#at this point i feel sorry for the other team

[wonkizz]

to be or not to be: brat

jungwon x older!fmr genre: smut warnings: usage of noona, cunnilingus, fellatio, pretty vanilla smut (not great), begging, unprotected sex, cumming inside, fingering wc: 2.3k

Bratty pop stars weren't anything new to you. You’ve dealt with enough to know their type.

They party day and night to escape from the lives that they claim have plagued them.

You don’t fully understand because you’re not famous like them, but you understand the concept.

One minute you’re a regular person, the next you’re a star in the eyes of everyone.

You don’t blame them for acting out the way they do sometimes. You try to be understanding and listen to their frustrations, although you’re not a therapist and some of them definitely need that.

You’ve been assigned as a new manager for pop star Yang Jungwon.

He made his entrance to the entertainment industry 4 years ago and is just now having his “rebellious stage”.

Whatever, again, nothing new to you.

You’re meeting him for the first time today, anticipating the same as you always do.

Rude, closed off, not willing to talk.

So you can only be surprised as Yang Jungwon walks in, greeting you warmly.

“Hi, I’m Jungwon. It’s nice to meet you.”

You’re confused. Where’s the snide remarks? The cold exterior?

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jungwon.”

You both sit in the meeting about you being his new manager, but you’re barely paying attention.

You didn’t realize how attractive he is.

His features are strong but give off a unique softness.

His eyes are especially captivating.

They remind you of boba balls, funnily enough.

You’re soon tasked with driving Jungwon back to his apartment, as the meeting was his only schedule of the day.

The car ride is silent, until you break it with your curiosity.

“Not to be rude, but why aren’t you more…bratty?” You ask Jungwon who soon begins to giggle in his seat.

“The whole rebellious thing is just an act the company wanted to put me on to get attention.”

Oh, that would explain it.

“But you already have millions of fans, why the need for possible bad publicity?”

Jungwon shrugs, “I don’t know, to be honest. I just do what they tell me.”

“Well, you still probably struggle with this life sometimes, no?”

“I do! Like any other celebrity, I do. But I don’t see the point in acting out over it. It was my choice to become this and I have to own it.”

You smile, hoping he catches it, “That’s a very mature mindset to have, Jungwon.”

“Thank you, noona. Is it okay if I call you that?”

“Of course!” You nod, “I want you to be comfortable with me.”

“Can I be honest then?” Jungwon asks.

You nod, waiting.

“The reason you became my manager so suddenly is because.. I saw you at a party a few weeks ago and I thought you were pretty. I wanted to know who you were so I got my team involved.”

Your mind halts for a moment. He found you pretty?

Does he feel some type of way about you?

“I’m flattered, Jungwon. I haven’t heard that one before.”

“I’m sorry, you probably feel weirded out but I couldn’t help it.” Out of the corner of your eye, you swear he’s pouting, like he just got scolded.

“I’m not weirded out, Jungwon. Like I said, I’m flattered. I find you very handsome myself. When they said I’d be working with you, I got excited. Even though I thought you’d be a brat.”

That gets a chuckle out of him and you laugh along.

The conversation flows more easily after that.

When you reach the address that was put into your gps, you’re surprised to see your own complex come into view.

“You live here?” You ask incredulously, “There’s no way! I live here too.”

Jungwon looks just as amazed as you.

“That’s kinda convenient,” he says.

You park in the building's private garage before making your way to the elevator.

You’re both even more shocked when you reach for the same floor.

“Don’t tell me we’ve lived so close and never met?” Jungwon says.

“Maybe it’s fate,” you respond as he smiles at you.

When you reach Jungwon’s door, you point to your own door down the hall, “If you need me, you know where to find me.”

You wait until Jungwon is about to shut his door, when suddenly it opens again.

He looks almost shameful as he asks, “Do you wanna stay for dinner?”

You know you shouldn’t, he’s supposed to be your responsibility, but you can’t help yourself, “Sure.”

He lets you in, checking to make sure no one is present before closing the door.

His apartment is like the word cozy defined.

The furniture is minimal but not so little to feel empty.

It all matches with each other, quite fine taste if you say so yourself.

“I like it,” you praise, “it’s got a nice homey feel.”

You take your shoes off at the door as Jungwon offers you slippers.

“I actually don’t know what we’re having for dinner, I figured I would just take the chance and ask,” Jungwon says sheepishly, blushing.

You excuse him with a wave of your hand, “How about we just order out?”

“Sounds good,” he agrees.

You end up ordering Korean food, your favorites as well as Jungwon’s.

Once you’ve eaten and cleaned up, Jungwon suggests relaxing for a bit.

As you sit on his couch making quiet conversation, you think about the fact that you’ve never done this with other employers you’ve worked for.

Why is Jungwon the exception to that?

Is it because you’re attracted to him?

That’s so unprofessional, you know it is, but…is it that bad?

“What's going on in that pretty head of yours?”

Jungwon’s voice breaks your thoughts, snapping you out of your trance.

You don’t know what’s come over you, but you decide being bold is the way to go.

“I was thinking about you.”

He looks directly into your eyes, his own swarming with something you can’t pinpoint just yet.

“What about me?”

You laugh as you think about it, “I was expecting some angry, cold, closed off person. Yet I got warmth and kindness instead. It’s a nice change.”

“I was thinking about you too,” Jungwon says. “Thinking about how you’d sound, what you’d look like up close. How you’d greet me, what you’d think of me. Then I started thinking about other things once we met.”

“Like what?” You smile as you ask.

“Like what your voice would sound like when you’re moaning my name. Or what you’d feel like wrapped around me. I’m still thinking about it. I can’t stop and I know I shouldn’t but…”

As he trails off, the atmosphere instantly changes.

You would blush, if it weren’t for the fact that your mind was thinking the same things.

Slowly, you lift yourself onto your knees, making your way to where Jungwon sits.

His arms welcome you, wrapping around your waist as your lips slot against his.

Your hands make their way up, gripping the back of his neck as you sit right in his lap.

Lips moving ferociously, your tongues intersect.

You tug on the hair at the nape of his neck, making him groan.

His hands move down your waist, coming to grip your ass.

He kneads it, essentially grinding you back and forth over his lap.

You can feel his cock harden beneath his pants.

Pulling away, you stroke the sides of his face, smiling gently as he pants.

“You want me to make you feel good, Wonnie?”

“Please, noona. Need you so bad.”

You go down on your knees, rubbing Jungwon’s thighs as he waits in anticipation.

You unzip his jeans, pulling them down along with his underwear as he lifts his hips to help you.

His cock is too pretty for this world, at least in your eyes. The tip is shining with precum as you take the tip of your finger to rub it around, releasing even more.

Jungwon throws his head back, groaning pitifully.

You spit into your hand, lathering his cock with it, beginning to jerk him off.

“Please, noona, please.”

“What do you want?” You’re teasing him and he hates it, but he knows you won’t relent.

“Please suck my cock, noona. I’m begging.”

“Whatever my pretty boy wants.”

You take him in your mouth, slowly but surely.

Sucking the tip, you moan at the taste of his precum, becoming addicted to it almost immediately.

You begin to bob your head, taking him deeper until he hits the back of your throat.

He wants to grip your hair so badly, you can tell but he doesn’t want to hurt you. You take his hands, guiding them to your head as he gently grips your hair.

Jungwon uses his hands to gently guide you up and down on his cock.

“Fuck, noona. Feels so good.”

His moans and swears get louder as you continue. You swirl your tongue around his cock, focusing on the tip as his grip lightens, you use your hand to jerk what’s not in your mouth.

“I’m gonna cum, noona. Please let me cum,” Jungwon whines, bucking his hips, forcing you to take him deeper.

You slide him out of your mouth, continuing to jerk him off. “Cum in my mouth, Jungwon.”

Opening your mouth to present your tongue, Jungwon lets out a final huff, cumming in your mouth.

You swallow it eagerly and pump him through his orgasm.

His breathing is heavy as he calms down, but he’s not finished yet.

Jungwon pulls you up, pressing your lips together once more, tasting himself on your lips.

“Can we go to my room?” He asks.

You nod.

He takes your hand, leading you down the hall to his bedroom.

The door is open and unlike the living room, his bedroom is a bit more decorated. But not with furniture. He has figurines galore decorating his room.

You can’t help but find him even cuter than you did before.

Cute when he begs, and cute without even trying.

He lays you down on the bed gently, like you’re fragile and going to break.

“Can I please you, noona?”

