much.. i always feel kinda annoying.. i'm giving u the biggest forehead kiss in the world nonnie YOU'RE THE BEST

this being said . well

lately i've been thinking a lot about this band au i don't know if i'll ever write or if it'll just stay in my head, bc when i first started reading fanfiction i was OBSESSED with band aus and even tho i'm not that into them anymore . they make me feel very nostalgic and happy so i was like u know what . i should come up with my own. AND THAT'S WHAT I DID!!

anyways it's a dual pov, james and lily's!! they used to date, and since james is the lead singer in a very popular band, they were the it couple back then, everyone was fucking obsessed with them, said they were Perfect, peak romance, they wanted what they had etc etc. lily even sang with him sometimes when the band went on tour, bc she has a beautiful voice and all the fans kept pushing for her to join the band and sing all the ballads with james etc

but then . all of a sudden . she disappeared . not literally, you know, she just fucking ran away, without telling a single soul. she didn't even leave a letter to james, or maybe remus, who was one of her best friends. james was devastated, the band was devastated, the whole world was devastated. they went on hiatus for a lil before coming back with a very different vibe and since then . well . no one talks about lily evans . reporters try to bring her up every now and again bc they're nosy fuckers but james goes all stiff and his replies become stilted (even if still perfectly professional)

flashforward to . when the story actually starts . a new band has just debuted and it's rising to fame concernigly quick and james remus sirius and peter are going Crazy bc they feel a bit threatened and also oh would u look at that?? if it isn't sirius' estranged brother in the flesh!! playing the drums for this stupid band who's trying to compete with them!!

and if that wasn't enough !! lily finally returns to their lives............... she's also making a debut but as a soloist.............. and she's very Different from the lily they remember................... her songs are loud and aggressive and filled with resentment and very obviously about james and their relationship and james' friends. she's mean and bold and witty and everyone is Wondering if there was more to her disappearance than what they thought

it'll be jegulus and bartylily <3 and one of the reasons why idk if i'll ever write it it's bc one of the reasons why lily left is that she got pregnant and she didn't want it so she aborted and . we all know how this fandom gets about lily and motherhood lmao

anyways one of the scenes that's been plaguing my mind is this one that happens after lily and barty have started sleeping together and spending more and more time in each other's presence!! they're in barty's flat and barty wakes up at some point in the middle of the night just to discover he's alone in bed. so he wakes up and finds lily sitting at the kitchen table, notebook open, pen in hand and humming under her breath. he hugs her from behind and sees she's writing something new and they talk a lil, bicker some and tease even more, and then barty tells her she should write a song about him and stop dissing that stupid ex bf of hers bc it's getting old. lily laughs and asks him if he wants a cheesy love song and barty cackles and shakes his head and says that he'd rather have one of her dissing songs, bc they're fun and likes it when she gets all mean. besides, the press wouldn't believe her if she wrote something nice or sweet about him bc barty is always getting into scandal after scandal

lily does end up writing a song about barty, dissing him (affectionately except ppl don't know that) and when she first performs it live, she does so while just wearing one of barty's shirts and barty laughs the whole time while sporting the biggest heart eyes known to mankind

[music-orthemisery]

I’m back with actual thoughts. They’re not coherent, more rambling, but they are thoughts, so here you go!

I’ve been in the fob fandom for a while. I got into them during the hiatus, was on the very outside of fandom during srr, and joined during abap. I kinda floated in and out. This is all to say I’ve seen p2’s post hiatus interactions in various forms for years. I’ve seen people’s different theories, from they are romantically involved, to best buds, to that they are just coworkers.

maybe it’s just recency bias, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so close or so fond of each other. They just seem to be so… loving towards each other??? Like it’s the french cabbage comment night every night. “I’ve been reduced to the words you’ve chosen for me” who says that??? “You look especially good tonight” “play us a song, love”. and patrick doesn’t roll his eyes, or make a face. what the fuck??? Like, whatever you want to theorize their relationship is, there’s so much love there.

HIIIII ANON!

i know not what you speak of - this is perfectly coherent to me!

first off, i don't think it's recency bias at all as i've been defining SMFS as the era where they stopped giving a fuck. i'd argue that not only p2, but also fob as a whole, are the most comfortable and having the most fun than any other time in their career. their collective presence now is SO at ease and joyful - it's truly been beautiful to witness.

more specifically to p2, i think covid really challenged them and had them come to terms with what really matters in life. there has been tangible love between them since the very beginning, but i think they are less concerned about public opinion now and more willing to show that love more explicitly.

the media circus of the 00s' - which was even more cruel and invasive than it is now (IMO) - nearly ripped fob, and p2, apart. looking at sources from back then can give you a picture of that. let me tell you, though - living through it? it was...rough to witness. i'd be shocked if any fan who was paying attention then was SURPRISED by the hiatus.

sad, yes. but surprised? no.

post-h fob was A LOT more careful with their boundaries - they were still themselves, but they were definitely more reserved, especially in how they interacted with each other. p2 were especially more careful and there was definitely a particular...narrative being pushed. they loosened up over time, but. there was a VIBE...

i think the pandemic really did punt them into - fuck it, why don't we just be/do what we want? why are we keeping ourselves in this box? as pete has said many times recently - life is short, so do everything.

(i'd also....be very curious about their label change. you don't just switch labels for funsies. just sayin.)

at the same time, i don't think that trauma from the 00s will ever leave them, so, at the end of the day, they WILL opt to be more private than not, and i don't think we ever will know the true depth of their relationship.

i will end by saying that i REALLY struggle with the "just coworkers/patrick just puts up with pete/patrick is annoyed by pete/patrick,joe,andy put up with pete for the paycheck/etc." narratives that i see float around. i could go on a whole rant on that alone, but i'll keep it focused to this -

if p2 don't actually have the deep relationship they say they do, why do they keep saying it? why is the term "soulmate" being used in 2024? why are they still pushing the narrative about this if it isn't true? they could've left that in the dust YEARS ago. their fame does NOT count on that. fans are often blinded by the fact that this is a HUGE band and the majority of people who make them successful know NOTHING about their band dynamics. they don't need to engage in this "fan service" to be successful at this point, and it's certainly nothing p2 would agree to now after what they went through pre-h.

anon, this is probably more than what you were looking for, but all i'm saying is that your thoughts here are TOTALLY valid and please send more <3

[bobbydagen24]

another Harsh truth the fandom is Hypocritical when it comes to Creeks Return in TBGO since all the things they complained about also applies to Bro zone in TBT.

for starters everything the fans complained about with Creeks return in TBGO is very much an issue in TBT such as

lack of remorse. yep the bros spend the whole film showing no guilt they only show a nano second of remorse after their victim finally stands up to them and leaves and that's it for the film and they never actually acknowledge any wrongdoing at all.

lack of consequences. big yep despite repeating their crappy behaviours and arguably behaving even worse they get taken back in the end unconditionally after Treating Branch terribly for no Real Justifiable Reason.

lack of doing anything to earn another chance. also big yep the Bros get captured and are literally forced to let Branch lead to save their own lives as well as Floyd's and afterwards their second chance is seen as earned for some reason? Despite this being a self serving action.

at the very least Creek was made to apologise Bro zone couldn't even be bothered to do that the simple truth is fans just like characters for surface level qualities

such as their outwardly goofy personalities so your more keen to make excuses for them actually being very bad toxic people really but Creek is more outwardly unlikable

so your all not as keen to see him as a flawed human and are eager to write him off even tho everything that you claim to find wrong about Creek's return also applies to Bro zone when you think about.

look I will admit that while I've always Defended the writing choice to bring Creek back in TBGO and have him Re-join the village I will admit it was written very badly.

it was way too Rushed and kinda ruined what could have been an interesting story arc for Branch and Poppy and Creek himself if they'd actually made him a touch more sympathetic

and Regretful over his actions while having the others be forced to acknowledge that he was placed in a pretty Horrifying situation and reacted in a bad but Human way.

​

Rather than sticking with a Highschool Jerk persona which just made the fandom Blindly Hate him even more

but the only posotive thing I will say about Creeks return is that unlike Bro zone Creek never wasted his second chance in the tv show sure he never seemed all that remorseful

​

but he also never betrayed the characters Trust again Creek was given a second chance and he didn't take it for Granted

unlike Branch's Brothers who slipped back into old Habits very quickly and behaved even worse than when they were younger by being verbally cruel to him unprovoked.

and yet were still given a third chance at the very end despite showing next to no remorse and no acknowledgment of their behaviour and actions towards Branch and each other.

so there isn't really anything that makes Bro zone more redeemable than Creek the only difference is the movie gives them two second chances with no strings attached

while the first movie Removes any such choice for Creek after his first betrayal even tho it was under extreme duress and literal torture.

this is something that Really doesn't make sense to me and Hence why I say this fandom cares more about surface level likability for its characters Rather than them being actual Good people

( Barb is the most extreme example tbh )

the majority of the fandom seems to view Repeated crappy behaviour for no Real Reason other than Bruce and JD didn't Grow up in over 2 Decades.

and Jump to the extremes of lifelong abandonment and emotionally abusive Behaviour when their slightly annoyed as acceptable and Human.

and worth forgiving even with no Real acknowledgment of wrongdoing or efforts to make amends.

while someone giving in to fear after being nearly eaten alive and tortured on your own by creatures 20 times your size is seen as irredeemable by the larger fandom.

and him being accepted back after this is seen as the worst thing ever because he showed next to no Remorse but did acknowledge wrongdoing and apologised to the people he wronged unlike Bro zone.

and Poppy herself literally tells Branch and by extension the audience that yes Creek has flaws

( that being giving in to fear under extremely stressful circumstances) but they are forgivable Human flaws and can be Helped.

it wasn't written Great and it was Hella Rushed but this is actually a mature message so its Hilarious how the majority of the fandom flipped their shit and whined like Babies at this episode 😂😂😂😂

yet when this message was taken and applied to bad people who this message doesn't actually apply to given their motives and Repeated crappy behaviours

suddenly the fandom thinks this kinda message is mature and posotive even tho its literally just encouraging kids to stay in abusive relationships.