“You can do whatever you want to me, Jungwon.”

He takes your words as a chance to discard your clothing as well as his own.

Your naked body is the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

He begins littering kisses across your neck and chest, taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking on it while playing with the other.

He swirled his tongue around it until it hardened, then nipped at it, making you moan in delight.

Your hands find his blonde hair, gripping it tightly between your fingers.

He gives attention to the other nipple, doing the same as before, then leading his kisses down your stomach to your cunt.

“You’re soaking wet, noona. All for me?”

It’s his turn to tease you, but you don’t give into it.

“All for you, Won. Are you gonna please me?”

“Yes, noona.”

With that, he dives into your cunt. He licks through your lips, collecting your arousal on his tongue before swallowing it enthusiastically.

He brings his attention to your clit, nipping and sucking at the bud, making you jerk and moan.

As he swirls his tongue around it, a finger makes its way to your hole, entering you hesitantly.

You sigh at the feeling. It’s been a while since you had time to please yourself.

But it feels so much better when it’s someone else.

As Jungwon fingers you and plays with your cunt, your own hands are busy playing with your breasts,

tweaking your nipples to gain even more pleasure.

He adds another finger to the first, fingering you at a moderate pace.

You can feel yourself about to cum, and you warn Jungwon with a tug on his hair.

He continues regardless, wanting nothing more than for you to come in his mouth like he did.

You whine as your body thrashes lightly, the pleasure almost becoming too much.

“I’m gonna cum, Jungwon, please!”

His fingers speed up as well as his tongue and you’re cumming before you can even say something.

Jungwon takes all your come with vigor, the slurping sounds making you blush.

As you come down from your high, Jungwon pulls away from your cunt.

“You ready?” He asks.

You nod, “Give it to me.”

He pumps his cock a few times before rubbing it against your cunt, collecting your arousal on it.

Just when you’re about to find yourself begging, he finally pushes inside you.

You both groan, you at the intrusion and him at the tightness.

“Fuck, you’re sucking me in, noona.”

He lets you adjust for a few moments, before slowly starting to thrust.

In and out, in and out. All you hear is the sound of skin slapping against skin as your sweaty body slides against his.

You pull him down by his hair, connecting your lips in a searing kiss.

“Faster, Wonnie,” you say against his lips.

Jungwon speeds up, fucking you vigorously.

Your moans are getting louder and higher by the second, filling the room along with his grunts.

“‘M gonna cum in this pussy, right noona?”

“Yes Jungwon, yes! Cum inside, I need it!”

His pace is almost animalistic at this point, fucking your so hard your cunt starts to ache.

You hold onto him tightly as both your orgasms wash over you.

Feeling his cum fill you up is exhilarating, and he feels the same as your own orgasm splashes against him.

As he rides you both through your highs, you begin to calm down. That was the best orgasm you’ve had in a long time.

Jungwon leans down to kiss you gently. “Was it okay?”

You hum, “More than okay. I needed that.”

Jungwon lays down beside you as you both breathe somewhat heavily.

“So… how are we gonna explain this to the team?”

wonkizz 2025

[love-byers]

you know what's crazy?

i think most of us are aware that the song that plays over the monologue is titled "You're The Heart", but for a second lets think logically. if the monologue is truly just mike confessing is true love, and this is setting up for mlvn endgame, and there is no deeper connection or involvement of will's feelings, why is that the name of the track that plays through the entire duration of the monologue??

like think about that. the song doesn't begin until immediately after mike says the first "i love you!". that is what triggers the song to begin. nowhere in the duration of footage the song plays over in the episode does anyone say "You're The Heart". will said that several lines before the song began. kyle and michael (OST producers) know this. they watched the exact duration of footage that the song would be playing over probably over 100 times. so why when naming this song did their minds go to WILL'S line that is said well before the song begins?? a line that directly ties back to will expressing his deep seeded love for mike??? why not name it "I Love You" as mike said it multiple times during the duration of the song and it was what el had been asking for all season, or "You're My Superhero" since that line supposedly encapsulates everything mike feels about el and was said during the duration of the song?? no, it had to be will's line. will's line that was not even said during the duration of the song. they named a song that plays ONCE during the ENTIRE SHOW after a line that WAS NOT SAID DURING THE SONG. if mlvn are endgame and will get married and have babies and whatnot, why does will have ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS?????? why is will telling mike he's the heart more significant than anything from mike's grand declaration of love to el, which had a whole OST track made for it?????? well, we all know why, but we're called crazy when we say it, so the question still remains.

like just picture that. kyle and michael watched mike's monologue, watched him say i love you nine times, watching him say he fell in love with her at first sight, and said "we shall name this song You're The Heart!"

not "I Love You"

not "You're My Superhero"

not "Love"

not ANYTHING from mike's long ass monologue

no, it's "You're The Heart". it had to be "You're The Heart". it had to be a line not even said during the duration of the song, a line that is representative of will's love for mike. will's line. will, who mike asked to be his friend on the first day of kindergarten, who mike feels is the best thing he's ever brought into his life, who mike has a special relationship with, who mike jumps to defend, who mike cares for so much that he tried to fight his own bully because he said something bad about will, who's voice mike recognizes even though no one esle does, who mike is extremely attentive to to the point he is the only one to notice will is being slightly quieter than usual, who's floor mike slept on so he could be there for him, who's bedside mike slept by when he was unconscious in the hospital, who mike asked to go crazy with him, who mike always speaks softly to, who's hand mike held when he was afraid, who mike can't stand being on bad terms with, who mike jumps to apologize and take accountability without having to be told or instructed, who mike biked across town in the rain to apologize to, who made mike mike cheese just by saying he wouldn't find new friends, who ruined mike's ENTIRE day by simply being quiet and a bit moody, who mike feels is different than his other friends, who mike feels hawkins isn't the same without, who mike wants to be a team with, who mike chooses to stand next to when the world is ending right in front of them. it had to be will.

sorry, was that a bit overboard?

anyways i think you get my point lol

[kawoala]

Your requests are opennn and I just saw the tsukishima fic and i luv ittt! May i request a prompt wherein kei and managerf!reader have been dating in the middle of the school year for a while and the team finds out? Thankss

𝐊𝐄𝐈 𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐀 what is going on word count ; (1,225) content warning ; (sorry it took me so long to answer - i want to say i was perfecting it but really i was procrastinating, secret relationship unveiled, talkative mom, second year! tsukishima)

The gym is hot. It’s usually hot, what with all the players running up and down the court, breaking a sweat, breathing heavily, but today feels different. Maybe the twenty year old AC system has finally kicked the bucket.

The bleachers on either side of the gym are packed with people from both Karasuno and Ichibayashi. You’re not sure why so many people showed up, but you don’t really care. You sit next to Yachi on the bench where the team sits during time-outs, fanning yourself with your clipboard.

“This sucks,” you say to nobody in particular. Yachi is on one side, but there is a first year on the other side. You turn to the blonde girl, who’s staring intently at the court, and exhale dramatically. “Yachi, I said this sucks.”

“No, I heard you the first time,” she says nonchalantly, though you can see her trying to fight the smile threatening to break out on her face. She turns to look at you, letting her head lull to the side. “How can this suck, Y/n? We’re winning!”

You blink at her a couple times. “We haven’t lost a single set to Ichibayashi since before Suga-san’s first year. If we lose, I’m quitting as a manager.”

She huffs, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to the game. You scrunch up your face, but do the same, eyes dead set on finding Kei. 

He always looks so handsome on the court. You often tell him that he goes into The Zone when he plays volleyball, but he just rolls his eyes and calls you weird. It would make you sad if you didn’t realize pretty early that his love language is shit-talking.

You watch him leap off the ground, effectively blocking Ichibayashi’s ball and scoring a point for Karasuno. You don’t realize until the crowd behind you erupts in cheers that the point he scored was the winning point.

Your body reacts before your mind can catch up, and you stand quickly, clapping your hands together in excitement. Yachi does the same beside you, and so do the rest of the benched players.

You watch Karasuno shake hands with the other team, thanking them for a good game, and then it’s done. You’re packing up your stuff, the team, including Kei, is headed to the locker room, but the call of his name startles you both.

“Oh, Kei!” You could hear that voice even if you were deaf. You turn slowly, watching your mother flag the tall boy down, calling his name like it means stop. “Kei! You played so well! I was wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner after this? You’re always welcome, but I’d like to invite you myself. Heaven knows Y/n will forget. How does that sound? I can call your mother if—”

“Mom!” Your voice echoes off the gym first, your sneakers against the waxy floor is next. You skid to a stop in between the two of them, eyes wide. “What are you doing?” You exclaim incredulously at her.

She raises her brows, obviously offended. “Excuse me, little girl. I’m inviting Kei to dinner tonight.” She clicks her tongue, putting her hand on her hip. You hate to say it, but this is where your attitude comes from and there’s no denying it. “I didn’t think you would have a problem with that.”

“I don’t, I just—” you cut yourself off, glancing around as you realize the whole team is staring at you. “I, um, was going to do that. I remembered, so you didn’t have to.”

She purses her lips, lifting her eyes to where Kei’s eyes presumably are. “Can you believe this? Angry with her mother because I invited someone she was already going to invite.”

“That’s not why I’m—”

“I know,” Kei cuts you off, patting you on the head a couple times. “Terrible, isn’t she?”

Your mother laughs, placing a hand on her chest like Kei is the funniest person she’s ever met. Spoiler alert; he’s not. She does have you in her life, after all.

“Okay.” You place your hands on her shoulders, turning her around towards the exit. “Time for you to go home and start working on dinner, yeah? We’ll be there in, like, thirty minutes.”

“Okay, sweetie,” she calls back with a wave of her hand. She glances back once more, giving Kei a tiny wave and big smile. Unbeknownst to you, he waves back.

When you turn around, you find the whole team still staring at you.

“What was that?” Ennoshita asks, narrowing his eyes.

You furrow your brows, tilting your head. “What was what? My mom’s crazy, don’t mind her.”

He hums, but Narita is nudging him into the locker room, mumbling something about post-game dinner ritual. Nishinoya and Tanaka are narrowing their eyes at you too.

“Why is your mom inviting Tsukishima to dinner at your house?”

“Yeah, why him, of all people. Why not me? I’m funnier and way handsome-r.”

You roll your eyes, but turn your attention to Kei and glare at him. “‘She’s terrible, isn’t she?’” You repeat in a mocking tone, scrunching your face up. “Do you hate me?”

”Wait, I’m confused.”

You look at Hinata and press your lips together. “When are you not?”

He. gives you a faux laugh and narrows his eyes— too many people have done that already, you’re starting to get a little annoyed. “Why is your mom inviting Tsukishima over to dinner and not one of us? Why does your mom like the meanest person in our year.”

Now, you hesitate. At the beginning of the year, you realized just how good Kei was at keeping secrets. You realized he didn't want all the drama that came with a public relationship, and neither did you, so you kept it a more private thing. That’s what was most comfortable for the two of you. However, it quickly became a nuisance. There were rumors of you two dating anyway, when Kei started being just the smallest bit nicer to you. It was harder to be around him and keep your feelings in check because, if you didn't, other people would find out and that would be a tragedy for the both of you.

”She’s my girlfriend, idiot.” The words coming from Kei shock you. Your head whips around to look at him so fast, you fear there might be a touch of whiplash involved. Your eyes are wide, eyebrows raised to your hairline.

”What are you doing?” You ask through gritted teeth, tone walking the line of sing-songy and mad.

He turns to you now, smiling softly. “It’s getting tiresome having to hide our relationship, isn’t it? Plus, people already thought we were dating.” He shrugs. “Give the people what they want, right?”

You smile back at him. You think Kei has changed a lot since first year— in a good way, of course. He’s kinder, softer, stronger. All of the hinges that have changed about him, also changed with you. You don’t know it yet, but you two have made each other better people in the time frame of your relationship at this moment.

”What?” Hinata exclaims, putting his hands on his head. “What do you mean you’re dating? How could you date him? He’s so— and you’re so— what is going on!”

[lavenders388]

i've been hooked on squid games recently, could you possibly do one of the guards or the frontman protecting the reader from dying in a game?? bonus points if the reader gets hurt. please and thank you!! no pressure at all ofc! good luck with college!!

~One Lucky Day~

˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ Pink Soldier x Reader

requested 💌

a/n: sorry for being super slow writing its for the silliest reason ever! my hard gel nails are grown the fuck out and its SO hard to type expect like one million fics in a row when i get these mf knives taken off of my fingers here in a few days!!! as always thank you for all the support!!!<3 -matcha

˚⋆𐙚｡ 𖦹.ᡣ𐭩˚ As you were led through the sickeningly colorful halls- an almost disrespectful contrast to the dark place you found yourself in, your mind raced uncontrollably about what the next game would be. You worried, like everyone else, about whether you would be able to survive and move forward. you looked around as you climbed the pink staircase. noticing how many men there were compared to women. your stomach began to turn thinking about how difficult it would be to compete against those who appeared to be much stronger than you. you tried to calm yourself; thinking about how during the previous game you had an advantage by being able to stop easily and stay balanced. you hoped that in this game strength wouldn't be much of a factor.

as you entered the game hall, your mind began to race a little less. "this doesn't look like it'll be too bad for me." you thought, noticing that there wasn't a whole lot that the set gave away; just two rainbow circles. "it looks like a track, maybe this will be more like red light green light again." you pondered; the thought of a more agility-based game making you feel more confidently. the recorded voice echoed within the hall as you were instructed to form groups of 5. The thought of being in a group also aided in soothing your fears, knowing that whatever ability you lacked there were other players with you to make up for it.

you eventually found your group, finding it hard to be accepted due to not being male. your group- 3 women and 2 men- ended up being picked to go dead last. you all breathed a sigh of relief- agreeing that this could be a very good thing, you weren't going first, and you had the most time to prepare. you all got to practice your individual mini-games, and you were able to calculate what the other players struggled with more and how to better handle that without wasting too much time. as you and the rest of the crowd cheered for the other groups, you began to feel more confident about the game.

finally, it was time for the two last groups to compete. you were happy to be closer to the end of this horrible place, but you trembled with the thought of what would happen if your group wasn't time-efficient enough. the other group- very kindly you thought- agreed that they would be cheering you on and you them; referencing to the lack of cheering crowd the other groups had. this gesture made you feel supported- and ready to compete in what would hopefully be the last game before you got to leave.

as your group moved through all of the mini-games, your heart sank realizing how little time you all had to spare. "fuck." you thought to yourself; not wanting to scare the rest of your team. "okay, we can't afford to mess up on this last one." you said to the man about to attempt the last game. you tried to sound encouraging. to hide your fear in a way that might help that man. with 5 seconds on the clock, you watched the other team cheer in relief as they completed the game and got to leave. your team wouldn't make it, your skin crawling as you came to the sinking realization.

five... four... three... two... one... you barely heard the recording counting down what you believed to be your last seconds on this earth. you wanted to cry, but you didn't have the time to even do that. as you watched your teammates fall to the ground, you expected the same fate to become of yourself. you felt a bullet graze the side of your upper shoulder; the pain sinking into the muscle like fire traveling through each of your veins. the pain almost distracted you from the conversation you began to overhear as you lied on the rainbow ground with your fallen teammates.

"i missed on purpose so that they'll be fresh." you heard coming from one of the masked guards. "fresh? what the fuck does he mean fresh?" you thought, the type of fear racing within you amounting to more than you've ever felt before. "okay, load them all up like normal." you heard from another guard as the pink-bowed coffins began to be lifted onto the ground beside you. you felt yourself being uncuffed; gently. and then loaded into the coffin. "don't worry. trust me." you almost didn't hear it as he said it so quietly under his breath as you were lowered with care into the coffin.

the lid was closed but not stapled shut like the rest. you didn't get moved either. time stood still as the rest of the guards left with the other coffins. after what felt like hours but was most likely only a few seconds, you saw the lid opening.

"hey just stay quiet, don't freak out or try to run. please just trust me." came softly from the only guard left in the room. you didn't know what it was, maybe just the desperation of having nothing else to do, or maybe it was his voice that made you trust him almost immediately. you lifted yourself out of the box that was supposed to be the last thing that ever touched your body. gingerly, as to not upset the gash on your shoulder. you winced, catching his attention as he began to help you up.

"why- why did you save me? i lost the game." you said, your voice trembling in shock and as the pain traveled up your arm. "i don't know." he said, soundly almost as scared as you were. "I'm so fucking sorry i shot you." your eyes met his, he looked to be near your age. his face was young and soft, with short black hair. he was the type of guy that if you weren't in this place, you would have considered going up to him to ask for his number or something along those lines. "thank you, so much." you said genuinely, your voice softening as you assessed that the situation was safe.