I Guess that was Creek's fatal flaw Rather than being a Hostage who turned traitor in a moment of panic to save his own life

he should have abandoned his family twice and verbally abused them because he's slightly annoyed when he's expected to put effort in to the relationship then the fandom would love him 😕😕

it Really is no Different to the extreme Blind fans who love characters like Walter White and Dexter Morgan and Joe Goldberg and Tony Soprano

not because you like a complex bad guy character but because you think they're actually Great people and think them being likable and charismatic means everything they do is excusable.

but write off other characters who do similar actions but don't happen to have those surface level likable persona's.

in short your in love with characters who you invented in your heads not the ones the film actually showcased sooo yeah I'll end this by saying to you the same thing I said to Fifty Shades of Grey fans in the past

you wanna enjoy a fictional work by all means do that but trying to claim its a Healthy way to look at Relationships and forgiveness in real life is when you've crossed a line and need to be stopped.

because you may end up actually doing Harm to yourselves or to other people.

anyway cheers for Reading have a nice Day

[fayesdiary]

001: for your ship of ships, Yunaka x Alear, and 002: for Timerra

Alear/Yunaka

when I started shipping it if I did:

I started genuinely shipping them when I played Engage for myself, because that's when I realized that oh. Oh this works so well.

my thoughts:

OHHHH THEY'RE SO GOOD. The parallels are immaculate, their dynamic is super silly in lighthearted moments and so heavy during more serious ones, they give hopelessly in love vibes and, you know. I adore them platonically too, obviously.

What makes me happy about them:

Yunaka finding love and support from her god of all people, someone who she always thought would judge her to be irredemable and instead adores her, and Alear trusting Yunaka despite her being expicitly sketchy being the first step in their self-forgiveness. When you think about it, Yunaka's background is basically an abridged version of Alear's.

Just, idk. They make me so happy!

What makes me sad about them:

Oh boy. Their pasts and their trauma. Yunaka's constant self-loathing and fear of her past coming to the surface and impostor syndrome and thinking Alear's too good for her. Alear's discomfort at being treated like a god and feeling alienated because of it. Past Alear. Just... Past Alear.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

I don't think I've found anything that actually annoys me, to be honest. Which is good.

things I look for in fanfic:

Both the fluff with them being silly together (pre and post relationship) but also the angst of them dealing and opening up about their trauma.

That good hurt/comfort stuff 🥲

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

For Yunaka I'd say Citrinne, since you know. "Enemies" to lovers is always fun

For Alear I don't have any other strong ships, so I'd say I'm fine with almost everyone. Except the kids and the rest of their family, obviously. And Lindon.

My happily ever after for them:

Them being happily married and obnoxiously in love while they watch over Elyos together 💕

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

They switch! I think they're very into cuddles, generally :3

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

Yunaka infodumping about weapons with the detail of an MGS codec call while Alear listens to her with heart eyes ❤️

Timerra

How I feel about this character: 

Love her! She's such a good mix of silly and serious, she can be really goofy but also she's one of the smartest people of the cast and will not fuck around with people she deems a threat, but she's super chill with anyone else!

If I had to describe her in a word, it would be "Fun".

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Ivy's a fun one (thanks Koto), but her, Merrin and Panette are so polycule shaped. Oh, and Nel too!

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

Veyle! The fact she goes from being among the most skeptical about her to one of the most supportive once she actually joins for good is so interesting, and also the contrast between someone so carefree (on the surface at least) and someone who feels ashamed to even be alive. Just, idk. I really like them.

I think she'd be besties with Alfred too, wish they had supports together.

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

She's smarter than she looks, her voice is great and she's a lot more interesting than people give her credit for.

Also the fact the Solm siblings are the most overlooked ones of the cast is... sus, to say the least. This fandom is not escaping the racism allegations.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I wish she was more involved in the story. Compared to the other roylas she and Fogado don't go through much that directly involves them, you know?

Oh also while I'm not sure I would actually want it in canon, recruitable Fell Timerra would've been cool.

my OTP:

See above. I don't feel particularly strongly about any of them to declare them my OTP, so...

my cross over ship:

If FEH counts as a crossover, she and Sharena would hit it off really well. Azura too would be fun! OH, and Rinea too. Just thought of it👀

As for other stuff, hm...

BOTW Zelda would be interesting, she and Daisy would be cute and, hm. Her and Aqua would be the crackiest of crack pairs but, you know. It could work!

I dunno, I'm just throwing stuff around at this point.

a headcanon fact:

She absolutely brings Fauxgado with her during battles and on official business. Nobody's going to stop her from bringing her poorly done youngest brother along!

[cirusthecitrus]

20 and 3 for the fandom positivity ask please?

Thank you for the ask!

3. A character that fandom has helped you appreciate

Since I mostly only talk about spop on this blog, I'll name a character from She-Ra. And it's Adora! I never hated her but I didn't love her either. She was a fine main character, I always found her endearing and funny, but not to the point of me actually caring about her, you know? I mainly took Adora for granted and her struggles didnt touch my heart like, say, Hordak's or (pre s4) Catra's. But thank you spop fandom for all your metas and fanart and fics that helped me open my eyes and made me see her depth! I still don't really relate to Adora and her journey but now I sympathise with her and love her more than ever!

I'd also say that the fandom has helped me understand Glimmer better. Especially s4 Glimmer. Again, I didn't hate her even then, but I was still quite annoyed by her and her actions. But now I've learned to appreciate her 'becoming queen' arc (now I think it's one of the most interesting and emotionally heavy arcs in the whole show) and the overall great writing behind her character u-u

20. Your very first fandom!

I can't recall which was The first, pretty sure i've aready been a part of some fandom forums when i was, like, 10, but I remember nothing from that time so those dont count

I think the first Big Important fandom I've been a part of was for this one russian kids book series "Chasodei". It's some sort of a steampunk fantasy where the characters had fairy wings and wands, made enchanted artefact and could travel through hidden parallel worlds and meet various magical creatures, but at the same time all the magic in their universe was based around old-timey mechanisms and its parts - like clocks and cogwheels - and time manipulation and paradoxes. Great series overall, just reread all the books a few years ago and still enjoyed them quite a lot, even though their target audience is children. Dunno if the books were ever translated to english though

I remember Chasodei fandom introdused me to fanfiction and character ask blogs. Also shipping discourse. Oh boy, the shipping wars were crazy among us 12-15yo fans X)

Around that time somewhere in 2012 I also started watching My Little Pony FiM and joined its fandom right away when it was "at it's peak" so to say. This was the first time I've ever been a part of an english side of a fandom as well!

Fan fact - MLP became my main motivation to learn english. Once I caught up with all the dubbed episodes I had no patience to wait for more dub so I joined a few fan groups that made rus subs. But then I became even more impatient and couldn't even wait a few hours for the subs so I had no choice but to start watching new episodes in original dub with english subs :)

[deadendtracks]

Missing your brilliant meta posts of late so settling with salty asks.

Peaky Blinders 5,10,13 (Tommy),19 -> the saltier the better! :)

Thank you! I have just been lacking in any ability to concentrate!

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

idk if 'ruined' is the right word, but i have found some of the discourse around Grace to be so annoying I haven't felt the urge to explore her character or Tommy/Grace in my own fic.

in SPN fandom I felt the same way about Castiel and Dean/Cas despite theoretically liking it as a ship.

I've written a bunch of meta about Tommy and Grace so I do in theory find them interesting it's just... yeah.

I'm getting there with Tommy/Alfie just because idk. The favored approach to those characters at this point is just so far from canon or from what I find interesting that it's like reading OC fic.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

the cop out answer is Duke. as someone else said, I can see what the potential might have been, but in reality it felt really tacked on and rough draft stage. I liked parts of it.

i mostly just like this show even when it's not perfect, so i'm not sure what other arc to dislike. most of my dislikes are actually about fandom's interpretations of arcs.

the other cop out answer is grace's arc after season 1, because that's a fairly common critique. i don't hate it and i don't even want anything about it to change, but if this show was more than 6 episodes a season it would have been more satisfying to get a bit more meat there.

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

Which character?

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

besides the explosion of OC/Tommy and readerfic, again a cop out answer...