"what do we do now?" you asked him, even though it didn't look like he knew for himself. "ill patch your arm up, and ill lead you back to the other players when its lights out." your second chance at life was shocking; a bit disappointing that you still had to go back to the games. you found yourself not wanting to level him.

"what about you?" you questioned as he began to gently wrap some gauze around the wound on your arm. "ill be okay, they thought you went with the rest of the coffins, and they don't really seem to care about what happens to the players once they've been eliminated." you tried not to think about the last part of his answer. "will i see you again?" you asked, without really thinking about it. you weren't sure how to properly express your gratitude to the stranger who had saved you, and a part of you twinged with sadness about the thought of never looking into his brown eyes again.

"ill look after you in the games." he stated in a way that made you know full-heartedly that he meant it; and would do so.

as he walked you back to the hall you once dreaded returning to, you found yourself no longer feeling any fear at all.

[gossippool]

firstly, let's address your tags and the things you've said in your reply.

i've already talked about this--and the issue of drawing style--in my other reblogs. also, "there's the twink behaviour (because twink is a behavioural stereotype, too)" i'm sorry but did you miss my point completely? yes it is a behavioural stereotype. that is what i'm saying. it's the fact that the original and only definition for twink is purely about physical characteristics, but by association of feminine mannerisms to some heteronormative stereotype of women having slender figures, effeminate behaviour has become synonymous with the word "twink". and also the heteronormative stereotype of a more feminine person having to be with a more masculine man. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M CALLING OUT. because it is a harmful assumption to make. because it's reductive and homophobic and misogynistic. half of what you're even saying--he's drawn more muscular next to slimmer characters in team ups, and smaller when he's "submissive"--that is all part of this point i'm making.

the point is that there shouldn't be this type of division. and like i said in another reblog, official art is not immune to this, so they should not be the foundation on which we work off of. why do artists draw characters smaller when they're in a, as you say, submissive role? or when they're paired up with more traditionally masculine characters???? i feel like i'm repeating myself here

and you bringing up power is exactly what i mean by implicit bias. the fact that you associate being a "twink" with being weaker and being attracted to people who are more powerful, especially in these scenarios where actual superpowers come into play and so can't be equated to each other?? shiklah is an Actual Monster btw, she could kill a million muscular men in a second. so i don't know what argument you're trying to make here.

secondly, i said in my original tags that if you can find me a comic that draws wade consistently twinkish throughout even ONE issue i would rescind my statement. and since you kindly gave me examples, let's do this one at a time.

1. the decoy (2010), which is a single issue comic. this is how he looks in the rest of the comic:

2. deadpool (2012), the good, the bad and the ugly run. the artist is declan shalvey. here are panels from the same issue:

3. cable & deadpool (2004) #34. the penciller is reilly brown. here are panels from this issue, from the same page even.

4. the rollerblading panel is from deadpool (2008) by daniel way, famously the worst deadpool run in existence with terrible writing. this is from issue 15, penciller paco medina. here are panels from this exact issue:

so yeah i don't want to argue about this anymore because i feel like my point has been misconstrued. kay and i did elaborate on all this in the reblogs where i covered pretty much all the points i mentioned here

no one's gonna stop you from making wade a twink but just know that it has never been canon ever, and also maybe think about why you want him to be a twink so bad. is it just because he acts more effeminate and so you think he should have the stereotypical body to match? are there implicit biases and assumptions forced on your labelling of people as twinks? is it just because you want him to be more personally appealing to you? <3

[doodler16]

i think it wouldve made more sense if DHORKS had kidnapped via in seeing stars to interrogate her since she doesnt have a human disguise, forcing I.M.P. and stolas to lock tf in, find them and her, battle DHORKS again, but one of the agents could be killed in the fight, (accidentally as a joke even, before blitz is like, "uh, yeah, we- we MEANT to do that!",) with the other left alive as a warning from stolas not to ever put his loved ones in danger again, or else there will be even worse consequences then just being traumatized from the sight of his true demon form and losing their loved ones in return. itd make via forgiving her dad for forgetting about asaroths tears be more understandable too, instead of loona girlboss gaslighting this teen about her justified feelings towards her parents divorce and father. that way, when DHORKS come back in full moon, itd make more sense for the remaining agent to team up with the cherubs so they could BOTH get revenge, and to be taken seriously by the human government enough to get an increase in funding, since they killed one of the people responsible for exposing humans to them to begin with, making them think the demons want to cover their tracks. plus, you could even have that killed agent show up in hell if you wanted to have another goofy antagonist I.M.P. could come across at any given point! maybe even bring them back in apology tour, only for them to try shooting blitz with an angelic gun like they how they resort to gun violence in the chupacbra short. like, i dont need them to be big bads who constantly are involved in the plot. i just want them to MATTER when I.M.P. goes up on earth. one last rewrite/wishful thinking thing but, wouldve loved also if one of them dropped off a kid they were related to at that stupid ass childrens summer camp called "i wanna cum" or something, and then as a joke, have them not recognize moxxie or millies human disguise at all. they talk to them completely straight laced while m&m is internally dying inside and thinking theyre lured into a false sense of security, until the anget(s) says in full sincerity, "and, i hope it aint rude of me to mention, but, so terribly sorry about that poor skin condition of yers! :("

I’ll gladly take anything at this point regarding DHORKS. I unironically would forget about them sometimes. Honestly, I was pretty surprised Agent 1 and 2 weren’t there at the summer camp, it would’ve been a good opportunity to put them there in the background spying on Moxxie and Millie.

[marinettesaltprompts]

The Perfect Partner (Part 2)

Prompt by @ironicreality

“What?” Adrien was confused, he thought he was supposed to look like Ladybug’s old sidekick, but instead he was in this weird restrictive mix of a skintight supersuit and a vaugely ‘royal prince’ uniform..

Cat themed of course, complete with silly pawprints for the buttons. If they weren’t in a literal life or death situation he’d probably find it kind of fun in a childish way.

“You- I…” Ladybug shakes her her and scowls. “Of course it was one big trick- I’m going to-”

There is another crack a stone wall behind them shudders with a superpowered blow.

“Ladybug, whatever it is we have a job to do.” Adrien sharply reminded her.

Ladybug’s scowl didn’t let up, but her attention returned to the present. Wordlessly she grabs his arm and practically drags him closer to the enemy.

“Uh, Ladybug- what’s the *plan?*” Superpowered or not, Adrien wasn’t looking forwards to seeing the Akuma he’d suicidally upset for some reason.

Abruptly they passed a piece of rubble and they were suddenly in view of the thing. A bunch of other heroes were desperately dancing around it with no other apparent goal than drawing attention and hoping to avoid immediate death.

“Distract it and keep it in the school.” Ladybug *growled* and literally *threw him* at the stone monster. Adrien found himself slamming into the thing, rebounding off the hard body with a sharp gasp (some part of his brain confirms that the collision would have been lethal normally, so superpowers were confirmed) and landed on his backside before the thing.

“Oh hey, who’s the new guy?” The turtle themed-one asked.

“Carapace, back before you change back!” Ladybug interrupts. “Everyone else, leave this to *Cat Walker*.”

Wait, what?

Adrien stares in shock as the rest of the team wordlessly abandons him. 'Cat Walker’ stares up at the Akuma, and somehow dodges to the side in time to avoid being crushed.

What follows is a full ten minutes of Cat Walker continuing that trend. The super-agility, strength and speed help but the monster still knocks him through a few walls. Surprisingly he doesn’t immediately die but instead just feels bruised and winded.

At some point he notices that he has a metal stick attached to his back and finds that it snaps wide to become a staff of some kind. It’s kind of neat.

It also does nothing what-so-ever to the giant rock monster-

Oh, never mind. The Akuma *laughs* like it’s being tickled.

By the end of the ten minutes Cat Walker is tried, sore and quite sure that he’s going to need to be “brought back” by Ladybug. But luckily for him, that’s when the rest of the team comes back, this time with a stripey wasp-themed hero and within moments the Akuma is contained and then paralyzed before Ladybug comes over with some a bottle of spray (red and black spotted of course) that reveals a choker around the Akuma’s neck.

And so Cat Walker witnesses his first (?, it feels familiar… did he see it on TV before?) purification and the Miraculous Cure.

Honestly it’s kind of awe-inspiring up close to see the school rebuilt in a second around him but, the wonder is quickly cut off as Carapace turns to him again. “So hey newbie, not bad-”

“He’s a temp!” Ladybug interrupted again, sharply with that same sour tone, “*just a temp.*”

“Hunh, oh.” Carapace shrugs, “shame Dude, you did pretty good there for first time.”