The lizzie vs. grace wars are incredibly tiresome since I hate how both sides approaches their fave and their fave's relationship with Tommy. and i'm just so deeply uninterested in all that.

i think more than 'hate' i am mostly disappointed that there isn't more substantial fic in this fandom. there was never a ton of it, and it makes sense it's dropped off some given the show is finished (pending movie) but i really feel only a tiny fraction of the potential was ever explored in fic for this show on so many levels, and a lot of the fic that does get written tends to deliberately or unconsciously echo a specific ship dynamic/fanfic trope/fanon characterization that i don't enjoy. again, this is the natural life cycle of fandoms but with PB fandom, it was never very prolific to begin with! so it's more crushing to me to see it crystallize already. i don't know why this show never really took off as a (canon) fic fandom or why people seem to prefer readerfic here. That wasn't the case when I first joined 5 years ago, but I guess that's the fandom trend now. As someone else said, I'm just not interested in being railed by that guy. LOL.

[imtrashraccoon]

Thanks for the tag @snowcoffeee ! I'm all too happy to talk about my favourite hobby!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

At the moment, I have six.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

281,816. Yikes, I didn't even know this was a statistic until now.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Undertale right now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Have Some Empathy, Dear - the series I did for Bad Sansuary.

The Hand We've Been Dealt - the first fic I posted on AO3.

Swarmed By Sirens - the most recent fic I'm working on.

The Nightmare of Apathy - my pet project.

Raccoon's Undertale Related Oneshots - this one shouldn't really count as it's just a collection of my works.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Every single one! I really enjoy engaging with the people who like my work and it gives me ideas.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oof, I don't like angsty endings so I can't say that I have any. In the past, I wrote a oneshot with one of my OC's in Horrortale though. That was...angsty. It's also really bad compared to what I write now lol. I don't think I'll ever post it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

At the moment, Have Some Empathy, Dear is the only complete fic. So that one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, at least I haven't yet. I did get one comment ages ago where someone was annoyed that Korinna (MC from The Hand We've Been Dealt) just went to live with the Fell brothers after they killed her when she was a human. She didn't know that it was them though, so the comment didn't make sense? Admittedly, the plot for that fic is a bit weak...

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nah, I've been tempted to, but I'm not comfortable making that sort of thing. I allow minors to follow me anyways, so if I did, that would have to change.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

AU's don't count as a crossover I suppose. So, no, I don't write crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'd be honoured if anyone wanted to!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Again, no. I have chatted with friends about fic plots but never for the purpose of creating something together. That could be fun!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I'm more of a self-shipper and pretty much always have been OC x Canon as well. I do like Soriel. The way some people write their dynamic is adorable and even if they aren't in a relationship, I love seeing their friendship. I don't really ship anything else though.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Pretty much everything with my old Undertale OC's and my old Star Wars OC. My reasons are that I've changed my interests and created better characters now. I'm not entirely opposed to ever posting these online but the state that they're in at the moment makes me cringe.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Definitely describing environments and worldbuilding. I have a strong imagination and so whenever I write a scene I try to put myself in the character's position and describe what they see. Worldbuilding is also enjoyable since it gets my brain working.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. I struggle to make characters sound natural at times and my earlier writing suffers lot from stiff dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I love this! I don't really know any other languages myself so my own attempts are limited, however I love seeing it in other people's works. I do like to include ASL where I can since it's a language I have some familiarity with.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars actually. I had a Jedi turned Sith character in a years long message board roleplay and multiple times I attempted to write down a backstory for her but I never finished. After being convinced to join the Sith, she was an Inquisitor for a bit before being promoted to Sith Lady and training a few apprentices. She briefly became Sith Empress but stepped down when the war with a faction of Mandalorians turned ugly. She hasn't been seen or heard from since... Yeah, no, I just lost interest in the character and SW in general with Disney's takeover.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I love pretty much all of them! I think my favourite is Have Some Empathy, Dear but I do wish I had more time to flesh parts of it out at the time. Otherwise, it's The Nightmare of Apathy.

[mdhwrites]

I Don't Feel Joy

This is kind of me just putting down a truth I've known for a while but have been feeling pretty deeply lately. The simple fact that positive emotions have done little to motivate me for a long time. For over a decade I have found more energy and motivation in wrath and spite and tears than I have ever from joy and happiness. That causes problems with investment.

Long time followers of this blog essentially got to see this in real time. While I was a fan of TOH and driven to write a LOT for it, a lot of that was joy in the ideas I had and exploring the space. A high the fandom perpetuated but the first cracks in the show that appeared for me and I started hemmoraging inspiration. I still liked, even loved, many of the ideas but I could not continue using those for motivation now that they were anything but the maximum they could be. The absolute failure of Kindle Vella shot Little Miss Rich Witch in the face as any amount of negative association brought me crashing down.

But since I have turned on TOH and felt negatively towards it? When people can bring up problems that I can allow my analytical and viscous brain tear apart? I've done HUNDREDS of blogs on TOH at this point. Torn through almost every element of this show. Even casual conversations on my Discord will have me get annoyed enough at a concept to turn them into more thought out blogs over here.

But that is a very finite resource with very limited use for me, especially for what I'd actually like to do. I want to give joy to the world, not just anger. That's why I want to teach people to tell better stories, not just tear things down because it's easy. I guarantee happy endings in my stories because I believe in happiness in the end. I want to be able to celebrate a game I love on stream rather than having no explanation for why the series ended when I was enjoying myself.

It's not even that I can use these emotions to motivate either much of the time. Analysis is the ONLY place I can and even then, in only a very limited capacity. I don't connect enough with bad media to want to bother talking about it besides maybe one post. I don't connect with most media enough to want to bother continuing it. Even when I was all in on TOH, booting up an episode couldn't sooth me and I could never do the dozen rewatches some people can. I just don't function like that.

And I wish I did. I wish I felt such exuberant joy about anything in life that just that passion and care could push me to do great things. Could get me by during the hard times. Could actually motivate me or energize me even half as much as raw fury and spite can.

Instead, it just evaporates when I try to channel it and I am instead left tired and apathetic so very, very often...

See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[ritz-writes]

Shadowpeach for 1 and Sandy for 2?

Shadowpeach

When I started shipping it if I did: Probably when I first joined the fandom? I think I started shipping it pretty early on, and I watched the entire series with @skittlescripts within two days. I think I thought about it during the Macaque episode (and according to a pic i took, I watched it on Oct 7, 2022) and it probably got solidified in Shadow Play (which I watched either the same day or the next day) or during the s3 specials. So I've been shipping it fully since the second week of October 2022. Bet you weren't expecting an exact date lmao

My thoughts: I LOVE IT. I know a lot of people don't really ship it, and that's fine. It's not for everyone. But I've always loved their dynamic. ESPECIALLY with their history. Maybe that's just the angst writer in me tho

What makes me happy about them: Their bickering. Idk why, but I love the fics that have them going back and forth with no real heat in their insults. It's their love language <3

What makes me sad about them: Their history with each other. How both of them lost each others trust. How Macaque wants Wukong to hurt the way he does. How Wukong regrets what he did but doesn't know how to say it. They are both so extremely sad, and I love them for it.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Uhhhh I honestly have no idea? I've been thinking about it through the days and I just can't think of one. Maybe Macaque being purely bad? But I think that ties more into me liking soft mac and hating hurt no comfort. But idk.

Things I look for in fanfic: TEARS. FLUFF. FORGIVENESS. ANGST AND PAIN, BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL. Give me Wukong protecting Macaque without a second thought. Give me Macaque taking a hit for Wukong out of habit but not regretting it. Give me one or both of them going to MK for advice cuz they don't know how to handle their feelings. GIVE ME THE GAY MONKEYS BEING GROSSLY IN LOVE.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:  Macaque - Tang. Inkypages is very cute to me and I love it Wukong - uhhh... I don't really know, actually. I don't think I ship him with anyone else? Maybe Tang as well? I'm also chill with him and Tripitaka, but only sometimes.

My happily ever after for them: They finally talk things out and move on. Macaque moves back to FFM, they both don't use their glamours anymore (at the very least not around each other) and they just live the retired life they deserve. Getting fat off fruit till the end of forever 🥺

Who is the big spoon/little spoon: I think they switch from time to time. Wukong likes being big spoon though. And I hc that Wukong runs hot and Macaque runs cold, so Mac is def little spoon during winter.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity: Honestly, I can see them really liking just sun bathing in the grass together. Just them, the sunshine, and a slight breeze.

Sandy

How I feel about this character: I adore Sandy. I will protect him with my life. Sweet summer boy. Man? Sweet summer blue guy. I love him.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:  Him and Hunstman are def my fav, but I also low-key ship Lunartides (him and Macaque) and Fishballnoodle (i think that's the name? Him, Pigsy, and Tang)

My non-romantic OTP for this character:  The Sandwich trio of course. Him, Pigsy, and Tang all went to college together and I love them.

My unpopular opinion about this character:  Uhhhh I'm not sure I have one? The only thing I can think of is that he's my last fav of the gang. Not least fav, just... if I could get merch of everyone in the gang, I'd probably end up getting his last. I DO love Sandy very very much, but I also like other character way more. (I feel like I'm committing a sin when I say that I'm sorry Sandy 😭

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: SHOW ME COLLEGE SANDY. I want to see his healing journey. I want to see him having a falling out with Tang and Pigsy. I want to see all the flashbacks!!

My OTP: SILKTEA SILKTEA SILKTEA. Huntsman is so down bad for this dude it's insane. I also think Sandly honestly didn't realize Huntsman's feelings for him at first. Idk why, but I feel like Huntsman kept trying to drop hints and Sandy was just like ":D You want more tea?" and Huntsman has to flat out say "No, I want YOU! >///<"

My cross over ship: Don't have one </3

A headcanon fact: I think there's one animal he's scared of. No idea what it is, but I feel like there is one single animal he will not go near. Probably something really obscure. Again, not a clue what it would be. But yeah. Oh, he also really likes scrap booking <3

[ticklishderg]

Why So Serious?

It's been a while since I've posted any literature here, but I've whipped up yet another Mega Man tickling story, featuring Axl and my Reploidsona, Echo. This fic was actually completed at the end of February and already posted to my Ao3 and DeviantArt accounts, but I didn't get the chance to post it to Tumblr until now. I was kind of burnt out by how much effort I put into this story, but I'm proud of it nonetheless. This is not just the longest Mega Man fanfic I've written, but also the longest standalone story I've written by far. That all being said, hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a SFW tickling story, and this is a SFW tickling-themed blog. NSFW are more than welcome to read, but I prefer you do not reblog this story if you are primarily a NSFW/kink-themed blog. Thank you.

Summary: Axl decides to help Echo to lighten up when he notices she isn't in the best mood and has been cooped up in her dorm all day. But he ends up choosing the wrong time to do so, and Echo ends up delivering payback to the young gunslinger.

Fandom(s): Mega Man

Character(s): Echo, Axl

Words: 9159

Potential warning(s): Mild/SFW bondage

It was a rather typical day in Hunter Base. Most of the Maverick Hunters were out and about on missions, tracking down rogue Mavericks as usual, or busy doing other tasks in the building, such as filing reports.

One particular blue-haired Reploid happened to be doing just that: Echo.

Echo was in her dorm, which was quiet and empty as usual, sitting at her desk with a report sitting in front of her, and a few more reports laid out over each other next to the one she was currently filling out. The Huntress’ bored expression made it obvious filing reports wasn’t exactly her favorite thing to do, but it was just one of the many chores of being a Maverick Hunter.

Speaking of being a Maverick Hunter, one of the newest members that had joined the organization was a young Reploid named Axl. He was taken in by the leader of the 0th Unit, Zero, after the two had fought a massive scorpion-like Mechaniloid on the highway shortly before the Red Alert Incident began several months ago. Although some of the Maverick Hunters, especially X, were reluctant to let Axl become a member due to his dubious history with Red Alert and his immature and reckless behavior, they let him become an official member when they realized his potential, and his strong will to do what’s right and protect the innocent from Mavericks.

Echo was one of the Reploids who was reluctant to let Axl become an official Maverick Hunter. When they first met, she had initially acted cold toward him, but that was because of her lack of trust, and the chaos she had to deal with ever since X had (temporarily) retired at the time. However, those weren’t the only reasons Echo had acted cold toward the young Hunter- she had developed a small crush on Axl, and she wanted to hide it as much as she could (though she has mostly gotten over her crush on him by now). But when she saw how terribly Axl grieved Red following the latter’s demise in the Crimson Tower, Echo realized how much he meant to him, and she and the young gunslinger shared much more in common than she initially thought, as she had lost Zero after he was fatally wounded along with X by Sigma during the confrontation with the latter in Zero Space years ago, even if Zero somehow turned out to be alive during the Nightmare Incident. Following the Crimson Hunter’s temporary demise, Echo made a personal oath not to let anyone suffer a terrible loss the same way she did, and that, along with her guilt with how she treated Axl before, was what motivated her to comfort him any way she could, give him a place that would feel like home to him, surrounded by friends and family.

As the months passed, Echo slowly warmed up to and became closer with the younger Reploid. She was usually annoyed by Axl’s antics, as she didn’t tolerate immature behavior (even more so since she became more serious following the Eurasia and Nightmare Incidents), but she could understand the logic behind his attitude, and didn’t want to be too harsh on him. After all, he was still young. And while Echo outwardly didn’t find most of the jokes Axl would crack not that funny, deep down she found them amusing (well, some of them), but she couldn’t afford to let that be known, as otherwise she would likely never hear the end of it.

Back to the present, Echo stared at the report in front of her on her desk, holding a pencil which she occasionally tapped against her head in boredom. That was only one of the reasons for procrastinating on the report- she had to think about how to answer some of the prompts. A sigh heaved out from the blue-haired Huntress, knowing this was going to take a while until she could finally have the freedom to relax for the rest of the day. At least Echo didn’t have to worry about anyone potentially interrupting her work.

But alas, that would not be the case for her that day, because a particular young Reploid would come and visit her.

A metallic knocking sounded from the other side of the steel door, causing Echo to perk her head up and turn to face the door, and as soon as she did, she heard a familiar, chipper voice.

“Yo, Echo! Can I come in?”

Echo immediately recognized the voice, not even bothering to guess who it was. “Yeah.” She replied in a neutral tone, not necessarily friendly, but not hostile or unwelcoming.

Granted permission to enter, the person on the other end opened the door. Standing right outside the doorway was Axl, very much unsurprising to Echo, having expected him thanks to his upbeat tone. But she knew he must have had a reason to visit her dorm at a time like this. Despite his impudent nature, the young gunslinger was (usually) not one to just barge into someone’s dorm uninvited.

“Heya, Echo!” Axl greeted the blue-haired Huntress, a warm smile on his face. His smiles were rather infectious- part of it was due to his chipper and youthful nature. Part of Echo found it difficult to not want to smile back at the new-gen, but she suppressed it. She had more important matters to take care of at the moment.

“Hi, Axl.” Echo greeted back, adjusting her position until she was sitting up straight rather than bending forward when she was filing reports just now. “I assume you came here for something…?”

“Actually, I just came back from training.” Axl replied. “So I just thought I’d unwind here for a bit.”

That last part surprised Echo. “But why in my dorm? Can’t you just do that in your OWN dorm?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like there’s anything wrong with chilling in a friend’s dorm, right?” Axl sat down on a blue couch standing against the wall opposite of Echo’s desk, leaning back on the sofa, crossing his legs and placing his arms behind his head, a position typical for a laid-back Reploid such as him. “Plus, I noticed you’ve been cooped up in here for like, all day, so, I just thought I’d keep you company, y’know?”

That last sentence caught Echo off-guard, even though she didn’t show it. Part of her found it thoughtful for Axl to keep her company, especially since she had stayed in her dorm for the majority of the day, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel suspicious, knowing the young gunslinger’s tendency to cause mischief. The Huntress normally was not fond of such, especially when she was busy like she is right now. Regardless, she ultimately decided to let him unwind in her dorm.

“Okay,” Echo began. “but don’t be loud or do anything disruptive, I’m busy. Got it?”

“Got it!” Axl responded, giving a thumbs up.

Echo couldn’t help but smile a bit and let out a puff of laughter through her nostrils from Axl’s response. Just your typical young Maverick Hunter…

With that, Echo resumed her work, gradually filing her reports as Axl sat back and relaxed, his eyes closed in contentment, occasionally humming a small tune to himself, which the blue-haired Huntress didn’t pay much mind to. Echo found herself more relaxed than she was earlier- part of it was from Axl’s promise not to interrupt her work, but it was also from his presence, though she didn’t want to admit it.

Several minutes passed, the entire room quiet except for the sound of a pencil writing on paper, Axl’s humming, and the latter occasionally changing positions lounging on the couch. The new-gen yawned, starting to get bored, until he looked over at Echo and became curious about what she was working on. Plus, part of him wanted to initiate a conversation with the Huntress, as the two of them hadn’t spoken since Axl had entered her dorm. He got up from the couch and walked over to Echo, looking over her shoulder.

“Say, whatcha doin’?” Axl asked innocently, startling Echo slightly, but the tension in her muscles quickly faded when she realized who it was.

Echo turned her head to face the gunslinger. “What does it look like I’m doing?” She replied bluntly, the tone in her voice making it clear she was not interested in talking to Axl at the moment, but the curious, innocent look in his eyes made her sigh. “I’m filing reports. Also, didn’t I tell you not to distract me while I’m working?”

“Hey, I’m just asking what you’re doing…!” Axl chirped. “That doesn’t count as distracting, right?”

“Well, it kinda IS when I have to stop writing just to respond to you.” Echo placed down her pencil. “Couldn’t you be a little less… I dunno, intrusive?”

“What? I’m just peeking over your shoulder!” Axl rested his arms on the top of the swivel chair Echo was sitting on. “Ya know, you shouldn’t be so serious all the time. And come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen you smile in a while. You know what they say, it’s good to smile more…!”

“I already smile enough.” Echo was starting to get annoyed.

Axl shook his head. “That’s obviously not true. Plus, you’re starting to sound like Zero whenever he’s in a foul mood.”

“Whatever.” was Echo’s only response, rolling her eyes, before she resumed filing her current report.

Axl huffed, frowning from how stubborn Echo was. She was clearly adamant about not wanting to smile, and the new-gen was at a loss of what to do, until he suddenly came up with an idea, a mischievous grin replacing his frown.

“If you’re not gonna smile, Echo, then I guess I’ll have to make you lighten up myself!”

Before Echo could form a response to Axl’s words, the latter removed his arms from the top of her chair, his hands swiftly diving toward both of the blue-haired Huntress’ sides, until he planted his fingers against the synthetic flesh, causing her to jolt and her eyes to widen as she dropped her pencil, which landed onto the floor with a clack.

“Axl, w-what are you-” Echo stammered, but was cut off by Axl.