Cat Walker finds his voice. “… I nearly died six times.”

Ladybug *snorts*, and the Dragon-themed hero calmly- but *snidely* in a way that reminded him of Kagami when she was feeling smug- speaks up; “we noticed.”

“Thanks for your help!” The wasp quickly distracts from that, “sorry about taking so long. I had a thing and-”

She was giving a polite and possibly true excuse. Which was more than he’d probably get from anyone else here- did they *really* need to leave him alone to fight the monster?

Oh well. Adrien knew when to cut his losses, so he drops into the appropriate script.

“That’s alright, I’m sure you had a good reason.” Cat Walker slides into the polite etiquette with a disturbing ease, almost like he *meant it*. “But I’m sure we all have our lives to return to.”

“That’s right!” Ladybug chirps, clearly in a good mood now, “so everyone get to your rendezvous points and-”

Cat Walker pulled off the ring.

“ADRIEN!” Carapace’s eyes bulge. “You-” he turns to Ladybug. “You picked *him*?”

From the sound of things, Carapace’s good opinion of him had disappeared like Cat Walker’s confining suit. Come to think of it the same seemed to apply to the Wasp Heroine, and the Dragon’s eyes had become hard.

Adrien, for his part, couldn’t say exactly why he’d suddenly tugged off the magic ring. Well, no: of course he could. The form felt powerful for sure, but it was also confining, and the fact that he’d been thrown to the giant rock monster without warning didn’t make it more appealing. But somehow being Cat Walker also felt like…

Embarrassment? *Anger*?

No. Not just that, there was resentment burning under his skin but also…

Submission?

Whatever it was, some part of him utterly *loathed* being Cat Walker even before Ladybug threw him at the giant monster and wouldn’t stand for wearing the ring a second longer.

“You wanted this back right after, right?” Adrien found the box from before -where had it gone when changed?- in his hand, and spied the little black cat-thing from before in the corner for his eye for a second before he popped the ring in and snapped it closed. “Here.”

He pointedly pushed it to her, and Ladybug reflexively took it even while apparently still in shock.

“Right, so was that it?” He put on a winning smile, just like the creepy cameramen at his job loved. The rest of the team still seemed lost for words, and Adrien- still feeling his skin crawl with *whatever* from the ring and the phantom pains of being beaten- decided to escape the little clan of Superfurries before that changed. “Great, thanks for all your hard work- say, is she all right?”

He pointed to the Akuma victim, currently dazed and slowly coming to. She looked like a girl a little past four.

“Uh-yeah…” Carapace looked over to her, “hey so-”

“One of you should probably get her out of here, bye!” Adrien shot another smile and promptly *left*.

—

If you asked him, he couldn’t say for sure *why* he so jerkily left the team like that. Even more than the shock and frustration of being made into an impromptu mouse for an Akuma to play with, it was something *else* like what he felt from the ring.

If Father had seen him act in that way, he was sure the uptight man would have shoved him straight back into etiquette lessons again. But Adrien was quite sure that if he’d stayed he would have said something worse.

Either way, the whole thing was behind him as he found his class restored, so he promptly put the surreal experience out of his mind.

And things mostly went back to normal after that. There were some odd looks from his classmates, especially from Chloe and the Class President’s clique, he just paid attention to the lessons and moved on.

Father actually spoke to him at dinner, which was kind of a novelty. Somehow he’d found out about his little ‘heroics’ in saving Chloe (not about the superhero part, just the suicidal part) and gave him a lecture about basic common sense and not running into danger.

It was… actually kind of fair. The man was a complete jerk most of the time but Adrien had to admit that he’d been a bit of lemming, so he just took his medicine without complain: and that satisfied Gabriel enough to leave him be after that.

What *was* surprising though was finding Ladybug waiting for him in his room.

The pleasantries are short (nonexistent).

“Today was a one-time thing. Don’t expect to touch the ring again.” Ladybug is professional, but there’s an undercurrent there that he doesn’t care for.

“I wasn’t planning to,” Adrien keeps his tone airy, like he’s not bothered that she’s there.

(Something in the back fof his skull crawls)

“Good. Then we’re done here.” Ladybug turns to leave.

But Adrien, whoever he was in the past, was just a *little* too ‘imperfect’ now, just a little petty now to just let his all-too-long career of spontaneous Akuma hackysack slide without at least one jab in of his own;

“Do you usually leave people to fight the enemy on their own? Or is that just for temps?”

Ladybug ignored him as she left.

—

Adrien, having not enjoyed his brief time as a hero/punchingbag as much as you might think, was quite happy to ignore *her* and the entire war once more. Which he did for a full day, a full week, and very nearly a full month.

But there always whispers about Ladybug having to use different ‘cats’ now, rumours that even he couldn’t close his ears to. And it turned he also couldn’t close his life to either.

It was a dour afternoon while Adrien was practising his piano (there was something kind of nice about the ‘click’ of muscle memory guiding him to the notes before his mind realised). The wind was blowing quite heavily, so he’d shut his window-

So imagine his surprise when suddenly the thing opened from the *outside*, and a miserably wet Superheroine dropped in- no wait.

She was also just flat out miserable to be there, judging from her expression.

“Why hello Ladybug, come in, come in,” Adrien hid his surprise as best he could with , but some inner barb poked through his good sense again (why am I antagonising a superhero?). “Don’t mind the water damage I’m sure I can pay for it.”

Ladybug stared as him like she was facing a needle to the eye.

She said nothing as she pulled out a box like the one from last time.

Something bitter twisted in him.

“I thought we agreed last time-”

“I need Ryuko *and* a black cat.” Ladybug’s words were sharp and to the point, like they hurt her to say.

Adrien looked at the box. “And you want me to be the cat?”

“*No.*” The re was venom there before she composed herself, “But you’re… good with the ring.”

Adrien wasn’t stupid.

This Ryuko was the Dragon Hero, and from the way Ladybug was speaking- she was also Ladybug’s first pick for Black Cat when she didn’t need both seperately.

But there was no way that he was so ‘good with the ring’ after one try spent running from one beating after another. He knew she had other backups as well, but maybe it was the same thing and she needed them with other Miraculouses…

“*Chloe* is out there,” Ladybug seemed to have picked up on his hesitation, and she growled the name. “I know you care about *her*, so just take the ring and get going.”

Adrien opened his mouth to refuse- But again, something in him twisted. Maybe it was some left over feelings for an old friendship he couldn’t remember? Whatever it was, it enough to overpower the feelings of *wrongness* as he stood up to take the box.

“Follow my path out of the garden,” Ladybug’s words were clipped again as she turned, “the cameras won’t see us.”

—

As expected, Ladybug more or less dropped him on the Akuma and left him to absorb the heat.

“Aww, poor little kitty left out in the cold?” The weather-themed Akuma mocked him, “better hold on tight if you don’t want to be blown away!”

No sign of Chloe anywhere, but maybe she’d had the good sense to run while Ladybug left. Unlike some other poor souls.

A supernatural gust of hail struck one of said souls with full force, almost throwing him over a bridge railing before some instinct pushed him to extend his staff for support.

He looked up at the Akuma. A dark dress, purple hair in two large pigtails and an umbrella; something clicked in his head;

“Stormy Weather was it?” Cat Walker looked up at the floating Akuma.

“The one and only,” Stormy confirmed with sadistic glee. “Now, why don’t we see if this little kitty swims like the old one-”

Okay no, Cat Walker had better things to do that to just take beatings today- or any day. There were better ways to waste time; why not try ‘diplomacy’?

“That seems unnecessary,” a perfect model smile crossed Cat Walker’s face.

“Oh, and why’s *that*?” Stormy smirked.

“Because clearly you’re going to win,” Cat Walker sighed with apparently sincere resignation.

The Akuma’s face dropped in surprise, and the model continued on; “anyone can tell where this battle is heading.” He put a hand to his chest, “I’m but a poor novice to this war, and then there’s *you*, well… don’t you think this is a bit unfair?”

Stormy giggled like an idiot; “yes, yes it is!” Fine lines of Lightning flickered into existience around her as she circled in closer to him. They licked the ground and left scorch marks, but Cat Walker’s eyes focused on the umbrella instead while Stormy’s attention was elsewhere. “You’re helpless before me!”