“C’mon, you need to smile for once! Lemme see that smile!” The young gunslinger chirped.

Echo barely had any time to react before Axl suddenly began skittering his fingers up and down her sides. She immediately felt a grin tugging at her lips, and she tried her best to suppress it, but the odd sensation radiating from her sides caused by Axl’s fingers drilling into them proved too much to resist, and she ultimately broke into laughter, a wide, involuntary grin on her face.

“A-Ahahahahahaha! A-Axlhlhl, nohohoho!” Echo cried, trying to grab at Axl’s arms in an attempt to yank them away from her sides, but the ticklish sensation was draining her strength, and made it difficult to focus. Axl peeked over her shoulder as he continued scribbling at Echo’s sides, and his eyes sparkled with delight when he saw a wide grin on her face.

“Ah, THERE’S that smile!” Axl spoke with delight and satisfaction. “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

“Ahahahahahaha! Knohohock it off!” Echo shouted, trying to sound serious, which was unconvincing due to her laughter. The more she felt Axl’s fingers skittering up and down her sides, the more she felt her strength being sapped, and by this point she had given up trying to yank his hands away from her. Instead, she attempted to writhe and twist her body to get away from the gunslinger’s devious fingers. But what Echo did not expect Axl to do next was pick her up and pull her literally out of her chair (with some struggling, as she was slightly heavier than him), firmly, but gently placing her down onto the floor. The blue-haired Huntress quickly recovered, but before she could attempt to get up, the new-gen plopped down onto her legs, sitting on them and essentially pinning her down, his back turned to her.

“Axl, get off!” Echo yelled, now MORE annoyed than before, writhing with all of her might to break free, but the weight of Axl on her legs made her efforts fruitless.

“Not until you lighten up!” Axl simply responded, the grin on his face indicating he had a plan in mind. “In fact, I know another way to get you to cheer up.”

“And what’s THAT?” Echo asked suspiciously.

As if to answer the blue-haired Huntress’s question, Axl began tugging at her boots. Echo jumped at the sensation, and her eyes widened, quickly realizing what the younger Reploid was doing.

He was prying off her boots.

“Axl, no, don’t you DARE…!” Echo said to Axl, trying to sound serious, but a hint of unmistakable fear was in her voice, which only made the new-gen even MORE determined to pry off her boots. Truth be told, Echo was becoming increasingly nervous, because her feet happened to be one of her worst ticklish spots, meaning that if Axl found that out, she would surely be screwed.

“Why not?” Axl asked, before his eyes widened with realization. “Oh, lemme guess, your feet are probably ticklish, huh?”

Echo’s heart sank. Axl had already guessed one of her weak spots. She thought of trying to lie her way out of it, but given that the fear in her voice already made the young gunslinger more determined to pry off her boots, she knew that wouldn’t get her anywhere.

Not even bothering to wait for a response, Axl shrugged, before resuming prying Echo’s boots off. “Well, only one way to find out!”

With some effort, and after a few moments, one boot came off, followed shortly by the other, exposing Echo’s feet, which were now shielded by nothing more than her skintight bodysuit. So skintight in fact, that she could feel the cool air of her dorm washing against her bare soles.

Crap, no, why did he have to remove my boots…?! Echo thought, blushing with embarrassment, knowing full well what Axl was going to do next. With no other option, she braced herself to prepare for the incoming tickle attack…

“Hehe, heads up, Echo…!” Those were the words that came from Axl, before he suddenly dug his fingers into the Huntress’s soles, and began scribbling up and down all over them.

Despite Echo bracing herself, her feet proved to be just too sensitive that the ticklish sensations radiating there from Axl scribbling his fingers across them were so intense, and it barely took a few seconds until she broke into laughter once more, much harder and louder than before.

“NEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Echo squealed, clutching her stomach and writhing in place as Axl skittered his devious fingers along her soles. “STAHAHAHAHAP! GEHEHET OHOHOFF!” Her shouts of anger quickly devolved into fits of helpless laughter, which she tried to suppress, but the ticklish sensation was just too much. Axl found it amusing and adorable how Echo’s laughter and large grin were a complete 180 from her demeanor when she was working just now.

“Whoa! I figured your feet would be ticklish, but not THIS ticklish!” Axl remarked in amusement, grabbing hold of one of Echo’s ankles and pulling it upwards, before dragging his fingertips up and down the length of the sole, digging his fingers in deep. Echo was already laughing helplessly as Axl dragged his fingers down her sole, but the moment they found their way to right under her toes was when the Huntress REALLY lost it.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NNGHAHAHAHAHAHA!” If Echo had any shred of sanity left, it was completely shattered in that moment, because a loud screech tore from her vocal cords, followed by a stream of desperate, high-pitched laughter. The artificial nerves in her feet were on fire, and it was clear the blue-haired Huntress had no means of fighting back, especially with her legs pinned down by Axl, so all she could do was take the tickling.

“Hehe, that’s a good smile!” Axl said, with a grin of his own. “But I want to see MORE of it!”

“GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I-I’LL KIHIHILL YOHOHOHOU!” Echo shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Echo’s threats were unconvincing, made even more so by the fact that she couldn’t hurl any threats or complaints without melting into laughter. Axl seemed to notice this, and chuckled deviously as he continued to toy with the older Reploid’s feet, even going so far as to pinch each of her toes one by one and wiggling them around, drawing out MORE squeals and pleas for the new-gen to cease the tickling at once. He was going to milk it for all it was worth, and would not stop until Echo was in a better mood.

Echo was unable to pull away, and she found herself more humiliated by how a younger Reploid was able to overpower her this easily. Yet at the same time, deep down, a part of her was actually… ENJOYING being tickled, despite how intense the sensation was on her soles.

The Huntress wasn’t sure how long Axl had been tickling her for, and she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore, as most of her strength had been drained by this point and her only source of air was taking in brief gasps in between her laughter. After a few more moments, however, the young gunslinger felt that Echo had enough, and finally released her ankle, and that was around the time her exhaustion was at its peak. She immediately collapsed her upper body onto the floor, forced to lay down and gasping to catch her breath. Her eyes were half-closed, sweat rolling down her forehead, and she giggled under her breath in spite of her exhaustion thanks to her feet tingling from being tickled so badly.

Axl got up from Echo’s legs, allowing her to move them freely again, and he knelt down next to her. “You okay there, Echo?” He asked innocently. The only response he got from the older Reploid was her wiping the sweat away from her forehead. “Heh, sorry if I went too far. But I just wanted to help cheer you up, y’know?” The new-gen rubbed a hand behind his neck sheepishly.

After a couple minutes, Echo sat up, removing her visors to wipe away the sweat that had dripped from her forehead to her face, before putting them back on. “I know,” She groaned, reaching for her discarded boots and promptly putting them back on. “but I was in the middle of working. You could’ve chosen another time to… you know.” Echo meant to say the word ‘tickle’, yet she couldn’t bring herself to. She didn’t know why, but it was just too embarrassing to say out loud.

Before the two Reploids could say anything more, Echo and Axl heard a knock at the door, and they stood up, turning their heads to face it. “Echo? May I come in?” A polite voice asked.

“Yeah…” Echo replied, trying not to make the exhaustion in her voice known.

The door promptly opened, and at the doorway was X, whose eyes widened upon seeing Axl.

“Hi, X.” Echo greeted casually, noticing the Azure Hunter’s eyes were widened.

“Hi, Echo.” X greeted back, stunned, but soon shrugged it off, and turned to face Axl. “And hey there, Axl. I see you’re here with Echo.”

“Nice to see you, X!” Axl greeted, smiling at X. “And yeah, I came to visit Echo because I wanted to unwind and get her to lighten up a bit.”

That’s putting it bluntly… Echo thought, narrowing her eyes at the young gunslinger, before turning to face X again. “Anyway, did you come here for something, X?”

“Actually, I did. I went to find Axl because he needs to come with me to take care of a Maverick raid on a highway. I came here to ask you if you knew where he was because I couldn’t find him anywhere in the base, but it looks like I already DID find him.” X couldn’t help but smile in amusement.

Axl chuckled goodnaturedly, before X’s expression became serious. “Anyway, we need to get to the highway as soon as possible. You ready for the mission, Axl?”

“Oh, you know I’m always ready, X!” Axl replied confidently, grinning widely.

X smiled, having expected that kind of reaction from the young gunslinger. “Okay. The Mavericks are using vehicles, so we’ll use the Ride Chasers this time.”

Axl’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Ooh, HELL yeah! I haven’t driven one of those things in a long time!” He eagerly ran up to X, ready for what their mission had in store for them, and turned to Echo. “We’ll see ya later, Echo!”

“Alright. But promise you guys will be careful, okay?” Echo said, crossing her arms.

“Don’t worry, we will be!” Axl replied, before he and X began leaving. But as they were, Axl briefly stopped and turned to face the blue-haired Huntress one last time. “Oh, and Echo?”

“Hm?” Was the only response that came from Echo.

“Try working on that smile for me, will ya?” Axl asked, his tone genuine.

Axl’s genuine tone hit Echo in a way that made her feel touched, but she tried not to show it, and instead rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”

The new-gen couldn’t help but giggle a little at Echo’s response, before he and X left to take on their mission, closing the door on the way out, leaving the Huntress alone once more.

Echo looked back at the reports laying on her desk, and she sighed, remembering that she still had a lot of work to do. Part of her was still seething with annoyance from how Axl had interrupted her while she was working, but she could not find it in herself to stay mad at the young Hunter. She understood he was only trying to cheer her up and make her smile more. Yet despite that, she felt the need to give him some well-deserved payback. To her, Axl needed to be taught a lesson so he wouldn’t distract her whenever she was working again.

By the time Axl returned from his mission with X and returned to his dorm to rest for the night, Echo would set her plan into motion. But that would have to wait. She had paperwork to fill out. Stretching, she grabbed her pencil that was dropped onto the floor earlier, returning to her desk and sitting down in her chair, and resumed filing her reports. This may be a grueling and boring task for the Huntress, but at least she had her payback for Axl to look forward to…

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Waiting until midnight to carry out her opportunity for revenge was probably the smartest decision Echo had ever made. More specifically, she had retired to rest in her capsule after she finished filing her paperwork, and slept until about an hour before the sun would rise. She knew very well Axl would likely expect her to get revenge, so she had to wait until he retired to his capsule for the night following the mission he went on with X. Even if the new-gen didn’t suspect any sort of foul play from Echo, the latter still couldn’t afford to carry out her plan while he was awake, especially since part of said plan involved restraining the younger Reploid so he wouldn’t be able to fight back.

However, that also meant Echo had to go to the basement and grab some equipment from one of the storage closets- a table big enough to accomodate a person, and some rope. Carrying the rope was no problem, but the table was quite heavy, meaning she had to take quick breaks to catch her breath as she carried it. Fortunately, the table was foldable, which did help simplify carrying it.

Once Echo had grabbed the equipment she needed, she promptly made her way to Axl’s dorm, being careful not to wake up anyone else in Hunter Base, carrying the foldable table in her arms and the rope between her jaws. By the time she reached the door to the young gunslinger’s dorm, Echo momentarily placed the table down to open it, before picking it up again and carefully entering Axl’s room.

There Axl was, laying in his capsule (which was closed at the moment), fast asleep.

Perfect… Echo thought. She walked over to the wall nearest to where Axl’s capsule was, unfolded the table she was carrying and carefully placed it down onto the steel floor.

The only thing left to do now was pick Axl up from his capsule and tie him to the table.

Removing the rope from her jaws and placing it down on the table, Echo walked over to Axl, who was still soundly asleep in his capsule. She opened his capsule, doing so as quietly as possible so she wouldn’t wake him, and got a good look at his face to make sure he was still asleep. Sure enough, he was. In fact, he looked rather peaceful while in sleep mode, which made him look adorable.

Echo shook her head. What was she thinking? She was here to get payback, not stare at the young gunslinger sleeping. Taking a deep breath, she carefully scooped up Axl from his capsule, and carried him in her arms to the table. As she did, however, she found herself unable to stop smiling to the point her cheeks were beginning to ache. Was she… enjoying herself?

The blue-haired Huntress realized that THIS must be what Axl felt when he tickled her yesterday.

Remembering that made Echo return her focus to the most important thing: revenge.

Echo gently placed Axl down onto the table on his back, and began to tie each of his limbs to the four corners with the rope, binding his wrists to the upper corners and his ankles to the lower corners.

With Axl now fully bound to the table, Echo climbed onto it and sat down on his legs so she could get payback more easily. She could finally carry out her revenge. But she had to wake him up somehow first. She spent a few moments thinking about how to wake the new-gen up, until she came up with an idea.

Echo moved a hand to Axl’s neck, and began scribbling her fingers over the synthetic skin. Almost right away, the new-gen started giggling quietly in his sleep, an involuntary grin forming on his face. He visibly tried to crane his neck away, but couldn’t due to his restraints.

The Huntress continued tickling the gunslinger’s neck, waiting patiently for him to wake up. After about a minute, Axl finally awoke, his eyes opening slowly, and that was Echo’s cue to pull her hand away.

When Axl’s giggling faded and his awareness gradually returned to him, the first thing he did was stare at the ceiling, then he looked down and saw someone sitting on his legs. His eyes widening, Axl quickly realized who it was: Echo.

“Hi, Axl.” Echo greeted, in a casual tone as if she didn’t tie Axl up just now.

“E-Echo…?” Was the first thing Axl said. “What are you doing up at a time like this…?” Before Echo could respond, the new-gen noticed his capsule leaning against the nearest wall. “Wait a minute, did you take me out of my capsule?”

“Yep.” Echo replied. “But that’s not one of the only things I did.”

“Whaddya mean by that…?” Axl asked, trying to sit up, only to find he couldn’t. Something was keeping him down. Confused, he tried to pull his wrists down, and realized they were tied to the table he was laid out on with rope. He then attempted to pull at his legs, only to reveal THEY were bound as well. “W-Wha… Did you TIE ME UP…?!” Axl began to squirm, which got him nowhere thanks to his limbs being bound. The drowsiness in his tone was gone and replaced with flustered confusion. It satisfied Echo to see the normally cocky and upbeat gunslinger act frantic and worried from what happened while he was sleeping. Seeing Axl bound and fearful almost felt like more than enough revenge to sink in for how he made the Huntress feel hours ago.

But that wasn’t the reason Echo had him tied up. Her plan was only just beginning.

“Axl, have I ever told you that you can be quite nosy at times?” Echo asked. Her icy blue eyes emanated a cold, yet devious glint in them, which, along with her words, only served to confuse Axl.

“Uhh… No? Why? More importantly, why am I tied up?”

“For revenge.” Echo replied bluntly. “Don’t tell me you haven’t even guessed that?”

“Revenge?” Axl asked, raising an eyebrow. “Revenge for what?”

“For THIS, you loon!” Echo said, raising her voice, before striking with both hands at once at the bound Hunter’s stomach, and scribbling her fingers as aggressively as she could. The sudden sensation of Echo’s fingers assaulting his stomach barely gave Axl any time to react before he burst into laughter.

“Bwahahahahaha! Whahahat the heheheck?!” Axl cried out.

The new-gen was clearly caught off-guard by Echo’s assault on his abdomen that he was unable to hold back his laughter. It was rather loud and almost sounded like cackling, which was the reaction Echo was expecting, but it was also adorable, which made Axl being tickled even better for her when he didn’t appear to like it one bit, as evidenced by his squirming and writhing.

“Nohohohohoho! Stohohohop! Gehehet ohohoff!”

Echo, of course, did not stop. Her fingers drilled deep into his stomach, drawing out every bit of laughter possible. To make things more intense, she occasionally reached a hand toward Axl’s neck and scribbled her fingers over it, which produced nearly the same amount of squealing as along his stomach.

But when she moved her hands toward Axl’s sides, it produced an entirely unexpected reaction. The moment Echo’s fingers stroked and danced along his sides, Axl’s squeals increased in pitch and his laughter increased in volume and desperation.

“EEEHEHEHEHEHE-Nohohohohahahaha! Nohohot thehehehere!”

The young gunslinger began to mindlessly tug and yank at the rope binding his wrists, but it didn’t budge in the slightest degree. All he accomplished was digging the rope deeper into his gauntlets, which he was sure was scraping the steel, in a futile attempt to break free.

And yet, despite Axl’s squirming and pleas to stop, he was actually kind of liking the tickle torture. No, a lot…! He couldn’t explain why, but the adrenaline rush and how it made him laugh felt good to him.

Echo refused to admit it, but she was greatly enjoying herself. Seeing the one who had interrupted her work and bugged her the previous day squealing like a child and writhing helplessly brought incredible satisfaction to her.

“I find it ironic how you can tickle me so easily, yet you react like THIS when I do it back to you.” Echo remarked, amused at how easily she was able to reduce Axl to helpless laughter and squirming so quickly.

“Ahahahahahaha! Y-Yohohou’re enjoying thihihihis, aren’t yohohou?!” Axl questioned through his laughter, a deep red blush coloring his cheeks.

“Maybe.” Echo responded bluntly, continuing to scribble at the new-gen’s poor sides.

I kinda wish I brought a gag with me before this… Echo thought. Oh, well. His laughter is stupidly cute, at least.

The Huntress showed no sign of stopping skittering her fingers over Axl’s sides. His torso visibly twitched as he squealed, yawped and chortled like mad, an indication of just how sensitive his sides were. Even tickling around his belly button produced the same amount of laughter as tickling his sides. Echo thought it was fortunate that the other Maverick Hunters were asleep, otherwise they would have heard Axl’s loud laughter.

Echo continued to claw at the gunslinger’s sides for another couple minutes, until she decided to give him a break, pulling her hands away, leaving Axl to gasp for breath.

“You okay, Axl?” Echo asked genuinely, noticing just how exhausted Axl was.

“Unngh… Yeah, but… That was intense…” Axl groaned, a bead of sweat falling down his forehead.

“Well, I HOPE it was, because it’s only going to get MORE intense from here.” A dubious glint sparkled in Echo’s eyes.

Axl’s eyes widened, perking his head up upon hearing Echo’s words. “What?!”

As if to answer the new-gen, the blue-haired Huntress adjusted her position until her back was turned to Axl, and, without any sort of warning, began to tug at one of his boots, causing him to jump and be overcome with dread. “H-Hey! What’re you doing?!” Axl asked, frantically squirming again, but he then remembered tugging Echo’s boots off to tickle her soles the previous day, and he realized she was going to do the same to him.