“I have to agree,” Cat Walker mournfully concurred, and as if in deep fear; he flinched away from Stormy Weather, drwaing closer to a stone Pillar like she was a predator he was retreating from. “This is, is, is…”

Stormy’s eyes gleamed with a sense of power over the hero and she advanced closer, “*go on*….”

“A cataclysmic disaster!” Cat Walker threw up his clawed hand in emphasis.

In a second, Stormy realised the ruse and hissed; her eyes darted to his right hand.

And left herself vulnerable to his left. Having floated in close, she barely had time to blink as he lunged forwards with his ringless hand and ripped the umbrella from her grip.

“Wait-”

Chat Noir’s power hadn’t activated, but Cat Walker only took a second to break the umbrella in two under foot. To his pleasure, not only did Stormy’s power vanish, but a butterfly suddenly flew out of the broken implement and the Akuma victim reappeared in human form from a weave of dark magic.

“Where… where am?” The girl blinked in shock as Cat Walker nimbly plucked the Akuma butterfly from the air, “Are you a hero? Where’s Ladybug?”

“Oh don’t worry, I’m just a temp” Cat Walker gave her the same smile that had charmed her a moment ago. “The real heroes should be here any minute.”

—

And I’m just going to leave it here for now. With the core dynamic established and parts of the mystery of Chat Noir’s end implied: the next parts will be covering just how a Black Cat who 'takes things seriously’ would clash with Marinette’s approach.

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 38

Notes: I want to apologize for the long wait. I have struggled lately to sit down and write since I've been so busy-- my brain is a bit of everywhere. I will be taking a trip starting this upcoming week, and will be gone for a week and a half! So I likely won't update until about two weeks from today. Hopefully this will hold everyone off until then! Thank you all for your patience!<3

Summary: The gangs finally connect.

UC Masterpost!

Link to My AO3!

Start:

“Okay! Here goes nothing, everyone!”

Tails’ flips on the radio’s switch, immediately being met with static.

“Well, it’s working, at least,” the kit chuckles awkwardly.

“Are we able to connect to them properly??” Shadow asks, his ears perked up high over his head in an optimistic point at the sound of the static. Listening carefully for any sort of voice or pause in the constant fuzz of sound.

“Let me see,” the kid genius leans forward again, taking a nozzle in hand and beginning to slowly turn it. 

Everyone is quiet. Amy has her hands clamped together in front of her hopefully as she stands beside the worktable, Sonic standing with both hands pressed against the same workbench to lean against it. And Shadow with his arms crossed and a determined little furrow to his brow..

The only sound being the static and the light tapping of Sonic’s impatient foot on the concrete floor of the garage.

This goes on for a few minutes. 

Sonic’s eyes flicker up to look at Shadow, seeing the building tension and nervousness on his face as each moment passes with no signal. His hope beginning to be replaced by frustration. He feels helpless. Sure, he’s managed to help retrieve some chaos emeralds, but other than that, he’s done nothing. That feeling of failing as a hero, being useless, that he’s become all too familiar with begins to creep its way back into his mind.

This is why he can never slow down. The second he does, he starts having existential crises and questioning his existence and validity– nope. He’d just rather not. Rather stay busy and stay running and not deal with any of it. If this adventure required more badnik smashing, he’d be doing way better.

Amy sighs after a few minutes of waiting, moving around the table to stand next to Shadow and gently place an arm on his back. She rubs up and down it slowly as though she’s trying to comfort him, Sonic’s eyes following the movement. His gaze then shifts back up to Shadow who just knits his brows a bit, frustration turning into something sadder now that he’s being given comfort.

Sonic’s heart twists..

“Maybe they just aren’t home right now–” “Hello?? Hello, this is Miles ‘Ta-”

Everyone’s eyes grow huge, Tails immediately freezing in his current position he had been turning the nozzle.

“..Was that-” Amy starts but she’s quickly interrupted by Shadow who is practically jumping forward against the table.

“Turn it back! Get them back!”

“I’m trying!”

“Calm down, you’re gonna make him break it!” Sonic immediately chimes in, just managing to steady the workbench the radio is sitting on before it toppled over. Amy grabbing Shadow’s arm a bit tighter and pulling him back to chill him the heck out.

Sonic hadn’t been here earlier when Shadow had gotten the message from his world. He hadn’t got to see firsthand the absolute relief and joy he had felt when he heard the alternate world’s Team Sonic speaking to him, assuring him they’re alright. That they’d get him back. He didn’t doubt the guy was thrilled to hear this, but he hadn’t expected this sort of nervous energy from him. It was still so odd.. seeing anything being expressed from Shadow other than grumpiness or annoyance.

“Sorry,” Shadow huffs, closing his eyes as he seemingly tries to gather himself, “Sorry. I just–..” He sighs again, rubbing a gloved hand back through his quills. Sonic watches him with a small knit in his brow, Tails continuing to try and regain the connection. “It’s fine, dude,” the blue hero assures with a small smile, “Just relax. Tails has got this.”

“I know,” the dark hedgehog nods in return, offering his own nervous little smile gratefully to Sonic, “I know..”

And sure as chaos, the voices on the radio start back up.

“Ayo, MC Sonic up in the hizouse!”

“It’s not a toy, Sonic..”

“I know that. Just got tired of you repeating your name over and over, bro.”

Shadow’s ears immediately perk up again, eyes widening and smile stretching wide having heard his version of Sonic speaking. 

Sonic doesn’t think he’s ever seen Shadow smile so big..

Didn’t think it was even physically possible, honestly.

Instead of jumping at the radio this time, he waits patiently for Tails to lock in a bit better onto their signal, the static remaining but dimming until it was only a low buzz. 

“..I think I’ve got ‘em,” the red blinking light on the radio turning a consistent green now, his accomplished blue eyes raising to look at Sonic’s own proud ones.

“Way to go, buddy!” Sonic grins, ruffling the kit’s bangs and causing the fox to giggle with a little blush at the praise.

“You’re amazing, Tails!” Amy adds with a grin, Shadow too focused on the radio to chime in on the appreciation currently.

“Aw, it was nothing. The instructions sent from the other world made it pretty easy–” “Can I talk to them??” Shadow interrupts without meaning to, scarlet eyes hopeful as they look at the fox for permission.

“Uh.. yes, hopefully. Let’s give it a try, huh??”

“Please,” Shadow breathes with a nod, moving to sit where Tails had been in the chair once the fox has moved for him.

Tails remains leaned over the table, showing Shadow all the controls.

“This here switch is the power. This knob is for the signal if it starts to get fuzzy. This one is volume. And to speak into the mic, you need to hold down this button..” “Got it,” Shadow nods, finger hovering over the mic button. He pauses. Sonic sees the moment of hesitation. The nervous energy feeding into his expression as he shuts his eyes and swallows thick in his throat. He’s scared.. Scared it won’t work, scared it will and what he may find when it does..

“Hey,” Sonic says quietly, Shadow’s eyes opening and looking up to his with a knit to his brow. Sonic winks and gives a thumbs up, “You got this.” Shadow’s expression softens at this, a tiny smile forming on his mouth before he nods and looks back to the radio.

Here goes nothing.

Pressing his finger down on the mic button, he leans in to speak, “Tails?? Tails, do you copy?? It’s Shadow..”

Releases the button. Waiting..

“Krrch We read you loud and clear, Shadow–”

The team erupts into cheering, Amy hugging Tails and jumping up and down with him while Sonic claps Shadow on the back with a wide grin.

“Told you!” Shadow just laughs, his eyes looking almost misty as his smile is so stretched it almost hurts his cheeks. He leans back in to speak again, “Thank chaos–” “Shadow!?? Shadow, can you hear me!?”

It’s the other Sonic’s voice now, having lost its unserious playfulness they had heard moments ago and now instead being far more excited and hopeful.

Sonic.. Doesn’t know what to think of that.

“Yes! Yes, it’s me, I’m here!” “Oh Gaia, Shadow!” is he crying??? “Oh my chaos– you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice! Are you okay????”

“I’m perfectly fine, Sonic,” Shadow chuckles breathily, his own voice sounding a bit choked up now, “They’ve been taking care of me over here.” “Good! I’d have to whoop some alternate ass if not!”Shadow chuckles at hearing this, rolling his eyes and shaking his head affectionately.

“How are you? Are you okay??” “How’s our Shadow??” Sonic finds himself adding without hesitation, his mind racing on where the other might be.. He’s done a really good job at not showing his worry throughout all of this, but now that they’re so close??.. It would just be really nice to be assured he’s okay or hasn’t tried to take on all this mess on his own.