Echo didn’t bother to respond, focused on trying to pry off Axl’s boots. With some effort, she pried off one boot, shortly followed by the other, promptly tossing them aside out of reach, where they landed onto the floor with a metallic clatter.

“G-Get off!” Axl whined, trying to keep the older Reploid away from his boots, but the rope binding his limbs were too constricting for him to properly fight back or push Echo off of him. All he could do was writhe uselessly as his feet were made bare, protected by nothing but his thin bodysuit. Once his boots were discarded, Axl sounded like he was about to start whimpering.

“Are you still mad about yesterday? Come on, man, I was just trying to get you to lighten up!” Axl whined, more beads of sweat falling down his forehead, his toes curling in fear.

“I know,” Echo replied bluntly. “however, you interrupted my work. So I feel it’s fair that I teach you a lesson.”

“Please!” Axl begged. “I won’t tickle you again, just let me go!”

Echo scoffed, grabbing for Axl’s big toe on his left foot, rendering it taut and pressing her fingertips to the sole, causing him to tense up and let out a squeak, though the Huntress couldn’t tell if it was from fear or ticklishness. Either way, it made her all the more eager to give the young gunslinger some sweet payback. “I know, Axl. Because I’m going to make sure you NEVER interrupt me while I’m working again.”

Axl’s irises shrank in fear. He tried to curl his toes, which proved impossible to do on his left foot due to Echo holding his big toe. He could have squirmed instead, but he knew that would get him nowhere due to the rope binding his limbs tightly to the corners of the table. He was completely bound and helpless, and he realized that the only thing he could do was to brace himself. Anticipation was nagging at his mind, and yet, while he didn’t show it, despite his current predicament, a different feeling was growing within him: excitement. Part of him was actually looking FORWARD to the next round of tickle torture. An image of the new-gen laughing and thrashing about as Echo tickled his soles briefly flitted through his mind, and the blush on Axl’s cheeks grew worse.

With a swift motion, the fingertips the blue-haired Huntress was digging into Axl’s bare sole began skittering up and down at an alarming pace. A high-pitched squeal burst from the young gunslinger, which then devolved into desperate laughter, catching Echo off-guard slightly, but she didn’t cease skittering her fingers up and down his sole.

“WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Nohohoho! Whyhyhyhy?!” Axl cried out helplessly, trying to wiggle his tickled sole out of Echo’s grip, but alas, he was unable to do so due to his foot being held taut by the big toe. The laughter drawn from the young Hunter made it obvious that his feet were rather ticklish, and while they weren’t deathly sensitive like Echo’s, her fingers skittering along his soles still tickled badly, and Axl wasn’t being dramatic.

Echo dug the tips of her fingers into the tender synthetic flesh as deep as possible, stimulating the artificial nerves underneath. It was just as tender as any real sole with the added bonus that it was impossibly soft to the touch like a pillow. A Reploid’s body would never grow old, age or harden with calluses from overuse, which made Axl’s soles permanently soft and ticklish. In fact, his soles were just as tender as Echo’s, which surprised yet also amused the latter.

By this point, Echo realized she was still grinning. It was difficult to make herself stop, but she didn’t want to. Instead, she pulled her hand away from Axl’s left sole and let go of his big toe, allowing his foot to move freely again and giving him a break to catch his breath. The new-gen was confused at why Echo had stopped so early unlike the previous round, but at the same time, he was relieved to be able to catch his breath. However, that relief soon turned to horror when the Huntress reached her hands out to either side, and dug her fingers into both of Axl’s soles.

“W-Wait, d-don’t!” Axl pleaded, but deep down he knew Echo was not going to back down.

Echo turned to face Axl briefly. “Oh, come on, Axl, you’re not going to die or anything. Like I said, I’m only doing this to teach you a lesson. Now just stay put.” She spoke to the younger Reploid, before shifting her focus to his soles, and began scribbling her fingers up and down both feet.

Axl shrieked and melted into laughter once more, shaking his head back and forth and thrashing in his bonds. “Plehehehehahahahaha!!! Plehehehease! Eeehehehehehee!”

The poor gunslinger’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Axl wriggled his feet from side to side in an attempt to dodge Echo’s fingers, but they would always follow and continue scribbling away at the soles. She even glided her fingers from the arches down to the heels to amp up the tickling, before moving them back up to the arches, then back to the heels, and vice versa. And it was done at random intervals, making it impossible for Axl to predict when Echo would strike for his arches or heels. For the gunslinger, it was torture, but it felt SO good for the blue-haired Huntress.

Just when Axl thought the tickling couldn’t get any worse, he felt Echo’s fingers glide from his heels higher up his soles, until she reached the balls of his feet. In less than a second, her fingers started drilling into them.

Axl’s eyes bugged out, and a stream of cackling burst from him as he threw his head back. “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NAHAHAT THEHEHEHERE!”

Echo’s eyes widened from Axl’s outburst. It seemed the balls of his feet were a weak spot. Her grin grew wider, and she decided to milk it for all it was worth. “Since when do you beg, Axl?” She asked teasingly. “I thought you were tougher than this.”

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE! NAHAHAHAT MY FEHEHEHEET! EEEHEHEHEHEHEE!” Axl pleaded between bouts of uncontrollable laughter, his cheeks a deep crimson. Part of it was from the embarrassment of having one of his most ticklish spots discovered, but it was also from the fact part of him was enjoying the torture. He was no masochist, but the rush of adrenaline was just so exhilarating and felt so good, especially the ticklish sensation.

Echo spent the next few minutes skittering her fingers along the balls of the new-gen’s feet, until something piqued her curiosity. I know his heels, arches and the balls of his feet are sensitive, but there’s one area I haven’t tested yet. The Huntress thought, before ceasing tickling the sensitive areas, resulting in Axl’s laughter dissolving into giggles, grateful for being allowed to catch his breath once more.

But his break wouldn't last long, because Echo began gliding her fingers up to Axl’s toes.

Axl’s eyes widened, and his irises shrank once more. He tried to cry out and beg for Echo not to go for his toes, but it was too late. “Wait, nononoEEEEEYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

Echo’s fingers already began attacking the young gunslinger’s digits. A shrill, high-pitched squeal erupted from Axl, the loudest Echo had ever heard from him, which was quickly followed by a stream of hysterical cackling. The new-gen’s eyes were wide like dinner plates, and he threw his head back, his back arching as his toes were tickled.

If the balls of his feet being prodded and scribbled at was a nightmare, Axl’s toes were the complete opposite. Echo’s dexterous fingers stroked at each of the pudgy digits, which wriggled and flailed wildly in a fruitless attempt to escape her fingertips or at least quell the ticklish sensation radiating there. But alas, it did nothing to lessen the torture.

Echo was caught off-guard by Axl breaking into hysterics when she targeted his toes, but it only made her more determined to give him a taste of his own medicine and to draw out more laughter. His toes were clearly the worst and most ticklish spot on his feet, and the ticklish sensation was made even worse when the blue-haired Huntress occasionally wormed a stray finger between the digits.

“How’s it feel to be given payback for what you did to me yesterday, Axl?” Echo teased, even though she knew Axl could barely hear her over his crazed laughter.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ECHOHOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHEASE!” Axl cried, trying to gasp for breath in between his laughter.

“That’s not an answer!” Echo raised her voice so she could be heard over Axl’s hysteria. As she kept tickling his toes, she got the idea to squeeze each and every one of his digits on his right foot, while still skittering her fingers over the toes on his left foot, producing more squeals from the young gunslinger. She was amazed to find how incredibly tender and squishy Axl’s toes were, possibly even more so than her own. It explained why his digits were so sensitive and how he broke into hysterics immediately after Echo started tickling them.

“I’M SOHOHOHOHORYHYHYHY!” Axl shrieked. “PLEHEHEHEHEASE! L-LEHEHEHET MEHE GOHOHOHOHO!”

“Oh, I will. But your punishment won’t be over until the next little while.” Echo replied casually, her words causing Axl to whine.

For the next several minutes, Echo’s fingers continued to assault Axl’s plump, wriggling toes. Sweat was falling down the new-gen’s forehead as he continued thrashing about in his bonds, the room filled with the sound of his own cackling. Part of him was in awe of how merciless Echo was with her tickling. Axl’s method of tickling someone was playful and tactical, but Echo’s on the other hand was more ruthless. He couldn’t tell if her method of tickling others was because of what happened the previous day, or if it was always like this. Tears had started to bud in the corners of his eyes by now, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he was able to take the tickle torture.

The reactions produced from Axl were just too fun to stop. Echo discovered that stroking her fingers in different places resulted in different pitches of laughter. When she focused on the balls of his feet, Axl would squeal loudly, and he would squeal the LOUDEST when Echo aimed for his toes. His arches and heels were both sensitive, but the way he cackled when his poor digits and balls of his feet were tickled told the Huntress everything she wanted to know.

“NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHO MOHOHOHORE! JUST STAHAHAHAHAP!” Axl screeched, the tears budding in his eyes finally spilling out and rolling down his cheeks.

Echo had lost track of how long she had been tickling Axl, but upon hearing his screeching, and seeing the first signs of dawn beginning to shine through the window, she decided to finally stop, and pulled her fingers away from the young gunslinger’s feet.