His answer comes in the form of a gruff voice speaking on the other end of the signal.

“Sonic??”

“Shadow!” Sonic beams, leaning in closer to the alternate Shadow now to be next to the mic, “Dude, you’re alive!” “Of course I’m alive, you idiot, why wouldn’t I be??”

Sonic snorts, rolling his eyes and chuckling at that all to familiar grouchiness, “Aw man, it’s so nice to hear an insult from you again.”

“Hmph,” is all he gets in response, but Sonic knows that’s an amused huff. It makes him smile more. “We’re all good over here,” the alternate Sonic’s voice comes again, “Shadow is being taken care of, and we’re slow and steadily gathering the chaos emeralds.”

“Same here,” Shadow responds, leaning his elbow against the table as he speaks, “We currently have four. Still working on the other three.” “We’ve gotten our hands on five,” Alt. Sonic replies all smug as if it’s a competition and yeah.. Yeah, sounds like the alternate Sonic is just as juvenile as Sonic himself.

Shocker.

“Ask where they found theirs. Maybe it’ll give us some ideas for our own??” Tails offers with a cock of his brow.

“Where’d you–” “I heard him,” Alt. Sonic chimes in, Shadow smirking at his lover’s impatience, “Heya Alternate Tails, by the way!”“Hello!” Tails laughs, finding all of this honestly incredible. 

“Thanks for hooking me and my ‘lovuh’ up,” the alternate Sonic jokes, and the entire room suddenly goes quiet.

Shadow tenses up a bit, eyes widening slightly as he stares at the mic and very much not at Sonic who he can feel staring holes into the side of his head.

Sonic’s eyes were indeed boring into Shadow’s face. Waiting on him to correct the alternate version of him. Scold him for being so stupid. For calling them ‘lovers’. It never comes..

Maybe he misheard it! Maybe that’s not what his alternate version said at all! Maybe he said something completely different. Something innocent and more teasing. Or perhaps he was only playfully flirting like Sonic does with everyone, and it didn’t actually mean anything at all!

One good look at Shadow’s own deer in headlights expression told him that wasn’t true.

“...hello? Tails, I think we lost them-”“No! Nope, we’re uh.. We’re still here,” Shadow speaks into the mic, actively avoiding looking at anyone else in the room in that moment.

“Oh! It just got real quiet, so I thought-”“Nope! We’re here! All good..” Amy’s eyes shift from the back of Shadow’s head to Sonic, her hands then shooting up to cover her mouth, snorting into her palms.

Sonic blinks at this, eyes looking at her and–

She knew!?

“Okay good! So let’s talk emeralds, huh?? We got one from GUN, one in the forest outside Green Hills with the Tornado, Amy just arrived with a green one she got from Seaside. Uh.. Shadow and I got one from Eggman, and Rouge pawned one off someone in Casino Zone.”

“Perfect,” Shadow replies, though his brain barely processed any of that information. Frankly he’s a bit too tied up in the very sudden and unignorable tension in the garage, “We haven’t tried Casino Zone or Seaside Island yet, so maybe we could–” “What do you mean ‘lovuh’!?” Sonic interrupts quite suddenly, causing Shadow to flinch before sighing and rubbing a palm down his face.

Oh great.. This conversation is going to go swimmingly.

“I meant ‘lover’, but I was saying it all cool,” Alternate Sonic says after a little pause, an awkward chuckle coming through the radio, “You… you.. Did tell them we were together, didn’t you, Shads??”

Shadow groans a bit, rubbing his hand down his face and then back up into his quills, “I hadn’t exactly gotten around to it yet..” “We’re together!?” Sonic croaks, eyes wide as saucers and cheeks glowing a bright red along with the tips of his ears. Amy just giggles more, trying to keep quiet because this wasn’t funny but Sonic’s reaction was kinda hilarious?

Tails just looks extremely uncomfortable and tired. He’s worked his ass off to get this thing working and for what?? So these idiots can straighten out their relationship statuses???

“We’re not together,” Shadow corrects, gesturing his finger at himself and Sonic, before then gesturing to himself and the radio, “We’re together.” “Like– you and alternate me!?” “Yes,” Shadow sighs again, clearly not wanting for Sonic to find out like this. “You didn’t tell them??” Alt. Sonic questions through the speaker of the radio, sounding a bit confused and maybe even a little hostile, “Why didn’t you tell them!?”“I didn’t think it was exactly essential information–” “O-ho! So I’m not essential information!??”“What!? No- that’s not–” “Were you keeping me a secret so you could seduce the other me!?”

“What!?”

“You know what??? Whatever. None of this is essential anyway, so I’m just gonna go do essential things. Here’s Tails.”

“No! Sonic, wait–!”

There’s a long pause, some muffled movements through the radio and then a loud BOOM followed by silence.

More muffled movement, the mic being picked up on the other end,

“Well, that went well..,” it’s the alternate Tails’ voice again, sounding tired and annoyed. “Very,” Tails agrees with his alternate version, sounding equally as exasperated. “Why didn’t you tell me??” Sonic’s voice comes quietly, ears flattening slightly as he looks at Shadow. Shadow who looks very overwhelmed and in shock at how terribly that just went. Sonic seems angry. Confused. “You should’ve told me! I deserve to know that sort of thing!”

Amy is concerned now, no longer finding any of this amusing..

“..Sonic, maybe we should–” “No, he-.. He has the right to be upset,” Shadow interrupts her, moving from the chair to allow Tails to take his place sitting in it again, “See if you and my Tails can work something out on how to get me back.” “On it,” Tails says simply, nodding as he plops himself down in the chair to begin plotting with his alternate version.

“You,” Shadow turns to Sonic, nodding his head towards the garage’s exit, “...You and me are gonna go have a chat.”

[fiercynn]

yes i'm talking about otw/ao3's finances again, sorry not sorry

the director of the nonprofit i work for in the u.s. just announced that we have $1 million usd in our reserves at the start of 2025, and that that is a big amount for us to have. we have 35+ full-time employees and several contractors, all of whom are paid good salaries, and we have numerous other operating expenses, including but not limited to running a website, advertising, employee travel, conference registrations, and paying legal costs (we're an advocacy org and often get involved in litigation).

and all i could think about was how the last time i checked the finances of the organization for transformative works (@transformativeworks), which runs ao3, they had almost three times that amount - $2.8 million usd - in their reserves, and zero paid employees, contractors or otherwise. Z E R O.

but that's just normal nonprofit math, right?

and to be clear when i say reserves, i mean money that is not allocated for any specific purpose in the yearly budget. this is just the extra. my org invests that extra so that we can generate additional revenue from it; the last time i checked, otw had only put $10,000 thousand usd of it in an interest-bearing account, which meant they were only earning about $150/year in interest on it. no, i didn't miss any zeroes there. only $150 interest on TWO POINT EIGHT MILLION DOLLARS

anyway i am not going to go check the more recent numbers because any time i try to put any effort into this kind of research, like @manogirl and i did in 2023 and i updated in early 2024, we get so much shit that it hardly feels worth it. but anyone is welcome to follow the process outlined in our previous posts to find the latest numbers yourself. and if you do please tag me! i'm happy to share

but bottom line: remember this when the next otw/ao3 fundraising drive comes around! they don't need your money, and they don't even know how to manage it properly when they get it

(oh, and for anyone who's been following along, no, i still have not received a reply from the otw finance team in response to the one-line question i asked them about their reserves in may 2023. 🙃)

[bigriceenthusiast]

you get it !!!!!!! i've also felt i may have gotten too attached but idk... im just a silly fanfic writer, i'm not even super popular so i can't even TOUCH the talent of the arcane team obviously

but i feel that even from a storytelling perspective what they did with jinx was just. not satisfying or compelling? like you can do amazing things without subverting expectations ofc but for a character with such deep-rooted mental health problems that REVOLVE around this extreme paranoia and hopelessness because she feels essentially like a victim to her core, it just makes no sense

(when i say this i mean she doesn't feel like she has agency in her actions— she believes she's a jinx and screws everything up and that's never gonna change so she doesn't try to change it; she thinks there's no other option for her/ she can't be an active agent in her own fate and so she doesn't try to)

it's simply not a satisfying ending for the character or the people with serious mental health problems watching at home to end up being told: no, you're right. the only way you can be happy is by killing yourself and disappearing from your loved ones' lives because they're all better off without you (i don't think she died but my point stands because she doesn't go back to vi and ekko)

and i've seen a lot of analyses (that i absolutely agree with) stating how jinx made these people's lives so much better (like isha) and i wholly agree but in the end what stands is that she's not shown that. to her she kills everyone she loves and that's it! which like— life imitates art and i feel it would've been a beautiful message for people watching that you CAN have agency in your own life no matter how much circumstance has beaten you down (sorry guys therapy lmao)

as for the argument that arcane was always a tragedy— i agree. but what about the inherent tragedy of realizing you pushed everyone away when you didn't have to? the tragedy of watching isha not turn into jinx and seeing that oh, powder could've lived even in THIS universe? (the au was a basically an entirely different world which makes it tragic because little things could've changed everything but isha living and not becoming another jinx has the tragedy of. even in this world, in this fucked up environment, all jinx needed was her big sister and that's tragic within itself)

i could go on but basically. idk i didn't like the arcane ending LMAO

guys i know arcane is fundamentally a tragedy okay. i know this i promise you

and i feel like i'm not gonna be as articulate as i'd like about this but it felt like one those tragedies where it's like the love was there and it changed everything right. the characters could've done everything differently but they wouldn't have. the love was there (thinking of jayvik for example)

however. i just. don't like what they did with jinx?? OKAY DISCLAIMER SHE'S MY FAVORITE CHARACTER OKAY I'M SORRY but i just hate the fucking "curse" so much like it just doesn't feel as poignant and beautiful and thoughtful as the rest of the show for me?? like season 1 jinx was amazing i loved what they did with her but season 2 jinx just felt like she was there to get thrown around if that makes sense?

"everyone close to me dies" is a fine plot and whatnot but what about "but they don't. and now i have to face my own actions and active role in what i let myself become. in what i let others turn me into" because all the other characters felt so much more like people making decisions? for jinx it's like everyone close to her dies and that's her curse and they just. won't subvert that? but defying this idea of the curse and giving this character agency in the now lucid state we saw her in with isha would've made such a compelling arc AND given isha the opportunity for more depth

idk maybe i just loved her and isha too much and i'm being delusional but i think the storyline of her having to accept that the curse was in her head and having to heal from THAT because oh shit suddenly death is real and i can become an active agent in my life and addressing that almost unconscious victim complex would've hit so incredibly fucking hard and been a good way to expand on healing and building something new like ekko said too

i know the curse was a metaphor but literally everyone close to her did die up until she disappeared in the finale which is just. such a weird ending for a character that struggled with extreme paranoia the way jinx did

or maybe therapy has been fucking me up and i'm projecting who knows

[le010n11]

Is it a one sided game or what 🤨

Wtf is going on

And why does Neymar look so sad....

[equill]

Sukea stuff

Extra: realization

It’s been a while

Panel 1: smile

Comic 2: Caught red handed

you’re his son

Extra: conversation

he just picking on him

Comic 3: You’re grounded.

[itspileofgoodthings]

one of the things that continues to strike me on reread is how much the character of Darcy, and Austen through him, finds Mr. Bennet dead. And how much Elizabeth, in growing and changing and discarding her past blindness, has to move past her way of seeing her father and thus of seeing reality, because the two are connected! Darcy’s letter exposes her father’s flaws to Elizabeth in a way she’d never been able to see before. Most especially the way his laziness and neglect of his own gifts have hurt his family and that ultimately he doesn’t. care. Not enough to change. It literally says that she comes home from Hunsford and tries to laugh at her sisters’ and mother’s folly (the way she used to; the way her father has taught her to by example for her whole life) and she can’t anymore! It sticks in her throat. She is grieved by the failures that she sees in him, all the more so because she IS his favorite and she loves him! And the thing about Mr. Bennet is he never changes. The Lydia/wickham situation exposes to him sharply his own conduct and the consequences and he feels it! Because he is neither stupid nor unfeeling. But he, like everyone, has free will. And he chooses not to change when the opportunity presents itself. He even jokes about how quickly his feeling bad will pass and how soon everything will go back to normal, to his laziness and his selfishness. He is set in his ways and he serves as a contrast to Elizabeth’s personal journey because he embodies a version of a person she could have become and was in danger of becoming if her only goal at all times was to laugh at and judge people from the sidelines.

[chemzee]

I initially wrote my thoughts in tags but my connection betrayed me so uuuh sorry for second reblog

Anyway, good catch! Glad to see more people discuss it! 👁👁👁

I definitely feel like the mask design choice was intentional, especially since it was also used to promote Snape card skin in Chinese socmeds and it'd be weird if all that was just a mistake and nobody on the team pointed it out

The game sort of already confirmed that Volandemort and Lord Evermore (edgy ass/j) are meant to parallel/mirror each other by making Hagrid point it out in Y4. Besides, one of Chinese anniversary events called Siege of Hogwarts had shown that NOTME were behind the attack, which further confirms the similarities.

I always figured DE and NOTME are sort of meant to be two sides of the same coin (one far right other far left/JJJ) although NOTME isn't as "obviously evil" as DE are. And I suspect that similarly to Glenna, most new members joined because of genuine good intention, so it's harder to see NOTME as legitimate threat/evil. And besides Siege of Hogwarts and being a nuisance to the Ministry, NOTME before Elliot taking over didn't cause much harm since they were simply doing dumb stuff like making statues dance (not implying they're fully innocent, it's more so in comparison to Death Eaters, it's hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby kinda deal). However, it's clear that Elliot, however, has secret intentions w the organization, fence why he had to rat them out to the ministry and with him, NOTME might become a lot worse than it used to be before.

I think Elliot being related to Death Eaters isn't out of the picture, given he must've been born in 1992-1993. However, since he had to overthrow NOTME to take charge (+ he's likely younger than other members given he mentioned that "him and 6 Hogwarts alumni were part of NOTME" while he himself was still a student), I assume he wasn't initially the leader of NOTME, so mask design might have been someone else's idea, although him being the one who suggested it could still be a possibility 🤔

Ok, so it probably doesn't mean anything, but I can't stop focusing on it. Isn't those the same masks that NOTME uses? One on the right especially bang on to one Elliot's been wearing.

It's especially interesting since Death Eater card shows a mask akin to the movie versions of them. And even Spellscuffle opponents, while I am not sure if theirs were meant to be Death Eater masks too, seem closer to movie designs of those.

While this asymmetric mask design was consistently used with NOTME in the story, including their propaganda posters.

Anyway, since Y4 ended with Hagrid more or less drawing parallels between Elliot and Voldemort. AND since it was used in a painted card art it's not a matter of re-using existing assets, I am inclined to think it was intentional. Just curious if it's more of a: another small nod to those parallels. Or something deeper (since I don't think the books actually detailed how the masks looked like)?

[densewentz]

All I can think about is how fucked everyone treats a Shadow Dragon Rook if they choose to save Treviso over Minrathous. Because the decision is sound, you know? Horrible, and hard, but Treviso is this half-broken merchant city. No guard other than the crows, no defenses, no giant floating big brother laser in the sky and one of Thedas' largest collection of mages. And so Rook has to trust their fellow Dragons to protect their home and hope to anything that they can keep the blight from Treviso. Only it's not enough, and despite the fact that Rook is one (1) person, who's only leading because no one else would goddamn do it, who has never even SEEN a dragon before the one at D'Meta's Crossing, and who still managed to fight off one dragon right after a grueling mission and then still have the energy to run off to try and help Minrathous - everyone still seems to blame them. And not just that, but the entire team spends most of the next act with their hearts breaking for Minrathous, and for Neve especially. 'Poor Neve, her home is gone, her people are dead, her life as she knew it is changed forever, poor neve, I know you didn't have a choice Rook but Neve is hurting now'. And I LOVE Neve. I love her. But it is so fucked up that as a Shadow Dragon Rook who was forced to make a horrific choice, who ALSO lost their home, their people, the life they knew- no one ever really bothers to comfort Rook. Or even consider that Rook would be absolutely shattered by what happens to Minrathous. Or fucking furious, because Rook and the goddamn Crows managed to fight off their dragon by the skin of their damn teeth with basically nothing, so how could the Shadow Dragons and the rest of Greater Minrathous not handle theirs! What were they goddamn doing that whole time?!?

The only difference between Rook and Neve is that Rook doesn't have the luxury of fucking off in the middle of a fight for the world to go mourn what they've lost. They have no choice but to pull their shit together and keep going.

And still every time Rook goes to a companion with the broken pieces of themselves in their bloody palms its just. "Oh Rook, how could this have happened to Poor Neve"

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Instruction on Courtship

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