Axl sagged in his bonds, completely worn out. He had since stopped struggling and instead focused on catching his breath. His lungs ached, and his feet twitched as they tingled from being tickled excessively, making him giggle under his breath. Echo turned her head to look at the younger Reploid, whose eyes were half-closed, visibly exhausted.

Echo got down from the table and back onto the floor, relieving Axl of her weight on his legs. She walked over next to where his head lay on the table. “You okay, Axl?” She asked, her tone gentle and full of genuine concern, completely different from her devious tone from before, wiping away the tears that had fallen down Axl’s cheeks. The Huntress gained great satisfaction and amusement from tickling the young gunslinger for payback, but after seeing just how exhausted he was, she felt a little guilty, and worried if she had gone too far.

It took a few moments for Axl to regain some of his strength, but when he did, he responded, turning his head to face Echo. “Yeah… Oh, man… I… I thought I was gonna die…” The new-gen ended his sentence with a quiet, lighthearted laugh.

Echo went to work untying the rope binding Axl’s wrists and ankles to the table, allowing him to finally move freely again. But he decided to take a few moments to lay down as he was still exhausted. Echo gently patted the young Hunter on the head to comfort him, especially after the tickle torture he was just put through. Any annoyance or anger she felt toward him seemed to have vanished by now. Axl purred and smiled contentedly as she patted his head, which made the Huntress smile in amusement.

As Echo patted Axl’s head, the guilt she felt of putting him through such intense tickle torture returned to her. Despite her annoyance at the new-gen interrupting her work the previous day, she had absolutely no intentions of hurting him, and just wanted to teach him a lesson. Still, Axl’s hysterical laughter and his bugged out eyes while he was being tickled (especially during the last round) made the blue-haired Huntress concerned if she went too far.

“Axl?” Echo began, a look of guilt in her eyes as she looked at Axl.

“Hm?” Axl shifted his attention to the older Reploid, curious about what she had to say.

“I… I’m sorry if I went too far. I was just annoyed with you interrupting me from my work yesterday that I wanted to teach you a lesson. But I’m worried that… me tickling you was too much for you to handle.”

“Hey, it’s okay, Echo.” Axl said, smiling reassuringly. “Sure, the tickling was pretty intense, but you didn’t hurt me or anything. In fact, I… actually kinda liked it…!”

Echo’s eyes widened at that last part. “Wait, you LIKED being tickled?”

Axl blushed, realizing what he just said, before sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, yeah…! I don’t know why, but it just… feels nice, at least to me.”

Echo stood there, stunned. She was shocked by the fact that despite how intense she had been tickling Axl, the new-gen ENJOYED it.

Now that Axl had mentioned it, although Echo didn’t want to admit it, part of her actually enjoyed being tickled by the young gunslinger the previous day as well. She realized that she shared the same enjoyment of being tickled just like Axl. Given that he had revealed his secret to the blue-haired Huntress, and it was just the two of them alone in Axl’s dorm, Echo decided to reveal HER secret as well.

“Um… Gonna be honest, Axl…” Echo started, already feeling a blush creeping up on her cheeks. “Now that you mention it, I…” Her words trailed off, hesitating to continue her sentence, before resuming. “I actually kinda… LIKED it when you tickled me yesterday…” She muttered the last part of her sentence, turning her head away from Axl.

Axl’s eyes widened with shock. “Wait, really?” He was completely caught off-guard that Echo, a Reploid who had a personality completely opposite to him, shared his interest in being tickled.

Echo hesitated for a moment before answering. “Yeah…” She mumbled, before taking a deep breath, and speaking again in normal volume. “But don’t tell anyone else about that. Please.”

“Well, if that makes you feel better, I won’t tell anyone.” Axl smiled, before he remembered something. “Oh, and, uhh, could you give me my boots back, please?”

“Oh, sure.” Echo bent down and picked up Axl’s boots that had been discarded earlier, and placed them on the table next to him. “Here.”

“Thanks!” Axl chirped, before proceeding to place his boots back on. He had to admit, it felt nice for his feet to be put back in the warmth and comfort of his own boots again, especially since they had been tickled excessively. After putting them back on, he noticed rays of light coming in through the nearby window, and he looked out to see that the sun was rising. “Oh, morning already? Jeez, Echo, how long have you been tickling me for?”

“I actually went to bed and woke up about an hour before the sun would rise before I got here.” Echo replied, smiling cleverly. “So, I’d say I’ve tickled you for… at least a full hour.”

“Oh, wow. And yesterday I tickled you for, like, a few minutes!” Axl commented.

“Heh, true. Anyway, I should probably head back to my dorm in case X or any of the others come to check up on me. Plus, I need to get ready for the day, too. You should probably do the same, Axl.”

“Yeah, I was gonna say. And my hair is a mess, too.” Axl stroked his fingers through his spiky hair for emphasis- there were tangles visible in his hair. Part of it was from tossing and turning while he was sleeping in his capsule, and from thrashing about while he was tied to the table and tickled.

Echo chuckled, giving Axl more pats on the head, who purred once more in response like a cat. “You’re funny, you know that?”

Axl giggled, before suddenly pulling Echo into a hug, giving her a noogie. “C’mere, you!”

Echo was caught off-guard, and blushed in both surprise and embarrassment. She tried pulling away initially, but in the end, she decided to let Axl show his affection. She couldn’t help but smile from how affectionate the new-gen was being with her. After a few moments, Axl decided to release the older Reploid.

Upon letting go of Echo, Axl noticed the smile on her face, and he grinned. “Oh, THERE’S that smile again!”

“Oh, shut it, you goofball.” Echo mumbled grumpily, though she was still smiling. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head back to my dorm now. But first I need to bring the table and rope back to one of the storage units in the basement.”

“Huh? What table?” Axl asked, before looking down. “Oh! THIS table! Is this what you tied me to?”

“Yep. I was originally considering tying you to your capsule, but that would’ve been too hard to do, so I resorted to using a foldable table instead. Now, uhh, could you climb down from it, please?”

“Oh, sure thing, Echo!” Axl spoke, getting down from the table and letting Echo fold it up and hoist it up in her arms, and carry the rope around her shoulders. “You need help carrying that table? ‘Cause it looks pretty heavy.”

“I can manage carrying it myself, thanks.” Echo responded, some strain in her voice, but she nonetheless made her way to the door, opening it to leave and carry the table and rope back to the basement. Before the Huntress could leave, though, she stopped at the doorway, and looked back at Axl, propping the table against the wall. “Oh, Axl?”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Um…” Echo paused, trying to think of what to say before she continued. “Thanks for trying to help me cheer up yesterday. I know it might sound like I’m lying because of how annoyed I was with you, but… I’m genuinely glad that you care about me and tried to help me smile more.” She managed a small smile. Not a forced one, but a genuine one.

Axl was surprised, yet flattered by the blue-haired Huntress’s response, and the blush returned to his cheeks. Despite this, he grinned gladly. “Aww, no need to thank me, Echo. And, I know this might sound weird, but… does that mean you won’t mind if I ever tickle you again?”

Echo was perplexed by the young gunslinger’s question. She thought about it for a moment, wondering if it would be alright to let Axl tickle her again, before answering. “Hm… Maybe. I suppose I can let you tickle me again, but on one condition. Don’t do it while I’m working. Got it?”

Axl nodded eagerly. “Sounds good to me! Oh, and, you aren’t gonna tie me up again while I sleep later tonight, will you?”

“No, not this time.” Echo replied. “Unless you WANT to be tickled again.” Axl snorted and laughed sheepishly in response.

“Well, I’m gonna take the table and rope back to the basement and head back to my dorm now. So, I’ll see you later, Axl.” Echo spoke, smirking affectionately, picking the table back up.

“See ya, Echo!” Axl waved goodbye to Echo as she walked out the door, which closed behind her, leaving the gunslinger alone once more to get ready for the day.

As Echo was walking to the basement, carrying the table and rope, she found herself wondering what would be in store the next time she and Axl would tickle each other. Would they use just their fingers next time, or maybe, just maybe, tools of sorts could be involved? The very thought alone made the Huntress blush, but perhaps using tools COULD make things more interesting instead of just using fingers, especially given that Echo had managed to turn Axl into putty in her hands so easily when tickling him not too long ago. She could use countless tools to draw out laughter from the young gunslinger for as long as she wanted (provided she doesn’t go too far so he doesn’t pass out), and Axl could do the same to her. Both Reploids would get enjoyment out of it, as they shared an interest in being tickled, so it would be a win-win situation for the both of them.

But for now, only time will tell. Echo can only wait to see what Axl will do the next time he tickles her, not that she would mind (so long as he doesn’t interrupt her work doing so). After all, they were both good friends, and they would do anything to make each other happy, no matter what.

[lvsamine]

🌟 - Who was your very first rp muse?

mun questions // accepting also asked by reiketsui !

(( My very first ever RP muse was technically my OC, Kiki, back in... 2010? I did the most basic and chaotic RPs with my friend over MSN and lord it was embarrassing LMAO.

My first ever fandom muse would be Kumatora from MOTHER 3, in 2011! An artist I admired opened up a Nintendo based RP forum and I jumped at the opportunity to join. It taught me a lot about writing and it was so much fun, I even got to ship with a Duster and annoy everyone else on the forum with our stupid fluff threads.

I've wanted to try making a blog for Kumatora, actually... It's been a long time since I wrote her last and I kinda miss it. I'd definitely be more in character this time, I didn't know what I was doing when I was 14. ))